𝑆𝐿𝐼𝐺𝐻𝑇𝐿𝑌 𝐵𝐸𝑇𝑇𝐸𝑅 𝑇𝐻𝐴𝑁 𝐶𝑂𝑂𝐾𝐼𝐸𝑆 | 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐄𝐑

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑

𝐏𝐀𝐖𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝟓

—♟—

"𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐀, 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀 seat there, I'll be right back." Helen gestured for Kara to sit at one of the plastic chairs that were in front of her neat desk.

Kara nodded, taking a moment to look around as she took a seat.

A framed picture of Helen and a six-year-old Kara at the beach stood on her desk, next to her nameplate, which read 'DR. HELEN CHO' in bold, black letters. A calendar was hung up on the wall, the dates of November crossed off up until today's date, every date being filled with different meetings and appointments. Side by side, some of her awards were hung on the wall, the light glinting off the gold.

"All right, everything's good." Helen appeared after a few minutes, leaning against the door frame with her hands in her blazer's pockets. "Any schoolwork you need to finish up?"

"No, I did it all yesterday," Kara answered as she shook her head.

"Good," her mother remarked, a small grin growing on her face as she raised her eyebrows. "Then, you can come with me and I'll show you what I've been working on."

"Really?" Kara asked eagerly, her eyes widening a little. "What is it?"

"A mental accelerator. Tony asked me to create one for him, and the prototype is nearly finished."

"Seriously?" Kara couldn't help but gasp at this, and she was more than excited as she looked around. "Where?"

"My lab. Want to go now?"

"You bet," Kara answered with a grin as she got to her feet and pushed her chair in.

She followed her mom out of the room to the white door that was next to her office. Helen input a password which unlocked the door, letting the two inside.

"I had to clear everything out when I began working on the accelerator, just in case anything happened, so it's pretty empty inside."

And she was right. The room was completely white, with a tall, white table that held a few tools and the mental accelerator that Helen had spent months working on.

It was in the shape of a helmet (it was meant to fit a head, after all), though there was hardly any smooth metal as it was covered in little trinkets and scraps of metal that were meant to do one thing or another. A few parts of it had the outline of what seemed to be a dim cyan, which Kara would assume would glow when it was switched on.

"Cool, huh?" Helen asked, the corners of her lips tugging upwards as she watched Kara gawk at the invention.

Kara nodded. "The most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

Helen laughed. "I'm glad you think so. Just don't touch it, it's not completely finished. I can't even touch it without using special tools. I've never made this type of thing before, so it could potentially cause damage. I'm going to have to run a few tests before it can be used."

"What does Uncle Tony need a mental accelerator for, though?" Kara questioned, glancing at her mother before turning back to the device. "He's not going to use it for himself, right? He's already smart enough, I'm not sure if I can handle him with any more ego."

"I'm not sure, he said it was 'top secret.'" Helen shrugged, using her fingers to air-quote him. "He must have a good reason if he's not telling me, but I'm sure he's not going to use it for himself. I don't see why he would."

"Awesome," Kara breathed out, stepping closer and getting as close as she could without touching it.

"Anyway, I need to get back to my office. I'll let you stay here and look at it for as long as you want," Helen laughed lightly, clearly knowing her daughter all too well. "Just remember: No touching!"