#brainia | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

owl-with-a-pen · 24 days

Text

Kara had been juggling so many duties over the last few days, it had really started to feel like she had a secret identity all over again. Her fingers had been a constant blur across her phone screen, so much that she’d jumped into several meetings without knowing what they were even about or – for that matter – that she had meant to have been leading them. She could have gotten away with that as Kara Danvers, but people tended to notice when Kara Zor-El got distracted - probably because it usually meant an Earth-wide threat was imminent.

She’d already had to reassure five separate co-workers that wasn’t the case, even going as far as cutting her final editorial meeting thirty minutes short so that everyone could start their Fridays early. Maybe that just made them more suspicious of her, but she was running out of time. Alex had already sent her three warning texts:

Car’s packed up, where are you?

Don’t make me call a DEO emergency just to get your butt out of there!

⌚👈🏻 ???

Kara rolled her eyes, catching her tongue between her teeth as she scanned the most recent notification. She sent a quick ‘OMW’ before slinging her bag across her shoulder.

She was halfway out the office door when a voice stopped her in her tracks.

“So, any plans this weekend?”

Kara froze.

Cat Grant usually spent her Friday afternoons lamenting all the charity dinners and extracurriculars she’d be forced to attend while Kara nodded along with a well-practiced sympathetic grimace locked in place. She’d long since accepted this as a one-sided expectation. After all, Cat didn’t really do small talk. Call it the journalistic disposition, but no question of hers ever came without intention.

She’d posed this particular question with an expectant air, her fingers loosely linked beneath her chin as she watched Kara with cat-like patience from behind her desk.

Kara took a shallow breath, knowing already what those piercing eyes were trying to gauge. “Actually,” she said, treading carefully, “I’m out of town this weekend. I’m visiting my adoptive mom with my sister.”

Cat’s lips twitched with something predatory. She lifted her chin, snatching up a pen from her desk so that she could play idly with the clicker. Every click was as intentional as her question, drilling deep into Kara’s skull. “Ah,” she said, nodding slowly, “and so I suppose one would assume that there won’t be much Supergirl activity to account for, then?”

Kara laughed, fiddling nervously with the collar of her blouse. “Even Supergirl needs a vacation every once in a while. You’ve seen the figures, crime is at an all-time low, National City can last a weekend without me.”

Cat watched Kara without expression, still clicking out a calculated rhythm. “I suppose,” she conceded lightly. “Especially with that new DEO division headed by your… friend, right? John?”

“J’onn,” Kara corrected.

“Yes, yes, that’s the one.” Cat bit her lip. “Wide shoulders.” Her eyes lost focus before she shrugged suddenly, setting down her pen with a prompt snap. “I wonder what he’ll be up to.”

“You know the DEO doesn’t give interviews,” Kara reminded her, trying and failing to hide the strain in her voice. “Not even to Supergirl.”

“Of course.” Cat pondered for a moment, cocking her head. “And the little green one works there too, doesn’t he?”

Kara sighed, the purposeful ignorance wasn’t lost on her, just as Cat had intended. She tipped her head back, resigning herself to the conversation. “What are you getting at, Ms Grant?”

Cat blinked, perfectly innocent. “Just counting heads. I only wonder if we’ll be seeing much of your Super Friends over the next few days… with you out of town, of course.”

Kara pursed her lips, drumming her fingers against the doorframe. “Well, they’re more than capable of managing themselves without me.”

“So, we will be seeing them?”

Kara spluttered. She’d really stepped into that one. “It’s a big city,” she recovered quickly, “I’m sure there’ll be out there somewhere.”

“Interesting,” Cat said, dragging the word out long enough to make Kara uncomfortable. She hummed to herself, running her index finger delicately over the items on her desk until she found her phone, snatching it up. “I need to make a few calls,” she decided, shooing Kara out of the room with her other hand. “Have fun with your—mother.”

Kara took that as her cue, making an awkward albeit flustered goodbye as she elbowed her way out the door. She didn’t try to listen in on the conversation once she was gone – she didn’t need to - Cat had seen through her as plainly as she had her old disguise.

Technically, what Kara had told her wasn’t exactly a lie. She would be seeing Eliza this weekend – after all, she’d been invited to Nia and Brainy’s wedding, too.

It didn’t matter, Kara rationalised as she hurried into the elevator, Cat could call on every source she had available to her and she still wouldn’t be getting this scoop. No one would. Kara had been incredibly thorough about that, using fake names when it came to bookings, throwing out red herrings to rival news outlets, all to ensure that the media didn’t get even one whiff of what was going down. No one was getting a camera into the service on her watch – well, except the photographer, and Kara had already run a series of extensive background checks on her.

As for general media speculation – well, she’d already warned the bride and groom to be that there really wasn’t much she could do about that. Every magazine in the country was currently building up the clicks with Superhero news and, right now, Dreamer and Brainiac-5 were trending across all channels. Cat certainly hadn’t helped with that; she’d sunk her claws into the story the second Dreamer had first been spotted out toting a Legion ring of her own. To avoid public knowledge of future events, the Legion was something of a forbidden topic when it came to interviews and so, for anyone outside of the loop, Dreamer suddenly wearing a ring matching Brainy’s was certainly turning heads.

Engagement had been thrown around hundreds of times, with other outlets outright claiming that she and Brainy had been married in secret. Nothing had been confirmed or denied by either party, but Kara had to admit it– you only needed eyes to see the chemistry between those two. They fought as one entity, complimenting each other’s stances, supporting each other in the field so that they always fell into step with each other. Just last week, Brainy had swept Dreamer into his arms amidst an explosion they’d narrowly escaped and the shot had been headlining every newspaper not twelve hours later. They were anything but discreet and, honestly, Kara had a hunch they were starting to enjoy all the attention. It certainly made her job as Maid of Honour that much harder.

Hiding this wedding was probably shaving years off her life.

