As Lara was paraded through the hallways of the manor by Lian, Maya and Kathy, with Mar’i floating along beside them, giggling excitedly, the young Supergirl couldn’t help but wonder what Lian had meant by, “induction to the Girl Squad!” 

The idea of hanging out and being accepted as a girl among her peers was incredibly validating for Lara, but she couldn’t help feeling a little nervous as to what exactly this “induction” would involve. With Lian at the helm, and Mar’i encouraging her, things could easily take a quick turn into Crazy Town...

“Lian Nguyen Harper!” A voice called out from the lounge as the girls made their way past. “What are you up to, young madam?”

“Uh oh…” said Lian, stopping dead in her tracks, recognizing the voice of her Aunt Artemis. Lara and the rest of the group stopped behind their self-appointed leader, as Lian stared into the open door to the main lounge.

Artemis Crock-West, superhero archer, wife of Wally West, girlfriend of Koriand'r Grayson, and expectant mother, was laying out on a fancy looking sofa. It had been a few months since Lara had last seen her, as was made evident by the now very noticeable bump on the archer’s midriff. It was actually impressive how this pregnant woman in a comfy sweatshirt and yoga pants could still command such respect from her headstrong young niece. 

“Hi Aunt Arty!” Mar’i called, waving to the blond, with less respect but more love. “What are you doing all alone up here?” She asked, floating over to her.

Artemis smiled at the little Tamaranian. “Oh, it got a little noisy in the cave for me, Little Star. But I’m not alone. Wally just went to get me some snacks.” She smiled, looking over the group. “Now what are you kids doing up here? Staying out of trouble?” She smiled as she asked, but there was something a little sharp in her gaze, as if she were preparing to spot and shoot down any signs of mischief.

“We were just taking Lara to do some birthday stuff!” Lian said, keeping her answer vague enough to not ruin the surprise for Lara, as well as to avoid giving Artemis any reason to say no.

However, before the archer could say anything, a red headed blur zipped up the stairs and around the kids. “I’m back!” said Wally West, AKA the Flash, coming to a stop beside his wife with two large plates of appetizers, which he set on the table before her. “I wasn’t sure what you needed, babe. So I got a little of everything! Falafel, mini egg rolls, stuffed peppers, bean dip, the works!”

“Thank you, dear.” Artemis kissed her husband on the cheek, before grabbing an entire chocolate brownie and two prawn crackers, and popping them all into her mouth, much to the horror of the children (Well, except for Mar’i).

“Uhh… Hi Artemis, Wally…” said Lara awkwardly, having trouble keeping up with all the heroes she was meeting today. “How are you guys doing?”

“Oh hey, Supergirl!” said Wally, as if only just noticing her. “Long time no see! Happy birthday!”

“It’sh great to shee you, Lara!” said Artemis, through a mouthful of food, before swallowing. “We were so thrilled when we heard about your big news! You’re a sensation, sweetie!”

“Thanks!” Lara grinned. She was getting so much praise and acceptance from different heroes that it was starting to get a little wearing, wonderful as it was. She looked around for a change of subject, and her eyes fell again upon Artemis’s baby bump. “How are things going, by the way? How are the twins?”

“Oh, they’re as active as ever!” Said Wally, fetching Artemis an extra pillow. “Little Jai and Irey are gonna be world-class archers AND speedsters! Just you wait!”

“We don’t need to wait.” added Artemis with a grumble. “We could just ask Bart if we wanted to know that.”

“Aw, don’t be like that, hun! He said he was sorry.” said Wally, standing up for his fellow speedster.

Lara understood what the expectant archer had meant by that remark. She had heard through the grapevine about the incident at the Flash family reunion, where Bart Allen, AKA Impulse, had accidentally let slip one of his trademark “spoilers”.

Being from an alternate future, Impulse often accidentally gave away knowledge of events before they had occurred. After spotting Artemis’s bump, Bart had asked how “little Jai and Irey” were doing, unaware that the archer had not chosen any names for her kids at that point. Heck, she hadn’t even known she was having twins before that day! After that, it had felt inappropriate to think of any other names for their kids, and Artemis had been rather salty towards Impulse ever since.

