Chapter Text
“Hey Sawyer! Fresh meat today! You ready?”
Maggie grins, stretching languidly in her seat and crossing her arms behind her head. “Born ready, Nichols. Who’re you with?”
The bulky man shrugs easily. “Rizzoli, J. Apparently, did real well at the academy. Dunno, probably some fuckin’ meathead idiot. You?”
Maggie glances over her assignment. “Danvers, K.” She quickly scans the file. “Top marks at the academy. You know what that means?”
“A foot-wide pole up his ass,” Nichols agrees, laughing. “Good luck with that.”
“Hey Sawyer, training day!” Emerson whoops. “I hear there’s a hot girl rookie training with us this year- hope I get her.”
“Why, so you can scare off yet another female officer?” Maggie asks scathingly. Emerson is not her favorite coworker, what with him being a loudmouthed, misogynistic moron with personal space issues.
“Har-har. If they can’t deal with some flirting, they can’t do the job anyways, Saint Sawyer, and you know it,” he retorts.
“It’s only flirting when they don’t file multiple harassment complaints,” she shoots back.
“Hey now, easy. No need to get all hot and bothered Sawyer; if you’re jealous, I can always just take you for a cruise and we can settle everything at my place,” he says, grinning lecherously.
Maggie’s opening her mouth to retort when the Sergeant walks in. Noting the tension in the room, he raises an eyebrow. “Problem, ladies?”
“No, Sarge,” Maggie says.
“Good. You all got your assignments?”
“Yeah. Hey Sarge, how come these don’t say whether we got a girl or a guy trainee?” Emerson asks, holding up the file on his new rookie partner.
“Well, first, because that’s illegal. Second, so that dumbshits like you don’t try to trade to get the female rookies,” Sergeant Alvarez says. Maggie bites her lip to keep from laughing. “And third, to keep any prejudices out of the way until the last possible second.” He thinks for a minute. “And fourth ‘cause I fuckin’ say so.”
“That’s bull, Sarge. I need to know if I’m gonna have to have tampons in the cruiser,” Emerson grouses. “Or, like, cover the seats and wear my vest full-time once a month.”
Maggie rolls her eyes, well-used to this sorta bullshit after years on the force- first in Gotham, and now here. It’s not as bad with the Five-Seven, but the attitude pervades. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Morning, everyone except Emerson,” Lucas calls, strolling into the room and plopping down at the desk in front of Maggie. He turns to her, flashing a grin and winking. “How’s life, Sawyer?”
“Oh, y’know, the usual fuckery. The AC in my cruiser’s broken. Again. You?”
He shrugs easily, dark eyes deceptively serene. “Can’t complain. Training day, so I’m ready for some five-alarm shit.”
Maggie nods knowingly. Even though it’s never released to the public, whenever each precinct begins training their rookie officers, it seems to bring out the crazies. Last year, Maggie’s told there was a girl who wandered into the precinct, bleeding, off the street, and when a rookie tried to help her, the chick stabbed the poor guy eight times. Kid managed to survive, barely, but it was his first and last day with MPD due to his injuries. Turns out the girl was a killer (no surprise, what with the stabbing and all) that they’d been looking for and she finally got unhinged enough to wander into the police station with a knife.
She hadn’t made it back out.
All that was, of course, before Maggie started with MPD. Back then, she’d been living in Gotham, fast-tracked to Detective, and living with her-
‘No. No thinking about her.’
Eventually, the rest of the officers filter in, buzzing with gossip and excitement. It’s always fun to see the new baby cops, all bright and shiny and fresh from the academy, even if they’re all idiots and have no real idea what the hell they’re doing.
