Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The red of sunset blended into the growing indigo of night, and its rays cast across a widening pool of blood. Lena leaned against the wall and pressed her hand against her side with a shuddered gasp. Her blouse stained, coat ruined, and assailant long gone. What a shitty day this turned out to be. She cursed and pushed off the wall to stagger to the alley opening. Golden light still spilled across the streets, the red darkening.

Honestly, what had she expected? Random, informal jobs had a high likelihood of being a scam, but she desperately needed the money to escape Metropolis and her sour luck. She grimaced at her gear strewn across the alleyway. She picked up both her burner phones, and leaned against the wall with a pained gasp to rest.

Notes for jobs came via texts on her burner phone, the one marked 'recon.' She dropped that back in her purse. The second burner phone she used to text former friends, not that any responded. That one she'd marked 'useless.'

Being homeless at the moment, she'd taken to the lower echelons of the city — old subway tunnels, basement bars, crowded run-down apartment buildings — all of which housed poor folks of varying ethnicities and homeworlds. She took notes in her journal, mapped each area, and cataloged each encounter. Eventually, she located those seeking willing souls for quick jobs.

Dirty work mostly, smuggling alien alcohol based on smell alone, but it'd allowed her to build up some savings. She went only by 'Kieran' here, and as the weeks passed since her escape, she grew a reputation of being able to locate lost items or missing people. This, she'd thought, had been one of those jobs.

"Look," the man had said — Nelson, a five foot six cisgender man with sleeve tattoos of roses and skeletal trees. "I don't have work today, but I know someone who does."

"Who?" Lena had whipped out her journal to notate his words next to her profile of him.

Nelson shrugged. "Never met them. Speak in text. Give me a number and they'll drop good paying jobs."

"You expect me to blindly trust some anonymous stranger?" She stared at the grungy man. Perhaps trusting anyone who wore cameo pants with an orange vest and grey shirt might not be wise, but then did she truly trust Nelson? He was simply a means to an end.

"Trust? That's rare around here. Nah, you get the job, you do it. You get paid. Who cares who it's for as long as the money rolls in?"

And that was why Lena desperately wanted to escape Metropolis. Dead end city haunted by memories of her abusers. So she agreed and handed over the number of her 'recon' burner. Within a day the texts came.

First job easy enough — locate a missing dog.

Her scrap of a home, tucked into an abandoned subway station, held quite a few scavenged electronics. She'd spent that day calculating, drafting, and making a rudimentary heat sensor. Not her best work, but without a lab, she didn't have much of a choice. It resembled box atop a gun-like trigger, with a coiled sphere on its side. The tiny screen opposite the coil she'd adapted from a flip-phone.

Leaving her safe spot meant navigating hopefully still abandoned tracks to the nearest traversable staircase. Walking the streets with the device felt weird, but considering some of the weird people she'd met in Metropolis, she likely fit in snugly with her boxy detector, old leather jacket, and bulky purse thrown over one shoulder.

She found quite a few vermin and pigeons, which proved highly unhelpful. Stopping at a park bench, she laid out her map and decided to try the warehouse district.

Only three warehouses later and she'd found her quarry. Dog-shaped heat blobs. She sent in her drone — the last one that still functioned, and one she'd proudly swiped from her brother's lab — to find battered and bleeding dogs. A few pictures inside and outside was all she needed to do. As she sent the texts, she hoped the receiver came to free the dogs.

Such little jobs but some paid extremely well, so when this new text came in? She'd spent the time debating what tools to bring far more than what she'd find. Like a fool, she'd trusted the text wouldn't lead her into danger.

Instead, she'd walked into a trap, her camera capturing the scene just before he'd stabbed her gut and twisted the knife. Furious with pain, she slammed her purse against his head and kicked his balls. Some of her supplies spilled across the ground, as blood soaked her blouse and jacket. Sirens erupted to the north. Spooked, he ran further down the alley and climbed over its back wall.

Thus leaving her to fall against the building as blood spilled from her abdominal wound. Not good. Definitely not good. The sirens roared past and didn't stop. Probably for the best. Her breaths came unsteadily, rapid and weak, unable to take a deep breath. Likely atelectasis then, mild since only part of her lung must have collapsed, otherwise breathing would be a whole lot worse. Pain radiated below her stomach, closer to intestines, so hopefully missed vital organs.

She spied her first aid kit next to her screwdriver kit across the alleyway. Pushing off the brick, she stumbled over and dropped to her knees. In the purse went her kit.

Dammit, her first aid kit barely held anything. Too many forays into fragile underground infrastructure and its resulting cuts and bruises. She tore open a disinfecting wipe with her teeth and free hand, but wiping the wound only smeared the still oozing blood. Band-aids were too small. Taped her last cloth pad and wiped her hands the best she could with the final two wipes. She wrapped them in the remains of the kit.

Next, she assessed her surroundings. Her vision blurred from lightheadedness and pain, which was an irritating complication. She rubbed her eyes and took shallow breaths to steady herself. She sat in an alleyway approximately thirteen meters long. Crates were piled up against the back wall of the alley, all the way to the top of the wall. Neither building had any windows or doors leading to the alley, but two stories up, she could see open windows in the left building. Faint music trickled from it.

Blood speckled the ground, some her own, but others had a distinct blue hue. Footprints in the dried blue blood showed a large boot, much larger than her attacker, who'd been a skinny, frantic boy — she doubted he was more than eighteen. More blood had been smeared on the walls and markings etched in a language she didn't recognize. How odd.

Was that why the text sent her here?

She stooped with a grimace to snag her camera. Pain stabbed, and she gasped, tears in her eyes. Still, she removed the cracked lens and replaced with a shoddier quality one. Balanced it on her knee and took the pictures anyway. The movement threatened to catapult her into darkness, and she leaned back against the wall to breath slow and steadily.

Pictures obtained. Film still intact in the camera. Video rendering not worth the trouble. She declared her job finished. Tucking away her camera, she leveraged herself upright and stumbled toward the sidewalk. Pain threatened to toss her into unconsciousness, but she stubbornly clung to lucidity. Closer to the street, she paused to catch her breath. If only the kit still had pain meds.

She probably should call for an ambulance, but Lena did not want her name marked in any registry for her abusers to find. No, she had to stay off the grid as much as she could. Which lead to a disquieting realization.

Had her contact set her up for a shake-down or worse? She recalled the text: "Require a video and photo rendering of an alleyway. Reward $2500. Go to corner of Hutchinson and Drake. Turn west. Morgana's Herbals will be on your right. Across the road, in that alley, image it and send it to 324 Trane Terrace, National City, California."

No clues from the text itself. Which was typical for the high-paying ones. It didn't make sense to set up a trap unless they sought something she had. That alarmed her far more than her injury. Her knowledge of her abuser's project definitely could put her in bounty hunter crosshairs. No use speculating further, not enough information to verify any of this.

She reached the curb and squinted across the street, her vision hazy from the pain. An herbal shop seemed a good spot to crash, at least for now. Might even have a useful healing brew.

A few cars passed by, one definitely speeding as its engine roared. Once the coast was clear, she attempted a jog, only for the pain to flare and her vision whiten. She fell against cement — no, a curb. Crawling onto the grass, she blinked away the field of speckled white and black until her vision returned.

The sun dipped further below the horizon, and the shadows lengthened. Another ten steps and she reached the doorway. She curled her fingers around the cold doorknob and tugged. The door stayed shut. Locked. Damn.

Lena sat down on the stoop and leaned her head back to look at the first few stars of the night — Venus shone to the west, the planet brighter than anything else in the sky, but more stars slowly appeared as the sun dipper lower.

Her purse vibrated. She tilted it and squinted at the opening. Ah, her 'useless' burner. She didn't think she had much battery left in it. Charging stations were rare in this rundown sector of Metropolis.

A name flashed across the screen. One she hadn't read in years — Kelly Olsen — odd to see her biology partner from university calling her now of all times. Memories came with a bittersweet sadness.

She worked in a lab in the biology building, floor four, room twenty-two. Kelly sat on the stool next to her, her fingers deftly making the cuts in their animal atopsy. Stench of death wafted from the rabbit and mixed with the sterilizing chemicals of the lab. Lena took the samples Kelly offered and examined in the microscopes. Others she shifted to a DNA sequencers, and the blood samples to chemical analysis to test for toxins.

"So, Lena, hun, I require your honesty," Kelly said. Her skin looked ashen in the florescent lights, opposite Lena's own pale tones. She'd often joke that Lena was her personal 'ghost-friend.' "You still interested in Sam? Caught you staring at her the last two lectures."

Lena's blush gave her away, dammit. "So? A girl can look." Both Sam and her roommate Andi were gorgeous. Sam with her amber-toned skin, brown eyes, lucious long hair, and lovely toned muscles likely from Aikido. Andi served as an exact opposite with her wavy brown hair, blue eyes, and clear pale skin — her beauty lay in the shape of her symmetrical face, only a single scar marring her perfect features. Lena flirted with both of them, probably more than she ought.

"I think you should ask her out," Kelly persisted. She finished her last incision and washed the scalpel. "Seems level-headed and kind, plus her kid is cute."

"Ruby?" Lena liked the kid well enough. Smart for a ten-year-old. But she wasn't mother material, and it didn't seem fair to date Sam and not be a decent role-model for her kid. "It'll never work out," Lena said with a heavy sigh. She sifted through the toxic analysis data and marked down her findings. "Besides, my work comes first."

"You can't survive on work alone, Lena. Friends can help."

Words that proved frightening prescient to her now. Friends were few and far between these days.

So why was Kelly calling her? Could her abuser be coercing her to track Lena down? She had destroyed a good section of his lab during her escape. God, she hoped not, but the tactic rang true for his personality.

Lena nibbled on her lower lip. Pain won in the end. She flipped open the phone to take the call.

"Lena Walsh speaking." Her birthname, before her abusers snatched her away from love and home, and the name she intended to change to once she was free. Her attempt to sound confident came out more as a wheeze, her breaths rapid and weak.

"Lena, oh my god, Lena, you answered." A brief pause that sounded like a sucked in breath. "Hun, you sound terrible." Kelly's voice rang with a lovely familiarity that stung as much as it comforted. "Are you all right?"

"Could be better." She could see a total of seven stars, while the reds and oranges of the sunset faded into indigo and black.  Truly lovely sight, if she wasn't bleeding out on a sidewalk near the Atlantic shoreline.

"Listen, I know you're on a case. I know you likely received a text with a high paying sum. Don't take it."

"Ah, I'd ask how you knew, but alas, it's simply too late." Lena coughed and spat out a wad of blood. Lovely.

"Shit. All right, plan B. Where are you?"

"Spare me the concern. I won't…" Lena coughed up more blood. Damn it. She pressed her hand harder against the wound. It still oozed blood, and the lightheaded feeling was not an improvement.

She closed her eyes, frustrated and disgusted with herself mostly. Part of the reason Kelly hadn't called for over two years had been due to Lena's situation. Her phone had been tapped, until he'd destroyed it in a fit of rage, and her isolation in that bunker made maintaining any friendship impossible. Still, after her escape, she'd sent texts to the numbers she could recall.

Logically speaking it made sense Kelly would contact her on her burner. Kelly's number was one of the few she recalled. Odd she had knowledge of the case however.

"I need you to share where you are," Kelly reiterated. "I'm going to send help. Then I need you to not take the case. Get out of that city."

"What do you think I've been trying to do?" Lena snapped. The pain took away all her decorum.

"Then stop being stubborn and let me help you."

More stars appeared in the sky, the sun a sliver of red on the horizon. Streetlamps lit up the sidewalks all the way down to the seaside a half mile away. At this point, Lena didn't have much choice. So she relayed the cross streets from the text and hung up. Speaking any further only aggravated the injury. She clung to consciousness, even as the wellspring of darkness trickled into her vision.

Time whispered like a thief. Darkness dissected by the flare of yellow streetlamps. Stars glittered faintly, while the Milky Way lay obscured by the light pollution of Metropolis. A pity. The milky strands across the sky had lit her way on many a midnight wander when she lived in rural Ireland with her birth mother.

Those days felt so far away, like memories of an alternate life, full of wonder and freedom. Her mother had maintained trails near a park, but she also made herbal concoctions to soothe the aches of others. Lena often worked on her mathematics and many books curled in the grass at her mother's feet, her love of science and biology pulling her away from her mother's folk healing roots. That blissful existence ended a few weeks after her tenth birthday, a cloudless day and the start of her phobia of deep water.

Footsteps to her left caught her attention. She tried to straighten, but the pain spiked, and she leaned back with a hiss. Okay, so moving was out of the question.

"Lena Luthor?"

She blinked at the approaching figure. A tall woman approached, her golden hair in waves down her back, one strand curled over her left shoulder. Her eyes as blue as ocean waves in the secluded bay near her mother's former home. Her physique caught Lena's eyes, as she stared at how fantastically sculpted the woman was. And yet she wore the ugliest suit Lena had ever seen. Bright blue and red, her skirt far too short, her boots too high, her cape too grandiose, and that tight-fighted shirt? Some sort of superhero wash-out?

"Walsh," she corrected, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's Lena Walsh."

"So — oh, oh no, you're hurt!" The woman rushed over and knelt in front of Lena. When her eyes met Lena's own, Lena found herself breathless for very different reasons. Partly to survive, she'd grown adept at reading people, and this woman radiated strength but also gentleness. "Oh, that looks bad," the woman continued. "Very bad. You need to go to the —"

"No hospital, please. I cannot risk it." Lena grimaced and leaned her head back against the door's glass. "Fuck, just get a first aid kit. Some bourbon. Place to rest."

The woman scrunched her eyebrows, that forehead crinkle adorable, and frowned. "Okay. Kelly did say you'd be stubborn. I have a place we can go, if you don't mind being carried?"

"I suppose," her ragged breaths shattered her attempt to sound unbothered, "I don't have a choice." Lena raised an eyebrow. Gave herself a short rest before attempting her next sentence. "May I ask the name of my rescuer?"

The woman's cheeks reddened. "Kara— Uh, I mean Supergirl."

Lena gave her a pained smile. Relative of Superman? Cashing in on Superman's popularity? Not suitable questions. Table for pain and decorum. "Supergirl, be my guest."

The woman bent and gently cradled Lena against her chest. Still, this proved too much for Lena's injury. Spikes of agony jolted through her. Her vision blackened, the wave of dizziness from the blood loss hitting her yet again. This time she gave in, letting unconsciousness carry her far away from this wretched locale.

<<...>>

She woke to arguing and blinding light in her eyes. Wincing, she shielded her gaze with her hand. The window was open, it's blinds tied with a string. The breeze smelled faintly of car exhaust and the sky aglow with the colors of sunset yet again. Confused, she tried to sit upright, only to wince at the stabbing in her abdomen. She dropped back against the pillows with a hiss. Her blouse had been cut open, her wound bandaged and cleaned, and a quilted blanket lay across her torso.

Voices came from beyond the half-open door. "She can't stay here, Kara. She's a Luthor." Deep baritone voice — likely a man but could also be a nonbinary person with a deep voice. She probably shouldn't judge without asking.

"She goes by Walsh, Kal. And I can't leave her. She's injured." Definitely Kara's voice.

"And you trust her?"

"I trust Kelly and Alex."

"And do they trust her?" Impatience reeked from Baritone Voice.

"Kelly does. Knows her from university. I didn't ask specifics. Besides, would you leave someone bleeding out in a street?" The other person must have shaken his head as Kara's tone changed to confidant. "I thought so."

Their voices moved further away, until they sounded more like a rumble. Lena contemplated moving to the doorway to listen further, but standing proved far too onerous. She settled for analyzing the room. No posters on the walls. No paintings. Above the well-kept desk hung a workplace award in a black frame. The books on the desk's corner were two authors she didn't recognize, a Ursula Le Guin novel, and a Chicago Style Manual. By the door, a fern grew in a blue-speckled pot. The lack of personality told her little beyond Baritone Voice or Kara had good taste in science fiction.

