"So let me get this straight," Lucy began, skeptically. "It's some kind of...pollution monster? That's so Captain Planet."
"Look, Captain Planet may not be real, but this is," Kara insisted. "And it killed Maxwell Lord, so we have to take it seriously."
"Of course we do," Hank nodded, looking grave as he crossed his arms. "I received a report from the Environmental Protection agency. Since last night, the earth's core temperature has risen several degrees, along with sea levels. Whatever this is, it is in fact aiming to destroy the planet. Rapidly."
Kara swallowed, the information hitting her like an echo from the past, reminding her of Krypton's final days.
"What did Alura tell you in terms of stopping it?" Hank continued.
"Nothing," Kara sighed frustratingly. "Just that I have the power, and apparently others do too."
"That is so Captain Planet," Alex chimed in.
"Not you too, Alex!" Kara groaned.
"Sorry. It's just...I think we're all feeling a little helpless right now. What are we supposed to do if we have no information about what this is or how to fight it other than what you've told us?"
"I don't know," Kara breathed. "But I have to figure it out before it comes back. Or it's too late."
"It's strange that it appears to have vanished, at least for now," Hank noted.
"I'll be ready for it next time," Kara sulked. "Hopefully."
Alex sat up on the table next to her sister, putting an arm around her shoulder while Lucy and Hank went back to combing their database for any mention of ways people had combatted this threat throughout history.
"How you holding up?"
"I feel terrible," Kara admitted. "You know I wasn't the biggest fan of Max, but he did ultimately help us when we needed him. I feel so responsible. I am responsible."
"Kara, you can't do this to yourself," Alex insisted. "You know you would have stopped it if you could, but this is something bigger than anything we've faced."
"I know you're right, on some level, but still...After Non did what he did to Kelly, I….I had a choice, and I chose Winn and James. I can't help but feel like I did the same thing with Cat and Max."
"Those are two completely different situations," Alex shook her head. "But even if you did have a choice...choices are necessary sometimes. It's awful, and none of us want to do it, but we have to. No one can be everywhere at once all the time."
"I'm sure some people can," Kara argued. "Or not...people...but some other alien or superhero. Why can't I have that power?"
"Who knows what the trade off would be? You might be green."
"Hey, what's wrong with being green?" Hank joined them again.
"Nothing," Alex laughed. "I'm just not sure it would be the best look for Kara."
"I think she could pull it off," he smiled, putting a hand on Kara's shoulder, knowing how miserable she felt.
"Thanks guys," she smiled somberly as she hopped off the table.
"Can you stick around for a while?" Alex asked.
"No, I have to go back to work," Kara sighed. "I need to keep an eye on Ms. Grant. Besides, there's something important I have to help her with. I'll see you guys later."
"Missy...god, I can't believe that's your name. Isn't there something else we can call you instead? Is it at least short for Melissa?" Cat complained as she stood next to her new assistant outside the cathedral, waiting for her car to arrive, sunglasses blocking out the gray glare of the sun trying to peek through the clouds.
"Um...sorry, Ms. Grant, it's just...Missy," the young woman squeaked.
"Fine," Cat spat as the black town car finally pulled up. "Missy, you can take the next one. Kiera, you're with me."
Kara jumped at hearing her name. She'd been busy watching everyone file out of the church.
The funeral service was short but sweet. Cat gave the eulogy after Max's assistant called to beg, since he had no family or close friends and none of his employees really knew or liked him. She wanted to refuse, not feeling like she knew him much better, but recognizing how sad the situation was and that sometimes, when you're a person at the top, your circle ironically becomes rather limited. So, not trusting her new assistant yet, she'd asked Kara to help her write something nice, which she delivered beautifully, poignantly, before a crowd of a few hundred people, mostly investors in Lord Technologies.
Kara looked up a few times during the speech to see Alex sitting in a back row, doing her best to appear stoic. She knew Alex was grieving too, but wanted to stay strong for her sake. The truth was, Alex had been attracted to Max even though she didn't trust him. As much as she hated his ethics and the awful things he'd done, particularly with Bizarro, she still felt for him on some level, something Kara knew it wasn't always possible to choose.
"Me?" Kara finally responded to Cat as the older woman held the car door open.
"Yes, you. You're the only Kiera I know. Now get in, please," she directed, trying not to be as terse as usual, but drained from having to fake smile her way through so many conversations.
Kara gave an apologetic smile to Missy before ducking her head into the car with Cat as they pulled away.
"I don't understand why Max would have chosen a church service," Cat wondered aloud, clearly annoyed. "As far as I know, he hated organized religion."
"Maybe it was for his parents," Kara offered. "Sometimes people make compromises to honor those who died before them."
"Perhaps," Cat shook her head. "Still…it was odd."
"You did a great job, Ms. Grant," Kara smiled encouragingly, thankful Max was cremated so there wouldn't be a burial and they could just go back to the office.
"Thank you, Kiera," Cat sighed, almost inaudibly. "It's depressing thinking I was the closest thing he had to family. Do you know we never even went on an actual date? I'm convinced he didn't really have feelings for me so much as he wanted to keep me in his pocket for political reasons."
"I don't think that's true," Kara argued. "I think he cared about you as much as he could, for who he was. He even sent you those earrings to protect you from Myriad."
"Yes, with hopes that I'd support his diabolical plan. No, men like that always have an agenda. People in general, really. Everyone always wants something, and it's rarely you."
"That's…" Kara hated hearing her talk like this. "I don't believe it."
"Well it doesn't really matter what you believe, does it?"
"No...I guess it doesn't. But you know, you shouldn't doubt that someone might have genuinely cared about you, Ms. Grant. Not your connections, not what you could do for them. You. Anyone would be lucky to have you."
Cat swallowed, hard. She looked over at her former assistant turned event coordinator turned confidante, noting the rise and fall of her chest with each breath beneath her black dress, hair tied up, looking back intently from behind dark-rimmed glasses.
Kara swallowed too. She was used to giving her boss this kind of straight-talk, but sometimes feared it crossed a line, a line that always seemed to be moving ambiguously. She watched the muscles in Cat's cheeks move, lips pouting as she tried to keep up the facade of distance between them.
"That's...very kind of you," she finally exhaled, trying not to show too much emotion.
"It's true. You're an amazing person, Ms. Grant. What you did today took courage and heart. You shouldn't short change yourself. I know that's what you'd say to me or anyone else in your shoes."
"Maybe you're right," Cat breathed, playing with the seat between them, trailing her fingernails across the leather. "Oh well. Back to work it is."
She quickly got out of the car and stood next to it, waiting for Kara to slide out after her.
"I'll have the budget report you requested this afternoon," Kara promised as they entered the lobby and she watched Cat step into her separate elevator.
"Excellent," Cat breathed, taking off her sunglasses, looking up once more before the doors closed. She held Kara's gaze, eyes softening even as they appeared to be running through a million things she wanted to say, deeply penetrating the younger woman with a look that made her own heart shake with affection. "Thank you...Kara."
Kara's mouth fell open as the doors closed.
Somehow, this time, the sound of her real name felt even more meaningful, more deliberate, like maybe she had crossed the line, only for it to disappear behind her.
She beamed as she made her way back upstairs to her desk, hoping this time, it would stick.