Chapter 12:

Barry woke with a fright, although rapidly remembering that he was with Kara when he fell asleep, kept him from his now natural instinct of attacking anything that woke him so abruptly. Instead, Barry recoiled into a sitting position, leaning against the arm of the couch as far from the noise as possible and quickly analysing the scene before him.

Standing closest was a woman with short cropped brown hair that went to her shoulders, standing in an aggressive stance wearing clothing that seemed casual. Despite her clothing, Barry wasn't blind to the fact that this woman held herself in a way that portrayed military training, her weight back, prepared to attack or move away from any attack.

Moving on, behind her stood a frazzled looking Kara with her hair in a mess and a blush on her cheeks that matched the scarlet colour of her 'The Blur' pyjamas, a look that Barry found insanely cute.

Furthermore, on the other side of the couch, which Barry could see over in his now sitting state, was a large, bald, black man with a stern militaristic look on his face and a similar aggressive stance to that of the woman, although slightly better concealed. Including his similar attire, Barry was led to believe that he and the woman had come together. All of this, Barry was able to analyse within a few seconds of awakening, including the normal speed at which he had moved up the couch to sit where he was now, as to conceal his true nature if need be given the company.

Noticing Kara's more or less relaxed state, Barry decided that the intruders weren't a threat, or at least not to her, by the look on the woman's face Barry wasn't so sure about his own safety. It was then that he decided to answer the question that had awoken him from the best sleep he'd had in ages.

"Barry, Barry Allen, and you are?" Barry asked politely, reaching out for a handshake.

Instead of accepting the gesture, the woman decided to grab his hand in one hand and his upper arm in the other before flipping him onto the ground next to the couch on his stomach rapidly and with no small measure of force. Whilst Barry could have easily fought back, he didn't wish to hurt this person, as she was likely close to Kara in some way given her barging in, in the morning.

As he hit the floor he let out a small groan as the air was knocked out of him, "I'm Kara's sister and I don't care about who you think you are, you need to get out of here and not come near my sister again." Alex hissed into his ear as she pushed his arm down painfully. Or at least it was meant to be painful but from Barry's training in the league he didn't even flinch in the slightest.

"Out, NOW!" Alex yelled as she got up and pushed him away along the floor with a kick to the back. It was then that Kara was knocked from her shocked stupor at Alex's violence towards Barry and she realised that she needed to do something.

"Alex, stop. What are you doing?" Kara said, pulling Alex back by her arm a little harder than she usually would, but she wasn't able to control her strength very well seeing someone harm Barry, especially given how she had been so worried as of late over whether Barry would even survive his recent injuries.

Alex turned to face Kara with an angered expression, "I come here, to your apartment, and I find some guy I've never seen before in my life, sleeping on the couch with you. I need to talk to you, and I don't need this random fool around, and I certainly don't want him near you." Alex answered with thinly veiled disgust as she talked about Barry and acting like it was necessary to protect Kara from him.

Barry stood at this, drawing attention to himself from everyone present, the man with Alex also seemed to have a hostile front towards him and not Kara but was more restrained. Rather than escalate the situation Barry attempted to placate the disgruntled guests, "It's ok Kara, I'll leave you to talk to these two whilst I go for some breakfast. Want me to bring anything back for you?" Barry spoke softly as to not insight any other outbursts from Alex who was currently glaring at him like lasers would shoot from her eyes and burn right through him.

Kara looked between him and the other two for a few moments of contemplation before sighing, deciding that whilst she didn't agree with Barry having to leave, especially in his still injured state, it would be the best way to defuse the tense situation. "Ok Bar, be safe." Kara said, to which Barry smiled and nodded and made his way from the apartment in a normal fashion.

Before he could make it through the door Kara called out causing him to stop and turn, "Wait" Kara said before drawing some money from her handbag that lay on the kitchen counter and stuffing it in his hand. "Here. And get me something on your way back please." Kara asked with exaggerated puppy-dog eyes look, not that she needed it though as Barry would do just about anything for her if she were to ask.

