[SUPERGIRL/WORM CROSSOVER FANFICTION] A LONG WAY FROM HOME - PROLOGUE

The blonde girl sitting at the bar had been nursing the same glass for the better part of an hour, seemingly in no particular hurry to finish it. 

There wasn’t much else to occupy her attention, anyway, especially in a place like this. Tucked away on a poorly lit street, the establishment was little more than another seedy bar, with stained floors, questionable clientele, and a bartender who looked like he’d long since given up caring about any of it. With her brown jacket and rather dishevelled hair, the girl didn’t look particularly out of place.

After taking another sip of her drink, she grimaced and set the glass down, only to hear someone call out to her.

"Hey."

She turned her head to find a large, rather unpleasant-looking man standing beside her. His expression suggested he'd already decided he didn't like her, and judging by the way he was looking at her instead of the bartender, he clearly wasn't interested in making friends.

"You're the bitch with the dog, aren't you?"

The girl took a moment to look him over, as though trying to work out what he meant.

"Sorry?"

"Your fucking dog pissed on my motorcycle!"

"Oh."

She considered that for a moment before offering him a somewhat lopsided smile and a shrug.

"Sorry about that."

"Sorry?" The man leaned closer, his voice rising. "You think that's going to fix anything? You know how much it'll cost to get the leather cleaned?"

She didn't. She also didn't look particularly interested in finding out.

"Look, I don't have that kind of money," she said, her words running together slightly. "But I'm sorry. Really."

Apparently, that wasn't good enough, because the man snarled and swung at her. His fist connected with her face, followed by a rather unpleasant crunch, but the girl didn't so much as flinch. Instead, she looked at him, then at his hand, which was already beginning to swell. The man seemed equally confused by what had happened until the pain finally registered, and he let out a scream.

"FUCK! MY HAND!"

She sighed, offering the man another shrug.

"Sorry."

The man staggered backwards, clutching his injured hand while shouting something about making her pay. His outburst had already attracted the attention of several other patrons, some of whom were getting to their feet. Judging by their expressions, they were either his friends or simply the sort of people who enjoyed having an excuse to hurt someone.

The girl glanced between them before attempting to reason with them.

"Seriously, you should probably just leave it. I already apologised."

Unfortunately, nobody listened. Three of them rushed her at once, prompting another shake of her head before she drained the last of her drink and set the empty glass on the counter.

The first man barely managed to raise his arm before she struck him, while the second was sent crashing into a nearby table. The third found himself on the floor before he could properly understand what had happened, and the others followed soon after. Some tried to grab her, while others swung whatever they could get their hands on, but none of it made much difference.

A few seconds later, the bar was a mess of overturned furniture, broken glass, and groaning men. Through it all, the girl remained standing in the middle of the room, looking about as dishevelled as she had when she'd first walked in.

She sighed again.

Leaving seemed like the sensible thing to do, but as she glanced towards the wreckage, it occurred to her that someone would have to pay for all that. She doubted the bartender would be particularly happy about it, either, so with another sigh, she crouched beside the nearest unconscious man and began going through his pockets.

It took a little while, but she eventually managed to collect a decent amount of cash from the various men scattered around the establishment. They weren't in any position to object, although a few managed to produce particularly unpleasant groans whenever she rolled them over.

Once she was satisfied with the amount she'd collected, she walked over to the counter, where the bartender was still crouched behind it, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Here."

She placed the money on the counter, prompting him to look at it before cautiously glancing up at her.

"For the damage," she explained.

The bartender stared at her for another moment before numbly reaching out and taking the cash.

"Right. Thanks."

"Yeah. Sorry about the mess."

With that, she gave him a small wave and headed for the door.

The night air was considerably more pleasant than the atmosphere she'd left behind, and she took a moment to stretch before starting down the street. However, she hadn't gotten very far when something white suddenly slammed into her side, rocking her enough to make her stumble for the first time that evening.

Looking down, she found a familiar bundle of white fur bouncing excitedly around her legs, and her expression immediately brightened.

"Krypto!"

The dog barked happily, wagging his tail as he circled her. She laughed and bent down to rub his head.

"Hey, buddy. Where've you been?"

Krypto answered with another enthusiastic bark.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm happy to see you too."

She gave him another gentle pat before straightening up, although she nearly lost her balance in the process. Even so, she managed to point an accusing finger at him.

"And don't think I've forgotten about what you did to that guy's motorcycle. We talked about this."

The dog gave her an innocent look, prompting her to stare at him for a moment before shaking her head.

"You're lucky you're cute."

She continued down the street, with Krypto following alongside her, or more accurately, flying alongside her. His paws barely came close to touching the pavement as he happily barked at passing cars and anything else that caught his attention, seemingly oblivious to the stares he attracted from passersby. Watching him, she couldn’t help smiling as she made her way down the street.

That smile eventually faded when someone stepped out of an alleyway and stopped directly in her path. A woman wearing a fedora regarded her with an expression that gave absolutely nothing away before finally breaking the silence.

"Kara Zor-El."

The now-named Kara stopped, and for a brief moment, the effects of the alcohol seemed to disappear entirely. Her posture straightened, her eyes focused, and the lazy expression she'd worn all evening vanished. Beside her, Krypto had also stopped barking, a low growl rumbling in his throat as he stared at the newcomer.

Kara placed a hand against his side, keeping him from moving forward.

"Who's asking?"

The woman gave a small nod.

"I'm Contessa. And just like you, I'm not from this world."

Kara stared at her, taking a moment to process that. Meanwhile, Krypto continued growling, clearly unimpressed with their visitor, though he eventually settled for watching her with narrowed eyes as Kara kept a hand against his side.

"Okay," Kara said, drawing out the word.

Contessa didn't seem particularly bothered by her reception.

"My world needs your help."

Kara closed her eyes and sighed.

Of course it did.