MADC Chapter 2 The Percentage Increases

The wind howled past Zack’s ears. His stomach felt like it had been left behind somewhere far below, and every instinct screamed at him to cling tighter to the girl holding him aloft. His knuckles whitened as he grabbed onto her uniform, terrified that the next gust would rip him free.

“Please don’t drop me, please don’t drop me…” He muttered under his breath, eyes squeezed shut.

Supergirl glanced down at him, her golden hair whipping in the wind. His whole body was trembling, and his face was pale, sweaty, and eyes wide with panic. He looked like the picture of a man dangling over the abyss. To her, it should have been routine. She had carried dozens, hundreds even, to safety before. Yet something about this one… something about Zack made it different.

Her arms tightened slightly around him. ‘Why do I feel like I shouldn’t let go?’

At first, she thought it was him—maybe some trick, maybe he was trying to get closer on purpose. But no… one look at his expression told her the truth. He wasn’t faking it. He wasn’t trying to be clever or manipulative. He was utterly, genuinely terrified. And for some reason, watching him press his lips together, trying to look brave while every muscle in his body betrayed his fear, made her lips curve despite herself.

‘He looks… kind of cute like this.’

Supergirl quickly shook her head, her cheeks warming. “Focus, Kara. Stay professional.” She scolded herself silently, forcing her eyes back on the horizon. She was Supergirl, protector of Metropolis—not some schoolgirl daydreaming while on duty.

Meanwhile, Zack’s mind was a whirlwind. He dared not open his eyes again, but behind his eyelids flashed numbers and letters he didn’t understand.

Connection established: 18%.

The mechanical voice hummed through his head, steady and cold. He wanted to question it, to rip apart what it meant, but the sheer panic of being hundreds—no, thousands—of feet above the ground stole all his focus. His only thought: ‘Don’t drop me. Please.’

He risked a glance down and instantly regretted it. The city below looked like a toy set, cars nothing but silver ants crawling along black lines, people dots scurrying between them. His stomach lurched violently.

“Gah! Too high—way too high!” He clutched tighter to her shoulder, eyes bulging. “Humans are not meant to be up this high! I’m not meant to be up this high!”

Supergirl glanced at him again, and for a moment she almost laughed. The great, mysterious man who had somehow managed to push her, a Kryptonian, was now babbling like a child on a rollercoaster. But beneath her amusement was something else. A pull. An odd warmth that whispered, Don’t let him go. Not ever.

She tightened her hold again, her voice calm but firm. “I’ve got you. You’re safe. I promise.”

Her caring voice caught him off guard. His panic eased for just a moment, enough for him to look up at her face. Strong. Determined. Beautiful. For a heartbeat, despite the terror, he believed her.

Supergirl spotted a patch of green ahead—a quiet park nestled between the buildings, its trees swaying gently in the breeze, paths winding like veins through open grass. It was empty, mercifully free from the gathering crowd and reporters that had swarmed the bank.

“Hang on. We’re going down,” She said, her tone more gentle this time.

Zack swallowed hard. “Down? Oh thank God…”

She angled herself and began to descend, the rush of wind softening as the ground crept closer. Zack peeked again and nearly sobbed with relief when the park grew larger, details sharpening—the benches, the lampposts, the little fountain glimmering under the midday sun.

Finally, her boots touched the grass with barely a sound, her cape settling behind her. She still held Zack, though, even after his feet were firmly on the ground. It was like her arms refused to obey when her mind whispered let go.

For Zack, his legs buckled the second his weight returned to earth. He stumbled forward, gripping his knees, sucking in air like he had been underwater too long. “I… I think I’m gonna puke…”

Supergirl couldn’t help it—a small laugh slipped from her lips. “You did fine.”

Zack shot her a glare between gasps. “Fine?! I almost died!”

“You weren’t even close,” she countered smoothly, but her eyes softened again as she studied him. That feeling… that comfort was still there, and it was stronger now. She didn’t understand it, but she couldn’t deny it.

And Zack, trembling, still had no idea what to ask first—the strange connection in his head, or why this powerful girl looked at him like he was more than just some scared, useless stranger.

Connection established: 21%

—---------------------------------

The park was quiet, a gentle breeze rustling the leaves overhead. The hum of the city seemed muffled here. Supergirl set Zack fully on his feet, though she lingered close, her eyes scanning the trees, benches, and walking paths to make sure no curious civilians or cameras were watching. Satisfied they were alone, she finally turned her full attention to him.

Her blue eyes fixed on him, sharp yet softened with concern. “Alright… now that we’re alone, I need to ask. Who are you?”

Zack rubbed the back of his head, his face heating with embarrassment. “Uh… my name’s Zack. At least, that’s what popped into my head earlier. But as for who I am… I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t remember a damn thing about myself. I just woke up in a dumpster this morning with no clue how I got there, or even where the hell I am now.”

