Lightning in the Night

The first time Kara had watched Dr. Smith, she had felt sorry for his wife, but realizing that every story had two sides, decided to check in on her as well. After a few visits with Eva Smith, Kara's opinion had changed considerably.

Although actually a few years older than the good doctor, Eva routinely shared her bed with a college student who looked like he should be more worried about final exams than how to best bring the graying haired woman to orgasm.

Over on the East Side, the sleepless Maid of Might found both Chuck Mason and Beverly Roberts both at home. At the moment, both were actively participating in an activity that the teachers in the different religious schools that both had attended repeatedly referred to as self-abuse.

Since they lived in the same apartment building, only two floors apart, and actually had much more in common than either of them realized, Kara thought it a shame that they couldn't find each other. If nothing else, just having a partner to sleep with would go a long way in improving their lives. Before moving onward, Supergirl made a mental note to spend some time thinking about how she might arrange for them to meet and see what developed.

Finally, Kara brought her focus to her favorite place to visit. Her favorite for many reasons, not the least of which was that she almost didn't need her super-vision to visit it. Julia Baker lived just across the street from Linda Danver's apartment and was in her opinion, the most beautiful girl she had ever seen on two worlds. At the moment, Julia was between relationships and it was with a sigh that the Maid of Might regretted that Julia was as heterosexual as a person could be.

There were many nights that Kara just watched her sleep, feeling her own heart flutter with the rise and fall of Julia's chest. Immediately, she knew that this was again going to be one of those nights. Floating in the air just out of the sight of anyone who might look up at her window from the street, Kara watched Julia slumber and wondered what dreams she might dream.

The morning's dawn a few hours later found Linda still undecided as what to do about her date with Mary. Part of her was looking forward to it with great enthusiasm, while another part, the voice of that part of her that had been hurt too many times, told her the best thing to do would be to cancel.

Donning her working clothes, as she liked to think of her costume, Kara exited out her apartment window too fast for human eyes to follow. Upward she soared, with only a few high flying birds for company. Then, even those were left behind as she headed east, toward Gotham City.

Wearing a simple green dress, the blonde at the corner table in the Riverside outdoor cafe wore the brightest of smiles at the approach of the tall attractive redhead. Returning that smile, the woman in burgundy took the empty seat on the other side of the small table.

"Thank you for coming," Kara said after her guest had sat down. "I really appreciate it."

"Why would you ever think that I wouldn't?" Barbara Gordon replied. "We might not have worked out too well as lovers, but we never stopped being friends."

"You don't know how good it is to hear you say that," Kara replied, "because right now I really need a friend to talk to. A friend I can be totally honest with."

"Well I figured there was something important that you needed to talk about," Barbara said. "A three thousand mile hop just to have lunch is a bit much, even for you."

As they ate, Kara brought her friend up to date on her life. Holding nothing back, she included her affairs with Diana and the others, and finally how she had met Mary. Barbara listened intently as Kara went on, asking few questions. Finally, when Kara was done, an awkward silence covered the table.

"So I guess you were hoping that I would tell you what you should do," Barbara said after a few moments.

"It would be a big help, but I don't think you're going to do that, are you?" Kara replied.

"You knew that before you even got here," said the short haired redhead.

"I guess I did," the blonde admitted. "Maybe I just needed someone who I could say it all to. So I could make up my own mind after hearing it out loud."

"I will offer one observation," Barbara commented, taking a pause as she took a drink. "As one friend to another."

"As one friend to another, I'd be anxious to hear it."

"With the people I've encountered, people who do what we do," the girl who wore the mantle of the Bat began, "I've noticed that the ones who most fear getting hurt, are those who under most conditions can't be hurt. I'm not talking about physical injury. I know that's a real rarity for people like you and your cousin. What I'm taking about is the prospect of failure. The idea that despite all your abilities, there are still aspects of the world around you that you can't control. It's the fact that you can't be physically hurt that puts you in a mindset where you often can't deal with a non-physical injury, or even the prospect of one. That's what's really holding you back."

"Mary said your world changes around you every day," Kara offered, "and with it, the people in it. With each change, there is the prospect of a new love, or another failure."

