Work Text:
Kara stumbled and seemed to fall in slow motion before Cat's eyes, landing in a heap on the floor with a soft thud. When Kara didn't immediately stand, Cat rushed over to try to shake her awake, but snatched her hands away immediately—Kara was burning up! A mix of emotions flooded her—concern, fear, and a little bit of anger (the nerve of the girl, getting sick at work! Again!). She focused on the anger—it was easier to deal with than the other ones.
She was halfway to her desk to call 911 when it hit her—Kara was Supergirl. Would an ordinary hospital even be able to do anything for a Kryptonian?
Who is it that's always covering for her? Right, the hobbit and my star photojournalist. The one who knows Superman.
So instead, she paged James, then returned to Kara's side, crouching down and watching her chest rise and fall, almost but not quite touching her.
“What did you need, Miss Grant?” he asked as he stepped into her office a moment later. His smile faded as he took in the sight of Kara lying on the floor. “What happened?”
“She collapsed.” said Cat, a bit snappishly, “I think she has a fever.” She lowered her voice, and spoke in a steely tone that brooked no contradiction, holding eye contact. “I called you, instead of 911, because I believe that you know who she is, and who we should contact in a case like this.”
His eyes widened, but to his credit he took her meaning and set any questions aside for the moment. “I'll call them.” He turned away, pulling out his phone, and the journalist in her couldn't help but listen in. “Hi, Alex? This is James. Kara collapsed at work, she's unconscious but breathing. Seems like she has a fever.” He listened for a moment. “Good, I'll stay with her, but there's something you should know. I don't know how or when, but her boss figured out who she is.” That drew a response loud enough for Cat to hear it, though she couldn't make out the words. “Look, I don't know- okay, bye.” He turned back to Cat. “I called them, they're sending an ambulance. It should be here in a few minutes. If you don't mind my asking, how long have you known?”
“I've suspected for quite some time, but I've only known for certain since the shooter at that gala. How long have you known?”
“I'd rather not answer that.”
Interesting. He's hiding something else. “These people that you called, you're sure they can help her?”
He took a deep breath, let it out in a loud whoosh. “If they can't, no one else can.”
Behind him, people had started to realize that something was going on. She could see the hobbit standing at his desk, staring, with her other assistant, the former number 1, near him. Cat was torn—she wanted to yell at them to stop staring and get back to work, but she also wanted to stay near Kara.
“I'll go explain what's going on,” offered James.
She just nodded. He really was quite competent, even if he had been off his game a bit lately... she knew she was letting her mind wander in order not to think about the fact that Kara was lying on the floor, out cold. It was the shock of seeing Supergirl vulnerable like this, she told herself, but she knew that it was also because it was Kara.
It seemed dangerous to follow that train of thought, so she avoided it.
She lost track of time, crouching there, and when James returned she straightened up, suddenly aware of a cramp in her leg.
Soon the elevator opened and out came a man and a woman pushing a gurney. The woman, who had short brown hair and wore a black polo shirt with the symbol of an ambulance corps Cat didn't recognize on it, looked familiar. She'd come to Catco before. Why? When?
The woman seemed to be in charge as they hoisted Kara onto the stretcher, so Cat approached her.
“Look, I don't know what secret organization you work for, and right now, I don't really care. But you're taking me with you.”
The woman was already shaking her head, but Cat would not be deterred. “I know who she is, and I know I've seen you here before, where you very likely have no business to be. I could have my security team check the visitor logs, find out who you are, and send my best investigative journalists after you, and after your employers. But your secret, and hers, stay safe, on two conditions: you let me come with you, and you tell me what you were doing at Catco.”
It was probably a bad bargain—she could have gotten more had she pushed. But still, she felt the thrill of victory when instead of refusing outright, the woman said, “I'll have to clear it with my superiors.”
Cat followed the gurney to the elevator (ugh, how she hated the public elevator). James and the hobbit started to follow, but she waved them back to their work.
After a brief conversation with what Cat assumed must be her boss, the brunette nodded. “I have the go-ahead. I'll answer your question once we're en route.”
