Chapter 30
“I can’t believe you opted not to go on the Venture launch,” Kara said as Lena sauntered through her front door carrying bags of their favorite Thai food.
“I told you I didn’t think I would be able to,” Lena replied, bumping Kara out of the way with her hip. “I’ve got too much going on, with the press conference tomorrow and all that, besides, I’ve been to space remember? I got those space suits for us and you flew us up there one time just for fun.”
“And we faked that alien landing site in New Mexico,” the blonde giggled. “Probably would’ve been way more fun if people hadn’t been aware that aliens existed, but it was still hilarious.”
“Your mom was torn between being amused and blowing a gasket,” Lena smirked, pulling out the bottles of root beer she had stashed in with the food. “Besides, I know how much you love space stuff, so it’s only right that I watch the launch with you rather than, you know, being on the launch.”
“Space is great, but there isn’t any curry,” Kara said, taking her containers of curry and rice. “Though I did visit one planet where the food was so spicy it nearly melted my face off.”
“So like normal Thai food then?”
“Yeah.” Kara turned the volume up on the TV and the two sat on the couch with Krypto under their legs waiting for the launch of the Venture rocket.
“You never did tell me how you ended up with the day off,” Lena said suddenly, glancing over at her friend.
Kara shrugged, “Mom just gave me the day off, said I’ve been through a lot recently with my aunt showing back up, Alex showing back up, everything with Supergirl. She put it through HR that I’m working out of the office for the banquet in Supergirl’s honor in a few days so they don’t think she’s going soft or anything.”
“I received an invite for that banquet by the way. I’m sure that the people dealing with the guest list were shocked that a Luthor would RSVP for a gala to honor a Super, but-”
“But they don’t really know you,” Kara explained. “You’re going to show them who you are at the press conference tomorrow when you announce the new name for L-Corp and reveal the new logo, taking the company in a completely different direction than your father or brother did.”
“Less weapons and alien hatred, more affordable technology and green energy,” Lena clinked her bottle against Kara’s and they turned their attention back to the screen. Kara demolished her first bowl of curry while they waited for the countdown for the launch to commence. They cheered as the engines on the rocket fired up and the ship successfully blasted off into space. “So this means that they’re one step closer to having passenger space shuttles.”
Before Kara could respond, a breaking alert sounded across the screen, drawing their attention. “Oh Rao,” Kara muttered, seeing images of the falling, crashing, Venture space shuttle with flames shooting out of the back engines.
“Go get’em Supergirl,” Lena yelled as Kara did a quick change and bolted out of the window.
Kara broke the sound barrier as she raced to get to the crashing spaceship, and let out a grunt of pain as she impacted the nose of the craft, her hands bending the metal as she fought to slow it down. She had remembered hearing that the ship was several thousand tons, including the fuel and liquid oxygen to create a safe environment inside the ship for the passengers and crew. As she was fighting against momentum, gravity, and the broken engines, Kara could believe it. She released the front of the ship and quickly flew around the back, blowing her freeze breath on the burning engines. The quick bursts of cold air snuffed out some of the flames, and Kara returned to the nose of the ship pushing with all of her strength. “I could really use some help right now,” she grumbled, turning so that her back was pressed against the nose.
Suddenly, Kara felt a jolt on the ship and it started to slow down. She turned around and glanced up over the bridge of the ship to see a large, glowing green claw attached to the back thrusters. “I thought I would lend a hand,” the Green Lantern smirked, waving at her cheerfully.
The blonde had never had the chance to meet the superhero, so she scrutinized him as best as she could while trying to keep over two hundred people from dying in a fiery explosion on the ground. The two heroes managed to slow the ship down enough so that the piloting crew could lower the landing gear. They lowered it down into a field and held onto it until the braking system on the wheels and the traction from the grass and dirt brought it to a stop. Kara could hear the people in the ship cheering and sighing in relief, and she smiled, flying away to land on the nearby road. The Green Lantern landed next to her a few moments later and placed his hands on his hips. “That was a close save,” he said, smiling at the blonde heroine. “Glad I could be of assist Supergirl, hopefully we’ll be able to work together in the future.” Kara’s eyes narrowed and she punched the green clad superhero right in the arm. “Ow,” he cried, rubbing at his shoulder, “Why did you do that?”