Barry nodded in response, stuffing the cash into his sweatpants pocket and turning out to leave the apartment before the building tension due to his presence could explode, before he could fully turn around though Kara grabbed his collar and tugged him back to face her. Placing a quick peck on his lips Kara then turned him back around and shoved him out the door and closed it behind him with a cute smirk on her face.

Steeling her expression Kara turned around to face the two intruders, now looking angrier than either had seen her for a long time, if ever. Upon seeing her like this, Alex lost a great deal of her aggression towards her sister over what she was doing with whoever that guy was. After a few moments in which Kara made sure that Barry had left the building and heard the door close after him, she addressed her guests, "Sit. Both of you." Kara commanded pointing at the table.

Whilst most of her aggression was directed towards Alex, J'onn was also caught up in it and realised that it would be best to follow her instruction. Kara then joined them at the table, sitting across it and glaring at Alex.

"What the hell Alex, you can't just barge in like that and you definitely can't go and beat up my boyfriend and kick him out. I get it, you're my sister and you're trying to protect me, but that doesn't mean you can control my life." Kara said calming down as she spoke.

"I don't understand Kara. You've never gotten close like that to anyone and the Kara I know definitely wouldn't be sleeping with someone that she has only been with for a short while. I know I've been gone but it's only been a few months so how come you're so close to this guy?" Alex explained her view far calmer than she had been so far.

"I haven't known him for very long, I'll admit to that, but I feel a connection with him that I haven't felt with anyone before. He understands me and he's been there for me when I needed him most, he's also the sweetest and most kind-hearted person I've ever met. Alex, trust me, once you know him better, you'll understand. He has been through a lot but he's still strong and doesn't falter." Kara said, Alex noticing the almost dreamy expression on her face as she talked about her boyfriend.

Alex sighed, realising how much Kara cared for him and that she wouldn't be able to break them apart in order to protect her little sister. "I guess we'll see, but for now I believe that we are both in need of a proper explanation of what happened recently." Alex said gesturing to her and J'onn, "The media coverage didn't exactly know too many of the actual facts in regard to the recent events." She clarified why they were so in the dark.

"Yes, I also am quite curious as to the events that have come to pass Ms Danvers. I'd assume that this was the influence of Non and whatever it was that he was planning." J'onn provided.

Kara sighed and then leapt into the explanation of everything that had occurred in the lead up to the arrival of Barry and how everyone other than Maxwell Lord, Ms Grant, her cousin and herself had been affected by the mind controlling influences of Myriad.

"It was then that the Flash arrived and found the city under the control of Myriad, and started searching for us in order to figure out what was going on." Kara explained.

"The Flash? Do you mean the Blur? The fast guy that was recently in National City when Livewire escape and teamed up with Siobhan Smythe, the Banshee person?" Alex interrupted.

"Yes, but his actual superhero title is 'The Flash'" Kara responded before going into an explanation of who the Flash is and the events that transpired on his first visit, conveniently avoiding actually identifying that it was Barry that she was talking about.

Both Alex and J'onn had been equally as astounded by the existence of the multiverse as she had been when she found out and had both asked a multitude of questions in regards to The Flash's world along with the hero himself.

After making it through the explanation of what had transpired upon Barry's first visit to their universe, Kara then leapt back into the description of what had occurred in the past few days.

Eventually, having explained her speech and its success in breaking through to those under the influence of the Myriad Wave, Kara delved into the repurposing of the myriad device and the resulting fight against the Kryptonian army and Indigo.

It was when she came to the description of how they had averted the destruction of the entire planet and prevented humanities extinction that Alex and J'onn were on edge and truly shocked. She told them how they had thrown the prison out of the atmosphere whilst Barry held off the explosion for as long as possible before flinging himself back through the ship and into Earth's atmosphere.

This confirmed to the two listeners as to why the sky had been lit up with fire when they had been relieved of their crushing migraines. The two had then gone to comfort Kara for the loss of the hero from another universe, that her explanations had led them to believe she was close to.

It was here that Kara's expression had brightened, much to the confusion of her current audience, she had then explained the Flash's survival despite his brush with death, much to the shock of Alex and J'onn who were both now excited to meet this hero who had saved them all, although as per usual such emotions were unreadable from J'onn's stoic expression.

