Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“LENA KIERAN LUTHOR. I swear to God, you did not survive - not one, but two assassination attempts just to kill yourself at this desk.”

Lena’s head shot up as she was startled at the sudden intrusion. Her eyes took a moment to refocus away from her work under the harsh florescent light, and there was Sam, stepping her high heels over the cord of the night janitor’s vacuum. Her lips were already posed to deliver another admonition over the monotony of its back-and-forth hum.

“Sam, before you start in on me again. Don’t. This prototype will be an absolute game changer for L-Corp. I’m on the verge of a breakthrough in clean energy.”

Sam cocked an eyebrow and drew in a breath. Lena finally noticed her evening wear. The slim black dress was certainly not business attire, and the low cut of the neckline bordered on scandalous.

Lena shook her head and looked at the time. 8:43pm. It was later than she expected, but nothing out of the ordinary. “Sam, why are you even here? It’s a Saturday night.”

Sam sat abruptly at the seat across from Lena’s desk. “Exactly. It’s a Saturday, but not just any Saturday. It is New Year’s Eve. Do you have any idea how rare a Saturday New Year's Eve is?"

"I would imagine it's approximately one in seven." Lena deadpanned. 

Sam scoffed. "Anyway...I was headed to the new club downtown, when I happened to look up and see your damn light on up here. So come on, what do you say? Let’s head out.”

“Absolutely not Sam. I fully intend to finish this design tonight.” Lena pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. She realized quickly that her eyes were becoming too strained to truly be productive, but she refused to back down to Sam’s plea.

Sam looked at the ceiling and composed herself for a second, before following up with a more placating tone. “Lena. Look. It’s been two years. You’ve been pushing yourself so hard to make up for what Lex did to drag the company down, but damnit, you can’t keep going like this. It’s not good for you.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “And shots at a bar at midnight is your idea of healthy? I’m absolutely not going out tonight. That is final.”

“No no no. You don’t get to just brush me off like that. When is the last time you got laid? Did something fun?”

Lena closed her laptop with a click and stared into Sam’s eyes with a challenge. “I’ll have you know that isn’t your business and for the record I do enjoy my work here.”

“That isn’t what I mean, and you know it. Fine, when is the last time you got your heart rate up for something that wasn’t yelling at the Board of Directors?” Sam shot back.

The hardness in Lena’s gaze faltered for a second. Sure, she could remember a few times she’d gotten her heart rate up. There was that time she opted, regrettably, to take a few flights of stairs down to the engineering department and the time Morgan Edge had barged into her office red faced and menacing. Otherwise, her days were spent working too long and sleeping too little. Self-care just wasn’t high on the list of things to do to.

“Fine, just tell me what you want. What did you hope to get out of this intervention of yours?”

Sam leaned back in her chair, softening at the unexpected traction she’d gained after almost a year of dropping hints. “I want you to do something for you. Something real.”

Lena shook her head. “I can’t take a vacation right now if that is what you are after. There’s too much going on. Engineering is understaffed. I have fourteen different proposals that need to be presented to the board and an investor’s meeting in two weeks.”

“Not a vacation then. Get a spa membership. Go on a date. Join a gym.”

Lena leaned back in her chair and spun slightly to the side to catch a glimpse of the National City skyline at night. Thousands of people bustled down below to celebrate the new year and several buildings were decorated for the occasion. Lena had almost forgotten the simple joy of something as benign as a holiday. Being a Luthor had taken away her taste for them at a young age, but there was still the simple primal pull of just being. It didn’t help that the tension in her neck reminded her that even her luxury mattress couldn’t make up for a life hunched over a computer screen.

She turned back to Sam with a stoic expression. “Fine. I’ll do something. Not tonight. You are right. I haven’t even been to spin class in over a year.”

Sam smirked. “Okay. I’ll let you off the hook for coming out tonight, but you have to tell me what you decided.”

Lena laughed. “What makes you think I’ve decided?”

“Because I know you, and I know you wouldn’t have caved unless you had something in mind. Now spill so I can decide if it’s good enough.”

Lena leaned back and closed her eyes for a moment. Sleep tugged at her in the brief moment of darkness and she was about ready to just give in to anything and just go home for the night. “I’ll go back to my spin class.”

“Good luck with that. Your fancy little studio closed three months ago.”

Lena’s eyes shot open. It was one of the few gyms she felt comfortable in. The last thing she needed was the press getting pictures of her huffing and puffing after five minutes on a treadmill surrounded by sweaty, grunting men. “I’m not just signing up at the neighborhood gym and hoping to get in a class.”

Sam sighed. “How about the place near CatCo plaza? It’s huge. It has all kinds of classes and it’s even a women owned business.”

Lena shook her head. “Seriously? The DEO? What kind of name is the Danver’s Exercise Operations anyway? Maybe I’ll just buy a gym instead. No one can recognize me if I'm the only one there.”

Sam leaned across the desk and smiled. “You are being irrational. Just give it a chance, a real chance. I highly doubt anyone will recognize you, believe it or not most people at the gym are too worried about what they look like to even think about people around them. Maybe you could even learn something other than spin class.”

“I won’t be caught dead lifting weights.” Lena laughed. “But fine if you’ll get off my back I will try going to the DEO. I promise nothing, but I concede that I do need to do something different. I just don’t know if this is it yet.”

Sam’s smile brightened.

***

Two days later, Lena looked over the gym contract and signed under the “In case of accidental death or injury” clause. She couldn’t help but smirk at the thought of the headline. Lena Luthor, Billionaire, Heir to the Luthor fortune, dead after tripping over an elastic band.

The young man, Winn, who had sold her the membership looked fit, but not a day over 20, as he went on about the club’s amenities. She quickly realized he didn’t have the slightest clue who she was as he pressed the January discounts on personal training and club branded whey protein powder.

“-and today only, we can get you in with one of our great personal trainers for twenty percent off as part of a signing special.” He said with a bit too much enthusiasm. She looked at the half empty bottle in his hand. His fingers gripped it until his knuckles were white but underneath, she could see part of a label. ‘Extreme Energy! 18+ only'.

“No thank you. It isn’t something I am considering at this time. Please just give me a class schedule.”

The young man’s eye twitched slightly, but he nodded and pulled out a pre-stapled packet of gym information with a simple business card at the top.

Lena forced a smile, her lips making a thin line as she looked the man over. His caffeine consumption seemed excessive, and that is saying something coming from a woman with two coffee fueled PhDs.

Winn seemed to want to protest her lack of sale addons as she stood abruptly to exit the office. But she wasn’t in the mood to be pinned by a salesman to do even more than she’d already agreed to with Sam. Winn thankfully seemed to pick up on the vibe and simply waved awkwardly as she left. Unlike with anything else in her life, here – she’d do the minimum just to appease her friend. There were more important things to do in life than spend hours in non-productive discomfort.

However, once she got a good look at the gym floor, she regretted leaving the air-conditioned office and the familiarity of stiff contract language. It was packed. No doubt the January resolutioners had all signed up around the same time, and despite it being nearly 7pm, everything in sight seemed occupied. Bodies of all shapes and sizes buzzed about, guzzling water, walking on treadmills, lifting weights or simply looking as lost as Lena felt.

This absolutely wasn’t her element, and the sea of bodies made an attempt at anything seem almost unbearable. She looked down at her own new attire that her assistant, Jess, had been sent to procure for her earlier that day. Her tight black leggings made her feel exposed. Her black and pink top was thankfully short sleeved rather than sleeveless, but the fabric felt thin and foreign. She gripped onto her new water bottle nervously. Jess had done well and gotten one with a built in straw that would limit the risk of pouring water down her chest with every attempt at hydration. It was a small comfort.

She took a steadying breath. She could do this. She was a Luthor and wasn’t about to back down from a challenge this trivial. The 7pm spin class was starting in five minutes, and the thought gave her a sense of ease. It was easy. It was familiar.

It wasn’t meant to be.

Every single bike in the substantially sized room was claimed by butts, towels or stray water bottles by the time she walked in. It was nothing like her bright and sunny studio. It was dark, with loud music and flashing colored lights more at home in a nightclub than in a gym. Her eyes settled on one lone bike on the far end that seemed vacant, but as she approached, she saw the ‘Out of Order’ sign on it above a broken dial.

A hand settled on her shoulder, startling her. She turned and her eyes met the almost black eyes of a woman with harsh, platinum blonde hair. Lena realized quickly the woman must be the instructor due to her mic and headpiece. “I’m sorry,” Lena stammered. “I was just looking for an open bike.”

The woman smirked. Something about it was off-putting to Lena, but she couldn’t fully place the feeling. “You and about fifteen other people. Gotta sign up on a good day at least fifteen minutes in advance. January is nuts though. Better luck next time lady.”

Lena balked at the woman's tone. How dare she dismiss her so flagrantly? She quickly realized however that there was nothing to do with her barely concealed outrage as several people clambered around to get on their bikes as the vile blonde yelled “Sixty Seconds!” over her headset into the strained loudspeaker. Lena found herself an angry statue in the middle of a thunderstorm of people.

She stomped out and looked at the spin sign up sheet. “Leslie ‘Livewire’ Willis. 7pm Spin.” Sure enough, names were written on all 45 spots on the now curling page. Lena grumbled under her breath. “I’m going to kill you Sam. This is the worst idea you’ve ever had. I’m never coming back to this disgusting place.”

Regardless. She was here. There had to be something she could do in this god-awful gym just to avoid Sam’s inevitable lecture. Her eyes scanned the outer rim of the gym. Treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes and stair climbers lined the outer ring that sat slightly higher than the main gym floor. It felt almost like the center was an exhibition, dominated by muscular men and a vast array of machines, cable stacks, racks, and free weights. There was nothing for it though. Maybe she’d empty some emails while on an elliptical and go home feeling accomplished after all.

She straightened up and put on her best Luthor glare, moving around the outer cardio ring at a fast clip. Machine after machine was filled with one sweaty body after another, but at the end of the line a woman was tapping the button to slow her speed on a treadmill. Good enough. Lena smiled and picked up pace, making a beeline for the soon to be vacant machine.

She wasn’t alone. A man had also seen the machine and was also making his way toward the unsuspecting woman on a cool-down, but Lena was faster. She channeled every bit of her boardroom glare and withered the man without a word. He suddenly averted his eyes and walked past, feigning disinterest.

Lena smirked, and for a moment felt less aggravated at her current surroundings. As soon as the treadmill was vacant, she hopped on and sat the machine to a brisk walk propping her phone up to load her e-mails.

They were however, quickly forgotten. In the sea of bodies below was someone she hadn’t expected. There, in the middle of the weight room floor under a chin up bar was one of the fittest women Lena had ever seen. Her wavy blonde hair seemed perfectly styled despite the fact that she’d obviously been working out for some time, but what really caught Lena’s attention was something just a little lower.

She wore a belt like none Lena had ever seen. It hugged her hips tightly, exaggerating the strong V taper of her built upper body and a heavy chain hung between her legs, suspending a full-sized weight plate. The sight alone woke up an unexpected kink in Lena as she watched, wide eyed and open mouthed. However, it was nothing compared to the sight that followed. The woman lept up gracefully to the chin up bar despite the added 45 pounds between her legs. With a smooth motion, she begin moving up and down, pulling herself chin height to the bar with each rep. The belt cut into her hips, and even from Lena’s vantage point, she could see the woman’s abs through her tight fit athletic shirt. Lena didn’t realize the straw to her water bottle was in her mouth until the tell-tale sound of air bubbles startled her from her staring. She looked away quickly, realizing her face was flushed more than may be natural after 3 minutes on a treadmill.

She fanned herself for a minute, slightly cursing herself for emptying her bottle before even working up a sweat. Damn libido. Besides, the woman was most likely straight or at the very least taken. It didn’t do Lena any good to look, but she found herself being drawn again to the scene. The woman had dropped the belt and was looking over at a fit redhead with a smile that lit up her face. There was no doubt she was having fun and seemed to be meeting some challenge offered by the other woman. She lept up to the bar and pulled herself rapidly to chin height, but the move didn’t stop there. She vaulted to the top of the bar and pushed herself up, triceps straining visibly before dropping back down for another rep of the same.

Lena breathed out hard. Was that even an exercise? Did this goddess of a woman just make up things to show up the mere mortals around her? At least ten reps had passed before the woman seemed to falter, her speed slowing, and the final rep seemed to be a struggle. She dropped back to the floor with a laugh and hugged the red haired woman. Unexpectedly, jealously spiked in Lena as she saw the genuine smile on the blonde woman’s face.

She couldn’t help herself.

She watched their interactions closely. The other woman was fit but was slim where the blonde was muscular. They seemed close, too close for Lena’s liking considering they did not look at all related. Go figure, I find a breathtaking woman and she’s taken. Well, there isn't anything wrong with just looking.

She watched the pair as they rotated through exercises, each more painful looking than the last as they cheered each other through rep after rep. She could barely tear her eyes away until her throat began to feel like sandpaper. She glanced back at the treadmill timer, and to her surprise thirty-two minutes and fifteen seconds had passed.

She tapped the stop button and sighed. Maybe this gym wasn't so bad after all. 

Chapter Text

It was nearly midday when Lena finally had her Eureka moment.

The clean energy prototype that she’d been developing for months had come together. The implications were profound. Not only did it produce clean energy, but it stored excess atmospheric carbon into durable building materials that would be flame and decay resistant for years to come. To Lena, it was akin to inventing the light bulb or discovering penicillin, but there was a problem.

It was completely cost prohibitive to ever be implemented on any usable scale. She knew the board looked only at numbers, not hypotheticals, and no amount of spin would get them to see past the negative dollar signs. They would see it as a failure.

Lena sighed and shifted uncomfortably in her office chair. A gentle soreness that had been present since she woke up had gradually grown in intensity and now her legs and glutes felt stiff and angry. The realization was startling. She was sore. She was sore from walking of all things. While Maxwell Lord had summited Everest and launched a tablet in the same day, she was crippled by the treadmill… on slow.

This wasn’t Lena’s day at all.

A soft knock sounded at the door, followed by a muffled, “Miss Luthor?”

“Come in Jess. You know you can just open the door when I’m not in a scheduled meeting.” Lena responded, prompting Jess to walk lightly in only a few steps before pausing.

“Miss Luthor, your lunch order is here. Cobb salad, no bacon, with light dressing and extra grilled chicken.” She took a few more hesitant steps to deliver the salad to Lena’s desk before turning to leave.

“Jess wait.” Lena said before she could reach the door.

Jess turned. “Yes, Miss Luthor?”

“I was wondering if you would be available to pick up some more athletic wear. I was hoping to make it to spin class tonight and my laundry service isn’t coming until this evening.” Lena asked, but part of her knew it was a lie. She’d told herself all day that she intended to make it to spin class, only to struggle with the realization that in there, she wouldn’t likely be in a position to see the blonde from the previous day. Somewhere along the course of her morning, the question had not been ‘am I going back to the gym?’ but rather, ‘what can I do to improve my chances of seeing her again?’ Inevitably, she'd circle back to her original stance of simply going to spin class, only for the thought process to start again. 

“Um, oh. Miss Luthor I’m afraid that I still have about fifteen candidates left of the twenty-eight to evaluate for the lead engineering position. You asked me to bring you the top five by this evening so you could look over them and they can be considered by the board tomorrow.”

Lena’s brain came to a screeching halt. She’d been so wrapped up in thinking about the prototype that very few other thoughts had had room to make themselves known. Though that particular problem may have been by design to push away other intrusive thoughts. “No Jess, I’m sorry I had forgotten. That is absolutely your priority this evening. Please focus on that in lieu of anything else.” If the board was wrapped up with looking at a new lead engineer, perhaps she would be able to spend another quarter on the prototype before being questioned about her 'side project'.

“Yes Miss Luthor, right away.”

Lena shook her head and looked at her salad. It was far too dry and unappetizing. For the first time Lena regretted asking for a salad with no bacon, which was that one thing which may have made this meal palatable. The flavorless chicken seemed to taunt her through the gooey light blue cheese dressing. Regardless, she was starving, and this was the only food in sight. She shoved her fork in and committed to her lackluster meal with little enthusiasm.

The near-desiccated chicken made her work for each bite, so she turned away from the computer screen. It gave her time to think, and unfortunately these days idle thought drew her back into her own insecurities. Jess seemed to remain timid no matter how many times she asked her to call her Lena, or at the very least, not call her “Miss Luthor” twenty times every conversation. Otherwise, she was a stellar employee so Lena couldn’t really complain. It just made her wonder if the Luthor name would always intimidate those around her, whether she wanted to or not.

So here Lena was, feeling like the world had her on a pedestal and yet feeling like a failure in more ways than one. It was a sobering feeling, but Lena never was one to dwell on a problem that she knew how to fix.

This was the year that she was going to shine – starting with being able to walk on a treadmill for more than half an hour.

***

Lena stared at the spin sign in sheet for far longer than was necessary. There were two spots left for Leslie ‘Livewire’ Willis at 7pm, and it was only 6:28. She’d made it there in record time after telling herself she’d spin, forget the blonde, and go home in time to look over Jess’s top five candidates over a well-deserved glass of wine. She'd planned the perfect night, but the pen felt heavy in her hand.

She looked around and considered for a moment. Perhaps she could look over the packets on the treadmill? She did like efficiency. It had absolutely nothing to do with anything or anyone else that may or may not be in the gym. Satisfied, she dropped the pen without signing and stepped away in search of a machine in the raised cardio ring overlooking the weight room floor.

Today was even more packed than yesterday. To make matters worse, Winn’s office was full of a family of four getting the same pitch as Lena had only twenty four hours before. No doubt there had been a line of New Year’s gym sign ups all day, contributing to the now suffocating mass of bodies. She faltered for a moment and looked back at the spin sheet, just in time to see a woman looking at the now full roster with distain. There was no going back now.

It took three whole laps around the cardio ring before finally catching someone as they gathered their belongings from a machine. Elliptical it is then. As she propped her water bottle in the cup holder, she realized the silliness of it all. She’d walked around with frustration because she couldn’t find something to walk on. Somehow the steps didn’t feel like they counted unless it was designated exercise time on a designated exercise machine. This was a  thought she needed to revisit at a later date it seemed.

Her eyes scanned the crowd for the blonde as she tapped the buttons to begin her workout, but she was no where to be found. Maybe that was good. She needed to focus on the candidate packets anyway. Her libido didn’t need to make an appearance tonight just to lust over a woman she had no chance with.

She loaded the first candidate’s packet and began to skim her resume. The woman, Rhea Dax, had extensive knowledge of polyatomic anions and her work was beyond impressive. She had a publication list even longer than Lena’s, though that was due to her being in the field for nearly twenty years to Lena’s three. Lena skimmed the first of the publications as she glided mindlessly on the machine.

Before she was halfway through Rhea’s packet, something quickly became unsettling. She knew she was pushing her luck wearing the same gym attire for two consecutive days, but they had passed the sniff test in the locker room. Whatever was happening now was new, and decidedly unpleasant. The smell from the previous day seemed to be ignited by her current sweaty state, and it was ripe.

She looked self consciously at the gym goers on either side of her, and they went about their own workouts either too oblivious or too polite to add to Lena’s growing shame. Nervously, she looked that the timer. 11:29. She wasn’t even halfway to her goal of half and hour and leaving so soon felt like admitting defeat. She wouldn’t make this mistake again but how much worse can it possibly get?

Her eyes scanned the weight room floor again and…

No.

NO.

She’s here. The woman from the day before had come in and was smiling ear to ear with her hands on her hips. Her shirt was cut into a loose-fitting tank which revealed the edges of a bright red sports bra on either side under her unfairly muscular arms. Lena almost laughed at her luck. She’d been waiting all day for this particular sight, but now was terrible timing. Lena was flushed and panting, while praying that the world around her was somehow immune the smell that was wafting off of her that was akin to rotting gym socks.

15:32. God she’d been on this machine forever since she’d last looked. How long can four minutes possibly be?

Halfway there.

Lena took a heavy sip from her bottle, purposefully stopping herself from draining the damn thing dry in one furious go. She had one saving grace though. The woman was on the weight room floor and seemed to be preparing for some herculean workout that thankfully, wouldn’t bring her anywhere near Lena and her poor wardrobe decisions.

She spotted the redhead then, walking toward the weight room floor with a large red bag slung over her shoulders. It took a moment for her to realize the bag must be filled with sand or something similar, as the woman seemed to struggle to adjust its weight after it slipped a little to her left. Built in handles on either side allowed her to hold it over her shoulders, though it couldn’t have been comfortable.

Even above the gym’s commotion. She could hear the blonde woman’s protest. “Alex. Nooooo. I know what you are thinking and NO!”

“Uh uh Kara, Green bag, now. I know you think it’ll kill you, but it won’t” The redhead replied and Kara moaned – long and loud for the whole gym to hear.

Kara. Lena rolled the name around on her tongue. It seemed to fit. At least now she had a name to go with the face. The revelation even made her stop thinking about her own smelly predicament for a moment as she unwittingly pushed her legs faster.

17:03. That can’t be right. These aren’t real minutes. Lena’s bottle was almost empty, despite her efforts to hydrate ahead of time and ration the precious ounces. Still, water seemed to jostle in her unhappy insides even as her mouth begged for more. The whole thing felt absurd.

She looked again at the woman, Kara, who was now hoisting a green bag with a giant “K” logo on her back that looked as though it was twice the size of Alex’s. That didn’t seem fair, but the flex of the woman’s forearms as she gripped the bag quickly had Lena feeling something other than pity. Kara’s glowing smile had turned to a look of sheer determination, and something went unsaid between the two women below. Lena had no idea what they could possibly be planning, but she would never have guessed what came next.

Then, Alex took off at an aggressive pace across the gym floor with Kara at her heels. They took the short staircase up to the cardio ring and began to do the same loop Lena had done shortly before while searching for a machine.

That was going to bring them right by her, she realized with alarm. The associated anxiety sped her heart rate even further, though it was already stretched by the infernal elliptical machine as it taunted her with the time. 20:23. Less than ten minutes to go and Lena’s hips were itching from the spandex leggings.

A Luthor would not be so easily defeated.

Kara and Alex walked by at a fast clip, carrying the heavy sandbags. Lena tensed. All was not lost. They were whipping around and around the ring like they were training for the damned Olympics. She would keep her head forward and the two would be none the wiser regarding her presence. There were probably fifty other people, just like her, sweating and pushing through their own workouts. Logic stated that she wouldn’t likely be singled out but she still felt so exposed, as though she was on display alongside her timer of shame for the world to see and judge.

It was ridiculous, but so was the almost heroic display of athleticism that was being showcased in front of her. The two women stopped and glared at each other, only to start doing sandbag squats. The competition seemed almost obscene to Lena. 28:46. The seconds were passing slower now, like she was in some phantom zone where time didn’t pass, and yet the women across the ring were still squatting in tandem. Both were showing signs of extreme fatigue and even Kara looked to be faltering under the weight of the green sandbag. Finally, both struggled, almost failing to complete the final reps and both sandbags were dropped with resounding thuds that could be heard across the gym. The women panted heavily and staggered together into a half-hug, patting each other on the back in congratulations.

29:52. Eight grueling seconds. Lena could do it. The candidate packages had long been forgotten and all Lena could think about was shedding her soured leggings and top like a snake sheds its skin and taking the longest shower of her life.

Lena clicked the stop button the moment it hit 30:00. Her legs were screaming, and her mouth was dry. A line of sweat was visible on the plastic paneling between the elliptical’s footrests, and it was all Lena saw for a moment as she hung her head, trying not to pass out. It took several steadying breaths before she looked up again, only to see the two women casually carrying the sandbags back as though they hadn't just driven themselves into the ground.

It was the perfect opportunity. She grabbed her belongings in haste and scrambled back to the locker rooms where she could make herself somewhat presentable…

And absolutely NOT draw any unwanted attention in her present state.

Chapter Text

Kara Danvers was an alien.

There was no other explanation for the sheer otherworldly athleticism Lena saw on a near daily basis. However, it wasn’t just the feats of strength that the woman exhibited. It was the fact that she seemed to be having fun through it all. Day after day, the woman’s infuriatingly delighted smile followed her every workout, while Lena looked on.

Lena puffed through her first venture on a stair climber, secretly wishing it would explode beneath her.

Kara loaded two forty-five-pound plates on each side of the bar for squats – in sets of ten.

Lena hit the treadmill and attempted to jog for over five minutes with disastrous results.

Kara sprinted like a gazelle, and then hit an obscene number of burpees while laughing.

Lena coasted on an elliptical, her legs screaming from the day before.

Kara hit set after set of dumbbell bench press, with the largest set the gym had to offer.

Lena found, to her surprise, that she looked forward to the gym each day. Part of her had to admit that watching Kara’s day to day heroics had something to do with it, but something else had begun to change. Lena had started to like working out, or rather it no longer felt like her body and lungs were on fire.

Strange things started to change.

Lena had begun sleeping through the night. Normally her mind would rather wander to work projects, upcoming deadlines, or that one time in fifth grade when she called her teacher a cockroach.

Lena was fairly consistently leaving the office by 6pm. Sure, she’d end up working through e-mails after the gym, but she’d found she was actually becoming more productive. What would have normally been a foggy push to work through a project in a twelve-hour day had now become possible in eight.

Lena found herself skipping the elevator entirely when projects or staff meetings occurred on the top five floors.

Most importantly, she had begun thinking about the importance of food as fuel, rather than as a burdensome thing which kept her from being productive through noon. Without realizing it, Lena had undergone an almost seismic shift in how she approached life.

Her closet had met a similar fate. Instead of the wall-to-wall designer dresses and suits, a corner had been carved out specifically for her now-ample selection of workout attire. She certainly wasn’t going to find herself in stale gym clothes again.

None of this compared, however, to the absolute magnitude of useless lesbian mental gymnastics that Lena played with herself on a daily basis. She looked forward to seeing Kara’s face each time she went in, going so far as becoming almost nervous if work held her up later than 7pm. Yet, each time Kara seemed to catch her looking in her direction, Lena looked quickly away.

She couldn’t be caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but the sweet tooth never left.

Lena looked at the spin class sign up every single day with some cognitive dissonance that today she’d prove she wasn’t just here to pine over the untouchable object of her affection. Each time her eyes slid over the crumpled sheet, some perfectly valid reasoning would take over and lead her away to whatever open machine would give her eyes unfettered access to the weight room floor. If fate seemed to lure them into a chance meeting by the water fountain or in the ladies’ room, Lena obstinately would turn away until the coast was clear. She could look, but she couldn’t touch.

It all made perfect sense to Lena, really.

1. Kara couldn’t possibly be into women.
2. If she was then the redhead was most likely her girlfriend.
3. What could she possibly have in common with an absolute bombshell of an athlete?
4. How would she get past an introduction anyway when her last name was Luthor?

What Lena didn’t want to admit was hiding under her very valid excuses, was that for once in her life she was not in control. And that fact scared her. Sure, she’d dated. Men and women both had come and gone from her life, but they had always been of a certain breed. They were the sons and daughters of wealthy contacts and they’d met through boarding school or later through corporate networking events. They’d matched her in poise and offered prospects beyond silly things like love or even attraction. Such things had been considered - somehow beneath the Luthor name. Lena had never bowed to Lillian’s jaded views of matchmaking, but still, Lillian had hammered her subconscious mind into an unnatural shape whether she liked it or not.

The thought of finding someone out there in the wild seemed like a particularly hard pill to swallow even if she couldn't quite put her finger on why.

Despite all of that, Lena’s mood had been at an all time high of late. The unexpected and abrupt shift in her overall demeanor didn’t go unnoticed however, and Lena’s newfound glow was becoming the talk of L-Corp. Yet, Lena had no idea that she’d been a steady spoke on the gossip wheel until Sam strode in unannounced for the first time since New Year’s Eve.

“Lena,” Sam said, crossing her arms and cocking a hip to one side.

Lena looked up from her open laptop. “I’m sorry, did we have an appointment? I was just getting ready to head out.”

“Head out? Come on. We have barely talked all month.” Sam’s previously stern expression faltered.

Lena glanced quickly at her watch and back to Sam. “I don’t know what you are talking about. You are being vague, as usual.”

Sam softened fully, uncrossing her arms and sliding into the seat across from Lena as she had so many times before. “You are leaving the office at a reasonable time, every day. You are actually eating lunch, and yes, I asked Jess. You look positively happy.”

Lena scoffed. “Those certainly don’t seem to be reasons for an intervention.”

“My God, this isn’t an intervention, Lena. I know I told you to get laid, but damn, who is she?”

“There’s no…” Lena paused, leaning to one side of her office chair. “I’m not seeing anyone, and for the record you told me to go on a date, not get laid.”

“Literally the same thing.” Sam said with a laugh.

“Maybe for you, but I don’t just hook up with the first attractive person I see.” Lena bit back. The interaction wasn’t malicious. It was the banter of old friends complete with well-placed barbs when appropriate. “But if you must know. I did one of the things you suggested. I joined a gym.”

Sam stared at her for a moment. “No shit, which one?”

Lena rolled her eyes. “The DEO if you must know. Besides, for all of your preaching, I find it interesting that you don’t go to one.”

“Hey now, that was just one of the things I suggested. I have my things you know; besides I have to watch Ruby. She gets into everything if I’m not around. I go out and have fun though.”

Lena looked at her watch again. It was too late to even act like she’s going to Leslie’s spin class, and the appeal had mostly faded these days anyway. Now she was watching the clock knowing Kara would be getting to the gym in about twenty-five minutes, and Sam didn’t appear that she was going anywhere anytime soon.

Not that she had Kara’s gym attendance times memorized. That would just be crazy.

Sam noticed the anxious glance. “Why do I suddenly feel like I’m in the way of a hot date?”

Lena’s eyes narrowed. Why should Sam get away scot-free when Lena had altered her whole life on Sam’s suggestion? Before she could think better of it, she blurted out an invitation. “What are you doing tonight?”

***

The scanner at the entry beeped as Lena swiped her card, but it took nearly three increasingly loud shouts of “Excuse me” to get the club employee’s attention. Winn Lena remembered from her own first day.

The man blinked up from the phone in his hand and quickly shoved the device in his pocket. The heavily caffeinated man from before was gone, leaving behind a seemingly burned-out shell in its place. Such was the fitness industry in January Lena surmised. “Can I help you?” He mumbled with a delay.

“Yes, I’d like to get my friend a guest pass for the evening.”

Winn looked at Lena and back at Sam and Lena could almost see the dollar signs in his eyes as some of his early January vigor returned. “Can I interest your friend in membership options?” He asked instead.

“No.” Lena said curtly. “We’ll have a guest pass for the evening only.”

Winn deflated; a hand drifted back to the phone in his pocket before he thought better of shirking his work responsibilities so blatantly. “Okay, I can get you set up here. I’ll just need you to sign some liability forms and it’ll be ten dollars for a day pass.”

It wasn’t until Sam began signing forms did Lena notice Sam’s uncharacteristically nervous behavior. She looked around the gym and in several of the offices as if expecting to see someone she knew. Furthermore, her signature was scratched in quickly with far too much force than was warranted.

“Sam” Lena said softly, just above the general din of the gym’s entryway. “Is there something you aren’t telling me about this place? You seem… out of sorts.”

Sam readjusted the borrowed shirt from Lena, who now had at least three clean sets of gym attire nearby at all times. “Nope. Nothing. Just trying to figure out how on Earth you find a shirt this tiny in the shoulders and this huge in the tits.”

Lena laughed. “Sorry, it was the closest thing I had to your size. Are you sure you are alright?”

Sam looked around once more before meeting Lena’s sincere gaze. “It’s just… I sort of know the owner. I was seeing if she was here.”

It was Lena’s turn to look around the gym now, though she had no idea what the owner even looked like. “And is seeing her… how exactly do you know her?”

“It’s a long story.” Sam replied.

Lena raised a challenging eyebrow and Sam frowned before elaborating. “Okay, so I met her that week of Pride last summer.”

“You mean…”

“I mean…” Sam closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. “It was a real crap time for me Lena. I’d just gotten dumped, and I had a string of indiscretions and shall we say a bit of a body count… She was one of them.”

“I take it you didn’t part amicably?”

Sam winced. “I kind of ghosted her… God I sound like such a jackass. I swear it was like I was another person for a while.”

Lena sighed and began to make her way to the cardio ring out of habit. Changing ahead of time had bought her precious time that she might catch the tail end of Kara’s workout, though she wasn’t going to tell Sam that mildly stalkerish thought. “Okay well, she likely doesn’t work late at night so you are probably safe. Regardless, next time you should lead with that. What does she look like anyway?

Sam sucked in a breath. “Hot. Fit as fuck. Badass attitude.”

Lena rolled her eyes despite Sam being unable to see the gesture as she trailed behind. “That doesn’t tell me anything.”

“Ugh, could run a marathon before breakfast. Reddish brown short hair. Wears way too much black, like she’d be a damn special agent in another life.”

Lena stopped mid-stride. It couldn’t be.

Sam nearly ran into her from behind before the realization hit. “Oh God, you know her don’t you.”

“No.” Lena said simply before adding. “I may have seen the woman in question though.” Wheels turned in Lena’s head. Maybe she’d learn something about the nature of Kara and the redhead’s relationship. Maybe she didn’t want to know, but maybe she did.

“Shit” Sam said and then added, “well I'm here now, where to boss?”

Lena turned and looked at Sam. “Usually I just find an open machine for cardio. With any luck we’ll find two that aren’t on opposite ends of the gym.”

As luck would have it, the later than usual evening provided a few open machines. It was nearing the end of January and already it seemed the crowds had thinned to more manageable levels. The initially steady stream of starry-eyed first timers had dwindled, and most of the faces that they passed were those Lena had come to know as regulars. It helped too that it was a Thursday. Lena had come to realize that a mini version of New Year’s seems to happen with every work week. Mondays are well attended but as the week drags on fewer and fewer people make it into the gym, only to start the cycle over after the weekend.

Lena selected two side by side ellipticals and input her usual settings for incline and resistance. She fought the urge to scan her eyes over the gym for Kara, knowing that Sam would certainly catch her wandering eyes. It wasn’t until the settings were input and Sam was distracted fiddling with her own controls that Lena let her eyes drift to the weight room floor.

Kara wasn’t there. A pang of disappointment shot through Lena. It wasn’t the first time she’d missed seeing her there, but by now she knew that Wednesdays and Saturdays were apparently Kara’s off-days, and by extension they’d become Lena’s too. But this was a Thursday – perhaps she’d simply come too late.

Lena brushed it off and focused on Sam, who had began struggling through the first few minutes. Lena smiled. She realized that she’d actually come a long way since her first time only a short time ago. She no longer considered the machine a form of torture, though it seemed Sam might disagree at the moment.

“I hate you right now. You know that right?” Sam said through labored breaths.

“It gets easier, besides. This was your idea.” Lena’s own breath still came in heavily, but not so much that she couldn’t gloat.

“Hey now. I bet you still haven’t so much as touched a five-pound dumbbell you Cardio Queen.” Sam shot back.

Lena scoffed. Weights weren’t her thing, but even if she’d felt the temptation, it would put her too close to Kara for comfort. “And I never will. This is more than enough for me right here.” She pat the side of the machine with feigned affection.

“Lifting sucks so much less though.” Sam panted. “Believe it or not, I used to lift quite a bit.”

“Then why did you stop?”

“Ugh, Ruby, work, you name it.”

Time passed relatively quickly, for Lena at least. Sam seemed to be praying her way through the last five minutes even as Lena cruised through, feeling as though maybe it was time to push for longer times or higher resistances. Before she knew it, her designated thirty minutes was up, and she was coasting to a stop. Sam hit the end button at 29:39, which irked Lena’s OCD to an unnerving degree.

She buried the irrational unease as Sam caught her breath beside her. Lena looked over the crowd below and for the first time didn’t feel so out of place. There were a number of familiar faces below, even if Kara wasn’t in attendance as usual. There was the older gentleman that always carried his small notebook and pen, scribbling notes between each perfectly timed set. There was a younger man in a cut-off t-shirt that seemed to only ever bench press and finish off with a few sets of curls. There was an older woman, regal and poised, who gravitated toward elastic bands and core exercises that she executed with slow precision. They were all there, the introverts and the extroverts alike working on improving themselves in a variety of ways. Lena smiled and wondered for once how others saw her here. No one had seemed to recognize her as Billionaire CEO Lena Luthor. Here she was just Lena of the Cardio Machines, and she suddenly felt pretty okay with that.

A moment later Sam had recovered, and they gathered their things amid idle chit chat. Lena smiled with a little bit of Luthor cockiness. “So, you think you’ll join me again? Or is your own challenge too much for you?”

Sam rolled her eyes and began to say something back, but the words seemed to evaporate from her lips. Sam’s eyes focused just over Lena’s shoulder and her face fell.

From behind her, Lena heard a brusque greeting. “Samantha Arias. I’m a little surprised to see you here at my gym.”

“Shit.” Sam whispered, then followed up a little louder with “Alex. Hi. It’s um, good to see you again.”

Lena turned to meet the newcomer, with a sharp smile and a witty comeback already forming on her lips. Neither materialized though because standing behind Sam's disgruntled one time conquest, was Kara.

Chapter Text

Kara picked absentmindedly at the label of her now room temperature bottle of hard cider. The pile of tiny paper shreds was growing, threatening to tumble off the couch and onto the floor. It isn’t like it would make a difference in the grand scheme of things. Alex’s apartment was going to be an absolute disaster by the end of the night anyway, seeing as how Alex always brought in the new year with a bang, but that was a problem for tomorrow-Kara, not tonight-Kara. Tonight, Kara was torn, much like the current long shred of label which came off under her fidgeting thumb.

The room was loud, but she was only vaguely aware of the noise over two main competing voices – both of which were her own. One said to follow Alex’s lead and slam shots till well after midnight, living in artificial bliss for now and saving the consequences, like the mess, for tomorrow. It was always easy to believe that tomorrow-Kara was something more, something superhuman that could overcome what she felt in the moment. Deep down she knew better, and that voice fell back on her other coping mechanism – the need to push herself be better.

Resolutely, she picked at the now lingering white strips of label which stubbornly clung to the bottle with adhesive. She was so focused; she didn’t notice Alex had stepped away from the bulk of the party goers in the kitchen until a hand landed on her own. Kara stilled; a thumbnail still buried in the sticky residue that had now lost its heroic battle to keep the label in place.

The hand grazed over her own, drawing Kara’s eyes up to Alex as she watched her sister take another long stride in front of her and flop ungracefully on the adjacent cushion. Alex’s eyes closed for a moment in the telltale sign that the shots had caught up to her. Kara heard her steadying breath and mirrored with her own, knowing Alex was here in a mission.

Predictably, Alex’s eyes blinked open, and she studied Kara’s stoic expression and tattered cider. “Not feeling the party tonight?”

Kara looked back at the bottle with a vacant expression which seemed to cool her blue eyes to gray in its intensity. “Not really.”

“Do you want another drink?” Alex asked, nodding to the cider bottle. “Looks like you have been working on that for a while.”

Kara shrugged. “Nah. Alcohol sucks for recovery. Slows protein synthesis.” Her tone was clinical, almost empty in its presentation.

Alex’s mouth hung open for a moment in disbelief, leaving a heavy silence in the conversation that was palpable even over the general commotion that was happening in the next room. A raucous cheer had picked up, signaling Winn and James’ continued winning streak at beer pong over Leslie and her current fling, Shioban. “Kara, first of all. I’ve seen you drunk, what? Once? I think you can let loose a little for one night. God you are such a gym bro sometimes.” She shook her head for a moment. “What is really eating you, Kara? I haven’t seen you like this in years.”

Kara took in a hitching breath that threatened to become a sob. The reminder of the last time she felt like this wasn’t helping matters at all. Alex had seen her destroyed, not once, but three times before. This time she wasn’t dealing with the sudden death of her parents, her best friend Kenny, or even of her foster father as she had before all within the space of a few years. This time felt trivial, but the knife in her heart rent open a wound nonetheless. Kara had realized in the past week, if you experience enough loss, over time it begins to just feel like it is tugging at the same big hole over and over again.

Each time that hole gets harder to fill.

“Imra… she…” Kara started, before her voice cracked again. She brought a hand up to hide her face as tears began to fall.

“Oh Kara. I was worried. What happened? And when?”

“I don’t know. She um… right after Thanksgiving when she came back from grad school. Things felt… off I guess. I thought maybe it was just because it was the first time seeing each other since we started the whole long-distance thing.”

“Long distance isn’t exactly easy.” Alex commented, a bit too bluntly under the haze of alcohol.

Kara sucked in a wet breath and continued. “We were so solid though Alex. I thought. I thought she was my person. We had plans, real plans for what life would look like after she finished school. I’m such a dumbass. I even encouraged her to go! She would have stayed at NCU. That program wasn’t as good, but it’s not bad. But, I told her I’d be there one hundred percent if she wanted to go to Metropolis.”

Alex wrapped an arm around Kara’s shoulder. Kara stiffened, unsure of whether to pull away or lean in. Alex made the decision for her and pulled her over to her, stroking her fingers through Kara’s long blonde waves. “So what caused you to break up? I’m assuming that is what happened.”

Kara sagged somewhat, relenting to Alex’s sisterly affection. “I thought we were okay. I asked if we were okay. I should have known because she kept joking that maybe I should have a hall pass.”

“You mean like a sleep around pass?” Alex muffled a laugh even as she tried to remain supportive.

“I said no. I’d wait. I only wanted her. But then I guess she didn’t feel the same.”

Alex put two and two together despite her buzz. “She met someone didn’t she.”

Kara sobbed again, burying her face in Alex’s side. Her reply came muffed through fabric despite each word gradually ramping into a yell. “Some douche-frat boy named Mike.”

Alex’s hand stilled for a moment, catching slightly on a small tangle. Before she could pick her way through it Kara shot back up and retreated to the edge of the couch. “She didn’t even tell me! She acted like we were okay even when she said she couldn’t make it home for Christmas. I told her, ‘that’s okay, you do what you need to do to be successful and I’ll be here. Always.’ Like a fucking tool. I even offered to come visit and she said no. I found out on Instagram – fucking Instagram- that she was visiting his fucking family at some fancy ass resort!”

Alex blinked, slightly blown away from the string of F-bombs that had dropped from Kara’s mouth in the uncharacteristic display.

Kara spun her head back to look at Alex. Her reserved demeanor had broken into a mild anger-fueled mania. “I can’t Alex. I can’t. She said she wasn’t even attracted to men. Like what the actual fuck? All of a sudden, she’s serious with this fucking trust fund baby that has never had to work a day in his life and she didn’t even have the decency to talk to me! It’s like I don’t even exist! Did I ever even know her or was it just a big fucking lie the whole time?” Kara was bordering on hyperventilating at the end, and her wide red eyes begged Alex for an answer she couldn’t give.

