Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cat had never expected this to happen. Maybe initially she had been convinced there had to be something else behind that Sunny Danvers veneer. But after nearly a year of consistent, bubbly assistance she had been pretty sure she’d struck gold with this one. Her coffees weren’t always as hot as she’d like, but this was a whole new level of…Cat wasn’t sure what.

It wasn’t that her assistant was suddenly growing sloppy—sloppy implied it was some kind of idiotic accident that Kara kept stumbling into. No. This was clearly malicious. Calculated, a word Cat had never expected to apply to a girl who walked around the Catco office like a literal ray of sunshine.
But there it was, in her hand. Her coffee: ice cold for the third time that week. So cold it may as well be an entirely different beverage.

“Kiera!” she paused with a hand on her hip, waiting for her assistant to come barreling in before letting loose. “Do I look like the kind of person who enjoys Frappuccinos? Am I a sixteen-year-old cheerleader on the way to tumbling practice?”

“No…I…” Kara frowned. “I mean it’s not…”

Cat simply glared and dumped the freezing-cold cup into the trash.

“A hot coffee this time,” she said. “If you know what’s good for you.”

But the next coffee delivered into her hands a short while later was freezing too. Cat was actually dumbstruck for a moment before she began yelling. Kara quickly ran out of her office, but Cat remained tense and confused, even after throwing the offending cup away. She wondered how loudly she needed to yell at this girl to make the behavior stop. And for how long.

She didn’t have to deal with Kara for the next couple of hours. The girl was nowhere, not within yelling distance and not answering her phone. There was little else she could do. Cat was going to have to fire the best assistant she’d ever had. Over bafflingly cold coffee. If there was an end she’d imagined to Kara’s employ it certainly hadn’t been this.

It was late into the evening before Kara returned to Catco. Cat was more disappointed than angry, which was even more baffling than anything else. The lights on the bullpen were turned on low, and most people had left for the day. Kara marched towards her office with a cup from Noonan’s in her hand. She was giving Cat a curious look she couldn’t really place. Cat shot her a glare

“Well well. It’s several hours late, Kiera. The coffee better give me the power of flight at this point.”

Kara’s eyes widened and she let out an awkward, uncomfortable laugh, before swallowing and shaking her head. Cat blinked at her, feeling a little stupid.

“I want to see...” Kara said. ”Something.”

“Excuse me?” Cat snapped. “Have you taken leave of your senses?”

But Kara seemed determined. She took the lid off the coffee, and made an annoying show of letting Cat see it was steaming hot.

“Ok?”

“What on earth are you doing?”

“It’s just…it’s hot. Ok? Like, surface of the sun hot.”

Cat narrowed her eyes and snatched the coffee away. The cup was warm to the touch. But then, the other cups had been too. She let out an annoyed breath. But when she went to take a sip, her lips met with nothing. She looked down at the inside of the cup and her eyes widened considerably. She swallowed, shooting Kara a look of confusion.

Kara rushed to grab the cup back, She blinked at it, opening and closing her mouth before speaking.

“Wow,” she shook her head. “I mean I suspected….But this is...”

“Kara,’ Cat said her name slowly, but it came out smaller than she’d intended. “Why is my coffee suddenly frozen solid?”

“I don’t…”

“How…It wasn’t…” Cat felt like she was going crazy. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”

Kara seemed to hesitate. She licked her lips, once.

“Freeze breath.”

Cat just blinked at her.

“What?”

“You…it must be a reflex or something, when you breathe out?”

“When I…”

“I’m so sorry,” Kara said then, and she looked it. “I didn’t know this could…”

Cat stared at her for a moment.

“Let me get this straight. You miss a full day of work. Come waltzing back in here like nothing has happened and you have the gall to suggest that, what? You think I’m secretly superman’s cousin? Little sister? Spinster aunt?”

Kara smiled, briefly.

“No.”

“If this is some insane show you’re putting on to save your job, I’m sorry to say you’re completely delusional…”

Kara smiled again, but she seemed a little sad.

“It’s probably for the best that I don’t…that I quit anyway.”

“I…” Cat closed her eyes. She needed a drink. Instead she walked over to one of her couches and sat down. She looked up at Kara then, giving the girl a glare when she didn’t immediately join her. “Well? Talk. Explain. Now.”

“I’m so sorry…”

“We’ve been over that,” Cat said. “Get to the part where this is going to make sense, before I call security and have you escorted out of the building.”

Kara seemed to gulp at that, fiddling nervously with her glasses.

“I…You….” She shook her head. “I didn’t know this could happen, ok?”

“What, Kiera? What in heaven’s name are you even talking about?”

“You have one of my powers, Miss Grant.”

“Your what?”

Kara sighed.

“I just talked to my cousin, and he says it happened to him too…which would have been nice to know.” She gave Cat a hesitant look. “Superman. My cousin is Superman.”

Cat’s eyes widened.

“And you think I…”

“I need to make sure you’re ok. It’s just…my cousin’s….” Kara cleared her throat. “She gained a couple of them, and—”

“Your cousin’s what, Kiera?”

Kara looked away.

“Girlfriend.”

Cat opened her mouth, closed it. Stared wonderingly at Kara before swallowing.

“I see.”

Kara let out a sigh, looking a little relieved.

“Ok, so…”

But Cat simply glared at her.

“You are completely delusional.”

“I’m what?”

“Is this one of those temporary insanity things? The kind where people simply snap? End up chopping up their parents into itty bitty pieces and hide them under the floorboards?” Cat stared at her closely. “Are you feeling depressed? Homicidal?”

“No! I don’t know why you—“

“Go home,” Cat snapped.

“But…”

“Sleep. Come back tomorrow with hot coffee, and jettison this….” She waved an annoyed hand. “I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you today. But if I see so much as a skerrick of unhinged laughter coming from your direction, I’ll call security.”

Kara nodded, more than once. But she looked a little sad. Cat wasn’t sure what to think of any of this. But she would definitely be having that drink sometime very soon.