Once she had finished her explanation, Kara waited as silence filled the room whilst Alex and J'onn processed all that had been said and what had transpired in their absence. It wasn't for a few minutes that Alex finally was able to collect her thoughts.

"Wow. I guess a lot has happened since we left, I'm sorry we weren't there when you needed it." Alex apologised but Kara shrugged it off stating how it all had worked out in the end.

"So now that we're past the recent events would you care to explain the man, I found you with this morning?" Alex asked with a hardened expression, obviously still disgruntled by the issue.

Kara took a few moments to decide how to approach her answer before responding to Alex who was staring at her intently. "His name is Barry, Barry Allen and I met him a while ago. When we first met, we got along really well and found that we had a lot in common and we shared everything about one another. He knew who I truly was and yet he never judged me for it, he was never scared or forceful. Instead he comforted me and cared for me, not seeing me as just an invulnerable superhero that's immune to all pain."

"It hurt when he soon had to leave to return to his home, which was a long way away and it hurt more that I may never get to see him again. It was when he left that I fully realised how I felt, I felt a bond with him unlike anything that I've ever experienced and, in his absence, it left a hole inside me. I knew inside that it was only a matter of time before I got to see him again, when he returned like he promised. I promised myself that when he did, I would make sure we wouldn't have to part ways again."

"Then recently he came back, and I found out that he felt the same way and he asked me to be his girlfriend and I felt the happiness that I'd missed since he left skyrocket and it hasn't left me since. When he is here, I feel at home like I've never been able to since Krypton. I understand that this is new for you, almost as new as it is for us, but we aren't going to leave one another regardless of what you say or do so please don't try." Kara pleaded but spoke with a voice that left no doubt as to the solemness of her words.

Alex was left, once again, dumbfounded by what Kara had told her. She had never expected something like this before. Sure, with James she had, had a crush on him and she had believed that they might end up testing out a relationship but to her Kara truly looked like she was in love with this 'Barry'. It was as she contemplated this that J'onn spoke up for the first time, surprising her but not Kara who had seemed to be looking at them expecting something.

"This Barry, he is The Flash is he not?" J'onn spoke in a tone that displayed the fact that he already knew this was the case, "He came and went as this so-called hero did and he seemed injured this morning as The Flash would have been from the recent debacle." He explained.

Kara nodded with a slight smirk and Alex was once again shocked but then upon reflecting on the provided evidence she felt embarrassed at not seeing it earlier herself. Alex then thought over everything before asking the question that had been bugging her about the superhero already.

"Barry is from another universe. What can you expect Kara, he's not just going to abandon an entire life to come here and I doubt a cross-dimensional relationship will work out very well? He is most likely their superhero and they will need him as much as this world needs you." Alex stated, but she now held some concern as she saw how much it would hurt Kara to be forcefully parted from this man.

"That's just it Alex, I need to live my life, I can't set it aside for Supergirl and bring with Barry is the life that I want to pursue. I had already decided after Barry had left that no matter what, I was going to find a way to get to him and give us a try. I don't have to do that anymore though, this time Barry arrived it was for good, he is prepared to restart his entire life here, for me."

"A lot of terrible things happened to him, and he lost almost all he had on his past Earth and now he is here to stay and until he is settled, I am here to support him and hopefully after that as well. Regardless of our relationship he will always be one of my closest friends and has been there for me whenever I needed it, now it is my time to return the favour." Kara said, clearly showing her pain as she spoke of Barry's suffering, only further clarifying to Alex and J'onn how much she cared for him.

"What exactly happened to him to make him want to restart life in an entirely new universe?" J'onn inquired.

"It isn't my story to tell but the general overview is that his family were all brutally murdered by one of his enemies before he finally defeated him, then upon recovery he came here looking for me, only to save our world as well." Kara explained, the other two nodding in understanding.

Alex then stood up and came around to Kara, pulling her out of the chair and into a tight embrace, "I love you Kara, I'm sorry if I was too harsh but I can't bear to see you hurt. I will still have to judge this boy for myself but I'm glad he makes you so happy" Alex said emotionally, her smirking showing that she wasn't going to go easy on Barry, although Kara decided to let it go for now and smiled as she hugged her sister tightly although taking care as to not hurt her.