She peered over the side of her bed and found her purse next to a first aid kit. Reaching down, she hissed at the pain but managed to snag her burner phone. The battery clung to two percent.

A lone text from Kelly read: Did you make it safely?

Lena sighed and typed: Yes. However, I do not know where I am. Clues please?

She didn't expect a reply, but Kelly must have been waiting for her as the text came within a minute. Can't say, but I trust them. You can too.

Lena nibbled on her lip before typing a reply: Trust isn't easy for me. Not after being kidnapped. So forgive for not trusting them blindly.

I know. I've been trying to find you since you vanished. I'm sorry it took this long. Your brother hides his activities quite well. Please believe me that these two will keep you safe.

Lena blinked at the text. Her battery fizzled down to one percent. Before she decided on a reply, the phone shut off. "Great," she grumbled. From her vintage point, the nearest outlet was beyond her reach. Irritating.

"You're awake!" Kara's voice startled her, and her phone dropped from her hand over the side of the bed. Before she could speak or even blink, Kara disappeared and reappeared at her side, phone in hand. "Here." She handed the phone back with a smile. Her awful suit was gone and replaced with sweatpants and a T-shirt decorated with dancing food items. Perhaps twisted donuts? No, maybe dumplings?

"How are you feeling?"

Lena grimaced. "Either the pain has incited hallucinations or you moved far faster than a human ought."

Kara winced. "Right, sorry. Superspeed." She picked up a glass of water, that Lena felt sure hadn't been there before Kara's arrival, and dug out pain meds from the first aid kit. "I figured since I flew you here, you already knew I'm an alien. No need to hide it."

And no need to give away her lack of memory of any flights. She simply took the Tynelol and drank the water. Pain made her thoughts bounce between memories of her prior encounters with aliens — the ones on campus who had been more Sam and Kelly's friends than her own and those that lived in homeless camps or dilapidated apartment buildings. A few dropped by her own camp with food sometimes. She repaired their gear in return.

Her kidnappers had been human not alien.

"I understand," she said, quietly, as she turned the glass in her hands, "that my presence here causes an imposition with… the current occupant."

"Kal?" Kara wrinkled her nose and sat on the edge of the bed. "Oh, don't worry about him. My cousin can be a tad paranoid, but he's a gentle soul. Lex's betrayal still rubs him raw."

Lex.

Her sociopath brother.

The tormentor of her youth.

Her kidnapper and current stalker.

She breathed in sharply, and fear and rage roared through her simpering pain:

Her arms jerked backward at a painful angle, her wrists latched to the chair's back with handcuffs. He leered over her, his brown eyes bright in the darkened room, and his grin not at all pleasant. Still, his black suit was impeccably tailored, his face clean-shaven, and his cologne that irritating musk that tickled her nose into sneezing.

"Come now, sister, don't you wish to achieve far more than a petty degree? We'll destroy the alien menace together and commandeer their abilities for ourselves." He ran a finger down the side of her face.

"Over my dead body," she snarled and spat in his face. His hand slapped her so hard, her vision fractured into grey noise.

"Lena?" A hand gently touched her shoulder.

Lena recoiled, her breaths in short gasps. Pain shot up her sides from the sudden movement. She blinked at window and the desk — not at all the stark utility of a bunker. Slow, steady breaths until the fear ceased to pound in her ears.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry." Kara held up her hands, palms outward as if in a gesture of peace. "Did I hurt you?"

Lena shook her head and leaned back, her gaze on the speckled ceiling, and the glass on her stomach. The smooth, cool moisture on the cold cup oriented her in this reality. Far from the dark caverns of the bunker, the desperate race to hack doors and escape, the flight through the woods, and the painful homeless months. She'd carefully built up her savings through informal work, but her plan to escape west felt insurmountable now. All her money lay in that safe tucked into an abandoned subway station at Everly and King in the Swan district of Metropolis.

"Are you okay? Do you—"

"No," Lena said, flatly, "It's fine."

"It doesn't sound fine."

"I'd prefer to never hear his name again, if you would so please." She didn't want to share her story. The unknowns of the situation unnerved her, but the pain tumbled her thoughts into a tangle, logical reasoning smothered. No, rest best then analyze once pain retreats.

"Noted." Kara turned and picked up a bowl from the desk. Had she used superspeed to bring in food? When? "I made some soup. You should eat up." She smiled apologetically. "I can fly and run fast, but I sadly can't heal wounds. Would have been nifty power to have."

Lena found it hard to not like this woman. Her earnest kindness slithered through her walls. When she made no move to take the bowl, Kara, instead, lifted a spoonful for her to sip.

"You need food to heal, Lena."

Nausea said otherwise, but with a grumble, Lena gave in and allowed Kara to feed her. It stung her ego, but even the thought of sitting upright had her injury rebelling in protest. Once she'd eaten enough, Kara pulled over the desk chair and nabbed the Ursula Le Guin book.

"I can keep you company if you like."

Lena found she very much liked this, but the silence weighed heavily on her chest. "Please," Lena laid her hand as close as she dared to Kara's arm. "Share about your day. Your voice is oddly soothing."

Kara chuckled. "Thanks. You know, I've had a lot of people tell me to go into voice acting. So, okay, my day. Let's see... Mornings for me are sacred times. I meditate after my shower, obtain coffee and donuts — must be creme filled with chocolate frosting but I'll settle for the sugar donuts in a pinch."

"Donuts, huh?" The med slowly dulled the pain, but with that easing, exhaustion rushed to fill that void. Far too many days of barely five hours of sleep seemed to have caught up to her.

"Definitely! Those sugary goodnesses fuel me through the morning," Kara grinned and gently brushed Lena's hair from her face, the gesture oddly intimate. Her blue eyes were intent on Lena's while a red blush tinged her tanned cheeks. "I then head to Catco." At Lena's raised eyebrow, Kara explained, "It's a popular magazine out west, and one of the larger employers in National City."

Lena's contributions to the conversation slowly tapered off, but Kara kept sharing without much prompting. Somewhere during Kara's description of her new job as an assistant to a Chief Editor at Catco, Lena slid into the warmth of sleep.

Chapter Text

Kara dwelled in a liminal state between cheerful and sad. Survivor's guilt wrapped its talons across her chest most days, Krypton's destruction like chains upon her soul. On those days, flying felt impossible, and the world howled with a ferocity that left her huddled under blankets with noise cancelling headphones to lessen the intensity of her sensory overload.

Other days, Kara existed in that liminal state, where she could smile and act cheerful but her heart never fully engaged. Very few people cracked this cheerful mask, but of them, Alex, her adoptive sister, did so regularly, mostly to prod Kara into admitting how she truly felt. Honesty orbited determination and loyalty, binding them forever as adoptive sisters. Particularly considering all they'd survived the last few years together.

Yet even then she wouldn't describe her times with Alex as joyful. Frustrating or silly seemed more apt. The fights they had after Kara was adopted at age thirteen made her teen years lonely and overwhelming. Then came the mystery of Kara's missing friend — her only friend — which brought her and Alex together as a team. Satisfaction marred by the grief of her lost friend gave that mystery a bittersweet ending.

Yet solving mysteries, as fascinating as they could be, did not truly bring Kara joy.

She did not think anything on Earth or the universe could bring her joy again.

Until she met Lena.

Sure, their first meeting involved a LOT of blood, mostly Lena's, and confusing mysteries — why was she injured? Why was the alleyway across the way also coated with blood? — but her ethereal beauty had taken Kara's breath away. The sweep of Lena's jaw outlined her austere features, and yet her eyes were the color of a lush field in summer, and her ebony hair falling in ringlets around her face and down her back. Her brain halted in an error message, like when Alex somehow broke her laptop and Brainy had to fix it yet again. When Lena had asked for her name, Kara, being the dork that she was, accidentally said her name instead of her Supergirl moniker.

In her defense, she was still new to superheroing. She'd saved Alex's plane only a few months prior, met Brainy in a rather bizarre incident involving exploding eggs and a talking cake — Kara's still not sure it was a cake despite it's delicious chocolate scent — and a time travel ring. He'd lost it in the talking cake, though he refused to explain how that worked. Kara had to negotiate it's return, while Alex deactivated — with Brainy's help — the exploding eggs before they took out downtown National City. Usually Kara had the privilege of deactivating bombs, delicious puzzles that if she failed she could just toss into space. Since studying science brought too much attention - Earth still had yet to understand quantum gravity - Kara often had her science fiction stories and puzzle games to keep her mind sharp. Brainy's appearance, and the bizarre case he'd presented, had scratched that itch.

Yet despite the fun in solving a case, she still felt no true joy in it. Even after befriending Brainy, joy didn't erupt at the new potential board game partner. She'd felt pleased with a side order of happiness, but such emotions always fluttered out of reach like butterflies on a cloudy day.

But Lena.

Golly, Lena.

Kara sat in Kal's office chair and watched the injured woman sleep. Today marked the thirteenth day at his place, and Lena proved to be quite witty and incredibly intelligent. Kara wondered if she held a contest on who could make the coolest gadget — no superspeed or flying allowed — she's sure Lena would give Brainy a run for his money. Her descriptions of various devices she'd made or will make, once she obtains access to a laboratory, amazed Kara with their creativity.

Such as the thermal detector made from spare parts found in a junkyard? Right out of a pulp science fiction novel that Alex so loved to read.

The questions she asked Kara often required her to stop and think, particularly ones related to engineering and physics, but she never pressed if Kara couldn't answer. Questions about Krypton being a topic she found too painful still.

Perhaps it was the way Lena's green eyes lit up with curiosity when she spoke that manifested joy. Maybe the sultry tone her voice held at times, which got Kara blushing more than usual. Or her long, slender fingers and her deft repairs of any broken item Kara happened across, which was many considering Kal and her sometimes misjudged their strength in moments of extreme emotion.

She couldn't quite pin down what exactly about Lena captivated her so much, even in this brief time of knowing her, but the more she learned about Lena, the more that elusive emotion rooted itself in her heart, blossoming into joy with each moment shared.

Today, Kara had attempted a beef stew since Lena mentioned it being a favorite of hers. The way Lena's nose wrinkled when she breathed in the aromas, and the uptick of her lips as she sipped the broth, it all buzzed in Kara's brain in a pleasant, happy way.

"Are you intent on watching me eat?" Lena said, amused. She scooped up a spoonful of stew, bits of beef mixed with the potatoes and softened carrots, and plopped it in her mouth.

"Sorry." Kara looked down at her book, Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin. "You're just very pretty."

Oh golly, did she just say that out loud?

"Thanks." Lena's voice turned soft, a hint of rouge in her cheeks and neck, her eyes downturned toward the teal bowl of stew. Steam still rose from it to mingle with the scents from outside, Kara's supernose sometimes too super. "I admit, I am at a bit of a loss." She smiled, but the crinkle between her sculpted eyebrows betrayed a hint of pain or distress. She set the bowl on the table next to her bed, the spoon dropped inside it with a squelch sound. "You've not left my side since locating me. Do you not have duties of your own?"

"I do, but the new job starts…" she checked the date on her phone, "oh dang two days from now on Monday. I suppose you'll only see me on breaks and after work then." Cat, her new boss, returned from her vacation, and she needed to be present and ready to go at eight am sharp. A task Kara could surely do. She hoped the clothes she'd bought with Alex's help would be good enough for Cat's tastes. She simply couldn't afford some of the suits she'd seen Cat wear. So she'd found approximates in pastel tones. She didn't want to stand out too much, which bold colors seemed to do in some human societies, but she hoped to show some status. How quickly clothing styles shifted in status baffled her however since Krypton tended toward flowing robes with only insignias or crests to give one's status. Far less complicated.

"I should be healed enough to be on my way," Lena said, interrupting the detour in Kara's thoughts. "I do not wish to impose my presence on your cousin unnecessarily."

"Nonsense." Kara waved her hand. "Kal doesn't mind at all."

Lena's right eyebrow shot up, which Kara decided must be Lena's incredulous look. As much as Kara tried to keep her talks with Kal quiet, the apartment wasn't exactly soundproof between bedrooms. Thus, the arguments Kara had with Kal, every couple days, likely could be heard by Lena. If not in words, at least the emotions in tones might be detectable. Humans read one another's tones and nonverbal movements with amazing skill, but Kara didn't know how well humans parsed alien verbal and nonverbal cues. In either case, if Lena could parse their words, they were all oriented around the same issue — Lex and his connection to Lena.

The name Lena had asked her not to say, so she meant to honor that promise.

Kal wanted to question Lena, dig into why Lex attacked him with Green Kryptonite cannons, what Lena knew of that attack, and to find Lex's current whereabouts and plans. Kara refused to allow this because a promise was a promise. Plus, she was convinced Lena had been abused based on Lena's terrified — or angry? — expression when Kara first mentioned Lex. Lena's jumpiness at loud sounds proved another piece of evidence, or how she froze, her scent turning acidic, at any mention of Lex, oceans, or underground rooms. Touching her when she froze, Kara quickly learned did not help, but counting colors in the room or saying something incredibly silly drew her back to the present. She didn't mind doing this to ease Lena's pain, beyond tending her wound and providing pain meds.

Stubbornness ran in her family, however, and Kal couldn't let go of the thought that Lena might hold clues to the Lex mystery. So she fielded the arguments, and reminded him that interrogating a victim often worsened their trauma. Kelly tended to remind her, James, and Alex of this constantly.

"You are a terrible liar," Lena drawled, her accent so rich and lovely, and one that Kara couldn't quite place. Definitely not Metropolis accent or National City. "Listen, I do need to return to my …" she paused, that crinkle between her eyebrows back with a vengeance, "… former accommodations to retrieve my gear. If it hasn't all been stolen by now." She grimaced.

"Stolen? Why would it be stolen?" Kara leaned against the bed, her hand close to Lena's, or as close as she dared to go. Lena's hand would fit so snugly in her own, and she itched to test her theory. "Give me the key, and I'll go collect your things from your apartment. Oh maybe with a list too so I know what to grab."

Lena sighed. "I don't have an apartment."

Kara tilted her head. "House then?" When Lena shook her head, Kara reviewed what other places might serve as accommodations for humans. "A car? No? Um, a boat?"

Lena gently touched Kara's wrist. "Please speak of this with no one, understood?" Kara nodded and slid her other hand under her leg to stop herself from laying it over Lena's hand. "I live… or rather lived in an abandoned subway tunnel on the corner of Everly and King in the Swan district."

Kara blinked as that information saturated her brain. "Wait, wait, a subway tunnel? You…" Concern wove into her timbres. "… you don't have a home, do you?"

Lena shook her head and leaned back against her pillows. She hadn't moved her hand away from Kara's wrist. "I have no access to any of my accounts. I can't risk that. Which meant earning money informally. Most know me as Kieran there."

"What kind of jobs?" The name rang a bell, but at first, Kara couldn't place how.

Lena shrugged with her uninjured side. "Mostly locating missing items or animals. Photographs or videos of specific areas or people."

The word photograph dislodged the memory. A few days ago, Alex had been frustrated at the lack of leads in the Blue Blood Case, so she'd contacted Sam Arias, her contact for odd jobs. Sam often contracted out to various smaller named folks, and Kieran had been one of them! That's right!

"Wait, you're that super-cool Kieran detective?" Kara leaned forward, her other hand freed from her leg, and moving to immediately cover Lena's hand. "Golly, that ruins all Alex's theories."

"Wait, your sister theorized as to my identity? Why?" Lena pulled her hands away and tucked them under the blanket.

