Smoky Mountain Rain
Smoky Mountain Rain A Supergirl Story- by superkara For Supercat Week, day 1, abilities ------ This story came from the song Smoky Mountain Rain by Ronnie Milsap. Kind of. It's not as close as I would have made it, or as long as initially intended, but as I thought this up 7 days before Supercatweek, and had 7 stories to write, that's right I'm writing a fic for each day, then needless to say, it's kinda rushed. I might make an extended version at some point, but I have so many unfinished supercat fics at this point that I could write for months and not finish them all, I figure I should devote some time to those. But, alas, every time I start writing one, I think up 3 more, so I should have a fic for any situation now. Anyways, enough with my rambling, I hope you enjoy this. Day 1, supercat week, abilities ------------- Cat stared at the rain pelting the beach and deck of her vacation home and sighed, wondering what National City looked like tonight. Whether it was sunny or gloomy like it was here. Cold and wet. The thought of sunshine brought Kara into her mind for the trillionth time that day, and Cat sighed again, her breath fogging up the window before her, blurring the view. ''Was it a mistake, Kara? To let you go?'' Cat asked to the window, watching with tears in her eyes as lightning crackled dangerously over a choppy, angry sea. ''You told me heroes never run. I did exactly that. So why did you ever call me a hero in my own right? Clearly I'm nothing close to you.'' ---- ''She was the one that got away from me.'' Cat explained sadly to the girl that had joined her at the bar a little while ago, asking if she could use company for a while. She was beautiful, Cat had to admit. Long white blonde hair, pale green eyes, a pouty smile. She was a stunner. But she was no Kara. ''Have you considered calling? Apologizing?'' ''Mm. No.'' Cat said, tear soaked eyes on her empty bourbon glass. ''After running away first, I don't get to do that. I don't have the right to come crawling back for her forgiveness.'' Cat smirked at the memory of their exchange outside CatCo. Kara looking at her in utter shock when Cat had blurted out that she loved her assistant. And then Cat's mistake. Kara had wanted to speak. She'd been about to say something, her cape fluttering behind her in the wind blowing recklessly through the city streets, and Cat had left then. She'd left and stopped whatever Kara had wanted to say, and Kara being Kara, hadn't followed, too struck to speak. ''I just wish I'd had the courage to let her speak.'' ''You were emotional, scared.'' The girl, Kassandra was her name, said in a soft, caring tone, sipping at her mineral water. ''I don't deserve the fear though.'' Cat said sadly, twisting the delicate glassware in her fingertips as she spoke. ''She takes fear and turns it into strength. She uses it as her power. If I can't meet her like that... well. She's so above me...'' ''Tell me about her. Maybe it'll help...'' ''She's... she is, no. She WAS my best girl. Best assistant I ever had. Through the yelling, the anger, even corporate destruction, she didn't leave me. She stayed with me. I suspect I know why...'' Cat stopped for a second, thinking. She knew why. Kara was Supergirl. But she didn't have the right to reveal that name. ''But, regardless, she was like a ray of sunshine, somebody I looked forward to seeing in my office. Which is exactly why I don't have the right to a chance with her.'' ''Because she was your employee.'' ''Precisely.'' ''But it happens. It happens so so much. If she hadn't worked for you, you would probably never have met the girl. Maybe there's a reason...'' ''It's not that.'' Cat said, stopping the other girl. ''I know it happens. I've seen it happen in my office. My photographic journalist, his girlfriend works on the same floor. She was his girlfriend and I still hired her on the spot. I know it can work. But it's the fact that she deserves so much better. She's such a bouncy happy little thing, the last thing she needs is me, such a cold, icy person. She needs someone who will treat her like a precious rose. I'd just wilt her with my cold words. I can't give her what she wants.'' ''What is it you think she wants?'' Cat looked at the woman beside her, eyes narrowed in concentration, wondering why this woman was being so mysterious. ''She wants brevity. Happiness. Beach trips and flowers. Cuddling all weekend and calling in sick to work so she can spend another day with you because two days wasn't enough. All I