“Alright, Ladies and Sawyer, as you all know, today is training day. Your rookies will be in to join us in just a minute, but first, I wanna iterate again that policy dictates that you cannot haze them. No boot-polishing, no car-washing, no humiliation. And I know you all had to go through it- so did I- but rules are rules, alright?” There’s a low murmur of mostly-assent, and Alvarez seems to take the win where he can get it. “Fuckin’ fantastic. Alright, you cannot change your assigned rookie- you’re stuck with who you get. I don’t care if they’re a dumbfuck, they wear too much body spray, or if they only listen to country music- no trading. If there’s some sort of emergency- which there better fuckin’ not be- I will review the request before making a final decision.” Another murmur of understanding. “Good. Alright, they’re coming in, so try not to scare all of them off- I wanna be able to fire some of you once they’re trained up.”
There’s laughter as the rookies start to filter in, standing at the front of the room and shuffling a little awkwardly.
“Alright, these are our new brothers and sisters in blue,” Alvarez says. “I’m gonna say your name and the name of your training officer, and you’re gonna go sit by them. Got it?” They nod meekly, and the Sergeant nods. “Alright. Adams, H with Officer Emerson.”
Maggie’s pleased to see that Adams, H is a young dude with a no-nonsense expression who’s built like a fucking linebacker and stands a good head taller than Emerson does.
‘Suck it.’
“Brindel, D with Officer Hart. Danvers, K with Officer Sawyer.”
A very tall, skinny blonde with glasses looks around, and Maggie waves her over. A look of relief crosses her face as she hurries to Maggie’s side. “Hi, I’m Kara, Kara Danvers. It’s nice to meet you,” she says, flashing a megawatt smile and holding out her hand. She’s young, but startlingly pretty.
Maggie’s surprised, to say the least. This is the rookie who’d smashed all sorts of fitness and weapons tests? Is this a joke? This girl is whip-thin and looks like she’d be better suited to working at fuckin’ Disneyland. “Maggie Sawyer. Just Sawyer to you, Danvers.” She shakes the blonde’s hand, surprised by the strong grip.
“… Rizzoli, J with Officer Nichols.” A brunette woman who’s even taller and skinnier than Danvers filters back to Nichols and Maggie breathes a sigh of relief. The guy’s happily married with four kids and a dog, so at least she knows he won’t try to pull any dumb shit with the other female trainee. She’s also, Maggie notes, exceptionally pretty.
‘Where the fuck are they recruiting, modeling agencies?’
“Alright. Take the kids out on patrol, show ‘em the ropes, nobody die,” Alvarez instructs. “Dismissed.”
“I bet you wanna show her your ropes, huh Sawyer?” Emerson says with a leer. Beside him, his rookie’s jaw ticks in annoyance. “Lucky you, getting a pretty one. Bet she’s just your type.”
“Fuck off, Emerson. Let’s go, Danvers.”
The girl nods, scooping up her backpack and following Maggie out of the precinct without a word, though she does stop to mutter something to Rizzoli that seems to make the other girl laugh and roll her eyes.
“Danvers!”
“Yeah! Yup, sorry, coming!” she says, scurrying after Maggie, shifting her bag on her shoulder. “So where are we going?”
“On patrol. We’re walking the beat today, so hopefully you already broke in your boots.”
Danvers nods enthusiastically. “I did! My sister really got on me about it. Well, so did my cousin. I live with him. Well, him and his girlfriend. I-”
“That’s nice. Look, let’s not do personal stuff, alright? I’m not in the mood for it, and you seem like the type who talks a lot, so let’s just… not.”
Danvers bites her lip and nods, abashed. “Right, sorry.”
Maggie sighs, coming to a stop. “No look, I- sorry for being an ass. I’ve just had a rough week, and now I’m training and I pulled doubles all weekend. I’m usually not… this. Just… try to just learn today. We’ll do personal stuff later. Maybe with beer.”
The rookie brightens, suddenly beaming at Maggie. She really is very pretty; not at all Maggie’s type, but pretty all the same. “Great! I love beer.”
Maggie eyes her suspiciously. “You even old enough to drink, Danvers? You look about 19.”
“I’m 22. Well, almost, anyways. I- right, less talking. Sorry. Yes, I can drink.”
Maggie smiles slightly and shakes her head. “You’re gonna be trouble, Danvers, I can already tell.”
(Oh, how little did she know.)
