A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait (I swear, the words keep getting away from me and the chapters turn out longer than planned… I'm gonna try not go overboard with the length next time…), here is chapter 10 featuring Kara using her super-hearing for some fun eavesdrop- I mean 'sleuthing', Alex and Kate's more proper introduction (sort of?), a work-related Superman visit, Kara being oblivious at some obvious things, and a very important meeting for Lena.
Kara Danvers was a pocket full of sunshine. In the mornings, she would have the biggest and brightest of smiles as she made her way to Noonan's for her usual coffee order, and Cat Grant's too when she was still her assistant. She would greet each and every person on the street with her infectious positive attitude and warmth.
Except that morning. Kara was most definitely the pocket full of sunshine that she was. People who had the chance of getting to know Kara would say that she was girl who doesn't really do mad, granted there was the whole thing with red kryptonite, but that was red kryptonite. Even if she was angry, she never showed it. She smiled, and nodded, and made things as bearable as possible because she was the kind of girl who put others first. Anyone who had the chance of running into her that morning, however, would say otherwise.
The night before was a handful, with the even at L-Corp being attacked by a group of mercenaries led by Slade Wilson, also known as Deathstroke the Terminator, and being exposed to handful of green kryptonite in various shapes, sizes, and form. Sure, at the end of the day, she had prevailed. She managed to save Lena's life, and made sure everyone else was okay.
But only after getting a helpful hand from Batwoman and Nightwing, Gotham's and Bludhaven's own nighttime protectors.
She was very much quite on edge even after the fight. She had the chance to take a rest in the sunbed to get some rest before heading over for debriefing only to find out that they were having a little bit of their own medical emergency in the medic bay. Guardian had sustained some serious, but thankfully not fatal, injuries and everyone was working hard to make sure that his condition doesn't worsen.
Kara, concerned about the neophyte vigilante, rushed to get a look at how he was doing. She wanted to help – there had to be a way she could help, she was Supergirl after all, x-ray vision and everything – only to get the surprise of her life.
"James!" she had exclaimed rushing into the room after seeing the one and only James Olsen on the hospital bed.
"Relax, Kara, we got him. He's going to be okay." Alex had told her as her sister tried her best to keep a hold of Kara.
Kara was already feeling tired, she had just faced her mortality earlier and the idea that she might actually fail at saving Lena. Truth be told, she didn't know which thought had scared her the most at the moment. But now, well now one of her friends was badly hurt too. It was James. It was him all along.
He was the guy who recklessly placed himself in the middle of danger to save Supergirl from the super soldier they had to face. He dealt with the heavy blows, the bruises, and the scars to help her, to do his part in saving people's lives. How could she have not seen it? James had been acting weird since the thing with Parasyte. He was getting hurt, despite trying to brush it off as getting into some accident at home or pulling a muscle while trying a new workout routine.
Those were the most ridiculous lies she's ever heard and yet she believed them.
She believed them because it was James.
And that night James was all black and blue and red and Kara couldn't do much about anything. The tired feelings she had earlier that night, the fear, it all turned to guilt because she felt like she failed James as a friend. Because she felt responsible for making James feel like he wasn't much of a hero even without the mask on, or for that matter she didn't remind him that he was her hero in all the times she had turned for him for help. She felt worried because James could have died too.
But then Kara slowly felt anger. At first because she found out over the weekend that Winn and James were in cahoots with all of this. Because she found out that Alex knew. And Kara wouldn't have been super mad about anything if she had been brought into the loop. She understood it wasn't her fault, that she shouldn't feel guilty and that it wasn't her responsibility. She even understood why James did, where he was coming from and she admired his courage even more than anything, finally standing up, taking on a mantle like it was his calling. That much she respected.
But she was incredibly mad that he didn't say anything to her, because she could have still helped. She didn't appreciate the secrecy, at all. And at the very least, they could have brought James fully into the fold and trained him a little.
More than that, Alex knew! Granted it was James' secret, James and Winn's, but she should have urged them to tell her at the very least. James could have been killed with his little adventures as a vigilante.
And now James was still out of commission. No serious, life-threatening injuries but he's body was all kinds of sore, he still had to get some stitches, he still had a dislocated shoulder, and he still had a hairline fracture on his leg.
Not to mention Kara now had to cover up for James for not coming into work. True, he already let Cat know he had gotten into an accident during the event at L-Corp but James was worried that Cat might put things together and figure out he was Guardian. Whether or not Kara was still mad at him, she definitely didn't want him to be exposed.
Thankfully Cat didn't attend the event. "I'm only back until things settle back down. I realized a fast and abrupt transition may not be ideal. So until Mr. Olsen can get his act together and be my CEO full time, until he's fully adjusted, I'll stick around." Cat had explained the other day and she most definitely meant every word of it. She wasn't working so late anymore, neither was she in the office during the weekends. By Friday night she would be gone with Carter on some weekend getaway, slowly adjusting with her new schedule herself and spending time with the people that matter the most to her. For Cat Grant, it was time to fully enjoy the fruits of her labor.
All weekend long Kara managed to avoid Alex's calls, Winn's messages, and spoke only very minimally to James who she just couldn't ignore because he was the one technically on bed rest. That didn't mean she couldn't be a little cold with him though.
And as much as Kara had wanted to check on Lena herself, make sure she's okay – she did go through one hell of an ordeal with Supergirl the night of the event – she ended up settling with exchanging messages with Lena.
Because really, all Kara had done the last few days was rant, to J'onn – which she would admit was a little awkward – and to Mon-El. Heck, she's been ranting even to M'gann, who had no choice with the matter since she was a literal captive audience at the moment. The last thing she wanted to do was rant vaguely about James' and Winn's secret to Lena Luthor for lots of reasons. One, she didn't want to burden her with her friends' insane ideas. Two, Lena might actually add things up, especially if she ends up slipping on anything.
And having slip ups would be very easy when Lena was around. It was like her very presence was enough of a truth serum for Kara. She just couldn't help herself but tell Lena things.
Trivial things, personal things, everything.
And thankfully she hasn't exactly told Lena everything.
Although there was a part of Kara that really wanted to. The same part that hated herself for lying and keeping secrets from Lena. True, she doesn't owe Lena an explanation to anything, they've only been friends for a few months.
