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"Kiera, is there a reason you are still here, hovering? Everyone else has left, as one should when a meeting is over, why are you not following their example?"
Kara bit her bottom lip for a moment, working up her courage to speak. "Yes, Ms. Grant. It's just – I was thinking that perhaps what the Tribune needs is a story about how we are slowly destroying the planet."
Cat looked up from her tablet, her eyes squinting. "Excuse me?"
"Well, in the meeting you were asking for story pitches for the Tribune and - it's just that there have been scientific studies that have been done recently about how we are destroying the planet with the way we're stripping it of its resources. And if things keep up like this, it won't be long before the planet is destroyed completely. There is data that shows it could happen sooner rather than later, Ms. Grant, and I think that the public needs to know."
"We are all aware of global warming, Kiera. And while it was a good story when it first broke, it is now, as Al Gore put it, an inconvenient truth. No one wants to hear about it anymore. It certainly won't sell me any papers." Cat looked back down at her tablet, hoping that Kara would understand the dismissal.
"I don't think that's true, Ms. Grant." Kara stepped closer to Cat's desk. "According to my sources, President Marsdin is looking to call together a summit about the fate of the Earth. She’s very concerned about the state of the planet."
"Your sources? You have sources, Kiera?" Cat pulled her glasses off, tossing them on the desk as she leaned back in her chair. "Well then, by all means, tell me about them."
"I – I can't." Kara flushed, looking down. "They want to remain anonymous for now, but –"
Cat laughed, not happily. "Enough. This story is not happening. Now go."
"But Ms. Grant, you don't understand!" Kara moved closer, putting her hands on the desk to lean over closer to Cat. "If you – and everyone else – don't start taking this seriously, the planet is going to blow up and take all of you with it when it does!"
"All of us?" Cat leaned forward, "Well, I didn't realize that I was giving you enough spare time to have joined a cult, but by all means, Kiera, keep telling me about the end of days."
"I'm not in a cult, Ms. Grant! But I am serious about this issue and I wish you would be too. If you'd just listen –"
"I do not have time to listen to this nonsense. I have a company to run."
Kara chewed even harder on her lip, considering just turning and walking away, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. "You know that Lois Lane –"
"I know that Lois Lane is a hack journalist who claims to have unnamed alien sources in her ridiculous articles. As if aliens even exist! She is the laughing stock of the news world and has turned the Daily Planet into nothing more than a ridiculous tabloid that is only read by idiots. But by all means, Kiera, if you'd rather go work for her, then go!"
"No! Of course I don't want to work for her, Ms. Grant. I just think –"
"I do not pay you to think. I pay you to fetch. So go, fetch me a lettuce wrap. And when you get back, I do not want to hear one more word about this. Do you understand me?"
Kara's shoulders slumped as she turned away. "Yes, Ms. Grant."
**
"Kara! Hello, sweetheart!" Eliza's voice carried from her spot in front of a computer where she was intently looking at data to where Kara stood in the doorway to the Danvers’ lab. "Have you eaten yet? We just got take-out."
Kara's lips turned up into a small smile at Eliza's words, but she shook her head. "I'm not really hungry."
The entire lab seemed to freeze, as all eyes turned to look at Kara.
"Are you ill, Little One?" Astra moved over to begin scanning Kara's body, looking for any signs of injury.
"Are you powers out? Should I run some tests?" Alex moved next to Astra, ready to pull Kara to the medical area of the lab if needed.
"No, no. I'm fine." Kara shook her head, waving them off. "Just frustrated."
"Ah." Alex said, her voice taking on a knowing tone, as she smirked at the others in the room, all of them thinking the same thing. "What did she do this time?"
"She just won't listen to me! I've been working for her for over two years now and I'm trying to save the planet – to save her – but she thinks it's all just nonsense." Kara fumed as she moved over towards the counter where the take-out containers were waiting. She scooped up one without evening looking at its contents and began to eat as she continued her rant. "She told me that she doesn't pay me to think! And I don't know how to get through to her anymore. At first, I thought she was listening and at least taking me sort of seriously, but now, when things are becoming more dire, she's just blowing it all off."
Alex watched with amusement as Kara tossed the now empty take-out container into the trash and scooped up the next one.
"I even tried to play the Lois card today.”
“Ha!” Lucy let out a laugh from her stool. “I bet that went over beautifully.”
“It just made her more angry – which I should've known would happen. But I just want her to listen to me and she won't. At least Lois listens to you, Lucy. She said aliens don’t exist! Well, maybe I should just prove her wrong once and for all."