Supergirl’s brows knitted together, worry flickering across her face. “You don’t know where you are? And you don’t know anything about yourself? No family, no home, no… anything?”

He shook his head firmly, lips tightening. “Nothing. I tried. I really did. I racked my brain, hoping something would click. But every time, it’s just… blank. Like someone wiped the slate clean.”

Supergirl folded her arms, her cape shifting in the wind. Her eyes searched his, as if trying to find truth in them—and found only honesty. He really was lost. “That’s… troubling. Amnesia isn’t something we should take lightly.” Her expression softened, and she took a small step closer. “But there’s something about you that doesn’t add up.”

Zack frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

She hesitated for a beat, then admitted, “Every time I touch you, I feel… different. It’s not like anything I’ve ever experienced before. There’s this… comfort. Like this steady warmth radiating from you that affects me. Do you know anything about that?”

Zack blinked, his mouth parting slightly. “Wait, what? Comfort? From me? You must be joking.”

Her gaze didn’t waver. “I’m not joking, Zack. Every time we have any direct contact. You release this weird comfort that makes me not want to let go.”

He rubbed his face with both hands, trying to make sense of it. “That’s… insane. I don’t feel anything weird when we touch. Except, you know, the fact that you’re holding me a hundred feet in the air.” His attempt at humor fell flat against the seriousness of her tone.

But then—he froze. ‘Wait…’

The messages. The voice in his head. They had always appeared when he touched her. First at five percent, then twelve, then eighteen. The timing lined up too perfectly to be a coincidence. His heart skipped.

“Actually…” Zack muttered, lowering his hands. “There… might be something.”

Supergirl’s head tilted slightly. “Go on.”

Zack took a shaky breath, deciding whether or not to sound insane. But her stare urged him on. “I’ve been… hearing things. Like in a cold robotic voice. It tells me stuff like, uh… ‘connection established.’ With percentages. And it only started after I touched you. At first I thought I was losing my mind, but now… maybe it’s tied to what you’re feeling.”

Supergirl’s brows furrowed as she considered everything he had said about “messages” and “connections.” For a moment, she seemed to weigh the impossible against the unlikely before finally speaking.

 “Maybe…” she began slowly, “…maybe you’re not completely human. Maybe you’re some kind of… machine.”

“A machine?” Zack, confused, repeated what Supergirl said. “You think I’m a robot?”

Supergirl tilted her head, her expression thoughtful, not mocking. “It would explain why I feel something strange around you. Some kind of artificial presence. Maybe you’re built to give off that comfort.”

Zack pressed a hand to his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heartbeat beneath his ribs. He sucked in a sharp breath, lungs burning with the crisp air of the park. “No… no way. I’m breathing. My heart’s beating right here. I don’t feel like a machine.”

But she didn’t seem convinced. “Hmm. Stand still, I’m going to check,” She instructed firmly.

Zack blinked at her. “What do you mean, stand still? Wait—what are you—”

Her eyes glowed suddenly, crimson heat pulsing at their core.

Zack stumbled back, alarm flooding his veins. “Whoa! Whoa, hey, your eyes. What are you doing?!”

“Just relax,” she said, calm but focused.

He didn’t feel relaxed at all. Her gaze roamed up and down his body like a scanner, and an odd, vulnerable sensation hit him. He wanted to cross his arms over his pants as his face heated with the strange urge to cover himself as if he were standing in front of her naked.

“Why do I feel like I should be hiding right now?” He muttered under his breath, glancing away.

Her stare lingered, then dropped lower. She didn’t blink, her focus unnervingly sharp.

“Um… hello?” Zack asked nervously, waving a hand near her face. “Up here. You’re kind of staring at—uh—places, and it’s really weird!”

Supergirl didn’t move at first, her head tilted slightly, her glowing gaze fixed below his waist.

Zack’s ears burned. “Seriously, are you stuck down there or—”

Finally, her eyes dimmed back to their usual sky-blue, and she snapped her head up to meet his startled expression. A flush bloomed across her cheeks before she coughed awkwardly into her fist.

“You’re… very much human,” She declared, voice suddenly clipped and professional, as though forcing herself into seriousness.

Zack blinked at her. “That’s it? Just like that? You’re sure?”

She nodded quickly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “Yeah, I used my X-ray vision and took a look inside your body. Bones, muscles, and organs making you perfectly human. No wires, no gears. Nothing mechanical about you at all.”

Zack’s shoulders sagged with relief, tension slipping from him like water. “Thank God. I really didn’t want to find out I was a toaster with legs.” He laughed nervously.

But then a thought hit him, and his brow furrowed. He glanced at her, noticing the faintest pink still on her cheeks. “…Okay, then why were you so focused watching below my waist for so long? Was there some kind of problem?”