“That’s for scaring the crap out of me Kyle!” Kara yelled.
“Um, Kyle? No, I think you have me mistak-”
“Cut the crap, I’ve seen you naked,” the blonde rolled her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were the Green Lantern? You just moved to Coast City and dropped off the planet, now I know why.”
“Were you going to tell me that your alien ass finally decided to come out as a superhero?” Kyle retorted, the green mask dissolving on his face. “And what’s up with your mom? Why Supergirl? Why not Superwoman?”
Kara rolled her eyes, “We've had that discussion, she has her reasons, but don't try to distract me. Were you going to tell me about all of… this?” She finished with a gesture indicating Kyle clad in the traditional Lantern uniform.
“Eh, ah, maybe? Yes eventually?” Kyle stuttered out.
The blonde heroine narrowed her eyes and was about to respond when she heard a familiar whoosh and she turned to find her cousin swooping down to stand next to them. A puzzled frown marred his face as he stared at the ship resting peacefully on the ground before glancing over at his cousin. “I came offer my assistance, but it seems like I wasn’t needed.” Kara could feel questioning eyes boring into her but she just ignored them in favor of watching the pilot crew take care of their passengers and do their best to get them out of the ship safely. “Um, right, well, Green Lantern, nice to see you again,” Superman said, turning towards the other hero.
Kyle just smirked, “I’m sure. I was in the area and thought I would give Supergirl a hand. Us west coast superheroes have to stick together after all.”
“Eh, right,” he said, tugging a bit at his suit. He turned his attention back to Kara and the woman sighed.
“Will you give us a minute?” Kara asked Kyle, an impatient look in her eyes and she hid the eyeroll.
“No problem, I’ll catch you later Supergirl. Maybe we could work together sometime? National City isn’t all that far from Coast City after all,” her smirked before shooting off into the sky.
Kara narrowed her eyes in irritation because he left before she really had the chance to interrogate him as to how he became a green lantern. She knew about the Green Lantern Corps, intergalactic peacekeepers and police force, though Krypton and Rao’s solar system did not have a green lantern. It had been several hundred years since the last green lantern on Krypton when the high council banished them from the planet, feeling they were unneeded for the protection and function of Kryptonian society. Despite this, Kara knew how they worked, choosing people without fear to wield the ring and a strong will. She wanted to know Kyle’s story.
Superman cleared his throat and Kara crossed her eyes for a moment before turning to face her younger cousin. “Yes Kal?” She asked, her hands set on her hips.
“Ah, um, just wanted to see if you needed help, but seems you had everything under control,” Clark said, shifting a bit on his feet. “So it looks like you’ve been handling yourself as a hero relatively well. I always knew you would.”
“I did have a lot of help getting here,” Kara said, stepping away from the man for a moment. “I mean, I have worked with other heroes for years, so while it is something that I suddenly decided to do, I realized that it was always a possibility.”
Clark quirked his eyebrow, “You worked with other heroes?”
“Yeah, I trained with Diana for an entire summer in Themyscira, but before that I worked with your ‘friends’ in Gotham pretty regularly,” Kara smirked. While Kate never liked Superman, and made it well known rather frequently, Bruce had interesting things to say about her cousin, mostly that he was a boy scout and was far too optimistic and chipper. The two men had a better working relationship now, but Kara knew that Superman still got on Batman’s nerves.
“You went to Themyscira?” Clark’s eyes bulged out, “Wait, you worked with the Bats? Is that where you got this idea for a mask?”
“Glasses and being clumsy aren’t really a good disguise,” Kara told him. “And I didn’t really want to wear a disguise in my normal life when I could easily don a mask as a hero.”
“But concealing your face is distasteful in Kryptonian society!”
Kara scoffed, “Is that what you think? Is that what Jor-El left in the files for you? That man, it wasn’t distasteful in Kryptonian society, he just wasn’t a big fan of the theater performers that would often stop on Krypton. He was terrified of people in masks, so he passed that information off to you.”
Clark blinked, “What?”
“I am actually Kryptonian, I was born on Krypton and grew up there during my formative years. I’ve seen the red sky and the spires reaching up into it, I’ve been to the gathering place of the High Court, and selected my own guild. You’re more human than you are Kryptonian Kal-El, you grew up on Earth.” Her comm went off in her ear, and Kara knew that she had to head back to National City. “I have to go.”