"That's true."

"So unless I take that chance, that chance of failure, I'll never know if there was the prospect of love," Kara concluded.

"You sound like you've made up your mind," Barbara said.

"I guess I have."

"Well I hope it's the decision that makes you happy," the redhead replied.

"You know, I'm spent so much time talking about my situation, I never asked how things were going with you," the girl in green asked. "Are you still seeing that Private Detective, what was his name... Jason Bard, wasn't it?"

"Jason and I are no longer seeing each other," Barbara said, the tone of her voice saying there was more to her answer than she implied.

"But there is somebody," Kara said, "and before you answer that, remember you're talking to someone who can tell from across the table that your heartbeat just jumped a dozen beats."

"Yes, there's someone," Barbara finally admitted.

"What's he like?" Kara asked with the curiosity that only a former lover could have. "What's his name?"

Barbara took the longest time answering. When she finally did, Kara, despite having the most sensitive hearing in a thousand miles, couldn't believe she had heard her correctly.

"Her name is Selina," Barbara confessed. "Selina Kyle."

That her friend Barbara was dating a woman was surprise enough. After all, their own relationship had been a first for the former Congresswoman and one that didn't seem likely to be repeated. To hear that she was not only involved with a woman again, but someone who was once wanted by the Gotham City Police was a total surprise.

"Is this is the same Selina Kyle who used to dress up in purple tights and go by the name of Catwoman?" Kara asked hesitantly.

"Yes it is," Barbara said softly. "But she got that pardon from the Governor last year and since then she's walked the straight and narrow."

Kara was immediately consumed by a dozen questions she wanted to ask, but the look on her friend's face told her this was a very sensitive subject and one, for the time being, best left alone. Yet there was one question she felt compelled to ask.

"Does she know that you're B..." Kara started to ask, then hesitated when she realized that people at the adjourning tables might overhear them. "Does she know about your nocturnal hobby?" she rephrased the question.

"Yes she does," came the answer. "She's known from the very beginning and that's all I'm going to say on the subject."

"Fair enough," Kara concluded.

"So what have you decided to do?" Barbara asked, turning the conversation back to the reason they were having this little lunch.

"As soon as I get back to the West Coast, I'm going to call Mary and confirm our dinner engagement."

"Why wait?" Barbara asked as she took out a small Waynetech cell phone from her bag. "It covers coast to coast, you shouldn't have a problem getting through."

Kara looked at the phone that had just been placed in her hand for a moment, then dialed the number Mary had given her. The phone rang a few times, then a familiar voice said hello.

"Hi Mary, this is Linda," she said in reply. Not wanting to intrude on the rest of the conversation, Barbara picked up the bill and walked over to the register to take care of it. Looking back at her friend at the table, the smile on Kara's face brought a sense of satisfaction to Barbara's all too human heart. If anyone deserved to be loved, it was that woman who still held a place in her own heart. A place that she would always cherish.

If anything, Supergirl's flight back to San Pablo from Gotham was even quicker that the trip east. Spurred on by the thought that she was now flying toward something, rather than away from it, the Maid of Might flew high up into the upper atmosphere and let the Earth's eastward rotation bring her destination to her. Then, through the difference in time zones, she found herself back at her apartment a half hour before she had met Barbara for lunch.

During their transcontinental conversation, Mary had suggested that they move their date up to early afternoon. She gave some indication that she had something really important to discuss with Linda. Now eager to take the chance and see where this might all lead, Linda had agreed. Her heart was beating with a sense of uncertainty about what was going to happen, and the daughter of a dead world found it exciting. For the moment, however, her mind raced with a much more mundane thought. One that she shared with many of her Earthborn sisters. What ever should she wear?

Two hours later, dressed in a soft, light blue dress, Linda waited outside the Café Marie, the place where Mary had suggested they meet. It would be a lot more comfortable meeting on neutral ground than at either of their apartments, she had said. Nervous as she was, Linda had thought it an excellent idea.