Supergirl’s eyes widened. She shook her head far too quickly. “N-no! Nothing’s wrong. I thought I saw… something. But it turned out to be nothing.”

Zack arched a brow, suspicion creeping into his expression. “Something?”

“It was nothing!” She blurted out, a little too fast, her voice an octave higher than usual.

For a moment, they stared at each other.

 Zack tilted his head, lips quirking as though he didn’t quite believe her, but he decided not to press further. If Supergirl didn’t want to explain why she had been staring down there, well… what else could it be?

Zack then tried to move the conversation forward. “Right. Well, thanks for confirming I’m not a robot, I guess.”

Supergirl crossed her arms, still red in the face but trying to look stern. “Don’t get used to it. That was just a medical check.”

“Sure,” Zack muttered under his breath, his lips twitching into a half-smile.

The silence of the park lingered between them for a few moments, the breeze carrying the faint rustle of leaves and the trickle of the fountain nearby. Supergirl’s gaze drifted toward Zack, and a new thought sparked in her mind. She straightened slightly, with resolve flashing in her blue eyes.

“There’s no point in asking the same questions over and over,” She said firmly. “We’re not going to figure this out just by talking. You said that voice in your head… it gives percentages, right? Every time we make contact?”

Zack blinked at her. “Yeah… every time.”

Her lips pressed together in determination. “Then the answer is simple. We push it further and see what happens when it reaches a hundred percent.”

Zack’s heart skipped a beat. His brow furrowed as he took a half-step back. “W-wait, are you serious? We don’t even know what this connection is. For all we know, it could blow up, or melt my brain, or—I don’t know—hurt me or you!”

Supergirl smirked faintly, shaking her head. “Relax. You’re forgetting who you’re talking to.” She lifted her chin with quiet confidence. “I’m Supergirl. I can handle anything. Whatever happens, I’ll protect you.”

Zack stared at her, unsure if she was reassuring him or herself. His gut twisted with doubt, but her unwavering gaze had a strange effect on him. Maybe it was the warmth she radiated, or maybe it was that she sounded so damn sure of herself that, for a fleeting moment, he wanted to believe her.

“…Alright,” He muttered reluctantly, rubbing the back of his neck. “But if I start sparking or growing antennas, I’m blaming you.”

“Fair enough.”

They hesitated only a moment before their hands slowly met. Her fingers slipped around his palm, warm and firm, and Zack immediately felt the jolt of something invisible pass through him. Not painful, just present.

Supergirl’s breath caught quietly in her throat. The instant their skin touched, that same feeling returned—like sinking into a calm sea, warmth spreading from her fingertips to her chest. Her shoulders relaxed, and a quiet part of her whispered that she never wanted to let go.

Inside Zack’s head, the metallic voice hummed again:

Connection established: 28%.

He winced slightly, his ears twitching as if the sound came from the air itself. “There it is again,” he muttered. “Twenty-eight now.”

Supergirl tightened her hold ever so slightly. “So it’s working.”

But as the minutes stretched, Zack’s nervous curiosity shifted to boredom. The silence, the numbers, the heavy way she kept staring at their joined hands—it was too much. He cleared his throat. “Sooo… while we wait for this mysterious ‘connection’ to do whatever it’s supposed to do, maybe you could… I don’t know… tell me about you?”

Her eyes flicked up in surprise. “About me?”

“Yeah. I mean, I literally woke up this morning with no memories and then suddenly saw you fighting a gang of guys in red suits like it was Tuesday. I feel like I deserve at least a little context.”

Supergirl’s lips parted, and then a soft laugh escaped her. “You really don’t know who I am, do you?”

Zack arched a brow. “I don’t even know who I am. How the hell would I know you?”

That earned another chuckle from her, a hand briefly lifting to cover her smile before she remembered they were still holding hands. She shook her head. “Right. Amnesia. I forgot.”

This time, Zack grinned. “Kind of ironic, huh?”

She huffed in mock annoyance, though her eyes glimmered. “Alright, fine. I’ll explain. I’m Supergirl. Protector of this city, cousin to Superman. I use my powers to keep people safe, to make sure no one has to feel helpless when danger strikes.”

Her voice grew steadier as she spoke, each word filled with conviction. “I fly, I’m strong enough to stop trains, fast enough to outrun jets, and… well, you saw the bullets bounce off me.”

Zack listened, wide-eyed, the words painting a picture far bigger than his understanding of the world. “That’s… insane. And awesome. Seriously, that’s like, the coolest thing I’ve ever heard. You actually do all that? Every day?”

She smiled, warmth flickering in her expression at his genuine awe. “Every day.”

But then, caught in the flow of her own explanation, she let something slip. “…My real name is Kara. Kara Zor-El or Kara Danvers.”

The moment the words left her lips, her hand tightened around his. Her eyes widened slightly, realizing what she had done. She never meant to give her real name away so freely, not to strangers, not to anyone. Kal-El was going to scold her for forgetting something so important as protecting their secret identity. 

