The rest of the week was mercifully normal and manageable for Lara. By the time Saturday rolled around, Metropolis had been so quiet that Clark had agreed to let Lara take a few hours off from usual patrol duties to hang out with her friends.

As it turned out, Lara had received a message from Kathy and Maya, saying that they were once again free to meet up for an afternoon, just as they had promised at their last meeting. They had already arranged a time and a place with Damian, and Lara was more than happy to join them…

________________________________________________________________

When Saturday afternoon arrived, Lara found herself sat with her legs dangling off the upper platform of the Metro-Narrows bridge’s middle tower. She smiled over at Beacon and Nobody beside her, both looking out over the sunlit bay.

“Anyway, I’m glad I was able to see you two again before I left.” Lara said, having just finished telling the other girls all about her upcoming trip to Themyscira. “We should try and hang out more often when I get back.” 

“That’d be great!” Kathy said, before sighing. “But for now, all three of us must head off to parts unknown…”

“Don’t be so dramatic, mon chatton!” Maya said, rolling her eyes. “We all know exactly where Lara is going at least!”

“But you don’t know where your next mission will be?” Lara asked, curious just what it was these two got up to when they went off on their own. She wasn’t even entirely sure who they worked for. Batman? Amanda Waller? Talia al Ghul?!

Maya shrugged, “We don’t usually know until we get our objectives. But these days it’s usually helping out refugees, or maybe preventing the odd war crime from being carried out overseas.”

“My money's on Bialya. Maybe Gamorra?” Kathy speculated. “As long as it’s not Kahndaq.” She laughed, though the casual mention of possibly visiting Black Adam’s home turf did not seem amusing to Lara.

“That all sounds pretty dangerous for just you two on your own.” Lara tried and failed to keep the concern out of her voice.

“Quit worryin’ girl!” Kathy playfully punched her friend’s shoulder. “We might not be bulletproof like you, but we can handle ourselves out there! This next adventure’s just gonna be another story for us to regale you with when we get back.”

“Well, just be sure to tell me all about it too!” A familiar voice called from above. “I never tire of assessing your skills in both espionage and storytelling.” The girls looked up to see Robin had arrived on the bridge platform, riding on Goliath’s back (Despite his size, Goliath was able to land pretty stealthily when he felt like it.)

“Sup, Boy Wonder! You’re up early!” Maya teased her friend, “We don’t often see you and the sun in the same place very often.”

Before Damian could respond, he had to quickly jump off Goliath’s back, as the dragon was already reverting to human form. “It’s true!” Colin said in a growl, still halfway between his transformation but eager to jump in on the joke. “Maybe Dami prefers to avoid the sun because he’s already so bright, pretty and full of energy! He doesn’t like getting upstaged.”

As Colin’s fur receded, his nanosuit formed around him as always to preserve his dignity. This time as it appeared, a small trace of the seemingly-living fabric made its way up onto the boy’s face, providing him with a simple-makeshift cowl. The nanites had apparently been adjusted to protect Colin’s identity too. It was a fairly basic disguise, but it would prevent any nosy civilians from recognizing him at a glance.

“Habibi, please spend more time with Pamela than Harley.” Damian sighed, rolling his eyes at Colin’s joke. “All these terrible jokes make me worried she’s corrupting you.”

“You and I both know that mom corrupted both me and momma long ago. No getting away from it now!” Colin chuckled, putting an arm around Damian as they sat alongside their friends. 

“Hey Colin!” Lara said cheerfully, taking in her friend’s new look. “Any plans for the summer?”

Colin shrugged. “Eh, same old stuff. Shoot some hoops with the other kids on the block, help momma in the garden, turn into a bat-dragon and fight crimes with my boyfriend. Y’know, normal stuff.”

That joke actually got everyone laughing. Even Damian had to grin a little. “Well, you never know, beloved.” he said, leaning on Colin’s shoulder. “With Lara heading off on her own Amazon adventure, she might need our help with defeating a minotaur or slaying a hydra. Best keep your schedule clear in case she needs assistance.”

“Yeah right!” Lara chuckled. “Damian, if I asked you for help defeating any kind of mythical creature, we both know you’d end up trying to adopt it instead of defeating it, even if it was literally trying to eat you.”

