Chapter 1
The air is stifling.
Ok. Maybe not stifling.
It’s stale and recirculated and smells of reheated coffee and…feet. Yes, Cat decides. Definitely feet.
She reaches up with a little effort to direct the steady stream of air slightly away from her head, grimacing as she imagines the germs being blown straight into her face.
The coach class seat she’s currently occupying is only necessary to avoid a literal nightmare within her young media company. She just couldn’t wait to get her preferred first class seat. Her relaxing time at the beach had to be cut short to return to National City to control the chaos, the time she had squandered away to ease the strain on her mind…and on her body, now that it’s no longer just her to think about.
Cat circles her hands around her belly…almost 7 ½ months along and doing fine as long as she can get a handle on the stress that had chased her to the beach in the first place. She sighs and leans her head back against the seat. She’ll solve these issues and back to rest she’ll go. Cat lets out a long slow breath and closes her eyes as she hears the cabin doors thunk shut.
It doesn’t even take a minute for her quiet to be interrupted. Her eyes blink open to watch as a tall, dark-skinned man sits across from her, his expression hard as stone. He turns his head to the side to stare down a young girl, maybe twelve…thirteen? Her head is bowed, light brown hair falling around her shoulders with just a tiny touch of blonde streaking through.
Cat bristles at his hard expression. What could just a slip of a girl have done to evoke that kind of…anger. Then she sees them. As the girl turns her head to peek out of the darkened window, the coat in her lap shifts, revealing the glowing green cuffs around her wrists. Cat’s back stiffens and she cuts her eyes towards his face. She startles to see that she’s not the only one being observant when she finds his dark eyes settled on her now.
“Something wrong, Ma’am?” he grits out.
Cat shifts in her seat and sits up as straight as her belly will allow, doing her best to be imposing. “Are those really necessary?” she seethes, motioning to the quiet girl. “She’s just a kid.”
“It’s none of your concern, Miss Grant.”
“How do you know my name?” she balks.
His lips twist into a wry smile. “I know lots of things, most importantly that this girl is none of your concern.”
“I…” she’s interrupted when another bulk of a man stops to lean over and deliver a message to his ear. He nods and leans over to the girl, murmuring a few clipped words before he rises from his seat to travel a few rows back. The plane is taxiing now. She can feel the bumps of the runway with every foot. He’s gone long enough for the plane to lift into the air and Cat finally lets her death grip loose on the arms of her seat when she feels it level out.
“I’m ok,” a soft voice says from the window seat across from her.
The girl. Cat catches her eyes, as blue as she’s ever seen and leans forward a little. “Are you really?” she finally asks, taking in her calm demeanor.
She nods. “Yes. I’m ok, but thank you for asking about me.” The girl drops her head again to shrug the coat into the seat next to her. “These…” she says as she motions to the cuffs, “they don’t hurt. They just keep me from doing strange things. It’s better this way.”
Cat stares. She’s read all the stories, even had her own reporters on some of them. A lot of the aliens came from some sort of prison, fallen from space and releasing its contents in the desert. Criminals descending upon earth…well, it doesn’t give the greatest first impression. “It’s not ok for you to be locked up like that. You didn’t arrive on earth in the prison, did you?” Cat asks, having a strong feeling she was sitting next to the exception.
The girl’s head snaps up. “N…no. I was in a stasis pod. I was sent to take care of my baby cousin,” she trails off looking out the window again. “But I was knocked off course for a…” she stops and looks down into her lap again, “for a long time. He didn’t need me anymore when I got here…and then they found me,” she shrugs, not telling the whole story, her eyes darting a few rows back where Cat can even feel their presence.
“My name is Cat,” she says leaning forward as much as she can with her limited mobility. She holds out a hand in greeting.
The girl just stares…first at her hand, then up to her face. The woman seems…kind, and unafraid. She lifts both hands out, not quite understanding the custom, but letting loose a tiny grin when Cat envelopes one of her hands in hers, squeezing pleasantly. “Kara,” she says quietly. “My name is Kara Zor El.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kara Zor El,” Cat smiles. She shuffles back into her comfortable position and pulls her hand back to rest on her stomach.
Kara’s eyes suddenly go comically wide. “You’re…” she stutters. “You’re…there’s a baby,” she whispers in awe as she shifts to the edge of her seat.
Cat chuckles. “Yes. There is definitely a baby. A baby that’s decided to come alive on this plane,” she grimaces as she feels her soon-to-be-son kick her like a future striker.
