Family Name 4

“How did your visit at the hospital go?” Alex asked Kara. Kara had just spent the last few hours visiting every patient at National City children’s hospital taking photos, signing autographs and handing out Supergirl and Super Friends themed shirts, hats, blankets, posters, toys and other items. Kara had initially thought it was silly having such things made but Alex convinced her saying that they were going to be sold anyway so we might as well be the ones making money off of it. It started off with t-shirts but with Alex’s prodding Kara turned it into a large company that made all kinds of things you could think of making billions of dollars a year in profits. A large portion of those profits went to Kara’s charity foundation. A foundation that funded not only alien causes but human causes as well. Of course Nia, J’onn and Alex got royalties from products that used their likeness. Even Winn had a line of action figures. They just weren’t available to the public as Winn wasn’t comfortable being famous. He had a taste of what it was like due to his father’s actions and didn’t want to experience it again.

“Other than the people trying to gain my favor I had a good time.”Kara told her.

“What was the most outlandish request?”Nia loved to hear about the crazy things Kara was asked for.

“A man brought a detailed record of his family tracing back to the 1800’s that included not only what occupation they had but all the medical records he could get to prove to me that he would be the perfect man to father my children.”Kara had people offer to father her children but never had one brought family member’s medical records.”His big selling point was that the women in his family gave birth to more boys than girls.”

Nia laughed.”He actually brought you medical records?”

“He had what he claimed was all of his siblings, each of his cousins, his parents, grandparents, nieces, nephews, his aunts and uncles’ as well.”Kara wasn’t sure how the man got them to agree to give him a copy.

“What did he do for a living?”Alex asked.

“He proudly told me that he was unemployed.”Kara said.

“He was proud to be unemployed?”Nia didn’t know why anyone would be proud to be unemployed.

Kara nodded.”He claimed that not having a job would give him the freedom to take control of the company so that in his words I as a woman could stay home and raise the kids and take care of the household.”

Alex joined in Nia’s laughter this time.”He thought that you would ever agree to stay at home and be a housewife?!”

“I wish I had gone with you just so I could see your face when he said all that.”Nia would have loved to see Kara’s reaction to the man.

“I gave him a few minutes to talk because he wasn’t causing a scene but I was eventually forced to have security remove him.”Kara hated that she had to polite to people all the time but she had to. If she were ever rude or angry it would make the public think that all aliens were the same way.

“How did he even get close to you?”Alex asked.

“He was the uncle of one of the patients. I don’t think his family knew he was going to act that way because they looked completely mortified hearing him talk. After he was escorted away they apologized many times for him.”Kara hated having to deal with such people but it was a regular occurrence in her life.

“People are so horrible sometimes. I mean using a sick kid to proposition Supergirl is disgusting.”Nia said.

“I made sure to give the girl some extra merch to show her that I didn’t blame her for her uncle.”Kara had felt bad for the little girl. She was so excited to meet Kara but her uncle didn’t even give her the chance to say hi before he propositioned her.

“Speaking of merch. We have a request for some new photos and body scans. They are wanting to put out a new line of stuff in time for Christmas.”Alex told them.

“Have you gotten the sales records for last month?”Nia asked.

“Yes I did.”Alex hadn’t been pleased with them either.

“And.”Nia knew that Alex was stalling but wanted to know the results.

Alex sighed.”And after Kara you are number two in leading sales. I am number three and J’onn is number four.”

“Yes!!”Nia cheered. She and Alex had been fighting for the number two spot ever since she joined the team. It went back and forth constantly.”That means I get the prize.”

“I’ll have to see what I can come up with.”Kara gave a prize each month to whoever took second place as she was always number one in sales.

“I was really hoping to win this month because I was going to ask you to work on my motorcycle.”Alex was planning on asking Kara to do some modifications to her motorcycle. Ones that included better weapons and a few luxuries. Like someplace to keep her food and drinks warm or cold depending on her needs. Alex wanted that because of the many times she had picked up take out or groceries and was called to help out with something. The ruined food wasted not only money but time replacing it.

“Come up with a list of things you want done and I’ll work on it when I have time.”Kara didn’t mind working on a project for Alex. Even if she knew it was likely going to be for something frivolous.

“I will.”Alex would have to think about it for a couple day before she gave Kara a final list.

