#and replaced it with cotton wool. i’m looking forward to getting back to catering

[fingertipsmp3]

The way I had to TA a class full of STEM bros on international women’s day 😭

[argyle-s]

THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME CHAPTER 17/38

Rating: Mature

Read at Ao3

Start at the Beginning

Kara introduced Cat to her new assistant, Alex and Maggie work together for the first time, and Cat comes to a decision.

Thanks to @ifourmindbeso for her great work as a beta. Any remaining mistakes are entirely my own.

Chapter 17 –  Introductions and Resolutions

There were just a few hours left until the launch gala started.  She’d gotten confirmation earlier in the day that copies of the issue had been delivered by messenger to the White House, and dozens of Senators and Representatives’ offices, as well as to both Sam and Lucy Lane.  She’d put copies in Lois’ hands personally when she’d greeted her at the airport the previous night and knew Lois had passed one on to her cousin and Diana.  She’d arranged to have copies for Bruce and the rest of the Gotham contingent waiting in their hotel rooms when they checked in.  Alex had taken the first few copies off the press back to the DEO with her so she, Susan, Hank, and the entire intelligence analysis team could review them.

All in all, she was enormously pleased with the issue itself.  None of the articles could be called a puff piece, except maybe the sections on Kryptonian fashion which did end up using photos from the photo shoot and the collection of Earth-adapted Kryptonian recipes in the food section.  The articles Cat had written, and in total she’d written four, were filled with a mixture of both praise and criticism for Kara herself, and for Superman on the rare occasion he was mentioned.  There was the feature, there was an article which talked about the difficulties refugees often had in retaining their own culture, and the difficulties they faced in adapting to a new culture.  There was a historical look at the hostility immigrants had faced in US history, and lastly, an interview with one of the passengers on National City Airlines Flight 237.  Every article in the issue was well-written, well-researched, and related to Supergirl in some way.  It was everything she’d hoped.

The problem was everything seemed to demand Kara’s attention.  She’d finally been forced to hand off the autographing of the magazines to Winn, who was currently feeding copy after copy into the autopen while someone from the secretarial pool slipped the signed issues into the swag bags.  The hotel was on the line every five minutes about some security issue or other until finally, she’d had to give them Alex and Maggie’s phone numbers and just let them handle it.  She’d had an argument with the Commissioner of Police earlier when he’d called, wanting to replace Maggie as the NCPD liaison.  She’d finally had to drop Supergirl’s name, telling the Commissioner that she’d gotten Maggie’s name from Supergirl and that Supergirl insisted that Maggie be the one to handle security.  In fact, the Caterers were the only ones who weren’t giving her a headache because she’d been sure to do a sample tasting of all the dishes by Wednesday to make sure none of the recipes needed adjustment.  That had gone surprisingly well, though by the time it was over she’d been incredibly homesick.

Having four DEO agents in the building had been a huge help though.  Padme Panjabi was the head of the team Kara had recruited to handle Supergirl’s media presence, and so far, she couldn’t be happier with the decision.  Panjabi had taken over the setup process for the forty-second floor without a moment’s hesitation.  She hadn’t even flinched when she’d been introduced to Winn.  Laura Nguyen, Wilma Manygoats, and Marcus Brown filled out the team, and between the four of them, they’d not only gotten the forty-second floor up and running, but they’d all dug in and been helping with various last-minute arrangements that had allowed Kara to take enough of a breath to slip out and Supergirl for long enough to catch a car that had been about to go over the side of Otto Bender Bridge, clean up a pile-up on the Interstate, rescue a small craft that was taking on water about fifty miles off the coast, and catch a bear that had gotten out of its enclosure at the National City Zoo.

Which really left only one task.

Kara led Kaldur’ahm across the bullpen, and felt every eye in the room on them as she did.  Part of it was curiosity and part of it was just Kaldur’ahm himself.  He was magnetic.  Tall, lean, handsome in a way that put James Olsen to shame.  Part of that was the way he carried himself.  He was calm and quiet, but you could see that he was attentive and aware.  He carried himself like the royalty he was and even Kara knew there was a time she’d have been swooning.  Now, though, she was older, more aware of herself, and while she found his presence reassuring, it didn’t make her weak in the knees.