"Kara, no." Alex shook her head. "We've talked about this. You cannot reveal yourself to Cat."
"She's right, Little One. It is too dangerous for you."
"Too dangerous for me?" Kara snorted as she grabbed yet another container. "She's the one who's in danger. All of earth is in danger. Not me!"
"Kara, if you tell Cat about what you really are, she will expose you to the media." Jeremiah spoke calmly, trying to be a voice of reason.
"Well, maybe that's not a bad thing! If she does write about me, it will prove that aliens do actually exist. And that we're here trying to save the people of earth from blowing up their own planet because they're all too greedy to care that they're destroying it by stripping it of its resources. Maybe a feature on me is exactly what we need to happen. You said it yourself, Aunt Astra, sometimes these things require extreme actions."
"Kara, I do believe that, in some cases. But Jeremiah is right. It is too dangerous for you to expose yourself yet. We need more time to continue our work and we cannot risk anyone trying to harm you."
"And how much time do we have? Years? Months? Days? You've seen the data, the same as I have. You know what's going to happen. The human race doesn’t understand what’s at stake and without me coming forward, they won’t. It's not a question of if the planet will be destroyed anymore, but when. And what if, by the time we figure out when, it's too late? What if I can't save her?"
"You will." Alex said simply. "You just will. Because I know you, Kara, and I know that you'd never let anything happen to her. I know it's frustrating and it's scary, but you've done so much already."
"She's right, sweetheart." Eliza moved over, putting her hands on Kara's shoulders. "Without you, Krypton and its neighboring planets would never have agreed to accept the Earth refugees when the time comes. If it wasn't for you, we would have no escape plan. But we do. So, we will keep working on trying to find a solution, but we will know that we have a contingency plan should we need it."
"I just don't want anything to happen to her." Kara whispered.
"It won't, Little One." Astra took her hands, looking Kara right in the eye. "I swear it."
**
"Do you think she knows she's in love with Cat?" Alex asked later, after Kara had raced away from the lab after getting a call from Cat that she needed that dessert she'd liked from that place she'd been last year now.
Eliza and Jeremiah both looked up quickly, giving Alex matching parental looks of disapproval while cutting their eyes towards Astra to try and gage her reaction. Lucy let out a rather unladylike snort.
"It is unlikely that she does." Astra said, never looking up from the documents in front of her. "Krypton has a very different view on relationships than you have here on Earth. In the ruling houses, most children are matched at a young age and married when they become adults. The idea of marrying for love, as most of you do here on Earth, is not something that happens often, especially not in the ruling families like ours. I do not think that Kara has acknowledged her feelings for Catherine as being love because she does not realize that is what she is feeling. However, she has already spoken with her parents about not wanting to marry her matched mate."
"She has?" Lucy asked, surprise coloring her voice.
"Yes, the last time we went home – over your Christmas. She also ventured the idea of staying here on Earth as something of an ambassador if we manage to stop Earth's destruction. She has spoken with your president about it as well."
"I had no idea she was thinking of staying here on Earth." Eliza said with surprise.
"She loves this planet and your people – your family especially, Doctor Danvers. And you, Major.” Lucy beamed at that acknowledgment. “And, as Alexandra has pointed out, whether she knows it or not, Catherine Grant. So, whatever happens to Earth, we must ensure that all of you you and Catherine survive. For Kara."
"We will." Alex nodded solemnly, turning back to her work.
**
"Kara!"
Kara startled at the sound of Alex calling her name across the CatCo bullpen. Her heart instantly started to race at the sight of Alex, moving swiftly through the crowd. Something was wrong.
"Alex? What -"
"Holy shit!" Winn's voice cut through her question, as he gaped out the window, his eyes on the large spaceship that was now hovering over CatCo Plaza.
"It's happening, Kara. Now."
Kara was already moving toward Cat's office. "How long do we have?"
"12 hours is our best guess, 24 at most." Alex jogged to catch up with her.
"What?! Alex!" Kara spun to stare at her best friend.
"We thought we'd have longer, but the numbers are coming in faster than we expected and things have already started. Volcanic activity and tectonic movement are rising exponentially."
"I told you this would happen! I told you I should have come forward sooner. There's no way we're going to be able to evacuate everyone in that short amount of time."
"The ships have already arrived, we will get as many people on them and away as we can. It's all that we can do, Kara. It's all we were ever going to be able to do."
"No, we could have done more. We should have –"
"Why exactly is there an episode of 90201 going on in my office right now?" Cat's voice broke through their argument.
Kara turned to look at Cat. "Ms. Grant, I need you to listen to me right now. It's very important."
