Vigilante

Kara slowly opened her eyes. She was laying in the sun bed at the DEO. After taking a deep breath, she flexed her muscles. No soreness, no pain. The artificial UV rays had done their job. She lifted the top of the bed and slowly sat up.

She rubbed her hand over the spot on her shin that had left her limping. It felt better. Then she gently pressed her side. She took a breath in. It was still slightly tender, but nothing that wouldn’t heal in next few hours.

Kara sighed and closed her eyes. She felt drained. And she felt guilty. And confused. Her mind went back over her conversation with Cat. The one where Cat had beat her up, emotionally and physically. Kara was beginning to understand Cat’s motives for becoming the Vigilante, though she still had a lot of questions. More than anything, she wanted to help her. If Cat would trust her, that is. Kara realized that she had given Cat plenty of reasons not to trust her.

Then her mind went back over their other conversation. The one earlier that night. She lifted her fingers to her lips, remembering the feeling of kissing Cat. It had been the best few hours she could remember. She had seen a completely new side of the other woman. She had been relaxed, sweet, and a little shy. Kara had loved it. She knew Cat was affectionate, but it had been the first time she had had that affection showered on her. She wanted more. She had to fix this.

Kara stood up from the sun bed and exited the room. She walked down the hall toward the bullpen. She scanned the area and found Alex. She had changed clothes and was sipping on a cup of coffee, looking intently at information on a tablet.

Alex looked up and nodded to Kara. “Hey, you feeling better?”

Kara just nodded. “What time is it?”

“Early,” Alex responded, taking another sip of her coffee. “I was going to wake you before you needed to be at work.” Alex paused and added, “If you’re going to work, that is.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Of course, I’m going to work.” She sighed. “I need to fix things with Cat. If she’ll let me.”

Alex was surprised. “You need to fix things? She’s the one that assaulted you.”

“She had her reasons. And I was in her way.”

Kara always gave Cat the benefit of doubt. Alex had been watching her do it since Kara first went to work for Cat. The older woman could do no wrong, as far as Kara was concerned. Alex just sighed. She loved her sister. And her sister obviously loved Cat. So she would give her the benefit of the doubt as well.

“What reasons,” Alex wanted to know.

Kara became serious. “She recognized someone at the warehouse last night. She said she knew where they were going. She was going to follow them and record them.”

“And when you got in her way, she was trying to get away to trail them,” Alex confirmed and Kara nodded.

“You don’t know who she recognized?” Kara shook her head. Alex sighed. “Okay, well, here’s what we know.” She tapped the screen of the tablet, casting it to one of the larger screens. It showed a connection chart of faces and facts related to each face. Kara realized that Alex had been trying to piece together the entire drug world of National City. But she didn’t have a lot to go on.

“This is John Bossey, the man that was murdered last night.” Alex pointed to one of the faces. Kara nodded, remembering him. “We know he’s high up in this operation. Cat wrote his name on all notes that she left with all three of the men she turned in.” Alex pointed to three pictures of the men Cat had ready caught. “Here are the other names she put in the note.” She pointed to four other pictures.

Kara jumped in. “So we know that Bossey was over at least three people that were making drops around the city. So if these four are in the same position he’s in, that’s at least twelve people making large drops.”

Alex nodded. “And, realistically, it’s more than twelve. And these four are only the ones Cat knows about.” Alex paused. “Did you know that illegal drug activity has increased by almost fifty percent in National City in the last six months?”

Kara’s eyes brows went up. It was an astronomical number for such a short period of time. Alex continued, “That includes arrests, the amount of drugs seized, money exchanged. And a lot of it is happening with teenagers and around schools.”

Kara shook her head. “Carter Grant's girlfriend was killed near their school. She witnessed one of these drops and they shot her.”

Alex lowered her eyes and took a deep breath. “No wonder Cat feels so compelled to take these guys down. And she’s right. The police haven’t moved on any of these men.” She pointed back to the screen. “And this is only a small part of this operation.”