Zack’s lips curled into a slow grin. “Kara, huh? I like it. Guess I’ll call you that from now on.”

She blinked, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. “W-wait—no, you can’t just—”

“Too late,” He teased lightly, his grin widening. “It suits you better than ‘Supergirl.’ Kara.”

Her heart gave a small, unexpected flutter at the sound of her name on his lips. She looked away quickly, trying to mask it with a cough, but the warmth in her chest only deepened.

And all the while, the connection pulsed quietly between them, climbing higher, unseen but undeniable.

Connection established: 35%.

—----------------------------

The park was quiet except for the rustle of trees and the faint hum of traffic beyond its edges. Birds fluttered from branch to branch, but Kara barely noticed. Her entire focus was on the man whose hand she held.

At first, it had been a strange warmth, subtle and manageable. But now, as the numbers climbed steadily in Zack’s head, that warmth had deepened into something stronger—something dangerous.

Her chest tightened, breaths coming quicker, each one heavier than the last. Heat flushed through her body, spreading from her palm up her arm and into her core. She swallowed hard, her lips parting as if the air itself wasn’t enough anymore. ‘Why… why does it feel like this?’

Zack, noticing the tension in her face, frowned. “Hey… Kara? You’re not looking so great. Maybe we should stop. I mean, whatever this connection thing is—it’s clearly messing with you.”

He started to pull his hand away, but Kara’s grip snapped tighter, her fingers lacing firmly through his, locking them together. Her eyes flashed, desperate. “No! Don’t let go.”

Zack blinked, startled at the raw intensity in her voice. “Kara—”

“We’re more than halfway,” she cut in, her tone trembling yet resolute. “Just a little more and we’ll know what this is. Please. Don’t stop now.”

Her urgency made his heart race, but her words also chilled him. ‘She sounds… desperate. Almost afraid to let me go.’

He did a quick mental check, and the voice confirmed it:

Connection established: 58%.

“Fifty-eight,” Zack said quietly, his voice low with unease. “We’re past the halfway point.”

Kara exhaled shakily, relief mingling with something else, something she couldn’t admit even to herself. “Good. Then just a little more. Whatever’s happening… we’ll see it through.”

But her resolve only seemed to fuel the sensations wracking her body. Heat coiled tighter inside her, emotions rising in waves she couldn’t suppress. She wanted to be closer—needed to. Before she realized what she was doing, she shifted, pushing him back until his shoulders hit the soft grass of the park.

“Wha—Kara?!” Zack yelped as his back hit the ground. His eyes widened, stunned, as he realized both his hands were now pinned above his head, her fingers holding him in place with unshakable strength.

His pulse hammered in his ears. Above him, Kara’s blonde hair fell like a curtain, her face flushed, lips parted, blue eyes glazed with something he couldn’t decipher. She panted softly, her breath hot against his skin.

Zack’s body tensed, every instinct screaming that he was suddenly in danger. ‘This isn’t right. She’s not herself right now.’

“Kara…” he whispered, trying to reach her through the haze. “What’s happening to you?”

Her answer was a labored breath, her grip tightening around his wrists. The overwhelming desire inside her begged her not to let him go, begged her to stay as close as possible. ‘Why do I feel like… I can’t live without him?’

Just as the tension reached its breaking point—

“Um…Mister, miss, what are you two doing?”

The small voice broke through like a thunderclap.

Both Zack and Kara froze. They turned their heads toward the source and saw a little girl standing a few feet away on the path, clutching a half-eaten ice cream cone. Her wide eyes blinked between them with innocent confusion, her tone flat with childlike honesty.

Kara’s entire body stiffened, her face blazing red. “I—uh—this—this isn’t what it looks like!” she stammered, her voice pitching higher as she immediately released Zack’s wrists and scrambled back.

Zack sat up quickly, brushing grass from his shirt, equally flustered. “Yeah, it’s—uh—we were just—uh… doing push-ups! Together! Really weird kind of push-ups.”

The little girl tilted her head, unimpressed. “It looked like wrestling.”

Kara yelped again, covering her face with her hands. “Oh Rao…” She muttered under her breath.

Zack shot her a sidelong look, biting back a laugh despite the heat in his own cheeks. ‘Taken down by a ten-year-old with ice cream. Never thought I’d see the day.’

The girl skipped away, humming, leaving them both sitting in mortified silence on the grass.

Kara peeked through her fingers, her face still crimson. “We… should probably find somewhere more private,” she mumbled.

Zack nodded quickly, still shaken but unable to hide a crooked grin. “Yeah… probably.”

And somewhere deep inside his mind, the voice whispered again, quiet but certain:

Connection established: 62%.

Finally done. Tell me what you think and if I made any mistakes.