Supergirl: Strange New World (DC Comics)

[Gowonzu]

A/N: Not a new chapter. But I wrote this little Supergirl story and I don't want to make an whole new thread just for a one-shot.
Had an idea, kept picking at it. Dunno if I'll continue it, probably not. Already got a lot on my plate. But enjoy! This story is separate to the main fic (But they both share the same backstory)

Poison Ivy had made her a puppet. Used a synthetic pheromone tailored to Kryptonian biology.
Supergirl had been the weapon, albeit an unwilling one.
All they saw was a victim. A superhero who'd been used. Their pity stung more than any kryptonite ever could.

Because they didn't know what it had felt like.

Click to shrink...

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Kara flew low over Gotham, her cape slashing through the foggy air like a banner of war.

She wasn't making a public entrance. No grand speech, no gleaming symbol of hope today. Not this time.

This was personal.

Ivy had been spotted again. Subtle signs, invasive vines creeping over rooftops, air thick with a floral perfume no one could name, and a wealthy socialite suddenly obsessed with gardening, inviting no one into her lavish greenhouse estate.

Kara followed the trail.

This wasn't Justice League business. She hadn't told Batman or even Kal-El. Hadn't told anyone.

Supergirl had been the weapon, albeit an unwilling one. All they saw was a victim. A superhero who'd been used. Their pity stung more than any kryptonite ever could.

Because they didn't know what it had felt like.

Poison Ivy had made her a puppet. Used a synthetic pheromone tailored to Kryptonian biology. Kara had dismantled an Ace Chemicals facility with a smile on her face and no fear in her heart. Carried out Ivy's plan with grace, precision, and not a shred of guilt. She kidnapped a CEO. Tore down half a corrupt industry.

She hadn't harmed anyone. That was Ivy's twisted form of mercy. Or restraint. Kara still didn't know which.

They told her she was traumatised. They told her she was violated. They told her what she was feeling. But no one had asked her how it felt.

They just told her she was brave and strong, and okay now.

She found the greenhouse nestled atop a hill like a glass cathedral, An artificial Eden, glowing green against the night.

She didn't knock.

She landed hard on the glass verandah, cracking a tile beneath her boots. The air was warm, humid, alive with whispers from unseen leaves. The wealthy host, some Gotham heiress, was visible through the window, trimming vines with a tranquil smile, oblivious to her own enchantment.

The plants stirred. Ivy stepped out from the shadows of a giant fern, barefoot, lips pressed in something like boredom.

Ivy stepped forward slowly, arms raised in mock surrender, fingers lazily splayed.

"Alright, alright," she said, voice smooth, a touch disinterested. "No fight left in me tonight, darling. Let's skip the punching and get to the part where you haul me off to Arkham."

Kara didn't move.

Her fists stayed clenched. Her jaw was tight.

Ivy glanced around as if hoping for backup that wasn't coming. "What, no Bat? No Big Blue Boy Scout?"

"I came alone," Kara said, voice low.

"Risky."

"Intentional."

Ivy's brow lifted at that. "Well then. What now? You going to yell at me? Demand answers? Justice? Closure?"

"Why me?"

The question landed sharp and sudden in the humid air.

Ivy blinked. "Sorry?"

"Why me?" Kara repeated, stepping forward. "Why did you choose me? Why did you make me do all that? Why did you make me feel like that?"

Ivy tilted her head, a single red curl sliding across her cheek. "You think I had some grand master plan?" she said with a soft laugh. "Please. I was improvising. It was supposed to be Superman. Do you have any idea how much that would've pissed off Batman?"

Kara stiffened.

"But you," Ivy continued, shrugging, "You just happened to fly in first. Right place, wrong time. And when you went under… Well, why waste the opportunity? I had the muscle I needed. The plan grew around you."

Kara's eyes flashed. "You didn't even choose me."

"Oh, don't pout," Ivy said, arching a brow. "You were brilliant. Graceful. Effective. You made it sing."

"You didn't just control me," Kara said, voice trembling now, "You made me feel. You made me feel calm. Safe. Free."

Ivy's face finally softened. "The pheromones don't discriminate. They dull pain. Quiet fear. Make people open, pliant, cooperative. It's not just you. That's just… how they work."

Kara stepped even closer. "Then answer me this. Why didn't you make me hurt anyone?"

Ivy blinked. "Excuse me?"

"You could have. I would've done anything you told me. So why didn't you?"

A long silence stretched between them. Ivy's smirk faded. She looked away.

