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Love, Judgement and Forgiveness

Chapter 7

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Cat resists the urge to sigh or rub her temples or perform one of the dozen other tells provoked by her impending headache.  Any minute now James Olsen is going to come storming in and she’s not looking forward to the confrontation.  She’s back in her office, Lena has been ousted and the board seem mostly, well relieved is probably the best word to describe it, that she’s back.

After being woken at an ungodly hour this morning Cat had then needed to wake a lot of other people up.  Olivia, thank god, had still been awake.  After nearly a year in the Marsdin administration Cat suspects Durlans need a lot less sleep than humans and that Olivia leverages that advantage ruthlessly.  Olivia had understood even before Cat had explained the situation, although that explanation had led to hasty calls to the FBI and the DEO and several other federal agencies, and then to Lucy Lane, clearly dragged from her bed, showing up at the White House to be briefed on the situation.  If it hadn’t been such an unholy mess Cat would have felt a little smug (fine, more than a little) that she’d been the one to bring this to everyone else’s attention.  Lucy had gotten over her astonishment and horror quickly and begun to grasp the intricacies of the situation.

She’s an inspired choice for handling the situation, Cat thinks.  The major is a known quantity for Kara and Alex and most of the personnel at the DEO, generally liked and respected, but her posting to Washington means she’s had no contact with Lena Luthor.  She has far too much professionalism and integrity to let herself be swayed by those friendships and her legal background makes her well qualified to navigate the thorny ins and outs of Lena’s relationship with the DEO.  By five in the morning Lucy had been appointed the head of a joint taskforce between the DEO and Homeland Security that would be investigating Lena Luthor’s activities and Cat was on her way to the airport to catch a flight back to National City, Carter napping in the seat next to her while she got most of the CatCo board on conference call.

It had been harder for Cat to reach some of them than it had for her to speak with the president.  Fortunately, once they heard what she was calling about they went from angry from desperate in the time it took them to click the links Cat texted to them.  Even more fortunately James’ announcement already had some of them leaning in the direction Cat intended to shove them in, not that she’d needed to give them so much as a nudge in the end.  The board hadn’t exactly been thrilled with Lena’s presence in the first place.  Some of them struggled enough with Cat as CEO, a woman with decades of experience in the field who’d founded the company whose board they sat on.  Lena arbitrarily installing herself as CEO with no prior media experience after a last-minute stock purchase had been a bitter pill for some of them to swallow.  Much as she loathes the sexism involved, their concerns weren’t unjustified.  Lena had treated CatCo as a hobby more than a job and this latest scandal had been the last straw.  Once they’d heard Cat might be available to resume her former position they’d practically fallen over themselves to offer her the job.  It won’t last, Cat is well aware, but presented with the opportunity to dodge the fallout of Lena’s actions by replacing her with Cat - whose brand and reputation have only been enhanced by her time as White House Press Secretary – they’d been all too eager to support her.

Lena had tried to fight it and been shocked to discover she couldn’t.  The shareholders agreement under which Lena was able to buy a controlling interest in CatCo for rather less than half of what the shares were worth specified that she was legally obligated to sell them back to Cat – at the same percentage of their current value she’d paid for them – provided Cat could pay the sum in full and had no conflicting obligations.  Lena had tried to cite Cat’s position as WHPS and thrown what was essentially a very reserved tantrum when Cat had informed her she’d resigned from the position that morning.  Then she’d tried to refuse to sell and been told in no uncertain terms that this wasn’t an option.  Cat’s trustee hadn’t done enough to protect her company from Edge’s attempted takeover, but her lawyers had written an airtight contract for the purchase.

Lena hadn’t seemed to know how to handle someone who simply refused to go along with what she wanted no matter what.

“I thought that the board had moved beyond being suspicious of my motives simply because of my last name.  I can’t help my last name.  I can’t help the crimes of my family.  But I shouldn’t be held accountable for them.  I would have thought that after last time the board would know better than to leap to conclusions.”

Lena could certainly declaim with the best of them, Cat had privately acknowledged at the time.  Her charisma and looks had probably carried her through more than one awkward encounter where the facts weren’t on her side, and having James Olsen standing behind her looming angrily added nicely to the effect.  Unfortunately for Lena Cat had bulled through too many confrontations using similar tactics to be impressed.

“No-one’s holding you accountable for any crimes but your own, Lena.  The ones you’re suspected of, that is.  There’s a slight difference between accusations from a private individual based on wholly circumstantial evidence and the FBI wanting to speak to you because your own files indicate you broke so many federal laws I need the calculator app on my phone to keep track of them.”

