Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Categories:
Fandom:
Relationships:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Series:
Part 2 of i guess every superhero needs her theme music
Collections:
Finished
Stats:
Published:
2015-12-06
Updated:
2015-12-08
Words:
1,225
Chapters:
2/6
Comments:
31
Kudos:
255
Bookmarks:
38
Hits:
3,271

all that power

Summary:

Kara meets Maxwell Lord for the first time. Somehow it's a thing. OR 5 times Kara Danvers told Maxwell Lord what to do and 1 time Maxwell Lord directed her.

Follow up to no one man

Notes:

James/Kara is my main ship in this fandom but as you might have guessed I have a soft spot for antivillian/hero ships and a massive blindspot for Grant & Lord as platonic evil besties.

catandmouse10 gets the credit for this. Or the blame. Whichever you prefer.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

1. CatCo’s stock has taken a nosedive in the wake of The Daily Planet’s exclusive reporting on Supergirls teamup with Superman to take down a meteor over the Antarctic. (There’s footage of them- laughing and in their element, inhumanity at it’s finest punching down falling stars, shot by Lois Lane. The feeling that curdles in Maxwell Lord’s stomach is not jealousy.) 

It’s tradition by now, whenever one of them takes a hit, to drop by the office and gloat, with a bottle of booze that costs more than their assistants annual salary. Wine for her preferably Italian, Bourbon for him, Kentucky or Tennessee. He never forgets that they were enemies first. She doesn’t either.

So he’d dropped by her office, an offensively expensive bottle of champagne cradled beneath his left arm and a plan that accounts for no more than twenty or thirty minutes out of his day. A short skirmish with Cat than he’s got a meeting with some investors at one and the three hours after set aside for interviews with his engineers. They’re knocking out the rest of the kinks in train system, and determining the next project for Lord Technologies.  

That’s the plan anyway.

He’s striding toward Cat’s office purposefully enough that he shouldn’t be stopped when a blonde steps in his way and doesn’t move.  

“Ms. Grant doesn’t want to be disturbed right now.” The girl says, cheerfully unruffled by the fact she’s stopping the richest man in the city.  

Dark blonde, glasses, an unflattering sweater and legs for miles. He smiles at her, the variant that has people tripping over themselves to do what he wants.  

“Cat will be happy to see me.” He says and tries to sidestep her. 

“I’m sorry but you’re not on the list.” She’s moved back into his path and he missed the motion. 

“I don’t like to pull this card but do you know who I am Miss?” There’s a muffled snort off to his side and he disengages from the girl for long enough to glance over at the young man to his right. The boy hurriedly pretends to be working. 

“Kara.” She says and smiles. It nearly knocks him off his feet. “Yes Mr. Lord I know who you are. But Ms. Grant doesn’t want to be disturbed. 

“And if I said I had an exclusive for CatCo?” He tries to get around her again and finds himself blocked again. He can see Cat at her computer, door closed, headphones in, clattering on her keyboard.

“Than you could wait until Ms. Grant is available or I can get Vic Sage for you. Ms. Grant has asked that nobody who is not on her list be allowed in.” 

When he hesitates, Kara smiles again “In my experience Ms. Grant is going to send the rest of the day locked up. I can take a message and tell her you dropped by when I take her dinner or we can call you when she’s taking company again.” 

“I’ll leave a note.” Maxwell Lord says fully intent of sliding around her when she’s busy fetching him a pen.  

He blinks and she’s smiling again offering a pen and a box of stationary in her hands, still firmly between him and the door. Frankly it’s adorable. He pulls out a little card and envelope, scribbles a note. 

He leaves the envelope unsealed and hands Kara it and the bottle of champagne.  “I’ll see that Ms. Grant gets these as soon as she’s available.”  Than firmly and completely dismissively. “Have a great day.”

Oddly enough he does. 

(“Kiera do you know why Maxwell Lord wants me to give you a raise?”) 

Chapter 2

Chapter Text

2. He doesn’t think of the assistant again until Cat calls him to inform him she’s written a profile on him and his company in the wake of National City’s new hero and that it’ll look like cowardice if he’s not there to smooze her investors. 

(She’s still pissed about his latest attempt for Supergirl’s attention involving nanites and the uncomfortable realization that Kryptonian biology gives them the ability to control their internal temperature. It had been a meet and greet for fans and Cat’s son had missed out on a chance to talk to her because of his actions. Cat might never forgive him.)

It comes at the worst possible moment, one of Superman’s monsters has defected to National City (again) and rampaged through his lab (again) for spare parts before Supergirl had considerately relocated the fight to the desert. That’s late on day two for anybody keeping track. 

Max’s working on permanently dedicating a satellite to tracking her and her government friends. Until they get another bird in the air he’s stuck using drones that get disabled with distressing frequency. He doesn’t think it’s Supergirl knocking his drones out of the sky. Far too subtle for a girl wearing an ’S’ on her chest.

Max also hasn’t slept in three days. 

The worlds gone all fuzzy around the edges and the bruises under his eyes might be permanent at this point but it’ll be all Cat needs if he refuses the drink she fixed with her own hands.

She's gloriously sharklike tonight sensing weakness and circling for blood. If he was in better shape they’d be on form. As it is he acquits himself well enough to that she loses interest. There’s a pair of giggling heiresses that draw her ire, and Cat stalks off. 

He waits until she’s out of sight before he staggers. 

Abruptly there’s a hand under his arm. Cat’s assistant is better dressed this time, purple dress and spiky heels and manages his weight effortlessly. She escorts him to a side office without making it look like she’s carrying him. He appreciates the effort- billionaire vanishes with hot blonde is a better headline than drunken Lord thrown out.  

“You’re very strong.” He slurs and winces. She’s taller than him in those heels, and he catches a flutter of a smile. She looks more exhausted then he does.  

She sits them both down on the coach and tells him "Go to sleep."

He does, with his head on her shoulder. Kara considers leaving him there. She doesn’t because she hasn’t gotten more than two hours of sleep in the past three days and she’s comfortable dammit.

James Olsen turns on the light in his office and waits for Kara (upright, glasses off, legs curled underneath her with her occasional nemesis tucked into her shoulder to blink awake. It takes far longer than it should.) 

“You know Ms. Grant would kill me if she ever found out I had this shot and didn’t take it?”

Max halfawake and with no intention of moving grumbles as she unfolds from coach, tripping over herself to pull on glasses and shoes. She was careful about moving, disentangling their limbs and lowering him to the couch.

In flashes between moments of darkness-

“You’re a prince among men James Olsen.”

“Post party cleanup?”

“There’s a couple things only I can do.” She agrees “What time is it?”

“Past one. The party’s just finishing up.”

She hums and long limbs snake up. Her back cracks. Kara drops a kiss on Olsen’s cheek and disappears out the door. She does not look back.

“Now what am I supposed to do about you?”

Just to annoy him Max snores. 

Notes:

Me: why am I writing what is essentially Maxwell Lord meta when theres the truth is not kind or if i stumble or Lima or y'know the other dozen works I'm 9/10s of the way through

Brain: *punches me in the face and spits* because fuck you.

Series this work belongs to: