Inside the café.
Lucas Reed and Kara were seated by the window, each with a cup of coffee in front of them.
Elaine sat beside them quietly, sipping her milk.
"So… did Kal tell you anything else about me?"
Kara was the first to ask.
Lucas replied without hesitation,
"He told me you're gentle, kind, considerate, and innocent."
Pfft—
Elaine accidentally sprayed milk out of her mouth.
The next second, she felt a sharp gaze land on her face.
Elaine's eyes darted, and she quickly put down her cup.
"Sister, my brother is lying!"
Kara glanced at Lucas in confusion, then looked back at Elaine.
"Why do you say that?"
At this point, Lucas's stare had turned razor-sharp.
Elaine felt the threat clearly and hurriedly said,
"Well, last time Brother Clark came to our house, he showed my brother your photo."
"And after seeing it, my brother said he had never seen such a beautiful and captivating girl."
"He even said that not even the goddess Venus could compare to one-tenth of your beauty—and that he would trade anything just for a chance to meet you."
"After that, Brother Clark told him your address here."
As soon as Elaine finished speaking, Kara, Clark (off-screen, spiritually), and Lucas all fell silent.
Kara's face had turned completely red.
Lucas stared at Elaine as if seeing her for the first time.
Elaine blinked her right eye slightly, as if saying,
How was that? Pretty good, right?
Lucas was speechless.
He asked you to be a wingman—
not to perform aerial acrobatics with full special effects.
As for Clark, since he wasn't present, he had no way to refute something he had never done.
Ahem.
Lucas cleared his throat and broke the silence with a smile.
"Well… kids say nonsense sometimes. Don't take it seriously."
"It's fine," Kara said shyly, smiling.
"I know she's joking."
Then she looked at Elaine curiously.
"Is she your sister?"
Lucas immediately replied,
"She's the daughter of a friend who's away on a long trip. She's staying with me for now."
"I see," Kara said warmly.
"Little one, your name is Elaine, right? You're really cute."
"Kara, you're the most beautiful sister I've ever seen!"
Elaine said at once.
"I've always wondered how beautiful the girl my brother couldn't stop thinking about was. Now I finally know."
That instantly made Kara blush again.
Kara soon left, after exchanging contact information.
Lucas turned his gaze to Elaine—clearly dangerous.
"You can't look at me like that," Elaine said, wearing an expression that screamed Are you really going to kill the donkey after it grinds the mill?
"I helped you a lot, you know."
"There's such a thing as gradual progress," Lucas scolded.
"You went straight for verbal annihilation. What if you scared her away?"
Elaine laughed.
"Did you forget my abilities?"
Lucas froze.
He really had forgotten.
Elaine clicked her tongue in amazement.
"That girl's heart is purer than that of newly born angels. There's barely any negativity in her thoughts."
"And her body is stronger than most angels and even battle angels."
"I'm honestly curious—how did you even find her?"
Lucas suddenly smiled with a hint of wickedness.
"Really want to know?"
Elaine nodded vigorously.
"Dream on."
Lucas replied mercilessly.
Elaine frowned. She almost activated her mind-reading—but stopped herself.
This life was far more interesting than her old one, wasn't it?
"Then what's the next step?" she changed the subject.
"Dinner tonight? Movie? Candlelight date?"
Lucas curled his lips.
"Haste makes waste. This is my business—I don't need your advice."
Elaine couldn't help feeling puzzled.
By North American standards, if you like someone, you pursue them quickly and passionately—or you risk missing your chance forever.
"Hmm?"
Just then, a familiar voice sounded.
"Hey, Lucas! What a coincidence—fancy seeing you here!"
Phil Coulson sat down across from Lucas without ceremony.
Lucas frowned internally.
Bad luck.
Still, he didn't dislike Coulson as a person.
So he smiled and said,
"Yeah, what a coincidence. Want something to drink?"
"Coffee," Coulson said.
"This place makes good coffee."
After finishing his cup, Lucas suddenly asked,
"By the way, Coulson—what mission are you on in this City?"
Coulson didn't answer directly.
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm a security consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D.," Lucas said lazily, tapping the table.
"If your mission goes sideways, I might end up cleaning up the mess."
Coulson thought for a moment, then replied,
"Director Fury asked me to investigate the one flying around the city—code name Supergirl."
"And what do you want with her?" Lucas already had a good idea.
"Director Fury has a few questions," Coulson answered,
"and wants to see if she'd be willing to assist S.H.I.E.L.D."
"Then I wish you success."
Lucas stood up.
"I'm heading out. See you around."
"Thanks for the coffee," Coulson said cheerfully, raising his cup.
Lucas left the café with Elaine.
Once in the car, Elaine said,
"His mission really is to investigate Kara. So far, he hasn't made any progress."
"And there's something else," she added.
"Five nights ago, the sky above the city emitted a strange light—like an aurora."
"Space monitoring stations detected unusual electromagnetic waves, so S.H.I.E.L.D. sent him to investigate."
Lucas rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
That was strange.
But he couldn't quite recall which storyline that belonged to.
The car stopped at the hotel.
"Forget it," Lucas waved dismissively.
"It has nothing to do with us."
They entered the hotel together.
---
Kara sat on her living room sofa, replaying the events of the day in her mind.
This was the first time in her life she had experienced something so embarrassing—and sweet.
Back in school, no one paid her any attention.
During internships and work, she was always invisible.
She never imagined being praised like that.
Her heart felt like it had been dipped in honey.
"Ah—! Why is my heart beating so fast?!"
Hugging a pillow, Kara rolled back and forth on her bed, completely unable to calm down.
---
Outer space. Beyond the edge of the solar system.
A dark-green, shuttle-shaped spacecraft was approaching the star system.
The moment it crossed into the solar system's range, alarms blared inside the vessel.
Within a sealed chamber, five stasis pods were neatly arranged.
One of them suddenly activated.
The hatch opened.
A figure inside stirred.
Eyes opened—
jet-black sclera surrounding feline, yellow pupils that contracted sharply.
"The solar system…"
"…have we arrived already?"
__
T/N:
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