“Look, I’m just saying... “ said Wally, “Bart can’t help it if he’s a little… Impulse-ive!” The Flash grinned goofily at his wife, who simply glared at him for his terrible pun.

“I’m just gonna grab you some more snacks, babe.” Wally said quickly, and sped off before the situation could get any more awkward.

After a moment of silence, Artemis cracked a brief smile. She really did love her idiot husband, but she had a reputation to maintain! Besides, he still had a few more months before he was allowed to make dad jokes officially.

Lian spoke up again,  “Well, I for one am super happy for you, Auntie Artemis!” said Lian, waltzing up to her aunt’s side. “I can’t wait to meet my brand-new baby cousins.”

“Thank you, dear.” said Artemis, before noticing Lian’s line of sight. “Oh no you don’t!” She said, playfully pulling the plate away from her, “Get your own brownies, little lady!”

“Worth a shot.” Lian shrugged. “Me and the girls were just gonna hang out together. Holler if you need us…”

“Wait just a minute!” said Artemis, as the girls made their way to the door. “Lara, I’ve got a message to pass onto you. From Kor’i.”

“Oh? What is it?” Lara asked excitedly, flying to the front of the group, curious what message Starfire might have had for her.

She smiled before speaking. “First off, she wanted to wish you a happy birthday and say that she was sorry she couldn’t make it. It was her shift to patrol Bludhaven.”

Lara nodded in understanding, knowing a hero’s work was important and came first. She fought not to chuckle as she saw Mar’i, in her peripheral vision, beaming and positively glowing with pride at her mother.

“And second,” She continued, “She wanted to make you a special offer for your gift; How would you like to go to work with her for a day?”

“Work? Patrolling Bludhaven?” Not what Lara had expected, but it still sounded fun! People often said that Bludhaven was even crazier than Gotham in many ways, so it was bound to be exciting if nothing else!

Mar’i giggled and put a hand on her friend’s shoulder, “I think mommy meant her other job.”

It took a moment for Lara to remember the alien princess had an equally successful career as a fashion model. “Oh… Oh!”

Artemis smiled and nodded, knowing the young trans girl had figured it out. “Yep! Makeovers, hair treatments and beauty tips with industry professionals. She’s ready to take you over as soon as you are ready for it. No pressure, no rush!”

Lara couldn’t help herself. She squealed in delight and flew up into the air, getting a lot of distance thanks to the mansion’s high ceilings. A giggling Mar’i flew up and grabbed her friend by the ankle to pull her back down to ground level.

“Thank you so much!” Lara cried out once she had finally calmed down enough to speak. She rushed forward and hugged Artemis, while still being cautious of her belly.

Artemis laughed, and accepted the hug. “You’re welcome, Sweetheart! And I’ll be sure to pass your thanks, and your hug, on to Kori tonight.”

“C’mon Lara!” Shouted Mar’i, flying over to the doorway to join the other girls. “You still haven’t had your surprise yet!”

“Sshhh, Mar’i!!” Hissed Lian.

Lara giggled, gave Artemis one last hug, before flying off to join her friends, as they headed on back down the hallways of Wayne Manor.

As Lara followed the “girl squad” through the corridor, she couldn’t help getting a sense of déjà vu. Then it all became clear, and Lara couldn’t stop herself from grinning, as she recognized the small side door which Lian had stopped in front of.

One by one, the girls entered the manor’s dance studio, where Lara had first realised that she was a girl. The young heroine looked over at Lian, who grinned back at her, smugly.

“I spoke to Colin about your little dance of discovery.” Lian explained. “Figured it’d be a great place to hold your induction ceremony.”

“Ceremony?” Lara asked, wondering what exactly this induction would involve. She hoped she wouldn’t have to do a blood oath! Not only would that be gross, but it would also prove difficult with her invulnerable skin. More than likely, knowing Lian, this would probably be something more like the “Ring of Fire” from Finding Nemo.