“Has anything gone on today while I was out?”Kara asked.

“Not really. It’s been a pretty calm day. I’ve been looking into Maxwell Lord but haven’t found anything suspicious yet.”Nia said.

“The key word is yet. We all know that Maxwell is involved in something and it’s only a matter of time until we find out what that something is.”Kara knew that the man was involved in illegal activity. It was only due to luck and very good lawyers that he wasn’t rotting away in prison.

“Lillian has been making the rounds to a few private clubs but I haven’t found out who she was meeting while she was there. I was going to go through their list of employees and see if I can find one that would be willing to be an informant for us.”Alex told her.

“Good idea.”Kara knew that at least someone would be swayed by the money they would offer them. It didn’t matter what kind of promises they made their employer. People were usually a lot more loyal to cash than they were to their jobs.“Has anyone heard from Winn?”

Nia shook her head.”He has been radio silent all day.”

“That’s not surprising though. You said that he was just going to be looking at emails all day. I doubt he would have found anything he needed to report back to us.”Alex didn’t think Winn would find anything that they hadn’t found when they did their own investigation into L-Corp.

“True we even know about the employees that still work there.”That brought with it a thought for Nia.”Actually why didn’t you just tell Lena who the people are? Why are you making her do her own investigation?”

“Lena needs to gain some confidence to be able to run that company. If I just waltzed in and gave her all the information it would have made her feel unworthy. By making her do her own investigation it’s giving her the position of authority and will give her a feeling of ownership that she doesn’t have right now.”Kara explained.

“It does seem she doesn’t feel worthy of being CEO.”From what Alex had seen and heard Lena was in no shape to run her company.

“Which is too bad because I truly believe that Lena is the right person to run that company.”Kara thought that Lena should have been running it all along.

“Why have you taking such a personal interest in her?”Alex originally thought that Kara wanted to get justice for the enslaved aliens but wasn’t so sure any more.

“I see a lot of myself in her. We both come from families that committed unconceivable horrors and are trying to bring respect to our houses once more. She like me was blindsided by their actions and were left to pick up the pieces after their crimes were exposed.”Kara told them.

”You have definitely made your House respectable again.”Nia thought that the House of El was the most respected family on earth. Maybe on some other planets as well.

Kara smiled sadly.”I can never make up for my family’s crimes but I am trying to by helping save another planet from the same fate as my own.”

“And you are doing a great job at that.”Alex hated that she couldn’t take away Kara’s pain. It was something that Kara tried to hide but it was obvious to anyone who knew her personally that Kara was still heavily effected by the loss of her home world.

“I think once Lena gets her footing she will do a good job as well.”Kara had faith that Lena would be able to step up and lead L-Corp into a new era.

“Do you have an idea of what the project you are going to work with her on is going to be?”Nia asked.

“I was thinking something to do with renewable energy.”Kara told her.

“We corner the market on renewable energy. Giving up something in that sector would put L-Corp on the map.”Alex could already imagine all the publicity L-Corp would get if they were involved in a renewable energy project. With it being Kara they were working on the project with it would make them a big name in the game.

“Lena has canceled all the military contracts L-Corp had and has stated many times that she wants to use the company to help better earth. I know she was thinking of doing that through the medical field but I thought that giving her something that she could build off of to get started will be enough to get some capital put back into the company so she can fund other projects that she is passionate about.”Kara figured that the renewable energy project would be quick and easy to finish and would hopefully get L-Corp making profits again so they could fund more time consuming research.

“If you give her a basic product then if she could make some money to hire the right people they would be easily able to expand on the original idea.”Nia thought that was a good plan.

“That is the biggest problem Lena is having right now. No one wants to work for her. Even humans are shying away from the company. I predict with your support that she will be overwhelmed with people looking for jobs.”Alex knew that once Kara vouched for L-Corp that Lena would have her pick of brilliant minds to chose from.

“I just hope she properly vets them before she hires them.”Nia didn’t want Lena to get caught up in another scandal.

“I’m going to loan her one of the office androids to help her do background checks.”Kara was sure that Lena would accept the help.

“You would trust her with one of the droids?”Alex was very surprised to hear that.

“She met one at the bar last night so she knows they exist. That and it isn’t like she will be able to steal the technology.”Kara wasn’t worried about Lena having access to one of the androids.