“So what do we do?” Kara asked Alex, shrugging her shoulders.

Alex looked at her. She talked slowly. “When the amount of drugs being trafficked is this big, and the source is unclear, the federal government can get involved.”

Kara’s mouth opened slowly. She felt a surge of hope. “You mean the DEO?” Alex gave a small nod. “That’s not really what we do here, Alex.”

“I know. But this is serious. And the fact that the police aren’t working it is suspicious. Hank already gave his permission.” She paused. “And Cat’s help would be very beneficial. No one knows this case like her.”

Kara didn’t know what to say. “Alex, you would take this on for me?”

Alex’s expression changed to compassion. “Of course.” But then she said, “But you need to get Cat to work with us.”

Kara just nodded. That might be a task in itself. She had no idea what Cat’s state of mind was after the night before. But she knew one thing. She was desperate to see her. Then she remembered the time.

“Oh! I have to go to work. I can’t be late today.” She hugged Alex and ran out the door. She was in the air and on her way to CatCo.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As she rode up in the elevator, Kara kept considering how she would approach Cat. She rehearsed several different beginnings in her head. When the elevator stopped to indicate she had reached her floor, Kara stood up taller and walked out.

As she stepped over the elevator threshold, she heard the private elevator ding and Cat quickly walked out. Their eyes immediately caught each other. They stopped in their tracks, staring. Cat was wearing her sunglasses and Kara was wearing her lead lined glasses. She wished she could see Cat’s eyes behind the sunglasses.

Then Cat slowly slipped them off. Her face was unreadable. But Kara noticed as Cat’s eyes swept up and down Kara’s body and Kara knew she was making sure she was alright.

“I’m okay,” Kara whispered, passing Cat’s latte between them. Cat hesitated and then took the cup. When their fingers touched, they lingered, eyes still on one another. Kara’s eyes showed concern, Cat’s were passive. Kara said to her, “I know you well enough to know that you’re trying to look like you don’t care.” Cat just blinked and turned away, walking toward her office.

Kara took a deep breath. This could be a long day. Or not. She had broken through Cat’s defenses before. She followed Cat and went to her own desk. She glanced to the office, where Cat had gotten straight to work. But she was sipping on her latte. At least she didn’t just throw it in the trash. Small victory, Kara thought.

The morning wore on and Cat hadn’t asked for Kara one time. She knew she needed to give her space. But as the hours went by, the need to talk to her increased.

Just as Kara was about to stand to go knock on the office door, Cat came walking out. “I’m going to lunch early. Make my two o'clock a one o’clock and I need the mock ups and layouts for next month on my desk when I get back.” With that, she was gone. Kara was left standing there with her mouth open, having missed her opportunity to talk.

She sat back down and made the call to change the meeting. She walked from office to office, collecting the things Cat asked for. Then she came back and set them on the desk. She sighed and looked around the office like she was trying to will Cat to come back early. She looked at her watch. Cat had only left twenty minutes ago. She went back to her desk to wait. Her anxiety was growing.

Cat’s now one o'clock came off the elevator before Cat came back. Kara sighed internally. Now she would have to wait until after this meeting. She showed the two people in and attended to them. When Cat came back, Kara opened her mouth to tell her that her meeting was here, but Cat cut her off before she could talk with a simple, “I see them.” Again, she was left with her mouth open. Space, Kara thought, patiently.

The meeting was fairly short. When they were finished, Cat walked them to door and shook each hand. She turned to go back into her office without a look in Kara’s direction.

Kara couldn’t take it anymore. She got up and walked around her desk. She didn’t bother to knock. She was in the office before Cat got back to her desk.

“Ms. Grant,” she called. Cat just stopped, not turning around. Kara watched as her shoulders visibly sagged. She dropped her head and leaned her hands on the edge of the desk. Kara tested the waters. She softened her voice and said, “Cat. Talk to me. Please.”

Cat slowly turned. Her eyes were still down and her arms were crossed like she was trying to protect herself. When she lifted her eyes to look at Kara, she just said, “I don’t know what to say to you.”