“Ah, wait, we’re cousins, aren’t we supposed to be working together? Since you’re a hero now, we can work together.”
“You never seemed to care about family bonds before so why start now,” Kara bit out, taking off into the sky. Before she returned to National City, she flew over the Venture and analyzed the ship with her X-ray vision, checking the mechanics. There was something suspicious about the engines exploding in a billion dollar space shuttle during its first flight. Her eyes scanned for anything that looked out of the ordinary when she spotted a few fragments that looked out of place in the shredded engine. They were mere fragments, but they hinted at something sinister that would have been overlooked in a normal inquiry.
Kara activated her bluetooth and dialed Maggie’s number. “Sawyer,” Maggie answered, and Kara smirked. Some things just never changed.
“Maggie? It’s Kara.”
“Kara? Hey, just saw the awesome save on the news, you teaming up with the Green Lantern now?”
“No, yes, maybe, it’s a long story, but anyway, that’s not why I called. Well, it kind of is, I saw some suspicious debris in the engine of the Venture, I figured I should tell you since you’re, you know, the police.”
“Why are you telling me? Aren’t you a superhero?”
“I catch planes from falling out of the sky, fight aliens, stop large scale crimes and natural disasters. Investigating bad guys and acts of terrorism, sabotage, isn’t that your thing?” Kara stated, “I mean, you’re a detective right, isn’t your job to detect?”
She heard an exasperated sigh through the phone and smiled a little. “I forgot how much of Ka- how much of her rubbed off on you over these years. Alright, I’ll look into it and inform the right people to make sure that this is investigated, would you prefer to be an anonymous source?”
“I think people will know it’s me, just tell them that you know me through your work in Gotham. There are reports of me there working with the, you know, as long as people know where to look,” Kara replied before she heard another ping indicating that she received a text message. She grumbled a bit and fished her phone out of the secret compartment in her boot and glanced at the message.
It was from her mother, a short message that read, My office, now!
“Shit Maggie, I have to go, let me know what you find out!” Before the detective could reply, Kara ended the call and was making her way back to her apartment. Lena was gone when she returned but she had left a note stating she had to go into the office. She did a quick change into her office clothes, left a snack for Krypto, and headed to CatCo headquarters.
Kara reached the top floor and found the place in chaos, the screens streaming video of her catching the Venture, her with Green Lantern, and then her with Superman. She mentally hit herself for not realizing there were cameras around, and was just glad that the people filming were too far away to pick up audio or not at the right angle to record her mouth moving. “This isn’t good,” she muttered before turning towards Cat’s office. She saw several of the department heads, chief officers, and reporters clustered around the small space while Cat snapped out orders to them. Snapper Carr was slouched in one of her chairs in his wrinkled shirt and stained tie with his reporter pad in his hand. He was clutching a pen in his hand while a pencil was firmly tucked behind his ear, a permanent scowl etched on his face. Kara always wondered how Cat managed to put up with him looking the way he did, but she did say he was brilliant.
The blonde stepped through the open doors and stood at the back listening to the discussions taking place in the room. Cat already had ordered Snapper and the reporters to start investigating the Venture crash, the Green Lantern and any connections with Supergirl before she turned to James. “Olsen,” Cat barked, “Superman showed up at the end of the ordeal, this was a two superhero job, if the Green Lantern hadn’t of showed up, Supergirl probably would’ve exhausted herself attempting to stop the crash. See if you can get a quote from him about why he was so late to responding to this crisis.”
“I’ll try Ms. Grant,” he replied, a hesitant look on his face.
“Oh no, do more than try Mr. Olsen, it’s your job if you don’t,” Cat stated, enunciating each word very carefully so that her point was made and understood. James shifted on his feet slightly, and tightened his mouth before nodding his head. “In the meantime, I will be working on getting an interview with Supergirl.”
“Why do you get the interview with Supergirl?” Snapper groused, his eyes narrowed and hard.
