This is part 2 of a story. Part 1 is called "Supergirl: Prometheus"

You're welcome to start here but it may take a few chapters to get the gist of the story events leading up to this point.

The clattering of pool balls whacking together filled the bar. They broke cleanly and one rolled gently into a pocket.

"I'm stripes," Lena said. She looked at the table, thinking about her next shot. There was an easy one lined up, the ball inviting her to knock it in. She hesitated, there was no good follow-up if she managed to pot it. Her usual opponent tended to need one opportunity to clean up the entire table and would be smug about it to boot. Her search for a safer shot drew her eyes away and over to her current challenger. Kara stood close with a cue dangling loosely in her hand. The light of the bright lamp hanging above bounced off her glasses as she bent over to inspect it. Kara took in the rest of the place with a frown. Lena stood up straight and rested on her cue, Kara's judgement of the place was fun to watch. There had been a few improvements made over the past month, the wooden beams were now accompanied by a fake fireplace and antique bookshelves filled up with leather-bound books. Lew, the owner, had put these up at Lena's suggestion. She never expected to be taken seriously and was mostly joking when she did it. Despite the new furniture making the cramped layout even smaller, it added to the classic and homey feel Lena had grown to love. The sun was poking out of the gridded windows at the front, brightening the usual dim booths with their faded leather.

Besides Lew, who was reading behind the bar, they were the only two there. Her nose wrinkled slightly as Kara eventually turned back to the table and caught her watching. Lena coughed and quickly leaned back down, glancing at Kara again before potting the easy shot.

"Why are we here?" Kara said. Her voice filled the space with ease, Lew glanced up from his book. Lena played with the smooth cue as she looked back down at the table, all the straight shots were blocked one way or another. She ignored the table for a moment to address her.

"You said you wanted to meet," she said.

"Well yes, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind," Kara said, her mouth pouting to one side. Lena had to admit to herself that she probably should have warned her that The Cheshire was less lavish than her usual suggestions. Kara's cute dress sense stuck out like a sore thumb in this part of the city. Her usual bookish, bright jumper and skirt made it look like she never ventured outside a library let alone spent time in some obscure dive. She had to remind herself that underneath the unthreatening charm was the raging power of Supergirl. Even after a month she struggled to process that's who her closest friend had been the whole time.

"Sure it's not the usual fare but I like it here, it's cosy and quiet," she said.

"It's certainly quiet," Kara said.

"Give it a chance," she said, bouncing the cue ball off a wall and tapping a striped ball. "Your shot." Kara did not look convinced but still bent down to the table. Inexperience showed as she lined up the shot poorly and her ball bounced gently off the side of the pocket. Kara grunted in annoyance and clenched her fist.

"Maybe pool was a bad idea," Lena said, weary of her temper.

"No, it's alright," Kara said looking down at her hand. "I'm just getting used to this place… and you in it." Lena looked at herself.

"What?" she said.

"Jeans, trainers, plain t-shirt, letting your hair down. It's odd seeing you like this," Kara said. Lena shrugged.

"I can't be a fashion icon all the time," she said, looking back to the table. The shot she wanted to take was at an awkward angle. She walked round the table, Kara side-stepped. The felt pressed against her hand as she adjusted herself, practically mounting the table to line up properly. She pushed up onto her toes with her planted foot, nearly slipping in the process. Kara caught her and a shiver went down her spine.

"I'm good, I'm good," Lena said, doing her best to remain composed. Kara let her go and despite the overwhelming distraction, she just about potted the shot.

"Maybe I should have let you fall," Kara said. Lena pushed off the table and brushed herself off. Kara was smiling, it was nice to see. Frustratingly, Kara always kept a certain emotional distance these days. She knew it was not fair to hold it against her, the search for Mon-El had gone nowhere and that power ring of hers put her on edge at all times. The whole reason Kara had come to her with her biggest secret was for emotional support. Apparently, Lena was the only one able to somewhat stifle the rage and revenge obsessed ring's hold over her. She was happy to be such an important part of her life. Although it was not so easy to deal with, trying to get closer to her might not only ruin their relationship but also ran the great risk of an extreme backlash. Kara had told her the worst-case scenario was the ring outright rejecting her, if that happened she would die. She tried not to think about how bizarre her personal life had become as she sunk another shot.

"This is looking like it'll be a short game anyway," Kara said. Lena moved round. The ball she was aiming for was pressed up against the wall. She took a deep breath and the weight of the cue in her hand lightened as she brought It forward carefully. The cue ball moved smoothly and the gentle contact rolled her target toward the pocket, but it stopped before it could reach. Lena put her head on the table, she could never get those shots quite right. Kara still seemed impressed.