The crinkle returned and her lips downturned, her eyes intent on Kara's own, which made it a trifle hard to process Lena's question. Especially as Kara found herself mourning the loss of Lena's hands within her own. Holding Lena's hands must be what joy felt like, she mused. The softness of another's skin that fit snugly into one's own hand, like the key to a lock, opening up her emotions with ease. She really needed to coral these feelings before she fluttered away, combusting into a rain of hearts like a character from Nia's favorite Anime. 

Though, now that she was thinking of it, Nia always had the best books and Anime at her bookshop. Plus it sat next to the best donut shop in town. Kara suspected Lena would enjoy that shop as well, considering the wealth of knowledge upon those shelves.

Lena tapped Kara's arm. "Kara, explain please."

"Oh, right, sorry." Kara winced at being caught daydreaming again, her face heating up in yet another blush. "Well…" She hunted for a way to explain. "So my sister often takes on cases, and if there's a lot of tasks in a case, she'll punt some to Sam, who has this epic network of contractors. One of those contractors was someone named Kieran, who Sam praised as her best photographer."

Lena held up a finger. "Sam? Do you know her last name?"

Kara tapped her bottom lip. "Starts with an 'A' I think."

"Arias by chance?"

"Yeah!" Kara snapped her fingers. Lena winced at the sudden loud sound. "Sorry." She slid her hand back under her leg. "Sam Arias. Started working with Alex and Kelly ages ago. They'd been searching for someone, but refused to get me involved."

Lena stared at Kara as if she was an alien. Well, Kara was an alien, but this was the first time Lena looked both shocked and amazed, mixed with a heady scent of perhaps fear since it had an acidic quality instead of Lena's usual sweeter tang. The pretty woman shook herself and managed a small smile, "I see. So how does this network work?"

As tempting as it was to ask how Lena new Sam's name, Kara didn't feel confident enough to push Lena on this. Reading human's body languages proved to be a puzzle she still hadn't quite figured in its totality. "I don't know how it all works. I only know of 'Kieran' because of superhearing. Alex sometimes mutters to herself when she's deep in thought. She's been considering ways to locate you to give you a job."

"A job?" Lena repeated the word, her scent shifting from slightly acidic to a more sweeter scent, while her eyes widened and mouth dropped just enough to show off her teeth. Surprise maybe?

"Yeah." Kara figured context might help. "Alex runs a private detective agency with J'onn Jozz, and she's down a member because her former partner took a better job in Star City up north." Beyond that, Kara didn't know if she should be the one disclosing further details. Alex tended to be intensely private.

"A job," Lena repeated a third time, more to herself than to Kara it seemed, her voice soft with a hint of perhaps wonder. "Where is this job?"

"Oh," Kara deflated. "It's in National City. Pretty far, huh?"

"Wait, a job on the west coast?" Lena leaned forward, winced in pain, but her hand gripped Kara's in an almost vise-like grip. Despite the coolness of Lena's skin, warmth shot through Kara at her touch, all her focus on Lena's words and minute changes in her skin tone and nonverbal movements. "Kara, please, alert your sister immediately of my number so we can discuss this further. This may be exactly what I need." Her smile blossomed with such radiance, the skin around her eyes crinkling, and the way Lena tilted her head as if listening closely to a melody on she could hear.

Kara promised herself then and there to find more ways to make Lena smile. So wonderfully pretty. She felt almost lightheaded from the heady rush of delight at having caused that smile, even if it was simply her relaying Alex's job offer. "All right. I'll give her a call." Kara's face blazed with heat, so that was a thing. Cool. She shifted her focus to something more mundane. Ah, the stew, its steam not quite as potent. "Now, how about you finish your stew, and I can answer any questions you have. Though I can't guarantee I'll know the answer. I just help Alex sometimes."

Lena released Kara's hand and picked up her spoon again. "Thank you." That smile remained in all its glory. Maybe this was what joy felt like.

Chapter Text

Lena stepped around a cave-in that blocked part of the subway tunnel not far from Swan station. She ducked under the rebar Kara held as if it was just kindling rather than steel and concrete. Her cane thumped against the concrete side path, while next to them the rails dug deeper into the middle of the corridor. Flicking on her flashlight, she led the way down the deserted tunnel, parts of its ceiling caved in with concrete and clay. A stench radiated from spots of stagnant water, each contaminated with a film of green algae.

Her side still throbbed with each step, but thanks to Kara's care, she no longer risked dying. A small improvement. Staying in bed, however, would drive Lena mad. Thirteen days was enough. She negotiated with Kara, who was dead set against her moving so soon, that she needed to not let her muscles atrophy in bed. Compromise meant using a cane and Kara there as bodyguard.

Still, she decided to keep her scanner activated. If any person or listening device was located, it would vibrate the flashlight she held. Implanting it in the flashlight meant she couldn't use any screens for finer details, but she hadn't had the tools for that level of sophistication anyway.

"Is it okay to ask why you live down here?" Kara asked as she lifted another piece of concrete for Lena to duck under.

Lena sighed. "It's complicated." The path curled around a loose bend, and she searched along the wall for the mark she'd made to mark her hideout. "Suffice to say, if news of my existence reaches certain ears, then I'll be in far more danger than I am currently."

Kara tapped her chin. "Okay. Gotcha. You know, for a hiding spot, this is pretty cool. Underground, far from prying eyes, creepy darkness. Don't tell me, cobwebs and spooky ghosts too?"

Lena smiled. Her fingers found the indent she'd carved in the wall. "And what type of ghosts would inhabit an old subway tunnel?"

"Hmm. Train ghosts. Or the ghosts of travelers past. Ooooo." Kara wiggled her arms as if that signified a ghost somehow. "I a ghost of long ago travelers. I haunt you with my heavy suitcase. Ooooo."

Lena chuckled and paused by a caved in entrance. A few months ago, during her explorations for more secluded spots than the homeless' tent city, she discovered this crack when a rat darted from it, startling her. Her light beam revealed amber tiles on the other side, and so she'd wiggled through with minimum effort. That was when she was well however. With her current injury, she doubted she could safely pass without aggravating it.

"It's in here." She gestured to the crack. "Widening it needs to be done carefully else you facilitate another cave-in."

"Point me and I'll strike." Kara brought up her fists.

The way Kara's muscles bulged, even in her sweatshirt, really did wonders to Lena's libido. She turned away to avoid staring and focused on the fallen concrete and rocks. A few quick calculations and taps on the wall eliminated some in favor of others. After a few more taps, she pinpointed the best strike location and marked it with ink. She stepped back as Kara punched. Just as she hoped, the concrete under the spot shattered, widened the hole, but the rest only trembled, still holding firmly.

"Teamwork makes the dream work!" Kara said with a grin.

"Are you always this corny?" Lena ducked inside the station proper. Amber-hued tiles still adorned much of the floor, though a few lay broken and smeared with soot and gravel.

"Sometimes. Other times I'm as serious as …" she paused, "what rhymes with serious? Heiress?"

"You'll need to work on that one."

Their boots left prints in the dust, but with a bit of shuffling, she smeared it just in case. Last thing she needed was someone to find this place and wonder about the prints. Her boots were secondhand from a thrift shop, so unlikely to pinpoint to her but she'd rather play it safe.

In the far left corner, clusters of thick pillars lay across the ground, also covered with amber tiles. She stepped around one and breathed a sigh of relief. The corner of the wall and pillar held a bolted down box, and inside, her electronic supplies sat snuggly against a small locked chest.

"It's all here, thank heavens." She gathered the chest and supplies and stowed in the bag Kara carried. "Not much else to see." The space she swept regularly, though after thirteen days it held a thin layer of dust, which made her sleeping bag and pillow nasty. She didn't see the point in rescuing that. A square piece of the wall she'd dragged over for a table, and it held her dishes, the firepit located in a broken tile with the pot still sitting next to it.

Kara slid the pack back on her shoulders. "I'm sorry you had to live like this. You won't have to in National City."

Lena shrugged. "It is what it is." She leaned against the wall to take a moment to breath. The throbbing in her wound grew slowly, but she had another hour before it was safe to take the next pain med. "Staying in an apartment or hotel required money and a legal name, both of which would tip off my…" she trailed off with a grimace.

Kara briefly rested a hand on Lena's shoulder. "It's okay. You don't have to talk about it if its too much."

She mustered a smile for the gorgeous alien. "Thanks. I appreciate that."

Stepping out of the alcove, she surveyed the hall with its sweeping ceilings, amber floors and pillars, and the remnants of posters along its walls. A part of her would miss this place. Other parts of the delirect station held remnants of her experiments: broken bots, singed concrete, and ruined slugs. It had served her well as a makeshift laboratory.

Tucked in the northern corner, in the remnants of the office, Lena had assembled pieces for a rudimentary darkroom. She led Kara over and pushed against the door. It scraped against the concrete with a screech.

"I need to develop the pictures." She stepped inside. After flicking on the string of red lanterns, she stared in dismay at the dust coating her gear and chemicals. "I didn't expect to be occupied so long."

"You were hurt and still are," Kara gently dusted off the chair and pulled it closer. "Rest."

Lena grimaced but allowed Kara to settle her in the plastic chair. Atop the counter she kept her her specialized chemicals and the platinum and silver nitrate plates. Most she had obtained through illegal means since access to LuthorCorp's labs or any lab was too dangerous.

The enlarger proved the hardest equipment to find, considering how outdated film was since the rise of digital cameras. Lena, however, found film to accent certain details better than digital and allowed for more control over coloration and contrast in the processing. Some of her cases involved 'magic' per se, which Lena doubted magic actually existed, but her film did show strange bubbles of rainbows, like a film of oil cast over her targets.

However, the state of her darkroom would likely ruin her current case. She counted two spilled chemicals from a burst container, and the enlarger's machinery was coated in dust from a fallen ceiling tile. Cleaning it all required far more energy than she currently had, thanks to her wound.

"I'll need the equipment here," Lena gestured to the counter. "Finding equipment for film processing is incredibly difficult."

"You made a dark room in an abandoned Subway station?" Kara said with wonder in her voice. Lena smiled amused when Kara turned to her in delight. "I know of a great spot for a darkroom! We could process your film together!"

As much as she didn't quite trust Kara yet, she found she enjoyed the idea of company. Especially with her pain, some of the drying might be out of her reach since reaching upward strained the wound. Kara's height and eagerness would alleviate that issue nicely.

"By all means," she drawled, "let's pack up and investigate the suitability of your 'spot.'"

Under her careful instruction, they packed the chemicals, plates, trays, and other tools. The enlarger Kara opted to carry since dismantling it for storage required tools Lena no longer had. Likely that cache had been raided while she was gone. Probably a good thing she'd bolted down her safe.

"Let's go." She turned her back on this segment of her history. Best to keep moving forward. A motto she'd adopted since her escape. As she led the way back toward the underground entrance, she spotted an odd imprint in the dust further down the tunnel from her hideout.

She held up a finger and swung her flashlight over the imprint of a shoe. Specifically high heels, which was odd to see in a place like this. Digging through her handbag, she removed her camera and took pictures of the spot. Sometimes, if her luck held, she'd capture what her eyes could not fully see.

"Do you recognize it?" Kara stared at the shoeprint with a frown.

"Heels." She tapped her fingernail against the side of her camera's case. The pain throbbed the more she moved, but this mystery enticed her. "Slight detour."

"Lena, you need rest," Kara admonished. "Can't this wait? There's little wind here. The footprints should keep."

"Not if it rains." Lena looped her camera's strap over her head and gripped her cane tighter. "Besides, there's a second exit further ahead. A little harder to reach, but with your strength it's doable." Or rather her flying, but Lena didn't want to advertise that in case someone listened in. No devices turned up in her scan earlier, but with our fresh the print was? She couldn't risk that.

The footprints lead south, deeper into the darkness of the subway tunnels. A few stray red lights flickered in side doors, most of them either partially blocked by rubble, or firmly locked and rusted from recent floods. Impressive that any power still functioned down here since Swan district was the most neglected sector of Metropolis.

"Okay, this is officially an horror movie setting," Kara whispered. "I'm expecting an alien of the week now."

"This isn't X-files," Lena whispered back. Their voices still carried, the echo slight due to the rubble distorting their sound waves.

"If it was, would you be Scully and I Mulder?"

"Sure." She did prefer Scully to Mulder. Her beam swept across the floor, over the tracks to the other side. No sign of footprints over there, though likely due to that side holding most of the cave-ins. The footprints walked the edge of the tracks, until they promptly disappeared entirely one hundred meters south of her hideout.

Lena searched the ground for any sign of them on either side of the tracks and along the tracks themselves. Nothing.

"Lena." Kara gently brushed her shoulder against Lena's. "Look toward ten o'clock."

She pointed her flashlight in that direction and stared. The blue blood she'd seen in the alleyway coated the ground along with the same strange symbols. Four pictures later, she had documentation from front, back, and side of the bizarre ritualistic evidence. "What even is this?"

Kara stared at the symbols, her expression one Lena had yet to see prior. "That… that's Kryptonian." Her voice held a slight tremor to its timbre. ".m̩buɑnes tiv non w tiv tahn uru ;zov kehiehku tiv kigrhysium i threhk w tiv zhgehvuju rahn," she spoke the words slowly, the sounds almost harsh, "meaning 'the three will be walking across the land, and the blood of the weak will flow on the whole world."

Lena frowned. "Have you heard of this before then?"

Kara shook her head. "It reminds me of a summoning ritual, but I thought Kryptonian witches had died when my world died. Kal and I were the only survivors I thought."

"What do you mean your world died?" Lena glanced at Kara, but in the darkness of the tunnel made it hard to discern her features.

"Just that it's gone. Exploded." Kara's voice went flat. "If this is why Alex didn't want me on the case, then we're going to have a talk. Someone is using my heritage for harm, and I won't stand for it."

"Kara…" Lena couldn't wrap her mind around an entire planet exploding. "I'm sorry. For what it's worth, I will assist in locating this person."

Kara gave her a nod and closed her eyes, her breaths deep and long as if to calm herself. Lena didn't know quite what to do, so she tried resting her hand on Kara's shoulder. This seemed to work as Kara's shoulders slowly relaxed. "Thanks," she said, softly after several minutes of slow breathing. She opened her eyes and gave Lena a weak smile. "I appreciate it."

Gently, she set down the enlarger and approached the ritualistic drawing. Crouching, she sniffed the area. "Blue blood. Can smell the iron and hemoglobin. Not many aliens I know of have blue blood. Aloi is one. We have had a lot of missing alien cases."

"So someone is killing aliens to use their blood in a ritual that relies on your language?" Lena leaned against pile of concrete and fished out her writing pad. She sketched the symbols and the pattern, marking where the blood was concentrated the most. Once she developed her film, she can compare this to the other scene.

"Apparently." Kara stood and dusted off her knees. "Why is this so close to your hideout?" She turned and her face shone in the light of Lena's flashlight.

Lena tapped her pen against her pad. "I don't think the person knew of my hideout. The dust was undisturbed and the only thing missing was the cache of tools I kept by its entrance. Anyone could come down here, it's known to most houseless people though they usually stay away due to risks of cave-ins."

"So coincidence then." Kara picked up the enlarger.

"If you contemplating whether I had a hand in this, strike the thought." Lena tucked away her writing pad. "This is fresh, and I've been in your care for the past thirteen days."

"No! I didn't mean to imply that." Kara shook her head. "It's just… if they were so close, why didn't they find your hideout? Nab your things? And why did the footprints just vanished? Unless they flew out, but why walk in if they could fly?"

The questions gave Lena a headache. "If I knew, we wouldn't be standing here," she snapped. The pain continued to worsen. Sure, it wasn't quite an hour yet, but she rifled through her bag to nab the pain meds anyway. At Kara's continued silence, Lena sighed and took the pills with a sip of water. "Look, right now we have little information. We need to find or build a new darkroom, process my film, and try to contact the person who offered this case. Hopefully they'll have more details."