But she hated that there were parts about herself she couldn't be honest about to Lena. Maybe it's because she sees the good in her, because for whatever reason, Kara found it so easy to trust her.
Once she reached her office, Kara slumped down onto her chair and rested her head on her desk. She really just needed a moment to rest, run away and take a break from her life if possible. Sort herself through with all the thoughts that have been running through her head the past few days.
But that's not possible. She was Kara Zor-El after all, and that meant she had to balance being Kara Danvers and Supergirl both during the day and during the night.
And just as she thought she possibly had at least five minutes of peace, she could hear Cat Grant's voice calling out everyone she thought to be important enough into her office for a meeting.
Thus ends her barely two minutes of tranquility. Duty calls for Kara Danvers, fledgling reporter.
Cat was on fire. Just because she chose not to attend the fundraiser doesn't mean she wasn't well aware of what was going on. Form the main news to the tiniest details of the latest gossips regarding the latest attack at National City, Cat Grant didn't miss a beat.
And it didn't really matter if Kara was in a bad mood, seeing Cat Grant be, well, nothing less but Cat Grant always left her in awe, making her want to be just as fired up and passionate as her boss.
"If you attend every single event that happens in a year, people will get bored of you. You need to let them miss you. Have them be excited to see you." Cat explained when Snapper cut her off, claiming he's already got the stories set out and in order after the whole 'Deathstroke Incident' at National City. "But less on why I didn't go and more on the actual news." she went on as she assigned news stories and headlines.
And she most definitely did not miss a single beat.
An article was going to be written on the politics side of the attack, possible controversies on the alien registration act, and an opinion piece to voice out the concerns of both sides. Yet another one was assigned to cover what the Hamilton's thought about the rising attacks in National City, if the expansion of their base of operations have anything to do with a potential new market to fight alien tech and weaponry. Another piece was set on how L-Corp was truly continuing it's push of moving on to their own direction even with the constant attacks they had to endure at their main office, and of course what they plan on doing as they move forward. Kara was a little surprised she was neither assigned to the Hamilton nor the Luthor piece, she thought Cat would have wanted an interview from either Kate or Lena and what they have to say about it.
But then Cat Grant moved on from serious topics to more of the entertainment side of the news.
There was going to be a piece on the latest fashion trends at the fundraiser, and a breakdown of the night went before all the crazy happened. An article was also being written about a young inventor who was currently designing an app that would alert citizens about possible attacks – alien or non-alien – in a timely manner.
And of course, there was going to be a piece about the latest romantic entanglements of the guests. "And that's going to be all yours Kiera."
"Huh?" Kara asked, confused after being caught off guard about the assignment.
"Here I thought you'd have insider info. The latest gossip spreading in the interwebs, or whatever you crazy kids call it nowadays, is that Lena Luthor spent most of the weekend at the Kane Residence Tower. L-Corp's own CEO spending the aftermaths of yet another attack on her life at the place where the one and only Kate Kane lives, especially when Kane herself was supposedly in Gotham, sounds intriguing, don't you think?"
"I… well, I mean, they are friends." Kara managed to say, stumbling over her words. The picture Cat Grant had just unintentionally painted for her giving her a whiplash.
Cat sighed before dismissing everyone else to leave and asking Kara – yes, she got her name right that time – to stay behind for 'a little chat'.
Kara stood still for a moment. A part of her, the part she rarely even realized existed, was boiling over. Her fingers had been fidgeting as she unconsciously started clicking the end of her ballpoint pen over and over.
Lena went to Kate's because she had nowhere else to go. She was alone – because Kara just had to be wrapped up in the whole Guardian business with James and Winn – and maybe Kate was back. Maybe Lena didn't want to be so alone and helpless and wanted the company of a friend. That's normal. Who cares about the insinuations surrounding the gossip? Lena and Kate had known each other for a long time, Kate was probably just comforting her for once.
That was it.
Right?
And Kara shouldn't feel what she feeling just because of that. That gnawing feeling inside of her, chewing her inside out just like when Lucy would spend time with James when they were still together, James being busy all the time, rarely ever getting a chance to even grab a cup of coffee with Kara.
But it wasn't that, no, that would be ridiculous.
Besides, it wasn't exactly like that. Kara wasn't feeling jealous at all. If she was, it was because she was just extremely fond of Lena and maybe, well, maybe she wanted to be the one who made her happy, cheered her up and kept her company after everything that had happened.
No, it wasn't like that at all.
She was feeling something so much worse than that and Kara just didn't want to admit it. The unsettling feeling settling in like she had unexpectedly crashed into endless windows and skyscrapers.
"Kiera, please stop doing that before it drives me crazy." Cat said, stepping behind her desk and settling down on her chair. Kara did as she was told, nervous energy still pulsing through her as she kept fidgeting, adjusting her glasses or smoothening the creases on her button down shirt. Cat sighed before she gave Kara a hopeless look. "I'm not demoting you to a gossip column or anything, Kiera, that's not my intention for the article." She heard Cat continue to say, and almost immediately Kara snapped her head up and looked at Cat with a curious look.
"Heiress of a weapons company, brilliant engineer and CEO of a corporation that had been notoriously previously known for its world dominating and alien hating agenda…" Cat went on as she waved her hands in front of Kara pointing to nothing but air as if to demonstrate the main points of her arguments.
"Lena's not going to pursue anything Lex did." Kara instantly and adamantly said in defense of her friend. This despite the fact that she knew Lena had an alien detection device prototype somewhere, possibly a working one again. However, Lena doesn't seem to be too keen on it at the moment and Kara doesn't know if it's because she's also starting to see things her way or she just has to deal with too many death threats lately to even care. Which really, all of it is just sending all sorts of mixed signals in her head.
"I'm not saying she is, I'm saying that there might be a potential contract between the two companies coming in the distant future along the lines of that recent military contract Kate Kane's family acquired. Details may be hush, hush and all. But if there is, I'd like Catco to have the story first. We already beat The Planet with our interview with Ms. Kane, we might as well keep the ball rolling." Cat explained. "You're a reporter Kiera, I already told you that, and while you're writing needs some work every now and then – everyone has room for improvement – you have all the makings of a great one."
