three exclamation points , just to get the shocking factor across ——— but he is indeed surprise ! mouth parted rather enthusiastically with the awe of it all still hung loosely over his expression . there are children looking at him ( and animals ! pets ! dogs ! that one - eyed cat ! and old people ! ) , blinking rather sheepishly as the rubbles of the almost fallen building which hadn’t — thanks to him , her , supergirl , no , them — topple over these … innocents , were well taken care of . he didn’t even glance at kara — that’s how surprise he is !!! — just to see if she’s impressed , or have grown to like him ( oh , perhaps even love ! ) because gosh , golly , oh merlin … !
the children … they’re safe .
he blinks back at supergirl ( and oh , he remembers the first time he sees her across those dimensions ; how his chest thump , how his worn heart moves ) and feels like he’s stuck there for a bit . only a bit . before his childishness returns , and there’s almost a giddy bubble bleeding heavily across his expression . he exclaims , arms wild , ❝ we save those people , kara zor-el ! they aren’t dead because of you and i ! ❞ he looks at his hands then , still bewildered , still surprised . can’t believe these were the same hands that’s zapped all those people to safety . earth people who were not dead because of him . because he helped . he’s breathing heavily , exhilaration taking him by surprise at this new discovery of … helping —
❝ amazing . it truly gets your blood pumping , doesn’t it ? i get it now , why you save people . why you do — hah ! — good . what else can we do ? shall we rescue — what do you funny humans call — ooooh !!!! puppies ? ❞
kara danvers has the uncanny ability to be wrong about something. and then right about it. and then wrong again. the problem with humans-- no, the problem with people (alien, human, imp alike) is that they can surprise you. and that can be both good, and terrible. but this? this has surprised her. and maybe she was wrong.
no. mxyzptIk is--... pushy and possessive and he tries to be far too charming with very little success. (she’s pretty sure that if she left him in front of a mirror, he’d be sat there for a solid few hours before she drew his attention away from his own reflection. because he’s handsome. and gorgeous. and a god-- his words. not hers.) and he tries far too hard to impress someone who still-- despite the wedding band-- is not interested. but this? this has surprised her.
he listened. and he accepted that she knew what she was doing. (in all honesty, she could’ve handled that herself, but--... if he wants to use his powers, then as long as it’s for something like this, she can abide it. this... is good. good progress.)
i get it now, why you save people. -- well, that’s not... entirely it, but if it means he’ll take just one more moment to think about this, then she’ll take it. for now. i save people, because that’s what i was sent here to do. protect people. protect this world. that’s-- what superheroes do. not because of the rush. (but she still has a post-rescue glow. and a grin. the grin’s the best bit.)
‘see? you could be...--- quite the hero if you wanted.’
oh, she doesn’t want to give him too many ideas--... first of all, if that’s something he is interested in, she’s not letting him anywhere near something as dangerous as this without drills. and-- training.
‘that’s-- not why i save people. i protect people because that’s what i was sent here to do. and iiiii-- wanna show you that. show you how you can use your powers for good. you want to save some puppies? puppies have to need saving for that. and-- no, you’re not allowed to magic some puppies up a tree or-- in a burning building or-- whatever-- just so you can save them. and mxy? it’s supergirI.’ not kara. zor-eI or otherwise.