Kara just stood there, silently, as the seconds ticked by. Finally she said, “I guess I don’t either.” At that, Cat relaxed a little, uncrossing her arms.

Cat’s features changed and Kara saw that wonderful softer side come out. Cat looked her up and down again, as she had that morning. “I’m sorry if I hurt you. I never wanted that to happen.” Kara could hear the regret in her voice. She looked deeply apologetic.

“Cat, I’m okay,” then Kara dropped her voice to a quiet whisper and leaned forward, saying “Kryptonian, remember.” Then she gave Cat a small smile. Cat didn’t return the smile, but she took a breath and Kara recognized it as relief.

Cat asked her, “What do we do now? Where do we go from here?” Her eyes seemed pleading, but Kara didn’t know what for.

So she asked Cat, “You and me, or the Vigilante and Supergirl?”

Cat didn’t answer. Neither did Kara. They just stood there on opposite sides of the office, staring at each other. They both had so much they wanted to say. The words were on the tips of their tongues.

Finally Kara asked, “Do you trust me?”

Cat answered quickly and quietly, “Yes,” she said. Then, “No.” She closed her eyes, frustrated, then opened them again. “I want to, more than anything.”

Kara hesitated for only second before quickly spilling out, “I work with a government organization called the DEO. Their purpose is to monitor and identify alien threats. My sister is a leading agent there. She has been trying to connect all the dots of your drug operation. But it’s a kind of a lot.” Kara paused to take a breath. “She and her boss have decided that this case is big enough to warrant federal intervention.” She paused again. “And she could really use your help.”

Cat knitted her brows together and took it in. She opened her mouth to speak. She needed to make sure she understood before letting herself feel any hope. She spoke slowly, “Are you saying that the DEO would take the entire case out of the hands of the local police department? And they wouldn’t have to answer to them? They would have complete jurisdiction?”

Kara nodded. “Yes. But there are too many blanks for us to fill in on our own. Will you help?”

Cat sat back against the edge of the desk. She took a deep breath. She almost couldn’t believe it. After all these months of work, after every lead she had provided that had been tossed out, after all the sleepless nights, all the practice, all the training, all the sneaking around. Finally, someone was going to help. She wasn’t in this alone.

She was so relieved she started to tremble. Kara stepped closer to her, seeing she was trying to hold in her emotions. “Cat, you can trust me. We will help you. And we will bring these guys down. Every single one.” She reached out to take Cat’s hand and was surprised when Cat pulled away.

Without looking at her, Cat said, “I need some air,” and headed for the balcony door.

Kara closed her eyes for a moment, afraid that Cat was pulling away again. All the walls that Kara had worked so hard to get through were being re-erected. She knew if she gave Cat any more space she ran the risk of allowing the distance to get too great.

She went out to the balcony after her. Cat was leaning against the railing with her eyes closed. Kara said, “Cat, let me-,” but Cat cut her off with a question.

With her eyes still closed Cat asked, “Why didn’t you want me to know you were Supergirl?” She opened her eyes and turned to face her. “I asked you and you lied. And then I asked you again and you not only lied, you tried to trick me.” She wasn’t angry. But her tone was discouraged.

Kara just stepped closer. “A lot of reasons.” There’s was no point in avoiding it any more. She might as well lay it out. “First of all, it isn’t safe for the people who know I’m Supergirl. If any of my enemies know who I care about, they can use those people against me. Second, I’ve, um,” Kara was insecure about this one. She was afraid Cat wouldn’t understand. “I’ve wanted to have something more with you for a long time, and if you knew that I was Supergirl, then maybe, if you ever did want to be with me, that would be the reason instead of being with me for me.

Cat just looked at her. Kara could see the all emotions playing across her face. Sympathy, apology, affection, insecurity, understanding, conflict, and maybe something else. Kara didn’t want to presume.

So she went on, “Third-,”

“Third?” Cat interrupted like the first two were enough.

