Archive of Our Own

The phone screen lit up as the messages started arriving one after the other.

*Ding*

Oh no

*Ding*

No-no-no-no

*Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding* *Ding*

Crap

Crap. Crap. Crap.

Crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap-crap

Richard must have finally gotten a signal. And that meant that the texts he had been trying to send for the past several hours hit Kara’s phone all at once, presenting her with a full step by step account of his misadventures: plane delay, turned into a plane cancellation, turned into a car accident, turned into the most ridiculous and improbable combination of circumstances that would leave the definitely-soon-to-be-here reporter stranded several states away, dashing any hope for the interview and leaving Kara out to dry. She was half tempted to sneak out, fly there, grab him by the collar and just bring him here herself, except that this would be too conspicuous, him being a pretty good journalist and one she personally spoke to on a regular basis. No, Supergirl couldn’t save Kara Danvers today.

— Miss Danvers?

Kara raised her eyes and was met with the concerned and disapproving look of Danielle, whom she had been for the past several hours apologising to for the delays, promising that everything would be resolved very soon and that the interview would definitely be happening.

Crap.

Absolutely certainly.

Oh crap.

She guaranteed it personally.

Oh… oh crap.

— Miss Danvers, like I said, the window that miss Luthor has available today is limited by another event that we’ve scheduled for this evening. We’ve already moved the interview several times, and if it is going to be delayed any longer, we will have to cancel it and I need to inform miss Luthor right now.

The decision that Kara made at that moment was not calculated. If she had taken a moment to weigh all the pros and cons, to think of risks and consequences, she would have apologised, explained the situation and thanked Danielle for her patience before packing everything up, including Tim, and leaving. Instead Kara blinked twice, smiled and assured Danielle that the problem had finally been resolved and the interview was definitely happening. She was terribly sorry for the delay, and the messages she received just now were exactly what she had been waiting for, and they would be ready in two minutes, she… just needed to quickly update her colleague about some last minute changes.

Kara didn’t even hear Danielle’s answer, as she quickly turned around and rushed to said colleague, who was tinkering with his camera on one of the sofas in the beautiful and intimidatingly expensive lobby on the twenty-seventh floor. During the first few steps she tried to figure out how to get him on board, but then decided to just be as direct as possible and hope for the best. There was no time for subterfuge, at least not with him. And, unlike his father, Carr the younger was much more open to unconventional approaches, so when she started whispering, Kara estimated her chances of success to be about even fifty percent.

— So, bad news good news, I —

— Usually it is the other way around you know.

— Shut up, we don’t have time for this. Richard isn’t coming, I mean at all, I mean right now in another state isn’t coming. He says the grid was down because of the storm so I’ve just now got all his messages. And the interview needs to happen right now or it isn’t happening at all.

— Can’t we just reschedule it for tomorrow?

— The foundation is launching on Friday, today is literally the last possible day we can do it and still make the deadline.

— Have you called for a replacement from the office?

— I would have, except a minute ago I thought I didn’t need to, so at this point I’ve promised to give Danielle over there my firstborn to get the delay we got and that delay has just ran out. By the time a replacement gets here Lena will have already left.

— Fantastic. I assume that was all bad news. What’s the good news?

— The interview is happening. Right now.

— Wait, then who…

— Me.

— I… are you sure this is good news?

— Tim, we —

— Listen, you are not a reporter. No offense. And there is a reason we’ve been waiting for Richard — this is Luthor we are talking about, this is not just someone random, plus Cat wanted Richard to do this specifically, and you know how particular she can be.

— I do. I also know that this is basically a fluff piece and we just need to let her dictate a press release while looking pretty for your camera. I have the script right here, I’ve read it and re-read it so much I’ve basically memorised it. Between the two of us we have all the necessary equipment and since I was meant to be Richard’s assistant I have seen all his notes for the interview. I have prepared so well I could probably do this in my sleep. 

That last one was a lie, but, she hoped, not a big one. Tim thought for a moment, frowned, raised one eyebrow, then let the other one join it.

— Oh my god, Danvers, you actually are serious… Listen, as a friend, Cat is going to kill you. And I mean bloody chunks across the office kill you. And then fire what’s left of you, publicly. You are not even supposed to be here, you pushed your luck already by getting her to let you shadow Richard for this one — I still don’t know how you managed to convince her to let you do this — but this? This is insane.

He was right, of course. But Kara had a counter argument that, while likely doing little to actually protect her from miss Grant, still was worth mentioning at this point.

— What do you think she will do if after hours of delays we come back without the interview and with no photographs? If we go back now, after killing me she will turn to you and ask you why you didn’t at least take any photos of miss Luthor while we were waiting. Who do you think her next victim is going to be?

Kara watched as Tim imagined that particular future and quickly decided that he wanted no part of it. The calculation was simple — if they didn’t do the interview, they were both done. If they did, he had a chance to survive. Kara didn’t blame him for making this calculation — she was the one who appealed to this line of thinking in the first place.

— Are you sure you know what you’re doing?

— We’ll find out. Smile and act like everything is happening exactly as it should, I’ll do the talking, Lena won’t notice a thing. You’ve set everything up already, right?

— Hours ago, sure.

— Has — Kara waved her hands — I don’t know… has the lighting changed or something?

— Sure, but I would need a moment to adjust it anyway, and it can be done in a few seconds.

— So… we are ready?

— Danvers, I am not the one who is about to do the most … my job right now is to remember to press ‘record’ before the interview starts and take some nice photos of Lena afterwards, if they don’t throw us out that is. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but my camera doesn’t really care whether it is recording Richard or you. You are the one you should be asking if you are ready to —

Kara just shushed him and rushed back to Danielle, who promptly accompanied them both to the room where the interview was supposed to take place, on the way informing them that miss Luthor would join them when she was done with the current call. It wasn’t Lena Luthor’s office, just one of the conference rooms, but it was very impressively decorated nonetheless — abstract sculptures and carefully arranged plants strategically placed at key locations completed the image of simple business-like elegance. The chairs looked so regal that for a moment Kara found herself questioning whether she was allowed to sit on them. Tim immediately went to tinker with the equipment he had set up hours earlier. Now, submerged into technicalities of colour and light, he just muttered to himself, leaving Kara to nervously stand at the table, holding on to the folder with all the documents, trying to remind herself of why she wanted to be here in the first place.

This was not what she had planned at all.

— Danvers! Where’s my coffee?

