An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Cat Grant
Characters: Kara Danvers, Cat Grant, Lois Lane, Clark Kent
Additional Tags: Alt Meet, AU, Cat Grant is still the Queen, Kara is still the assistant, Just not Cat's, supercat
Summary:
The three times Cat Grant tried to steal Lois Lane's assistant...and the one time she didn't.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 2/2
Fandom: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Cat Grant
Characters: Kara Danvers, Cat Grant, Lois Lane, Clark Kent
Additional Tags: Alt Meet, AU, Cat Grant is still the Queen, Kara is still the assistant, Just not Cat's, supercat
Summary:
The three times Cat Grant tried to steal Lois Lane's assistant...and the one time she didn't.
Maggie wonders if she should be worried about how attracted she is to the infuriating Agent Danvers.
Maggie stands next to Agent Alex Danvers at the window, looking into the box at the woman sitting behind the metal table with a swaddled baby in her arms. The tension sits thick in the air from Agent Danvers’ recap of the events of the case. A dirty bomb. In her city. Maggie wanted to be more upset about that than the fact that the CIA made camp in her precinct and was now calling the shots in the investigation she and her colleagues put all of the legwork on. She makes a mental note to work on playing well with others, something her Captain dinged her for regularly.
“When we go in there,” Agent Danvers says, still looking at the woman in custody, “it’s important she sees a friendly face. If I go over the line, just pull me back.” She squints her eyes. “That’s a nice touch.”
“What?” Maggie says.
“The baby.”
Maggie throws her a look. She knew from the way she read the synopsis earlier that Agent Danvers took her job seriously, but this display of mastery in the art of disconnecting her emotions from the case, strikes Maggie right between the ears. Her brain can’t decide if she should be scared or impressed and, somehow, both of those options turn her on. She would have to unpack that one later.
Not to be outdone by Agent Danvers commanding presence, Maggie takes the lead on entering the interrogation room. She turns the handle and pushes open the door, making sure she gets in the first words. There’s no way she’s letting the CIA take point on this one.
“Alethea, this is Agent Danvers.” Maggie takes a seat in one of the metal chairs across from Alethea. Her eye makeup looks worse for wear and her dark hair hangs in oily strings around her face, her bangs doing nothing to hide the glowing purple crystal in her forehead. Maggie wonders if Agent Danvers is invulnerable to the psychic powers of Saturnians.
“Do you have news about my husband’s case?” Alethea says with desperation dripping from her words. Maggie wants to be the one to answer but, damnit if Agent Danvers doesn’t get the drop on her. Maggie watches her turn her body as she closes the door in a slow and deliberate manner, her words accompanying the motion in delicious harmony.
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
Maggie sits in awe of her delivery as she informs Alethea of the information they discovered about her husband’s connections to the bomb. When she finishes, Agent Danvers finds a spot standing against the wall, arms crossed, and the neutralist expression on her face Maggie’s ever seen. It’s a power move and it’s working.
“My husband was not a terrorist. He loved this country,” Alethea says.
“And, yet, he was he in possession-”
“Where’s the bomb?” Alex cuts Maggie off with the quiet, steady words and Maggie bites back her frustration. Play nice with the pretty agent, she thinks.
“I told you, I don't know anything about a bomb,” Alethea grows more desperate. “My husband would never do such a thing, why would he?”
“He needed the cash,” Agent Danvers says and steps from the wall towards the table. “That baby of yours is a money pit. Bills started piling up, he gets in with the wrong crowd, I need you to tell me who they are.”
“I don’t know.”
Agent Danvers slams her hands on the table and puts her face inches from Alethea’s. That, along with her rising voice is the first sign of emotion she’s shown since her arrival. “How could you not know the man you’re sharing a bed with is a terrorist?”
Alethea’s eyes fill with tears and she pulls her crying baby into her. Alex keeps going, her voice once again low and steady.
“You’re a part of this.”
“I have nothing to hide.” Alethea looks to Maggie with a plea in her eyes. Maggie’s eyes flick back to Agent Danvers who withdraws from Alethea just enough to straighten her arms as she leans on the table. It gives her enough space to let whatever she’s about say hang in the air between them. Maggie’s mildly impressed with her posturing.