can give her is coffee addiction and more work. She's 27, and I'm... this. She's practically... I could be her mom. She deserves everything else, not coffee and am meetings and late nights at the office.'' ''Maybe that's what she wants?'' ''I'm sorry?'' Cat asked, a little defiant. ''Not all girls are the same, Cat. Maybe she wants to wake up with you at 4 am and go to CatCo together, with you. And then stay till 8pm and go home together and work until late into the night. Some girls aren't fragile little flowers. Some are stronger, like the stem of the rose, holding up life.'' ''That's insane.'' Cat scoffed softly. ''If she's the stem than I'm the thorn.'' ''Every rose has it's thorns, Cat. The stem holds the thorns.'' Kassandra noted, turning to Cat to speak to her head on. ''Is it insane? You say she's your best. I think, if she kept coming back even after the yelling and company failure, and the cold lattes and the endless work, she's not a fragile rose petal. Maybe she's made or more.'' Now Cat said nothing. Because despite how much she wanted it to be false, to be right, she knew Kassandra was right. Not her. ''Oh, my girl is here. I've got to go.'' Cat looked up with a little smile as Kassandra slipped off the barstool and walked over to a beautiful Latina girl in the doorway, the turned back and came back over for a minute. ''Don't be stubborn, Catherine. Call the girl. If she's moved on, at least you'll know. But if she's as good as you make her seem, then she won't desert you. She's probably just as hurt as you. All you need is $1 and a pay phone to hear her voice.'' Cat watched as Kassandra slid a few coins across the tabletop and smiled, then turned back to her girlfriend, who waved shyly at Cat, and then they walked away together. Cat barely heard Kassandra speak, and saw her girl smile. ''Work time?'' ''Yeah, let's go.'' Kassandra answered, and Cat smiled, nodding to herself. Well damn. Cat watched for a minute, looking at everything and nothing, and then decided that maybe yes. Maybe Cat did need to make that call. --- No answer. Cat sighed and waited, listening to the ever annoying ring of CatCo phones, and thought, praying to hear Kara pick up the other end. Finally someone picked up, but it wasn't Kara's sunny voice. Cat sighed and looked up, wondering where Kara was. It was mid afternoon in National City. Kara should be there, knowing Kara, this was very weird. Kara answered all the phones. Every damn time. ''Hello?'' Cat sighed, her eyes on the rainy grey skies, and felt a stray raindrop land on her nose. James was there. Well, okay. Maybe Supergirl was busy, though Cat hadn't heard anything from the girl on news or otherwise in days. ''It's me.'' ''Cat. Um... calling to check in?'' ''Uh, yeah. Sure. Listen, is Kara around? I need to talk to her.'' ''She actually isn't. She took two days off sick, and hasn't called in yet. I told her she can take as much time as she needs, but...'' ''A Supergirl thing?'' Cat's asked without thought about her words, fear rippling through her veins at the thought of the girl of steel, sick. ''Uh... Ms.Grant...'' ''Relax. I know about her little secret. Is she alright?'' Cat asked, ignoring the rain that was now opening falling heavily, turning the grey world around her a dark brown, slipping through the thin fabric of her suit vest, cold on her shoulders. ''I don't honestly know. You know she lost her powers before. She should be fine, I just told her to take it easy for a few days. Relax. Paint. Sleep. I haven't heard from her besides a text two days ago saying she was a little sick. I wouldn't worry much, Ms. Grant. She's Supergirl. She probably just caught a cold when she lost her powers.'' ''I see. Okay. Well, could I have her cell number? I need to give her a call.'' James relayed a number to her, and Cat hung up sadly, then decided to take her next call off her cell inside, because of the damn rain that felt more like a flood at this point. When she got to her hotel room, soaking wet, went straight for her phone and punched in the numbers with shaking fingers. Both at having Supergirl's private number finally, and because even though James claimed she was fine, Cat felt something off. Cat held herself together for the three separate times she tried Kara's cell, laughing at the message even though she felt sick with worry. Cat tried it one more time, listening through the 4 rings and then Kara's message tone. ''Hi, you've reached the Supergirl hotline, how may I save you?'' ''Kara, please pick up. Let me