The demand reached Kara before the elevator doors even fully opened, which meant that this was a day of ire. Catherine Grant had arrived on the scene, upset with the world and intent on making it pay for its transgressions. Sometimes this meant a sudden righteous crusade, a swarm of skilled journalists unleashed against a target du jour, be it a person, a social vice, or a cultural phenomenon that managed to irritate Cat on that day in particular, to result in a scathing (but carefully supported with evidence) article some time later. And sometimes this payment was exacted from one of her employees, which meant finding yourself being publicly scolded in the middle of the office for all the failures you thought she hadn’t noticed in the weeks prior, making you wish multiple floors beneath you could open, gently throwing you down the endless abyss. This unpredictability meant that being in the immediate vicinity of miss Grant upon her arrival was something to be avoided, and so a void did indeed form itself around her as she walked from the elevator to her office. People suddenly found purely coincidental and completely unrelated reasons to reach safe distance or find a reliable cover. Which was too bad, as it was part of Kara’s job to approach the centre of the imminent catastrophe as early as possible and supply it with fuel. Two espressos, three sugars, half a pump of caramel, three shakes of cinnamon (with an additional shake on Fridays), a dash of cardamon, carefully stirred, in a beige paper cup with thick walls and an additional sleeve to make it easier to hold, with a cover that didn’t risk ruining her lipstick (and needed to be retrieved from an entirely different coffee shop or prepared in advance). At this point Kara knew the routine by heart, and since today, whatever the target of the ire was, Kara had a request to make, she followed it especially carefully. Of course, she knew better than to voice the request right away. Instead she left Cat in her office and quietly went about her tasks, waiting for the morning roundup, when several people were summoned to report on their progress and learn their fate for the day. When the time came, Kara slipped in after the last person before the door fully closed, holding multiple folders, and found five people quietly standing around, as Cat was crossing out something in one of the documents on her desk, ignoring their presence entirely. This lasted for a while before finally, still without looking, Cat let out a deep sigh.

— Do you know why I was late this morning?

She crossed something out again and continued without giving a slightest impression that this was an actual question.

— I was late because my driver, Jeremy, had to change our route three times. Three times! Now, I like Jeremy because he rarely makes mistakes, he drives smoothly, and, for a driver, knows how to wear a suit quite well, but after the third time we had to turn around I was tempted to fire him right there and then. Except then, of course, I would have to drive through the morning traffic myself, god forbid, or wait for a replacement…

Cat paused and finally raised her eyes at the people standing in the office, slowly shifting her focus from one to another. Nobody spoke — they knew this pause was not an invitation for questions or comments, it was there merely because Cat wished it to be. And woe to anyone who tried to usurp this pause for themselves.

— I know that force-majeures happen, and even a driver who knows how to properly wear a suit can make a mistake, but three times in one morning? Well, turns out he had to avoid the construction sites that have sprung all around the city — all three sites weren’t there yesterday, and so Jeremy had to choose either to ram through them or to find a new route, so no, I won’t be firing him after all. For now. Also because he apologized.

Another pause.

— And yet, I can’t help but wonder why I have to be personally inconvenienced by all this construction. Not only is my morning commute disrupted, but all this noise! They even started building something next the fitness centre I prefer, and despite all the assurances of the personnel I still hear the ruckus when I try to focus on my health. Can you believe it? Without my meditation I could not maintain my tranquil and amiable disposition, and this noise threatens this most important of my qualities. So I am forced to wonder, what would compel anyone to build so much? Isn’t this city big enough already? Can’t they just build whatever it is they are building somewhere else, where it doesn’t make me consider firing my driver? And why all of this construction happening now, all of a sudden?

— And how exactly did all this construction get approved so uncharacteristically quickly for the famously glacial and bureaucratic department of city planning?

The question that was not a question came from Snapper Carr, and while it was an interruption, he knew what he was doing — Cat looked at him with annoyance, but then waved her hand, motioning him to continue. He did, outlining key points in a suspicious pattern of multiple permit approvals, contract bids and zoning decisions, all in a monotone and slightly annoyed tone. Cat leaned back in her chair, looking at him. Everyone knew the ritual — the bid had been made and was being evaluated. Finally, Cat nodded.

— Fine, just make sure it’s not all just bureaucracy and finance, find some human angle, some orphanages someone demolished along the way, preferably with orphans still inside.

— Or some poor drivers who might lose their job because of all this construction.

Contrary to the initial impression, Carr occasionally allowed himself a little humour, especially when he was in a good mood, which he was, having just received an approval for his next major investigation. A few people chuckled, Cat just waved her hand dismissing him, and turned to the editor of the fashion section, ready to switch her attention to the set of photographs he was holding. After that the meeting went smoothly — the target of Cat’s ire had been determined, it was located firmly outside the office, so for now everyone was safe and could return to work.

Kara waited for the meeting to flow naturally towards conclusion, and chose a moment just before Cat dismissed the last person to almost casually ask for a minute of her time afterwards. Trying to make their interaction seem like a natural part of the morning’s events, Kara stepped up to Cat’s desk and tried to confidently make the case for letting her assist Richard in his interview with Lena Luthor the following week. She managed to maintain that confidence throughout her entire speech and only at the end finally felt how nervous she was.

— … Richard has already agreed, if-if it is ok with you miss Grant. And with the meetings in your schedule that day you won’t be needing my assistance, so…

Cat just tilted her head and sighed.

— Of course Richard agreed, his agreement means nothing without my approval, and he knows it, so he gets to look magnanimous whilst not actually doing anything. When is he arriving by the way?

— Oh, in a week, the morning right before the interview, he is finishing the project for that report that you —

— Yes, yes, of course… anyway, my answer is no.

— May I — may I ask why?

— Because you work for me, Danvers, and because I said so. But you are just going to stand there with your sad eyes until I tell you the precise reason, aren’t you? I have a meeting with the few advertising firms for the new format the day after the interview and I will need you to prepare a report on all of them and their — what is that?

The last question was prompted by the folder Kara had produced and was now holding out, with the expressions of eagerness and dedication.

— The report on each of the companies, with detailed breakdown of their promotion options and pricing strategies, as well as a summary of key noteworthy items in the past five years for each of them. Plus three additional firms that you once mentioned you might or might not consider for this project.

Cat looked at Kara with an unreadable expression, before carefully taking the folder and flipping through the pages in tense silence. Finally, still holding the folder opened, she looked at Kara again, squinting a little.

— What’s in the other folders?

Her tone was no more readable than her expression.

— Photographs to be included in the article on the festival that were supposed to be ready next week, with several options for page composition and other relevant materials; numbers from the report you wanted — they are all there already, but will remain under official embargo until next Friday, they’re adamant; supporting materials for your other meetings next week and several —

As Kara spoke, Cat’s eyebrow slowly moved further and further up, until seemingly reaching the final point of mild surprise and causing Cat to wave her hand in a gesture that was as close to surrender as one could achieve given the circumstances. The preparation had paid off — this was a resounding success.

— Fine, fine, you can go.

— Thank you, Miss Grant! The interview is still a week away, please let me know if I should prepare anything else.

— Oh, you can be certain that I will be adjusting my expectations based on these previously hidden capacities for efficiency, Danvers, thank you. But why the sudden interest for the newly-made billionaire?

