"Miss Zorel!" Cat's voice sliced through the already tense atmosphere of the staff meeting. "I don't remember a text from you last night."
Kara was wise enough not to point out that she had texted. She was sure her brief acknowledgement of Cat's reminder of this meeting didn't count. Glancing up, eyes not quite meeting Cat's, she waited for the other shoe to drop.
One finger tapping at the glass-topped conference table, Cat continued. "I distinctly remember asking if you'd seen the coverage of last night's Event." The capital letter was easy to hear. Her tapping stopped as she picked up a remote and clicked a single button.
CatCo's coverage of Kara saving the plane sprang up on the plasma screen at the far end of the room.
Unwilling to watch (or unable to pry her gaze from Cat's), Kara could only listen to the excited voice of the reporter. "Did you see that? There's a woman holding up the plane…Oh my God! She's about to take out the bridge!"
Kar winced at that. Her first rescue, immortalized by how close she'd come to ramming a plane into a traffic-packed bridge.
Destruction of property wasn't the problem needing a solution in the cruel light of day. The reporters' voices disappeared; although, Kara could still see the footage reflected in the window behind Cat's head. The thing Kara needed to fear more than anything was her boss Cat. A woman who might have won the Queen of Mean award if Leona Helmsley hadn't already worn the crown.
"What's the first thing you see in that footage?" Cat asked. Her voice was soft. Too soft.
Goosebumps dotted Kara's arms as she sensed Cat closing in for the kill. "Um…a n-new superhero?" Training with the legendary General of the Amazon Army and living as a foster daughter to Queen Hippolyta had still not prepared Kara to face an enraged Cat Grant and sound like a competent member of the CatCo staff.
Cat seized on her obvious terror. "No!" The word exploded through the room even though it leaked from between Cat's clenched teeth. "I saw a chopper from the Planet! Their news crew was the first on the scene!"
She jackknifed from her chair, and every director and department head crammed around the conference table scrambled to follow suit. "Out!" One bony finger jabbed in Kara's direction. "Not. You."
Kara's legs gave out. She dropped gracelessly back into her seat.
"If even one of you fails to get me the items we've discussed, I'll fire you and every member of your team. This is our one chance to put CatCo and the Tribune back on top. I'm not exaggerating when I tell you failure is not an option."
No one questioned her. They didn't have to. They'd already been privy to CatCo's profit and loss projections. Kara huddled in her chair as the rest of the room scuttled out. The silence, as the door closed behind them, wrapped around Kara.
It grew and grew until it suffocated her.
Cat moved closer. Her knees brushed Kara's trousers. "Do you know why I hired you, Ms. Zorel?"
Kara shook her head rapidly. Her "no" barely penetrated the quiet.
Reaching into the folder she'd tossed onto the table at the start of the meeting, Cat withdrew a photo. "This was in your portfolio. I saw it, and I thought: here's someone who can make even the dried up, shriveled thing that was once my heart wake up and beat again."
The photo landed in front of Kara. She automatically picked it up. It was one of her personal favorites. A little girl in the streets of Mumbai, holding out a single drooping flower, with the reality of the Dharavi slums in stark contrast behind her. The girl's smile was pure happiness that managed to reach off the glossy paper and make the observer smile back.
"I need the woman who took that photo." Cat leaned a hip against the conference table, still crowding Kara's personal space. "I need a photo of the woman who saved that plane. One that will rival this!" She flicked the photo in Kara's hands with a nail.
Kara huffed a quickly stifled laugh. It would take a miracle for that to happen. She couldn't very well photograph herself.
"You find this funny?" Cat loomed over her, any hint of camaraderie or pleading absent once again. "Then let me make sure you understand the stakes. Get me a Pulitzer-quality photo of National City's Supergirl," a name Cat and her staff had coined during the staff meeting, "or I'll increase my original offer and convince Jimmy Olsen to finally leave the Planet."
The sheer impossibility of the request pinned Kara to her seat.
"Chop, chop, Ms. Zorel. Or the next time you're in the building, you'll be picking up your box of personal items at the security desk in the lobby." Cat pointed at the door, finally spurring Kara to her feet.
"Yes, Miss Grant." As she left the room, Kara's mind raced. How was she going to make this work? Although she didn't need to work at CatCo, it was what she wanted to do. When she'd left Themyscira and returned to America, Kara had fallen in love with Cat's drive. Her dedication to women's rights and truthful journalism, no matter the cost, inspired Kara.
Somehow, some way, Kara had to find a solution.
The solution came accidentally, of course. Fully in the throes of a Very Bad Mood, Kara stomped through her favorite park at lunch. Even the bright sunlight and the shouts of happy children couldn't penetrate her funk. She dodged parents, kids, and buskers with all her attention devoted to mentally consigning Cat to a tiny cell in the farthest corridors of Fort Rozz.