********
“So, what the most important tool you have?”
“Uh, my eyes?”
“Bingo. You eyes are the most important part of your equipment, Danvers. Them and your ears. Keep ‘em healthy, open, and maintained. Got it?”
Danvers adjusts her glasses self-consciously. “Right, got it.”
“Good. Now this neighborhood’s usually pretty quiet, but you’ve still gotta keep an eye out for anything suspicious. And if you see anything suspicious, let me know what it is so I can tell you whether or not it’s a normal thing, alright?” Maggie instructs. “I don’t need you going all Lethal Weapon on some freak who just happens to live here.”
“‘Normal suspicious?’ Like what?” Kara asks curiously.
“Like… okay, see that little kid walking a big dog by himself? Weird, right? Kid’s like, nine, shouldn’t be alone, and should actually be at school.” Danvers nods in agreement. “Good. Now watch.” Maggie approaches the kid, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder and smiling. “Hey, Robbie.”
The boy looks up at her and grins broadly before his hands start flying, moving his words into the air silently, though his face is almost absurdly expressive.
Maggie signs back to him in kind, before gesturing to Kara and motioning her forward. “Robbie,” she says, hands moving slowly so her rookie can follow them. “This is Officer Danvers.”
The boy turns shining hazel eyes on her. He grins and signs slowly. Hello.
Kara waves with a smile.
Maggie continues talking and signing. “Danvers, this is Robbie and Noodle. Robbie is eight-”
And a half, he signs indignantly.
“-and a half, right, sorry, and he’s deaf. Noodle is Robbie’s service dog, and they go to the park every day right around this time, because Robbie’s school is awesome and only meets for half days,” Maggie says, signing out everything she’s saying so Robbie doesn’t have to try to read her lips. He rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at her, which she only answers with a grin. “His mom is standing right there- see her?” She waves at a woman standing at the park entrance and smiling, and the woman waves back. “Robbie likes a little freedom, so she walks ahead of him and meets him at the park so he feels like he’s on his own.”
Kara nods. “So, weird but normal,” she says slowly.
“Exactly.” Maggie turns back to Robbie. What do you think of my rookie?
He squints, looking the young officer up and down, and though Kara can’t understand what exactly is being said, she has the distinct impression that she’s being judged in some way, so she relaxes her stance and smiles. Robbie turns back to Maggie and shrugs, signing, She seems nice. Not a total dummy; at least she’s not yelling at me to try to get me to hear her. A lot taller than you.
You little twerp, Maggie signs, eliciting a loud bark of laughter from Robbie. Turning to Danvers, she rolls her eyes. “He’s making short jokes at me,” she laments. Kara hides her smile behind a hand. “Alright, shoo, you little menace,” Maggie says playfully, signing and scowling at Robbie.
He just rolls his eyes and continues his walk, meeting his mom at the park and ambling in together.
“So see? Suspicious, but normal. I mean, obviously there are situations where there’s clearly something wrong, but stuff like that? Check before you get involved. Is anyone in obvious distress? Are there signals that something bad is about to go down? And never underestimate the power of your gut; if you feel that something is wrong in a way you can’t quite explain, it probably is, but let me know first so I can correct you if needed.”
Kara nods. “Got it.” Suddenly, she cocks her head to the side. “Somebody’s getting mugged,” she says, and then bolts away before Maggie can react.
“Wait, what? God fuckin’- shit. Danvers!” She pounds after her partner and damn, but she’s fast, must’ve run track or something, following her into an alley and resting her hand on her pistol. “Danvers!” She follows the sound of a low grunt and someone sniffling, and finds her wiry rookie straddling someone’s back, pinning him to the ground and cuffing him.
“Holy shit you’re fast, kid,” Maggie pants, bent over at the waist. She quickly spots the mugger’s would-be victim, a young woman not much older than 18. “Hey, you alright?”
The girl nods, sniffling again. “He just grabbed me off the street, and there was no one around and he had a knife- I didn’t even have time to scream,” she admits. “I thought… I thought he was gonna-“
“Hey, hey, you’re alright, okay? You’re fine, everything’s fine,” Maggie soothes. “Can you walk?”