— What? Oh, no, this is just — I — as I told you, I want to become a journalist, and I thought this was a great opportunity to watch someone as skilled as Richard doing his job, and —

— You do realize that my gracious permission can be rescinded at any moment? If this was just about experience, you’d request to be assigned to Carr.

— I… I want to be assigned to Carr in the future as well, miss Grant, to be honest. But I asked to shadow him and he made that expression… well, you know. So I wanted to gather some experience first, to maybe try again later. But also…

Kara knew that what she would say next had to be the truth, and also knew that the truth was out of the question. So she decided on a compromise.

— You’re right, I have a lot of questions about Lena Luthor. I mean, doesn’t everyone? After what her brother did, she suddenly gets control of his companies, his money. She essentially becomes a billionaire over night. Of course I have questions. But it is also that… she is a woman in a unique position of power. You said it yourself that something like this happens very rarely. She has resources and opportunities that few women do, and I want to understand what this means — understand her — from that perspective. And with this foundation she is launching, her focus on women’s education and professional development… I… if she is really doing something like this, I think it is important and I would like to learn more. I know I won’t be able to talk to her, to ask her anything, but this is a unique opportunity to see her in between the photographs, interviews and press-releases. I think how people behave in these moments… it says a lot about them. I don’t know what exactly I am expecting to learn. But I just… I don’t want to ignore this opportunity.

This was a risk, of course. It was direct, personal, not something you are really supposed to say. But that’s what truth usually sounds like. So to be believed, Kara needed to offer something that fit the criteria. She stared at the floor, expecting some sort of a reaction, and just as she thought that none would come, she heard a single “Hm”. Raising her eyes, she saw Cat sitting behind her desk, reading something from one of the folders. Noticing Kara looking at her, Cat just waved her hand dismissively — not necessarily in an impolite way, just “we’re done, I am focused on something else”, which Kara had long learned is a completely neutral gesture for her. Quietly closing the door behind her, Kara walked to her desk, trying to contain her excitement, and started preparing another report, except no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't focus on the text on her screen. Soon she found herself walking up the stairs to the roof, hoping to clear her head. It smelled like it would rain soon, and the cold morning wind was comforting, as always. There was a temptation to drop all of this, to jump into the sky and dash through the grey clouds, letting the cold wet air brush all of her worries away. Instead Kara just closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and tried to gather her thoughts.

Miss Grant had approved the interview. This was great. Well, maybe not great, but this was what Kara wanted. Fine, maybe not wanted, but something that was necessary. Necessary. Definitely. Why was this necessary again? Why was she taking this risk? And not even as Kara Zor-El! The one walking there would be Kara Danvers, someone… real, someone who was actually constrained by the myriad of tiny limits and expectations of those around her. Someone who couldn’t just fly away and disappear if something went wrong. What she had told miss Grant was not untrue, but if that was all, she would not be doing any of this. The truth was that deep down she was scared. Kara herself stopped at ‘concerned’, but the distinction was entirely lost on the emotion curling itself somewhere underneath her lungs.

Who was Lena Luthor? Someone rich, someone smart, someone powerful. And, as far as Kara knew, the closest person to Lex Luthor in the entire world. Assigning guilt by association felt wrong — she knew Kal wouldn’t approve — but Kara didn’t trust the instinctive discomfort. Lex had proven himself to be dangerous, actually dangerous, for Kal, for her, to the extent she hadn’t believed was possible for anyone on this planet to be. The thought of what he had come so very close to achieving made Kara so angry she had to learn to stop herself before the thought reached its conclusion. And now everything that this man had ever gathered, achieved, created, all his money, power and influence belonged to his sister. Given willingly. And Lena was going to do with it… what? Kara didn’t know. 

When Lena first appeared in the public eye in her new role, Kara started digging through every source she could find. Articles, reports, biographies, websites, interviews and announcements. She tried to learn as much as she could about the woman that Lena Luthor was, and she was quite thorough in her research. Except nothing that she discovered either confirmed or alleviated her fears. It took her a while to realize what was missing. After studying everything she could about Lena, Kara couldn’t find a single piece of evidence that would even hint about Lena’s opinion of Lex. And it wasn’t that nobody had ever asked her — on the contrary, after she became CEO this question kept coming up again and again, no matter what the interviews were about. But every single time Lena just spoke slightly past it, acknowledging the topic just enough to not be accused of avoiding it intentionally. Somehow she always managed to answer the questions, and yet never really say anything. It was always what was best for the company, what the position of the advisory committee was, what the considerations were… Always third person, corporate nouns and impersonal pronouns — company, committee, board, it, they. Not once  in any of the interviews did Kara find an “I”. And now Lena was here. In this city, in a building she could see right this moment, reflecting the grey clouds above. Sitting there, in her office, planning… what exactly? Kara didn’t know. And the simple truth was, not knowing made her afraid. For Kal. For herself. For people closer to them and those just living in the same city. 

It finally started to rain. The drops knocked softly against the office windows, giving the room a surprising atmosphere of comfort — there was something almost cozy in the combination of soft leather chairs, simple ornament of the carpet and the meditative tapping of the rain against the glass. Tim swore under his breath and adjusted something on one of the lights, turning them up a little more to compensate. Kara took a deep breath, trying to calm down, focus on the rain… and almost didn’t realize as another sound joined the tapping of the raindrops. Footsteps were approaching the door, quick, confident. She had gone through so many photographs and recordings of Lena that a composite image had formed itself in her head. Large green eyes that occasionally held contact a moment longer than people expected. Long dark hair, carefully straightened or gathered into either a high ponytail or a knot, held by a band with a barely visible piece of jewellery you could notice only when it occasionally reflected a random light. Careful makeup with darker shades of lipstick and strictly defined and expressive eyebrows. Depending on the occasion, either a dark-blue formal dress or more often an expensive variation of an office suit with strong lines in darker shades, balancing a strict business confidence with casual elegance. A simple silver ring on her right hand, a watch on her left wrist. The consistency of details was so great that Kara couldn’t imagine Lena wearing anything else, no matter how hard she tried. If she discovered that Lena Luthor slept in her business suit, like a vampire in a coffin, Kara wouldn’t be surprised. So even before the door opened, Kara knew exactly what she would see.

And that is also why the warm pastel shade of Lena’s jacket draped almost haphazardly over her shoulders surprised Kara enough to cause an almost impolite pause before she could react to the hand extended towards her. Lena had started speaking before the door was even fully opened, so by the time they shook hands Lena had already finished her introduction.

— Sorry for wait, there is a reason I don’t like negotiations over the phone, they always take much longer than anticipated. Lena, pleasure to meet you.

— …Kara Danvers, this is my assistant Timothy Carr. Thank you for taking the time to talk to us.

— Nice to meet you Kara!

Instead of letting go of her hand, Lena tilted her head slightly and frowned, as if trying to remember something. Was there a glimpse of recognition in her eyes, or did Kara just imagine it? Did Lex share —

— Correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to remember Danielle telling me yesterday that the interview would be with… I believe the name was Richard… ?

