Disclaimer: I own nothing of Supergirl or the characters.
I used some of the break up lines from the Season 2 opener between Kara and James to get the ball rolling. The writers and the show get all the credit for that work.
Comments and reviews welcome! Enjoy
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Kara: You know on Krypton, by my age I'd be a spinster. I know it seems like I should have everything figured out by now but I don't. The last year was all about figuring out how to be Supergirl and now it's time I figure out how to be Kara. You were right James, something has changed for me. You and me together that's all I wanted, but now when I listen to my heart I know we are best as friends.
James: And we will always be friends, I thought this was what you wanted.
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James stood quietly on the CatCo balcony. Kara had ended them before they ever really got started. In one fell swoop she'd relegated him to the friend zone, his heart was broken. How could she just flip on him that quickly? One minute they're kissing and the next he's just a friend.
James retreated to his office and pulled out a bottle of alcohol he'd stored for those tough days when life just needed to be answered with something stronger than coffee. He poured a stiff shot and threw it back, swallowing hard as he felt the alcohol burn its way down his gullet, while he poured himself a double.
He took the bottle and went back to the balcony. CatCo was quiet except for Cat who never seemed to leave the place, so James could sit and enjoy his drink in peace while he thought about what had just happened.
How could Kara just dump him like that? Hadn't he and their relationship been what she'd wanted from the first moment he noticed her pining over him at Noonan's? He'd lost Lucy because he loved Kara, and now he didn't even have Kara, he had no one.
Anger started to swell up in his heart at her as he continued to drink. He'd come to National City for Kara, he'd come because Clark had asked him to watch out for her. Now, he had nothing, just that ambiguous and empty place called 'friendship'. He took another swig of the alcohol. He felt used, forgotten, forsaken by the one person who he was supposed to love and be loved by. He felt betrayed.
James wasn't the vindictive type; he was forgiving and accepting most of the time, but this, this just sent him over the edge. She burned him, perhaps it was time he repaid the favour, let her know what it was like to be betrayed by someone you trusted.
He shot the last of the drink down his throat and with resolute will he made his way into Cat Grant's office. "Ms. Grant, do you have a minute?"
Cat looked up from her laptop, removed her glasses, "Only a minute, I'm very busy as you can see. What?"
James stepped through the office opening and turning around he closed the doors behind him. Even though the bullpen was empty, he wanted to make sure no one could hear what he was about to do. "There's something I think you should know about Kara." James began as he made his way towards her desk. Standing with his hands clenched tightly behind his back, "She's Supergirl." James let the weight of that little bomb drop fully.
"Excuse me?" Cat blinked repeatedly at him, "Did you just tell me that Kara Danvers, is really Supergirl?"
James looked her squarely in the eye, "Yes ma'am. She had an alien friend who can shape shift pretend to be Supergirl so she could throw you off."
Cat stared at James for a few moments, "So why are you telling me this now? That happened months ago. What's changed between you and Kara for you to expose her like this to me?"
James hung his head, "Ms. Grant, I've wanted to tell you every single day since it happened. But Kara and her cousin Superman made me swear to keep her secret to myself."
Cat looked at him shocked and slightly incredulously, "Do you mean to tell me that they threatened you if you told anyone who she is?"
As tempted as James was to lie, he figured it would hurt him more than Kara if, no when, Cat found out the truth. "No ma'am, they didn't threaten me, but they did insist that I swear not to tell."
Cat took a deep breath, "Hmmm, so that brings me back to my original question, why are you telling me this now? Something's changed for you to betray her like this, what is it?"
James just stared her in the face, "Nothing has happened, I'm just tired of lying to you about her."
Cat didn't believe him, she knew there was way more to this part of the story than he was telling her, she knew eventually she'd figure it out but right now she needed to process what she'd just learned about Kara. "You're sure, Kara Danvers is Supergirl? [James nods] I see, thank you for finally telling me the truth James. Was there anything else?"
"No ma'am." James answered.
"Ok, go home." Cat turned her attention away from her photographer back to her computer in the hopes that he'd get the hint and leave; he did. When James left her office she watched him as he made his way toward the elevators. 'So, Kara really is Supergirl. Interesting. But the bigger issue is what made James suddenly decide to betray her trust?'
Cat picked up her phone and texted Kara, 'I need to see you in my office ASAP!'
Kara replied, 'Sure Ms. Grant, on my way.'
Cat dropped her phone on the desk and rising went to her bar for a shot of scotch. She wasn't sure what she was feeling about all of this. She wasn't impressed that James had betrayed Kara, she knew that Kara had a thing for him and she wondered if that had something to do with it. But she was also unhappy with Kara's betrayal and continued misleading of Cat. She was hurt that Kara didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth when plainly she trusted James enough for him to know. Yes, she'd threatened to fire the girl if she didn't come clean as Supergirl, she never really meant to do it, it was a tactic intended to force her to be honest with Cat, sadly it'd backfired. Kara had chosen to lie to Cat, for whatever reason, Kara had lied and deceived Cat. Honesty and integrity were vital to Cat, especially from employees like Kara who had access to so much of her life.