The room next to them had gone quiet, and even the group at the beer pong table paused to look over to where the sisters were talking. Kara realized then that all of the attention she’d been avoiding had landed squarely on her in her outburst, and every fiber of her being screamed at her to get the hell out of dodge before a single person could muster up a canned line of sympathy.

Before she knew it, she was flying down the hall of the apartment complex as fast as her feet would carry her. She knew this night had been a mistake. The only way out was through and Kara needed to throw herself into her work and into the gym. She couldn’t fix this. She was cursed to lose everyone she ever loved and the only thing she knew to do was push herself forward until the pain wasn’t sitting raw and open in her chest.

Icy cool air hit her face as she finally slowed to a walk, mindlessly dragging her feet in the direction of her own empty loft. She pulled her puffy blue coat tighter around her shoulders to fend off the cold night air. In the distance she heard the tell-tale sounds of the new year as shouts echoed from bars and apartments all around her. Everyone was celebrating the birth of  something new, but she just wanted to mourn a loss that still felt all too fresh. The city’s annual fireworks display boomed in the distance, rumbling deep in her chest with every explosion. It was no doubt a phenomenal presentation, but the tall buildings on either side obstructed her view leaving her with only the empty feeling of being engulfed in a world that somehow wasn’t her own anymore.

***

Kara was secretly glad it was January. Normally, this time of year was a mixed bag of stress, long hours and big paychecks and this year would be no exception. However, it also meant a welcome distraction and when Kara’s alarm went off at the ungodly hour of 4:30am, she was already up moving through her bland morning routine before her mind could catch up and beg her to return to the warmth of her bed. Waking before the dawn was normally her least favorite part of training early morning clients at the DEO. Ever since she was young, she felt like the sun on her skin had almost magical healing properties. That radiant heat always seemed to wash stress and even illness away, leaving her feeling happy and recharged. Maybe it was just a result of growing up in the ample California sun, but Kara was loath to start the day without it.

Regardless, she needed to not only prioritize her existing clients, but make room for new ones that would soon come onto her books. As the gym’s co-owner alongside Alex, she also served as the fitness director and supervised a team of five other trainers. She still made time for her own clientele though, keeping herself rooted to what drew her to the fitness industry to begin with.

Many people saw trainers through a colored lens, either as shallow self-centered jocks taking selfies or as beacons of inspiration for the sedentary masses who didn’t know a plate from a kettlebell. Both types of trainers existed, surely, but Kara’s mission was something else. She loved helping people. For every stereotypical thirty something woman who came in wishing to lose five to ten pounds and ‘didn’t want to get muscular and gross, just toned,’ there were several more who made real life changes in the gym. They were the real unsung heroes in Kara’s opinion.

There was the teacher, nearing retirement age who could sit on the floor with her students again without fear that she couldn’t get back up. There was the young man with cerebral palsy who had gained strength in a limb that had previously been almost useless, helping him to regain lost confidence. There was the elderly gentleman, valiantly battling the early stages of dementia by staying active and hopeful. And finally, there was the young woman, who’d learned to run again on a specialized prosthetic after losing her leg in a car accident.

More than once, people had told Kara that she’d saved their lives.

She reminded herself of that as she dragged herself to work that Monday, January the 2^nd. The line of people waiting by the front for either Alex or Querl to sign them up would soon add to the general chaos of the rest of the gym. She needed to be there mentally, to hype up her trainers for the busy season and help a string of new people achieve their New Year’s resolutions, but part of her was a little jaded. There wasn’t much point looking at the line. She’d come to realize that an incredibly high percentage of January sign ups were never seen again, or at the very least weren’t seen again after one or two chaotic weeks. She chalked it up to something as simple as this – If you aren’t willing to change your life in December, you won’t do it in January either.

It all comes back to the illusion that you’ll somehow be better in the morning, a feeling that Kara related to all to well. She had laughed once when she found herself falling into this very trap thinking, the Woman of Tomorrow can do anything, too bad she’s fictional.

It wasn’t that it never happened. Plenty of people over the years had stuck with it, changing their lives for the better in a number of ways at the turn of the year. Kara had just realized that there needed to be some substance behind the need for change in order for people to truly commit to it. For most, the gym was outside of their comfort zone on a number of levels and overcoming insecurity and inexperience can be as overwhelming as the exercise itself. Regardless, she’d try to find that substance in as many new clients as possible, making their fleeting motivation into a lasting habit.

Helping others helped. For a few hours on that cold morning, she was able to forget about Imra and even Mike’s smug face. Her Instagram rabbit hole had shown her more than enough incriminating information once she had found his username… Legion_of_IPA. Imra had had the foresight to keep her own account free of incrimination, but his had detailed their whole relationship all the way back to September.

She wanted to hate Mike and blame him for everything, but deep down she knew that Imra had strung her along for months without her knowing. There was no telling what Mike even knew or didn’t know about the relationship he’d shattered from a world away.

Regardless, Mike wasn’t here and neither was Imra. Instead, in front of her was another bright-eyed new gym goer that Winn had coaxed into discussing training options. Eve was bubbly and optimistic, and Kara felt herself smiling back almost genuinely as she tried to open up to this woman’s needs.

Even the rush of signing a new client didn’t quite have the full effect that Kara had hoped, but by now it was nearing 5:30pm, and damned if she’d work over twelve hours – January rush or no. She’d been looking forward to the freedom of her own workout all day, and the pent-up energy that rattled in her skull would finally have a place to go.

The free moments in the evening before a workout had become a ritual, a metaphorical separation from working at the DEO and working out at the DEO. She’d leave, take a breath, and get a grilled chicken sandwich from Noonan’s on the corner to go. She’d walk the quick two blocks to her neglected apartment for a much-needed hot shower and change of clothes. Many people asked why she didn’t just stay and hit the gym right after work like Alex, and she never really had a great answer. However, the Kara that walked back in the door was always different than the one that left an hour or so prior. The workday was for the people around her, all smiles and deference, but the evening was the time for her to have a single-minded purpose. More often than not, new employees at the front desk would yell at her to scan in, not recognizing her over her well cultivated and steely pre-workout demeanor.

Her eyes scanned over the gym floor until she found Alex by her mop of short sweaty auburn hair. She’d avoided Alex since her ungraceful departure from her apartment on New Year’s, but she’d promised they’d train together to get through the exhausting January rush.

“You about ready?” Kara said with a tight smile as she approached Alex on the weight room floor.

“Are you serious right now Kara? I’m three sets in already. I can’t wait for your ass all night just because you like to shower five times a day.”

Kara’s smile grew a bit, but still didn’t quite meet her eyes. “I’m just messing with you. You are always welcome to cut out early and get your beauty sleep. Besides, its twice a day, not five times.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Whatever. How are you feeling? With everything?”

And there it was, the elephant in the room she’d avoided all day. A wave of something crashed over Kara, and she felt the heat of her own blood boil across her face. “Don’t.”

Alex put both hands up in surrender at the uncharacteristically fiery gaze. Both sisters had developed questionable coping mechanisms after Jeremiah’s death. Kara knew when to let Alex drink and when to cut her off, and Alex knew when to let Kara leave it all on the weight room floor. “Alright, what are you working on? You finished your strength block right?”

Kara nodded. “I did. But now, I don’t want to think. I don’t want to plan or figure out percentages. I just want to go.”

“Not like you to go off program, but I’m down for it.”

Kara’s face softened slightly as she rolled her neck, feeling a slight pop as a bit of tension released. She started with some simple warmups for her shoulders and hips as Alex mumbled something about the evening crowd being bigger than she anticipated.

Alex winced and turned back to Kara. “James and Winn can handle it right?”

Kara glared at her. “James is a big boy, he’ll figure it out. If he doesn’t, you need a new GM. You can’t work all of the time.”

“Ugh, I know. It’s just, he gets in over his head sometimes and acts like he can handle things that he’s clearly not ready for. His heart is in it, but I worry that I can’t always gauge when to let go, you know?”

Kara ignored Alex’s worrying entirely, focusing instead on the familiar feeling inside her body as she moved. Her blood was flowing, and she was coming to life, busting through the sluggish tension of the past few days. “Hammer upper body? Wreck legs tomorrow?”

Alex turned back to her, her nostrils flaring in silent retribution at being ignored. “Fine, but how’s your cardio doing?”

Kara laughed. “For shit is how it’s doing. Don’t get any ideas Alex.” She dropped where she stood and hit ten quick plyo pushups, announced with a double clap at the top of each rep.

It wasn’t long until they were going set for set doing heavy barbell rows paired with heavy bench presses at Kara’s behest, followed by mountain climbers and kettlebell shoulder presses at Alex’s. Kara pushed Alex to add weight and Alex pushed Kara to shorten her rest periods between rounds. In no time, Kara was breathing heavy and the familiar burn of exercise had brought a real smile to her face for the first time since the Imra revelation.

It wasn’t until Kara was nearing exhaustion from heavy weighted pullups that Alex presented her with a challenge.

“Let’s see if you can beat my muscle-up record. I got nine the other day.”

“What the hell Alex?” Kara said, dropping the belt which held the forty-five-pound plate between her feet. “You could have told me that before I killed my lats.

“If you can’t do it, just say so.”

Kara smiled, the challenge lighting up her face with joyful determination.

Kara clapped her hands together and vaulted back to the chin-up bar. Her body felt lighter without the added weight, but the fatigue had set in. Beating nine wouldn’t even be a challenge if she was fresh, but that ship had sailed several sets ago. She pulled herself up, and vaulted to the top of the bar, seamlessly transitioning into a tricep dip at the top. The second rep seemed almost easier as she got her rhythm but it was short lived. Her muscles burned and the sweat of her palms threatened her grip on the chin-up bar who’s knurling had worn low since Jeremiah had first opened the club when they were still kids. Eight began to hurt, and normally she would have called the set then but instead she dug in, finding a level of determined strength deep inside. Nine. Kara won’t settle for a tie, not when it’s so close to a win. Ten. It hurt. She struggled, but no there was still a fire there, deep inside screaming to burn out and she pulled an eleventh time, eyes slammed shut against the strain until her elbows locked at the top one final time.

She dropped, exhausted and arms burning from the effort, and she smiled with genuine elation. She clapped her arms around Alex’s back in celebration over the win. Even the co-mingled sweat didn’t bother her as she hugged Alex close. She would, after all, shower a second time today. The raw wound in her chest felt as though it had healed ever so slightly, and the rush of endorphins would carry her mood, at least for time being.

It was a new year, and Kara was going to be okay.

Chapter Text

“That’s right! Give me all your money!!!”

Alex looked at the dice with distain and counted the squares again. Sure enough, she’d had the misfortune of landing squarely on Boardwalk, complete with Nia’s shiny new red hotel.

Alex huffed and looked to Kara, “Aren’t there house rules against robbery? Can’t you stop this?”

Kara laughed and looked at Nia. “Fair and square Alex. Pay up.”

Nia was still cackling like a supervillain and making grabby hands at Alex’s meager pile of cash. She was the second to fall to Nia’s costly properties since James had had a similar misfortune with Park Place only a few minutes prior.

Alex looked over her small remaining scatter of colored bills and sighed. “Do you have some kind of superpower I don’t know about? You’ve been one step ahead for the whole game.”

“Don’t be a sore loser.” Nia laughed again from behind a rainbow stack of bills that had grown so high they had begun to topple together. She had at least sixty percent of the board, and probably more money than the bank by the looks of it, leaving forty percent, including all four railroads, in Querl’s hands.

Kara got up and left them to it, dragging a still pouting Alex away from the awful game. After her own loss, James’s, and subsequently Alex’s, she was secretly rooting for Querl to live up to his nickname, Brainy, and find a way to beat Nia at her own game.

Whatever, the loser’s table was livelier anyway.

James was leaning casually against the counter in Kara’s loft, seemingly sober and reserved in comparison to Winn, who had just popped the tab on his third redbull to mix with vodka in a red solo cup. Leslie was cackling at something James had just said, likely at Winn’s expense due to the shared glances in his general direction. Meanwhile, Winn looked at his newly created drink like it had personally hung the stars and took a deep sip, followed by a lengthy moan.

James’ smile was broad, exposing all of his teeth even as his eyes hinted at mischief. “You alright there buddy?”

“Ughhh.” Winn started with another breathy moan, “You don’t even understand. Caffeine understands me like no woman can.”

“Oh, is that it? I thought there might be something more to it…”

Kara exploded in laughter as Winn whined, only for it to fade as she noticed Alex watching her intently with the big sister face. Kara knew she meant well, but damnit those crinkly worried glances always reminded her of why she was slow to smile to begin with. Imra.

Kara looked away, opting to focus instead on the muted and forgotten television that was still visible from the counter. Apparently, some press conference was happening downtown, but Kara had been a bit behind on the news lately. The banner at the bottom of the screen read: L-Corp, Can green energy initiatives sway public perception?

Alex stepped beside her, following her gaze to the TV. “Can’t fix something that rotten with a new coat of paint.”

Kara blinked and turned back to Alex. “What?”

“The rebranding, green energy, it’s all just buzzwords and a show. That whole company is rotten to the core. You of all people should know that.”

Kara looked down, remembering. “It wasn’t ever proven… besides the old CEO got caught for some financial stuff years later anyway. He’s out of the picture.”

“It’s still the same family that owns the place. Don’t be naive.” Alex said with a wave of her beer to the TV. It always stung when Alex called her that, like despite everything she still saw her as that doe-eyed little girl that had practically been dumped on her parent’s doorstep like a box of unwanted puppies. Kara liked to think everyone should be judged on their own merits in their own time, but Alex was quick to be judge, jury and executioner.

A woman stepped onto the podium and began a speech, and despite the TV still being on mute Kara was transfixed. The woman’s sharp features and dark hair seemed oddly familiar, but Kara couldn’t quite place it.

James joined in beside Alex. “Lena Luthor… Real piece of work I’d say.”

Suddenly, Winn vaulted into the living room and cranked up the remote with unnecessarily rapid tapping of the buttons. The volume cut in as the speech continued. “We are currently looking at a variety of green energy opportunities to bring L-Corp into the future and expand our portfolio in ways that will benefit all of National City…”

Winn was breathing quickly and pointing at the screen. “That’s… That’s her! That’s really her! Oh My God!”

“Breath Winn.” James said calmly. “What do you mean?”

Winn squeaked. “I signed her up!”

All heads turned to Winn, but it was Alex that spoke up over the now blaring screen. “You WHAT? You signed up and evil billionaire and didn’t think to tell anyone about it? You have no idea, no idea, what they have done to our family, and she has the nerve to just walk into the DEO!”

Kara was silent as the commotion exploded around her, staring at disbelief at the screen. Recognition clicked into place as she watched the woman finishing a speech with a warm smile and wave to the crowd of onlookers. The ever-present hole in her chest felt like it was being tugged in all directions, but not for Imra this time. This part of the wound was older, scarred over at the edges like a burn at the base of a tree. The healing ring lived in a constant battle against the tendrils of rot that edged closer and closer to the heart.

Kara grabbed her chest above where it ached. Her heart was pounding, and the edges of her vision felt spotty. She gripped the counter. Around her the others were talking over each other about canceling memberships and insinuations of things long past. She could barely hear it over the pounding in her head.

Breathe Kara breathe.

Remembered words floated through her mind. “Name five things that you can see.”

Kara mumbled to herself. “Red bull cans, the couch, my throw blanket, my… my….” It was harder that it should be, and she ignored the answer that popped to mind at first – My TV. It’s what started this after all. “My shirt, the counter.” The last was gripped in her hands so tightly it wouldn’t have been a surprise if she’d broken right through the wood.

“Name four sounds you can hear”

She couldn’t latch on to anything over the din of the argument. It seemed magnified a thousand-fold in Kara’s current state. Everyone had some opinion about the resident Luthor that needed to be shouted over the others. James was filled with distain, but his only argument was her last name. Winn defended her, shouting about some paper that was seen as seminal in his physics 202 course. Alex just kept screaming “You have no idea!” over it all.

And Kara spiraled. The argument had completely negated her attempt to self-sooth and her knees went weak as she slumped into the floor. The walls felt like they were closing in, just like they had when she was young. It was as if she was hiding in that closet again, hearing the argument between her mother and aunt Astra after her father’s… accident.

A hand landed on her shoulder softly, and somewhere in her mind she was aware that the yelling had stopped. The only sound remaining came from her own breathing and the television, where commenters went back and forth discussing the recent ups and downs of L-Corp’s stock.

***

Twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.

Kara hummed to herself as her eyes scanned over the cardio ring above. Most people were tuned in to their phones or the built-in screens in the machines, but three times now she’d caught the youngest Luthor looking squarely at her, only to look away as soon as their eyes met.

The general consensus of the gym crew, once sober, was to do nothing about the new member of the gym, though Alex had to threaten Winn to never interact with her unless absolutely necessary. It took a minute and a thinly veiled threat, but Winn had crumbled quickly under Alex’s gaze.

“But” He’d protested. “What if, like, she tries to talk to me or needs something?”

“She’s already a member, you sell memberships, let someone else handle it. Otherwise, you have no idea who she is, got it?”

Kara couldn’t help but laugh at the memory of Winn gulping for air like Alex might actually go through with her threat of eviscerating him with her pinky.

She focused back on the task at hand. Alex was wrapped up at the front with some issue regarding the paper towels, and Kara took the reprieve to just lift heavy and clear her mind. There was something oddly liberating about moving huge weights, and the sense of calm right before a big single was like a form of meditation.

The chalk on her hands peppered the edge of the bench as she set up for a heavy bench press single. She laid back and pulled her shoulder blades back and down, planting her feet on either side of the bench. One breath, two, then she was tracing the lines of the knurling on the power bar, setting her hands at the appropriate distance. Light weight, she thought, even as a pair of 45’s clanked as she unracked. The weight moved easy, and she could have hit more reps, but now wasn’t the time. She’d come off her strength block strong, but the breakup had done her at least some favors. Two weeks of pushing herself harder than usual had left her feeling like the strongest woman in the world, and damnit tonight she felt the personal record waiting for her.

Imra had given her a half-hearted excuse that rang in her ears. “You don’t understand Kara. It isn’t like I meant to fall for him. It just happened and you weren’t there.”

She wasn’t there. That’s it, that’s all it took for almost two years of dating to come crashing down like a house of cards around her. It felt like something was left unsaid, something that would have brought closure, but no. She was left with those words and a breathy, remorseless apology. All Kara could do was rewind the last two years and ask herself, why wasn’t I good enough? What sin had gone unmentioned in that final conversation? If Kara knew, maybe she could fix it. If not for Imra, maybe for herself. The not knowing hurt immensely, and she channeled it into the only thing that felt real anymore.

She added a pair of tens and sat calmly, breathing, and focusing on the feeling of the muscles in her chest and shoulders. 245lbs, one rep. It was ten pounds more than she’d ever done before. The bench’s safeties were set just lower than her chest’s height. She could get out if she needed to, but she had no intention of letting other gym goers see her fail.

She dropped back to the bench, tightening up in preparation. Nothing else in the world mattered in that moment, not Imra, not the people around her, not even Lena Luthor who was no doubt watching from above. This was just for herself.

She unracked, feeling the weight heavy in her palms as she fought to keep her form tight as the weight descended, briefly touching her lower chest. Tension coiled from her planted feet, driving through to weight above. It moved slow, threatening to stall halfway, but then it accelerated to a solid lockout before she racked the bar again.

She smiled, a feeling of accomplishment washing over her in waves and for a brief moment, she felt like she was enough.

A voice interrupted her. “I wish you’d wait for me to spot you when you decide to max.”

Kara opened her eyes and sat up, ducking slightly to keep from slamming her head on the bar. “I’m fine Alex, the safeties are up and besides, there’s like fifty people here that could help if I did somehow get pinned.”

“You have too much faith in people, you know that right?” Alex replied, but then her face broke as she fought back a laugh. “You… uh… develop a coke habit I don’t know about?”

Kara’s eyes went wide. “What? No. Oh gosh.” She looked in the mirror and sure enough a smear of white chalk was just under her nose. She wiped it away quickly, wondering just how many onlookers had wondered the same thing. “That’s so embarrassing.”

“It’s gosh now? You scaling back on the F bombs?” Alex asked.

“I try to keep it strictly PG at work you know.”

“That’s new, where was that mentality when you were yelling at your client Adam the other day?”

Kara opened her mouth and closed it again, before settling on a response. “That’s… different. He needed a bit of extra motivation to get through that last set, and some people don’t exactly need kid gloves.”

“You know he likes you right?” Alex asked, lightly shoving Kara’s shoulder along with the tease.

“Ugh, don’t remind me.” Kara said. “It happens you know? Spending all that one-on-one time with people. Sometimes it gets misinterpreted.”

Alex gestured to the weights on the bench and Kara nodded, moving to one side to strip the plates off on either side in tandem with her sister.

“Speaking of, Are you trying to impress your other secret admirer?” Alex asked, gesturing vaguely at the cardio machines where she knew the youngest Luthor was probably panting at the scene.

Kara’s shoulders sank. “I never should have told you about her looking at me. Maybe she’s just looking at the floor in general.”

Alex looked up, slightly to the left of where she’d spotted Lena moments before to not arouse suspicion. “Nope, pretty sure she’s watching you.”

Kara fidgeted slightly. “I don’t know why though. Even if what you suspect about Lex is true, that was ages ago. She wouldn’t have even been in high school. They are at least fifteen years apart.”

Alex crossed her arms. “Someone’s been doing their homework I see.”

“I got curious.” Kara said, her voice a pitch higher than normal. Alex didn’t need to know that she’d done research on the woman, finding many stark opinions about the woman on the internet, but very little substance. What she could find tended to vary from neutral to positive, and L-Corp had publicly and privately moved away from her father and brother’s shadier dealings. Even the interim CEO which had bridged the gap between her brother and herself had a generally positive reception.

She looked up again, though perhaps with less stealth than Alex had. Maybe Kara was naive but the woman she saw, flushed and breathless, didn’t seem to be an evil genius. She seemed almost soft as a small smile crept across her lips as she brought the treadmill to a stop. Kara watched as another woman approached, no doubt asking if she was done with the machine and Lena met the woman with a smile and a nod before promptly retrieving her water bottle and even taking a moment to wipe the machine with sanitizer.

Evil people don’t take time to sanitize a machine for a stranger.

Kara looked away. It didn’t do any good to speculate, but her research had helped with her initial visceral reaction to the woman. Lena wasn’t her father, and she certainly wasn’t her brother, but whoever she was still wasn’t clear. For Kara at least, she had made a conscious decision to avoid defining her simply by her family name. Besides, it seemed that she was at the DEO to stay.

Chapter Text

Don’t be weird. Don’t be weird. Don’t be weird.

The mantra ran on a loop in Lena’s head as her eyes met Kara’s. Lena schooled her features as best she could, consciously erasing any readable expression from her now sweat slicked face. At least Kara wouldn’t be able to see her blush over the bright red of her post-workout glow.

Growing up with the Luthors meant learning the decorum of interaction and personal introduction. It was formulaic and stiff, but lethally effective in her usual circles. A firm handshake and intentional eye contact, followed by hollow pleasantries and exchange of accomplishments and accolades. A Luthor should never fail to outshine whoever they’ve met in this regard. It made for quick evaluations of friend and foe alike, and most importantly, it was a power play. She could quickly establish dominance in a contrived social circle, almost instantly controlling the narrative around herself and her company.

This, she’d learned in the outside world, was weird.

Unfortunately for Lena, the mantra which ran through her head only managed to focus her substantial brain capacity into presenting her as defensive, aloof, and entirely unreadable. Any emotion which might have otherwise been written on her face was stuffed neatly into a box and tossed aside, never to be seen again.

Sam and Alex were busy with their own stand-off in her periphery, and Lena barely realized she was holding her breath amid the scene. Sam’s hand was up in placation, but Alex’s arms were tightly crossed as she glared unflinchingly at Sam. Kara’s eyes were wide and her mouth hung slightly open as she looked first at Sam, then back to Alex, and finally back to Lena.

Lena heard Alex speak first, but her glance lingered for a moment as she accidentally locked eyes with Kara.

“Good to see me?” Alex said, voice monotone. “I somehow doubt that, or you would have, at the very least had the decency to tell me why you stood me up on our third date and apparently blocked my number.”

Sam let out air, almost a squeak, before she composed herself. “Look Alex. I’m really sorry for that. It wasn’t you I swear.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Alex replied, but her eyes moved from Sam to Lena and narrowed slightly.

Lena felt the change in pressure. It was almost atmospheric in the way that the charge in the room shifted as she felt Alex’s eyes track over her. “And now you are here, with Lena Luthor of all people, acting like you had no idea whose gym this was even though my name is on the fucking billboard.”

“Excuse me!” Lena cut in after being name dropped with such casual distain. Her illusions of anonymity shattered in an instant, leaving her feeling deeply exposed in the one place she had dared to just be Lena. “I’ll have you know that she is my best friend and came as a guest on my behalf. Whatever this…” Lena gestured between Sam and Alex in a flurry of movement as she searched for words. “BULLSHIT is needs to stop or I swear to God you’ll be hearing from my law…”

“LENA!” Sam cut in with a yell, sending her a pleading look. Then, her voice softened. “Lena, please just. I think Alex and I need to talk and maybe this isn’t the best place for it.” Sam turned back to Alex. “Please?”

Alex nodded, and her crossed arms dropped from her chest to her sides. “Fine, we can talk in my office.” Lena couldn’t help noticing the way Alex looked at Kara, as if asking some silent question before glancing back at Lena for a split second. Kara nodded subtly and Alex stepped away, leaving Sam to follow, eyes pointed at the floor.

A few seconds passed and the remaining two looked at each other in silent tension.

“So…” They both said at once. Where Kara’s was soft and open, Lena’s was sharp and curt. Lena winced at her own tone as it cut Kara off from whatever she might have been about to say. Lena felt tense, but not in the way she felt when she dominated a boardroom or stepped onto a podium. This tension felt feral and unrestrained, like a wild animal torn between running away or attacking head on. The instinct she’d honed for nearly a month was to look away and act as though those baby blues didn’t haunt her dreams. It was too late for that though, and instead she was stuck in the steel trap of unfamiliar social expectation.

Try as she might, she couldn’t quite retract her claws.

“So…” Lena began again with a forced courtesy. “It would seem that there is some baggage between my friend and your…” She left the ending open, leaving Kara to work out the question being asked.

Kara blinked. “My… oh, she’s my sister. Sorry, I forgot that not all of the members know that.”

Lena felt her shoulders relax a bit, despite herself. “I see. I guess I’d just assumed… It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that while I wasn’t aware of their history when I invited Sam, that outburst was entirely unprofessional.”

Kara sucked in a breath. “Please Miss Luthor, I know Alex isn’t always the most tactful. I just hope that…”

“Just Lena.” She interrupted, a bit too forcefully. The sound of her last name causing an unexpected twist in her gut.

Kara paused for a moment, face unreadable before continuing slowly, as if considering each word ahead of time. “Lena, I hope that your opinion of the DEO isn’t cast in a negative light because of what happened. It was a personal matter that should have remained just that.”

Lena realized then that Kara was treading lightly after she’d almost threatened to get her lawyers involved. Why was her default setting so defensive? She’d imagined a hundred scenarios involving how she might meet the woman in front of her, and absolutely none had involved making her feel like making the wrong step would end her very world. “Yes, it should have,” she said after a steadying pause.

Kara rocked from her heals to her toes and back, taking a moment to look anywhere but in Lena’s eyes. “I’m uh… I’m Kara by the way.” Though, her voice was small and hesitant, leaving Lena unsettled.

Seeing her fidget uncomfortably made Lena’s mouth feel even more like sandpaper than normal after a workout. The whole thing felt wrong, and she wanted to fix it before it got even further out of control. The voice in the back of her head had shifted from its chant to another nagging thought, she’d legitimately scared someone who was wholly undeserving of her wrath. She forgot at times that not everyone had a team of paid lawyers at the ready for any perceived upset to the status quo. While Kara may be a business owner, it wasn’t the same. Kara was a small business owner, likely only held afloat with loans and the promise of repeat business.

To someone like that, Lena was often seen as the enemy. Prior to rebranding to L-Corp under Lena’s short tenure, LuthorCorp had crushed a number of small businesses through unethical practices, lawsuits, unpaid bills to contractors, or simply by pushing them out of the way with shady legal dealings. Lena had, at the drop of a hat, threatened to do the same to the very woman that she’d been secretly hoping to see on a daily basis.

Maybe she was a Luthor after all.

Lena pursed her lips and raised a neatly groomed eyebrow. “Kara, forgive me. Maybe we should start over. I don’t think that Sam and your sister’s past should affect how we are expected to interact. It wasn’t my intention to come off as threatening.”

Kara’s eyes met her own again. There was a question there, burning under the surface, but Kara never gave it voice. It just lingered, and Lena suddenly felt unsure of herself as well as her formalized apology. It seemed like an eternity stretched between them before Kara followed up with a simple, “okay.”

The tension in Lena released like a valve had been opened. “Okay.” She returned with a smile.

Kara returned the smile, but it was small and fragile, nothing like the radiant smiles she’d seen from her on the weight room floor, but it was progress, nonetheless. “So, um… You joined fairly recently?”

Lena knew it wasn’t really a question, but rather small talk to fill the awkward space that had opened between them. “Yes, just after the new year actually.” She answered.

Kara’s mouth turned up slightly, a smirk forming to some internal joke. “So, you are a resolutioner?”

“I guess you could say that, yes. I, well… it was Sam actually that told me I needed to have something in my life outside of work, and well – this is it.” Lena winced at already mentioning Sam, just as the conversation had seemingly overcome that particular roadblock.

Kara was unphased by the slip it seemed and followed up with another question almost immediately. “How is it going for you? I assume you came in with some kind of goal in mind.”

Lena looked away for a moment in thought. What actually had been her goal? She wasn’t all that sure anymore. She’d come for Sam and stayed for Kara. She’d made so many positive changes for herself in the process, but what was her end goal? Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure of her own motivations beyond the basic understanding that exercise was good for her. “I can’t say for sure that I have put that much thought into honestly. I just realized that the life I had been living wasn’t sustainable.”

“How so?”

Lena was taken aback by the two words, they flipped the script right back onto her and made her reevaluate her own thoughts and feelings. It felt like the one uncomfortable time she’d attempted therapy, only to find the therapist looking at her with something between shock, pity and disbelief. She hadn’t been back since. Regardless, Kara’s eyes were earnest and warm, patiently awaiting the answer that should have been easy to give. Words seemed to bubble forth without her consent as she looked quickly away. “I suppose I spent so long trying, and sometimes failing, to improve my company’s image that I’d forgotten how to actually take care of myself. The Luthor name had become, shall we say somewhat maligned, during my brother’s tenure and I took on that baggage as well as the company itself.  Self-care just seemed so pointless when I could use that time to affect real change for others. At some point I think I forgot how to live my own life outside of the expectations of others.”

Lena hesitated to look back into Kara’s eyes at the admission. Her stepmother would have been mortified that she’d shown vulnerability to a stranger, and yet an odd sense of calm seemed to flow over her in wave. When she did finally look back, it wasn’t pity on Kara’s face, but rather understanding.

Kara’s brow furrowed slightly. “It sounds like you have been punishing yourself for things that were never your doing to begin with. Everyone deserves the right to live outside of their family’s shadow. So tell me Lena, what is it that you want for you?”

Lena felt her eyes water slightly at the sentiment. She wasn’t sure if anyone had ever really asked her that before. Questions directed at her had always seemed to come with some judgement that she wasn’t doing enough or wasn’t meeting expectations. Questions like: How do you feel your recent earnings miss will affect the trust of your shareholders, especially after the fraud cases brought against your brother? Do you feel that rebranding can make National City forget that LuthorCorp faked clinical trials, potentially killing hundreds?

Lena’s response was a shaky whisper. “I want to wave a magic wand and fix everything my brother did, making everything right again.”

“Lena.” Her name sounded like a plea coming from Kara’s lips, and she felt powerless against it. “What is underneath that? What is it that you want for you?”

Lena inhaled and composed herself, making her voice settle back to an even tone. “I think I want to have some part of my life where I’m not fighting - not looking over my shoulder for someone to point out what I'm doing wrong. I don’t know how to take time for myself. I don’t have friends, God, my mother always said Luthors don’t have friends, we have minions.” She let out a self-deprecating laugh.

Kara’s eyes were still soft and questioning, and something in them tugged again at Lena’s blossoming vulnerability. “I’m fairly certain that you have at least one friend - assuming she survives Alex. But tell me, has coming to the DEO helped you feel like you have a safe space?”

Lena exhaled. “I’m not sure honestly. I didn’t realize you all knew who I was this whole time. Now I’m worried a single photo of me being a sweaty mess will end up on some financial blog and I’ll have to answer for it in a board meeting.”

“I can assure you, if that happened, whoever took the picture would have their membership revoked, but what could your board possibly say bad about you staying healthy?” Kara said.

“I’m a powerful woman in a man’s field, and many people think I got where I did just because my last name happens to be Luthor. I’m required to just be perfect without showing the wear and tear that got me this far. I barely know what I’m doing in here and it’s exhausting. I have to do everything a man can do and look better doing it to even be considered worthy of consideration when compared with men with half of my experience. I had hoped no one would recognize me here to avoid the same kind of scrutiny.”

Kara gave a slight nod, raising her eyebrows slightly at the comment. “What if you got ahead of it instead of worrying about how others could spin it?”

Lena was quiet a moment as their eyes locked. Kara’s were earnest and open, leaving behind the traces of fear from their earlier exchange. It abruptly halted her instinctual response of rejecting the idea in favor of curiosity. “What exactly do you have in mind?”

Kara smiled, and for the first time that familiar bright smile lit up those blue eyes for her. “I was thinking. Lots of celebrities have personal trainers. I could teach you some stuff and maybe my friend Nia at Catco could even do a puff piece showing the genuine Lena Luthor.”

Lena scoffed. “I say I’d prefer flying under the radar and you ask if I want to be in a puff piece?”

“Miss… Lena… I’m just saying that you could control the narrative.” Kara said, biting her lip with hesitation.

“You sound like you are the reporter, you know that?” Lena let out a soft laugh. “You may have a point though. My PR team has been trying to get me to be more personable with the press. I just haven’t really seen the point.”

“See! This would be perfect. You could get ahead of what the stuffy old men on the board think of you, accommodate your PR team, and be able to keep up with getting in shape on your own terms!”

Somehow, her enthusiasm was infectious. Maybe it was the underlying attraction, or perhaps the guilt of waving a threat over Alex’s head, or even simply the post-workout haze of endorphins but Lena found herself nodding along just to see the way Kara’s smile grew impossibly larger with each passing second. “I think I might be open to that. I would need to contact my PR team before I do anything rash of course.”

Kara bounced slightly, as if the extra energy inside her had nowhere else to go. “That is great! I was thinking you could maybe work out with me, no charge of course, and then we’ll see what Nia and your PR…”

“Wait. Wait. Wait. I fully intend to pay you.” Lena responded, cutting into the rapidly growing rant from Kara.

Kara’s eyes went wide for a moment. “I mean, you are usually here at night, and I don’t…” She paused. Whatever she had intended to say after died on her lips as she looked at Lena. “I didn’t want you to think this was all somehow a sales pitch.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. If I’m taking up your time, I am most certainly paying you what you are worth.”

Kara blinked slowly for a moment. “Oh, um, sure.” Her mouth opened and closed, as if searching for words and finding none.

They were interrupted as Sam strode back toward Lena with a tense jaw and puffy eyes. “Lena, can we please get out of here?”

Lena turned at the interruption, eyes softening at her friend’s obvious distress. “Of course.” She glanced back at Kara for a moment. “My assistant, Jess, will get in touch with you tomorrow to hammer out the details. It was great speaking with you.”

She barely registered the faint, “You too” that Kara spoke at a delay as she was ushered out of the now quiet gym.

Chapter Text

“I’m sorry, you what?” Alex yelled over the neck of her beer bottle which was hovering mere inches from her lips. It was her third of the night but even Kara had taken to mulling over a single hard cider.

“I kind of agreed to be Lena’s personal trainer.” Kara’s voice was just under a yell. The bar wasn’t exactly loud, but it carried enough noise that conversations could be strained. She looked around the room, trying to focus on anything that wasn’t Alex’s practiced glare of disapproval. She was somewhat astonished at the amount of flannel being touted by the establishment’s patrons. The DeathStroke was, on most nights, a Bear bar, but once a month they hosted a Sapphic night that seemed to have it’s own uniquely rustic clientele. For better or worse, Alex and Kara’s mutually terrible evening had led them here.

“Agreed? What the actual fuck? She was about to burn the place down when I left.” Alex asked as she flopped back down onto the cracked vinyl pad of well-used bench seat across from her sister.

“God, I have no idea. I don’t even know how it happened. One minute she was talking about her company then she was talking about paying me.” Kara sighed and dropped her head down to the table with a thump.

“Kara, just stating the obvious here, but you need to put her with one of the other trainers.”

Kara groaned and picked her head back up, a light red mark evident on her forehead. “I know, she comes at night, and I can’t go back to those hours. It’s too much since my 5:30am is always taken by either Lyra or Eve now.”

Alex pointed a finger at Kara and locked eyes with her “That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it. It wouldn’t take much digging at all for her to find out who you really are.”

“She would have been too young to have had anything to do with it, whether its true or not.” Kara said, folding her arms and looking away from Alex’s accusatory glare.

“It doesn’t matter, there is a reason you took the Danvers name, and that reason was a Luthor. It’s not like Zor-El is exactly a common last name and it won’t take a genius to put two and two together.”

Kara’s eyes furrowed and she looked back. “She’s not like her family.”

Alex snorted. “You have known her for five minutes and she was threatening us for at least one of them. I’m just saying, don’t risk it. Put her with Oliver, he works nights and he has several openings.”

Kara laughed. “There’s a reason he has openings Alex! I can’t put a damn billionaire with a man who thinks he’s God’s gift to fitness just because he has abs and Instagram followers.”

“Just be careful. Don’t trust her and for the love of God don’t let her know who you are. It's not worth it.” Alex drained her beer and motioned back at the bar. “Can I get you something else?”

Kara looked seriously at the cider she’d babysat for half the night. Having a drink in her hand generally fended off the feeling like she out of place sitting soberly in a bar. The ‘no’ was sitting on the edge of her lips when she felt the sudden vibration of a notification coming through to her smartwatch.

Imra ❤️: I was wondering if we could talk?

Kara flinched seeing the heart she’d not yet had the willpower to remove from Imra’s contact information as she dug her phone from her pocket. It stung, but so did the ask to talk. Thus far Imra had left her in the dark and the need for reconciliation or closure was painful in her chest. She looked at Alex instead. “Get me a double shot of rum.”

Alex’s eyebrows raised at the unexpected request, and she glanced at Kara’s phone knowingly before retreating back to the bar.

Kara’s fingers hovered over the keys for what felt like an eternity, the sounds of the bar fading to nothing as she stared at the screen. She scrolled back through the text string. It was masochistic and she knew she was just hurting herself, but there, not even two months back was a text that had felt so real when it had first been received.

December 8^th at 4:39pm. Imra ❤️: I know I have been stressed but know that I love you with all of my heart. I can’t wait to spend Christmas break with you and be able to feel close to you again. You are my everything, now and always.

Kara felt the tear welling up in her eye and when a glass of rum landed in front of her, she didn’t even look up at Alex, she just emptied it with a scowl. The rum burned pleasantly as she scrolled back to the bottom of the text string.

Imra could be left on read.

The pain of it all was muted as the warmth spread from her chest outward. Lately it had felt more like a dull ache than a stab, mirroring the feeling of any wound as it closed. The alcohol did nothing to stitch the remainder, but it helped her forget that it was there. For a moment, behind her eyelids she just floated in a moment of liquid bliss.

“I guess that means you are up for some fun tonight then?” Alex yelled, still hovering by the table with her own drink. Whatever it was was a dark amber, with a single large ice cube clinking against the glass’s edge.

Kara looked down, pawing slightly at the homemade tank she’d made from an old She-Ra shirt. It wasn’t exactly bar attire, but they’d landed at lady’s night when they’d been supposed to do back and deadlifts. It would have to do. “Screw it, I’m going to kick your butt at pool.” She stood with a slight stumble. She certainly didn’t have Alex’s tolerance, but her confidence was suddenly at an all time high.

Alex nodded to the quarter table at the far end of the bar. Two rather attractive women were locked in an animated game of 8 ball as they shared a pitcher of beer. “Think they are about done?”

Two balls remained aside from the 8 ball, a stripe and a solid. The women must be fairly equally matched, and Kara found herself invested in the game as the buzz hit her fully. “I don’t know but I think we should make friends.”

They made their way to the table, and to Kara’s surprise, Alex pulled out a stack of quarters from seemingly nowhere to clank on the worn wooden edge. The women looked up. The paler woman looked startled by the intrusion, but the one with the darker complexion stared at Alex in a challenge before speaking up. “What makes you think you can just walk in and take over like you own the place?”

“My jurisdiction now.” Alex replied stiffly, tapping her stack of quarters.

Kara was watching the scene unfold. Alex was being uncharacteristically stoic, and for a second she wasn’t sure if her night was about to end in an ill-advised barfight. The look on the other strange woman’s face seemed to be reaching the same conclusion just as the tension broke.

“Shut up Danvers, you are so full of shit you know that?”

“God Mags, it’s good to see you again.” Alex rushed forward and the two were instantly engulfed in a hug. It clicked for Kara then. Alex’s friend Maggie. They’d never met but Kara had heard all about the woman, though it had been some time ago. Maggie had been Alex’s first crush, and first heartbreak. Maggie hadn’t been ready for a relationship and Alex had just discovered her sexuality. The timing had been terrible and it had taken a while, but somewhere along the way they must have reconciled. “Who’s your friend?”

The paler woman stepped forward and raised a hand to shake Alex’s. “Lucy, and you are the infamous Alex I take it?”

Kara was happy to be a couple steps behind as she watched. Perhaps it was the alcohol in her system, but this woman was stunning. An errant thought bounced in the back of her head comparing her to Imra, dark brown hair – almost black, petite but strong, and green eyes to Imra’s blue. She certainly had a type and this woman was checking all the boxes in spades. She only realized she was staring when those green eyes landed on her.

Lucy tilted her head back, appraisingly. “I take it you are the youngest Danvers.”

Kara nodded, suddenly feeling unsure of herself under the woman’s blatant scrutiny.

Lucy bit her lip and spun her cue stick between her fingers. “Maggie’s description didn’t do you justice at all. There’s nothing little about Little Danvers.”

Kara felt the rush of heat cross her cheeks at the blatant flirting. It felt good, even as a part of her mind went back to the unanswered text and the hope that Imra was fuming over the time that had passed with no reply. It was petty, Kara knew, but she didn’t care in that moment. She felt good.