Behind Lena James looks uncomfortable and Cat wonders how much he knows.  Meanwhile Lena seems determined to brazen it out.

“I haven’t done anything wrong. You have no right to pass judgment on me!”

“Mm-hmm.  You’re right Lena, you won’t be judged by me, you’ll be judged by a court of law.  They work on evidence and I understand there’s rather a lot of that.  But even if you’re found innocent on all charges I don’t need a justification to claim my shares back.  And the board doesn’t need any more reason than loss of confidence to move to have you replaced.”

That had been that.  She hadn’t looked defeated as she stormed out of the boardroom – Cat’s not sure Lena Luthor understands the concept, which is a trait she might admire if it wasn’t rooted in privilege even greater than Cat’s own (Cat sure as hell hadn’t inherited a multibillion dollar company before the age of thirty-five, she’d had to make hers) – but she had looked shocked.  Was that why she’d been so willing to sign the contract in the first place, Cat wonders?  Did Lena think she would just always get her own way?

And she still hasn’t had a moment to talk to Kara yet.  Cat wishes there had been time for that earlier, rather than casually upending Kara’s world as she breezed past, but there hadn’t been time.  And there isn’t time now, because a furious James Olsen is barging into her office.

Oh, how pleasant this is going to be.


 As James storms in Cat makes a private bet with herself over whether he’s more pissed at Lena losing her job or his own impending demotion.

“James, come in, have a seat – and close the door behind you.”

James at least has the grace to sit down instead of trying to loom over her.  As soon as he has he leans forward, expression firm yet compassionate.  Cat realises, with crystallising disappointment, that he thinks he’s going to explain things to her.

This conversation is going to be more unpleasant than either of them were expecting.

“Are you sure this is a good idea Cat?”

“Would you care to clarify that statement, James?”

She knows perfectly what he means, but Cat wants to see exactly how deep a hole James is willing to dig for himself.

“Don’t you think this is kind of an overreaction?  I mean, quitting your job, rushing back to CatCo . . . I’m sure this is all going to blow over soon.  The media is overreacting.  This time next week they’ll be fixated on something else.  You know how it goes.”

Cat resists the urge to roll her eyes.  Does he think he can magically make all this go away?

“James.  When the CEO of a major company is caught fiddling around with Kryptonite, it’s slightly more significant than Kanye’s latest twitter idiocy.  When the media outlet the aforementioned CEO has a significant stake in is the only news source in the country not commenting on her actions, the words ‘conflict of interest’ are not nearly sufficient to describe the fiasco.”

“Lena only wanted to help.  You have no right to punish her just because -”

“Maybe she did.  But until I hear a good explanation for why she wanted to use my company to whitewash her reputation after she got caught violating multiple federal laws pertaining to the unlawful creation of radioactive material I’m reserving judgment.”

James has the look of someone who wants to say something and hasn’t realized they don’t have a rebuttal until after they’ve opened their mouth.  Cat’s been seeing quite a bit of that lately.  What is it about Lena Luthor, she wonders, that persuades people to leap to her defense when her actions should condemn her?  How does she cast herself as the victim and still look strong?

“You wouldn’t be saying any of this if her last name wasn’t Luthor.”

Cat has had enough of this.

“This isn’t about her last name, James.  For the last time, it’s about what she’s actually done!  Did you know Kryptonite is defined as a nuclear byproduct material?  I didn’t, before this morning.  Apparently the nuclear regulatory commission takes that sort of thing very seriously.  Homeland Security also want to talk to Lena because having quantities of the material that can be used to kill Superman and Supergirl is a national security issue.  The FBI want to know if she lied during the investigation into her brother’s activities.  The SEC want to know how she paid for all that very expensive research – it turns out manufacturing an exotic radioactive element that doesn’t occur naturally on earth is expensive, who knew?  And OSHA want to know what kind of safety precautions she was taking while working with radioactive material that sometimes goes boom all over the place!”

She has to pause to take a breath and James seizes the opportunity.

“Lena would never put anyone’s life in danger like that.  She was careful,” he breaks off for a second, thinking.  “You know she offered to step down before, when Edge accused her of poisoning those kids?  That’s how serious she is about doing the right thing.  Just the possibility that she might have harmed someone horrified her.”