"Right." Kara nibbled on her lower lip. "How about we get out of here?"

"Yes, please." Pushing off the rock, she led Kara around another cave-in to the next service ladder. She hadn't planned on involving herself beyond the pictures task, but the Kryptonian Kara read troubled her. She knew how much her brother obsessed over Superman, so it wouldn't surprise her if he attempted to learn their language. He also had a deadly anger at the presence of any alien, and he'd definitely find people to do his dirty work for him.

Yet from what she found so far, she had no evidence to prove a link to him. Only a hunch that this somehow related to her kidnapping and experiments he'd forced on her.

Chapter Text

Kara decided to return to her cousin's mostly because he had space for the enlarger and a hotel made Lena feel too exposed. Besides, the apartment couldn't get more secure than two Kryptonians there to keep watch. What she had not anticipated was Lois, who Kara could have sworn was still outside the country on assignment in Kasnia.

So when she entered the kitchen and put down the enlarger, she nearly jumped through the ceiling at the sudden greeting.

"Woah, Kara," Lois said with a laugh. "Didn't mean to scare the hell out of you."

Kara turned around and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I didn't expect you'd be back yet."

"Just got in today actually." She leaned against the counter, her dark brown hair pulled back in a bun and her hazel eyes glancing back at the stove. A kettle sat on a burner, it's flame heating up the water, likely for tea. Today she wore a T-shirt with an angry cat under the heavily stylized letters for CAF — Cats against Fascists, the punk rock band that Lois and Kal adored. "Have to say, I did not expect you here. What are you doing in Metropolis?"

"Kelly asked me to come rescue someone since Superman was occupied." The truth seemed best, though she wasn't sure what all she could share. "Actually, that person…"

Kara turned toward Lena to introduce her, only to realize two things:

1. Lena's scent turned acidic.

2. She had frozen, by the front door, fear written across her features, and her knuckles almost white from their tight grip on the cane.

"Oh golly, it's ok." Kara held up her hands as if that might calm the spooked woman. "It's just Lois. Kal's girlfriend." This did not seem to de-escalate the situation as her words seemed to increase Lena's heartbeat rather than decrease.

"Oh?" Lois poked her head around the corner. Lena, while still tense, schooled her features into a bland expression. "Kara, were you going to introduce your lady friend or not?" She gave Kara's arm a friendly smack before turning to Lena with a smile. She held out her hand. "I'm Lois Lane."

Lena's eyebrows rose. "Pleasure to meet you." She gingerly shook Lois's hand. "I'm Kieran." After the handshake, she leaned against the wall, her skin paler than usual, and her breaths shallow again. Which meant her pain had increased.

And she used her alias. Kara wondered at the sudden tension, but first she needed to check on Lena's wound. "You should lie down so I can check that wound."

"I'm fine," Lena said, sharply.

"Sorry, I have superhearing." She tapped her ear. "Your body says otherwise."

"The guest bedroom is open," Lois said. "And don't worry about me. I'll work on some dinner." She jerked her thumb at Kara, "that one and her cousin can eat enough for a dozen of us. Chinese okay?"

Lena nodded, while Kara squealed in delight. "Extra potstickers please!"

Lois laughed and waved her away. "No chance in hell I'd forget. Last time you tackled Clark for taking just one."

"And I'll do it again if he dares to even look at my potstickers!" She gently took Lena's arm to navigate her past the kitchen. Lois turned toward the stove, her fingers tapping on her phone's screen, while she hummed one of CAF's punk rock songs.

Once in the bedroom, Kara shut the door and nabbed the first aid kit from its spot on the dresser. Earlier, right before they left, Kara had used superspeed to make the bed, so it had clean sheets at least. However, her patient stood in the center of the room, unmoving, leaning heavily on her cane. "Uh, it'll be easier if you lay down."

"Lois Lane." Lena shook her head. "Kara, I can't be around a journalist. The last thing I need is someone recognizing me or sniffing around my business. Any news that I'm alive or still in the city could jeopardize my safety."

"So we don't tell her." Kara kept one ear tuned to Lois's location. So far, she stayed in the kitchen, still humming, while she messed with the kettle. Likely already typed in an order. "Besides, she isn't going to interview or use your name or presence without permission."

"You don't know that." Lena crossed her arms, winced, and uncrossed them. "I've stayed out of the limelight the best I could, and I'd like to stay that way."

"Look, Lois is pretty understanding of folks in bad situations. If you need protection, then she's your gal. You're safe, okay?" Kara sat on the edge of the bed and patted it in hopes of enticing Lena to finally lay down. "She might even be able to help us. You need a safe way to National City, and your options are either let me fly you or we forge some documents for a plane ticket."

Lena sighed and set her purse down on the bedside table. Her fingers lingered on the leather straps. "I have some prototype's pictures for possible IDs, but I have been unsuccessful in locating a reliable forger. The two I tried wasted my money as the IDs lacked the new watermarks."

"I bet Lois can help with that."

"Or Sam." Lena finally shuffled fully onto the bed and propped herself up with the pillows. Her breathing eased significantly, and her heartbeat had fallen to a less stressed level. "She used to make forged documents for the aliens in Swan and Hatten districts." She rested her hands on her stomach and looked up at the ceiling, the crinkle back between her eyebrows. "Is it possible Lois can obtain police information concerning the blue blood massacres we've found?"

"I can ask discretely. Say I'm checking into for my sister. Lois knows Alex is a private detective."

As troubling as the horrifying scenes were, the lure of a puzzle drew Kara's attention. Puzzles delighted her, and this one held not only an urgency but multiple layers — who crafted the ritual, why Kryptonian was used, how that person had access to it, why they did it, and who they targeted.

"That will do nicely." A faint smile tugged Lena's lips. "Thank you for understanding."

"Hey, no problem. I know how important hiding can be. I've had to hide being an alien for most of my time on Earth." She did not want to admit out loud how she accidentally gave Lena her first name because she'd been too enamored with her beauty. Embarrassing. Better change topic fast. "So! How about that wound of yours?"

Lena raised an eyebrow, her words almost like a purr. "Eager to touch me again?"

Oh golly, the way her voice dropped when she said touch felt like a jolt of lightning down Kara's chest to her navel. Her face warmed, likely red as a tomato. "Um. I mean… your wound…" Words did not want to exit correctly thanks to Lena's teasing smile. She held up cleaning wipes in a desperate attempt to return her brain to the task at hand.

Lena lifted her shirt enough to reveal the bandage that covered her right abdomen and side. "By all means, touch away." Again her words held a purr along with a hint of amusement.

Kara gulped, helpless in the face of Lena's flirtations. "Right." She ripped open the cleaning pad, only to rip the pad itself, resulting in a ruined mess. That elicited one of Lena's lovely laughs, which sadly turned into a wince from pain. For that, Kara handed her some Tynelol and bottled water, which she dutifully took. Now for the wound itself.

Gently, she wiggled the tape to avoid hurting Lena's skin. Her emerald eyes watched Kara closely, and she felt she might combust under Lena's scrutiny. Once the bandage was pulled free, she studied the wound. Her stitches from a week ago still held, though she wasn't sure if she needed to pull them out yet. She'd have to ask Alex.

A small trickle of blood leaked from the end closest to Lena's right hip bone. As she cleaned, she could hear Lena's sharp intake of breath and how her heartbeat jumped in tempo at her touch. Kara couldn't quite get over how soft Lena's skin felt. If she lingered a little longer after cleaning, that was her business. Lena didn't pull away or stop her.

Only watched her with an indecipherable expression, her eyes hooded, and that pull of her lips still in the teasing smile.

Kara took her time adjusting the bandage and taping it into place. As she pressed the last bit of tape against Lena's stomach, Lena's hand dropped down to press down on Kara's. She looked up, her own breath stolen yet again by Lena's ethereal beauty.

In her time on Earth, Kara had seen many gorgeous and handsome humans. She appreciated each in her own way, but she'd never felt a pull like this prior. Lena drew her in like a bumblebee to nectar. Or a butterfly bursting from its cocoon, transformed under Lena's beautiful gaze. Only a few handspans separated them, Kara having leaned forward to address the wound, and she could see the delicate coloration of Lena's complexion - the bloom of pink amidst the light tan, hear the hitch in Lena's breath and uptick in heartbeat, and smelled the sweet scent she unconsciously gave off.

"Hey, ladies! Food is here! Get your ass in here before I eat it all!" Lois's voice broke the spell, and Lena quickly retracted her hand, the blush reddening. Kara reluctantly pulled away and wiped her hands with a cleaning cloth.

"Best not wait," Kara said, quietly. "Lois likely would try to eat it all. Then she'd hog the bathroom after."

"Unless its potstickers," Lena replied, her voice also soft. "Then you'll tackle her and steal them back, right?"

Kara grinned. "Oh, you know me so well all ready!" She stood and tucked the kit back into the dresser's top drawer. Energy sizzled through her, and she felt like she could do a couple laps around the Earth and still not cool off. "So, uh, you stay here and rest, and I'll bring in the bounty, milady." She bowed for good measure, and to her delight, Lena laughed.

<<…>>

Kara loved food. Her memories of Krypton's food were hazy now, and she didn't recall much diversity in the types of flavors and dishes. Partly due to a desert planet not having as much diversity in foliage and animal life as Earth. So this planet's endless array of dishes and flavors? How could she not enjoy this amazingly diverse palate of flavor?

This meant she knew the best places for food and tea in most of the major cities. Thus, deciding on a locale for the meet with Sam Arias proved easy for Kara. They'd use the private rooms of an alien-run cafe on the edge of Swan and Hatten districts. The small, local hole-in-the-wall held a demure exterior, it's siding painted in stripes of white and teal, while the windows still retained the bars from when it'd been a corner pawnshop.

As much as Kara had tried to convince Lena to rest, the gorgeous woman had insisted on tracking down Sam to meet. Kara had called Alex, nabbed Sam's number, which turned out to be the unknown contact who offered Lena jobs.

However, Kara would have to head to National City to start her job on Monday, so Sunday became 'Meet Sam' day. The thought brought with it anxiety over how her new job would go and worry over Lena's safety.  So she'd reluctantly agreed to Lena's plan with the stipulation she play body-guard again. To prepare, Lena had dug out a rather pretty white blouse with black slacks. Kara kept to her button down blue shirt and jeans. Lois had given them the ride with her usual cheeky, "don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Inside the Meteor Eye, the walls depicted murals of alien landscapes of red deserts, clouded mountain tops, grey dunes on atmosphere-less moons, all similar to Earth's own landscapes to some degree, though a few held violet plants on the retinal worlds or scarlet plants on others. Gave the cafe an astronomy-vibe, plus it's drink names and food dishes all held puns of various science fiction tropes.

Most of the walls were ridged to provide a soundproof interior, but it added to the decor by giving the murals a lovely texture. Another bonus since it gave Kara some reprieve from the constant barrage of sound from cityscapes. Superhearing truly could be an overwhelming nuisance at times.

The delight on Lena's face as she looked around brought joy to Kara's heart. An emotion she was finding addicting now.

"To think, this place existed the entire time I lived in this city." Lena shook her head and sat down in the offered chair. "I'd have frequented it often if I'd known."

"Not many do. It's well hidden for a reason," Kara admitted. "But it rivals even Noonan's pastries!"

"I'm beginning to suspect food takes up half your thoughts," Lena mused. Her heartbeat stayed steady, and crinkles around her eyes revealed her smile as authentic. Golly, was she beautiful. Kara could get lost in her emerald eyes.

"Well, food is delicious. So many diverse dishes and flavors." Kara turned toward the counter to avoid staring too long. She didn't want to make Lena uncomfortable. The menu hung on back wall, each category of items in a different colored chalk. "And I do need almost three times the amount of calories than a typical human."

"Three times?" Lena's eyes widened. "Do you eat enough?"

Kara shifted from foot to foot. "Well…" Admitting that sometimes she couldn't due to lack of money wasn't easy to do. She hated burdening others with the more complicated aspects of her alien nature. Having snacks on hand at all times helped alleviate this along with plenty of sun-naps.

Lena tapped her fingers absently on the table. "It's okay, Kara. I understand food insecurity. Houseless, remember?" Her smile had changed to forced, the crinkle back between her eyebrows.

"I know. It's never easy to share." She decided on the Starry Mint Cocoa and a dish of Quark-y Fries, Black Hole-nut, and Fusion Burger. "When I must pretend to be human, I have to carefully choose my portions."

"Don't feel the need to do that with me," Lena said firmly. "And Sam grew up in poorer neighborhoods along with alien and human immigrants, so she'd understand. That is, if she's still the Sam I remember." A touch of worry colored her tone.

"I'm sure she is. Alex wouldn't work with mean folks." Kara sizzled with amazement at Lena's calm acceptance of her alien nature. Even Alex had taken awhile to warm up to that when they were kids. "Um, so what do you want? This is on me today." Kara tipped her head toward the menu. "Once we order, we can head to the private room I booked."

Lena studied the menu, her fingers still tapping thoughtlessly against the table. A nervous tic perhaps? "Supernova Oolong sounds good. And really? Stellar Burger? These puns are ridiculous."

"And half the fun!" Kara grinned, while Lena rolled her eyes her smile back again.

The line to the counter wasn't too long, where it wove through the spread of tables and clustered chairs. Most of the other customers were aliens who couldn't hide easily in human society — blue skinned Aloi, reptilian Aellans with yellow scales, orange-skinned Ardenans and Dyrlians, white-skinned and red-eyes Czarians, grey-skinned Criq and Girellians, and a few others she didn't quite recognize. Some of these races she'd visited their planets before Krypton exploded, before she lost her family and culture, before she came to Earth.

The hurt of loss howled its familiar tune, but she disconnected from it for survival sake. Otherwise, she'd fall into a despair so deep, she might never rise from it. How many other aliens here suffered similar survivor's guilt? They came to escape genocides, wars, or dying planets, only to find a mixture of support and harassment from humanity.

After she gave the Rhodenian their order, Kara adjusted her glasses to filter out the conversations from the other species. The weave of languages tangled into a knot of sounds that her mind kept trying to unravel. Far too distracting. "Draq here said he'd bring us our food and drinks." She jerked her thumb at the Rhodenian behind her. "Let's head back. I told him to send Sam back when she comes."

Lena nodded and followed her through a side door down a long hallway. The clang of her cane against the tiles gave their walk the semblance of a march. Kara could picture the symphony to accompany - a modal key, like temple choruses, would fit the ambience. Kara choose door number three, the room she'd booked for this meeting. Inside, the tiled floor had a checkered pattern and the walls painted with a rainforest theme.

"Impressed by the sound design," Lena admitted as she settled in the sofa. Kara nabbed the armchair next to her. "Rare for a cafe to employ soundproofing. I take it this place protects its clients well."

"Yeah. With the lack of rights afforded to aliens, hiding from the surveillance of humanity is pretty crucial. A lot of sensitive political talk happens in places like this." Kara leaned back and flipped up the footrest.

"And you take me here as a human?" Lena raised an eyebrow.

"You're houseless and lying low." Kara tilted her head, confused. "This is the best place for someone like that."

"Yet you've only just met me," Lena countered. "And my legal last name is Luthor."

"Of which you don't like using and seem uninterested in connecting yourself to them."

"True." Lena sighed and rubbed her thumb along the sofa's armrest. "I'm technically adopted into the family. My birth mother died when I was ten. Walsh would have stayed my last name if Lillian hadn't been so offended by me being Irish born."

Irish. That was the source of her accent then. Cool. "I'm adopted too. Age thirteen, so were adoption buddies!" Kara itched to reach out and hug Lena. She looked so sad, curled up into the edge of the sofa. "I'm sorry about your mom."

