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owl-with-a-pen · 3 months ago

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They could’ve been anywhere for New Year. Literally anywhere – no one was going to blink an eye if you turned up in The Bahamas thirty seconds before midnight with Supergirl as a best friend. In fact, Nia had lost count of the party invites she’d received from acquaintances at best just for being in Kara’s general social circle.

The first proper year since Kara’s identity reveal had gone global and, suffice to say, the dust hadn’t settled just yet.

But no invite came without expectation. In this case, that Supergirl would be a part of the package. Everyone wanted a spectacle. They wanted the suit, the show, the fanfare. Even CatCo’s office party felt a little too intense for Nia’s liking. While most of their co-workers had relaxed into the notion of having Supergirl as their boss, that didn’t stop journalists at rival news stations from practically clawing the doors down, all hungry for the latest scoop into the life of Kara Zor-El.

So, they didn’t spend New Year’s Eve on a beach or a yacht, the roof of a skyscraper or even at CatCo. There was only one place that would’ve felt right – the only place that mattered. Being with the people that mattered.

Which was why Nia found herself snuggled up with Brainy on the Tower’s couch by 5pm. Super suit officially retired for the evening, she lounged about with the rest of her friends in comfortable civilian clothes, wine glass in hand and like a zillion different party games strewn across the coffee table.

Lena and Brainy had both spent the better part of the afternoon poring over the game instructions with the same sort of life-or-death intensity usually reserved for their day jobs, but Nia wasn’t about to complain. Brainy was on her team, after all, which meant that whatever they got around to playing, they were totally going to kill it. She and Brainy were already sat at the champion spot on the game night board – really, the others didn’t stand a chance. Brainy didn’t get all the credit for that, either. Nia’s powers came with some added benefits – like dreaming up specific strategies or figuring out the rules to games they hadn’t even thought of playing yet. She’d gotten pretty good at it, in fact, and no matter what Alex said, it was not cheating.

So long as she didn’t get caught.

“So,” Alex said as she grabbed a beer from the cooler, clinking her bottle against Kara’s glass as she passed. “Your first year without a secret identity. Better or worse than you thought it’d be?”

Kara pulled a face, hiding behind her glass. “Can I answer that after midnight?”

“Staller,” Alex teased, settling down next to Kelly who had already claimed a spot around the coffee table.

“Hey—not fair,” Kara said, speeding over to join them. “I shouldn’t be the only one answering that question, anyway. A lot has happened this year. I mean, the DEO officially started up again, you and Kelly got that new house.” She pointed to Nia and Brainy emphatically. “And you two – you got engaged!”

Nia grinned, leaning forward. “Oh, you mean this?” she asked, brandishing her new Legion ring with pride.

Alex laughed. “We get it, already, your fiancé bestowed you with the power of flight.”

Brainy scoffed. “This ring offers more than just flight.” He scooped Nia’s hand into his as though to demonstrate, linking their fingers together. Nia’s grin widened. “It’s also a psychic blocker and comms device, as well as offering protection against extreme climates found at higher altitudes, otherwise compromising—”

“Show off,” Alex cut in, poking out her tongue.

“Well, I think our engagements rings were pretty perfect,” Kelly said, pecking her wife on the cheek.

“Yeah,” Alex pouted, “but flight.”

Kelly waved her off. “I get nauseous flying anyway.” She prodded the backpack stowed beneath the coffee table with her foot, giving some shape to the folded shield tucked inside. “Guardian stays grounded for a reason.”

“Yes.” Brainy eyed Kelly warmly, sitting upright. “Let me know if that ever changes.”

“I appreciate the suit upgrades, Brainy, really,” Kelly assured him. “But you couldn’t pay me to strap on a pair of wings, or a flight ring for that matter.”

“Understood,” Brainy said, although Nia could tell he hadn’t quite put his flight plans to bed just yet.

When he relaxed back against the sofa, she took the opportunity to claim his lap as her new headrest, making herself comfortable. Their hands remained entwined across her stomach, Brainy’s thumb working gentle circles over her knuckles.

Just before anyone could get too comfy, the elevator doors dinged from across the room and Lena stepped into the loft, her face obscured by an intimidatingly tall stack of pizza boxes. “Pizza’s here,” she announced, struggling to see around the veritable tower in her hands. “There’s more downstairs if anyone has an arm to spare.”

“Well timed, Lena,” J’onn said with a smile. He was already jogging forward, half-phased through the Tower’s floorboards. “I’ll get the rest.”

“Oh,” Lena called out before he could disappear, “I also had to leave the wine in your office.”

J’onn winked before melting through to the level below.

“Prioritising food over alcohol; who are you and what have you done with Lena Luthor?” Alex teased, rising to greet her at the same time as Kara.

“Oh relax, it wasn’t the good stuff,” Lena said as she assigned pizza boxes to the two sisters. “There should still be some of that left over in the pantry downstairs.”

Nia smiled, watching the interaction with absolutely zero intention of moving herself. Instead, she spread out even further across Brainy’s lap, stretching out her arms. “D’you think they ever fight over who gets to deliver here?”

“Why?” Alex asked. “Because we’re superheroes, or because of Lena’s tips?”

“Both.”

Brainy narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. “It is highly likely.”

“Oh, come on you two,” Lena called out in exasperation. “Pizza’s getting cold.”

Nia groaned, pushing herself up with a little help from her fiancé. “Fine, fine, we’re coming.”

----

The next few hours passed with ease. They ate and chatted and played way too many high-stakes card games. Brainy was officially banned from poker by 8 o’clock and Nia wasn’t allowed any more pre-game ‘warm up’ naps. She let it slide – she’d been meaning to practice her conscious dream-state, anyway. Besides, by the time the strong stuff came out of the pantry, everyone was playing with every super advantage they had at their disposal.

Nia wasn’t sure what time it was when she felt Brainy begin to grow restless at her side. Without saying anything, she lifted her head from his shoulder, giving him a little more room to work with. Not long after that, he broke away from the circle, heading out to the balcony for some fresh air.

She gave him some time at first, easing back into the conversation, but as the clock ticked closer towards midnight, she knew she needed to check in. After excusing herself, she creaked her way unsubtly up the stairs, finding Brainy exactly where she'd expected him to be – with his arms folded over the balcony’s edge, his chin tipped up towards the stars.

He always looked so peaceful when he was alone like that. His eyes may have been closed, but his mind was wide open. Right now, Nia imagined a million and one thoughts coursing seamlessly through Brainy’s head. To anyone else, the very notion of thinking to that extreme was a one-way ticket to migraine territory. But Brainy revelled in it. His twelve thought tracks were flourishing, broadened to new and exhilarating horizons ever since he’d first removed his inhibitors.

Sure, it had been rocky at first, but with the time to become reacquainted with his own potential, Brainy had only become more certain of himself for it. He’d once tried to explain it to Nia - how it felt for him without the restrictions that had once clouded his mind - and although there was no way she could ever put herself fully in his shoes, the way he had described it had sounded so profound, so freeing, that she’d found herself tearing up long before he’d even finished talking.

To be alone with one’s thoughts took on a whole new meaning for a Coluan, and it was the surest way to calm him whenever he became overwhelmed. Sometimes, especially after being around so many people for so long, Brainy needed to take a step back from it all and recharge his social metre. To find that connection between himself and the Big Brain and to truly nourish it.

It did mean that he often lost track of time. And so, as quietly as she could, Nia padded out to the balcony edge alongside her fiancé, brushing her arm up against his.

He stirred slowly, his lashes catching the starlight as he turned his head, acknowledging her without having to say a word.

Nia stood with him a while in that comfortable silence. The night air felt sobering against her cheeks, and the city below was so alive. Every brightly lit window was a doorway into another world, another person celebrating that step closer to a new year on planet Earth. Down on the ground, the bars were abuzz with people, whole groups spilling out onto the streets with drink in hand, enjoying the mild weather and fragrant breeze.

Nia took in a deep breath, letting it go slowly. “How long do we have?” she murmured.

“Eleven minutes, twenty-nine seconds.”

She grinned. Brainy’s response was as immediate as ever. She tipped her head against his shoulder, relaxing into his warmth. “Kara was right, y’know. This year has been pretty intense. In a good way.”

Brainy’s lips twitched into a faint smile. He lowered his head, pressing a kiss into her hair. “Indeed, it has.”

“Think we’ll top it next year?”

Brainy’s smiled widened. He turned his attention back towards the skyline, scanning it with new vigour. “You wanted a summer wedding, correct?”

“Spring or summer,” Nia said with a shrug, burying her nose firmer into his throat. “So long as the flowers are out. Mom would’ve wanted to see them in bloom.”

Brainy was still mapping the stars ahead, his dark eyes moving rapidly from left to right. There was a secretive edge to his smile, and a far-away look in his expression - one that told her he was already planning something special. He bit his lip, rising proudly where he stood. “Then the year to come will certainly exceed the last.”

Nia buzzed with anticipation; his excitement was infectious, igniting her own. Honestly, she would’ve married him right that second if it hadn’t been for all the hard work they’d put into the wedding plan already. Although, with an officiator in the other room and a bottle of wine already going to her head, she couldn’t deny it was a tempting thought.

She was thrown from that thought when a flash lit up the sky above their heads, followed by an explosive pop and bang a second later. Instinctively, Brainy clutched at her hand, holding her close. Nia tensed expectantly, but there was no fire to follow, no superhero emergency at all - just a stray firework set off by some kids down below.

“Little early,” Nia murmured, nudging Brainy’s arm. It was still beautiful, though, and she found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away.

The firework streamed across the sky in fine shimmers of red and gold, reminding her a little of the translucence of her own dream energy, before spilling downward, raining a mist of glowing embers just a few blocks away.

The sky was dark again by the time she realised that Brainy hadn’t been watching the firework with her. Instead, he was looking at her, his eyes bright with reverence, twinkling with a different kind of spark.

“Perhaps we should take advantage of the moment,” he suggested in a low voice, leaning forward.

Nia smiled when his lips brushed across her cheek, trailing towards her ear. She closed her eyes appreciatively, tipping her chin closer to his mouth, his lashes tickling her nose. “Aren’t we supposed to wait for midnight?” she murmured.

“Hm.” Brainy’s lips curved in contemplation. His thumb traced the line of her jaw slowly, catching a curl of her hair before stroking it back behind her ear. His fingers lingered there at the nape of her neck, digging fine crescents into her skin. “I think we’ve traversed time enough to allow for certain… deviations in that respect.”

Nia shivered. She didn’t need much convincing; in fact, she was already leaning in for the kiss, one hand still gripping the balcony wall, the other locked tightly around Brainy’s arm, pulling him closer until their lips finally met.

She was still a little heady from the wine, but the kiss felt like a firework of its own inside her chest, warming her from the inside out. Brainy’s hands were electric everywhere they touched - her face, her hair, her neck, each sensation enhanced by the alcohol roaring through her blood.

She could have believed they were flying.

Crap. Because they were flying.

Or at least, she was. Without even thinking, Nia had let her Legion ring tap into the psychic suggestion she’d been broadcasting a little too boldly, so much that it had begun to lift her off her feet.

When she gasped in surprise, Brainy grinned against her mouth. He held her steady, anchoring her to him until she found her footing again - on solid ground, this time.

“Thanks,” Nia mumbled against his chin, ducking her head into his shoulder, trying to assuage her own embarrassment. She could feel the rumble of laughter in Brainy’s chest and couldn’t help but smile along. “That’s definitely gonna take some getting used to.”

They held each other for a while longer, so comfortable in each other’s arms that Nia nearly lost track of time.

That was until voices started picking up back inside.

A moment later, Nia heard Kara calling: “Countdown’s starting!”

Already? Nia could hardly believe it. She grinned mischievously. “C’mon,” she said, tugging Brainy’s arm.

In the light of the Tower, he looked about as flushed as she felt, his blond hair frazzled against his jaw. He moved eagerly with her momentum, letting her drag him towards the balcony door.

By the time they were back inside, the countdown was nearly halfway through. They got as far as the top of the stairs before the final three seconds started ringing out.

Thinking fast, Nia made her decision. Spinning impulsively at the final second, she wrapped her arms around Brainy’s shoulders, pulling him in for another – official – kiss.

His lips were the warmest welcome she could hope for to usher in the new year.

They parted just as a bottle popped across the room. Brainy’s hands slipped around Nia’s waist, bumping his nose against hers before they both blinked back into reality, noticing for the first time the chaos that had erupted in just seconds below them.