Cat followed them into the ambulance, and remained silent while they busied themselves checking Kara's vitals.
At last the brunette turned to Cat. “To answer your question, my name is Alex Danvers. I was at CatCo visiting my sister.”
Cat narrowed her eyes. “I'm supposed to believe that Supergirl's sister just so happens to work for a secret government agency? And that your visits were purely personal?”
“Well, it's not quite an accident that I work for them, but yes. I'm also a doctor, and one of the few people on this planet qualified to treat her.”
Cat looked this second Danvers up and down. Her concern for her sister seemed genuine. She recalled Kara telling her about a sister, one who fought with her foster mother. “Kara's mentioned you, though not by name.”
“Huh. Kara always says you never get her name right. Is there any chance you're doing it on purpose?”
Interesting. She's not overtly hostile, but she's definitely not intimidated by me. And Kara's been venting to her. “Kiera probably also mentioned that I get almost no one's name right, Allison.”
Their arrival at their destination cut off further discussion. Alex and her companion rushed Kara through dim concrete hallways and into what appeared to be a sort of sickbay, one equipped with, among other devices one wouldn't see in a civilian hospital, some sort of sunbed, onto which they immediately shifted Kara before turning it on.
Cat stood near the door, watching them hook Kara up to various monitors. She was so focused that she didn't notice the woman rushing towards them until she had thrown open the door and cried, “Kara!”
The woman was taller than Cat, but what drew Cat's attention first was the white streak in the long, wavy brown hair that fell loose around her shoulders. She was dressed similarly to many of the other agents of... whatever secret agency this was, in all black with a plain version of that polo shirt Danvers 2 was wearing, but on one wrist she wore a sort of thick metal bracelet adorned with a single stone... one that seemed, oddly, to glow faintly.
Alex looked up at the woman's cry, her eyes widening in apparent alarm, and quickly crossed the room to block her passage.
“Astra, you know you can't be near her when she's like this, not when you're wearing that,” said Alex, gesturing at the bracelet.
“Then take it off me!” There was desperation in that yell, and anger, but Astra seemed to get herself back under control, and when she spoke again, her tone was pleading. “Alex, please. Kara is my niece... the only family I have left.”
Kara's aunt? Another Kryptonian? And what's that bracelet? Cat resolved to keep an eye on this... Astra, while she could.
Alex glanced back at Cat, then turned to her assistant. “Rob, can you handle the setup on your own?”
“Yes, Agent Danvers.”
Astra and Alex disappeared into the next room for a few minutes, and Cat watched as Alex's assistant, whose name she refused to remember, finished setting up the various devices. When the two women returned, the bracelet was gone, and Astra seemed significantly calmer. That didn't stop Astra from immediately striding over and taking Kara's hand, ignoring that assistant guy, then turning to Alex.
“What's wrong with her? I know she blew out her powers, but that does not explain why she would collapse like this.”
Blew out her powers? Well, that would certainly explain a few things. Cat was getting more information out of these two's exchanges than she would out of a hundred Supergirl interviews. And Alex wasn't happy about that, to judge by the glance she shot Cat's way.
“We're still trying to figure that out,” said Alex.
But Alex's glance had caused Astra to belatedly notice Cat's presence. She closed the gap between them in one long stride, standing ever so slightly too close and glaring down at Cat with the attitude of a woman who was used to getting her way. “Who are you? Why are you here?”
For the first time since arriving, Cat considered that it might, just possibly, have been a bad idea to strong-arm Alex into letting her come. The occasional supervillain aside, she had rarely let anything or anyone intimidate her since starting CatCo, but the sight of this commanding woman, who, more than likely, had the same powers as Supergirl, staring down at her was enough to make even her pause.
Not that she had any intention of showing it.
“Cat Grant,” she said, in the tone she would have used for a particularly hopeless new hire.
Astra didn't react the way people usually did to that, merely raising an eyebrow.
I suppose I'm not a household name among aliens. “Head of CatCo Worldwide Media and Kara's boss. After she collapsed in front of me, I had Alex bring me along. And you are...?”