“Yep. All of us have gone through it, and now it’s your turn!” Kathy said, using her powers to open the door to the changing rooms where Lara’s first true epiphany had hit her. 

As Lara peaked in through the door, she noticed three individual boxes sitting on the bench, each with a label and bow attached. Each box evidently contained a gift for Lara; one from Kathy and Maya, one from Mar’i, and one from Lian.

Curiosity peaking, Lara flew over to the first box, deciding to look inside Lian’s first. Inside was an outfit that absolutely screamed “Lian Harper!” A purple open-shoulder hoodie, with the words, “GIRL BOSS!” written on the front in glitter, was the main centrepiece of the outfit. It was complimented by a cute white tank-top to be worn underneath, along with some flashy designer jeans and a pair of purple sneakers.

Lara turned back to see Lian grinning at her. “Well…” The older girl called, “What’re you waiting for? Changing rooms are right there!” She gestured to the curtained cubicles to the left of them.

Lara peered over towards the other two boxes, but they were quickly slid out of her reach by Kathy’s telekinesis. “Try Lian’s outfit first, Lara!” The green girl called.

Bubbling with excitement, Lara picked up the box, gave Lian a quick thank-you-hug, and headed into the nearest cubicle. She emerged about a minute later, feeling like she had walked straight off of the cover of Teen Vogue, to a very enthusiastic response from the other girls.

All four of them clapped and cheered as Lara stepped out. 

“Woohoo, Lara!” yelled Mar’i, as she hovered a foot off the ground.

“You go, girl!” chorused Maya and Kathy. 

“Yeah, Girl Scout!” cheered Lian. “Crush the patriarchy!”

Lara wasn’t quite sure what the patriarchy was, but it sounded like a group of supervillains! Maybe she and her friends could “crush” it together one day? This train of thought was derailed, however, when she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror…

Virtually all of the new outfits that Lara had tried on since coming out had been very traditionally feminine. This was mainly to compensate for all the years of wearing dull boy’s clothes, but also simply because Lara loved to feel girly. She had worn plenty of dresses, blouses and skirts, but very little in the way of jeans or hoodies. The only time she had really worn anything like that was while going out in “stealth mode”, and thus, they didn’t usually make her feel particularly feminine. 

However, this outfit made Lara feel feminine in an entirely new way! The hoodie and jeans weren’t just pretty, they were stylish, cool, and radiated the same strong rebellious energy that Lara was so used to seeing coming from Lian. Lara didn’t just feel like a pretty girl, she felt like a strong and powerful young woman, ready to take on the world!

Lian grinned at Lara’s confident smile as the birthday girl admired her reflection. “Gotta say, Girl Scout…” she said, as Lara turned and beamed at her. “You look stunning!” Lian turned to face the other girls. “Y’know what, ladies? I think our new recruit has already gone above and beyond the call of duty in the fight for girl power! What say we cast our votes now?” 

Mar’i, Maya and Kathy all nodded in agreement, as Lara stared at them, wondering what Lian meant.

“All in favour of welcoming Supergirl into our ranks?” Lian asked, raising her hand, and watching the other girls follow suit. “Well… looks like it’s unanimous. Congratulations Miss Kent! You are hereby an official member of the Girl Squad!”

Lara stared at the girls all smiling at her. On one hand she felt delighted that her friends were all accepting her in such a fun way. On the other hand… “The Girl Squad?”  She asked, confused. “How long has this been a thing, exactly?”

There was a brief pause, before Mar’i, Maya and Kathy started giggling, and Lian gave a small frustrated sigh. “Okay! So maybe it wasn’t an official thing till now, and maaaaybe we overdid the theatrics a little, but who cares! This was fun to set up.” Lian grinned, though Lara could tell that there was something she wasn’t saying.

Lian looked at her feet, and gave another small sigh. “...also I wanted to do something nice for your birthday, and because you’re a really good friend, Lara…” She muttered.

The young archer was suddenly cut off by Lara surging forward to give her a massive hug. “Thanks Lian!” squealed Lara, only remembering to keep an eye on her super-strength when she heard Lian wheeze.