Damian merely shrugged off that remark, neither confirming nor denying whether he agreed with what Lara had said.

“But for real…” Lara said, deflating a little as she realised. “I don’t exactly think you guys would be able to come visit me on Themyscira. No boys allowed, Y’know?”

“Hey, no worries Supergirl!” Colin said cheerfully. If anything, he looked rather pleased to hear that he wasn’t allowed on the island. In a strange way, it was actually quite validating for him. “It’s your vacation after all! I’m sure we can still do video calls and stuff. Besides, it’s not like you’re gonna be stranded on the island. At your speed, you could always come visit us in a flash!... Or even in a Supergirl.”

That joke was so bad it got a groan from all three girls, but Lara noticed the quickest smile on Damian's face. Maybe his boyfriend’s jokes were finally starting to wear him down?

“C’mon you two! Lara’s not gonna get lonely on that island.” Kathy spoke up. “With all the amazing activities and opportunities that await her, I’d be surprised if she even finds the time for a quick call home.” She leaned in, giving Lara a sly grin. “I’m just wondering if you’ll come back love struck for a young Amazon warrior like the last Supergirl was.”

“Kathy!” Maya exclaimed, but still giggling along with her girlfriend.

“Hey! Knock that off!” Lara said, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

“Flirting with Amazons?” Damian remarked, with a wicked grin. “After Stamp all but poured his heart and soul out in front of you the other day? Lara, you’re going to break that poor boy’s heart!”

“Damian!!” Lara’s voice cracked and her face was now as red as her cape.

“Wait, what!?” Kathy asked excitedly, totally ignoring Lara’s protests. “Who is this mysterious Stamp character? Gimme all the details, Robin!” 

“It’s nothing really!” Lara said, knowing that there was no way she could downplay this. “Laurence Stamp is one of my civilian friends… who may or may not have said that… Supergirl was his celebrity crush…” Lara prayed that her friends would leave the matter there, but no such luck.

“Come on Kent, tell them the whole story!” said Damian, as Lara noticed all too late that he had gotten his phone out. He had just sent something to Kathy and Maya, and they were both staring at the latest front page article on Maya’s phone.

“What the heck!?” Lara squeaked out, rushing over to peek over her friends’ shoulders, and seeing an article from the Gotham Gazette’s website on the screen. 

While the Daily Planet had been allowed to get an inside exclusive on the events at S.T.A.R. Labs earlier that week, that hadn’t stopped the Gazette from covering basically everything else that had happened that day. Conner and Lara’s confrontations with the protesters had received quite a bit of coverage, but the article that Kathy and Maya were staring at seemed to be focused on something else…

The first thing Lara noticed was an image at the top of the article. She recognized it instantly as an iconic photograph from one of Superman's earliest public appearances, years before Lara had even been born. 

The photo showed the Man of Steel floating high above the streets of Metropolis carrying then-amature journalist Lois Lane in his arms. Lara was very familiar with the story of how her mother had first met Superman (She had technically already met Clark Kent, but this was their first encounter in hero mode.) Lois had been involved in a helicopter accident and been sent tumbling down towards the streets, before Superman had swept in to save the day!

While most people saw this image as a historical moment that signified the start of a new age of superheroes, Lara mostly just saw it as yet another old family photo for her parents to get sappy over. In any case, Lara was more focused on the second photo in the article, placed alongside the snapshot of her parents as if to compare them…

“Ooohh, who’s the cute boy?” Kathy grinned.

“Well Lara…” said Maya. “When were you planning on telling us this?”

Lara let out an exasperated sigh, pulling her cape over her head to hide from the embarrassment. The second photo, of course, depicted her floating over the streets of Metropolis, carrying a nervous-looking Laurence in her arms. The headline of the article read, “Like Father, Like Daughter! - Girl of Steel Rescues Her First Damsel!” 

“How bad is it?” Lara groaned, refusing to look out from under her cape. She knew how annoying these types of articles could be. The last thing she wanted was for the internet to start shipping her with Laurence.

“Don’t worry, Lara.” Kathy said, reassuringly. “This is just one stupid tabloid article, after all. They’ll lose interest soon enough.”