"Might as well start a dead mother club," Lena drawled. "Kelly also has that designation."

"Alex might be one of the few with one left. Eliza still here and makes the best desserts you've ever had." Kara often missed the Danvers home in Midvale, not just because of Eliza's delicious meals, but also because of the tall palms shadowing the front lawn and the gentle lap of waves in the small bay. She could swim for miles or fly over the ocean, listening to the planet's living chorus. A freedom she rarely had in National City, at least not without her cape. Even then, she had to be on high alert for anyone in need.

A knock on the door signaled the drink wrangler, who settled the food on the table between the sofa and armchair. "Hope you enjoy," he said, his accent thick with unrounded vowels. He winked at Kara as if sharing a secret, and Kara couldn't help but blush. It wouldn't be the first or last time she brought someone she liked here.

"Thanks, Draq." She waved him away with a smile. Once the door shut, she dug into her food, ravenously hungry from a day spent tracking down Sam Arias. "Oh, this is heavenly," she said between mouthfuls of the chocolate donut. Lena nibbled more slowly at her salad, but she smiled and gave her a slight shake of her head. 

Kara had finished half her meal when another knock sounded. Draq opened the door and gestured for a woman to enter. Once she stepped inside, he shut the door behind her, and for a moment, no one spoke.

Kara wasn't sure what she'd been expecting in regards to Sam, but she definitely hadn't pictured she'd be so tall and willowy. Her handsome features gave her an air of androgyny that she made up for with the feminine cut to her suit and shoes. Her long, brown hair flowed over her shoulders, her skin a shade of amber, and her brown eyes fixated on Lena immediately.

"Lena," Sam breathed out her name. "Gods, girl, you really are alive. And to think I've been giving you odd jobs without even knowing!"

Lena smiled and gave her a wave. "Circumstances required I lie low after my escape. It's good to see you Sam." When Sam stepped forward, her arms raised, Lena held up a hand. "No hugs today. Still recovering from an injury."

Sam diverted her movement to slipping off her shoulder bag to drop next to the sofa. "I'm so sorry about that, Lena. I heard of an attack from Kelly. If I'd known someone would have been there, I definitely wouldn't have sent out the request."

"Can't predict the future," Lena said with a shrug, then winced as it must have pulled on her wound.

"I know someone who can through dreams," Kara said, thinking of Nia Nal, and noting with amusement the skeptical rise of Lena's eyebrow. "But it's not a precise science." She stood and held out her hand. "Welcome Sam, I'm Kara, Lena's rescuer and bodyguard today."

Sam's grip was firm. "Pleasure to meet you." She settled for the other side of the sofa and set her drink on the table by her armrest. For a moment, no one spoke, so Kara took the moment to eat more of her meal. The burgers here always were packed with an explosion of flavor, the meat tenderly worked with a lather of spices then cooked in a pan of fatty oils. Best in town really. Lena picked at her salad, its presentation a pretty array of colors even if it smelled atrocious, while Sam took a long sip from her coffee.

"So," she dragged out the vowel, her fingers tapping against her knee, "you said it was urgent to meet."

"I'll not mince words then. We found another ritual scene," Lena said, quietly. She glanced at Kara, her eyebrows scrunched. "Kara recognized the symbols used."

Kara tossed a few fries into her mouth and considered how much she wanted to divulge to Sam. Determining who to trust with her identity felt mired in a mess of anxiety and frustration. Most of the people in her life already knew due to Kal or Alex. Lena and Nia had been the first she told of her own volition, and in Lena's case, it'd been because she'd been too enamored to think straight. Sharing provided such relief, but at the same time, if she continued to take up Supergirl's cape, she couldn't be as open about that part of her self. Wow, did it suck. Probably better to be cautious for now.

"Oh?" Sam glanced at Kara with raised eyebrows. "What language?"

Kara swallowed and took a sip of her cocoa. Maybe pretending she studied this would work. "Kryptonian. Which is unusual. Only two exist on Earth — Supergirl and Superman. No other survivors and not much left of the planet based on our research." She kept her tone as neutral as she could, but it hurt to say it out loud. The grief simmered in the back of her mind like phantoms, ready to seep away all her carefully distilled cheer. Best to not linger. "Kryptonian magic had been outlawed based on the few records left…" she sighed and rubbed her eyebrow. "That's all I know currently." Not entirely true, but she really didn't want to talk about Krypton any further.

Lena lightly touched Kara's wrist. A brief, sympathetic gesture that Kara very much appreciated. "I believe someone is likely trying to frame Superman or Supergirl or both." She leaned back and took a sip of her tea. "The blue blood means the targets are aliens, the ritual itself esoteric, and the translation baffling. 'the three will be walking across the land, and the blood of the weak will flow on the whole world.'"

Sam frowned and pulled a writing pad from her jacket. She clicked her pen and scribbled the phrase. "Odd. Is the symbols in both spots identical?"

"I believe so but processing my film can confirm."

"Do you have a darkroom?" Sam asked.

"Not anymore." Lena took a measured sip of her tea. "The abandoned subway is no longer safe."

"Subway?" Sam stared. "Lena, don't tell me you were living there."

Lena stayed silent and drank her tea, her expression bland like when she'd met Lois earlier.

Kara could hear the uptick in Lena's heartbeat. She must be anxious to admit it. "I have access to one, so don't worry." She nibbled on her fries. "What we need to know is how many times has this happened?"

Sam studied Lena with concern, but finally sighed and flipped a page in her pad. "Six so far. Three in National City and three in Metropolis. We checked with contacts in other cities, but so far no one has found evidence of any." Sam scribbled more into her pad and sipped her drink. "So your theory that this might be someone's way to target Supers makes sense. Too much sense."

"Great." Lena snagged a few fries with her long, lovely fingers, her eyebrows scrunched in thought. Despite having stolen it from Kara's plate, she let it slide due to how pretty Lena was. "Six instances signifies a pattern. Who is in charge of this investigation? You or… Alex?" She glanced at Kara for confirmation.

"My sister is," Kara said. "Right, Sam?"

Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I just gather information and talented contacts."

"Next step collaborate with Alex." Lena sipped her tea, her other hand fiddling with the tea bag's thread, where it dripped liquid onto Lena's mostly abandoned bowl of gross salad. "Sam, do you still do forgeries?"

"Not so much these days, why?"

"I need false IDs for a plane ride west."

Sam tapped her fingers on her knees. "Give me a name and picture, and I'll make it. Why out west?"

"Alex wants to interview her for a job," Kara said. "Kieran is your best photographer. And who wouldn't want Lena on their team?"

A blush crept up Lena's cheeks and neck, and Sam looked between them with what Kara guessed to be amusement. "It is safer," Lena murmured, "farther from my brother."

"Then consider it done. Before you go, are you willing to visit Ruby? She's really missed you. I've really missed you." Sam blinked back tears, her voice shaking with emotion. "Kelly and I refused to give up the search. We had to hope you were alive, somewhere." 

Lena sighed and stole another fry from Kara's plate. Kara snagged the last one and forgave Lena's theft for now. "He's hunting me, Sam. Seeing Ruby may put her at risk. It's likely he's been watching you and Kelly. It's not like I made it a secret we were friends."

"We can be discreet. Throw him off the scent." Sam's tone simmered with a fervent determination, her drink forgotten on the table, and both hands gripping her knees as she leaned forward.

"I can scan the premises," Kara offered. "Listening devices give off an annoying high-pitched hum, even fancy alien ones. If any exist on site, I'll smash them." She paused and tapped her bottom lip. "No better yet, I'll dump them on a boat far at sea. Let him listen to fisherman and waves."

"Why?" Lena's eyebrows scrunched and she looked between the two. "Why go to this much trouble?"

"You're family," Sam said, firmly, "Always will be."

"And I think you've been given, what Alex calls, a bad hand in life." Kara added. "You deserve a home and safety. Besides, you're cool and pretty. Worth the fight." Which had Lena blushing even more than prior. Maybe once they knew each other better, Kara might find the courage to ask her out, but with the case looming and Lena's dire situation, now didn't feel like the right time to share that. So Kara tucked her growing affection away for another day.

Lena breathed out a long breath. "Since the kidnapping, I've found that hard to believe. He has a way of…" she grimaced, "ripping away the good things in my life. Isolating me. And what I saw can't be unseen. He won't let up until I'm silenced."

"Then what if we blow his secrets wide open?" Sam asked. "Share your story and then any retaliation would blow up in his face?"

"Plus, you have Superman and Supergirl on your side," Kara said. "We can protect you."

"Nonsense. Both of them have other priorities, and I don't have enough evidence. My word against his?" She blew out a huff. "I'm a nobody in the public eye. He owns Luthercorp and quite a few housing developments, bunkers, and military infrastructure. We're at a major disadvantage, even if we win the public's eye."

"Then we gather our evidence," Sam said, calmly. "Kelly and I have been sniffing around his finances, and have some leads for possible Luthorcorp corruption and money laundering for his personal projects."

"Point Lois at him, and she'll dig up all sorts of dirt," Kara said. "He's not untouchable, Lena. No matter how much it might seem right now. You don't have to face this alone."

Lena fiddled with the string of her tea bag. "If we do this, then I likely cannot return to Metropolis. He holds too much of this city in his hands."

"Then I'll move out west too," Sam said. "Ruby prefers National City Orcas anyway." The local soccer team, Kara recognized from the times she'd gone with Alex who was more of a sports fan than she was.

"'El Mayarah,'" Kara said, thinking of her family's crest that she wore on her suit. "Stronger together. A family saying of mine."

This earned her one of Lena's adorable smiles. "All right. You two convinced me. Now let's talk strategy, please. We have a case to solve and a move to plan."

Chapter Text

As a young child in Ireland, Lena learned the language of plants and soil during the day, and stars and galaxies at night. She'd climb the ladder to the roof of their home, where her mother would set up the telescope and orient at a star or planet or galaxy. The expensive gift had been delivered on her fifth birthday from Lena's mysterious and absent father. There, using her mother's film camera, Lena took pictures of the stars.

In the back room of their cottage, her mother taught her how to develop the images and reveal the wonders hidden inside the stank of chemicals and delicate machinery. Her mother's long fingers stirred the concoctions needed to draw out the best colors and contrasts. Then poured them in the trays and gently laid out the test paper for each print. Under her watchful eye, Lena transformed featureless paper into windows of the heavens.

She'd dreamed of one day soaring above the atmosphere of Earth with her home planet rotating below her — the azure oceans, sepia mountains, emerald forests, and billowing grey-white clouds.

Each time she developed film, memories of the calls of corncrakes, rumble of the waves against the cliffs, and the humming of her mother returned full force. With it, came those memories of stars and that wild hope. A hope she'd lost since her Mum's death.

Today, Kara led her into the basement of the Daily Planet on a Sunday, the day most likely to not have any workers. She tried to mask the clump of her cane against the tiles, but still the sound echoed softly in the hallways. Paintings of Metropolis skyline and districts lined the baby blue walls, the stair wells a dull grey color, and the scent of ink and oil pervaded most of the hallways. Kara's cousin, Kal, proved to be another journalist, and his keys unlocked the dark room in the basement.

"Just remember to clean up after," Kal had said with a faint smile.

That only aggravated Lena who stiffly replied, "I may be houseless, but I keep a clean space always."

Kara, who Lena suspected was a peacemaker, intervened with a gentle rib. "Kal, you leave the worst messes of all of us. Don't worry. We have this covered." She'd patted his back with a grin, and he had responded with a sigh and roll of his eyes.

Comradery that Lena rarely experienced since her Mum's death.

Inside Daily Planet's dark room, she cataloged its plentiful materials and chemicals, as well as immaculate equipment — the enlarger and focus with a few other technical items that Lena had never had access to prior.

She barely managed to curb her delight, but Kara heard the half-squeal anyway with her darn superhearing.

"Like it?" Kara grinned, her hands on her hips in what seemed to be her primary pose. "It's state of the art."

"I see." Lena walked the length of the room, assessing what she might need in case her own supplies proved inadequate. With three tests, her own chemicals should be sufficient, but she gathered one extra bottle from Daily Planet's supplies as a 'just in case.'

No windows existed in the room, and the red lights were controlled by a trio of switches. Excellent. She leaned her cane against the counter, settled on a stool, and organized her supplies next to the enlarger.

"How come you use film instead of digital?" Kara asked as she assembled the silver nitrate and platinum plates. Very old-fashioned of Lena, but she enjoyed the older methods of developing film. She also had specialized photographic paper in a tightly closed bin, but she only used those for the test runs. Applying the negative to the plates gave them depth and a unique quality that photographic paper didn't quite emulate.

"My mum." Lena stirred the developing concoction and poured it into a pan. Her wound pulled at the movement, but the pain meds dulled its ache thankfully. "We used to take pictures of the night sky and develop them together. Was a dream of mine to someday see Earth from space."

"Oh. That's lovely." Kara smiled. "It is gorgeous up there. I've only flown that high due to crises though. The cold freezes any moisture on my suit or skin, and holding my breath for long periods of time is honestly exhausting. But the view is breathtaking."

"Would not the lack of air and air pressure cause irreparable damage to your blood vessels and lungs?" Existing in space without a bulky space suit painted an impossible image in her mind. She laid the negatives on the enlarger's carrier, the shiny side up and numbers pointed away from her. Flipping it on, she adjusted its settings until the enlarged image was crisp. "Humans can't survive for more than a minute or two without protection in space," she added, while she flicked off the enlarger to prepare for the test runs.

"The yellow sun accelerates healing along with boosting my senses, strength, and neural field." Kara shrugged and positioned the stop bath next to the development wash and plates. "Most of my energy comes from the sun. While minerals I need come from the food I eat."

"Neural field?" Lena glanced at Kara.

"Yeah. Kryptonians have a electromagnetic field around our bodies as a form of protection." Kara held out her arm and gestured to it with her other hand. "Go ahead and feel."

Tentatively, Lena poked Kara's arm. At first she felt nothing until she pressed more firmly. A faint tingle tickled her fingertip. She noted how only a few millimeters separated her finger from Kara's skin. "Interesting."

"I can consciously drop the field for people I trust." Kara's brow wrinkled in concentration, and the tingling evaporated. Her hand touched soft, warm skin with thick muscle underneath. God, Kara was built like a goddess, incredibly unfair.

Lena stepped away before she did something foolish like squeeze Kara's biceps. "Fascinating."

She met Kara's gaze, and once again found herself spellbound by the blue of Kara's eyes, her tanned skin, and soft chin. Today she'd pulled her hair back in a ponytail, but a golden curl had fallen loose to lie near Kara's right eye. Without thinking it through, Lena reached up to gently tuck Kara's curl behind her ear, her fingers lingering. Kara watched her intently, the curl of her lips in a gentle smile.

She abruptly realized the intimacy of the moment. Embarrassed, she dropped her hand and turned to the counter.

"Do all stars give you these powers?" Best to change the subject. Lena assembled the photographic paper for the first test, using a Grade 2 filter. The developing wash came first to fix the image before she laid it in the stop wash to avoid overdeveloping. Her fingers moved deftly, the steps well-honed from years of completing them. "Or is it just our G5 spectral class?"

"Higher energy stars can boost my powers but then I run the danger of cellular rupture from too much absorption." Kara adjusted the focus on the enlarger at Lena's gesture for their second test. "My homeworld, Krypton, had a red dwarf, and I had no powers there. Blue stars — I think they're O class in your classifications?— overpower me to painful levels. Pulsars are particularly deadly."

"Then we'll avoid those stars." Lena gently swished the pan back and forth for the test, giving it a minute before she lifted the paper to settle in the stop wash. This prevented the image from continuing to develop.

Kara laughed. "Are we going out sight-seeing in space or something?"