Fortunately for Cat, Kara's increasingly violent thoughts derailed when a nearby voice directed, "Stand still! If you keep moving, we'll have to try again!"
Kara glanced up and spotted a family of four posing beneath a tree. The voice belonged to the father. He fiddled with a camera mounted on a tripod. "OK! Here we go. Hold tight for four…" As he counted, he sprinted back to his family, sliding into an empty spot in the group as he reached a shouted, "One!"
The camera clicked.
So did Kara's overworked mind.
She was the pride of the House of El; the youngest member in the history of the Science Guild.
Kara was also the complete idiot photographer, who'd forgotten all about timers and continuous shooting. "You want a shot of the new superhero, Miss Grant? I'll give you a shot to rival Jimmy Olsen's Pulitzer photo of Cousin Clark."
Pleased with her plan for the photo, Kara grabbed an armful of hot dogs from her usual vendor and sat down on a bench. Camera problem? Solved. What to wear? Still an issue. If Kara went flying around National City in her regular clothes again, even Diana would object.
Kara munched and mulled over possible costumes. She immediately discarded anything close to Clark's Superman attire. Kara wanted nothing to do with his brand of style; although, her heart ached to leave her House crest to someone not worthy of its history.
Something light enough to work with the camera…but with enough color not to wash out the photo. And nothing that showed as much skin (or cleavage) as Diana's barely-there costume. Kara blushed at the thought of being that close to naked on the front cover of the Trib and a host of other CatCo Worldwide papers and magazines.
White, she finally decided. White to resemble her mother's robes as she'd left the house each morning to arbitrate before the High Council.
Shoveling in the final hot dog, Kara hopped off the bench. This might be harder than getting the picture.
Kara discovered the wonder of athletic tights. They were so tight! She had to laugh at the unintentional pun. Paired with an equally tight, long sleeved spandex shirt, Kara despaired. No one was going to care who or what she saved. All they would see was her ass and boobs.
It would have to do for today. She didn't have time to do more. Kara still needed to find a dash of color. Her hands faltered as they flicked through the hangers in her closet. Relegated to a place in the back, hung a pair of Kryptonian style robes.
"Hey! Look at these!" Cleo waved her over to the vendor's stall. Skeins of bright and colorful fabrics lay on the wooden table at the front while dresses, shirts, and cloaks hung on display within the small tent. "This matches your eyes!" She held up a shirt, grinning at Kara's blush.
One of the robes in Kara's closet had been made from that same fabric. Hands shaking, she took it from the hanger.
"The blue is nice." However, Kara wasn't concerned about that. Her eyes locked onto another skein. A brown that somehow reflected the light until it seemed to shimmer with gold flecks, reminding her painfully of Alex's eyes. "I'd like them made into robes, please," she told the vendor. She'd give the brown one to Alex on their Bonding Day.
Another tradition, another part of her future – destroyed.
Kara ripped the blue robe into pieces. One piece wide enough and long enough to serve as a cape. The fabric shimmered through a glaze of tears as she left the bedroom in search of needle and thread.
Two hours later, Kara was ready. The outfit was crude. She wasn't a seamstress, only a baby superhero. Peering into the bathroom mirror, Kara wound the last of the blue fabric around her head and face, hiding everything except her eyes.
Centering herself, Kara listened. Sounds burst in her ears. Hundreds of thousands of voices. The mind shattering hum of every machine in National City. The vanity's granite countertop crumbled as Kara gripped it, fighting for her equilibrium amid the aural onslaught.
Sound battered Kara. She let it roll over and around her. Searching for the just…the right…one.
There! A robbery only a few blocks away.
A multi-car pileup in the spaghetti junction where four major freeways intersected.
Then, one by one, she closed out each voice. Each buzzing engine faded until all that remained was a shrill scream. A cry for help.
Kara grabbed her tripod and camera, leaping from her balcony window between one heartbeat and the next.
At nearly full speed, Kara managed to set up the camera and still grab the robber's gun before he had a chance to do more than wave it in a terrified young couple's faces. "Not tonight," she said softly. Or any night now that "Supergirl" lived in National City.
She plucked the gun from his hand and crushed it between her fingers. "Run. Now." The crumpled remains of the weapon dropped to the ground with a clatter. The second the robber disappeared from view, she turned to the couple. "Are you hurt?
That was only the first save of the night. Kara flew from one side of the city to the other and back. She stopppe more robberies and foiled break ins. Supergirl saved pedestrians from speeding cars, while taking time pose for pictures with families and kids.
As the sun rose, Kara landed on her balcony. There were only a few hours left before Cat's deadline. Leaving the blinds open so she could soak up the morning sun, Kara connected the camera to her laptop.
Time to find the shot that would define her and her superhero persona.