"Thanks Ms. Grant." Kara replied uncertainly. "So, would you like me to interview Lena and Kate on their plans? Or the rumors?" she asked, barely able to hide the distaste in her voice when she pertained to the word 'rumors' because she couldn't quite bring herself to say 'potential blossoming romance' as some of the tabloids undoubtedly already have plastered on their front pages.
Really, Kara just doesn't understand why she felt so blindsided by the whole assignment. She's still trying to wrap her head around the fact that Cadmus worked with people like Deathstroke – for that matter that someone like Deathstroke exists – and the idea that her supposed best friends kept an idiotic secret from her. Now she had to grapple with the fact that she hated the idea of Lena being with Kate Kane in some way, shape, or form for no apparent reason.
Sometimes Kara just needs a day off.
But today wasn't that day.
"We can start with the relationship. They have a history together as friends." Cat replied, a look of concern and understanding settling on her face as she went on, the sound of her voice grounding her to reality, reminding Kara that she had an actual job to do. "I don't think I'd need to hold your hand through this Kiera. It's quite simple to ask what two socialites might do on a night out, how things may have changed now that Lena is a CEO, and say… how Kate is adjusting to whatever role she is taking with her own family's expansion in the city."
Kara nodded wordlessly absorbing what Cat had said. Of course, that's what Cat meant. What on earth are you thinking Kara? Get your head on straight, Danvers, she chastised herself.
"Right. I'll get right to it then, Ms. Grant." Kara replied with a nod before turning to leave.
Only to be called back by Cat Grant. "Oh Kara, one more thing." she had said, two for two on getting her name right that morning.
"Yes, Ms. Grant?" Kara asked, curious as to what else Cat might want to say.
Cat Grant takes a minute or two, pausing for a moment as if she was studying Kara's every movement.
It was like when she kept insisting she was Supergirl in the past. A part of Kara knows that despite J'onn's help, Cat Grant most definitely did not buy that she was not in fact Supergirl and quite possibly was still trying to figure out the trick she used to pull it off, that's why she wasn't back on trying to get her to confess.
That or she's already figured it out and Cat was just being uncharacteristically nice about it, letting things slip and playing along.
Cat took a deep breath. "Kara, I don't know what it is that's going on inside that head of yours, or for that matter what's going on with your heart – " she started to say before she saw Kara's brows furrow " – yes I said heart, you heard me right – but you need to take some time and figure it out. You can't move on through life on a standstill, blissfully ignoring what's already right in front of you. Something is happening with you, something's not the same, and it has been affecting you one way or another. Do you understand me?"
"I-I think so?" Kara replied.
Cat sighed. "Don't let anyone play you for a fool Kiera, and don't do the same to anyone. You've always had good instincts, so whatever it is – and make no mistake, I can see that your friendship, or whatever it is that's between you and Lena, is at the center of this – take the time to figure it out. Then decide how to move forward from there. It doesn't always work, but sometimes not listening to your head over your heart is the answer."
Kara stood silent for a minute, tentatively biting her lip and nodding along as she let Cat Grant's words sink in before thanking her and leaving.
Somehow Cat's words haunted here all the way to L-Corp. Sure, Lena had given instruction to let her through anytime she was there for a visit or for an interview but Kara still decided to call Jess – she tried calling Lena but she wasn't picking up – on the way to give her a head's up. She also wanted to make sure she wasn't exactly disrupting a meeting and that Lena had available time.
Which, she knew, was strange behavior on her part because Kara was sure she's waltzed into Lena's office more times than she can remember without even checking in if she's busy, but in her defense she's always done a flyby of her office before that so she already knew the answer.
Today, however, Kara wasn't in a rush to get anywhere.
Maybe Ms. Grant had a point about the 'standstill' comment, she thought to herself.
"She always has time for you, Ms. Danvers. She's currently in a meeting with her board but she should be done in a couple of minutes." Jess replied through the phone sounding a little bit exasperated. "I'll let her know you're on the way as soon as she's out of the boardroom."
When Kara finally got to L-Corp, she went straight up to Lena's office and found the CEO setting aside a finished plate, a glass of wine next to it. Kara didn't fully realize how long the walk was between Catco and L-Corp, and with her mind on a whole lot of different matters at hand, she really did let time slip away.
Lena looked surprised when she arrived but nevertheless welcomed her with her usual warm smile, "So what can I do for you today, Kara?" she asked.
Kara was pretty much still a nervous wreck the whole interview, not really sure how to approach the topic. She started to reason to herself that she's still just shaken with all that had happened the past seventy-two hours or so, that's why she felt like her feelings were somehow getting in the way of the assignment. It's because she's had a lot on her mind and adding new information was just hard to process at the moment.
That was all.
Really.
Nothing else.
On her way, she also convinced herself that she would tell Lena it was for a puff piece looking at how powerful women manage their own personal lives, different kinds of relationship included. It wasn't that far from the truth either. She followed through with that plan, explaining it to Lena all while the CEO simply gave her a curious look, stopping midway from writing something in her black ledger. Lena let Kara ramble on trying to explain what the piece was about, quite possibly deviating from what she was saying from time to time, until she saw Lena quirk brow. It would seem that Kara was making an idiot of herself for no good reason when Lena was clearly seeing where the whole thing was leading too. "I don't suppose Cat Grant finally sent you to my office because she was interested in my dating life?" she asked with a scoff.
And Kara all but managed to nervously laugh as she gave her answer that instantly confirmed Lena's suspicions. Lena tipped her head to the side and looked away, mouthing 'of course' before sighing. Kara, for whatever reason, felt like she needed to reconfirm them with words, "I mean, yeah… uh, no? I'm not entirely sure either."
Lena gave Kara a tentative smile, setting aside her pen and closed the black leather-bound notebook. Kara could see that the usual warm, relaxed and carefree Lena that she had gotten used to slowly started to withdraw within herself. Lena did her best not to show it, but Kara could tell the sudden change from open to guarded persona. "What is this about, Kara?" she then found herself asking sounding just as confused as the bumbling reporter in front of her.
All because Kara couldn't ask the simple question on whether or not something was going on between her and Kate Kane. She didn't want to sound rude, and she knew it really wasn't her placed to ask in the first place. Lena didn't owe her any explanation on what she does with her dating life. If she has a dating life…
…I mean, she's Lena Luthor! She probably has suitors all lined up and, granted she keeps saying I'm her only friend but still… Kara's thoughts went rambling on just as she did.