“Yeah! This will all be forgotten by the time you get back from Themyscira.” Maya added, putting her phone away. “Though I must admit, I’m a little curious to know more about this mysterious Laurence…”

Lara sighed. She made a mental note to check up on Laurence at some point soon, since his run-in with Supergirl had made the news. She didn’t want him to think she didn’t care that he had fallen off a freaking skyscraper!

“I don’t know if I’m ready to talk about it…” Lara said, finally emerging from under her cape to answer Maya’s enquiry. “I still don’t even know if I like him in that way yet! It’s just kinda a lot to take in all at once…”

Kathy and Maya exchanged a look. Both girls could tell Lara needed reassurance, not teasing, in a moment like this.

Maya moved closer, resting her hand on Lara’s shoulder as a sign of sisterly consolation. “Obviously a lot has changed for you recently, Lara. It’s only natural to be second-guessing things like this.”

“Thanks Maya…” Lara said, giving a little smile. “It’s just one of those weird things, y’know? And being a girl now, kinda makes it even weirder. Does that make sense?”

Kathy smiled and gave Lara an enthusiastic and playful punch on the shoulder. “You’ve got this, farm girl! There’s no rush to any of this! You’ll figure out who you like at whatever pace you need!”

Lara let out a small sigh of relief. She was grateful to have her friends’ support and understanding in a time like this. All the same, she still gave Damian a look that said ‘leave it alone bestie’. She didn’t really need his help unpacking her feelings for Laurence at this point.

Damian gave a small nod, just enough to admit that his fun had gone far enough for one day. “How about we do something to help you get all this off your mind?” He said, leaping to his feet. “Let me treat you to that authentic Gotham shopping trip while we have the chance! I feel you’ve waited long enough. What do you say, Supergirl?”

Lara had to admit, that sounded like a pretty fantastic idea! She’d initially been nervous about going dress shopping as a girl in public, but things had changed since then. Her previous trip to the streets of Gotham had significantly boosted her confidence in being herself out in public. Especially since she was much less likely to be recognized by any Gothamites.

“Oh heck yeah!” Lara said, grinning from ear-to-ear. “I’m gonna need something nice to wear when meeting the Amazons!” She looked over to Kathy and Maya, who were already stood up and ready to head off. “What do you think girls?” She asked, already knowing the answer.

“A shopping trip on Damian’s tab? Who could say no to that!” Maya laughed.

“Well, that settles it!” said Damian, rubbing his hands together, as Colin started to shift back into Goliath. “Hop on everyone! Next stop, the Gotham Fashion District!”

________________________________________________________________

Approximately 30 minutes later, the gang were being led through the streets of Gotham by Damian, having just left one of the Batfam’s concealed safehouses for a quick change of clothes. 

The girls had all chosen fairly simple clothes (with Kathy using her powers to change her green skin to a more human tone), since they were only planning to wear them for a little while. Once they arrived at the fashion district, their attire would hopefully be swiftly exchanged for something much fancier. 

There hadn’t been a great variety of clothing available in Lara’s size, and she felt a little underwhelmed having to exchange her Supergirl outfit for a basic shirt and jeans combo. At least she knew it was just a temporary solution, and she would soon be treated to a wonderful selection of dresses and skirts.

“I’ve never been to this part of Gotham before.” Lara said, looking around at the high-class boutiques around them. They were all so clean and new, especially for Gotham standards. She wasn’t even sure if many of these businesses would even carry clothes in their sizes. 

“I promised you the best and I’m taking you to buy the best, Kent.” Damian said, looking around the block to try and decide where they should start.

“Uh, Damian?” Lara said, a little nervous. “I know it’s your thing, but could you call me Lara out here? Just in case we run into anyone from school.”

“Don’t worry about it, Lara,” Damian thought she was overreacting, but he still respected her wishes. “Most of our classmates are from Metropolis. You’re safe out here. That and if anyone does say anything, they might just find a katana pinning them to the wall by the collar.”

“No one will do or say squat to you with us here.” Maya said in agreement with her friend. “Anyone even thinks about it, they will have to catch these invisible hands.”

“Or a psychic force pushing them out of the store,” Kathy added.

