Chapter Text
Shin entered her workplace with confidence and a small amount of smug added to it. Yesterday she finally got a villain locked up that she had been having trouble defeating all week long. It was driving her crazy since the baddie was destroying something almost every day and got away with it every time.
Her powers were all still new to her and had a very long way to even get used to using them properly. Shin felt her powers growing stronger slowly but surely with training and practice. Like her laser eyes.
Last week she was barely able to activate them on command and radiate a remote charge of heat.
It couldn't even burn anything, let alone hurt. It just felt like warm heat on bare skin. She had to learn how to get her laser eyes to start working like actual laser eyes. The fact that the villain was Mr. Freeze made things even more frustrating.
All the times she got frozen by him Shin couldn't use her heat vision to break her free easily.
The ice around her would melt but at a pace that would take her hours to escape the ice imprisonment. Instead, she used her super strength to break the ice, which would take a few seconds. Those seconds were enough for Mr. Freeze to plan his next moves, making it difficult to get close to him.
Supergirl had to intensify her heat vision for it to be strong enough to overpower the cold and destroy that ridiculous ice gun that kept freezing her into an ice cube. Which, she finally successfully did, after a dreadful week of failing.
She fixed her dark blue tie and moved her glasses higher up her nose before entering her boss's office with a greeting smile. Shin places the coffee on her desk, praying that she got it right since she was in a rush this morning.
Last night she was outside up a hill testing out her heat vision with large rocks and got carried away with it.
“Please, take a seat, Miss Skoll.” Hera motions her hand towards the chair with a small smile and grabs her coffee, taking a hefty sip from it.
Shin sits down on the chair that's in front of her boss's desk and the tension on her shoulders leaves when she sees her boss sigh in satisfaction after setting her coffee back down. “That’s much better than last time.”
The two women laughed as they remembered the memory of Shin making the most bitter coffee that had walked on this earth.
“So, you’re caught up with everything that happened yesterday?” Her boss's tone turns a bit serious but not in a way that comes across as harsh.
Shin nods eagerly and reaches for her brown book bag, takes out a folder filled with papers, and faces it towards her boss.
Hera raises a brow in amusement and opens the folder, giving it a scan. “This is..good, really good. You have all the information you need and sources to go along with it. All that's left to do is to make a report and a headline that no one can resist.”
The older woman looks up at Shin with a proud smile and hands the folder back to the owner.
Shin puts the folder back in her bag with a wide smile and gets up from her chair. “I should go work on it right now, gotta be the first one to publish the story before there's competition.”
Shin’s boss gives her an earnest nod, “That’s true in some cases but make sure not to rush it and take your time.” The blonde nods in agreement before turning her heel and leaving the office.
The door slowly closes behind her and she sees her coworkers working and chatting at the same time, mostly chatting. Who was she to blame them? It was a Friday after all. Shin makes her way to her desk and starts working on her report.
It didn't take too long for her work to be interrupted by a pair of hands on her shoulders which made her jump. Even with superpowers Shin nonetheless would get startled from the smallest things. She turns her head up to see Sabine smiling down at her and suddenly her cheeks her burning.
“Hey, whatcha working on?” Sabine moves her hands away from Shin’s shoulders and from behind grabs some papers scattered around her desk. She reads a few bits that catch her eye, that being the word Supergirl.
“Supergirl huh? You know, I still haven't been able to interview her. Every time I try to talk to her she doesn't say anything and then flies away with that dumb new cape of hers.” Sabine grumbles as her eyes stay on reading the papers.
I thought the cape looked cool…
Somehow Sabine has been managing to show up at some crime scenes after Shin is done beating up some goons and making sure the area is safe when the police arrive to arrest them.
All of their interactions went along the lines of Sabine begging for a “quick” interview and Supergirl flying away out of sight. However, she would keep a lookout from above and always make sure Sabine made it home safely.
She didn't want Sabine to get in danger because if she did Shin knew she would save her in a heartbeat.
That would lead to Supergirl taking Sabine somewhere safe and causing an interaction between them, which Shin didn't want. The fewer interactions, the lower the chances of Sabine finding out her friend is Supergirl.
Shin wasn't ready to tell Sabine that she was Supergirl. She didn't even know if it would be a good idea to even tell her. It was all complicated.
What she did know was that if Sabine found out before Shin told her it would break her heart and possibly the trust between them too.
The papers are taken away from Sabine’s hands and Shin places them down her desk.
“Maybe you should give it a break and find someone else to interview. I don't want you to waste your time on someone that's not worth it.” Shin gets back to typing out her report, hoping that the stubborn woman would take her advice or at least consider it.