Seriously, Kara Zor-El, what's wrong with you?! Kara thought, stopping herself short of actually shouting it at herself.
Somehow her curiosity on Lena's dating life and the thought that Lena might actually have one – like all normal humans would – was driving her insane.
Lena bit her lip as she tried to find the words to say – and for that matter, tried to figure out how to say things that Kara wouldn't misinterpret and understand – that she just doesn't really like talking about the topic at hand. She was still very much guarded and that scared Kara a little. She'd gotten used to the way Lena was around her, and the sudden change in dynamic was causing a shift deep inside her.
Kara felt special, in the way that Lena could be just Lena around her. In a way that she gets to see the CEO for all that she is. But the topic seemed to be a very touchy one for her and Kara wanted to ease the situation.
Before she could do anything however, Lena relaxed a little and spoke up. "Look Kara, I don't… being a Luthor or at least anything associated to Lex, doesn't really bring much in terms of relationships. You can write whatever you think is nice but the only relationship I have is with my job. And well, my father's dead, my brother's trying to kill me or at least tried multiple times in the past, my mother is… well that's complicated." Lena then answered, stopping herself short.
Her comment about Lillian Luthor picked Kara's interest a little, and a part of her wanted to follow up on that, but Cat Grant was also right.
She was distracted.
Besides, she didn't want to make things more complicated than things were going with the interview.
And she hasn't even broached on the topic of Kate Kane and if they might work on a project together.
"What about Kate?" Kara finally managed to ask, for once actually saying something that's more than just incoherent ramblings during their interview.
"What about her?" Lena asked, releasing a deep breath. She sounded rather exasperated on the topic.
"Um, well, you've known each other for a long time." Kara then replied, pointing the obvious.
Once again she was met by Lena quirking a brow at her direction. "I have to admit, you're the first reporter today – well, ever – who hasn't asked me that question directly. We're friends Kara, I'm not dating Kate." Lena said with a sense of finality on her tone. "Not like it's the public's right to know either. Tabloids can spin stories as much as they want, the truth gets out anyways." she added, her tone changing a little and Kara could sense more easily the irritation Lena had been trying to hide all this time.
"Right." Kara then replied uncertain about how she should continue the interview. She had clearly hit a nerve, and if she could guess things right, she would assume that Lena was well aware about the rumors. Kate was as much a philanderer as Bruce Wayne was, and while Kara has absolutely no idea what Lena's preferences are, well, she finds it hard to believe that anyone in their right mind would throw away any affection Lena Luthor might throw their way.
"But you are friends." Kara then picked up, finding a way to possibly ease the currently building tension between them. "I mean, Kate's known to party. Don't you go out too? I mean, I know you go out with me for lunch or when I drag you to watch a movie. I can't be the only one you spend time with when you're away from your desk at L-Corp." she went on, smiling shyly at Lena, hoping that the CEO would see the innocence in her question, hoping that she would understand that this was just an assignment and she just wanted to edify points that kept being muddled up in the news about her.
Lena couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle at what Kara said and Kara was slowly able to breathe again – she didn't even realize she had somewhat stopped – seeing that Lena was starting to relax again. "I see Kate from time to time and catch up with her too. Truthfully though, back when I still wasn't the CEO of a company, anytime I was with Kate was usually spent drinking our worries away or taking care of her because she doesn't want to stop throwing her life away. She's been good at not doing the latter lately, thankfully, but she's gotten into a bad habit of disappearing on you, so it's been harder to see her." Lena replied before she sighed. "But really, Kara, how many times do I have to tell you before you believe me that you are my only friend in this city. If not for you, I don't think I'll have much of a life other than work. If anything I'm thankful I have you in my life, Kara. It reminds me to stop and live a little, enjoy the simple things."
Kara couldn't help but smile nervously in response. She knew Lena gave her an honest answer and somehow, the complicated mess of thoughts that found itself all tangled up in her mind got all the more tangled up. Thoughts she's been trying to ignore kept trying to resurface when Lena met her eyes and she gave her a smile that was a little bashful for Lena Luthor. Still, the thought that outside of work, Kara was essentially it, the exception to Lena's mundane routine of boardroom meetings and conspiracy plots.
The two of them eventually settled into a comfortable talk about what had happened during L-Corp's last event before Lena took a quick glance on her phone and excused herself, remembering an important meeting she was about to have.
Kara thanked Lena for being gracious with her time as always. She found herself taking a deep breath, leaning back on the smooth elevator walls.
A lot has happened since, well, ever since she's taken up the mantle of Supergirl really. Things weren't getting easier either, especially since Lena arrived and with the whole Cadmus thing. Kara's been waiting for things to settle down, but it seemed like that would be impossible.
And if she had to admit it, she kind of felt a little lost at the moment.
Kara found herself running into an alley before switching to her Supergirl outfit and taking to the skies. She wanted to clear her head a bit.
Except, as soon as she did she saw a blur of blue and red heading towards the direction of the DEO building.
Sometimes duty just never ends.
The DEO was on high alert ever since the Deathstroke attacks. While the masked mercenary was on his way to some maximum security prison somewhere, it left behind quite a trail of paper work for some of the agents to clean up, and quite a bit of a mess on Alex's own personal life.
Guardian was hurt, for one, and with his state immediately after the whole affair, the only logical thing to do was to take James to the DEO and treat him. It led to both J'onn and Kara finding out and while Kara was currently pissed and ignoring her and Winn for the most part – at a time when she really needed Kara to be there – she knew that her sister would come around.
But J'onn though. He was really pissed.
"You shouldn't have kept something like this. It's one thing to go on side missions and cases with Detective Sawyer, it's another to let an untrained civilian think himself to be a hero who can handle all of this."
"Look, I agree maybe it was the wrong approach but I can't stop James from doing what he feels is what he needs to do and what he thinks is right. He saved Kara tonight, other than those other vigilantes, who you don't seem to be having a problem with, and he's helped Kara on multiple occasions already."
"This is still not the right way to go." J'onn mumbled under his breath. He was angry, more on the keeping a rather important secret part, but an Alex's defense, he was keeping secrets of his own.
In their current moods, both of them can make the same arguments about how they weren't their secrets to tell, but Alex knew not one of them would cave.