Chapter Text

Cat felt oddly off when she arrived home. Residual anxiety from the situation with Kara perhaps, but it wouldn’t do to carry it over into her evening. The quiet of her penthouse apartment left a ringing noise in her ears, and the brightness of the light fittings hurt her eyes. Cat wouldn’t begrudge Carter the time with his father, but the emptiness left behind on his weekends away were always something she found difficult.

The odd feeling was mainly in her eyes, which felt hot. Usually that meant she was fighting tiredness, or fighting the rare urge to cry. That wasn’t at all the case, but she still couldn’t shake the feeling. Kicking off her heels, she marched to her mini bar and poured an extra-large glass of her favorite Lagavulin. She drank it by the gulp, and winced in pleasure at the burn. It was better to focus on that sensation than the strange things Kara had said. Claiming Superman was her cousin? Cat wanted to laugh, but she didn’t have it in her. She topped up her glass and made her way to the couch, turning the TV on with an idle flick of the remote. What she saw made her choke a little on her drink.

There was a girl, a shadow of a girl. The news flashed the image of her as she stood aloft the plane. The news anchors spoke of flying, of damage to a bridge, and then showed the blurry footage again. Kara’s name—that was all Cat could think when her ears were ringing. Her eyes became impossibly hot. So hot that she jumped back from the shock as the heat spread outward, shooting straight at the TV and cracking it in a flash of fire.

“Wha…”

The only sound left was the ringing in her ears, which possibly came from the smoking TV. Her drink had spilled all over the couch. She stood, her hands shaking and her heart pounding.

“What?”

Finally overcoming the shock, she moved to her handbag, pulling out her phone and hitting speed-dial.

Kara.

Fucking Kara.

It rang and rang, but her cursed assistant didn’t answer. This was not happening.
Eventually she saw fit to leave a message.

“You better ring me back in less than five minutes, Kiera. I swear to God, I will make you wish you’ve never been born.” She swallowed, hating the slight wobble in her voice. But she was afraid to glare too hard, in case… that happened again. “Climb down from whatever form of transport you are currently straddling and Get. Here. Now.”

She wanted to throw the phone. But breaking it would be foolish at this point. She paced a little, unable to settle on a course of action. Five minutes passed. Ten, and her phone didn’t ring. Gritting her teeth, she turned around to brave a closer look at the damage she'd done to her TV.

It was still smoking, but not on fire. She walked tentatively towards it, feeling childish for being so timid. There was a hole burnt all the way through the screen, which was cracked in several places. Taking a quick look, she noticed a burnt spot on the far wall several feet behind it. Cat took a breath and focused on her eyes again, but they weren’t feeling hot anymore. She blinked, feeling immediately annoyed. Gritting her teeth, she directed her anger at the broken TV, and the heat came out. But it came too quickly for her to have much control and the TV immediately burst into flames.

“Fuck…”

She waved her hands uselessly at the fire, as if willing it to stop. Fate, being a bitch, chose this moment for her cell to start ringing. She recognized Kara’s ringtone.

“That was certainly more than five minutes!” she hissed into the phone.

“Miss Grant…”

“I can’t talk now,” she hit the speaker button and dropped the phone onto the couch. “My flatscreen is on fire.”

“What?”

Cat ran to the kitchen, managing to locate the fire extinguisher. With a grunt, she sprayed it all over her unfortunate TV.

“Miss Grant? Is everything ok? Did your ice breath—”

“Ice? No, no. There’s no ice here,” Cat dearly wanted to glare at the phone, but instead she took a deep breath. “Why are my eyes shooting lasers, Kiera?”

“Oh Rao…was that how…” Kara sighed. “But before—”

“And why, pray tell, were you just catching a plane on the news?”

“I can explain!”

“I can’t wait,” Cat said, ending the call.

By the time Kara got there, Cat had nodded off on one of the chairs in the den—the mess in the living room too strange to deal with. She jumped at the sound of the door knocking and reached for her phone. Glaring at the time, she gasped a little as she felt her eyes heat up. She blinked, swallowed and finally managed to get herself to her front door.

She wasn’t prepared for how bedraggled Kara looked. Hair frizzing out, still wet. Was she wearing pajamas? No, but sweats. She smelt fresh, the cheap shampoo she always used should be an assault to the senses, but the smell of it instantly set Cat at ease.

“I suppose you should come in.”

“You wanted me to come over,” Kara grumbled, and Cat let her walk past her into the apartment. “Or at least you left it to me to read your mind. Again.”

Cat startled a little, following her inside. She closed the door with a nervous click.

“Can you do that?”

Kara squinted at her.

“What? Of course not.”

“Well excuse me for asking,” she snapped. “And if I did expect you to get here, I certainly didn’t mean to please waste hours of my time while I wait.”

“I had to take a cab!” Kara said. “The traffic was crazy, ok?”

“A cab? I was under the impression that you could fly, Supergirl.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Well that was you on the news, wasn’t it? So what else should I call you?”

“Kara.”

Cat let out a hum, but she didn’t say anything else. Kara was not her usual cheerful self, that was for certain. She did gape a little when she saw the state of Cat’s TV, but Cat had more pressing things on her mind at that very moment.

“You know,” she said. “I imagine saving a plane-load full of people would make for a better mood. Or is it just my company that has you pouting like a child?”

“I’m not pouting,” Kara said. “I’m…exhausted.”

“I’d offer you a seat, but the living room is…”

“Yeah, I see that.”

Cat sighed, and led her in through to the den, gesturing to one of the softer armchairs.

“Sit. You look like hell.”

“I’m fine,” Kara said. “I mean, I came here to…”

“I am not interested,” Cat said, waving an impatient hand. “I was fine while I waited, endlessly, for you to show up. I will simply refrain from staring too explicitly at anything for the time being. You, however, need a drink.”

Kara smiled a little at that.

“Alcohol doesn’t work on me.”

“Oh,” Cat said. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Maybe…” Kara’s voice was small. “Do you have hot chocolate?”

“I do have a ten year old,” Cat said. “I even have mini marshmallows.”