“Yes, you do. And I’m going to find it. And when I do, I’m going to lock you up as a material witness and send that baby to foster care.”
Alethea’s voice breaks. “No, you can’t do that.”
“Oh, yes, I can. Watch me.”
“Agent, can I talk to you?” The words are out of her mouth before Maggie registers that she’s the one who said them.
Agent Danvers turns to her. “No,” then turns right back to Alethea, “now, kiss your baby goodbye.”
Alethea begs for her to stop, begs to keep her baby. Agent Danvers doesn’t relent. Maggie sits stunned.
“Social Services is right outside that door,” she makes a show of pointing to the door and Alethea’s begging grows more frantic. They speak over each other, Alethea asking why she’s doing this, Agent Danvers taunting her.
“Alethea, that means honest in Saturnian, doesn’t it?”
Interesting. Did someone give Agent Danvers this information or was this something she knew on her own? If the former, Maggie was pissed about being left out of the loop. If the latter, she was pissed she didn’t know that, considering she was the resident expert of the science division on all matters not earth-related. Either way, she was pissed and it had nothing to do with Agent Danvers’ dismissal of her objection.
“Please, why are you doing this? Please.” The crying grows louder as their voices rise to be heard over each other.
“I’m going to give you one more chance to be honest with me or I will take your baby away, and you will never see it again.”
“I swear!”
“Do you understand?”
Maggie’s eyes dart between them. She watches Alethea’s desperate pleas with tears falling down her cheeks as Agent Danvers’ cool demeanor returns.
“I swear,” Alethea says again, “I don’t know anything. Please don’t take my baby away from me. She’s the only thing I have. Please.”
At that, Agent Danvers stands upright and takes a step back.
“Alright,” she says, “nobody’s going to take your baby away from you.” She pulls a tissue or napkin from somewhere and sets it on the table in front of Alethea. “Here. You appreciate the tight spot I’m in. I had to make sure you were telling the truth.” She puts her hands on her hips. “Agent Vasquez will drive you home. You’re free to go.”
There’s a thunderous clap overhead and fluorescent lights flicker to life, temporarily blinding Maggie as she holds a hand up to shield her eyes while they adjust. Beside her, Agent Danvers turns away, and lifts her chin to project her voice.
“Do you think she’s being truthful?” she says to the crowd of stunned on-lookers. The three-walled room on stage provides enough realness for the mock interrogation while giving the audience full visual access to the show. “What’s your opinion?” She points to someone. “You.”
A trainee, Maggie recognizes the badge pinned to their lapel, answers, “I do think she’s being truthful; however, I would have to operate under the assumption that she is not.”
“Good,” Alex says, “while we had Alethea in questioning, we had her house bugged. She’s now under surveillance 24/7. If she’s hiding something, we’ll find it. This is why it’s important that she thinks I believe her.”
Maggie steps up beside Agent Danvers who extends an arm out to put her on display. It’s infuriating.
“And now, she considers Detective Sawyer an ally, which could be helpful later.”
A hulking figure, Director J’onzz if Maggie remembers correctly, stalks towards them from the left and he addresses the audience.
“Thank you, Agent Danvers, Detective Sawyer, our trainee Alethea, and our very realistic prop baby for that excellent display of inter-agency cooperation in interrogation. We’re going to take a one-hour break for lunch and then we have breakout rooms this afternoon to discuss interrogation tactics.”
When Agent Danvers walks past Maggie to leave the stage, she comes just a little too close for it to be accidental.
“Thanks for playing, Sawyer. You did great,” she says and keeps walking.
It’s enough to snap Maggie back to reality with heat rising up her neck and steaming out from her collar. She follows the agent and catches up to her in an empty hallway backstage.
“What the hell was that, Danvers?” she calls out to Agent Danvers who stops walking. “You trying to make me look bad?”
She drops her head and nods small enough Maggie almost misses it before she straightens up again and turns to face Maggie.
“On the contrary, Detective. You played your part perfectly.”
“You could have clued me in on your play.”
“I did.”
Maggie wants to object. The power builds in her chest ready to hurtle the words at that gorgeous, smug face with a curl in her lip before she turns and walks away, but all she can think is that, technically, Agent Danvers is right.