As Cat took her drink and went outside to her balcony she could feel some anger rising up at Kara for keeping this secret from her. She knew Kara would continue to deny it once confronted with the truth. She knew she'd have to tell Kara that James had outed her so that Kara could stop the pretense and the lie and finally be truthful with Cat. This wasn't going to be an easy or pleasant conversation for either of them.
When Kara arrived she found Cat out on her balcony, "Ms. Grant, you wanted to see me?"
Turning to face Kara, "Yes, Kara. Take a seat please." Cat gestured to one of the cushioned seats outside, when Kara sat down Cat continued. "Before I begin I just want you to know that I value honesty and integrity in my staff above all else, do you understand that?"
"Yes Ms. Grant." Kara wondered where Cat was headed when she made that kind of an opening remark.
"Good," Cat stared hard at Kara, "so I can expect the complete truth from you, yes?"
"Yes, of course Ms. Grant." Kara's heart was pounding.
Cat took a sip of her scotch, "Kara I know. I know that you're Supergirl. What I want to know is why you didn't trust me enough to tell me the truth and tried to fool me with that imposter?"
"Ms. Grant!" Kara gasped, "I'm not Supergirl, I thought we'd settled that matter when you had us both standing in front of you? Where is this coming from all of a sudden?"
"Don't!" Cat snapped at Kara, "Don't you dare continue to lie to me, I won't stand for it Kara! I know you're Supergirl, so let's just be truthful with each other shall we?"
Kara hung her head, her heart was racing, she didn't know what to say or do.
"Kara, take off your glasses, let down your ponytail and look at me." Cat ordered.
Kara got up and went to the balcony, putting her back towards Cat. Fear was gripping her throat so tightly she felt like she couldn't breathe.
"Now, Kara. Remove the glasses and the ponytail and look at me or you can turn on your heels and pick up your belongings and get out." Cat shouted at Kara.
Realizing that it was no good to try to continue the ruse any longer, Kara slowly reached behind her head and undid the ponytail before removing her glasses. She drew in a deep breath as she turned to face Cat, knowing full well that she had revealed herself as Supergirl to her boss.
"He was telling me the truth!" Cat gasped in surprise. "I mean, I believed him, but I didn't believe him, I didn't want to believe that you'd lie to me, but it's true."
"Who told you the truth about me?" Kara asked with some confidence in her voice now that she no longer had to play the quiet little mouse assistant. "Ms. Grant, who betrayed my trust and told you I was Supergirl?" Kara was practically shouting at Cat.
"It doesn't matter," Cat snapped at her employee, "what matters is that I told you that honesty and integrity were vital to me and you still kept lying to me about who you really are. Just how am I supposed to trust you, Kara?"
"It does matter, to me it matters!" Kara growled at Cat. "It matters because someone I thought I could trust, betrayed that trust to the one person in my life I need the most next to my sister, that being you! So it does matter a great deal to me, who betrayed me?"
Cat looked at Kara with shock. Kara was so angry and she seemed unafraid of Cat for the first time since the red kryptonite incident. Cat began to move away from Kara and the balcony, afraid of what Kara might do to her.
When Kara saw the fear in Cat's face and that she was slowly moving away from her and closer to the inside of her office Kara's face shifted from angry to sad. "Ms. Grant, I'm sorry I snapped at you. You don't have to be afraid of me, I'd never intentionally hurt you. I'm just so surprised by all of this, I feel so exposed and betrayed that I guess I didn't stop to think about how you might react to my anger. I'm sorry, please believe me, I'd never, ever hurt you."
Cat knew deep in her heart that Kara would never hurt her, even when she threw Cat off the balcony she'd never meant for Cat to die. Yet, to see her soft assistant so angry now that she was outed as Supergirl, made Cat a bit fearful of her. "I know that Kara. But I'm disappointed that you didn't tell me the truth when I told you how important it was to do so. I'm sorry Kara, but I need people around me I can trust, you're fired."
Kara's mouth fell open in shock, "Please Ms. Grant, I've never lied to you about anything else. You have to try to understand why I had to keep my identity a secret. Please don't fire me, I need this job, I love it here working for you it's the best part of my day."
Cat just stood quietly with her back to the door to her office, "I understand the why, I don't accept that even when I told you to be honest with me, you continued to lie to me, so I'm sorry but you're fired."
Tears started to stream down Kara's face, "Before I go, will you at least tell me who betrayed me so I can make sure I remove them from my life so they can't do it again?"
Cat's heart was breaking, "It was James. He came into my office earlier and told me all about you and the deception you had that alien play. Now please, Kara, I think you should leave."
