(This is only for those 18+ and all characters are 18+. As with all my stories its written for entertainment purposes and not meant to impinge on copyrighted characters or upset anyone.)
Part 5: Gotham State of Mind
A month had passed since the events of Alcatraz.
Long enough for the headlines to cool. Not long enough for her memory either.
Kara had spent the first week recovering in private and then the second and third weeks unexpectedly navigating something stranger. Attention.
But not as Supergirl - something she was used to. As Kara Danvers.
CatCo had leaned into it hard. “Pulitzer Prize–Winning Journalist Survives Alcatraz Scandal” played well on morning shows. She’d done panels. A podcast. Even a slice of life piece for CatCo themselves - what does Kara Danvers do when she’s not in the office? Wouldn’t they like to know.
There were think pieces about investigative courage. About transparency in metahuman research. About journalistic integrity.
No mentions of what Vale did to her. Her torn costume. Her powerlessness in the face of his casual cruelty.
What remained of her suit sat folded in a box in her apartment closet, the S shield split jagged down the middle. The tough material it had been made from was something she had usually relied on the DEO for. Not anymore. She’d tried to fix it herself. Failed. Had looked up an old contact to replace it. Had baulked at the price.
So she’d improvised.
The cape had survived. The boots too. Everything else was… unique.
Currently she used a fitted blue T-shirt she’d bought off the rack, plain but close enough to echo her lost bodysuit. A red skirt she’d found two stores later completed the look, though it was a little shorter than she might have liked. Still, the outfit worked, if you didn’t stare too closely.
That was the new outfit for Supergirl, but today she was Kara. She sat at a quiet outdoor café three blocks from CatCo, slacks and a cream blouse showing just a hint of cleavage. Sunglasses on in the mild spring sun. No seedy hotel this time.
Mark arrived precisely on time. Pressed shirt and sleeves rolled up. Coffee ordered black without looking at the menu. He sat across from her and studied her face for a second longer than usual. “I still don’t see it.”
She tilted her head slightly. “See what?”
He gestured lightly toward her glasses, lowering his voice. “How no one else sees through this… disguise.”
A corner of her mouth lifted. “They’re very fashionable glasses. Very distracting.”
“I’m serious.” His gaze didn’t waver. “The glasses really do hide things. You’d be surprised.”
“They’re magic.” She joked dryly.
Did she trust Mark? No, not fully. But he had saved her. He had learnt that Supergirl was secretly Kara Danvers. He’d promised not to tell and naively or not, Kara had chosen to believe him.
He didn’t smile, but his eyes softened. The café noise drifted around them with conversation and clinking porcelain. So ordinary that it felt almost absurd that this was how they did operational briefings now.
“How are you?”
She considered lying. Settled on partial truth. “Better.”
Which was technically accurate. Her strength had returned. She was flying. Heat vision steady. Hearing sharp. She could lift a cargo ship if she needed to.
But something else had shifted. Everyday she glanced at the news, wondering if there were any updates on Vale and his assistant Moreau. Still totally off radar.
“I’ve been… thinking.”
“That’s usually when I get concerned.”
She huffed quietly. “About Alcatraz.”
He didn’t interrupt.
“Your people… they seized everything. All that tech. All that research.”
“It’s evidence.” He said again, sipping at his hot coffee, using the same words he’d used in the hospital.
“It’s a lot of power.” She countered gently.
His jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “Exactly, wouldn’t want it in the wrong hands. Right?” They let the subject rest there, unspoken tension settling between them. He slid a slim folder across the small metal table. “Gotham.”
Kara blinked once. “That’s not my city.”
“It is for the next couple of days. Well, unless you exceed my expectations. Which you usually do.”
She rolled her eyes playfully and opened the folder. A photograph of Selina Kyle stared back at her in her tight latex costume, mid stride across a rooftop. “Catwoman?”
“Caught stealing from a federal data vault two nights ago. Not jewels. Not art. Information.”
Kara’s eyes moved down the page. She didn’t spot any specifics on the kind of information. “What kind of information?”
“Defence contracts. Strategic energy initiatives. A few Metahuman containment protocols. Secrets we’d rather not share.”
“And she’s selling it?”
“That’s the working assessment.”
“To who?”
“Foreign buyers. State actors. Whoever pays, based on her MO. If that data gets out, then people get hurt.” The words were clean. Professional. Controlled. “She’s gone into hiding.”
“Why me? I barely know Gotham at all. What about Batwoman?”
He ignored the mention of Gotham’s current Caped Crusader. “Task Force X already has assets in place that know the city well. I need you to work with them. Support.”
She looked up sharply. “Assets.”
“Harley Quinn and Pamela Isley.”
Kara leaned back, incredulous and a little too loud. “You’re pairing me with the Suicide Squad? Oh come on Mark!”
“They know the terrain. They know her. And they’re motivated.”
“Yeah I bet they are. Off the leash and out to hurt people.”
His expression didn’t change. “They’re not off any leash, Kara. They’re government operatives, we keep them tightly controlled. It’s what we do. This is controlled. Coordinated.”
She hesitated.
After Alcatraz, she’d promised herself she wouldn’t just walk into another situation that didn’t feel right or she was unprepared for. She wouldn’t assume the information she was given was the whole picture.
But sitting here, sunlight filtering through the trees, coffee warm in her hands, Mark across from her, steady and familiar, she decided that it was the right thing to do. He had saved her. Earned her trust. “What’s the objective?”
“Recover the stolen data. Bring Kyle in if possible.”
If possible.
“And Harley and Ivy?” She pressed.
“They assist. You’re in charge.” That was all he said.
She studied him. His body language. The precise way he phrased things. He wasn’t lying. Not outright. But there were spaces in the explanation. Gaps.
Still, she found herself nodding. “Okay.” Not defiant. Not independent. Cooperative.
She reached for her coffee again, and without entirely meaning to, let her knee brush his under the small table. He didn’t move away.
“Gotham.” She exhaled slowly. “With Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy.”
“Pamela Isley.” He corrected automatically.
She arched an eyebrow. “Oh, so you’re on a first name basis now?”
“Operational necessity. I remember all the details about my operatives.”
She laughed, politely. “Fine. Send me the details.” As she walked away, she caught her reflection faintly in the café window. She shook her head gently, remembering how he used the words. ‘My operatives.’
“When did he start doing that?"