“I did hear about that,” Cat says, dry as any martini she’s ever had.  “Although I imagine that it was an easy offer to make when she knew she was innocent.”

There had been a lot of information in those files, and while everyone else focused on the Kryptonite Cat, once she’d looked beyond that shiny, dramatic distraction, had been struck by what else had been released.  One of the more interesting tidbits was information on the weapon Lena had used during the Daxamite attack.  Give the woman her due, she’d gone to some effort to make sure it was safe for anyone born on planet earth.  She’d also refrained from releasing that information when Edge made his allegations, even though it could have cleared her in a heartbeat.

James’ eyes widen.  Has he actually read any of the leaked files himself or did he default to playing the gallant knight for his girlfriend without bothering to find out what he was protecting her from?  Not that Lena Luthor needs anyone to protect her, in Cat’s opinion.

It clicks, suddenly, the way he’s speaking, the way he’s acting.  James isn’t denying that Lena did any of these things, he isn’t even questioning it.  He’s denying that it matters.  The rush of clarity as Cat realises exactly what he’s done – or what he hasn’t done – overwhelms her for a second.

“You knew.”

“What?”

“About the Kryptonite.  You knew that Lena had made it all along.  For how long James?  How long did you know that Lena Luthor had broken multiple federal laws, misused company property, conducted dangerous experiments without oversight and played around with a material that’s fatal to Supergirl and Superman without reporting it to the authorities or writing about it?”

“Write about it?  You think I should have done an expose on Lena?”

He stares at her as though it’s the most outrageous thing he’s ever heard.

“We had a conversation once, do you remember?  About the duty of journalists to tell the truth?  About what happens when we don’t?”

“It’s not the same.  Lena’s actions didn’t hurt anyone -”

“Yet.  You didn’t report it.  It never even occurred to you that you should report it, did it?  Tell me, James, were you protecting your girlfriend or covering for your boss when you made that decision?”

In fairness, Cat doesn’t really think James was thinking with his dick.  He was thinking with his pride, too invested in the role of protector to see anything else.

“You’re fired, James.”

“You’re not serious.”

“You failed to do your job, failed to act with an ounce of professional integrity and you abused your position at CatCo to suppress a major story because you found it personally convenient to do so.  In the process you probably made yourself an accessory after the fact to several criminal acts.  Yes James, I am serious.  You.  Are.  Fired.  Be grateful it’s not out of a cannon from the top of this building!”

James lurches out of his chair, gaping at her.  Cat braces for the torrent of vitriol, the condemnation.  She’s heard it all before, although it’ll sting a little more coming from this man she once genuinely liked and respected.

It doesn’t come.

 

“As easy as that.”

“There’s nothing easy about it, James.  Even without this disappointing revelation, the Guardian thing -”

“The Guardian thing?”

Now he’s getting properly angry.  This is personal, in a way that defending Lena wasn’t.  For a moment Cat considers letting it go.  It’s been a day of ugly confrontations and revelations and she doesn’t particularly want another, especially when she’s already fired him.  Only there are things she wants to say to Mr Olsen, things she thinks he needs to hear, and this is the last chance she’ll have for a while have to say them.

“Yes James, the Guardian thing.  When you decided that being in charge of a Fortune 500 company wasn’t enough of a challenge and decided to take up vigilantism on the side.”

“You mean when I decided to step up and make a difference.  Be a hero,” he declares, so full of self-righteous certitude it wafts off him like a chemical weapon.

There’s a difference, Cat thinks, between feeling you have a duty to help and wanting to be known for it.  She’s known some remarkable people in her time, many more heroes than just the ones who can fly, and one thing they all had in common is that none of them wanted to be a hero.  They were all simply doing what they felt they had to.

“I know you’ve saved lives, James.  And I know you’ve risked yours.  I won’t pretend that means nothing.  But was dressing up in a silly outfit and hitting people really the best way you could think of to help people?  A black belt and some fancy body armour don’t make you special.”

“I help people, and -”

“And you couldn’t do that with the resources of CatCo at your disposal?  Or was setting editorial policy and exposing social injustice not as fun than punching out thugs in back alleys?  And now you’ve gone public.  Couldn’t resist the glory, could you?”

James’ expression tightens, and he leans forward, intense.

“I decided I didn’t want to hide.  No mask, no secrets.  I wanted people to know who was helping them.  You can’t understand what it means for people to see a hero and know it’s someone like me.”

