"This is a bad idea." Kara groaned as Cat smiled politely at all the 'important' people they passed and led her around the huge room as she mingled. Kara's eyes kept glancing back and forth between the large glass windows and the huge glass skylight. There was so many potentially dangerous things, from the glass to the artwork. If a fight broke out in here she was willing to bet her paycheck someone was going to get hurt.
Cat squeezed her arm reassuringly. She snagged a glass of champagne from a tray off a passing a waitress, one dressed as her secretary's alter ego, something Kara had religiously argued against, and pressed it into Kara's surprised hand. "Drink this. It'll calm your nerves." Cat told her blandly.
Kara held it awkwardly and her eyes screamed confusion at Cat behind her lead lined glasses. "What? Why- I mean I can't exactly- What with my physio-"" Cat held up the hand not currently holding Kara's arm and silenced the stuttering mess she referred to fondly as her assistant.
Normally Cat would have loved to hear about the things the Girl of Steel couldn't do. But right now she was there, throwing the gala to support the girl, not take advantage of her nervous state. And now that she knew for certain that Kara was Supergirl she knew she could bully the girl into giving her a few more exclusive facts about her alien life whenever she wanted.
"Just drink it, Kiera. It'll help you blend in and give you something else to do besides panic."
Kara huffed, slightly annoyed, but sipped at the pale liquid she had been given. She wasn't fond of human alcohol, she wasn't fond of any alcohol actually, but even she had to admit the bubbly stuff was pretty good. Especially when it cost damn near a thousand a glass, and she should know as she was the one who placed the order.
Cat spotted someone and quickly drew Kara aside, being careful to keep away from anyone with a prying ear. "I'm about to introduce you to someone and I want you to keep an open mind." She rolled her eyes at Kara's expression. The woman was, after all, the most unbiased woman Cat had ever met. "She is a Luthor, Kara, and I know all about the history between your two families." Kara's expression darkened, she looked more like her counterpart in that moment, even in her mundane disguise. Cat pinched her inconspicuously. "You don't know her, it's not like you to pass judgement like that."
"Luthors don't exactly have a good track record, Ms. Grant. Perhaps it's better if I won't"
Cat cut her off. "Oh no you don't. Just because you're-, " She glanced around and noticed a paid of women chatting idly within ear shot. "Just because you have a night job doesn't mean you get to stop being my assistant. Ms. Luthor and I will be spending quite a bit of time together working on a new wing for the children's hospital. I will need your help and you will be required to work with her, Kara."
The taller blonde let out an irritated sigh but nodded. She fidgeted nervously with her glasses and nearly broke the champagne flute in the process. Cat finally let go of her arm and took the delicate glass from her. "It won't be so bad. I've vetted her extensively. She only wants to make up for the negative stigma her family has put on their names. She seemed genuine. And, as nauseating as it is, she is almost as much a goody two shoes as you are. She just has a bit more back bone." Cat rolled her eyes at the hurt look her secretary shot her. "You have to start standing up for yourself outside of being….well you know. I won't be around forever." She mumbled cryptically. Kara's blue eyes narrowed at the statement but she didn't comment.
"I'll be on my best behavior Ms. Grant." She promised. Cat sighed and pulled her towards the woman they had been discussing. Kara went, and tried not to be too reluctant.
She was surprised when Cat introduced her to Lena Luthor. The woman was tall, beautiful, and her smile seemed genuine. Her laugh was amazing too. And everything she said rang with honesty and determination. Whatever else in her life it was apparent that Ms. Lena Luthor was determined to get the hospital everything they needed and then some. Kara was positively enraptured, and Cat was grinning like a cat that ate the canary.
She left the two alone, on the pretense of mingling some more, and Kara found she hardly noticed. She sure wasn't worried about Reactron showing up anymore. She was hanging on every word that fell out of the other woman's mouth and reveling in the fact that Lena Luthor shared her intelligence with the rest of her family but seemed to have missed out on the crazy psychotic gene they all seemed to share.