She didn’t like Gotham. Huge. Dark. Always frickin’ raining. And now she was lost.
Kara hovered above the skyline for a moment, cape snapping lightly in the wind and tried to orient herself. Sirens somewhere distant rang in her head thanks to her super hearing. As did the ever present hum of traffic. She already missed National City.
She checked the coordinates again. She’d already overshot the meeting point twice. “Great. I’m the world’s finest navigator.”
Eventually she found it, an old WayneTech owned property tucked between futuristic new high rises. The stone façade was weathered but elegant, the brass plaque near the entrance discreetly restored. WayneTech Logistics Annex, according to the records Mark had sent.
She landed in the narrow alley beside it, boots touching down softly. The improvised uniform felt different here. The tight T-shirt and short skirt had read bold in the sunny skies of National City. In Gotham, she felt… exposed.
She tugged her skirt down a little as she pushed through a reinforced side door that unlocked at her biometric ping and stepped into a dimly lit lobby.
“Yer late.”
The voice ricocheted off marble.
Kara turned towards it.
Harley Quinn was upside down on a reception desk, legs hooked over the edge, blonde pigtails hanging toward the floor. She was chewing gum loudly, baseball bat propped casually against her shoulder. “Traffic?” Harley grinned. “Or ya just gettin’ lost, Bluebird?”
“A little lost. I don’t know the city,” Kara replied evenly, awkwardly smiling. A little of dorky Kara Danvers coming out, despite herself.
“Aw, ain’t that precious.” Harley swung down in a fluid motion and landed in front of her. “Your first tourist trip to Gotham. We can show you all the sights. Crime Alley. Wayne Manor. What’s left of it at least…”
From the shadows near a row of tall indoor planters, another figure stepped forward.
Pamela Isley.
Poison Ivy moved lazily towards them. Dark red hair cascading over one shoulder, green eyes assessing Kara with lazy precision, green skin that stood out in the dark. The plants around her, decorative ferns, climbing ivy and even a potted ficus, seemed subtly more alive in her proximity. “Metropolis girls usually get lost here.” She said softly. “Get themselves into all sorts of predicaments…”
The air shifted, unnoticed. There was a sweetness. Something floral. Kara’s lungs filled automatically. Her senses sharpened. Perhaps, a little too sharply. “Actually, I’m from National City.”
Harley’s grin widened. The fluorescent lights buzzed harsher. The hum of the city outside suddenly pressed closer against her skull.
Kara blinked once, steadying herself. Then she was fine, just a little foggy suddenly.
“Metropolis… National City… Either way, you’re late.” Ivy teased, head tilting slightly. “That suggests a certain amount of hesitation in joining us.”
“It suggests your city is a maze.” Kara replied, the retort coming quicker and tone sharper than she intended.
Harley’s eyes widened theatrically. “Ooooh, she’s spicy.”
A door at the back of the lobby opened. “Enough.” The voice was firm, cold and very professional. Agent Che stepped into view.
Kara didn’t recognise him at first. Tall and dark skinned. Dark suit. Close cropped hair. Earpiece already in place. Then he met her eyes. There was an instant flicker of recognition.
“You made good time.” He said evenly, though his gaze lingered half a second too long on the tight t-shirt she was wearing.
She frowned faintly, her head was definitely feeling a little foggy. “Have we met?”
“Briefly. Alcatraz.”
Something cold slid down her spine. “Oh.”
“I was part of the entry team.” The air felt thinner suddenly. He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to.
Entry team.
She remembered flashes. Restrained to the wall. As weak as she’d ever felt. Vale inside her. Helpless. The door breaking open. The shouting. Being freed and lifted out of the room.
She felt anxiety rising inside her. “Right. Um… thank you.”
His expression didn’t shift. “You’re welcome.”
Harley leaned against a column and whispered loudly to Ivy. “Awkward.”
Ivy’s lips curved faintly. “Indeed.”
Che gestured toward a conference table that had been set up in what used to be the lobby’s central seating area. A holographic projection flickered to life above it, Gotham’s skyline, data points marking recent breaches.
“For those of you that don’t know, I’m Agent Che. Mission parameters are simple,” Che began. “Selina Kyle aka Catwoman accessed a federal data vault seventy-two hours ago. She extracted classified files related to defence contracts, metahuman containment protocols and a variety of private data.”
“Seventy-two hours?” Harley echoed mockingly. “She’ll be long gone.”
Kara folded her arms, focusing on the projection. She felt uncomfortable with Che using Catwoman’s civilian identity. Surely that wasn’t common knowledge to everyone in the room.
“We don’t think so Miss Quinn. She is believed to be attempting to broker that data to foreign buyers. Only then will she leave. So we have a window.” Che continued. “We intercept. Recover the data. Bring her in. If feasible.”
“‘If feasible?’” Harley sang. “Translation - you don’t mind if we toss the kitty cat off a tall building.”
“That won’t be happening.” Kara replied sternly.
Ivy circled the table slowly, fingers brushing idly along the leaves of a nearby plant. Kara caught herself tracking the movement. Staring a little too long. She felt herself blushing and quickly focused on the mission.
“She’s just a cat burglar.” Agent Che continued. “Not exactly Doomsday. This should be a piece of cake for you three.”
Kara’s head snapped toward him, again sharper than intended. “She survived a mind controlled Superman.”
Ivy laughed lightly. “That one was because of me… oops. But it’s true."
“Exactly.” Kara cut in. “She walked away.” Her voice was tighter than she’d intended too. She noticed it herself, tried to cool her tone. Ivy’s eyes flicked to her with quiet interest.
Che measured her, before calmly responding. “Noted. Target is not to be underestimated.”
Harley nudged Ivy with her elbow. “Hear that, Red? Kitty’s got claws.”
Ivy smiled faintly, clearly thinking back to one of their many encounters. “Oh, I’m well aware.”
Che tapped his earpiece. “I’ll be in your comms throughout as best we can. Reception is pretty poor here. Surveillance feeds are patchy in the Narrows, so we’re compensating with predictive modelling. But visual confirmation will rely heavily on you.”
Kara nodded. Her thoughts felt so busy. The hum of Gotham outside the building pressed at her hearing and she couldn’t quite tune it out. Harley’s gum snapping grated slightly. Ivy’s perfume, if that’s what it was, lingered at the back of her throat, sweet and grounding and unsettling all at once. Her eyes found themselves looking at Ivy’s legs again.
