As the press conference was wrapping up, Kara, Donna and Diana said their goodbyes as they headed off, back to their superheroine lives.

Lara stayed backstage with Cass and Damian, as they watched Clark and Bruce, who had headed back out onstage to answer some more of the press’s questions. It was relatively uneventful except for Knox asking who Supergirl’s mother was and getting shut down again.

“Tt! The press is so nosey about superheroes’ private lives.” Damian shook his head at the TV. “Baba has been questioned by them as both Batman and Bruce Wayne. Yet the billionaire persona is the one that gets all the smart questions”

“Dad tries to avoid interviews.” Cass said through a mouthful of popcorn. “As Batman, that is.”

“Do you think I’ll get asked stuff like that all the time?” Lara asked, a bit nervous.

“Probably.” Damian admitted, “But that’s the benefit of being the junior partner on a team. You can defer the hard questions to the senior partner.”

“Junior partner?” Lara repeated.

“Sidekick.” Cass interjected, smirking

“I’m no one’s sidekick, Cassandra!” Damian stood on his chair to stand taller than his sister, posing proudly, “I am a hero in my own right!”

Lara couldn’t help but laugh at his dramatics, “I’m fine being a sidekick for now. Less pressure. Anyways, didn’t you two say you had a surprise for me at training today?”

“Yep.” Cass nodded and smiled “Tell her Damian”

“Baba owns a few dance studios around Gotham,” Damian explained, “We rented out a studio for the rest of the day. We’ll have the whole place as long as we want. We’re just waiting for Alfred to come pick us up and we’re ready to go!”

Lara let out a little happy squeal, so happy to get another chance to dance, “That sounds amazing! Do I need to wait till Dad’s done to talk to him?”

“No need.” Cass said, pointing to the screen. “Looks like they’re finished.”

On the screen, the crowd was cheering as Bruce Wayne walked offstage and Superman flew up into the sky.

“Hey!” said Lara, “Where’s he going? Why is he flying away?”

To answer Lara’s question, Bruce entered the room. “Don’t worry, Lara.” he said with a smile. “Your dad’s gonna meet up with us in the air, on the way back to Gotham. Damian says that you’re gonna be training at the studio tonight. I figured that you might want a ride there in the chopper.”

“Chopper?” repeated Lara, somewhat bemused by the offer. “But I can fly now. I can just fly there by myself.”

“Indeed.” interjected Damian. “However, I would advise conserving your strength before training. We don’t want you getting worn out.”

Lara mulled it over in her head. “Hmmm… I’m not sure…”

“The chopper has video games and snacks.” added Cass.

“I’m in! Let’s go!” said Lara, gleefully.

---

Later, Lara was sipping from a juice box while sitting in the Waynes’ private helicopter, piloted by Alfred Pennyworth. It didn’t take long to fly from Metropolis to Gotham, even by helicopter.

To pass the time, Lara and Damian had started a game of Super Smash Bros, which Damian had suggested in order to give Lara an understanding of the chaotic nature of the battlefield.

At first, the odds were against Lara, who was still coming down from the adrenaline rush of the press conference. However, things changed when Cassandra joined Lara’s team, prompting Damian to enlist his father’s help. This proved to be the boy’s downfall as Bruce, despite being an expert in many fields, was absolutely terrible at video games.

Eventually, as they were flying over Gotham harbour, there was a tapping at the window of the helicopter. Everyone turned to see Clark smiling and waving at them.

“Dad!” laughed Lara, as Bruce opened the door to let Superman into the chopper.

“Hi sweetie!” said Clark, giving his daughter a hug. “So, how does it feel to be an official Superhero?”

“It’s awesome!” cheered the new Supergirl. “When can I start? Could we go out and do superhero stuff tomorrow?”

“We’ll see, sweetheart.” Clark chuckled. “You can join me on patrol tomorrow morning. We’ll try and find you something to do. Nothing dangerous though.”

Clark knelt down, so that he was eye-to-eye with Lara. “I just wanted to drop by to say that you were amazing on the stage today! You were so brave and I couldn’t be prouder!”

“Daaaad!” complained Lara, blushing as she noticed Bruce and Cassandra smiling and Damian rolling his eyes. “Not in front of the Bats!”