At least it would be worth it when she got to see Nia go down that aisle.

When her phone pinged again with a fourth text from Alex, Kara groaned out loud.

You just lost shotgun privilege.

She just had to get there first.

#supergirl #supergirl fanfiction #kara danvers #kara zor el #cat grant #brainia #brainiac 5 #nia nal #my writing #i know i know it's not the wedding fic yet but i had this little scene stuck in my head and it'll probably be how the fic starts.#i've still got a few things i need to shape out but for now enjoy this lil sneak peek #i still maintain that nia and brainy have secret identities post kara's reveal but also that makes the possibility of the media finding out #even more dangerous #also happy easter and trans day of visibility!

26 notes · View notes

disquietiswhatitis · 28 days

Text

Send me a ship and I’ll share my favorite fic of that pairing (if possible)

13 notes · View notes

frosty-the-killer-doll · 3 months

Text

nicole maines insta stories i saved for girl liker reasons, the last one made me burst out laughing :>

#nicole maines #brainia #supergirl cast #arrowverse

17 notes · View notes

lilacsilver-writes · 3 months

Text

My take on a Brainia proposal. I hope y'all enjoy.

“What do you want for dinner? I’m thinking pasta, does that sound good?”

“Hmm? Of course, whatever you like.”

Nia turns and fixes Brainy with a look, but he’s too busy staring into space to register her concern. As a matter of fact, he’s been distant and preoccupied for a few days now. She walks over to his chair and perches on the arm, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Okay, what’s on your mind?” she asks. “You’ve been acting weird since before we left Parthas. Was meeting my dad really that bad?”

“No, no, of course not,” he says. “He was very kind. It’s only that he...he gave me something the night you went to bed early.”

He pulls a small box out of the pocket of his hoodie, and Nia’s breath catches. She knows that box, and more importantly, she knows what’s inside of it. How could she not? It’s been around since before she was born, glittering on her mother’s finger or else set aside in a small glass bowl, safely away from any wet paint.

“Mom’s ring? He gave you Mom’s ring?”

“He did. If I have been acting weird, as you say, it is only because I have been trying to make a plan.”

She leans further into his space. “Brainy, you know I don’t need some big, grand proposal, right? You could ask me right here, right now, and I’d say yes.”

“So I should refrain from hiring a marching band?”

“Please do not hire a marching band. Or a string trio. Or any musicians, period.” Only then does she catch the little smirk at the corner of his mouth. “All right, mister comedian, let’s shelve this discussion and figure out dinner. I’m getting hungry.”

Three days later, Nia returns home from work to find the apartment dark and silent. It’s not unusual for her to get home before Brainy, but the note she finds on the kitchen bar tells her he’s been home and gone again.

Meet me at the Tower.

“Could’ve texted me that before I got all the way home,” she mutters, but she goes right back out the door and locks it behind her.

They have the full resources of the DEO at their disposal again, but the Tower remains an operational base for the Superfriends and for emergencies. And for proposals, it would seem; she wonders just what Brainy’s settled on, and what she’ll find when she gets there.

Without a flyer to bring her straight into the Tower itself, she has to go through J’onn’s old office. J’onn himself is nowhere in sight, but the door isn’t locked and the hidden elevator opens up as she walks in, so clearly at least one member of the family is in on the plan.

...Or all of them. When she reaches her destination and the elevator doors open, they’re all waiting. But she has eyes only for Brainy, who stands just inside the glass doors to the balcony with a slight smile on his face. She hurries up the stairs to join him, nearly tripping on the top one, and he reaches out to steady her.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he says. He runs his hand down her arm to take her hand and lead her out to the balcony proper.

And there he goes down on one knee, his eyes locked on hers.

“Nia Nal, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” and she’s in his arms in a heartbeat, the world a blur as her eyes fill with tears.

#supergirl #brainia #querl dox #nia nal #writing

11 notes · View notes

theredcapeofk · 6 months

Text

Starting today, up to the 31st, I will be posting my short Halloween Supercorp illustrated fic.

You'll be getting 5 chapters all in all. Each short chapter has it's own illustration, because I tend to make crazy projects like this xD.

This is set post S6. The Superfriends decide to have a Halloween party for Esme's first Halloween with them

#supergirl fanfiction #supercorp fanfiction #supercorp #kara danvers #lena luthor #supercorp fanart #my writing #dansen #brainia #post canon fic

18 notes · View notes

nalt0r · 2 years

Text

#honestly either of them could be the bad bitch #or the autistic one #brainia #brainiac five #Nia Nal #Dreamer #Supergirl #Arrowverse #oh man this doin numbers

163 notes · View notes

itsalliebitheway · 6 months

Text

Supercorptober Day 31: spookycorp

“Karaaaa!”

The yell sounded so loudly through the penthouse that Kara almost fell from the desk chair in her home office.

Panic cursed through her veins as she used her superspeed to get to her wife as quickly as possible. Was she in danger? In pain? What was the reason for that scream?

Kara found Lena kicking off her boots, literally kicking them away while she tossed her keys carelessly against the wall where they fell down and landed next to the dish they had bought for their keys and wallets.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Kara asked as she came to a screeching halt on her socked feet.

“Andrea and Sam deserve to loose. And I’m going to be the one to humble them. We are going to humble them. I cannot stand this anymore!”

"What? Andrea and Sam? What are you talking about baby?”

Lena had shrugged out of her coat and let it fall to the floor, apparently too angry to tidy up after herself. Her eyes were sparkling with something akin to rage and if Kara didn’t know where it was directed, she’d be cowering in fear right now. Lena could be scary if she wanted to.

“They believe they will win the costume contest of CatCo’s Halloween party because they have a better sex life than we do!”

“I-,” Kara stopped talking again and furrowed her brows in confusion. “I don’t understand what the one thing has to do with the other?”

Lena huffed and stomped over to the kitchen where she filled a glass of scotch and emptied it in one go.