"Kiera, if this is another one of your cult recruitment talks –"
"Uh, do we think we should be reporting on the giant alien spaceship hovering above our building?" Winn burst through the door, excitement all over his face.
"What is the Hobbit rambling about now?”
"That's what I'm trying to tell you. I'm not in a cult, Ms. Grant. I'm an alien. I came here to Earth from my home planet of Krypton with my Aunt Astra to try to save your plant. But it's too late now. The planet really is going to self-destruct – today! We have to get you and as many people as possible on to the spaceships and away from here."
Cat blinked as she looked at Kara.
"You're an alien!" Winn gasped. "I knew it!"
"You really didn't." Kara whispered to him, her eyes still on Cat.
"Is it April Fools? Is everyone high on mushrooms?"
"This isn't a joke, Ms. Grant." Alex said. "President Marsdin is addressing the nation right now. See for yourself." She pointed at the screens behind Cat's desk, all showing Olivia Marsdin at a press conference.
Cat glanced back and caught sight of Olivia, the ticker tape underneath her scrolling by with messages of gloom and doom. Then she looked back at Kara.
“You expect me to believe that you are an alien? Miss All American Kara Danvers?” Cat moved from behind her desk straight into Kara's personal space. "Fine. Then prove it. Prove that you're an alien."
Kara reached forward and pulled Cat against her before she rose from the floor, floating them both just a few feet off the ground. Cat gasped and held on tighter. "Kara?" Her eyes searched Kara's, belief and fear beginning to seep into her own.
“That is so cool!” Winn exclaimed.
"Ms. Grant, please,” Kara settled them back onto the floor, still holding Cat close, “if you have ever cared for me, even a little bit, if you have ever trusted me at all, then you have to go with Alex now. We have to get you to safety."
Cat pulled back from Kara's arms. "No."
"Ms. Grant, please, what do I have to do to make you understand that -"
Cat held up her hand. "I understand, Kara. I believe you."
"Then what –"
"We need to get the word out. Once Olivia is done with her conference, everyone will be in a panic. They'll need someone to direct them as to what to do. Who better than me?"
"Cat." Kara whispered, allowing her fear to come through in her voice.
"Kara, she's right." Alex said calmly. "We have some time and we need to get information to everyone. Cat is the perfect person to do that."
"Thank you, Agent Scully. Now, Whit, get a broadcast feed ready." Cat then turned to Kara. "You have a lot of explaining to do, once this is over. But for now, I need something from you, Kara."
"Of course, Ms. Grant. Anything."
Cat swallowed hard, her jaw clenching for a few moments before she was able to speak. "Carter is with his father. I need – I need him to be safe."
"Of course, Ms. Grant. I promise you, I'll get him to safety."
Cat offered a soft smile to Kara. "I know you will, Kara."
Kara turned to Alex. "You'll stay with them?"
"Of course. Astra is in DC with Olivia and Lucy is in Metropolis with Lois. Mom and Dad are helping with the evac here and trying to get in touch with as many of their colleagues in other countries as they can. I'll stay with them, help them get the information out, and then I'll get them to safety. I promise you, Kara, I'll keep them safe."
Kara leaned forward and hugged Alex tightly. "Keep yourself safe, too. I can't lose you either."
Alex nodded. "Now go."
Kara looked at the balcony doors and then nodded taking off through them at a run before flying away.
“So cool!” Winn exclaimed again.
“That’s one word for it.” Cat muttered, her eyes lingering on the balcony where Kara had last been. Then she shook her head and focused on the task at hand.
“Now chop, chop, Winslow. We’ve got people to save.”
**
"Carter!" Cat's voice cut through the noise of the crowded spaceship. “Carter!”
"Mom!" Carter rushed forward, flinging himself into Cat's arms. "Mom, can you believe it? Kara is an alien! She can fly and everything! We flew here! It was amazing! And Earth is going to self-destruct and we're going to go live on Kara's planet and –"
Cat held Carter close, kissing his head and quieting him. "I know, sweet boy. I know."
Kara watched with a smile as Cat held Carter, feeling relief that they were both safely on the ship. Then she turned and began searching until she caught sight of Alex. "Alex!"
"The last of the CatCo employees that are coming are on the ship. We've got to get it moving, Kara. Mom and Dad got updated data and – we can't stay any longer. We need to go, now ."
Kara called out a command in Kryptonian to the pilot of the ship and the ship shuddered just a bit as the hatch closed and it started to rise higher into the sky.
"Alex, what about the others?"
"Mom, Dad, and Winn are safely on the ship. Lucy messaged that their ship was just taking off. Astra was piloting her ship. The other ships were all planning on taking off soon. We're all okay."
