Justice League Femme

Chapter Thirty-Six: Supergirl

"Kal?" he asked.

"Superman," I clarified. I paused for a moment. "That was the last time I talked to him, too. During a fight against Silver Banshee that feels like years ago with everything that happened since." I sighed. "And..." A pause fell over me for a minute. "What...what if I'm not strong enough to defeat Brainiac, even if I'm 'excessive' for someone like Silver Banshee?"

Mon-El frowned back at me. His eyes were wide. From what I could tell, they were a tad glossy, too. "You are more than strong enough, Kara." He paused for a second. "You are powerful."

A weak laugh escaped me. "Even the most powerful of people feel the weight of the world on their shoulders." I sighed again. "I just...I just want to be able to protect the people I care about, and it feels like it's slipping through my fingers. My adoptive dad's sick. I had to bring a coworker my age to the hospital because his symptoms were so severe. I have no idea what in Rao's name Kal might be doing. And you remember my friend, my best friend, Lee, they're also sick. Even though they aren't showing symptoms like the other cases I've heard of, it scares me. I mean, they're, like, one of my best friends, whether I'm Kara or Supergirl." I shook my head. "And not only can I not muster the courage to tell them how I'm Supergirl and that as Supergirl, I'm Kara; there's this strong possibility that I might not be able to save them from Brainiac's scheme." I felt myself tremble again. More tears streamed down my face. "And now...now there's this guy I care so much for. I'm thankful he's not sick yet, but I'm...I'm so scared that he could get infected, or...Rao, I can't even think about the worst-case scenario." The pang in my stomach throbbed now. More tears came down.

There was a pause for a few moments.

"I know how you feel," Mon-El said, "I mean, I know it may not look like I have that much at stake at first glance. Because where I'm from is on a different timeline. It's threatened by this, that's why I came, but...but it's...it's really tenuous. When...if, I go back, there won't be the same urgency as there is now. But I felt this need to go back to this moment. If I didn't, I'll feel like I let people down. I...I couldn't let people get hurt, and I couldn't watch the people in the future get hurt from this, either. So I came to help, with not much stake personally." He paused for only a second. "But then...then I met someone here. She's probably...no, definitely, the most compassionate person I have ever met, present-day or future. She looks out for the people she cares about and tries her best to keep them safe. Everytime I see her, I swear I'm in awe, even if I don't always show it. I'll see her and I'll think, Damn, I can't believe I got the privilege to meet her." A smile formed on his face. "And even though she feels like she's got the weight of the world on her shoulders, she...she can do anything. I wish she could believe in it as much as I do."

I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"I know she'd save humanity for the people she cares about," Mon-El added, "and I'd save humanity for her."

"She must mean an awful lot to you," I responded. I could feel my face grow hot and I couldn't cool it down. My heart fluttered for a moment.

He nodded. "I guess in a way, she's my kryptonite."

I chuckled at that. "You're so weird," I said, my tone light. I surveyed the rest of the team. "Let me try to see if I can guess."

He chuckled. "You're gonna just pick out random people on our team to see if that's the woman I'm talking about?"

I nodded. My eyes landed on Diana. She was further away from us and had decided to camp out with Kate. "How about her?" I subtly pointed at Diana.

"Wonder Woman is beautiful, don't get me wrong," he answered, "but she's not the woman I'm looking at."

I looked over at Barbara, who was huddled against Cisco and not very far from Diana and Kate. "Babs?"

He shook his head. "As much as I appreciate brains." He paused for a second. "Also, aren't her and Cisco, like, a thing?"

I shrugged. I turned my head to see Nia. She was near Harley and was already asleep on the sandy ground. "Maybe Nia?"

He chuckled. "Nia...she came with me."

I turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

He looked back at me. "I mean: Nia is also from the Legion of Super-Heroes, like me."

My eyes widened. "But she arrived here before you did. Her and Mari helped me fight off Emerald Empress before we found out that Brainiac was behind the disease."

"She arrived on time," he explained, "I came a little late." He paused for a moment. "I mean, you are technically right. She is from the present-day, but she was recruited by Brainiac-5 to join the Legion of Super-Heroes after Zod attacked Metropolis."

"Brainiac-5?"

"He's a descendant of Brainiac, but he works with the Legion. Good guy. Crazy smart, too." He shook his head. "But no, I'm not interested in Nia. She's more of a colleague than anything else."

"Hmm..." I chuckled as a new person entered my head. I noticed Zatanna next to Mari. "Zatanna? Or Vixen?"

"I'll admit: they're both gorgeous women, but that's not the girl I've got my eye on."

"Courtney?" I laughed at my own question, knowing how ridiculous it sounded.

"Oh hell no!" He laughed with me. "She's a kid and it shows." I could feel his eyes looking deep into mine. Suddenly, his smile faded as his laughter died down. "Whoa," he murmured, "your eyes...they...they look like comets."

I knitted my eyebrows together. "They do?"

"Yeah," he said softly, "they have this...sparkle to them." He leaned in a bit closer to look deeper into them. He nodded. "Those comets of yours are absolutely beautiful, Kara."

My cheeks started to get hot, and I knew it wasn't just from the fire in front of us. "They are?"

"Yeah." He leaned in closer. His hand cradled mine.

I couldn't help but lean in as well. I was being pulled into him, like a boat in the tides of the ocean. My eyes fluttered shut.

His soft lips pressed my own. His chest met mine. I could almost feel his heart race. My heart started to race shortly after. I felt a pop of energy flow through me, like I was a firecracker that had just been lit. In this moment, as we kissed, I could feel myself exploding with an intense energy, with light. My mind was absolutely blown that his lips were on mine.

After a moment, he pulled back. "Wow." He smiled. "You're...you're a really good kisser."

My face felt as though it was ablaze.

He scratched his neck. "I...I'm sorry, I should've asked first. I got a bit carried away."

I smiled back at him. "It's okay." I pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear. "I...I kinda wanted to kiss you for a while now, actually."

His eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked. I could see his eyebrows perk up in the light of the fire.

I nodded. "Yeah." I couldn't help but smile. But at the same time, I didn't mind it. I caressed his cheek with my hand. It was scratchy from his stubble.

A smirk drew across his face. He gently placed his palm over the back of my hand.

I leaned in a bit. "Is this okay?" I murmured.

He nodded. "It's perfect."

I smiled back as I looked into his eyes. After a moment, I leaned in and kissed him on his lips again. I felt his lips give in deeper than the last time. I cupped his face with both my hands this time as his hands wrapped around the small of my back.