At the DEO, Alex was standing next to Vasquez, who was behind her computer trying to locate Supergirl. The results of the tests she ran on Kara's blood were shocking. The amount of Kryptonite in her blood was so much more than she has ever seen before, and she didn't know why.
"Alex," Lucy calls out, "You are lead on this Op, suit up."
"Lucy, I can't." Alex dismisses.
"Agent Danvers," Lucy commands, catching Alex's attention who stalks up to her.
"Director Lane," Alex spits, "We need to find and secure Supergirl."
"No, we need to neutralize this alien threat before anyone gets hurt. Since Supergirl is currently not available, we need all hands on deck."
"Lucy…" Alex pleads, pulling Lucy out into a hallway. "I have to find Kara. This much kryptonite… She could be seriously hurt."
"I get it, Alex. I really do. I'm worried about her too. But things are fragile right now, and these agents trust you. I need you lead on the ground, especially with Supergirl not assisting with this one."
"But—"
"Susan will track her down, and we can go to her as soon as the alien is secure. We have a job to do Alex, and I need to make sure that our agents are safe on the ground."
The worry building up inside her was winding her up. She knew something was very wrong, but she also knew Alex was right. She owed it to these agents to lead them, especially after today's events. Alex resigns to Lucy's argument, and nods hesitantly. Lucy looks around making sure no one is there, and kisses her. "We are not gonna let anything happen to her."
Kara wakes up in an unfamiliar room, lying down on her stomach. She groans as she sits up; her whole body was sore, but most prominently, there was a throbbing pain in her back. She takes a few breaths, as she takes in the room she's in and finds that she is wearing sweatpants that were too short for her, and a plain white shirt.
"Cat," Kara remembers, and stands up on shaky legs. She must be at Cat's beach house she concluded.
She slowly shuffles outside the room, and walks towards where she can hear some sounds. Being without her powers had her on edge, she wasn't used to not knowing what she is walking into. She sighs in relief when she sees it is just Cat and Carter sitting around the kitchen counter.
"Hi Kara," Carter greets excitedly, "Mom said you weren't feeling well, so you are staying with us! How are you feeling now? Do you want some pizza? We rarely order pizza but mom said the carnivore from Big Pie in the Sky is your favorite, so we—"
"Carter, darling, let Kara breathe," Cat interrupts. As happy as she was to see Carter interacting openly with someone other than herself, she did not want to overwhelm the girl. Or let Kara know that she knows what exactly her favorite food is.
Kara smiles at the boy's antics, and the surprising fact that Cat knows her pizza order, "She is right, Carter. This is absolutely the best pizza in the universe." Kara sits down at one of the stools. If Cat noticed her wince in pain, she didn't say anything. Kara is amused that the pizza had been moved out of its box and onto a serving plate, and was eating a salad instead; leave it to Cat to make ordering in pizza classy.
"You can't possibly know that it's best in the universe," Carter replies with a slight frown.
"Trust me, it is!" Kara answers as she takes a bite gingerly; she was not only not hungry, but the smell of the pizza made her nauseous.
Cat frowns when she notices that Kara had put her slice back down and was chewing rather slowly. "I can get you something else if you want…"
"No, no, this is great. I'm just not that hungry," Kara admits, touched by Cat's thoughtfulness.
"It's okay, Kara. You can eat it later," Carter reassures her as he finishes one slice with one hand, and uses the other to grab another.
"Carter, please don't eat like you've never seen food before," Cat chides as she takes another bite of her salad.
Carter blushes, and slows down, "We never eat pizza."
Kara laughs, and they continue to eat in a comfortable silence. Kara was still confused at what exactly happened, and why she was at Cat's beach house in the first place. MISS GRANT, she reminds herself. She regards the woman, who is more casually dressed than she has seen her, in a pair of dark blue jeans and sleeveless black button-up shirt.
When Carter finished eating, he observes Kara curiously. Cat looks to see what has caught his attention, and immediately understands. Kara's hair was down, the curtains of blonde hair shielding her face slightly, and when she pushes her hair behind her ear, it accents her sky blue eyes that for once weren't hidden behind her thickly rimmed glasses. The girl was simply beautiful, despite the weariness marring her features. And while those features are what Carter was observing, it wasn't for the same reason as Cat, she knew.
"Carter, you should wash up and get started on your homework," Cat distracts the boy, hoping he hasn't already made the connection between Kara and Supergirl. He was Supergirl's #1 fan after all, and Kara did not have any disguise right now.
Carter was about to protest, wanting to spend more time with Kara, but nods understanding that Kara needs to rest, and talk to his mom. "Can we play a game later, Kara? I've got the new Star Wars Risk. If you're feeling well…"
After getting Cat's silent permission, Kara assures, as they clear the plates, that they can play but only after he is done will his homework. Kara was about to start washing the dishes when Cat gently grabs her wrist.
"Leave it, I have someone come in to clean in the morning." Cat realizes what she has done, and lets go of Kara's wrist then walks to the living room, an unmistakable instruction for Kara to follow.