But of course because she was Kara Danvers and not, at the present moment, portraying her alter ego, who is far more confident, she ruined it. Or at least embarrassed herself in front of the pretty girl who she had forgotten was the sister of her cousins nemesis.
Someone broke a glass, dropped the flute on the floor. It usually happens at parties like this and normally she would just smile awkwardly at the person and wave a server over to clean the mess. This time, after her fixation on the windows and sky lights earlier, this time she jumped just slightly too high and only remembered herself at the last moment. And if course when she remembered she was 'human' and not capable of flight she landed on her ass in the expensive dress Cat had given her and brought Lena Luthor, who had reached out to help her, tumbling down on top of her.
Instead of the room being quiet because someone had dropped a glass and made a lot of noise it was now quiet for an entirely different reason. One that had everything to do with the tiny amount of space between Kara and Lena's lips and the fact that Lena had both hands on the floor beside the blonde but Kara had one of her own around the woman's neck and clutching onto a very human, but very strong, forearm. Lena obviously worked out. She squeezed the muscles gently and a dark eyebrow raised in amusement. Kara's face positively flamed.
Cat, thank Rao, finally came to her rescue. "What on Earth….are you two okay?" Cat, with the aid of another gentleman, reaches down and helped the brunette to her feet. Lena in turn grabbed Kara's hand before Cat could and the blonde let herself be pulled to her feet. She was heavy, but she was very impressed with Lena's strength.
"Kara here just had a fright is all." The alien was sure she was going to fall in love with that accent. Not many people had accents like that. The Luthor family sure didn't, she wondered where Lena picked up hers.
"A fright?" Cat said slowly and eyed her suspiciously. "The glass gave you a fright?" She didn't believe it. Kara grimaced and nodded, her blush was never going to go aeay she was sure of it.
"I wasn't expecting it, I was distracted…" She slowed to a near hault as she uttered the last word. The look on Cat's face was unprecedented.
She had never seen Cat trying so hard not to laugh as she did her best to appear serious in front of so many people. The Queen of all Media didn't act so kindly to her employees after all. Especially when they were supposed to be working…. But oh it was gold. She hadn't known Kara was so…sexually fluid. It made sense, alien and all, she made a mental note to include that in an exclusive. Might do the LGBTQ community some good to hear how open alien races were, and if they weren't so open she just wouldn't write about it, no sense in creating more negative news.
"Right….can we get back to work then. Your supposed to be keeping an eye on things." Kara grimaced again and said a quiet farewell to Lena as her boss pulled her away. Cat smiled at the glare the brunette sent her. Kara apparently wasn't the only one a little smitten it seemed. Lena sure didn't like the grip she had on her secretaries arm. She made another mental note to have a word with the Luthor about boss and secretary stereo types.
"Sorry, " Kara muttered once they were out of ear shot. "I wasn't focusing.",
"Yes, I realize that. Your lucky that astounding Olympic leap you made was muddled by the fall back to earth. Remember gravity suddenly?"
Kara shot her a sharp look. Having Cat know her secret was turning out to be a right pain in the ass. Sure she was supportive and believed in her now more than ever, but Kara wasn't sure she was going to like the selective teasing. Not to mention the million questions she could just see milling around in the older woman's head.
"It won't happen again." She promised through gritted teeth and a fake smile.
Cat laughed, not in her usual fake cynical way either but a real genuine chuckle, the one Kara rarely hears unless it's directed at Carter. "I have a feeling it's going to happen a lot around Ms. Luthor. Just be careful not to let it distract you from work, or….work." She said pointedly. Kara, who had just managed to control her blush was once again sporting red ears. She was often a rambling mess, it was part of her disguise. She wasn't too fond of being called out on it though, only enough when she was just Kara Danvers her bumbling mess wasn't something she could seem to control.