Clark smiled as he stood up. “I’ll see you soon, Lara. I’ll pick you up after training. Have fun dancing!”

“Bye dad!” Lara called as the helicopter door was opened and the Man of Steel flew back out into the afternoon sun.

Damian got up and closed the door so they could resume their game. Before heading back to his seat, he looked out the window at the Gotham City skyline. “We’re nearing the studio. I texted Colin to meet us there. Cass, did you text…?”

Suddenly, Damian staggered as the helicopter dipped. “Pennyworth! What was that?”

“Apologies, Master Damian.” casually replied the butler, who was also the pilot. “We seem to have picked up an extra passenger.”

Lara stood up, preparing for a fight, “Is someone trying to hijack us?! Who would do something so reckless?!”

“Calm down, Lara. It’s not a bad guy.” Cass sighed and walked to the open door. Without a care, she bent down over the edge and pulled up her partner in both crime-fighting and romance, Bluebird, AKA Harper Row.

Harper was taller than Cass, with blue-dyed hair in a faux-hawk style. Her costume resembled that of a high-tech biker, with a black leather jacket worn over dark blue body armour. Harper’s face was partially concealed by a black and blue cowl, though Lara could still make out a nose-piercing, blue lipstick and dark eyeshadow. In short, Lara thought Bluebird looked awesome!

Harper was holding a grappling hook and smiling with an energy Lara had seen from Conner very often. Her face wore an expression that screamed, “That could have killed me, but it was totally worth it!”

“Phew! Thanks babe!” said Harper smiling at Cass as she caught her breath. “Hope you don’t mind me dropping in?”

Cass smiled and pulled her partner’s mask off, “Hey. Why not wait at the studio?”

“Nah, I saw the chopper overhead and took my shot to see you early!” She chuckled, kissing Cass on the lips and playfully tickling her sides, only closed the helicopter door behind her once they had broken apart.

“Tt! Must you be so mushy in public?” Damian growled, looking up from trying to explain to his father how to activate the smashball.

Cass answered by sticking out her tongue at him. Harper spoke for both of them, “Hey, like you’re any better with your boyfriend.”

Damian grumbled. “.... Just because you’re technically right, doesn’t mean I can’t get annoyed.”

Harper then noticed Lara sitting next to where Cass had been sitting. “Hey!” she gasped. “You’re the new Supergirl! You’re all over the net!”

“She’s joining us for ballet.” Cass said, smiling at Harper’s reaction.

“No way!” said Harper, grinning excitedly. “That’s awesome!”

Lara was bemused by Harper’s reaction. Bluebird had to be at least twice her age, and yet she was going crazy for her like she was a celebrity. “Uh… Hi.” she said, holding out a hand for Harper to shake. “You can call me Lara. Cass has told me all about you.”

The conversation would have carried on, but at that moment, something large, hairy and red swooped past the window.

“It would appear that young Master Colin didn’t want to wait either. Either that or Dr. Langstrom has dyed his fur.” Alfred commented as they hovered over a rooftop landing pad and lowered down to a gentle stop. A moment later Goliath landed a short distance away from the chopper and roared just for the heck of it. After all, why be a dragon if you can’t roar out on the rooftops?

Inside the cooling down chopper, Cass smiled at her little brother, and signed “Your idiot is just as bad as my idiot.”
Harper laughed and pointed at her eyes, then at Cass’s hands, a clear sign even Lara understood as “I saw that.”

Lara decided to add ASL to the list of things she needed to learn, in order to become a better hero, right after learning how to dance, basic makeup skills and conversational French.

“Hi Colin!” Lara jumped out of the helicopter and floated over to her friend, still in his fierce, yet fluffy form. She gave the giant furry dragon a hug as Damian, Harper and Cass departed the chopper.

Bruce handed Damian and Cass a duffle bag each as they walked out. “Here’s your dancing gear, plus Alfred has included snacks for you and the others.” He gave them both a quick hug, before heading back to the chopper.

As they waved goodbye to the chopper as it took off, Lara felt a little more excited for the afternoon ahead. Ballet with her friends was already a fun prospect, but the addition of Alfred’s cooking made it even better. The butler was one of the best chefs Lara had ever met, apart from Grandma Kent, obviously.