“Alright now.” Alex cut in. Her timing was always impeccable when it came to anything even remotely sexual being directed at Kara. “I don’t need to hear that.”

Maggie laughed. “Loosen up Alex. Let them have fun. That’s what we’re all here for right?”

Alex rolled her eyes. “Fine. How about two on two after one of you sinks the 8 ball?”

Maggie sighed. “You drive a hard bargain Danvers, but on one condition – I know how competitive you can be, you are going to be my partner.”

“Deal.”

Maggie turned, sinking the solid and the 8 ball in rapid succession as Lucy let out a sigh. “Your rack.”

Kara watched Lucy as she quickly arranged the balls in the triangle for the next game. Her movements were sharp and quick despite the half empty pitcher of beer and Kara was feeling optimistic about their chances at crushing Alex and Maggie at their own game.

She was still watching as Lucy approached with a grin, grazing a hand over Kara's bicep as though she couldn't keep her hands to herself a second longer. She even smelled nice despite being in a dive bar.

And Kara somehow felt – nothing. She'd expected some kind of spark, that rush of attraction at a first touch but instead it felt empty, hollow even. A pang of guilt hit that somehow it was her fault. Alex had told her time and again that the best way to get over someone was to get under someone else, but Kara simply wasn't wired that way.

Regardless, she smiled right back. Beside them, Maggie broke, landing two solid colored balls in the pockets before even taking a second shot. It didn't bode well for Kara and Lucy’s chances at winning and when a second glass of rum was unexpectedly placed in her hand, their chances plummeted.

Memories of the night were scattered after that, becoming an incoherent mess in her mind. Her speech was slurred and her face hurt from laughter.  Lucy's touches and flirtation continued, but Kara gradually became happily oblivious.

Kara nearly smashed her phone when the alarm went off the following morning at 4:30am. She had an hour to be ready for Eve’s appointment and it felt daunting. A trainer needed to be upbeat and motivational at all times, and she currently felt like she had knife stuck in her skull.

She hated Alex right now.

She had a notification from a strange number the night before. Hey, it's Lucy. I hope we can do that again sometime! Let me know you got home safe?

Kara groaned. What had she gotten herself into? At least it was supposed to be a short day today, with her final client wrapping up at 3:30pm due to a cancelation. She could get a nap, get an evening workout in, and be less of a piece of garbage the following day.

That was the plan anyway.

***

“Jess, have you been able to get in touch with Kara at the DEO?” Lena asked, forcing herself through her own second thoughts about the matter. Part of her was thrilled at the prospect of working closely with the woman, and in truth she’d had a point about getting ahead of the narrative. Lena wasn’t sure she could go back to not working out, and that was a strange feeling indeed.

On the other hand, it was going to be hard to keep her attraction to the woman under wraps in close quarters.

Jess took a few timid steps in. “I’m sorry Miss Luthor. She’s been with clients all day. I was however able to get you set up with four months at three sessions a week through the manager, James. You’ll need to do an intake session though. Would you like to do that this evening?”

Lena blinked looking up from her laptop before pushing it away. “What does that entail?”

“Um. I’m not certain actually Miss Luthor, but they did say that you could either do traditional measurements or take advantage of a discount on a DEXA scan with a partner company called Tower Health.”

“I don’t feel that would be necessary. I’ll do whatever is standard, and yes this evening is fine” Lena hadn’t put a whole lot of thought into the nuts and bolts of what having a trainer would entail. She’d seen some of them milling about on the floor with clients lifting weights or balancing awkwardly. It had all seemed silly to her, since often the same trainers trained themselves far differently than they trained others, leading her to wonder how much of the profession was performative. She wondered for a moment what Kara had planned for her, and it sent a shiver down her spine. It hadn’t fully occurred to her that she would be giving over her power like this, allowing someone to tell her what to do.

Lena wasn’t used to being the one to have to obey commands.

She shifted uncomfortably in her office chair as Jess hurried back out of her office with a timid nod. A thought hit her then. Was Kara the type of trainer to have her balance on one foot like a circus act? Would she scream in her ear like a drill sergeant until Lena collapsed from exhaustion? Would she be crippled with soreness every day of the week as Kara laughed at her misery?

One thought was even more terrifying though. Kara was going to be evaluating her fitness levels, and her body, in some ways more intensely than even a past lover. Lena was going to be on full display, flaws and all, to this woman who seemed to be the perfect human specimen. What if she simply, let her down?

Her thoughts were in a death spiral and there was one sure fire way to stop them. She pulled up Sam’s public calendar. Thankfully her CFO’s early afternoon was free of meetings, and she had more than a few things she wanted to discuss, even if not exactly work related. Before she knew it, she was hitting the stairs, making her way down ten flights despite her high Louboutin heels.

It was the first time she’d skipped the elevator to visit Sam.

Sam looked up with a startled expression as Lena walked in, though it was quickly replaced with a tight smile. “Hey Lena, what’s up?”

Lena sat in the chair across from her and crossed her legs. “A few things, but first, are you okay? It didn’t seem like your run in with Alex went too well last night.”

Sam sighed. “No, no it didn’t. She had a LOT of things to say about how I ended things. And you know? She’s right. I was a piece of shit to her.”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “Still, she had no right to accost you like that in public.”

“You are right, but the part that really sucks is that I did legitimately like her you know? I can’t even explain why I did what I did. I was just so mixed up I guess I couldn’t figure out what I was feeling until it was too late.”

“How do you feel about her now?”

Sam grumbled, burying her face in her hands. “I think I still have feelings for her. I think that’s why I ran to begin with. I was so hurt over my ex and then Alex comes along and I just didn’t know if I was feeling what I was feeling or just using her to get over Sarah.”

Lena nodded and leaned forward. “Were you able to tell her that?”

“I tried. I don’t know.” Sam sniffled and wiped an eye.

“I think you should, for your own closure if not for anything else.”

Sam laughed. “God Lena, how are you such a voice of reason when you are the most emotionally constipated person I’ve ever met?”

Lena’s eyes went wide. “That’s an exaggeration!” She knew it was true though. Logically, she could work through any problem unless her own pesky emotions got in the way. It helped if she just avoided them all together, never running the risk of getting hurt or worse – being vulnerable.

Sam snorted through a wet laugh. “God, Lena I love you. What the hell happened when I left? All you said last night was that you were going to get a personal trainer now.”

 Lena couldn’t help but duck her head to hide a half smile that she felt growing on her face. “Kara made a good point about getting ahead of the narrative now that my – extracurricular activities – are no longer a secret. At the very least I can be good at it.”

“Literally just last night you said you’d never lift weights. That’s like 90% of personal training.” Sam replied before her brows shot up in realization. “And her being an absolute lesbian beefcake didn’t factor into that decision at all?”

Lena scoffed, but she felt the heat rising in her cheeks. Hopefully her foundation would be enough to hide the flush that she couldn’t just will away. “Absolutely not, besides I’m quite certain she’s straight. What are the odds that both her and her sister are gay?”

Sam laughed loudly. “God your gaydar is broken. You know they aren’t actually related right? Kara’s adopted, besides did you not notice her shirt?”

Adopted? Lena’s ears perked at that revelation. It seemed that her and this woman had something in common after all. She’d spent most of her life living as the adopted Luthor before the truth had come out that she was the product of an affair rather than a charity case. Regardless, it was the other piece of information that prompted a response. “What about her shirt? It was a cartoon if I remember correctly?”

Sam snorted. “Yeah, a really gay one.”

“What?”

“Me and Ruby watched it. Trust me, if you are wearing a She-Ra shirt you are at the very least bisexual, but good God, that woman looks like a damn brick wall. Nothing about that vibe is very hetero in my opinion.”

Lena sat open mouthed. Lena had basically decided that Kara was heterosexual based on zero evidence. It was a safety blanket and now it was ripped off, leaving her exposed and unprepared. It took a moment to regain her train of thought. “You and Alex must have discussed her at some point to know she was adopted, did she ever mention her sexuality?”

“No, we never really got into it. The adoption piece was really a side comment to something else we were talking about. I’m surprised I even remember… I’m right, aren’t I? You are into her.”

Lena couldn’t stand the gloating look on her friend’s face. “She’s attractive, but I certainly wouldn’t claim to be into her. I know nothing about her, and I’m not willing to let my mind wander into the weeds because she takes a liking to a cartoon. If anything, I should be appalled at her questionable choice of attire.”

Sam fought a smile, but Lena could see it in her eyes. “Okay, we’ll see how you feel after she gets her hands on you in the gym.”

Lena’s eyes went wide at the thought. Was there going to be – professional touching? It was too much to think about right now and she changed the subject abruptly though her voice came in at a higher than normal pitch. “Did you have time to hammer out the onboarding details with our new lead engineer?”

Sam regarded her for a moment before playing along. “Yes, I have. Rhea’s moving from Metropolis this weekend and she’ll be starting next Monday. She seems like a great candidate, but I have some concerns.”

“Concerns?” Lena paused a moment. “Why am I just hearing about this now that the contract is finalized?”

“No, nothing bad really.” Sam replied. “Just, she seems kind of overqualified. Her background check was clean and all, I just feel like she could have done anything she wanted. Why move across the country for this position?”

Lena leaned back in her chair. “I couldn’t say what her motivations are, but perhaps it is worth a conversation.”

Before Sam could reply, Lena’s phone chimed with a new calendar notification for 6:30pm.

Client intake with Kara Danvers.

A pang of anxiety shot through her as she read and reread the appointment. Sam’s concerns about Rhea were forgotten in an instant, leaving Lena a jumble of nerves about the night to come.

Chapter Text

Lena’s heart was racing, and she could feel herself beginning to sweat profusely in a variety of unfortunate places. While this had become completely normal occurrence at the DEO, this was the first time she’d experienced it sitting calmly outside of an office.

The office in question belonged to one Kara Danvers CPT, Fitness Director. Unlike Winn’s office, which was clearly visible to anyone entering through the gym’s main door, Kara’s office was tucked away in a hall that led off from the far side of the cardio ring. The light inside was dark, leaving Lena to sit in a hallway chair alone with her growing nerves. She’d dressed in what she’d come to think of as her nicest workout clothes, which was a distinction that would have been lost on Lena only a month before. It consisted of form fitting black leggings and a fitted top with a deep V neck which highlighted her natural assets. Regardless, her attire seemed out of place beside her Gucci handbag which was currently being abused like a stress ball in her lap.

6:28pm. What had she gotten herself into?

Rationally, she had reason to be nervous. She was going to be evaluated after all. She lived her life on public display and had never felt so raw and exposed as she did at the very moment. A small part of her hoped that perhaps the woman wouldn’t show, and she’d have reason to walk away from the whole ordeal altogether.

She was contemplating the pros and cons of that possibility right as she caught sight of the blonde in her peripheral vision.

“Lena!” Kara’s voice was soft and inviting, leaving Lena to wonder if the woman held anything but  kindness in the entirety of her being.

Lena relaxed somewhat at the greeting, feeling how tense her shoulders had become only now that they were melting in relief despite her previous internal battle. “Kara! Thank you so much for getting together on such short notice.”

Kara smiled as she fumbled through a large keyring to let them into the dark office. Lena couldn’t help but notice how different she appeared now that she was seeing her in a professional setting, even though they were still at the DEO. Notably, Kara had her hair tied up in a neat bun and was wearing glasses which seemed to soften her facial features. Instead of a cutoff t-shirt or muscle shirt, she wore a well fitted blue polo which was embroidered in red with her name and title, as well as the DEO logo.

“Have you thought any more about what your fitness goals are? It helps to have a defined goal to work toward and measure progress.”

Lena hesitated, still gripping her bag tightly as she stood to enter the now unlocked office. “I can’t say that I did, no. I suppose I just want to be healthy? Well rounded? Unlikely to die at forty?”

Kara laughed as she settled into her desk chair. The room was small and cozy and Lena’s eyes bounced around the room to avoid looking too intently at Kara. Fitness related odds and ends were scattered about, including bands, foam rollers and the dip belt with its long chain that had already lived a sordid life in Lena’s fantasies.

“I suppose I can help with that. A well-rounded fitness routine will include both strength and conditioning. You have been doing great in terms of adherence to a schedule so now it’s just a matter of making sure we hit all of the bases.” Kara replied.

Lena finally looked back at her and noticed a slight redness to her eyes behind her glasses. Perhaps her contacts had been irritating? She shelved the thought for now as she began to feel the weight of her decision, quite literally. She was going to have to learn resistance training of all things. She was certain she’d rather learn a whole new coding language before midnight, but here she was threatening the edge of her comfort zone for some ungodly reason.

“What is it that you would recommend then?” Lena asked. It seemed prudent to just ask the expert rather than try to work out some ephemeral desire that she couldn’t quite put a finger on.

Kara looked at her with a smile and a furrowed brow, as if trying to work something out that Lena wasn’t communicating clearly. After a moment, she settled, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs. “How about this, let’s talk about your history first. What is your experience with structured exercise?” She took out a pad of paper and set it on her knee awaiting a response.

Lena sucked in a breath. “Well, actually I was a fencing champion when I was a teenager. It wasn’t like this though. We worked on stances, footwork, speed and timing.”

“When did you stop fencing?” Kara asked, taking notes between glances.

“Sixteen, just barely. I’d qualified for the Olympics but Lillian forced me to drop out to focus on college.”

Kara looked up from her notes. “I’m sorry, college?” The furrow in her brow made a deep crinkle beneath her glasses.

“Yes, I was enrolled in a program that allowed me to complete courses early – but suddenly Lillian seemed to think it was critical that I focus on my studies exclusively. I think even then she knew that the writing was on the wall with Lex. She said my ‘future position’ in LuthorCorp could depend on it.” Lena’s voice held more than a hint of distain.

Kara paused for a long moment, staring at her pad, before continuing with a slight hitch in her voice. “And between then and when you joined the DEO?”

Lena scoffed. “It hasn’t really been something on my mind.”

Kara leaned back and adjusted her glasses slightly before looking back up at Lena with a small smile. “Okay, that brings me to my next question. Do you have any physical limitations, past injuries, medical concerns, or other considerations that I should be aware of before training? Examples include things like a history of heart conditions, herniated disks, diabetes, or anything that a medical provider has previously given you guidance on related to fitness or activity limitations?”

Lena squeezed her hands together and shifted in her seat. The cushion suddenly felt uncomfortable as she considered her next words with care. “I…” She paused. “Nothing like that no, but…” She looked at the ceiling as if for guidance. “I was shot, twice. Once in the shoulder and once in my side. The one is in my side missed anything vital, but I do have some pain in my shoulder at times.” It took a moment for Lena to look back at Kara, and the resulting silence was becoming unbearable.

Kara was looking at her with wide eyes, seemingly frozen for a long moment before she replied. “Oh my God, Lena, that’s horrible. What happened?”

And GOD Lena hated those two words that everyone asked the moment they heard she’d been shot. What happened. “My brother.” She said simply. Over time the emotion had been hollowed out from the statement until it was simple, meaningless.

Kara blinked, hard. “Your brother shot you?”

Lena wringed her fingers together. “Not personally, no. He hired someone.”

Kara’s mouth hung open for a moment before she could formulate a reply. “What… how… It was never on the news.”

“It wasn’t. Lillian made sure of that. She paid off the right people while I was under. It wasn’t the first time Lex had tried but he came rather close to succeeding. It was shortly after he had been arrested for fraud and had apparently found out I was slated to be the new CEO in his absence.”

“He did that from prison?” Kara asked, voice elevated.

Lena scoffed. “It’s not like I could prove any of it, but yes. The would-be assassin ended up dead three days later under mysterious circumstances.”

When Lena looked back, Kara had turned pale. Her eyes focused loosely on the wall to the side of Lena’s head. She took a deep steadying breath and leaned back in her chair for a moment. Lena noticed the death grip Kara now had on her notepad, which was beginning to bunch up between her strong fingers. It wasn’t uncommon for people outside of her usual circles to take that news poorly, but rarely had it seemed to hit such a nerve.

Lena waited for a moment before prompting her softly. “Kara?”

“Sorry! Gosh I’m sorry. I just. Nevermind.” Kara blurted. “I um. That is just a lot. I, okay.” She paused to clear her throat which was seeming to catch on every word. “I, um, your shoulder. Are there any movements that you can’t do or that cause you pain, and do you have any recommendations from a physical therapist?”

“Not anymore. I’ve been cleared to do anything really. I had the best team of surgeons money can buy and thankfully the bullet went through without fragmenting. Pain usually comes from stiffness, rather than any movements that I am aware of.”

Kara attempted a lopsided smile, but it was devoid of her usual cheeriness. “Okay, well. Just let me know if anything we do causes pain or discomfort. That doesn’t just go for your shoulder, but for anything really.”

Lena nodded, but the whole conversation left her feeling unsure of herself. She sometimes forgot that people outside of her usual circles were less able to brush off things like assassination attempts, though maybe that said more about her than them.

Kara began searching through a desk drawer with unnecessary force. “Um, so. What exactly is keeping your brother from trying again?”

“Lillian for starters, though I think a better answer may be that his accounts are frozen, including those he had under aliases.” Lena said with a dismissive wave.

“Oh, so he can’t. Okay.” Kara mumbled as she pulled out a measuring tape and some type of caliper.

Lena’s mouth went dry as she saw them. “What, exactly, are those for?”

Kara looked up with wide blue eyes full of innocence. “James said that you opted for traditional measurements instead of Tower Health’s Dexa scan?”

Lena laughed. “What are we measuring… traditionally?”

“Oh golly, I thought you knew. Normally we measure body fat percentage on intake as a baseline for monitoring change.” Kara answered.

“With calipers?” The magnitude of the situation occurred to Lena then. Kara was going to not only touch her, but take measurements of her fat. It was, horrifically, one of the worst possible scenarios for interacting physically the first time with someone you are hopelessly attracted to. Her mouth suddenly felt like sandpaper. “Can’t we just use my weight?” Even that had felt invasive at first thought, but it was certainly looking to be a better option.

“Oh Lena, we can certainly skip anything that you aren’t comfortable with, and we’ll be discussing what you are and aren’t comfortable with in terms of physical contact during training. Absolutely nothing will occur here without expressed consent. However, I do recommend strongly that we schedule the Dexa scan if you aren't okay with direct measurement. Using weight alone is completely inadequate as a measure of health and fitness. Two people with the same bodyweight and BMI can have dramatically different bodyfat percentages and likely health outcomes.”

Lena looked at the calipers like they might actually bite. “I um. I don’t think I am comfortable with that at this time. The scan might be a better option.” While the thought of Kara’s hands on her body was somewhat exhilarating, it wasn’t exactly what Lena had in mind.

“Oh certainly. We can look into getting you booked next week. I don’t want to do anything that might make you feel uncomfortable during assessment or training. I’m happy to demonstrate exercises and guide you without any unnecessary contact and I will ask for consent if any contact might be required for your safety or instruction.” Kara said with a meaningful smile.

Lena wanted to argue. You can certainly touch me, GOD please touch me. As usual, she’d managed to back herself into a corner that her social skills didn’t have a template for escaping easily, and so she just nodded her acceptance to the new terms. Maybe it was for the best. Kara’s hands on her might actually be too much to handle after her current substantial sexual dry spell.

Kara stood. “Let’s go out to the floor. We’ll need to start with some basic movement patterns to get you ready for next week."

Lena looked at her purse that she’d brought, apparently for no reason. “Can I leave this here if you plan on locking your office?”

Kara looked back. “Of course. You can leave your purse in the bottom drawer until after your session. I leave my stuff in here when I'm with a client and it's always safe.”

The drawer in question was large but nearly empty, containing only Kara's phone, bifold men's wallet, and a keychain bound together with a carabiner. For a moment it felt like an odd validation of trust, and Lena hesitated for a brief moment before opting to put her bag alongside Kara's things.

“You leave your phone in here during sessions?” Lena asked. It made sense now why Jess had had trouble getting in touch with her earlier.

Kara shrugged. “Of course. During session I'm all yours. If there's a legitimate emergency then people know to call the front.”

Lena felt herself flush slightly at those words. I'm all yours. It was stated in a frustratingly professional manner, but Lena wanted to read into it. She really did. Sam's assessment that Kara might be anything other than heterosexual sat heavy in her mind, but it didn't feel like a thing she could simply ask. Instead, she began observing, searching for data points that might lead her in one direction or the other. Interestingly, the contents of the drawer had given her two solid points toward Kara being at least bisexual.

Kara led them away from the office and toward an area with a mat floor near a wall. Some small dumbbells, bands, a small padded barbell, and other small items were strewn around, and for a moment Lena was glad they weren’t going to the weight room after all. The other part of her was skeptical of this new direction. Wasn’t the whole point to learn to lift weights? Was Kara one of those trainers that practiced a very different form of exercise than they preached?

Lena’s internal monologue ended when Kara turned around to face her with a smile. She took a second to adjust her glasses before setting her ever-present notepad and pen down and looked over Lena appraisingly. Suddenly, Lena felt exposed. Reflexively, she tightened her stomach and straightened her spine under Kara’s scrutinizing gaze.

Kara propped her hands on her hips with a knowing smirk. “Lena, before we start with weights, we’re going to work through some basic movement patterns. These should come fairly easily to you with your background in fencing, but don’t worry if they don’t at first.”

Lena nodded, but the easy dismissal of the possibility of failure set her on edge. It’s not like she didn’t know how to move her own body. She had, after all, been in it her whole life.

“We’ll start with proper squat mechanics. The squat is the most basic compound movement for the lower body. It is phenomenal at building leg, glute, and core strength.” Kara stated. It sounded simple enough and Kara put her arms in front of herself and demonstrated two slow perfect reps. “Until you have a barbell, using your arms as a counterweight will help with balance. Ultimately you’ll want to keep your weight over the center of your feet, though you'll want to think about actually driving through your heels at first. Basically, think - drive through the heels to counteract the instinct to pop up on the toes.”

Easy enough. Kara had on her kid gloves it seemed. For a moment, that thought cooled Lena’s burning crush on the woman as she felt deeply underestimated. She was a Luthor for Christ’s sake.

Lena put up her arms in front of her and began to descend in what was most certainly going to be a perfect squat. Lena exceled at everything she did and this would be no different.

That illusion was shattered at the halfway point as her feet seemed to act of their own accord, rolling onto the balls of her feet and promptly making her lose her balance and begin to stumble. She caught herself with a sidestep and stood back up abruptly.

Kara had moved almost instantly into her space, arms out as if to catch her but just holding back from contact. Lena was startled at suddenly being so close to Kara that she could feel her breath ghosting across her cheek. Lena flinched and stepped back, leaving Kara to raise her eyebrows in concern.

“It’s okay. That is perfectly normal on a first try.” Kara said with encouragement. Lena hated it. She wasn’t even exercising yet and she’d already made a fool of herself.

“I can do better. That was merely a fluke.” Lena immediately postured up and sank into a second, equally disastrous attempt at squatting. This time she kept from falling for the most part, but her knees buckled inward, sending a wave of imbalance upward through her body like a poorly executed dance move.

Lena stood; red faced with embarrassment. “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. This feels unnatural.”

Kara’s eyes met her own with a knowing softness. “Lena, again. This is totally normal for the first time. That is why we started over here. It is kind of like learning how to ride a bike. At first it feels impossible, but once you get the hang of it, it is second nature.”

Lena blew out a heavy breath, “I never learned to ride a bike.”

Kara just looked at her for a moment before shaking her head. Lena was beginning to feel like this whole thing was a disaster in progress and her eyes darted to the clock. The office time ‘didn’t count’ so she was only ten minutes into her hour and already she wanted the entire earth to cease to exist so she could start fresh in an entirely new dimension.

“Lena, how about we try something else? We will work on your core control and then work back into the full squat.” Her blue eyes were so earnest when Lena looked at them that a tiny crack formed in her defenses just long enough for the next words to slip out.

“I guess now I’m all yours.” Lena bit her lip when the words escaped. The veiled innuendo repeated from earlier was supposed to stay firmly planted in her evening fantasies, not slip back out at the first opportunity.

Kara froze mid open-mouthed smile and tilted her head to the side. It was such an puppylike gesture and Lena couldn’t help but think for a moment that it was adorable. Somehow Kara embodied both fiercely sexy brute strength and a gentle, almost innocent side. Lena’s breath hitched and she looked away. The storm of confusing emotions were going to war inside her as her embarrassment and anger clashed with something else entirely. She wasn’t just looking at a subjectively attractive person from afar. No, she was actively seeing Kara and wanting to know everything there was to know about her. It was dangerous territory.

Kara’s eyes tracked down Lena’s body and stilled at her hips. Heat rose in Lena’s face even as Kara’s professional work voice came back full force. “Lena, before we try again, I want you to focus on the position of your pelvis.”

That was not what Lena expected to hear. “What exactly am I supposed to focus on?”

“First watch me.” Kara turned to the side and sat the edges of her hands on her hips, flattening her palms to show the angle of her pelvic bone. “Try this with me. You have a slight anterior pelvic tilt, which means that your pelvic bone is rotated slightly to the front.” She rotated her hips forward and tipped her hands with them as a guide. The movement exaggerated her already perfectly rounded rear end and Lena felt simultaneously guilty and relieved to be invited to stare so openly. “When you activate the abs and the glutes, you can bring your pelvis back to a more neutral position. This is important for being able to brace under a squat or other heavy weight.” Her pelvis rolled back to neutral, as indicated by her now level hands, and even through the blue polo Lena could see the outer lines of the defined abs she’d caught glimpses of in the past. The sensual movement drained the blood right out of Lena’s blushing cheeks downward and she felt the tell-tale pull of arousal. Lena couldn’t help but imagine a scenario where that particular skill of pelvic control might come in very handy.

Lena almost forgot she was supposed to be copying the movement. She wasn’t sure how this was supposed to help with her noodle legs, and dry humping the air in a public place felt completely absurd but all she could focus on was Kara’s praise.

“Very good Lena. That’s so good.” Kara’s smile was as warm as sunshine on Lena’s pale skin. “Now for the next part. I want you to think about keeping your core tight in that neutral position and you are going to focus on keeping your glutes tight, so your knees don’t cave in when we try again okay?”

Lena sighed. “I don’t think that will help me balance though.”

Kara reached out both hands in front of her, palms up in invitation. “Are you okay with holding my hands for balance?”

Instead of answering, Lena gingerly put her hands into Kara’s offered palms. She was suddenly aware that where her hands were clammy and soft, Kara’s were warm and rough with calluses. Her fingers felt strong and her short nails were neatly manicured, which offered another data point in Lena’s favor. She supposed however that long nails would be a liability in her profession regardless of sexuality. Regardless, she thought back to Sam's assessment. Maybe it was possible that Kara wasn't so unattainable after all. 

Lena didn’t realize she was still staring at their joined hands when Kara responded with an easy, “it’s okay. I’ve got you so you don’t need to worry that you might fall. I’m right here.”

Lena’s heart lurched around in her chest even as she braced herself to squat again. This time she braced and descended, and the movement felt far less wobbly, no doubt in large part due to the strong hands which held her stable. Kara’s eyes were boring into her own and it felt far too intimate despite Kara’s relentless professionalism.

Kara counted as she tried rep after rep, subtly shifting and balancing a bit easier with each attempt. On twelve, Lena was startled to feel like even her bodyweight was becoming a burden and her thighs began to burn from the effort.

Kara seemed to notice her discomfort. “Okay, we’ll take a short rest and we’ll try again. I think you are ready to try again without me. My hands will still be right here if you need them though.”

Lena nodded, though she was concerned about losing her crutch so soon and she was already missing the feel of Kara’s hands in her own. After a few breaths she tried again. Sure enough, what had felt almost impossible only a few minutes prior was beginning to feel at the very least doable. True to her word, Kara kept her hands just next to Lena’s in case she needed help as she began another set. Twice Lena caught Kara’s hands for a moment only to let go again once she was stable.

Kara mumbled praise and direction in equal measure as Lena sought to complete more practiced reps. “Very good Lena. Keep those heels down. You are a very fast learner. Try and go just a little deeper on the next one. Very, very good.”

Lena didn’t realize she had a praise kink until that very moment.

Kara looked delighted when Lena completed another twelve with only minor corrections and the smile was infectious. Of all of the groundbreaking achievements Lena had accomplished in her short life, right now this felt like the most monumental.

“I think I might be getting it.” Lena beamed proudly.

“You did great! Now let’s work on some other movements. Scapular mobility and control can also be tricky at first.”

Lena rolled her eyes but her embarrassment has blissfully washed away. She was beginning to enjoy herself and Kara’s gentle direction and encouragement made her somehow feel like her failures were just steps in the learning process. She wasn’t expected to be perfect from day one as Lillian had demanded, instead she could settle into the process and grow.

The first ten minutes had passed like hours but before she knew it her hour was up. She’d barely gotten her hands on a dumbbell but she could already tell that the lessons were going to leave her sore for at least a few days.

Lena felt genuinely happy. It wasn’t how she’d expected to feel. She’d gone in wondering if Kara would yell at her or do her best to make Lena feel destroyed after the session, but instead she’d been patient and thoughtful in her approach. In short, Kara was proving to be a wonderful trainer and Lena didn’t want the session to end.

“Let’s not forget your purse.” Kara stated as Lena trailed behind her in a fog of post workout endorphins. “Next week, we’ll practice again and then move to using some real weights. I’m really excited to see your progress going forward. How are you feeling?”

Lena looked at those inquisitive blue eyes and was struck by how profoundly her view of the woman had changed. Her heart tugged ruefully as she clamped her mouth down on her next words – ‘I feel so good when I'm around you.’

No, she couldn’t say that without sounding like a completely useless head over heels lesbian with the keys to a U-haul. Instead, she simply said. “I feel good. I learned a lot today. Thank you.”

Kara smiled and fumbled in her pocket for her office key. Unlike her heavy carabiner she’d left in the drawer, this keyring hung on a lanyard and seemed to be a set of master keys to the various gym offices and rooms.

As she finally fumbled for the right one to usher Lena back into the office, a voice called out.

“Kara! I’m so glad I caught you.”

Kara looked to Lena, “Go ahead and get your things, I’ll be out here.”

The male gym member came up to Kara with a smile and Lena made out a few words as she went to retrieve her purse. “I was hoping that next week we could…”

Lena didn’t want to eavesdrop, so moved instead to retrieve her bag. Kara’s phone sat in the drawer right beside it, making the now incoming call impossible to miss.

Imra ❤️.

Chapter Text

Kara’s head hit her steering wheel with a soft clunk as she turned off her truck’s ignition.

The weight of the day was catching up to her exponentially, and even the walk up to her apartment felt like an insurmountable obstacle. She was cursing Alex for taking her out the day before and herself for agreeing to an uncertain number of drinks, but that wasn’t really what had taken the breath from her lungs.

Lena

The little bombs she’d dropped about her own assassination attempts had breathed new life into an old suspicion. The inconsistencies around her parent’s deaths had been root cause for it, but she’d always come back to the argument that assassination was a huge leap in villainy over skirting laws and regulations – even if it led to disastrous results. Now the one argument she had left that Lex hadn't actually had her parents killed had dissolved, leaving her clutching at nothing but haunting memories.

Her father’s lab accident at LuthorCorp, her mother’s angry whispers at night, and finally came the worst memory of all.

She remembered fragments of that day. That morning, her mother had dressed her in her finest black dress, which smelled musty from disuse and was by then at least a size too small. For all of the twisting emotions that had wound their way around her heart on the day she was to lay her father to rest, she channeled her rage entirely into the ill-fitting garment. Every movement felt unnatural, and it restricted her wide shoulders and threatened to tear at the seams when she crossed her arms defensively across her chest. By now she knew it had been a deflection, but she’d hated dresses ever since.

She didn’t understand why her mother, Alura, had left then. At first she assumed that she needed to make last minute preparations for the ceremony, but as time wore on Kara grew nervous. Family and strangers alike spoke at a podium in turn about how he’d been a wonderful father, a gifted scientist, and caring husband. An accident had taken him from this earth too early, though he’d fought to live for three whole days even as his organs began to shut down.

It was a testament to how much he still had to offer the world.

Her mourning was blunted by the growing unease that her mother hadn’t yet returned. It wasn’t until her Aunt Astra grasped her hand firmly and led her away from the ongoing ceremony did the sense of dread fully take root. Kara followed with blind obedience even as Astra ushered her into a small white car she didn’t recognize, and they took off at a frantic pace.

Kara’s small child’s voice had asked over and over, “What’s wrong? Where are we going?”

Astra had gripped the wheel then, knuckles white with emotion as she responded. “Little one, I need you to listen very carefully. Something has happened to your mother, and I know that it was not an accident. You are not safe, and neither am I. I’m taking you somewhere to hide and I need you to tell anyone who asks that you are Kara Danvers not Kara Zor-El until I come back for you. Do you understand?”

But Kara didn’t understand and part of her never had until this exact moment as she sat in the now chilly cab of her truck. Her keys were gripped so tightly in her palm that for a moment she worried that she’d drawn blood. She peeled her hands open and examined the red stinging marks left by her various keys. The sting was oddly grounding. The memory was faded and choppy in her memory now, but the emotion was still raw and disorienting. Her world, her very identity had been ripped away from her in a moment, but what was worse was not knowing how or why.

She’d never seen her aunt Astra again.

She sucked in a wet inhale and blinked away a stream of tears, remembering her exhaustion from the long day. Her consolation was that it was finally the weekend, and she had time to catch up on sleep and come to terms with her new knowledge, and her new client, before Monday inevitably rolled around again.

She barely looked up from the floor as she dragged her heavy feet to her apartment door. Her gym bag was slung over her shoulder, and she felt as though it had been laden with rocks. She was barely aware of the presence outside of her door until she’d nearly reached the end of the hall.

“Kara. There you are.” The voice came out breathy and soft yet laced with annoyance. Kara’s eyes shot up to meet Imra’s and for a moment she froze. The semester should have started and Imra should be hundreds of miles away in Metropolis with her frat boy boyfriend, not standing outside her door acting so – inconvenienced.

“What are you doing here?” Kara’s voice was hoarse from crying and monotone in its delivery, more so than she’d intended but she made no attempt to soften it.

Imra put her hands on her hips and looked over Kara appraisingly. “If you would answer your phone on occasion, you’d know… God Kara, you look terrible. Have you been crying?”

“Wow, thanks.” She deadpanned as she fumbled for her apartment key. “What are you doing here, Imra?” She asked again, the crack in her voice now somewhat hidden.

“I was in town, and I wanted to see you. I tried calling several times.” Imra began and trailed off before adding. “You still have my Bon Jovi hoodie you know.”

Kara snorted a laugh despite herself. “I could have mailed it.” She opened the door, somewhat begrudgingly offering Imra entry.

Imra stilled her at the threshold with a firm hand on her sternum. “Kara, look at me. I wanted to see you.”

Kara looked into her eyes. So little time had passed but there was a chasm that now lay between them that she didn’t know how to bridge, or even if she wanted to. The hand on her sternum was warm, but the warmth didn’t extend to her heart the way it once had. Imra’s soft voice had once been the sexiest thing Kara had ever heard, but now her accent seemed to grate on her already frayed nerves. Still, there was a pang of longing there, a memory of what they could have had looking back at her from Imra’s familiar blue eyes.

Kara turned away, clicking on the light as she distanced herself from her ex to drop her bag unceremoniously on the couch. Imra followed quietly, seemingly uncertain with how to proceed.

Kara kept her back to her for a long moment as she looked at nothing in particular. “Your hoodie is still in the closet where you left it. I’m afraid your favorite tea mug broke.”

Imra laughed softly. “You always were a bit of a bull in a China shop.”

Kara turned back sharply. A hint of anger was bubbling up as Imra casually reminisced. “Imra, why aren’t you in Metropolis?”

Imra’s mouth hung open for a moment as she parsed her words carefully. “I’m helping someone get settled in who just moved.”

Kara didn’t realize she was at the end of her rope until right then as it unexpectedly snapped. “Cut the bullshit Imra. It is the middle of the semester. You didn’t take time to come see me once while we were together, so you aren’t just here getting someone ‘settled’!” She threw the air quotes around settled to further show her frustration. Imra was good at skirting the truth and usually, Kara had let her. This time was different, and nothing short of the whole truth was going to satisfy her.

The forced smile on Imra’s face dropped, revealing it for the mask it was. “Fine. I wasn’t lying. I did want to see you, but I’m here with Mike.”

“Mike.” Kara said flatly, the heat of the previous moment faded.

“Yes, his mother wanted him to help get her new penthouse settled before starting her new job and it was time I met his family properly anyway so I agreed to come along for a few days.”

Kara scoffed and mumbled “Mike” again, as if saying his name again and again would build up her immunity to the subsequent sting his name caused. “Tell me the truth, when did you start seeing him?”

Imra looked at the floor. “November, but we never did anything until after Thanksgiving. I swear I intended to break it off with you but I didn’t know how.”

Kara glared at her, propping her hands on her hips. “That’s a lie and you know it. You were having candlelit dinners back in September with Mr. Legion of IPA. Don’t tell me you didn’t fuck till December.”

Imra’s mouth hung open, both at being called out and at Kara’s uncharacteristic abrasiveness. In any past arguments it had aways been Kara to concede and reconcile. This time there was no olive branch waiting for her, and Kara’s hard stare seemed to burn into her skin. “I… It isn’t what you think.”

“It doesn’t matter.” Kara interrupted. She was done piecing together the when and where of her betrayal. It wouldn’t change the outcome, nor would it soften the turmoil she’d felt for the last month. She knew that Imra was looking to alleviate her own guilt rather than make any of this easier on her.

“It does!” Imra argued ineffectually.

“It doesn’t. Only one thing matters to me now. Why?” Kara demanded. “Why did you leave me for Mike?”

Imra’s eyes grew large at Kara’s raised voice. She wasn’t used to being unable to steer the conversation to her advantage and the realization caught her off guard. Instead, she began to yell in turn, holding nothing back. “Because I was alone Kara. I was alone before I even left. You are always at work and there was never time for us! He cooked me breakfast in bed! He is there when I come home! He is always there for me!”

Kara blinked, realizing another tear was forming in the corner of her eye. “I have to work! I can’t live off my parent’s money like some spoiled rich kid. I didn’t get to have that!” The weight of it hit her in the gut. The money she’d gotten from her parent’s death had barely helped her through her bachelor’s degree without excessive student loans. She’d worked so hard to stand on her own two feet and that was the very thing that Irma saw as a flaw. Even taking over the DEO had meant a shared loan between herself and Alex to keep the gym afloat. Eliza had tried for years after Jeremiah had died, and while she had been a wonderful foster mother, she was a terrible businesswoman. The DEO had been about to go under.

She would love nothing more than to stay at home and pamper a girlfriend with stacks of pancakes and impromptu massages after a hard day, but it wasn’t in the cards for her. A second thought occurred to her as she realized what Imra had implied. “He lives with you? We broke up a month ago and he lives with you?”

Imra floundered, losing more and more control of her own narrative. “We’ve been. I mean. I moved in with him. The dorms were like sleeping in a box and he offered. I couldn’t refuse.”

Kara felt the sting of each revelation. It had already been far too much for one day and tears streamed from Kara’s face and all she wanted to do was scream until her lungs no longer worked. Her eyes burned as she screamed. “Get out! You are a liar and a cheater, and I never, ever, want to see you again!”

“—And take your fucking hoodie or I’ll set the whole closet on fire.” She said, raising a hand to point at the door.

Imra stared, open mouthed for a moment before she acted. Her lips then pursed with resolution as she bolted to the closet and back out the door before Kara even lowered her arm.

The subsequent slam of the door was followed by Kara’s swift twist of the deadbolt. She’d gotten her closure on this at least. She’d been deemed not good enough for a fault she could never hope to fix.

***

Lena had barely made it through the gym doors the following Monday before seeing Kara’s smile at her arrival. Her heart felt as though it somersaulted in her chest even as she reminded it that it had no cause. Lena had learned two things in the same instance the previous Friday: Kara dated women, but Kara was undoubtedly taken.

It wasn’t surprising, and Lena had admonished herself at length over her absurd fantasy that she’d find love in the arms of a buff personal trainer. It would have been a hit in the tabloids at least, of that she was sure. Regardless, she’d spent the better part of her weekend either working overtime for a distraction or convincing herself that this development was actually the preferred outcome. Maintaining a strictly professional relationship with the woman was, after all, in her own best interest.

Lena fumbled for her keycard to scan at the entryway as Kara approached. Again, she wore a fitted blue DEO polo and glasses which sat slightly askew on her nose. The sight alone flustered Lena, but she found herself missing the other, harder version of Kara that she’d had the pleasure of seeing from afar. Perhaps she was going to miss out on seeing Kara’s mouthwatering heroic displays of athleticism now that she was training with the woman, but maybe that too, was for the best.

“Lena! Are you ready for your first real session?” Kara asked, still smiling brightly as she approached.

Lena rolled her eyes. “Did Friday not count? I can assure you I was sore for the better part of the weekend.”

Kara laughed. “Of course, it counted, but we were learning the basics. Today we can really focus on getting you shaped up!”

Lena found herself softening with Kara’s open demeanor despite the Imra revelation. Kara was, in a small way, now a part of her life and Lena looked forward to what she would soon accomplish by her side. “Well, give me a moment to get changed and I’m at your mercy Miss Danvers.”

At Kara’s smile and nod, she hurried to the changing rooms and found herself dressed and ready in record time. She still felt like a bundle of nerves in the woman’s presence, but she was excited for what would come next.

This time, Kara started out immediately with gentle warmups that focused largely on both her shoulders and hips. Lena found that already she could squat with more confidence than the previous session, and Kara’s uplifting guidance had Lena believing it when she said. “I think you are ready to try with a barbell.”

At least, Lena believed it until she was led to an ominous looking metal rack. She knew how it worked. She’d watched Kara and other members squat within it’s confines a number of times with varying levels of proficiency, but mentally preparing herself to step under the cold heavy bar was beyond intimidating. It didn’t help that she was intimately aware of how on display she now was in the center of the gym. Kara and the rack itself would no doubt keep her safe, but a stumble like the one only a few days before would now be witnessed by any number of the Monday masses.

Kara must have seen her apprehension because she interrupted Lena’s internal turmoil almost as soon as it began. “I’m going to be right here. Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

Lena tested the empty bar’s weight where it lay just below eye level in the J hooks, and it felt far heavier than she’d anticipated. “How heavy is this?”

“Empty, the bar is forty-five pounds.”

“Do you have any that are lighter?” Lena asked, slightly wide eyed.

“Not really, that is the standard weight for a barbell. We have a few designed for Olympic lifts that come in twenty kilos, but that’s really only a pound lighter. I promise it won’t feel as heavy when you are squatting it.”

Lena felt a rush of anxiety at the prospect, but she looked at the bar for a moment and chose to trust Kara’s judgment but worry still plagued her. “What if I can’t keep my balance?”

“Believe it or not, most people find it easier to balance with a bar the first time. However, I’ll be right behind you in case you begin to stumble. I only ask that I have permission to touch you should the need arise.”