know you're okay. I know I don't deserve to hear your voice, but Kara, please. Just say hi. That's all I'm asking for.'' Cat stopped the message, clicking the bar away, and fought the urge to throw her phone across the hotel room floor. Cat knew that under all circumstances, Kara should be fine. Of course, Kara should be fine. But for some weird reason Cat couldn't place, something here felt wrong. Something felt off. As if Kara wasn't safe as everyone believed her to be. Cat had always had a sixth sense of Kara, something she also didn't understand, and knew whether the girl was okay. If she wasn't, Cat felt tingly. Every damn time. If Kara was hurt, Cat knew. She couldn't explain it, something along the lines of how Kara always knew things before she did. Right now, Cat was buzzing out of her skin. Which told her something was very wrong. She'd rarely felt this before. Cat grabbed for her phone again, switching to messages. Cat texted her too, leaving multiple messages, apologizing first and then asking for Kara to please get back to her. Even one word. If Kara as much as told her to fuck off and leave her alone, Cat would. But she would not stop this until Cat was sure the girl was okay, because this uncanny sense she had about Kara's wellbeing was making her feel straight up sick to her stomach, and the last time she'd had that Kara had been nearly dead in an underground facility while the world fell apart above her. Cat hoped this wasn't similar in any way. After 15 minutes with no response, Cat couldn't wrack her brain anymore, sitting here sopping wet and scared. She didn't know how she felt Kara like this, she just did. But she was getting worse, and to figure this out, she needed a clear head. And that required a walk. So despite the rain, and the wind, and the cold, Cat grappled for her black trench coat, and stuffed her phone into her pocket and left, going mindlessly, not even looking up to see which street she headed onto. She needed to think. Calmly think. Better for her to mindlessly walk. It helped. It didn't help. 40 minutes later Cat brushed wet bangs from her forehead and sighed at her shaking hands. From the cold this time, not Kara. But her fear of Kara... Cat thought back to her days with Kara, the girl's mismatched desk, oddities and weird things that the girl collected and placed. It became some sort of weird art, and despite Cat's perfectly organized sense of style, Kara's oddity appealed to her. Cat couldn't fathom why, on anyone else it would come off as disgusting. But Kara, with the 4 pairs of vintage sunglasses on her desk, three yellow photo frames with no images, a cup that seemed meant for lost zipper ends, a rainbow of paper notes, and an even wilder array of pens, and a computer screen with so many star stickers on the edges that Cat would get dizzy. What was it about this girl and yellow, in her dresses, in her flowers, in her shoes, in her hair, and if one stared long enough, and Cat had, there was one tiny fleck of yellow gold in her gorgeous blue green eyes, just one. Seemingly only there to amuse. And to sparkle. Oh god how it sparkled. Oh Kara... how had Cat ever done something so idiotic as to leave the girl? Kara... Supergirl... ''Oh, I'm sorry.'' Cat said softly, apologizing for bumping into another pedestrian while she was thinking about this so hard she didn't know where she was walking, and looked up to watch the road more properly, and stopped, noticing the wild rainbow on the window beside her. Normally she wouldn't notice, but she did, because Kara was on her mind, beautiful Kara, and Kara loved rainbows as much as she loved yellow and stickers. Cat looked up at the poster and her lips parted. It was a portrait. Two women. Hugging. Blonde. Beautiful. One slightly older, but not as much as Cat was to Kara. Cat shook her head. She and Kara could never be this. But this, it was stunning. A rainbow of clothes on them, laughing over the same ice cream cone, the younger girl with sprinkles on her nose, the older one with the sweet treat melting down the cone and over her fingers, laughing at her younger girlfriend... Her girlfriend. Cat smiled at the image, and then read the words, and her heart stopped. Everything stopped. The world around her seemed to stop and work in slow motion, broken, wet, cold, the rain falling in slow motion. If she's the one, tell her. Is she your super soulmate? ------ Part 2 ------- Kara sat on one of the cold metal DEO tables, beneath the few sunlamps, and sighed. She didn't feel off, not physically. She could still fly, breathe ice, X-ray anything, it was only her strength. How odd. "Are you sure you feel alright? No weakness, dizziness, nausea? Maybe..." "Nope." Kara confirmed with a shake of her head. "I feel fine. I just don't have my strength." "Kara?" Winn asked, walking into the room quickly. "What's up?" Kara asked, sliding off the tabletop resolutely. "Cat's texting your phone. 