As the sound of the helicopter faded, Goliath began to shrink down and shift in form, until Colin Wilkes stood in his place, wearing the same nanosuit from the previous weekend. “I gotta admit, Dami. This suit has saved me from a lot of awkward moments this past week.” said Colin, grinning at his boyfriend, who had walked over to give him a hug.

“You’re quite welcome, habibi!” smiled Damian. “Nothing but the best for my beloved.”

The two boys kissed. Damian made sure to shoot a smug look in Harper’s direction, as if they were in some kind of competition.

“C’mon.” said Cass, taking Lara’s hand. “Let’s get ready.”

Lara smiled happily as she and Cass made their way into the studio. The younger girl couldn’t wait to see what today’s lesson would entail.

---

The ballet studio was on the top floor of one of Gotham’s many skyscrapers. The main dance hall was considerably larger than the one at Wayne Manor, with a wall of mirrors on one side and a large window on the other, which provided a brilliant view of the city.

Before entering the changing rooms, Cass unzipped her duffle bag and showed the contents to Lara. There was a colourful variety of different outfits, all in Lara’s size.

“Picked a few outfits for you.” explained Cass. “Which one would you like?”

Lara peered into the bag, beaming with excitement. She recognized the pretty pink tutu that she had worn the week before, as well as the black dress that Damian had danced in. There was even a blue and red outfit, similar to her Supergirl costume that she considered for a moment.

Then her eyes fell upon two outfits of matching colour, one of which was Cass’s size. It was a beautiful light-pink dress, with matching long gloves and bright-white tights. There was even a silver and pink tiara to complete the look.

“My favourite outfit.” said Cass, reading Lara’s expression. “Wore it at my last performance; The Nutcracker.”

“It’s so pretty!” said Lara, as she looked back at the second outfit, which she could now see was a smaller version of the same outfit. “Is that one for me?!”

Cass shrugged. “If you want.” she said, smiling at Lara’s joyous expression. “Maybe I’ll show you...?” But before she even finished her sentence, Lara gathered up the outfit and flew into the nearest changing room. Cass smiled, picked up her outfit, and headed into her own cubicle.

A few minutes later, Cass emerged in her ballerina attire, and found Lara hovering in the air, looking absolutely adorable in her own matching outfit. The light-pink bodices were decorated with a frilly pattern, and the tutus bloomed out around their waists; perfect for twirling! The white silk tights and pink dancing shoes fit perfectly, and the long gloves and tiara gave the two young ladies a fairy princess look.

Both girls had tied their hair up in a bun. Lara had been practicing her hair-tying technique and had done a pretty decent job recreating the style she had worn it in the week before.

Lara beamed at Cass, feeling such euphoria that she was unsure if she would be able to land. She was quite literally floating with excitement. Cass said nothing, but smiled as she once again made the sign for “Beautiful.”

“Looking great, babe!” Harper called from a seat against the wall, beaming with pride at how beautiful her girlfriend was. “You too, Lara.”

“Thank you!” Lara giggled before coming back down to the ground, attempting to land on her toes but losing her footing. “Are you not gonna dance with us?”

Harper shook her head. “Not my kind of dancing. Besides, I’ll have a better view of Cass from over here.” She winked and blew a kiss to the older ballerina which made her smile.

“Ready to begin!” Damian called with dramatic flair, as he and Colin exited the boys’ changing room. “We have lots to get through, so it’s best if we start soon.”

Colin was in his favorite red outfit from before, but Damian, to Lara’s surprise, was wearing a boy’s costume. His outfit seemed very Robin inspired with green dancing shoes, a scarlet tunic and a small black and yellow cape. At first glance, Lara had to stifle a laugh, as Damian appeared to not be wearing any pants. However, on closer inspection, she realised that he was wearing brown tights.

“Huh.” said Lara. “That’s an interesting look there, Damian”

“Indeed!” said Damian proudly. “It’s based off of the original Robin costume; The one worn by Dick and Jason when they held the mantle. It was designed more for flexibility and acrobatics, which makes it ideal as a base for a ballet costume.”

Cass looked her little brother over for a moment, “This from your side project?”

“Oh, not this again…” Harper said with an exaggerated sigh.

“It is a masterpiece! Not a side project!” Damian countered, posing dramatically so the little cape fluttered behind him. Colin nodded in agreement, though it was clear even he was still struggling not to laugh.