“Yeah but the ones at the bar aren’t that advanced. The office ones are basically living super computers. They really shouldn’t be seen around in public.”Alex didn’t think it was a good idea to lend out one of the androids.

“They go out in public all the time. As a matter of fact I sent one this morning to do my grocery shopping for the week.”Nia didn’t see the big deal with having the androids in public.

Alex sighed.”We have talked about that. The androids are not for personal use.”

“The one I used is assigned to the team. I’m a member of the team. That means I can use it for whatever I need.”Nia wasn’t going to stop using them. They made her life so much easier.

“You are more than welcome to use the androids as you see fit.”Kara didn’t care how they used the androids. If something happened to one they could be repaired and it they easy to make if they had to be replaced.

Nia smiled smugly at Alex.”See Supergirl said I could use them for whatever I want.”

“Regardless I don’t think it’s a good idea to let Lena borrow one.”Alex was going to talk to Kara later about the androids uses. She just needed to come up with a well thought out argument to sway Kara to her way of thinking.

“It’s either loan her an android or one of us personally go and help her.”Kara said.

“I know you feel bad for Lena but aren’t you taking on a little too much responsibility for her company?”Alex asked.

“She is in a very vulnerable position right now. If she doesn’t handle the firing and hiring properly then something like what happened with Lex and Lionel could easily happen again. It if did then there is no way L-Corp could ever come back from it and I don’t want Lena to lose her company. Or be put into prison for any crimes that happened while she was in charge.”Kara knew that without help Lena would be easily overwhelmed and wouldn’t be able to set up her company properly.

“That’s a good point. Some of the people would apply thinking that Lena would be supportive of illegal actions.”Nia suspected that they would have a lot of people trying to align themselves with Lena hoping to exploit others to make money just like Lex and Lionel did.

“I honestly think some of the public will try and claim that Lena did something to gain control of me to make me work with her.”Kara thought that was going to be a big talking point when the project was announced.

“You are going to have to hit the media circuit hard after you make the announcement.”Alex was already making a list of reporters that would need to be contacted to conduct interviews.

“I’m going to of course give Cat Grant the first interview.”Kara was very loyal to Cat as the woman was one of her biggest supporters when Kara and her adopted family exposed the DEO and their tactics to the public. Cat was also the one who gave her the name Supergirl.

“I’m not looking forward to dealing with James asking to be the official photographer for the press tour.”Alex’s girlfriend Kelly’s brother James was a free lance photographer who was trying to get a steady job but hadn’t had much luck yet. Alex was of the opinion he wasn’t very good at it. An opinion shared by Kelly and the rest of the Super Friends. He wanted to be Kara’s exclusive photographer but Kara had politely refused as she had already had a media team that included many photographers. After he been told no he tried to pressure Kelly into getting Kara to change her mind. It had caused a rift in between the siblings but even then James still would reach out randomly begging Kelly to get him access to Kara. He used to bother Alex as well but she blocked his number and didn’t return any of the message he sent other ways.

“I honestly don’t think anyone would agree to that. Not after what happened at Catco.”Nia didn’t understand why James hadn’t moved on to a different profession after the what happened. James had been hired to photograph a gala that Catco was holding. He only been hired because he lied about his relationship with Kara. When he submitted the photos they were so bad that Catco sued him to get the money they paid him back plus damages. James lost and of course couldn’t pay and tried to guilt Kelly into asking Alex for the money. That just putting another nail in the coffin of the siblings relationship. Nia had been told that the only reason Kelly even remained in contact with James was because she had promised her mother before she died that she would take care of him.

“He is delusional. Kelly has tried to talk to him about getting a real job but he insists all he needs is one perfect photo and he will be set for life. Unfortunately he believes it will be a photo of Kara.”Alex told them.

“He will only get that photo if I am out in public because I have no plans to hire him.”Kara didn’t respect James. Not because he had no talent but because he refused to do the work to get better at his craft. He just expected to be given everything without having to earn it. If he had actually humbled himself and was willing to learn Kara would have happily given him a job but he didn’t want that. He expected to be handed a position he wasn’t qualified for just because his sister was dating Alex.

“I’m surprised he hasn’t taken to stalking you to get that photo.”Nia wouldn’t put it past James to start following Kara around.