“Yes, third,” Kara continued with a pointed look. “I was afraid you would want to use me as a source. I hate the idea of our relationship being like that. You asking me some sort of exposè questions and printing details about me that I would only tell you because it’s you. I don’t want personal things between us to be public.” Cat was stung, but let her finish.

“Fourth, you said you would fire me if I were Supergirl, and I need this place. I need you. I need to be near you.”

Finally, Kara took a deep breath and released it. She felt as if a weight had left her. Being able to confess to Cat her insecurities was surprisingly liberating. And she wanted Cat to know, she wanted her to understand the conflict she had been dealing with all this time. Wanting to tell Cat, but being afraid.

Cat was still watching Kara. Then she asked, a little sarcastic, “Is it my turn?” Kara just lifted an open hand in her direction, indicating that she had the floor.

Cat put one hand on her hip. “First,” she began, “I appreciate that you want to protect me, and I understand that you need to keep the circle of people who know your identity small. But know that I always would have been much more of an asset than a liability.” Kara just dipped her head and nodded.

“Second,” Cat sighed before continuing, “I’ve known your coffee order since before you were Supergirl. I’ve known about your integrity and your work ethic since long before you were Supergirl. I’ve known about your compassion since before you were Supergirl. You’ve been Supergirl for a fraction of the time I’ve known you.” Cat paused. She dropped the hand from her hip and walked a few slow steps in Kara’s direction.

“I’ll admit,” she said, “that when I stepped out of that car for our first interview and knew that it was you, that was when I starting falling for you.” She saw the sad look that crossed over Kara’s face. “But,” she said, lifting her eye brows, wanting to reassure the younger woman, “I fell for you because the ground work had already been laid. I knew every good about you, about Kara Danvers, already. And I remember thinking to myself, ‘Of course, it’s her. Who else could it be?’”

Kara felt hope stirring. A few more steps and she was in front of Kara. “But that suit, that cape blowing in the wind, that hair. There you were, hovering just a few feet away, and I almost swooned. You were so beautiful. It was the final push. How could I not fall for you?” Cat’s face softened at the memory. “Kara, I would have fallen for you no matter what. Supergirl or no Supergirl.”

Tears formed in Kara’s eyes. She tried not to let them fall, but one rogue drop fell over her eye lid. Cat quickly reached up and wiped it away with her thumb and Kara whispered, “Really?” She wasn’t sure she believed Cat. Which, she was beginning to realize was her whole problem.

Cat made a barely perceptible nod. “Really. Knowing you were Supergirl just sped things along.” Cat dropped her hand from Kara’s face.

She went on, “Third-,”

“Third?” Kara teased her, with a faint smile.

Cat returned the small smile. “Yes, third,” she teased back, copying Kara’s words from a few moments ago. “I would never have used you as a source, unless I asked you explicitly. And nothing that was meant to stay between just us would have ever been news. Do you understand? Because this is important. Kara, you can trust me. I don’t have a lot of real relationships. And the ones I do have, I treasure.” Kara just nodded, feeling better and silly at the same time. She’d watched Cat take the high road time and again. How could she not believe that wouldn’t have applied to her, too.

Kara responded, quietly, “I guess I thought there was just no way I could be one of those people.”

Cat countered, “If I had been kinder to you, maybe you would have. I was scared too. I did everything I could to keep you at an arm’s length. But I just can’t do it anymore. I can’t see you every day and not have more.”

Cat finally finished, “And fourth, yes, months ago I probably would have fired you. But now, I can’t. Something happened at some point and I started to need you, too. And if you’re not here with me at CatCo, I don’t think I’d want to be here anymore.”

They stood there for a minute, processing each other’s words. Kara wanted to touch her. She wanted to reach out and wrap Cat in her arms and just hold her. It must have showed in her eyes because Cat stepped back and put some distance between them.

So Kara asked, “Can we talk about last night?”

Cat gave a hesitant nod with a cautious look. Kara just said, “Last night was the best and worst night I’ve had in a long time.”

