CISCO, HIT THE LIGHTS.

MILLIE was giddy as she led Clark to S.T.A.R. Labs. She'd already texted Caitlin from Jitters that she was bringing a 'certified mega babe' to meet them, and Caitlin was doubting her, as she always did when it came to Millie's taste in men. She couldn't wait to show off her partner for the day.

Clark was blissfully unaware that he was about to be shown off like a prize horse at the rodeo as he and Millie walked to her second place of work. All he was aware of was how the top of Millie's shoulder would sometimes brush his bicep as they walked side by side. He listened intently as she pointed out different landmarks of the city — places she'd frequented growing up or where memorable battles against the Flash had commenced. 

Finally, after fifteen minutes of walking, they made it to the lab, Millie being let in no problem despite the fact that it was an active crime scene. A Metahuman who could control concussive blasts tried to break in to kill Dr. Wells and anyone else that he could find — Barry put a quick stop to it but not before substantive property damage happened.

"Honey, I'm home," Millie called as she led Clark into the central hub, who was looking around at all the technology in awe.

At their assigned desks, Caitlin, Cisco, and Dr. Wells were all present and looked over at them. But after a moment, Wells rolled his eyes and took his leave — he'd denied giving an interview for the paper. No amount of Millie's pleading could ever make him cave.

"Hey, Mill," Caitlin said, getting up with a smile. "Ready for the interviews?"

"Yup," she beamed, perching on the edge of Cisco's desk, who remained seated. "Guys, meet Clark Kent from the Daily Planet."

"Damn, this guy is bigger than Palmer," Cisco noted, staring up at Clark. "And Ray is built like Superman."

Clark chuckled a bit nervously. "Something tells me Superman has a few more muscles than me."

"Me too, sadly," Cisco muttered before sticking out his hand to shake. "Cisco Ramon."

As the men shook hands, Caitlin caught Millie's eye and mouthed the word 'hot' while nodding to Clark, which nearly made her giggle. But she managed to keep her composure.

"Cisco is the chief engineer here," Millie bragged while picking up one of the action figures on his desk. "And then we have the chief bio-engineer."

"Caitlin Snow," she told him, just nodding to Clark politely.

"Nice to meet you both," he told them. "I've heard a lot about you from Millie. She's quite fond of you both."

"I should hope so," Cisco scoffed playfully.

"I don't know," Caitlin said in a teasing tone. "With how many needles she lets us stick in her, I wouldn't be so excited to come here every day."

"Oh, but you're wonderful, delightful personality makes up for it, my perfect princess," Millie said while getting up and going to Caitlin to wrap her arms around her in a hug.

"Needles?" Clark questioned, his thick eyebrows scrunched up. "What is it, exactly, that you do here at S.T.A.R. Labs?"

Millie sucked on her teeth, figuring she couldn't really hide it any more. So, she tucked some hair behind her ear and shrugged casually. "Oh, I'm just here to look pretty and glow."

Now Clark was really confused. "You glow?" he asked, it not making sense to him

"And look pretty," Cisco stressed before snickering. Millie scoffed and reached to pinch him, making him squirm.

Then Millie sighed and looked up at Clark. "I was made into a Metahuman the night the particle accelerator exploded. Now, I let Caitlin study my DNA to see what she can learn."

Clark's expression softened a bit. "That's why you write about Metahumans the way you do. You're one of them."

"Yeah," she said stiffly, worried he was going to say something offensive. Clark hadn't given any indication that he was outwardly prejudiced against Metahumans or anyone in general, but she still had to be careful. "That's why Larkin always gives me the assignments dealing with them. Everyone in town knows."

"They know you... glow?" he asked, tilting his head. "I - I'm afraid I don't quite understand that part of it."

"I'll show you," she said, letting go of Caitlin. Then Millie made a big show of clapping her hands and then holding her arms out proudly.

Clark's blue eyes glanced at her before flickering to an amused Caitlin and Cisco, not understanding what was happening. "I don't understand still."

"I'm doing it!" Millie exclaimed, a grin on her face that felt almost infectious. But he was still too confused to smile with her.

"Doing what?"

"I'm glowing."

The corners of Clark's lips turned up. "I don't think so?"

Millie groaned and lowered her arms. "Well, it's easier to see in a dark room. Cisco, hit the lights."

Clark watched as Cisco grabbed a remote that controlled all the lighting. Slowly, they began to dim before going out altogether. Now, Clark could see in the dark very clearly normally, but he didn't even have to try to strain his eyes this time to see all around him.

No, because Millie McCall was glowing.

The skin revealed by her sundress was giving off a soft yellow glow, reminding him of the morning sun peeking through his curtains to wake him up. Her hair and eyes shined brightly as well, wisps of light floating away from her open palms. A barely-notable warmth emulated from her, and he found himself stepping closer.

Clark was mesmerized, thinking he'd never seen something so breathtaking as he refused to look away from her. He couldn't help himself as he stood right in front of her and reached for her hand.

Millie gasped a bit, her glow flickering before it strengthened. She held her breath, eyes on Clark's softly-illuminated face as he studied her hand, brushing his thumb over the inside of her palm.

Little did she know that Clark was feeling stronger. Feeling like he did after he was weak and injured and in need of strength from the yellow sun above them. Just coming into contact with Millie's strange glow made him feel recharged — it made him feel powerful and alive.