"It'd be a dream come true," Lena admitted. She studied her first test and determined the contrast incorrect. Selecting a Grade 3 filter she started the second test.

"I admit, it's a relief to see you calming accepting I'm alien," Kara said as she swished a test print in the bath. That one they'd tried grade 1 filter on it, but Lena suspected it'd be too flat. "I've tried to hide that part of myself, and it's only in the last few months that I started allowing myself to use my powers again. This time as Supergirl."

"Mum impressed into me the importance of tolerance." She checked sharpness with her focus finder before moving the test to the bath and setting the timer. Gently, she swished the pan back and forth. "She often said, 'we must do our best to accept people where they are.' Meeting aliens for the first time in college became an exercise in living that advice."

"Good advice —" Kara turned and an empty pan clattered to the floor. "Whoops! Sorry!"

The crash abruptly catapulted Lena into another windowless room, her wrists in chains, and the clatter of them rang against the table.

He tugged the chain hard, forcing her to stumble against the table's edge. Boxes littered the right side, and a chemistry set adorned the left. "Really?" Lena struggled against the tight hold on her wrists. "I can't go anywhere, dear brother," she spat out the word. "Maybe loosen it if you want me to use my hands."

"This is a lesson, Lena." He jerked the chain again and pain swept down her wrists and arm. She bit back a pained hiss. "I hold the power here. Think now of the alien roaches. The overpowered monsters that hold this chain and force humanity to beg for their assistance."

"Hardly beg. Most aliens I met—"

"You are a fool," Lex sneered. He jerked hard enough that her face hit the table. One of the boxes toppled over and hit the floor with a think. "To ever trust those roaches." He abruptly released the chain, and Lena stumbled backward, her head ringing. "They will destroy humanity!"

"Don't tell me, only you can save us," Lena said, sarcasm or silence her only armor. His speeches had grown decrepit the longer he kept her in this damn bunker, and the 'lessons' consisted of crass activities such as this chain bullshit, or inventive, like the goddamn tank.

Lex jerked her chin toward him, his hazel eyes ablaze. A spat of freckles covered his nose, and his bald spot definitely had grown. "I see the threat as it is. If you put your mind to the task, then you too will see the truth." He patted her cheek, and she jerked her head back, disgusted. "Now prepare the samples." He swept his hand toward the table with a humorless smile. "Work diligently and I may let you have a full meal and time at the window."

"Oh joy. Windows. How kind of you." Lena couldn't seem to help herself. It'd been weeks now trapped in this bunker with her increasingly unsteady half-brother, and she hung in a perpetual exhausted, hungry, and angry state.

Lex slapped her cheek, hard enough to shoot pain down her neck and cheek. She blinked back tears. "Sarcasm doesn't become you, Lena. Now be a good girl." Turning, he walked out of the concrete room, and the metal door shut with a clang.

A familiar voice shattered the memory, leaving her in a dark room rather than a concrete bunker. Disoriented, Lena blinked and realized Kara still spoke. "… usually people stop seeing me and just see my superpowers. It's frustrating." Kara held up her test print and squinted. "So I appreciate you not making a big deal of it."

Lena blinked again and looked down at her work. The print was ruined. So much for that test. She discarded it and pulled free another photographic paper. "What would be the point of making a big deal of it?" Lena asked, injecting a forced calm into her tones to mask her frustration with herself. She hated the damn flashbacks and how they wasted her precious time. "Can you turn off your powers?"

Kara looked up and said nothing.

"Then," Lena continued, "what can I do with the power imbalance?" She shrugged and took a deep breath to box away her frustration. It wasn't Kara's fault loud sounds triggered flashbacks of her half-brother. "Better to meet you where you are. That's what Mum would do."

In the red light, Kara's face held heavy shadows, but her smile gave her almost a shine. "Your mother sounds wonderful."

"She was." Lena missed her dearly. Best to not think of the Luthors in case another flashback ruined a print. No, better to envision the warmth of her mother's cottage.

"We had a black room like this," Lena said, quietly. "Thick black curtains had been duct-taped over the windows to eliminate unwanted light. She'd pack more around the door. Spooky at first until she switched on the red lights. Funny how those lights transformed fear into wonder." She examined her finished test, the contrast way better than the first attempt. "The darkroom evolved into a place of magic under her care."

She could almost smell the mixture of earth, acidic chemicals, and a hint of vanilla from her mother's conditioner. That room exuded safety. So many days spent working and sharing stories as they tested prints and perfected their techniques. The pain of grief left her hollow and tired.

"That's lovely. I've only ever seen a darkroom in college. Oh, golly, this test lacks contrast," Kara said, mournfully. She tilted it for Lena to see in the nearest red light. "It's so… sad."

Indeed, the flat tone gave the scene a fake quality that she supposed could be interpreted as 'sad.' Lena chuckled and shook her head. "Use a higher grade filter. Three fits these negatives well." She prepared the plates Kara had laid out for the actual prints since her last test held the most promise.

As they developed the film, no more flashblacks halted her work, but she kept smelling a hint of vanilla in the mix of chemicals. When the pain spiked, Kara urged her to take another dose, her concern touching. Beyond that, the silence spread warmly, like a well-fitted glove. When had she felt this comfortable around someone?

Years likely. Kelly and Sam had been the closest to this feeling during her years in college. Andi, who she dated for a few weeks, rarely gave her this feeling. Perhaps this was what safety felt like, a luxury she hadn't had since her mother's death.

With a sharp intake of breath, Lena closed her eyes as the memory of that death pierced her.

Lena walked the shore of the lake, pausing to crouch and take a picture of a frog atop a rock. It hopped into the water with a quiet splash at the camera's shutter sound.

Behind her, her mother stood atop a rock near the deepest part of the lake. She'd been quiet and withdrawn since the death of her best friend Margaret under odd circumstances. No matter what Lena did, she couldn't seem to rouse her mother from her grief. Lena might be just ten and a half, but she suspected Margaret had been more than a friend. She'd been over often since Lena's mysterious father had ceased all contact.

Lena stood and glanced back at her mother. Except her mother no longer stood on the rock. Fear gripped Lena, and she dropped the camera in the soft mud. She sprinted toward the waters, "Mum!" she called desperately. No answer but the ripples of the lake and the calls of dovers. "Mum!" She scanned the lake, terrified. What if she was drowning? She jumped into the cool waters. She swam toward the rock, diving under desperately, but she couldn't find her. The murky waters only held darting fish and rocky floor.

She dragged herself onto the rock and shouted, "Mum! Where are you?"

Silence met her. Fear and cold slithered down her spine, and Lena shivered violently. No footprints in the mud and rocks by the boulder, no sign of her by the car. Her mother had vanished as if she'd never been. Desperately she searched the wood by the lake, but found nothing but the dropped camera. Her clothes stuck to her skin, and she screamed again. Only the wind in the trees answered her.

"Lena?" Kara's hand gently touched her shoulder, drawing her out of the memory. "You okay?"

Lena sighed and focused on the print. The colors and contrast revealed the gruesome scene in vivid detail. "It's nothing." She hung the print to dry with shaking fingers.

"It doesn't seem like nothing. I'm here if you want to talk."

The earnest care in Kara's voice bundled Lena in warmth. She met Kara's gaze, and once again, had the urge to fluster her, if only to induce that delicate pink in her cheeks. Absurd for her to like Kara this much after only two weeks in her presence, and yet, she couldn't help herself.

Kara's honesty, her fervent determination to care for Lena felt foreign and new. When Kara stepped closer to tenderly brush a stray lock of Lena's hair, Lena's breath caught in her throat. Why did Kara's lips have to look so kissable?

She pivoted back to her work, once again embarrassed. "I'm okay, Kara, truly." That seemed to mollify the other woman to Lena's relief.

Foolish of her really. Trusting and dating were a liability, at least until she escaped Metropolis and her half-brother's long shadow. As she set her timer again, she sneaked an appreciative glance at Kara's gorgeous profile and thick biceps. Being houseless had taught her to enjoy small moments while she could, this was no different, she tried to tell herself.

While the last prints hung drying, Lena gently rubbed her wound, likely to leave a scar along her abdomen. Not the first scar she'd earned during her houseless months, a few others adorned her right bicep and a few along her back courtesy of her half-brother. Not anything she dared to show to anyone, at least not without trust building. Trust never came easy since her mother's death.

"I'll clean this up," Lena said, gesturing to the counter with her and Daily Planet supplies. "and meet you at the cafe later. I have some errands to run before…" she trailed off uncertainly. Once in National City, where would she live? She'd never been that far west, and unlike Metropolis, National City was a fairly new town.

In contrast, Metropolis loomed like a tired specter, a mixture of Brutalist and Modernist architecture. Graffiti and LED billboards adorned the lower levels, while the top floors gleamed spotless from teams of window washers hanging with only a rope and a harness.

As much as Lena wanted to escape Metropolis, she knew its underground tunnels, subways, and lower levels as well as her Irish moors.

"I do have to prepare for my job tomorrow." Kara washed one of the pans. "But I don't want to leave you alone. What if someone attacks? I'd hate to find you in a pool of blood again."

"Kara," Lena lightly touched Kara's arm, and again she felt that slight tingle against her touch. "I appreciate your concern, but you are…" she paused and studied Kara's tall and regal stature. "Too conspicuous. Hard to miss. I need to fade into the surroundings, and I can't do that with you."

"I can be sneaky!" Kara protested. "I even have camouflage clothes for that."

Lena raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "They aren't cameo sweatpants and military jacket are they?"

"No, I go for all black. Blend with the shadows." Kara crouched next to the counter. "See? Sneaky."

Lena couldn't help but laugh. "So I see. It's still daylight though."

"Then I'll wear the most bland pastels and jeans, with a grungy ponytail and dorky glasses." Kara dug into her pocket and pulled out glasses, where she swapped out her plain black one for a wide rimmed glasses that screamed librarian.

Lena's eyebrows rose. "That… might actually work." She considered whether she could risk it. Her contact was skittish around new people, and she desperately needed to check if they'd had any luck with her request. Once she moved out west, she won't have another chance at this. "As tempting as that is, you will meet me at the cafe at six pm. I'll text if I encounter trouble."

Kara stood with an adorable pout. "Fiiinneee. Six pm it is."

Lena felt like she had just set up a date with Kara. Or a would-be-date if she hadn't invited Sam to check on her progress with the forged documents.

<<…>>

As she stepped outside, cane in hand, Lena ducked away from the streetlights that lined the streets and into the shadows of the buildings. Around her, Metropolis surged with life, never sleeping. As she walked, sound trickled from open windows to merge into a cacophony of discordant harmonies and syncopated beats. Buses drove slowly, next to the bike lanes, while cars zipped around them — some large gas trucks and Humvees, belching burnt exhaust, while others were quiet, small electric sedans. Pedestrians flowed along sidewalks and across walkways like hemoglobin in her blood, the arteries of the city. Above her, billboards flickered across the brick or metal walls of buildings, the ads featuring Agile Condoms, Highrise Funerary Services, Sanzo Casino and Bar, Marsdin Presidential campaign — the choices endless and horribly neon.

Lena both loved and hated the city. With its tremendous girth and population numbering a hundred million, she loved being another ant in the arteries. Here she could disappear, considering most surveillance cameras proved easy to hack. She hated the noise, rank smells of exhaust and body odors, and light pollution from the neon signs and terribly designed streetlamps. No Milky Way streaming across the sky here, she was lucky if she could see any stars or even the moon.

Tonight, she missed the lap of waves against chalk white cliffs, the calls of dovers and gulls, the hum of night insects, and the smell of peat and sea salt. If any wildlife existed in the city, it was mostly rats, squirrels, opossums, pigeons, and gulls. Boring, semi-tame critters.

She flipped up the collar of her jacket and tugged down her hat. The cane aided her disguise beautifully. So far no missing woman signs appeared in the neon signs with her face. That had been ubiquitous her first week of freedom, which forced a crash course on disguises. As months passed, the signs appeared less and less, but Lena dared not drop her guard.

Perhaps the most intriguing disguise tip came from a human-looking Brevvak, who told her that wearing glasses could fool even the feds. After several experiments, Lena had to admit the alien was correct. If she swapped her contacts for glasses and wore her hair differently, she was not recognized in familiar locales seventy-eight percent of the time. How utterly bizarre.

Today, she wore her thick lens with black frames, mostly because her contacts had dried out and her eyes hurt. Her jacket was a dull grey, her jeans riddles with patches sewn over widening holes, and her t-shirt a punk rock band she used to listen to with Sam, Kelly, and Andi in college — the Airbags, an Argentinian band with some killer melodies and harmonies.

Her walk wandered past the downtown cinema theaters and opera houses, most nestled not far from Daily Planet's spire with its ornate globe sculpture on its roof next to it's massive antenna relay. A residential tower, likely expensive, occupied a glass and metal skyscraper next to the journalist tower, its bottom level an expensive boutique store full of the latest fashions and fragrances.

What would it be like to live in such grandiose settings? First ten years of her life, she'd lived in a cottage by the sea, then briefly in the Luthor mansion with its dour halls and stone spires — a Scottish castle transplanted to the New York countryside. She'd barely been there a year before the accident that left her leg broken. Afterward, she was transferred to a boarding school by Lillian, where the rooms were small and mostly bare. Whatever her father — she's had her DNA analyzed to confirm — left her after his death, Lex and Lillian had frozen in legal tangles. The lawyer she'd hire to fight back encompassed most of her expenses, leaving her penniless and vulnerable.

She shook her head, and diverted her thoughts to the conundrum of Kara. Searches for Supergirl gave no indication of a name, and Kara was listed at number five in most popular California names. Thus, Lena had no idea what Kara's last name could be if she even had one. However, news reports elucidated how Cat Grant herself gave Supergirl her name after she saved a crashing plane from the sea. Supergirl saved one hundred and fifty-three passengers that day, truly an impressive feat. Lena had added that to the profile she built for Kara, mostly out of habit.

At the next light, she turned southeast, her target halfway to the next light. The alley opened up between two office buildings, both brick and mortar from the remnants of the older downtown. Most ground floor shops here cast shadows across the sidewalk, their bright lights obnoxious. One played rock music, but across the street another played rap as if in a music battle.

She ducked into the alley and dodged garbage containers until she reached a light turquoise door. Knocking three times, she waited, one hand gripped her cane tightly, while her other gripped her mace spray in her jacket's pocket. She would not be caught unaware this time.

A metal strip at eye level slid open. Grey eyes peered at her. "Password," the gravely voice said.

"Cherry Dragons." It changed weekly, and she carefully cultivated connections to stay abreast of it as part of her investigations.

A grunt reverberated before the clang of lock disengaged. Lena ducked into a narrow entryway with mustard walls and checked tiled floors. A few paintings of alien landscapes decorated the hallway between doors painted a plethora of colors.

The door-keeper stood a head taller than her, and was a silicon-based alien. As a bipedal humanoid, the resemblance to her species ended there, their skin resembling a pebble-strewn mountain landscape, which they covered with loose-fitting overalls and white tank top. Attempts at conversations in the past gave her no further information as to gender, and thus she reverted to non-gendered pronouns.

"Business." The word emitted from their lip-less mouth as a growl.

"Information." This establishment existed for a multitude of illegal actions, but Lena avoided the more erotic parts and kept to the information and illegal item trade.

"Door three, right. Knock twice."

She nodded. Tipping him felt right, but she needed every spare penny for the move west. Flights hovered in the medium-spending range, due to rising fuel prices from taxes. More and more flight companies switched to electric powered planes, but those proved incredibly expensive for the common traveler.

So she turned and headed down the hallway, tucking her guilt into a box to consider later.