Cat smiled and said, “Me too.” Then she raised one eye brow. “You should have let me go.”

Kara caught a teasing tone and immediately responded, “Yes, I totally should have let you go. My cracked rib is probably going to be tender for a few more hours.”

Cat furrowed her brow with a guilty look. “Cracked rib?”

Kara nodded. “Yep. You have tiny little, sharp elbows. And your giant pole thing,” she stretched her hands wide, trying to indicate the length of the pole, “bruised my shin.”

Cat winced. “Kara, I’m so sorry.” She closed the distance between them again. She wanted to reach out, but she was still hesitant.

Kara shrugged. “Like I said, I’m okay.” Kara sighed. “Cat, I was serious earlier. The DEO wants to help. Will you let us? Will you let me help?”

Cat watched her for a moment. Finally she said, “Come to my house tonight. Late. Carter can’t know anything about what I’m doing.”

Kara nodded, “I’ll be there.”

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kara did as Cat asked and came late, and she came as Supergirl. She scanned the house with her x-ray vision from above. Carter was sleeping soundly. She found Cat sitting on her back porch. She touched down lightly several feet away from Cat.

Cat had a drink in her hand, but she wasn’t drinking it. She was just swirling the liquid around in the glass. Her eyes looked far away. She barely looked up when she saw Supergirl. She breathed in a deep breath.

“Have a seat,” she indicated the chair next to her. Kara walked over and quietly sat down. And they sat. Cat and Kara could always go long stretches without the need to say anything. They simply enjoyed being in the same space together.

Cat’s arm was resting on the arm of the chair. After some time, she slowly extended it toward Kara, offering her hand. And Kara slowly took it. Though Cat’s face still looked lost in thought, Kara knew that this was a peace offering. Kara just looked at their joined hands, lightly touching, both too tentative to take the contact any deeper.

The storm front was still over the city. It began to rain again. Kara was getting so tired of the rain. She longed to see the sun. The thought made her turn toward Cat, whose eyes had refocused and were watching the rain come down. For now, watching this woman that she adores would work as a perfect substitute for any rays the sun could offer.

Finally, Cat took a breath and released Kara’s hand. She stood up. Kara followed suit and stood. They faced each other. Cat spoke so quietly that Kara almost had to use her super hearing to listen over the sound of the rain. “Come with me.”

Always, Kara thought. She followed Cat into the house. They walked through a small breakfast nook and passed the kitchen. Cat led her down a short hallway to a door. Kara looked at it and noticed it was a new door. It was made of metal. Not too conspicuous, it still blended in with the environment around it. There was a keypad next to the door. Cat punched in a number and held the tips of all five fingers on one hand up to the pad.

Kara heard thelocks detach on the door. Her curiosity was taking over. What in the world was Cat hiding? She opened the door, revealing a narrow staircase.

“That’s quite a bit of security for the basement,” Kara commented.

She heard Cat breath out the smallest laugh. “You’ll see why.”

She closed the door and flipped a switch, illuminating the steps. When they reached the bottom, Kara could sense that they were in a large space. She saw the tiny blinking lights of computers in a couple different spots. Cat flipped three other switches at the bottom of the steps.

Kara’s eye brows popped up as three sets of lights went on, each one farther down long the ceiling, casting light the full length of the enormous basement. It was obviously the full size of Cat’s large property. There were support columns in strategic places. The floor was smooth, stained concrete and the ceiling were high.

Kara just whispered, “Whoa.” Cat watched her as she took it in. Kara walked around slowly. There was a large set of servers on the left wall from the staircase. It appeared they were working on something. There was another large work table area in the center with more computers and a few techno gadgets that Kara didn’t recognize.

Toward the back wall was a large training area that even Alex would admire. There was a padded floor for sparring, a few different types of sparring dummies, targets, heavy bags, etcetera. On the right wall toward the training area was a big standing case with different types of weapons. There was a set of nunchucks, a few katanas of different lengths, a chakram, and two more sets of the staves Cat used, among other things. No guns, Kara noticed. There was much smaller case sitting on top. Kara reached a hand toward it.