The comment didn’t help Lena’s anxiety, but it certainly redirected it. She looked at the bar and braced herself. “Okay, that’s okay, just show me what to do.”

Kara helped her get centered under the bar and they talked through the core bracing she’d learned the Friday before. Lena wasn’t sure why it felt like the human body suddenly needed an instruction manual, but she was grateful for Kara’s patience as she went over and over the fine points as though she was finishing a pre-test checklist for a dangerous scientific experiment. She’d had her share of small explosions in her time and had very little intention of having another.

Eventually, she couldn’t stall anymore and there was nothing to do but try for the ten reps Kara had suggested. They went surprisingly well, with only the final two beginning to break down into an uneven wobble as her knees drifted inward.

“Think about keeping your glutes tight and your feet planted how we discussed.” Kara said from a point very close behind her. Perhaps she imagined it, but she almost felt Kara’s breath on the back of her neck, and it sent a shiver up her spine. Lena could feel Kara’s warmth and was deeply aware of the woman’s arm’s poised at her side should she begin to fall.

After three sets Lena could tell that her legs were having trouble cooperating, leaving her feeling like she was standing on wet spaghetti noodles.  

“That was wonderful Lena! You really are a fast learner!” Kara smiled along with the praise and Lena felt as useless as her legs under it. The little lines of encouragement which had followed along with every set had made her heart clench but looking into Kara’s eyes as she spoke made the rest of the world seem to melt away.

Lena bit her lip before she caught could stop her own accidental flirtation. “I have a wonderful trainer, but please… Please tell me we aren’t doing anything else for legs today.”

There was a glint of something there in Kara’s eyes, but it disappeared before Lena could fully interpret it. “Nope, we’ll move on to upper body. Last week we were having some trouble out of that left shoulder, so I want to see how your mobility is today.”

Lena’s smile fell a fraction. Her left shoulder didn’t fully cooperate under Kara’s scrutiny because she’d been shot years before. She vaguely remembered her physical therapist telling her to work through her exercises to help with the buildup of scar tissue, but Lena had quickly decided she was far too busy for the strange, banded movements that only seemed to make it hurt worse. “I doubt it’s any better.” She said, almost too quiet to be heard over the gym noise

Sure enough, where her right shoulder happily complied with rowing movements, her left seemed frozen in place. Kara had her watch in a mirror as she pulled back, noting the asymmetrical motion of her shoulder blades. “May I?” She asked, hovering her hands over Lena’s back.

“Um yes, you can.” Lena answered, unsure. The resulting touch was soft and exploratory, probing around the shoulder blade and expertly finding the scar tissue that Lena had spent years trying to ignore. Kara’s hands were warm and strong, creating delightful friction even through her gym shirt.

“Lena, have you ever had a deep tissue massage?” Kara asked, brow furrowed as she worked a knuckle into what felt to Lena like a Rice Krispy treat buried in her traps.

Lena had to swallow a sinful moan that threatened to tear its way out of her lips. “I… oh… nothing like this. God this feels amazing.” The rush was followed by something else that was entirely unexpected. A wave of emotion hit Lena as though Kara had dug it right out of her muscles and made her feel it all over again.

“You really should. I can only do so much, but a quality practitioner can go a long way in helping you regain some mobility in… Lena, are you okay? Is this too much?” Kara’s hand stilled, but she maintained a reassuring pressure over the painful spots in Lena’s muscle.

Lena realized then that her eyes had begun to water, not from pain but from an overwhelming sensation she couldn’t describe. “Kara, I’m sorry, I don’t know what has come over me. It feels amazing though.”

Kara studied her for a moment before working in with a softer, more reserved touch. “What’s going on?”

Lena didn’t have words for it. “I honestly don’t know. You must think I’m crazy for crying over a shoulder massage.”

Kara looked at her seriously now. “Absolutely not. You know, my massage therapist always tells me that we hold our emotional trauma in our muscles and that is why sometimes we have can have a really cathartic release during a massage. I mean, I’m skeptical of the science and all but I do know the feeling. You aren’t the first person for this to happen to.”

Lena sniffed and looked into those blue caring eyes. “That has happened to you?”

“So many times, its actually pretty embarrassing. Even last weekend I cried when she dug into my lower back.” Kara smiled, but her eyes suddenly seemed sad to Lena. There was an implication there that Kara had hidden traumas of her own that Lena’s heart suddenly yearned to be able to sooth. “Anyway, try pulling your shoulder blades together now.” Kara added, breaking Lena away from her momentary thought.

Lena tried again with a minor increase in success. Either the warmth or the physical manipulation of the stiff scarred muscle had had a positive effect, leaving Lena optimistic about her future progress with Kara.

The added mobility translated well into rows, presses and a variety of other cable and dumbbell exercises that Lena forgot the names of as soon as she’d finished. Before it was over, her whole body felt the same as her legs had at the beginning – like useless wet noodles.

Chapter Text

“INCOMING!”

It was all the warning Alex had before Kara crash landed with two enormous armfuls of grocery bags onto the kitchen counter. A small container of deli-made mild salsa broke free from the plastic bag and ruptured on the floor with a soft splat.

“Jesus Kara. You know you can actually do more than one trip, right?” Alex yelled as she tried in vain to rescue the unspilled portion before it grew into an even greater tomatoey mess on the tile floor.

“Can’t and you know it Alex. Point of pride for me.” Kara retorted with a laugh, already ripping open a bag of tortilla chips and pawing through the crumpled bags for the guacamole.

“What did you possibly even get? I asked you to get chips and dip!” Alex asked in a huff as she ripped off a length of paper towel that was probably way too long for the mess, but with Kara around they’d eventually be needed anyway.

Kara hummed and looked over the wealth of shopping bags, labeled with three distinct store names from her earlier travels. “Well. Let’s see. I got 7-layer dip, regular bean dip, queso, guacamole in both mild and hot, salsa in both… well just in hot now, blue corn tortilla chips, regular tortilla chips, scoops, lays, sun chips, those crispy pea pod things, Oh and the crinkly ones that Brainy likes and some raunch – I mean ranch. Oh, and I got these Doritos too because I haven’t had Doritos in forever…” Kara continued to dig through the bags. There were more she hadn’t listed; she was sure of it, and she needed to make sure that Alex knew that she had firmly succeeded in her task of ‘getting the chips and dip.’

She looked back up at Alex, who’d just thrown away a wad of red tinted paper towels and noted her tense smirk. “What?” She asked, brows raised in confusion.

Alex shook her head. “If only your clients could see your diet right now, especially since I know you’ll eat at least two dozen chicken wings before the day is up.”

Kara’s hands raised in mock surrender. “It’s the SUPER BOWL Alex! It’s practically a Super national holiday!”

“Well go be super somewhere else. I need to bring everything in from the grill and you have taken over the whole kitchen with your twenty gallons of dip collection. Now! Before I burn the dogs!” Alex said firmly.

“Okay Mom, geez.” Kara responded with an eye roll. Half the time she felt like she was watching out for Alex and her drinking problem, and the other half the time Alex tried on the ‘mature’ role for the day. It seemed that today was the latter and Kara was fairly grateful for it.

The sun had been bright all morning as she hunted through every grocery in the neighborhood’s half empty shelves. A February heat wave had hit national city, and Kara’s mood had risen right along with the unseasonably warm temperatures which threatened to hit 55F before the afternoon.

It was easy to blame the weather for her sunny mood, but the truth was she’d been feeling fairly upbeat lately. Imra’s unexpected visit two weeks prior had felt like rock bottom, and then there was nowhere to go but up. Even her breakup playlist had been discarded in the past week for her usual upbeat mix of pop, with some rock thrown in for heavy lifting days. Work had leveled off a bit, and though adding Lena’s sessions into her evenings had originally felt like a staggering blow to her own routine, she’d managed to move her days around to accommodate. Sure, now she found herself at the DEO seven days a week, but that was hardly a new arrangement.

The fact that it was Super Bowl Sunday was just the cherry on top.

Kara found herself on the patio hovering over Alex, watching the slightly blackened hotdogs split as Alex sniped at them from under the cloud of smoke with metal tongs. “Who’s covering the gym today? I can run some food over, so they aren’t missing out.”

Alex squinted and coughed as the smoke swirled and hit her in the face. “uh… um, James and Winn. They are ordering a pizza I think and watching it in the back. He might let Winn off if we’re super slow though.”

Kara was practically vibrating with energy as she checked off the guest list on her fingers. Cool, so we’ve got Nia, Brainy, Leslie, you, me, Ollie…”

“Oliver’s new girlfriend Felicity.” Alex cut in. “Also, Shitbuns.”

“Rude. Her name is Shioban.”

“Shitbuns is more accurate.” Alex replied. “Oh… and um. I might have invited Sam.”

Kara put her hands on her hips and rocked her weight to her back foot. “Sam ‘I’m gonna kick her in the ass so hard she’ll taste rubber’ Sam?”

Alex rolled her eyes skyward. The smattering of clouds had apparently become interesting at that very moment, leaving Alex momentary silent. “That’s the one.”

Kara lightly shoved her sister’s shoulder, prompting her to get her head – and eyes – out of the clouds. “Didn’t know you two were talking again. How’d that come up? And am I going to have to kick her ass if she breaks your heart again?”

Alex pushed Kara back, though Kara’s sturdy form didn’t budge in inch with the effort. “I am perfectly capable of kicking any asses that need it, but no – we ended up having a good talk. She told me that she was in a bad place when everything happened and that she regrets it. I’m not sure if I trust it yet but I’m willing to see where it goes, I think. Even if she does work for the devil.”

“Lena is not the devil Alex!”

“Just because you like to rub her shoulders doesn’t mean she isn’t evil. You just have terrible taste in women.”

“Oh, My, God. Alex. First of all, I do bodywork on lots of clients that need it, and she most certainly needs it. Second of all, there is no ‘taste’ with Lena, she’s a paying client.”

Alex squinted at Kara for a moment before changing the subject entirely. “Can you bring me the plate of burgers? That’s it for hotdogs.”

It had become Alex’s go to move. Anytime Lena came up in conversation she’d drop a reminder about Lena’s family history and then change the subject. Kara knew it was just a tactic for her to voice her displeasure without resorting to a full-on argument, but it had begun to sting.

Lena could be hard to read at times: occasionally flirty, sometimes skittish, sometimes soft and sometimes guarded. Mixed signals were there in spades, of that Kara had no doubt. Yet Lena seemed genuine in both her fleeting moments of vulnerability and in her determination to do good for the people around her. Kara couldn’t imagine someone faking those complexities with any success.

Kara wanted to believe that Lena was exactly as she presented herself, as someone wishing to do better than those who came before. Regardless, even if Lena was wholly innocent of her family’s crimes, she was still bound to them by both blood and money. As much as Kara wanted to not have to skirt certain subjects in her own history, she couldn’t be entirely honest with her either. There was too much she didn’t know about her parent’s death and Astra’s disappearance to risk Lex finding out her whereabouts, especially now that she had a professional relationship with Lena.

As soon as the burgers began to drip and hiss, the front door swung open to reveal the first of their guests. Nia and Brainy arrived together with an assortment of drinks, both alcoholic and non. Kara smiled at Nia’s antics which were much like her own, when she dropped two, much smaller, armfuls of bags onto the floor after realizing the counter space was completely taken.

“Dude! Kara! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!” Nia bounded across the living room and out the patio door, leaping into Kara’s arms for a bear hug.

Kara spun her like she weighed almost nothing before setting her back down. “I know! This January was rough man. It’s calming down though! We should get together when CatCo isn’t busting your ass for more stories on celebrity spring fashion.” The final words were said with a hint of sarcasm.

“I love fashion. Don’t be a shithead just because you dress like a teenage boy half the time.” Nia responded with faux defensiveness.

Kara scrunched her face. “Ouch, shots fired. Man down.”

Over Nia’s shoulder Kara saw two new faces joining the group. Leslie and Shioban had apparently come in emptyhanded yet full of whispered comments and loaded glances. Kara couldn’t be bothered with them though. The pre-game coverage was amping up the stadium and TV fans alike for game time and her mood was unshakable.

Nia slapped Kara’s arm as she too noticed the new arrivals. “Speaking of celebrities… I seem to remember you promising me the interview of the century with your hot new client.”

Kara blushed and shot a look to Alex to see if she’d overheard. Satisfied that she was still preoccupied with the browning burgers she turned back with her voice lowered. “Hey now. I didn’t promise. I said if… and that is a big if… she wanted to do a piece that I would recommend you. And I never said she was hot!”

Nia looked at her with a hint of mischief. “You didn’t say she wasn’t. I have seen her press releases and hot damn girl.”

“You are impossible. You don’t talk about any of my other clients that way.”

“Oh, shit, now you are defending her honor should I sully her good name.” Nia teased.

Kara rolled her eyes dramatically. “You are just picking on me because I’m single now.”

“Of course I am. Where is the fun in letting you sulk? Besides, I don’t talk about your other clients like that because none of them are supermodel gorgeous genius billionaires. I mean really, what the fuck kind of luck is that? I’d kill for her life. Hell, she could step on me, and I’d call her mommy.”

“I don’t think it’s been quite as easy for her as you think.” Kara defended. She wanted to say more but it wasn’t her place. She was torn between keeping the woman’s confidence about things she’d likely not want shared and proving to Nia that she wasn’t just a rich girl with her life served on a silver platter. Besides, it was obvious that Nia had pre-gamed her buzz based on her rather unfiltered comments. “Shit, speaking of… I’m going to need you to kind of take the Lena talk down about ten notches.”

“Why would I need to do that?”

Kara looked nervously to the woman now standing just inside the front door. “Because her best friend just got here.”

Nia’s eyes went wide and followed Kara’s gaze. “Oh shit. I’m going to get myself a hotdog.”

Nia walked away slowly, tapping her lips with her index finger conspiratorially. Kara was beginning to wonder if the evening’s mixed company was a bad idea. Thankfully, it was almost kickoff and it seemed like everyone was suddenly cramming their plates with food. Oliver and Felicity had showed up somewhere in the chaos and Alex had swooped in to save Sam from standing awkwardly in the doorway.

The couch's limited seating was augmented by a number of tattered camping chairs and Kara loaded one plate with a double decker cheeseburger, two hotdogs, and Felicity’s famous macaroni salad. Her other plate was stacked precariously high with chicken wings drenched in BBQ sauce. For all of her claims of being a devout football fan, she didn’t even realize the game had started until her second hotdog.

“Can you believe National City hasn’t been in the Super Bowl since 1998?” Alex asked no one in particular.

Nia, the youngest of the group, scoffed. “I don’t even remember 1998!”

“Were you even born?” Alex asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Um, for part of it?” Nia said, voice raising in pitch.

Kara wanted to laugh, but she had no intention of bringing attention to herself now that she’d attacked the chicken wings with gusto. She’d learned many years ago that trying to stay clean mid wing binge was an impossible task, and it was far better to just gorge and deal with the face full of sauce at the end by shoving her head in the sink.

“I’m sending that to Lena.” The voice came from Kara’s left and she turned, wide eyes staring at Sam who was clicking away on her phone in a rush.

“No!” Kara let out in a rush of air as she visibly deflated.

“Too late.” Sam said. Stuffing the phone back in her pocket with a flourish.

“You didn’t! Tell me you didn’t!” Kara whined, alarm building as she scrambled off her chair and stumbled to the sink as if it wasn’t too late to remedy the situation at hand.

Sam fought the laugh that sat in her throat and pulled both of her lips into her mouth to try and hide the smile. She wasn’t successful, and when Kara’s phone beeped with a new notification, she lost her composure entirely.

Kara looked down at her phone with a foreboding dread. Sure enough, there was a picture attachment from Lena, it was a copy of the one just taken of herself smiling like an idiot and caked in BBQ sauce. A second followed almost immediately of Lena, taking an impossibly neat bite of her own chicken wing. Somehow even her bright red lipstick was untarnished, and her eyebrow was cocked as though in a challenge.

Kara groaned. She wanted to crawl under the couch and hide. She’d barely even met Sam and already the woman had completely defeated her in front of Lena of all people. “Why would you do that? God, she’ll never train with me again!”

Sam reigned in her laughter. “Pfft. I doubt that. Besides, there is nothing wrong with being human.”

Alex nudged Sam’s arm. “I’m not certain my sister’s eating habits count as human.”

Kara huffed. “Seriously? I see how it is. But you know what? These chicken wings are amazing, and you all wouldn’t know because you are too worried about getting dirty.” She held up her phone. “Even Lena isn’t worried about getting a little dirty.”

Sam bit her thumbnail to muffle a laugh and Alex’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Not like that you pervs.” Kara responded. She looked again at the image Lena sent and her fingers hovered for a moment as she tried to think of a response. None were good enough and she eventually sat her phone back down in defeat.

Alex, however, wasn’t done. “You should have invited Lucy, she might have loved it.”

Kara shoved another chicken wing in her mouth. The damage was already done after all. She chewed for far longer than necessary before she finally responded. “Not going there Alex.”

Kara looked back. Sam had a curious expression and her eyes bounced back and forth between the two sisters, but Alex was still trying to rile Kara up. “I’m just saying. Could be getting laid.”

Oliver jumped up from the couch and clapped as National City scored a touchdown. “That’s how it’s done! Woooohooo.” He either had the best timing or the worst, as suddenly he was turning to the group with his phone in hand. “Let’s get a shot for my Instagram!”

Kara wiped her mouth again, this time with a growing stack of napkins that kept the BBQ monster at bay. As much as she hated Oliver’s showboating, she was happy to finally not be the center of attention. She scrambled to make herself reasonably presentable as Oliver stripped off his shirt, revealing a giant National City Sharks team logo painted across his chest.

“Babe! Babe! Can you take the picture?” Oliver asked Felicity.

She glared at him a moment. “Then I don’t get to be in it.” She pouted. Kara got a sense that this wasn’t an uncommon occurrence.

“Guys!” Nia cut in. “I’ll take it. I am a distinguished member of the press after all.”

Alex let out a “Pfft” but Felicity shot Nia a thankful glance as she handed over the phone.

Oliver flexed, bringing his arms in front to highlight his defined chest and shoulders. Felicity stood by Oliver, pointing at him and sharing a wink at the camera. Alex stood slightly to the side, with one arm linked behind Sam’s back. Brainy stood off to one side, with his back straight and his hands steepled in front of himself and Kara stayed lounged in her repurposed camping chair, with one leg flung carelessly over its arm.

Nia took a series of pictures from various angles with feigned dramatics as each person, with the exception of Kara, offered some variation on their respective poses. As soon as the flurry of photos were completed, Kara picked up her own phone and navigated back to the thread with Lena. Prior to the chicken wing incident, it had been limited to some back and forth regarding scheduling, which Lena had apparently opted to not leave in Jess’s hands going forward. Kara had been itching to respond to the playful message though and remained frustrated that she didn’t know what to say.

“Yo Sam, What’s your insta?” Oliver called over the room.

“Reignbow underscore sausage, spelled r-e-i-g-n, why? Are you over there tagging me?”

“I’m tagging everyone!” He called back. “Thanks!”

Kara’s finger’s hovered over the keys a little longer. She finally decided that any response was better than none, so she opted for something neutral. You watching the Super Bowl too? She practically facepalmed at her own bland reply the moment it sent.

A notification popped up, making her jump – but it wasn’t Lena.

Abs_Like_Ollie has tagged you and four others in a photo.

Kara sat her phone back down but couldn’t resist picking it back up each time a new notification came in until she realized the futility of that effort. Oliver’s substantial internet following always became overwhelming when he tagged everyone. She was certain she'd picked up a few hundred followers just by being tagged once as his as his boss. The instantly popular Super Bowl photo had racked up nearly a hundred likes by the fourth quarter and Lena still hadn’t responded to their text thread. Kara wasn’t sure why but she had a growing anxiety about that particular fact.

Kara had nearly fallen into a food coma as a series of notifications and a random list of new followers came in. Buried deep within the deluge came two that went unnoticed.

Reignbow_Sausage started following you.

Non_Nocere started following you.

Chapter Text

“Big Belly Burger. Please get me a Deluxe Combo.”

Jess blinked at Lena no less than three times in silence. Her usual quick response of ‘right away Miss Luthor,’ was nowhere to be found.

“Jess?” Lena asked, looking up from her laptop for the first time.

Jess blinked again and seemingly snapped out of her stupor in the action. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t sure if I heard you correctly. You want a burger?”

Lena leaned back in her chair. Her stomach had taken to protesting loudly and often since beginning to train with Kara. Dry salads and forgotten meals were no longer the norm in her life. Kara had informed her that she would need to raise her protein intake to keep up with her new training and recovery, but Lena hadn’t been prepared for her body to be quite so vocal about it. Regardless, at this very moment all she wanted was a giant hamburger to get her through the day, even if this change in diet wasn’t exactly what Kara had had in mind.

“Yes, I promise I’ll consider healthier options in the future, but please indulge me for today.”

“Right away Miss Luthor.”

“Wait.”

“Yes Miss Luthor?”

“I was wondering. What is the current total number of employees for L-Corp headquarters?”

“As of last month, HR showed just over four hundred and seventy. I would be happy to get an exact up to date number for you.”

“No, an estimate is fine. Thank you.”

Lena pondered this piece of information for a moment in silence. She’d taken over L-Corp with a mission to improve L-Corp’s ethics and public image, yet in that regard the bar had been set quite low. Don't fake clinical trials. Don't be a homicidal maniac. Don't defraud shareholders. Those particular hurdles were complete, and lately she'd realized there was far more she could accomplish. She’d improved both the pay and benefits packages of every L-Corp employee, she began to wonder if there was more that she could do to encourage employee satisfaction.

A knock sounded at the door before Jess popped her head back in timidly. “Miss Luthor, Dr. Dax is here to see you as requested.”

“Please, send her in, thank you.”

Rhea’s presence was always notable when she walked into a room. Her poise reminded Lena of her stepmother, stiff and dominating. Yet where her stepmother lacked any substantial warmth, Rhea’s expressive eyes seemed to sincerely lighten in Lena’s presence. It helped that Lena was also genuinely impressed with Rhea’s history of groundbreaking work. Even her first days at L-Corp had promised that her ideas would have a substantial effect on L-Corps productivity and future developments.

“Miss Luthor.”

“I hope you’ve gotten settled well. My engineering team informs me that you have already helped work through some long-standing issues with one of our artificial heart prototypes.”

“It was just a nudge in the right direction. I can’t take all of the credit. The team did most of the real work.” Rhea replied as she sat primly across from Lena.

Lena leaned back, studying the woman before allowing the conversation to segue into the intended topics of discussion. It was easy to see that the woman in front of her had lived a life of both wealth and expectation. Like Lena, she’d probably gone to boarding schools and had been brought up to observe stringent rules of etiquette that wouldn’t even register to most individuals. This characteristic was both a source of familiarity and concern for Lena. In her experience, self-made millionaires were easy to spot for their brash behavior and air of superiority, but those born into it were far more deadly and calculated.

A viper is born knowing it is deadly. It has no need to show its fangs.

“Why L-Corp? Your resume is extensive. It appears that you had a successful company in Metropolis until quite recently.”

Rhea’s jaw visibly clenched. “I wondered when that particular question would come up. Why leave my own empire to simply work in another? Well, the truth is, it wasn’t just my company. It was also my late husband’s. When he passed, I’d hoped my son would be willing to step into his shoes, but let’s just say he has other plans for his life. Ones I don’t approve of.”

Lena considered a moment before allowing herself to take the offered bait. “What does your son do?”

“Wastes his potential mostly.” Rhea said with a pinched expression. “In all seriousness, I think he just hasn’t quite found his calling yet. I suppose I can’t begrudge him of that, not everyone has what you have. I’ve seen what you overcame to take over this company. You are brilliant Lena.”

Lena couldn’t help but preen slightly with the praise. Where her own stepmother had always treated her like the lessor Luthor, Rhea had seen something in Lena that was worth mentioning. She knew her knee jerk reaction to anyone was to be mistrustful and see red flags where there were none, but she was working on improving in that regard. Still, she wasn’t content with the deflection of the previous question. “So, your son refused to inherit the family business, but what is it that made you leave?”

Rhea shifted, smoothing the fabric of her dark pant suit in a clear show of discomfort. “Memories mostly. I had built Dax industries up from nothing alongside my husband. No project, no success, no failure was mine alone until he passed quite suddenly. It all happened shortly after my son abdicated the position we had hoped he’d fill, and the future I’d planned for my family crumbled beneath me.”

Lena softened. Where she had forged ahead alone to make L-Corp better in spite of her family’s wrongdoings, Rhea had, at one time, had her own family’s support. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d still have the drive to succeed were it not driven by her own demons, and she couldn’t fault the other woman for stepping down when faced with her own. “Still.” Lena considered. “Why L-Corp?”

Rhea’s gaze met Lena’s and held fast. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m here for you Miss Luthor.”

Lena’s eyes widened a fraction. “For me?”

“Don’t get me wrong. I watched your brother’s trial with about as much interest as I pay to that silly sport that everyone was raving about yesterday. Everyone knew that your brother was a brilliant man, if not a bit eccentric. It was anticipated that he’d leave some sort of power vacuum in his wake and so I watched when you took over with renewed interest. Female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are still in the minority, and you were essentially unknown at the time, and - dare I say - young and inexperienced. It takes more than simply a bright mind to take the helm of something so large, and many felt that you would certainly fail.”

Lena balked at the assumption. “I most certainly did not fail.”

“Exactly my point. You excelled. It has been absolutely fascinating to watch you, not only redirect L-Corp’s entire mission, but also serve as the bright mind behind some of its most impressive technological and biomedical advancements. A mind like yours is a once in a generation at best.”

Lena stumbled over her next words for a moment. Did others really see her this way? The board seemed to channel Lillian at every turn, pointing out ways that she was an inadequate leader compared to her older brother. Lillian herself only ever showed up to make Lena’s life miserable, ensuring she knew she was the unwanted Luthor even after Lex had nearly succeeded in assassinating her. ‘You should forgive your dear brother Lena, you know he is prone to lashing out.’ But here was a woman who’d followed her career from an objective distance, lending an educated point of view that Lena was not only successful, but exemplary.

Lena’s voice cracked with emotion she wasn’t sure she possessed as she tried to continue her line of questioning. “I… Thank you very much. I don’t think I often hear such a positive portrayal of my work here, but I am glad that I am making the intended impact. I was wondering if you would answer one more thing though. Why step down to a position like senior engineer, even if it is with a company you wished to pursue?”

“Miss Luthor. If I am being honest. I’m not terribly worried about titles or even income so much as I am with a legacy of meaningful work. Truth be told, the sale of my company gave me more than enough to spend a few lifetimes wasting away on some beach sipping Mai Tais. I assume you could walk away today to a similar fate should you choose, but you don’t, and you don’t for a reason, just like me. You believe in your work and what you can accomplish while on this Earth. There are many ways to leave a legacy and stepping down from leading an entire company means doing more of the work that I choose.” Rhea’s steadfast look portrayed honesty, and while the cynic in Lena’s brain argued it was simply a learned behavior, Rhea’s admission was good. It was one that Lena could understand wholeheartedly and for once, she found herself wanting to trust.

“That leads me to my final question, I have asked you here in hopes that you would be willing to look over a project of mine.” Lena asked.

Rhea tilted her head with curiosity. “I assume that this is separate from L-Corps usual R and D?”

“Yes, this one I have been working on alone. It will be an L-Corp product should I get through this last hitch.”

Rhea nodded in understanding. “And you are hoping that I will be able to… nudge you in the right direction?”

“Exactly. I was hoping your insight could be helpful. I can have all of the schematics sent over to your office. It’s a clean energy prototype that captures atmospheric carbon and I’ve actually worked through some of the most challenging parts, but I haven’t been able to make the byproduct commercially viable. Without that piece, I’m afraid the board sees it as a vanity project.”

Rhea scoffed. “They would know a thing or two about vanity, I’m sure. Regardless, I’d be happy to look over it and see if I can offer constructive advice.” Rhea’s eyes softened in response to something that must have shown on Lena’s face. “Thank you, Miss Luthor, for trusting me with this. I know that it must be very important to you.”

“Please, call me Lena.”

***

“Lena!” Kara yelled over the usual commotion of the gym on a Monday evening. It was becoming the norm for her to meet her near the front as she arrived. Kara was beginning to be able to pick up on Lena’s mannerisms. Often, she came in seemingly tired and defeated while other times she strode in with single minded determination. Kara could easily adjust the tone of a workout to accommodate her clients, knowing full well that sometimes the support was needed as much as the direction. However, today Lena looked different.

She looked positively light, and Kara had trouble looking away.

Lena perched her sunglasses on her head casually and smiled genuinely at Winn as she scanned in, even as he gave her a wary nod in return. Her smile met her eyes yet only grew wider as they met Kara’s a short distance away. Kara felt a slight flutter in her own chest seeing the woman appear so happy, and it took a moment to realize she’d been smiling for some time too.

Nia had been right about one thing. Lena was a stunning woman. It wasn’t just a matter of personal preference either. Lena’s face would be right at home on the cover of the quarterly issues of CatCo Fashion, the growing sub publication to its more news-heavy regular editions. However, this wasn’t what was most important to Kara. She had gotten to see the real Lena during their sessions, and she was beautiful inside and out. It had been hard to reconcile the name Luthor with the soft, thoughtful, touch starved, and yet haunted woman she’d come to know a little at a time.

“Who would have thought, but I’m back for week three.” Lena said with uncharacteristic enthusiasm as she made a quick gesture that she needed to change. Kara’s eyes followed her before she caught herself staring. If anything, Lena’s good mood alleviated Kara’s anxiety that Lena had never responded to her exceedingly lame text the previous day.

She may have spent the better part of the night overthinking it – not to mention the chicken wings.

She did her best to swallow the thought. Lena was, on the best of days – far outside of Kara’s league. Kara, for one, lived in a rent-controlled apartment and the whole complex was likely worth less than Lena’s often photographed private jet. Wealth, power, and celebrity status aside, Lena was brilliant to an unnerving degree. Kara proudly displayed her Bachelor’s in Exercise Science in her office, and Lena casually dropped that she held not one, but two PhDs at an impossibly young age. What was more infuriatingly endearing, is that she still managed to be humble about it, playing it off and never going by Dr. Luthor, though she’d more than earned the title. No, to Kara she was simply Lena, and Lena was constantly willing to be pushed outside of her comfort zone to grow into a better version of herself both at the gym and in life.

Kara had begun to cherish that she had a role in Lena’s iconic life, however small. Regardless, Alex never quit reminding Kara that Lena was, and would always be, marred by the stain of her family name. More than once she’d felt guilt at hiding their families’ sordid past, but there was no good that would come from such a reveal. Kara was certain that even Lena was not privy to all of the skeletons in Lex’s closet, and even if she was, why add the guilt of knowing Kara had indirectly been a victim?

She smiled again as Lena returned, firm in her belief that she was simply Kara Danvers with Lena and that would somehow be enough.

“What is on the agenda today?” Lena asked, still with glowing enthusiasm.

Kara couldn’t help but laugh. “Someone is in a good mood today.”

“A lot of things are coming together finally, and for the first time since taking over L-Corp, I feel like it has been worth all of the late nights and lost sleep.”

“That is wonderful Lena! Let’s get started warming up and you can tell me about your day.”

Lena smirked. “Straight to work I see.”

“You are one to talk. I know how often you squeeze in late nights. You had better not have been working during the SuperBowl.”

“And if I was?” Lena taunted, raising an eyebrow defiantly.

“Shame on you Lena! It’s like, one of my favorite holidays!” Kara taunted, picking up a light elastic band. Direction wasn’t needed as Lena already knew they’d work on her shoulder mobility first. It left them open to their growing casual banter.

“It most certainly is not a holiday by any stretch of the imagination!” Lena protested, even as her shoulder stung with the final rep of external rotations.

“It might as well be! My parents were great about anything that involved getting family and friends together. So yes it’s a family holiday.” Kara returned, still noting Lena’s progress throughout the conversation. While Lena’s shoulder was likely never going to function normally, it had loosened some from the first day. Her range of motion was approaching the minimum ranges of normal.

“It sounds, well, it sounds much different than growing up a Luthor. Was that with your biological parents or your adoptive parents?”

Kara was caught off guard by the question and she paused, looking intently at Lena’s eyes. There was no malice there, but Kara’s heart skipped a beat regardless. “I um… It was after.”

“God Kara. I’m so sorry. I didn’t think before I asked.” Lena twisted the elastic band in her palms until her knuckles grew white.

Kara shook her head and rested a hand over Lena’s own balled fists. She felt the woman soften immediately under her touch and she couldn’t help but notice how soft her hands were beneath her own callused palms. “Lena. It’s okay. I promise.”

Lena regarded her carefully. “I, I am sorry if I overstepped. Sam mentioned it a while back. I only remembered because my stepmother adopted me as well. I…”

“No. No. Don’t worry. It’s just not something I talk about.” Kara hoped she’d eased Lena’s nerves and halted the unwanted line of questioning effectively. “Did you want me to work on your shoulders today before we get started?”

Lena’s eyes still looked soft, almost pleading – for what Kara wasn’t sure. Forgiveness? Reassurance? Whatever it was that her eyes asked, all she voiced was a simple, “Would you?”

Kara was grateful for the transition back to normalcy. She had never intended for the shoulder massage to become a regular thing, but somehow the practice had stuck. It had even grown into something more comprehensive as Kara followed the ever-present tension of her traps up her neck and down her spine. She also had quickly opted to work on both her healthy and her injured side. She couldn’t leave her feeling uneven after all.

It had also seemed to offer a window into Lena’s soul. Twice now she’d cried. Whatever emotional pain Lena held tightly to her chest screamed for release just as her muscles did, and Kara offered her quiet support without a hint of judgement. Other times Lena let out a muffled moan that left Kara struggling with keeping her thoughts purely professional. Yet many times, like today, Lena just melted into the attention. Kara kept her hands firm, building heat with well placed friction and offering her own shoulder for Lena to lean her head back as Kara carefully unraveled the stress of the day.

Truthfully, days like today were some of the hardest times to push down the growing fondness she had for the other woman. In truth, she wanted nothing more than to make Lena feel cared for. It seemed it was the one thing Lena was truly missing in her life.

And so she didn’t mind that it often made them run well over their allotted hour.

Kara murmured softly into Lena’s ear as she worked through one of the toughest knots which sat just beside her spine. “It’s okay. Don't tense up now. You are doing so good.”

Lena let a small noise escape that was more a whimper than a moan. Kara followed the fibers of the offending muscle expertly, drawing Lena’s muted vocalizations out over and over until the woman was like mush in her arms.

“Shh… see? No need to fight it. You've come a long way in a short time, especially considering how much time I know you spend at a desk all day. But! If I do this much longer I’m afraid you will be useless for deadlifts.”

Kara channeled her ‘trainer face’ as Lena recovered. Slowly, she was shifting from teacher Kara to trainer Kara. Teacher Kara was encouraging and yielding, but trainer Kara was no-nonsense and firm. It was an evolution that occurred to some degree with all new clients, and every professional relationship had someplace along the spectrum where it naturally settled.

Lena’s eyes widened. “You are having me do what now?”

Kara just smiled and waved to Lena to follow, and Lena followed with mock reluctance.

 “Kara. I was wondering if… I could talk to you about an idea?”

“What's on your mind?” Kara answered, plucking a barbell from a rack as though it weighed almost nothing.

“Well, as you know I've been working to reform L-Corp into a force for good. First it was about cleaning up my family’s mistakes, and then about restructuring for the good of the world, but lately I wonder if that's enough. I just. I know what this has meant to me. The DEO, training, your guidance with everything. I realized I've asked my employees to undergo a huge shift to their budgets, their corporate guidance, and many times I've shut down projects that had been an engineer’s life work because I didn't want to deal in advanced weaponry and biological agents.”

Kara stared at her a moment, open mouthed with a barbell in hand. “I'm not sure I follow what you are asking.”

Lena paused, fidgeting slightly before answering.  “I was hoping you would help me set up a corporate wellness program for L-Corp.”

Kara coughed. “I'm sorry, what?” Alex was NOT going to like this one bit.

“It would be lucrative. I promise. I wouldn't ask you to do anything for free. I was thinking blanket memberships for all employees, perhaps training discounts – subsidized by the company of course, but I'm still new to all of this. I… I could use your help.” Lena bit her lip softly, pleadingly. Kara's eyes followed it as it slid from her teeth, red from the friction. “I have a lot of ideas I want to implement, and this piece would be a small, but critical, part of that. I want to L-Corp to be both internationally renowned and a highly rated workplace… Also, I was hoping it could coincide with the interview with your friend. Nia, was it?”

Kara tensed, looking around the gym for a moment as if searching for something before her eyes met Lena's again. “I” she started and stopped herself, adjusting her glasses and leaving then more askew than they had been to begin with. “I think it's a really good idea Lena. I just… I’d need to talk to Alex about it. She's the boss and all.”

“Oh, of course. Though I assumed you shared the gym equally?”

Kara’s eyes dropped to the floor.

“Well. Not really. Eliza, Alex’s mom, ran the place after Jeremiah died. After a few years we came close to going bankrupt. Alex wanted to save it but couldn't get a loan together on her own. She asked me if I had anything left from…” Kara struggled. She’d shut down talking about her family earlier and here the topic was again, knocking her off guard like the ungodly stench of a forgotten protein shaker. “Anyway we scraped together some funds, got a loan for upgrades and here we are. I'm in charge of training and she's in charge of pretty much everything else.”

“It sounds like you came to the rescue. I’m sure she respects your opinion, though I would be happy to meet with her to alleviate any concerns.”

Kara suddenly remembered the barbell that was still in her hands, and she turned to the platform to buy a moment of time. “I’ll talk to her. I think it is a great idea Lena, we’d just have to see if it’s something we could manage and at what capacity you are thinking.”

“Just shy of five hundred, though I’m certain a number of them would not be interested in actually taking advantage of the services. I’d just cover the rate and they would have the option to utilize it should they see fit.”

Kara’s eyes bulged. Five hundred members at fifty dollars a month added up to a substantial sum and any additional sales of training, family membership options, or merchandise could significantly improve their financial standing. They might even be able to get in some new equipment to replace some of the worn and dated odds and ends.

It would, however, tie the DEO’s fate much more closely to Lena Luthor. Kara wasn’t sure there was a world in which Alex would ever let that happen. Yet, as she looked into Lena’s pleading eyes, she vowed to do everything in her power to never be the one to let her down.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

The soft dimpled smile Lena returned was already worth it.

Chapter Text

“Kara! I’ve been looking all over for you!”

Leave it to Alex to put a damper on her previously unshakable sunny mood.

A string of expected Valentine’s Day cancelations and rescheduled appointments meant a decadent morning of spreading out in bed as the sun’s morning rays warmed her face. Most of her early clients were likely sleeping in with their significant other or making plans for an evening surprise. Kara couldn’t help but be happy for them, even if she had no such plans of her own.

She didn’t even mind that she woke up alone, tangled in the sheets before starfishing out to take up the entire expanse of the queen-sized mattress. Yet whatever storm was brewing on Alex’s face at 9:30am was enough to sink a ship.

“I just got here. No appointments until ten today. What’s up?” She replied, shifting a heavy gym duffel higher on her shoulder before losing it completely.

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose and her nostrils flared. “Just meet me in my office in five okay?” She turned, stepping toward the front desk in a flourish. “Querl, mind the desk, Winn! James! My office now!”

Kara stilled for a moment with wide eyes at the scene. Brainy looked startled but nodded his agreement. Winn tucked his head as though her verbal assault might physically harm him, but James simply nodded as though in expectation. Alex could certainly have an abrasive side, but Kara couldn’t imagine what Winn or James could have done to incur that level of wrath.

A knot formed in her gut as she scrambled to her own office to drop off her bag. Whatever was going down apparently needed Kara’s presence as the gym’s co-owner - and that didn’t bode well for the guys.

Minutes later Kara was sneaking into Alex’s office. She couldn’t have missed much but Winn was already crying, and James was just shaking his head, avoiding Alex’s gaze as she interrogated them.

“One of you needs to tell me the truth! Where the hell were you on Sunday if you weren’t here?”

Winn looked to James and James crossed his arms before replying. “We weren’t gone long. It really shouldn’t have been such a big deal.”

Alex’s face went a shade of crimson that even Kara had never seen. “A member got hurt and there was no one here! No one!”

“Alex, it wasn’t even that bad. He just smashed his toe.” James replied.

Alex huffed, looking at Kara for the first time. “That isn’t the point, back me up here. That man can sue, and we’ll all be underwater.”

It was the first time Kara had heard any of this. The gym had been left to the two of them during SuperBowl Sunday, and until now she never dreamed they would do anything behind her back. “Okay, guys, lets just take it down a notch, shall we? What happened with the member?”

Alex’s shoulders slumped as she faced Kara. “He was pissed is what happened. He dropped a weight plate on his toe and ripped off his toenail. He was bleeding, yelling, and holding his foot for several minutes until another member gave him a ride to the hospital. There was almost no one there since it was game day and Winn and James had gone AWOL.”

Kara cautiously stepped forward to Alex, placing a hand on her shoulder. “And did he say he was going to take legal action?”

Alex shook her head. “I apologized profusely and thankfully no; I don’t think so. His membership is now free for a year though.”

Kara turned to Winn and James. It was the part of the job she hated more than anything else. Being the boss sometimes meant making hard calls, even when those calls damaged long standing friendships. “So, you weren’t here. Where were you?”

“We were here, just outside.” James responded as his gaze dropped to the floor.

“Winn?” Kara asked. Winn sent a pleading look to James, but James wouldn’t meet his eyes.

Winn squeaked as he tried to reply. “I… I… can’t lose this job. Please.”

Alex cut in, firm and low. “Where… were… you?”

“My van.” Winn admitted and James let out a scoff.

“Doing what?” Alex asked dangerously. Winn’s eyes darted again to James, who seemed to have lost his ability to speak.

Alex continued, “What was it? Drinking? Drugs? What the hell could you have possibly been doing in the van for over half an hour outside. I checked the security footage. Fuck, are you two selling gear?”

James finally found his voice. “No. no. no. no.” He said rapid fire, even as a smirk played on his lips. “Nothing like that.”

Kara was shocked, both at Alex’s accusations and the evasion. She couldn’t imagine James and Winn running a steroid ring behind their backs at the gym, but such a thing wasn’t unheard of in the industry. “What the hell were you doing then?” She pressed.

James straightened up. “Winn isn’t at fault. It was my doing. I’ll take the fall. I quit.” He stepped as though to walk out of the office, but Kara stopped him.

“If what you were doing was illegal, you had better come clean now. Quitting isn’t going to save you if the police get involved.”