“We had lunch and somehow came to talk about the party. Sam is convinced that the couple’s costumes reflects on the couple’s sex life. Which is ridiculous, but she explained it and it somehow made sense especially when Andi chimed in to support her points. Then they made fun of us going as Team Rocket last year, saying that our fun little costume revealed how immature our sex life truly is. You know I really love them both as individuals, but introducing them was the worst mistake I ever made.”

Lena had lost her steam at the end of her rant and Kara was there to take her into her arms. She placed a gentle kiss on Lena’s hair and carefully pried the empty glass out of her hands. They hugged for a moment in the kitchen, then Kara cupped Lena’s face in her hands to make their eyes meet.

“My Love, our sex life is amazing. Nothing Sam and Andrea can say will ever change that. It’s not childish or immature or vanilla even. I’ve discovered sides of myself I never even knew I could have. They don’t know what they’re talking about.”

She kissed Lena on the forehead and pulled her in once more. “But, because it means so much to you, and because it’s so very fun to win against them, we’re going to have the best couple’s costume at this party and I already have the perfect idea.”

They stayed up long hours into the night, putting the finishing touches on their costumes. Thankfully Lena had taught Kara how to sew so they were able to work together on Lena’s dress, embroidering one black sleeve each with the silvery yarn to make the intricate pattern.

They only needed to adjust Kara’s dress to the oval hoop skirt, the rest was pretty much perfect already.

When the day of the party came, Lena used her darkest lipstick to paint her lips after applying a truly hauntingly beautiful smoky eye. Kara’s eye makeup wasn’t as impressive but her lips would match the color of her dress exactly as well while her hair was punned up into a complicated bun with two strands framing her hair.

They had previously agreed that Lena wouldn’t use her magic in public if there wasn’t an emergency, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

They had practiced their entrance several times. The portal watch came in very handy, creating the blue orb that would be the foundation of the image Lena would create around it. Even though she hadn’t practiced illusions a lot before, this gave her the perfect opportunity to do so now, and her illusions of mirrors became more authentic with each try.

“Okay so, the plan is to portal directly into the bullpen. I press the button while you concentrate on the mirror illusion on the other side. Are you ready my Queen?” Kara asked, while she slipped into her heels she bought just for the occasion.

“I am yes. Is my collar okay?” Lena asked while she grabbed her little clutch shaped like a deep-red apple.

“It’s very upright. But wait come here,” Kara gestured for Lena to come closer and adjusted the necklace she had put on to mimic the one Regina wore with the dress she was wearing right now.

“There, all perfect again. Any last words before we mirror-travel into battle?

“You’re ridiculous and I love you,” Lena chuckled and gave her a quick kiss that almost smudged both of their lipsticks. “And you look very beautiful,” she added, brushing one of Kara’s strands out of her face.

“And you look absolutely hot and stunning and I can’t actually find words. How are villains always so attractive anyways?”

“It’s probably the cleavage,” Lena chuckled and shimmied her shoulders for good measure, drawing Kara’s eyes down to where the corset was pushing up her boobs in the most delicious way.

“Okay let’s go then before I decide to rip your clothes off again,” she grumbled and cleared her throat. Lena offered her arm to Kara so she could link hers into Lena’s elbow. They shared one more glance and both nodded, then Kara pressed on the portal watch while Lena murmured her illusion spell to create the mirror on the other side.

They stepped into CatCo’s bullpen to the symphony of half-concealed shrieks of surprise and ohs of wonder. Whispers were spreading through the room like a wildfire while Lena slowly let the image of the mirror fade into nothing.

“You certainly do know how to make an entrance,” Andrea drawled, stepping up to them with a champagne flute in hand. Sam sidled up next to her, wrapping one arm around her waist, holding her close.

“What are you supposed to be?” She asked, her eyebrow lifted in surprise as well as astonishment.

“Lena is the Evil Queen, Regina Mills, from Once Upon A Time and I’m Emma Swan. They were clearly the power couple of the show,” Kara explained, satisfaction bridging a grin to her face.

“And as what did you two dress up?” Lena asked and looked her two friend up and down.

“We’re Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, obviously,” Andrea said and gestured to her own bleached wig with pink tips one the one side and blue on the other side. Sam wore a Red wig and a green dress that looked like it was mostly made out of leaves, covering not a lot.

“I see, your couple’s costumes reflects exactly what a bratty little bottom you are,” Lena said to Andrea, but gave her no time to reply. “May the best costume win.”

She sauntered off with Kara at her side, drawing looks from all around them. They went over to Nia , dressed in a Princess Peach costume to Brainy’s Mario.

“You gays look fabulous,” she cheered and hugged them both hello. “Ugh and that entrance was sooo good! I loved the reference to the show, you can’t not win with this.”

“Here’s to hoping,” Kara answered and snatched two champagne flutes for her and Lena from a passing waiter.

Sometime during the event, Andrea encouraged everyone to vote for their favorite costumes in a little booth she had set up near the elevators. There would be different categories for solo costumes, couple’s costumes and group costumes, each category able to win a price.

When the award ceremony finally came, Andrea stepped onto the makeshift stage she had organized for the night and asked for all of their attention.

“I’m really glad so many of you participated so vigorously in this years costume competition. Dressing up has always been fun for me, but a good costume also takes a lot of time and often a lot of elbow grease so we’re here to honor the best of them.”

She cleared her throat and opened an envelope. “The best solo costume goes to Mackenzie with Hayashi and Dardine as runner ups, congratulations.”

Mackenzie, dressed in a perfect cosplay of Mel Medarda from Arcane, came up to the stage to collect her prize, a food basket filled with Halloween treats, while everyone clapped.

“Next up we have the couple’s costume. Runner ups are Nia and Querl and myself and Samantha.” Polite applause filled the room while Lena squeezed Kara’s hand who was holding her breath.