“Stop!” Cat put a hand up and Kara instantly froze. “That case is lead lined. More of my bracelets are in there.” Kara slowly pulled her hand away, not wanting to experience Kryptonite again any time soon.

She asked Cat, a little in shock, “So is this like your lair?”

Cat offered a little smile at that and shrugged. “I guess you could call it that.”

Kara’s curious nature came out in the form of questions. “How long have you been doing this? What are all these servers doing?” She looked back to the training area. “And who in the world taught you to fight?”

Cat walked toward the work area in the center of the room. She set down her drink. She focused on one of the screens as she answered. “Just over four months. They are running algorithms, and I’m about to introduce you to him.”

Kara recognized the sound of an internet video conference program that Cat used at work. While the program dialed in, Cat went over to an enormous screen near the servers. She tapped a button and the screen lite up.

“Whoa,” Kara said again. The screen displayed a connection chart that would put Alex’s to complete shame. There were about a hundred faces. Most had names, some didn’t. A few had red ‘x's' over them. There were lines connecting them all together from one angle or a other. And they all had a section of notes under each name. Some notes were longer than others.

The conference call picked up and Kara heard a man’s deep voice. “Cat?” Cat walked back over and Kara noticed the genuine smile on her face. She pushed down a pang of jealousy.

“Bruce,” she said lightly as she walked in front of the camera attached to large screen that displayed the man’s face.

Wait, Kara thought. Not Bruce-.

Cat interrupted her train of thought. “I want you to meet a friend of mine.” She motioned for Kara to come closer. She did, very slowly, almost not daring to look at the face on the screen. She stepped into the shot and looked at the screen. There he was. “Bruce Wayne, Kara Danvers.”

Kara couldn’t shake the shocked look from her face. Bruce Wayne. Bruce gave her a wide smile. “Well, well,” he said in that smooth voice. “The Girl of Steel,” He paused. “Kara Zor-El, it is an honor.” His face became serious. He meant it.

“You’re Bruce Wayne,” was all Kara could say. Then she reverently whispered, “Batman.”

“Careful, Kara,” Cat chimed in, “You never know who might be around on these calls.”

Kara looked at her and nodded, turning back to the screen. “How’s my cousin?” It was the first thing she thought to ask. She had only spoken to Kal-El briefly after his return.

Bruce smiled again. “He’s recovering well. We have come to… an understanding. I’m glad he’s back with us.”

Kara nodded again. She glanced away as Cat busied herself studying the information the algorithm had secured. She tried to refocus on the task at hand. “So you’ve been helping Cat? Why?”

“Absolutely. Cat is a old friend. And one of my best. She’s done a lot of favors for me over the years. It was time for me to do one for her.”

Kara pointed to the screen and looked back to Cat. “You’re besties with Batman? Are you kidding me? I mean, other than Superman, of course, he’s the greatest hero ever.”

Cat smiled, though her back was to Kara.

“Wait a minute, Supergirl. Not everyone has called me a hero. In fact, a lot of people in Gotham still think of me as a dangerous vigilante.” He paused. “Speaking of which. Oh, Cat? Could you come here?”

Cat rolled her eyes and turned to walk back to the screen. She knew what was coming. Bruce was holding up a copy of the Tribune, the shot of the Vigilante gracing the front page.

Bruce tapped it and said sarcastically, “I thought we were going for minimal exposure.”

Cat sighed. “I went over that entire area a dozen times. That camera was installed, literally, hours before this was taken.”

Then Bruce sighed. He let it go. “What’s happened since the last time we talked?”

Cat dropped her head. She put her hands on her hips. When she looked back up, she looked away. “John Bossey is dead.”

“I heard,” Bruce said. “Cat, you need to understand that that wasn’t your fault.” He said it slowly, trying to emphasis his point. Kara nodded her agreement. “They would have gotten to him in lockup or in prison. It wouldn’t have mattered what decision you made.”

