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Chapter Text

A year later, Lena had adjusted to her life with the kryptonite in her chest. She had grown accustomed to taking her shirt off to be met with the sight of the glowing green rock. It still didn’t stop the nightmares of the procedure that put the rock in her chest or the guilty feeling she had when her girlfriend undressed her and started feeling ill. 

For Kara, the past year on Earth had felt like the best one. Meeting Lena changed everything, she no longer felt alone or taken advantage of. Every day, Lena was right there. She had moved to remote learning after the procedure, not that she had a choice in the matter. She loved having the younger woman nearby. 

The kryptonite boundary Lex tried to place in between them did nothing but help build up Kara’s tolerance. She could stay near Lena when it was exposed but it still made her feel sick and she knew her girlfriend felt terrible each time. 

When they first met, Kara learned that Lena liked to go out and show off her body with her friends, but now Lena practically wore turtlenecks all the time, and again, not her decision but wasn’t fought either, she wasn’t allowed to leave the mansion. Her friends had also stopped talking to her which Kara could see was hurting her. Lena had kept in contact with two of her friends, but Kara knew Lena was waiting for them to phase her out too. 

Lena had kept her promise to Kara. She taught the Kryptonian everything she knew about Earth. She even told Kara about her young childhood in Ireland even though she couldn’t remember much of it. Kara swore she would take her back there one day maybe after they were free of Lex. 

That was another game. The young couple had learned to keep their heads down when Lex came to visit. It seemed to be few and far between visits and Lena knew it was because of her. Lex was obsessed with getting rid of the aliens, but Lena was never supposed to be involved. Lex still loved his little sister and it pained him to see what he had done. 

He hadn’t forced them apart since that day, and Kara was going to keep it that way. Anytime he came to visit, Kara kept herself between Lena and Lex. It almost seemed like Kara dared him to get close to Lena again.

She was going to allow the man another chance to give Lena nightmares, to make her stiffen up when Kara approached from behind, and to make Lena feel even more guilty about what had happened to her. 

It was a system they had to manage now. Kara didn’t want Lena to feel more uncomfortable in her own home. Time had made it easier as they had adjusted, but Kara would do anything to go back and let Lena have her life back.

“Behind you.” Kara announced as she came upstairs after her workout. Lena was reading something online for school. Kara gave her a kiss on the top of her head before sitting down next to her. 

Lena finished the paragraph before looking at the blonde. “You’re not going to shower?” 

“Hoping I was asking you to join?” Kara teased. “I will in a little bit. I haven’t seen you all day.” 

It was an upside to being stuck in a mansion. They were able to live separate lives. 

“A shower with you does sound nice, but I need to finish this reading.” Lena said regrettably. 

Kara leaned over to see what she’s reading. “Maybe I could help?” 

Lena quickly turned it away from her girlfriend’s sight. “Nope, how about we just go take that shower instead?”

“Lee.” Kara stated calmly. “What are you doing?” 

Lena bit her lip filled with nerves and guilt. She hated hiding something from Kara, but she knew her girlfriend wouldn’t like it. 

“Lena, please tell me.” Kara pouted.

Lena gave in and looked down. “I want this rock out of my chest.” 

Immediately, Kara’s face filled with guilt and concern. “Lee, baby, we’ve been over this. It will kill you. I’ve checked hundreds of times, he did it in a way that you could never get it out.” Her words were laced with defeat. She reached over and lifted Lena’s eyes to meet her own. “I would do it in a heartbeat if I knew it wouldn’t hurt you.” 

Lena’s eyes watered up and her voice broke. “There has to be a way.” She leaned over into Kara’s embrace and sobbed in the Kryptonian’s shoulder. 

“I wish there was.” Kara mumbled as she rubbed her hand on Lena’s back and kissed the top of her head. 

They hadn’t heard the footsteps. Lena wouldn’t have been able to, and Kara had been preoccupied comforting her girlfriend. 

“Well, we always knew you were the weakest Luthor.” A woman’s voice called out. “Given that you’re barely a Luthor.”

Kara felt Lena stiffen up when she first started speaking but she felt her nails attempt to dig in her skin as the woman continued talking. She felt the deep breaths her girlfriend took before wiping her eyes, standing up and addressing the woman attempting to hide the uneasiness of her voice.

“What brings you here, mother?” 

She wore a grin. “I’ve come to obtain Lex’s toy. You see, the time has come and the girl is needed elsewhere.” 

“No.” 

It shocked Kara and the woman. 

“What do you mean no? Lena, you don’t get a say in this.” 

“You and Lex ruined my life. You don’t get to come and ruin it again.” 

The woman scoffed. “You ruined your own life. Lex told you to stay away from his things.”

“For fuck’s sake, Kara is a person.” Lena said quickly. “The only reason I’m still here.” 

“Oh, stop being dramatic.” The woman dismissed. “If you would have just listened, you would be back at that boarding school with all your friends, but you just had to mess with your brother’s project.” She took a step closer.

Kara stepped between the woman and Lena. She felt Lena quickly grab her arm and try to pull her back.

The woman gave a surprised look before quickly switching to a smirk. “Got yourself someone to fight your battles?” 

Kara swallowed but stayed where she was despite Lena trying to pull her back.

“Give it a rest, Lena.” The woman said. “She’s obviously ready to die for you.”

“Kara, get back.” Lena said, trying to pull her back again. 

She spoke directly to Kara. “You want to keep her safe, right? Come with me, we’ll go see Lex and you’ll do as you’re told, nothing will happen to her and you will be returned here.” 

“How do I know nothing will happen to Lena?” Kara said defensively. 

“She’ll remain here. Live like you did before she came in.” She said, “You have my word.” 

“Kara, she’s lying.” Lena said angrily. “She helped.” Lena sounded desperate to convince Kara. “She helped Lex put the kryptonite in me.” 

The woman stomped her foot and shouted. “Enough, if you don’t come with me right this second. I’ll do far worse to her.” 

It put fear in Kara and she looked at Lena who looked terrified while still pulling on her arm. “Lee, I have to.”

Turning to face the woman. “You swear I’ll be returned and Lena will be safe?”

“You have my word.” She repeated. 

Turning to Lena, Kara put her hand on her cheek. “I’ll be right back, I swear.”

“Kar, you don’t know that.”

“I’ll come back to you, I promise.” Kara kissed her forehead. “I love you.” 

Lena smiled before she started crying. “I love you too.” She grabbed Kara’s hand and kissed it. “You better come back.” 

“I will.” Kara promised, wiping uselessly at Lena’s tears. “Every moment, I will be fighting my way back to you.” 

“Ok.” Lena said with a slight nod.

“I promise.” Kara kissed her and hugged her tight. “I promise.” Kara felt the tears sting her eyes. It terrified her to leave Lena alone. It terrified her to think of what she might come back to and what she was about to do for Lex.

“Come on now, Lex is waiting.” 

Kara was starting to pull away when Lena pulled her back for one more tight hug.

“I love you, Kara.” Lena whispered in her ear before letting her go.

Chapter Text

Going to meet Lex would have been exciting a year ago, but now Kara had Lena, and Lex had ruined her life. The life Kara had sworn to herself, Lena will have back again. Kryptonite or not, Kara wanted all of the younger woman’s dreams to come true. 

Kara stayed silent as she took in the world outside the windows of the car. The woman had been quiet the entire time to Kara’s enjoyment. It didn’t take long for a nauseous feeling to stir in Kara making her close her eyes trying to make herself feel better. 

“Oh Christ!” The woman exclaimed. “Johnson, do you have a bag up there for her to vomit in?”

“No, ma’am, but I can pull over.”

Kara tried unsuccessfully to shut out their voices as they went back and forth about what to do. 

“We’re late enough as it is.” 

The additional comments were unheard by Kara as she tried to swallow the bile back to her stomach. She felt a cold chill come down her back right before it all came back up too fast for Kara to hold it down and right into the floor making a mess of Kara’s and the woman’s shoes. 

“What is wrong with you?” The woman yelled angrily. 

Kara would’ve felt proud of this moment thinking of how Lena will laugh at the story if she didn’t feel another wave come up after smelling the mess. 

Johnson finally pulled over letting the woman walk angrily as she called Lex. 

Kara laid in the grass feeling better now that the motion had stopped. 

After being picked up in a helicopter by Lex and landing at the Luthor’s penthouse in Metropolis, Kara was given a light meal with a bunch of water. She ate alone for the first time in a year. She missed her girlfriend who spent dinners learning Kryptonian and discussing Krypton. 