“Winners are Kara and Lena, dressed as Emma and Regina from Once Upon A Time.”

Thunderous applause filled the bullpen as Kara and Lena took the stage. Lena couldn’t stop herself from conjuring up blue sparks all around their feet, making it look like they were igniting them with each touch of their heels to the floor.

Sam handed Kara their own gift basket while Andrea hugged Lena to congratulate her. In the privacy if their hug, she whispered, “I might be a bratty bottom, just like Harley is for Ivy, but you can’t deny that relinquishing control once in a while is refreshing, Evil Queen.”

“Oh, absolutely,” Lena murmured back. “I can’t wait until she gets me out of this dress later tonight.”

Andrea and her shared a laugh, knowing that everything was well between them, even though her and Sam had lost the friendly competition. They both also knew that their respective girlfriends would take wonderful care of them once they’d leave the party.

Read here on my ao3 : )

#supercorptober2023 #lena luthor #kara danvers #supergirl #rojarias #brainia #OUAT inspired costumes

12 notes · View notes

mrowmrowmrow9 · 1 year

Text

#supergirl #kara zor el #alex danvers #j’onn j’onzz #nia nal #brainiac 5 #kelly olsen #dansen #karamel #brainia #mon el #winn schott #cat grant #I’m really curious if everyone hated it as much as me lol

56 notes · View notes

ecoamerica · 20 days

Text

youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

5K notes · View notes

ovenproofowl · 2 years

Photo

BRAINIA & Power Couple Vibes

Happy Birthday @oetravia !!!!

#supergirl #brainia #nia nal #brainiac 5 #dreamer #querl dox #brainy #my gifs #oetravia #i don't know where i was going with this exactly only that i wanted to make a set that embodied moments that screamed Power Couple #which also coincided with the whole team work makes the dream work thing #for kim of course. you dedicated such a lovely brainia set for my birthday last year i just had to repay the favour #so happy birthday my almost birthday twin! hope you have a wonderful day!

234 notes · View notes

rustingcat · 4 months

Text

Had a dream where Nia was in charge of choosing 2 people for a special project regarding protecting the city, but one of the 2 she had to pick was this guy in golden armour. She picked Brainy to fill up the second spot, and apologised to Kara for not being able to pick her as well.

The guy in the armour said he was a descendant of Ballister (from Nimona), and he looked very much like him, only with slightly darker skin. He was very nice, apologising she had to pick him and explaining he's not very good at fighting, he's only trying to live up to expectations.

They could all fly for some reason, and Brainy and Nia were the absolute cutest. She called him her 'little computer' and 'Janet'. Armour guy was confused and started calling him James after that, but he was quickly corrected by Nia.

I don't remember much else besides Brainia being adorable. It was a surprisingly nice dream overall.

#cat talks #brainia #brainy #nia

10 notes · View notes

toxinoire · 6 months

Text

Because of my most recent post about the Love Square and Supercorp I am obligated to make this now because it's easier than an actual thought of fic.