The girl nods shakily. “I, yeah, I think so.”
“Good. Okay, let’s get you up.” She helps the girl to her feet, noting with some surprise that Danvers has wrangled her perp into standing as well, and seems to be leading him out of the alley with very little difficulty, despite the fact that he’s definitely struggling and weighs at least 100 pounds more that she does. Maggie freely admits that she’d be having some trouble with the guy, but Danvers isn’t even breaking a sweat. ‘Huh. She’s a strong little shit.’
She leads the girl out onto the street, checking her over quickly for any obvious injuries and thankfully finding none. She leaves Danvers with the two to retrieve their patrol car, fairly confident that the blonde can handle herself for the three minutes it’ll take. She calls in the arrest on her radio, and is instructed to bring the suspect in, as he has warrants out for his arrest. When she circles back, the guy is sitting on the curb, thoroughly cowed, and the girl is almost smiling as the rookie glares down at him. “Problems, Danvers?”
She looks up, and her brow unknots. Mostly. “He thought he’d try to run again. It was a bad idea. Wasn’t it?” she asks, shooting the mugger a fierce glare and toeing at him with her boot.
He nods, apparently pretty shaken up but otherwise unharmed. “Yeah. Dumb idea.”
Maggie shakes her head. “Alright then, hero. Load him into the back and- what was your name?”
The girl blinks. “Kelly. Kelly O’Connor.”
“Right. So Kelly, can you get a cab to the 57th Precinct? I’d take your statement here, but…”
“Yeah I’d rather not do that here. God, my dad’s gonna flip out, he’s always telling me not to walk by myself, but it’s the middle of the day, and I just-“
“Kelly, you didn’t do anything wrong; he did, which is why he’s going to jail. Okay?” Maggie assures her.
Kelly nods.
“Great! Okay, we’ll meet you there. Danvers, let’s head in, dump this asshole in lockup.”
Kara nods and starts toward the driver’s seat.
“Ah-ah-ah, nope, no, I drive.”
Danvers huffs. “Yeah, alright.”
They get into the cruiser and pull away from the curb, assuring Kelly that they’ll be waiting for her whenever she can come in to make a statement, and head back to the precinct.
“Not bad, Danvers. A felony arrest on your first day,” Maggie praises. “How’s that feel?”
“Like I got hit by a goddamn truck,” the perp complains.
“Shut up, asshole, nobody was talkin’ to you,” Maggie snaps. “Danvers?”
She lets out a breath and allows herself a smile. “It was pretty cool,” she admits.
Maggie nods before frowning. “Hey, how’d you even hear that? Like, they were two blocks over and she said she didn’t have time to scream before you showed up.”
Her rookie shrugs, suddenly evasive. “I, uh, I dunno. I heard something. Maybe she didn’t realize she screamed?”
Maggie eyes her curiously. “Maybe.”
“I’m just glad I got there in time,” she says.
“So am I, kid.”
“I’m not,” the perp grouses.
“Shut the hell up!”
********
Compared to that, the rest of their shift is tame, just a few petty disturbances here and there and taking down Kelly’s statement when she comes in. When it comes time to switch shifts, they head into the barely-used women’s locker room two floors down.
“So, rookies, how was it?” Maggie asks as she, Danvers, and Rizzoli change into street clothes.
Rizzoli shrugs. “Not too bad. Nichols seems like a good dude.” Her voice is sorta raspy, husky and deep. Maggie privately thinks that this rookie could make a killing working a phone sex line.
“He is,” Maggie agrees. “Just don’t bring up his kids, or he’ll never shut up about them.”
The Italian-American rookie grins and chuckles. “Sounds like my Ma. Alright, I gotta get home, I’m gonna crash. See you tomorrow, Danvers.” She and the blonde do some complicated handshake before she shoulders her bag and struts out of the room.
“You guys friends?” Maggie asks.
