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Steph’s arms screamed with pain as Supergirl wrenched her hands above her head, eyes glowing with unbridled fury.
“You—how could you?”
“Easily,” Steph remarked glibly. “All it took was a couple of well-placed explosives.”
Below them, the neighborhood burned.
“I trusted you,” Supergirl said. “You said you wouldn’t kill anyone!”
Steph grinned widely. “Guess I was lying then.” She laughed, despite the pain in her arms. “Oh, come on! I’m not the good guy here, Kara. I haven’t been for some time now. Besides, it’s not like those guys didn’t deserve it! You saw what they were doing to those kids!”
Kara was taller than Steph, and was positively looming as she pressed Steph to the wall, her wrists pinned above her head with a single Kryptonian hand.
“That doesn’t mean you were right to kill them!”
“Why not? They would have gotten away with it. At least now the kids can sleep without worrying that they’ll come back for them.”
Kara’s eyes stopped glowing. There was only… Steph didn’t know what was left in her eyes. “They were right. I should have just handed you over the minute you came to me.”
“Who?” Steph felt alarm creep into her voice. The plan had depended on Kara keeping quiet—if the wrong person knew about Steph’s presence in Metropolis, things could go downhill very quickly.
Steph had chosen Kara because she was bullet proof and strong, and, like most Supers, was likely to buy a properly spun story of reforming and regret. Kara had also shielded Steph from Superman’s eyes, ensuring that no one else interfered on the child experimentation ring that Steph wanted to uproot. It was the Black Mask’s first expansion into Metropolis in years, and Steph wanted to remind him that she was still gunning for him, even if she couldn’t get within two miles of him without the Bats raining hell down on her.
Kara didn’t know about the Black Mask. It hadn’t been important.
Working with Kara had been fun, almost. There wasn’t the history there, weighing down the air between them, not like with Bats. Steph had shown up without her mask sometimes as they compared notes, and Kara had surprised Steph with her intelligence and diligence. She’d mistakenly cultivated the impression of Kara as rather air-headed. Clearly, her sources were wrong.
Sleeping with Kara had been an easy decision to make at the time. Steph hadn’t regretted a single thing until now, with Kara nearly pulling her shoulders out of their sockets with her super strength.
“Doesn’t matter,” Kara said harshly. “There’s an FBI headquarters nearby. They should be able to handle you—”
Steph twisted in Kara’s grip. She might not be a hero, but she was still a Bat at heart.
And that meant preparing for anything, especially when teaming up with a Kryptonian.
The heel of her boot was hollow. She kicked it off and then launched its contents at Kara.
The kryptonite glowed brightly in the firelight, and its affect was almost instantaneous. Kara yelped, falling backwards, releasing Steph as she crashed against the hard concrete.
Steph rubbed her wrists. “Sorry babe,” she said, scooping up the kryptonite in her hands, cupping it tightly so that its affect was lessened. She smiled at Kara crookedly. “But I think I’m going to be out of town for a while.”
“I’ll catch you,” Kara said between gritted teeth. There was a hint of pain in her voice, but Steph knew that the dosage hadn’t been very high, so she didn’t even feel remotely guilty.
“But can you keep me?” Steph grinned, slipping the kryptonite into a lead-lined pouch in her belt. She bent over Kara, leaning in. “Because I don’t think you can.”
Kara growled, pushing herself onto her knees with tremendous effort, then reached up and kissed her.
She wasn’t back to full strength yet, but she was still strong. Her fingers were bruising on Steph’s neck, and her hands pulled at Steph’s short hair. Steph retaliated by nipping Kara’s lip, smirking into the kiss.
Steph didn’t know how long they remained there, the superhero kneeling on the ground and the villain almost doubled over, kissing. She lost track of time in the fire of the kiss. She forced herself to pull away as she felt Kara’s grip grow firmer. She flipped open the lid of the pouch, giving Kara a fresh dosage, and then moved out of Kara’s range.
“See you around,” Steph smirked down at Kara, who was now flat on her back, crying out. Then she sprinted away. “Scarlet, I need pick-up, ASAP!”
“Got it boss!” Nell said. “We’ll be out of here in no time.”
Steph fingered the pouch with her kryptonite, wondering if she’d need it again tonight. “I’m thinking we should go on vacation,” she told her side-kick conversationally.