“General Astra In-Ze of Krypton,” said Astra, seeming to loom taller than before, somehow. “Kara's aunt. And if any of this makes it into one of your papers or magazines, human, you will have to answer to me.”
Cat just glared back. “I have no intention of publishing anything that would endanger Kara, but I will not be intimidated.”
“Could you two quit it? I'm trying to help Kara here, I don't need to play referee on top of that,” said Alex, glaring at both of them. “We'll work out what can and cannot be published later, but please keep the peace until Kara wakes up.” In spite of her polite words, Alex's tone was steely, and Cat's opinion of her marginally improved. This was a woman who got things done.
“Fine,” said Astra.
“Fine,” said Cat.
But they kept glaring at each other, each unwilling to back down, for a moment longer, until Alex gave a sigh and said, “Well, go get chairs or something. This could take a while.” When they didn't immediately move, she made a shooing motion with one hand. “My infirmary, my rules. Go.”
Astra left first, followed by Cat, who was still a little taken aback at Alex's nerve. She was so unlike Kara. So, for that matter, was Astra, from what little she could tell, though all three certainly seemed to share the same protective streak.
Cat followed Astra down the hall to what appeared to be a very ordinary storage room, full of cleaning supplies and paper goods, with a bunch of folding chairs leaning against one wall. Astra scooped up an armload of them, five or six, as though to remind Cat how strong she was.
“So, you do have the same powers as she does, then?”
“Of course I do,” said Astra, already leaving the room. “Don't dawdle.”
“Then why aren't you a superhero, too? And what was that bracelet?” Cat didn't really expect answers, but this place was sending her journalist's mind into overdrive, and she had to know as much as possible, even if she wouldn't be able to publish any of it.
“None of that is any of your concern,” said Astra. “But know this: I am not like Kara.”
“You don't say.” That much was obvious at first glance—Astra was harsh where Kara was gentle, aggressive where Kara was, at most, assertive, memorable where Kara seemed to try to blend into the crowd.
“She is kinder to you than any of you deserve. Your kind will destroy this planet and all the creatures on it, soon enough.”
“Not that I disagree... with either assessment... but how does that answer my question?”
“You asked why I do not fly around, rescuing ambulances and airplanes, like Supergirl. That is why—I do not believe your kind are worth saving.”
Cat's blood ran cold at that... the idea of someone as strong as Superman or Supergirl, without their moral compass, their faith in humanity, was more frightening than it had any right to be. Perhaps that was because it raised the specter of either of them turning on humankind. Perhaps it was the cold reminder that neither of them were human. Cat found herself remembering Kara's words—I choose this planet every day—with a new clarity. She hadn't thought, at the time, that Kara might choose otherwise. But here was her own aunt, her blood relative, who would abandon humanity to its fate without a second thought.
“However, I do not wish harm to Kara, and I do want to save this planet, so for the moment, I am at least nominally on your side.”
“Thank heaven for that,” said Cat drily, injecting as much sarcasm as she could into the words.
Astra frowned, an expression so Kara that it made Cat's heart hurt a little, for reasons she didn't quite want to examine in that moment. “You are a strange one. Normally humans are much more frightened of me.”
“I don't do frightened.” That was a lie, of course—at that minute her instinct was to flee, though her more rational mind doubted Astra would actually attack her—but she'd be damned before she let Astra know that her little intimidation act was working.
They had reached the infirmary once again. There was no visible change—Kara still lay on the table under the harsh lights, her eyes closed, the various monitors beeping away with reassuring frequency, an IV in her arm. Astra threw open the door once again and deposited her armful of chairs near the door before setting one out against the wall facing the bed and sitting in it.
Cat followed suit, setting her chair along the same wall, a certain distance from Astra's, almost but not quite as far away as the size of the room would allow. Astra raised an eyebrow at that, an amused expression on her face, as though she had seen through Cat's brave façade. Cat pretended not to notice Astra's look.
At that moment, a middle-aged black man strode in. By his commanding air and the way Alex came to attention when she saw him, Cat thought he must be a person of some authority. After a moment she recognized him as one of the agents who had intervened after Livewire's initial attack, the one she had called Mulder.