“Ah,” Brainy said under his breath.

“Uh-huh,” Nia answered.

Over at the coffee table, Lena was pouring champagne flutes like her life depended on it from a bottle that’s neck was furiously frothing over courtesy of a certain over-eager Kryptonian. Kara was already making up for her mistake by super-speeding glasses under the bottle faster than they could spill over, placing them on every available surface she could find.

“Okay, you guys really need to start taking some of these,” Kara insisted.

“Way ahead of you,” Alex said, snatching two flutes from the table and handing one to Kelly. They clinked glasses, sharing another kiss.

J’onn laughed. “Here, let me help,” he said, angling the bottle in Lena’s hands so that it was a little less explosive on the next pour.

Lena let go of the bottle entirely, more than happy to let J’onn take over in exchange for a glass of her own.

“Us too,” Nia said, catching Brainy’s eye. “I could use another glass.”

Lena raised a brow expectantly. “Oh, I bet you do.”

Nia tried not to blush.

Once everyone had settled back around the table, flutes in hand, champagne mostly mopped up, Alex raised her glass, tapping it insistently with a fingernail. Instead of instigating a speech, she pointed her glass towards Kara. “So?” she asked. “Better or worse?”

Kara groaned aloud, muffling her voice with the rim of her glass. “I was hoping you’d forget.”

Alex winked. “Never.”

Kara rolled her eyes, lifting her free hand in surrender. “You know what? Fine. I’ll say it. Because, as a matter of fact, despite how freeing this year has been for me, I can’t deny that it’s also been hard. Really hard at times. In fact, for a while, I really did begin to wonder whether any of this was worth it.” She pursed her lips, knocking Alex’s arm. “But,” she countered, drawing out the word, “every time the media tried to beat me down, or the military pushed into my affairs, you were all there for me. You stood by me, supported this decision and supported me whenever I needed it. You reminded me why I wanted this in the first place.” Kara’s lips were already starting to tremble. She swiped quickly at her eyes, sniffing. “What I’m saying is, I really couldn’t have got through this year without you guys.”

“Kara,” Alex said softly.

“Stop, or I won’t finish,” Kara laughed. With a steadying breath, she hooked one arm around her sister’s shoulders, looping her other with Lena’s. “So, yes, this year could have been the worst, but it was the best because of all of you.” She raised her glass above Alex’s head, beaming proudly. “To family!”

“To family,” everyone echoed back.

Nia clinked her drink with everyone else, trying desperately to hold it together. She locked eyes with Brainy from across the table, seeing the happy tears that already stained his cheeks, the easy smile he wore now for no one’s benefit but his own, and realised just how lucky she was to be surrounded by so much love. Despite the hardships she’d faced in both her personal and hero life, she had a family here, one that may have come under its fair share of strain, sure, but had only grown stronger from what it had endured.

The Legion ring suddenly felt warmer around her finger, like a hug from a new friend. Maybe it was all in her head, or maybe it really was responding to her good mood.

Brainy had told her once that a Legion ring meant different things to different people, but at its heart, it represented the joined forces of the Legionnaires themselves. Their connection to one another, despite what made them so different.

For her, though, at its core, the ring was a promise. As certain as the one she and Brainy had made to each other on the training room floor. A promise shared by the echo of her friends right that second.

To family.

With the person she loved the most right there at her side, their devotion to each other worn as plainly as the rings on their fingers, she realised that promise was only just getting started.

Nia grinned, taking Brainy’s hand.

She couldn’t wait for the year ahead.

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ultfreakme · 7 months ago

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Current status

#jon kent #jay nakamura #nia nal #superman #jonjay #jayjon #jayjonnia #ultfreakme art #superman son of kal el #brainiac 5 #brainia #dc #dcu #dc pride #dc fanart #league of poorly socialized teenagers

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rowinablx · 1 month ago

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#arrowverse shipping tournament #arrowverse #supergirl #supercorp #brainia #round three

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forbescaroline · 2 years ago

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235 FAVORITE SHIPS OF ALL TIME (ranked by my followers) 167. querl dox and nia nal - supergirl “You will always be with me, Nia Nal. No matter where I go.”