After Alex stepped back J'onn came forward and also embraced Kara, "I'm glad you are okay Ms Danvers although I'll be expecting a full and detailed debriefing on the events soon, I will also require a meeting to judge this new superhero for myself." J'onn said, Kara shocked by the hug from the stoic director although returning it. Also, she picked up on the fact that J'onn's meeting with the 'new superhero' was going to be more than just an official and impersonal one but, similarly to with Alex, decided to leave the matter for later.

After this the two departed, Alex promising to meet up soon, but having to first smooth over their return to the DEO and make sure that everything from the recent debacle is being taken care of sufficiently. As Kara was finally left alone, she looked towards the clock, noticing that a few hours had passed and then her face lit up red as the silence was permeated by her stomach letting out a monstrous grumble.

As Kara was having the much-needed conversation with the two early morning intruders, Barry had left the apartment slightly confused as to what he should do to pass the time, realising Kara would need longer than him just getting breakfast. He decided that it was worthwhile better familiarising himself with the city.

Staying at a slow pace as to not incite further damage on his still aching body, Barry raced through the city at slightly under Mach 1 and memorised every detail he could see. After a bit over an hour, he had successfully covered every street and alleyway of the city a few times over in order to both analyse and familiarise himself with the city. Whilst doing so he had also successfully stopped two small store robberies in less tasteful areas of the city and helped with a small apartment fire he had passed, all while not slowing down once as to both not be noticed and to work on his skills.

Once he had done this, he stretched out further and covered some of the surrounding areas as well in order to get a broader perspective of his new home, simultaneously reading a paper he had found and comparing his old world to this one. Once he had finished a few more papers he had collected on his run around the city, growing bored of the activity and wanting to get back to Kara, almost two hours had passed. He then sped past the apartment but was disappointed to find Kara still talking to the two, looking like they would take a while more.

Deciding to finally placate the grumbling of his stomach, Barry grabbed a kebab for his late breakfast and then ran to the top of the tallest buildings in the city where he sat on the edge eating the food whilst looking over the city. Whilst National City was larger than Central, he found that the technology was slightly behind his own world and had found that the leading research company known as Lord Tech was doing very little to develop more technology and instead thwarting people of their money with cheap ineffectual things with little competition.

He was also further turned against Maxwell Lord by the numerous scandals that his company had been involved in with him as the ringleader, acting as an anti-hero as well as going against public interests and wellbeing.

Other than that he also found that the leading media conglomerate was Catco Worldwide where Kara worked and whilst he had witnessed the seemingly fluff work they did, he saw that they also did some very good reporting, representing unbiased perspectives as well as supporting both Kara and his superhero personas, as he had seen in a recent article.

The city in design itself also differed as the architecture seemed somewhat blander than Central's more futuristic and interesting designs, rather many buildings were simple. Despite this he found that many of the simpler designs in National looked far more sophisticated and sharper than that of his old world.

Whilst such comparisons had enveloped his thoughts for a short while, they had quickly drifted to Kara as they had done so many times since his first visit, an infatuation that he was finally able to confidently admit to. He could describe what he felt, he had known that he had, had a crush on Iris since he was young and had on multiple occasion believed that he loved her, the connection he felt with Kara was unlike anything else, as if they were bound to each other in this incomprehensible way. As such he now knew what love was like, and his childish infatuation with Iris, the only person to have believed and supported him in his rough childhood, was nothing by comparison.

He felt so much more for Kara than he ever had for anyone else before and the thought of being apart almost physically hurt him which was surprising given he could ignore practically all pain from his League training. Regardless of the short time they had been together he knew that this wasn't just some illusion and that Kara was who he was destined to be with, and he wouldn't let it go, no matter what faced them.

It was as the sun was almost reaching its peak that Barry realised that he should probably get back to Kara as he had promised. With a burst of speed Barry rushed through the city and grabbed a large amount of food as he went before returning to Kara's apartment, or what he guessed was now their apartment although that didn't quite feel natural yet. When he entered, he saw Kara over at the fridge with her head stuck in it, obviously searching for something to consume.