Kara looks horrified. “Does it hurt?” she squeaks out in a panic.
“No, not really. Just…like a strong thump,” Cat explains. “Have you never been around a pregnant woman before?” she asks softly.
Kara suddenly retreats, sitting back in her seat and dropping her head. Cat starts to reach out but then realizes the reason for her sudden retreat. A few strong footsteps and the man takes his seat once again, glancing quickly to his charge before settling his gaze across the seat to Cat.
She tucks her arm in closer when she realizes the flight attendants are making their way down the aisle with the meal cart. As it passes to stop a few rows behind them, she levels her gaze at her stone-faced neighbor. “Don’t you think it’s ok to take those off for her to eat? Agent…?”
“Henshaw. Hank Henshaw and I think she’ll manage,” he says, never taking his eyes off of her.
Cat only smirks. “You know who I am, Mr. Henshaw. And if you know that, you know what I can make happen,” she watches as his face hardens impossibly more. “I just want the girl to be able to eat a meal out of handcuffs. Is that such a big deal?” she asks sweetly. She sees Kara stir, then her heart swells when she sees her slightly lift her cuffed hands in his direction.
His jaw clenches but he only hesitates a second before reaching into his pocket and retrieving a mechanism which releases the cuffs. “Remember what we talked about?” he asks gruffly.
“Yes, Mr. Henshaw,” Kara nods quickly, happy to be rid of the harsh light of her own world. She rubs her wrists and shivers as the effects of the mineral fade, then her eyes widen as a plate of food is handed over to her.
Cat smiles and Henshaw huffs and Kara inhales her food. Before the flight attendant can even make it down the aisle, Cat reaches out a hand, “I think we’re going to need a few more plates for this one. My treat,” she hands over her credit card with a dismissive wave.
A loud voice behind them sends Henshaw into a near panic. He stands stiffly out of his seat to look behind them, shooting a look down at Kara who’s immersed in her food. “Go,” Cat urges. “She’s not going anywhere.” He nods quickly and then he’s off.
Kara looks up briefly and swallows. “Thank you, Cat,” she says, her words sharp and crisp as though the cuffs were holding back the accent of her own world. “They don’t believe how hungry I can be,” she smiles as she shovels in another spoonful. “Does…does being pregnant make you more hungry?” she asks timidly.
“A little,” Cat laughs, “but usually just for strange combinations of foods.”
Kara smiles, but then it fades just a bit. “What you asked me before…no. There hadn’t been natural births on my world for a long time until…”
Cat cocks her head in question. “Until?”
“My cousin,” Kara breathes. “He was the first in a long, long time. Longer than I’ve been alive…even longer than my mother had been alive…” she says softly.
Cat shifts forward again and taps Kara on the knee. “I’m sure you would have taken excellent care of him if you’d arrived when you were supposed to, Kara.”
Kara looks at her in wonder. “Thank you. Your baby,” she begins, her eyes darting to Cat’s stomach. “Your son?” she asks timidly.
Cat’s breath catches. She had heard of some of their abilities, but never would have guessed… “You…can see him?” she whispers.
Kara smiles and nods. “Yes, he’s beautiful.”
“I…” Cat falters when a round of turbulence shakes the plane. She grips her armrests tightly as the plane continues to shake violently. She looks across to see Kara’s eyes in a panic as she sits up in her seat. “Kara, keep your seatbelt on.”
“It’s…it’s not turbulence,” the girl mutters, reaching down to release the catch and glancing out the window with an air of responsibility a teenager shouldn’t have to have. She suddenly sees fire and debris as an explosion shakes the back of the plane.
“Kara, please, put your seatbelt back on,” Cat pleads as the shaking gets stronger, the noise…louder. Then she gasps as the plane lurches and the oxygen masks fall from the overhead compartments. She reaches out but the suck of oxygen is too great from the massive hole that is now in the back of the plane. “Ka…” she tries to speak, but her vision has gone blurry. The only thing she can see is the thin form of the girl in front of her. Kara reaches forward and releases her seatbelt and the rest is a blur of wind and light.
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Cat comes to under harsh fluorescent lights. People are shouting. Kara is shouting.
“Ma’am, everything is going to be alright.” A woman is speaking to her right, but there is a strong hold on her left hand.
“What happened?” she rasps, her throat dry, the pain overwhelming.
“Everything is ok. You were in an accident, but this young lady brought you here…somehow and we’re going to take care of you,” the woman assures her.
“Ka…Kara?” Cat asks as she rolled down a hallway, light after light blinding her eyes.