Empathy flared unexpectedly when she glanced away, at Harley, a flicker of something beneath the manic energy. She noticed the faint scar near her temple where a device sat beneath skin.
She could almost feel it. Her gaze shifted back to Ivy. The plants around her pulsed. Bomb in her head too.
Government operatives, Mark had said. Tightly controlled.
Her irritation spiked. “Those implants,” Kara said before she could stop herself. “They’re still active.”
Harley tapped her temple cheerfully. “Boom-boom insurance policy.”
“It’s standard protocol.” Che replied evenly.
Kara’s jaw tightened. Standard. The word scraped against something raw inside her.
Ivy watched her closely now. Curious. “You disapprove.” Ivy observed.
Kara exhaled slowly. “I prefer cooperation to coercion.”
Harley barked a laugh. “Oh bluebird, are you ever in the wrong city.”
Che closed the projection, bringing focus back to the mission at hand. “Deployment in ten. You’re going to search some old haunts and speak to some of her old friends.”
Kara adjusted her cape slightly, feeling the weight of it settle against her shoulders. The improvised fabric beneath it felt thin. She folded her arms.
Che’s voice came through her earpiece a second later as the channel opened privately between them. “Comms check.”
“Loud and clear.” Kara replied quietly.
A brief pause, his voice softened, but wasn’t exactly friendly. “You’re looking steadier than you were last time I saw you.”
Her stomach tightened, flashes of Alcatraz in her head. “Let’s focus on the mission.”
“Copy that. You have clearly recovered well. You weren’t exactly looking invincible-”
“I get it. Thank you again.” Kara cut him off, irritated.
Harley twirled her bat. Ivy’s fingers brushed a trailing vine that hadn’t been there moments before. “Let’s go find some trouble!”
The bar was called The Black Narrows. Kara couldn’t hide her reaction to the smell.
It sat half sunken into the street along a stretch of Gotham that looked like it hadn’t seen natural light in decades. Neon beer signs flickered in tired blues and reds. The windows were tinted so dark they may as well have been walls.
Harley kicked the door open with theatrical flair. Ivy stepped in behind her, a smile on her face, finding the whole thing amusing. Music thudded. Pantera. Low. Heavy. Every head turned.
Kara stepped in behind them, cape tucked close around her body, boots loud against the sticky wooden floor. The improvised suit felt much too conspicuous here, the blue tee too clean, much too tight, the red skirt too bright, too short. She could feel the leering eyes crawling all over her.
Harley grinned wide. “Evenin’, boys and gals and assorted degenerates.”
A few laughs. A few muttered curses.
Ivy moved unhurried, her gaze drifted lazily over the room. The air changed around her. Faintly sweet beneath the sour tang of beer and sweat. Kara inhaled automatically. Her pulse ticked up without her noticing.
“Target frequents this establishment,” Che’s voice murmured in her ear, the communicator’s reception was poor. “Last three confirmed sightings in the back room.”
“Copy that. Going offline.” Kara spoke subtly, removing the device and approached the bar. The broad shouldered bartender, with a scar down one cheek eyed her unimpressed. “We’re looking for Catwoman.” Kara said evenly.
The man snorted. “You and half the city. I ain’t seen her. Ain’tcha pals with her Bat boyfriend? Go ask him.”
A ripple of chuckles from nearby tables.
Kara straightened slightly. “This isn’t a social call.”
“Oh yeah?” Someone called from a booth. “What is it then, Halloween?”
More laughter. A man near the pool table gave an exaggerated whistle. “Nice skirt. When’s the show start?” He pointed to a sign on the wall that said DANCING GIRLS EVERY NIGHT.
Heat flashed up Kara’s spine. Irritation sharp and sudden. She stepped closer to the bar, lowering her voice. “You don’t want to lie to me.”
The bartender leaned in, unfazed. “Sweetheart, I’ve lied to scarier.”
The room hummed with quiet amusement. She felt it, the collective dismissal. The way they looked at her and saw… what? A silly costume? A stupid girl playing hero? In National City, a glance was enough. But here in Gotham? She wasn’t intimidating. Not one bit.
Harley slid up beside her, draping an arm casually across Kara’s shoulders. “Aw, puddin. Don’t be like that. Bluebird here just wants a lil’ chat.”
The bartender’s eyes flicked to the baseball bat slung casually over Harley’s back and his amusement dimmed, just slightly.
Kara pulled gently out from under Harley’s arm. “I’m asking one more time.” She said, trying to add some menace to her tone.
A drunk man at the end of the bar raised his glass lazily. “Why don’t ya go fly back to Metropolis, sweetheart? Go suck that Superman’s cock!”
More laughter.
The irritation flared hotter this time, too hot. It wasn’t just anger, it was embarrassment. She could feel every stare. Every smirk. Every dismissive thought like static against her skin. She spat through gritted teeth. “Wrong city. And just… no.”
More laughter. All her powers and there was no fear in that room at all.
Ivy stepped up on Kara’s other side, brushing close enough that their arms nearly touched. She ran a hand down Kara’s arm, not predatorily, but trying for comfort. “Shall we take over?”
Her voice was velvet. Kara swallowed. For a split second she considered telling her no. Holding the moral high ground. Being patient. Then she looked around the room again.
These weren’t civilians. These were enforcers. Goons. Henchmen. It was Gotham after all, there were hundreds of them in the city. People who protected Selina because it benefited them.
And right now they were laughing at her.
A beat. She glanced at Harley, at Ivy. “Go ahead.” She finally said.
The words left her mouth easier than they should have. But it instantly felt like a weight off her back.
Harley’s grin widened. She cracked her knuckles. “Well now. Permission granted.”
What followed was not subtle.
Harley moved first. Fast and chaotic and joyous in the violence. A barstool shattered against the wall inches from a smirking patron’s head. Someone lunged and found themselves airborne, colliding with a jukebox that sparked dramatically.
Ivy was quieter. A vine slithered from the window, wrapped around a man’s ankle and yanked him face first onto a table. Another tendril coiled around the bartender’s wrist, thorns pressing just enough to draw a bead of blood.
The laughter evaporated.
Kara stood still in the centre of it. She winced as Harley slammed a fist into someone’s jaw. This wasn’t how she operated. But this was Gotham.