This impression of his rank was confirmed when he spoke. “Agent Danvers, status report.”
“Sir, she's still unconscious, and her powers are still dormant, as far as well can tell. I've taken a blood sample for testing, but I suspect that she's merely sick, in which case she should recover as soon as her powers return.”
He gave a tight nod. “And how long have her powers been out this time?”
Alex glanced at her watch before answering. “A bit over 50 hours, sir. Her powers could come back at any time. But I have an idea.”
“Well?”
“We know that adrenaline tends to trigger the return of Kryptonians' abilities. We could try an epinephrine injection. I know it's a long shot, but...”
“Do you even know what dosage we would need? Or if epinephrine has the same effect on Kryptonians as on humans?”
Alex shook her head. “No. But unless something else comes back in the tests, it may be our best shot.”
“It's risky.”
“And you know I would be the last person to put Supergirl at risk if we had another option. But if this fever continues unchecked...”
“...even Supergirl might not be able to recover? I see what you mean. Well, prepare it, but it'll be a last resort.”
“Should I not have some say in that?” asked Astra suddenly. “I am her... how do you say it, her next of kin, am I not?”
Alex met her eyes. “Technically, on this planet, that right falls to me. Or rather, to my mother, but in her absence...”
Cat would have expected Astra to bluster at that, or to yell, but instead she sighed, clenching and unclenching her fists a few times, as if fighting her own anger.
“Astra, it's not that I want to have to make that kind of decision, but I'm the one with the medical expertise here.”
Astra was silent for a few moments, then ran her hand over her face. “Better you than any of these other humans,” she said at last.
But Astra's gesture had drawn Mulder's attention to her wrist, the one that no longer bore the glowing bracelet. Mulder stared at it for a moment.
“Agent Danvers, come with me.”
They both left the room, and Cat tried to listen to their conversation, but could only catch snatches.
“How could you...”
“Sir, they're family. You of all people-”
“Don't bring my family into this, Danvers.”
“Hank...”
A few moments later, Alex returned, alone. Looking at Astra, she said, “The long and short of it is that as soon as Kara wakes back up, the bracelet goes back on. And if you take advantage of this situation—not that I believe you will—it's never coming off again.”
“Thank you, Alex.” There was a real gratitude in Astra's voice.
It occurred to Cat that there was something more going on between these two, some bond, some trust that was probably not adequately explained by their tenuous familial relationship, via Kara. Astra had implied that they had once been enemies, that they might even be again someday, and it seemed likely that the bracelet was supposed to ensure Astra's good behavior somehow. But Astra treated Alex with a greater respect than she'd shown to any human. Could it just be because of Alex's obvious love for Kara? Perhaps, but Cat doubted it.
“Now what?” asked Cat when the silence seemed likely to stretch on.
The two women turned to her with some surprise, as though they had forgotten her presence. That certainly wouldn't do.
“Now,” said Alex, “we try to keep Kara cool and wait for the test results.” Her shoulders slumped, she walked over, took one of the chairs, and set it close to Astra's, so close they were nearly touching.
Cat found that curious too, though she was glad for the buffer.
“You know, you're free to go at any time,” said Alex. “You're a busy woman. You've done your part, making sure Kara was in good hands. I can arrange a ride back to CatCo or wherever you need to go.”
Conscious of the cool air of the room now that the excitement was over, Cat crossed her arms over her chest. “I'd rather stay.”
“Suit yourself,” said Alex with a shrug. After a moment she added, “You must care about her more than you let on. I got the impression that you weren't on good terms with Kara, especially since you hired that other assistant.”
“I... well, after some recent events, I decided that it would be best for both of us to keep things... professional. Before that... I'd begun to see her as a sort of... protégée, I suppose. And I've always been fond of Supergirl, so when I finally had proof they were the same person...” Cat suddenly flashed back to the gala, bullets bouncing off of Kara's shoulders in one of those dreadful pastel shirts of hers, and the discussion they'd had afterwards. She chose to save me, consciously, knowing that it would reveal her secret to me, and possibly to others...