Considering everything that had happened in that short space of an evening, it was a surprise when they both sat quietly together — Cat with her scotch, Kara with her hot chocolate. Cat took the moment to examine her assistant, taking in the way her forehead crinkled when she frowned in thought, the soft slope of her lips as she licked chocolate residue from them. Cat swallowed, trying to marshal her thoughts. Superman was a God, in many ways. Was this girl the same? This soft, rumpled thing sitting in a heap in front of her. She looked so lost. Cat had to fight the urge to reach out and touch—where, she had no clue. But somewhere. Anywhere.

“I saved my sister’s life tonight,” Kara said, suddenly.

“I…” Cat blinked, looking away in case she had been caught staring. “I wasn’t even aware you had a sister. Is she…”

“Human sister,” Kara said. “You have to understand, my adoptive family always encouraged me to keep a low profile. To be normal.”

Cat almost laughed.

“How in the hell were you meant to achieve that?”

“Well, they wanted me to try at least. My powers are dangerous, you don’t know— if it weren’t for me…” Kara swallowed, shaking her head. Pausing and sitting for a moment with whatever that awful thought had been. “Anyway, Alex…she’s a little over-protective.”

“So she’s mad at you?” Cat guessed. “Right now?”

Kara nodded and seemed to breathe in the scent of her hot chocolate, like it was a lifeline.

“Furious.”

“Fear masquerades as fury very easily,” Cat mused, trying yet again not to let her eyes be drawn to the curve of Kara’s jaw, the line of her neck. “Believe me, I’d know.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Cat frowned.

“Well, you afflicted me with…God knows what kind of temporary craziness,’ she shrugged. “I was under the impression that made for an odd kind of camaraderie. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was kind of proud of the job I did on the TV.”

“It’s not….” Kara let out a breath. “Ok, please don’t kill me.”

“What?”

“Well. For one it’s not temporary.”

“It’s what?” Cat blinked. “But…”

“And I didn’t give you superpowers. Or, like, accidentally sneeze them in your direction. It…” she looked lost. “It doesn’t work like that.”

“I don’t understand, Kara.”

“You’re…” Kara seemed to steel herself. “It’s not something I noticed on Krypton, but it happened to my cousin as well.”

“Yes, yes. You said that already.”

“Apparently it did happen on Krypton, I just….wasn’t aware because it didn’t look the same. People shared skills, abilities. Affinities for languages. But here, with my powers….”

“People? Which people would that be? Will you please stop talking in euphemisms?”

“You’re my soulmate, Cat.”

Cat’s breath left her. She blinked, opened her mouth. But she couldn’t find a response to that.

“I don’t know how to fix this, or stop it,” Kara said softly. “Please, you have to believe me, I didn’t mean to do this. Not to you.”

“Not to me? What does that mean?”

Kara looked down.

“You don’t deserve it.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Cat snapped. “Thank you very much.”

“That’s not…I meant you don’t deserve to be messed around like this. Look at your house! I did this.”

“No,” Cat said. “I did. Although the shock of seeing you flying on TV is what sparked it.”

“How could… I mean, you could really tell?” Kara sighed. “Alex is going to kill me.”

“I only saw it briefly, but rest assured you were all in shadow.”

“But you still knew?”

“Of course.”

“And you’re not…” Kara looked up at her. “I expected this to go differently. I expected you to be mad at least. Or freaked out.”

“Well, I’ll be the one in charge of my own feelings, if you don’t mind,” Cat huffed. Kara seemed to be waiting on a response, as if she lived and died over whether Cat was mad at her. “Kara.”

“Yes?”

“I’m feeling a multitude of things right now, but I’m not mad. Not at you.”

“Oh,” Kara closed her eyes and let out a breath. She looked so beautiful, then. Happy, almost.

Cat let out a long breath and tried to calm the beating of her heart. She had to keep herself together. She had so many questions, so many things that she didn’t understand. Wasn’t sure if she wanted to. But there was one thing that needed some immediate attention. She cleared her throat.

“But,” she said, slowly. “I would, however, like to know how to avoid setting things on fire.”

Chapter Text

Before they did anything else, Kara went to clean up the mess in the living room.

“You don’t have to…”

“No, I do,” Kara looked over the TV with a vaguely stunned expression. “Wow.”

“I’ll just call a cleaner.”

“Really?” Kara laughed. “I can’t wait to hear the story you plan to tell them.”

Cat rolled her eyes.

“I suppose you never blew anything up by accident?”

“Oh yeah. Heaps of times.” Kara hefted up the screen, and headed for the balcony. “Just…give me a second.”

“But…”

Cat watched wide-eyed as Kara disappeared over the edge. There was a very distant thunk, one Cat could only assume came from a dumpster. Kara returned a moment later and nodded toward the kitchen.

“Broom?”

“Yes, fine,” Cat waved her away, but called after her. “I was promised a lesson!”

Kara came back with a smile, broom in hand.

“Lesson one,” she said, sweeping up the broken glass. “Try not to get angry. I feel like that may have contributed to this.”

Cat sighed.

“I was hoping for a way to…disarm it entirely.”

Kara stopped cleaning, leaving a neat pile of debris to clear up later. She took off her glasses, and handed them over. Cat squinted at them.

“I think we have different presctiptions.”

“Just put them on,” Kara said.

Cat humored her, but she did feel something a little different with them on. More grounded, maybe? It was hard to put her finger on it.

“What are these made of?”

“Lead,” Kara said.

“So, your powers are blocked by lead, Supergirl?”

Kara sighed.

“I think we should have some ground rules. No dumb nicknames.”

Cat pulled the glasses off with a flourish and handed them back.

“And what, pray tell, is so dumb about it? You’re super. You’re a girl.”

Kara frowned.

“How would you like me to start calling you Kitty?”

“That’s a recipe for getting fired, Kiera.”

Kara smirked.

“I figured.”

Cat sighed, not willing to fully concede the point.

“Your glasses are hideous, by the way.”

“I wasn’t giving them to you, just…we could make you some of your own, with lead-lining?” Kara shrugged.

“Do they help?”

“They helped me.”

“Fine,” Cat said. “Then what about the…freezy breath thing I can supposedly do? Can you help me with that?”

Kara looked a little mortified.

“I haven’t really—I haven’t tried that yet. But I have some ideas about concentrating when you breathe, like making your breaths lighter...” she narrowed her eyes at Cat’s smug expression. “What?”