4 missed calls and 5 texts." "Ignore it." Kara said tightly, and Alex turned to look at her directly, unable to remember the last time Kara had refused her boss anything. "She wants to know if you're..." "I said ignore it. She... I can't... I have nothing to say to her." "Didn't you at she confessed her love to you?" "And then she told me it was stupid of her to do so. She told me she loved me, and then left. She ran away from me. And she never mentioned Kara. She mentioned Supergirl. I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be so emotional, but I can't be good about this. I've loved her ever since I walked into her office for my interview. When she told me she loved me, I was thrilled. Then she told me she wished she didn't. Listen, can we please focus on figuring out what happened to my strength, not my love life? Or, lack of it?" Alex glanced around nervously, then focused back on her table of laptops, and thankfully everyone else did too, ignoring Kara's little outburst. Supergirl was dangerous when she was mad, and thankfully everyone knew that enough to know when to let the girl deal alone. ------- Cat sat back and sighed, waiting for a response. Winn had texted her back on Kara's number, which told her that Kara had to in fact be at the DEO, since Cat knew Winn worked there now. And that made her worry more, because if Kara was at the DEO, then that meant she was likely there because she was unwell, because James had said she was sick, a bit. Hopefully it was only a bit. Cat had that feeling that told her it was more. Way more. When her cellphone beeped, Cat nearly jumped out of the seat in the back of the taxi carrying her back to the airport. Cat was going home. To Kara. Now. It was time to tell Kara. That Cat finally knew. That she believed in heroes and demons, in angels and devils, and that Kara was her soulmate. Because Cat had always followed rules. And regulations. Maybe it was time to dive for real, and this kind of diving required taking a beautiful woman's hand in hers, and leaping with someone who could fly. Cat had never believed in the preposterous idea of a soulmate, but Kara had. She'd mentioned the idea more than once in lazy conversations about other people, and now Cat couldn't help thinking, maybe Kara hadn't been that wrong. Because when the girl is your best assistant, your hero, your ultimate, then maybe she should be the one designed for you. Maybe she had been designed for Cat. And because Cat was who Cat was, then maybe the angels went a little nuts and sent her from a different universe. Just because special deserved unique. And Cat definitely deserved a heroine as a soulmate. 'She's losing her powers. She's slowly fading. I don't know what she did, but her powers... she looks tired. She never looks tired.' Cat gasped at the text, then quickly responded. 'I know what's happening. I'm coming home to her. This might sound stupid coming from me, but I think she's losing her powers because of my being gone. It makes no sense, but I can feel her. I know she's unwell. I'm on my way home now.'' 'That's not stupid. You're her one. On her world, there was soulmates. She simply never thought she would find one on earth. She's given up.' 'Tell her I'll be home soon. And that I'm sorry. Tell her not to give up.' 'She... she said I should ignore you. She says she doesn't care...' 'Tell her to believe. She's a hero. It's what she has to do.' ------------ Part 3 ------- ''I can drop you off as far as Houston. I'm turning back from there." "Anything. I can pay you..." Cat offered, ready to pull out her little wallet, or a cheque. $100, $1000, $1,000,000 she'd pay it to get closer to Kara. "Please don't. It'll be good company, someone with me. Someone to talk to other than the radio. I leave in 30. Is there anything you need to get? Are you hungry before we leave?" "No. I have everything." Cat shook her head, messy curls falling over her coat shoulders, still wet. "Well, I don't know about talking. I'm pretty boring, people tell me." "I've heard the rumors of your cold smile. I know who you are. It's odd to me that you aren't using your