“Proof?” Alex seemed alarmed now, wide-eyed, turning her whole body towards Cat. “What proof?”
Cat waved a hand dismissively. “Oh, nothing concrete. Nothing I can publish, that is. Nothing physical.” And she found herself telling them about the shooter at the gala, about the bullet that had gotten stuck in Kara's shirt. “She didn't have to save me, you know. She could have kept her secret. But she's the kindest person I know, and one of the bravest, so of course she did.”
Cat didn't quite realize it, but she'd taken on the fond, almost reverent expression she often wore when speaking to or about Supergirl.
“That always was her weakness,” said Astra, but her smile, too, was warm. Clearly, if this woman of steel had a soft spot, it was for her niece.
“Kara didn't mention that. I mean, she mentioned saving you, but not that you knew...” Alex looked both surprised and frustrated by that.
Not used to her sister hiding things from her, perhaps? “Maybe she wanted to talk it over first. I promised that I wouldn't publish what I knew, in order to protect her friends and family. That promise still holds. Although I'm starting to get the impression that you both put yourselves in danger on a regular basis.”
“You could say that,” said Alex. “Thank you, though, for not making our lives more difficult.”
“The point is, after all that, I'd have to be pretty hard-hearted not to care about her at all.” This was getting a little personal for Cat's taste, to be perfectly honest, so she turned the question on them. “And what about you two?”
“What about us?” echoed Alex, warily.
“You seem pretty buddy-buddy for a pair of former enemies. Close. Intimate, even.”
Astra opened her mouth to say something, but Cat would never find out what, because right at that moment Alex put a hand on her arm as if to say, don't.
And she didn't, confirming Cat's impression of their rapport. “We have a good working relationship,” offered Alex.
“Hmm,” said Cat, realizing that she wouldn't get any further with such direct questions. She pulled out her phone with a muttered, “keep your secrets, then.”
The reception is terrible at this godforsaken secret base, thought Cat some time later, trying to reply to work email over 4G that felt more like dial-up. Part of her wanted to get back to work already, worried that the company wouldn't function properly without her, but that part was small next to the part of her that wanted to make sure Kara was okay first.
When she looked up, she saw that Alex had slumped against Astra, her expression drawn. It was hard to tell from this angle, but Astra might have her arm around Alex's shoulder. At the very least, she was tolerating the contact.
As for Kara, she was the same as ever, yellow under the bright lights, her face blank in sleep or unconsciousness, the monitors beeping away.
Cat cleared her throat, and was amused to see the two women give a start and immediately pull away from each other. “Do you have any coffee in this godawful place?”
Alex's lips quirked in amusement at that. “We do, but I'm not sure it'll be up to your standards. Astra, can you let me know if anything changes?” With that, she stood, stretching her legs. “What are you waiting for? I'm not your assistant, I'm just taking you to the break room.”
Cat sighed and stood as well. “Fine. That thing you call a chair wasn't doing any favors to my back anyway.”
Alex lead the way through the drab hallways with Cat following her, moving somewhat stiffly. She still didn't have a good sense for the size of the place or the number of employees, apart from the fact that it was fairly large. The break room was equally drab, a table large enough for six people, a water cooler, a large fridge, several cabinets, a microwave and... a coffee maker. A large, off-white, decades-old drip coffee maker.
That thing's probably older than Kara, thought Cat, pain gripping her heart at the thought of the girl lying in the sunbed in that spartan infirmary. Their age difference didn't always bother her, not when she only considered Kara an assistant or a protégée, but lately she had begun to want something more... something that should probably remain unspoken as long as they continued to work together. She didn't want to risk the complications of an office romance, nor to sully Kara's reputation or her own with rumors.
Alex make a face at the sludge in the bottom of the coffee maker, then opened one of the cupboards and pulled out a can of coffee (one of those dreadful store brand French roasts) and some filters.
“This would go faster with your help,” she pointed out.
With a put-upon sigh, trying to ignore the headache that was beginning to pound at the edges of her consciousness, Cat took the pot from the coffee maker and began to wash it while Alex cleared out the old grounds and put in fresh ones.