“I have a power you don’t?” Cat said, a hint of superiority in her tone.

“No,” Kara said, a little petulantly. “I’m just out of practice. I haven’t exactly been training for the superhero Olympics, ok?”

“Well, you are now,” Cat said. “Saddle up, or whatever generic sports metaphor they use in this instance. I do detest those eighties training montages.”

“I haven’t decided if I’m going to…you know…”

“Follow in your cousin’s bright, primary-colored footsteps?”

Kara simply shrugged.

“You must have some plan,” Cat looked her up and down, unable to stop the demanding tone from creeping into her voice. “Are you really the same as Superman? Faster than a speeding bullet? Bullet-proof? Is there anything we don’t know about him that you know?”

Kara squinted at her.

“This isn’t an interview…” Then she paused. “Oh Rao, please tell me you’re not trying to make this an interview.”

“Am I still the Queen of All Media? Is this currently the biggest story in the country? The world?”

“Miss Grant….”

“For godssake, Kiera! Have some sense. Every other media network is scrambling as we speak, and here you are right in front of me.”

“Kara.”

“What?”

“My name is Kara,” she said, her voice growing sharp. “Not Kiera, or Clara or Karen. Not Supergirl. I’m Kara Zor-El, the last daughter of the House Of El.”

Cat’s eyes flickered as she looked for something to write on.

“How do you spell that?”

“No,” Kara said. “We’re not doing this. I can’t believe—”

“Then you truly haven’t been paying attention for the past year.”

Kara let out a laugh; it wasn’t a warm one. But there was no trace of hardness when she spoke. She sounded more hurt than anything else.

“What about journalistic integrity, Cat? You’re a little too close to this story, don’t you think?”

Cat smiled slyly.

“Oh no—no, an assistant isn’t too close.”

“Assistant,” Kara’s voice was flat.

“That is what it says on your paycheck.”

“Right,” Kara said, clearly trying to sound firm, but her voice had a tinge of hysteria to it. “Miss Grant, you have Kryptonian superpowers. Connected to mine. But sure, go ahead and write half the story. I think a CEO with superpowers is a more interesting headline, though.”

“I….” Cat blinked. Her eyes felt suddenly hot again, and she stopped for a second. “Yes, well.”

“You forgot?”

“No,” Cat snapped, closing her eyes. She suddenly felt extremely tired. “I merely got caught up in the idea of a good story. But I suppose you’re not entirely wrong.”

“This visit is personal,” Kara said softly. “You know that.”

“It’s just…I’m going to get scooped by that harpy in Metropolis.”

Kara sighed.

“You can shoot heat vision from your eyes, freeze things with your breath….this is your priority?” she smiled a little then. “Of course it is.”

“Don’t mock me.”

“Look, I promise not to talk to Lois Lane. It’ll only be you,” she paused. “When I’m ready.”

“Thank God for that.” Cat was rubbing her eyes, even though she knew that was an abominable habit for her skin care routine. She looked up. “How did you…manage?”

Kara gave her a hesitant look, and Cat rolled her eyes, holding up her hands in defeat.

“No recording devices. Just the genuine question from someone who can imagine accidentally burning her apartment to the ground.”

“Aside from the glasses? Lots of breathing exercises,” Kara said. “I was encouraged to be normal, I told you.”

“Fine,” Cat said. “So far we have not getting angry, and some kind of breathing thing. I can work with that.”

Over the rest of the evening, they were careful not to mention anything about why Cat had to learn new ways to breathe in and out. Why she had this power. Why it was necessary to keep casual touching to a minimum. But once Kara had gone, Cat was alone with her thoughts, and the word soulmate came back up from the depths, unwilling to disappear into the night. It even appeared in her dreams.

Chapter Text

Cat awoke with one thought on her mind. But instead of being preoccupied with the strange things she was now able to do, she was thinking about Kara. And doing everything in her power not to think of that one ridiculous word.

It was a mistake. That was obvious. Some quirk of biology or fate, for sure. Cat was not, could not be anyone’s soulmate. This wasn’t a harlequin romance. And she certainly couldn’t be Kara’s, a girl half her age. A girl sent down from the stars themselves. The same girl currently all over the screens that made the bulk of the wall behind her desk. When she called a staff meeting, Cat had to talk about Kara in the abstract. Framing her as an unknown curiosity, sending her reporters and photographers out on a wild goose chase for the story that was right under their noses. Kara looked relieved, in any case. That she wasn’t being pressured. Even though it was completely unfair. The Daily Planet had already run a story with far too much information—clearly all fabricated. Typical bottom-feeding over-reaching from Lois. But it made everyone else look like they’d missed the boat. Cat wanted to be able to wipe the floor with her, with an exclusive. But Kara seemed a little on edge. Whether it was from the media attention, the fight with her sister or the rubbish about soulmates, Cat had enough to worry about without pushing Kara too far. Not over a headline. No, there was too much at stake. That was becoming abundantly clear.

Cat tried to watch her throughout the day, but it was hard not to be caught at it. Between everything that had happened, she still couldn’t figure out what Kara’s thoughts were. Surely she must have had bigger aspirations for a soulmate, if she’d had any at all. She was so young, too young to even be after some absurd notion of forever. Too young be tied down to someone so highly unsuitable for her. If Kara thought any of those things, Cat wouldn’t have a clue. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to ask her.

By the end of the day, her nerves were shot from all the obsessing; over Kara, over the story. Like she did on any bad day, Cat escaped to her mini bar. But for some reason it was lacking in any kind of kick, almost as if the drinks had been replaced with water. She downed several drams before squinting and staring at her glass with a baffled expression. Experimentally, she filled the glass to the very brim, wincing as she drank it down far too quickly. Such a waste of fine liquor. But as she felt the residual burn in her throat fade, she waited. And waited some more for the effects of the drink to hit her. They didn’t. On an empty stomach, no less. She tried again, gulping it down with a grimace. Still nothing.

Oh, for fuckssake.

She was trying, she really was. But at that moment, she desperately wanted to strangle Kara. She took a breath, bracing herself against the wooden cabinet with her hands. No glaring. No breathing out without being annoyingly careful. Don’t get angry. Don’t set any fires.