Winn stood up and grabbed James by the bicep. “Please don’t. James. I don’t want you to leave. We just. I just…”

James visibly faltered at Winn’s pleading and turned back to Alex. “It wasn’t something illegal. I…” He paused and looked at Winn before seeming to make a decision that would affect them both. “We have been seeing each other.”

Oh

Oh

Realization struck like a freight train and Alex voiced it just as loud. “You were fucking? Since when are you even gay? Wait... no... Don't answer that. For the love of…”

James looked at Alex and stilled. “I quit. That should make it easy. Please let it just be that.” He looked again to Winn to try and convey his intentions to take the brunt of the blame before he stepped out of the office. This time, Kara let him go in disbelief.

Alex and Kara both looked to Winn, who seemed like he was both terrified and had had his heart broken all in one instance. Alex let out a manic laugh. “What…the…fuck… Winn, go home.”

“Am I fired?” He asked, squeezing his hands together.

“I don’t know. Please just leave.” Alex responded before falling into her office chair with a thud.

Winn didn’t need to be told twice, and he practically ran from the office at the dismissal, leaving Kara alone with Alex.

Both were silent for a moment before Kara finally spoke up. “So, James is gone. And they were. That was… um… unexpected.”

“Don’t fucking remind me. I had to hold his hand anyway for almost everything. He just got to where he would order the damn paper towels on time.”

Kara looked at her feet intently and sat in the seat across from Alex. “So, what’s going to happen with Winn?”

“God, I don’t know. We’re short staffed and its still the busy season. It is enough to be down one person right now. I don’t know what else to do though. That is beyond unacceptable. It was bad enough when I caught him playing Call of Duty in James’s office a few months ago.”

“Well, on the bright side, I have some free time today. I can help with getting a General Manager position written up.” Kara tried, forcing a smile.

“It’s not that easy.” Alex said.

“Why not?”

Alex couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re kind of broke Kara. We put in about all we had to finish renovations. We’ve got tons of competition from Lockwood Iron Gym, who – by the way – pays way better than we do. I settled with James because I knew I couldn’t afford anyone even remotely experienced. I don’t know what to do now.”

Kara adjusted her glasses. The other thing she needed to talk to Alex about was sitting right on the edge of her tongue, but it wasn’t easy to get out. Lena’s offer meant a huge payday for the gym, and it seemed that they were in dire need of one.

“So, what if I knew a way to keep us out of the red?” Kara asked tentatively.

Alex studied her face for a moment with narrowed eyes. “Why do I feel like there’s a catch?”

Kara signed. It was as good a time as any to make her case. “Lena wants to partner with us for a corporate wellness program.”

“Lena…” Alex replied, followed by a long pause as her eyes flicked down to her computer screen, no doubt looking over the underwhelming numbers again.

Kara took the opportunity to press her case. Alex hadn’t outright rejected the idea which was already more than she’d hoped when she rehearsed this conversation in her head the previous night. “It would set up all of the employees with memberships and maybe some training. We haven’t worked out the details yet obviously, but we're talking hundreds of thousands a year.”

“I don’t like it, but I don’t like her training with you either. And I certainly don’t like that you two are on a first name basis these days.” Alex finally responded.

Kara huffed. “Lena isn’t like her family, we’ve discussed this.”

“And it isn’t just Lena I’m worried about. Her brother might be in jail, but there’s no telling what connections he has, and her mother is doing God knows what.”

“Adoptive mother, and not a very good one.” Kara mumbled.

“I’m just saying that it doesn’t matter if Lena shits rainbows and sunshine, she’s still part of the family that killed your parents.”

Normally Kara would fight Alex on this. Her family’s untimely death was never tied conclusively to LuthorCorp except through speculation but knowing that Lena herself had been the target of Lex’s wrath caused the argument to dry up on her tongue. She hung her head to gather her thoughts. “Look, Alex. She’s training with me. Having some more of her employees around the gym won’t make the situation any different. What it will do is put us back on top even if Lockwood does keep throwing his own family money into new equipment.”

“How do I know this won’t bite us in the ass?” Alex asked.

.

.

“It won’t. I promise.”

***

Kara looked up at the L-Corp building with a sudden sense of awe. Somehow, the Lena that she had come to know hadn’t fully registered in her mind as The Lena Luthor. At first maybe it was self-preservation on her part to mentally dissociate Lena from her family, but then she became just Lena.

Even Alex’s boiling temper had cooled to a simmer regarding the woman, going so far as to agree to corporate wellness program that Lena had pitched to Kara, though she wasn’t keen on being involved more than she had to. It may have been for the best given that Alex was spread thin managing the gym alone after James’s sudden departure almost a week prior.

The skyscraper that housed L-Corp’s National City headquarters was one of the tallest and most iconic at the city’s center, and Kara suddenly felt underdressed and underqualified to even walk through the front doors. The anticipation felt like butterflies in her stomach, and the baked chicken and rice from lunch refused to settle. She took a moment to smooth her maroon button up and dress pants, which had been resurrected from the recesses of her closet specifically for this occasion. Neither the DEO uniform nor her nicest gym attire seemed appropriate for her first visit to Lena’s office.

Lena’s office.

Why did she feel like she was about to have a heart attack?

The lobby was a large open space with crystal clear windows and immaculate though sterile black and white furnishings and décor. A handful of employees were coming and going dressed in business formal or pristine lab coats. A reception desk sat prominent in the center, with a sign that read ‘All visitors must be validated by L-Corp security.’

For a moment, she remembered her father had worked there many years ago when it was still LuthorCorp. It felt surreal knowing he’d walked through this very lobby every day on the way to his lab. Had he greeted the day with a smile and a wave, or had he been the type to mull quietly over a cup of coffee? All the memories she had of him blurred together, leaving her wondering about the most mundane aspects of his life. How did he treat others? Did he take the time to remember the names of the janitorial staff or ask about the lives of the receptionists? Or did he ignore those around him that he deemed unimportant? Was anyone around that still remembered him? Did the lobby even look the same then or had Lena changed this as well to reflect her own era?

“Miss Danvers, I presume?”

Kara broke out of her thoughts and noticed a thin woman with a soft smile carrying a clipboard. “Oh, yes that’s me. I am here to meet with Le… I mean Miss Luthor.” She offered her hand in greeting. “And you are?”

“You can call me Jess. I am Miss Luthor’s assistant.” Jess took her hand in a modest handshake before offering Kara a lanyard with a pre-made L-Corp ID. “This is your security pass Miss Danvers. Miss Luthor requested that you be able to visit whenever provided she wasn’t in a meeting.”

“Oh, wow. Do I need to activate this with security or anything?” Kara asked, gesturing vaguely at the security desk. One of the guards was staring at her, and something about his features seemed familiar, as if she could remember the very shape of his smile even on his now stoic face. It was an odd feeling, though fleeting. The man promptly looked away, showing no hint of recognition of his own.

“No need Miss Danvers. Miss Luthor validated your credentials personally.”

“You can call me Kara.”

Jess smiled hesitantly before waving Kara forward to the express elevator. “Scan your badge to go to the top floor.” She said, motioning to a small card reader.

Kara complied, and the pad flashed a brief green before the elevator doors opened. She wasn’t a fan of elevators, or small spaces in general, so she was elated to be on the express elevator rather than one of the others. Besides, she hadn’t factored in the time it took to stop at a hundred floors before getting to Lena’s office on time for their appointment. However, anxiety was getting the best of her as the floors clicked by.

“She seems happy you know.” Jess said suddenly.

Kara looked away from the red digits, realizing she’d broken into a cold sweat. “I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”

“Miss Luthor. I haven’t seen her like this. She’s taking care of herself. She’s eating better – for the most part. I don’t know. She seems happy.”

“What do you think changed for her?” Kara asked, genuinely confused as to the woman’s angle. Lena hadn’t been terribly forthcoming with why she’d joined the gym other than because Sam had pressured her. Kara still hadn’t gotten to the root of her motivation, but she’d supposed Lena would tell her in time.

Jess failed to hide a smile. “I think it is you. She talks about you you know.”

Kara was struck dumb, saved only by the elevator coming to a halt with a soft ping as they reached the top floor. The reprieve was short lived though as Lena herself stood waiting not ten feet from the elevator doors with that dimpled smile that had recently become the norm on Lena’s face.

And God was she stunning. Lena was breathtaking even in her most unflattering state, red-faced with exertion. But damnit, this Lena was a force of nature. Her hair was impeccably styled in a tight bun and her makeup looked as though it had been professionally done only moments before. She wore a dress which was conservative enough for a boardroom, but it hugged each of her curves like a second skin. Her high heels brought her almost to eye level, and for a moment Kara forgot to breathe.

Her lungs restarted only when Lena brought her into a tight hug, and the inhale was all Lena. Rich perfume and a decadent floral shampoo mixed perfectly with Lena’s own scent, which somehow managed to be enticing even at the end of a hard training session. Kara’s head swam for a moment, and without realizing it, she’d nuzzled into Lena’s neck during the extended embrace.

When they broke apart, Lena’s hands trailed down from Kara’s arms to her hands and Lena tugged her forward through a set of double doors which led to Lena’s sizable office. Like the lobby, its interior was starkly decorated and pristine. It was nothing like Kara’s small back office which often smelled of sweat and sanitizer.

“Wow, this place is amazing Lena.” Kara said as she strode over to the wall length windows. “I can see pretty much all of National City from up here… and holy crap! You have a balcony!”

Lena laughed and opened the balcony door. A swift breeze swirled around the office as Kara let herself be led outside. She may hate small spaces, but heights were something else entirely. They made her feel as though she could fly. “I had no idea that you could even have a balcony this high!”

“You can if you can afford one.” Lena said, raising an eyebrow to devastating effect. “I had it installed after I took over L-Corp. Sometimes I come out here to just exist and remember why I’m doing this. Why I don’t just turn over L-Corp to the board and walk away.” Lena’s voice became somber with the confession and Kara turned to her, settling a hand over Lena’s on the railing.

“Lena, you are doing amazing things. L-Corp wouldn’t be half of what it is now without you.”

That damned dimpled smile was back as Lena’s eyes met Kara’s. “I wish the board could see that. I believe in what I’m doing but they seem to feel a need to fight with me at every opportunity. I wish they could believe in me.”

“I believe in you.” Kara realized how deeply she meant it only as it rolled off her tongue.

“You do?” The words were simple, quiet, and almost a whisper over the ever-swirling wind on the high balcony. Kara could see a storm of emotions in Lena, but two were evident in her delicate features: hope and longing. It was plain to see that Lena sought validation for her actions, which had so often gone unrewarded or were blatantly rejected.

“I do.” Kara responded simply. She hoped the smile she offered conveyed the depth of her sincerity, because no words seemed like they were up to the challenge.

Lena wiped the edge of her eye, somehow managing not to smudge her perfectly drawn eyeliner. “Well, I suppose we should get to it then.” Whatever moment they had had shattered as Lena went into what Kara assumed was her work mode. She pushed off from the balcony’s rail and walked back inside with a purpose. “I reached out to your nutritionist, Laurel at Canary Nutrition. She is on board as well. So far, we’ve expanded the wellness plan to include not just free gym memberships and subsidized personal training, but also subsidies for nutritional and mental health counseling, smoking cessation support, paid time off for approved wellness activities, and I’m in plans to install an on-site health and wellness facility.”

Kara was stunned. What had begun as a simple benefit for L-Corp employees was evolving into a comprehensive package. The pride on Lena’s face showed how deeply she cared about her employees, but for the first time she seemed excited. She wasn’t righting the wrongs of Lex or even trying to prove herself as a capable replacement. She was creating something selflessly just to improve other’s lives.

“What about the employees who already have memberships elsewhere?” Kara was reluctant to ask, but it was a fair assessment. Not everyone would be interested in the DEO and it didn’t seem right that they weren’t given a choice.

Lena picked up another paper. “I’m glad you asked. So far five people have requested to instead have a subsidy for Lockwood Iron Gym and three people have requested Flash Athletics. Ten are already members at the DEO and their bills will now go to L-Corp.”

“Do you think many people will actually use the gym? I mean, why pay for hundreds of memberships if they don’t get used?” Kara asked. Alex would balk at Kara’s question if she’d heard. Many gyms are held afloat by the huge numbers of paying members that don’t actually attend, yet Kara felt the need to be transparent with Lena.

Lena sighed. “I considered that. Truthfully if only one person makes the change it will be worth it. All I can do is make sure everyone has the tools to succeed if they so choose.”

The next few hours were spent working through details and finishing up a short contract which stated the partnership between the DEO and L-Corp. The financial plan alone took nearly half of the time, and Kara was elated to know that they would be able to advertise for a new General Manager position soon without the need for additional business loans.

Somehow, she found that they worked well together, like long time partners, over the details of the final contract. Kara didn’t even realize a substantial amount of time had passed until her stomach let out an angry rumble. The chicken that had sat like a stone in her stomach only hours before was long gone, bringing her formidable appetite back with a vengeance.

Lena looked up, startled at the sound even as Kara ducked her head in embarrassment. “Kara, you could have told me you were hungry. I can have anything delivered right here you know.”

“Its no problem. I can wait.” Kara replied. It wasn’t the first time her stomach had interrupted her and wouldn’t be the last. She certainly didn’t want Lena to feel responsible for keeping her fed.

“Nonsense. I have menus in the drawer for pretty much everything in a five-mile radius. I’ve kept you here late. The least I can do is make sure you aren’t quietly starving to death. I could do with a break myself.”

Kara’s polite refusal was on the tip of her tongue until she remembered what Jess had said on the way up. Lena was taking care of herself and eating better – because of Kara. The fact that Kara was enjoying the woman’s presence helped to shatter the rest of her resolve. “Noonan’s?”

Lena looked over at Kara with poorly veiled enthusiasm. “Their appetizer menu alone is to die for. How about we split a few?”

And that is how Kara found herself seated on one end of Lena’s long white office couch sharing silly stories over a suite of appetizers. If only Alex could see her now, sharing food, though Lena was completely unaware of the intensity of that particular gesture.

“So tell me, is your friend going to do a hatchet job on me in that interview?” She asked with a laugh, but Kara suspected there was a hint of sincerity there under the smile.

“No!” Kara mumbled around a bite of quesadilla. She struggled through the last bit to formulate a reply. “Nia wouldn’t. I mean, she’ll probably ask you all kinds of stuff like, who are you wearing?, What is it like being a woman in tech?, and the infamous Miss Luthor, World’s Richest Bachelorette or Secret Bride to Be?” Kara taunted each feigned question with a conspiring tone.

Lena choked back a laugh around a bite. “They never ask men these questions!”

Kara shrugged. “The whole point is to show a softer side of you isn’t it?”

“I suppose you are right. I’ve avoided questions like this my whole career but maybe some good can come of being seen as a whole person in the media instead of as a talking head for my murderous family.” Lena leaned back with a grin, pointing a plastic fork in Kara’s direction. “And always! Always it comes down to the question of if there’s a man in my life and when I’ll be popping out babies. If only they knew.”

Kara stared at her blankly. “Knew what?” Kara was suddenly scrambling to remember everything they’d discussed over the past few weeks. Did Lena have a hidden significant other? Had she dropped a hint that Kara had missed? Her heart felt as though it skipped a few beats as she waited for the answer.

“Let’s just say it wouldn’t be a man in my life at all.”

It was Kara’s turn to choke on her food. A huge cheesy bite of quesadilla was suddenly held hostage in her constricting throat. She managed to cough out what sounded like an “oh” as she scrambled for her water.

“Are you alright?” Lena asked as Kara downed her glass.

“Yep,” she squeaked as she set the glass down softly. A stray drip of water made its way down her chin in a decided unladylike display. “So uh, does that mean you um…” Kara tried- and failed.

“Yes, Kara. I date women. Not that it’s something I’ve allowed in the press. Lillian would have a field day with that and thankfully I’ve avoided her wrath for the time being.” Lena’s nonchalance about the topic seemed at odds with the fact that Kara’s world seemed to have been turned upside down.

“That’s… wow.” Kara stuffed the entirety of the remaining quesadilla in her mouth to keep from saying something terribly dumb. She felt like she had somehow dwindled to two remaining brain cells and those were fighting for dominance in her addled skull.

Lena was a lesbian.

“Miss Luthor?” Jess interrupted, startling them both from the unplanned bubble that had somehow formed around them. “Miss Arias was hoping you could look over the budget reports this evening. Should I tell her you are still tied up with Miss Danvers?”

Lena’s face flushed crimson and she bit her lip to prevent a smirk from forming. “No, I’m sorry Jess, I just got carried away. I’m sure I’ve kept Miss Danvers late enough. Tell Sam I’ll be with her shortly.”

Kara looked at her watch. Time had certainly gotten away from them again yet again and to her surprise the sun had already sat, shifting the lights of the office to a sterile fluorescent instead of the welcoming sun. “Golly, you are right. It is getting late. I should get going. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Lena nodded. The flush had vanished but in its place was Lena’s dimpled smile. Before Kara realized what she was doing, she’d pulled Lena into another hug like the one she’d received several hours before.

And her thoughts were all Lena.

Chapter Text

“Bout time.”

Sam looked up at Lena with a smirk despite the late hour at L-Corp.

“Sorry Sam. I got held up with Kara going over some details of our wellness program.” Lena said calmly, hanging her purse on the hook near the desk.

“I’m pretty sure that could have been handled in about a half an hour, but I hear you ordered in.” The smirk on her face grew slightly, as though her line of questioning had a destination.

Lena wasn’t a stranger to Sam’s teasing. She’d endured it for years, especially on the few occasions where a potential love interest had come into the picture. It wouldn’t do to let Sam continue on. “I looked over the budget spreadsheets this afternoon. The board approved the ten percent increase in funding for our…”

“You like her like her, don’t you?”

Lena flailed for a moment, mouth opening and closing without sound before she could finally reply. “That’s… Do all of you just gossip about my sex life behind my back?”

“I mean, yeah, especially now that you are pining over your personal trainer so much that we all get gym memberships now.”

Lena laughed. “Those are completely separate and you know it. Besides, I assume your ban is lifted now that you are spending your weekends with Kara’s delightful sister.”

Sam’s smirk dropped. “Alex is protective of Kara. I don’t really get it. I swear she’s not so moody when you get to know her. But no changing the subject, why haven’t you asked her out?”

“For starters, we have a professional relationship.”

Sam snorted in a decidedly unladylike display. “Which never would have happened if you didn’t want to climb her like a tree. Don’t hide behind that.”

“Fine, she’s seeing someone.” Lena replied, her heart clenching at the admission. Ever since she’d found out she’d tried to wall off the part of herself that saw Kara as anything more. It had been in vain though. The flutter her heart gave it away every time Kara was near.

“Did she tell you that, cause that’s news to me, Alex was trying to get her to hook up with some chick named Lucy and she didn’t seem all about it.”

Lena’s eyes widened. The name Imra and the red heart – not Lucy - from Kara’s notification was burned in her memory. “Not Imra?”

Sam looked at Lena curiously. “You doing a background check on the poor girl and looking up her exes?”

“Certainly not. I trust Kara. I just… looked at her Instagram is all.” Lena decided it was best to not let Sam in on seeing her phone notification.

“Well, I found out for you. You are welcome by the way. She’s single, though it didn’t seem like it was an easy breakup.” Sam said as she finally glanced down to the budget spreadsheets.

Lena leaned back, deflating slightly and looking away. “I don’t know Sam. What if she doesn’t feel the same way, or isn’t ready? Even if she did, I’ve tied L-Corp to the DEO and the last thing I need is a messy affair to undo all of the good will I have with the board.”

“I swear Lena, sometimes I think you hide behind the board to have an excuse to not live your life. I see how you two look at each other. Hell, I’m taking another shot with Alex because I feel like she’s worth it. Maybe she isn’t. I don’t know yet, but what I do know is there is no point spending the rest of my life wondering. It would eat me up inside.”

Lena looked at her hands, becoming hyper aware of the single small chip on her otherwise immaculately polished nails. Did she do that? She had used it as an excuse with training and now? Maybe she was too scared of being seen as inadequate that she wasn’t letting herself just be a human being. Lex had run the Luthor name into the ground, and here she was worried about a potential scuff. “How are things going with Alex? I feel like I have barely seen you lately.”

Sam blew out a breath. “Good. I think anyway. We’re taking it a little slow. I guess she doesn’t fully trust me yet. I care about her though, probably more than I should. Like, is it too early to have her around Ruby? Sometimes she kind of shuts down about things, like she gets dodgy when I talk about L-Corp.”

Lena picked at the chip, making it worse despite every voice in her head telling her to leave it be. “Does she hate me because I’m a Luthor? Does she hate that you work for me?”

“Lena no… I mean. I don’t know. Like, with most things she’s a real pushover really. I don’t know why she’s got a bug up her ass, but I’m sure she’d love you if you guys spent time together.”

Lena scoffed, regaining herself. “I don’t see Alex Danvers as a pushover about anything.”

“Then I have some gossip for you.” Sam’s smile was back, radiating mischief. “You know James? The manager and Winn?”

“Is this how you look when you and Jess gossip about me? Do I even want to know?”

“God Lena, not the point and yes to both of those things. Anyway… Alex found out they were hooking up when they were supposed to be working. James quit outright and Alex was going to fire Winn, until Kara intervened.” Sam’s eyes were lit up as she retold the bits of the story she remembered.

Lena couldn’t help but smile back. “Sounds like Kara is the pushover, not Alex.”

“No, see that’s the point. Kara told Alex that this was essentially Winn’s coming out story whether he meant it to be or not. Alex knew immediately that she couldn’t fire someone while they are going through one of the most emotional times in their lives.”

Lena’s smile softened at the thought. She could see Kara going to bat for someone, even if they had messed up. She couldn’t say she’d do the same in her position. “Probably not the best business sense, but Kara does have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve known, present company excluded.”

“I was talking about Alex.” Sam said with a huff.

“You are insufferable.” Lena replied.

“You love me though. Don’t lie.” Sam said casually as she readjusted herself at the desk. “Anyway. As you mentioned we have a ten percent increase…”

.

If Lena hated one thing about leading a company, it was budget.

***

“You are thinking about it the wrong way Miss Lu... Lena. Don’t get me wrong, the prototype is brilliant work. The problem is the scale. This sort of change needs finesse, not brute force.”

“The whole point of this was a source of energy that had a net carbon capture.” Lena shot back at Rhea, now somewhat disillusioned by the whole conversation.

“And that energy is cost prohibitive.” Rhea replied.

Lena rested her forehead on her fingertips, trying to dispel the emerging migraine that she knew was coming. “I know. The energy is too expensive and so are the byproducts. I don’t see how finesse will change that.”

Rhea pursed her lips in a mirror image of Lillian, as though scolding a petulant child with silent judgement. It made Lena’s skin crawl at their similarities, and she couldn’t help but wonder if the son she’d spoken of lived in a similar shadow of ‘never good enough.’ “Then what do you propose?”

Rhea’s eyes glinted, hinting at a smirk that she kept from her lips. “You asked me to look at it differently, and I have. Have you considered that the energy itself could be a byproduct? What if, instead of cost prohibitive building materials, we look at carbon products that can be integrated into existing technology produced by L-Corp. Graphene, synthetic diamonds, pyrolytic carbon.”

Lena paused. L-Corp used or manufactured a suite of carbon products, including alloys and composites. It was, however, by no means the scale Lena had hoped. “I’m not discounting it, but I suppose I’d hoped to make real change. Even if we began producing all of our raw manufacturing carbon, we couldn’t even produce enough energy to run the building, let alone revolutionize clean energy production and sequestration.”

“Lena, consider it a proof of concept. You can’t change the world in a day, but you can patent it and make it yours. What the board sees now as a vanity project could very well be pivotal for L-Corp in the future. Look.” Rhea turned a tablet to Lena showing her modifications to Lena’s project. “We can utilize the energy in-house, reducing our energy based operating costs by 18%. Not to mention the marketing opportunities. You are turning atmospheric carbon into tangible products, and that alone makes the products worth a premium to bleeding heart consumers and investors alike.”

Lena scoffed, a rebuttal on the edge of her tongue at Rhea’s obvious political bias, but she kept it from spilling out of her mouth. Rhea wasn’t wrong. It wouldn’t be the first time a new process or product was invented that seemed unworkable, only to be the spearhead of a revolution years later. Still, Lena was impatient. She wanted her invention to change the world yesterday and sitting on something so pivotal seemed downright criminal. Instead of a rebuttal, she replied only with a curt, “I’ll take it under advisement.”

Rhea’s spine stiffened and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. “This could still be very good for L-Corp. I wouldn’t dismiss it so quickly.”

Lena met her hardened gaze with her own, she didn’t soften, even as her words relayed the thanks that her emotions could not. “Thank you for your input. Forgive me if I seem ungrateful, I don’t intend to be. I asked for you to look at it in another light and that is exactly what you did. I would like some time to consider all avenues before I make a final decision on how to proceed though.”

Rhea didn’t seem swayed, but whatever she might have said further was aborted as a soft knock sounded on the office door.

“Yes Jess?”

Jess poked her head in timidly and her eyes darted between the two women. “I’m so sorry Miss Luthor. I hate to interrupt your meeting, but your mother is here.”

Her mother - no Lillian, was there. Unannounced.

Nothing good ever came from Lillian’s visits, and were she not a minority shareholder, Lena would have strongly considered having her blacklisted from the facility, optics be damned. The twisting sliver of anxiety that ran up her spine did little to alleviate the now throbbing pain in her head, and in seconds Lillian pushed pass Jess without so much as a sideways glance.

Rhea stood and turned to face Lillian, and all Lena could do was watch the stiff interaction.

“It’s a pleasure.” Rhea greeted, offering a hand in feigned friendship. Her voice was monotone and still. For a moment, Lena was reminded of a nature documentary she’d seen in college of a lion facing off with a starving hyena over a scrap of meat. Lillian looked at the offered hand coldly, but mechanically moved to capture it all the same with a dull smile that directly conflicted with the storm clouds raging in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” Lillian responded.

“Rhea, Dr. Rhea Dax.”

Lillian raised an eyebrow. Lena felt a moment of disgust that she’d picked up on that particular habit, no matter how effective it seemed to be in a variety of situations.

“Well… Rhea… I have cut the pleasantries short. I need to speak with my daughter. I’m sure you don’t mind. Do you?” It was amazing how Lillian could make the simplest phrase feel like a threat.

Rhea forced a smile. “Of course not. I’m on my way out anyway.” She took a few steps out of Lillian’s line of sight before looking back to Lena with a soft, almost sympathetic glance before exiting. Lena didn’t quite know what to make of the interaction, but she didn’t have time to dwell on it now.

“What do you need, mom?” The sarcastic grate was intentional. Lillian had never been a mother in anything but name and at times Lena wanted to remind her of that very fact.

“Now Lena. No need to get defensive.” Lillian sat primly in the chair opposite Lena, crossing her legs and straitening the lines of her pant suit. “I came to see how you are doing is all.”

“I highly doubt that. You didn’t even come see me when I was in the hospital for weeks after your golden boy shot me.”

“You of all people should know I was dealing with the legal fallout from both your brother’s incarceration and keeping your little incident out of the media.”

“Incident? Incident? I didn’t twist an ankle mother. He hired someone to kill me!”

“You know I didn’t mean it like that. Come now. I am not here to argue with you.”

“Why are you here then?” Lena slammed an open palm down on the desk in frustration. “Are you here because you don’t like my new initiatives? The fact I have an interview with CatCo this week? What have I done now to upset the status quo enough for you to show up after, what years?”

“I spoke to you on Christmas.” Lillian refuted.

“Only because I called you. I haven’t seen you in years.”

“And now I’m here. And no, dear, I don’t care about your little side projects, though I question your willingness to be interviewed by a fashion and gossip outlet. It seems to be a waste of your time and potential.”

Lena sighed. The fight fizzled out of her as it always did with Lillian’s emptiness. It was almost as pointless as trying to evoke a response from a marble statue, though a statue wouldn’t silently judge you for it later. “I realized I need to be more personable with the press, and besides, the questions will be vetted by the PR department ahead of time.”

Lillian scoffed. “Lex never needed to tell the world about what shoes he wore, he stood on his brilliance alone and people loved him for it.”

Lena’s resulting laugh was almost manic. “Are you kidding me? And how has that worked out for him? The company tanked after that scandal and you and I both know he likely did far worse things than what ever came to light.”

Lillian straightened, not unlike Rhea had only minutes before. “Lex’s mistakes are in the past Lena. If he hadn’t blatantly tried to defraud someone as powerful as Morgan Edge, he likely would never have seen the inside of a cell.”

“He is responsible for the deaths of god knows how many people after faking those trials.”

“And none of those people were important. You know that. That would have simply been a slap on the wrist for someone as powerful and connected as Lex.”

God. How could they be having this conversation again? The system was truly corrupt, and Lex would have bought himself right out of the hole he’d dug for himself had it not been for his vendetta with Edge. He hadn’t gone to prison for the despicable things he’d done, no. He’d gone to prison because he’d cost Edge millions.

Lena couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Why are you really here?” She demanded.

Lillian looked up to her with a glint in her eye. “I had hoped you would be willing to bury the hatchet and visit him. He was quite adamant when I saw him last.”

Lena pinched the bridge of her nose. Anger didn’t even begin to express what she was feeling now. She’d been tense the better part of the day, but now she was willing to explode, and Lillian was giving her every reason to. “Why would I ever - in my right mind - visit him?”

“He misses you, dear. You are still his sister. You two used to be so close when you were younger.”

“He should have thought about that before two assassination attempts. Would he have missed me if I really was gone?” Lena said, now almost in a whisper, she was threading the fine line between lashing or breaking down.

“Oh, the first one barely counts. Poisoning your coffee was so pedestrian.” Lillian waved her hand dismissively.

“Well, I still have the scars from the second time, the time he very nearly succeeded. I’m just now getting to where I can move my arm through a full range of motion without pain.” Lena said, rolling her shoulder almost absentmindedly. She looked at the clock and realized Lillian was going to cause her to be late to her evening session. “My personal trainer has spent a lot of time helping me with that actually.”

Lillian’s eyebrows raised; a hint of mirth played on her face. “You have a personal trainer? What is his name?”

“I’m surprised you don’t already know. I know you still have your goons watching me.”

“Humor me.” Lillian said, one side of her lip curling up in something between a smile or a snarl.

“Kara. Her name is Kara.”

***

Lena’s fingers drummed on the armrest as she stared out at the roads and intersections flashing by. The privacy divider was up, blocking her driver’s view from her current downward spiral of emotions. She was nearly twenty minutes late to her appointment thanks to Lillian’s unexpected visit, and even Kara’s chipper text that said ‘No worries! See you soon!’ did little to quell her growing anxiety.

It wasn’t just about being late.

Lex wanted to see her. Whatever he’d said to Lillian had prompted her to visit Lena when even a brush with death hadn’t. The differing weights Lillian placed on affection for her two children had always been vast, but this felt like an impassable chasm. Lillian never showed up unless she wanted something, but Lena couldn’t comprehend what she’d gained from it. That alone was terrifying.

What was also terrifying was Lex himself. A small part of her remembered Lex as he was when they were young. Did part of him hope to reconcile? Was there anything left inside her brother that was anything less than cruel? Or was this just another game? Was he trying to get in her head to taunt her one last time now that he didn’t have the reach to hurt her for real?

The car came to a stop just outside the DEO and Lena’s driver, Frank, stepped out to open the door for her as usual. She picked up her gym bag and nodded to the man as she braced herself to face Kara. Part of her considered skipping the gym entirely, but she could hardly cancel at the last minute in good conscience, knowing Kara was waiting patiently for her by the front doors.

It would be fine.

Lena would keep her composure and maybe, just maybe, the gym would even help keep her from spiraling out of control.

When was the last time Lex had even reached out? It wasn’t until her hand sat heavy on the metal handle of the front door that she remembered. He’d asked for her to visit after it came to light that she was slated to take over LuthorCorp. She’d refused, angry and overwhelmed at how her life had suffered a seismic shift almost overnight. Three days later her coffee was poisoned. Five days later she was in surgery, fighting for her life after a gunman had tried to finish the job.

She took a steadying breath and opened the door.

Kara’s face immediately lit up at her arrival. “Lena!” It was simple, open, honest.  

Lena wanted to crumble right there, but her Luthor upbringing shoved her conflict deeper inside her chest. “Kara, I’m so sorry I’m late. I was held up at the office. I’ll be very quick.” She gestured at the locker rooms to indicate her need to change quickly. In truth she was happy to push past those earnest blue eyes that seemed to brighten in her presence. God, Kara was too good for this world and Lena couldn’t let her see the darkness currently blooming in her chest.

She was angry, Lillian, Lex, all of it. Even her damn prototype made her want to scream. Her hands shook as she tried to change in the locker room. The conversation with Lillian replayed in her head on a loop, interspersed with other memories from over the years which found their way into the woven tapestry of anxiety that set her teeth on edge. She was building to a crescendo and nothing was likely to stop it.

After three steadying breaths, she stepped out of the locker room. She could crumble later. Now wasn’t the time, but as Kara laid eyes on Lena a chain reaction began and Lena felt the tears welling in her eyes no matter how hard she tried to hold them at bay.

“Lena?” Kara said softly as she approached, arms up as if knowing that Lena needed to fall into them. “Are you okay?”

It didn’t matter that they were in the middle of a busy public gym. Lena sank into Kara’s embrace and buried her face in her shoulder. Kara’s arms wrapped around her immediately and she felt one hand stroking her back gently in repeating lines. “I’m sorry Kara.” Lena began sobbing. She didn’t know why she’d crumbled at that moment. She couldn’t remember a time where another person’s arms felt so safe that her vulnerability could come to light until that very moment.

Lena could fall and Kara would certainly be there to catch her.

It was an astonishing revelation, muted only by the tide of emotions she already felt. Kara simply held her as she slowly recovered, giving her space to move through whatever she needed without pressuring her or pushing her away. It wasn’t how Lena was used to being treated.

“Hey.” Kara whispered as Lena’s breathing steadied. “We don’t have to train tonight if you don’t want to. It might help, but I need you to tell me what you need. We can go to my office if you want to talk, but if you don’t want to that’s okay too.”

Lena pulled back enough to wipe the tears from her eyes and immediately missed Kara’s warmth. “I don’t know what I need honestly. I just… I had a complicated day.”

Kara’s hands settled on Lena’s shoulders, keeping her grounded in the moment. “So… how do you feel about ice cream?”

Chapter Text

Had anyone gone searching for Lena Luthor late that night, they never would have found her.

The truck’s passenger seat was a rough fabric with a few small tears, unlike the leather interior of her own luxury vehicles. Truthfully, Lena couldn’t remember the last time she’d even been in a vehicle that wasn’t made within the last three years, let alone a common pickup. A couple of scuffs were evident on the dash and the dashboard was equipped only with an aftermarket CD player with an auxiliary cable running to Kara’s similarly dated phone. A stray protein shaker rolled against her ankle as Kara took a sharp turn leading somewhere away from the city lights.

If it were anyone else, Lena might be concerned about where they were going as they turned onto a steep dark road enclosed on all sides by tall trees. But this was Kara, and somehow Lena’s inner voice of distrust was unnaturally silent.

Kara seemed to sense her musings though and glanced over at her with a soft expression. “Have you ever been up Sentinel Hill before?”

“No, I don’t think I have.” Lena said, voice coming in cracked with tears and disuse. Kara had simply given her space to breath rather than bombard her with probing questions - settling only on what ice cream she wanted and if she had anything or place that helped her feel better during rough times. Lena looked down at the two to-go tubs of ice cream laden with various toppings. “Though I’m not sure the ice cream will survive much more of a trip without melting.”

Kara laughed. “I like when the edges get a little melty, but hey, we’re almost there anyway. You are welcome to eat yours on the way if you want though.” As if in warning, the truck hit a pothole and jostled both occupants, leaving Lena to scramble to catch the ice cream before it made an even greater mess of the interior.

It was the first time all night that Lena had genuinely smiled. “I think I’ll refrain from tempting fate so blatantly.”

“We’re just about there, but full disclosure I usually eat ice cream while I’m driving. Waiting is so hard.” Kara grinned, looking as though hoping for a laugh.

The lump in Lena’s chest from Lillian’s visit had nearly loosened and she gripped tighter around the slowly melting tubs which she’d pulled into her care. “Why am I not surprised? Though I admit, I never imagined you had much of a sweet tooth being a trainer and all. I imagine you don’t bring all of your clients out for ice cream.”

Kara shook her head, then looked forward as she pulled into an overlook that gave a stunning display of the National City skyline. “Only you,” she said softly as she cut the engine.

Lena felt her heart skip at the comment, not knowing if it was loaded with meaning or a simple fact. Instead of examining it too closely, she looked at where she knew L-Corp would be, but she couldn’t make out the words which adorned the building’s side. A handful of stars were visible even over the brightness of the city, and Lena felt an odd sense of peace as she looked over the lights that came from millions of windows and streets below. From here, everything seemed so quiet and orderly, the pressures of the day seemed so distant and small. “What made you think to come here? It’s beautiful, but a bit of a drive.”

Kara reached for her tub, which was at least twice the size of Lena’s. It contained a scoop of fudge swirl and one of caramel swirl, topped again with hot fudge and bits of Reese’s cups. “I come here when I need to get away, when things just feel like too much you know? It seemed like maybe you needed it too if it’s your thing. Worst case scenario, you still get a great view to go with dessert.”

Lena looked at her ice cream and its softened edges, it was a mixed berry blend topped with fresh berries. Objectively, ice cream is ice cream, but she felt a need to at least feel like she was eating a healthier variety.

The first bite was exquisite. Lena mumbled her praise over the perfect balance of flavor and sugar on her tongue. Kara watched with interest, as though waiting for Lena’s mood to lift, buoyed by her favorite ice cream shop. “I think I needed this,” she said after a beat. “I can’t remember the last time I had ice cream. God this is good.”

Kara smirked into her own tub triumphantly and took a large bite dripping with fudge. Her own ice cream was worse for the wear due to being heated by the fudge topping, but her delight didn’t seem to waver even as her spoon dripped dangerously with each bite. “That’s a shame. Don’t get me wrong, I eat healthy like 99% of the time, but there’s a real difference between choosing a healthy lifestyle and denying yourself the things you love.”

“Is that how you defend eating almost a full pint by yourself?” Lena asked, waving her spoon toward Kara’s tub.

Kara mumbled. “Maybe,” followed shortly by extending the tub toward Lena. “Did you want to try?”

Lena hesitated briefly before taking a small bite with her own spoon, taking care to get a bite with fudge. Her eyes flicked up to Kara’s in the action, only to find Kara looking at her with a curious expression.

Lena’s ice cream was excellent, but Kara’s was to die for. “That is amazing, I’ll have to get that instead next time.” Lena kicked herself mentally. She shouldn’t assume a next time. Part of her wasn’t sure why Kara had gone out of her way to make her feel better tonight, but assuming she had a monopoly on the woman’s unpaid time seemed presumptuous.

Kara’s eyes lit up regardless. “I’ll hold you to it.”

Lena looked away, suddenly feeling nervous about the outing. It had become surprisingly intimate, and Lena wasn’t sure how to proceed. The days events still nagged at the edges of her mind though, and she finally was feeling able to address them. “Lillian came to visit me today.” She said, poking at the melted divot her previous bites had made.

Kara took in a shuddering breath and looked toward the skyline for a moment before she responded in an even tone. “What did she want?”

“I don’t even know. I think that is half the problem. She never shows up unless she wants something.”

“Did she? Want something, I mean?” Kara asked.

“For me to visit my brother. I don’t know why its so important after all this time. As far as I’m concerned, he’s dead to me after what he did.”

Kara tapped the bottom of the steering wheel and bit her lip nervously. “Are you going to?”

“Absolutely not. All he would do is use it as a way to toy with me. It’s the only way he can still hurt me, and I have no doubt he’d use it to his advantage.”

Kara blew out a breath and smiled, even as her brows stayed slightly furrowed. “Well, maybe its good that you know that. You are too good to get dragged into mind games like that.”

Lena was quiet for a moment. It felt good to be validated in her decision, even if Kara had distilled a lifetime of trying emotions into a couple of sentences. However, something else was weighing on her mind. “Do you think people can change, really change?”

Kara hummed and looked down at her now-pooling ice cream. “I do. I think everyone has a capacity for good and bad. But I also think people have to want to change. It doesn’t just happen because we hope it will.”

“Well by that same logic, people would have to choose to become bad if it wasn’t their default. Lex wasn’t always a bad man, and I struggle to believe he actively chose to become what he did. But, on the other hand, if it’s just the inherent nature of being a Luthor, then maybe I’m damned to the same fate.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. You have fought so hard to not be seen as just an extension of your family’s darkness. I can’t imagine a world where you don’t stand firmly in the light.” Kara said it with such conviction that Lena nearly believed it as she looked into her sky-blue eyes, which were now so close to her own. “I think it is pain that ultimately pushes people to choose to be bad, and despite all you have endured, you are still good Lena. You inspire me.”

Lena looked back over the skyline for a moment in silence as she fought back another wave of tears. Kara saw her and was still inspired by her.

Another tear fell, and Lena felt the warm brush of Kara’s thumb as she wiped it away. “I’m sorry, I need to pull myself together. I don’t know what has gotten into me today.”

Kara sighed. “You don’t have to do anything. You can just feel if you need to feel.”

“Can we talk about something besides my brother?” Lena asked suddenly, unwilling to find herself in another downward spiral.

“Of course, Lee what have you got?” Kara mumbled around a bite of ice cream. Lena couldn’t help but feel a flush of warmth from the accidental nickname.

Lena looked over the skyline but struggled to find a topic. “I don’t know. Tell me about you. When did you move to National City?”

Kara moaned lightly around a bite of melted bliss before swallowing. “I kind of always lived here I guess. When, um, when I was adopted I moved to Midvale, but that's still the suburbs so it doesn't really count. Then I moved back for NCU and have been here since.” Kara pointed to the sky. “Stars are a lot easier to see in Midvale though. I miss them.”

“Is that why you like Sentinel Hill? To catch a glimpse of the stars?” Lena asked.

“It’s part of it, I think. My best friend in high school had a telescope. Sometimes we’d sneak off go for a drive to the desert to get further from the lights. There’s something oddly calming about knowing just how much is actually out there you know? How big everything really is? It puts things in perspective.”

For a moment, Lena envied being able to put herself and her own worries aside. Yet, space wasn’t a frontier she worried herself with. There was so much good that could happen in the world around her, why stare off into the sky if there was a chance nothing would ever look back? “I suppose…” She started, but no words followed as she noticed one of the few constellations she knew, Orion. He was faint and distant, and probably would have passed unnoticed had she not caught a glimpse of his belt. “Do you know all of the constellations?”

Kara smiled, soft and genuine. “I do. Believe it or not I had a whole sky map of them on my ceiling when I was little. But what I really loved doing was finding out about other culture’s views of them. In nearly every recorded culture, people made stories about the night sky and what was up there.”