“Don’t give him that idea.”Alex knew that James would do it.

“I won’t have to worry about photographers or reporters for a while. Lena has a lot of work to do to get to the point that I will be willing to put my name anywhere near L-Corp.”Kara said.

“And with your help she will be able to get that work done quickly.”Nia had no doubt with Kara’s backing that Lena would have everything up and running very soon.

“We will see.”Kara didn’t care how quickly Lena got things done. All she cared about is that Lena got all the people that were aligned with Lex and Lionel out of her company.

“What are you up to for the rest of the day?”Alex asked.

“I need to clean my suit after it was touched so much today.”Kara’s suit had a self cleaning option but she preferred to clean it by hand. It was something that relaxed her.”After that I was going to go home and spend some time with Citrus and catch up on some reading.”

“You and that cat.”Alex wasn’t a fan of Kara’s cat. It was mean and vindictive and always went out of its way to attack Alex as soon she let her guard down. The fact that it loved Kara so much baffled Alex because it was hatful to anyone else who came near it. Then again it had only been exposed to Alex, her parents and Kelly. Kelly due to her and Alex babysitting it when Kara was away.

“Citrus is a sweetheart.”Kara loved her cat very much. She dare say it was her best friend as she told it all her secrets and Citrus comforted Kara when she broke down or was sad.

“I really want to meet your cat.”Nia had not had the pleasure of meeting Kara’s cat yet. Mostly because Alex refused to let anyone visit when she was babysitting it. Alex claimed it was because she was afraid it would attack them but Nia wasn’t scared of it.

“No you don’t.”Alex didn’t think Citrus was safe for anyone but Kara to be around.

“Anyway. I’m going to go to my lab and clean my suit. If you need me use the watch.”Kara told them.

“You are so lucky you don’t have to carry around a cell phone.”Alex was extremely jealous that Kara didn’t need to have a way for anyone other than the team to get ahold of her. Her sister screened all calls and messages through the android that she built to be her assistant and it gave Kara all of her messages during their morning and after briefings. The only ones who had direct access to Kara was the Super Friends and their parents.

“Are you really complaining about our cell phones?”Nia loved her cell phone. It was a device Kara had made and was far superior than any phone on the market. Nia was asked about it constantly because it was unavailable to the public. She had been offered millions of dollars to sell it but she of course refused. Plus she didn’t really need the money because Kara paid them really well and they made a ton of money off royalties and brand licensing.

“No our cell phones are amazing. I think I’m really complaining about the amount of calls and texts I get.”Alex loved her phone just as much Nia. Her girlfriend loved hers as well. It being a gift for her birthday from Kara. Something that surprised Alex because Kara was very protective over the technology.

“Maybe if you stopped the public from loving you so much you would get less calls.”Nia said.

“No I would get more and all of them would be full of hateful word.”Alex told her.

“Alright you guys. I’m going to go clean my suit. You two stay here and argue about your popularity.”Kara didn’t want to listen them bicker any longer.

“Check in before you go home.”Alex wanted to say goodbye to Kara before she left as she didn’t know when she would see her sister again.

“I will.”Kara promised. Making her way out of the room Kara held back a sigh. She had many things on her plate at the moment. The most important thing being the L-Corp situation. Kara had only been partially truthful with the others about her reasons for helping Lena. She did believe Lena deserved a chance to make her house respectable but that wasn’t the only reason kara wanted to help her. While she was looking into all the players during the investigation of Lex and Lionel’s crimes Kara had learned a lot about Lena. Things that made Kara feel a kinship with the human. They had a similar upbringing and had the same morals. Not only that but after speaking to her Kara found that she was drawn to the woman. There was something about Lena that just caught Kara’s attention and when their time ended the night before she found herself saddened that she didn’t know when they would see each other again. That was one of the reasons that Kara had offered to work with Lena. She wanted to get the chance to spend time with her and it was the only way Kara could think to achieve that goal. It made her feel foolish that she was willing to save an entire business just to see someone again because if she was being completely honest with herself the only reason she was even putting in the effort to save L-Corp was because it was important to Lena and would make her happy. Kara found that Lena’s happiness meant a lot more to her than it should. Kara decided that she wasn’t going to dwell on it. She would just continue on with her life and follow the path Rao set out for her. He had never steered her wrong before she doubted he would start now.