“Sorta. We were more rivals at the academy, honestly. Never, like, bad or anything, just competitive for the top slot. In everything,” Kara shrugs easily. “It’s easier now, when we’re not trying to get the top grade.”
“Who ended up getting top grade?” Maggie asks.
Kara’s chest puffs out, just a little. “I did. But only by like, two points. She’s really good.”
Maggie grins. “Good to know. Now how about that beer, Danvers? I’ll buy the first round.”
The blonde grins. “Sounds great.”
********
They walk into a dive bar Maggie’s become attached to in South Metropolis and find a booth at the back. A waitress swings by and gets their orders, reappearing moments later with two tall drafts.
“Quick service,” Kara notes, looking around.
“Why do you think I come here?” Maggie laughs. “The atmosphere?”
The blonde just shakes her head. “Alright, Sawyer. So, how long’ve you been with the MPD?”
Maggie shrugs. “Little less than a year. Worked over in Gotham City before this for about five years.”
She looks impressed. “Really? Did you ever meet Batman?”
Maggie’s gut twinges uncomfortably, and she snarks back, “You ever meet Superman?”
“Ha! No! I- I wish, he’s, y’know… Superman. But No, I’ve never met him. Why would I?”
Maggie eyes her with renewed interest, attention caught by the obvious lie. “So where you from?”
“Uh, Midvale- little town like, two hours from here. And for the last few years I was in school at UCNC, but I had to move back.”
“How come?”
“Oh, just… family stuff. You know how it is,” she says, taking a long pull from her beer.
‘I really don’t, actually.’ “Yeah, of course. Y’know, for someone who grew up here, you don’t sound like a local, Danvers,” Maggie prods.
“Oh! I’m originally from Iceland.”
“Iceland,” Maggie says flatly. “How the fuck did you wind up here?”
Kara chuckles self-deprecatingly. “Y’know, that’s a long story.”
Maggie spreads her arms, grinning. “I’ve got all night, Danvers. Spill it.”
Her rookie drums her fingers against the side of the glass, clearly debating telling this particular story. “Alright. My parents died when I was 12, and I moved to the US when the Danvers adopted me-”
The grin instantly drops from Maggie’s face. “Shit. I’m sorry, Danvers, I didn’t mean-“
The blonde waves off her apologies. “Hey, no, it… it was forever ago. And it’s not like you knew, so it’s fine. I just- It bums me out, that whole story is kinda a mood-killer so it’s not, y’know, the best way to get to know people.”
Maggie nods, sipping her own beer. “Well, in case you wanted to know why I occasionally sound like a goddamn hick, I’m from Nebraska.”
“Really? Wouldn’t have guessed that.”
“Yup, born and raised.”
“Never been there.”
“Don’t bother, it’s corn and rocks and fuckin’ nothing else,” Maggie laughs. “Left when I was 17, never looked back.”
“You’re not close with your family?”
“They’re not close with me,” Maggie corrects. “Tends to happen when you come out- and then kicked out- when you’re 16.” The blonde winces, and Maggie glares. “Problem?”
“No! No, that’d be, like, really hypocritical of me,” Kara hastens to explain. “No, I just- I’m sorry that happened to you. That sucks.”
“It did,” Maggie agrees, “but I got over it. What do you mean ‘hypocritical’, Danvers? You taste the rainbow too?”
“Eugh, Sawyer. And yeah, sorta. I mean, I’m like, pan, so I guess- does that count as gay, or…?”
“Definitely gay. Actually, that’s like, extra gay,” Maggie laughs. She raises her glass, waiting for Kara to do the same before clinking them together. “To we few queer lady-cop bad-asses; may we live long and-”
“Prosper?”
Maggie thunks her glass down, scowling. “Did you just ruin my toast with a Star Trek quote, Danvers?”
“I think you mean ‘improve’,” she corrects jokingly.
Maggie rolls her eyes. “Yeah, whatever. So, you live with your cousin?”