“Okay, Girl Scout…” said Lian, patting Lara on the back. “That’s enough hugging for now. Let’s keep the fashion show going.”

Lara let go, excited by the prospect of more clothes to try on, before giving Lian a mischievous grin. “I wonder how Damian would react to the great Lian Harper showing her soft side like that?”

Lian’s eyes narrowed, as the other girls behind her all smirked at Lara’s remark. “Lara...” She said, coldly. “If you tell Damian anything about what happened…”

“Just kidding!” Lara giggled, as she floated back towards the changing rooms. “I would never betray a fellow Girl Squad member!” She grinned as she flew through the door and closed it behind her, and Mar’i, Maya and Kathy all burst out laughing.

Lian sighed to herself. “Well, she’s gonna lord that over me forever…”

________________________________________________________________

Lara’s next gift was from Kathy and Maya, which turned out to be a pretty white dress with a pair of wedge sandals. Lara was thrilled to have yet another dress to add to her growing collection, especially one as stylish and flashy as this.

She had previously been gifted a large number of very fancy dresses and formal ball gowns by Damian, along with multiple cute everyday dresses from other friends and family, but this new dress was somewhere in-between. Semi-formal wasn’t a look that Lara had really had much experience with since coming out, but she had to admit, she pulled it off nicely.

The sandals were a nice addition too. Lara hadn’t had much practice with walking in heels, but she found these sandals to be easier to manage than she had expected. The heels weren’t too tall, and being Supergirl meant she could be pretty light on her feet when she needed to be.

Lara spun and twirled as the other girls cheered her on. After a few minutes of posing, taking group selfies and complimenting the birthday girl, it was time to open the last box; the gift from Mar’i to Lara.

As soon as Lara closed the door to the changing rooms behind her, she heard the sound of Mar’i giggling excitedly to herself and seemingly rushing off to grab something. This only added to Lara’s slightly wary curiosity.

Lara had known Mar’i since the young Tamaranian had been a baby, and… well, she definitely took after both of her parents when it came to her expressive nature. Pretty much every time Lara had seen Mar’i at parties in the past, she was always bouncing off the walls and drawing attention to herself in one way or another. In fact, this was probably the first party Lara could think of where Mar’i hadn’t worn any kind of fancy-dress…

The Girl of Steel’s eyes went wide as realisation slammed into her. Feeling a mix of panic and excitement, Lara rushed forward and pulled the top off of the final box and stared inside. 

“Oh…” Lara whispered to herself, as she noticed the glittery-green fabric inside. “Oh Mar’i… What have you done...?”

________________________________________________________________

When Lara emerged from the changing room a few minutes later, she wasn’t surprised to see that Mar’i had also changed her outfit. Nor was she surprised by the reactions of the other girls. Lian, Kathy and Maya all smiled and gave Lara thumbs up, though it was obvious that they were also trying not to laugh.

Lara was wearing a short sparkling green dress, with a matching headband and some cute flats with small white cotton bobbles on the top. To complete the overly sparkly look, she also wore a pair of fairy wings on her back. The birthday girl smiled awkwardly at Mar’i who was buzzing with excitement and wearing her own identical outfit. The two of them were dressed… as Tinkerbell.

“TWINSIES!!!” Mar’i squealed with delight, as she flew across the room to hug her friend. “C’mon Lara! Fly with me!!” The young Tamaranian giggled as she floated up into the air and flew in circles, adding more to the fairy look than any normal 5-year-old ever could.

After a few seconds of deliberation with herself, Lara smiled and shrugged. She couldn’t exactly say she was too old to play dress-up, when she regularly flew around in public wearing a colourful cape, dress and tights. Plus, she could hardly say no to Mar’i, who had clearly been looking forward to this moment ever since Lara had come out. 

The birthday girl floated up to join her young friend on the ceiling. “Thanks Mar’i.” Lara smiled and gave the little Tamaranian a small hug. “It’s a really thoughtful gift.”

“Wait!” Mar’i giggled. “You haven’t seen the best part yet…” She reached over Lara’s shoulder, and pressed a small button in between the wings of Lara’s costume that she hadn’t noticed when putting it on. The wings must have been more high-tech than they had first appeared, as they immediately began to flutter!

