can Kara and 13 hug each other?
(A/N: Let’s pretend Doctor Who is not a TV show on Earth-38. Also, SPOILERS for Crisis.)
“I’ve never met a proper superhero before,” the Doctor says. “Do you fly? Of course you fly,” she answers her own question before Kara can even open her mouth. Kara chuckles. “You fly because you’re a proper superhero.”
“Um...thanks,” Kara replies, bemused.
She’s standing with her arms loosely folded, leaning against one of the consoles in STAR Labs’ medical wing. The Doctor, meanwhile, is investigating every square inch of the place, all the while asking and any and every question that seems to come to mind.
“What about time traveling? Do superheroes do any time traveling?” she asks.
Kara nods. “More often than you’d think.”
“Brilliant!” the Doctor declares but, catching Kara’s quick head shake, amends, “not brilliant. Got it. Time traveling superheroes: not brilliant.”
As she continues to poke around, Kara wonders if maybe she should...ask her to stop? Before she breaks something, or sees something she shouldn’t?
...But she’s really enjoying this.
“Is the cape important? Oh, wait, aerodynamics, obviously. Why the primary colors? Have you ever noticed that? Lots of primary colors. See?” she holds the lapel of her long coat aside, and gestures to the stripes on her shirt. “Primaries! Not that I’m a superhero. ...Or am I a superhero...” she pauses, staring at a spot on the floor, “...Nah,” she decides with a shake of her head. “Do you have Rogues? All the good superheroes have Rogues. What are Rogues, exactly? Well, bad guys, presumably, but why call them rogues?” She gestures to Kara’s costume. “Why the ‘S’?”
Kara laughs outright, and holds up a hand in a kind of, ‘slow down’ gesture. Maybe Barry should’ve volunteered to keep an eye on the Doctor; he’d be able to keep up.
“It’s...not an ‘S’,” Kara answers the one question that the Doctor hasn’t. The Doctor smiles, and moves away from some of the equipment, her full attention on Kara. “It looks like an ‘S’,” Kara admits, “but. Where I’m from, it’s...my family’s coat of arms.”
“Where are you from?” the Doctor asks.
Kara can feel her smile start to strain, just a little. “A planet called Krypton.”
The Doctor’s mouth drops open.
“You’re an alien superhero,” she says. Kara nods slowly.
“I’m an alien too!” the Doctor exclaims. “Oh, can’t wait to tell the fam. Can I tell the fam? Oh, no. It’s probably secret, right? Superheroes do that. Secrets. Or, so I’m told. Not told, I mean. Because it’s secret.”
“It’s not a secret,” Kara interrupts, pushing away from the console. She moves to the other side of the lab, where a map of the multiverse is pinned to a whiteboard. “The people on my Earth know...all about it, actually.” She sighs, staring at the spot on the map where Krypton would have been. “Me and my cousin came to this planet because ours...” she trails off.
The Doctor is silent; Kara can feel the weight of her gaze. “It’s, um. Gone.”
The Doctor, who, up until now, has been brimming with bright, inquisitive energy, is calm and still.
“I’m sorry,” she says softly.
“...Thank you,” Kara replies.
“...My planet’s gone too,” the Doctor admits. Kara turns, startled by the statement. “Again, actually,” she adds with a sad chuckle. “It was gone, and then not, and now...” she shrugs. “Gone again.”
Like Argo, Kara thinks sadly. The Doctor has her hands in her pockets, a kind of far away look in her eyes, and Kara just knows--because she’s worn that same look, many times--that the Doctor is remembering.
Kara can’t help it. She rushes forward, and gives the Doctor a hug.
The Doctor’s shoulders jump in surprise.
“I’m sorry,” Kara says. She means about the Doctor’s home, but. The Doctor never fully leans into the hug, so, honestly, Kara’s wondering if she should be apologizing for that.
She steps back quickly, not wanting to make the Doctor any more uncomfortable.
“Sorry,” she says again. “Really. I didn’t mean--”
“S’alright,” the Doctor says, “thinking this body might not be a hugger.” She shrugs, and then, “...Maybe I like fist bumps?” She says it mostly to herself, so Kara is surprised when the Doctor raises her fist and looks at her, expectantly.
Kara stares at it for a moment before raising her own, and gives the Doctor’s a tentative tap.
“...Hmmmm....” The Doctor narrows her eyes. “...No, don’t think so. High fives? Might need a bit more testing, but that’s what the fam’s for.” She flaps her hand, and returns it to her pocket. She takes a breath, and the quiet calm is gone. Back to bright curiosity. “You said superheroes time travel. Do you all have time machines, then?”
Kara can tell that the Doctor is eager to change the subject. She happily obliges.
“Well, no,” she says. “...But I think Barry has, like...” she looks towards the speed lab, “a cosmic treadmill?”
“A cosmic treadmill.” The Doctor repeats in awed disbelief. “Brilliant.”