Cat gave the man a withering glare, “Because I named her, I branded her, and wait, who’s name is on the building?” The man just glared at her and Cat smirked, “That’s why I get the interview Snapper, and I’ll write the article, men can’t really be trusted to portray women correctly.” She stared him down, daring him to contradict her; when he didn’t rise for the bait, Cat moved on, “Alright, everyone out, chop chop people. Kiera, with me.” The woman sat down behind her desk and Kara dutifully stood in front of it after closing the door. Cat aimed a remote at the glass wall of her awesome and pressed a button, instantly causing the glass to become opaque in order to give them some privacy.
“Are you alright m-Ms. Grant?” Kara asked, her face scrunched up in concern as the older woman dropped her head into her hands, fingers roughly pressing against her temples.
“Me? What about you, you were the one catching a thousand ton spaceship,” Cat said, glancing up at her daughter.
“I’m fine, it’s not like the ship could hit back, all I had to do was make sure that it landed safely, besides I had some help in the process.”
“Mhm, yes, the Green Lantern, when were you going to tell me you knew him?”
“Um…”
“Nevermind, that’s not why I wanted to talk to you, well, not why I had you come in on your day off. Be sure though that when we go home and I’m not ‘Cat Grant media mogul’ just ‘Cat Grant worried mother’ that I will be interrogating you within an inch of your life,” Cat narrowed her eyes and waved her finger at the girl. When Kara quickly nodded, the older woman steepled her fingers together under her chin and hummed. “Some of the people on sight after the Venture was delivered safely to the ground witnessed a confrontation between Supergirl, Green Lantern, and Superman. They weren’t close enough to hear everything that was said, but they swear they heard Superman call Supergirl his cousin, and they’re willing to sell their stories to the press.”
Kara paused as she thought about Cat’s words; this wasn’t Cat her mother speaking but Cat her boss, and she was giving her a choice on the narrative, on what was made public. She slowly released the breath she was holding and glanced around the office for a moment before looking back at Cat, “Then you probably should include it in the article you’re writing.”
Cat nodded, “I’ve already purchased the stories and videos from the witnesses and made them sign NDA forms until the article is published. The videos are unfortunately already out but they don’t reveal anything that will be used in the article. I just need a good picture of Supergirl to grace the cover to draw people in to read the article. Olsen has already snapped a few candid pictures of her flying around, but nothing stands out as worthy of the front cover of CatCo magazine.”
“Maybe you’ll have more luck if you ask Supergirl yourself?”
“Maybe I will.” Cat pressed the button on the remote and the glass became transparent again. “Now where is that temp you found for the day? It is still your day off.”
Kara glanced out at her desk and saw it devoid of any presence of the assistant the temp agency had sent over earlier that morning. “Um, I think you already sent her home,” Kara said, an exasperated look on her face.
“Oh that’s right, her perfume annoyed me, used far too much of it. It was like one of those axe commercials but for women, absolutely ridiculous and offensive to all of my senses.” Cat rolled her eyes and sauntered over to her decanter to pour herself a glass only to find it replaced with a crystal container full of M&Ms. She sent the younger blonde an exasperated look and just poured some of the tiny candies into her glass. “Since you’re here…”
“I’ll get to work right away Ms. Grant,” Kara said, slowly backing out of the office.
Cat waved her hand around a bit, “If that is your choice, I have meetings to do, an interview to plan, chop chop.”
Later that night, Kara pulled her suit and mask on to run patrols around the city, dealing with crimes to large for the authorities or where lives were in imminent danger. She came to grips years ago with the fact that she wasn’t able to save everyone, but she helped when she could. Before she returned home for the night, she dropped by CatCo, knowing that her mother would still be there reviewing the latest issue for the Tribune. Facts on the failed Venture launch were still being closely guarded by the police, but they were able to dig up a few threads to follow. She landed on her mother’s balcony and lightly tapped on the glass, drawing the woman’s attention.
Cat’s head snapped up and glanced towards the glass doors. She stood and opened the doors, stepping out on the balcony with the hero. “Well, well, Supergirl, what an honor.”
“I heard you wanted to speak with me,” Kara said, her voice deeper, stronger.