“Or they might have a back alley run-in with a dragon.” Colin said, getting in on the fun.

“Thanks guys…” Lara felt a bit better, but she still didn’t move to the front of the group just yet. It was still better to let Damian lead. 

Eventually, they arrived at a small but rather swanky boutique which Damian seemed very familiar with. A bored looking manager in a three-piece suit sat behind a desk near the entrance. He eyed the kids disapprovingly as they entered, as if expecting them to cause trouble, but suddenly perked up when he recognized Damian and came over to greet them with a wide Cheshire grin.

“Good day to you, Mr. Damian! Always a pleasure to have a visit from one of the Waynes. Is your father with you, perhaps?” He looked over the heads of Colin and Lara as if hoping to see a limousine parked out on the street.

“Just me and my friends today.” Damian said, clearing his throat. “I wanted to treat them to something nice.”

“Yes well…” The manager’s gaze lingered for a few seconds on Colin’s scruffy red hoodie, Lara’s discount Wonder Woman t-shirt, and Kathy’s bright green crocs, “I’m sure we can find something that is perfect for all of them.”

Damian raised an eyebrow at the man who seemed to be judging his friend’s attire. “If there’s nothing else, I think we can pick out clothes ourselves. We don’t need you to hover around us.”

The manager looked ready to protest, but quickly decided not to make a scene. “Very well Mr. Damian. Be sure to call me if you need anything.” He inclined his head and made his way back to the desk. Either he felt satisfied that the kids wouldn’t cause any trouble, or he had simply concluded that it wasn’t worth annoying Damian, and by extension the Wayne family, by being overly cautious.

Damian turned to face the gang. “Well friends! We have the whole place to ourselves, along with access to enough of baba’s funds to buy the entire inventory!”

“That’s basically pocket change in Wayne terms.” Maya muttered under her breath.

Ignoring that comment, Damian made his way over to a large and varied display of colorful dresses. “Ladies first!” He said, beckoning for Lara, Kathy and Maya to come and have a look. “Let's see if I can find you girls something exquisite!”

________________________________________________________________

Lara could not have asked for a better way to spend her afternoon! She, along with Kathy and Maya, had an absolute blast trying out some of the finest outfits the boutique had to offer. It all became a bit of a blur of spinning skirts, posing, giggling and taking plenty of selfies. By this point, Lara had already worn plenty of dresses and done plenty of impromptu fashion shows, but that did not stop this experience from being quite possibly her favorite one yet!

After trying on several impeccable ball gowns that, while amazing, were way too fancy to wear outside, the girls eventually settled on three pretty summer dresses in matching styles. They were light weight, brightly coloured in light green for Maya, dusty blue for Kathy, and pretty pink for Lara!

“Damian, you have outdone yourself again!” Maya said, happily nodding her approval as she looked at herself and her friends in a nearby mirror. 

“Dang, we look amazing!” Kathy said, admiring her reflection with one hand on her hip. “But what does our main girl think?” She added, looking over at Lara.

Lara did indeed love her newest look, but felt like it was missing a final touch. On a sudden whim, she walked over to a display rack and grabbed a wide brimmed sun hat. “There we go!” She said, smiling with delight. “A new pair of shoes and a cute purse and I’m ready for the tropics!”

Damian nodded his approval and spoke like a master complementing a pupil. “You have learned much in such a short time. I have nothing more to teach you.”

“Oh stop being so dramatic, you goofball!” Lara laughed, taking off the hat to playfully swat Damian with it. “Huh, would you look at that? The hat’s multipurpose!”

Colin laughed as he watched the fun. Having rather simple tastes in clothes, he had been content to wait for the girls to have their fun first before modeling anything for his boyfriend. However, he had found a very nice crimson blazer that he had already pulled aside for later. One of the friendlier shop assistants had recommended a shirt and pants to go with it, but Colin had politely declined. He felt that the clash between the fancier garment and his plain t-shirt and jeans suited him pretty well.

A short while later, the girls had all picked out some cute wedge sandals to go with their new outfits, and Lara had even found a cute decently-sized handbag that matched her dress perfectly! This meant not having to rely on her friends to carry her stuff for her, since her dress didn’t have any pockets. No matter how much Lara adored dresses, the lack of pockets had still been a difficult adjustment since she had started wearing them.