One of the criminals tried to bolt past her toward the door. She caught him easily with one hand on his collar, lifting him a few inches off the floor.
His bravado vanished. “Safe house. Now.” She said.
“I-I don’t know—”
Harley’s bat slammed into the wall beside his head with a crack that split plaster.
Ivy’s vine tightened around the bartender’s wrist. “Location.” Ivy whispered in his ear.
The room had gone very quiet.
Suddenly someone jumped up, gun trained on Harley. Kara tossed the man in her hand against the wall and used her super speed to move in front of Harley. A bullet ricocheting off her chest, right back at the shooter, clipping his arm.
She could have caught the bullet, but a big part of her wanted the man to learn a lesson. The pheromones, their influence pushed her to listen to that voice. It was just a flesh wound and he’d think twice in the future.
She turned and nodded at Harley, who nodded back with a dumbstruck expression.
Kara walked back and lifted the man she had caught back up. In the back of the bar the shooter was screaming for help that wasn’t coming. Kara looked into the man’s wide and terrified eyes. She glanced at Harley who was watching the moment. She leaned closer. Her voice quiet. “You don’t owe her more than your life.”
He swallowed hard. “Old textile mill. Tricorner district. Basement level. Code’s changed but, but she’s there.”
Harley lowered her bat slowly. “Well look at that. Cooperation. Don’t cha love it?”
Ivy released the vine. The thorns withdrew from the room.
Kara set the man back down gently. The bar was wrecked. Groans filled the air. She wasn’t sure where the part of her - a small, sharp part - that had felt satisfied when the room shifted from mocking to afraid had come from.
Harley sidled up to her, eyes bright. “Didn’t know ya had it in ya, Bluebird.”
Kara arched a brow. “Had what?”
“That line.” Harley said, before doing a dead on impression of her. “‘You don’t owe her more than your life.’ That’s cold. Ice cold.”
“Not to mention the way she saved your life.” Ivy interjected knowingly, her gaze lingered on Kara’s face, reading her.
“Hardcore.” Harley declared approvingly. “Bluebird’s hardcore.”
Kara wasn’t sure she liked how that sounded. But she took it. Winning her allies respect would make the night easier, at least.
Che’s voice crackled in her ear as they stepped back out into the Gotham night. “How’d it go?”
She glanced once over her shoulder at the shattered bar, before replying evenly. “Well… we have a location.”
“Any collateral damage?”
“Minimal.”
Harley cackled. “Define minimal!”
Che ignored that.
After a moment of discussion, it was time to move on to the safehouse. Kara gracefully hovered into the air, Ivy’s vines lifted her and Harley fired a grappling line up toward a fire escape.
As they moved toward the skyline, a thought crossed Kara’s mind - she couldn’t lie, she was having fun.
“It’s lead-lined.” Che murmured in her earpiece. “No codes, no alarms.”
“Lead lined?” Kara echoed as she landed elegantly. Her fingers flexed, brushing against the smooth lines of her improvised outfit. She had a dark mark on the shoulder of her tight t-shirt from the ricocheted bullet. The fabric was thinner than she liked. It burned a little where the bullet had struck. “Great, I can’t see through lead, so no recon.”
“Even Supergirl has her imitations? I’m shocked.” Ivy said softly.
“Just break down the door so we can get to kicking this kitty’s ass.” Harley laughed, smacking a nearby beer bottle with her bat, sending it flying down the alley.
Kara exhaled and raised both hands to the massive steel door. Then she pushed. The metal groaned and buckled under her strength, bending inward enough for them to slip through.
Selina Kyle was there, crouched on the mezzanine, clearly waiting for them.
Her latex costume skintight, her mask pulled down. Her eyes glinted wildly in the dim lights. Catwoman. “Welcome to my humble abode.” She purred. She watched as Kara hovered into the centre of the room, taking the lead. “I wouldn’t come any closer, Supergirl. Believe it or not, I don’t want to hurt you. Even if you are playing the role of government goon.”
“Selina, unless you’ve got half a pound of kryptonite in that bag, I don’t think I’ve got much to fear.” Kara tried to sound confident, but again she seemed to lose control of her tone and veered into cocky.
Selina smirked. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Her hand flicked and suddenly a pulse of sound waves erupted from a variety of seemingly innocent small devices strapped along the walls.
Kara staggered instantly, clutching her ears. Pain erupted in her skull, white hot and relentless. She stumbled to her knees, something that was becoming a reoccurring situation for her. The room spun as Selina used one of her strengths, her super hearing, against her.
“Bluebird!” Harley cried out.
“Silly girl.” Ivy said before she lunged, vines snaking toward Selina in an attempt to bind her.
They were too slow. With another flick of her wrist, Selina sliced through them with her claws and sent Ivy crashing backward. Ivy hissed and scrambled to her feet. Right into a high kick from Catwoman straight to her jaw.
“Red!” Harley went for Selina with her usual chaotic flair. Bat swinging. She was the only one who seemed capable of keeping Selina on edge, landing a few glancing blows that made Selina stagger backwards.
Kara was still on her knees, chest heaving, ears ringing, body trembling. The sweet, subtle tug of Ivy’s pheromones had sharpened every sensation, making what was happening to her even worse. “Ah…ahhhh…” No one else in the room could hear the devastating sound waves that had incapacitated her.
Selina meanwhile was relentless and with a series of swift strikes, she knocked Harley down too. With a graceful leap through an open window, she bounded toward the rooftop, her silhouette slicing through the dim light.
“Ouch…” Harley groaned from the floor but forced herself up, bat in hand and smashed the sound wave devices, sparks flying as circuits fried.
Kara blinked against the aftershock of pain, floating back to her feet. The ringing dulled but left her head pounding, senses frayed. “Th-thank you…” She gasped. “Don’t mention it blue! Go!” Harley cried, pointing to the window.
Kara didn’t have time to get her bearings before she launched shakily into the air and followed Selina’s trail across the rooftops. She couldn’t keep her balance as she struggled to follow Selina through the Gotham rain that had kicked in. Her senses stretched thin by pain, adrenaline and that strange hum of Ivy’s influence.
“Selina… wait!” But Selina was fast, too fast. She led Kara over precarious fire escapes and through narrow alleys, each leap keeping distance between them.
Agent Che was no help, static cracked in her ear and he coldly told Kara what to do in a disappointed tone. “This is well within your capability, Supergirl. She’s a cat burglar.” Underestimating Selina to the last.