While the coffee brewed, Cat sat down in one of the break room chairs. They were more heavily padded than the folding chair she'd been sitting in since she'd arrived, and she felt herself relax into it.
“Any idea how much longer it'll be for those tests you mentioned?”
“It should be any time now,” said Alex. “I wouldn't be surprised if I get a message from Astra about it while we're here, actually.”
“She works here, but your boss doesn't trust her. But you do. Or don't you?”
“It's... complicated. And you don't really need to know.”
“You trust her with Kara, at least.”
Alex nodded at that. “She likes Kara, respects her, even. And they're family.”
“And whatever that bracelet is, it would have hurt Kara in her weakened state?”
“I can see how you saw through Kara so quickly,” said Alex.
“Kara, for all her admirable qualities, is one of the worst liars I have ever met. It's a bit endearing, but a hazard in her line of work,” said Cat, watching the coffee drip down into the pot.
Alex followed her eyes and got out two mugs, setting them on the counter. “Endearing? Interesting choice of words.”
Cat was starting to get sick of dancing around the subject. “Well, what do you want me to say? She's a sweet girl. Too sweet for her own good, but that's probably a good thing for National City.”
“I want to know what your intentions are towards my little sister.” When Cat didn't reply, Alex added, “I've seen how you look at her.”
“I'm not going to make a move on my assistant, if that's what you're asking,” said Cat, her mouth twisted at the implication. “That kind of abuse of power wouldn't be good for either of us. Though... she's been more and more assertive the last few months. I don't think she'd let anyone bully her into a relationship she didn't want. Not even me.”
“That's reassuring,” said Alex. “On both counts.” With that, she poured mugs of coffee for herself and for Cat. “There's sugar if you want it, and milk...” she looked in the fridge. “No, we're out of milk, but there's coffee whitener.”
“Ugh,” said Cat, picking up a mug. “I'll pass. I drank enough of that stuff in my intern days to last me a lifetime.” She took a sip of the coffee. It was bitter and nasty, but she needed the caffeine. Well, between Kara's condition and these prying questions, what she really wanted was some booze, but she doubted Alex would have agreed to that request, so coffee would have to do.
They reached the infirmary just as Rob did.
“Agent Danvers, the tests results,” he said, stopping in front of the door.
“Well, go inside, and let's hear it,” she said impatiently.
“Right!”
Once they were all inside, he cleared his throat. “The good news is, there's nothing amiss with her blood work. The bad news is that we don't know why she's like this.”
“Which just leaves plan B,” said Alex, setting down her coffee on the counter. “Rob, can you get down an EpiPen for me?”
As Rob got it from the cupboard, Astra asked, “Shouldn't we wait instead? Not that I enjoy seeing her like this, but...”
“Astra, I don't know!” Alex threw her hands up in the air. “I know as much... or more... about Kryptonian biology than anyone on this planet, but even I know very little about how you function when you don't have super powers. In theory, this should work—jump-start Kara's powers and let her body take care of the rest, but I have no way of being sure. But... just in case, we'll be ready to treat her for the side effects of the injection.”
Astra frowned, looking uncertain for the first time since Cat had met her. At last she said, “Do what you must.”
“Actually, could you hold her still for me? I'm going to inject this into her thigh, and normally I could hold the patient steady myself, but if she gets her powers back partway through I don't want her to accidentally knock me across the room.”
Astra nodded and crossed the room to stand next to the sun bed, gripping Kara's lower legs tightly in her hands.
Cat couldn't help quipping, “You two must have had an interesting childhood.”
“You're telling me,” said Alex. She accepted the pen from Rob, pulling off the safety cap with practiced fingers and placing the other end against Kara's thigh. “Astra, are you ready?”
“Yes.”
Rob stepped back as Alex pressed down firmly with the pen. For a moment there was no visible change, but then Kara twitched, and even with Astra holding her down, she pulled away from Alex.
“Well, she didn't get the full dose, but it seems to be doing something,” said Alex, taking a step back.