Lara couldn’t help letting out a little laugh, and Mar’i giggled as she pressed a button on her own wings, which also began to flutter. 

“You like ‘em?” Mar’i asked. “Uncle Vic made me a whole set of wings like that! I’ve always wanted to share them with someone else who can fly, but the wings I got are too small for mommy, and Jake can’t fly yet, so I thought…”

Before Mar’i could say another word, Lara had pulled the smaller girl into a close hug. “I love them, Mar’i!” she cheered. “They’re amazing!!”

Mar’i beamed up at Lara, before squirming out of her grasp and whizzing over to the far side of the studio. “Catch me if you can, Lara!” 

Down on the floor, the other girls watched the two “fairies” play their game of tag. It was quite an entertaining spectacle, made even more fun by the obvious delight that Lara and Mar’i took in the game.

Lara had just managed to grab Mar’i out of the air, and fly her down to land in a giggling, fluttering heap on the floor, when there was a knock at the studio door. Before anyone could say “Come in!” or even “Just a second!”, the door opened, and in walked a slender woman with short black hair, and a stylish white blouse, black pants and high-heels. It was Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman, AKA Bruce Wayne’s wife and Damian’s step-mom.

“Well, well, well…” Selina said, with a sly grin on her face as she surveyed the room. “Looks like you girls are having fun.”

Lara hastily picked herself up, blushing furiously when she realised her wings were still fluttering. “Uhh… Hey Selina!” she grinned as she awkwardly reached for the button to deactivate her wings. “It’s been a while, huh?”

Lara had met Selina on a few different occasions in the past, but this was the first time they had met since she had come out. In the past, Lara and Selina had only been casual acquaintances, only really knowing each other through the Wayne family. This was partially due to Selina’s morally-grey past, but more to do with the shyness that Lara had often felt before she knew she was a girl.

Selina grinned down at Lara. “Oh, It’s been far too long, Lara. Congratulations on everything, honey! The hero work, your coming-out, how much you are rocking that outfit! You are doing amazing!” She sighed, looking at the clothes all over the room. “If I had known what you kids were doing in here I would have brought some of my own clothes to join the fun.”

Lara’s cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling so wide for so long. That was the nicest thing she had ever heard Catwoman say! “Thank you so much! That means a lot coming from you!”

While Lara had often been nervous around Selina in the past, she had always admired her impeccable sense of fashion. Lara remembered attending the Wayne-Kyle wedding with her mom, who had been reporting on it for the Daily Planet, and having been stunned at how incredible Selina’s wedding dress had looked. Come to think of it, the admiration she had had for the wedding dress might have been jealousy, in hindsight. Another sign that Lara was a girl all along…

Lara’s train of thought was suddenly derailed by Mar’i cheering out, “Nana Cat!” Still flying, and wings still fluttering, the younger girl flew right at Selina and hugged her. “What are you doing here?!”

“Nana Cat?” Lara quietly asked Lian, while Selina cooed over how cute her little step-granddaughter looked.

“Since the wedding, Mar’i is the only person allowed to call Selina that.” Lian whispered back. 

“I’m technically your step-grandma too, Lian. I have hugs and kisses for you too!” The reformed thief almost made that sound like a threat, but her smile was too kind. “But I have enough time to embarrass you later. I came to get you girls for cake and presents. You might want to change to something less… Disney?” 

________________________________________________________________

Lara and the rest of her “squad” returned to the Batcave minutes later, running and flying down the stairs. The mob of children excited for cake felt like they could have outpaced the Flash! Selina dutifully brought up the rear to make sure everyone was accounted for.

Lara and Mar’i had, somewhat reluctantly, gotten changed. Mar’i was back in her usual clothes, but Lara had decided to be a little more creative. She was now wearing the dress that Maya and Kathy had gotten her, along with the sneakers and hoodie from Lian’s outfit. She had also been sure to clip the fairy wings onto the back of the hoodie, thereby making her outfit a combination of all the gifts from the other girls. 

