Power Dating (Patreon)

“Karen Starr,” Ted said aloud, trying the name out as he sat in his car in front of one of the city’s more luxurious hotel.

The parking lot attendant knocked on his window. He got out and relinquished the keys.

In a moment he entered the hotel lounge and let his eyes adjust to the dark blue that swathed everything. There were two men sitting together at the long bar, glancing at the woman who sat further down its length. They were whispering, but it was obvious to anyone that they were talking about her.

And why wouldn’t they be? Even outside of her glamorous costume, Karen was a peach of a girl. Her conservative dress and jacket, and staid hairdo, couldn’t hide that the body underneath had the abundant measurements of a pin-up model. That her face was as symmetrical as a perfectly cut diamond. That her eyes were a shade of blue that a sailor couldn’t find after a career crossing the oceans.

“Karen?” he asked, not sure how someone with a body like that could not be Power Girl, but still unsure that Peej would really ask to meet him civilian style. No costumes, no codenames, just them.

“Ted, you made it.”

Even in the demi-light of the cocktail lounge he could see she was the most beautiful woman there could possibly be. She wore no more make-up than average—a bit less than she did as Power Girl—and still every feature of her face was just right: the straight line of her finely tapering nose and the soft glow of her cheeks. She was profoundly feminine, even with her muscular shoulders and strong chin. Karen was just too damn womanly for such things to even try to come off as masculine.

“I hope you don’t mind that I dressed down. I thought we could cool it on the drama and the glamour. You seem like a guy who likes things casual.”

Ted could hardly speak; he just watched her lips move. His eyes ran over her jaw and the sleekness of her neck before he stopped himself.

“I like things all kinds of ways,” he finally said.

“Are you sure?” Karen asked. “You might want to start in with the high standards now. Could be I eat crackers in bed.”

“I have crackers,” Ted said immediately, wanting to quickly move back into comfortable, quipping banter.

“Spoiling me already,” she teased, and Ted gulped, not sure he could make it through this flirtation all night.

Geez, Karen always looked so good—why did it matter if she looked like the hottest librarian to ever Dewey Decimals? Just because they were on a date?

He’d been half sure she was kidding when she asked him out. Or that Booster had won some bet on his behalf or that it was all set-up for some prank. But here she was, alright. Power Girl.

“Come on, let’s get a table.”

Karen moved with him like she were a well-trained puppy; it was a shock to have her doing what anyone told her, much less Ted Kord, who knew full well he wasn’t exactly Batman.

She smiled to herself when Ted pulled out a chair for her, then sat himself across from her. Maybe he should’ve been more presumptuous and scooted in beside her, but it felt a little safer to have the table between them. Less strain on his heart.

Karen watched him curiously as he called to the cocktail waitress and ordered two scotch and waters. As soon as the cocktail waitress left, she asked him why he’d ordered for her.

“You? Those are both for me—no, no, I kid. I honestly wasn’t thinking. But they do serve some good scotch here, so you won’t be disappointed.

“I’m sure I won’t,” Karen said, leaning back to wait for her drink.

It, and Ted’s, came soon. Neither of them actually talked over the drinks. They sipped like they were in a competition, each waiting for the other to make a move.

Ted, his eyes glued to Karen’s beauty, seemed to be about to burst with things to say, but he couldn’t pick what to let out first.

At the same time, Karen had no idea what to say.

Finally, she decided there was no need for that to be her problem—she could make it Ted’s. After all, just because she’d made the first move didn’t change the natural order of things. She was the pursuit. He pursued.

If Ted couldn’t make her feel wanted when she looked the way she did… well, maybe he and Booster were spending too much time together.

“They say scotch loosens the tongue. What do you think you’re going to say to me when you get to the bottom of that glass?”

Ted stopped mid-drink; some of the scotch actually sloshed around in his unmoving glass and managed to trickle onto his chin. He lowered his glass and wiped it away. “I was curious what I was getting into.”

“Oh?”

“You’re a beautiful woman. And one of the strongest on the planet. You could have anyone you want. I’d ask ‘why me’ but I’ve also got some self-esteem issues, so: why the hell me?”

Karen tittered. “You seemed like you’d say yes.”

“That’s it?” Ted burst out laughing.

“Superman’s married. Batman’s a workaholic. Wonder Woman might not be gay after all. But you’d say yes.”

“Anyone would say yes,” Ted stressed.

“No, they’d be too intimidated.”

“I am intimidated.”

“Nah, you’re nervy. No man who flies a giant bug into battle can be intimidated. Not like Batman.” Karen sipped her drink again. “I honestly think Bats’s very self-conscious. He probably hates that someone nicknamed him Batman. Rather go by the Dark Knight. Have you tried calling it the Batmobile around him? He wants us to say it’s ‘the Car.’”

Ted exhaled. “Whew, I thought this was… a date. If we’re just having mimosas and making fun of Batman, that’s a relief!”

“Ted… how would Greta Garbo put it?” Karen sat back in a mild pose. “’I can’t be had cheaply, but I can be had.’”