Chapter Text
"I need your help."
The voice is familiar, as is the request, but Kara hasn't heard the two of them together in, what? Months?
Years?
If she let herself, she could almost instantly calculate how long it's been down to the second, but she's stopped doing that. It hadn't been helpful, just a coping mechanism she'd used when she'd first landed on Earth that she fell back on after-
Right. She doesn't think about it.
Except now Cat is standing in front of her in her hidden office, hands on her hips in a pose as familiar to Kara as her own Supergirl pose, an impatient look on her face that Kara instantly spots is hiding something else. Worry? Terror?
Last she'd known, Cat was in Washington, D.C. and had no plans of coming back to National City. And yet, here she is.
In person.
In front of Kara.
"What- how can I help you, Miss Grant?" Kara asks carefully, shutting her laptop after making sure her latest draft is saved. She'd learned that lesson the hard way.
Cat looks even more impatient at the seconds it takes Kara to finish saving, her posture growing more tense as she visibly keeps herself from saying something until the laptop is shut. "I need you to help me find Carter."
It takes a moment for that to sink in, but as soon as it does Kara is standing, adrenaline rushing through her. "Carter? He should be with his father, what happened?"
"He ran away," Cat says, some of her tension fading at Kara's readiness to help. "They've been searching, but so far- so far they haven't found him. I think he's hiding. He wouldn't have run away without a plan, I know he wouldn't. Which means they aren't going to find him. I have to find him. And you're going to help me."
"Of course," Kara agrees instantly, before she realizes. "But- how?"
The glare sent her way almost has Kara ducking back, having forgotten how close to heat vision it came considering Cat was 100% human. "Really, Kara? I tell you my son is missing and you're going to insist we keep up this charade? I'm the press secretary, do you really think I'm not fully aware of your caped identity?"
Well, that was an answer to a question Kara hadn't let herself ask.
Unfortunately, Cat's knowing only solved half of her problem.
"Fair point. But, um, have you been watching the news?" she asks, waiting for Cat's exasperated nod. "That big threat yesterday sort of, drained my powers. It's going to take me a day or two before I can recharge."
If it had been longer, the jolt of hearing Carter was missing would definitely have been enough adrenaline to kickstart her powers, but she needs her solar energy to recharge before adrenaline will do any good.
Cat stares at her for long seconds before letting out a curse and turning to punch the wall. "Are you fucking kidding me right now," she says as she hits the wall again, before turning to face Kara with a look of outrage. "Supergirl has been flying around town all day."
"A friend is helping out," Kara admits carefully. Cat might know her secret identity, and she might know enough to put together J'onn's as well, but Kara isn't going to be the one who gives him away. "They fly around and help out with small things so no one thinks Supergirl is out of commission, and my cousin keeps an ear out in case he's needed for anything big. Maybe he could help?"
"He wouldn't be able to pick Carter out easily enough," Cat says, some of her anger fading. "If Carter were in danger, of course he could help. But I'm sure Carter is fine, just waiting somewhere for me to find him. And I will, but having Supergirl looking would have made it go much faster."
That makes sense, though- wait. "You say that like I'm not going to help."
"You're powerless," Cat says dismissively, cutting far deeper than she probably intended. A fact she clearly picks up on, if the almost apologetic look on her face means anything. And Kara knows that's probably the closest to an actual apology she's going to get. "I appreciate the offer, Kara. And if Supergirl gets her powers back before I find him, her help would be more than welcome. But I can't wait around for that to happen."
"Of course you can't," Kara agrees immediately. "But Kara Danvers can still help in the meantime. As a second set of eyes, if nothing else."
It's probably a bad idea, given the feelings Kara is still ignoring, but there's no way she's letting Cat do this alone. Even if Carter is perfectly safe, he's still too young to be on his own any longer than he has to be. And she knows Cat will worry every second until he's found.
Cat hesitates, but Kara has learned to stand her ground without her suit over the last few years, and is already gathering her things. "I'll tell James I need the time, he'll get Snapper to approve the absence. I have some changes of clothes here already in case I need them after a Supergirl emergency, so I don't need to pack anything and we can get going right away."
It's a mix of her hero and assistant mode, taking charge and running through possible issues on autopilot as she gathers her things and heads for the door. Cat had stared at her at first, but by the time Kara reaches the hallway and heads to Cat's office- it will always be Cat's office to her- she's falling into step next to Kara in a strange reversal of their old dynamic where Cat always took the lead.
Dealing with James takes no time at all, Cat's presence and Kara's openness about her identity keeping James from offering any protest. Not that Kara thought he would've protested anyway, not with Carter's safety potentially on the line.
But either way, it takes no more than five minutes from the time they leave the office until they're in the elevator heading to the parking levels. Cat busies herself on her phone getting their travel arrangements settled, another reversal but one Kara doesn't question. Cat will know better than her what options are available to them these days.
"We'll take my plane to the nearest airfield, but there isn't anywhere to land near Carter's father's house. I tried to get Olivia to lend us a Blackhawk, but that didn't pan out, so a car will be waiting at the airfield for us to drive the rest of the way."
Kara nods as she takes in that information, memorizing what details there are with a long-forgotten habit that still comes naturally. She's also looking up maps and directions on her tablet, remembering the address from her time as Cat's assistant.
When the elevator dings open on the parking level, Cat steps forward immediately, heading for the car waiting for them. She makes it a few steps before stopping for a moment, turning to Kara with the faintest hint of a smile tugging at the edges of her lips. "Thank you, Kara. I didn't say before, but thank you."