Kara is surprised at how cozy the place was, with 2 big leather couches, one of those soft fuzzy rugs, and a fire place. The walls were completely made of glass, giving what Kara would assume a fantastic view during the day time. Cat pushes a button that closes the curtains, an action that Kara is grateful for as she relaxes, not having to worry about not being able to see what's outside. But that still doesn't protect her from the conversation she has to have now.
"How are you feeling?" Cat asks, shocking Kara who was expecting to be reprimanded about her secret.
"I'm… Miss Grant, I'm sorry I didn't tell you who I really was. I just c—"
"Cat," Cat interrupts, "I think we're past formalities at this point."
Kara's breath hitched at the permission, "Okay, Cat, I'm sorry for lying about who I really was."
"I get it. You couldn't trust me, I didn't give you much reason to, and I am the Queen of all Media after all," Cat says dismissively, trying to hide that she was hurt.
"Miss G—Cat, that's not it! I do trust you." At that, Cat looks up with confusion. "Why else would I have continued coming to you as Supergirl? Especially these last couple of months…"
"What was it then?"
"You were going to fire me! You wanted me to be Supergirl full time."
"Kara—"
"You don't understand how much this job means to me, it keeps me grounded. Working with you allows me to be the best I could be as Supergirl. Sure, I could've been Supergirl full time for a few weeks, months even, but I would've lost my purpose pretty quickly. No one can handle that, not even Superman. I needed you—my job to keep me human…"
Cat looks at the girl with in new light, "It was unfair of me to put that kind of pressure on you," Cat rolls her eyes at the shock on the younger woman's face, "I'm not above apologizes, Kara, you should know that by now. So I am sorry, for trying to fire you, but your little stunt was useless."
Understanding dawns on Kara, "You knew…How?"
"I am a reporter Kara, and the same reasons that led me to finding out the first time around didn't change. Your little doppelgänger trick was impressive, but nothing more than just a party trick. And really Kiera, getting all brazen at the same time that Supergirl went 'crazy'.
"And if all that wasn't enough, I met your mother, Dr. Danvers and Agent Scully who happens to be Kara Danvers' sister, Alex Danvers…. I really don't know how you expected me not to know. I've seen you every day for 2 years, and you thought I wouldn't suspect it the moment I met Supergirl?"
"You didn't say anything…" Kara was only slightly shocked. Cat was one of the smartest people she knew, Kara should've known that the Clark Kent ruse wouldn't trick Cat Grant.
"I wanted you to trust me, but I did it all wrong and pushed you away. You weren't ready for me to know."
Kara sits down as she ponders on Cat's words, but winces in pain, and Cat is immediately by her side.
"Let me check that," Cat doesn't wait for permission, and lifts Kara's shirt to check her back. She peels the bandage that she had put earlier, causing Kara to gasp, and inspects the wound. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but there was still a cut, and the entire area was very badly bruised, probably from the impact of whatever it was.
"I heal quickly," Kara answers, mistaking Cat's silent for shock at finding no injury. Kara can feel her heart beats faster as Cat continues to touch her back gently.
"So I thought," Cat covers the wound again, and lowers her shirt. "But you are still hurt. I don't think it needs stiches, but if it bleeds again, we should take you to a doctor."
"Doctors can't help me, Miss—Cat, I'm not exactly human."
"Well for now it seems you are. How did that come to happen?"
Kara tenses up at the question, not knowing how to answer. "Bullets scraped me…"
"But you're bullet proof… Was it Kryptonite?"
Kara frowns, "No—Wait, how do you know about Kryptonite?"
"Maxwell Lord explained when you were fighting agent Scully."
"Of course he did," Kara mutters, angry at the mention of Max. Cat files away the obvious dislike for Max for a later time.
"Then?" Cat asks, then remembers, "Is this similar to the day of the earthquake?"
"I think so?" Kara answers hesitantly.
Cat frowns, "Are you asking or telling me?"
"I don't know," Kara rests her elbows on her knees and buries her face in her hands. "I don't know what is happening with my powers… with me."
"And you panicked." Cat states.
Kara looks up at that, "Cat, I'm so sorry. I don't even know how I got here. I must have just tried to find somewhere I would feel safe. I'm so—"
"You apologize too much," Cat dismisses, "and you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad you ended up here." At Kara's look of curiosity, she backtracks, "you know, as opposed to crashing in the middle of the city, and scaring people. It's for the people's sake."
"Right," Kara deflates, "for the people."
"Yes," Cat adds lamely, then reprimands herself. Kara was vulnerable, and Cat needed not to scare her away by putting up her defenses. "And for yours… I'm glad you came to me. That you felt you would be safe here."
Kara blushes, and lifts her hand to push back her glasses, but discovers they're not there. Her eyes widen.
"We do need to do something about that before Carter connects the dots," Cat says.
Kara nods, but the movement sends a wave of nausea, and she shuts her eyes waiting for it to pass.