“I’m here,” she hears Kara’s light voice beside her, “but I need to go. You’re going to be fine, Cat. I promise.”
The lights overhead change and Kara is gone as the elevator takes them up and away.
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Cat rushes up the stairs, barking orders into her cell phone as she goes. She needs to be across town ten minutes ago and the best way to get there…well the evening traffic report is going to have a guest star because she cannot wait. She’s in the passenger seat before the pilot can even do a double-take and Cat is snapping her fingers in annoyance. “Let’s go flyboy. Time is wasting,” she says as she buckles in and settles the heavy headset carefully over her perfectly coifed hair.
He gives a helpless look to the controller only to get raised hands and a quirky smile in response, so he starts flipping switches in preparation for takeoff. What none of them notice is the vibrating cable strapped down to the landing pad with loose and shaking brackets.
The wind is whipping lightly, but the pilot has dealt with ten times worse. He starts the takeoff smoothly, barely disturbing the perusal of her recent text messages…but then, a sharp crack brings both of their focus to the front of the copter.
“What was that?” she asks in a panic.
“Let me check, Miss Grant,” he says quickly, switching over channels with ease. “Controller, status check on copter 9…heard a loud pop just a second ago. Any info for me?”
Meanwhile, Cat is pantomiming the word ‘Pop’ to his side in disbelief. She stows her cell away and looks around, hoping to spot the problem before anyone else. She’s left searching as she hears the controller give the go ahead and she feels the subtle lift once again.
It’s not subtle for long as she feels the copter lurch to the side almost immediately, swinging violently to the side, metal crunching along concrete as it slides dangerously close to the edge. “Think we found the issue,” she growls as she holds on for dear life. Her seatbelt suddenly allows her to lurch forward and the pilot reaches out a hand. “Hold on to the stick,” she growls again, clinging to the frame of the door, her heels slipping against the slick surface of the frame.
“Hold tight, Miss Grant,” he begins as he reaches forward and starts flipping switches to shut the engines down. “We’ll have you out and sa…” his words are cut off when a sharp flick of a cable snaps through the window and knocks him unconscious.
Cat is left speechless as she watches the blood stream from under his helmet. It drips on the console between them and brings tears to her eyes. She has to get out…somehow. A short struggle and she’s free of the seatbelt, but also leaning all of her weight against the door and all of a sudden, Cat realizes…this is how she’s going to die.
She thought it might have been six years ago on that doomed flight from the coast, when a chance encounter with an extraordinary girl literally saved her life…and the life of her son.
Oh god.
Her son…her heart clenches and her hands tighten around the dash of the copter. She has to fight…for Carter. He doesn’t have anyone else. She takes a few deep breaths before shifting her weight slightly. The copter groans and the metal creaks and her whole body shakes in fear. Cat takes a chance look down over the side of the building…her building. Flashing lights cover the streets below already but as she hears the metal whine and groan, she wonders if they will have anyone left to save.
She settles herself again before making a stark grab for the opposite side of the craft. It lurches almost immediately and she sets her feet upon the opposite door to push. She’s climbing over the pilot, scrambling for her life, but it gives way…she’s falling, grasping for anything as she goes.
Cat ends up hanging from one end of her seatbelt, the door busted open and she can even hear the voices of the crowd that’s gathered below. ‘What a way to go’ she thinks, splattered in the front of her own building. She doesn’t think for long, as her grip slips and she’s free-falling before she can realize.
A few seconds pass…she sees the bright shine of her own name on the side of the building she’s built her career on…CATCO, in bright lights…even brighter when you’re on your way to your death. Suddenly, those letters stop moving…she stops moving and Cat realizes that she’s held in warm arms from behind.
“I’ve got you,” a deep, breathless voice says.
Cat tries to stop hyperventilating. “You’ve got me…who’s got you?” she rasps, looking down upon the flashing lights and camera flashes. There’s no answer as they suddenly speed upward and her flying savior catches the falling helicopter with one hand, lifting it effortlessly to the top of the CATCO building.
After the aircraft is set down, the hold on her is loosened as well, but Cat is nowhere near letting go of her savior. “Kara…” she breathes. “I know it’s you.”
“I need to go, Cat…”
“I can help you, if you would just let me. They need to know that you’re not here to hurt people. That’s all they know,” Cat pleads as she turns. She’s met with a hooded figure, her long blonde hair barely visible. She’s tall, taller than her by at least three and a half…four inches.