Lena sighed. “I suppose I never thought much of the stories. I think of space in terms of physics and movement, I’ve read groundbreaking research on the mineral compositions that can only occur in extreme environments. I have read about planets that rain diamonds, helium, or methane. It is so strange to me to imagine a world so different, so hostile. Something that humans may never be able to see, only imagine, yet know it to be real.”

Kara smiled. “Then maybe I have a story that you would appreciate.”

Lena huffed. “A constellation with a hard science? Forgive me if I’m a skeptic.”

Kara let out a chuckle. “Yes and no.” She pointed to a dark piece of sky near the section of Orion that Lena had seen earlier. “Do you know the seven sisters?”

 “I can’t say that I do, no.”

“Well, if it were darker out, they’d be right around there. The Greeks said that they were the daughters of the Titan Atlas. He was forced to hold up the sky for all of eternity, so when Orion threatened them, Zeus took pity on them and made them into stars. In another version, they all killed themselves over the death of one of their sisters, but that one is kind of morbid. A version of the Seven Sisters story even exists in aboriginal tribes of Australia. Regardless, there is always a reason in the myth as to why we see six instead of seven, even in stories originating thousands of miles away from each other. The Greek version is that one of the sisters fell in love with a mortal and went into hiding.”

“I’m assuming there was once a seventh star? Or maybe it can only be seen at certain times?” Lena asked.

Kara smirked knowingly. “That is the best part. There really are seven, but the seventh isn’t visible to the naked eye, so it was kind of a mystery as to how the seventh had ended up in the stories until a group of scientists decided to model it.”

“Okay. I’ll admit, you have my attention.” Lena said, turning in her seat to look at Kara fully.

“The last time that all seven would have been clearly visible was around 100,000 BC, so we’re still retelling versions of a story that originated well over a hundred thousand years ago.”

Lena was genuinely intrigued by the prospect, but it seemed too farfetched to believe even as she looked at the smirk that still played on Kara’s lips. “If that’s true, it would have predated pretty much anything other than stone tools, it would have survived in some form through the evolution of an untold number of languages and cultures.”

Kara shrugged. “That’s what scientists believe, and I don’t think I have the expertise to refute it. Besides, I love that possibly the oldest story in the world ties, at least in the written version from the Greeks, into a love story between a celestial being and a mortal, even if it has a crappy ending and she hides her face in shame.”

Lena’s eyes widened. “That’s terrible, no one should ever feel shame for who they love.”

“That is why I like it so much. It is still so relevant. Maybe he really was a bad guy, or maybe he was just viewed that way because he was seen as less important than she was, or heck maybe I'm just reading into it. But, at the end of the day it comes down to two things. Who is telling the story and how that story resonates with whoever is still listening after all this time.”

Lena felt that in her bones. Lillian had never approved of her unnatural feelings toward women. It didn’t end there though; Lillian had always laid out explicit expectations on who is worthy of a Luthor. Wealthy, Connected, Powerful. But for the first time, she didn’t think of a mental checklist that her mother had given her. She realized those expectations had been shattered, and even now a new bar was being raised for what she hoped a life partner could be. That image was a reflection of Kara, inside and out. The pull on Lena’s heart was becoming almost too much to bear. She’d ask Kara out, soon. Sam was right, she was hiding behind the board’s expectations, her mother’s expectations, and she wasn’t reaching for the one thing she desired more than anything. Even when Kara was right there.

A lump formed in her throat as she tried. Tonight had been too heavy, too much all at once.

“Lena?” Kara asked, brows furrowing. “You doing okay?” She realized that quite some time had passed in silence as she got lost in thought.

She exhaled and brought a steadying hand to her chest. “Forgive me. I think the day just caught up to me a bit.”

“Hey, no problem. It is getting late. I should probably be getting you home.” Kara said and Lena nodded. She turned the ignition and the old truck rumbled to life. The small beeps of the dash seemed to puncture the bubble that Lena had found herself comfortably wrapped in.

She could wait for another day. The possibility that Kara might reject her sat in the forefront of her mind, and so did the concern that she could never live up. Dating was hard for a workaholic like Lena, and her family name only brought trouble to those in her orbit. She bit her lip and let her emotions war within her as the soft dirt road crunched again beneath Kara’s truck tires on the way home.

***

“Oh Golly…Crap!” Kara muttered as her phone slipped from her fingers and onto the café floor. She shifted her weight, balancing a to-go tray of four assorted coffees and several food bags in one hand while retrieving the phone with the other. “Alex?” She asked. “You still there?” She pulled back for a second, quickly scanning the screen for damage and finding none.

“I’m here. What the hell are you doing? Did you just drop me?”

“Sorry! I’m trying to juggle a whole tray of coffee and a box of doughnuts and lunch and then you called.”

“Please tell me you are bringing me one.”

Kara winced with a sudden pang of guilt. “Shoot, sorry, no. I don’t have time to get back to the DEO until after the interview. I can get you something then?”

“Who all are you getting all that for then? And a whole box of doughnuts?” Alex said, voice high with a hint of jealousy.

“Well, me, Lena, Lena’s assistant Jess, Nia, and one for Sam. Not to mention extra doughnuts for the camera crew.”

“Seriously? I haven’t even brought Sam coffee. God, you are literally one upping me with my own girlfriend, you know that? How do you even know her order?”

Kara mumbled, realizing she was digging herself further in with every sentence. “Well, I asked the other day. I was at L-Corp, and well Jess kept saying that it was her job as Executive Assistant to get Lena coffee and food, but she caved when I said I’d bring her some too, but then I ran into Sam cause her office is like a few below Lena’s and…”

“Why are you still going to L-Corp?”

Kara paused. The contract was long completed, but something had shifted between them after Kara took her out for ice cream that night. Lingering looks were just a little longer, touches a little more frequent. Mostly though, Kara began to take advantage of her midday lull in clients to visit Lena for lunch, and they’d almost instantly found an easy rhythm. She hadn’t yet gotten the nerve to tell Alex though, and now the cat was out of the bag. “Um, I wanted to be there for the interview since I pitched it. Moral support you know?”

Alex grunted. “She’s met the president, Kara. She’s on the news all of time, she doesn’t need moral support. Just please be careful.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “I’ll catch up to you later. We still on for shoulders tonight?”

“Yeah, was just calling to say I’d be a little late. I’m interviewing some candidates for the GM job. I wanted to see if you could still make it if we did 8pm.”

“No worries, wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Okay, be safe. I’ll see you tonight. Love you sis.”

“Love you too Alex.” She ended the call. Why did Alex always make her feel so paranoid? She looked around as she readjusted the coffees to her newly freed hand. There were the usual patrons of Noonan’s, young people on laptops, a line of customers in business or casual attire, a small group of women chatting idly and waving their hands… and one nondescript man sipping a coffee. Kara had caught him watching her for a second out of the corner of her eye but now he looked out the window resolutely.

She’s being crazy. She can’t let Alex’s paranoia get in her head.

Still, she had a nagging feeling that crept up her spine, prompting her to get to L-Corp quickly. It wasn’t until she was riding the elevator that the feeling finally ebbed in favor of the equally distressing metal box that always seemed to be closing in. In moments, the elevator dinged, and Kara was only a few strides away from Jess’s desk.

“Oh Miss Danvers! They just started the interview, I’m sorry you can’t go in.” Jess said hurriedly.

“I know! Nia told me. I’m going to watch with Sam. I just wanted to bring you coffee, one for you and one for Lena when she’s out. I got her a wrap too. Also doughnuts for the camera crew.”

Jess’s eyes widened a fraction as she looked down at the feast Kara had delivered. “Oh goodness, you didn’t have to… Wait, how is Sam watching it? It isn’t live.”

Kara shrugged. “She said she had her ways, whatever that means. Anyway. Her office was the 38th right?”

Jess nodded. “Your security pass should get you in just fine since it’s a level 5.”

Kara looked down at the pass that hung around her neck. She hadn’t previously thought much about what it meant that she had direct access to Lena, but she realized that probably wasn’t the norm. “Is that a lot?”

Jess’s eyes rolled slightly, but she silently reached for a doughnut instead of answering.

Kara reorganized her remaining armful of food, selecting a chocolate covered cream filled doughnut for Sam and wrapping the edges gently in a napkin. “I didn’t get Nia a coffee, no one needs to feed that caffeine addiction. Can you make sure she gets her bear claw though?”

Jess chucked around a bite of doughnut. “I'm sure even the crew can’t eat them all, but I’ll be sure one gets to her.”

Kara said a quick goodbye and headed to the stairwell, struggling again with the remaining bag of her own lunch and the now unevenly weighted coffee tray. It wouldn’t be worth the stress of dealing with an elevator for only a few floors, even with her hands full.

Sam’s office was similar to Lena’s, though smaller and slightly more cluttered with cabinets and peripherals. She had a television set on the wall hooked up to a small box and Lena’s interview was already ongoing when Kara got there.

“Sorry I’m late!” She whispered, handing a coffee and partially napkin wrapped doughnut to Sam.

“Oh shit dude, those are my favorite.” Sam said as she made grabby hands at the doughnut even though it was slightly squished despite Kara's best efforts. She lifted the doughnut in question and continued. “You haven’t missed much, just what, or rather who, Lena is wearing.”

Kara laughed, popping open the container of her chicken sandwich. “That’s ridiculous. Why do people care?”

“Hell, if I know, but they do. I’m glad I’m just unimportant enough to stay out of the spotlight. I don’t know how she does it.”

Lena’s dimpled smile was in high definition on the screen, and Kara was instantly wrapped up in the words coming from her mouth.

It wasn’t every day that Kara let herself be distracted from food.

Lena: “…of course you are right Nia, but we’ve shut down all of our weapons manufacturing. While it is true that some government contracts were still ongoing after I took the helm, those contracts will not be renewed and our facilities are being repurposed toward creating a better future.”

Nia: “Many would argue that weapons manufacturing and a strong military ensure a better future for America, how would you counter this argument from your outspoken critics?”

Kara’s brows furrowed and she looked at Sam. “I thought this was a fluff piece?”

Sam shook her head. “Sort of, we vetted the questions. They agreed to a mix of heavy pieces and more relatable content. Lena wants to show who she is but also not be minimized.”

Kara nodded, taking a bite and looking back to the screen.

Lena: “That argument is as old as mankind. What is the saying, ‘speak softly and carry a big stick?’ Plenty of manufacturers will continue to supply the military with everything that they could possibly desire. I’m not out to undermine our military. I just believe that utilizing L-Corp’s resources for the betterment of mankind should follow a different path. Our renewable resource division, as well as our pharmaceutical division are on the forefront of modern technology. Rerouting our full capacity into those endeavors can only mean greater and more timely advancements in environmental and human health.”

Nia: “Speaking of, how can you make the promise to your shareholders that there won’t be another scandal like that which happened under your brother?”

Kara felt a pang of anxiety at the topic. She looked at Sam. “How are we watching this right now? Nia said it was a closed feed.”

Sam chuckled. “Hasn’t Alex told you? I can hack just about anything. I wasn’t about to miss this, especially if she ends up saying something dumb and putting her foot in her mouth.”

Lena: “…including a number of new protocols in place that mean that no one, not even me, can block or falsify documents. Clinical trials are monitored by a third party and the results of all of our past and ongoing research is made publicly available with the exception of proprietary and patented information.”

Kara’s eyes flitted back and forth between the screen and Sam. “Does that ever happen?”

Sam laughed. “Nothing huge, but she’s made some little slip-ups here and there.”

Nia: “L-Corp had a decline in stock performance over the first year and a half of your tenure but has since been on a steady upswing. Do you think the sentiment of your company has finally changed for the better, or is this just a reflection of the overall bull market?”

Lena: “I won’t discount the effects of the overall market on L-Corp’s recovery, though we have shown an overall market growth of more than 25% in the last six months alone, while the average of the S&P 500 is closer to 8%. I took over the company and I made changes; those changes rocked the status quo and I understand that investors needed time to evaluate just what effect those changes would have on our earnings. I believe I am beginning to earn their trust back and that trust is reflected in our rising valuation.”

Nia: “Do you feel that you experienced undo scrutiny as a female CEO? and if so, how would you say you have worked to overcome those stereotypes?”

Lena: “Gosh I think…”

Sam snorted and spoke over Lena’s next words. “She’s been hanging around you too much. I’ve never heard her say ‘gosh’, especially in an interview.”

Kara nearly choked on her bite of chicken and downed half her coffee trying to recover. “What? No. Surely, she’s not picking up my weird habits. You just never noticed before.”

Sam hummed in feigned acknowledgement.

Lena: “… and I believe that we, as a country have come a long way. While still a minority, a number of female CEOs have been on the rise. Over the past ten years, on average, female CEOs have outperformed their male counterparts by a wide margin.”

Nia: “On a related note, Fortune 500 magazine recently dubbed you the World’s Richest Bachelorette. Is that still true or has someone managed to catch your eye?”

Kara could see the sudden flush that rose on Lena’s cheeks in high definition. She would almost kill to know what she was thinking in that moment.

Lena: I see you are keeping me off guard with a change of pace Miss Nal, and I have been focusing on my career and improving the working conditions and work-life balance of my employees. However, I must say, I am feeling very optimistic about the future on all fronts.”

Sam mumbled conspiratorially. “Evasion…”

The interview went on to detail a number of initiatives that Lena had begun, including a short mention of her new fitness journey at the DEO, which made Kara’s heart skip a beat. Her small business had been name dropped by one of the most powerful women in the country on national television.

As soon as the feed cut, she waved a quick goodbye to Sam and bounded back up the stairs in to see Lena. The interview had been wonderful. It was hard hitting enough to be real news coverage, yet it allowed some of Lena’s personality to really shine through. She’d been so real, so soft and yet so poised. The world would have no choice but to love Lena once they saw that interview. Of that, she was certain.

By the time she got back up the stairs, Nia was halfway through a bear claw and the small camera crew was bickering over the best doughnuts. Jess was laughing and looking satisfied at herself for getting first pick, and Lena was opening up her lettuce wrap with a look of pure contentment.

“That was great Lena!” Kara cheered as soon as she entered.

Lena looked at her with a hopeful gaze. “You think so? God, I rehearsed some of those in the mirror to make sure I got them right, but Nia shuffled them around on me.”

Nia huffed indignantly. “You should be thanking me! If I don’t do that it sounds too rehearsed. No one wants robot Lena Luthor.”

“That’s so wrong!” Kara exclaimed. “I’ve seen her press conferences and she never seems like a robot.”

“Still stiff though.” Nia defended.

Kara shook her head and looked over to Lena, who had happily checked out of the conversation to indulge in her chicken wrap.

The camera crew and Nia packed up quickly and began to head out. They needed to double check all of the footage before the much hyped interview would go live that evening at 5pm. Kara started to lean in for a quick goodbye hug, but Lena hesitated.

“Can you stay for a few minutes longer? I was hoping I could ask you something.” Lena twisted her fingers together nervously. Kara wasn’t sure what to make of the gesture. Lena was never nervous, at least, not like this.

“Of course. I have a little bit of time before I have to head back for my 2 o’clock.”

The doors closed and Lena let out a sigh. “First, do you really think that went well? I’ve never really had anyone to bounce it off of before, except maybe Sam. I want to know how I come off to people. I know I can be a little…”

Kara smirked. “Stiff?” Nia’s assessment hadn’t been entirely off base. Lena’s speech was always perfectly honed when she stepped in front of the camera, but sometimes it kept her personality from shining through.

“Exactly.” Lena said, eyes dropping.

“No. I don’t think so. You were eloquent but you smiled so genuinely. It was nothing like the press conferences I've seen. I think having it in your office helped too. You seemed relaxed. You seemed happy.”

Lena wrung her fingers together again, fighting whatever she really wanted to say. “I think for the first time in a long time, I really am. Things are good with L-Corp. Things in my life feel so… full of possibility you know?” Her eyes shot to Kara’s with a heavy gaze as if she was willing Kara to read her thoughts.

Kara gulped. She couldn’t dare hope that Lena wanted anything more, but the pull had become almost unbearable to resist. Even the internal reminder that Lena was a client - and therefore off limits – was being overpowered by the sheer want that Kara felt in that moment. Lena was looking to her with so much hope, so much affection, that Kara’s heart felt as though it were beating in her chest. “I, think.” Kara started and paused, having to fight the sudden dry feeling in her throat. “I think I know what you mean.”

Lena’s eyes lit up and her smile was suddenly everything. “I was wondering if you would like to…”

The world seemed to rock sideways, and Kara barely registered what had happened as the floor below her shook violently. A cacophony of deafening sounds filled the room and for one brief moment, Kara saw the sudden panic that overtook Lena’s features.

Chapter Text

One moment, Lena was working though the right way finally to ask Kara to dinner. After weeks of struggling with her own insecurities, the words were finally ready to cross her lips. Hope and fear sat equally in her chest and her heart fluttered in anticipation.

The next moment, the world became a blur.

Lena didn’t have time to react, and it was all too fast for her mind to comprehend. The shaking beneath her feet made her lose her balance and then, something slammed into her with a force that ripped the air from her lungs. Plaster, wood, shelves, and ceiling tiles rained down and suddenly Lena was pinned to the floor from the waist down in her previously immaculate office. The rumbling building continued to shake and moan, as Lena’s top floor office took the brunt of whatever misfortune had befallen L-Corp headquarters.

She coughed and tried to sit, spitting up plaster from her lungs and blinking through watery eyes. She was several feet back from where she’d been standing a moment before, pinned down by the very force that had propelled her backward – Kara.

Lena was scared to speak for a moment. She could only see Kara’s white clenched fists and the top of Kara’s blonde head where she lay face down, hair splayed across Lena’s abdomen. The rest of Kara’s body was buried in rubble near where Lena had just been standing. It was clear from her vantage point that had Kara not pushed Lena back, she would have been buried entirely. The sharp edges of torn brackets were evident amidst the broken and fallen heavy wooden shelves that had previously lined Lena’s office.

Lena felt the pain then, the joint weight of Kara’s body and fallen debris pressed into her legs and pelvis painfully. “Kara?” She whispered at first, wincing through her own anguish. “Kara? Are you okay?” She asked again, this time with panic edging into her voice.

She was met with a whimper from Kara, her hands opening briefly and tightening again on either side of Lena’s partially covered thighs. The subtle movement caused the fallen shelves and bits of wall to settle further, eliciting a further cry of pain. It seemed to take a moment before Kara found her words. “Lena, have… oh God.” She turned her head and bit into her still clenched fist for a moment before she could continue. “Can you get out?”

Lena blinked, plaster still raining into her eyes as she tested pulling her feet from beneath Kara to no avail. “I can’t. I’m completely pinned. Can you do anything?”

Kara took a deep breath in, and it shuttered as it came out. Lena was in pain, but as far as she could tell she wasn’t seriously injured due to Kara’s quick thinking, but the sheen of sweat that was suddenly coating Kara’s pale face indicated that she had not come through unscathed. “Lena. Can you reach anything? Get some of it off my back? Maybe then I can make enough room for you to get out.”

Lena pulled her upper body forward, grabbing at anything she could reach. She managed to push a heavy broken shelf to one side and a sliver of sheetrock tumbled after it. Anything else she could grip proved too heavy for her to maneuver from her angle. “That’s all I can get. I’m sorry, I can’t reach anything else.”

The building moaned again, as if settling from the damage. Lena wasn’t sure if the building would hold or if it was only a matter of time before it collapsed with them still inside. She couldn’t wait to be rescued. They needed to get out now.

Kara dragged her hands down as far to her sides as she could. “Okay, Lena, I need you to be ready. I’m going to try to free one of your legs and I need you to pull with all of your might. I don’t know if I can do it twice.”

Lena nodded, looking into Kara’s blue earnest gaze before it hardened into something fierce Lena had never seen before. With her arms by her sides as though preparing for a pushup and grim determination painted on her face, she pressed away from the floor with a scream of pain. Lena understood then what Kara had meant that she wouldn’t be able to do it more than once and Lena pulled. Her left leg dragged slowly from beneath Kara’s straining form until it finally popped free, and Kara collapsed again. Only Lena’s right leg was pinned now but more of her body was free to move. She reached again, finding more debris that she could push or pull from above Kara’s body, even as Kara’s ragged breathing seemed unable to catch up to her brief exertion.

“Kara? Say something. Are you hurt?” Lena pleaded as she reached and twisted, trying to free them both one piece at a time.

“It’s… Lena it’s... Just focus on getting yourself out, okay?”

“No! I’m not going to leave you like this when the building might still fall. I could never live with myself if you saved me, and I just left you here to die.” She braced her newly freed leg against a heavy chunk she couldn’t move and pushed, using the force to drag her other leg free despite the feeling of cuts and abrasions raking down her calf as it slid free.

Kara’s body settled into the space vacated by her legs and Lena was finally able to get a good look at Kara’s predicament. Her clothes were torn, and her skin was scraped and bloodied everywhere Lena could see. Frantically, she began trying again with the debris, freeing Kara as she had herself. Kara groaned again in pain as Lena pulled up a chunk of twisted shelf, and to her horror, a sharp sliver of metal pulled free of Kara’s now exposed bloody thigh.

Kara seemed to come back to life with a start, pulling herself away from the remaining debris and curling into a fetal position, gripping the wound on her thigh as tightly as she could. Blood seeped through her fingers steadily, and Lena had to hold back a wave of nausea at the sight.

Lena looked around the room in panic. “We, have to stop the bleeding. We have to get you out of here.”

By the time she looked back, Kara had already taken off her ruined shirt and only her red sports bra remained to cover her upper body. Her muscles flexed as she tore the shirt in half and began wrapping her leg with its tattered remains. “This’ll have to do. Hope I can fucking walk.”

Lena’s eyes darted away. The extreme situation notwithstanding, she wasn’t sure how to look at someone built like a marble statue worthy of a museum. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. A faint smell of smoke hit her nose at the same time that the blaring sounds of fire alarms ripped through the building.

Whatever had happened had now started a fire. She reached for Kara’s bloodied hand and pulled her to her feet. Kara stumbled but managed a step toward the stairwell. It was no doubt agony for the other woman, but Lena had no time to worry about that now.

They had over forty floors to descend and neither were in a condition to do so easily. While Kara left a trail of red on the floor and handprints along the rail, Lena felt her own ankles were now swollen and unsteady beneath her. Each flight was a struggle, and each left Kara looking paler than the last as more and more of her blood was left behind.

Lena’s mind was racing. It couldn’t have been an earthquake, she was certain.

It had to have been a bomb, but how? L-Corp’s security was state of the art, and no one was allowed in without being heavily vetted. Her mind was reeling as she ran, concerns bouncing between Kara who struggled behind her and all of the rest of the employees that may have been injured or worse.

The smoke thickened as they reached the lower floors, burning Lena’s lungs and seemingly sapping the remainder of Kara’s strength.

Lena coughed, pulling her shirt over her face to little effect. “We’re almost to the ground floor.”

One more flight, one more door, and the pair burst forth from the smokey stairwell into the light of day. Sirens and lights of police, ambulances, and firetrucks covered the plaza, and an officer ran to meet them as Kara collapsed into a coughing fit on the sidewalk.

“Kara! Jesus Christ!” She screamed, picking up her radio. “This is Detective Sawyer, I need a medic on the Eastside entrance immediately.”

Lena gripped at Kara’s slumped shoulder even as her own hands shook. The officer looked at her next, face unreadable and stern. “If you can walk. I need you to get as far away from the building as possible. We have no idea if or when this thing is coming down.”

Lena blanched. Hearing someone else say that L-Corp might collapse nailed the reality home, leaving her head in a spinning daze. "I'm staying with Kara."

Detective Sawyer looked at her with wide eyes. "Ma'am, you can't ride with her in the ambulance and if you aren't hurt, I can't spare another. Please, get away from the building. I won't ask again."

EMTs rushed to Kara’s side as Lena heard a familiar voice screaming her own name from behind her.

Frank. Of course he would still be waiting for her even as the police tried to force him to leave. The man was too loyal for his own good and Lena  reluctantly dragged her heavy feet toward him as Kara was hurried off by a medical team, semi-conscious on a stretcher.

“Miss Luthor! Thank God. We have to get you out of here.” He ushered her to a car, and she could do nothing but follow, an empty feeling of shock creeping over her and clouding her mind.

“Frank, why didn’t you get away from the building? You had no way of knowing I would get out.” She asked as she climbed into he back the waiting vehicle.

“Ma’am, my job is to protect you and get you away from any danger – regardless of the consequences to myself or anyone else.”

Lena thought for a moment and remembered. After her two assassination attempts the position had been filled with a trained security officer rather than a simple driver. Lex – it had to be. “Do you have any idea what happened? Do the police suspect a bomb?” L-Corp was the only damaged building in sight, negating the possibility of an earthquake. Otherwise, lab accident? Blown gas pipes beneath the building? Her mind latched onto anything that could have occurred that wasn’t malicious, but deep down she knew – someone had sabotaged her company and endangered hundreds of lives.

Frank sighed, pulling through the police barricade that closed all of the streets near the imperiled building. “The guess was a bomb. I overheard a bit while I was fighting to wait on you. I guess people close the ground heard three separate blasts right as everything went to hell. There is no telling when they will know for sure though. I presume I should take you to the hospital?”

Lena’s hands were still shaking, and she threaded them together in her lap. She ignored Frank’s question for one of her own. “Do they know if everyone made it out okay?” She thought hard. The top floor had likely taken the worst of the building’s shaking, aside from the detonation sites themselves. She knew at least four of her employees had mobility issues, and Pam from HR was wheelchair bound. Furthermore, there was no telling how many others had been injured like Kara.

Kara. She hadn’t even been able to say goodbye. The EMTs had taken her so fast.

“No ma’am. It was just chaos at first. People were running and screaming. I doubt we’ll know for sure until the rescue crews can clear the building.”

If they could. Lena thought as she fumed with a sudden wave of anger. “No, don’t take me to the hospital. I need to speak with my brother.”

It had been years since Lena looked into Lex’s aged brown eyes. They were more sunken than she’d remembered, glaring out from a thin and hollow face that she could barely recognize as family. However, that smirk that played on his lips the moment he met her gaze was all too familiar.

“To what do I owe the pleasure sweet sis?” He cradled the phone on the other side of the glass tenderly, as though he struggled with the weight of mere plastic in his hands.

“Don’t bullshit me Lex. This is a new low even for you. Do you have any idea how many people could have gotten hurt or killed?”

Lex leaned back in the small visitor booth’s chair and his brows raised questioningly. “You’ll have to be more specific; I don’t recall endangering anyone of late.”

“L-Corp you monster! Why? After all this time? You couldn’t kill me alone so you decided to take the whole building down with me?”

“It wasn’t me.”

Lena searched his heavy eyes and couldn’t find the lie. He loved to play with her, that much was true, but this time felt different. His solid even delivery felt so much like the truth. “Bullshit.” Lena said, convincing herself as much as admonishing her brother for his denial.

“It…wasn’t…me…” He drew the words out as he leaned as close as he could to the separating glass between them. “If you’d come to visit like I’d asked, I might have even been able to warn you. I know mother relayed my request.”

Lena scoffed. “Why would I? You hired not one, but two assassins to have me killed. I don’t even want to see you even if it is to watch you rot.”

Lex nodded. “Allegedly hired.” Lex paused and readjusted the phone to his other ear, letting one thin arm rest in favor of the other. “That is a shame. For what it’s worth, I don’t really want you dead. At the end of the day, we are both Luthors. I overreacted.”

Lena couldn’t believe he was making light of it, but what could she expect? This was Lex and he could always worm his way back in, massaging the truth until it told a story he wanted it to tell, regardless of reality. “Overreacting doesn’t even begin to… you know what? No. I’m here to find out what happened with L-Corp. Nothing else. What did you mean by a warning?”

Lex stared at her for a moment, much like he did during their childhood chess matches. He would read something in her face before choosing the safe, calculated play or the rash aggressive one. Neither method had often worked on Lena, but he seemed to enjoy keeping her on her toes regardless. “I hear the building is still standing. It’s been, what? Two days now? You must have gotten right on a flight to Metropolis.” He said finally.

Lena realized he was holding back some information to drag out the visit as long as he could, or perhaps make the delivery as painful as possible. Regardless, she had no choice but to follow through with a move of her own. “Yes, it is still standing. No thanks to you. Whoever you hired to take the building down failed thankfully. People were hurt though.” Kara was hurt.

He sighed. “It still wasn’t me, no matter how much you wish it had been. And while you have been fixating on blaming me, you are missing all of the clues that are right in front of you.”

For a moment, she entertained the possibility that he was telling the truth. “What clues would I be missing if they are so obvious you can see them from your cell?” She asked with a tone that dripped of sarcasm.

Lex poked a piece of dirt on the small table between them, brows furrowing. “Why is the building still standing?”

Lena felt a seed of doubt growing in her mind at Lex’s nonchalance.

He continued. “I knew a woman once, sexy as hell.”

“Good for you Lex, but I’m not here to listen to stories about your past conquests.”

Lex rolled his eyes. “Ronnie had a set of unique talents, interests, and did we ever have a good time. Sadly, not in the way you are insinuating. No, we talked… I learned many interesting things, such as how to get rid of problems quietly and how to get rid of things with a bang.”

“So it was you?” Lena was seething. Lex would lead her around and around the bush forever if she let him, telling her partial truths as though keeping a riddle from her would somehow prove his superior intellect. She didn’t have the patience for him now though.

“Lena, you never were the most patient. And for the record, Ronnie got into some trouble down in LA last I heard. Shame. But the point is, it takes a very good demolitions specialist to drop a building correctly. I would assume it would also take a very good one to know how to make a big show without ever damaging the building’s structural support.”

“Why go through the trouble of bombing a building then?”

Lex smiled. He seemed almost proud, as though he’d finally led Lena to the right trail of crumbs. “What could be achieved inside of L-Corp if everyone was vacated, no security?”

Lena’s mind reeled with possibilities. L-Corp couldn’t be hacked externally due to dedicated internal servers, but if someone were inside. No, it couldn’t be. The fire department had swept the building and the facility had been secured. A number of prototypes, chemicals, and even some remaining weapons from Lex’s time were still stashed away in a crumbling building. If her security was compromised, all of L-Corp’s proprietary research and development was potentially at risk.

“If… and that is a huge if, what you are suggesting is the case, who could possibly go to such extremes for corporate espionage? Surely it wouldn’t be worth it to do something so public.” Lena paused, remembering the carrot Lex had dangled in front of her nose earlier. “And what did you mean about warning me ahead of time. No more bullshit. What do you know?”

Lex smiled, and Lena could see his stained teeth as his face contorted with unrestrained mirth. “Remember when I bypassed a few government snags to get an important product on the market?”

Lena huffed. “If by that you mean you faked clinical trails and passed off poison as medicine to sick people, then yes.”

“Semantics. Anyway, a certain scientist tried to sound the alarm. The others I could buy off, but no, he was too stubborn and so was the rest of his family. Things got out that shouldn’t have, and it left a black mark on LuthorCorp that no doubt still plagues you despite your distasteful rebranding.”

“What does this have to do with the bombing?” Lena asked.

“Maybe nothing, but what I know for sure is that there is no family on this planet with a greater vendetta against ours. I thought that particular bit of our history had long passed and then a little bird told me that one of them had made it into your inner circle under a false name.”

“Who! Lex Who? And what, you’ve had me under surveillance this whole time?”

Lex chuckled to himself. “Of course I’ve been watching. I may not have the reach I once did, but plenty of people are willing to do small things to gain favor with me, even in my current state. Anyway, you’ve let this person get close to you. They probably even call you Lena.”

Lena mentally flipped through every face she could think of that fit the bill.

Lex continued. “They have full access to L-Corp. You let them in with a free pass to come and go as they please.”

A realization dawned on her. Rhea

Lex saw the moment of clarity and leaned in toward the glass, his breath fogging the window as he silently laughed in her face. “They manipulated you using your own weaknesses, your own need for validation.”

Lena began to choke on a sob. Rhea. She’d let her in, given her full access to everything even after Sam had been worried. Why else would the woman come work for Lena? It all made sense now.

Lex slammed the table. “She would have known the building wouldn’t collapse, even if she was inside when it happened.”

She. Rhea.

Lena sobbed, shaking her head back at Lex as the pain of betrayal washed over her.

“She probably gave you some sob story about her family and you fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. God you are so naïve, so easily manipulated because you can’t help but feel like you and these lowly creatures are somehow alike. You aren’t. You are a Luthor. Act like it for once in your life.”

Lena stammered, a tear fell down her cheek as she lifted the phone back to her ear and whispered. “Rhea.”

Lex’s eyebrows raised and then he crumbled back into his chair laughing uncontrollably. “Oh Lena. I thought we were making real progress here. Who the fuck is Rhea?”

Lena shook her head. “That’s who you are warning me about. Isn’t it? Who else could it be Lex?” panic was crawling up her spine. Whatever name was waiting on his manic tongue was going to be a shock, but she couldn’t imagine how his next words would unravel her very existence.

His laughter stopped as he met her eyes a final time. “There is not, and never was, a Kara Danvers.”

Chapter Text

Two days prior…

The world felt like cotton and Kara’s eyelids were so, so heavy.

They dragged open slowly, letting in the sterile bright haze of a florescent panel above her. For a moment, nothing made sense. The heavy feeling in each of her limbs made her feel disconnected from the strange warm reality around her.

“Kara. Can you hear me? Kara.”

Alex's voice came from somewhere on her left. There seemed to be a delay between telling her muscles to move and them obeying her command, but eventually her head turned and her eyes met her sister’s.

On the table beside her was a large bouquet of plumerias. Lena’s favorite.

Lena.

Her brain seemed to reboot then, with flashes of memories. Blood, pain, and panic all seemed to jumble together in an incoherent mess and the last thing she could remember was running down the seemingly endless flights of stairs and Lena coaxing her on as her body threatened to fail.

“Where’s – Where’s Lena?” She asked, looking around the hospital room with expectation. She tried to sit up, only to be caught by Alex and pushed back softly into the pillows.

“Hey, Kara you need to relax. Okay. You just woke up from surgery. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“What? Where’s Lena? How did I get here?” The words sat thick in her mouth. Her tongue felt heavy and slow, and her mouth felt too dry and too wet all at once.

“Lena is okay. I promise – I spoke to Sam, something about her leaving for Metropolis. But you were hurt pretty bad.”

“Oh God, Sam! She’s okay?” Kara realized then that Sam had certainly still been in the building – along with who knows how many others.

“Sam is fine, she got out.”

Kara relaxed a little and took a moment to assess herself properly then. An irritating IV needle was taped to her right elbow and she was wearing a hospital gown and laminated ID bracelet. A slow thought struggled through her mind then, and she realized whatever drug made the world feel like cotton was the only thing keeping her from the pain.

“What happened to me?” She asked.

“All I know is L-Corp was bombed and you were in the building. Maggie called me after. God, I had no idea you were even still there. I was hoping you could tell me what happened.”

Kara blinked. There was a flash in her memory of Maggie’s panicked face on a blurry background. “How bad is it?” She asked, whether about the bombing or her own injuries, she wasn’t sure.

“Well, you have cuts and bruises all over, not to mention a mild concussion. Three of your ribs are cracked and your leg apparently got impaled with something. They had to remove a piece of metal that had broken off.”

Kara swallowed thickly and brought a hand to her face. Alex’s words and her scattered memories bounded around in her head, trying and failing to line up properly into a coherent story. “I don’t remember, we were just talking and…” Kara remembered that nervous yet hopeful look on Lena’s face as she began to ask something. Kara’s eyes went wide, what had Lena wanted in that fateful moment?

Alex sighed, apparently misreading Kara’s pained expression at her pause. “It’s okay. The doctor said you’d probably have some trouble remembering until the sedative wears off.”

“How long have I been out?”

“About five hours. They rushed you into surgery. You were going to bleed out otherwise. They only just now let me in to see you. The hospital has been an absolute nightmare since the bombing.” Alex huffed. “Also, some flowers were delivered about an hour ago – apparently, they are from Lena.” A flash of guilt crossed Alex’s face then, and something unreadable that Kara couldn’t place.

“Does it say anything?” Only now Kara noted the card, opened, sitting just below the flowers.

Alex leaned back and retrieved the card, handing it over with an apology. “I, um, I read it. I’m sorry you were out and…”

“It’s okay Alex.” She answered as she opened it. She wasn’t sure why the prospect of a card from Lena seemed to set her nerves on edge.

Inside, in block print rather than pen, it read:

I wish you a speedy recovery.

This happened to you because of me,

and for that I am terribly sorry.

But please don’t try to contact me, it isn’t safe.

I’ll explain when I can.

-LL

Kara read over the message twice before it sank in, but her eyes focused on one line only. Don’t try to contact me. It burned a chasm in her chest, rending her open and bare.

She was destined to lose everyone she ever loved. The thought came unbidden, realizing in an instant both the sincerity of her own emotion and the inevitable loss it would bring – if it hadn’t already.

***

Lena’s hands trembled as she tried to turn her phone back on outside the prison. Lex was playing with her, he had to be. But a more sickening thought crossed her mind – what if he was telling the truth? It meant someone else was out to destroy her company. It meant someone else was out to destroy her. At least living under the previous assumption that it had indeed been Lex was familiar, but if it wasn’t him…

No. She couldn’t go down that path and she knew it. Her phone lit up as it rebooted in her hand, and she opened her contacts – Sam.

Barely a single ring had elapsed before Sam answered with a yell. “Lena! What the actual fuck? You can’t just leave the state right after your building gets bombed.”

Lena pinched the bridge of her nose, fully expecting Sam’s reaction. She’d practically vanished after all. “Look, Sam. You know why I left. If Lex was trying to kill me again you know damn well that anyone near me would be in danger.” While thankfully no one was killed in the bombing, there had been a number of injuries. Lena had been terrified that whatever came next would be cataclysmic.

“So, you bolted? To Metropolis? With nothing but a cryptic-ass text I might add.” Sam fumed.

“Please, can you hold the lecture. I need something addressed as quickly as possible.”

Sam sighed audibly on the other end of the line. “Fine, what do you need?”

“It has been brought to my attention that perhaps there is more to this. I need a team of trusted security personnel, engineers, and IT to search every inch of the building for anything out of the ordinary. I need the server room swept thoroughly for any data breaches.”

Sam was silent a moment. “Lena, you are scaring me a little. What’s really going on?”

“I spoke to my brother.”

“Of course, that bastard had something to do with it!” Sam responded with a huff. “What’s he trying to steal?”

“That’s the thing. He… He warned me of some things that I have been blind too. Please, just do the sweep. I’ll be back in National City in a few days. There may be more to this than meets the eye and I have to find answers. I wish I could tell you more, but for now I can’t.”

“You can’t possibly trust him.” Sam replied sharply.

“I don’t. But Sam, please trust me. I am going to find answers, but in the meantime, we have to look at every possibility – including this.” Lena took a steadying breath. “And, one more thing. You must keep this as quiet as possible. I have to ask that you don’t even tell Alex, or even suggest that there is suspicion beyond what is already being speculated in the news.”

“Okay, Lena, you are officially freaking me out! What does Alex have to do with this? This is some serious Luthor-level secrecy here and I never thought I’d get that shit from you.”

“Sam! This isn’t about Alex, but the request stands. One way or another this was an inside job and the fewer people that know about our investigation the better. The bomber had to have had full access to the building. Now, do I have your word?”

There was a long pause on the line, leaving Lena’s stomach in knots. Was she truly becoming a Luthor after all? She wasn’t even being truthful with her best friend, and if she couldn’t trust Sam – then who? Lex’s descent began with rampant paranoia, and perhaps it was only a matter of time before it infected her too. Finally, Sam responded. “Lena, I trust you. I’ll keep it quiet, and we’ll do a sweep, ten if we have to. We got word earlier that the building was deemed structurally sound. It’s a mess though.”

Lena could feel a slight panic boil inside her, even at the objectively good news. “What else did the report say? Regarding the building?”

“It said that there were three explosive devices, each placed near walls that thankfully weren’t weight bearing or else the whole building would have come down on us.”

It might have been the very thing that spared hundreds of lives that day, but now it felt like a punch to the gut. Whether Lex had been involved or not, he was right about one thing. There was a reason the building was still standing, and she doubted it had anything to do with the sanctity of human life. Lena swallowed the knot in her throat as it formed. “Thank you, please let me know the moment you find anything else.”

Lena ended the call and her finger hovered over a text thread from Kara – who’s immediate response to ‘don’t try to contact me’ was apparently to initiate a barrage of calls and texts. Only an hour ago, Lena had felt a sense warmth from the woman’s concern, but now? She didn’t know what to feel. Leaving Kara while she was badly injured had felt like ripping off one of her own limbs, but at the time it seemed like a necessary sacrifice to keep her from dying in a crossfire at Lex’s hands.

But what if he really wasn’t the villain of this particular story?

Fortified with two glasses of scotch, Lena found the nerve to finally open her laptop late that evening. Faintly, she wondered why all hotels seemed to smell the same as she sprawled out on the crisp white sheets. Any errant thought was preferable to the one that she knew she needed to face.

Who was Kara Zor-El?

She wanted so badly to just not believe Lex. Kara – her Kara – couldn’t possibly be responsible, but once she began to dig, she might find that seed of doubt was poised to sprout.

Other memories came unbidden, Lionel’s soft eyes and approving gaze that died slowly behind drunken outbursts. Lex’s loving big brother act, later revealed as merely a manipulative façade. Her so-called best friend Andrea in boarding school, getting close to her just to leak sensitive photos to the press. It was a pattern, and one she should really see coming by now.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard as her nerves settled into a masochistic need to know.

Kara Danvers record was clean, with the exception of a few speeding tickets and a failure to fully stop at a stop sign. Lena was fairly certain her own driving record would be worse if she didn’t rely so heavily on Frank.

No, this wasn’t what she was looking for… There had to be something else.

Kara Danvers graduated with honors with a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science from National City University – and a minor in journalism. Interesting.

Lena went on to find a number of other things about the woman, yet none were incriminating in themselves.

She had a number of athletic achievements in powerlifting and strong(wo)man. She also had won Midvale’s pie eating competition for three years in a row. Figures Lena thought. For someone with that physique, she sure could eat. She had made a minor news headline in a local paper for her involvement planting shade trees in underserved communities. A couple of her paintings - seemingly otherworldly landscapes - were for sale at a nearby café. All in all, Kara Danvers was squeaky clean – despite having not existed before the age of thirteen.

It wasn’t until she began to search for Kara Zor-El that the results became harder to ignore.

An obituary for a Dr. Zor-El: …Beloved Husband and father, survived by his only daughter, Kara Zor-El, and his wife Alura. May he rest in peace. A benefit for the family will be held Sunday, May 11^th, 2008 at LuthorCorp at 12:00pm. All are welcome to attend.