Marching through the bullpen, Kara ignored the stares and whispers. The gauntlet was familiar. Every employee from the mailroom to the directors faced it each time they made the journey to Cat's office.
No one approached the glass box without a summons or a looming deadline. The bullpen staff were quick to gossip about whoever was making that long walk. Head high and portfolio clutched in her hands, Kara waltzed by Cat's assistant and right into the office.
"Miss Zorel. How nice of you to join me." Cat tossed her glasses onto her desk and leaned back in her chair. "Have you come to beg for more time?"
Today, Kara wasn't on the defensive. She squared her shoulders, met Cat's gaze head on, and held out the photos she'd chosen. "No."
Only the slight upturn of Cat's lips showed her approval. "Sit." Unzipping the portfolio, Cat flicked through the glossy images held carefully inside.
Kara had included more than a dozen photos, but only one met her own expectations.
"These are fine." They were more than fine. Kara wasn't vain; however, she was aware that her work put even Jimmy Olsen to shame. "Where's the interview?"
"Your ultimatum," Kara used the term deliberately, "was a photo." She dared Cat to argue the point.
She should have known Cat was unafraid to…overstate the truth and to challenge every member of her staff. "Did you really think a picture was worth a thousand words?" Cat's voice was sharp. "Do you think our readers," there was clear stress on the word, "only look at the pretty pictures? This isn't a comic book, Miss Zorel."
Some of Kara's confidence faded. She'd been completely focused on meeting the deadline...
"You're lucky these are so good." Cat picked up Kara's favorite. She was sitting on a railing. The wind had whipped her cape out behind her, and a teenage boy clung to her as Kara pressed a kiss (hidden by her "mask) to the top of his head.
"I just want to talk," Kara said. She wasn't really sure what to say and borrowed the words from every police drama on television. Inching a little closer along the railing, she kept her attention on the water far below them.
The kid shook his head. His toes hung over the edge of the narrow ledge between the bridge and open air. "Go away! I'm tired of talking! Talking won't bring my dad back!"
Kara closed her eyes at the anger in his voice. "I lost my dad, too. I'm sorry. It's the worst feeling ever." Knowing she'd never feel Zor-El's arms around her. Smell the mix of chemicals and metal that clung to his clothing after a day in his lab. Hear the sound of his laughter as he picked her up and spun around and around with her in his arms. "I miss him every day."
"You're lying. Everyone says that, like they think saying they understand will make me feel better."
Laughing probably wasn't the best choice. Kara couldn't help it. "Rao, I hated it when people told me I needed to move on or that the hurt would fade over time." Damn Kal and his empty platitudes during the three weeks she'd lived in his tiny apartment before he'd abandoned her with the Danvers. The merriment faded as she pulled herself up onto the railing to sit.
If nothing else, thatearned some trust from the kid. He moved back from the edge and mirrored Kara's position. "What happened to your dad?"
"Speaking of which – how did you get them?" Cat asked. "These are all different people."
Still rattled, Kara mumbled sullenly, "I spent all night listening to a police scanner and driving all over the city."
Cat's left eyebrow rose. "I thought all you Millennials were too eco-conscious to drive."
"Be happy I have a car, or I would have been solely responsible for CatCo Worldwide Media going bankrupt."
"Now you're being a drama queen, Miss Zorel." Cat closed the portfolio and punched a button on her phone. Kara heard a single ring.
"Carr!"
"Get me a reporter," Cat ordered without fanfare. "Not that ten-year old you sent the last time I called. He misspelled every other word."
"Anything else, Your Highness? Maybe one of those fancy coffees or a salad?" Carr asked and Cat actually laughed.
"Next time. Let's stick with the reporter for now. I'll expect them in five." Another jab ended the call. "Don't you have a job to do? Out! Go!"
By Friday, all Kara wanted to do was leave CatCo, go home, and pass out on the couch after devouring a stack of pizzas and several orders of potstickers. Working a second job as a superhero was exhausting.
She did manage to leave her office at a decent hour. Fighting rush hour traffic, though, turned "decent" into something much closer to "late." Kara was so intent on dropping her briefcase and shoes by the door and yanking off her blazer that she almost missed the intruder sitting on her couch.
"Diana!" Kara was across the room in a blur of superspeed.
She loved hugging her mentor. Diana was one of a select few who could withstand all of Kara's strength – and who could return that with interest. "Hello, mikrós ílios. I was in the area and thought, perhaps, we could share a meal."
Kara laughed. "I thought Amazons didn't lie, i aderfí mou." Diana's expression turned mischievous. "The last I heard, you were still consulting for the Louvre."
"Perhaps." Her shrug betrayed her years in France. "I am here now. Will you continue to accuse me of falsehood? Or am I allowed to visit with a younger, much beloved sibling?"
"Rao, I've missed you." Kara buried her face against Diana's shoulder.