(Also I am still recovering from writer's block so whomever sent me that Heathers Hanahaki ask I promise you I will finish that as soon as a I can)

~~~~~

Kara: So...you two have been crime fighting partners for almost a year now?

Ladybug: Yep.

Chat Noir: Yeah.

Lena: Wow. You've done so much in a year as superheroes and you're still kids-

Ladybug: I'm sorry????

Chat Noir: Haha what makes you think we're kids???

Lena:

Lena: First of all, you *points to CN* sound like your voice just developed and you *points at LB* are pint sized.

Ladybug:

Ladybug: Are you aware that you taking off your heels will make Supergirl look like a giant in comparison?

Lena:

Alex: OKAY! Do you two know each other's identities?

Ladybug and Chat Noir: No.

Nia: No? To be honest, I'm quite surprised. You guys are basically a dream duo. I kind of assumed you knew.

Lena: Yeah, so did I.

Brainy: There's a 90% chance we all did.

Kara: Well, I understand there are plenty of reasons. But, do you mind if we asked?

Lena: Yeah. Kara and I had our share of secrecy problems and trust issues and...yeah.

Kara: Yeah.

Everyone:

Kelly: Get therapy. Please. Anyway, as far as we know, Monarch is no longer a threat to you guys.

Ladybug: ....I have my reasons....

Chat Noir: Other than it's a rule? I don't know. But yeah, Monarch is no longer a threat. Does that mean we can reveal-

Ladybug: NO

Chat Noir: ...

Kara:

Lena:

Alex:

Kelly:

Brainy:

Nia:

Ladybug: We're not having a reveal, understood?

Chat Noir: O-Okay.

Lena:

Lena: You're traumatized.

Ladybug: I- what?

Lena: I know that face. You're traumatized.

Ladybug:

Ladybug: ...

Ladybug: *sighs* Fine. In another timeline, Chat Noir got akumatized and destroyed the whole world because we had a reveal which had gone wrong so badly. And I had to fight him. I don't wanna fight him.

Chat Noir: Wait- what?

The Superfriends: Oh.

Kara:

Lena:

Supercorp: Oh well shit.

Ladybug: Yeah, so do you understand why a reveal scares me now?

Chat Noir: Yeah, M'Lady, of course I understand.

Brainy: If you kept a secret like that from each other then maybe you shouldn't be partn-

Nia: *covers his mouth* Brainy no.

Ladybug: It was ONE FUCKING SECRET.

Kara: ...Is it?

Ladybug:

Chat Noir: ...Ladybug?

Ladybug: ....

Ladybug, in one breath: Gabriel Agreste was never the hero, he was Monarch this whole time and he reset and rebuilt the universe so we're all basically just clones with the same memories and emotions while the real versions of us died and I kept Gabriel's secret to protect his family. *covers her mouth*

Chat Noir: What?

Alex: Oh-

Kelly: I-

Brainy: That's too much even for me.

Nia: What the flying fuck???

Kara: ...Okay that's...uh...I don't know how to describe it.

Lena: Maybe we should've just left the discussion of their identities at "they don't know".

Chat Noir: My father was Monarch????

Ladybug: Yeah- wait...you're father..?

Nia: Oh this just got worse.

Chat Noir: ...Yeah.

Ladybug: ...I didn't know he was your father...

Chat Noir: Yeah, how would you?

Ladybug: Adrien???

Chat Noir: ...Hi...

Ladybug: Holy kwami what the fuck?

Chat Noir: How do I tell this to my girlfriend..?

Ladybug: Um...your girlfriend just told you.

Chat Noir: ...What-

Alex: I genuinely thought it couldn't get worse but here we are...

Chat Noir: Marinette???

Lena: Oh no...

Kara: Yeah we really should've just dropped it when they said they didn't know.

Kara: How long do you think this'll last?

Nia: Guys?

Lena: Best guess? By how their both just stared at each other with so many emotions radiating off them? Longer than ours.

Nia: Guys.

Kelly: Oh for the love of Rao please go to therapy. All of you.

Nia: Guys!

Everyone:

Nia: ...Ladybug and Chat Noir left.

Everyone:

Everyone: Shit.

Alex: They'll be okay, right?

Kara and Lena: Haha no

Brainy: Yeah let's go find them.

Kara: Do we talk to them separately or together?

Lena: Together then separately.

Kara: Got it.

#miraculous ladybug #adrienette #ladynoir #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #cw supergirl #supercorp #dansen #brainia #kelly olsen #alex danvers #nia nal #brainiac 5 #kara zor el #kara danvers #lena luthor

43 notes · View notes

owl-with-a-pen · 2 months

Text

Parthas had a vibrancy about it that Kara had seen nowhere else. She’d detailed it in her article the first time she’d visited with Nia, but no words could really do the town justice. Community really meant something here, humans and aliens alike worked together to keep their town thriving. And it was thriving.

Nia had once told Kara that her mother had been the heart of the town. She’d planted the flowers that still bloomed each spring on every street, bursting out from pots beneath the windows of local cafes. She’d been commissioned to paint original works for a lot of the community venues and had even designed a mural that was now proudly displayed across the first building that greeted outsiders into the town’s borders.

Isabel really was the heart – a heart that continued to beat even now that she was gone. Her vitality was ingrained into the lives of every person who called Parthas home, but none more than the family she’d built that home for.

Kara had been visiting Parthas more than anywhere else over the last few months. Not to fulfil her duties as Supergirl, but rather the infinitely more important duties of Kara Zor-El, Maid of Honour Extraordinaire. She’d been busy booking venues, securing hotel rooms, ordering flowers plus catering - giving just about any regular wedding planner a run for their money - and in all that time, she hadn’t yet needed to return to Nia’s own childhood home.

That was, until now.

“Thanks for doing this with me, Kara,” Nia said as they made their way up the cobbled pathway towards the front porch.

It was her first coherent sentence since they’d reached the town border. Nia had spent most of the drive passed out against the passenger side window, a surly furrow to her brow. Kara was willing to bet she hadn’t had a wink of sleep last night. After all, today’s trip wasn’t exactly something Nia had been looking forward to.

So, she tried to stay cheerful for them both. “Hey, of course.” She beamed, nudging Nia’s arm. “Alex didn’t bestow me with the title Best Maid of Honour Ever for nothing, you know.”

Nia did smile at that, although it couldn’t quite disguise the shadows beneath her eyes. She glanced up towards the house warily, her jaw set. “I’m just glad to have a buffer. Things have still been… weird between us, y’know?”

Kara winced sympathetically. “Is she here yet?”

Nia shrugged. “You tell me.”

Kara took that as her cue. She closed her eyes, opening her heightened senses as she listened out for any signs of life behind the varnished doorframe. She straightened almost immediately. “Well, there’s definitely a heartbeat in there. Your dad’s still out of town, right?”

“Suit and shoe shopping,” Nia said with a roll of her eyes. “I think he’s trying to get a wedding gift while he’s in the city, although he’s not really sure what a Coluan would want. I said waffle iron.”

Kara nodded seriously. “Brainy is getting pretty good with breakfast foods.”

“Right?”