— Oh, that was a last minute change — Miss Grant decided that considering the focus of your foundation it would be more appropriate if the interview was done by a woman. I thought our office had notified you?

A bare faced lie, of course, but one Kara had prepared in advance and thought was passably believable. Lena's foundation would focus on women’s education and professional development after all, and the gender of the interviewer was something that Miss Grant had actually considered, just, of course, not with Kara in mind. In any case, the explanation seemed to have satisfied Lena, as she let go of Kara’s hand and smiled.

— The last few days have been so chaotic, I wouldn’t be surprised if Danielle has told me about the change and I just didn’t remember it — there’s only so much information you can fit in your head at once. To be honest, I welcome the idea, so I am definitely not complaining. Shall we?

The invitation was accompanied by a smile, a very polite and charming one. It felt almost entirely sincere, sending the tiniest of wrinkles around her green eyes, except… It was just a feeling, one Kara couldn’t assign to anything in particular, but… the green eyes weren’t looking at her. Lena Luthor stood in front of her, smiling, talking, and yet… she was somewhere else, dedicating just enough of herself to do whatever needed to be done. Lena gestured at the chairs and took place at the long table, inviting Kara to sit across from her, in full view of the camera. She must have done this so often that she had developed an instinct for choosing the correct position and angle, as Timothy immediately got to work, politely ignoring them both. Kara swallowed, smiled, and sat across from Lena, placing the folder on the table like she had seen Richard usually do. In this case it wasn’t just a formality — despite all her assurances to the contrary, she wasn’t certain she knew the list of questions the interview was supposed to include by heart. She glanced at the notes, more to reassure herself that she had a script to fall back on than to actually check what to do next, then smiled.

Pre-interview: Greeting/Introduction

— Thank you so much for taking time to speak with us, miss Luthor, I understand that with the foundation about to officially launch you must be incredibly busy.

— Delegating has never been my strong suit, so I would say ‘incredibly’ is an understatement. But… as you said, the foundation is about to launch, and I believe this is the moment when promoting it is most important. Simply providing the resources is not enough, in order to use the new opportunities people need to know they exist.

Question 1: What is the foundation for / how would you describe it?

— Imagine that someone is hearing about your foundation for the first time. How would you describe it?

— This foundation is being created to solve a specific but complex problem. To put it simply, women consistently face unique challenges at every point of their professional lives. From earliest stages of education where they are discouraged from engaging with certain subjects, to the moment where they enter workforce and struggle to find a foothold and often have to perform better than their male peers just to be considered equals, and finally throughout their careers and professional development, where they are consistently underpaid across a wide range of sectors, denied funding, recognition and advancement. And that is not even speaking of motherhood and how women are both pushed towards it and punished for the resulting gap in their resumes. To put it simply, roughly half of human population is being denied an opportunity to participate in our society, economy and science on equal terms. And this is not some novel discovery, we’ve known this for a while and every new study just keeps telling us the same thing, while everyone keeps acting mystified as to what the cause could be. As a society we are making progress, sure, but it is both uneven and glacial. To put it simply — I would like to fix this. And that is what the foundation is for.

The way Lena spoke, it sounded like she was reading from a page. Not in a sense that she was lacking expressiveness, on the contrary, all the correct elements were stressed, all the intonations were adjusted exactly as they needed to be. This was something she had definitely prepared in advance, rehearsed, practiced. Kara couldn’t help but think about the time she discussed issues like this with Kal, and how all she got was a nod, accompanied by a sad and surprisingly guilty look, followed by an exasperated “I am trying, I promise, I just… I don’t always know how to fix… something like this.” And while Kara did suggest a few quite violent options, they both eventually agreed that the next step would have to be overthrowing all governments and ruling the world, as this would be the only way an intervention like this would work. For a brief moment she was just a little bit tempted. They went for ice cream instead. Solving something like this would require efforts that involved not just one or two people, no matter how powerful they were, but something much larger. So despite her suspicions towards Lena, despite how almost formulaic the answer sounded, Kara realized that hearing this spoken out loud still felt at least a little bit nice. But that was not what she was here for. She needed Lena to reveal something about herself, about how she thought, not just pre-rehearsed platitudes. 

Question 2: What is the foundation focus/key element?

— I think anyone would concede that you have chosen a very important, and also incredibly difficult problem. But how are you actually proposing to tackle it? What is the silver bullet?

— There isn’t one.

So much for revelations.

— Then how…

— This is not a problem that is caused by a single source. There is not just one single thing that needs to change, some single group of people that needs to be convinced to solve this. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is either lying or underestimates the complexity of the issue. There is a reason I had to read countless papers, employ and consult multiple experts, in order to design this foundation. You can’t just lobby the government to change the school curriculum, or give out student grants, or establish some course that would tell people something they already know and just don’t want to do. You can’t just add incentives for the companies to employ more women, or use any of the thousands other single instruments in isolation. If you are serious about fixing this problem, it is necessary to account for multiple economic factors intertwined with even greater number of social and historical ones, deal with multiple conflicting value systems, account for generational perceptions and do so, so much more. I realize quite well that this does not make for a good soundbite, but the foundation is not just one thing, miss Danvers, it is a set of initiatives meant to build a healthy and self-supporting ecosystem. We will start from the earliest stages, offering educational support to schools and similar organizations. Curriculum development support and lobbying, industry tours and early integration initiatives, and, of course, financial support for young girls who would otherwise be disadvantaged from the very beginning. After all, it is hard to learn when your lunchbox is empty. This is followed by early internship programs, mentorship programs with industry actors across multiple sectors. Then —

Lena kept talking, and while the impression that this was something that she had prepared and rehearsed in advance didn’t go away, Kara couldn’t help but pay attention. She went through several more questions, steadily moving through the section of the interview that Richard had planned to dedicate to the details of the foundation and how it is structured, and slowly but surely found herself coming to a conclusion she hadn’t really expected: Lena Luthor wasn’t lying. It wasn’t because Kara saw passion in her eyes — to be clear, she absolutely did not see anything like that, Lena consistently maintained a polite, confident, but still somehow distant facade — nor based on some details of her expression, or even her pulse that Kara occasionally tried to focus on. No. It wasn’t how she was speaking, it was what she was actually saying. In a span of about ten minutes Lena went across all the key factors she saw contributing to the problem, stating them plainly and directly, and one by one outlined how each of them would need to be tackled, how exactly she was proposing to do it, how much it would cost and what the results would be. She referenced specific research, outlined relevant statistics, which, as Kara noted, were each time carefully accompanied by a mention of a specific source, and did all of that while remaining surprisingly clear and easy to follow. Of course, this could all still be an elaborate cover for something, a way to move a lot of money, to polish the Luthor image, to do any of the countless number of things. Except that for a cover story or a scheme this was prepared too well. Not even in a flashy way that would easily get short-term positive publicity — in several places Lena almost deliberately avoided phrases and talking points that would immediately paint her in a positive light without much effort. No, what she was describing sounded like the results of someone actually wanting the problem to be solved and dedicating a lot of time and effort to do so. 