After she knocked, the door opened to a man with burgundy skin tone, a sepia beard and mustache, and hazel eyes. His muscular frame was half-hidden in an ill-fitted grey-blue suit with a rainbow tie and black dance shoes. Fennel, her contact, seemed human, but considering the establishment, she couldn't verify his species. Asking directly could sully their fragile connection.

"Kieran!" Fennel grinned and held out his calloused hand. "It is a delight to see you! How have you been?"

Lena shook his hand and smiled thinly. "I am well enough. I ask for full privacy." A key word when dealing with information brokers. Usually they honored such requests and turned off recording devices. In her left jacket pocket, she had constructed a jammer device to serve as a back-up in case they failed to deactivate them.

"As cautious as always." He shut the door behind her and typed a command into the keypad next to it. Several blinking red lights in the left and right corners faded away. Yellow light emitted from the two lamps situated on opposite ends of the room, and a desk took up the back area, three chairs positioned in front. She settled for the left one and surveyed the room carefully, her cane situated between her legs, both hands rested on its handle.

Bookcases lined the walls with books and papers overflowing the shelves and spilling into metal boxes along the tiled floor. Most titles related to supernatural, xenobiology, folk magic, and sociology. A few fiction titles, most science fiction or mystery, mixed with the nonfiction. Trinkets of obscure origins lined a few shelves — crystal balls, bottles of herbs, and what looked like a shriveled hand in a bottle.

"So, what can I do for you today?" Fennel asked, drawing Lena's attention back to him.

"Be straight with me," Lena adapted the jargon she'd learned from the houseless community, "have you completed the job?"

Fennel leaned back in his chair with a frown. "Kieran, I believe you shared that this cottage was abandoned. You neglected to alert us to its traps."

"Traps?" Lena repeated, stunned. "What traps?"

"Elaborate magic traps. One of my men died. I expect extra to compensate that family for their loss."

Lena stared at him, unable to process his words. Traps at her mother's cottage? Since when? Had she never perceived them prior because she'd been so young? Or had she been labeled as safe by the magical wards? Her mother's magic mostly relied on plants, while Lena had no affinity for it. She preferred math and science.

"The trunk you described, however," Fennel continued, his tenor voice flat, "was located under the floorboards exactly as you described." He spun in his chair to open a safe and pulled out the oak wooden box, carved with Irish runes. He deposited it on the desk between them, one hand rested atop it. "Due to the danger encountered, I must raise my fee by two hundred dollars."

Lena frowned. "I am sorry for the loss of your men. Had I known of the traps, I would have advised as such. I can offer one hundred and fifty for compensation."

"Two hundred and no lower. You owe me, Kieran. This job proved far more dangerous than you let on." Fennel's eyes narrowed.

Lena quietly cursed. Whatever rapport she had built with Fennel fizzled to nothing. "One hundred and eighty-five."

Fennel shook his head. "I may not know what is in this box, but I will sell it if you refuse to pay the adjusted price."

Did she have a choice? She couldn't let mother's most treasured items fall into anyone else's hands. "Fine. Two hundred it is." Counting the original price of three hundred, this would devour half her savings.

Bitterly, she counted the bills from her frayed wallet and laid them next to the box. He pushed it toward her and snatched up the money to count it himself. Her bag barely had enough space to fit the eight inch by four inch box.

"Lovely doing business with you, Kieran. Next time, honesty will serve you better." He waved toward the door, a signal negotiations had ceased.

"Good day then," Lena said, curtly. She exited the establishment, both relieved to have finally acquired the box and irritated to have spent far too much on this cursed endeavor.

She hoped Sam's pay for the photographs could assist in recouping her loss. With that in mind, she adjusted her course for the nearest bus stop.

Chapter Text

The moment she stepped onto the bus, Lena realized her mistake. She'd failed to verify her current ID still functioned, and when the scanner read it, it flashed bright red. The bus driver, a stout, short woman looked bored and mildly irritated. "Forgot to renew? Fingerprint or cornea scans please."

The device had been built into what used to be a simple coin slot or card reader, the bulbous processing units and pads like growths on its side. Lena stared at the pad, and clenched her fist.

"Look, lady, either scan or I report."

Dread curdled. "Don't bother." She pushed past two people behind her, her cane perfect for leverage. She reached the cement when she heard the radio call from the bus driver.

"False ID alert…"

Fuck. Lena couldn't risk an encounter with police. The line for the bus still lingered, but now others were murmuring and looking her way. As much as she needed the cane still, it made her conspicuous. Yet to ditch it? When it belonged to Kara's cousin?

She scanned the street signs, a few glowing in neon, while others flickered with broken signage. Bessolo? Good, she could take a right and head for a Subway entrance, then make for the underground network.

Behind her, a whistle sounded from a nearby officer, the sound carrying across the street. She ducked into an alley, squeezed past two overflowing trash receptacles, and hurriedly wiped down the cane and false ID. Wincing, she laid it by the trash. Maybe she could repay it somehow. Next, she tugged off her jacket, turned it inside out, and flipped up the hood. She tugged on black gloves, but she had no way to change her jeans.

The whistle shrilled closer, and she ducked out of the alleyway onto Bessolo.

Her side ached, the stitches tight, but she kept her pace toward the Subway entrance. Shouts came from the alleyway, more whistles, which meant they likely found her cane. The entrance loomed ahead, and she kept her head lowered, her hands in her pockets. Darkness loomed with a flickering yellow light halfway down the stairwell, a sign and tape covered the stairwell: "Closed for Repairs."

Dammit. She kept walking past the shuttered entrance and through two cross streets. No more shouts or whistles now, but the buzz of conversation hummed around her, mixing with the tunes drifting from open shops. Dizziness swamped her, and she stumbled, forced to sit at the next available bench. When had she last eaten? Kara had been quite insistent on breakfast and a mid-morning snack.

Her hands trembled as she sifted through her bag. Only one protein bar left. She needed to reach Kara and Sam, who would hopefully have functional forged IDs. Perhaps attempting a full day of tasks after almost two weeks recuperating had been a poor decision.

She checked her shoulder bag and noted that one phone hovered around two percent battery life. Charging it had slipped her mind. The other only held her contacts for odd jobs. A taxi required use of a functional ID or scan, which could complicate her situation.

She started a text to Kara when the phone died. She dropped it in a side pocket, annoyed with herself. The darkroom and the case had taken full priority, and with how rarely she used that phone, charging it had slipped her mind. Her burner for her cases she always kept charged.

Wasn't Sam the contact who gave her the current case? Her fingers lingered over the call button. She sighed and hit the button. As it rang she leaned back against the cold metal.

Sam's voice answered on the third ring. "Kieran?"

"Yes."

"You shouldn't call me at this number." Sam voice dropped to a whisper. "Are you okay?"

"Need a ride."

"Cross streets and I'll be there."

Should she trust Sam? It'd been two years. People could change.

"Kieran?"

Lena took a deep breath. "Topaz and Bessolo, look north." Trust had to start somewhere. She hung up and stowed away the burner phone. Popped some more Tynelol, but they did little against the throbbing from the wound. After being bedbound for far too long, she obviously exceeded her stamina today. She likely needed proper medical care, regardless of Kara's expertise, but she couldn't risk it in Metropolis.

Her mother's herbal remedies might provide improved relief, had she paid proper attention. Unlike Lillian's viciously cruel methods of discipline, her mother had given Lena free reign of most of her days, very little spent studying dusky tomes and herbs, far too many spent building gardening bots and taking pictures of birds and stars. Had her mother lived four more months, Lena would have been eleven years old. Those memories waited like landmines, the grief ever near.

Yet, she had accomplished her primary goal. She had her mother's chest now, along with her journals and heirlooms.

Likely she could derive a remedy from journals, rather than rely on the memory of her ten-year-old self. She rested her hand against her bag, and a faint memory of her mother bled into her thoughts.

"Meditation is important, love. I know yuh want to catalog all the animals and build a new watering bot, but come now yuh hear? Meditation will give yuh the strength of mind to weather any storm."

"Even the tempests?" Her younger self asked.

"Even them. Now, sit beside me, love. Breathe like me."

She drew in a breath just like her mother, her hands resting on her knees.

"Good lass. Now, let all thoughts bleed away," her mother said, "until only the soul of the Earth hummed, and there truth would be unveiled."

Lena sighed and wiped away a tear. She'd never been proficient in it, her mind far too swift with ideas to explore and inventions to build, but she needed to do better. Her mother's legacy counted on her.

Breathing in deeply, she released her breath slowly like her mother taught her, but with it deluged the usual haunts of her past. She floundered, overwhelmed and lost.

Thirteen years ago

Lena knelt in the peat, her trowel in hand as she carved a hole for her seeds. Seagulls called from the cliffs, where the crash of waves against the stone beat a syncopated rhythm. The chorus of insects swarmed around the garden, but the scarecrow her mother had woven from grass and vines kept most away with the sour oils they applied weekly.

This row would be berry bushes. She hoped it would draw more birds, so she could capture images of them to develop. Reaching the depth she wanted, Lena carefully planted the seeds and covered them with the peat. She then watered the patch with the dented metal can, the water fresh from the nearby well.

"Lena, love, dinner is ready." Her mother opened the door, and smiled at her. Her black hair was swept back in a braid, a few strands falling on her sharp cheekbones. Green eyes surveyed Lena's work, and she nodded in approval. "Good job. We'll be sure to have delicious strawberry bushes come late summer."

Lena bounded to her feet and brushed off her knees. "And more birds?" She knew some species enjoyed sweet berries.

Her mother laughed. "Yes, love, more birds." She held out her hand, and Lena eagerly grasped it. Inside, sweetness permeated the cottage. Bookcases and an old, cozy sofa lined the northern walls, while a brick fireplace took up the southern. Near the back of the room sat the two doors, one to the darkroom and the other to their bedroom. By the fireplace wooden counters demarcated the kitchen and dinner table.

Her mother helped her onto the tall wooden chair, and to her delight, Lena saw the delicious sponge cake, coated with strawberry jam and drizzled with buttercream frosting. "Cake after dinner," her mother said, gently swatting Lena's eager hand away from the cake. "First the feast to celebrate your tenth birthday. Then the cake and presents. Yuh know the rules, love."

With a huff, Lena settled back against the chair. She rested her hands in her lap, and smiled, like her mother did when visitors sought herbal remedies. She recalled her mother her mother's playful words of consent with Margaret Bishop, and decided to play a game with them.

"I'll allow it," she said as regally as she could, her head tilted like a painting of an ancient Irish Druid.

"Oh?" Her mother raised an sculpted eyebrow. "Yuh'll allow it?" The skin crinkled around her eyes, amusement in her tone. "Are yuh the Druid or am I? Perhaps I'll have yuh prepare our herbal remedies from now on."

Lena shook her head, vigorously. "No, yuh can be the druid still! I'll be yur loyal assistant." Herbal remedies were hard, and Lena did not feel ready.

Her mother kissed her head. "I'll allow it," she intoned, then turned to bring forward their dinner, roasted quail on a bed of greens.

Seven Years Ago

Pregnant clouds loomed over the cemetery and the mausoleum, it's stone edifice carved with a resting lion. The metal gate hung open. Down stairs, into the stale tomb's air, the bearers lowered the huge, intricately made urn.

Being eight years her elder, Lex stood just inside the gate, dressed in an immaculate black suit, the confusing half-brother who showed kindness one day but cruelty the next. The Luthor matriarch stood in front of Lena, next to Lex, poised as if she was carved of marble like the mausoleum's lion. Not a hair out of place, no tears, only an imposing stature.

Lena never stood beside Lillian, always at her back — with but not with — as it had been since Lionel rescued her from the orphanage. She dare not cry, not with Lillian so close, her barbed words ready to eviscerate Lena if she dared step out of line. Instead, she counted the stars carved onto the urn, each one a symbol of power and prestige. Liver disease stole Lionel Luthor from Lena too soon, and as much as his rages disturbed her, his kindness toward her designs had been the only lifeboat she had.

Now pallbearers carried him into the darkness of the earth, lost to her just as her Mum was.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the wind tugged at her black dress. Behind her, she heard the flick of several umbrellas opening. Hers still hung at her wrist. A servant opened one to hold above Lex and Lillian's heads.

All Luthors came to rest in this place, far inland, and high in the Adirondack mountains. Safe from rising sea levels and city sprawl, the spot exuded quiet, even the birds sung softly in the pines and maples that dotted the mountain paths. Further north-west, nestled in a valley, the Luthor estate presided over the region, and yet Metropolis encroached on the land with its informal suburbs of millions of impoverished families and climate refugees.

If Lena turned to the South, she could see the glimmer of neon lights from massive residential towers and commercial centers. Seawalls guarded its bays, it's sprawl forming a mega city across three states, the population breaking records. As much as the city unnerved her, she wished she walked it's labyrinth paths, far from the glare of Lillian's anger and Lex's wild moods.

Her only ally settled in his final tomb, and the massive metal doors swung shut with a clang.

Six years ago

Lena hunched over her desk, her stylus in hand, and her gaze on the window. Her tablet screen showed the schematic of a rescue drone, one that provided supplies to disaster areas, but the release mechanic had her stymied. Outside, the world seemed painted in greyscale, the storm clouds thick and bulbous. Even the neon signs on the outskirts of campus appeared like faint beacons in the twilight.

Her speakers blasted an angsty, rock ballad of Halsey and Amy Lee, which matched her dark mood. Today's gloom felt like a prediction of how her birthday tomorrow would go. Every since her Mum's death, she had been bounced from an orphanage, it's dank halls painful, to a dour mansion and strict guardians, then to the boarding school. Each place a reminder of how she didn't belong. Too Irish, accent all wrong, too wild, too quiet, too antagonistic, too angry.

All she wanted was to do some good in this world. With the rising sea levels, people flocked to cities with strong sea walls, and Metropolis — having merged with Baltimore and Washington D.C. — became the main port for climate refugees. Towers of new residences loomed across the Baltimore's downtown, connected by a corridor of towers and massive structures to deal with the growing housing crisis. A half a dozen sketch books filled a trunk under her bed — architectural designs, rescue drones, improved efficiency in solar panels, and other ideas to repair systems broken by the Oil-age.

Her pen drummed lightly on her paper. Dismal financial figures danced through her thoughts, and she nibbled on her lip, calculating if an increase in work hours could compensate for equipment fees not covered by her grants and scholarship. She still required enough to compensate her lawyer another few months.

When Lionel's will had been read out loud, Lena had been shocked to learn she'd inherit a few million dollars. Until Lillian stood with a sniff, "I believe that is a mistake. We will contest in court." She prepared her lawyers, and Lena, stunned and grieving, had thrown together a lackluster defense team. Time slots for judges were deeply competitive, even with Luthor influence, the system overtaxed by the sharp rise in population, so her current appeal sat in limbo.

"Hey," the warm voice broke her reverie, and Lena turned to see her roommate drop onto her bed. Kelly Olsen, sweet and kind, smiled tiredly and dropped her navy-blue backpack onto the floor. The yellow light from Lena's lamp highlighted the coppery undertones in Kelly's skin tone, and her black hair was coiled in tight braids this week. "What has you looking so morose?"

"Storm." Lena hesitated, still not used to Kelly's gentle demeanor.

"And…?" Kelly raised her eyebrows and waited with her usual calm patience.

Lena sighed. "Finances. Supplies. You know the drill."

"Nothing new there." Still she patiently waited.

Lena failed to find anything that rattled the woman, but then she had served a tour in the army as a medic. Perhaps whatever she saw in the Disaster Zones had her immune to potentially upsetting situations.

"Tomorrow's my birthday," Lena admitted, not wanting to try to out-patient Kelly, the master of patience.

"Wait, what?" Kelly grinned. "Girl, why didn't you say something sooner?"

Lena frowned, confused. "Why would I?" It's not like she had anyone left to celebrate it. Her mother and Lionel were dead, and the Luthor family hated her. Kelly might be kind, but Lena spent most days haunted by doubts of whether they were truly friends or not.