“What masterpiece?” Lara asked before she could stop herself.

“The Prince of Gotham.” Cass smirked and ruffled Damian’s hair. “A new ballet Damian wrote.”

“It’s an important piece!” said Damian, crossly. “Hardly any mainstream ballet has two male romantic parts! Whenever there’s two men onstage, the dance is almost always a fight! This would be unique! Fresh! New! Powerful!”

“Dude, it’s a three hour show about Robin and Goliath.” Harper barely looked up from checking through the bag of snacks. “You wrote a ballet about yourself and your boyfriend. Your masterpiece is a self-insert fanfic.”

“She’s got a point…” Cass said, fighting not to smile.

Damian turned his back on his sister and her partner, “Tt, fine. I was going to ask you to play Batman in the show, Cassandra. But if you really think it’s not worth your time…”

“...Talk later?…” Cass had to admit defeat. Being offered a performance in the cowl was very tempting to her, and she’d at least be willing to hear the rundown of the show before discounting it...

“I want to see it too.” Lara added, curious to see something that Damian had made himself, even if it was just a way to stroke his own ego. “But only if we have time for the demo and the lesson!”

“Right then!” said Damian, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s start with some simple warm-up exercises…”

---

Lara’s second ballet lesson went very differently from the previous week. The first time, she had been carried on the wings of euphoria for the whole experience, with her actual dancing a bit of a mess. This time she was able to channel the joy and better focus.

Cass was a patient teacher, demonstrating every movement and position she wanted Lara to match and turning to Damian if she needed help explaining the details.

At one point, Cass even performed a dance from “The Nutcracker”, with musical accompaniment from the studio’s stereo system. Her dancing was flawless, and earned her a round of applause from everyone, especially Harper. Lara then spent the next 20 minutes trying to emulate Cass’s dancing, with varying degrees of success.

The group had a lot of fun, especially when a debate started over if Lara’s flying to get extra height in jumps and more delicate landings counted as cheating or an asset. Harper, Cass and Colin all saw it as the latter, and were trying to convince Damian to not be so uptight about it, especially seeing how Lara was a beginner.

All in all, Lara didn’t really mind whether or not her flying made her a proper ballerina. She was happy enough to look and feel pretty, all while spending quality time with her friends.

---

The young heroes kept on dancing all through the afternoon, and into the evening. It was getting close to six, before they finally decided to take a break. All of their dancing and excitement had worked up quite an appetite, so Lara was relieved to see the large amount of food that Alfred had packed for the kids.

“Let’s see,” Damian said, deciding to play host and hand out the food. “We have a big bag of Snickerdoodle cookies, some bottles of iced tea and about… 15 assorted sandwiches. Who wants what? We have hummus and vegetables, peanut butter and jelly, grilled cheese, chicken pesto and steak with onions and peppers.”

Lara stared at the bag, amazed that so much food could fit in there “Why so many? There’s just five of us.”

“One of each, please.” Cass held up her hand and Damian tossed her 5 wrapped sandwiches.

“That’s why.” said Damian, dryly.

Harper laughed and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek, the quiet girl already taking a massive bite of her first sandwich. “Don’t try this at home kid! She’s a professional. Cass has a very healthy appetite. Can’t blame her. It takes a lot of fuel to be this cute all the time!” Cassandra smiled at the compliment but still shoved a cookie in her partner’s mouth to shut her up.

“I’ve only ever seen Conner eat like that.” Lara said, a little impressed as she grabbed a cheese sandwich for herself, pleasantly surprised to see it on homemade bread with four different cheeses.

“After our dinner break, maybe Colin and I can give a demonstration from “The Prince of Gotham?”” Damian said, eating his own food while sitting in Colin’s lap.

Harper looked like she was about to make some witty retort to Damian’s suggestion, but apparently decided not to, lest Cass would shut her up with another cookie. Instead, she decided to change the subject by striking up a conversation with Lara.

“So what’s the plan for the new Supergirl?” Harper asked, handing Lara an iced tea. “We might have a spot available on the Outsiders, if you’re interested?”

“The Outsiders?” Lara asked. “Isn’t that Batman’s covert ops team, or something? I’m not sure if I’m ready for...”

“Relax, I’m just kidding!” chuckled Harper. “I’m guessing that you’ll be working alongside your old man to start off with.”