"So," Millie spoke up softly. His blue eyes flicked to her golden ones, him nearly forgetting where he was and who was around him. "What do you think? Pretty lame, right? Not exactly super speed."

"No," Clark said, shaking his head as he dropped her hand. Both noticed how her glow dimmed. "Millie, you're - you're — wow."

Millie bit her bottom lip shyly, slowly stopping the glow that emitted from her. Cisco turned the lights back on as she looked at her feet. "I don't know about 'wow' — I mean, not like I can fly or move things with my mind or anything like that. I just glow."

"You say that like you're not amazing," he said, his blue eyes still shining in awe. "You're like the sun."

Millie's cheeks heated up, not used to anyone really caring about her powers given that they didn't do anything. Well, not in an interesting way.

"The light she emits is similar to that of the sun," Caitlin spoke up matter-of-factly. "Cisco stood next to her for too long and got a sunburn."

"And she just laughed at me instead of helping me put on aloe."

☆︎

"So, the Metahuman, JJ Pearson, is locked in the containment units here at S.T.A.R. Labs while awaiting trial?" Clark asked as the interview with Cisco and Caitlin continued. He'd asked all the questions, as Millie sort of already knew everything and was just there because she had to be.

Well, she wanted to be there too since Clark was so perfect.

"Yes, and then he'd be transferred to Iron Heights in Keystone where they're equipped to house Metahumans long term," Caitlin explained to him. "Central City's police station doesn't have as much funding as Metropolis' — haven't been able to build a Metahuman unit yet."

"I'm working on a design to inhibit powers from the existing cells there though," Cisco cut in. "As the Flash gets a better reputation around town, CCPD are more open to working with S.T.A.R. Labs. And that's really all owed to Millie's articles — the ones by Iris West too, but she just writes about the Flash. Millie handles all other Metahuman news. People's opinions are changing every day because of them."

"Barely changing," Millie muttered, knowing how much the world still hated anyone that was labeled and seen as different. It wasn't just in Central City.

"Baby steps are still steps," Caitlin said softly, knowing how hard Millie always was on herself.

After growing up with strict parents that always expected the best, Millie receiving powers that didn't really help her accomplish anything was hard to swallow. She couldn't keep villains off the street or even do good in her community. She wasn't smart enough to aid Cisco and Caitlin in the lab.

Even her writing wasn't making that much of a difference, she knew. If she wasn't working at Picture News, Iris would still be there and making waves in the pro-Metahuman world as she outwardly supported the Flash.

She just glowed, and while it was a scientific miracle, it wasn't something that Millie was impressed by.

But someone else was, and he couldn't seem to get enough of it.

"I - I know the interview is over," Clark spoke up while putting his tape recorder back into his bag while he looked at Millie. "But I'd love to know more about your powers. You're fascinating."

"Well, what do you want to know?" she asked while leaning against Caitlin's desk, right next to Clark.

"What were you doing when the particle accelerator exploded?"

"It's sort of silly," she admitted with a little grin. "I was at a blacklight part and cutting open glow sticks to splatter the chemicals on people so we'd all glow."

"Now, she releases light energy the same way that the chemical reaction in glow sticks releases energy," Cisco explained. "It's just low levels of said energy, but we're looking into ways to strengthen her powers."

"What could be accomplished by strengthening them?"

"In theory?" he shrugged. "An infinite source of solar power, for starters. Helping plants to grow stronger. Even some offensive uses such as projecting the energy at an enemy. The models we've created suggest that she could one day."

"Cisco wants to make me into the Flash's sidekick," Millie said while rolling her eyes. "But he'd be my sidekick, obviously."

"Well, it would certainly help if you could fight given how often you get kidnapped," Caitlin said with a grin.

"You've been kidnapped?" Clark asked in horror, his mind flashing with dreadful images of her trapped and being tortured.

"Just three times," Millie said, trying and failing to wave his worries off. "And twice by Captain Cold."

"And that's just because he has a crush on her," Cisco said teasingly.

"Well, like I said," Millie stated while dramatically flipping her short hair over her shoulder. "I'm here to look pretty."

"Yeah, but I'm prettier," a new voice said, waltzing into the lab.

When she saw Barry Allen, Millie beamed and skipped over to him. Clark watched with a new interest as she hugged him, Barry smiling down at her as he did so.

"Perfect timing, B. I thought we'd miss you," she said before dragging Barry by his hand over to Clark and the others. "This is Clark. Clark, meet Barry Allen. He's a forensic scientist for the CCPD."

As he shook his hand, Clark raised an eyebrow at Millie. "You've sure got some smart friends."

"I know," she said with a grimace. "They make me feel like I'd flunk out on 'Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader'."

Clark smiled down at the ground. "I remember my mother forcing us to watch that show every time it came on. Then she'd tease me if I didn't know the answers."

"Oh, I'd tease you too knowing full well I didn't know the answers either," she said with a smile. "So, think we've got everything we need for the article?"

"Maybe a few more pictures of the damage done?" he suggested. "Then we can head back to my hotel and get started if you want."

"Sounds good. Let me grab my bag," she said while going to the other side of Caitlin's desk.

And as she did so, her friend leaned in with a smirk. "He wants you in his hotel room," she whispered so no one could overhear — or at least they thought no one could.

Millie scoffed and smacked her arm. "To write an article, you degenerate."

"When he looks like that? You're being suspiciously not-degenerate-like. So I'm doing it for you."