Kara's eyes shot wide open, "James? He betrayed me? I should've known he was angry when I broke up with him tonight. Thank you for telling me." Kara just stared at Cat, "Um, Ms. Grant, I need to through your office to go collect my belongings before I leave."
"Yes, of course." Cat moved away from the door. Cat watched Kara as she practically ran from her office to go get her belongings. Had she made the right call in firing the young woman? She understood why Kara had lied to her, it made perfect sense, she just hated being lied to even when she'd emphasized the importance of being truthful.
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Kara ran to her office and called Alex, "I just got fired, I need you to come and pick me up with my stuff, please, Alex."
"What! Why did you get fired, what happened?" Alex shouted into the phone as she raced to her car.
"I'll tell you when you get to CatCo, please hurry." Kara hung up.
Kara stood looking around her office. She'd only been in it a few short days but she'd already hung pictures and brought in stuff that made the office distinctly her own. Now it was all gone in one swift stroke.
She went to the picture that James had given her of Superman, she loved the photo but was so angry with the photographer that she took it off the wall and smashed it on the floor. When she saw the picture that James had given her of herself, she screamed as she took it and threw it against a wall, shattering to pieces. Her office was filled with stuff from James and Cat and Winn and Alex. In her grief she just started destroying anything that was from James; stuff from Cat she just left, she didn't want to break it, but she also wasn't going to take it home as a reminder of what she'd lost.
Eventually Kara slumped onto the floor of her office in a corner, weeping. James had betrayed her trust so completely and then Cat hadn't listened to why nor even tried to understand. She regretted not just defying Alex and Hank and telling Cat who she was, now it had cost her everything.
Suddenly a gently knock came to her office door, "Kara? Can I come in please?" It was Cat.
"Ms. Grant," Kara said between sobs, "I'd really rather you didn't. I'm not sure that there's anything left to say to one another. I'll be packed up and gone as soon as Alex gets here."
Cat stood still for a moment or two, "Kara, I own the building, I only asked to be polite. I'm coming in." With that Cat opened the door and found Kara curled up on the floor, eyeing the destruction around her. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry Kara." Cat approached the young woman.
Kara stood up quickly, wiping her face. "It's okay, I understand. Please, just let me finish packing my stuff and I'll be gone."
"Kara," Cat stepped closer to her, "listen to me…"
"Cat!" Kara snapped at her, interrupting her, "I think you've said all I need to hear. You no longer trust me, I get that, so please, just leave me alone."
"Kara..I…" Cat stammered and before she could say what she wanted to, Kara had sped past her out the office door and was gone in a blur. "Shit!" Cat shouted out loud.
Just then Alex stepped into Kara's office and came face to face with Cat. "What the hell happened? Where is Kara and why did you fire her?"
Cat sighed deeply at the sight of Alex, "I have no idea where Kara is, she just sped out of here, very angry and hurt at me for firing her."
"Why would you fire her? She's been so loyal and devoted to you, you of all people must surely see that she loves working for you! Just what the hell happened?" Alex was irate at Cat.
"James came into my office tonight and told me that Kara was Supergirl." Cat started.
"So you decide to fire her?" Alex interrupted.
"If you'll shut up long enough for me to finish," Cat snapped at Alex. "I fired her because I told her I wanted the truth, and then she lied to me about who she was. I fired her because I was hurt that she didn't trust me with her identity. I came down here to apologize and tell her that I need her to stay, but she wouldn't let me talk and ran out of here."
"James is a fucking idiot for betraying her!" Alex shouted at Cat. "I knew she was going to end it with him tonight, but I never imagined that he'd stoop so low as to betray her trust to the one person she admires the most, you. He obviously did it to get back at her for dumping him. And you just bought it hook line and sinker."
Cat didn't appreciate being yelled at by Alex, but she knew Alex was speaking the truth and Cat deserved it. "So, what are we going to do about this?"
"We're going to do nothing," Alex stated flatly, "I'm going to try to find her and make sure she's okay. Once that's taken care of and she's calmed down, I'll arrange for you to apologize to her and give her back her job, that is if you're still going to do that."
"Yes," Cat asserted, "I came down here to do just that very thing."
"Good!" Alex went to leave, "I'll call you when I have her safe and sound."
"Thank you Alex," Cat said softly, "I'm truly sorry for hurting her, she didn't deserve it, and I was wrong to do it. Please tell her that I want to apologize to her, she might not want to see me if she doesn't know why."
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Kara soared high above the clouds, tears streaming down her face. James had betrayed her, Cat had fired her. Her gut ached from the pain of it all. Her head swam with thoughts of just how far James might be willing to go to betray her, would he out her publicly? Would her life as Kara Danvers be over for good? Leaning her head back she let out the loudest primal scream ever heard on the planet below. It lasted until she was completely empty of breath before she began to weep bitter tears of loss and betrayal. So much for James always being her friend.