"Are you alright?" Cat asks as she pushes Kara's hair back to see her face. Kara leans into her hand, and Cat slowly caresses Kara's cheek with her thumb. Neither pull away.
"I… I'm not feeling that great," Kara admits.
"Can we call your sister now?" Cat asks, concerned. She might be able to calm Kara down, even dress a wound, but she didn't know how to help an alien.
"No, I don't want to worry her. I just need a good night's sleep and the sun in the morning will take care of the rest."
"The sun? Is that where you get your powers?" Cat's journalistic instincts peaked. Kara just nods. "She is probably already worried," Cat adds, pulling Kara's phone from her pocket—where she kept it after retrieving it from the hero's suit earlier—and handing it to her. "She called quite a few times." Kara frowns as she sees the 15 missed calls from Alex. "From what you've told me, she really cares about you."
Kara quickly types a message to Alex assuring her that she is fine. Kara sighs, "She does. More than anything. Which means her life revolved around taking care of me… keeping me safe… ever since she was a kid. I don't want that for her anymore. She was supposed to finally live her life. Then she brought me back… I had said my goodbyes. Made my peace. Fulfilled my purpose by saving the people of this planet."
Silent tears were falling down Kara's face and Cat felt her stomach knot at the words.
Kara continues, "And now… I don't know what I'm doing here anymore. But I'm not getting in her way again. Maybe whatever is happening with my powers is for the best. I've outlived my purpose, and the universe knows this. I've brought nothing but destruction to National City since I started being Supergirl, and maybe it's time I hang up the cape. Let the DEO… the army… hell even Max Lord, do their jobs. The world doesn't need Supergirl."
Cat had done her best to stay quiet, to let Kara reveal what has been going on in her head, but she couldn't anymore. Not when there was this panic building up inside of her with Kara's each word.
"You think you're the first person to get a quarter-life crisis? Every millennial is worried about not reaching their true potential, and not living up to their parents expectations. Of course in your case, you get to deal with that ten folds, both as Kara Danvers and as Supergirl. Your parents may have thrown the weight of a dying world on the shoulders of a twelve year old, but that doesn't make it right. I know you love them Kara, but you don't owe the world a damn thing."
Seeing Kara's conflicted look at the mention of her parents, Cat continues, "You chose to be Supergirl. You chose to help people, and not stand by idly watching anymore. You can stop if you want, you already have a statue up in the middle of the city proving your worth. If all you were waiting for was one big event to save the earth, and live off the glory after that, you've done that.
"But the Supergirl I know helps because she loves this city, the people in it, every crying child and obnoxious millennial. Supergirl pulled out people from under mind control just by talking to them, by spreading hope, by showing the people how much she cared about them. The carrying of a space prison into outer space, that was just for show.
"You have the power to wipe out this city on a whim, we have all seen it." Kara cringes at the mention of the red kryptonite incident, so Cat quickly continues, "But you don't. Instead, you chose to protect it. True power is choosing to save those who don't deserve it. Choosing to be kind to those who have hurt you. Choosing to live when you have so many reasons to give up. That's what true power is, Kara. Whether you have superpowers or not… You are so much more than just Supergirl..."
Kara fell into Cat's arms crying, and Cat held the girl closer, scared of losing Supergirl…no, afraid of losing Kara. In that moment, Cat realized she doesn't care if Kara was a superhero. She just needed the girl in her life. She only stopped herself before she can tell the girl that. Tell her that she needs her sunny disposition in her life, needs her compassion and capacity to love everyone, needs her quirky fiddling of her eyeglasses, and her hidden talents of making everything right. She stopped herself before she tells her she loves her, because she hadn't even realized it till this moment, when the hero had torn herself down with self-doubt and idiotic ideations of the world not needing her.
I love her. Cat repeated the foreign thought in her mind, and it was as if everything fell in its place.
Max walks into General Lane's office hesitantly. "General Lane, I don't know what happened at the DEO, but I can assure you, none of the plans included your daughter getting hurt. I—"
"I know." General Lane states, not looking up from the papers he was signing.
"Sir?"
"You threw my daughter under the bus with your careless words. Cruz had to act. Supergirl still had her powers, he knew she would save Lucy. He had to take the fall for the leak."
Max swallows, impressed by General Lane's dedication to the cause. "I thought you were trying to get Lucy out."
"We still need Lucy in her position at the DEO, till the next phase," General Lane replies, "Which begs the question. Supergirl's powers were supposed to have been taken care of."
"We don't know much about the kryptonian physiology. This phase is experimental in that aspect. But we've already seen remarkable results. I don't think her powers will be a problem for much longer."
"Excellent," General Lane hands Max a file. "I believe this list will have the names of those who fill the criteria for the next phase."
Max smiles as he reads the names off the list titled: X.
Author's Notes: I struggled a bit with this chapter, and Cat's 'pep' talk was a bit too lengthy for my liking but I didn't know how to shorten it any more than this. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!