#brainia #brainy x nia #supergirledit #cwsupergirlgifs #brainiaedit #dctvedit #dailyflarrowgifs #querl dox #brainac 5 #nia nal #supergirl #**#235ships #mine: supergirl #mine: brainy and nia

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toxinoire · 1 year ago

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Because of boredom, here's some Superfriends(+Supercorp, Brainia and Dansen if you squint) headcannons (Miraculous season 6 please just release I'm begging, Heathers The Musical please come back)

~~~~~

• Kara is actually scared shitless of the dark, but due to xray vision she doesn't mind it. So when she solar flares she tries to sleep with the lights on. Lena found out about it and made her a nightlight.

• Brainy, Nia and Esme definitely watch Miraculous.

• Lena refers to them all as greatest friends, however she refers to Nia as her favorite nuisance and Alex as her least favorite nuisance (she loves them tho)

• Nia and Esme made Kara and Lena binge watch Miraculous all the from season 1 with them once and now they're attached to the plot. (Kara and Lena had to pause and breathe soooo many times during that night they watched it for the first time because holy shit why is everything similar to them)

• Kara actually really loves listening to cover artists like Annapantsu, Lydia The Bard, Chloe Breez, Reinaeiry, Caleb Hayles, Will Stetson, etc. (Yes, Will Stetson mostly does English covers but have you heard that man's voice?)

• Kelly made Lena listen to the singer Malinda Kathleen Reese's songs because of the fact that she uses Irish style music and oh no, Lena's playlist is overflowing now.

• Lena's bi, but she's into women more (specifically Kara)

• Kelly is the mom friend

• Brainy and Nia went on a date to the cinema to watch the Miraculous awakening movie and they have been annoying ever since they watched it. "Guys, stop singing those damn songs (Stronger Together and Now I See specifically) you're making Kara and Lena cry" -Alex and Kelly

• Someone Kara accidentally introduced Esme to Heathers The Musical. And while Alex and Kelly love the musical Esme is too yOUNG FOR THAT-

• J'onn: These are my dysfunctionial Earth- Brainy: Some of aren't from Earth- J'onn: Earth children.

• Lena never wanted to admit that she's in love with Kara out loud in fear that the universe might take it all away from her.

• Kara's always been in love with Lena, she just never realized until Alex and Kelly's wedding.

• Esme: Auntie Kara and Auntie Lena are just like Marinette and Adrien! :) Kelly: Aaaaand there's the cry of outrage. Alex: The question is, who's it from? Kara or Lena?

• Once a Valentine's Day, Brainy made Nia a little funko pop of herself as Nia, not Dreamer. And whenever she taps on it's head it makes a "boop" noise. Nia loves it so much.

• Kelly once baked Alex a blueberry cheesecake because she remembered that Alex said she loved those once during a game night long ago. Esme has never seen her mom cry so hard.

• Nia found the book "Vertigo Peaks" in Lena's stuff once and decided to read it. Lena was horrified, and Nia teased her endlessly about it.

• Kelly and Lena once got into a debate of whether or not escapism is a good coping mechanism, and both of them had valid arguments PLUS cited their sources of information. Color Alex and Kara scared, but they're also attracted to this.

• Esme's favorite aunt is Lena and aspires to be like her. When they found out, everyone was like "awwww" but Lena was like "...Bad idea. Esme, honey, bad idea-" then everyone else was like "Don't listen to her."

• Alex, Kelly, Nia and Brainy once tried to convince Lena to be in the battlefield with them but Lena was like "Yeah no, someone needs to stay and be the brains of the operation." Kara then said "YEAH" because she doesn't want to see Lena get hurt and she knows she's abandoning the villain the second she sees Lena get hurt so no distractions allowed. Then Esme delivered the final blow by saying "Someone needs to stay and make whatchamacallits so you all don't die :)"

• Kara is extremely self sacrificial, but Esme unintentionally gave her a reality check by saying "But Auntie Kara, everyone won't sleep if you're in danger! Health is important!" and it sounds so innocent but deep down Kara is like "Oh right they will actually bend over backwards to save me and neglect themselves ah I need to stop"

• Lena releases all her pent up rage by walking onto the roof or balcony, taking a deep breath and scream.

#supergirl #supercorp #brainia #dansen #kara danvers #lena luthor #nia nal #brainiac 5 #kelly olsen #alex danvers #supergirl esme #kara x lena #brainy x nia #alex x kelly

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fazedlight · 6 months ago