He was dressed in a suit that could have come straight from the latest Georgio Armani collection.  Charcoal gray virgin wool over a red cotton shirt with a red and gray silk tie.  The suit was cut loosely enough that he was able to wear his water bearers in a carefully modified shoulder hostler set up.  It was enough to make Kara feel more than a little inadequate in her white oxford, salmon pencil shirt, and gray sweater.  Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to go change into something more impressive herself.  Cat wanted her new assistant by the end of the day, so that Kara would be free to start as the head of the Supergirl Social Media Group, or S2MG as Cat had dubbed it.

She led Kaldur’ahm into Cat’s office, only to find Cat sitting on one of the couches, smiling as she read through the finished issue.

“Ms. Grant?” she said.

“Yes, Kiera?” Cat replied.

“I wanted to introduce you to your new assistant,” Kara said.

“Oh?” Cat said, as she looked up from the magazine.  She gave Kaldur’ahm a quick inspection.  “Another Millennial,” she said, with a heavy note of disappointment.  “Well, at least he knows how to dress like an adult,” she said.  “But I certainly hope he’d not expecting to earn enough to afford Armani.”

Kara smiled.  “I’ve explained the salary, Ms. Grant.”

“Well, then, maybe you should get to the actual introductions,” Cat said.

Kara nodded.  “Ms. Grant, this is Jackson Hyde.  Jackson, this is Cat Grant.”

Kaldur’ahm stepped forward and held out his hand.  “A pleasure, Ms. Grant.  Kara speaks very highly of you,” he said.

“Of course she does.  I’m amazing,” Cat replied as she reached out and shook his hand.

Kara noticed the slight uptick at the corners of Kaldur’ahm’s mouth and felt a small bit of relief.

“Now, I assume Kiera’s already verified your qualifications, but I do have a few questions.”

“Of course,” he said.

“I’m not sure if Kiera here has explained how I feel about Millennials and she’s no doubt coached you on the answers she gave to get her through the interview, but I don’t coddle my employees, and especially in this position, I expect absolute devotion to the job.”

“Ms. Grant, I assure you, I have no desire to be coddled.  Kara explained quite clearly the work load associated with the job.  She told me that you were demanding, driven, and had no tolerance for anyone who gave less than their absolute best.  She also said you were every bit as demanding of yourself as your employees.  That you were harsh, but fair, and that while your accomplishments spoke for themselves, she felt the need to point out that you were worth every bit of the respect you demanded from those around you.  I assure you, Ms. Grant, hard work does not frighten me.  I simply want a place where I can serve someone I respect and where I can make a difference.  Kara has assured me that the desk in front of your office is that place, so here I am.”

Cat looked him over again, much more slowly this time, taking in every detail about him, before she turned to Kara.

“Relative, Kiera?”

Kara shook her head.  “No,” she said, having a pretty good idea what Cat was really asking.  “When you told me to find you a new assistant, I placed a couple of calls and five different people all recommended Jack, so I got in touch with him and here he is.”

“I see,” Cat said.  “Well, I just hope Jacob here is as good about keeping my Latte hot as you are.”

Kara had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as Cat continued.

“And since you’re skipping out on the gala tonight to do whatever it is you Millennials do on a Friday night, I expect him to be in attendance and fully up to speed.”

“Of course, Ms. Grant.  I never expected anything less.”

“Oh, and Kiera,” Cat said.

“Yes?”

“I’ll expect a tour of your new space on the forty-second floor first thing Monday morning.”

“Of course, Ms. Grant.”