“Thank you for doing this, Damian!” said Lara, admiring her adorable new look in the mirror. “Think you’ll get something for yourself while we’re here?” Everyone had gotten something nice apart from him so far. 

Damian shrugged, picking up a fashion magazine from a table near the changing room and tossed it to her. “Nah, I have enough clothes in my wardrobe from this place. Check this out!”

Lara caught the magazine and looked down at it. She immediately recognized the model on the front cover as Damian’s eldest brother; Dick Grayson, who was showing off a very fancy looking shirt and waistcoat combo and winking at the camera. But Lara’s attention was swiftly diverted as she flipped through the magazine to the section on kids’ clothes…

To her surprise, she saw that Damian had seemingly modeled both the boys’ and girls’ outfits in the same line! For every snapshot of the young heir wearing shirts, jeans and jackets, there was one of him absolutely rocking skirts, blouses and even a few dresses quite similar to the one that Lara was wearing! If that wasn’t enough, it was clear from Damian’s expression in each shot that this was not done as a lark, and that he treated this modeling opportunity with the utmost seriousness.

 “Oh wow…” Lara muttered, noticing a small article next to the photo’s praising “Gotham’s youngest fashionista” for “continuing the family tradition of making his own rules in the world of fashion!”

Damian looked rather smug as Lara stared at the magazine in bewilderment. “Believe it or not, half of those shots weren’t originally planned. Grayson had only asked me to model some of the male clothing at first, but then I overheard they needed a model for the girls’ line as well.”

“So you just threw on a dress without even hesitating?” Kathy asked, having come over to gaze at the magazine with Maya.

Damian shrugged. “I was bored with the clothes I’d been modeling, and wanted a change of pace. The photographer didn’t seem to mind, and of course the magazine people loved it!”

Colin gave his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. “You look amazing in anything, babe.” He smiled, before turning to the girls. “Did I ever tell you about our first real date? Now that’s a story you’ll all wanna hear…”

Suddenly, the bell of the shop door rang, and Lara looked over at the door and froze… Patrick Miller, a student a year or two ahead of her at Reeve-West. One of the more uptight jerks at the school, and someone Lara often tried to avoid. Logic told her there was no way of him recognizing her dressed like this, but that did very little to calm her nerves. 

“Umm… Maybe we should get going?” Lara said, trying not to sound too nervous.

Damian’s eyes quickly darted over to the new arrival talking to the clerk and nodded. “Good idea. Let’s square up the tab and get out of here.” Damian moved confidently forward to the counter to pay for his friends’ new outfits, drawing all of Patrick’s attention on himself. 

“Hey Wayne.” Miller said, talking with a tone like he considered Damian his equal. “Guess I shouldn’t be surprised to see you in a place like this.”

“I’m more surprised to see you here Miller,” Damian said without looking over at him. “You don’t seem like the fashionable sort.”

He shrugged, looking at Damian’s little gaggle of friends with a smirk. “I’m not really. But I know cute girls like to shop here, and that they like it when you buy them something nice.” Patrick smiled and even winked at Lara. He definitely did not recognize her. “It seems like you already beat me to the same idea, Wayne.”

If pretty much any kid other than Patrick had said something like that, Lara would’ve been delighted to know she passed well enough to be called cute. However, Lara almost found herself recoiling from Miller’s attempt at flirting. This was the same kid whose snide remarks about her family background had been endured by Lara ever since she had started attending Reeve-West. No way would she ever want someone like him to even think he had a chance with her!

“Not even close, Miller.” Damian said, signing his name for the family tab to pay for their purchases. “I just felt like treating my friends and my boyfriend to something nice.”

“Boyfriend?” Patrick looked in confusion at Colin. “Huh... I mean, I knew you were gay, but most people at school thought you were with that Kent boy. You sure seem to spend enough time with him.” 

