Mercy

Chapter Five

"Hey, Kara," one of the security guards emerged from the elevator with a large bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bag in the other. Already smelling what was in the bag, her stomach chose that moment to roar its approval and she flushed slightly as Snapper looked at her and then at the flowers with disdain and rolled his eyes.

"I want you on the Luthor conference," he growled as she slunk away, pulling his sleeves to his elbows. And Kara scrunched her face at his departing back before she turned back to the security guard.

"Hi, Rob," she beamed at him and heard his heart tick and he smiled back at her.

"These are for you," he handed the flowers over and then passed the bag over before offering her a half-wave and awkwardly backing away back to the elevator.

"Thanks!" She grinned and quickly put the flowers on a nearby desk so she could open her potstickers and was halfway through the first container when she finally thought to look, really look at the flowers. She recognized them immediately and ran her tongue along her teeth and looked for a note. She knew instantly who the flowers were from, and when she found the note it was confirmed. I'm sorry—L. It was impersonal lettering and card but the message and gift meant more to her than Lena could possibly know and she smiled gently at the card before looking at the flower.

"Oooh, Danvers' got a boyfriend," cooed one of the other assistants as she clicked past and made to snatch the card from Kara's fingers. Some of the other interns looked over curiously as Kara's aversion to dating was well-known-James aside- and no one had ever sent her flowers before. Kara may have used Super reflexes to pull the message away and glared at the girl, watching the smile fall from her face. Kara Danvers didn't glare. It was not a look that suited her, but by-god was she good at it. Her eyes turned artic and her face smoothened to marble, like one of those statues in museums.

Swallowing nervously the girl walked away quickly, and Kara's eyes followed her to ensure she got the message. The flowers were hers. She could feel her ire fading as she looked back at the flowers and a smile rose unbidden to her lips and she ran her fingertips over the petals. They were soft, not as soft as roses petals, but still, and they smelt very good. She checked her watch and her eyes widened. She had less than half an hour to get across town if she wanted to be there in time for Lena's speech. She was quick to take the flowers and potstickers to her office and then gathered her messenger bag, note-pad, and other essentials. She would deny using super-speed to devour her lunch but how else was she meant to eat them before she had to leave?

Minutes later she was on the streets, making her way to the bus and listening to her music as the bus wound its way through town.

She was very nearly late to the speech and knew Snapper would certainly have her job if she had missed it, even though she was the only reporter to get anything out of Lena (she had refused to give interviews, directing reporters to her PR team). Lena was already on the podium with the L-Corp building standing guard over her and a group of photographers, journalists, and media teams in front of her, hanging on her every word.

She was wearing a tight mid-thigh length black skirt and had a tailor white suit jacket over a white blouse. It was similar to what she wore last time she spoke here, minus the green blouse and large white jacket. Her hair was falling back across her shoulders, making her face seem softer, even as her lipstick was a dark, promising red.

Kara caught her gaze as she scanned the crowd and felt something in her chest flutter when Lena's lips parted in a smile and she offered a little, nervous wave. Lena's smile warmed and Kara hurriedly jotted down notes of her speech, admiring the way the young CEO held the attention of the media and almost effortlessly moved through her speech. She made sure to emphasize that this incident in no way made her bare no ill will to the alien community, accepting that as the family of such a high-profile alien hater she would no doubt be targeted by those who feared she would turn out the same. She made sure to address the rumors of L-Corp developing anti-alien weapons, (though reporters, including Kara, would later note that she didn't confirm the company had such weapons). It was as she was discussing her loss of her employees and L-Corp's coverage of their funeral costs and the medical bills for those injured in the attack that Kara heard a familiar click.