They both have points and they made mistakes, J'onn was just being stubborn with his stance, especially since James could have very nearly died that night.
"Bet you if it was Kate Kane he wouldn't be this prissy."
"Yes, but Kate Kane attended West Point and she's got some DEO experience." Winn replied flatly. "Whatever they are, anyways. Ugh, I still can't believe I messed up. I was supposed to keep an eye on his back." Winn replied as he slumped down on his station.
Alex leaned back on his desk and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "You did your best. James is alive. Kara is alive. That's what mattered." she replied. "Anyways, got any idea on what J'onn's waiting for? Superman's already here, why can't we begin talking about whatever mission or case we need to work on?"
But Winn simply replied with a shrug.
Superman arrived about half an hour ago, Supergirl close behind. He and J'onn had a brief but private talk before he joined his cousin on something Alex would call their own version of Kryptonian hijinks at the DEO. Kara introduced Clark to Mon-El, warming up instantly to the Daxamite thanks to the fact that he didn't know anything about the war between his home planet and Daxam. Then Kara showed Clark the last two of the super-powered animals they kept at the DEO. Despite being initially wary of them, Clark started warming up to the super-powered dog Kara named Krypto, claiming hi as his own best buddy.
"Maybe I can actually take him back to Metropolis with me." he had said to Kara earlier.
"Hang on a second, no way. Krypto and Streaky are friends, they're my friends."
"You can't keep them at the DEO, and did you name the orange cat Streaky?" Clark had asked amused, his mood lightening up a little compared to how it was when he arrived.
"He's got a lightning shaped streak on his fur!" Kara had then replied.
While the argument was rather ridiculous to hear between the two Kryptonians, it did put a temporary smile on Alex's face to see Kara relaxing a bit after the weekend they had. The two soon disappeared chasing after both Streaky and Krypto who tried to make a break for it.
And perhaps Alex would have even enjoyed the whole scene a little more if the threat of Cadmus didn't exist. Kryptonite caches of different kinds, mercenaries with weapons that could hurt Kara, it was all too much.
That was why Superman was there in the first place. He returned from wherever it was that he meets with his little league of friends wanting to discuss important matters at hand, and if the look on his face when he brought up Cadmus to J'onn was any indication of how serious the threat was, then Alex was definitely preparing for the worst.
She's never really seen Superman as angry as he looked earlier.
Just as Alex was thinking about the seriousness of the situation, both Supergirl and Superman zoomed into their control center.
"Told you I'm faster, just accept it Kal." Kara said all smug.
"I will admit that if it wasn't for your quick thinking we almost had two escaped super animals out in National City." Clark then replied.
"Well, you all seem to be enjoying yourselves." J'onn then said also entering the scene with a tablet in hand. The same one that Maggie had with her the night Cadmus took Kara. "We've got some updates, Mr. Schott, can you pull them up?" he commanded more than asked Winn as he handed over the tablet.
"Yes sir." Winn replied and went straight into it.
Clark once again adopted a stern look. The little happy bubble they had earlier of forgetting their problems had ended. Alex kept his eyes trained on the two Kryptonians, Kara was slightly nervous but she was trying her best not to show it, and Clark a bit impatient.
But then he perked up a little, turning his head around just in time for the hall filled with DEO agents behind them started to make the subtle noise of guns being pulled from their hoisters.
"I see I'm getting a warm welcome." Kate Kane had said, her hands up high in the middle of the hubbub, playful smirk on her face.
"I see you're actually using the front door this time." J'onn had commented, signaling the rest of the agents to put their guns down.
"Well, it is day time…" Kate replied, making her way towards them. She turned to face Alex and gave her a knowing a smug grin in passing before turning her attention to Superman. "Supes."
Superman chuckled. "I'd ask why you're dressed like that but I'm assuming it's complicated. It always is with you lot."
"It is." Kate replied truthfully. "The ending of my brief tenure as a DEO agent wasn't exactly all rainbows and unicorns. Besides, someone already tried hacking my files for intel, glad to know J'onn had the most sensitive info redacted otherwise… well… I can't promise anything nice to the person responsible." Kate then replied coolly, eying Winn when she mentioned the hacking.
Winn stopped for a moment, feeling Kate's eyes on him before he slyly looked at Alex for any sign of acknowledgement of support or back up. Alex huffed and gave a slight nod just in case.
Alex gave a side glance to her sister after that, Kara all of a sudden started acting fidgety when J'onn introduced Kate to the rest of the team at the control center. Winn looked a little intimidated when Kate shook his hand.
Only really adding to her irritation more.
She knew Kate was helping them but still, she didn't have to be there with them. Alex just wasn't too keen on the two of them sharing space.
"Agent Danvers." Kate then said, reaching her hand out. Alex reluctantly met hers giving "Kane" as a terse reply before Kate turned to meet Supergirl.
Much to Alex's own surprise, Kara was losing her cool. Not in the same way as she did when she met the president, thank God, but she was still acting a little too funny around Kate for Alex's own comfort.
It would have been easy to get to the bottom of it if Kara would just forgive them already, as she inevitably will, and talk about whatever it was bothering her. At the end of the day, the two of them were sisters. They shared each other's problems, ease each other's burdens. They were each other's best friends.
"Got it." Winn then said, pulling the files up on screen. "Do the files really need to be heavily encrypted?" he then asked Kate.
"Well, considering you're security system's a little lax in terms of highly intellectual humans who can hack their way into anything, then yes." Kate then replied.
"We've got topnotch security." Alex quickly retorted before returning her attention to the screen.
Kate chuckled in response. "And yet I managed to break in with ease, not to mention Oracle managed to hack you."
Winn simply grumbled some nonsense in response that even Alex couldn't understand before J'onn cleared his throat. Even Alex understood the exasperated look on his face. They were all trying to act like children who don't get along well.
"So, what new information do we have?" J'onn asked.
Kate smiled. "With the help of my associates, a lot." she replied before she broke down the information she managed to recover for the DEO and Alex couldn't help but wonder who she meant by 'associates'.
But that wasn't the time to ask questions, it was time to listen and digest information.
Information about their enemy.