In the meantime Kara had gotten to the questions that were supposed to explore a more personal angle of the project. Richard had added small marks and comments to several of them, likely to remind himself of what the specific angle he wanted to pursue.

Question 9: What made you choose this problem specifically?

— What made you decide to tackle this problem in particular? You yourself have said that this will require a lot of resources, a lot of work, time and money. Why tackle this problem and not any of the others?

— Because you are right, Miss Danvers, there are a lot of other problems that need solving. Climate change, poverty, violence on individual and global scales, diseases new and old. There are countless dangers that threaten us both individually and as a species. All of these issues need to be solved and it is easy to get paralyzed by indecision, just as it is easy to argue that any number of them have to be tackled first. I am not saying that these issues should wait, on the contrary, I am saying that we need as many people working together to solve all of them as soon as possible. Which is why I would like us to stop putting up barriers for half of human population so that they can contribute to solving these problems to their full potential. I am aware that this is going to sound quite corny, believe me, but the first thing we all need to do is start working together.

Question 10: Do you have personal experience with the problems that the foundation is created to tackle? (social status vs gender disparity)

Kara hesitated for just a moment. It felt… impolite to ask something like this, and so she tried to find a phrasing that would somehow make the question better, more reasonable.

— Do… It would be perhaps dishonest to ignore that this foundation is being established by a woman with a significant amount of power and resources. I apologize if the question is too direct, but doesn’t this isolate you from the problems you have described, at least to an extent?

Something shifted behind Lena’s eyes, almost imperceptibly, and Kara felt for the first time since the start of the interview that Lena was actually looking at her. She wasn’t sure whether this was good or not, but the look was then accompanied by a slight smile, which she found reassuring. This time Lena started her answer a little more slowly.

— You are right, that is quite a direct question, and I appreciate the apology. However you are also correct that it would be silly to ignore that gender disparity is not the only factor at play. Reducing anything to just a single issue is always tempting, but it is rarely the correct thing to do. You are right, having money does isolate you from a lot of difficulties, and not just the ones that I have outlined. However, this does not mean that the disparity just disappears. If you look at the statistics across income and market value levels, you will see that after certain thresholds it is entirely a boys’ club and I am very much an exception to the rule. I won’t go into specifics, but let’s just say that while the difficulties and disparities are absolutely not the same as for most people, they are still there and I have to take them into account just as any other woman. 

Lena paused for a moment and hesitated before continuing.

— You’d be surprised how often I get men trying to speak over me or explain to me things that they are barely familiar with and I could literally give a lecture on. The fact that I have more money than them does not magically make it stop. And, to be honest, during my time at university and early in my career, my environment and experience wasn’t that different from anyone else’s. I have faced the same barriers, encountered the same problems as anyone else. And while today I myself might be insulated from some of them, at least to an extent, people I knew and valued continue facing them just the same. I would like to change that, and I don’t believe that being able to make my own life more comfortable should do anything to dissuade me of that intention.

Kara studied Lena’s expression and almost to her frustration found nothing in particular wrong or suspicious about it. Lena looked just as she had before, perhaps a little more engaged, but the last question clearly pushed something. Eyes a little more attentive, pulse a little faster. Was this a reaction to being challenged? Kara decided to push her just a little bit more, and the next question provided a perfect way to do that, even if Richard likely hadn’t intended it that way.

Question 11: How sustainable is the foundation model?

— You must be aware that the the foundation you propose has its detractors. One of the critiques that many focus on is a purely practical one, namely its potential longevity — all the initiatives you propose require significant investments and not just at the beginning, but continuously. Luthor Corp is a very successful company, but one of the key elements of its success, as you often state, is investing a significant portion of its profits back into the research cycle. Can the charity approach actually support something on this scale?

That got a reaction out of Lena. Nothing extreme, just a briefest squint, sending a few short lines from the corners of her eyes, a tiny twitch of the corner of her mouth. Kara clearly touched a nerve and was now paying very close attention to how Lena would respond. She forced herself not to think about how much of a risk this was, how what she was doing could have actual consequences for Kara Danvers. She came here to learn more about what kind of a person Lena was, and this was one of the safest and direct ways to do it, all things considered.

— I… I can understand this concern. The foundation will require consistent investments to achieve its goals, but, personally, this is very much a position of “Because we can’t guarantee a perfect and permanent result, let’s do nothing instead“. I don’t believe that, and I have seen too often this argument used by those who have either accepted the flaws of this world as something inevitable and permanent, or who have a personal stake in making it seem that way. Again, this is my personal opinion.

— But from a business perspective, doesn’t taking on significant long-term financial responsibility on this scale have a chance of negatively impacting Luthor Corp?

Kara was torn — she felt like she was close to something, that if she just pushed a little bit more, Lena would reveal something important, something that would actually help Kara either accept or abandon the concern that brought her here. Except… So far the changes in how the questions have been phrased could have been attributed to her trying to sound natural, being inexperienced, nervous, she even thought about how she would explain this to miss Grant if something went wrong. But if she pushed too hard, crossed some line that actually upset Lena or, worse, made her angry, it could have consequences, real consequences, ones that could affect Kara’s life. She could lose her position at Cat Co. And, worse case scenario, if Lex had shared something with Lena, if Lena knew or suspected something about Kara and her cousin, it could accidentally lead her to connecting the dots Kara really didn’t want connected.

— I apologize again if this sounds too direct, but you you are not just a private person, you are also a CEO of an giant corporation. Do you believe that personal convictions are sufficient for making decisions of this magnitude? Or that they supersede your responsibility to the company?

Even before she opened her mouth, Kara realized that there hadn’t been any choice at all. She tried to make it sound like the phrasing could have been a misunderstanding, like she had just got carried away, and even added an apology, but the truth was she would just have to face the consequences if and when they arrived. The good news was that the push clearly worked. The change that rolled over Lena’s face reminded Kara of the one she saw in the mirror years ago, when she was learning to drive Kara Danvers and Kara Zor-El further and further apart. Not as extreme, of course, yet still familiar. Lena’s eyes were sharp, the smile was still there but it had left the eyes almost completely, she sat straight and the slight tilt of her head that made her seem a little more relaxed was gone as well. When Lena started speaking, her voice sounded almost exactly the same, except that there was a note there now, one that made Kara immediately understand how for the past several years this woman managed to maintain control over the fortune and power that she suddenly found herself in possession of.