Then to her surprise, Lex walked in addressing her for the first time since her arrival. “Are you feeling better?” It was a friendly tone missing the guilt he carried at the mansion. “I didn’t expect you to get car sick.”

“Yes, I’m feeling much better.” 

Lex smiled. “Your English is a lot better.”

Kara rolled her eyes. Her English wasn’t terrible when she first met Lena, but she didn’t talk to someone every day. She still thought in Kryptonian majority of the time, but now when she spoke, it was English with Lena since that was the common language the other knew. 

“I guess having someone there did help.” 

Kara balled her fingers into a fist.

“I hope Lena was able to teach you more of Earth customs.” Lex said being met with silence again. “Kara, this is a conversation.”

Kara dropped her fork. “Lex, you hurt her. Don’t stand there and act like you care about her.” 

“She disobeyed. You remember what happens when you disobey me.” Lex reminded dropping his friendliness. “I guess you want to know what you are doing here so you can get back to the mansion.” 

“That would be ideal.”

Three months, Kara felt like a shell of a person. She had harassed several people going as far as robbing them and several instances of vandalism. She can’t count how many police she nearly killed only to be stopped by “hero” Lex Luthor. 

She had been disguised several different times, but it was quick for Superman, Kal, to realize it was a Kryptonian causing the acts of violence. He was on an active hunt for her and it terrified her. She didn’t want him hurt. 

It had become a similar situation like the mansion, she was alone majority of the time except for training and causing chaos. It was exhausting being away from Lena and it got worse when Kara realized she could hear her. The screams she heard almost nightly had haunted her. She barely slept now. 

Today must have been a busy day for Lex at LuthorCorp since she hadn’t been summoned. 

Kara calmly ate cereal while she listened to a restless Lena try to sleep in. They haven’t spoken since she left, but it was a relief that the woman, Lillian, kept her promise of Lena staying safe. 

The view out the window showed a busy city blissfully unaware of the prison Kara was living in. 

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Lex’s voice drifted over to Kara who kept her focus on the outside. “I think it’s time for the next phase.” The silence continued, he was used to it now. “I need you to bring Superman to me.”

Kara’s gaze broke to stare down Lex. “Why?”

“You’ve shown the world that Kryptonians can’t be trusted.” He explained. “We need to show them that Superman is just like you.” 

Kara felt the spoon break in her grip. 

“See, you can’t control yourself.” Lex pointed at the broken spoon on the floor. “I need you to rest today and tomorrow we’ll take down Superman.” 

It was over her head all day, eating at her. Listening to Lena give up on sleep and digging into her studies didn’t even help her calm down. 

A day of pacing and restless night later, Kara found herself calling for Superman in the form of a bomb attached to LuthorCorp. She was exhausted when Kal landed. He seemed shocked to see her then not surprised when Lex came to “save the day.” 

Lex started fighting her and trying to appear like he was on Kal’s side, and Kal took the bait and tried to help her. 

Lex immediately turned around and held out the Kryptonite exposing Kal to it. Kara felt the power of it but unlike Kal, she wasn’t falling to the ground in pain. She felt weaker and like she had weight the way Lena had described the weight of the iron plate near the Kryptonite. The terrible uncomfortable feeling was there but not like before. 

Lex noticed it too just as Kara did.

“Kara, don’t get any ideas. Lena is just at the mansion.” Lex said defensively. 

“Kara, help, please.” Kal called out to her. 

Her baby cousin that was asking her for help. The cousin she helped with changing his diapers and entertaining while their parents argued. 

But saving him may mean that Lena would be in trouble possibly killed. 

She just had to be faster. 

Running over and pulling the Kryptonite away from Kal, Kara felt herself slow down a bit, but managed to successfully push it away. Kal had to take a minute or so to regain his strength, and Kara was about to run or fly to Lena whichever came to her first. 

Then Lex managed to slap her down to the ground. He was angry, but Kara didn’t feel scared anymore. Lex was always angry, but he portrayed somebody concerned for Kara’s wellbeing five years ago. He continued to use it to manipulate her into doing things that she would have never done. 

“I guess Lena has been helping you.” Lex said angrily stomping his foot down on Kara’s stomach. “I’ll see to it that she’s no longer a problem.”