"I'll do better." Cat made a dismissive hand gesture and nodded toward two arguing guests. High profile ones if Kara remembered correctly, which when did she ever not? "I got it."
The blonde trudged off toward the two men, ready to pull them apart and show them what's what, on a purely human scale of course. Cat watched her go with a wry smile. Out of the corner of her eye she could still see Lena watching Kara curiously. Whatever they had been talking about had obviously peeked the interest of one of the smartest women in the city.
Which raised another question. Surely Kara's world had been light-years ahead of theirs in terms of technology. They had made it all the way to Earth from deep space after all. She wondered how much of that education Kara had access to.
"Ms. Grant?" She plastered a smile on her face and turned back to her guests. Time to do what she did best and campaign for Supergirl. After all she was selling magazines, and now Cat had a truly personal stake in her reputation. Now that she knew the Girl of Steel was the best Secretary and friend she'd had in a long time. She needed to make sure she did her part in helping the girl distress. And the only way she could do that was by keeping the public on her side instead of Max's.
~K~
Kara was bored. She was usually bored at these kind of parties. She scheduled them so well nothing usually went wrong. And they weren't really her scene or her people. Normally she would have ducked out earlier and kept an ear out for trouble while she enjoyed a night at home with a book. Tonight she needed to stay in case Reactron made a show. He hadn't yet. Which left her bored, although bored and grateful.
Despite all the confidence Cat had in her Kara had no idea how to best the man. It didn't take him long to pound her into the pavement last time. Quiet literally. If it hadn't been for Kal she very well could have died. It feels odd to be faced with the concept of death after you arrive on a planet where you're basically immortal.
She chewed on her bottom lip and played with the glass of water in her hands. She just wasn't in a good headspace.
"Everything looks clear Kara. You okay?" She nearly jumped at Alex's voice in her ear. She had forgotten about the ear piece her sister had foisted on her.
"Fine." She said quietly so as not to draw unnecessary attention to herself. She had already looked silly one time today she didn't want to look crazy as well.
"Enjoy yourself. We will keep an eye on things and let you know if anything changes."
She didn't reply. She took a sip of the lukewarm water and scowled into the glass. She liked being a hero she really did but she hated that things were so complicated. Reactron, her Uncle and his criminal escapees. Why couldn't she just rescue kittens and stop fires?
"Has the glass said something to offend you?" Came a soft voice to her left.
She glanced up and frowned. A very beautiful blonde stood beside her, nursing some kind of scotch if the smell was anything to go by. If looked like it had once contained ice but the frozen liquid had long since melted.
"I- No. Why?"
"You're staring at it awfully hard." The blonde smiled. Kara wondered vaguely if she had met the woman before. She looked familiar, but Kara was sure she wasn't on the guest list. Perhaps she had been someone date.
"A lot of work stuff…on my mind." She said lamely, waving the glass around carelessly.
"Yes, I know the feeling. My – boss is having some kind of moral crisis. Not sure the project we have been working on is…morally the way to go. Unfortunately the rest of the team is pretty committed."
Kara wondered why she was being told all this. She didn't say anything to interrupt her though.
"Could end in blood shed." She was told in a whimsical tone of someone that is just so over all the drama that they don't care anymore.
"Sounds pretty bad." Kara said, attempting a sympathetic tone.
The woman sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I told her I wasn't good at subtlety. Look here, just take this I know you'll need it. It'll get you into the military protocols on the pod." Kara stared dumbfounded as the woman slipped a piece of crumpled paper into her hands. "Find everything you can on myriad. Good luck." Before Kara could say anything the woman was gone.
She blinked and glanced down at the paper. It was a series of Kryptonian letters. She tried her x-ray vision, tilting her glasses down just enough to get a look around and to be thoroughly embarrassed by what a couple was doing in a nearby bathroom, but the woman was gone. Leaving Kara with more questions that she started the night off with and even less answers.