Kara chuckled, catching herself when she noticed how intensely Nia was studying the door. She cleared her throat. “Ready?”

“For this? Never,” Nia muttered, grabbing for the doorhandle. “So here goes nothing.”

The house was just the same as Kara remembered, right down to the pleasant smell of vanilla mixed with acrylic paint that wafted down the hall. From the way Nia stiffened, Kara knew it wasn’t just her heightened senses picking it up.

Isabel’s paintings still decorated the walls, an intricately detailed doorway to her dreams in every direction they looked. Nia kept her eyes trained on the floor, sucking in a deep breath as she took her first step inside.

At the same time, a floorboard above them creaked and a shadow slunk over the banister, dipping swiftly towards them. They both looked up just as Maeve Nal appeared at the top of the stairs, a strained smile already etched in place.

At first, no one said a word.

Kara glanced awkwardly between the two sisters as they exchanged a long and wary look. Kara knew exactly what that kind of a look meant, she and Alex had shared it plenty of times themselves. Once, when they’d been teenagers, Kara had lost control of her heat vision during an argument with Eliza that had nearly burned the kitchen down. The following morning, she’d met Alex with the same expression Maeve was demonstrating now. An unspoken promise to try harder, to be on her best behaviour. No more outbursts.

But there had been- so many more - and so Kara understood the distrust in Nia’s eyes, that hesitancy to believe anything Maeve was selling her, no matter how much they both wanted it to be true.

When Nia remained silent, Maeve cleared her throat. “Nia, Kara, you’re early,” she said with forced cheer. “How was the journey?”

“It was fine,” Nia said quickly, an edge to her voice that made no room for small talk.

Maeve nodded anyway. “Good, that’s good. Do either of you want a drink, or--?”

“Can we just get started?” Nia interrupted, grabbing for the stair rail.

Maeve’s smile hardened into tight line. She pursed her lips, stepping away from the banister. “Of course. Come on up.”

Kara smiled politely as she passed Maeve on the landing. The last time they’d seen each other hadn’t exactly been under the best of circumstances. Not just that, but when they’d first met, Maeve had only known her as Kara Danvers, Nia’s work colleague and friend. Now, like the rest of the world, Maeve knew the truth.

That, right now, she was sharing a roof with Supergirl.

Not that Maeve seemed to care. Maybe she was used to superheroes with a family history as rich as Naltor’s, maybe she’d made the connection long ago - or maybe she was more focused on the well-being of her sister to pay it any thought. This was going to be a difficult experience for them both, Kara knew, and whether Nia admitted to it or not, there was a reason she’d wanted Maeve there with her today.

Nia took the lead down the hallway, walking a path she must have travelled a hundred times over the years, before stopping in front a doorway just across from her dad’s bedroom.

It was already open.

She waited for Kara to catch up from the corner of her eye, bracing herself, before heading through to the other side.

Kara followed her in, Maeve close behind. With all three of them in there, it should have felt crowded, but somehow the room was accommodating enough to fit everyone comfortably. Natural light flooded in from three large windows on the tallest part of the far wall, casting an inviting glow across the tan floorboards. A pink orchid was sat on the windowsill, petals fresh and flourishing in the sunlight.

An easel was set up in the centre of the room, an old canvas still hooked in place. The painting wasn’t finished, its meaning lost to time, but Kara couldn’t help but wonder.

Had this been Isabel’s final dream?

The room wasn’t just home to Isabel’s old artwork. Large antique wardrobes had been pushed against the wall, and boxes of old supplies gathered dust in a corner. The rest of the furniture had been hidden away beneath clean cotton sheets, as though they were already sharing the space with a handful of ghostly figures.

The studio kept parts of Isabel’s life in colour, at least, even if a few had been obscured along the way. Nia’s dad must have been looking after the room as best he could, and although nothing felt neglected, there were certain pieces of clutter that hadn’t been touched for a very long time.

“So,” Maeve said, leaning against the doorway. “Where do you want to start looking?”

Nia didn’t speak; her dark eyes worked over the room, flickering quickly from spot to spot. She didn’t marvel the place like when she’d first visited the Fortress - there was nothing new about it, not really. Kara knew that this was far from Nia’s first visit home since her mother’s passing. Last summer, she and Brainy had stayed in Parthas for three weeks after their engagement announcement, and Nia had since set aside a weekend every month to visit her dad. In all that time, though, Nia had admitted she’d never made it quite as far as her mother’s art studio. It was never locked, the door nearly always open, but she always found an excuse to avoid it.

Now, Kara watched as Nia marked out every item in the room like she was planning an itinerary. Finally, she bit her lip, heading over to the closest wardrobe before pulling it open.

The doors shuddered and groaned on old hinges, the smell of mothballs invading the air, but Nia didn’t seem to mind. Instead, she started to card her way through the heavy articles of clothing that hung inside. Some from decades prior, others more modern in shape and cut. On her right, Maeve opened the wardrobe stood nearest to the door, a host of pastel blues and ivory creams packed tightly on the other side.

Neither sister spoke a word to the other, and Kara suddenly felt that bit more of an invader on the whole ritual. Nia had wanted her there as both a peacekeeper and a friend, but her duty was a little blurred around the edges now that she was stood among Isabel’s old things. Kara decided to open one of the boxes on the floor that hadn’t been taped shut to occupy her time, rummaging inside half-heartedly as Nia continued her search.

She combed through her mom’s things carefully, pausing to squeeze or hold a piece at length when it sparked a fond memory. That was the only time she looked halfway comfortable with what she was doing. Kara felt her pain – aside from the data crystals stored in her pod, she hadn’t had anything left of her parents when she’d been sent away, believing them to be dead. If she had, she might have found the same bittersweet peace that was currently stirring Nia’s confliction.

Every so often, Maeve would offer up a possible clothing option from her closet, pulling a jacket or scarf from the hanger for Nia to see. Her wardrobe certainly boasted a colour scheme more fitting for their objective, but every time Nia shot her down. She was clearly looking for something specific, even if she didn’t know what it was she was searching for.

Maeve stopped trying soon after her fifth failed attempt, and the room fell once again into a tense silence only disturbed by the screech of metal hangers on metal rails.