Kate started with saying that they managed to crack ten more locations of the nineteen still active Cadmus labs. They have intel on the facility whereabouts and floor layouts, unfortunately they don't know much other than the fact that they may also be keeping large stashes one or more types of kryptonite. One of the labs was at Central City at an old research facility for LexOil, a subsidiary of the once named LuthorCorp. There was another location just outside Coast City, once again it was a small Thorul Labs facility. The third on the lost was an old factory at Bludhaven used for the production of parts used by LuthorCorp for their space-related business ventures. The fourth was in Star City, underneath the research labs of a current pharmaceuticals company under L-Corp. There was also one in both Gotham and Metropolis, both just outside the city limits. On the surface they were either warehouses or storage facilities but the maps that Winn pulled up revealed a series of labs and tunnels that ran beneath them. The other four where across the globe, one in Paris, another in London, the last two in Russia.
"Batman has a few people looking into the one in Metropolis already and Green Lantern said he'll take care of the one at Coast City." Kate then said.
Winn nudged Alex, mouthing "Green Lantern?" for clarification but Alex simply shook her head. She's heard about the hero at Coast City but very little information about him was currently available to the DEO. She did know they were interested in keeping an eye out for him.
"I'm guessing Bludhaven is already taken care of?" Superman then asked and Kate nodded.
"He's pulled in some of his old teammates. Don't worry, I know someone else in that team we can trust. She's pretty awesome, trained her myself." Kate then said knowingly to which Alex tried hard not to respond to.
"I'm guessing we should get strike teams ready for Metropolis and Star City then." J'onn then replied. "Along with the international bases. Should we attack simultaneously?"
"I'm torn about that. If we do for all of them, it might tip Cadmus off." Kate then replied instinctively.
"Why would they be tipped off? And of what?" Alex then asked curios at the sudden change in Kate's demeanor. She was acting a little defensive, more protective really.
And Alex really wanted to know.
After all, Cadmus still had their father, and if he was involved with this, with the intelligence gathering in any way, she would like to keep him safe.
And get him out as soon as possible.
Kate simply shrugged and remained tight-lipped. "We can plan and coordinate strikes accordingly." she replied, dismissing Alex's question.
"Any news on…" Superman started to ask, his voice dropping low.
And Kate shook her head before he could finish. "In terms of location, no. But I think there's something we need to talk about."
"In private?" J'onn asked in place of Sueprman.
"Preferably. I heard you guys had someone smuggling kryptonite to Cadmus once, better be safe." Kate then replied, dropping her voice low. J'onn and Superman exchanged looks and nodded.
J'onn dismissed the team after that, telling Alex they'll talk later to plan the strike teams as he disappeared with Superman and Kate Kane.
Alex simply eyed Kate, still holding onto a bit of her own suspicions. There was something she knew, Alex can tell, something the redhead either wasn't sure of herself or was purposefully avoiding to talk about.
But whatever it was, Alex promised to herself, she will uncover.
One way or another.
Kara was pretty much nibbling on the straw of the club soda she ordered. She was at the dive bar after work, the little meeting at DEO took longer – technically with the wait to get started – than she thought it would which meant she had to stay later to get her work done.
Technically she got it done in like ten minutes since she got back, closing her office door and speeding away to make sure that they were all set in case trouble pops up somewhere. But still, normal human beings don't have super powers.
Which meant that normal humans needed to stay later and work longer hours when they had too many deadlines.
In the meantime, she spent her time of pretending to work hard actually working hard.
Well, sort of.
The news about Cadmus had Kara a bit anxious, wanting to close down all the labs they located as soon as possible. There was nothing else in this world that she would want more than anything.
But then right on cue thoughts of Lena started popping back up in her mind.
So, instead of letting her mind wonder again on things she would rather not deal with at the moment, Kara focused her attention back on the assignment Cat Grant had given her. She started digging up any information she could about Kate Kane and the latest contracts the Hamiltons had in case Cat was right and that L-Corp might eventually form a contract of their own with the arms company.
All leads Kara found, however, lead nowhere. She could have gone to the source easily, Kate was just in the DEO earlier, but then again she was Supergirl when they saw each other that day and she couldn't have started asking Kate any questions about Lena at that time.
Although she does suppose she could have asked her about whatever it was that had her cousin in edge.
Instead, Kara decided to track Kate down, again with no luck. Kate had pretty much disappeared after the DEO visit, which was why Kara found herself back at the office. She started making calls with the people working on current renovations at the old Lord Technologies building, anyone really, who had some form of contact with Kate. She didn't want to call Lena to ask her a favor of getting in contact with the CEO, not after their awkward moment in the middle of their interview.
Besides, Lena was probably dealing with a lot right now. She may make it look easy but Kara's not blind to see that she's got a lot on her plate and that she's working day in and day out just to get them all done.
So Kara might have decided to cheat a little, using her super-hearing to try and pick up and track down where Kate was.
Hence why Kara was in the dive bar.
Kate looked relaxed and well-adjusted despite being in an alien bar. Surprisingly some of the locals even know her, with one of them asking her "How's your friend Kori?"
"Technically she's the friend of a friend." Kate had corrected. "But last time I saw her she's doing well." she had replied with a smile.
Kara felt a little guilty about it. She never really eavesdrop unless it's needed and essential to the cause, but… well… she wanted to know a few things.
One was whether or not Kate's family does plan to work with L-Corp on some top secret project that could potentially spell trouble for aliens in the city, and the world, no matter where the intentions come from.
Two was that she may or may not be interested on asking Kate for an interview, maybe find out if she and Lena actually had a thing because for some reason that's what her mind kept circling back to much to her great annoyance.
Soon, a man – human, again – with dark hair and blue eyes entered the pub. He gave a passing glance at Kara, sporting a jovial grin on his face and nodding at her direction, before moving past the bar and heading to the booth where Kate was sitting.
Kara turned back quickly hoping Kate didn't notice her all while she focused in on what they were talking about.
"Grayson." Kate said greeting him.
"Hey Kate, how are you? Still hurts?" the guy called Grayson asked.
"Aches a little. Lena was a great help over the weekend though. Somethings never change I guess, she still takes care of me when I'm sick." Kate replied and for whatever reason some form of weight have been lifted on Kara's shoulders. "Thanks by the way."
"That's what friends are for. I was supposed to help, just got a little held up."
"Do I need to know?" Kate asked.