Cat just looked back up and nodded. “I found something that might finally make our connection to Rudy Jones.” Cat walked up to the computer to cast something to Bruce.

“Wait,” Kara said. “Chief Rudy Jones?”

Cat didn’t bother to confirm. She just said to Bruce, “One of the algorithms finally captured satellite footage of Kari's murder. But it’s strange.”

“What do you mean, strange,” Bruce asked.

“Just watch.” Cat played the video. Bruce and Kara both watched intently. They saw three men in the alleyway. The quality of the feed was clear. Really clear. Within a few seconds, a young girl walked passed the alley and stopped. It looked like one man was talking to her as he walked up to her. She tried to back away, but he grabbed her and pulled her into the alley. Then he dropped her body on the ground. She was completely limp. He stood there for a moment. Then he took out his gun and shot her, once in the chest, and once in the head.

Kara had to look away for a moment. “I don’t understand,” Bruce said.

“Me either,” Kara echoed.

“Watch when I zoom in,” Cat said, tapping at the keyboard. The image zoomed into Kari’s face as the man first dropped her body. Her eyes were open and lifeless. She wasn’t unconscious. She was dead.

Bruce immediately said, “Why shoot her if she’s already dead?”

“Right,” Cat confirmed. “Now look at this.” Cat zoomed in again as the man aimed his gun. She paused the image and zoomed in again on his hand, which was angled up. There was a distinctive ring on one finger.

Cat clicked away on the mouse and opened several images of a man’s hand with the same ring.

“Jones?” Bruce asked.

“Jones,” Cat confirmed.

Bruce sat back and sighed. “Good work, Cat.”

Cat quickly asked him, “What do I do now?”

Kara said, “The DEO can pick him up?”

Cat's head shot toward Kara. She and Bruce both snapped at the same time. “No!”

Kara’s eyes went wide and she held up her hands with a quiet, “Okay.” She was beginning to realize that she had injected herself into a carefully laid out plan that was already deep in motion.

Bruce snapped again, a little irritated. “The DEO, Cat? Have you brought them in on this?”

“Not yet.” Cat responded.

Kara looked at her, confused. “Wait, do you know about the DEO?” Cat just looked at her and nodded.

“Department of Extranormal Operations, yes.”

“Why didn’t you say so,” Kara wanted to know.

“Because,” Cat's voice grew more firm, looking at Kara. The frustration in her voice was evident. “I don’t know that I can trust you with this.” She indicated the large connection chart. “You say that you love this city, but these people have been slowly destroying it from the inside out. Someone finally tries to stand up and stop them and the police won’t move. And then you take it upon yourself to try to stop me, even though you have no idea what’s going on.”

Kara couldn’t find the words to respond. So Cat went on, “You don’t trust me with anything. You didn’t trust me with your identity. You didn’t trust me enough to come to me about mine. You just got in my way, always thinking you know what’s best.” Cat’s eyes were wide with anger.

There it was. The thing that was between them. Kara still couldn’t speak. Cat was right. All this time, she thought that Cat was trying to manipulate or deceive her when she was the one that had been doing the deceiving. Of the two of them, she realized, Cat has proven herself the more trustworthy. The fact that she was standing here in this room was confirmation enough of that.

Cat huffed and turned away from Kara, walking back over the chart. Bruce spoke up. “Okay, there’s obviously some tension between you two, but we need to stay focused.” He looked back to Kara. “Kara this is a massive operation. If we take it from the top down, we risk another head rising up. If we take it from the bottom up, we leave them no options and the operation is destroyed.” Kara nodded. It made sense. “We keep gathering intel and moving on the lower levels guys and up the chain. As we move up, the guys at the top become more vulnerable.”

Then he finished with, “That’s what Cat’s been doing. She’s sticking to the plan and it’s working. Now Cat,” she slowly walked back over to the camera with her arms crossed. “You can choose to trust the DEO or not. But as soon as you bring other people in, the less control you have over what’s happening.”