“You’re right, I can’t.  That’s why I wanted you for this job.  You were qualified, yes.  You had the experience in the field that I wanted anyone who took over to have.  I believed that you would give the job your all, which I was clearly mistaken about, but more than that I wanted you to bring that perspective to CatCo.  Especially now, when bigots and cowards and idiots preach intolerance and fear and act as though their privilege is a divine right I wanted someone at the helm who understood what it’s like to live with that prejudice in a way I never could.  I thought you understood that.”

James rears back in genuine astonishment.  Did he truly not realise?  Regret slices into Cat, sharp and deep.

“Instead you threw the opportunity away because felt left out of the superhero club.  You can’t be someone who reports the news, or worse someone who sets editorial policy for the people who do, if you’re also someone who makes the news they report on.  You were responsible for deciding the stance CatCo reporters would take while reporting on your own actions!

“What about Kara?  She reports on herself.  She interviews herself!”

James clearly regrets the words as soon as they’re said.  Does he still honestly imagine she doesn’t know who Kara is?  A full face helmet didn’t stop her from identifying him.  Truthfully, Cat had put that together before she’d ever set foot back in National City but pretending to ‘recognise’ him had been hilarious and the least of what he deserved for thinking he could fool her like that.

 “Kara doesn’t determine policy for one of the largest media conglomerates in the country.  Kara didn’t put herself on the front page in a secret identity after she’d been a journalist for more than a decade and Kara didn’t have editorial oversight of a large number of the people reporting on her activities!  I should have dealt with this before now, only you’d been tolerably careful about not meddling in Guardian coverage and Olivia made her offer.”

Cat’s voice rises steadily until she’s roaring at him as she launches out of her chair.

“Then you outed yourself and put every CatCo reporter, writer and editor in an untenable position!  They couldn’t write about anything you’re involved in without their reporting being distorted by knowing that they’re writing about their boss.  Anyone reading an article they’d written in which you appeared would be within their rights to question their objectivity.”

James mutters it under his breath, but Cat catches it all the same.

hypocrite

“Hypocrite, James,” she asks, her voice going soft in a way the signals an imminent evisceration.  James clearly recognizes it too, but he’s past the point of caring.

“I’m guessing you never gave Kara this lecture,” he sneers.

“Kara’s saved the world a couple of times.  Kara wasn’t in a position to make a bigger difference in the world outside of her costume than in it.  The crucial difference, James is that Kara and Clark -”

James feels himself tense with shock but Cat merely rolls her eyes at him.

“- Yes of course I know who they both are, I’ve known for ages, not the point.”

“You know about Clark?”

Cat actually rolls her eyes at him, unimpressed that he’s hung up on the irrelevancy.

“He used to leave his clothes in the toilets after a quick change and he always smelt of smoke and gunpowder and burnt rubber.  It was fairly obvious.  The difference, as I was trying to say, is that they didn’t seek power.  It came to them and they had to make a choice about what to do with it.  Whether or not they could live with wasting it.  You went the other way.”

A long, silent moment passes.

“I guess there’s nothing else to say.”

“I suppose not,” Cat sighs.


“James!”

“What?”

James grits his teeth.  He doesn’t want to drag this scene out with Cat any further, especially not in his office – her office again (did it ever really stop being her office?) - in front a dozen CatCo staffers.  He doesn’t want what he suspects will be the last conversation he has with her for a while to end with shouting.  But when he turns around Cat look less hostile than he expected and she’s holding out a plain cream card.  It’s for him, obviously, but he’s cautious as he crosses over to her.

“What’s this?”

Cat’s gaze is steady.  He’s not afraid to look her in the eye, but it’s not the easiest thing he’s ever done.

“Bruce Wayne’s personal line.  He’s been looking to expand into media.  Not on this scale, it’s more of a personal project for him, improving the quality of local journalism in major cities starting with Gotham, but you might find it interesting.  It’s more of a consulting position, not editorial, so there wouldn’t be a conflict of interest.  You probably wouldn’t have to relocate.  Even if you don’t want the job,” she pauses, thoughtful rather than hesitant, “call him anyway.  I think you’ll find the conversation fruitful.”

James manages a nod and takes a few steps forward so he can accept the card, recognizing the gesture for what it is, reminded after the conversation he just had why he does respect this woman as much as he does.

“James.  I hope the choices you’ve made work out for you.  I do.  But you can’t be the Guardian and work here.”

“Thanks,” he manages as he takes the card.

Then he’s gone.

Notes:

Tiny editing mistake fixed, 2/8/18.