"No." Grayson replied with a chuckle. "I'll be sticking around for a while though, Babs too. She's just helping Bruce with something but she'll be heading over here soon. Bruce wants to have this fundraising Gala of sorts for the Wayne Foundation here at National City. Since he's all sorts of busy with his usual activities, I've been assigned as a surrogate for him. Babs too."
Kate laughed in response. "Good to know. Although are you really not here to just babysit me?"
This time it was Grayson who chuckled. "No. He worries about you but he trusts you too. Can't help it if he may seem a little overbearing and protective sometimes." he replied.
"Any news on the request I made from Tim?" Kate then asked.
"He's working on it. He's hoping he can finish up the project soon." he replied.
"What are you up to?" she then heard Alex say as she felt a light jab to her side. Kara's focus shifted from Kate and her friend and to her sister, looking up just as Alex saw Kate in her booth. "And what's she doing here? Who's her friend?"
"She apparently has an alien friend. Locals know her. I don't know the guy and I said I'm not talking to you. But what are you doing here?" Kara then replied.
Which, she sort of regrets letting Alex get her attention already what with her sister sporting her own patented puppy dog eyes towards Kara.
"Kara, I'm sorry. I know I made a mistake not telling you but I trusted Winn and James. I still do. James may not be trained like an agent but he's gotten in his fair share of scuffles in the past being a Superman's friend and all. It was their secret and I respected that. And I respect why you're mad too, but I just, I need my sister now more than ever and looks like you need to talk to someone too, especially with whatever that was earlier with the redheaded daughter of Gotham over there and whatever this is right now." Alex then said, waving her hands around Kara to drive home her last point.
"There is nothing here right now." Kara defended.
"Kara, I know when you're secretly eavesdropping. You make a face where your nose is all scrunched up and everything." Alex replied flatly. "Besides," she then continued with a sigh, "I have an upcoming date with Maggie and I really need your help."
Kara couldn't help but smile when she saw Alex's reaction, blushing a little, as she mentioned the date. With everything's that happened with her and the detective, Kara couldn't be happier for her sister.
Kara went from trying hard not to notice Alex to pulling her sister in for a big hug. "You know I'll be here for you Alex, whatever you need." Kara said. "And I guess I'm sorry too, for being stubborn about this, but the whole Guardian thing is not over."
"We'll definitely talk about it." Alex then said. "But tell me, what are they talking about?" Alex then asked, bulling herself up on a barstool and nodding towards the direction of Kate and her friend and Kara instantly remembered she should be snooping.
Not that snooping was the right thing to do.
Perhaps 'sleuthing' was a more acceptable term.
"Something about Bruce Wayne and a party earlier. Apparently Kate was sick or something too and Lena took care of her." Kara replied, not being able to help the slight change in the tone of her voice when she mentioned Lena.
"Ah, so that's why." Alex murmured but Kara ignored her, choosing instead to focus back on Kate and her friend.
"Oh God, so that's what Damien broke!" Kate replied, trying not to laugh.
"Yep." Grayson replied in between sniggers. "You should have seen how mad Bruce was. He was already having a long day then. Jason dropped by too."
"Ah, so how's the black sheep of the family?" Kate had asked.
"Still going on about with things his own way. I think he's forming his own ragtag band of outlaws, shall we say." Grayson replied.
And for the second time that night, her eavesdropping had been interrupted, this time by Maggie Sawyer walking up to Alex. "Danvers, ready for that game?" Maggie asked Alex before turning to acknowledge Kara, "Kara, it's nice to see you again."
"Nice to see you too." Kara replied only remembering that Alex had a Monday night game of pool with Maggie.
Maggie then turned towards Kate's direction. "What she doing… hang on…" she started to say. "I'll be right back." Maggie then said to Alex before walking towards the booth with a huge smile on her face.
Kara turned to Alex who looked just as confused. "Dick Grayson, nice to see you lost in our neck of the woods." she said greeting Kate's friend.
Dick laughed, standing up and pulling Maggie in a quick hug. "Nice to see you too Maggie." he then replied.
The two exchanged a few words, Kate butting in every now and then about the party Dick had mentioned earlier before Maggie made her way back to the bar with Dick.
"Alex, this is Dick Grayson. He's a friend rom Gotham." Maggie started to say introducing him to Alex, "Dick this is Alex Danvers and her sister Kara."
"Hey." Dick greeted as Alex shook her hand with a welcoming smile. Completely the opposite of how she interacted with Kate earlier.
"I have to say, I was a fan of the Flying Graysons." Alex then said as the group briefly talked about Dick's circus past. Soon, Maggie challenged Alex to their game of pool, Dick joining them as they made to the pool table, challenging the winner of their game.
Kara turned around, and saw Kate Kane simply watching them for afar, looking thoughtful before turning to Kara's direction. She smiled, raising her own glass of drink at her before taking a sip.
Kara took a deep breath, this was her chance. With one last drink she made her way to where Kate was sitting.
She was gonna get more substantial answers from Kate Kane herself.
Hopefully this one goes smoother than how things went with Lena.
Lena found herself rubbing the side of her temples at the end of the day having just consumed her third glass of wine for the night.
It's been a long day. Mostly it was long because of the amount of work she's been doing, half for the sake of L-Corp, half digging into Cadmus.
Then of course there was Kara's visit for another interview, this time for a piece regarding powerful women and relationships…? Lena wasn't really sure. Kara herself sounded confused about the matter.
She felt a little bad really. As soon as Kara mentioned 'relationships' Lena was already on the lookout for any red flags with the interview. She didn't mean to make the whole thing awkward or tense with Kara just that, well… Kara can act the awkward bumbling reporter all she wants but Lena could see she has the makings of a great reporter. She was smart, honest, and earnest. If anything she had an eye out for the truth. She was afraid this might circle back to her mother and Cadmus.
The whole matter had her already on edge. It didn't help that she's had to deal with the stupidity that was gossip columns and online blogs that morning too. She's seen the tabloid magazines too and their headlines for the day. Seriously, Kate owed her big time. She had gone to check on her after the attack, mostly just thank her for pulling through, when she saw the state her vigilante friend was in.
"Things got a little rough back in Gotham" she had told Lena when she saw the bruises, the bandages, and oh God, the bloody scar that ran along the left side of her lower back that still looked fresh. "That one was actually from Deathstroke. I had to intervene his initial attack and I was ill-prepared having just gotten back."