Just as Kara was planning to suggest they break for lunch, Nia gasped sharply from behind her. Kara turned immediately, tense and alert, only to find Nia stood with something clutched tightly to her chest.

It was a long piece of satin fabric with a pearly texture. Simple and without shape, like a scarf or shawl.

But there was nothing simple about the way that Nia was looking at it.

“Nia—what is it?” Maeve asked.

Nia gritted her teeth, shaking her head. “This was stupid,” she muttered. Her arms fell slack, dropping the satin to the ground. “I-I need some air.”

She stormed out before either of them could convince her otherwise, disappearing around the corner. Kara caught Maeve’s eye guardedly.

“I should—” Maeve began.

“No,” Kara said. “Let me.”

Maeve didn’t try to fight her on the subject. Her own eyes were glistening, unable to articulate her thanks.

Kara didn’t wait for one. She gave it five seconds before following out after Nia, locating her heartbeat a little too quickly. It was thudding like crazy, and the fact she’d only made it as far as the stairs only increased the volume of her grief.

“Nia?” Kara asked tentatively. When Nia half turned her head and she saw the tears that had begun streaking down her face, Kara’s chest tightened. “Hey, Nia, Nia, what is it?”

Nia only shook her head, wiping angrily at her cheeks with the edge of her palm. “I shouldn’t have done this, Kara. It was a dumb idea.”

“Nia,” Kara admonished, taking her arm. “It was a good idea. A wonderful one. Look, maybe we should take a break. We could go to that coffee place on the corner, the one you were talking about earlier?”

“No.” Nia rolled her shoulder out of Kara’s grasp, folding her arms. “I mean—no. I don’t need a break. I just—” She blinked quickly, clenching her teeth. “Just—I thought this’d be easier, that being here with all her stuff would make me feel closer to her, make everything clearer.” She snorted. “But it doesn’t and nothing here feels right.”

“It’s okay.”

“But it’s not!” Nia spun to face Kara fully, the tears of her frustration still glittering on her jaw. “I came here to find something of my mom’s that I could wear for my wedding day, so why can’t I, Kara? It’s all here, so why—”

“Hey, hey, breathe,” Kara instructed, taking Nia’s shoulders before she could back away. This time, Nia didn’t fight her. She stared, chest heaving, cheeks blotched with red, until finally Kara’s words began to sink in. Her lashes fluttered shut and she drew in one long and steady breath, easing it out through her teeth. Kara smiled. “I think you answered your own question. It is all here, there’s a lot to go through, and I don’t just mean your mom’s stuff.” She glanced meaningfully down the hall, giving Nia’s shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

Nia huffed out a laugh. “Maybe you’re right,” she muttered thickly, before rolling her eyes. “I know you’re right. I just…”

“Take it slow,” Kara said. “There’s no rush, Nia. However long it takes, we will find something. I refuse to leave until we do.”

Nia’s lips crumpled into a smile at her pseudo-serious remark and Kara grinned, winding an arm around her back. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Nia agreed, sniffing into her hand.

After drying her face off with some tissues from the bathroom, Kara guided Nia back to Isabel’s study and right into the expectant gaze of her big sister.

“Everything alright?” Maeve asked immediately, abandoning her search.

Nia nodded quickly, avoiding Maeve’s eyes. “Things just got a little overwhelming.”

“I noticed,” Maeve said with a wry smile. “You were looking at this, right?”

The second Maeve lifted up the offending satin piece, Nia faltered. She set her jaw, biting her lip. “Yeah. It’s just… I guess for a second it reminded me of what mom was wearing in the dream realm. When I—”

“Right,” Maeve said, cutting her off with a pained wince. “Of course. Well… maybe, maybe that’s a sign you should wear it? It’d go well with your dress, right?”

Nia frowned. “You haven’t even seen my dress.”

Maeve gave her a pointed look. “And whose fault is that?”

Nia cringed, taking the shawl from her sister’s hands. She weighed it for a moment, letting the satin slide across her palms before she gripped it more firmly. Eventually, she sighed. “Maybe for the afterparty,” she relented.

Kara caught the unconvinced glimmer in Maeve’s eye when she nodded, turning back towards the wardrobes. “We’ll keep looking.”

On the bright side, the tension that had once weighed the room down didn’t seem quite as present anymore. Instead, Isabel’s studio was flooded with easy chatter. Now, when Nia or Maeve found something that they liked, they’d pause to laugh, nudge the other, and recount the memory that came with it.

“Remember when mom thought this hat looked good?”

“Oh my god, her gardening gloves! I thought the neighbour’s dog stole them years ago!”

“She let me live in this sweater whenever I was sick.”

The stories continued like that for hours and soon, Kara found herself laughing along with them, pointing out atrocious style choices in the mix and begging for the stories behind them. She found she was learning a great deal more about Isabel Nal than she ever had when she’d been alive, and with every memory revisited, a little more of that tension chipped away until it felt like nothing but a bad dream.

The laughter came to an abrupt stop when Nia reached the last item in her mother’s closet. She glanced to Maeve, finding that her sister was in the exact same position. Two wardrobes full of stuff to blow through, and they hadn’t found a single thing she could use.

“Don’t look so down in the dumps,” Maeve said, patting her sister’s arm. “Who said it had to be clothes, anyway? What about…” She stopped in the middle of the room, hands on hips as she scoured the studio. Kara watched as she moved purposefully to the far wall, grabbing one of the larger sheets and tugging it free, revealing the furniture beneath.

Maeve’s face lit up. “Nia--- what about in here.”

Kara stood stunned, staring in amazement at Maeve’s discovery. It was an antique dressing table, an old varnished oak piece with an oval mirror fixed into the headboard and one long drawer fitted underneath.

Nia walked over to it, running her hand across the brass handle before carefully tugging it open. Kara peered over Nia’s shoulder, her eyes widening when she realised what rested inside.

“Oh Rao, they’re beautiful.”

The inside of the drawer was inlaid with a royal blue velvet. Pieces of jewellery had been set delicately into each individual indent. Rings, bracelets, necklaces, all made from bands of pure gold that glittered intermittently with flecks of blue.

“Oh wow, mom’s jewellery collection,” Maeve said from Nia’s other side. She turned to Kara, adding for her benefit: “She brought a lot of them with her from Naltor. Each piece is fitted with a Naltorian gemstone. They’re supposed to help focus the mind and body, offer clarity to those that are lost, and not just for the daughters gifted with the Sight.” She nudged Nia’s arm. “Mom would let us wear them out for special occasions sometimes.”