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Dreams (Nia character study/brainia)

It started with a dinosaur.

A… purple dinosaur.

Of all the things for a teenager to have recurring dreams about, Nia couldn’t fathom for the life of her why Barney was haunting her. Sometimes his green spots would overwhelm him, or glow white - other times, he’d be completely blue. She’d watch in bewilderment before waking up.

Then he started showing up playing the theme song on some sort of flute - I love you, you love me - and she felt like she was going insane.

---

The sleepless nights were starting to get in the way.

All she wanted to do was write about fashion - to share with the world how this form of self-expression was so inherent to being alive, to help people understand that how we present ourselves was an art form in its own right.

All she wanted to do was impress reporter Kara Danvers. Yet there she was, complaining about coffee on her clothes to a stranger who turned out to be her idol, only to later fall asleep at her desk.

Why am I like this?

---

She didn’t catch the name of the man in the pizza shop. Truth was, she was entirely too pissed off about the whole incident to think that far ahead, and her sleep-deprived brain was too exhausted to make the swerve from thinking about the pizza shop owner’s bigotry to figuring out how to flirt with a stranger.

But she did feel a tug of interest that day, and she was kicking herself in the aftermath. Why did I tell him to find me?, she lamented, I should’ve just given him my number.

The mystery didn’t last long, as the stranger reappeared - A friend of Kara’s? Small world - rattling off her address and phone number and other personal details as he reached for a scone. “Why didn’t you call?” Nia asked, laughing.

“You told me to find you, not call you.”

Nia smiled. Another person might’ve found the response creepy, but she found it oddly charming.

---

The dreams were only getting worse. Random shapes and images, or moments that would repeat in real life the next day, or horrific happenings that Nia prayed weren’t real.

Still, the cracks in her shell didn’t start appearing until she found Kara Danvers knocking at her door. Somehow, the blonde’s calm and compassionate demeanor finally let Nia open up - and so Kara became the first person Nia told about her suspicions, that the dreamer powers had come to her. What will Maeve think?, Nia lamented.

Nia wilted under Kara’s optimism, realizing the blonde thought far too much of her abilities. “My dreams aren’t like you think,” Nia asserted. “I don’t even know what’s going on.”

But Kara had a solution for that, too. Brainy strolled in - calling her by an old traditional naltorian name, which Nia found astonishingly odd - and offered to help her.

What surprised her most - more than Kara’s compassion or Brainy’s ability to trigger her dreams - was that she had been able to help in the fight against Agent Liberty.

She supposed that was something.

---

That was not the first date she had expected.

In fact, it hadn’t been a date at all, which had left her in a rather dour mood.

Me? A superhero?, Nia thought, reflecting on Brainy’s proposal. That’s crazy.

---

Someone brought coffee for the team at Catco. One was even her go-to sugar-free vanilla latte.

That wasn’t the part that bothered her. What bothered her was the “Barney” written on the cup. Suddenly those dreams she hadn’t thought of in years came back to her. Like the dinosaur? “Who’s Barney?” she asked to the room.

“Barney Fife,” Brainy said, “is my name among humans.”

Fife? Like a flute? The damn psychedelic dinosaur flashed in her mind, and she suddenly realized why it would at times shift from blue or green. Oh for fuck’s sake.

---

There was no more running from it.

She dreamt of spiders and black ink and poison. And then her mother had died, and she was forced to reveal herself to save the town. As Maeve bitterly threw her biology in her face, Nia found herself feeling more alone than she had ever been. There’s no turning back now, she mourned.

Life will never be simple again.

---

She couldn’t believe that her idol - in the form of reporter Kara Danvers - could also be Supergirl.

Stranger still was realizing the weight that Kara had on her shoulders, the secrets she carried. Nia had never thought about the burden of heroism, but she supposed she was going to find it out first hand. “Help me train,” she asked Brainy.

It became a burning desire, to honor her mother and heritage - something she could hold onto in the face of her mother’s death and her sister’s rejection. The walls she had built up to avoid even acknowledging her powers seemed to collapse in one fell stroke, and she found herself pushing to the edges of what was possible as the dreamer. Far too quickly, she knew, but if she could just be useful…