Almost at four o'clock on the dot, Mary came walking down the street. After the expected hellos, she proposed that unless Linda was really hungry, that maybe they'd take a little walk first to work up an appetite. As with her previous proposals, Linda went along with it.

Across from the Café was Sutherland Park and the two women began to follow one of the winding paths into it as they chatted. At first, their conversation covered a number of mundane topics. Everyday things that gave them an understanding of how each of them felt about certain issues. It was interesting to find how many more subjects they agreed on.

"Do you remember when we first met yesterday how I kept saying I was getting this weird vibe from you, and how it made me feel like we were connected in some way?" Mary said, shifting the conversation from a discussion about music.

"I remember," Linda said, thinking that in the last twenty-four hours, she had begun to feel the same way.

"Well, you're going to find this really funny, at least I hope you're going to find this funny, but I know now why I felt that way," Mary explained.

"Which was?" Linda asked.

"I'm not really sure how to say this, so maybe I should just show you," Mary went on, "but before I do, I want you to believe me that when we first met at that audition yesterday, I had no idea of this."

"You have me totally confused, but I'll believe you," Linda said.

"All right, here goes," Mary said, looking around to make sure that no one was close enough to see the two of them. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but was stopped by the sound of gunfire from outside the park.

Linda snapped her head around at the sound of shots. Her x-ray vision cut through the dense shrubbery that had given them a measure of privacy to reveal two Police Cars chasing a third car in front of them. The gunfire had come from the car being chased in an attempt to stop the pursuit. Unable to get a clear shot, the Police had yet to return fire.

Taking all of this in with only a second's thought, Linda turned back to face Mary. The expression on Linda's face seemed to say "Oh no."

"Go!" Mary said to a confused Linda.

"What?"

"I know you're Supergirl and that you have to go," Mary quickly said. "Don't worry about it, we'll work it all out later. Trust me."

Linda didn't know what to say, except that there was no way she could stay here and try and unravel this mystery when lives were at stake. In a blur of motion, her light blue dress was replaced with the dark red and blue of her costume. With only a moment's hesitation to tell Mary to stay right here, the Girl of Steel took off after the fleeing gunmen.

In the time since she'd heard the first shots and the brief revelation from Mary, the speeding vehicle had gone almost a mile. It might as well have been ten feet for all the good it did them as Supergirl covered that distance without effort.

Normally, Kara loved the sensation of bullets bouncing off her skin and the look on the face of criminals as they realized that their prized weapons were as effective as cap pistols. At another time, she might have even playfully caught the expended rounds in mid-air, dropping them to the ground one by one in a demonstration of their futility.

At this moment, however, all she wanted to do was get back to Mary and find out what was going on. How had she discovered Linda's secret and what did it mean to their still embryonic relationship? The three gunmen who scrambled out of the car, which she had violently pulled to a halt by ripping out the engine block, had the misfortune of being merely a delay in her return for those answers.

With lighting reflexes, Supergirl grabbed each of their guns and crushed them in her hands. Then each of the now unarmed criminals was tossed into the arms of the already arrived Police.

As they cuffed the trio and led them to the back of their squad cars, Kara was surprised to hear what sounded like a clap of thunder. Automatically, she looked up into the clear blue late afternoon sky. There wasn't a cloud in sight.

"Very impressive," Mary said as she stepped from out of the space between buildings and clapped her hands in admiration.

"How did you get here?" Supergirl said, knowing she had left the girl a mile away only minutes before.

"I assumed that you wanted to finish our talk," Mary replied.

"Oh you assumed right," Kara said, a touch of anger in her voice. Above all else, she didn't like being treated like a fool. There was much more going on here than met the eye.

"Out here on a public street," Mary smiled. "Or would you rather someplace private?"

Tired of games, Supergirl picked up the brown haired girl and in a burst of power, flew the both of them to a small, empty peninsula off the coast. Mary seemed unruffled by either the sudden action or the quick flight.

"Now, no more games," Supergirl said. "I want an answer."

"It never was a game," Mary smiled. "Just the fate's idea of a practical joke. None of this was meant to hurt you. In fact quite the opposite. I think I could easily fall in love with someone like you."