“What? No no, Kent’s just a friend,” Damian said, careful not to misgender Lara. “This is Colin. We’ve been together for a long time now.” He gestured over to his boyfriend who gave Patrick a friendly “‘sup” nod

Patrick looked over Colin, appraising his scruffy clothes combined with his new blazer. “Hmm…” he said slowly, before leaning over to Damian and whispering. “Really Wayne? I mean, at least the Kent kid had some connections. This kid looks like he got rejected from the Suicide Slums!” 

He had probably meant to say that quieter, but everyone in the had caught most of it. Miller gave an awkward laugh, as if he expected Damian to join in with him, but all he got in return was a piercing glare. The room had gone dead quiet, and a noticeable chill could be felt in the air. “Uh… Dami?” Colin started to say, sensing trouble.

“Is that so, Miller?” said Damian, venomously. “Well, even if that were true, I fail to see why it is any of your business, or why it even remotely matters whatsoever! Would you care to enlighten me?” He was now glaring at Patrick with almost enough ferocity to rival Batman himself. 

As Patrick stammered to take back his heavy handed language, Colin leaned over to Lara. “You girls can probably go on without us. I’ll stay here to make sure Damian doesn’t do anything stupid, and we’ll meet up later.

“And miss the fireworks?” Kathy asked, scrambling through her shopping bags to try and find her phone. She at least wanted to get a photo of this incident, purley for personal reasons, of course!

Patrick continued to struggle to save himself. “It's just that… someone like you doesn’t seem like the type to… You know…” Even though he was a good foot taller than Damian, it had become immediately apparent that he was in severe trouble.

“I’m waiting.” Damian said again, his expression sharper than his sword. “My patience is waning.”

Lara considered her options. True, watching Damian demolish this jerk did sound appealing at first, the last thing the Wayne heir needed was an audience encouraging him. Patrick Miller was a notorious meanie, but even he didn’t deserve the full wrath of the son of Batman. Besides, Lara didn’t want to spend the whole afternoon stuck there watching Damian. She had been feeling invigorated with euphoria in her new outfit and was determined to head outside and flaunt it!

“No, Colin has a point!” She said quickly, taking Maya and Kathy by their reluctant hands and pulling them to the door. “Let’s go, girls! Stand too close to these fireworks, and we’ll get burnt!” 

“I’ll text you when the ashes have cleared!” Colin called to Lara as she left, while he prepared to hold his boyfriend back from attacking this idiot. All the same, Colin couldn’t help but be a little excited to see his man fight for his honor… 

________________________________________________________________

As Lara walked down the street alongside Kathy and Maya, she couldn’t help feeling a little overconfident. They all looked amazing as they strutted down the boulevard, dazzling passersby with their fabulous new outfits! Lara was especially proud of how well she had mastered walking in heels. Granted, her wedges weren’t particularly high, but they more than served their purpose.

Lara swung her new handbag a little as she walked, admiring her reflection in the shop windows. It was then that she noticed Kathy was staring at her, smiling. “What’s up?” Lara asked, turning to face her old friend. 

“Just thinking about how far you’ve come.” Kathy said. “I remember when I first met you all those years ago. It’s just so incredible how much you’ve changed Lara! And I don’t just mean in appearance.”

Lara felt herself turning pink, almost wanting to stop and hug Kathy. She had to admit, her transformation from a shy and awkward “farmboy” into a beautiful young superheroine was pretty incredible!

“You’ve come a long way too, Kathy!” Lara said eventually. “Both you and Maya! It’s not fair you two don’t get more credit for all the good you do.”

“Oh Lara!” Maya said, putting an arm around her, having been listening to the conversation. “That’s sweet of you to say, but Kathy and I are very happy with the attention we get as it is.” The taller girl gave Lara a sisterly hug as they walked down the street. “Stealth and subtlety have always suited us more. Though I will admit, it is nice to occasionally indulge in a little… flamboyance.”

For a moment, Lara wasn’t sure what Maya had meant. But then she looked up to see they had arrived at a rather flashy looking nail salon, with a large neon sign advertising its name in bright pink; “Flamboyance!”, along with others reading things like, “Where beauty meets art and passion!” and “Finest manicures in Gotham!”

“You ready for this?” Kathy asked, a hand resting on Lara’s shoulder as they looked up at the boutique.

