Kara was sprinting quickly down the street, heading directly home, or more accurately, toward Jennifer's house.
As for the Joker's arrest happening across town, it didn't concern her much. If Joker couldn't be caught after all that, then those responsible were as good as dead.
Rubbish, she thought.
Luckily, it turned out she didn't need to yell at anyone, since she heard Joker had indeed been captured.
Bruce, however, had hesitated to confront the Joker directly. Although he wanted to, Bruce knew, just as Kara did, that if he confronted the Joker and killed him, his principles would crumble.
That would mean the Joker's twisted plan had succeeded. There may be no Joker toxin in play here, but if Bruce's beliefs crumbled and his commitment to justice, morality, and law unraveled, the result would be terrifying.
After all, the Batman Who Laughs had destroyed his own universe, taking out every member of the Justice League and corrupting them into twisted versions of themselves.
If Bruce did lose it and killed Joker, it might even be something Kara would find difficult to handle.
During their argument, Kara had even told Bruce she respected his principles, but that didn't mean she agreed with them.
Respecting them meant she saw his ideas as worthwhile; disagreeing meant she would act differently. The truth was, Kara was always a bit worried about pushing him over the edge. Batman was someone who tended to the extremes, which made him particularly tricky.
If he ever did kill the Joker, once that precedent was set, there'd be no going back. One taste of blood could lead to an unhinged Batman—and there'd be no untainted Superman to balance things out then.
Thankfully, he was Batman, after all, and still held onto his principles.
Relieved, Kara stood at the window, gazing at the midnight sky. She knew Batman was the benchmark for justice; this wasn't just flattery. At least, it was something she couldn't replicate herself, and if Bruce hadn't asked her several times not to kill the Joker, she might've done it herself.
At that moment, Jennifer came up behind her, handing Kara a glass of water.
Kara turned to glance at the door.
Alfred had already gone, heading back once Kara returned safely. He'd been worried about Bruce, wondering if he'd gotten hurt—again.
Why "again"? Because every time Bruce donned the Batman suit, he ended up wounded.
After all, the primary targets he fought were gangsters who ruled Gotham's underworld.
"Did Alfred say anything?" Kara asked, feeling a hint of guilt.
Jennifer raised an eyebrow, recalling how she and Alfred had been stunned watching Kara leave behind the Batmobile for some reason, speeding off into the distance on a motorcycle.
"He and I were speechless, Kara! What were you thinking ditching the Batmobile?" Jennifer still didn't understand why Kara had chosen the motorcycle instead.
Even if speed was the goal, the Batmobile wasn't much slower. It also had better defense, greater stability, and was loaded with powerful weaponry.
Kara thought to herself, I pressed the wrong button.
But she couldn't say that now; it would be too embarrassing.
"Alright, it's late. We should get ready for bed," Kara said with a grin. "C'mon, let me keep you company."
"Geez, anyone hearing that would get the wrong idea."
The two friends laughed, heading to relax, but suddenly Kara's gaze grew unfocused as her super-precognition kicked in.
In fact, Kara couldn't entirely control this ability. She wasn't even sure if it was due to her magical training or some other power that had awakened unexpectedly.
She'd trained Clark in magic, but Clark had never shown any precognitive abilities. Kara, on the other hand, sometimes saw glimpses of the future.
But this time, what Kara saw was terrifying.
A sudden fire engulfed Rachel and Harvey.
Just as Kara had feared, the Joker had a contingency plan. He'd let himself get caught on purpose, knowing the entire situation was a setup. In truth, he'd seen through it from the beginning.
As Kara had feared, Joker's arrest was a deliberate move. He wasn't afraid of being locked up. None of this was a coincidence. Joker still had his sights on Harvey and Rachel.
And he had been captured with another motive entirely: there was a key witness involved in putting Gotham's gangsters behind bars, someone Joker needed to eliminate. This witness, a man named Charles Liu, was the lynchpin for countless criminal charges.
None of this mattered.
Kara raised her hand to her forehead, wincing as a loud smack echoed through the room, startling Jennifer.
Jennifer glanced at Kara, concerned. She was taken aback by the sudden sight of sweat covering Kara's face.
Kara was no longer concerned with the Joker, however. Someone much more dangerous was now in play.
Jennifer, worried, reached out to check on Kara, but just then, Kara's phone rang.
"Hello?" Kara answered, and Bruce's voice came from the other end.
Before he could say much, she interrupted, "Is Rachel and Harvey's location unknown?"
"How do you know?" Bruce's surprise was palpable, but he quickly pushed it aside. "Kara, I need your help, please… I'm begging you to help me save Rachel."
The fact that Bruce would even say "beg" was astonishing.
Kara took a deep breath.
In truth, she didn't need Bruce's call to know what was happening.
She was already planning to go.
Because she couldn't just stand by and let Batman fall, knowing the entire universe might suffer for it.
If it came down to it, she might have to find a way to end this, before Bruce turned his sights on even Superman's allies.
Bruce went quiet for a moment, interpreting Kara's silence as reluctance because of Rachel. Finally, he said, "Kara, Rachel already rejected me today. She decided to accept Harvey's proposal. This isn't personal anymore. I'll go for Harvey. Rachel is yours to save."
Kara looked over at Jennifer.
Jennifer shrugged. "Why are you looking at me? What's this got to do with me?"
Kara rolled her eyes, flattening her lips before replying.
"Alright, Bruce. I'm on my way."