Kara was familiar with feeling angry. She felt it plenty of times in the mansion, and she could calm down after a few hours or punching something and screaming. 

Not knowing what was going to happen to Lena made her grab Lex’s leg and she felt it crush underneath her hand. Lex’s screams falling on deaf ears as Kara made him fall to the ground. She got on top of him and felt her punches hit him in the face until someone with similar strength stopped her. 

She felt her eyes heat up and looked over to see Kal standing over her holding her arm back. 

“I’ll take care of him.” 

She heard Lex cough. Looking back at him, Kara punched him one more time before taking off trying to find Lena. 

Flying felt different. She wasn’t used to it seeing as she ran everywhere. Flying was too noticeable in Lex’s opinion and she never really flew in the mansion or around the area. The few times she flew at the mansion was to take Lena to bed after she fell asleep studying or watching a movie. 

Landing at the mansion, her prison for years, she rushed inside breaking the door off the hinges. 

“Lena!” She screamed out. “Lena, where the hell are you?” 

Running room to room, Kara was in search for her lover. Not finding her anywhere. The lack of the younger woman was bringing frustrated tears to Kara’s eyes. She broke down after opening the last door, letting herself fall to her knees as she sobbed. 

The hand on her shoulder made her feel hopefully until she looked around to see Kal standing behind her.

“She’s… she’s gone.” 

“I’m sorry.” He said in a sympathetic voice. He crouched down next to her keeping his hand on her shoulder.  “I know that this is hard, but you can’t stay here. Lex will be looking for you, and if he has his mind set on something, he’ll die trying to succeed.”

Feeling the anger boil up, her eyes start heating up, and she pushed his hand away. “I can’t just walk away!”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“No, Kal, I’ve been here for years. For the past year, all I’ve had to look forward to is Lena. Now, she’s gone, I don’t know where she is. She was just here this morning.” 

“I’m not asking you to forget her.” Kal reasoned. “I’m asking you to come with me. I’ll keep you safe and we can find Lena when it’s safe.”

Looking over at him with red eyes and through gritted teeth, “But it’s not safe for her.”

“And not for you either.” Kal stated. “You can’t help her if you die.” 

It was a pause between the cousins. Kara felt her eyes cool down. 

“Come with me. I’ll keep you safe and we can search for Lena together.” He offered his hand to Kara after standing. 

Grabbing his hand, Kara stood up with tears in her blue eyes. “Let me grab a few things.”

“Of course.” Kal said giving Kara some privacy as she set off to the room she shared with Lena.

Chapter Text

Five years later, and Kara had to admit how scarily easy becoming Kara Kent, the long-lost cousin of Clark Kent, was. Clark and his girlfriend, Lois, had welcomed Kara into their home allowing her time to adjust. At the instance of blending in, Kara had passed her GED exam and was working on a college degree in engineering. 

Unlike Clark, Kara didn’t go around parading with her powers. She admired that he helped the people, but her focus was on finding Lena. She went out every night searching for her love longing to be reunited. 

It was easy to feel like a failure each night she came back alone, but Lois had offered her a shoulder to cry on and reminded Kara that she was going to find Lena. 

During the school breaks, Kara found herself working at the Kent farm with Clark at the instance it was good to take her mind somewhere else. Kara had argued that her mind would never leave what her and Lena shared and her mission to find the younger woman. 

But as the years went on, Kara had noticed that she had went out on her search parties less and less. She felt a gaping hole in her chest from missing Lena, but blending into the world made her take on other responsibilities. She had what felt like an incomplete life. 

“Good morning, sunshine.” Lois greeted as Kara sat down at the table. She was already on her second cup of coffee. 

“Morning.” Kara responded. 

“How was last night?” 

“It was a night.” 

“Oh, so I guess Lena Luthor is asleep in your bed?” 

Kara gave her a glare. 

“You’re right, I think we would have known the moment Lena entered this house.” 

Kara sighed loudly before reaching for the cereal box and pouring some cereal in her bowl. “Where’s Clark?” 

“Up, up, and away.” 

With a nod, Kara started eating the cereal. “Has he been gone long?” 

“Not really, but probably won’t see him before work.” Lois supplied. “Kara, I hate to ask this, but are you wanting to give up the search for Lena?” 

Kara immediately quit eating her cereal with her mouth full and swallowed. It was a long quiet minute between the two women. 