"Your drawing is lovely." Kara startled at the voice and spun, her "art supplies" scattering in all directions. "Forgive me, paidí. It was not my wish to scare you." The woman dropped to a knee. "I only wanted to compliment your art and…perhaps offer a meal? I am new here. I am sure you know the best places to eat."
Eat. Kara was starving. There were a few places she could get a free meal, but they wouldn't feed her every day. Or they tried to call the Guard…the police because they thought she was too young to live on her own. What if this woman wanted to do the same? Despite a growling stomach, Kara edged away. "No, thank you."
"You may trust me, I promise. My name is Diana, and I only want to help. Please, allow me to visit with you, little sister."
"I'll have dinner with you, but only if I get to pick the place," Kara said firmly.
"Is that not always how our visits work?" Checking that her ponytail was tight and that no flaw had magically appeared in her suede jacket, Diana walked toward the door. "Before we go, I brought you a present from Lucius and Bruce."
Kara squealed and made grabby hands. "Let me see it!" Bruce might be the world's broodiest man, but he and Lucius had the best toys. Toys they didn't mind sharing. Lucius had made her a hologram projector for her sixteenth birthday that turned any room into the living image of her home in Argo. He'd used her sketches of her childhood home as a model.
"Patience, paidí. I thought I had taught you better." Not that Diana seemed upset by Kara's impatience. She smiled as she handed over a heavy titanium case.
Taking the case, Kara set it on her small dining table and bent to place her eye in front of the retinal scanner. The four locks at the front of the case snapped open.
"You cannot continue to save humanity in workout clothing, Kara. You shame Themyscira and all Amazons." Kara heard the gentle teasing and affection in Diana's voice. "I asked Bruce for something more appropriate. Try it on."
Kara carefully lifted the suit and cape from the case. The single-piece body suit was pure white with a blue cape attached at the shoulders. All of it was stretchy yet tough, withstanding even Kara's attempt to poke a finger through the material. It fit like a glove when she dragged it on.
"I am sorry, Kara."
"Why? This is amazing!" Kara gushed. Then she glanced away from the new clothing and saw the sympathy in Diana's gaze.
"I searched your closet when I arrived. I thought I had recognized your 'cape'." Diana tucked a strand of Kara's hair behind her ear.
Pulling away, Kara grabbed the final small items from the case: a pair of small gold stud earrings.
Diana plucked them from her hands and fastened them to Kara's ears.
"Fashionable, but…"
"You laugh; however, these are Lucius' prized inventions." Diana tapped the right stud and a blue cowl seemed to grow from the back of the suit until it covered Kara's hair and the lower half of her face. White gauntlets extended from the sleeves of the body suit. They were a cross between Diana's smooth bracelets and Bruce's serrated bracers. Boots the same color as the cape wrapped around her calves and feet.
Diana walked around Kara, peering at the suit. "I prefer the head wrap you used, but Lucius could not replicate the style. He continues to work on it." She tapped the left stud – and the cape disappeared. "It folds into the suit so that you may wear everything beneath your regular clothes. You will have to ask Bruce how it all works." She raised an eyebrow. "I know you cannot resist a scientific mystery."
It was an unbelievable gift. "I don't know what to say…"
Diana shrugged again. "Then say nothing. It was a gift from the heart. Bruce does have one buried deep beneath the weight of his fortune."
Kara was glad her cowl hid her smile at the usual caustic jab at Bruce. Diana made them often, yet it was no secret that she and Bruce were old friends and comrades in arms. "I'll be the best dressed hero in National City." She reluctantly used the earrings to retract everything except the body suit and dragged her work clothes over it. "How about Mr. Woo's? They have the best…"
After days of monitoring National City for crime, Kara came to attention at the wail of sirens and the sounds of screams.
"Go. Save your city. We will eat when you return." Diana waved at the couch. "You have wine, and I brought a book."
Kara left her pants and blouse on the living room floor and triggered the boots, cape, and gauntlet. She hurtled out the balcony doors and into the night sky. Smoke and flames billowed from a building a few miles away. Kara zipped in that direction, pulling up as she arrived on the scene.
FDNC was not on site yet. She squinted, peering through the layers of concrete and steel, examining the structure…
A glowing green dart pinged off her suit. Then another and another. Kara flew higher and transferred her gaze to a black-clad, gun-toting group weaving in and out of the shadows near the burning building.
Without stopping to think up a plan, Kara dove at them. She seized every single gun and crushed them one by one. Her boots left divots in the asphalt as she landed. "Playing with guns isn't nice," she reprimanded them. "I've got a fire to put out."
The men and women stared back at her in any combination of shock, awe, and fear.
Except one.
One lone commando stepped out of the shadows.
Alex.
Alex, who pulled a handgun from a hidden holster and pointed it directly at Kara. "Get the cuffs on her. Now!"