<hr>

Alex stood inside the small meeting room that connected to the side of the main ballroom where the gala was going to be held, taking in the preparations.  A dozen DEO agents, along with four Secret Service agents were going over every detail of the room, checking every nook and cranny, because in the event of an emergency, the President would be evacuated through this room, into the service tunnel that connected to the far wall, and down a carefully marked path to the private garage where the Presidential Limo would be waiting.  It was a good plan.  Well thought-out.  The DEO was just adding some mission-specific hardware.

“What are those?” someone asked, making Alex jump slightly.  She turned around, only to feel her mouth go dry as she found Maggie standing right there.

“Um…” She turned, following Maggie’s gaze over to one of the heavy-duty Kryptonite radiation lamps.  The fact that the topic was related to her job put Alex a bit more at ease.  “Those are Kryptonite Radiation Emitters,” she said.  “They put out a wavelength of light that’s largely safe for humans, but is harmful to Kryptonians.”

“They’ll hurt Supergirl and Superman?” Maggie asked.  Alex didn’t miss the edge in her voice and it made her smile.  She didn’t know a lot about Maggie, not yet, but one thing she had picked up on was that Maggie was protective of Kara.

“No,” Alex said.  “We wouldn’t have installed them if they would.  Supergirl and Superman both have shields that protect them from the radiation.  The other Kryptonians, the ones from Fort Rozz, don’t.  Kara was the one who actually suggested these.”  She glanced over, and saw Maggie nod.

“That girl’s a little scary sometimes,” Maggie said.  “If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was a soldier.”

“I know what you mean,” Alex said.  “I keep thinking of her as my awkward little sister and then she starts laying out things like this.”  She gestured to the Kryptonite emitters.

“I think anyone who’d been through the things she has would be bit weird.  I’m just amazed that she’s such a good person, all things considered.”

“Me, too,” Alex said.

“I’m not sure why you’re surprised.  The way she tells it, you’re the reason she’s not a complete basket case.”

Alex felt herself blushing a little.  “She’s exaggerating,” she said.  “Kara’s always been amazing.  I just helped her along a little.”

“Modest, too,” Maggie said, a cute little smirk on her face.  “Anyway, I just came in to let you know that we’re all set for the Motorcade.  Your teams will be directly in front and behind the limo, then the Secret Service.  We’re closing down the 112 and NCH in about an hour.”

Alex nodded.  “Thanks.  We should be done here in about thirty minutes.”

“Good,” Maggie said.

“Can I ask you something?” Alex said.

“Sure,” Maggie replied

“How’d you meet Kara?  I’ve heard her version of it, but…”

“But sometimes Kara’s perspective on things is a little weird,” Maggie finished for her.  “I was dating a girl, and we’d been on and off for a while.  I had it really bad, but she was sleeping around.  I would break it off, she’d call, and I’d run right back to her, because I was lonely and miserable.  I walked into a bar where some colossal idiot had stood Kara up, and just happened to sit down next to her and you know Kara.”

“Never met a stranger,” Alex said.

“Yeah.  So, she starts talking to me, and at first, I’m annoyed, but she’s just got that smile that you can’t resist, and next thing I know I’m spilling my guts.  She volunteered to keep me company any time I start missing my ex.  She’s kind of been my Ex-girlfriend’s Anonymous sponsor.  Any time Darla calls me, I tell her I’m busy, then call Kara.  Any time I’m tempted to call Darla, I call Kara instead.  After a while though, I realized I had a lot more fun with Kara than I ever did with Darla.”

“If you’re about to say something that would make me obligated as Kara’s older sister to shoot you, please don’t,” Alex said.

“No,” Maggie replied.  “God no.  Kara made it perfectly clear right up front she wasn’t interested.  She said she really wasn’t over Sara.  She was only trying to date to shut up her foster mom and big sister and she didn’t really want to be anyone’s rebound relationship.  Honestly, it would be a bit like dating someone’s kid sister.”

“Yeah,” Alex said.  “Mine.”

Maggie chuckled.  “She’s a good friend.  Bit of a meddler though.”

“Yeah,” Alex said.  “I know.”

“I should get back to it,” Maggie said.