“Yeah! I mean, he kinda insisted, when I was going to the academy. He said it was so I didn’t have to worry about rent, but he’s actually just kinda overprotective,” Kara laughs. “So’s my sister, I’m still kinda surprised she wasn’t the one beating my door down, honestly.”
“So you are close with your family.”
“Yeah! I mean, it’s like, complicated with some of us, but yeah, we’re pretty close-knit.”
Maggie nods, digesting this. “Must be nice.”
Danvers nods, smiling softly, almost sadly. “It is.”
Maggie tips her glass back and finishes her beer. “Alright, enough personal stuff. You driving tonight, Danvers?”
She shakes her head. “Nah, I usually just take the bus or get a ride from my sister or cousin.”
“Good.” Maggie signals the waitress. When she’s standing by the table, Maggie declares, “We need shots. Lots of ‘em. Whisky? You good with whisky, Danvers?” The blonde shrugs agreeably. “Great. Start us with five rounds each, and just keep ‘em comin’. Jameson. And don’t chill the whisky, alright? We’re not animals.”
“Five? Hey, look-“
“No arguments, rookie. Do your shots like a woman,” Maggie says, pointing at her. “Unless you can’t hold your liquor?”
An amused look crosses the girl’s face, and had Maggie known her any better, she’d have known to be concerned. “You’re on, Sawyer.” But she doesn’t, and it doesn’t, and so they start in on the shots as soon as they arrive at the table.
“Hey, you Maggie Sawyer?”
Maggie blinks blearily up at the figure hovering over her. Pretty brunette, slim, tall, arms crossed over her chest but clearly amused. “You can call me whatever you want," she says, offering as charming a wink as she can (not very, it's actually more of a focused blink than anything).
Let it never be said that Maggie Sawyer passed up an opportunity to flirt.
The brunette rolls her eyes. “God, you are fucking wasted. So, I’m gonna drive you home, alright?”
“Who the fuck’re you?”
“Right, fuckin’ suspicious cop. Lois Lane, at your service- apparently literally.” She gives a mocking salute. “Kara’s cousin is my boyfriend, she lives with us. But she had to go help him with… something, so I have to drive you home.” Lois peers closely at Maggie. “You gonna puke in my car, Sawyer?”
Maggie at least has her wits about her enough to look offended at this completely legitimate question. “’Course not. Where we goin’?”
“Right outside- Kara called a little while ago. C’mon, Sawyer, up.”
Maggie allows herself to be pulled to her feet. “Gotta pay the tab first,” she slurs.
Lois shakes her head, leading her out the door. “Kara already did, I asked as soon as I got here. Let’s go.”
Maggie curses internally. Some impression she’s making on her rookie- first she gets stumble-down-drunk, then sticks her with the tab. “I’m an asshole,” she informs Lois morosely.
“Oh yeah? Kara said you were awesome, actually, but y’know, po-tay-to, po-tah-to,” Lois grins. “What’d you try to do, go shot for shot with her, Sawyer?”
“I- yeah, she looks like a goddamn Disney Princess, how does she drink that much?” Maggie wonders, vaguely aware that they’re walking outside.
“Rookie mistake, Sawyer; never try to out-drink that one. Or Clark. Never leads to a good night,” Lois advises, snorting out a laugh. “They can drink literally anyone under the table. It’s honestly kind of upsetting.”
“But how?”
Lois just shrugs. “Looks can be deceiving. Alright, this is my car- watch your head.” She helps Maggie into her SUV carefully, buckling her in for good measure. She slams the door and round the front before climbing into the driver’s seat. “Where do you live, Maggie Sawyer?”
“Over on Luthor and 10th.”
“Not too far. Alright,” Lois says, mapping out her route in her head. “Oh, by the way, water.” She shoves a cold water bottle into Maggie’s hands, which the drunk officer accepts gratefully. “I always have a bunch in the car- Clark and Kara are fitness nuts and they drink a ton of water.”
Maggie nods, cracking the lid and swallowing several mouthfuls. “Makes sense. She looks like she’s never seen a carb in her life.”
Lois barks out a loud laugh. “I can guarantee that you’ll change your opinion on that the first time you stop for lunch.”
