Chapter 12
The brunette and the blonde continued to stare at each other, assessing, calculating. Cat wasn’t sure what to make of the woman in front of her, but it was clear that she was a leader, a warrior. She just wasn’t sure why she was watching her family. “You are either a very brave or very stupid human,” the dark woman spoke, her eyes narrowed.
“You aren’t the first person to say that to me,” Cat replied, still sipping at her wine. “Though those who did say that were quickly proven wrong on the latter part.”
The woman landed softly on the balcony, her stance wide, rigid, definitely a warrior’s stance. “You dare call me by that… that silly human fantasy?”
“Well you were the one leaving presents from Santa for me and my children for the last few years, so I believe the saying goes if the shoe fits…” The blonde took great pleasure in seeing the other woman faltering in her stance, even just slightly and for only a moment before righting herself.
“I do not know of what you speak,” she stated, looking away from the piercing hazel eyes in front of her.
Cat rolled her eyes and finished off her glass of wine. She collected her book and wine glass as she stood and sauntered over to the sliding glass door, the sway present in her hips even when she was dressed down in yoga pants and a loose shirt. She could feel the woman’s suspicious gaze on her as she moved and Cat turned back to look at her when she reached the door. “Well,” she started, “Are you coming to come in or are you going to continue stalking around in the shadows?” She didn’t wait for the woman to answer, just walked into the penthouse leaving the balcony door open. Cat retreated to the kitchen, instantly cursing herself in her mind for being so foolish as to invite the unknown woman into her home. I don’t even invite men back here after dates, she chastised herself as she refilled her wine glass.
She turned around and her hand involuntarily flew to her chest at seeing the woman standing in her kitchen looking around. “I’ve never really looked around before,” the woman explained seeing Cat’s look, “I’ve only ventured to that tree you put up and leave gifts, I had heard that that is what is done during the dark time of the year, delivered by some rotund, flying elf.” Her brow furrowed as she thought about the Christmas legend, “I never saw him and I didn’t want Kara to be disappointed.”
“So you are coming around for Kara,” Cat murmured, “I had wondered since I only started to feel your eyes watching us a few months after Kara came to live here. So who are you and what do you want with Kara?”
The woman was silent for a few moments before fully turning her attention to the shorter blonde. “I wanted to see the woman who adopted my niece, the woman she now calls mother,” she said, her gaze hard but searching.
Cat processed what the woman said and her mind flickered back to Kara talking about her family, mentioning and aunt, her mother’s twin sister. “You’re Astra,” she stated, “Astra In-Ze.”
“My niece has informed you about her family.” It was more of a statement than a question but Cat still felt like answering her.
“She has instructed me about many things,” Cat replied, the kryptonese rolling off her tongue with ease.
It was only years of training that helped Cat recognize the surprise in the other woman’s eyes. “She has taught you her native language.”
“I asked her to, I didn’t want her to have to sacrifice any more of her culture, her heritage than she already had,” the blonde woman replied. “And she learned our language, a lot of our languages really, so it was only right that my son and I do the same. Thankfully we’re both brilliant so it hasn’t taken us long to learn it.”
“The Kryptonian tongue is rather difficult.”
Cat shrugged and reverted to English, “It has some similarities to languages on Earth, similar sounds so it wasn’t completely foreign.”
Astra nodded, “I have underestimated humans, I apologize.”
The blonde studied the alien woman for a moment, downing a bit of the wine in her glass. “Would you care for a glass? I would point out that Kara wasn’t here, but I think you already know that.”
“Yes, apparently you sent her somewhere to a city of bats?” Astra’s face was puzzled, “I am unsure how she will learn to control her powers from bats.”
“They’re special bats,” Cat smirked, pouring a glass of wine for the woman and handing it to her. “Just sip, don’t gulp.” The blonde watched at the dark woman sniffed experimentally at the drink before taking a sip. “So why are you here Astra?” Cat soldiered on, “How are you here?”
Astra ignored the questions and just continued to sip at her drink. “I don’t want Kara to know that I’m here,” she said finally after a few minutes. “She can’t know that I’m here.”
