Chapter Text
Alright. Maybe, just maybe, Alex was right.
But to her defense, Kara wasn’t the only one responsible here.
Yes, her sister told her several time that “glasses are not a disguise, Kara” and that “I’m pretty sure everyone who knows your two versions already recognised you”.
And, well, rude. Glasses were an extremely efficient disguise.
But forgetting to put said glasses on before going to your normal job probably was a stupid idea, especially when a certain Maxwell Lord was currently in a meeting at said normal job.
Maxwell Lord had been Kara’s latest victim. J’onn thought he might have been behind some shady activities, and so Kara had put on her cape and her scary mercenary personnality to go threaten the business man.
Everything went well, and Kara was pretty sure the man had peed his pants. (She was still a little proud of that).
However, she was way less proud when she entered the meeting as Cat Grant’s innocent secretary, only to be stared at by Lord’s wide fish eyes. He looked as if he’d seen a ghost. Turns out when you threaten people, they remember your face.
Before Kara could understand her mistake, the man had ran out of room, and Cat had just looked at Kara’s bare face with raised eyebrows and an amused expression.
So yes, maybe Kara was at fault for forgetting those stupid glasses. But honestly, who could have predicted that the man she’d been threatening the night before would have come meet with Cat on the same morning ? (And the fact that Kara was supposed to know Cat’s schedule, because she was her secretary or whatever, was completely irrelevant).
Anyway, if Kara was now standing in front of Olivia Marsdin, president of the council, with a bounty on her head and a very angry Alex Danvers by her side, it surely could not be her fault only. Right ?
Except apparently the council didn’t think the same way.
Kara Danvers was one of the best mercenary in the kingdom. She mostly took missions from the government, so they left her the choice to hide her identity and continue her double life. But Maxwell Lord was a big name in the merchants guild.
Now that he knew about Kara’s true identity, he wanted revenge. And so Kara was here, at the council’s palace, risking death penalty to soothe Lord’s ego.
Marsdin stood tall in the center, giving her a disapproving look that said “We can’t protect you anymore”. By her side was J’onn J’onzz, Alex’s boss and the man she often took her missions from. He seemed apologetic, an air of sympathy on his face. Further away stood a satisfied Maxwell Lord, and Rao, how Kara would have enjoyed to punch him in the face right now.
The President of the Council started talking, stating how “Threatening a citizen” and “breaking into a private property” were crimes that needed punishment, yadda yadda. Kara was boiling inside. Hypocrites, all of them.
The mission had literally been ordered by the council. But now that she had been caught, obviously, they were quick to send her to her death.
“We will know have a private discussion with the mercenary.” Olivia’s voice echoed suddendly, pulling Kara out of her brooding. She looked up at the woman, intrigued. Olivia returned her stare, indecipherable.
The soldiers standing near Kara took that as their cue to leave, and Alex sent a questioning glance at her sister before leaving the room as well, after giving her hand a quick reassuring squeeze.
Silence downed on the now almost empty space. Marsdin slowly turned to Maxwell Lord, a saccharine smile on her lips.
“Sir Lord, I assume you understand the meaning of the word “private” ?” She said, her tone sickeningly sweet.
The man looked taken aback for a second, his mouth agape. Kara thought he was going to protest, but Olivia raised a warning eyebrow, and he just blushed of embarrassement before heading out, sending a glare at Kara’s barely hidden smirk.
The blonde quickly recomposed herself at the feeling of the council’s eyes on her. What was this “private” matter they wanted to discuss so much ? Marsdin took a breath, seemingly bracing herself for what she was about to say.
“As you know, lady Danvers, if we want to maintain our authority over this country, we have to punish you.” Kara tensed, dread creeping over her spine once again.
“However...” Olivia glanced at J’onn and sighed. “Sir J’onzz asked me to reconsider the death penalty, following your services to the council. I hereby offer you another chance.” The president gave the blonde a pointed look. “This is a one time offer, a job of utmost importance.”
The mercenary was starting to get worried.
“Well, what is it ?” She asked nervously.
“Are you familiar with the Merfolks, lady Danvers ?” Asked J’onn.
The.. Merfolks ? Kara frowned, confused.
“You mean the sea people ? Mermaids, sirens and all ? Yes, I’ve read about them. But we don’t even know if they still exist, right ? I thought no one saw any since at least fifteen years ago.”
“Well, actually...” Started J’onn.
“They definitely still exist.” Olivia cut him with a sharp voice. “And we have reasons to think they are more dangerous than we thought.”
Kara waited for her to continue, unsure how this concerned her.
“Do you remember the Great Wave six years ago ?” Kara nodded at the woman. Of course she remembered. The Great Wave was the biggest tsunami ever seen in the kingdom. It killed hundreds.
“Well, this incident… Wasn’t an accident.” Olivia said calmly. “We believe it was actually premedited by a merfolk king named Lex Luthor.”
Kara’s eyes went wide. The council’s president waited for a second, then continued.
“We do not know where that man is, or more importantly how he did it. However, we know his little sister was crowned in his place. We have since then sent several letters to the new queen, Lena Luthor, but never received any answers. I think you can understand how concerned we are that a disaster like the one from six years ago could repeat itself.”
Marsdin paused, detailing Kara. The blonde realized she had stopped breathing, and inhaled. She felt dizzy. Tsunamis were not only deadly, they were unstoppable. If merfolks could summon such weapons, they clearly had to be stopped.
“So what do you expect from me ?” Asked Kara, trying to sound confident.
Olivia Marsdin rose from her chair, soon followed by the whole council. She cleared her throat.
“Lady Kara Danvers, by the almighty power bestowed upon this council, I offer you a task. You shall go to the merfolk kingdom and bring queen Lena Luthor in this land to judge of her people’s capacity to harm the kingdom. You shall do so without attracting attention, and using force if necessary. You have two months. If you decline, you will be sentenced to death.”
Once the president finished talking, silence fell on the room again. Kara just blinked at the woman, astonished.
“You… you want me to kidnap a queen ?” She blurted out.
“If you want to put it like that, yes, we do. If you have any objections, you can stay and face your execution. Do as you please.” There was a bit of mischief in her voice.
“...I’ll do it.” Said the mercenary, feeling trapped.
She was dismissed and got out of the room, eyes unfocused. She couldn’t believe what they asked of her, and just went into robot mode, directing herself automatically in the hallways until she found Alex waiting for her, brown eyes full of worry.
“Kara, are you okay ? What happened, what did they say ?"
She didn’t even bother to answer her sister’s questions, just letting out a nervous chuckle.
“Rao, what am I walking into ?” She muttered, fidgeting with her non-existent glasses.