"Since when were you such a pool-shark anyway? I thought it was all chess and high society in the Luthor household."

"It was, and I'm not that good," she said, flashing back to the many games she had since frequenting The Cheshire. The locals always trounced her, apart from Gary, they were evenly matched.

Kara looked pleased with herself as she clattered in the shot she had missed earlier, even managing a successful follow-up. She sighed.

"Hey, that was a good shot," Lena said, confused at Kara's despair. Kara put the cue down.

"This wasn't supposed to be a social call or a session to calm me down," she said. Lena was taken aback.

"You aren't embracing the ring again are you?" She said, knowing what had happened to Sam.

"It's not that, the ring has actually mostly behaved itself." They both looked to where it would be, Kara had the power to make it invisible but it was always there to play on her mind. Kara lowered her voice and leant in close. Lena could smell her perfume and the hair on the back of her neck stood up as she felt Kara's breath so close to her.

"I think it's time you let me in on the World Killer investigation," she said. Lena's shoulders slumped as she backed off and shook her head.

"You know why you can't do that," she said.

"It's been a month and there's been no progress," Kara said.

"You have to be patient, I get that the ring is torture but your involvement could be disastrous," she said.

"You can't understand what this thing is like," Kara said. Lena leaned her cue against the table.

"I'm sorry, poor choice of words. But you know that mad cult will get even crazier if they get a whiff of a Kryptonian on their case," she said.

"I'll do it as Kara and I'll be careful," Kara said. Lena looked into her eyes, there was a strong determination in them that was hard to deny.

"Just give it a bit more time," Lena said. Kara said nothing. It hurt to put her through it, but the emotional strain of dealing with the World Killers would be a lot for her. All the hard work to control herself might be undone in a single moment. Reign alone had dismembered Alex, nearly killed her and Lena's own experience of trauma at the World Killer's hands lingered in her mind. As it was her job to keep Kara under control, she had remained adamant that Kara steer clear as it was such potent fuel for the ring. The Kryptonian argument was useful to hide behind, but Lena herself was getting frustrated at how little she knew about it all. She was determined for that to change.

Lena gave her a quick hug and spoke at a normal level again.

"Now come on, you've got another shot," she said, handing Kara her cue. Kara looked at it, then to Lena. She reluctantly turned back to the table and promptly missed a shot.

"I don't think this is my game," she said.

"You'll improve," Lena said, missing her own shot.

"Not going easy out of pity are you?" Kara said.

"You know I'm far too sore of a loser to do that," she said. Kara smiled again, she expected it to take more effort to dissuade her from the World Killers. Her impatience was understandable, the main reason she kept the rage ring was because there were three more out there somewhere. It amplified her powers immensely and without it they would all be at the mercy of the World Killer's, if they ever showed themselves.

She watched Kara take another shot, it skimmed the ball and covered the middle pocket. She sneered when she looked away from the table. Lena assumed she had been unhappy with the shot as she leant over for her own. She eyed the ball at the opposite end of the table, her chin was close to the wooden edge and she concentrated on getting the right feel of the cue. Just as she brought it forward, a voice bellowed across the bar.

"Hello ladies." The sudden noise caused her to totally mishit and her face dropped as she watched Kara's ball roll into the pocket. She stood up and turned to the familiar voice.

"Thanks for that," she said. She looked to Kara, who had an impressive amount of disdain painted all over her face.

"Oddball," she said, her voice matched her expression.

"Pleasure as always, Danvers," he said. As usual he wore a plain hoodie, this one was green. She liked to imagine his wardrobe was entirely made up of different coloured hoodies. "Either of you want a drink?"

"I'll have a coke," Lena said.

"Coke for Lena, and you," he said, pointing to Kara.

"I'll…" her head cocked slightly. "Actually, I was just leaving."

"You sure?" He said. Lena looked at her inquisitively, it was the face she made when she was about to rush off to be Supergirl. She may have sensed something, but the timing was convenient enough for her to suspect she was faking it to get away from him. Either way, Kara had practically committed to being Supergirl full time at this point.

"Yeah, work-phone just went. I should go," she said.

"It's Sunday," he said.

"News doesn't take the weekend off, Oddball," Kara said. She walked round to Lena. "Talk to you soon?"

"Of course," Lena said. Kara gathered her things and made a hasty exit. Oddball and Lena leaned against the table and watched her leave.

"I think I'm winning her over," he said.

"She can't stand you," Lena said as the door swung shut.