Cat turned the slightest glance toward Kara. She looked back at the screen. She was thinking. Then she sighed. “Bruce, I’ve always told you that you need a good team around you to be truly successful. You can only ever do so much on your own. Maybe losing a little control is a good thing. I trust Kara. And I can’t keep up with this on my own anymore. It’s getting too big.”

Bruce said, “Cat, I told you I would come back in any time you needed me. Your training is finished, but I can help you in the field.”

Cat shook her head and gave him a smile. “I already have a superhero, Bruce. But I still need you.”

He just nodded. Cat’s mind was made up. “I’ll be here.”

“Thank you,” Cat replied, “and tell Lucius his algorithms are working.” They said their goodbyes and she and Kara were left alone.

Kara immediately wanted to address Cat’s words from earlier. “Cat, I’m sorry. I never looked at things from your point of view. You’re right. I haven’t trusted you. And the longer I’ve let it drag on, the more distance I’ve put between us.”

Cat finally looked at her, really looked at her. Kara recognized those soft eyes. Then Cat nodded and began walking back toward the stairs. She flipped the lights off and Kara gathered their time here was done. She followed Cat out and back into the house.

Cat sealed the door and led them into the living room. Kara could see that she was exhausted. Cat collapsed onto the sofa. Kara remained standing, not wanting to push. Then Kara smiled and said, “Batman taught you to fight?”

Then Cat smiled. “Bruce is a good friend. And he speaks very highly of your cousin. I know they had their differences.”

Kara turned to look out the window. “They certainly did. But they were able to make amends. I know we can too.” She turned to look back at Cat. “If we can just be open-,” she stopped. She breathed in and smiled fully at the sight before her.

Cat had fallen fast asleep somewhere in the last ten seconds. Her head was laying against the back of the sofa. Her arms were relaxed. A lock of hair had fallen across her cheek. She was beautiful.

Kara slowly stepped up. Leaning forward, she pushed the hair from Cat’s face and watched her for just a moment. Then, she gently slipped her arms under Cat’s legs and around her back. She slowly picked her up and cradled the small woman in her arms. Cat unconsciously reached a hand up to Kara’s neck and leaned her head on her shoulder.

Kara took her upstairs and into her bedroom. She carefully pulled back the blankets on the bed and laid Cat down. She pulled off her shoes and set them on the floor. Then she pulled the blankets up to Cat’s waist. She knelt down on her knees, stealing a moment just to watch her.

When she stood back up, she leaned over and placed the softest kiss on Cat’s temple. Then she stood up to leave. As she turned toward the door, Cat gently caught her wrist. With her eyes still closed and a sleep filled voice, she said, “Stay with me.”

Kara turned back. She took the hand Cat had wrapped around her wrist. Bending her knees again, she kissed her hand. “Okay,” she whispered and set her hand back down on the mattress. Kara stood and walked around to the other side of the bed. She sat down and took off her boots. Then she released her cape from where it was secured inside her suit.

She looked around and saw Cat’s thin robe hanging from a hanger in the bathroom. She took off her suit and retrieved the robe, slipping it on. Her senses over overwhelmed with Cat’s scent. Her soap, her perfume, her shampoo. After breathing it in for a moment, she walked back to the bed and pulled the blankets back, slipping between them.

She wasn’t sure what the boundary lines were, but she had been fighting the urge to touch Cat all day. Her heart was pounding. She scooted up to Cat and lightly pressed herself into Cat’s back. When she felt Cat nestle into her, she relaxed and put an arm around her tiny waist. Cat gently laid her hand over Kara’s arm. Kara dared to pull her a little tighter. She heard Cat release a deep breath and felt her muscles relax. Then Kara relaxed, closing her eyes. Her nose was in Cat’s hair. There was that scent again.

Kara lay there, next to Cat, holding her, thinking of what a whirlwind the last twenty-four hours had been. Now here they were, falling asleep next to each other. Kara had never been so content in all her life.