Kara's eyes flew open. Her heart was racing, and she knew that something was wrong. She was lying on a hard surface, and there was pressure on her lower legs, something—or someone—holding her down. She wrenched herself free and sprang up, instinctively clenching her fists, before looking around the room.
To her surprise, she recognized it as the DEO infirmary. She saw Alex and Cat Grant, of all people. Turning, she saw that Astra was the one who had been holding her down.
There didn't seem to be any immediate threat, so why did she feel so alarmed?
“Kara?” asked Alex. “How do you feel? Are your powers back?”
“Um...” Kara narrowed her eyes, tried to see through the wall of the infirmary. It worked! She could see Hank striding down the hall. “I'm confused. And Hank's coming. But why is Miss Grant here?”
By the time Hank arrived, Alex had filled Kara in, turned off the monitors and removed the leads Kara hadn't managed to pull off in her panic, and Kara was sitting on the edge of the sun bed.
“I want you to stay here for a while, just to make sure there are no side effects,” said Alex as the door opened and Hank stepped inside.
Kara nodded. “I can do that. If, uh, Miss Grant will let me.”
“Better than having a sick person at the office,” said Cat drily, but Kara could tell that she had been genuinely worried.
“Well, I'm glad to see you up and about, Supergirl,” said Hank. “How are you doing?”
“Better, now that my powers are back and I know what's going on.” She realized that she was still wearing her work clothes, or most of them, anyway... not her shoes, or her glasses, for that matter. “Uh, maybe I should change into my suit?”
“That can wait,” said Hank. “Agent Danvers, Miss In-Ze, come with me.”
Astra leaned over Kara and drew her into a tight hug, strong but warm and gentle, before kissing the top of Kara's head as she had when Kara was little.
“I was so worried about you, little one,” whispered Astra, rocking her a little.
Kara found herself smiling into Astra's shoulder. It was so good to have her back! Even if she still didn't have a very good opinion of most humans... except Alex, for some reason... and that was not a train of thought Kara wanted to follow, not after what she'd accidentally seen them doing the other day...
Astra gave Kara one last squeeze, then followed Alex and Hank out of the room. The other DEO agent glanced at Kara and Cat before leaving as well, in a different direction.
Kara watched them all file out, then turned to Cat. She wasn't sure what to say... she had expected things to change once Cat knew she was Supergirl, but all that had happened was that the awkwardness had extended to her visits in costume. After a while she had stopped visiting. But there Cat was, looking beautiful and worried and tired and even a little bit rumpled, which somehow seemed to make her look more beautiful than usual, holding a mug of DEO coffee, and she had to say something. “Thank you. For being here. Even if it's not strictly... professional.”
Cat looked as though she were about to snap at Kara for a moment, but instead she took a gulp of coffee, grimacing as she did so. “No, it's not. And... maybe keeping my distance has done us more harm than good.” She sighed. “We should still keep some limits, I suppose, but I pushed you too far away before.”
It was more of an admission than Cat probably meant it to be—Kara could remember her saying something about pushing away those she cared about. Kara nodded. “I missed our talks. On the balcony.”
“As Supergirl, or...?”
Kara smiled. “Mostly the Supergirl ones, I guess. I definitely do not miss the time you made me take off my glasses. Speaking of which, where are they?”
“I think that sister of yours did something with them. But you don't really need them.”
“No, but I've been wearing them every day for years, so it feels a little strange to go without them. At least when I'm not in costume. So, did you take this opportunity to find out all my secrets?” She was joking, but not entirely.
“No. And I have the sneaking suspicion that I'm about to be strong-armed into signing an extremely strict non-disclosure agreement.”
“Probably. Can't be worse than what they did to me, the first time I came here.” It was meant to lighten the mood, but Cat shot her a curious glance.
“What did they do?”
Shot me full of Kryptonite? No, I can't tell her that. “Forget it, I shouldn't have mentioned anything.”
“It wouldn't have anything to go with that green rock they're making your aunt carry around, would it?”
“No...” Kara knew she wouldn't be able to fool Cat, but she had to try.
