Yeah, it's a bit long. One of my longer prologues, but think of it as the "previously" part before the real deal.
***
Then
Oliver had certainly had a few weird days right in a row. First, his friend from Central City had run all the way to save him and John from Vigilante and recruit him, John, and his sister to fight against aliens known as the Dominators. Then Barry had gone to another universe to bring an alien to fight against the Dominators as well. Oliver prided himself on never getting unnerved, but this Kara Danvers . . . she was something else. Bulletproof, arrow proof, and atomic blast proof as well, she could crush every member of the team if she so wished. And after being held by the Dominators in an alternate world, he had shunned her, kept her at bay . . . and despite all that, she had saved his life.
Supergirl indeed.
He was speaking with Barry when he heard the clatter of heels behind him. "Hey, hey, guys!" Kara grinned as she ran up to them.
"Hey," Barry greeted with a matching grin.
"Either of you ever save the world before?" Kara looked between them.
"Mmhmm," Barry nodded.
"Last year," Oliver nodded as well.
Kara sighed, a smile on her face. "It doesn't get old, does it?"
"Nope," Barry shook his head. "Sure beats screwing up the world."
"Hey," Kara gave him an admonishing look. "You are too hard on yourself."
Oliver snorted. "That's what people usually tell me."
"And for good reason, I'm sure," Kara gave him a look next, then fiddled with her glasses. "But, back on my Earth, it's just me and my cousin. Between the two of us, we're more powerful than – "
"Yeah, everybody in this room combined," Barry mused.
"No, no, that's the point," Kara lightly cuffed him in the arm. "That's what you've all proven here. Metahumans or not, superpowers or not . . . you are Earth's mightiest heroes."
She said it with such sincerity, Oliver looked down at his champagne to avoid looking at Kara's proud face. Barry was smiling back at her, and she was smiling back, and Oliver cleared his throat. "Um . . . " Kara turned to him, and he sighed. "I owe you an apology." Kara tilted her head, and Oliver hurried to go on. "Keeping you at arm's length was the wrong move, and . . . well, the truth is that this Earth could probably use a Supergirl."
Kara blinked, then looked at Barry. "Well, that's . . . that's funny," she said, then looked up at Oliver. "'Cause I was just thinking my Earth could use an Oliver Queen." Oliver did smile that time, and Kara gave him a wide smile. "I know you said you don't get unnerved," she continued, making Oliver sigh. "But," she stressed, making him listen. "If you did, I think hardship is what makes us stronger. That's probably why these people look to you as their rock."
Oliver nodded, accepting the compliment, then Barry grinned mischievously. "You guys feeling the group hug?"
"No," Oliver said at once.
"Come on," Kara grinned. "Come on!"
"All right," Oliver gave in, chuckling as he hugged Barry and Kara. Barry would have been the first person to tell Kara that he was not a hugger, but something about the Kryptonian was just so . . . huggable.
Yes, Kara Danvers was something else.
"Hey, Kara!" Cisco called, and Kara bounced away to see what Cisco wanted. "I made you something."
"What?" Kara's jaw dropped. "Cisco!"
"Yeah," Cisco nodded, smiling as Kara opened the box he had given her.
"What, uh . . . " Kara blinked as she took out a small silver device. "What is it?"
"Oh!" Cisco grinned. "It's a . . . it's an interdimensional extrapolator."
"Oh," Kara nodded, though she still looked confused. "Uh . . . "
"It creates small breaches, so you can use it to cross over to our universe any time you need to," Cisco explained.
"Oh, my God!" Kara's eyes lit up in delight. "That's amazing!"
"I also included communication functionality, so if you ever need any help, you can always contact the team," Cisco added.
Kara giggled giddily, looking down at the extrapolator, when Mick walked up. "Hey, Skirt," he rumbled. "Call me."
Kara stared after him as he left, then gave Cisco a confused look that made Oliver smirk into his champagne glass.
***
"Something tells me you weren't invited here."
Kara looked around after Cisco left to speak with Felicity, and she watched one of the newer Legends, Nate, walk up to the trio of suited men walking in. "Dr. Heywood," one of them, a grey-haired man, smiled.
"Don't Dr. Heywood me," Nate snapped. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I like parties," the man gestured around. "And I'm here for the mop-up."
"Cover-up," Nate corrected, and Kara straightened, walking over. "But you can't cover this up."
The man gave Nate a dark look and was about to say something when Kara arrived. "Agent Smith!" she said cheerily, making him look at her in surprise. Even Nate looked surprised at her intervention. "It's so funny seeing you here. I was just having the loveliest chat with your president about you. I was telling her, on my Earth, we have a Department of Extranormal Operations, which deals specifically with aliens. She thought it was an excellent idea." She walked closer, a proud smirk on her face. "She also loved my pitch about reassigning you to Antarctica."
Agent Smith's eyes bugged open, and Kara gave an innocent grin before practically skipping off. Just a few feet away, Ray and Felicity were shaking in laughter, Barry was grinning proudly at her, and even Oliver and Sara looked impressed. "Maybe next time, you're a little nicer to strange visitors from another planet," Nate snickered at Agent Smith. The man growled and stormed off, but not before Nate threw one last cheery remark at him. "Pack a jacket!"
***
Most of the others had said their farewells to Kara until it was just her, Oliver, Barry, Sara, and John left. "You ready to see if Cisco's gadget works?" Barry asked.
"Ready," Kara nodded, walking forward. "And remember," she turned. "If you guys ever need me, I'm just a call away."
Oliver nodded. "Same here," he told her sincerely.
Kara smiled, then turned and pressed the button on her extrapolator. A shimmering breach opened up, and Kara took a deep breath, walking through. When she had vanished from view, the breach snapped shut after her.
***
"I'm just saying," Oliver told Barry later as they sat with beers in front of them. "Next time, I'm gonna get you."
"I'm just saying, I beat you twice," Barry smirked.
"The first time was a tie."
"And the second time?"
Oliver paused. "There were no witnesses the second time," he answered, taking a drink.
Barry snickered, shaking his head. "Superspeed arrow duels," he said dryly. "Our lives aren't exactly normal."
Oliver nodded in agreement. "I told Kara that I was looking to reclaim some normal. Thinking on it now, I'm . . . I'm not so sure."
"I know what you mean," Barry nodded. "We both got a look at what life would look like normal."
Oliver nodded, thinking back to what he had seen on the Dominators' ship, what life would have been like had he not gotten on the Gambit. "It would've been happy."
"But not full," Barry told him.
"No," Oliver agreed, smiling slightly. "No, nowhere close."
Barry nodded. "To things not being normal."
"To life being full," Oliver nodded back.
They clinked their bottles and drank, and in the back of Oliver's head, he wondered what would ever bring Kara back to their universe. Probably nothing to lead her to the Legends, since they mainly dealt with time travel. With everything Barry faced, he was most likely to see her again, more than he or his team ever would.
No, Oliver figured nothing in Star City would ever bring Supergirl to it.
***
Well, maybe not Star City. The finale episode isn't called "Star City," now, is it?
That was then. On to now!