Kara was trying to use her speed, but was still off balance from the sound waves and didn’t want to accidentally fly through some poor Gothamite’s bedroom.
And then, as Kara was finally gaining on her, Selina’s final trick - a device hidden in her gloved hand, a pulse that struck Kara full in the chest just as she rounded the corner. “Nothing personal, Supergirl.”
Pain exploded, white and sharp. Kara’s body lost all coordination. She flailed mid flight, unable to right herself. “AHHHH!”
The alley rushed up, concrete looming and then darkness.
She hit the ground hard, cracking it, breath knocked out of her and her vision swimming.
Above, Selina’s short laugh echoed off the brick walls and only faded as she disappeared into the shadows.
Kara groaned, head throbbing, body aching as the ringing still echoed in her ears.
Her tight blue t-shirt was smeared with grime and soaked through by the rain, clinging to her skin. Her red skirt was torn too. Ivy’s pheromones continued their subtle influence, heightening every ache, every concern, every frustration and every fleeting surge of anger.
Kara flew back slowly back to the safe house.
Her communicator had been crushed in the fall, a few sparks still smoked from the impact and it left her unable to check in with Agent Che. She tapped at it fruitlessly, frustration bubbling. The rain hadn’t helped things. Another comms device bites the dust.
“Hey, bluebird. Did you get her?” Harley’s voice cut through, teasing. She swung her bat lightly, as she watched Kara fly in the window. The rain and dirt sodden Kara gave her a look. “So… You didn’t get her. Shiiit…” Harley slumped down to the floor.
Ivy stepped closer, the scent of her subtle but potently curled around Kara’s senses. Her pheromones were stronger now and Kara felt their effects deep in her chest. A strange warmth. “You need a towel.” Some vines were already in the process of bringing one over for her.
“Thank you.” Kara said quietly, her shoulders slumped as she took it from an offering vine. “She hit me with something, hurt like heck.” A beat, she didn’t look at them. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Shall we tell Agent Che?” Ivy purred.
“It gets better. The comms device is… well…” Kara held the sparking device out for them both to see.
“It’s fucked honey.” Harley deadpanned.
“Yep.” Kara nodded. The ringing in her ears was still there, she flopped onto the couch, exhausted.
Time passed without much conversation as the three of them considered the implications of what had just happened.
Ivy leaned casually against the counter, her fingers idly brushed a cluster of vines. “You know…” She began slowly, deliberately, her voice smooth and almost hypnotic, “Catwoman’s gone for now. Not much we can do about that. And Agent Che is uncontactable. We’ve got a night ahead of us. Why don’t we… enjoy it?”
“How do you mean?” Kara asked uncertainly.
Harley’s eyes widened. “Ya mean, party a little?”
Kara tilted her head. Her hair a mess having been towel dried. Normally, her internal voice would scream caution, responsibility and urgency. Instead, a laugh bubbled up. “Party?” The word tasting foreign on her tongue. But good.
“Why not?” Harley chimed in, she flipped her hair back and grinning. “Sure we’ve got bombs in our heads, but they ain’t gonna do it as long as we check in tomorrow morning.” A beat. “Right, Red?”
Ivy shrugged. “Sure, Harley.”
Kara felt a warmth spread through her chest. The pheromones encouraging her to be bold. The tension she’d carried since Alcatraz melted into something much lighter. “Yeah… I wouldn’t be against it…” A flicker of guilt. “But we should probably be tracking Catwoman.”
“Selina is either on a plane out of Gotham or resting herself. Spending the night searching for her in the rain until we collapse with exhaustion won’t change anything.” Ivy responded.
“Yeah!” Harley sprang up, excited. “Plus dontcha wanna get dressed up blue?”
Kara felt herself giving in. “You’re right. Lets have some fun.”
They moved through Selina’s safe house and raided her closets and drawers. Ivy and Harley handed Kara a few garments, all of them dark, sleek and edgy. Kara changed into them, catching her reflection in a tall mirror. She still looked like Supergirl, like herself, just loosened up. Leather pants, a black t-shirt and a leather jacket.
“Not bad, bluebird.” Harley said, checking her out and eyeing Kara’s butt in the leather pants. “Who knew you had THAT hidden under the cape.”
“Harley!” Kara gasped a little shocked. “You can’t say that.” Then she paused and thought about it. A smile crept across her face as she relaxed a little. “My butt does look good in these, right?”
Ivy’s hand brushed Kara’s arm as they left, the subtle pull of pheromones sending tingles down her spine.
The streets of Gotham swallowed them, neon lights reflecting off the wet asphalt as the rain cleared up for a while. Ivy led them, fluid, confident. Both Ivy and Harley had found little black dresses in Selina’s closet (“Does she ever wear any colours?”) and they took it upon themselves to show Kara around the city they called home.
Underground clubs, hidden speakeasies and rooftops that overlooked the glittering chaos below.
They were quite the trio. Two supervillains, turned reluctant anti-heroines and the ever respectable face of superheroines.
For the first time in weeks, possibly months, Kara laughed without any restraint.
The drinks were strange, the music constantly vibrated through her bones, the loud bass amplified by her super hearing. For Kara everything felt heightened.
Even alcohol, something that usually barely affected her now seemed to be having an effect. “Shots! Shots! Shots!” Harley demanded, as the three of them downed tequila.
Ivy’s pheromones took further effect on Kara, heightened to the point that it was not unlike the feeling of taking Ecstasy.
Somewhere between the fourth club and the next alleyway, Kara found herself talking. “I’ve… I’ve been holding so much in.” Voice low but unguarded, fingers brushed the back of Ivy’s hand. “Since they closed the DEO, I don’t know what I’m even meant to be doing anymore… everything just… I don’t know, fallen apart.”
Harley grinned, spinning drunkenly and lazily in the street. “Sweetie, heartbreak makes ya feel like shit. After I broke up with… well ya know, I felt the same way. I thought I was gonna dissolve into a puddle of mascara. Until I blew up all the bastard’s safehouses. But look at you now toots. You’re alive. Standing. Dressed to kill!”
Kara weirdly appreciated Harley’s words. She felt pliable, receptive, the pheromones wrapped her in something like liquid confidence. She leaned into Ivy’s and Harley’s presence without a thought. “I don’t usually do this.” She laughed nervously.
