Chapter 9 – The screams of the present

Morning- Cat Grant's Penthouse

Kara's eyes flutter open, it takes her a moment to realize that she isn't in her loft. As her eyes focus she can see a tuft of blond hair peaking out from under the blankets. Pulling back the blanket she finds Cat Grant snoring softly.

Cat's hand is draped casually over Kara's hip. Kara, blinking several times, tries to roll away discreetly. Cat's hand clutches her hip with surprising firmness – keeping her in place. Kara's body heats up in response; she involuntarily sighs with pleasure. "Looks like your body wants to stay" mumbles Cat. She smiles and presses herself into Kara's youthful cleavage for emphasis.

"I-I'm sorry. I don't know what's going on" Kara stutters. Cat loosens her grip and opens one eye. "You always know what's going on." Cat rolls onto her back and rubs her eyes. Kara feels a pain in her heart when Cat rolls away. Sitting up Cat stares blankly ahead. She touches her perfectly healed face and wonders if it was all a dream. Her hand drifts down to her collar bone and she finds a fine claw like scar. She shivers and closes her eyes for a moment.

Opening her eyes she sees the coat at the end of the bed. She looks at Kara, who is now upright, and hears a bell-like whooshing sound. Cat gives Kara a contented knowing smile. "I like the way you sound" she says. Kara smiles back and caresses Cat's face delicately. "Cat I..." Cat stares softly at Kara feeling herself being drawn in by her caress and concern.

They both lean in and finally let their lips meet. At first their kiss is slow and languid, then aggressive and playful. She is so soft Kara thinks to herself as her hands begin to explore Cat's body. Kara is enjoying Cat's feathery touch across her stomach when her hands come across a scar on Cat's neck. Cat tenses immediately and begins shaking. Images of the pink haired man slashing her face make her roll off Kara and cover her face defensively.

Kara, now sitting up with Cat in her lap, whispers "it's me Cat; it's Kara." Cat can feel Kara's hands resting lightly on her back, dropping her hands, she lets them rest on her heart. She breathes in deeply and nods her head. Opening her eyes Cat is greeted by warm blue orbs. She nods her head again and caresses Kara's face. "I-I need a moment" she says; Kara nods. Cat gets off the bed and walks to the bathroom.

Turning on the light Cat stares at her nearly completely healed face. Looking at the scar on her neck she secretly wishes that it will never heal. Turning on the faucet she splashes her face with cold water. Reaching for a towel she can feel one being pushed into her hand. Expecting to see Kara's kind blue eyes when she looks up, she is instead greeted with curious violet ones. "Hello Catherine." Cat blinks several times. "CJ..?"

Two weeks ago. Space Dad lesson – 101: Pain.

Kara looks at her watch as she rushes to the training room. Speeding through the door she finds her favorite Martian drinking tea out of a delicate floral tea cup. J'onn looks at his watch and chuckles. "Today's lesson is on pain. Just as there are different levels of consciousness there are different combinations that make up the experience of 'pain'. J'onn's monolog is interrupted by Alex rushing in. "Sorry I'm late" she says sheepishly. J'onn nods and continues.

"Sometimes you will need to redirect the pain, but other times you will have to confront it head on. One of the simpler techniques is called the Lock." J'onn looks at both women to find them paying rapt attention. "The Lock involves a touch based trigger. Example: a hostile lands a successful punch; the contact could be used to initiates a pre-established trigger to put your pain under lock and key. Simple and effective.

Technique number two is the Kingdom of Peace. For this one a sensory trigger and dial are best. In the kingdom of peace all pain, anger, and desire are muted. All 'passionate' energy is redirected in order to keep you alive. Similar to The Lock a physical trigger can be used but as mentioned a sensory one is best.

Example: you are being tortured, the sight or taste of blood could be used to initiate the trigger, while the act of sweating, or the smell of the environment you are in, is used as the dial. Using the dial to redirect the pain helps you to remain cognizant of your surroundings, without numbing you to all sensation as The Lock does." J'onn looks at both women and receives a nod from both.

Technique number three is the River of Life. This technique is very advanced and may not work with either of your species, but we will see if it can be adapted to each of you. It involves absorbing the energy of your attacker...

Same morning- Cat Grant's penthouse

Kara is about to knock on the bathroom door when Cat comes out. Her eyes half closed she gets into bed; Kara follows her. "This isn't as easy as I thought" she says, resting her head on Kara's shoulder. Kara doesn't notice the violet eyes peering out from Cat's face, but she does feel Cat's hand caress her back gently. Kara feels her heart constrict, then she feels sharp nails dig into her back gripping her spine. Foreign violet eyes then come into view. "Tell Cynthia I said hello" a voice hisses in her head. Then the imposter begins to pull, and Kara's screams can be heard across the city...