But that wasn’t in Brainy’s syllabus. It wasn’t the pace she should be training at. “And now you’re astral projecting,” Brainy said, “That jumps months of training.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Nia murmured, “I just… I move too fast because that’s what I do.”

“That’s what heroes do,” Brainy asserted, “Leaping before one looks is part of the job description.”

Nia eyed him curiously, realizing she had misread the situation. Brainy wasn’t frustrated. If she didn’t know better, she’d think that was admiration in his eyes.

---

She thought things were going well. Until James ended up in the hospital. What use are these powers if I can’t even keep my friends from getting shot?, Nia thought.

She watched as Brainy’s own guilt ate at him, his own fears bubbling to the surface - how he couldn’t protect James, how he almost couldn’t save Kara, how he didn’t want to become the evil mastermind that his family was hoping for.

She kissed him.

But Brainy broke away. “You and I can never be together,” he said. It didn’t really make sense, but all Nia could do was watch him leave. Sometimes a dream is just a dream.

---

“What are you doing?!” Nia asked, as Brainy locked her up again. What’s going on with you?

“You have to go through the portal,” Brainy said nonchalantly. “Once you’re on the other side, astral project.”

“Brainy,” Nia shouted, “You can’t do this-”

She continued calling his name as he closed the container… but he was gone.

---

She had faked her own kidnapping, then gotten actually kidnapped when she was abandoned by Brainy, then finally managed to astral project and pass on a message - ending up facing a reactor in the middle of gearing up to commit a genocide against her mentor’s people.

It was not a good day.

Nia sprinted to the other side of the reactor, ignoring Brainy’s statistical analysis as she forced a surge of power in the hopes of matching J’onn, trying to overwhelm the reactor into shutting down.

She could hear Brainy, hear the odd cadence of his voice change, going from the cold facade that he had adapted when he locked her into the container, to a confused series of mumbles about Socrates and Monty Python, until he finally seemed to snap.“Stop! Stop what you’re doing!” Brainy shouted desperately, his cadence sounding normal again. “What you’re doing doesn’t make any sense!”

That’s what heroes do, Nia thought as she struggled, unable to reply to him as she focused on pumping energy into the reactor. Leaping before one looks is part of the job description.

She couldn’t move from her spot, couldn’t check the progress of the reactor. She could only try to cause as much power to surge as she could, knowing that J’onn was just across the way, trying to do the same. Is this where we die?, she wondered briefly. Will we save Argo?

The mystery didn’t last, not as Brainy’s words began to break through again. “You’re amazing!,” he shouted, and she almost smiled through gritted teeth. It’s working, she thought, we’re winning. “You’re astounding!” Brainy continued to shout, the joy rising in his voice as he paced. “You’re astazing, Nia Nal… and I love you.”

It was then that the sparks became overwhelming, and all three of them collapsed onto the floor as the reactor blew. The core is self-destructing, she thought gratefully, trying to catch her breath.

Nia turned to Brainy, and was surprised to find him looking overwhelmed. He smiled back warmly. “When this is over,” he said, “I would like to ask you on a proper date.”

Nia’s heart skipped a beat. “Yes, I’ll go on a date with you.”

“I have not asked yet,” he clarified, rising to his feet. “Back to battle?”

Nia bit back a smile. “Of course.”

---

Nia collapsed onto her couch. What a day, she thought, reflecting on the superfriends’ debriefing. “Not every day is like this one,” J’onn had said.

The dizzying moment of the evening had definitely been when Kara - the person she looked up to most, both as a reporter and a neophyte vigilante - had pulled her aside. “Thank you for saving my people,” the kryptonian had said.

Nia smiled at the memory.

She heard a knock at the door, and groaned slightly as she dragged herself off her couch. Maybe that’s the pizza I ordered, she thought, but she felt the briefest flash of a dream - that damn dinosaur again.

She opened the door, finding Brainy on the other side, holding a bouquet of roses. “I am proposing we spend an evening together,” he said, as Nia smiled and took the flowers. “I am thinking of dinner, and… a movie,” he continued dramatically. “Nia Nal, would you go on a date with me?”

Nia grinned. “Yes.”

#brainia #nia nal #querl dox #mel writes ficlets

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