“I’m…trying to show them, but it has to be on my terms,” she says softly, before lifting her hands to sweep back the soft gray hoodie hiding her face.
Cat is suddenly hit by the fierce blue eyes she first met six years ago on a doomed airline flight, along with a face that could stop traffic on a good day. “I can help, Kara…when you’re ready.” She scrambles for the thin wallet still in her pocket and pulls out a tiny picture. It’s Carter on his first day of kindergarten. “Here. Carter…my son. He wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you,” she says lightly as Kara takes the thin paper from her hands. “He was born that night, Kara. When you saved me,” she sniffs.
“He looks like you,” she says, glancing to Cat with a wide smile, making the older woman gasp in a breath.
Kara ducks to pull her hoodie over her head. “I’m ok, Cat. Go, be safe,” she says trying to hand over the tiny picture back to Cat’s hands.
“No. Keep it,” the older woman insists. “You’re the reason he’s alive. Remember that, Kara, and when you’re ready, you find me. I’m ready to help.”
“It’s not safe...”
“I don’t care. Find me when you’re ready. We’ll be ok, I promise.”
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He swipes his hands across his slacks one more time before approaching her office. God, how he wished his desk had been further away when she fired her last assistant. He’s an IT guy, not an errand boy.
“Yes, Whitmore?”
“Um…it’s actually Wi…”
“Is there a point in there somewhere?” she asks from behind her startling white desk.
He exhales a slow breath. “Miss Grant, your 10:15 is here,” he says before quickly turning on his heel and retreating to hide at his desk.
“My 10:15…I’m sure is the most ambitious millennial I’ve ever encountered…oh, I’m different from all the others…” Cat mocks as she decimates the layout in front of her.
“I would say with some certainty that I’m different from all the others.” Cat stops her movement and her favorite pen drops from her fingers. She glances a look up into those same blue eyes that she hasn’t seen for at least another six years.
“Kara,” she breathes, taking in the preppy pastel cardigan and pencil skirt. “You…you look different.”
The young woman laughs. “Well, I figured if I needed to see the Queen of all Media, I needed a pretty good reason to do so without drawing suspicion,” she murmurs, taking a glance at the workers behind Cat’s glass walls. “I’m not really here to be your assistant,” she whispers playfully, leaning just a tiny bit closer to Cat’s gleaming desk. “I was hoping to take you up on your offer…for help,” she finally says.
“My…help?” Cat asks as she stand and comes to rest her hip against the corner of her desk closest to the younger woman.
“You said if I ever needed help, to find you. I did. It wasn’t that hard,” she smiles back.
“That I did. So, Kara, what do you need from me? I certainly owe you more than I can ever repay,” Cat breathes.
“I…I want to help people. I want to be a…hero?” Kara asks in such an innocent, oblivious way that it pains Cat for a second. “Can you help me be that? If I just want to help?”
Cat pauses for a second and takes a self-indulgent look from head to toe. Gorgeous, blonde, blue eyed Kryptonian, ready to put herself on the line for the greater good… “Kara, I’m more than happy to help you with whatever you want…but, is this really…safe for you? You’ll be under public scrutiny…the people you were afraid of…”
“We’ve come to a bit of a truce,” Kara interrupts. “I’ve proven to them that I’m here to help, nothing more.”
“Then, I guess it’s all up to you, Kara Zor El.”
“You remember?” she whispers.
“I remember every second of every minute we’ve been together. I promise you that.”
“I want to be a hero, Cat. I want to make you proud and my adoptive family,” she hesitates...but stands taller in that glass office. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a worn picture. “I want to make Carter proud,” she says as she lays the tiny picture in Cat’s hand.
Tears prick Cat’s eyes and she closes her fingers around the tiny picture. She ducks back behind her desk quickly to jot down her address on a piece of paper. “My place, tonight. Dinner. We’ll talk more about what you want to accomplish. We’ll work out a plan,” Cat says quickly. “Carter will be there.”
Kara’s eyes snap up to hers and she swallows thickly. “He…he’ll be there? I…are you ok that I’ll be around him?” she asks nervously.
Cat gives her an eyeroll and stalks around the desk to stand right in front of her. She settles the sharp point of her finger in the middle of Kara’s chest. “You saved our lives, Kara. We wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you. I trust you more than anyone, I promise.”
Kara can only nod, unable to take her eyes away from Cat’s sly smile and her sparkling green eyes. This is the third time that promises have been made between them and she’s pretty sure, from the way just a single touch sets off a flood of warmth throughout her, it won’t be the last.
It definitely won't be the last.