“Yes, an interview for a story if you’re available,” the woman replied, gesturing towards the couch on the balcony. After the two seated themselves, Cat crossed her legs and studied the woman next to her. It was the first time she really looked at her daughter in her costume, the first time she was able to study her. She carried herself differently when she was in her Supergirl persona, but she couldn’t figure out how, she felt different, seemed different, like a completely different person. “So,” she started, “With the heroics you’ve performed, and saving the Venture yesterday, many of my readers want to know who you are, your story, especially with your connection to Superman.”
“Are we really going to do this?” Kara asked, unable to keep up the pretense any more. Her mother had taught her how to deal with the press, but this was her mother asking her questions like she already didn’t know all of the answers.
“Yes, we have to do this, we have to keep everything professional,” Cat told her, “Leave a paper trail, that’s why I didn’t just come straight out and ask you for an interview and picture earlier. We can’t afford to make it seem like there is a greater connection between us than two professionals, just another level added to what we have at CatCo.”
Kara sighed and nodded, “Okay, alright, what should and shouldn’t I answer?”
Cat smirked and leaned back against the arm of the couch, “Oh, I have a list.”
Kara’s phone vibrated on her desk, pulling her out of her concern for her mother as she furiously typed in her office wearing three different sets of glasses with another pushed back on her head. “Hello?” She greeted, answering the phone.
“Kara?” Maggie’s voice came through the phone, barely a whisper.
“Mags? What’s up?”
The blonde heard the detective breathe out a sigh. “Look, I really shouldn’t be telling you this, but you’re a bit closer to the situation than most, and probably able to get more answers than I can. There were fragments found in the Venture’s engine, bomb fragments, and they originated under the seat of the only one that did not show up for the flight.”
Kara released a sharp breath out of her nose, “Lena…”
“Right, since she basically moved her family’s company across the country, I’m assuming you guys are still friends. We’re going to have to investigate this-”
“Lena doesn’t have anything to do with this,” Kara whispered out, mindful of her location in the middle of a media empire. Reporters would be crawling all over this story if and when it was made public.
“Relax Lil… Blondie, nobody here thinks that Luthor is responsible for placing a bomb under her seat on a flight she was scheduled to attend, but cancelled last minute. She’s wicked smart, resourceful, and cunning, but not suicidal. Just… maybe you should talk to her, this reeks of someone being after her and she needs to be informed.”
“I… thanks Maggie, I’ll talk to her.”
“Thanks Kara, oh and on more of a personal note, don’t forget that we had talked about you, Alex and I hanging out at some point. Things have been… hectic recently, but I still think it’s a good idea, lunch next week sometime?”
“Um, ah, sure, why not? Sorry Mags, but I have to go, just text me about it later,” Kara sputtered out before ending the call. She blinked before realizing what she just did, “Did I just agree to having lunch with my wife and her girlfriend?” She shook her head and rubbed her forehead, “What is my life?”
She finished up her work and snuck out of the office to head over to Lena’s office, stopping at Noonan’s for coffee for her, Lena, and Jess. “Hey Jess,” Kara greeted, dropping off the woman’s coffee. Jess gratefully took the cup of fuel and waved the blonde into her boss’ office as she leaned back in her seat and just inhaled the aroma of the coffee, her eyes lost in a faraway daze. Kara stepped into Lena’s office and glanced between her friend and back out the door towards her secretary. “What have you done to Jess?” She asked, setting the brunette’s usual down on the desk.
“Hmm?” Lena glanced up, her eyes falling on the coffee first and seizing it with an almost inhuman speed.
“Oh, okay, whoa, long day? I mean, you’ve only been here what, a few hours after the failed Venture launch?”
“A launch that was sabotaged,” Lena said after taking a long sip of her coffee. When Kara gave her a long look, Lena rolled her eyes, “Don’t give me that look, I have ways of finding this information. I’m guessing you heard this from Detective Sawyer, and came here to tell me?”
Kara shrugged, “And to ask you who would want to kill you because really, this is all just so ridiculous. If you had decided to go on that launch rather than just watch it with me then you could have…”
“Could’ve been saved by Supergirl and Green Lantern, that would’ve been fun,” Lena mused before giving her blonde friend a look that she had grown used to over the years, a ‘you’re stupid’ look. “Really Kara, who do you think is trying to kill me?”
“He’s in lock up Lena, how could me manage to do all of this?”