Lena looked at her - third? – glass of scotch with distain. What did LuthorCorp have to do with Kara’s father?

She picked at the string, knowing it was going to unravel the very mystery that Lex had dared her to solve.

One man in critical condition after a lab accident at LuthorCorp. Lena skimmed through the article nervously. The accident by many accounts was related to the employee’s gross negligence. Records show the man, a biochemist, had been cited on multiple occasions for failing to use proper protective attire and follow critical safety protocols. Representatives of the company have declined further comment.

Lena looked at the date. While the article had kept the name anonymous, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together that this man had been Kara’s father. Even through her now spinning head, she had a vague memory of hearing about a death in the company. At the time, it had been LuthorCorp’s worst scandal, lessened only by the company’s release of past disciplinary actions against the employee.

The memory solidified for her then. She remembered Lex talking about the fallout when she’d come home from boarding school on summer break. They’d narrowly avoided paying out on the job death benefits to the family after having proved that Dr. Zor-El had been incompetent and prone to self-endangerment.

He’d even been on the verge of being fired when he’d died.

She was on to something, but nothing made sense. The only thing she knew for sure was that Kara lied to her. She scrutinized very memory, every interaction, remembering the way Kara dodged talking about her real parents. They shuffled and reformed, as all memories do when illuminated with such knowledge. Kara had hidden this secret all along, while playing at being Lena’s friend, playing at the potential for something more, but why? Did she still blame the Luthor family for her father’s death? Was it about the money?

And the elephant in the room – How did this relate to the bombing? Even in her darkest thoughts she couldn’t imagine a world where Kara would have been involved. She needed to hear Kara admit it.

Lena’s mind raced in circles almost as fast as her vision spun until a semblance of sleep caught up to her.

***

On the sixth day after the bombing, Lena landed back in National City.

It was warmer here, she noted as Frank chivalrously carried her luggage to her waiting car. It wasn’t just the improvement in climate over Metropolis, but rather something intangible in the air. Of course, it may be the hundreds of miles that now lay between herself and Lex. Her downward spiral had hit the bottom of a bottle of scotch, and she’d bounced back with the single-minded determination of a wounded animal backed into a corner.

She knew without a doubt that she could beat anyone in a fair game of cunning, but it was becoming apparent that she was missing at least half the board. She couldn’t imagine how Lex, or even Lillian would benefit from the destruction of L-Corp. Every thread she followed led to a dead end.

She’d all but interrogated Lillian, only to receive her motherly chastisement that she’d failed to keep her house in order. Of course, Lillian was just as likely to throw Lena to the wolves for her own amusement as she was to come to her aid.

She’d done a deep dive into Kara’s social media accounts, finding nothing but a smile that tugged ruthlessly at her now shattered heart. The woman in question had finally given up on getting in touch with Lena after seventeen unanswered text messages and three ignored voicemails. What would Lena even say?

Sam, true to her word, had sent daily updates on the security sweeps of the otherwise vacant L-Corp Headquarters.

The first e-mail had been benign.

Lena, attached you will find reports from all engineering departments. While some offices and prototypes were damaged in the attack, nothing was removed from the compound. We have no reason to believe that any of our technology was targeted by competing firms. All engineering IT equipment was checked for tampering, and everything came back clean.

The second e-mail was unsettling.

Security has verified that all floors are secured, and access pads are functioning. While this means that no unauthorized personnel made it in or out of the building, it also means that the bombing was likely an inside job.

The third, sent only moments before, set her teeth on edge.

Lena. Call me when you land. We’ve found something.

It was the message she’d been waiting for a dreading in equal measure. Finding nothing meant that she was no closer to the truth but finding something meant that Lex had been right. The whole bombing was a smokescreen for something far worse.

Sam answered again on the first ring. “Lena! Please tell me you are in National City.”

“I am leaving the airport now, what did you find?” Lena replied.

Lena heard shuffling on the other end of the line, followed by a door closing. Sam started to speak again just above a whisper. “We had swept the server room several times already and found nothing, but then I started thinking – if it were me, how would I gain access to the servers? Then it hit me. We could be looking for something small, say the size of a thumb drive, that could be plugged in directly and bypass the firewalls to wirelessly send data to a receiver. God, how could I be so dumb? I used the same kind of thing to bootleg your interview as it happened for Kara and I to watch. Just on a smaller scale.”

Lena felt as though all of the air had left her lungs at the name. Kara kept showing up at the right place at the right time.

“Do we have any way of knowing when it was installed? Surely our IT security would have noticed a breach of that magnitude.”

“So, that’s the thing. Everything is monitored on a rolling basis. It would have had to be installed either after the bombing, or just before to have avoided the periodic diagnostics. All of the servers are dedicated internally and can’t be hacked from the outside, but they also can’t be monitored externally. Whoever did this has had this planned, had intimate knowledge of our security protocols and access to the building, was probably even there on the day it went to hell, and almost definitely had help. They knew that the only way to effectively hack our systems was to take complete control of the servers and keep us away from our usual diagnostic procedures for long enough for them to find what they needed. I’m guessing we are looking for a group rather than an individual.”

“And is there any way to find out what they were looking for?” Lena asked, fearing whatever answer might come.

“Yes, sort of… That is where it gets weird. See, as far as we could tell they started out digging into some old financial records, miscellaneous payouts, and stuff from years ago.”

“When?” Lena asked.

“It looks like a period of time around late 2007 and early 2008. Wait, isn’t that when Lex faked those trials?” Sam asked, her voice cracking in realization. “Do you think this is related?”

Lena’s heart was pounding now. 2008 was when Kara’s father had died. The evidence was getting too hard to ignore. Kara had motive and opportunity. Whatever picture this puzzle was forming, Lena could no longer doubt that Kara was somehow a piece. “I don’t know Sam. Lex made a number of enemies when he weaseled out of that one, but why after all this time? It’s been fifteen years.”

“Maybe that’s how long it took to plan this, but God Lena, this is some serious next level revenge shit. What do they even hope to gain?”

“Proof.” Lena said and it stung. There was no doubt a wealth of skeletons in Lex’s closet that might be unearthed by a good forensic accountant and a motivated journalist… She shook her head. Kara had minored in journalism but surely, she wasn’t capable – she couldn’t be, but it also wasn’t the first time someone’s violent tendencies had far surpassed what she felt a person was capable of. “Is there anything else they went after?”

Sam hummed. “We’re still trying to track it all down, but it looks like some employee files around the same time. Seriously, billions worth in R&D alone and they skipped right over it. Whatever the end game is here, it’s personal.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can, but Sam.” Lena paused, bracing herself for what needed to be done. “I need to look into something first.”

***

Kara glared at the bottle of antibiotics in her hand and her stomach rumbled with the shear thought of swallowing one of the vile tablets. She’d always had trouble with them, and so far her track record with this series was keeping down only one out of every three.

You don’t really have to take them all do you?

It didn’t matter. She threw the bottle back in the drawer without opening it. If she took one right now it would be with the tidy bowl man in a matter of minutes, and she had work to do. It would have to wait until she could risk getting sick. She took one last longing look at her phone, willing Lena to respond. Couldn’t she just let her know she was okay?

Wincing, she pushed off from her desk, taking only a prescription pain killer to get her through the afternoon. She wasn’t in any shape to train her clients, but she couldn’t continue to leave Alex saddled with her payroll and other paperwork that had grown into an obnoxious pile in her absence. She was short staffed already. It would be another week at least before she could come back full time and clients either needed to work out on their own or accept another trainer as a sub for the time being. For those who chose the latter, she had to summarize all of her notes and training plans.

Even that proved difficult in her current state. The creeping effects of the pain killers may have dulled the pain in her ribs and leg, but also made her thoughts feel soft and incomplete. The words seemed to wash together on the page and after a third meaningless re-read of a sentence, she realized she needed a break.

Standing hurt, but she’d found that the pain settled after the first few steps. Her doctor had recommended moving it so long as she wasn’t in pain, though perhaps he hadn’t accounted for Kara’s stubbornness in that regard.

All things considered, it felt good to walk back out on the weight room floor again. It was the longest she’d gone without some kind of physical activity, so the clanging of heavy steel was oddly soothing. For now, she’d have to live vicariously through the members who still had the ability to do more than hobble around.

Her longtime client, Adam, was working through a set of deadlifts on his own and Kara couldn’t help but roll her eyes. No matter how often they’d revisited his form, he struggled to stay tight at the bottom – losing air and core bracing under heavy loads or extended sets.

She should have known that he’d immediately go for a sloppy max effort set once left to his own devices.

He smiled as she approached. It was that same flirty smile he always flaunted when she was near, but today there was a hint of hesitation in his eyes. He knew he’d been caught. “Hey Kara. Good to see you up and about!”

Kara sat gingerly on a nearby bench, keeping her injured leg as straight as possible in front of her. “I couldn’t help but notice you were going for some heavy weights on deads.”

His face turned a shade of red brighter and he chuckled softly. “I know, I know, you are here to give me crap about my form.”

Kara laughed. “Everyone loves a good PR, but remember you have to stay braced. You are losing air and losing tension.”

Adam scratched his head. “I thought I was doing pretty good? I mean I am not folding over like I used to. I guess I can’t really see it. That’s why I have you.”

Kara sighed, shaking her head. Adam was well meaning, and objectively a good enough looking guy – but he didn’t seem to realize that crushing on his trainer wasn’t going to get him anywhere. “Tell you what. I’ll show you a way that you can know if you are losing your brace in real time, and I’ll let you go as heavy as you want. Deal?”

Adam winked at her. “Sure thing, boss.”

She stood again, tenderly stepping over to him and frowning as she looked at his lifting belt. “Show me a brace.”

Adam took a big inhale into his lungs and flexed his abs, tightening his waist inward.

“Nope.” She shoved two fingers into the top of the belt and gave him a little tug. He squeaked with an exhale. “Belly breath. You know this. Deep into the diaphragm and brace out into the belt. You aren’t on a bodybuilding stage. You suck it in, and you’ll fold right in half.” Part of her suspected that he did this just to get her close to him, but regardless – he needed to learn.

Adam took another breath in, using his abs and diaphragm to push into the belt, and by extension, Kara’s fingers. “How’s that?”

“Much better.” She said simply, eyes darting around the room for something that would work for the next part.

Adam let out the breath he’d inhaled again and smirked. “So… I get it when I’m standing. I guess I can’t really feel it when I’m at the bottom of a lift though? And I’m guessing I can’t always use your fingers like that…”

Oh Adam. “Working on that part.” She said, picking up a 5lb plate and taking a few pained steps toward the wall of elastic bands and miscellaneous cable attachments. She threaded one of the light bands through the central hole of the plate so that it dangled freely.

Adam furrowed his brows as he tried to work out what she intended.

“Okay, so here’s what I want you to do for now.” She offered the plate and band to him and continued. “Thread this through the front of your belt so the plate can hang between your legs. When you brace, your abs will pinch the band against the belt like you did with my fingers. If you lose the brace, the band slides out and you’ll drop the plate. Instant feedback.”

He tucked the band awkwardly into his belt and grinned at her. Was he being serious? It was obnoxiously crooked, and his shirt was partially untucked, showing a hint of his slightly furry but defined abs underneath.

God, he’s doing this on purpose. How many hints did she need to drop?

Her mind was still sluggish with painkillers, and she didn’t have the willpower for his little flirtation sparring session right now. Instead, she stepped into his personal space and took hold of his belt roughly, tucking the shirt and band back into some semblance of decency with irritation.

His palms landed on her shoulders, and she stilled with the overt familiarity of the touch.

“So, Kara. I was thinking, and with you being injured and all, maybe you’d let me cook you dinner? You could chill on the couch – let me take care of you…” He trailed off as she looked up at him, way too close for comfort and boxed in by muscular arms. Alarm bells were suddenly going off in her brain at the proximity. With his arms around her and her fingers still resting in his belt, it looked borderline inappropriate in a public setting. Not to mention – this was Adam…

“Adam I.” She stepped away and her breath caught as she unexpectedly caught sight of Lena, oddly dressed in full business attire despite being on the weight room floor. The world felt like it tipped on its axis. Her expression shifted dramatically from one of shock to one of anger in the space of a blink. Kara stepped back from Adam reflexively, wincing at the sting that shot up her injured leg.

Why was she here? Kara had been trying to get ahold of her to no avail for days. A pang of guilt shot through her as Lena’s eyes bounced between Kara and Adam, working out a puzzle that wasn’t there to solve.

“Lena?”

Lena took a step back. “You. You lied to me.” She yelled suddenly, eyes flashing with anger.

Kara blinked stupidly for a moment, grasping for the right words to say in the residual haze of painkillers and confusion. “I can explain!”

“Then explain! Explain how you were using me this whole time! Explain how everything we shared was a lie!” Lena shouted; eyes rimmed red with threatening tears. “Were you just trying to get close to me to hurt me? My company?”

Kara was even more confused – what was happening right now? Her company?

“Lena, please let’s talk about this. I don’t know what you are talking but I never meant to hurt you!”

“What did you mean then?” She demanded.

Kara looked back and forth between Adam’s dumbfounded face and Lena’s furious one. “It didn’t mean anything. I was just… fixing something that needed to be fixed!” She was vaguely aware of a group of onlookers that had stopped to watch the yelling match unfold around them.

Lena brought a hand to her mouth as if struck with some realization. “You never meant… God how could I have been such an idiot. It was you all along, wasn’t it? You tore down everything for what? For revenge? For money? How dare you say you never meant to hurt me while you sought to destroy everyone and everything I’ve worked so hard to create! I don’t even know who you are Kara Zor-El!” Her name was said with spiteful sarcasm at the end, and even if Kara hadn’t been stumbling through the rapid-fire conversation with a haze of medication, hearing that name on Lena’s lips would have been a shock to her system.

Lena knew. But perhaps more importantly, Kara realized she wasn’t having the conversation she thought she was having. Shit. “How’d you find out about me?” It was a stupid thing to say. Kara realized that immediately and she tried to backtrack. Did Lena think she had something to do with the bombing?

And then, Lena was storming off back toward the entrance and every fiber of Kara’s being screamed at her to follow – to catch her – to fix whatever the hell had just happened.

And so she took off in a stumbling run, seconds behind Lena but struggling to move fast enough to follow. “Lena!” She yelled, but it was too late. Lena was out the door and Kara feared she would soon be out of her life entirely if she didn’t make this right.

She nearly fell as she pushed the heavy front door open. Lena was nowhere to be seen, but her town car was unmistakable. Only one person at the DEO came and went with a personal driver, and Kara took off in an ill-advised run after it. The pain in her leg was no match for the pain in her chest, and losing another person she loved was more than she could bear.

No.

She could fix this.

It was a misunderstanding.

Lena would understand.

The car pulled into traffic and stilled at a redlight on the corner. Kara saw her chance and ran to the passenger door she knew led to Lena. The handle was locked, and she could only see her own face in the dark tinted windows. “Lena please talk to me!” She landed a heavy rapid knock on the glass and panicked as she saw the light turn green out of the corner of her eye.

No. She was going to lose Lena. She couldn’t, not like this. Not now. Her world was crumbling around her.

She raised her hand again for another frantic knock, but it never fell. The world went dark as suddenly a black fabric sack was wrapped violently across her face and neck. A number of heavy hands landed on her, grabbing at her arms and legs and the ground seemed to fall away from her feet as she was hauled up and back.

She fought, grabbing at the bag that was now pulled tightly over her head and kicking blindly at her attackers. One kick landed a solid blow and she heard a grunt and a man curse, and seconds later a fist slammed into her chest, driving the wind from her lungs.

She couldn’t pull in another breath as hands pulled again and she landed - muscles screaming for oxygen - onto a flat surface. There was the sound of a sliding door and a frantic series of shouts.

“We’re in! Let’s GO!” An engine roared and the floor rumbled beneath her.

A kick found her already broken ribs, and she would have screamed had her body been able to pull in the necessary breath. The world spun and the pain compounded as hands yanked and pulled again, cuffing her hands behind her with zip-ties.

She heard the sound of a slap landing on skin, but never felt an impact.

A woman’s voice. “I told you she wasn’t to be hurt you idiot.”

“Bitch kicked me.” A man replied.

“You had better watch your tongue or I swear to God, I’ll cut it out.” The woman said in a harsh tone.

Kara struggled to pull in shallow breaths. God, Alex was right. The Luthors found out who she was and now she was just as dead as her parents. How had she been so stupid, so trusting? She’d walked into the lion’s den and this was her reward. Would her death at least be quick? Would some plausible sob story of her demise be on tomorrow’s news?

A crash. A drug overdose. A suicide. A sad end to a young life.

Would she be made a pariah, like her father, over false stories of her own failings? Would she befall some terrible accident like her mother? Tears were falling freely now into the dark bag which was still wrapped around her head.

Would she ever see the sun again? Or die in this imposed darkness?

Vaguely, she felt a hand settle on her shoulder, rubbing gently. The woman’s voice came again. “This wasn’t how I wanted this to go. Our timeline had to change, and I wasn’t sure if you could still be trusted. I couldn’t risk a wildcard after all this time – all this planning. There’s too much at stake.”

The voice sounded familiar. It was so much like her mother’s.

Fingers settled by her neck and the bag lifted. Kara blinked away tears. Three masked men and the woman sat on either side of her in the back of large van.

The woman moved to kneel beside her. “Little one. I told you that one day I would be back for you.”

Kara choked, recognition flooding over her in a nauseating wave. 

.

.

.

“Aunt Astra?”

Chapter Text

Lena’s fingers traced rapidly across the list of residents beneath the security panel, ignoring the heavy presence and loud breathing just behind her.

Norquay Luxury Condos. S. Arias

Her own breathing was erratic as well. It had been since she’d seen Kara pleading in one moment and fighting for her life in another. The whole scene unfolded just on the other side of the town car’s tinted bulletproof glass. Lena had screamed, helpless as Frank sped away from the scene.

“Miss Luthor.” Frank tried again as Lena’s hands hovered over the panel. “You know it was my first priority to keep you s--”

“You can stop right there!” She wheeled, facing him with wide red eyes and pale cheeks streaked with black mascara. “You left her! She was being abducted and you just left her!”

“Ma’am, I contacted the authorities as soon as we –”

Lena scoffed and cut him off again. “You and I both know they couldn’t do anything by then! We could have gotten a plate number, something, anything, but instead you ran like a coward.”

“That isn’t fair. My duty is to you Miss Luthor, no one else.” Frank rebutted.

Lena turned, slamming a hand on the intercom for Sam’s condo. “I can’t speak to you. I can’t even look at you right now Frank. Just leave.”

Frank nodded respectfully and turned, hovering just long enough to ensure Sam would answer. He mumbled a quiet, “ma’am.”

The red security light blinked above the console followed by a startled voice over the speaker. “Lena? Are you okay? What is going on?”

Lena sucked in a breath and held it as Frank finally walked away without further protest. She knew she wasn’t being fair to him, but right now she didn’t care. Lena was backed into a corner, unable to do anything but lash out at anything and anyone.

It didn’t help that she didn’t know if she could trust anyone but herself.

“Sam. Please, they took her. I need. I don’t know what I need. They took her.” Lena’s voice shook. Saying the words seemed to make it real. Kara had been abducted and may very well be dead by now.

Lena was in daze, barely aware of the door clicking open, the elevator, or even the door she’d walked to on autopilot. But then, she was buried in Sam’s arms, sobbing out a week of confusion and pain.

Sam stroked her back calmingly as Lena tried to find words. When she finally spoke, the words came out wet and broken. “I don’t know what’s happening, Sam, and they have her.”

Sam pulled back and looked at her, eyebrows furrowed. “What are you talking about? Who has who?”

“Kara!” Lena cried out.

Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “Someone has Kara? Who?”

“I don’t know Sam. I don’t know. I was there and they took her. She was screaming and fighting but there were too many of them. They took her Sam.”

“What?” Sam asked, hands coming up to cover her face. “She’s been kidnapped? We have to call the police. We have to—” She turned, running a hand through her brown hair. “Oh my God Alex. Does Alex know? And why would anyone take Kara of all people?” She was pacing now, her nervous energy doing little to settle Lena’s own.

“Sam. Frank called, I’m sure the police are doing… something. But Sam, I need your help. I think it has something to do with who Kara really is. She isn’t who she said.”

Sam stilled and turned to Lena, eyes widening. “What are you talking about? Does this have something to do with the bombing? God, Lena is this why you’ve been off the radar?”

“Does the name Zor-El mean anything to you?” Lena asked, in lieu of answering. 

Sam’s jaw worked silently for a moment, opening and closing of its own accord until her eyes lit up in realization. “Oh God, that name was one that kept coming up when I was digging through the records, but, fuck is she related to Dr. Zor-El?”

Lena winced. “According to Lex, she’s his daughter. And I, God I’m such an idiot. If I’d had her so much as go through security I would have known.”

Sam shook her head. “Wait, you think she’s involved? I thought you said she was kidnapped. Back up here Lena cause I’m getting half a story.”

“I don’t even know anymore Sam. I.” Lena’s voice shook as unwanted emotions gripped her heart. “I thought maybe she was involved somehow. Lex made it clear that she had motive and opportunity, and I was so fixated on finding out she was lying, I couldn’t help thinking that she was lying about more. But then I saw her getting dragged into that van and now nothing makes sense anymore and all I can think is I - I have to bring Kara back, you see, It’s my fault. She was trying to catch up to me and I just couldn’t face her. They got to her because of me.”

Sam sat heavily onto the couch. “Lena, what exactly did Lex say about Dr. Zor-El? What do you know about what happened back then?”

Lena blinked, remembering. “Lex couldn’t pay him off and he leaked the information about the faked trials. I…” Lena stopped. Why hadn’t she looked into this closer? What happened afterward?

Sam’s gaze was direct when she responded. “Lex had him killed. It wasn’t a lab accident.”

Lena fought back a bout of nausea. “How do you know?”

Sam’s phone buzzed on a nearby counter for a few seconds. Sam glanced at it and looked back to Lena without moving to retrieve it. “Well, I started cross-referencing the financials and employee files that the hacker targeted. I knew it would be the best chance to find out what their motives were, and well. It looked benign on the surface, but I had a suspicion. There’s an account listed. It’s off-shore and listed as a supplier for L-Corp, but the payouts don’t make any sense and when I looked into it, I realized it was a shell company.” Sam wrung her fingers together nervously and looked at the floor. “It was the same one Lex used to go after you.”

Lena’s breath caught. She’d known Lex was behind her assassination attempts but had never been able to prove it. “Can you track where the payments went?”

Sam shook her head. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I hit a dead end.”

Lena shook her head. “How did we miss this? If there was evidence of this sitting under our noses on the server, how did no one ever find it?”

“Look, it isn’t that simple. Even if I had gone digging in old financials, I doubt I ever would have pieced it together without knowing where to look. Lex was good at hiding what he did, and the bastard used LuthorCorp money to do it. That isn’t everything though.”

Sam seemed to struggle to look Lena in the eyes, and Lena’s legs suddenly felt too weak to support her. She moved to sink into a plush white chair across from where Sam sat on her sofa. Sam continued once Lena settled. “Once I knew what to look for I was able to get an idea of what the shell company payments were for. Some I’m pretty sure were bribes, but there were a few other big payouts. One happened right before the lab accident. I looked up the documentation, the personnel files, everything. I’m certain it was a cover-up.”

Lena nodded. “Lex killed Kara’s father for leaking the information about the trials.” It hit her like a punch to the gut. Had she known this whole time? How had Kara looked her in the eye, knowing Lex had killed her father?

Sam glanced away as her phone vibrated again, seeming to grate against the table. “Not exactly. The timeline doesn’t add up. I think he was going to, but then there’s two more payments. One lines up several days later with when Kara’s mother, Alura died in an apparent car accident.”

Lena felt a tear well up in her eye. She remembered the look on Kara’s face when she mentioned she’d lost her parents. It pained her after all those years and now Lena knew why. Lex had killed not one, but both within days of each other. “He killed them? How many others?”

“There was another payment afterward. I couldn’t figure out who it could be for though.”

Lena slumped back into the chair. Had he tried to kill Kara as a child? That seemed rash even for him. Besides, three supposedly unrelated tragic accidents would no doubt be investigated. A thought occurred to Lena then. “You said that the leak came afterward, was it Alura?”

“That’s where it gets weird. At the time, all the FBI knew was that the leak came from an anonymous source. It was a hacker that went by Myriad, but it was after Alura’s death. Maybe Lex tried to kill them too.”

“None of this makes sense as to who would go after Kara now. That is the piece that I just don’t understand, and I need to find her. I need to bring her home.” It didn’t even matter that Lena was furious with Kara. It didn’t even matter then that she’d lied about her name or even if she’d been involved. All Lena could think was that she was in danger. Everything else could wait.

Sam sighed. “Could Lex? Lillian?”

Lena hadn’t even considered that yet, but it was the only thing that made sense. The only people she knew of on the planet with the motive and means to hurt Kara were all named Luthor.

The bell for the security panel buzzed, indicating that Sam had a visitor below.

Lena’s eyes widened. “Are you expecting someone?”

“No.” She looked at her watch. “It’s late too, let me bring up the camera feed.”

Lena didn’t need to see the video to know immediately who was on the other side, because the moment the feed connected, she heard Alex screaming. “I know Luthor is in there! Sam! Let me in! I’ll fucking kill her! She lured Kara right into a fucking trap! Sam!”

A flood of emotions hit Lena then: guilt, fear, regret, and indignation. Of course, Alex blamed her. God, she’d been seen fleeing the scene and who knows how many people saw Kara chasing her before the abduction. Anyone in their right mind would have made the connection, and suddenly Lena realized why Alex had never seemed to warm to her. Why should she? Her family had slaughtered Kara’s.

Alex continued screaming more of the same as Lena crumbled into herself.

Sam looked at her with a distraught expression. “Shit, shit, shit, Alex. What the hell am I supposed to say to her?” Sam bit her thumbnail and her hand hovered over the intercom.

Alex looked out of frame, making a wild gesture, and then uniformed police officers were visible on screen. A small female officer with brunette hair spoke in a muffled voice at Alex, and Sam watched as she seemed to deflate.

Sam looked back at Lena. “Shit, the police are here, and Alex is still screaming about killing you. God she can be an idiot at times.”

Lena paced as a small part of the scene outside unfolded before them. The camera caught only a portion of the activity, but a number of officers were present, and Lena was becoming nervous. An officer’s face came onscreen next.

“Samantha Arias, this is the NCPD. We have a warrant for Lena Luthor’s arrest, and we have reason to believe she is here. She can either come quietly, or you will be charged with aiding and abetting the crimes of assault and kidnapping.”

Maybe she was always destined to end up in a cell.

Lena couldn’t help but wonder as she stared at the stark grey wall across from her stiff bunk. An unwanted laugh bubbled up in her throat, only to echo against concrete and steel. As far as she could tell there were no other prisoners in her wing, which made her wonder if she’d been shoved into crude isolation.

She sprawled back on the bunk gracelessly. She’d even briefly slept since being arrested, owing mostly to a week of cumulative exhaustion since the bombing. Even it had felt like a mistake now that she no longer had a frame of reference for how much time had passed.

Her lawyers were no doubt on their way. She paid them well enough, though she never actually intended to be in this scenario when she chose them. Stewart Law Firm was known for its integrity, not for high profile defense cases – unlike her mother and brother’s chosen firms. It was almost poetic that she was poised to be charged with the kidnapping and assault of a member of the very family Lex had destroyed. There would have been a number of witnesses that saw her car leaving the scene – that and her last name were more than enough to crucify her public image.

So much had happened that she struggled to come to terms with it all. Revisiting the events from the bombing through the kidnapping in her head created a number of possible theories, but none were logical to her scrambled brain. Kara’s possible involvement made no sense, but neither did her kidnapping. Nor did Lex or Lillian seem poised to gain anything from the events, even if she had no doubts that they were capable of domestic terrorism. Every time some clue pointed one way, another seemed to refute it.

One thought she couldn’t shake: Was Kara okay?

Remembering the pain in Kara’s eyes as she walked away had done a number on Lena’s heart. That alone made her run through the conversation again and again in her mind. How’d you find out about me? At the time, it felt like a validation of all of Lena’s worst fears, but what if she’d just given Kara what she’d asked and waited for an explanation? What possible explanation can she have? Lena had felt so safe and cared for by Kara’s side that when the illusion lifted, she’d lost control of her tightly wound emotions to a devastating effect.

Now it was too late – Kara might be dead already, and Lena was helpless to do anything about it.

Was this what a broken heart truly felt like?

Lena was snapped out of her thoughts by a rhythmic tapping – something heavy clanking against the steel bars down the hallway. She sat up, habitually straightening her spine and tucking her hair into some semblance of control.

As the tapping reached her cell, a heavyset man in a slightly stained police uniform appeared resting his thick hands on his utility belt.

“Miss Luthor.” He said with a scowl. “Your lawyer is here and would like to have a word in private.”

Lena didn’t miss the sneer that crept up his face at the comment, as though she had some sordid truth to hide. The man’s eyes tracked up and down her body appraisingly, and she felt a fresh wave of revulsion. She steeled her face into a mask of indifference and responded only by standing to face the officer to await instructions.

“Hands.” He said, and she stepped forward reluctantly. Handcuffs felt entirely unnecessary given the circumstances, but the smirk on the man’s face told her all she needed to know. He was enjoying the control he had over her. She’d shrank from being one of the most powerful and influential people on the planet to a shell of a woman in shackles.

It was a slight mercy that he cuffed her hands in front of her rather than behind, and she realized why a few minutes later when her still-cuffed hands were secured to a ring in the middle of an interrogation table. The officer left with one backwards glance and a smirk, leaving Lena alone in the sterile room.

She vaguely remembered a video of Lex many years before in a room much like this one. He had looked different then; his face didn’t seem to sag at odd angles and his shoulders didn’t slump back then. No, prison had changed him over the years. Lena mused at how her own face might change with a few decades behind bars.

The door swung open, as did Lena’s mouth as the figure walked in. It was a tall blonde woman with sharp eyes and slight scowl, impeccably dressed in a wardrobe that wouldn’t be out of place in Lena’s own closet. It certainly wasn’t one of her own lawyers, no, but she recognized this woman.

“Charlotte Richards, what kind of sick joke is this?” Lena said instead of a proper greeting. The sharp dressed woman had a reputation, both as a devastatingly effective lawyer in the courtroom, and also for the corrupt practices that she employed to keep her clients out of prison. Allegedly, she’d personally hidden evidence, officiated bribes with a network of morally inept officials, and had her own ties to organized crime at a variety of levels.

Predictably, she was Lillian’s own personal lawyer.

“Don’t be rude Lena. I didn’t want to handle your case either, even if it did bring me a modicum of joy to send Mr. Stewart packing just now.”

Lena fumed. “You have no right! You can’t just assume control of my case without my consent! L-Corp has a binding contract with his firm.”

“But you as an individual don’t, Miss Luthor, and the charges brought against you were personal in nature. Now, unless you wish to continue yelling, I very much think that you should hear me out before you try to take the high road during a shit storm.”

Lena deflated slightly with a realization. The woman in front of her probably knew more about Lex and Lillian’s machinations than anyone else on the planet. The question was, why was she here? “Fine, what is it you want from me, or rather, what does Lillian want?” That was the truth of it. It might be Charlotte Richard’s lips moving, but it was Lillian doing the talking.

Charlotte’s smirk lit up with a hint of deviance behind her flashing eyes. “First, tell me, did you have a hand in the kidnapping of Dr. Zor-El’s brat or not?”

Lena scoffed. “She’s a grown woman, and no – I had nothing to do with that. If I weren’t stuck in this cell I would be out looking for her myself.” There was a sinking feeling in Lena’s stomach as she realized Charlotte had probably been instrumental in the cover-up so many years ago to think of Kara as ‘Dr. Zor-El’s brat.’

Charlotte shrugged with nonchalance and pulled a small white device from her purse before setting it on the table only a few inches from Lena’s bound hands. Lena looked at it suspiciously as Charlotte turned it on, a faint green light illuminating at the front.

“It’s your brother’s design. A detector of sorts.” Charlotte began without prompting. “I’m no scientist, but the basic concept is that it picks up some kind of radio waves. It will turn red if anyone is trying to listen in. In regard to the other thing, well – I had to be sure before we continue.”

“Be sure of what? That I am not a maniac like my family? Did Lillian have something to do with Kara’s abduction? Did Lex?” Lena felt frantic now. Surely Charlotte knew something about her disappearance. There was no other reason Lena could think of for Charlotte to be here otherwise.

Charlotte smirked. “Kara. I suppose you would use her first name. You’ve apparently become such good gal-pals lately. I guess that is of course before you found out she was a talented liar.”

The reminder was a punch in the gut. Kara lied to her. A million scenarios had formulated in the back of Lena’s mind about how she could possibly be involved, but nothing seemed to check all of the boxes. Behind that, was her own ill-concealed dread. “Damn it Charlotte, answer me, is she okay? Is she - alive?” The chain between her hands clinked against the restraint as she pulled as far as she could from the other woman.

Charlotte took in a deep breath, and for a brief moment her eyes hinted at genuine remorse. “A lot has happened since you have been in here, and I gather you haven’t been kept up on the news. No, Kara has not been found and she’s really a footnote compared to what else is happening. I have no idea where she is.”

“Then who the hell took her?” Lena demanded, a small part of her mind reeling that Charlotte found this insignificant.

“Probably the same hacker group that has come out publicly to crucify your family with a dossier the size of a small car. No amount of defense is going to keep them both out of about a hundred consecutive life sentences at this point, which brings me to why I’m here.” Charlotte said. Her usual enthusiasm visibly waning.

Lena was speechless for a moment. Kara was still missing. Her family’s vast collection of dirty laundry, most of which she likely couldn’t even fathom, was apparently now on display for the world to see, and L-Corp headquarters still stood as a burned-out husk of its former glory. She gathered her words, though the fight had left her limbs. “Why are you here?”

“It’s time to bring you into the fold, so to speak. Your mother wanted me to tell you that you are the last chance to save the Luthor legacy, and I can’t seem to stop her from martyring herself like a fool. I fear she’s planning something she’ll live to regret.”

“She’s not my mother, and she doesn’t have a selfless bone in her body. If she’s planning anything, it’s how to save her own skin, besides, the Luthor name doesn’t deserve redemption.”

“That is where you are wrong, Lena.” Charlotte said. “Do you have any idea the lengths that woman has gone to protect your brother? To protect you?”

Lena scoffed at the absurdity of the statement.

Charlotte looked at the small white device between them, still glowing green to indicate privacy. “Lena, do you know why this invention was never mass produced, despite it obvious utility?”

“I didn’t know it existed until five minutes ago, so please – enlighten me.” She deadpanned, looking steadfastly at the metal table between them. The roundabout way of answering suddenly reminded her of Lex.

“It didn’t make it anywhere because of why your brother built it in the first place. Your brother suffered severe paranoid delusions since he was a young man and the medication wasn’t always effective.” She paused, waved a hand at the ceiling, and rolled her eyes. “He believed aliens were listening to him from space.”

Lena’s eyes moved up to meet Charlotte’s. Lex was cruel, manipulative, and undeniably a sociopath, but she’d never heard of him seeking or receiving mental help. Calling the man sick suddenly took on a whole new meaning.

“Lena, your brother was diagnosed with schizophrenia and extreme paranoia. He should have never helmed the company, but Lillian managed to keep it hidden for far too long. The actions he took gradually grew more extreme until he was lashing out in ways that you knew all too well. Lillian hid it, but eventually she had Lex locked away for his own good.”

“Lex committed fraud.” Lena repeated the words she knew, the ones she’d lived with for years despite knowing his real crimes were far more egregious.

Charlotte laughed. “Of course he did, but he never would have gone to prison for it. No, the fraud was ultimately a smokescreen for what was really going on behind closed doors. He killed a man to save his own ass, but something fundamental changed in him afterward. He got a taste for it and grew increasingly reckless. Before long bodies were falling and it was only a matter of time before the police, the FBI, someone connected the dots back to LuthorCorp finances – and back to Lex.”

She continued. “Lillian was left with three horrible options. One, she could let him keep killing anyone his delusions pointed him to and keep hiding the evidence. Two, she could rat him out to the police and irreparably tank LuthorCorp’s, and your family’s reputation. Or third, she could ensure he was found guilty of a relatively minor crime, set up an interim CEO for a couple of years, and either get Lex the help he needed or entrust the brilliant but estranged daughter with the family legacy.”

Lena let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “And then he tried to have me killed.”

“Yes, though in this case I suppose his paranoia wasn’t entirely off-base. His own mother had taken everything from him, and once she realized he’d try to hurt you, well, she severed all of his connections with anyone of power. At great cost to herself I might add. Not to mention what she went through to support you as CEO. The board wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of having a young, virtually unknown woman take over the company, especially one related to Lex.”

The seismic emotional shift Lena felt in that moment was reminiscent of the bombing. So many pieces of the puzzle had been missing, and now they clicked into place with clarity. She’d never been able to rationalize what went through Lex’s head when he’d tried to have her killed. She’d assumed it was a rational choice motivated by revenge, not genuine mental illness.

On the other hand, Lillian’s endless chill toward Lena was born of her illegitimate status – the half Luthor – the unloved bastard daughter. Yet, maybe there was more to it than met the eye. Having to metaphorically bury the bodies of your deranged son was a twisted sort of love, and maybe after a while that’s the only sort Lillian had left to give.

Lena felt a tear streaking down her cheek and moved to catch it, only to tug uselessly at her cuffed wrist as it fell. “I take it all of that is made public now?”

“I’m afraid so. The media is still parsing through the deluge that was released, but it doesn’t look good for your family. L-Corp stock was in a freefall after the bombing and your subsequent arrest, but now it’s practically cratered. Thank God I sold my own shares years ago. Samantha has reassigned important personnel to your subsidiary facilities locally, and your international branches have picked up where they can. But I’m not going to lie Lena, you need a miracle.”

Lena slumped back as far as the chain would allow. “And I can’t do anything from a cell.”

Charlotte nodded. “As for your own charges, you were officially released two hours ago. After Myriad dropped the dossier, they essentially confirmed their involvement in the bombing. Your circumstantial proximity to Kara during her kidnapping is no longer considered sufficient evidence to hold you. The working theory is that they took her for inside information or she’s simply some kind of loose end.”

Loose end. The words and the unsavory implication behind them rattled in Lena’s skull and echoed in the bile in her stomach. For a moment, she thought she might lose the few bites of bland breakfast she’d forced herself to finish. “So, I’ve been free this whole time and you what? Held me against my will knowingly?”

Charlotte shrugged, picking up the detection device and sliding it back in her purse.

"Oh, I simply didn’t want to bother with making an appointment. Oh, and Lena - I've assured the FBI that you will fully cooperate with their investigation."

Chapter Text

Kara slammed her fist into the metal door, leaving yet another set of bloody indentions behind. “Let me the fuck out of here, Astra!” She screamed. She’d hurled some variation of that demand at the door dozens of times, in at least as many hours. Not that it had done her any good. They had taken her phone, her watch, and everything that might have told her how long she’d been locked in this room, hungry and alone.

She limped back to the cot in the corner of the room. A stabbing pain shot from her injured thigh up her back and sent a wave of nausea washing over her. She swallowed the feeling and gripped the back of her leg as she sat, defeated. A line of sweat formed across her brow; even as chill bumps crept up her arms.

She might have been kidnapped by her own family, but the only truly familiar face she’d seen since being thrown in this room was that of her long-lost stuffed dog, Krypto. Maybe it was Astra’s pale attempt to evoke some kind of nostalgic kinship, but it felt like a hollow gesture. The last time she’d seen him, along with everything else she’d owned as a child, she’d been crying into his fur only an hour before her father’s funeral.

Maybe it was just the fever, or maybe it was the memories, but she had the urge to pull him into her chest for comfort even now.

The walls of the makeshift cell were block, and the ceiling was seemingly unfinished. Wires and ventilation ducts crisscrossed over metal supports and heavy beams, and a single florescent light hummed ominously above. One side thankfully had a toilet and shop sink, though both were stained and corroded with filth and time. There were no windows, only the heavy metal door and a slight musty scent that hinted she was somewhere underground.

She couldn’t be certain if she’d dozed off or not before the bloodied metal door finally swung open with a groan. Kara woke instantly, nose still buried in the white fur of Krypto’s shaggy head. She had half a notion to try and run, but the now throbbing pain in her leg quickly made her realize she wouldn’t make it far.

Instead, Kara sat up, meeting Astra’s gaze for the first time since she’d been beaten and bound in the back of the van. Something in the woman’s eyes looked hollow, almost sad. Bundled in her arms was a takeout bag, the label Big Belly Burger written in bold across its side. Kara’s stomach rumbled as she realized just how hungry she was, though part of her wanted to refuse on principal.

The door closed behind Astra, and she cleared her throat. “Kara. I need you to know this isn’t how this was supposed to go. I…” she trailed off and offered Kara the grease-spotted takeout bag instead of continuing.

Kara didn’t hesitate, pangs of hunger silencing her indignation. It was possibly the best thing she’d ever smelled in her life, and she ripped open the bag, revealing the still warm double cheeseburger with fries. A “Thank God,” fell from her lips before they were stuffed full. There were a million things she wanted to say to Astra. Hell, she wanted to punch her in the face and demand to know why, but right now all she could think about was food.

Astra took a breath and continued. “I am sorry. Non told me you’d been given food, the bastard. Things have been… well… It doesn’t matter now.”

Kara let her head fall back against the cool block wall behind her, a rush of relief at finally having sustenance slowly giving way to another wave of nausea. “What the fuck Astra. Why did you kidnap me? Why are you keeping me here like a prisoner?”

Astra sighed, sitting on the edge of the cot hesitantly. “When this began, I wanted you as far from it as possible. You were just a child. But now that you are older, I wanted to reach out. I wanted to get you involved in Myriad - to see what good we could do in the world together.”

“What are you even talking about? What is Myriad? And who the hell is Non?”

Astra laughed. It was a strained thing that seemed to carry far more weight than she let on. “Myriad is a group that I belong to. We’re working to save the world. Non, well – Neil, you may remember him. We’d just begun dating shortly before your parents were killed. He came over the previous Christmas, the year we bought you that toy… the spy beacon from that show you liked.”

Kara frowned as a memory clicked. Neil, or apparently Non, had had a number of cheap beers and tried to have a conversation with Alura about some conspiracy or another – something obscure about the government hiding aliens in the desert. Kara remembered that Alura had held a tight smile and nodded as he spoke, but had sensed her unease. It didn’t seem to matter at the time. After all, Astra was always bringing around some new guy, and more often than not they never visited again. She’d supposed this one would be the same, a hadn’t spared a thought for him after.

Another memory came, along with a realization. The same man, only older, and his off-putting gaze that had been standing by the desk at L-Corp in a security uniform. Why hadn’t she recognized him then? “It was you, wasn’t it? You bombed L-Corp!” She yelled her revelation around a bite of Big Belly Burger, somewhat blunting the effect of her outburst.