“So should I,” Alex said.

Maggie turned, and started to walk away, but on impulse, Alex called after her.  “Hey, Sawyer.”

“Yeah?” Maggie said, turning around.

“We should grab a beer sometime.  I wouldn’t be a good older sister if I didn’t tell you at least some of the embarrassing stories I have about Kara.”

Maggie smiled.  “Okay.”

Alex turned back to the work at hand, wondering if she’d done the right thing.  Kara said they worked well together and J’onn thought it would be a good idea to foster the relationship early.  Hopefully, getting to know a bit about Maggie would make things run a bit smoother.

<hr>

Cat sat in front of the mirror at her vanity.  Her makeup was already in place.  All she had left to do was step into the dress she’d picked out, put on her shoes and be on her way.  Except she was having a hard time moving and it was all Kara’s fault.

She didn’t understand what was going on.  She didn’t understand why Kara was doing half of what she was doing.  Oh, she got the big picture.  The girl had been clear enough in the interview.  She wanted to make a place for aliens on Earth.  To get them established as refugees.  What the girl said made a lot of sense, and Cat had found it moving enough to thaw even her frozen, bitter little heart.  The heart which normally only showed any signs of defrosting when Carter was around.

Kara had been an exception to that rule almost from the beginning.  This wasn’t new ground.  What confused her though, was how far out of the way Kara was going for her.  She had no idea who ‘Jackson Hyde’ was, but she had no doubt that he was an alien, or at the very least, a metahuman.  Either way, Kara had, upon being told to find her own replacement, gone out and found her *another* super-powered assistant.  It didn’t make any sense at all.

She could understand if Kara was using her and through her, CatCo to further Kara’s objectives.  That made sense.  She might even accept Kara’s statement that she enjoyed working at CatCo at face value, though God only knew why, given that Cat herself was a terrible person to work for.  What she didn’t understand was why the girl was so focused on her.  Most people, given the assignment to find their own replacement before starting their new position would have had HR pull some resumes, found the least terrible option, and thrown them at Cat as they fled to greener pastures.  Not Kara. Of course the girl would do this the same way she did everything else.  She’d go above and beyond the call of duty, find exactly what she thought Cat needed and make sure everything was just so before she moved on.  She’s also pick someone who she was sure would know to come to her if there was any issue.

It was almost as if the girl cared for her, which, if it had been anyone other than Kara would have been a stupid thought.  But this was Kara and Kara had never quite made sense to her.  Oh, she’d seen potential, but Kara had never seemed to quell under Cat’s threats.  She’d seemed to enjoy them.  It had driven Cat mad at first, because the more dire the threat, the broader the smile on the girl’s face.  The first time she’d fired the girl and the girl had just responded with ‘of course Ms. Grant,’ then cheerfully ignored that she’d been fired and kept right on working, it had honestly left Cat flabbergasted.  It had almost come to the point where firing Kara was a little like some weird kind of flirting.

She looked herself in the eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.  Kara Danvers was attractive.  She knew that.  She was nursing a little bit of a crush.  She’d known that for months, because everyone who met the girl seemed to fall hopelessly in love with her.  She didn’t pretend she was immune.  The fact that Kara Danvers could take anything Cat could throw at her, and let it roll off like water off a duck’s back, just made her that much more intriguing.  That fact that the few times Cat had crossed that invisible line that Kara seemed to consider too far, she hadn’t hesitated to put her foot down and let Cat know it was time to back off made Cat squirm with her own arousal.

She needed to get this out of her system.  Maybe find some young blonde company some night when Carter was at his father’s.  Play the fantasy out and be done with it.  Because she needed to be able to think clearly.  Kara and Supergirl.  Both were important, for different reasons, and she would not get in the way of that.  She would not be some cliché, chasing a young woman around the office and destroying the girl’s career to satisfy an itch.  Because that’s all it could ever be.  An itch.  An impulse.

Kara had too much potential.  She was too important.  And Cat would keep her hands to her God-damned self.