"I don't make my puppets kill," She said finally. "Not unless they were already killers. I might be a criminal, Supergirl, but I'm not heartless. I have standards."

Kara stared at her, searching her face for a lie.

When she lunged forward, Ivy flinched.

The grip on her arms was firm, but not punishing. Ivy expected pain. A throw. Maybe a blast of wind. Instead, Kara stood there holding her, trembling slightly, eyes wide and uncertain.

"Do it again," Kara said, barely a whisper.

"What?" Ivy asked, blinking. "I'm sorry?-"

"I said do it again." Kara's voice was louder now, still shaking. "Please."

Ivy looked down at her, truly stunned.

Kara looked up at her like someone confessing a crime.

"I can't remember the last time I felt that good," she said. "Not heroic, not noble… Just good. I didn't have to think about Krypton, or my father or all the people I'll never see again. I wasn't sad. I wasn't pretending. I was just… at peace."

Ivy blinked, almost laughed, but stopped short at the look in Kara's eyes.

"You must be joking."

"I'm not," Kara said, quietly.

Ivy tilted her head, genuinely baffled. "You do realise… I could make you do anything. Anything I wanted."

Kara's voice didn't waver. "Will you make me hurt people?"

That gave Ivy pause. She looked away, lips parting, then closing again. The hesitation was answer enough.

"Only if they try to hurt me," She admitted finally. "And even then, I usually handle it myself."

Kara nodded. "Exactly."

A breath caught in Ivy's throat. "You're asking me to take your choices away."

"I'm asking you," Kara said, stepping closer again, "To take my pain away."

The words hung there, trembling between them like the air before a summer storm.

Ivy looked at her for a long, long time. Her eyes, usually half-lidded and amused, were wide now. Vulnerable and unsure.

"This isn't something I just, do," She said. "It would take time. I'd have to synthesise the pheromones again. Your biology is complex. Kryptonian scent receptors don't even map one-to-one with human chemistry. I'd need a full greenhouse lab, at least a few days-"

"Is there a faster way?" Kara asked.

Ivy hesitated again, just slightly.

"There is," She said slowly. "I can produce the compound myself. Internally. Tailor the sequence as it forms. It's unstable… but potent. Direct."

"How?"

Ivy's voice dropped. "Through a kiss."

Kara didn't even blink.

She reached up, fingers trembling only slightly, and brushed a strand of Ivy's hair back. Then, before the woman could fully process it, she leaned in and kissed her.

It was gentle at first. Hesitant. A question without words.

Ivy stiffened in surprise, hands lifted in a defensive reflex, but then slowly, delicately, she relaxed. Her fingers found Kara's hips, anchoring her. Her body warmed. And she kissed back.

The second kiss was different.

This one was deeper. Intentional. Ivy shifted, pressing their mouths together more fully, her lips soft and slow-moving. The taste of green things and rain and something floral filled Kara's senses.

She inhaled.

And the world began to slip.

Warmth crept through her chest, curling in her spine like blooming vines. The weight she always carried, Krypton, loss, legacy, started to melt away like mist beneath morning light. Her breath hitched, then eased.

When the kiss finally broke, Kara's eyes were glassy and soft.

She swayed slightly in Ivy's arms, a dreamy smile playing on her lips.

"…Hello again," Ivy whispered.

Kara blinked slowly, calm and dazed, utterly peaceful. "Hi."

Ivy exhaled, staring into the eyes of a goddess who'd just begged to fall.

Who had fallen, right into her hands.

Ivy held Kara close, feeling the girl's breath slow, the warmth of power humming beneath her skin. Kara's eyes were soft, dreamy, utterly at peace.

"I feel… light," Kara whispered.

"I know," Ivy murmured, brushing her hair back.

She should feel guilty. Kara had asked for escape, not healing. This was a shortcut, an unhealthy one. But Ivy had never been good at turning away broken things that looked at her like that.

Like she was safe. Like she was wanted.

"You should sit," Ivy said gently.

Supergirl obeyed, settling onto the bench with a smile that nearly broke Ivy's resolve.

"You're very pretty when you talk like that," she said.

Ivy exhaled, half-laughing, half-shaken. "God help me."

She could end this. Let the pheromones fade. Send Supergirl home.

But the girl would return, again and again. And Ivy wasn't ready to lose the way she looked at her.

Like she was sunlight instead of poison.

She sat beside her, close but not touching, watching the peaceful goddess she'd kissed into serenity.

Outside, Gotham moved on.

Inside, Ivy watched a sleeping storm and wondered how far she was willing to fall.