Lara nodded, “I’m gonna try out being a sidekick first, before I think about solo work or a team .” She had been toying with the idea of joining Conner with the Titans, or maybe she, Damian and Colin could try and start a new Titans East. She was certainly excited to see where her career as Supergirl took her.

She suddenly remembered something Harper had said on the chopper. “Hey Harper… when we met, you said I was all over the internet… What were they thaying exactly?” She winced as nerves made her lisp pop up for the first time in hours.

Harper grinned, before holding up an odd looking device, which Lara eventually recognized as some kind of jury-rigged hi-tech cell phone. “Do you want to see for yourself?”

The young girl looked at the phone as if it were a detonator, terrified of what it could do, before slowly nodding and moving closer.

“Be brave, sister.” Harper put a hand on the younger girl’s shoulder before unlocking the phone. “We won’t know the big opinion pieces until late tonight or tomorrow morning, but we can see social media easy enough.” She brought up Twitter with a few quick button presses. “Look here at the top trending? Supergirl is number one!”

“Number one?!” Lara repeated, quickly moving even closer to check if it was true. There it was! Number one trending hashtag in the USA; #Supergirl!

At the top of the feed, Lara saw news footage of herself at the press conference making her debut, and coming out to the world as a trans girl. Below the video, various news sites were already posting breaking news articles, Lara saw messages of congratulations from the official accounts of Wayne Enterprises, the Justice League, and even Olivia Marsdin; the freaking President of the United States!

Lara couldn’t believe it. She quickly checked the other top trends, to see what else people were saying. “#PowerGirl, #TransRights, and… #Superboy?” Lara shifted nervously. “Uh oh… What’s going on with that tag?”

“Oh, don’t worry!” said Harper, “There was some confusion online when the news first broke. People thought that the other super kid was trans. Y’know, Superboy? The big himbo from the Titans?”

Lara snorted and covered her mouth to stop from laughing. “You mean my brother? Yeah, I know him.”

The expression on Harper’s face when she remembered just who it was they were talking to was priceless. “Oh… I… right… sorry about that.”

“Don’t be, you’re right about him!” Damian called from across the room, not bothering to hide his amusement as he chuckled at Harper’s slip-up.

“Hey, look at this!” said Colin, who had taken out his phone and was also checking online. “Your brother just posted this on his TikTok!” Colin turned his phone around so everyone else could see.

“What is up my people!” said a familiar voice, as a video began playing on the screen. They could see Conner in his Superboy costume of a leather jacket, a black Superman t-shirt,red pants, and ridiculous shades, grinning as he sat next to a computer screen.

“Imagine my surprise to look online and see that Yours Truly is trending!” Conner continued his speech. “Can you believe it, my dudes? I don’t know why anyone would be talking about Superboy right now, and I am the one and only Superboy; but while I have all y’all’s attention, have you heard about my little sister?! She’s the new Supergirl, and she’s doing amazing! I know she’s going to do great things!”

Lara blushed as she watched her big brother give her some of the best publicity she had ever received. She found herself giggling at Conner’s antics, even more than usual. She had never felt happier to have him as a sibling.

“So, to all my friends and followers, I’m begging ya! Stop talking about me and spread the word about her!” Conner then lowered his shades and looked straight at the camera. “I’m so proud of you, sis! You have, and will continue to, make us all proud!” He flashed a peace sign and winked at the camera, before it cut off.

“You are a sensation, girl!” said Harper, as she continued to surf the web, finding all kinds of reactions to the new Supergirl’s debut. “The Daily Planet wants to get an interview! Beast Boy live-streamed his reaction! The whole damn world’s talking about you!”

Lara was speechless. This was everything she had dreamed of and more! Not only had all these people welcomed and accepted her as a girl, they were also praising her as a superhero! Her childhood dream of following in her father’s footsteps had come true, and it was all thanks to her discovering her true self.

The young girl looked down at her outfit. It looked and felt amazing on her, now more than ever! She was effectively being bombarded by euphoria from virtually every direction, and it was too much for the poor girl.

Harper could see Lara struggling to process everything, and silently offered her a hug, which the little ballerina graciously accepted. Cass got in on the hug too, and Lara smiled warmly, as a single tear of joy ran down her cheek.