“Why not?” Cat demanded, “Do you know how many times that girl has cried over losing her entire family, her entire world? Do you know how many nights I’ve held her as she cried, comforted her after her nightmares? Do you know how many tears she has cried for her father, her mother, you?” She glared at the woman, a hiss building up in her throat, “Do you know how much it’ll mean to her that you’re still alive?”
“Do not test me human,” Astra commanded, her eyes glowing with the light from her heat vision.
“You can drop the dramatics, you don’t scare me Astra,” Cat replied, setting her hands on the counter. “You should be afraid of me truthfully.”
Astra scoffed, “I am invincible on your planet, what can you do to me?”
Cat’s eyes narrowed and she moved around the counter to stand toe-to-toe with the other woman. “I don’t know what type of woman your sister was, obviously she was a good mother because Kara turned out as wonderful as she has,” she started, “But I’m her mother now, she’s my responsibility, and I will be damned if I let anyone hurt her. If you do anything, hurt her in anyway, I will use all of my resources to be able to kick your ass from here all the way back to Krypton’s galaxy.” Her eyes darkened as she glared at the woman, “Are we clear?”
“You are a strong woman Catherine Grant,” the brunette replied after a few moments. “I still do not want Kara to know that I am around, I was merely checking on her to make sure that she was taking in by a good family. I see now that she was adopted by a warrior.”
“I’m not going to make you be in Kara’s life, I’m not going to make you see her. She should only have people that want to see her around her, she’s lost enough already. But if you aren’t going to talk to her, she cannot see you,” Cat emphasized, “You cannot hang around where she could see you. It would hurt her to know that you’re still alive but don’t want to see her.”
Astra nodded and downed the rest of her wine in one gulp before moving to leave the penthouse. “For what it’s worth, I do want to see Kara,” she whispered before she left. “I want to hold her and kiss her and never let go. I couldn’t love a child more if she was my own daughter.”
“Then why won’t you see her?”
“It’s because I love her,” she replied, “That I can’t see her. Things are complicated, things about me, about the world. I cannot drag her into that, not when she’s so young and still growing.” A sad smile crossed her face, “She is beautiful though, so beautiful. It is enough for now for me to see her from afar, to see her happy, to see her being loved.” She glanced over at the smaller woman, “And I have you to thank for that, for raising her, loving her. The house of El, the house of In-Ze owes you a debt for taking care of our heir without any reward for your own house.” The woman left the dining room, retreating towards the balcony. She was about to take off when Cat approached her again.
“I did receive a reward,” Cat said before the woman left. “The greatest reward is having Kara as a daughter, having her in my family, in my life. I wouldn’t be the same person that I am now if I hadn’t met her two years ago. The reward is having her around, just remember that. If you sort yourself out, I’m sure Kara would welcome you with open arms.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Astra whispered before taking off into the night.
Cat sighed as she watched the woman flew out of sight. “At least I know now where Kara got her height…”
Kara flew slowly over the city, her dark clothes cloaking her figure and she stayed well out of sight from anyone that might be looking out of their windows. Mostly out sight anyway. A grappling hook flew out of nowhere and wrapped around her form with a rope tied to it and she was yanked down out of the sky onto one of the nearby buildings. “I keep telling you,” Batwoman’s voice came as Kara groaned into the concrete. “You’ve got to pay attention to your surroundings.”
“I was,” Kara whined, pulling the rope off and setting the grappling hook down. “I mean, I was watching everything, and listening, you snuck up on me!”
Batwoman scoffed and stared down at the younger girl. “Sneaking up on a Kryptonian? I don’t think so, what if some villain had gotten hold of you?”
“It’s not like there’s anything they could do to me,” Kara refuted, pushing herself off the ground. She folded her arms in front of her and her lower lip pushed out in a pout.
“Don’t try the pout with me, it doesn’t work anymore, and you and I both know there’s at least one thing in this world that can hurt you,” the dark knight replied, stepping closer to the younger girl. “And that’s what we have to be careful of since nefarious people seem to have their hands on it, shady government types. What if they decide to capture you and experiment on you, or do other horrible things like make you do your own taxes without the help of a consultant-”
“Kate…”
“What I’m saying is that you’re not completely invulnerable,” the woman said, setting a hand on Kara’s shoulder. “I mean, Bruce is working on building a device that emits red sun rays to limit your powers so that you can train with us better, so that will be another thing that makes you vulnerable, though way less toxic than Kryptonite.” Batwoman sighed and ran a hand through her hair, “I don’t want you to get hurt, someone catching you unaware with Kryptonite or who knows what else might be able to knock you out is one of the best ways for someone to hurt you.”