Kara looked out the windows as Earth grew smaller and smaller beneath them. "We are, but Alex, there were still so many people who –"
"No, no." Cat shook her head, catching Kara's eyes. "Do not do that, Kara. You and your family and friends did all that you could do. You cannot hold yourself responsible for all those imbeciles who would not listen to our messages."
"I should have done more sooner. Should have fought harder to make you listen to me earlier. If I had then maybe -"
Cat released Carter and moved to Kara. "You did everything that you could, Kara. You've saved so many people. You did that. You're a hero, Kara."
Kara turned her head away, looking into the space where Earth was resting. There was a large flare of light and Kara watched as debris flew out in all directions, the ship rocking with the force of the explosion. Tears quietly slid down Kara's cheeks. She certainly didn’t feel like a hero at that moment, no matter what Cat thought.
**
"How long will it take to reach your planet?" Cat asked later, after Kara had taken her and Carter to a small cabin away from the large open area deck area of the ship that was filled with people. Carter was laying with his head in Cat's lap, having fallen asleep once the noise and hubbub had died down in the calm and safety of the cabin.
"A few more hours, at least. Our ship is bigger than the pod that I usually use when traveling intergalactically, so it takes longer to travel through space."
"Good, then we have time for you to explain yourself to me."
"Ms. Grant, I don’t know what you want me to say."
"You are apparently a super powered alien from another planet, Kara. If that's even your real name. How about we start there?"
"My name is Kara. Kara Zor-El. I am the daughter of Alura and Zor-El, of the House of El.”
“And how is it that you wound up on Earth?”
“I came to Earth with my Aunt Astra three years ago. Our planet was almost destroyed when I was a child, but Aunt Astra was able to stop it. It’s near destruction stuck with me though, as it did with her. When she realized that Earth was also in danger of destruction, she decided to go to the planet to try and save it as well. I asked to be able to come with her. I wanted to help."
"And you decided to help by becoming my assistant? I know that I am one of the most influential women on Earth but was fetching my coffee really helpful to your cause?"
"I wanted to work with you, so that when the time came, we would be able to have your help. We knew if we needed to get our message out there, you were the one to do it. And we were right." Kara smiled softly at Cat.
Cat considered pointing out that she had not believed Kara until it was almost too late, something that pained her, although she would never admit it. Instead, she took a different track.
"And you have alien super powers?"
"Oh, uh, on Earth I had powers, yes.They were due to your yellow sun interacting with my Kryptonian DNA. But on Krypton, I don’t have them. I'm just plain old Kara. Nothing special to speak of."
"I highly doubt that." Cat said softly. "So, if our sun gave you powers, what will your sun do to us?"
"Based on all the research that we have conducted our sun should not affect you. Your DNA is not susceptible to it as our Kryptonian DNA is to your sun. Alex, Eliza, and Jeremiah have all traveled with me to Krypton before and they had no reaction to the sun."
"Well, Carter will be disappointed when he finds out that he cannot fly." Cat looked down at her son fondly, gently brushing his hair from his forehead. "Speaking of, I want to thank you, Kara, for going to get him. For keeping him safe."
"You don't need to thank me, Ms. Grant. There is no way I wouldn’t have saved Carter. But the truth is, soon you may be upset with me instead of thanking me."
Cat blinked. "And why would that be?"
"Because I didn't just bring Carter."
"Excuse me?"
"His father is on the ship as well. I know that he isn't your favorite person, but I just couldn't imagine Carter growing up without him, knowing that he'd –” Kara shook her head to try and push the image of Earth exploding out of her mind. “I just couldn't do it."
Cat let out a sigh. "Of course, you couldn't." She said, but there was a hint of affection in her tone. It was true that Carter's father was not her favorite person, not by a long shot, but she was glad that he had survived, for Carter if nothing else. Leave it to Kara to think of her son as the world was ending.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Grant.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Kara.”
"Your mother is on another ship." Kara said quickly.
Cat’s eyes widened. “I may stand corrected.”
“And so is Adam.”
Cat gasped in a sharp breath at the sound of her other son's name, all thoughts of her mother pushed aside. "Wh-what?"
"I couldn't just leave them behind, Ms. Grant. I know what they mean to you, even if your relationships with them are complicated. So, after I made sure Carter was safely on the ship I went to Opal City and I convinced Adam to evacuate and then I did the same with your mother. I couldn’t let you lose them."
There was silence for a long moment as Cat just stared at Kara, amazed.