“I don’t mean to upset you.” Lois defended. “You’re not going out as much.”

It would mean confronting the horrible idea that has been placed in her mind since that day. 

“Kara, sweetie, it’s ok.” Lois reached out and put a hand on her arm. 

“I can’t just give up on her.” Her voice sounded so small and almost defeated. 

“You’re not giving up.” Lois rubbed Kara’s arm in a comforting way. “I’m sure she would hate for you to not be living your life.”

“Do you think she died?” Kara’s voice broke and her eyes were filled with tears.

“Oh, Kara.” Lois scooted her chair over to hold Kara as she began to sob.

After some time filled with sobs and constant questions of “why did I leave her,” Kara found herself alone on the couch. Clark and Lois were at work after Kara’s instance that she would be fine. She was going through the cycle of what if’s in her head. 

But every time she thought of Lena’s response to each idea, it was always “stop driving yourself crazy.” 

Kara ran her fingers through her hair breaking herself out of her thoughts. She heard her phone ringing from her bedroom. Walking over not caring if the caller went to voicemail, Kara picked up the phone to see it was Lois calling. 

“Hey Lois.”

“Kara! Why the hell haven’t you been answering?” 

“What? I.”

“Not the time. Clark needs some help.” 

“What?” Kara tried to complete her thought but was cut off again.

“Superman is in danger.” Lois whispered.

Kara began to feel panic rise. “What? What’s going on?” 

“Kara, please, come help.” 

Without a second thought, Kara dropped the phone and dressed in a similar outfit as Clark’s. She rushed out the door desperate to find her cousin. 

Flying quickly over to where Clark was fighting what seemed to be reinforced robots. Based on the dozens of disabled robots surrounding Clark, he had been at it for a while and there seemed to be no end to the swarm of robots. 

Kara tried to get a grasp on the area around and find where the robots were coming from, but a few of the robots seemed to detect Kara and began shooting at her. Melting the robot with her eyes, she caught one of the robots flying in and landing where the previous on stood. 

She melted that one again and flew down joining Clark to assist in disarming the bots. 

The punching eventually stopped with the final robot falling and another did not follow. 

“Finally.” Kara muttered under her breath. She looked over and saw Clark exhausted but relieved. “You ok?”

He nodded before putting a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks.” 

Slowly, people came out from their hiding places cheering for Superman. There were questions about Kara and who she was. The two Kryptonians happily smiled and posed for pictures with the kids. They dodged questions about Kara where they could, but Kara loved seeing the happy, cheering children. 

She flew back to the Kent residence alone. Clark returned to work after making sure she was ok. 

Hours later, Clark and Lois returned home. 

“I believe I’m owed an exclusive.” Lois announced when seeing Kara.

Clark and Kara chuckled. “Oh yeah?” 

“Yes! I’m the reason you were there!” 

“I appreciate the help today, Kara.”

“I’ll add it to your tab.” 

He smiled.

Lois went to change and unwind from today when Clark left to sit down next to Kara on the couch. 

“So, everyone wants to know who was helping me today.” Clark started. They’ve had this conversation before.

“Kal, I’m not parading around with you.” 

He rolled his eyes. “I’m helping people.” 

“Yes, but you’re also a huge show off.” Kara laughed.

“I am not!” He defended dramatically while Kara continued laughing. “I’m not!” 

Sobering up, “You are, but you help a lot of people. I don’t think it’s the same for me. Lex spent all these years essentially trying to get me to do what you do, but it’s just not what I want.”

The shift in tone made Clark sit up. “Do you think she’s still out there?”

Kara swallowed back the tears that wanted to fall along with the threatening sob. “Yes.” 

“Do you think you’ll find her?” Clark asked.

“I honestly don’t know. It’s been five years.” Kara stated. “I don’t even know if she wants me to find her.” 

There was a pause between the two and when Lois entered, they proceeded into their night with dinner prep.

The next day, Kara was sitting outside. She had a nice break in between two of her classes and typically used that time to enjoy the sun on her skin free from any walls around her. She had to endure the comments people had begun to make about a new Super in Metropolis and the sight of new murals around. 

As much as it bugged Kara to see all the buzz about her, there was a small feeling of hope. Hope that Lena was seeing this. Hope that their paths would cross again.