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There was a flash of light. When Kara opened her eyes, the place they had been standing in was gone. The people she had been standing with were gone.
It took her a second to get her bearings. A press conference. A press conference from Lex Luthor? She turned to her right to see Nia studiously taking notes. She looked down at her own hands, holding a notepad, a pen and recorder.
But then she saw something else.
The notebook slipped out of her hand as she stared at the mark on her wrist that had never been there before. Was that a bat entangled with the S from her crest?
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. It was dark, but not like a tattoo, more like it was part of her skin.
“What?” she whispered, not realizing she had said it out loud until Nia leaned over.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“No,” Kara said. “There’s something on my wrist.”
She looked up at Nia in time to see her give her a confused look. “Maybe you should go home if you’re not feeling well,” she said, in an oddly sympathetic tone. “That’s just your soulmark, Kara.”
“My what?”
Nia was beginning to look really worried now. Kara took a glance at Nia’s wrist. She could just make out a mark on it. She turned around, to look at the man next to her. A mark was on his wrist too.
Kara shook her head. What was this world? She needed to find J’onn.
--
She found J’onn with Alex at Alex’s apartment, her memories of their old world now restored.
Kara held up her wrist. “What is this?” she demanded.
“A soulmate-identifying mark,” Alex said calmly. She held her own wrist up, as did J’onn, and Kara took in the marks on both of theirs.
“You have them too?” she said.
“Kelly,” Alex replied.
“M’gann,” J’onn said.
“Huh.” Kara looked at them and then down at her own wrist. “Do I know mine yet?” she asked. “Maybe I don’t.”
“You do,” Alex said. “You married her.”
Kara gaped at her for a few minutes before shaking her head, a laugh bubbling out. “That’s funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
“I don’t have a ring.”
“You both decided to skip them,” Alex said. “In case you forgot to take them off when in costume.”
“In costume,” Kara repeated. “Wait …”
She stared down at the mark again. A bat. An S.
Was it?
It was almost like Alex could read her thoughts. “Go home, Kara,” she said.
--
Kara knew what — who — she was going to find as soon as she opened the door, and she wasn’t mistaken. Kate leaped off the couch as soon as she heard Kara enter the room.
They both stared at each other for a second before slowly holding out their left wrists.
They were a perfect match.
“Alex — my sister — says we’re married,” Kara said. She wasn’t sure what else to say. She felt like she had somehow lost the ability to communicate.
“Oh,” Kate said.
Neither one of them spoke again, just staring at each other as the seconds ticked by. Then, finally, Kate indicated the apartment.
“That explains why half of the stuff in here is mine.”
Kara looked around. At first glance, it seemed like her old apartment, but there were a lot of differences — new pillows on the couch, a different kitchen table, a photo of Kate and her twin sister on the table by the door.
“Where’s your Bat Cave?” It felt like a really insignificant question compared to everything, but it was all Kara could think to ask.
“According to Luke, we split our time half and half.” Kate laughed a little then. “He thought I was suffering from a concussion for asking.”
“Oh my gosh,” Kara said, breaking into a smile. “I’m pretty sure Nia Nal thinks I’m crazy. I dropped my notebook and had a freak out when I saw my soulmark.”
“Well, thank goodness for being alone when I found mine then,” Kate said.
Kara looked around. “This is weird, right?”
“Yes,” Kate said. “This is very weird.”
“I mean …” Kara fidgeted a little. “I have really enjoyed our time together so far.”
“As have I.”
“And I totally would sleep with you if you asked. Not that you need to ask. I’m just saying. I could do a lot worse. Wait …” Kara stopped talking, feeling herself blush. “I could definitely do worse,” she clarified. “I probably couldn’t do better. Though you could probably do better, of course. And …”
“Kara,” Kate interrupted.
“Yes?”
“I don’t think I could do any better.”
--
Kara flew them to Gotham that night. Kate figured, as her wife, Kara probably needed to know who Luke and Mary were. She also gave her a tour of the Bat Cave.
They ended up in Kate’s bedroom.
“It’s a lot brighter than it was,” Kate said, frowning at the cream-colored walls and the big bed with the vibrant blue comforter.
“That’s my influence,” Kara said.
“I figured that.”
“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Kara said quickly.
“Do what?”
“Be married.” She waved her left hand in the air. “I know it’s a soulmark thing, but there has to be some protocol for soulmates who don’t want to be together. Or maybe we could stay married and just live separately. It makes sense with our duties. You in Gotham. Me in National City. We could just say …”
Kara was so caught up in trying to sort out her thoughts that she didn’t realize Kate had moved and was now standing almost toe to toe with her.
Kate reached out and put a finger on her lips.
“I have a different idea,” Kate said.
“You do?”
“Maybe we see how this goes and then we decide?”
“See how it goes?” Kara echoed.
“See how it goes,” Kate said, and then she leaned in and kiss her, her lips soft and warm against Kara’s.
Kara felt herself melting into Kate’s touch, and in that moment, she could see it — their life together. Their future together.
She wrapped her arms around Kate and kissed her harder.
“Yes,” she murmured. “Good idea. Let’s see how it goes.”