“Yeah? We didn’t really have time today; we had a lot of basics to cover.”
“It’s like she has three stomachs,” Lois agrees, nodding sagely. “Genuinely impressive but also mildly terrifying.”
Maggie nods thoughtfully. “Noted.”
They continue their journey quietly, until Lois pulls to a stop in front of a tall pre-war building. “This you?”
Maggie shrugs. “It’s close enough that I can stumble my way home. Thanks- what was your name, again?”
“Lois. Lois Lane.”
Maggie’s eyes widen. “The reporter?”
“I prefer investigative journalist, personally, but yeah, whatever works for ya.”
“Shit. I’m not gonna wake up to an article about MPD officers and binge-drinking, am I?”
Lois snorts. “Nah, anything around Kara is generally off the record.”
Maggie’s intrigued. “Why’s that?”
“Because she’s family, I’ve known her since before she spoke a lick of English and I want her to ask me when she needs something,” Lois says easily. “Out with you, lush.”
Maggie unbuckles and gives a mocking half bow when she climbs out of the car. “Thank you, Lois Lane.”
Lois grins. “No problem, Maggie Sawyer. And word to the wise-“ Maggie pauses, the door half-closed. “Kara’s a good kid- she’ll help anyone out no matter what, and her heart’s always in the right place. But she’s been through a lot, so just… keep an eye on her, alright? I may not worry as much as my idiot of a boyfriend or her idiot of a sister, but… she’s family. Watch out for her, and don’t fuck up. Or you will read a very unflattering article about yourself in The Daily Planet.”
Maggie nods solemnly. “Understood.”
“Good. Goodnight, Officer.”
Maggie slams the door, walking a bit unsteadily to her building, noting that Lois does wait until she’s safely inside to pull away. She stumbles to her mid-floor apartment and fumbles the keys before getting them into the lock. She quickly strips out of her clothes and gets a glass of water from the tap, sluggish mind working as fast as it’s able.
Kara Danvers keeps very interesting company. Maggie resolves to pay better attention.
Tomorrow.
********
“Kal, left!”
He darts, without question, just as a massive tentacle slaps down where he’d been hovering, causing a divot in the pavement below that’s at least a few feet deep. “Thank you!”
“No problem!” Kara’s voice is cheery, but slightly strained. “Can you maybe, like, stop that thing soon? There’s only so long I can hold up a building by myself”
He looks over at her, dressed head to toe in black and almost indistinguishable from the darkness. That’d been the agreement; he’ll ask for help when he needs it, but she has to stay hidden. “Doing my best, Kar,” he calls, punching a spongy tentacle as hard as he can and grimacing at the slime that coats him upon impact. “Eugh.”
“Can you do your best faster?”
He snorts, soaring high into the air before executing a flawless stall turn in mid-air, and rocketing down toward the creature. “Yes, ma’am.” He hits it without a sound, most of the impact taken by its rather squishy body. It roars and wheels on him, but its movements are slowing, getting weaker with every swing. He’s able to block most of its blows from hitting buildings, now, hopefully keeping the damage to a minimum, and eventually, it tires out, collapsing with a gurgling groan.
Kara carefully- carefully- sets the building down on the ground, thanking Rao that it was a bank in the middle of the night, rather than a hospital. She stays in the shadows, much as she hates it, calling, “So, what now?”
“Now, I have to turn this guy in to the feds and you need to go home and get some sleep. You have work in the morning.”
“So do you.”
“Yeah, but my work is editing Lois’ articles and harassing Jimmy from the comfort of my office. Your job involves gangs and car chases and generally more athletic endeavors,” he says with a grin. “Go on, I won’t be long, I promise. I’ll even pick up some food on the way.”
This seems to break her, and she nods before shooting off into the air faster than the human eye could track. He watches her go with an amused smile. “Y’know, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, she’s fast.”
“Who is?”
He turns to the familiar agent with a sheepish grin. “Nobody, Agent Danvers. Absolutely nobody.”