Nia’s smile was distant, caught far in the past. “I remember,” she said, picking her way across the collection. “College graduation, she told me to choose anything I wanted.” Her hand stilled suddenly, clenching her fingers together. She swallowed hard.

“What is it?” Kara asked.

A scornful smile twitched at Nia’s lips. She glanced up, catching Maeve’s eye through the vanity mirror's reflection. “Except… I never did. I wanted to, really, and it felt right, like I was drawn to these stones somehow. My powers hadn’t even manifested yet, but I was so afraid to pick one, because a part of me knew what it meant, even then.”

Maeve turned away guiltily, unable to match her sister’s glare. The room felt colder, suddenly, and Kara fought the urge to shudder. This wasn’t her fight, nor her place to say anything. Whatever Maeve had to say, she’d be speaking it alone.

“Do you feel drawn to anything now?” Maeve asked, surprising them both with her certainty, as though she wasn’t being held under scrutiny at all.

Nia’s brow furrowed, her expression guarded. “What?”

“Well, do you?”

“I—” Nia shook her head, turning unwillingly back to the jewellery out on display. “I- I don’t know…”

Impulsively, Maeve took her sister’s hand, linking their fingers together. “Don’t think about it,” she scolded, rolling her eyes. “Feel, Nia. Draw from the stones’ clarity. Let that guide you.”

When Nia glanced Kara’s way, she tried to offer her an encouraging smile, even if she was a little lost on what was going on here. She’d seen Naltorian jewellery before, Maeve’s first peace offering to Nia had been the necklace Isabel had given her, but this was different. When Nia closed her eyes and her and Maeve’s joined hands drew a line across the velvet, a band of blue energy erupted from Nia’s bracelet, winding at first around their fingers before misting out into fine tendrils like digits of their own, probing the drawer’s interior as though they were living things.

Kara supposed they were. What was Nia’s energy if not an extension of herself? And if the stones offered clarity, then they were certainly helping with the search now. Nia’s face was set with expert focus, her eyes rolling calmly beneath her lids as she followed the path her powers were chasing. Until, eventually…

“Wait,” Nia said, her eyes snapping open. “What’s that?”

Kara wasn’t sure what Nia was seeing, that was until she picked at one of the rings at the corner of the set, pulling loose a small piece of ribbon that had been tucked beneath it.

“A pull tab?” Maeve asked.

Nia’s frown deepened as she tugged at the ribbon. With it, a whole section of the velvet inset came loose, lifting upward.

Underneath was a small hidden compartment, barely a few inches across. And inside that compartment…

“Oh my god,” Maeve said. “Is that…?”

Cushioned between four edges of black velvet was a brilliantly silver bridal comb with cobalt blue gemstones set into the fixings in a wave-like pattern.

“The Naltorian symbol for union,” Maeve explained, her face pale. “I can’t believe it was here this whole time.”

“It’s beautiful,” Kara murmured, unable to tear her eyes away from it. “Oh, Nia, it’s perfect.”

“It’s mom’s,” Nia said tightly, closing her eyes. “She- she wore it for her wedding, but we thought it was lost. I only ever saw it in pictures, never…” She stopped herself short, reaching out for the comb before lifting it carefully into her hands. It looked ancient and brand new at the same time. Nia handled it delicately, as though afraid it might snap under the slightest provocation.

Maeve’s eyes shimmered, an eager look, a hungry look. “There’s this old Naltorian tradition,” she said slowly, her voice wavering slightly, “the daughter that inherits the Sight is meant to wear something of her matriarchal line on her day of union. Her wedding day. Every family has something different, something personal, but that item will stay in a family for generations. This was mom’s, but it was also our grandmother’s and our great-grandmother before her. It could go back centuries. It does go back centuries.” She lifted her hand, as though to summon it. “Mom once told me it would only find a Dreamer when the time was right.”

Kara watched Maeve warily, monitoring her fascination.

“I didn’t even know that,” Nia muttered, just as Maeve’s hand coasted over it. Nia flinched, clenching her hand across the comb in reflex. She narrowed her eyes at her sister, weighing her intentions, before slowly unfurling her fingers.

Maeve looked at Nia curiously. When Nia nodded, she breathed in, taking the bridal comb from her sister’s hand. She studied it carefully, running her index finger over each individual gemstone, testing it for durability.

“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Maeve said as she continued to examine the comb. “About Naltor, about… tradition. Mom always thought she’d have more time and I… I didn’t want to share it. I wanted it to be a secret, just between the two of us.”

Nia bared her teeth at that, a bitter scowl as she made to turn away. Before she could, Maeve caught her arm, stilling her little sister so that she could run a hand along her back, winding her fingers into the edges of her long hair. Kara watched as Maeve bunched Nia’s locks together in her free hand, fashioning it into a low hanging ponytail. “Hold still.”

“Maeve,” Nia murmured, but she did as she was told, watching her big sister through the mirror as she slid the bridal comb into place, holding in a way that the wave of blue perfectly melded into the depths of her dark hair.

Maeve marvelled at her handiwork. “Well, look at that. It’s perfect on you.”

“Something borrowed,” Kara said, nodding towards Nia’s reflection. “Something blue.”

Nia choked out a watery laugh, rubbing at her eyes. She probed at the comb, grinning as she felt for it in her hair.

“I’m sorry I never told you,” Maeve said, her reflection fixed solemnly on her sister. “It was selfish and spiteful and never my secret to keep. From now on, I’ll tell you everything, I promise.”

“It sounds like a lot,” Nia admitted honestly. She folded her arms, tipping back into her sister’s ready embrace. “Maybe you can tell me more about it back in National City? I mean, I still need to show you my dress.”

Maeve’s eyes lit up in surprise. She grinned, nodding her head. “I’d like that.”

“And wait until the whole outfit’s put together,” Kara added excitedly. “Nia, you are going to make one breathtaking bride.”

“Thank you,” Nia mouthed, taking Kara’s hand.

Kara squeezed back gently. “Any time.”

In the end, she supposed her services as social buffer or peacekeeper hadn’t been all that necessary. Her duty as a friend, however? That was a full-time role.

One that she was more than happy to fulfil for the rest of her life.

#supergirl #supergirl fanfiction #nia nal #kara danvers #maeve nal #kara zor el #brainia #my writing #soooooooooo this may or may not be a subtle hint that i'm planning a brainia wedding fic at some point #i was actually going to have this as part of that fic but it sort of got too long to justify so take this as a small taste #this is severely rushed i wanted to get it done before i fell into a super busy week but i hope you like!!

34 notes · View notes