Kara nodded, “I understand, so what do you suggest I do? I mean, I didn’t even hear you sneaking up on me.”
“I think it might have something to do with your powers. You block out a lot of stuff don’t you? Small noises, things that seem inconsequential?” At Kara’s nod, Kate continued, “I think you need to learn to train your mind to listen for things without letting them overwhelm you. Meditation will definitely help with this, so will practice and learning how to listen, what to listen for.” She lightly scuffed her boots on the ground and cocked the gun for her grappling hook, “These are the sounds I made while I was stalking you on the rooftops, other people looking to take you down quietly will make similar sounds either from rooftops or the ground. Honing your reflexes will probably also help in this area.”
“So what do we do now?” Kara asked, her mind cataloguing the sounds Kate mentioned.
“Now we head home for the night, watch some movies, eat some junk food. You only have a few days left in Gotham before you head back to National City, and we’re resigned to communicating through phone calls and texts only until next summer when you must come back.” She linked her arm through Kara’s and escorted her to the edge of the building.
“I’m going to miss you Kate, but I will definitely be coming next summer to hang out, maybe you could come to National City for Thanksgiving or Christmas?”
“I can probably do Thanksgiving, and I’m jewish so I celebrate Hanukkah rather than Christmas, and I usually celebrate with my father and step-mother as a way to honor my mother’s memory, even though I’m not really a practicing Jew.”
“What is Hanukkah?” Kara asked, recalling that she heard the term mentioned around Christmas but no one really told her what it was.
“I’ll tell you when we get back to the penthouse. In the meantime, I didn’t bring my bike when I left for the night, but I left the balcony door unlocked so…”
“You just want to fly don’t you?”
“Yes!” Batwoman grinned, “I just really want to fly, please give me a ride.” Kara turned around and pointed to her back, letting the dark clad woman to grab onto her back and wind her arms around her neck. She could barely contain the grin on her face when the blonde lightly pushed off the roof and flew back to the penthouse. It was only a matter of seconds before Kara was landing on the balcony just outside of her living room and Batwoman released the younger girl, stumbling slightly to the ground. “Oh that was so much fun,” she breathed, “We so have to do that again sometime.”
Kara giggled and the two slipped into the penthouse through the balcony door. “So what movie are we going to watch?” The blonde called out to the older girl as she shed her clothes for a pair of pajamas.
“Harry Potter, I figured we could watch the first two tonight and maybe the other two tomorrow.” Kate popped the movie in the DVD player when she returned from ditching her bat suit. The movie began playing and when they reached the scene with the sorting hat, Kate turned to the younger girl. “So what house would you be in?”
“Mom said I’m basically a Hufflepuff,” Kara replied. “We had a movie marathon one time with my best friend Lena. Apparently she and my mom are in Slytherin, and both of them were like if anyone hurts my sweet, caring little Hufflepuff… I wasn’t quite sure what they were talking about.”
Kate snorted into the beer that she had retrieved from her fridge, choking back a laugh. “I can picture Cat being in Slytherin, and as for what they meant, well… Any future boyfriend or girlfriend of yours better be very wary of your mother and best friend. Slytherins are scary.”
“Okay…” Kara muttered, still unsure as to what the older girl meant. “So what house would you be in?”
“Definitely Gryffindor, though I do have some Ravenclaw tendencies, but my penchant for running into danger, fighting people, developing a hero persona to protect people and my military upbringing, definitely Gryffindor, all the way.” She set her beer down and leaned over the back of the couch and wrapped her arms around the younger girl’s neck. “And I won’t let anyone hurt the cute, sweet little Hufflepuff, no sir.”
“Kate,” Kara whined, “just watch the movie.”
“I will, I will, I’m just going to call in some pizza for us. There’s a place nearby that delivers late.”