— Personal convictions have to play a part in this, of course. However, I think it is important that I am not misunderstood. No matter what my motivations are, I am not just acting out of naive optimism. I have given you my personal answer, miss Danvers, so here’s my answer as a CEO of Luthor Corp. I would say that people offering this critique seem to be surprisingly comfortable making some very questionable assumptions about exactly what it is that I am doing or why. I would have to be quite short-sighted to even accidentally harm or weaken Luthor Corp if my goal was to use it to solve the problems I have outlined. Like I said, this foundation builds a self-sustaining ecosystem, and one of the key elements of this ecosystem is the central investment fund. We have recently approached multiple promising new companies and startups that align with the goals of this foundation, ones founded, headed by or focused on women, and that for some mysterious reason struggled to find investors, but I am sure these facts are completely unrelated. And the reason I can finally talk about about this to you now is that we have just concluded the initial investment round this morning. These investments not only guarantee a secure and reliable source of income for the foundation in the future, but also create key career opportunities for the graduates of the programs we will support. Instead of questioning my business acumen, perhaps my critics should have been making these investments themselves. We can only wonder why they didn’t, no?

There she was. Lena Luthor. Serious, smart, confident. And there was definitely a hint of the pride that Kal spoke about when describing Lex. Except, unlike Lex, when pushed Lena didn’t immediately go on the offensive — sure, she pushed back, but instead of taking cheap shots and trying to dismantle the person in front of her, she actually engaged with the argument, addressing the concern and still managing to make her critics look both short-sighted and prejudiced at the same time. Kara couldn’t help but be slightly fascinated by how easily she did that. Whatever else she thought of Lena, there was clearly a difference between her and Lex, of that much Kara was now certain.

— This sounds like you have put a lot of thought into the long-term perspective of the foundation. 

Kara tried to smile and look a little guilty at the same time, hoping that Lena would take this as a sign that the challenge wasn’t intentional, or at least was well meaning.

— I have, and I wasn’t alone. One of the major concerns that the specialists I hired have raised was precisely the issue of the foundation longevity and the long-term sustainability of the systems we are trying to establish. There have been countless attempts to achieve precisely what we are trying to, and even with the best of the intentions there is always a risk of money running out, or someone changing their mind and revoking the support the programs rely on. Of course, only time will tell if all our calculations are correct, but we tried to account for a lot of eventualities and built in multiple mechanisms that can compensate for each other and form independent and self-sustaining life cycle. We want this foundation to succeed, and that means applying everything we know to making sure it does. 

— Thank you for the explanation, miss Luthor.

— That is what I am here for. And thank you for providing the opportunity to address this concern. 

It seemed like Lena was satisfied with Kara’s answer, but the change didn’t disappear all at once. The cold notes in Lena’s voice faded after just a few more questions, it took several more for her posture to relax again. But even after a dozen more questions the sharp attention behind her eyes hadn’t disappeared completely. Kara decided to just stick to the script for the rest of the interview. Which she successfully managed to do, right up until she reached the last several questions.

Question 26: Establishing this foundation is a radically new move for Luthor Corp. Have you consulted the previous CEO regarding this initiative?

…

Question 26: Establishing this foundation is a radically new move for Luthor Corp. Have you consulted the previous CEO regarding this initiative?

…

— Miss Danvers?

Question 29: Do you believe that the legal difficulties that the previous CEO currently faces could negatively impact Luthor Corp and therefore the foundation?

…

Question 31: Is there any information that you would like to share about the foundation that you haven’t been asked about?

— Is there… 

Kara cleared her throat and apologized.

— You have told us a lot about the foundation, miss Luthor, and I am very grateful that you have answered our questions. Is there anything that you would like our audience to know that we haven’t spoken about?

Lena seemed to think for a moment, then smiled once again.

— To be honest nothing quite comes to mind, miss Danvers, you have been quite thorough with your questions, which I am of course grateful for. I would perhaps like to finish by telling everyone in your audience to not be hesitant to ask for help if they need it. Like I said in the beginning, we are providing the resources, and it is very important that people aren’t afraid to use them.

— We will make sure to stress that in the article, and the visitors on our website will of course be able to hear you tell it to them yourself. Thank you so much for your time miss Luthor, I have to say, I was very interested in learning more about this foundation and am very grateful for your explanations.

— Thank you for your interest! I hope this will help the foundation reach more people. Now, I believe Danielle has mentioned you also wanted to take a photo for the article — I see your colleague is already preparing his other camera. If you don’t mind, there is a call I need to make, and unfortunately it can not wait, but, unlike the last two, it should just be about ten minutes. You can wait here and I will be right back.

With that Lena got up and left. Kara and Tim both politely refused Danielle’s offer to have something to drink while they waited, so a moment later they were left alone in a room once again. Kara quietly breathed out and suddenly heard the raindrops drumming against the window once again. It wasn’t that the rain had paused, she was just so focused on the interview that she completely blocked out everything else. As she made a few steps from the chair, she suddenly registered how tense every muscle in her body felt. 

— I have to say, that wasn’t that bad, Danvers.

Kara tried to answer, but found her jaw slightly jittering, as her body tried to release the accumulated stress.

— G-good, I think it was f-fine.

— Kara, are you… is everything OK?

— Yes. Yes, y-yes, sorry, I think it is just the nerves. Listen, do you need me for the photographs?

— No, I just need the two, and I can easily do them myself.

— Good. I… If you don’t mind I will leave early, I think I just need some fresh air. I think I — I am only now starting to realize what I just did.

— Listen, seriously, you did good, you looked and sounded fine, if I didn’t know, I wouldn’t think anything was amiss. I will handle the photos and tell Lena you didn’t feel well. Just go.

Kara looked at him with gratitude and nodded — one of Tim’s decidedly positive qualities was the ability to immediately drop the attitude he usually displayed when he saw that someone actually needed help.

— Thanks Tim. I owe you one.

— You owe me two, Danvers, one for going along with the interview in the first place. Now go, you really sound like you need to moment breathe. I will take the equipment and we’ll meet back at the office. Will you be OK on your own?

— Yes. I’m… I’ll be fine.

It took Kara a moment to find her way back to the elevators, and pass on her apologies to Danielle. She was ready to leave, when she noticed a sign for the bathroom and slipped there instead. She just needed a moment to think, alone, quietly. Plus, she thought, cold water would help her regain her senses. Just as she had hoped, the bathroom was completely empty.