Ivy brushed a vine lightly over Kara’s arm, a teasing but gentle gesture.
By the end of the night, Kara had loosened more than she had in months, she let her desires and the subtle ecstasy of Ivy’s influence guide her body and mind. She shared more than she intended. Her fears, doubts and the pressure she felt as Supergirl.
Harley clapped her on the shoulder. “Bluebird you’re a lot more fun than I thought ya’d be. Didn’t know it was hiding under that cape.”
Kara flushed, she felt alive… and a little unsure about what tomorrow would bring.
By the time the three of them stumbled back through the warped steel door of Selina’s safe house, the sun was rising. Kara laughed at something Harley said, though she couldn’t quite remember the joke. Her cheeks flushed, her pulse still danced to the echo of club music that still vibrated in her head.
Ivy shut the door with a slow push of her palm. Vines slithered lazily back into place along the walls. The safe house felt a little different now, less like an enemy’s den, more like a secret hideaway suspended outside consequence.
Harley kicked off her heels first. “Okay.” she declared, wobbling slightly as she caught Kara by the lapels of her borrowed leather jacket. “Gotham officially loves ya.” Kara snorted softly. “Gotham kicked my ass a couple of times tonight.”
“Ah, that’s just what Gotham does.” Harley waved off, but she didn’t let go. Her hands lingered on her jacket collar.
Ivy watched them with half closed eyes, leaning against the counter. The faintest scent unfurled into the room, something warm and green. She studied Kara. “You really are a magnificent creature.”
Kara turned toward her, eyes a little bleary. “I got knocked down. Twice. I screwed up.”
“And you got right back up.” Ivy corrected.
The rain softened against the windows. For the first time all night, there were no crowds, just the three of them and the lingering heat of shared adrenaline.
Harley’s fingers traced absent patterns over Kara’s sleeve. “You ever thought about not beating yourself up bluebird? Like, you know how many times I’ve fucked up? A hundred!”
“Or how many times I have.” Ivy added.
“A thousand!” Harley laughed.
Kara shook her head automatically, then hesitated. “I… Not really.”
“You should try it. It’s hard enough havin’ to live up to the standards THEY put on ya, without having to feel like a martyr the whole time.” Harley replied, a sense of seriousness creeping into her voice.
It sounded like an invitation.
Kara let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding. Her shoulders dropped. She visibly loosened up.
Harley grinned and tugged by the lapels of the leather jacket gently toward the old couch in the centre of the room. They collapsed into it in a tangle of limbs. Kara’s balance was still off and she landed half on top of Harley, who didn’t seem to mind at all. “Personal space, bluebird!” Harley teased, though her hands settled comfortably on Kara’s hips.
“Sorry.” Kara laughed, but she didn’t move.
Ivy approached slowly. She knelt in front of them, resting her forearms on Kara’s knees. Her touch was deliberate, fingertips tracing the seam of the leather pants they’d helped her choose earlier.
“It’s been a fun night. It’s a shame it has to end. That we have to go back to our usual roles tomorrow.” Ivy observed.
“The good superheroine and the villainous duo.” Kara laughed knowingly, breath catching just slightly.
“Exactly.”
The word wrapped around her like silk. Ivy’s hand slid up, brushing Kara’s wrist and running up her arm. The contact sent a subtle warmth through her, not overpowering, not dizzying, something pleasant beneath her skin.
Kara didn’t pull away.
The air between them thickened with something charged. Harley’s usual frenetic energy had gentled. Ivy’s gaze held steady, patient, giving Kara space to step back if she wanted to.
She didn’t. Instead, Kara leaned forward.
It was barely a movement, just enough to close the distance and press her mouth to Harley’s in a breathless, impulsive kiss. Harley made a delighted little sound against her lips, hands tightening at Kara’s waist as she kissed her back, playful and warm.
Kara’s hand ran over the back of Harley’s neck, she was suddenly aware that her fingers were tracing the scar where they had put the little mind bomb inside Harley’s head.
When they broke apart, both of them laughed softly. Surprise from both sides.
“Well now.” Harley breathed, eyes bright. “There’s that wild side.”
Kara’s heart hammered in her chest, but not from fear. From exhilaration and from choice.
She turned toward Ivy then, slower this time. Ivy didn’t move first. She simply lifted a hand, cupped Kara’s jaw with her cool fingers. The kiss they shared was different. Deeper and unhurried, a quiet exploration.
They shifted together naturally, gravity and curiosity pulling them closer. Kara shrugged the leather jacket off. She gasped as she felt Harley’s hands run up the inside of her t-shirt, caressing her breasts through her bra. A soft moan escaped her lips as Harley began to kiss and lick her neck, to pull her collar down and run her tongue over her collarbone.
Harley’s laughter softened into contented hums. Ivy’s vines curled loosely along the couch, brushing against Kara’s ankles and wrapping around wrists in absent-minded caresses.
Kara gave into them, let them wrap around her and tug at her. She seemed to enjoy the sensation of being held in place.
Her body shivered as Ivy’s tongue explored and her hand slid down her body to the waistband of the tight leather pants she was wearing. The kiss broke off and Kara found herself gasping from the attention she was receiving. She pulled against the vines and her own hand took Ivy’s and guided it inside the leather pants. “Yes, Ivy…”
Kara found herself on her back on the sofa, Harley sprawled half across her with a grin, pulling Kara’s t-shirt up. Licking and sucking on her nipples, whilst Kara squirmed and moaned contently.
Ivy leaned over them both, her fingers now playing with and teasing Kara’s pussy. Rubbing her clit lightly. Vines wrapped around Kara’s wrists tighter, keeping her in place. She sank further into the pleasure of the moment.
“I don’t think you need these.” Ivy purred, tugging the leather pants down her ankles, Kara wordlessly encouraging her to do it. She slid her pants down with them, the Girl of Steel’s glistening pussy exposed.
Harley grabbed Kara’s ass whispered. “Why would you ever hide this.” Sliding a finger inside it quickly and making Kara moan loudly.
Ivy stroked Harley’s back and now guided her in-between Kara’s legs. “Mmm… please…” Kara gasped as Harley spread her and began to eat her out. Her tongue and lips teasing her sensitive clit. “MMMPH..” Kara bit down on her lip hard, reminding her of the moment the entity had taken her in Opal City. A moan escaping her lips, partly at the memory and partly at Harley’s attentions. “Yes…”
It didn’t take much more, perhaps Ivy’s pheromones had an influence on that, but soon Karma’s hips were bucking. Harley took it as encouragement and Ivy leant in, kissing Kara deeply, her fingers teasing her nipples.