“You don’t know my brother, he’s rather resourceful.” Lena groaned and tugged a bit at her ponytail, pulling her out of it until it fell free around her shoulders, “He always worked best under pressure, and I guess the same can be same for maximum security.”
Before Kara could respond, Jess’s voice came over the intercom. “Miss Luthor, a Clark Kent is here from the Daily Planet, he wants to interview you about the Venture launch, and get a quote.”
Kara and Lena glanced at each other. The blonde had never told her cousin that she and his arch enemy’s sister were best friends, it’s not like they ever spoke long enough to really relate such information. “He’s going to find out at some point, might as well be now,” Kara grumbled at Lena.
The brunette nodded, “Did I tell you I used to know him, sort of, he was Lex’s friend, so this should be interesting at least.” She pressed the button on the intercom, signaling for her secretary to let the man into her office.
Clark stepped through the doorway, his eyes focused on the CEO seated behind her desk before falling to her visitor just across from her. His steps faltered as he took in blonde hair and an unimpressed look in dark blue eyes. “Kara, wha- oh, um, I mean, Miss Luthor,” Clark said, returning his attention to the brunette.
“Should I even bother asking how you got to the executive floor without an escort?” Lena asked, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. “And National City is quite a long ways away from Metropolis and the Daily Planet Clark Kent.”
“I go where the story is Miss Luthor, and I wanted to ask you a few questions about why you missed the Venture launch,” Clark powered on, trying to ignore his cousin’s piercing gaze. He recognized that look from the few times that Cat has managed to corner his alter ego and he had to fight back the desire to shiver. It was probably a poor decision to have Kara live with the woman for so many years.
“There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation on why I wasn’t on the Venture yesterday,” Lena said, “I was busy, I have a ceremony today for renaming my company, and there is a surprisingly large amount of paperwork to do so.”
Clark chuckled, “Lucky.”
“Lucky is Supergirl saving the day,” Lena smirked, “With assistance from our neighbor up north.” The man’s eyes narrowed and Lena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “Just ask the question that you want to ask Kent, did I have anything to do with the Venture explosion?”
“Clark,” Kara hissed out, a hard look in her eyes.
“Kara, it’s alright,” Lena reached across the desk to set her hand on her friend’s arm.
Clark’s eyes narrowed as he witnessed the interaction. “What is your relationship with my cousin?” He demanded, all thoughts of other questions escaping his mind.
“I don’t see how that is any of your concern Kent,” Lena retorted.
“It is very much my concern!”
“You wouldn’t be asking me if my last name was Smith.”
“But it’s not,” Clark glared hard at the woman. “It’s Luthor.”
Kara stood and stepped between them. “That’s enough Clark,” she said, her hand pressed into his chest. “Lena is my best friend, that’s why I’m here. I found out about the bomb and came to see who would want to kill her.”
“Be-best friend,” the man sputtered. “What do you mean best friend?”
The blonde rolled her eyes, “You actually grew up on Earth, so it’s not like I have to explain the concept to you.”
Clark grabbed her arm, intending to tug her away but shocked at finding his cousin an immovable force, even for him. “What are you doing?” He hissed.
“Don’t be so melodramatic Clark, she knows who I really am,” Kara said. “And she knows who you are, she’s not stupid.”
“She’s a Luthor!”
“She’s not her brother! And I’m not you, I don’t judge people based on their name Clark, but on who they are.”
“It’s because I know Kara that I’m moving the company in a new direction,” Lena said, turning the attention back to the topic at hand. “I want to do better, create a better world for everyone living here, but I can’t do that if people like you Clark Kent convince others I’m just as bad as the rest of my family. Just give me a chance.”
Clark glanced away from his cousin back to the brunette CEO. His eyes narrowed again, “We shall see Miss Luthor.” He looked back to Kara and squeezed her arm again, “We’ll finish this conversation later Kara.” He walked out of the office before she could reply, leaving the two women looking after him.
“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Kara sighed, rubbing at her forehead. “I love him, I do, he’s my cousin. I remember changing his diaper and playing with him as a child, but he is so self-righteous, it’s hard for me to like him all the time.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me,” Lena said. She ran her fingers through her hair, scratching at her scalp lightly. “Do you get a bad feeling, like something is going to happen?”
“Yeah,” the blonde replied, “I’m not sure what though.”