“Didn’t we have dinner a few hours ago before we went out?”
“Are you saying that you’re not hungry?”
“... I could eat,” came the murmured response and Kate smiled. They had gone over this a few times since the girl started staying with her a couple weeks ago. She had enough money to cover the blonde’s food expenses, and it wasn’t any trouble for her to whip up a meal or order something from her when she was hungry. Kate wasn’t sure where the girl’s hangup about how much food she needed to eat came from, but she was almost positive it wasn’t from Cat. The woman could afford practically anything, and judging by how large her media empire was growing, Cat could keep the girl well fed for years to come. She suspected that the girl’s self-righteous cousin had something to do with her insecurities but she didn’t know for sure. As far as she knew, Kara didn’t have much contact with the man, but when she wanted to, the girl was surprisingly good about keeping secrets. Kate would have to send a message to Cat and let her know about her suspicions.
She dialed the number for the local pizza place before letting the doorman know to expect a delivery and headed back to the couch. Kara was engrossed with the movie so Kate pulled out her phone and sent a text to Cat.
You awake Cat lady?
Of course I’m awake, sleep is for slackers, and what have I told you about calling me that Batty?
About the same things I’ve told you about calling me Batty.
Whatever, what do you want, is Kara okay? If one hair on her head is out of place?
Geez, chill woman, she’s fine. Now I can see the Slytherin traits Kara told me about.
What was that Batty?
Nothing, look, the reason I texted is because Kara has some serious food insecurities, and I doubt that is your doing, so what gives?
Still? I thought we had gotten over this. I don’t know, it crops up every now and then, started a few months ago.
Kate paused for a moment when the buzzer rang, and she went down to the lobby to retrieve the pizza. She set two of the pizza boxes in front of Kara, knowing that the girl would eventually eat her way through both of them throughout the movies, and probably what was left of hers too. Does she have much contact with her cousin? She typed out to Cat, This seems like one of those things that can only be caused by family.
He does have her cell-phone number, despite my thoughts about it. It wouldn’t surprise me if something he said got to her.
Do you want me to talk to her or do you want to do it?
… She might listen to you more in this case than me, I’m sad to admit. I will, however, be having words with the man in blue who can’t help but stick his nose in other people’s busy. Let me know how it goes with Kara.
I will.
Oh and Batty? If even one hair is out of place when she comes home next week…
You’ll rip off my wings, got it Cat Lady. Kate set down the phone and turned her attention back to the movie, glancing at Kara every now and then as the girl happily munched at her pizza. She wasn’t sure how to approach the issue with Kara, but she decided to wait until the girl had eaten more, just in case it caused her to feel guilty and she stopped.
Kara was halfway through her second pizza and Kate had just put the second movie in when she realized that it was as good a time as any to have the discussion. “Kara,” she started, turning on the couch to look at the girl, “I have a question.”
“Mhm,” the blonde murmured, her mouth still full of pizza and her eyes still trained on the screen.
“Where did your hangup about food come from?”
Kara paused and set her pizza down, looking down at her lap. “What do you mean?”
Kate crossed her legs on the couch as she faced the younger girl, a serious expression on her face. “I mean why do you get so nervous sometimes about being hungry, about having to eat so much? From what I understand, Cat has never made you feel like a burden for how much you need to eat, and she has enough money to buy you as much food as you need. I have enough to buy you what you need, so what is the deal?”
“It’s nothing,” Kara sputtered a bit, “I just… I just realized that I shouldn’t be such a burden is all, that I should try to control how much I need to eat-”
“Bullshit,” Kate spat out, a hard look on her face. “That’s bullshit and you know it Kara, you need to eat, you need calories. Despite what people think, you can’t just supplement sunlight in for all those calories. Did someone say something to you?” The blonde glanced away, studying the weave pattern on the couch. “Did Superman say something to you?” The girl hunched even further and the woman growled, “I knew it, that pompous, primary color wearing, self-righteous blowhard, when I get my hands on him-”
“No, Kate, it’s okay,” Kara rushed, setting her hands on the redhead’s knee. “He didn’t- I didn’t- I mean, I shouldn’t have listened to him really. He just said some things and it got to me, it’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid Kara, what did he say to you? When did you even talk to him?”