“Kiera!” she yelled, not being able to stop herself. The girl wasn’t there, of course. She’d been missing for hours and shortly after she’d run off a magnificent creature in a cape had appeared in the sky. Reaching for her phone, Cat hit speed-dial. She could instantly hear the sound of Kara’s cellphone coming from the desk outside her office. She rolled her eyes. Somebody needed to teach this girl how to superhero with more finesse. But she supposed it was still early days.

Dropping her phone onto her couch, she tried very hard not to do something too supernatural that would draw the attention of the few peons left milling around out there. How on earth did Kara do it? She growled in frustration, and marched to the door of her office. The people still working at computers stared at her in fear.

“It’s after six. Don’t you people have lives? Partners? Some absurdly inane show to binge-watch and tweet about simultaneously?”

They hesitated but quickly realized she wasn’t joking, gathering up their things like spooked gazelles intent on avoiding a prowling lion. Cat sighed and marched back into her office without another word.

She wasn’t expecting to see Kara when she arrived home. The girl was sitting in her living room as if she belonged there. A new TV had appeared somehow and it was flashing some nature program, but Kara seemed distracted. She looked up with something like relief when she heard Cat come in. Cat was about to throw out a comment about how presumptuous it was that Kara had just gone ahead and let herself in, but she immediately swallowed it. Kara had been crying. It was obvious, even though Kara had tried to hide the signs. Reddened eyes, a kind of forlorn look. Cat dropped her bag in the hallway and rushed over to her.

“Oh God, are you hurt? I didn’t see anything in the coverage…”

Kara shook her head, but she allowed Cat to carefully examine her face, cradling it softly for a moment before she let out a breath and realized what she was doing. Cat found herself blushing a little at the closeness, before she could tamp down on the reaction.

“I’m ok, I just…” Kara let out a heavy breath.

“What happened?”

“Oh, nothing. Just my sister….” Kara closed her eyes, her voice wobbling. “It hurts being lied to, but they’re right. What am I even doing? I’m just some idiot running around, playing hero. Making a bigger mess.”

“Kara…”

“I just can’t believe….”

“Kara.”

Kara looked up, her eyes glassy. Cat came and sat next to her. Close enough for their knees to brush

“What. Happened.”

“I was shot out of the sky by…well not the military. But close.”

“What?”

“And lectured. By my sister, who by the way is working for them.”

“What?” Cat felt her eyes grow impossibly hot, her hands gripping into fists. It was only Kara’s touch on her arm that reminded her, made her take a breath and close her eyes. She was still too angry to open them for a few minutes, but she still managed to choke out the next words through gritted teeth. “I will end them.”

“Cat.”

“How dare they?” she said. “And your sister?”

“I don’t want to talk about her,” Kara swallowed. “You asked, so I…but it hurts.”

Cat sighed. Unexpectedly, Kara let out a small, wet laugh. Cat finally opened her eyes.

“What?”

Kara’s amusement was still playing over her features. She took hold of Cat’s hand, and to her surprise made her touch Kara’s cheek, lightly. It was ice-cold.

“Your freeze breath.”

“Oh…”

“It’s just…” Kara was still smiling softly. “Odd. Sharing this.”

Cat rolled her eyes. But this reminded her.

“Oh, by the way…” Cat tried to call up the feeling of outrage that had accompanied her all the way home. “My new power is incredibly insufferable. I will not pretend to be pleased about this one.”

Kara sat up suddenly, looking worried, ready to protect Cat from whatever this was. It made Cat feel suddenly warm, all over.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Are you ok?”

Cat waved her off.

“Please tell me there’s some alcohol that works on you,” she snapped. “Something. Anything.”

Kara had this adorable way that she frowned when she was confused, or thinking too hard.

“No… it’s something to do with my metabolism…” then she stopped, fully taking it in. And she started laughing, looking closer at Cat to confirm her suspicious. She let out a hysterical cackle.

“Stop that. It’s really inconvenient,” Cat said, narrowing her eyes.

“Really?” Kara said, gasping to get her breath back. She was smiling far too exuberantly for news this incredibly depressing, but at least her mood had been lifted. “You know, I think I did you a massive favor with this one.”

Cat wanted to stamp her foot.

“Oh hardly. I drink in moderation.”

Kara gave her a look of disbelief. She was beginning to get sick of this version of her assistant who was so unafraid of her.

“I won’t apologize for one of life’s few great pleasures.”

Kara let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry. I know you enjoy it a lot. Though, you know. It’s hard to understand when you’ve never…”

Cat frowned.

“Surely something works on you? Vodka. Turpentine. Methylated Spirits.”

Kara looked worried for a second.

“Oh Rao, please don’t try any of those…well, the last two.”

“Relax.” Cat sighed. “Jesus Christ. Immunity to booze? How is this a real superpower? I feel like I’ve been cheated.”

Kara was looking at her with a thoughtful expression.

“It’s probably your metabolism that’s sped up. Are you hungry?”

“Of course I’m hungry. It’s nearly seven. Is being hungry a superpower now? How riveting. What do you do for an encore? Drink an Evian? Use a napkin?”

Kara rolled her eyes once, and went to grab her phone.

To Cat’s absolute surprise, she was starving. No, not just starving. She’d never been this hungry in her life. Kara had insisted on ordering enough takeout for an army, and Cat had inhaled three times as much food as she usually did. She was horrified at her appetite, despite Kara assuring her that this was normal. Kara’s version of normal, at least.

“If I gain so much as an extra ounce I am coming after you with a cleaver.”

Kara let out an undignified snort into her fried noodles, and looked more amused than threatened at the idea.

“Sure.”

“I’m serious.”

She watched as Kara continued to devour more food than humanly possible and remembered she had a few more questions.

“So,” she said. “Who is she then?”

“What?”

Kara’s mouth was full, the word coming out muffled. She had that adorable confused look again, one of the many Cat was growing far too attached to. Even the way she talked with her mouth full was attractive somehow. It was infuriating. Cat managed to keep her face disinterested, rolling her eyes for good measure.

“The girl, Kara. Woman, whatever. The one Superman has turned into a receptacle for random magical abilities.”