"How are you still alive?" Lena had asked her incredulously.
"I have a doctor friend who was in town for a conference. I may have also run into an ex-girlfriend who had the foresight of giving me pseudoderm – you have heard of it before, right? I used it to initially patch myself up before hiding away at my doctor friend's place. Really, luck's just been on my side." Kate had explained while Lena helped her onto bed. "It also helps that I have a high tolerance for pain."
She ended up staying over the weekend, mostly to show that she did appreciate the fact that she came to her and Supergirl's aid when they needed help the most.
But the price had been rumors of the two of them possibly dating. Rumors that had sparked ages ago back in Gotham, then Metropolis. Then again, Lena supposed, ridiculous headlines like that was much better than anything Lex-related.
Kara getting dragged into something so trivial like that, however, came both as a surprise and a curiosity to Lena. She has no idea why Cat Grant would have her digging about what she was up to with Kate Kane. A part of Lena figured that Cat would be too smart to play the fool and think that they were actually having some sort of tryst, if anything, she probably sent Kara to try and see if there was something more to it than what meets the eye.
Cat Grant was a smart woman and that much Lena knew and respected of her. So it was not hard to guess that Cat knew that a lot of important business deals and alliances were sometimes made out of boardrooms and offices. Whatever Cat Grant's agenda was – some big scoop for Catco or perhaps looking out for Supergirl because the words 'weapons heiress' and 'Luthor' just spelled trouble – Lena wasn't sure.
What she was sure about was that Kara most definitely not acting normal.
Like something about the whole thing was bugging her.
And Lena wasn't sure if she should even entertain the thought of Kara possibly being jealous – because that might be reading too much into her behavior earlier, but it did seem like she was – or not but it somehow felt like it.
But now was not the time to get distracted with matters of the heart. Kate was planning to make a move with her associates, and Lena needed to be prepared for what was to come on her end of the battlefield.
Besides, there was no room for anything, if there ever was anything to begin with, right now. Lena knew, Kara was someone she couldn't lose, and losing her was a high risk in her 'game' if she knew what she was doing.
But between losing Kara in the way she might if she found out versus losing her in the way she very nearly lost her as Supergirl a few nights ago, then Lena would gladly take the risks and play.
Because she can't, she simply just can't, lose Kara by having her lose her life. She'd rather have Kara be upset and mad at her about the duplicity.
Kate herself was still very much clearly upset with her for her own decisions with regards to Cadmus. They don't talk about it, Lena playing her dangerous games, but they do talk about what mattered with regards to the information they need to stop the organization.
With Lena's help and Kate's own digging – this despite being pretty much on bed rest the whole time for Kate – their weekend turned out to be a very productive one.
"How soon do you think you can act on these?" Lena had asked just last night.
"I would prefer hitting some of them simultaneously. We just need to keep an eye out on movements, in case they pack up and move locations." was Kate's reply. "But I'm hoping we get to Project 13 soon." she had added.
Which pretty much had Lena busy for the rest of the day, juggling her work with trying to figure out where Cadmus could be keeping Lex's currently most precious project of all.
Lena started to pour a fourth glass of wine for herself when the double doors of her office opened and in came a rather dignified looking man. Nothing much about him stood out – brown eyes, brown hair with a streak of grey – other than how he carried himself as if he was the most important man in the room. Jess came rushing in spewing out apologies for letting him inside.
"I'm sorry for the abrupt visit but I thought it was about time we met, Ms. Luthor." the man had said.
Lena gave a quick glance at Jess to signal that she was excused. As soon as her assistant was out of the room, Lena turned her attention back to her surprise visitor. She stood up from her chair and made her way across her desk as she crossed her arms across her chest. "And who are you exactly?" she asked, never for once taking her eyes off the man who had the audacity to stroll right into her office in the middle of the night.
The man had smiled. "So you don't know, interesting. Your mother hasn't said anything then." he replied. "I do apologize about the attack a few nights ago. It was a merely a test."
Lena felt her jaw clench.
The man was from Cadmus. Probably the other director that led the organization Lillian Luthor pertained about.
Here he was flaunting himself in front of her, telling her what she already knew.
The attack was a test. Perhaps a test of her loyalty, how it was one, Lena wasn't sure. She was sure, however, with how the man before her was regarding her that he was carefully studying her every movement.
"For Supergirl." he then added, answering Lena's own unspoken question. "We wanted to assess the limits and strengths of the specimen, we didn't much data on her, unlike Superman." he edified and yet Lena couldn't help but think that there's more to it.
An unspoken test that may come in handy.
Like, say, how much Supergirl would be willing to lay her life for Lena's.
But Lena kept the blank expression on her face as best she can. She can't let him know just how ticked off she was with how he had called Supergirl a specimen.
Thankfully, Lena didn't have to say anything as he went on.
"But do forgive me, I haven't introduced myself," he said, "I am Dr. Paul Westfield. I've had the pleasure of working directly with your brother on a rather special project."
"What can I do for you, Dr. Westfield?" Lena then asked, still not giving away any of her inner most thoughts or feelings, she was keeping it cool.
And Dr. Westfield gave her a confident and knowing smile. "You see, Lena, while your mother has been of great help to our cause, there's something I'm afraid only you can help me with." he replied, taking a few steps to approach the CEO, only stopping about a foot away.
Lena gave him a tentative smile in response. "What can I do to help?" she asked, already dreading the response she was about to get.
But whatever it was, it was too late now. She was in too deep.
There was no turning back.
A/N Pt 2: Dick Grayson sticks around for a while, he leaves before Arrowverse peeps show up though. We also get to meet Barbara Gordon in actual scenes not just as Oracle.
On the Bludhaven team comment, Kate's younger cousin, Bette Kane, is also a hero in her own right taking up the mantle of Flamebird and becoming one of the Teen Titans at some point. She took the name Flamebird as a counterpart to Nightwing, both were part of Kryptonian legends. Fun fact, she's also Bruce's cousin and in some unclear and indirect way, Kate and Bruce are cousins.
Up Next: Sanvers first date (the chapter will mostly be focused on them)! A bit of Supercorp (a build up to chapter 12 really). And some SuperBFF time with Kara, Alex, Winn, and James (and a Kara and James talk that I just couldn't fit in this chapter… It was getting really long) ;)