"You are very lucky that you are no longer my assistant, Kara,” she finally managed, “because that kind of meddling would get you fired for sure." Cat informed her, but there was no bite to her tone. Instead, she reached out and took one of Kara’s hands in her own, squeezing it softly to convey her thanks.
"Yes, Ms. Grant." Kara smiled at her, squeezing back..
**
"Mom! Look!" Carter exclaimed as he walked into the structure where Kara said they would be living for the time being. "It's our apartment!"
Cat gasped as she entered the space. Argo City was unlike anything she'd seen on Earth. They had gotten to see Kara’s home while she had gone to check on the living spaces she had set up for the Grants and the Danvers and Carter had been completely captivated by the architecture and design. Cat wasn't sure what exactly she had been expecting out of their living space, but walking into an almost exact replica of her National City apartment was not it.
Kara hung back in the doorway, watching as the Grants took in their new home.
"How did you do this, Kara?" Carter asked in astonishment as he turned to face her. “It’s like you just brought our apartment to Krypton!”
"Oh, I simply took some pictures of your apartment and sent them back to my parents. They took care of the rest. It's nothing. Really."
“It’s amazing.” Cat corrected and Kara flushed as she smiled.
"I'm going to go check out my room!" Carter called as he raced down the hall..
Cat watched him go and then walked to the mantle, her eyes glued to the pictures there, as well as the black marble box that she knew housed her father's ashes. "Kara. Is this – are these – real?" Her voice broke and there were tears in her eyes when she turned around.
"Yes. I thought that you'd want them here with you, so I brought them to the ship with me after I knew Carter, Adam, and your mother were safe. Your Pulitzer and your first CatCo magazine are in your bedroom as well."
Cat looked at Kara in awe. "The world was ending, literally on fire at the end, you were trying to save as many people as you could, and yet you found the time to save all of these things for me?"
"Super speed, remember?" Kara offered with a small smile.
Cat reached forward and took Kara's hands. "Kara, I'm not just saying this because you're one of the only people on this planet that I like. Although you are, now, one of the only people on this planet that I like. But you, my dear, are truly extraordinary."
Kara shook her head, as though trying to shake off Cat’s praise. "I just wanted you to be happy. Or as happy as you can be here. I know it isn't easy, leaving your planet, your whole life behind. I can't even imagine what you must be feeling, knowing that Earth is gone and you can never go back. That CatCo is gone forever. I'm so sorry, Ms. Grant. I wish I could have –"
Cat put a finger up to Kara's lips, pressing gently. "Stop it, you ridiculous girl. You have nothing to apologize for. You saved my life and my sons. You did everything you could to make us comfortable, even after I was awful to you."
"Oh, no, Ms. Grant, you weren't awful!"
"Oh, Kara. Sweet, sweet Kara." Cat sighed wistfully. "Call me Cat. I'm not your boss here. If anything, I think that I am now below you, Daughter of the House of El." Her nose wrinkled as the words came out of her mouth. “Well, that’s certainly different, isn’t it?”
"Cat." Kara grinned, shaking her head. “You could never be below me.”
“Never?” Cat’s eyebrow rose, a wicked smirk on her face.
Kara’s eyes widened as her cheeks reddened. “Cat!”
Cat laughed, enjoying seeing Kara so flustered.
Kara shook her head and moved over to the door to the balcony. She looked over her home before turning to Cat. "What will you do now?"
Cat took a deep breath as she moved to stand next to Kara, seeing not National City, but Argo City spread out before her. "Well, I suppose I could bring CatCo to Krypton. But I've already done that once and you know that I hate to repeat myself. So, I suppose it is time for a new endeavor. I believe that I need to dive."
"Dive?"
"It's like when you are standing on the shore, afraid to dive into new waters. And you’re afraid because you don’t want to say goodbye. You are standing there, looking out at your options. The icy blue water, the fast-flowing river, or the choppy blue sea. And they all look very appealing to you because you’re dying to go for a swim. But you know the water is going to be cold and the journey is going to be hard. And when you reach the other side you will have become a new person, and you are scared to meet that new version of yourself. We all get used to our own personas and used to our own comfort zones. But trust me, in order to live we must keep daring. Keep diving. And so that's what I'm going to do, Kara. I'm going to dive."
"You'll be amazing, Cat. I know you will." Kara smiled.
Cat looked at her as she moved forward, into Kara's space. "I hope so." She said, just before she took a dive and pressed her lips to Kara's.
And as Kara's arms wrapped around her and she kissed her back, Cat knew that she was going to come out on the other side of the river better than she was before. It wouldn't be easy, but it would absolutely be worth it.