“Oh…”

“I want to meet her.”

Kara looked terrified. She swallowed her mouthful and seemed to give up on eating altogether.

“Um…”

“No um, I think it’s fair to want to see this other person, who has presumably gone through all the same things I am suffering.”

“You heated up your own coffee today with your heat vision, while calling me incompetent. That didn’t seem like suffering.”

“I. Can’t. Get. Drunk,” Cat gritted out. “That’s suffering.”

Kara sighed, not really able to hide the smile creeping onto her face.

“Anyway. It’s not the same. She has different abilities.”

“Oh?”

“It’s not mine to tell.”

“Why?” Cat snapped. “I assume she knows about me, since you ran off to confer with Superman when I started turning my lattes into frappes.”

“You won’t get much out of talking to her, I swear. She gained all his supersenses, mostly. Like hearing and sight and smell.”

“Smell? Ugh. She can have that one.”

“And anyway,” Kara said. “She’s had them for awhile. They started dating ages ago…” Kara’s face went a little red then.

“Oh honestly,” Cat said. “I’m not offended by your weird Kryptonian genetics giving me powers, Kara. You can say the word. I’m not made of glass.”

“Soulmate?” Kara said it softly. And even though Cat tried to keep her features schooled, her breath still left her when she heard the word, her skin growing immediately hot. Her desire to be close to Kara suddenly became almost unbearable. God, just to lean in and touch her. She was so close already. Cat tried to shake off the thought, swallowing.

“Obviously,” she said, managing not to sound utterly desperate, utterly obsessed with this idea. “I mean it’s clear that some biological wires have been crossed. I very much doubt I am your intended paramour or whatever.”

“Um…right.”

“But you don’t need to tiptoe around it, for godssake. I’m hardly inconvenienced by being granted phenomenal superpowers.”

“Aside from the alcohol thing,”

“That should go without saying,” Cat said. “Though being able to eat anything I want does have its perks, so…”

“It gets old,” Kara said. “I think I nearly drove my foster mom crazy, eating as much as I did. Alex always got mad that there was never any leftovers. She’s gotten better at sharing her extra potstickers, though.”

Cat watched as Kara’s face fell a little, like an unavoidably sad thought had just passed through her. Kara reached for her food again, but didn’t seem inclined to actually eat it.

“You’re close,” Cat said, hesitating. “With your sister.”

Kara shrugged, looking down. Her voice was small.

“I mean, I thought so. It’s like…she didn’t even tell me. This huge thing. This huge thing that involves me.”

“Have you tried…” Cat didn’t know what she should even say here. “Calling her?”

She was terrible at this. She was completely the wrong person to be in charge of this fragile moment. She was not the person this girl needed. She wanted to laugh at how cruel the universe was, throwing them together like this. But she also wanted to cry.

Kara looked up, smiling a sad smile.

“I’m kind of avoiding the entire thing, if that isn’t totally obvious.”

“Oh, it is,” Cat said, managing to sound light. “And it’s doing a great job of making you miserable. That’s abundantly clear.”

“I’m not calling her,” Kara said, sounding a little petulant. “She shot me out of the sky.”

Cat let out a surprised laugh, despite herself. Kara did too, but only a small one. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. It made Cat physically hurt to see it.

“You can’t avoid her forever.”

Kara just sighed.

“But tonight,” she said. “I can at least avoid her tonight, can’t I?”

The way she was looking at Cat, the soft vulnerability on her face. Cat would be hard-pressed not to give this girl everything she wanted. Now, tomorrow. Forever, if need be.

“Of course.”

Cat couldn’t pretend any longer. She was officially doomed.

Chapter Text

This wasn’t the way she wanted to go about it, but she supposed any chance at beating that harpy was worth a little sucking up to her staff. She glanced at Kara with wariness as they headed down several floors, to the area due for renovations. A disused office, then. That was it?

“Not a very impressive Batcave.”

Kara just smiled widely, but it bordered a little on hysteria, like she was unable to fully contain her nerves. She always seemed to get overly cheerful right when everything was starting to fall apart. It broke Cat’s heart to see it. She was getting sick of how desperately she wanted to touch Kara in moments like this, but it seemed as permanent as her new superpowers. She couldn’t think of another way to offer comfort, and so she offered nothing.

The two men were waiting for them, as expected. Winslow looked up with confusion when they entered, and James widened his eyes.

“Miss Grant, what are you…”

“Well well, this is an interesting use for excess corporate space,” Cat smirked. “Though I was hoping to see a clubhouse banner or something. Maybe a childishly-scrawled keep out sign.”

“Miss Grant…” Winslow looked terrified. Cat smiled, until she saw the nervous look on Kara’s face. She sighed and motioned for Kara to get on with it.

“Cat’s been….helping me,” Kara hesitated. “With the whole superhero thing.”

Cat raised her eyebrows at that, while the other two looked even more confused.

“She knows?” James said, seeming a little stunned. “You know?”

“I also know you are eminently qualified at taking action shots of flying humanoids,” Cat said, with a shrug. “Kara is finally allowing me a front cover, so I’d like to book you in to take it.”

“What? But….what?” Winslow seemed to be having some kind of stroke. “How?”

“With a camera I assume?” Cat said.

Kara sighed.

“Ok, here’s the thing. Cat’s known since…since before the plane, ok? And instead of going around in circles to get a photo for her, I thought I’d…you know. Come clean.”

James seemed to be processing something, looking at Cat like he didn’t enjoy the thought currently occurring to him.

“You know everything.”

“I’m a little insulted, James,” she said. “I am an exceptionally gifted investigative reporter.”

“But…in Metropolis…”

“In Metropolis what?”

“You knew? The whole time? Oh God, I told him the glasses…”

“No…James,” Kara warned. But Cat was looking between Kara, and James. Trying to figure out the silent conversation between them.

“Oh Jesus Christ,” she said, closing her eyes as it suddenly hit her. “Oh for…”

“Cat,” Kara said hesitantly. But Cat glared at her.

“Lois Lane. Lois Lane, Kara?” she sounded hysterical even to herself.