The blonde shrugged, “It was a few months ago when he called and explained what would happen around my fifteenth name day, I guess the day that Mom and I chose was close to the actual day on Krypton. Kal… he asked a few questions about how I was doing, coping with everything, and I guess I was just really glad that he was showing an interest you know? So I just started talking, though I didn’t get very far. When I started explaining how it was difficult to get used to eating so much on Earth, he chastised me, saying that I need to learn to eat less in order to fit in, so that I wouldn’t be a burden.” She shrugged and sighed, “I shouldn’t have let it get to me, I’m sorry.”
“Kara,” Kate murmured sadly, hating the despondent look on the younger girl’s face. She reached out for the girl, tugging her lightly into her arms. She turned the girl around to that she sat nestled between her legs, her back pressed to front. “Shhhh,” Kate said, setting her head against the blonde’s shoulder and pressing it against Kara’s. “No talking, more hugging.”
“I just… I wanted to be normal, I want to be normal, I don’t want to be a burden,” Kara whispered, tears slowly trickling down her cheeks. “I can’t help but think if I wasn’t a such a burden then maybe, maybe he wouldn’t have…”
“No, Kara, no,” Kate said, holding the girl even tighter. “You aren’t a burden, everyone who knows you knows that. You aren’t a burden, you are loved . You are loved so much, all of us. I already think of you as my little sister and I’ve only known you for a few weeks.” The redhead could feel tears forming, her eyes burning from the salt water. “Yes you eat a lot, yes you occasionally break things when you get excited, but these are some of the things that make you you . Some of the reasons why we love you so much. You’re changing lives Kara, without even becoming a hero you’re changing people, making us better.”
“Really?” Kara sniffed, wiping at her eyes. She turned around and her gaze met Kate’s, smiling faintly at the red around her eyes.
“Really,” Kate replied emphatically. “I mean for one, I was always a bit of a loner. I know you can’t really tell from the coziness of this penthouse, but I was pretty much alone all the time, outside of a few dates every now and then. And then you come along, and I’m going to have to learn to cope without you around to brighten my day, and I’ll be worrying about my little sister that’s all the way on the other side of the country. And Cat Grant, you’ve definitely changed her, I mean, she was always a hardass before you came into her life, but now she’s an even bigger hard ass with a more visible, softer side. And Bruce! Don’t even get me started on Bruce. He may look all stoic, but he doesn’t just let anyone run around his batcave and doesn’t spend time and money developing technology just anyone either.” Kara giggled at Kate’s words, and the redhead smiled at the carefree lilt in Kara’s tone. “You are loved Sunshine, don’t let anyone who hasn’t spent more than a few hours with you tell you what you need to be, don’t let anyone tell you who you need to be. Just being yourself, food gobbling, goofy, kind-hearted self has already changed so many people.”
The blonde turned and snuggled into Kate, pressing her head under the older woman’s chin. “Thanks Kate,” she murmured.
Kate hummed and pulled her legs up to better surround the younger girl, letting her use her as an anchor. “I love you Kara,” she said, brushing a kiss against blonde hair. “We all do.” She felt the girl get heavier as she fell asleep, relaxing back into the older girl. Her head was pressed against Kate’s chest and she realized she must’ve been listening to her heart. Without waking the girl, Kate grabbed her phone and typed out a quick message to Cat.
Situation taken care of Cat Lady. It was the blue oaf.
That moron. If I ever see his perfectly symmetrical face again…
Leave it to me Cat Lady. I have ways to annoy him that you don’t, and I only live across the bay from him after all.
Location is everything. How is Kara?
She’s good, we talked everything out and she’s currently sleeping snuggled up against me. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when she goes back to National City.
It’s the eyes isn’t it? They’re large and blue, looks so much like a damn puppy.
Yes! It’s ridiculous. Kate glanced down at the sleeping girl on her chest and sent the picture to Cat. She’s a pretty cute puppy though.
She is. Thanks for taking care of her Kate.
It’s no problem Cat, thank you for bringing her here, for letting her stay.
She has a way of settling into people’s hearts doesn’t she?
It’s those eyes.
Damn blue eyes.