The birthday girl had hoped to maybe dazzle the party guests with her new look, before getting ready for cake and presents. However, upon entering the Batcave, Lara noticed that the crowd was already distracted by something else...

Of all the sights Lara had expected to see when returning to the cave, very few of them had included a crowd gathered around Goliath, the Dragon-Bat, which is exactly what she found! Things got even stranger when she noticed little Jake Grayson, giggling to himself as he clambered around on Goliath’s back.

Damian was off to the side, watching the show along with Dick, Wally and Artemis, who had evidently come back downstairs for the main event. Over towards the Bat-Computer, Lara noticed that Barbara Gordon had come down to the cave as well and was still talking to Bruce and Clark. Lara also spotted Cassandra Cain, as well as her partner, Harper Row, in the crowd. Had they arrived late, or had Lara simply missed them among all the other guests?

As the Girl Squad entered the cave, Mar’i squealed with delight when she saw the giant fluffy beast, and immediately flew over to join her little brother on Goliath’s back. Lara chuckled as she watched Goliath (or rather, Colin) playing with the kids. She had felt a little guilty about leaving the boys down in the Batcave, while she went upstairs to have fun with the girls, but Colin had obviously found a way to keep the party going without them.

Colin seemed to be enjoying the attention from the Grayson children, and gave a triumphant roar loud enough to make the cavern shake, much to the delight of all the kids around him. “Yay, Dwagon!” cheered Jake, as he climbed up onto the dragon’s shoulder and beamed down at the gathered crowd.

Then Goliath looked up and noticed that Lara had returned. He gave a small nod and a cheerful grunt. Goliath’s huge clawed paws moved slowly upwards and delicately picked Jake off of his shoulder and set him down on the floor, and Mar’i floated down of her own accord. 

Trying to get the ride to last just a little longer, Jake grabbed hold of the dragon’s red fur. “No! Up!” The small child said, sounding close to tears, only stopping when Dick rushed over and gently lifted him away from Goliath’s paw. The toddler seemed to be just as delighted to be held in his father’s arms as he was climbing on the friendly monster. 

Lara was smiling so much at the adorableness happening before her, that she failed to notice the crowd's attention turning towards her. She finally realised when Damian immediately dropped back into showmanship mode. “Attention everyone!” The young Wayne announced, “Supergirl, the woman of the hour, has returned!”

The individual guests all turned and smiled when they spotted Lara in her new outfit. Lara noticed Cassandra smiling at her, and gave a small wave. It was partially thanks to Cassandra that Lara had realised that she was a girl in the first place. Both Cass and Harper smiled back at Lara as they joined in with the applause, which the Grayson siblings had just started.

Lara felt her heart warm at this reception. She waved out to everyone, smiling and thanking them as she landed in front of the shield-shaped birthday cake, now with twelve lit candles arranged around the edge. 

The room went quiet as they waited for her to blow out her candles. The guests had decided against singing “Happy Birthday”, for which Lara was grateful. She had always found that to be the most awkward part of any birthday, as she never knew what to do while waiting for everyone else to finish singing.

Lara took a moment to think about what to wish for. (Benefits of two birthday parties; two birthday wishes!) She smiled as an idea came for her. What she wanted was another chance to prove herself. A big dramatic moment to help her grow as a hero!

Keeping this thought in her mind, she took a deep breath and blew. Lara was glad her super-breath powers were still developing, as the force of the air not only blew out the fire, but knocked the candles off the cake and onto the floor. Any more power and the entire cake would have gone off the table too!

Nonetheless, everyone cheered and clapped, as Superman came forward to cut everyone a slice. Father and daughter exchanged a smile, both knowing the disaster that had almost happened, but not speaking of it. The kids cheered as Superman focused his heat vision to cut the cake, handing his daughter the first and largest corner piece.

“Enjoying your party, honey?” Clark asked as he began handing out some other slices to the kids in the crowd. “I’m loving the outfit. You look beautiful.”

“Thanks dad! It’s all been so great!” She took a bite of cake and smiled, wondering if the day could get any better. 