“I couldn’t…”

“You didn’t think it was important to tell me, that your cousin is Clark Kent. That his so-called soulmate was Lois fucking Lane?”

“I was afraid of what you…” Kara protested weakly. “I mean, I was there when you ordered that heap of cow dung to be delivered when she won that award.”

Cat smiled a little at the memory. But then she narrowed her eyes. Predictably they heated up, which just made her even more annoyed. They were probably doing that irritating thing where they glowed red. Great.

“Lois knows about me?” she hissed. “Without my consent or knowledge. How is that fair?”

“She doesn’t—”

“What, is she sitting around with Superman, laughing at me running around with my laser eyes setting everything on fire?”

“No, they don’t know it’s you.”

There was a lull in the conversation then, enough to hear Winslow babbling something abruptly in surprise.

“She doesn’t know?” Cat said, taking a breath to calm down a little. Mercifully, her eyes cooled. “I know first. Before she does?”

Kara sighed, looking at Cat with something akin to fondness.

“Yes.”

And Cat smiled, widely, feeling immediately at ease.

“Oh, this is amazing.” She looked around, taking in Winslow’s mystified expression, James’s wide eyes. They both gaped at her as if she’d just sprouted a second head. But that was of little concern. In any case they could surely handle the photo shoot planning without her for a moment. “I’ll just…I need to take care of something.”

Kara stood in front of her, blocking the doorway.

“No, no you will not.”

“Not what?”

“Let me call them first.”

“Oh, I don’t know what you’re insinuating…”

“Cat,” Kara said, softly. “Please. You can call her to gloat later.”

Cat let out a huff, and rolled her eyes. It was almost debilitating, caring so much about what Kara thought of her.

“I’m never allowed to do anything fun. Isn’t it bad enough that you took away my alcohol?”

“I didn’t take…” Kara gestured to the other two in the room. “And ok, you’re fine with them knowing?”

“What…” James said, struggling a little for the words. “What exactly do we know?”

Cat ignored him, her eyes never leaving Kara’s.

“Well, you trust them enough to be part of your little dream team. As does Clark Kent and his stupid little…” she balled her hands into fists. “Oh, I hope she constantly smells sewerage with her stupid powers and accidentally uses x-ray vision on Donald Trump.”

“Cat.” Kara sighed. “She doesn’t have x-ray vision.”

“Good.”

James cleared his throat. Winslow still looked too stunned to do anything but open his mouth and close it again. Kara smiled nervously at them.

“Surprise?”

Winslow just squinted a little, finally managing to speak.

“Clark Kent is Superman?”

Cat rolled her eyes.

“Do keep up, Witt.”

But James seemed to be trying to get everything straight in his head.

“Your eyes, they were…” he blinked a few times. “They looked…”

Cat waved him away distractedly.

“Yes yes, I have laser vision.”

“Heat Vision,” Kara corrected.

“Yes, that,” Cat said, her casualness felt forced but she plowed on forward anyway. “But back to the photo that you are going to take. I’d like it by the end of the day.”

“Miss Grant…” James was still struggling with the newly-revealed superpower thing. Too bad, it wasn’t Cat’s job to explain it to anyone. And she would not be forced to open a vein and start gabbing with these men about soulmates. She would not subject herself to the humiliation.

“A spread to choose from,” she said. “By the end of the day, James.”

He sighed.

“Of course.”

“Everyone will have to give a little bit extra to meet this deadline. I’ll be launching Supergirl with the next issue,” she managed to sound haughty even though she was all too aware of the way Kara stiffened next to her.

“Superwoman.”

“I am not having this discussion again, Kiera.”

“Don’t,” Kara’s voice was small. Cat hated that she could literally feel the girl’s disappointment.

“Kara,” she corrected quietly, trying not to flush when she was rewarded with Kara’s expression growing softer. She deliberately didn’t look in the direction of the two men present to see their reactions. She knew she had fallen a great way in the last few days. She knew she was becoming weak and soft. She knew she was powerless to stop it from swallowing her whole.

“Why does it have to be Super anything?” Kara insisted, oblivious to Cat’s discomfort. “How about something else entirely? Ultrawoman? Megawoman?”

“You’re not a transformer, darling,” Cat said. “And going for Super as a prefix carries over an established brand that I’d like to tap into.”

Kara frowned at that, crossing her arms in a mimicry of her cousin’s super-pose.

“My cousin became Superman when he was not much older than I was.”

“I fail to see your point.”

“He wasn’t Superboy.”

“Well,” Cat sniffed. “Perhaps he should have been.”

“I refuse to give my consent.”

“Well,” Cat said. “Lucky for me I don’t need it.”

If Kara’s hurt at the wrong name before was tangible, this new expression was like a physical blow. Cat steeled herself against it, but it rendered her temporarily speechless as she felt the effect of what she’d done. But after a moment, Kara gathered herself together. Her face became hard.

“I have emails to write,” she said, pushing past Cat towards the door. Cat swallowed, closing her eyes. She fought the urge to call after her. She turned on James and Winslow with a glare, just in case they felt the need to comment. They both remained silent. Cat kept her expression neutral.

“I want those photos, James. By six.”

He nodded. She hated the look of pity that had spread over his face, as if he saw right through her. It was eminently possible. She no longer recognized herself. Even now, she desperately wanted to run after Kara like some lovesick fool. She had an overwhelming urge to explain; to completely give in.

Chapter Text

The rest of the day was torture. It was becoming impossible. Just being around her assistant turned her into a puddle of nerves and desire. Her body seemed to be attracted to Kara like a magnet. She was ridiculous, like one of those predatory men she’d worked for in her early days as a reporter.

She was better than this.

But her self control was slipping away from her. Honestly, she had to remind herself hourly to stop looking at Kara so much. She had never been this doe-eyed over anyone, this utterly gone. Part of her wondered if it was a self-fulfilling prophesy. Hearing that through some strange fluke of alien biology, she was Kara’s soulmate. It was a hard concept to ignore, even though she outwardly rolled her eyes at such simplistic notions. The rest of her didn’t seem so dismissive. It was like her body had dived onto that term without hesitation and devoured it whole. Refused to listen to logic or reason. She wondered if Lois had gone through this. Then she shuddered, resolving not to think about her at all.