Kara went through the motions of washing her hands and face and then just stood there for a while, staring at her own reflection in the large mirror spanning along half a dozen sinks. The automatic tap in front of her was still on, and the almost perfectly silent stream of cold water hit the side of the elegantly curved stone before circling its way down towards the drain, round, round, and round again, closer and closer, until it finally disappeared beneath the shiny metal grate. Kara wondered at how drained she herself felt and chuckled at the unintended wordplay, then chuckled again at the fact that she was considering whether her wordplay was intentional, while standing alone in front of a giant mirror in a bathroom with half a dozen sinks. Rao, she could lift cars, how could she feel so tired after a single conversation! It must have just been the stress. First postponing the interview over and over again, for hours, while constantly ready to go on the moment’s notice, then the adrenaline rush after deciding to do the interview herself, then the whole conversation with Lena and trying to look professional and confident, while also trying to push Lena to reveal something about herself, while also maintaining plausible deniability to avoid getting fired…  Kara touched the stream with her palm and watched as the pattern in the sink changed in response. Absentmindedly shifting the stream back and forth she wondered whether this was all worth it. What had she learned after all? Well, she learned a lot about the foundation Lena was launching, learned that it looked like a real deal, which was probably a good thing, just completely unrelated to why she wanted to be here in the first place. The water stopped and Kara placed her hand in front of the sensor once again, then watched as the stream hit her wrist, almost threatening to touch the sleeve of her shirt. She came here to learn more about Lena. So, what exactly did she learn? Lena was smart, dedicated, good at public speaking, prideful, but seemingly not excessively so. Kara asked herself whether the meeting actually helped her determine if Lena was dangerous, but no answer presented itself. She needed to gather her thoughts. Perhaps she could take a break before going back to the office, just sit somewhere for a while. Maybe eat something — she hadn’t eaten since this morning! Sunlight is all well and good, but —

— You didn’t follow your script, miss Danvers.

Kara’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest, and it took all her willpower not to follow suit and hit the ceiling. Only thanks to the years of practice did she manage to move her hand out of the way of the tap before her muscles instinctively tensed — had she not done that, it would have been snapped off and a fountain of water would have made the situation even worse. As Kal had explained to her once, the problem with superhuman hearing is that it gives you the ability to hear something other people don’t, but only if you are paying attention. Which she, lost in her thoughts, very much was not. As Kara opened her mouth to speak, she had to take a few slow breaths, to let her heartbeat settle just a little.

— M-miss Luthor?

— I am sorry, I honestly didn’t mean to startle you — your colleague told me you had already left, I just wanted to check my makeup before the few final shots.

— I— I was going to, I just n–needed a moment…

— I just mean that I thought the bathroom was empty, and — I am sorry, I assumed you heard me come in.

— Yes, I… I mean no, sorry, I was just lost in thought for a moment. I will get out of your way.

— That’s all right, honestly, the mirror here is big enough for ten people.

Kara’s heart was still beating fast, but she forced herself to turn the tap back on and awkwardly freshen herself again, almost painfully aware of Lena’s presence just just a few steps away. Lena waited for her to finish, before continuing, still looking at her reflection.

— I was just saying that you didn’t seem to follow your script. I couldn’t help but overlook the notes you had — I’m sorry, at some point reading becomes something you do automatically.

Despite wishing she could run away, Kara knew that would create more problems than it would resolve. So instead she wondered politely:

— Even when the text is upside down?

Lena smiled, taking out a small palette out of her pocket. 

— You’d be surprised. At this point I think I could read something reflected left to right and upside down and not even notice that something is wrong unless someone pointed it out to me. I just…—  she chose a colour and continued, correcting a small shift of shade on her cheekbone, each movement making her pause for a brief second — I mostly meant that… you… skipped… some of the… questions on your list.

Oh.

— Oh, well, that happens all the time, sometimes people answer the questions before you have a chance to ask them directly.

— True, but that… wasn’t… the case here. Plus… plus from what I heard about miss Grant, she likes to approve the questions personally.

Having finished, Lena turned to Kara and smiled. 

— Don’t worry, you are not in trouble, like I said, I thought you had already left. I was just curious.

Kara didn’t know what to answer. Or what to do in general. Just apologise and leave? Stay and explain herself? Is this something that often happens to reporters? Probably not… Seeing Kara’s hesitation, Lena turned her attention to the mirror again, this time focusing on the eyes, and continued. 

— Again, this is not an interrogation, I was just curious why you skipped the questions about my brother. 

— I… ah… I thought… It just didn’t seem…

Lena looked at her again, raising her eyebrows. Kara felt cornered and desperately tried to come up with an answer that would not sound extremely naive or stupid. She tried to imagine what Richard would say in a situation like this and immediately had to admit to herself that he wouldn’t find himself in one in the first place. So she did the only thing she could, and just answered honestly.

— Asking these questions didn’t seem right. They were… they had nothing to do with your foundation, with the programs that you want to launch. This was what the interview was about, what was important, and using this opportunity to ask about something like this, it just seemed… wrong.

— I see.

That’s all, just ‘I see’, without even looking at Kara. Was it a good ‘I see’? A bad one? The following silence felt so awkward that Kara almost wished he had broken the tap off — it would at least make everything happen much more quickly.

— I am sorry, miss Luthor, I just —

— I was surprised, because this was the only interview in a while where I wasn’t asked about this in some shape or form. When the questions were approved by my assistants, they asked as always whether this topic was something I wanted to veto, and, to be honest, I am tempted to do that every time, but at some point I just decided that the more I try to fight it, the more curious people will be. Better to be boring and let people’s curiosity exhaust itself.

Kara felt her cheeks turning bright red. Of course. Of course Lena had agreed to the questions, of course they had to be pre-approved. This was something any proper journalist would know. She felt an incredibly stupid urge to offer to ask the questions now, to somehow correct her blunder. But before she could say anything, Lena continued.

— So I guess what I am trying to say, is ‘thank you’.

The words caught Kara off guard. She opened her mouth, then found that no words emerged, and so closed them again. In the meantime Lena continued working on her makeup, making small adjustments, checking the result in the mirror, then making a few more. Kara just stood there, completely dumbfounded. She felt like she had to say something. Anything. Except perhaps for what she actually found herself saying.

— I… to be honest miss Luthor, I wasn’t supposed to be the one interviewing you. I was just supposed to assist my colleague, but there was a storm, and the plane was cancelled, and we didn’t learn about it because the grid was down, and I… I was just a replacement. I think that’s one of the reasons I didn’t ask you these questions. I am not… I am not actually a proper reporter.

Lena smiled, still looking at herself in the mirror. 

— Could’ve fooled me. But I hope that your priorities aren’t just a matter of inexperience. 

She paused, and, seemingly satisfied with what the mirror was showing her, concluded her thought. 

— Not doing something just because you believe it is wrong is an admirable quality to have. And unfortunately a rare one.

This was the perfect point to end this conversation. She had done what she came for, Lena seemed happy with her, happy with the interview, everything was good. Except Kara wouldn’t be Kara if she let things being good stop her. Lena had just spend half an hour telling her how she was about to spend a mind boggling amount of money to fix a problem impacting half the world. She seemed intelligent, well spoken. And yet. This was Lex’s sister, telling her with a straight face how important it was to do the right thing. Rao, if she is a hypocrite, then why doesn’t she seem like one? Is she that good? And so of course Kara did the stupidest thing she could at this moment. She opened her mouth again.

— Miss Luthor? 

Lena turned to her again. 