“One of these days you're going to have to learn how to lie. But it's fine. I have no interest in letting all of National City know about something that could weaken you.” She took one last swig of coffee. “I should probably go make sure no one has managed to burn down CatCo in my absence. But... I really am glad you're feeling better.” Hesitantly, she laid her hand on Kara's arm.
With a little smile, Kara put her hand over Cat's and gave it a squeeze. “I'll see you tomorrow.”
For the first time in over a week, Kara landed on Cat's balcony. Cat was inside, still working, but Kara just sat down in one of the chairs, letting the soft noises of the city wash over her. She'd gotten better at focusing her super-hearing over the years, but it was still a relief just to ignore it, at the end of the night.
When Cat didn't notice her presence immediately, Kara let her eyes close, only for a moment.
“Taking a nap?”
Kara's eyes flew open to see Cat standing in front of the balcony door, a glass of amber liquid in her hand and an amused expression on her face.
“I suppose even superheroes have to sleep, though you certainly spent enough time unconscious today.”
“I wasn't asleep. Just now, I mean.” Kara didn't bother getting up, not yet.
Cat nodded. “I wasn't expecting to see you here so soon. Not that you're not welcome.”
“I guess I missed this more than I thought.”
Cat took a step forward and leaned on the railing. She took a sip of her drink and rolled it around in her mouth. “Do you have other people you can talk to? Your sister, Olsen, your aunt, maybe? Your cousin?”
Said in a different tone, it might have come off as an attempt to get Kara to leave, but Cat seemed concerned, instead. Kara was touched. “Yes, but it's different. I need each of you in your own way. Without you... all of you, I wouldn't be... well, I'd be a superhero, probably, but not who I am today.” She smiled. “I'd probably have picked my own name, though.”
Cat's lips quirked in amusement at that. “You'd have been Superwoman.”
“Probably.” She traced the crest on her chest, the fabric rough under her finger, then stopped in faint embarrassment as she noticed Cat's eyes following her hand. “Superman is still my cousin, after all.”
“Are you two close? He doesn't seem to visit National City very often.”
Kara stood, looking Cat in the eye, and bit her lip for a moment. “Please don't publish what I'm about to tell you.”
“Okay.” Cat's agreement came much easier, much more quickly, than Kara would have expected.
“I was actually sent here to protect him, not the other way around.”
Cat narrowed her eyes. “But you're... younger than him. Aren't you?”
“When Krypton was destroyed, I was more than ten years older than him.” Kara let that sink in, watched Cat's eyes widening in surprise or disbelief. “But my ship went off course for decades. I was in stasis for most of that time, and when I got here he had already grown up and become Superman, but I was still a kid.”
Cat raised her eyebrows and took another swig of her drink. “No wonder you resent the comparisons.”
Kara nodded and leaned on the railing, clasping her hands together. “So that kind of made everything weird for us. Or at least for me, because I remember when he was little. But we do talk, and he's been good to me.” She sighed. “I have a great foster family, but sometimes I wonder what it would be like if we'd arrived together, the way we were supposed to. Grown up together.”
“And how old would you be, if you'd arrived when he did?”
Kara grinned. “Now, you should know better than to ask that, Miss Grant. But I think you can guess.”
“Touché. At least forty, then, given Superman's apparent age and the fact that you said decades, plural.”
“Something like that.” Kara wondered, fleetingly, what Cat had been like as a young woman, what it would have been like to meet her as a peer, early in their respective careers. Would they even have met, in that case? Would they have been friends? Rivals? Something else? Something... more? Where did that come from? wondered Kara, suddenly glad that she was looking out over the city, instead of facing Cat directly.
“Supergirl...” said Cat gustily, almost in a sigh, “don't waste your time with regrets. Especially not for something that was out of your control in the first place.” But Cat's eyes were sad when Kara turned to look, and Kara guessed that she, too, was thinking of something that couldn't be.
“I won't,” said Kara in the most neutral tone she could manage, “You shouldn't, either.” She gently pushed up off of the balcony and hovered. “It's nice, to talk like this again.”
As she flew away, she heard Cat reply, “Any time.”
But the thought that rang in her head all the way back to her apartment was, do I have a crush on my boss?