Impressively, Kara decided quickly on Cat's punishment. She was amping up the cheerfulness and wielding it like a weapon whenever they interacted. It was worse than not being spoken to. It was like reaching out to a loved one only to touch the pod person that had replaced them. Cat didn’t even rail back at Kara, though she sorely wanted to. More than anything. She just swallowed her anger, smiling thinly without really feeling it.

As promised, the end of the day arrived and Kara delivered the folder containing all the photos of the soon-to-be-launched superhero. But she didn’t leave the office afterward. It was like she wanted to stare right into Cat’s face and dare her to…what? Start a fight? Comment on how the shade of blue in the suit brought out Kara’s eyes? Kara stood quietly in front of her desk as Cat flipped through the shots. She eyed Kara warily, marveling at how someone could behave perfectly obediently but manage to be simultaneously insolent. Kara simply stared back.

“Oh, for…” Cat pulled her glasses off and dropped them on the desk. “I want you to stop this, Kara.”

“Stop what, Miss Grant?” Kara’s voice was smooth, light. Polite. It made Cat want to throw something. She glared, not even caring that her eyes were immediately burning hot. The bullpen outside her office was emptying, nobody willing to risk their quick escape home by looking into the dragon’s den.

“You are….insufferable,” Cat snapped. “You really can kill us all with kindness, can’t you?”

Kara’s eyes darkened.

“If by that you mean do my job—”

“Oh don’t pull that—”

“Since that’s all I’m good for.”

“Kara.”

“I mean, how dare I? How dare I want a say in something as silly as my own name?”

Kara’s polite composure was gone, her hands were fists. Her jaw set. Cat suddenly had a good sense of the kind of power behind this girl. It floored her. Kara stared right through her, as if she were nothing. Cat was immediately aroused. She gritted her teeth. Rolled her eyes. Tried to appear hard done by.

“Fine,” she made her tone imperious.

Kara seemed thrown.

“Wait, what?”

“Name yourself whatever the hell you want,” she snapped. “Call yourself Robin the Boy Wonder, for all I care.”

Kara crossed her arms and glared at her again, saying nothing.

“You’re really going to make me do this,” Cat sighed.

Kara just stared at her evenly, not budging.

“I am your boss, I run a media empire. I will not apologize…”

“You’re my soulmate,” Kara said, as if she knew the effect the word had. Cat immediately reddened.

“Apparently, “ she said, but her voice came out a little choked.

“Why are you like this, Cat?” Kara said, softly. And Cat closed her eyes.

“Superwoman,” she said. And she blinked up as she stared at the ceiling. “God knows why you want it, but I can’t very well force you. I think we both know that I…” she stopped herself.

Kara seemed confused for a second, but after a beat she smiled. It was genuine this time.

“A name is for a lifetime, Cat,” she said, sounding a little older than her years. “I want a name to grow into, not a name I’m stuck with, years later. A child’s name.”

Cat sighed.

“I’m sorry.”

Kara relaxed a little, and the change in her posture brought back the girl Cat knew. The soft, bubbly girl—woman, she was falling in love with. Against her will. Very much against her will.

“So,” Kara said. “Did you call Lois and mock her? Do I have to call my cousin to do damage control?”

Cat squinted.

“I thought I was banned from that?”

Kara opened her mouth for a second.

“You actually…you listened to me?”

Cat tried not to blush, but her body was impossibly traitorous. She basked in the feeling of Kara being pleased with her. After a day of being on the receiving end of Kara’s disappointment, it was addictive. She found herself wanting to move towards it, a creature searching out the sun’s warmth

“You’ll have to inform me of when the ban is lifted,” she tried to sound disinterested but instead her voice came out a little breathless.

“Um…” Kara cleared her throat and went a little pink. “I mean, I will…”

God, she was utterly adorable. The intensity of the connection was driving Cat a little crazy. She wanted Kara, desperately. With every fiber of her being. And not having her was causing physical pain. Like they had already been together somehow and she was having to endure the separation.

“Carter’s back from his dad’s today,” Kara said, out of the blue, shaking Cat from her reverie.

“I am well aware of my son’s schedule.”

“I mean…” Kara smiled, like Cat’s grouchy responses were something endearing. “Your powers.”

Cat looked up quickly, staring out the glass walls of her office, but of course the few minions left were still steadfastly ignoring her, busy putting in overtime.

“Relax,” Kara said softly. “Nobody heard before. Nobody can hear now.”

“I suppose you’d know.”

“I would.”

Cat closed her eyes, thinking it over.

“As for Carter. To answer your question—no.”

“I didn’t ask—”

“I haven’t figured out how to tell him. If to tell him,” she laughed, once. “How on earth do you even…”

“I may have an idea,” Kara said, leaning forward and whispering conspiratorially. Cat swallowed, managing to school her features.

“Oh?”

“Pizza.”

Cat squinted at her in disbelief.

“You want me to show him how I now qualify as a competitive eater?”

“No,” Kara pouted. “Just…it’s always easier to talk about complicated things. If you have pizza.”

“And I suppose you’re inviting yourself?”

Kara grinned.

“Am I invited?”

“Does Supergi—Superwoman have any pressing engagements she can’t get out of tonight?”

Kara beamed at her.

“Not unless you have plans for her to pose for a billion more annoying photos.”

“Oh really?” Cat smirked. “I wasn’t aware James was so annoying.”

“It took so long! He was so picky about the light.”

Cat sighed, but she lifted up one of the pictures in question. Smiling without meaning to.

“Well it worked,” she said, almost to herself. She had to let out a breath. “You look like a goddess.”

Kara blushed and began immediately stuttering.

“I should…I mean, I better….” she backed towards the door. "I have calls to make."

“Yes, you do,” Cat said, waving her off with a flick of the wrist. She couldn’t stop the smirk.

“I’ll just..I'll be out there,” Kara mumbled, managing to drop her phone on the way out. Possibly crunching it as she rushed to pick it up.

Cat enjoyed seeing her fumble. It was so much more satisfying watching Kara fall to pieces. It made Cat briefly delude herself. Made her forget just how little control she really had.