Interrogated with the Lasso of Truth

It had been three weeks since Kara and I officially started dating, and I couldn't be happier. Since that fateful afternoon when we professed our love to each other, the two of us hadn't spent a single night apart. Most of our free time was spent together, whether out on a date, chilling at her place watching movies, or having wild passionate sex. The only real breaks we got from one another were when one of us was at work (turns out Supergirl apparently also worked as an assistant for some big media executive) or when Kara was doing her superhero duties, and even then Kara would text me whenever she got the chance. Not that I minded too much; when Kara wasn't around I couldn't help but feel like she would suddenly come to her senses and dump my sorry ass for someone more deserving, but the texts were a nice reminder that she was still obsessed with me for some inexplicable reason.

It only took about a week and a half straight of me spending the night at her place before I told her that I might as well be living there at this point. I was joking at the time, but she ended up taking my off-the-cuff statement completely seriously. The next day she surprised me with a key to her apartment, and the day after that I found out that she had cleaned and packed my entire apartment while I was at work. I'll admit I found the suddenness of that a bit disconcerting, but ultimately it didn't take much convincing for me to trade living in a cramped studio apartment by myself for a spacious loft with my superhero girlfriend. My old apartment was now used for little more than extra storage space while we unpacked and waited for the lease to run out, since flying a box across town was a cakewalk for Supergirl.

Even work hadn't been the same since I started dating Kara. For one, Tom would not stop badgering me about my new girlfriend, who he'd jokingly call 'Supergirl' even though he only knew her as Kara Danvers. It didn't help that Wally had apparently taken my offer to stop by my work to heart, and found Tom being so close and yet so far from the truth to be utterly hilarious, and would encourage him by joining in on the fun whenever he was around. Even Kara herself thought it was cute and would play along on days when she came to pick me up. And yes, I do mean 'pick me up': Kara offered to fly me to and from work whenever she was available, insisting that it was both safer and faster than public transit. Once I realized she knew how to do it without jeopardizing her secret identity, I accepted pretty much every time, because seriously, who would turn that down? Maybe someone afraid of heights, but certainly not me. Of course, she wasn't always available due to her own responsibilities, so sometimes I just had to make do.

Like today for instance. Kara texted me shortly before I got off work, saying that Superman wanted her help dealing with a tsunami in Japan, and that she wasn't sure how long it'd take. She even ended the text with 'that's okay with you, right?', as if I was going to stop her from saving lives. I just told her to not worry and that I'd see her later, and resigned myself to a uneventful night on my own.

Which is why I was shocked when, while waiting at the bus stop, a golden cord wrapped around my waist tight enough to pin my arms to my sides. I was barely able to register what happened before I was forcefully yanked backwards off my feet and into the alley behind me. In the darkness of the alleyway, I was caught in midair from behind, the firm hand holding me off the ground by the rope that entangled me. Before I could ask what was going on, a feminine voice directly behind me asked, "What are your intentions with Kara Zor-El?"

The cord lit up in a golden glow, and a **** compelled me to answer, "I-I'm not sure yet! She's my girlfriend and we're moving in together, but beyond that I don't know!"

Almost immediately the voice asked, "Are you mind controlling, mentally manipulating, or otherwise influencing Kara Zor-El in any unnatural way?"

"No, I'm not!" I answered, not needing to be **** into that answer. It wasn't quite enough for the magical **** though, so I was compelled to add, "Unless you consider her unusual devotion to me to be an unnatural influence, but I'm not intentionally exploiting it, and I'm not forcing her to feel that way about me."

There was a very brief moment while Wonder Woman (really, who else could it be?) processed what I said, her hot breath tickling the back of my neck. Then another question, "Do you have any idea who or what could possibly be mentally influencing her to behave in an unusual manner?"

"No, I don't!" I said, and this time the lasso seemed to judge my answer sufficient enough to not need any further compulsion.

This was followed by a longer pause than last time. Then she asked, "Do you love Kara Zor-El?"

"Yes," I answered, "I mean, I think I do. I haven't really felt this way about anyone before, but I'm pretty sure it's love."

The woman took one last deep breath, and the tension in her grip relaxed as the light of the lasso died down. She set me down on my feet, then unwrapped the golden cord from around me. Once freed, I turned around to confirm that yes, I had been dragged into this alley and interrogated by freaking Wonder Woman herself. I was stunned, not only because I was in the presence of a legend but because she was more beautiful in person that I ever expected her to be.

"I apologize for being so rough with you," Wonder Woman said, wrapping up the lasso and hanging it on her hip, "I had no idea what you were capable of, so I intended to strike fast and from a position where you couldn't easily attack or influence me. But since you turned out not to be a threat after all, it seems like overkill now."

"Y-You could say that," I said, rubbing my arm where the lasso dug into it.

"Hopefully you at least understand why I felt it was necessary," she said.

"Yeah, I... I think I get it," I said, doing my best to keep my voice from shaking. I was having a hard time not being intimidated by Wonder Woman, and not only because of what just happened. Unlike Kara, who was a bit shorter than me, Wonder Woman was at least a whole head taller than me, and the lack of sleeves on her costume made it apparent just how much muscle she had. She still looked feminine, of course, but her build was definitely worthy of the title of Amazon, and I was... well, I was me. Not fit at all, with a slight belly even, and with no superpowers to speak of. She could wipe the floor with me, and unlike with Kara I fully believed she wouldn't hesitate to do so if I gave her a reason.

Wonder Woman seemed to notice my nervousness, and gave me a warm smile, "Relax, Charlie. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Sorry," I said, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, "This is just... a lot to deal with right after work, you know?"

"I understand," she said, "If it makes you feel any better, now that we've met I'm starting to understand what Kara sees in you."

I blinked, looking up in her eyes, "Y-You do?"

She nodded, "You know, her love for you is so intense that some other members of the League suspect some form mind control may be involved."

"To be honest, I can't really blame them," I admitted, "But like I told you before, if there is someone or something that's doing this to her, I have no clue what it might be."

"I know, and I'll be sure to tell them that as well," she said, "But I can see that there's a certain... charm about you. And I think the reason Kara loves you so much is because she sees it too."

"Oh, she definitely sees it," I said, "If anything, she probably sees more of it than there actually is."

"Maybe, but I don't think so," Wonder Woman replied, stepping closer to me, "I think you have more to offer than you even realize."

Okay, this was starting to get weird, especially the way Wonder Woman's eyes were starting to look me over. Backing away a bit, I told her, "I'll keep that in mind. Um, it was nice meeting you Wonder Woman, and it's good to know you care about Kara so much, but uh, my bus will probably be here any minute and-"

"Hold on a moment," she interrupted, reaching her hand out to me, "I want to make amends for what I put you through. I know it's not exactly comfortable being compelled to speak by the Lasso of Truth, and I feel you deserve at least a little compensation for that."

"Oh, I don't think that's really necessary..."

"I insist," she said. She stepped forward, then bit her lip as she appeared to consider something in her head. After a moment she asked, "How about I treat you to dinner tonight? It'll give me the chance to get to know you better... and help reassure the League that you really do have the best intentions."

That last part sounded just a bit too tacked on, but I was also still pretty rattled, so I could've just be reading too much into things. And given how much Kara was involved with the Justice League, making a good impression with them was pretty important if I wanted this relationship to last. Besides, this was just an apology dinner, and a free one at that. It's not like she was actually asking me out on a date... right?