millions to get to her through the air, but I'm sure you're willing to say. Take a seat." He offered, and Cat gratefully took it and ordered a cup of bold coffee, black. Strong. Dark as hell and hot as fire. "But the thing is, and maybe is my heart talking here, but love is never boring. It's wild, untamed, and painful as hell. But it's good when it's real. Tell me about this girl. I know you've had your share, I read a lot of magazines as I pass through towns, but if this one has you running across the country frantically to find her, well, she must be really something." "I... I'll explain on the way. I... she has secrets I'd rather not reveal in... here." "I think I already know." He said and slid over a magazine, he kept the pages parted with his thumb, and Cat took it and flipped it open partly, and gasped at the sight. Her, telling the world that she was naming the new hero Supergirl. Cat flipped to the front and found the magazine over 2 years old. That explained the faded edges and crippled pages, and met the man's eyes, nodding slightly. He just smiled and finished his meal quickly, then dropped the napkin and a tip onto the counter and got up, offering his hand to Cat as he did so. She didn't take it, but followed gratefully, settling into the passenger seat of the truck as he fired the car up, and the radio came on and softly blared something old and country. He went to flick it off, but Cat shook her head and told him to leave it if he wanted to. That she really didn't mind. And it might come as a shock, but Cat did have a soft spot for that old country, and besides, the sweet sweet love songs spoke of exactly what Kara was, all sugar and spice, all blueberry pie on sunny windowsills, and bluebirds singing. And suddenly all Cat wanted was her kitchen, with a slice of such a pie, Kara in her arms kissing whipped cream off her nose, and sunshine filtering through the curtains. "So, she's quite super, isn't she?" The man said, quoting with his fingers as they slowly took off onto the highway, and Cat sighed and laughed, drying her hair in a few napkins she'd stolen from the tabletop inside the cafe. "To find her, can you make these big wheels burn?" -------------- By the time Cat arrived in the place the man had promised, it was a lot of days later, and Cat had long run out of battery in her phone, and had randomly stopped to make calls from phones to keep tabs on Kara's situation, and had gotten more sad with every call in. Kara was getting worse. She was powerless, and currently so sick she just slept. Always slept. She talked to Alex directly now, no longer Winn, and Alex was as eager to have Cat back as Cat herself was. Kara still didn't talk to her, until this call. Now, Cat wished she had enough power to crush the phone like Kara so often had at work when something ticked her off. Now it was Kara that had ticked Cat off. Kara was gone. Just gone. Alex didn't know where, nobody did. Kara was just... gone. She had left at night, apparently for fresh air, and had gone for a short walk down to the grocery store and back, so she'd said. But now she'd been missing for 7 hours, and nobody knew where to look. Cat told them to search everywhere, call everyone, and hung up. Kara Kara Kara. Where the hell would she go, silly girl? "I'm off back to Washington, I hope you find her." The man said gently, coming up beside her, and she wiped at her tears. "I'll never stop until I find her. She's somewhere. Like this, in her state, she won't get far. I have to go. I'm getting on the next plane flight to National City, and I might just crush her when I find her." "Might want to hug her first." The man joked, and Cat laughed bitterly. "Might buy a ring worth billions first, to show her I'm choosing her, the little heathen. She's a bit nuts, doing this." "I don't know much about aliens, but if she really is the one, then she should get better when you find her." "I know. I just hope I know where to look." ----------- When Cat landed in National City, she knew where to go. Her penthouse. Somehow, Kara would be there. How? Cat had no clue how. She just knew. But finding Kara cold and wet, in the dark, crying, sitting on the beach, that wasn't an expectation. She'd expected a powerless superhero, but still Kara Danvers. Not, this. Seeing Kara like this, sitting by the shoreline in her suit, watching the ocean, crying softly, Cat didn't know whether to say something or not. After fighting her way back across the country to find Kara, Cat wanted nothing more than to wrap Kara