Coughing, Barry immediately received the attention of the obviously distracted Kryptonian as she twirled around in the blink of an eye to face him, still wearing her 'The Blur' pyjamas although with slightly neatened hair. To Barry she still looked unimaginably cute and it took him a moment to break out of his daze, "Sorry I took so long, I didn't want to interrupt. I come bearing gifts though." Barry said with a smile.

Kara rushed over to him at superspeed grabbing the bags of food from his hand and laying it out on the table, the selection ranging from kebabs to donuts. She then shocked Barry as she raced back over to him and caught him in a tight hug as she kissed him passionately before pulling back.

"Ummm, what was that about?" Barry asked, confused.

Kara just giggled a bit and pushed down the deep blush on her cheeks, "I just missed you. Can't I give my amazing boyfriend a kiss?" Kara asked with large innocent eyes staring up at him.

Barry blushed before answering, "Of course not, but I believe it's about time for breakfast" Barry said with a smirk before pecking her lips and speeding over to the table. The two spent the next hour sharing the copious amounts of food whilst laughing and sharing jokes and stories, both savouring one another's company.

After having finished their food Barry had encouraged Kara to go and do something and enjoy herself after the stress of the past few days but she had outright refused claiming that the only thing she wanted to do was be with him and so they spent the rest of the day cuddling on the couch and sharing stories from their lives before watching TV, occasionally kissing one another for no other reason than the fact that they could.

The smiles never left the faces of the two superheros as they spent a day relaxing and for once doing something where there was nothing they would rather be doing, spending time with one another. As dinner had come around the two shared another serving of copious quantities of food before preparing for sleep in preparation for the challenges to come as Barry built his life on his new Earth.

"You can take my bed", Kara said as she came out of the bathroom and stood next to Barry who was sitting down on the couch, still drying her hair from her shower.

"I couldn't do that, I'm a guest and as such I'll take the couch." Barry answered not wanting to impose.

Kara had by then finished drying her hair and put the towel down on the arm of the couch before wrapping her arms around Barry's torso as he did the same to her. "Don't say that, you aren't a guest. As I said, this is our home now. Here, together."

Barry smiled down at the beautiful woman in his arms, getting lost in her deep and entrancing blue eyes. "Regardless, I can't kick you from your own bed and I'm perfectly fine on the couch." Barry reiterated, "Now, goodnight beautiful, and tomorrow we can start getting my life together here." Barry said with a smile.

Kara looked at him worriedly, "OK, but we're only leaving tomorrow if you are fully alright, ok?" Kara said still concerned for his health as she placed a hand on his cheek and rubbed it gently with her thumb. Barry simply smiled reassuringly before pulling back and giving her a light, playful shove towards her bedroom.

Kara smile goofily at Barry before responding with a soft good night and picking up her towel before receding into her bedroom, leaving the sliding door between it and the living room open entirely. Silence descended upon the apartment, only being broken by the noises that emanated from the city as late night traffic and life still drifted through the streets.

It was almost an hour later, as both lay on their respective 'beds' unable to get rest as they longed for the comfort of one another as they had since soon after they'd first met. As a result, Kara gave up and softly tip-toed out of her room next to the couch where she softly placed a hand on Barry's shoulder. He had immediately looked up at her, similarly unable to sleep. "Sorry for disturbing you, it's just..." Kara drifted off with a blush barely visible in the apartment only lit by the glow from the street below, "it's just that I couldn't sleep and was wondering if you would j-join me, I feel more comfortable w-with you there." Kara stuttered out, blushing deeply as she continued to stare at the ground with her hands now clasped tightly together in front of her.

She was broken out of her impromptu staring contact with her own feet when Barry gently pried her hands apart and lace them together with his own at their sides. Once Kara looked up into his eyes he replied, "I feel the same." Barry said, looking at her lovingly, "Let's go get some sleep." He said as he let go of one of her hands.

Kara then dragged him into the bedroom and the two got into the bed where Kara put her head on Barry's chest and an arm around him as Barry put his own arm around her and placed a soft kiss atop her head, "Goodnight Kara." He said softly

"Goodnight Barry." She sleepily replied already drifting off.