Kara’s mind flashed a number of images. Flashes of the Kryptonians in Utah. Of Vale inside her. Of Mark.“Oh… OH YES! YES!” Kara climaxed hard, her spasms enough to knock a laughing Harley Quinn backwards. “Oh… Harley… Ivy…mmm… oh God…”
Ivy gently kissed her, then turned her attentions to Harley, doing the same. Tasting Kara on Harley’s tongue. “Enjoy that?” She asked both of them.
Kara nodded and lay back, but Ivy wasn’t done. She slid down her own underwear, revealing a surprise. A big one.
Kara’s eyes widened at the sight. A cock between her legs.
“Didn’t take a peak with your x-ray vision?” Ivy asked her teasingly.
Kara shook her head, almost hypnotised by the sight of it. A thought escaped her, thinking that she wish she had taken a look. Another thought, how much she wanted this.
Harley was already running her hand over the shaft, green and throbbing. Soon, Ivy found her way inside Kara with Harley’s guidance, the Girl of Steel’s breath hitched, her heartbeat exploded as the two connected. Harley joined in, kissing Ivy and teasing her tits as she did the same to Kara.
There was no grand seduction.
No manipulation.
Just three women suspended in a night where consequences felt distant and the present felt vivid.
“Oh… Oh Supergirl…” Ivy moaned, her cool persona cracking as Kara ground her hips against her.
Kara closed her eyes, her pussy already tight, clamping around Ivy’s cock. “Kara… Mmm… ugh… Call me Kara…” She gasped, surrendering herself to the moment. “Oh Kara… oh… OH…” Ivy moaned as her throbbing cock exploded inside her, at the exact moment Kara felt another climax overwhelm her…
The rain kept falling outside as morning broke and the three dozed. Kara lay between them, with Ivy’s arm draped loosely across her waist and Harley’s leg hooked over hers, possessively. They had held her, looked after her in the aftermath.
Agent Che would still be angry in the morning and Catwoman was still out there. But it could wait.
The morning sunlight was harsh, slicing through the window and cutting across the mess of Selina’s safe house.
Kara groaned, rolling onto her side, a sharp pain hammering behind her eyes. She tugged the makeshift blanket, her cape, over her face.
“Morning, sunshine!” Harley’s voice called from across the room. She was draped over a chair in just her hot pants and boots, grinning, one boot kicked lazily against the wall. Her white bleached tits looked incredible in the morning sun.
Ivy stretched languidly on the couch next to Kara. Vines curled around her wrists like bracelets, a lazy grin on her face.
Kara blinked, trying to piece together the events of the night. the music, the clubs, the laughter… and oh yeah, the memory of the three of them tangled together on Selina’s couch. Her stomach twisted, a mix of growing embarrassment and residual warmth. She pressed a hand to her forehead. “Ugh… what? A hangover?”
Ivy was up and leaned against the windowsill, sunlight catching in her hair, as a sly smile tugged at her lips. “Everything okay?”
Kara pressed a finger to her temple. “I’m not used to hangovers.”
“And we find another little limitation.” Ivy teased.
Kara cleared the cobwebs and glared at her. “You used something on me, didn’t you?”
Ivy raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms elegantly. “Used… something?”
“Your plants. Your pheromones. I don’t know what it is, but I felt… I don’t even know, but something running through me all night.”
Ivy chuckled softly. “Guilty as charged.”
Kara’s eyes widened, she blushed. “What did you do to me?”
Ivy shrugged, stepping closer. “Don’t panic. It’s not mind control or anything like that. I just… turned up what’s already there. Feelings, instincts, desires… my pheromones just crank the dial to ten.”
Kara blinked at her, aghast. “You… cranked my dial to ten?”
Ivy leaned casually against the sofa arm, voice teasing. “Yes. And… you didn’t seem to mind so much. I just pushed you in the direction you wanted to go.”
Kara’s cheeks heated. She swallowed, trying to gather indignation as she felt in some way violated, but she couldn’t stop the small, reluctant smile from creeping across her face. “That’s… not okay Ivy. Don’t do that again.” A beat. “At least tell me if you do it again.” Another beat. “But it was… fun. A fun night.” She admitted, surprising herself. “In a totally chaotic, borderline irresponsible way.”
Harley grinned and flopped onto her back like a lazy cat. “Aww, bluebird’s smilin’! Ready to admit we’re not the worst thing you’ve dealt with, huh?”
Kara rolled her eyes, but the corner of her mouth twitched. “Don’t get used to it.” She said, though her tone lacked bite. “But okay, you were… this was… fun.”
Ivy’s grin widened, eyes sparkling with mischief. “See? Nothing to be mad about. Just… amplified fun. Maybe a little chaotic.”
Kara groaned dramatically, though she couldn’t hide the lingering thrill. “You’re both impossible.” The tension had lifted.
Harley laughed, twirling a strand of her hair. “Yeah, but you liked it.”
Kara groaned again, this time more self-aware than annoyed. “Don’t… don’t tell anyone I said that. Or what we did last night.”
Ivy winked. “Your secret’s safe.”
A sharp BANG on the front door cut through the moment. The sound was urgent enough to make Kara sit upright immediately. “What now?”
“I’m guessing that’s Che. He likes to make a dramatic entrance.” Harley muttered, rolling her eyes.
Kara groaned again. “Perfect timing.”
Agent Che’s voice rang out from the other side of the door. “Open up. Now.” His tone carried a cold edge.
Ivy flicked a vine lazily toward the door. “Relax, he’ll be fine. Just let him in.”
The door swung open, Che stepped in, his eyes scanned the room. He took in the three of them and exhaled slowly. “This is… so unprofessional. We have an active target, stolen federal property, and you all spent last night indulging yourselves instead of strategising. We cannot afford… whatever this was.”
“Get whatchu paid for.” Harley cackled.
Kara’s stomach sank under his gaze. Despite the pounding headache, a clear sense of duty anchored her. She could feel it deep in her chest. Catwoman was still out there.