________________________________________________________________

After cake, it was time for presents. Lara had already received her gifts from the “Girl Squad”, along with Kor’i’s promise of a major makeover session. However, there was still a considerable amount of goodies from the rest of the party guests.

After the rather over-the-top fashion show with the girls, Lara was happy to receive some slightly more normal gifts for a change. First up, little Jake presented Lara with a gift from him and his dad; a rare Lego set based off of real-life superheroes, which, of course, included a Nightwing minifigure! Next up, Jason, who was as big a comic book geek as she was, got her a giant-sized X-Men omnibus!

The gifts kept on coming. Harper and Cass gave Lara a brand new top-of-the-line makeup kit, Artemis and Wally had bought her a cute selection of hair accessories along with a large fancy box of chocolates, and Selina gave her a beautiful pendant necklace.

Damian had bought what seemed to be a small fortune’s worth of video games, as well as reiterating his promise to take Lara on “the shopping spree of a lifetime” around his father’s fanciest boutiques. Bruce gave his usual gift of an envelope of cash, which Lara was now determined to save for the aforementioned shopping spree.

Finally, Lara came to the last present; a small neatly wrapped parcel from Colin. As she unwrapped the present, Lara smiled at her red-headed friend, who had since shifted back into human form, and was wearing his Robin hoodie over the black jumpsuit he wore for transforming into Goliath. Colin clearly enjoyed wearing his boyfriend’s merch.

“You didn’t have to get me anything, Colin!” Lara smiled as she tore away the paper.

“Of course I did, Lara! It’s the least I could do with you inviting me to both parties.” Colin grinned as his gift was revealed; an oversized, blue pink and white hoodie with the House of El’s emblem on the chest. “It’s not much, but I hope you like it. Every trans kid needs a favorite hoodie.”

Lara held it up with the same delight she had had for the designer dresses. “It’s perfect!” She knew the wonders that a nice baggy hooded sweatshirt could do to help on a bad day, and now she had one that suited her perfectly, both physically and personally. She rushed forward and hugged her friend. “Thank you so much, Colin!”

“Watch your hands, Kent!” Damian called, only half joking, and the friends broke apart. “Colin and I both have other gifts from the two of us, but we’re saving that for tomorrow.”

Lara rushed over and hugged Damian as well, letting a little squeak escape. “Damian, you’ve already done too much for me!”

Once the young heir had regained his breath he smirked, “Must you always be so selfless, Lara? Honestly, what’s the point of having a best friend this rich if you aren’t going to take advantage of it?”

“Maybe she just loves your personality and style?” Colin asked, joining in the joke.

“Don’t be silly, everyone loves my style.” The young heroes shared a laugh at the rare joke from the boy wonder. This was really a perfect day! Could it get any better?

As if in response to the small girl’s thought, the joyful noise of the party was interrupted by the whir and clatter of machines. “Is that the teleporter?” Lara asked confused, “Damian? I thought you said everyone was here.”

“Everyone invited is here…” The young hero made his way quickly through the crowd and to the terminal.

“ERROR! ERROR! UNAUTHORIZED USER!” The computer called out. Every hero and sidekick present took a stand, preparing for whatever was about to come through the portal, as the machine began to whir to life. “EMERGENCY OVERRIDE CODE: “Ya Amar” ACCEPTED.” 

“Stand down!” Bruce called as he ran forward to join his youngest son. “This isn’t an attack. Selina! Come quick! You’ll want to be here for this.” His tone sounded oddly excited for Batman.

“What’s going on, dad?” Lara called, looking for her father, curious why Damian went from looking aggressive and suspicious, to suddenly very happy.

Before Clark could say anything, the teleporter flashed, and they all got their answer. A tall beautiful woman with bronze skin and brunette hair, dressed in a white robe-like outfit with gold accents, stood before them all. 

“Well…” said the woman, in a smooth accented tone that drew everyone’s attention. “I didn’t expect this kind of reception.”

This woman just so happened to be Bruce’s other wife, Selina’s lover, and Damian’s mother. Talia al Ghul had joined the party.