Planet Global Network (PGN) News Center, Metropolis…

The news room buzzed with the movement of cameramen, technicians, and the like as they went to their final places before show time. Jeanette Ann Arundel, the news director, was busy checking over last minute details to make sure her first broadcast went smoothly. Marcus the intern in charge of the teleprompter, was doing his fifth spellcheck when someone called out to him.

"Hey, Marcus." He flinched but relaxed when he saw Jimmy Olsen, lacking his signature bowtie, approaching with a pretty girl.

"Hey, Jimmy. How are you? Who's your friend?"

The girl reached out to him with a smile and said, "I'm Veronica Lake, a friend of Linda's." Veronica was a woman slightly below average height, maybe 5'2", and in her early twenties. Her auburn hair was slightly curled. Marcus couldn't look away from her eyes, which were a sandy-brown.

"Linda? Oh, you mean Danvers. Yeah, she's awesome. A friend of hers is a friend of mine and all that crap."

"Marcus." He saw the look in Jimmy's eyes and noticed they were focused on the tight grip he had on Veronica's hand; he let go.

"I have to get back to work. Maybe after the news we can take the time to know each other better." The smile on his face dropped. "I didn't mean for that to come out that way."

The curl of disgust or discomfort on Veronica's mouth relaxed only some as she nodded. "I'm glad."

Jimmy led her away with a shake of his head. "He's not usually like that. I think the stress of the teleprompter is getting to him."

"I hope so. Thanks for showing me around by the way. I appreciate it."

"No problem. Linda gave me explicit instructions if you were to come to Metropolis while she's out of town."

"It's very sweet of her."

"Yeah…" Jimmy said with a smile as he took a bagel off the Kraft's food table before picking it apart to eat. "I know she wanted me to show you around the Daily Planet but I figured watching a live newscast would be more interesting." Veronica grabbed a handful of grapes and popped one in her mouth.

The two looked around the room, which was starting to settle, except for a PA (personal assistant) running around. "Has anyone seen Cat? She's not in her dressing room."

"Relax, I'm right here." The blonde whirlwind in heels flew past the girl and made a beeline for the food table. Jimmy and Veronica took larges steps from it to make room for her. "Hello, James. Who's your friend?"

"Hello, Cat. This is Veronica, a friend of Linda's." Cat threw a glance at Veronica and nodded as she dropped a straw in a bottle of water.

"You're Linda Lake's kid cousin, aren't you?" Cat rested a hand on her hip and took a sip of her drink.

"How'd you know?"

The straw fell from her mouth. "She had a picture of you on her desk. The only one." Cat quickly handed her water to the still flustered PA. "How does my make-up look?" she asked Veronica.

"Flawless."

Cat smiled widely and pulled her shoulders back. "Of course it is." She pulled the paper collar off her jacket and handed it to the PA, who let out a sigh, looked at Jimmy and Veronica, and then went off to her dark corner to wait until the broadcast was done.

"My cousin always said Cat Grant was a force to be reckoned with, I just didn't realize how much."

Jimmy smiled and crossed his arms as they watched Cat get situated in her anchor chair. "Don't let her southern belle beauty fool you. Cat is a highly intelligent woman with a nose for news and a backbone of steel."

"That's quite the combo."

"It wasn't easy to get to where she is, she had to convince a lot of people that she's more than gossip and fluff pieces."

Veronica smirked. "My kind of woman." Jimmy raised an eyebrow at her before shaking his head and letting out a chuckle. He then reached over and tapped her on the arm.

"Come on, let's find a better place to watch."

They picked a corner near the PA who was now holding a clipboard to her chest as she watched the make-up artists do final touches on the anchors. "Evenin' Olsen. How's it goin'?" Hank Slater, a retired cop who turned "inside man" for The Daily Planet planted himself next to Jimmy. "Heard from Danvers yet?"

The tall ginger shook his head. "No one but Perry has heard from her since she arrived in Qurac."

"Figured. Probably busy with all that political turmoil. Just wanted to ask. My brother-in-law lives there and told me there was an earthquake that hit the southern tip hard. A lotta people died."

"Linda should be fine then. She's up north near the capital."

"Good."

"Alright, everyone," called out Jeanette. "Let's do this." The group in the corner watched the countdown until the beginning of the newscast. There were 15 seconds left, then ten, then seven, and then one.

"Good Evening," started the male anchor, "I'm Harold Hanes."

"And I'm Cat Grant. On tonight's news we discuss the attacks on meta-humans in Bialya…"

Hanks's phone went off silently, yet loud enough that Jeanette sent him a dirty look. "I've got to take this." Jimmy couldn't help but frown when the man did so.

"Everything okay?" asked Veronica.

"I hope so. Not a lot upsets Hank, but he didn't look entirely happy with whatever he just got."

They watched him scroll through his phone. He had only been on it a few seconds when he quickly strode over to Jeanette and showed her his screen. Jimmy couldn't see her face, but she quickly snapped at one of the technicians. The man handed her a headset and gave it to Hank.

"What's going on?"

"Something important. He only gets a headset when his sources have given him something monumental. I doubt Jeanette would allow him one for anything less."

Hank tested the mic, which made Cat interrupt her co-worker. "Excuse me. This just in…" Cat listened to whatever was being said in her earpiece then smiled. "News has just come in from our JLA correspondents. Fighting on Themyscira has ended!"

Jimmy let out a quiet, "Yes!" while doing a low-key fist pump. Veronica had a wide smile on her face too.

"The being called Darkseid," continued Cat, "has left and so has his army. However…" The smile on her face fell away and she froze. Jimmy felt a cold wash over him. He knew that look, it wasn't good. Harold Hanes flicked his eyes over to her as he struggled to keep his smile up. "Um…there's…" Cat took in a breath and shook out of her shock, which it seemed the reporter was experiencing. "Like I said, Darkseid is gone. However…" Cat cleared her throat, "no battle is without loss. I have also been informed that three members of the JLA were killed in action." Murmurs sounded through the room. "Blue Beetle was killed while defending a group of marines. No details on how he died have been released." Cat took another pause then spoke again. "The second person is The Flash. Details of his death have not been released."

Jimmy leaned against the wall and rubbed a hand over his eyes. Please, God, please let it not be her. Please let it not be Kara.

When Cat folded her handed and straightened her back, Veronica stepped away from Jimmy and closer to the cameramen. "The final hero to fall," Cat's voice cracked on 'hero' so she cleared it, "is Supergirl." Cat continued. "According to our sources, she died saving the life of a fellow JLA member. No other details were released."

Two weeks ago…

Chapter 1 - "Dearly Beloved..." will be posted in November.

Taste of Chapter 1:

"She hasn't moved since I found her like that."

"She's in shock, Bette. She just learned the woman she loves is dead."