Ivy, lounged against the counter and didn’t even flinch. “Relax, Che. I already know where she is. A couple of my plants were still attached last night. She has a safehouse near Gotham Airport. Easy pickings.” She let the tip of a vine trace lazily across the table.
Kara blinked. “You knew?”
“Of course. I just decided there were more pressing things for us to worry about.” Ivy shrugged.
Kara thought of the multiple tequila shots she was now paying for.
She cleared her mind, tried to focus. The haze of last night and the residual pheromones made her more pliable and the sense of duty surged strongly inside her. Perhaps she volunteered too quickly because of that. “I… I can get there fastest.” She said, rubbing her temples, trying to shake off the pounding headache. “I can get there quickly and the three of you can arrive when you can as backup.”
Harley snorted. “Look at you, still so responsible even with a hangover.”
Kara shook her head, managing a weak smirk. “Haven’t you heard, it’s one of my superpowers.”
She stood up, her cape still wrapped around her, hiding her naked body. She found her underwear in and amongst some vines. Her red skirt was torn, but her t-shirt was dry at least. She made a decision about her costume for the day at super speed and pulled back on the leather pants and that dirty S shield t-shirt.
She gave Harley a look as she attached her cape. “What? I didn’t say anything.” Harley said giggling, before mouthing the word ‘Hot.’
Ivy’s lips curved. “Need directions?”
Kara smiled despite herself. “Yes please. Humour me. I’m still a little hazy on Gotham geography.”
“We showed you the parts you need ta know last night.” Harley injected.
Ivy leaned closer, voice teasing but precise. “You take the east side docks, follow the river until you see the airport perimeter. She’s in and around the Finger depot.” Kara nodded, the clarity of purpose sharp, despite the headache. “Got it. Docks to airport. Easy.” Maybe she’d make a quick stop to pick up a coke.
Agent Che looked at Ivy and Harley. “The two of you get dressed. We have to figure out our own route there. Any suggestions?”
Harley shrugged. “I dunno. Uber?”
Moments later, Kara hovered just above the pavement, her cape fluttering weakly in the chill morning breeze.
Quietly she congratulated herself, she’d found the safehouse near the airport quickly enough, not gotten lost this time. This despite the lingering haze from last night’s indulgences.
She had scanned the place. No lead in the walls this time. Selina was there, standing by a laptop, sleek and poised as ever. It only took a moment before Kara landed lightly, boots hitting the hardwood floors of the safehouse with a soft thunk.
“Selina.” Her voice firm but not angry. She was a little out of sorts sure, yet still very capable.
Selina smirked, not wearing her mask she flicked her hair over one shoulder. “I knew that flight delay would be a problem.” A beat. “Are those my leather pants.” Kara stiffened, chest rising. She ignored the question. “Time’s up, Selina. No more tricks. Give it to me. Please. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
Selina’s smirk deepened, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “You’re cute when you’re being authoritarian. You really believe you can take me down?”
Kara clenched her fists, heat rising behind her eyes. She wasn’t in the mood for more banter. When she struck, Selina was fast, fast enough to get out of her way and dive to the side.
They danced across the small space, blows and manoeuvres exchanged. It was soon very clear that Kara was too strong and too fast and Selina was out of tricks. The best she could hope to do was avoid Kara. “Stay… still!” Kara demanded, as Selina escaped her grasp again.
Finally, Selina sliced at her, cutting through her tight t-shirt and leaving a claw mark across its S shield, but not much else. Kara managed to land a blow and Selina stumbled back, hands raised, a hint of reality creeping into her voice. This wasn’t a fight she could win. “Okay, okay! Truce… for just a second.”
Kara stopped, hovering over her now. She glanced down at her torn t-shirt, flashing more skin than she would have liked. “A truce? Come on Selina, what’s this? Getting one last weapon ready to take me down?”
Selina’s gaze flicked to the laptop she had guarded. “In a manner of speaking.” She gestured at the screen. Kara leaned in despite herself, her eyes widening at the files displayed.
OMAC surveillance footage, classified and damning.
Then she saw it. Superheroes whose secret identities were laid bare. Names, faces, routines.
Selina clicked on a file marked SuperG.exe. They even had Kara’s own civilian persona. Surveillance footage from Alcatraz. Vale ripping open her shirt to reveal her Supergirl costume underneath. There were several other files she could tell related to her.
“It’s for the President’s eyes only. I’m not sure even the people guiding you know exactly what’s in here.” Selina said softly, voice almost remorsefully.
Kara froze, stomach knotting, she thought of her friends, her colleagues. She thought of the President able to watch her most humiliating defeat, at his leisure. “All those secrets…”
Selina nodded, honesty in her expression. “Everyone’s secrets out in the open. And you know what? I don’t want it, I can’t be responsible for it. I’m not a hero. But I know people who can properly wipe it out… if you let me go. Kara.”
“Kara.”
Hearing her civilian name, her secret identity, had an effect on her.
Kara exhaled slowly, heart hammering. What she had thought was the right thing to do, was no longer the case. Responsibility demanded she stop Selina, yet the truth… the truth demanded she listen.
“So, what will it be?”
She paused.
Indecisive and unsure of what to do.
Then finally, she stepped back and let Selina gather the laptop.
Kara sat on the edge of the pavement outside the safehouse, hands on her knees, waiting for Agent Che, Ivy and Harley. Trying to process the whirlwind of revelations. She looked down at her torn t-shirt and sighed. Had she chosen to let Selina go because she had wanted to, or had the residual pheromones influenced her? And did it matter?
A moment later, Che and the others arrived, he stepped out of the car with his usual brisk efficiency.
Harley waved from the passenger window and Ivy smiled at her, that same knowing look Kara had become accustomed to. A voice in the back of her head told her that Ivy knew what she had done. And approved. Kara acknowledged them both with a nod. First new friends in months and they were both Task Force X supervillains.
Figures.
Che’s eyes scanned her, sharp and assessing. “What happened?” His tone carried the weight of expectation. And of suspicion. His eyes lingered on the claw rip across her t-shirt.
She looked up at him, took a second. “She got away. Was long gone before I got here.”
Che’s expression didn’t change, but Kara could feel the tension in the air. “Goddammit.” He quietly muttered, staring a hole through her. “Are you sure Supergirl? Was there any sign of her? Or of where she went? Anything we can use?”
Kara looked up at him.
Took a deep breath.
Thought about what she was going to say.
“Anything?”
….
“No.”