in her arms and maybe smack her on the head for being so damn stupid. But seeing her like this, Cat knew Kara wasn't just dealing with her lost powers. She was dealing with way more, stuff she'd lost, stuff she'd thought should no longer exist. It was when Cat stepped up a few meters behind her, her feet hitting the sand as well, that Kara looked up and turned to meet her eyes. Cat expected her to get up, maybe hug her, but she didn't. Kara looked up, but she kept at the water, flexing her hands in the sand now that her powers were coming back. "Kara." It was a whisper. Cat didn't know if she could say anything above that, seeing this girl so broken, even as she was powering back up. "Kara, I'm sorry, I had no idea. I didn't know you could, that we were... I've never heard of something like this in my life, I didn't think you and I could possibly be..." "It's not your fault, Cat." Cat stopped, Kara's words ringing over the ocean, over the beach, cold and broken. "Why did you say you love me?" Kara whispered, and Cat gasped, staring at her head on. "Because I do." "And then you said you wish you didn't." "Because I do." Cat repeated. Kara gasped now, and turned to face her, tears in her eyes. "You wish you didn't love me?" Kara asked, getting up to talk to Cat head on. "Yes. I do. Because I love you more than I ever should." Cat whispered, walking towards Kara. Cat reached up and started running her fingers through Kara's messy gold waves and settling them over her shoulder, fixing the strap of her tank top peeking out from the suit top as she did, a habit for perfection. "I shouldn't want you as much as I do, because Kara, you're my assistant, you work for me. If it ever gets out, that you and I... hell, I knew it wasn't good before you came out as Supergirl. And then you did." "And?" "And... I lost my heart again. I fell all over again, you and your mad colour wheel of power. And I do love the suit. Maybe it is a kink, a stupid thing, but the cape... I have the same problem with Superman and Batman. But this one was you, a girl, so close to me every day, my god Kara... the dreams I have about you... and so I left." "You left Catco because of me." Kara connected, shocked. "I did. But apparently the universe won't let me leave you. God knows I tried." Kara just laughed miserably, scoffing, something she'd no doubt learned from Cat. "Cat, I... the universe only has one soulmate for me. When I lost Krypton, I thought I would lose the chance to find my soulmate. I never thought I'd find the one on another planet. When I figured it out, that it was you, thanks to my mother's hologram, I... I lost it. Paired with what you said... I I should have contacted you back, I was scared. I didn't know I would lose my powers, that it was a soulmate thing, I was scared that I was poisoned or hurt, or... sick, something. I... Alex told me you were coming back for me, and I ignored it. I was scared for my health, more than anything else, and I couldn't even think about love. But when you got in the city, I felt it. The power. The... strength. I didn't know what to think, so I came here. I..." "Are you back at full strength?" "Almost. It'll come. Cat... I, we... do we have a chance?" "I don't know. You're such a nerd, you're strange, and you like comics and toys and... how? Why did the universe... pick you for me? An alien? Isn't human enough?" "You have high standards? Nobody on earth would do?" Kara joked. "Okay, sure, I'll accept that. It's one answer in this mess. It makes no sense... but you fly and shoot lasers and ice and..." "And we're soulmates." "How did you know? On Krypton? How did you know your soulmate?" "Not like this, we would have had an apocalypse..." Cat laughed, and Kara joined her. It felt good to laugh, even like this, dirty and wet and soaked to the bone. Cat looked like hell, matted hair, no makeup, more dirt then bare skin on her, and Kara looked the same, a disaster, her suit messy and wet, muddy and covered in sand, and Cat seemed to have gone through some battles on the way back. "Kara, I want a chance with you, with us. I don't know if we can have one, but I want one." Cat whispered, holding Kara's hand tightly, laughing at the usually white simple manicure that was now dark brown and messy, dirty. "Can we find a way, Kara?" "I don't know if Kara can. Kara is just an assistant. But heroes can, and this hero will." "Well, do you want to come inside?" Cat said, gesturing to her penthouse on the cliff. "Get cleaned up? Then, we can talk." "I'd like that."