Astra raised her hands placatingly. “Kara. You have to understand. No one was supposed to be hurt. When we planned this…” she paused, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. “We promised there would be no casualties. Myriad is about ending corruption, exposing people like the Luthors who murdered your parents – my own twin sister! Everything I have done has been to bring them to justice.”

Kara felt tears pricking in the corners of her eyes. She’d tried to imagine what twisted soul would plant bombs in a building and detonate them with hundreds of people inside. In her mind, these people were irredeemably evil or completely unhinged. They weren’t Astra. They weren’t the aunt she’d loved like her own mother. They weren’t the woman who’d snuck her out for ice cream, remembered all of her birthdays, or taken her to the fair when her own mother had been too busy with work. The two truths should be impossible to coexist. “So, what, you became a terrorist? How is that better? People got hurt and could have died that day. Hell, I got hurt!”

“It wasn’t that simple!” Astra yelled. “Non… Has his own way of doing things and when you started visiting L-Corp it was only a matter of time before that Luthor bitch found you out. The timeline had to change. What were you doing with her anyway? Trying to get yourself killed?”

“Lena isn’t like her family!” Kara roared defiantly. “Her brother hurt her too. Her brother tried to kill her twice and still, she’s trying to atone for what her family has done!”

“How can you be so sure? She certainly didn’t seem conciliatory as she was speeding away from the DEO that day! You were screaming like a manic in the middle of the road when we got to you. You burn a Luthor, and you end up dead. It is as simple as that. I wasn’t going to risk that with you. We hadn’t wanted to do something so public, but she knows who you are now. We had to act. I had to act, or you’d certainly be dead by now.”

“So, you locked me in a basement to starve me to death? And you have the nerve to say you were saving me?”

“I’m trying to be reasonable here, little one.”

“Don’t fucking call me that.”

Astra looked away, a hint of shame coloring her face. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“It seems there is a lot going around that you didn’t mean to do.”

Astra’s jaw clenched and she stood, pacing in front of Kara. “No one was supposed to be hurt! Things got out of hand. I would never – Non would never.” She stopped and looked at the floor, brows furrowed. “It doesn’t matter. In a few days this will be over. We have everything we need to expose all of the Luthor family crimes. They’ll be locked away for good and our family and dozens of others will finally have justice. We have proof of the assassinations, the cover up, the botched trials – all of it. It took years to bring it all together, and that bombing allowed us to find the smoking gun in L-Corp’s own files.”

“And Lena?” Kara asked. “What is going to happen to her?”

“I’m certain something will tie her to it all. No Luthor comes out of this unscathed, even if she has already poisoned you against your own family.” Astra signed, voice becoming resigned. “Perhaps you’ll understand in time, but if not, at least you’ll be safe.”

Kara couldn’t help the manic laugh that spilled forth. “I’m not safe now! I’ve been starving for days. My leg feels like it is on fire, and it’s like I’ve been buried alive down here. Please just let me go!”

Astra sighed and stepped toward the door. “I’ll try and find you something for the pain. As for the rest, it’s almost over. Non would never forgive me if I let you out before the work is done.”

And just like that, Kara was left alone again with only Krypto’s plastic eyes for comfort.

~~

Lena looked out over the National City skyline from her office balcony. A glass of luxury scotch was held in a white-knuckle grip as the commotion behind her unfolded. The previously empty building was now a hive of activity. Building contractors and construction workers were on every floor, measuring out damaged walls and taking notes, even as the FBI finished stripping the place of records, laptops, notes, and even old filing cabinets that were now covered in dust.

She doubted they’d find anything that wasn’t already in a hundred newspapers around the globe, and if they did? What did it even matter anymore?

Lena emptied the glass in one solid gulp. A few weeks ago, she’d had a vision for what L-Corp could become, but now she couldn’t be sure if she cared at all. There was a numbness spreading through her chest, but even that was preferable to the pain she knew would eventually come. She wasn’t sure who she’d even become when it did.

L-Corp stock had cratered. Most of her staff were looking for work elsewhere, expecting either layoffs or a complete liquidation of the company’s assets. Luthor was the name heard around the world on every news channel and on every magazine. Catco Magazine had been the one holdout thus-far, showing clips of Nia’s interview and touting the exclusive coverage of her past assassination attempts at Lex’s hands. The interview seemed a lifetime ago now – another universe where Lena had been optimistic about the world, about the future, and about Kara. Her own words from that day played back between the damning ongoing revelations about the rest of the Luthor family: “However, I must say, I am feeling very optimistic about the future on all fronts.”

A woman’s voice came from behind her. “Miss Luth… Lena.”

“Dr. Dax” Lena said, leaving her back to the older woman as she poured herself another glass of scotch.

“You are welcome to call me R…” Rhea began.

“Rhea, I know.” Lena turned and faced her. Her face was a mask of indifference. “But I think that isn’t who I need now.” She moved to sit, motioning for Rhea to do the same.

She followed Lena’s lead, sitting politely across from the desk and resting a folder in her lap Lena hadn’t previously noticed. “I don’t think I understand what you are asking of me.”

Lena traced the edge of the scotch glass with the tip of a fingernail. There was still a slight chip in the usually pristine manicure and Lena fixated on it for a silent moment, bracing herself for what she planned to say next. “When one takes over a multinational firm like L-Corp there are a number of things to expect, but for every one of those, there are at least three things you never saw coming.”

Rhea hummed an acknowledgement.

Lena glanced up, watching as the one lingering contractor walked out into the hallway, leaving the women alone to talk. Lena reached into her purse and pulled out her own copy of Lex’s detector, smiling lightly when it lit up green. It hadn’t been hard to track down the schematics and make her own once she had seen Charlotte’s, and with the FBI crawling around, she certainly didn’t want her next conversation overheard. “I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised, you know, but the offers for less than legal services started to pour in almost immediately. It was disconcerting to say the least.” She lifted the glass and downed the second glass of scotch with a wince as it burned down her throat. If she was going to get through this, she might as well be drunk for it. “I burned those bridges as soon as they were made available to me. I couldn’t, at the time, recognize that there may come a moment that I would appreciate the utility of those connections.”

Rhea’s fingers twisted lightly at the edge of the folder in her lap. Perhaps it was a nervous tick, but Lena had yet to see more than a hint of a crack in her polished façade. She reminded her so much of Lillian – a thought that made her stomach turn. Lillian didn’t show cracks either, but that didn’t mean her foundations hadn’t crumbled to dust underneath the polished veneer. “What is it, exactly, that you are asking of me?”

Lena turned, picking up a second clear glass and pouring two fingers of scotch in offering. “I’m asking if you still have yours. You had your own company for years, and I assume scum floats to the top just as well in Metropolis as it does in National City.”

Rhea pulled her hands back from the folder’s edge, padding her fingers across the now permanent crease along the edge. Her shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly before her spine went rigid and defensive. “I left Metropolis behind for a number of reasons. I left my empire behind for a number of reasons, and none of those have given me pause until now. You had better give me a very good reason for whatever it is that you are asking of me.”

Lena stared down at the liquid silently taunting her from her glass. Truth sat heavy in her throat, willing itself to be made heard, urged on by liquid courage.

“I’m in love with her.”

For a moment, it felt as though the very air had left the room. It was the first time Lena had really admitted it, even to herself. It was a relief and a burden all rolled into one.

Rhea blinked slowly. “Kara? The one you were accused of kidnapping?”

Lena felt a chaotic laugh bubble up in her throat despite her desolate mood. “Yes. The police can’t find her and all I’ve been told is to expect she’s dead – loose ends. I can’t accept that.” Her speech had begun to slur. “I have one thing left in this world that I can leverage to get what I want, and that is my ill-gotten wealth. A number of men helped kidnapped her. Someone can be paid off to speak, to come forward, anything. I’ll pay whatever is necessary and they’ll be free to go so long as I get her back in one piece. I just need to get the message out along the right channels. Was I wrong to think you could help with that?”

“Oh, Lena.” Rhea whispered as she reached over to place a hand over Lena’s in a show of support. “I had no idea.”

Lena could feel warm tears gathering at the edges of her eyes. “I want to put out a one-million-dollar reward publicly for any information, but on private channels I want it to be known that anyone who brings her back to me alive will be paid ten million, untraceable, and given transportation anywhere in the world, no questions asked. Someone out there knows something, and I’d wager my pockets are far deeper than Myriad’s.”

“I’ll reach out. I’ll get your message to where it needs to go, but Lena, are you certain? She could very well be dead already and if not, this is hardly the time to be impulsive while the FBI is going through every fiber of your life with a fine-toothed comb.”

Tears streaked a thin path down Lena’s pale cheeks, leaving a hint of mascara in their wake. “L-Corp, my family’s name, Kara. Everything is in ruins, but all I can think is that I have to get her back. I have to try, even if it means she never wants to speak to me again. I can live with that. I can’t if she’s gone, not with how I left it, not with it being my fault.”

“They may have used your argument to their advantage, but you can’t be held to blame. They likely would have gotten to her the next time she was alone regardless.”

Lena shrugged, defeated. Rhea’s argument made sense logically, but the guilt was burning a hole in her chest that she couldn’t ignore. It was her fault, even if only by association. She was a Luthor after all.

Rhea stood, settling a hand on Lena’s shoulder. “Lena please. I know you feel like it is the end of the world, but it isn’t. I think you’d be surprised how many supporters you have in L-Corp and even in the public. The loudest voices may carry the farthest, but that doesn’t mean they carry the most weight. Please remember that when the spite is all you can hear.”

She sat the folder she’d been carrying down on Lena’s barren desk. Even her own laptop had been bagged with the rest of the ‘evidence’ during the FBI raid.

“What’s this?” Lena asked, fingers skimming the folder’s edge.

.

“Hope.”

Chapter Text

“Kara. You need to wake up.”

Her conscious mind stirred slowly, treading the line between sleeping and wakefulness.

The voice came again, more solid this time but not unkind. It was a man’s voice in the edges of her fading dreams. “Wake up.”

The fuzziness of semi consciousness snapped like a rusted spring, and she bolted upright, pressing her back to the block wall of her makeshift cell at the edge of her bunk. She put as much space as she could between herself and the unexpected visitor. “Get away from me!” She yelled.

Her shirt clung to her chest and shoulders, and her head felt as though it was underwater. She was vaguely aware that she must have been sweating in her sleep, but now her only thoughts were on the stranger. He was a large man, dark skinned and neatly dressed in a crisp white button up and gray dress pants. He had kind eyes and carried a vaguely clinical looking bag and a takeout bag from Noonan’s, but she didn’t trust it. She didn’t trust him.

The man stilled and crouched on the floor by her bunk. “It’s okay. I’m a friend.” His British accent was notable, even as he spoke slowly, as if talking to a wounded animal.

“I don’t know you.”

The man nodded. “Okay, lets change that. My name is William, and your aunt asked me to look in on you and bring you something to eat.”

Kara blinked, looking down as he pulled a couple of items from the bag. He had a thermometer, a stethoscope, a packaged syringe, and a vial of clear fluid marked ‘For Equine Use Only.’ Her eyes widened in alarm. “You aren’t getting near me with that!” She yelled, bunching the blanket around her body as a shield.

William sighed. “I’ll tell you what, let’s talk a bit and we’ll go from there. Okay?”

Kara’s eyes stayed riveted to the syringe. “Why?”

“It doesn’t matter if you are a person, a horse, or something else entirely. If your leg is infected, there’s a chance you may become septic without treatment. And if that happens – you could die before you make it to a hospital.”

“So, take me to a hospital now.” Kara said with a huff.

William shook his head. “Myriad isn’t done. I want to get you out of here, but right now I can’t. Please, trust me, you will need your strength when the time comes.”

“Can everyone stop being so vague? What the hell is going on out there? Are they killing people? Bombing more buildings? How does a vet casually become a fucking terrorist?” Her voice got higher and more frantic with each question.

“You need medical attention. Please, just let me help you first.”

“NO!” She screamed as he reached for her. “You aren’t fucking touching me until you tell me!”

William pulled away, palms up in surrender. “Okay.” His eyes scanned the room until he spotted an old, discarded mop bucket. Turning it upside down he gave himself a seat a few feet away. “I’ve known your aunt Astra for a long time. She’s a wonderful woman who’s done an immense amount of good in the world. I think if you knew, you’d understand where we’re coming from.”

Kara scoffed, pulling the blanket tight. Part of her wanted him to leave, but this was the first time someone actually offered her answers, so she swallowed her rebuttal even as it burned in her throat.

William started again. “I was 19 when I met your aunt. I was heartbroken, desperate, and alone. I’d just begun my second year at university in London when I got home to my flat. The door had been pried open. Everything inside was knocked over, papers were thrown everywhere I looked. I knew I… I knew he had been supposed to be there…” William’s voice broke, and he wiped a cheek with the back of his sleeve. “I…found… Russell. He’d fought… but it wasn’t enough. The, um, the police said it was a robbery gone wrong, but that didn’t add up.”

Kara couldn’t help the wave of empathy that came over her as her posture relaxed and her grip on the blanket loosened a fraction. “Was he family?”

William gave a tight smile that made his eyes glisten with tears. “He was the first man I ever loved, and maybe the last. I don’t know, I hope not, but I can’t seem to move on. He’d been a teaching assistant, a few years older and starting grad school in investigative journalism. We’d had to keep it quiet at first. It wasn’t really condoned, but we couldn’t stay away. Love at first sight and all.”

Kara’s heart broke for a moment, and she glanced down at Krypto’s faded plastic eyes from where he’d been discarded in her abrupt awakening. She’d lost more than enough loved ones, but for a moment only one face flicked in her conscious mind. Lena. Loosing Lena would be too much to bear, but William and Russell had been together - lived together. “What really happened to him?”

William rested his chin on his hand. “He was killed for what he knew, much like your own family. That’s why Astra worked so hard to help me after...” He trailed off for a moment, eyes distant. “She’d been across the pond for some time and had been working with Russell to expose a dangerous weapons racket at Obsidian North. I hadn’t even known about it, so it was a shock when she reached out after Russell’s funeral.”

Kara’s brow furrowed. “Wait, why was Astra in England? And Obsidian North? Didn’t that place go bankrupt?”

William let out a strained laugh. “I suppose she didn’t tell you much. Well, I always believed the truth was meant to be shared so let’s back up a bit, shall we?” He trailed off again. There was a look on his face that Kara couldn’t read. It was soft, fond perhaps. “After your parents were killed, Astra leaked the proof of the botched clinical trials that your father had smuggled out of LuthorCorp. I don’t know how Lex weaseled his way out of that mess, but I guess corruption follows money anywhere you go. Still, getting the word out meant a halt to production and distribution. She probably saved hundreds of lives that day alone.”

Kara frowned, pondering. It wasn’t an angle that she considered, and it challenged her internal narrative of who Astra had become – a hacker, a terrorist. Recently, it seemed that the difference between hero and villain came down to who was telling the story.

“Lex almost killed her for it, you know.” William said.

Kara looked up. “He sent someone to kill her too?” It seemed to be a pattern for the eldest Luthor, and for the second time, she was happy he’d failed.

“We suspect it was the same man who’d killed your family, John Corben. For once, Non’s paranoia paid off. He saved your aunt that day, but it put them on the run, both from the Luthors and the law.”

“You mean, he killed him?” Kara asked.

William nodded. “He deserved it, but Myriad hasn’t killed a single person since. It’s not what we stand for. It is not what Astra stands for.”

Kara recoiled again. “They bombed a building full of people!”

William sighed heavily. “They tried everything else they could think of to get the records, but it wasn’t working. Even after Non managed to join L-Corp security, the internal IT protocols were too tight. Something had to disrupt the whole system and create a diversion. Non was willing to go farther, but Astra refused. The compromise wasn’t ideal, but Non pressed – and eventually Astra relented.” There was a pause, something went unsaid but a grimace flashed across his face. “When we exposed Obsidian North, we were careful, but we were too slow. The company had failed to meet defense contract specifications on several major shipments, and they lost their contract, as well as their biggest source of funding. They needed to recoup costs and offload inventory, so dozens of shipments of military grade weapons were sold illegally to militant factions in the Middle East. Non argued it was only a matter of time before it happened again, and LuthorCorp had a number of similar defense contracts here in the States.”

“No, Lena shut down defense contracts. She said so herself, she’s out of the weapons business.”

“Kara, we couldn’t be sure. It could have been a front for moving that product illegally. There’s a lot of money to be made, and I can assure you the government isn’t always the highest bidder.”

“She wouldn’t do that.” She protested.

William frowned. “For what it is worth. I am sorry. I hope you are right about her, I do. Now, please, can I at least help you?”

Kara nodded wearily, the fever and the day both taking a toll.

William approached again slowly, taking her temperature, and frowning slightly. “May I see your injury?”

Kara studied him for a minute cautiously, before readjusting and pulling up the bottom hem of her gym shorts to expose the back of her thigh.

“I’m going to clean this, and put a new bandage on, but I’m afraid you’ll need an antibiotic shot. I know you don’t do well with capsules.” He said.

“How do you know that?” Kara asked, pulling back. It wasn’t exactly common knowledge.

“Astra took care of you once when you were young, strep I think she said.” William smirked. “Ruined her new couch apparently.”

Kara felt odd at the seemingly minor revelation, especially compared to everything else she’d learned. Astra remembered. She wasn’t even sure if Alex knew, but Astra remembered. The subtle warm feeling wasn’t enough to forgive her for her situation, but it did help when William dipped the syringe in the vial and subsequently plunged it into her arm. She only quietly grumbled. “I’m human you know. I’m not a horse.”

William shrugged, pulling out fresh bandages and ointments. “You’d be surprised how much overlap there is in medicines for people and animals, but it’s much easier to get a prescription for an animal than it is a human without raising unwanted questions.”

Like, do you have someone locked in a basement? Kara’s mind sarcastically provided.  Still, something was nagging at the corner of her mind. “Why can’t I just leave? I want to go home. Astra said they got all of the information that they needed.”

“Non insists there’s one thing left to do.” William said cryptically as the sting from the antiseptic wipe made Kara wince.

“What could possibly be left?” She asked.

“I don’t know, but Astra trusts him despite everything, so I trust him. I don’t think even she knows.”

Something about the comment didn’t feel right. Something wasn’t being said. “What do you mean despite everything? Why wouldn’t Astra know?”

William sighed, looking her in the face fully. A morose expression crossed his face briefly. “Astra created Myriad. It might even be more appropriate to say that Astra was Myriad. After Obsidian North, it grew into something larger. People like me joined the cause. Astra and Non eventually married and when they relocated back to the States a bunch of us followed. We did a lot of good work for years, but Non couldn’t seem to help himself in his private life. His affairs tore them apart, but dismantling the Luthor empire is a goal they still share. They agreed to see this through to the end before going their separate ways.”

William cut a length of bandage before finishing his work. “I promise, this will all be over in a few days.”

Despite his calm demeanor, Kara wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a reassurance or a threat.

***

“Lena? What’s going on? It’s still early.” Sam asked after buzzing Lena into her condo. Lena took in a sharp inhale. The last time she’d been here, Alex threatened to kill her and then she’d left in handcuffs.

“Sam, I wanted to know. Is this still possible?” Lena extended a hand with the folder Rhea had given her the night before. “Shares are trading at a fraction of forward earnings and…”

“Let me stop you there. Yes, Lena, that’s why I already signed off on the financials. It’s for real. We just need your signature to make it official.” Sam took the folder and looked at Lena with a slight frown. “Are you okay? You don’t look like you’ve slept.”

Lena let out a soft laugh. “No, I can’t say I have. I’ve been… debating how to move forward with everything. I haven’t even been sure if I could.”

“Aunt Lena!” the yell came from down the hall and before Lena could react, she’d been tackled by Sam’s teenaged daughter Ruby and wrapped into a crushing hug.

Lena let out on oof at the impact.

Sam tisked. “Ruby, you are getting too big to tackle people! Finish getting ready for school.” Ruby rolled her eyes dramatically before stomping into the kitchen to rummage through the refrigerator.

“It’s good to see you too Ruby.” Lena called out to her, before turning back to Sam. “God, I wasn’t thinking. I shouldn’t have just dropped in on you like this.”

“Hey, you are practically family. I’m just bummed you aren’t just here to hang out like we used to. God, when did life get so complicated? Or is this just what happens when you get old and crusty?”

Lena laughed, and it felt good. There was no doubt Sam was burning with real questions, but Lena was grateful for even a moment of levity before it all came crashing down again. “You became friends with a Luthor, complications come standard. Crusty is thankfully optional.”

Sam rolled her eyes, much like Ruby had done moments before. “Eh, whatever, it’s worth it but you do make my dating life hell.”

“Have you spoken to her?” Lena asked.

Sam glanced over at Ruby, who seemed oblivious to the women’s conversation as she poured a bowl of cereal and hummed a song to herself. “Not really, no. I got a vague text, but she won’t answer my calls. I don’t know what to do. Her sister is missing, she’s running the gym by herself so she can’t even take a day to process. I just wish I could do something to help, you know? But I don’t even know if she wants me to. I don’t know if she still thinks you are somehow involved.”

“Well, there’s a press release today that should clear that up.” Lena replied.

Sam’s eyes widened. “What did you do?”

“A reward, publicly a million in exchange for information that leads to her discovery.”

“And privately?” Sam asked, catching Lena’s intonation.

“Ten for her safe recovery, and…” Lena looked again to Ruby in the other room before lowering her voice. “Safe passage out of the country, no questions asked.”

“Holy fuck Lena.” Sam said, shaking her head. “What have you gotten yourself into?”

“It doesn’t matter. Somewhere there is a crack in Myriad. Someone will roll on the others for a chance at a life of luxury anywhere in the world that they choose. It’s an angle the police can’t exploit, but I’m worried it is my only chance to see her alive again.”

“How did you even…? No, the less I know the better. Are you sure you know what you are doing?”

Lena picked at the chip in her nails. It had grown in the last day and Lena couldn’t help but worry at its edge. “Look, as far as criminal enterprises go, this is pretty benign. Besides, it is my personal funds, not L-Corp’s, and – Charlotte Richards is now my lawyer. You know she’s unstoppable.”

Sam scoffed. “In the courtroom maybe! But you might as well put a sign on your face that says supervillain in training.” Her voice raised a bit too high, and Ruby gave a worried glance from the other room.

“I don’t care about any of that. I’m getting her back.” Lena replied.

Sam studied her face, brow furrowed. “Shit Lena. I didn’t realize you…”

“Don’t.” Lena cut in. “I can’t think about that right now.” Her voice quivered.

Sam nodded, setting a comforting hand on Lena’s shoulder.

Lena could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. She blotted the edges of her eyelids with her sleeve and took a steadying breath. “Please, I need to think about something I actually have control over. That is why I’m here.”

Sam smiled and pointed a finger. “Okay. But we’re absolutely talking about this later.”

Lena laughed wetly. “Of course we are, but seriously – you all worked on this after the bombing?” She gestured to the folder from Rhea again.

“Well Rhea had reached out to S.T.A.R. Labs shortly before the bombing. It was a long shot, but it panned out. They are interested in a partnership for carbon sequestration.” Sam paused, a serious look crossing her face. “I know you always feel like you aren’t good enough, and I know that comes from growing up how you did, but Lena – your prototype was brilliant.”

“But it isn’t cost effective.”

Sam huffed. “Not in a traditional sense, no, that’s where S.T.A.R Labs come in. They have a massive stream of funding for climate projects from federal grants and special interest groups. More importantly, they need to expand their carbon manufacturing capabilities. They have cutting edge advancements using carbon allotropes: fullerenes, nanotubules, you name it. Except, they couldn’t crack making the process carbon negative – or hell, even neutral for that matter, which meant they were poised to lose millions in climate grants.”

Lena shook her head. “L-Corp pursued the same grants for the past two years and was denied.”

Sam laughed. “Of course, it was – a lot goes into those decisions, and much of it is political. We’re still too dangerous to touch with a ten-foot pole, but a partnership changes that. Not to mention, if S.T.A.R. Labs is able to meet the grant requirements, they are almost certain to be funded in the future.”

Lena nodded quietly. She’d put it together from the separate documents, but it was always a clearer picture when spoken aloud. “…So we keep the patent, S.T.A.R. Labs subsidizes the project’s launch and in return gets the rights to using said technology in their own manufacturing. The board gets proof of concept without the financial strain – which we cannot afford right now. God Sam, I’m surprised they still want this partnership.”

“Lena, your ideas are worth billions. I don’t think you give yourself enough credit. Besides this looks good for us both.”

“There is so much negative press with L-Corp. Why would it look good for them to tie themselves to us? We’re practically a sinking ship.”

“Is being dramatic a Luthor trait?” Sam asked. “Because this is some next level wallowing.”

Lena couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m not wallowing Sam; it is the truth. Stock prices are subatomic, Headquarters is in shambles, and the FBI has enough information to lock my family away until the end of time.”

“Okay, stock prices rebound. Hell, I’m about to buy more and I’ll retire fucking rich at 35 once they actually reflect the stock’s value.”

“I really am a bad influence, even you are insider trading now.” Lena said with a sarcastic bite.

Sam shrugged. “All of Congress does it, why the hell shouldn’t I?”

The intercom buzzed and Ruby vaulted through the living room with a heavy backpack. “Later mom!” she yelled.

“Bye, I lov…” Sam started, but the door slammed. Sam turned back to Lena. “Teenagers.”

Lena nodded wistfully. “She loves you too you know. Just because she’s not saying it doesn’t mean it’s not true.”

“I know, I do. I guess it’s just hard watching her grow up you know? It seems like yesterday she was a little kid, now she’s practically a grown woman. She’s been thinking about college. At the same time, I feel like life is passing me by.”

Lena nodded. She wasn’t sure how to respond. A hint of sadness crept over her as she thought of her empty apartment, void of the warmth of any kind of family.

“Sorry, God. I’ve been in a mood since the bombing.” Sam said suddenly, pulling Lena out of her thoughts. “Anyway, you saw the second half of the folder, right? The rebuilding plans?”

Lena smiled. She might not have anyone to go home to, but the second half of that folder had made her feel more loved than she had in a long time - aside from ice cream with Kara on Sentinel Hill that is. “I did. Insurance has approved the payments? Even with everything going on?”

“Yup.” Sam responded. “I think almost everyone had a hand in the draft hoping you’ll like it. We had everyone from engineering to accounting looking for ways to help. We got together and brainstormed while you were in jail.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “I wondered when you had time to do this without me knowing.”

“Everyone believes in you. The ideas you had for making it something new entirely? We can do it all in the rebuild instead of phasing it over the next five years. The new L-Corp integrates a health and wellness floor, better natural lighting, a fully carbon neutral footprint, assuming you approve of the S.T.A.R. Labs manufacturing that is…”

“We’re building it with my original product specifications?” Lena asked, hopefully. Her original thought had been to use captured carbon for flame resistant building materials after all.

“Of course. With the grant subsidy and the insurance payout, we can rebuild headquarters to reflect what L-Corp has become – a force for good. I’m already working on the press release. And that brings us to the final point.”

“The FBI dismantling the Luthor family?”

Sam laughed. “No silly. The fact that with all of the mud that they are slinging, you haven’t gotten a speck on you that wasn’t purely circumstantial, and that’ll come out in the wash – unless your little gamble with finding Kara backfires.”

Lena ignored the last jab. “That’s optimistic. The press wants to crucify me.”

“But they haven’t been able to, and now it isn’t just CatCo reporting on the fact that Lex tried to have you killed too. More and more outlets are painting you in a sympathetic light. Haven’t you been watching the news?”

“I haven’t been. It became too much honestly. I don’t think I’ve fully processed even a fraction of what I’ve learned. I need time I think.”

“Fine, but you do know about Lillian’s press conference tomorrow, right?”

“I’m sorry, what? I haven’t heard of this. I assumed she’d have been arrested by now.”

Sam shrugged. “I guess that’s part of it. Charlotte worked her magic and Lillian will turn herself over peacefully if she gets a press conference first.”

Lena’s eyes widened in alarm, her newly rekindled hope flickering dangerously low in her chest. “What could she possibly have to say that she needs to address the press?”

Chapter Text

“Are you certain it’s done?” Lena asked. The coldness in her own voice startled her as she stared down into a half-drained coffee mug lined with taunting rings of stain. She’d cancelled her condo’s regular cleaning service in a fit of paranoia, and already there were hints of grime working their way into her crisp minimalist decor.

“It’s done.” Rhea said simply, though a slight tension in her mouth thinned her aging lips into a scowl. “If Myriad is active on the dark web or has connections to organized crime through any other means – the offer is out.”

Lena hummed for a moment before looking up to meet Rhea’s gaze over the high marble countertop. “How long?”

“I can’t say for sure. Word tends to travel fast if the offer is high enough, but I’m afraid we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. Fanatics aren’t easily swayed.”

“There has to be something else I can do, something I haven’t thought of.” Lena said, opening a laptop she’d purchased the night before to replace the one taken in the FBI raid of L-Corp. “If only there was some way to track her, to track Myriad.”

Lena felt Rhea’s eyes on her as she frantically typed. The gaze had a heavy feeling to it, and Lena knew there was judgement there, but why wouldn’t there be? Her face felt flushed and puffy from a steady alternating diet of caffeine and alcohol, and sleep had been nonexistent. Wild strings of hair had escaped her now messy bun, threatening to slow her frenzied typing as they settled over her eyes.  

“Lena, listen to me, please.” Rhea sighed heavily. “Even you can’t find her on that computer. There haven’t been any demands. There’s been no evidence nor proof of life.”

Lena pushed the computer away with force and squeezed her hands into fists. “I can’t just sit here and do nothing! The FBI thinks she’s dead, Charlotte thinks she’s dead, and I imagine you think she’s dead. I’m the only one still fighting to find her!”

“I recognize that it is a very real possibility. After 48 hours the odds…”

“Fuck the odds.” Lena said, cutting her off. The bleak statistics were burned into her mind already.

Rhea pulled back from the counter, straightening her spine reflexively. “I just…”

A chime echoed from Lena’s phone, drawing both of their eyes. Just as Lena thought her mood couldn’t get darker, she was proven wrong.

“Lillian’s press conference.” Lena said at a near whisper. Another notification sat above the first on her screen. 7 missed calls.

She swiped both away with a quick flick of her fingers and turned on the news. It didn’t take long to find the coverage since it seemed every news outlet was scrambling to get the latest bit of information in the ongoing Luthor fallout.

A small outdoor stage in National City had been chosen for the proceedings, although it was devoid of the usual pomp and displays. More than a few politicians had graced this stage over the years, but Lena suspected Lillian would be the most skilled liar to ever take the podium. Dread coiled in Lena’s throat as Lillian appeared, flanked by Charlotte Richards and a fleet of visibly agitated personal security guards. She always knew how to make an entrance. Even the small retinue of FBI agents that awaited her surrender appeared tense as they exchanged glances with Lillian’s security team.

Lena looked to Rhea. “How has she managed to get this kind of platform when she should have been arrested days ago? I was arrested almost immediately after Kara’s abduction, and that was purely circumstantial!”

“The abduction wasn’t an international spectacle, this I’m afraid, is. Your stepmother has been courting and wielding power for the better part of her life. She’s wealthy and connected. It’s more comparable to a high-level political scandal. Corruption is deep and consequences are rare.” Rhea crossed her arms in a rare show of defensiveness as her veneer of perfection cracked almost imperceptibly.

Lena’s eyes narrowed at the subtle change in Rhea’s demeanor, but Lillian’s speech was beginning. Lillian too, looked shaken. A paleness to her features and a restlessness in her hands were evident in a high-definition screen.

“Citizens of National City. I know you know me as Lillian Luthor. Wife to the late Lionel Luthor and mother to the disgraced Lex Luthor.”

A few curses were heard in the crowd and Lillian stilled for a moment, eyes tracking over the masses.

“Sometimes a mother is blind… unable to see the flaws in their children. I was blind.”

Lena scoffed. Lillian had certainly never been blind to hers.

“I don’t expect sympathy for my son. I know now that some sins are unforgivable, and I don’t expect sympathy for myself.” She paused, uselessly shuffling a few papers in her nervous fingers. “Lex was a deeply troubled, but brilliant man. When he was a boy, I couldn’t be more proud of him. He was poised to be the mind of a generation, the man of the future. I’m afraid that made me unable to see the spirals of madness in him before it was too late.”

“I didn’t understand then. Brilliance and madness can sometimes be difficult to differentiate in practice, but darkness consumed my son inch by inch, and I systematically hid it from the world. It was the greatest mistake of my life. He’d come to me for help, because even he knew that something inside him was broken. The doctors claimed he was mentally ill and suffered from crippling anxiety and delusions of persecution. They made me believe the right medications and therapies would help. They made me believe that my son could go back to being the man he once was. He could still be the man I knew he was destined to become. I was a fool to trust in them, and when my son began acting on his delusions, I used every tool at my disposal to save him from himself.”

Lena shook her head. “What the hell does she think she’s doing? This sad mother routine isn’t going to shorten her sentence.” Still, Lena felt a growing sense of unease. How much of what she said was true, and how much was simply an act? And to what end?

Rhea looked at Lena fully. “She knows how to manipulate a crowd.” Sure enough, the curses had silenced to nothing, and the sea of onlookers and journalists hung on Lillian’s every word.

“The medications failed, as did every therapy the doctors attempted. What we didn’t know at the time was that Lex’s madness wasn’t quite so simple, and by the time the tumor in his brain was discovered, it was too late. My son was destined - not for greatness - but for a fate worse than death, and for all of my wealth and influence, I was powerless to stop it.”

Lena gasped. Cancer? It made a startling amount of sense. Lena remembered Lex’s thin face and frail arms as he struggled with the weight of the prison’s phone. Why hadn’t Lillian told her? Hell, why had she not figured it out herself? Her brother, for all his madness, had reached out to see her because he was dying.

“As you all know, Lex faked the clinical trials of a promising cancer drug, but it wasn’t for his profit as Myriad would have you believe. Lex made a desperate bid to save himself. Despite the high mortality rates in our animal test subjects, a small percentage showed a substantial remission in tumor activity. In truth, it wasn’t much different than the abysmal outcomes of traditional chemotherapy treatments, and his own cancer showed remission until the drug was pulled from production.”

Lena fell gracelessly onto her stiff white couch. It had never seen enough use to become truly comfortable, but right now Lena wanted to sink inside of it. The murmurs that rose from the crowd mirrored Lena’s feeling of shock as she watched. How little did she really know?

“Regardless, the damage done to Lex’s mind was permanent, and it was apparent to me that one day a reckoning would come. I was blind to my son, but I was blind to my stepdaughter, Lena Luthor, as well.”

Lena felt her stomach roll in a wave of nausea.

“I’d prodded my stepdaughter, Lena Luthor, toward college at a young age – a mere contingency plan at the time. Truthfully, I’d hated when she’d outshone Lex. Both were brilliant beyond measure, but where Lex had madness, Lena had heart. To my great regret, I shamed her for it. I truly believed that altruism was a fool’s ambition, and I felt it was my duty to quell such childish ideals before they could take root. I failed, and for many years I couldn’t allow myself to believe that the Luthor legacy would best be carried by the product of my late husband’s affair rather than our own legitimate son.”

Lena didn’t realize she was crying until the warm tears fell from her cheeks to her fidgeting hands. Lillian was using this press conference to praise her?

“I came before you today, not for myself, but to…”

A shot rang in the crowd on screen, and Lena sprang back to her feet as the camera shook. Journalists and onlookers alike scattered in all directions and the feed cut to black.

.

But not before Lena saw Lillian collapse, blood spilling across her suit and onto the stage.

***

…31

…32

…33

Kara huffed out a ragged breath in between each rep of pushups. The antibiotic shot had worked, breaking her fever like a dam and leaving her drowning under a wave of anxiety. The cold walls and solitude were eating at her mental state, and the only thing that calmed her raging mind was the exquisite burn of exercise.

Astra.

Non.

Lena.

She faltered then, rolling onto her back, considering a litany of core exercises until her chest and shoulders recovered for another round of pushups.

She’d tried every method of escape, poking a prodding at every crack in her cell to no avail. She’d tried listening to walls and doors for any hint of what was going on in the outside world while she stayed trapped in the musty cell. Occasionally, she made out the sounds of boots on a floor overhead, or the sound of muffled voices carried through the walls, but nothing of substance. She was buried down here, forgotten and alone as lives went on overhead.

Alex. Did Alex think she was dead? Did Eliza? Kara worried over that thought for a moment before another occurred to her. How much had Eliza known? Astra dropped her off with the Danvers, surely there had been some kind of explanation. She felt simultaneously overwhelmed at all the new information and starved for the rest.

Despite everything, she still loved Astra. Perhaps not for the woman she’d become, but for the aunt she’d known. Somewhere above her, Astra and Non were on a collision course with the one person she cared about more than she wanted to admit, even to herself: Lena Luthor.

Lena. Kara kept replaying that horrible last conversation over in her head, wondering if there would ever be an opportunity to fix it. The rage on Lena’s face had been more than Kara could stand, and right now Kara couldn’t see a world in which Lena forgave her for hiding her very identity. Especially now that her own biological family was trying to destroy everything Lena held dear.

Without warning, the industrial deadbolt in the heavy door rocked back with a thud, startling her from her spiraling thoughts. She barely had time to sit forward before William burst through the door, a finger to his lips to silence her pending inquiry.

He shuffled over to her and whispered. “Kara. I need you to come with me now. It might be the only chance. Something’s changed. It’s bad.”

Kara was on her feet in an instant, despite the heavy pain that lingered in her thigh. William was visibly shaken, and Kara’s mind was reeling at the sudden panicked intrusion. “What do you mean? What’s going on?” She whispered back as William peaked out the door.

“Please, Kara, I need you to trust me. If we aren’t gone before Non gets back, all hell is going to break loose.” William waved a hand for her to follow, and for a moment she stared at the open door. Walking through felt like a dangerous move, and her trust in William was shaky at best.

Still, her feet made the decision for her, and she followed behind with careful steps. William kept close to the right wall, listening to the foreboding sounds of distant voices and echoing footfalls. The hard floors and corridors played tricks on the mind, carrying sounds that seemed distant in one moment and near the next.

William turned, leaning in with a low whisper. “Half of Myriad’s members are gone; I can get you to the outer doors and then it’s up to you.”

Kara’s eyes widened in alarm. “What? I don’t even know where I am!”

William put his finger to his lips in a tense, “shhh.”

Quick footsteps could be heard in the corridor. Several seemed to move in unison as the sounds differentiated from the others and grew louder. William pulled Kara into a shallow doorway, but the lock was bolted shut.

For a moment, Kara heard nothing but her own heartbeat racing along with the steps. One set was sharp, like a woman’s shoes echoing on concrete. The ones that followed had the aggressive thud of heavy boots.

Then, there was the sharp sound of skin on skin. A slap. “You self-righteous bastard! How could you? You’ve ruined everything I’ve built.” The voice was unmistakable to Kara’s ears. Astra. Her eyes shot to William’s, and he sternly shook his head, alarm evident in his features.

A man’s voice replied, dripping with malice. “You’d be wise to never lay a hand on me again, woman. What is done is done and I have no regrets as to my method. When the justice system fails against those in power, we must make our own.”

“Not like this! It was done, Non. The truth was out. The FBI was waiting for her!” Astra yelled.

“And now the Luthor bitch has been put down. There will be no more sympathetic ears, and no deals for her to make from beyond the grave.”

A jolt of panic hit Kara. Lena. No. It couldn’t be. She shook her head and choked on a sob, only to have her mouth covered roughly with William’s hand.

Other sounds echoed through the corridor, their origins hard to track as more and more layered into a cacophony. Astra and Non’s screaming match continued, but now there were more footsteps seeming to come from all directions as if to converge on their very location. Somewhere, the heavy bolt of an assault rifle slid a round into a chamber.

Kara saw a change on William’s face then, at once fearful and apologetic. He dared a further whisper. “The hallway to the left will take you to the stairs. Two levels up and the parking garage will be to your left, now RUN.”

And Kara ran.

Shouts came from behind her now along with the sounds of running. “Stop her!” A man screamed. Kara ran as fast her feet could carry her, vaguely aware of William keeping pace only a half second behind. The hallway to the left led to freedom, and Kara tore around the corner at speed only to realize the mistake a moment too late. Astra, Non, and several armed men were caught mid-standoff. Whatever hostilities were brewing between them were interrupted as Kara skid, trying to halt her forward momentum.

Where Astra’s eyes rose in surprise, Non’s lips twisted into a snarl. He raised his rifle in her direction, firing a single shot as Astra’s body plowed into his own. Kara took a stutter step and tripped, falling backwards as chaos erupted around her. The deafening sounds of sudden gunfire rang painfully in the enclosed space and Kara turned, desperate to regain her footing, only to see William as he slumped to the floor. His hand covered his chest, and his fingers did little to stem the flow of blood that rushed between them.

His eyes pleaded with her, and with one final breath he managed two words. “Kara…Run.”

Then, somehow, she was running again. Each pounding step put more distance between herself and the firefight going on behind her. Ahead, two more armed men rounded the corner in front of her, and she dropped her shoulder and barreled forward, sending him sprawling before he could react. She staggered, nearly tripping as he grabbed fruitlessly at her passing ankles before the second man similarly tackled her to the floor.

There was a tangled mess of bodies as hands grabbed for her and dragged her down. Each limb she pulled free with brute force was pinned again in a matter of seconds as they gained advantage. She let out a pained wail as her hands were pulled behind her back and forced into the same style of zip ties she’d endured during her kidnapping. This couldn’t be happening, not again.

“Careful, this one’s a fighter.” A man said as his weight bore painfully down on her.

“Oh, trust me, I know. I have been on the receiving end of this fucker’s boot, but she’s our ride outta here.” The other replied as he ripped a length of duct tape from his utility belt. Kara screamed once before her mouth was sealed shut.

“Boss will come for her you know, Jensen.” The man mumbled.

“You heard that shit back there? Fifty-fifty says he’s dead, and you won’t get another chance at this kind of payday.”

Kara kicked again. Exhaustion was setting in as she struggled, and her mind caught onto the discussion above her. Payday? What fresh hell was this?

“You think she’s good for it? Luthor’s got a spare ten million squirreled away just so she can silence this one herself?” Kara recoiled. A Luthor was dead, and another was paying for this brutality.

Jensen scoffed. “I’m guessing she’s got plenty, but if she plays us, we’ll put them both in the ground like we planned all along.”

One of the men pulled out a small medical bag, much like she’d seen William use a short time before. She kicked wildly as a knee pressed down against her back and held her helpless as a large needle was shoved into her thigh, but whatever was in this syringe served as a quick sedative. As her eyes grew heavy, she read the bold red label.

‘For Equine Use Only.’