Lara bit her lip. She had only ever let close friends and family paint her nails before.  She looked down at the blue-and-red polish that Lois had applied the previous weekend, and saw that they were starting to look a little dull. Did she trust the people at “Flamboyance!” to treat her nails with respect? 

She then noticed small rainbow, trans and NB flag stickers in the front window; A clear indication that this was a safe space for LGBTQ+ kids such as them. “Let’s do this!” Lara cheered, as they headed inside.

Maya led the way in, holding the door for her girlfriend and Lara. They walked up to the counter where a greeter, wearing a they/them pronoun pin on a crop top and mesh undershirt, sat talking in an earpiece. The greeter waved to the girls before putting their call on hold. 

“Welcome to Flamboyance!” They said, cheerfully. “How may I help you today?”

“Hi Drew.” Maya said, seeming to recognise the greeter. “We’re here for Lara’s first manicure!” She gestured over to Lara, who gave Drew a small wave. “She’s a friend of ours, and I feel she deserves the best!”

Drew smiled and returned the wave, before checking their computer for the schedule. “No problemo! Joel should have an opening to help you any moment now...”

Right on cue, a flamboyantly dressed man came over to the desk. “Ah Mademoiselle Ducard! Delighted to see you again! And you’ve bought friends as well? How fabulous!”

Lara looked quizzically at Maya. How often did she come to this place that she was on such friendly terms with the staff? Did being an international agent of espionage really leave much time for beauty treatments?

Maya smiled as she gently pushed Lara forward. “Hi Joel! Long time no see! My friend Lara here deserves to go first. It’s her first professional manicure.” 

“Oh how wonderful! I’m honored to help you with it, honey!” Joel excitedly gestured for Lara to come and sit in a nearby chair, which she did after receiving nods of encouragement from both Kathy and Maya. 

Joel produced a large box containing various bottles, brushes, nail files and other various tools for someone of his profession. Lara simply held out her hands expectedly, still feeling a little nervous, but also excited to be receiving a manicure from a trained professional.

“Are you sure this is your first treatment, dear?” Joel asked, taking Lara’s hand and examining her nails closely. “You must be taking very good care to have them looking this flawless! The polish is a little basic, but the nails themselves are simply pristine!”

“Really?” Lara asked, looking at her own hands a little closer. She had to admit, she had never really had to worry about hangnails or chippings, thanks to her powers. Invulnerability really did have its perks in unexpected ways. Lara’s cuticles always stayed pristine and unscathed!

“You simply must tell me your routine!” Joel said, grabbing a nail file and beginning to work on a nail… right before the file broke. “Whoops… Must’ve been worn out.” The beautician said, looking somewhat confused as he grabbed another file and attempted to resume his work, only for that one to also break.

Both Lara and Joel stared for a moment, as the former tried to think of a quick excuse, worried that she would start to look very suspicious if any more tools were broken. “Uuhhh…” Lara said slowly. “Maybe we could skip the filing and just move on to the polish?”

Joel smiled. “Not to worry, dear.” He said, tapping the side of his nose. “I’ve seen things in this very salon much stranger than nails like yours. This is Gotham after all.”

Lara gave a sigh of relief and smiled at Joel. Sometimes, Gotham City being the weirdness capital of the world had its perks. She could tell, even if Joel did figure out who she was from this little clue, that her secret would be safe with him.

“So, what kind of look did you have in mind, missy?” Joel said, sitting down next to Lara showing off his wide selection of differently colored bottles of polish. “If you want my professional opinion, a light purple with glitter would dazzle with that outfit!”

Lara looked over at Kathy and Maya, who were sitting in the waiting area. They had both been looking through a catalog of nail art, but both looked up to meet Lara’s gaze. Both girls gave her an encouraging thumbs up, conveying that Joel’s advice was sound and that it was best for Lara to sit back and let the artist do his thing.

“Sounds amazing!” Lara said, grinning at the beautician.

As Joel got to work, Lara leaned back in her chair and simply took in the moment. There was not much else to do but simply bask in the pure joy and validation the young lady was experiencing. It didn’t matter that she was Supergirl at that moment, and it didn’t matter that she was one of the most famous trans kids in the world at that point. All that mattered to Lara was that she was a girl, and nothing had ever felt more right!