"I'm still waiting for an explanation," Kara said with growing impatience, not wanting to consider Mary's talk of the prospect of love.

"Like I said before, I guess maybe it's best just to show you," the brunette said as she walked a dozen steps away from Supergirl.

Feeling a sense of something in the air, Supergirl tensed up, ready to meet what might be an attack of some kind. Instead, Mary just smiled that wonderful smile of hers, and spoke but a single word.

"Shazam!"

A clap of thunder heralded the arrival of a bolt of golden lightning, striking the ground where Mary now stood. So bright was the flash, Kara had to shield her eyes for a moment. This from a girl who had looked into the heart of a sun.

As fast as the thunderbolt had appeared, it likewise vanished. Leaving far more than just the ionized air in its wake.

By all rights, Mary Bromfield should've been atomized by the lightning strike. Instead, she had been transformed.

Gone where the street clothes she had been wearing, replaced by a costume not that dissimilar to Kara's own. The short-sleeved blouse and skirt were red, trimmed with gold, coupled with golden boots and a short white cape. The cape was held by a thin golden cord that draped over the cut of her blouse, the depth of which displayed her rounded breasts beneath.

Far more than just her clothing had changed. To the matchless confidence she had already exhibited was added an aura of raw power. Supergirl recognized the insignia on the red blouse, the same golden lightning worn by Captain Marvel. It stood to reason that Mary had the same connection to the Captain as Kara had to Superman. They called her male counterpart the World's Mightiest Mortal. If Mary's powers came from the same source as his did, then she was at the very least Supergirl's equal.

"Marvel Girl I assume," Supergirl said as she took a step forward.

"Not exactly," the girl in red laughed, "but that's not a bad name when you think about it. I'm afraid the old Wizard, who's name I can't say without bringing back the lightning, saddled me with Mary Marvel instead."

"Mary Marvel," Supergirl repeated, still a little leery of all this. "I supposed that makes you Captain Marvel's girlfriend or something."

"Not likely," came Mary's quick reply, "since he's my brother if you really need to know."

"I have heard of you," Supergirl said as she recalled a few news stories she had read about her counterpart. Contrary to public belief, every super powered person didn't automatically know every other one.

"I'm flattered," Mary smiled brightly. "Considering that I've really pretty much kept my activities up to now confined to Fawcett City."

"I've even seen pictures of you," Kara went on as her total recall visualized the color photographs that had accompanied the articles she had read. "I don't know why I didn't recognize you."

"That's easy to explain, well in a way it is," Mary said. "Part of the magic the old wizard used to give us our powers makes it impossible for anyone to recognize Mary Marvel as Mary Bromfield."

"Pretty handy."

"Well it was either that or wear a mask, or maybe even a wig."

Kara smiled at the friendly barb. She felt herself reestablishing the sense of friendship she had felt for Mary from the start and losing the suspicions that had developed in the last hour.

"So you have the same powers as your brother?" Supergirl asked, changing the subject.

"Basically the same abilities, but with different patrons," Mary explained. "Aside from Minerva, who gives me wisdom, I derive grace, strength and skill from the goddesses, Selena, Hippolyta and Ariadne. As well as fleetness from Zephyrus and beauty from Aurora. Personally, I think the old wizard had to go far and wide to come up with that bunch to explain my powers. I mean really, who ever heard of beauty and grace as super powers."

"I don't think that you needed that magic lightning to have both of those," Supergirl said as she stepped close to Mary.

"Thank you," Mary said as she looked into Kara's eyes, losing herself in their deep blueness. "I could say the same about you. That's how I knew you know."

"That's how you knew what?" Supergirl inquired.

"That you and Linda were the same person," Mary explained. "When I saw you at S.T.A.R. Labs, I didn't need Minerva's wisdom to know that no two women could ever have eyes that beautiful."

Of course," Kara exclaimed. "S.T.A.R. Labs, the broken coolant and fuel lines. You made them safe."

"I got there just as you went into the reactor chamber. I planned to leave before you got back, but I couldn't resist the chance to actually see Supergirl. Now I'm so glad that I did."