— I am sorry, I… you might be disappointed in me after this, and I apologise, but… even if I didn’t ask about your brother, it doesn’t… I am not speaking as a journalist now. Everything you said about the foundation — it makes me believe in its mission. And what you’ve just said, about not doing what you think is wrong — I believe you. I believe you when you say it. But I’ve read so many of your interviews, and every time when people ask about your brother, when you have the opportunity to say the same thing, to say that what he did was wrong, you — you don’t. You never condemn him, you never talk about him, you avoid the question, I — I just can’t fit these two things together in my head.

The look Lena gave her wasn’t angry — there wasn’t any clear emotion behind it, except perhaps for curiosity. But just for a moment Kara felt the same shift she saw during the interview.

— I… I am sorry, I shouldn’t have, I —

— See? I knew you you would make a good journalist.

This was an accusation, but expressed without any malice, just as a statement of fact. Kara didn’t know how to respond. And so she just stared at Lena’s shoes, feeling like her entire face was about to catch on fire. She’d had a plan. She came here to quietly observe Lena, to study her reactions carefully, avoiding unnecessary risk. She knew asking this was the stupidest thing she could have done and then went ahead and did it anyway. And now she was about to face the consequences.

— Did you know that our brain is responsible for about twenty percent of our metabolic load?

This was not what Kara was expecting to hear at all. She raised her eyes at Lena and saw that she wasn’t looking back. Lena was looking up, seemingly studying the ceiling.

— I… I think I’ve heard something like that?

— Only roughly about two percent of our body weight, and yet so expensive. Not something people usually think about, and yet… On a purely physical level, thinking requires energy. Generating signals, shifting electrical potentials, generating and releasing neurotransmitters — the more elements are involved, the more it all costs. Do you know what that means?

Kara just shook her head. Lena still wasn’t looking at her, still studying the bathroom ceiling, but she either registered the motion, or wasn’t waiting for an answer.

— It means that complexity is expensive. We — I mean people — like to simplify things. That’s not a flaw or a sign of laziness, that’s just how our brains work, we wouldn’t be able to operate without it. We receive information from the world around us and our brain tries to store it. It changes in response to this information, adapting, in order get better at predicting what’s coming next. But the amount of information is so high that we can’t just record everything as is, if we did that, we would run up the energy bill very quickly and with little to show for it. So instead, over time, we generalise, optimise, simplify. Complex concepts get broken down into their constituent parts, similar things are packed and merged together, important things are preserved, redundant or unimportant ones are slowly forgotten. 

Suddenly Lena’s gaze dropped down and her green eyes pointed right at Kara.

— I know what Lex has done. Of course I do. I know how many people are dead now because of him and how many will likely develop health complications in the next decade. I also know that when I was nine and woke up in the middle of the night in a house I had never been to, crying because my mother was dead, a twelve year old boy ran to me, hugged me and sat with me until the sun rose, telling me stories about the Greek pantheon. Both of these things are true and I can not simplify this — can not simplify him — any further by ignoring either of them.

Lena smiled, but by the time the smile reached her eyes, only exhaustion remained.

— I don’t expect this to matter to anyone else. I am not asking anyone to think any different of him. I just wish people showed me the same courtesy.

She paused.

— Although I understand why they don’t. Of course.

Silence followed. Kara wished she knew what to say, how to react to the unexpected explanation. But instead she just felt like she’d done something wrong.

— I… I am sorry, miss Luthor, I didn’t mean to —

— It is fine, you have nothing to apologise for, miss Danvers. After all, you decided not to ask the question even when you could, so I wanted to… reciprocate. So to speak. I can only hope that you will understand.

Kara kept searching for words, but eventually just nodded.

— Good. However, please do remember that this is a gesture of trust on my part, and if even a word of what was said leaves this room, I will be very upset.

Despite the polite tone and unexpected sincerity, the last word could clearly be interpreted as a threat. However, to her surprise, Kara didn’t find the implication offensive or unreasonable. Instead, strangely, it felt almost like a request.

— I… appreciate your trust, miss Luthor. Thank you. 

Lena just nodded, without saying a word.

— And it… it is absolutely not my place to give you advice, but I think a lot more people would understand this than you think.

Lena just shook her head a little and smiled, this time almost wistfully

— Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if that were true, miss Danvers. 

After Lena had left, Kara just stood there for a while, staring into space, trying to process what just happened. Eventually she gave up and slipped out, called the elevator and a few minutes later found herself standing on the street, looking up at the grey sky. The rain had stopped. Pedestrians steered close to the buildings to avoid getting drenched by the cascades of water, raised by the careless drivers. A pair with a kid rushed by, worrying out loud if they will make it in time for the rehearsal. A woman on the phone argued with someone about the latest delivery. Two girls stood under a single umbrella, looking at their phone and giggling. A group of middle-aged businessmen were trying and failing to hail a taxi. Nobody either noticed or cared about Kara, except for the kid being rushed to the rehearsal, who stepped on her foot and managed to let out an out of breath “sorry!“, before being pulled away. The city felt alive, buzzing, and none of this had to do with her. For some reason Kara found that comforting. Absentmindedly, she started walking down the street, and for a while just allowed herself to get lost in the activity around her. About fifteen minutes later she found herself sitting on a dry spot on the bench under some trees, holding a cup of coffee and a pastry she didn’t even remember buying. For a while she sat there, sipping coffee and allowing herself to not think about anything at all.

A realization that suddenly hit Kara ten minutes later would have sent the cup of coffee flying, had she not have finished it. She jumped back to her feet and quickly hailed a taxi. What happened, no matter how confusing or stressful it was — that was the easy part. Now she had to find a way to explain it all to miss Grant, preferably in such a way that wouldn’t result in her losing either her head or her job.

Oh… oh crap.

Post-scriptum, a week later. 

The mail was usually delivered to CatCo’s offices all at once. Collected and sorted from the shared postbox, it landed on the desks of the employees in the morning, often waiting for them when they turned up for work. That day was no different. But, despite seeing the envelope laying on her desk first thing in the morning, Kara didn’t get to it until early afternoon. Partially because she immediately forgot about it, as it looked very unremarkable, but mostly because for the past week she had been drowning in work that miss Grant assigned to her. Not only had miss Grant not been kidding about taking into account Kara’s “previously hidden capacities for efficiency“, but Kara’s interview had quite a few consequences as well. Luckily, being fired wasn’t one of them. 

When she finally picked up the envelope, Kara was surprised at how rigid it felt. Looking through it she saw nothing but paper, just a lot of it, so she tore the envelope open and studied its contents. The rigidity was explained immediately — inside this envelope there was another one, as well as a short note:

Dear miss Danvers,

Please pass the enclosed envelope to your cousin, Mr. Kent, discretely and without opening it. Unfortunately I can not clarify this request or provide context for it, but based on our conversation I hope I can make an assumption of trusting you again.

Lena Luthor