Sabine crosses her arms and makes her way next to where Shin is sitting. “You might be right…But, I'm not giving up that easily. I know I can make it happen, I’ll figure out how eventually.”
It was hard for Shin to not huff at the reply and mask her bitter feelings. She keeps her typing going and chews the inside of her cheek.
“How’s Murley doing?” Changing the subject of the conversation was much better than starting an argument with Sabine.
“Come over tonight and find out yourself.” Shin’s typing ends instantly and she turns her attention to the woman smirking down at her.
“I..I’ll see if I'm free.” This time Shin keeps eye contact with her coworker and she can already tell what is coming for her.
“Really? Come onnnn, it's been forever since you came over. You've been so busy lately that we haven't even talked outside of work.”
Which was true but was Shin going to admit that? No.
After a long pause, the blonde gives in rather than explaining why she's been busier than usual, “Okay…What time?”
Sabine grins at finally winning Shin over. “Does seven sound good to you?”
Shin smiles, “Yeah, I can do seven.”
The short woman uncrosses her arms and with her right hand, she adjusts Shin’s glasses, holding her gaze. “See you tonight then, don’t be late.” Sabine walks off to her own desk before Hera catches her flirting with her assistant again .
Only thing Shin can hear is her heart thumping at a momentum too fast for her to think. A shaky exhale comes out from her lips as if she's been holding her breath for too long. Which did not make any sense whatsoever. She has the ability to hold her breath for days.
So, to feel like she was out of breath whenever Sabine got near her embarrassed Shin terribly. Who would've thought someone would have this kind of power over Supergirl?
—————
Usually, when Shin publishes her report she moves away from her computer and does something else to distract her. Particularly going out and being Supergirl. It's been a little over a month since Shin has been using her powers and helping the city of Metropolis.
The hero's name was given when she first appeared on the news and Shin decided to go with it since she didn't have any other name to use.
Supergirl was primarily out until the sun was down. Police forces took care of the night shift good enough and besides, they didn't really like Supergirl. People of Metropolis didn't trust her at all and some were even scared of her. To say the least, her reputation wasn't the best.
Today wasn’t as chaotic now that Mr. Freeze was locked up and allegedly sent back to Gotham. What was he doing in Metropolis anyway? Was Batman too brutal on him or something? Well, that didn't matter anymore, right?
Mr. Freeze was sent where he was supposed to be and Shin didn't have to deal with him again.
A few more hours until the sun would set down and the night would be for Shin. She was nervous about hanging out with Sabine tonight, after all, it's been a lengthy time since they've hung out. Not simply just that but Sabine has been noticing Shin’s dry texting.
It wasn't intentional, she just happened to be always messaging Shin when she was doing Supergirl stuff. Texting someone while fighting crime was not easy and also not very professional for Supergirl to do.
So, there were definitely numerous moments where Shin would leave Sabine on read. It was just bound to happen.
Shin felt guilty about it all and knew that tonight was the night she had an opportunity to redeem herself and make it up for Sabine step by step. The blonde had to clean the mess she made and explain why she suddenly became so distant.
I don't want to lie to her but….I can’t tell her the truth, not yet.
Sounds of people screaming down below stop the hero from overthinking and she flies down to the city to see what's causing the panic among the civilians. At first glance there's already destruction all over the street with cars in positions they shouldn't be in and large holes in the ground and several damaged buildings.
Supergirl uses her X-ray vision to find people more easily and rescues a dozen of them who are stuck in places that they can't escape from. A loud rumble is heard from behind and Supergirl turns around to see a restaurant about to crumble to the ground.
Cars are covering the entrance and cries of help are heard from inside. Supergirl quickly flies over to the building and removes the cars out of the way so that they can exit the restaurant. As they do, Supergirl looks in to make sure there's no one left behind.
Her eyes widened at the sight of a child trembling in fear and unable to find the exit due to the debris inside. Without hesitation, the hero runs inside and scoops up the child in her arms. They safely get out of the building before it collapses to the floor and Shin looks down to check on the child she's holding.
“Don’t worry, I'm taking you somewhere safe,” Supergirl says, trying to soothe the kid as she brings him to a police officer.
She tries to hand the child over to the police officer but he's holding onto her tight, not wanting to let go.
“Hey, you’re safe now, they'll take care of you, I promise.” Supergirl offers him a gentle smile and he gradually withdraws his grasp, allowing the officer to take him.
Supergirl turns around and before she flies up, she hears the boy softly thank her, which puts a smile on her face.
She flies around the area, trying to find who or what caused this destruction. It doesn't take long to locate the individual. Shin takes a better look at him and her mouth opens. “…Bane?”