"To celebrate you, of course." When Lena shrugged in response, Kelly scooted closer to Lena's desk, her brown eyes intent on Lena's. "You… you don't celebrate your birthday, do you?"

"Not since my mother died, no." Lena found it baffling Kelly wanted to celebrate her.

Kelly clucked her tongue. "That won't do. I'll call Sam and Andi over. Tonight we're celebrating you." Andi lived down the hall in the most expensive suite in the dorm, while Sam lived in the family housing on the edge of campus. Kelly and her had met them in chemistry, and despite Lena's reticence, the three had attached themselves to her.

Lena sighed but smiled. Maybe considering them her friends wasn't as presumptuous as she thought. "Fine. I'll allow it."

Two years ago

Fire bloomed, and smoke saturated the hall. Lena held a wet cloth over her mouth and ran with Kelly close behind. Both of them had elected to stay over winter break, to work on their theses, one of the few to stay on campus. When the power flickered and died that cloudy afternoon, Lena located some candles, but before she lit them, she paused, dread curdling in her stomach.

Blasts shook the building, and she stumbled into her desk. The candles rolled out of her hands and out of sight.

"Kelly!" Lena shouted as she grabbed her shoulder bag with her journals and laptop.

"Here!" Kelly bounded out of the bathroom and shoved a wet washcloth into Lena's hands. "Saw the fire blow out windows below us."

"Shit." Lena threw open their door and staggered at yet another tremor. Acidic smoke stung her lungs and watered her eyes. Visibility was poor with the smoke and darkness, but up ahead, the red glare of an exit sign signaled the fire escape.

"Fire's coming fast!" Kelly called with a heavy cough. The malevolent glow of flames marred the other end of the hall, their end still untouched.

Lena threw herself at the fire door, and it bounced open at her weight. She stumbled onto the metal platform and breathed in air untainted by the smoke. Her lungs burned, and smoke billowed out of the entryway. She wiped away her tears with the washcloth.

A laugh twisted the dread into fear, and her bag dropped to her feet. She turned toward the narrow, metal stairs.

Below her stood Otis, one of her brother's henchmen. Six people dressed in black clothes lined the ground behind him, all armed with either a stun-gun or a plasma rifle.

Her mind quickly evaluated the situation — the door hid Kelly from view still, the smoke thick but likely not enough camouflage. Her bag might knock Otis off his perch, but she'd never escape six armed grunts. She pushed her bag back toward Kelly and waved for her to stay put. Best not let Otis know she wasn't alone.

"Having a bad day, huh?" Otis grinned.

She held up her hands. "I know when I'm beaten," Lena said loudly, hoping Kelly would understand and not play the hero. "I take it my brother sent you?" Sarcasm sizzled in her voice, her anger barely in check. She refused to return home, avoided all calls unless related to lawyers and her inheritance, and yet, Lex couldn't leave her alone.

Otis flicked a switch on his stun-gun. "Of course. He needs you alive, but I figure we'd have a little fun first. How about you try to escape, and I play target practice?"

"Now why couldn't he simply visit? Seems a bit overkill to send seven people after little ole me." She kept her gaze on Otis to avoid alerting him to Kelly, who crouched in the doorway still. She had to get him away from this location, so Kelly could escape. "How about everyone lowers their weapons and we have a chat like civilized people, hmm?"

"Nah. This is more fun." Otis fired his gun, and a bolt of electric charge sizzled the air, sparked along the metal stairs, and jolted through Lena's body.

She bit back a cry. Her back arched in pain, her muscles seized, and she tumbled down the stairs, her head hitting the metal hard. Searing pain frazzled her thoughts, metal scraped along her arms and jeans, and she struggled to grab the railing. Her fingers trembled too much to grip. Otis's electricity-proof boots stopped her descent.

She vomited through the holes in the metal platform, a sickly stench. Otis laughed, crouched, and threw her over his shoulders. "The boss has some fun planned, don't you worry," he said and marched down the stairs.

Lena looked up to see Kelly poke her head around the corner of the fire door. Her last view of freedom. Darkness crept over her vision, and she succumbed to unconsciousness.

Present Day

"Lena?" Sam's voice drew her attention. Lena blinked, her mind still mired in the flashback. She focused instead on her immediate senses. Rock music played from a nearby convenience shop, its neon sign flickering in the night with a buzz. A faint stench of exhaust and spoiled food mingled in the air with the sweeter tones from a nearby restaurant. Standing in front of her, Sam's black leather jacket was tailored immaculately, its zipper pockets open. She wore a slim cut of her jeans, and a punk rock patch was sewn on her left pant legs. Strands of her hair blew across her face. "You're not looking good."

"I miscalculated energy levels after two weeks recovering," Lena admitted. She shifted her gaze to watching people walk by the bus stop.The bus stop was quiet at that hour, and those that passed by walked swiftly, their eyes on their phones or AR lenses. "I did promise Kara to show at that tea shop. We must discuss image results and next steps."

Sam frowned and sat down next to her on the bench. "Have you eaten today?"

Lena raised an eyebrow. "And you ask, why?"

"Just recall you pushing yourself and forgetting food. Seems that hasn't changed." Sam ran a hand through her long hair. "I do think you should see a doctor. I know a few that are discreet. Kara mentioned she knows more in National City."

"About that." Lena breathed in sharply, and released the breath slowly. Best to evaluate what Sam knows. "Why is Kelly insistent that I not take this case and instead leave the city?"

For a long moment, Sam sat quietly, her hands still on her knees, and her gaze on the ground. Her brow furrowed, and she said, quietly, "Prior ones had names mixed with the alien script," she glanced at Lena, her brown eyes steady with concern. "Yours was one of them. As was mine. She wants me to leave too, but that will take time since I'd rather not move Ruby mid-term."

"Oh." Lena patted her bag. "Then we must review current evidence to ascertain who else is targeted."

"After you eat," Sam said firmly. "Kara said she'll book that room again for us." At Lena's raised eyebrow, Sam added, "we swapped numbers in case you got into trouble. I don't intend to lose you again, Lena. Not knowing if you lived or not? Ruby sees you as an Aunt, you know."

Lena picked at a thread in her jeans' frayed knees. "I do miss her," she said, quietly.

She thought of the university years, where she'd been working steadily through Bachelor's in engineering, then a Master's in robotics, but was kidnapped before she could finish her P.h.D. She often babysat Ruby to cover some of her robotic equipment costs, plus showing the young girl how to build robots had been great fun. Four years spent entangled in Kelly's, Sam's, Ruby's, and Andi's lives, but now, after her kidnapping, she felt like a shadow of that former self.

"Will you see her before you go?" Sam asked again.

Lena sighed. "Sam, I very much wish it so, but I cannot endanger her. You assisting me is danger enough."

"Fine, but next time we meet? I won't accept that answer. Come on, let's get you some food and go meet Kara." Sam stood and offered her arm to Lena. As gentlemanly as always.

<<…>>

Not only had Kara booked the same room as last time, but she'd ordered several dishes and drinks — all favorites Lena had mentioned off hand during her two weeks recuperating. The fact Kara had recalled those conversations?

Lena sat on the sofa next to her, deeply touched and bewildered.

"If you don't like it, I'll get a different order—"

Lena lightly touched Kara's knee. "It's perfect, thank you." That elicited a blush on those gorgeous cheeks.

Sam chuckled. "Feeling left out here. Had to get my own coffee." She waved off Kara's sputtered apology. "I'm just teasing. I already ate." She leaned back in her chair with the coffee, her expression pensive.

"Here." Lena laid out the finished photos. "Everything I have. Video I did not obtain. Do you have the IDs I need?"

Sam nodded and removed an envelope from her jacket's inner pocket. She laid it on the table next to Lena's plate. "Look, why don't you two eat, and I'll review the photos?"

"Yes! Eating is very important." Kara said before she bit into her hamburger.

Lena focused on her quinoa salad, while she opened the envelope. Two IDs, each with the proper watermarks and chips, used a photo of a woman in glasses that closely resembled herself. Tugging out her card reader, she checked the chip, and name, birth year, and ID code scrolled across the pixelated screen.

"Kieran Aine Mercer, huh." She ate a few more bites as she tucked away IDs and card reader. "Why Aine Mercer?"

"Moniker already was Kieran, but I figured Aine Mercer was the closest identity that fit your qualifications." Sam sipped her coffee, the images balanced on her knees. "Can use them immediately. I already injected them into the citizen databases. Won't expire for five years."

"Excellent." As always, Sam's work proved superior to anyone she had worked with in the houseless community. A touch of sadness piqued her conscience, as many could use such services if Sam had the time, yet from her various hints, Sam's hacker days seemed to be over.

Kara wiped her hands on a napkin. "Great! I researched flights this afternoon. Two tomorrow are doable."

"I do not have sufficient money to afford that." Lena sipped her tea and leaned back, her food half-eaten. "Prices will be significantly cheaper a week from now."

"Lena…" Sam spread the images across the table. "Look." She pointed to the one in the subway tunnel. "Your name. Mine's in the one I'd asked you to image."

"Oh." Kara picked up two copies of the photos. "Oh, that's bad."

"Explain," Lena said, sharply. "You mentioned prior Kryptonian was used?"

"Yes. I contacted Superman and Supergirl," she said, her gaze flicking to Sam then back to the photos. "Because, uh, you know, I'm friends with them." Sam's eyebrows rose at that. After the woman almost outing herself the other night, Lena determined this to be Kara's attempt at a backtrack. "Anyway," Kara continued, "to target someone specifically with this spell bodes ill for those within its radius." She put the photos down and fiddled with the napkin. "We — they thought it was a summoning spell."

"Summoning what?" Sam asked. "Because I don't like how this one," she pointed to the alleyway photo, "is three blocks away from my job."

Odd, Lena thought, that area hosted mostly indie shops and the Metropolis Library. Surely, Sam had found a better job that those? She had such high aspirations of working in the coding industry.

"Best you leave the potential radius too." Kara ripped apart the napkin, shredding it into tinier and tinier pieces. "If within the perimeter…"

"What? I'll be possessed?"

"Likely, but as for what… I need more research."

The slight hesitation caught Lena's attention. She studied Kara's profile, and wondered what that and the crinkle in her forehead meant. "Any way to counteract this spell?"

"I… yes, likely so. Again, more research needed."

Lena might not know Kara well, but she understood lies thanks to the Luthors. Kara did not speak the full truth, and she wondered why. If she had more confidence in their connection she'd ask, instead, she focused on escape. She needed to assess Kara's team in National City before she probed Kara's reluctance. "Sam, perhaps you should push up your move. I can review possible flights for next week —"

"No, you can fly back with me," Kara interrupted. "I'll pay for it."

"I appreciate the gesture, but I would rather not be in debt," Lena said, frowning.

"Lena, you and Sam are in danger. The sooner you leave Metropolis, the safer you'll be. We have a lot more people to figure this out in National City." Kara leaned forward, her hands reaching for Lena's only to pause and land on the sofa between them. Her steady gaze warmed Lena's cheeks, but when she turned toward Sam, Kara leaned back, her intensity scaled back. "I can help you coordinate the move, Sam."

Sam sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I'll talk with Kelly and Alex. In the meantime, take the offer, Lena. Faster you're far from here, the better."

Lena suspected she had little choice in this. Her former hideout had been sullied by an alien ritual, so she couldn't return. Staying with Kal and Lois increased likelihood Lois might recognize her as a Luthor. "Fine," she said, grudgingly, "I'll allow it."

<<…>>

Lena held up the navy-blue cloak. Not a coat, no. A cloak that consisted of a dragon-shaped clasp, wide hood, and a cape. No sleeves. "How is this a disguise?" She raised an eyebrow. "I am not debuting as a superhero, Kara."

Kara rubbed her hands together and hopped from one foot to the other. She resembled an overly excited rabbit in her fluffy white sweater and pale blue jeans. "I've never seen you wear it. Your reaction means you've never worn anything like it. So no way people will recognize you!"

"I… see." The cloak wasn't the worst part of the get-up. The black leather pants draped over the bathtub's rim aligned more with Sam's tastes than Lena's, and the leather tank-top resembled a torture device more so than a shirt.  Considering they had three hours to reach their terminal, Lena couldn't deliberate much further. "It certainly does not resemble prior clothing choices." She gave Kara a faint smile. "I'll allow it."

Kara squealed in delight. "Sweet! I'll, um, just, you know…" she pointed to the door, "just be right outside, uh, so you can dress!" Pivoting, she all but dashed out of the room.

Lena smirked and shook her head. The more time spent in Kara's company, the more her crush grew. She changed into her 'disguise' and carefully folded her other clothes into her carry-on. Sadly, most of her belongings fit into the carry-on since she had lost most of items in the fire right before the kidnapping.

When she finally stepped out of the guest bathroom, she had to admit Kara's wide-eyed stare and slightly gaping mouth was worth the slight uncomfortable nature of leather against skin. "Like what you see?" Lena drawled.

"Yes— I mean, right. Okay. We should leave soon." Kara turned toward the door, and Lena had to laugh.

"Did you not bring any carry-ons of your own? Surely, that might seem a bit… odd, don't you think?"

"Right!" Kara turned around and rifled through the guest bedroom's closet. She exited with a shoulder bag stuffed with who knew what. "This will work. Ready for our flight?" She offered Lena her arm with a charming smile.

Once again, Lena felt like they were on a date, this time without Sam crashing it. She clasped Kara's arm and let her lead them out of Kal's apartment and down to the waiting taxi. The wood-accented hallways had garish red and green carpets that Lena was pleased to leave behind. To further her ridiculous charm, Kara bowed and opened every door for Lena, including the elevator door, which she held open with her arm and waved Lena through.

"Come now," Lena teased, "this is the 21st century, not 15th."

Kara literally pouted. How old was this woman? "I am simply being chivalrous for a beautiful woman." Her cheeks turned pink as if she realized what she just said.

"Beautiful, huh? I suppose I'll allow it." That earned her one of Kara's brilliant smiles. God, the way she seemed to shine, as if sunlight leaked from her pores, which perhaps it did considering how she retained sunlight for energy. A fact Lena found fascinating.

One important aspect of houselessness taught Lena respect toward alien species — yes, the power differential bothered her at times, but the ingenuity in those struggling to survive with almost nothing she could admire. All understood the importance of secrecy, particular in times when the US President and Congress leaned anti-alien. Kara, herself, also seemed to lean toward secrecy, but her slip-ups with Sam and herself presented evidence that Kara had only recently branched into larger, more diverse settings. Settings where secrecy could prove crucial.

The fact Lena knew she was Supergirl and that her name was Kara likely had to be an accident, tripped up by a pretty woman. Except, unlike her slip-up with Sam, Kara didn't try to backtrack and separate herself from the supers that guarded their respective cities. She leaned into her slip-up, and Lena wondered why.

Kara held the yellow-black taxi door open for her, and Lena slid to the other side to give Kara space. "Metropolis International Airport," she told the driver, who gave her a nod and turned into traffic. The light green shine to his skin tone belied he was an alien. Lena wondered what planet, but asking would be quite rude, something she'd learned quickly while houseless.

Kara shut the divider screen and glanced at Lena. "You know, my sister has a medical degree. She can check on your wound. Make sure I did an okay job."

"I would appreciate that." Lena rested her hand on the seat between herself and Kara. "I must ask, what is the plan when we reach National City? I am unfamiliar with the territory."

Kara tapped her bottom lip, her free hand resting close to Lena's own. In fact, Kara's pinky moved to touch Lena's in what had to be an intentional gesture. "Stay at my place for now. I know it's only a one bedroom, but I can fix up the living room for myself and give you the bedroom."

"Kara," Lena admonished, "you only just met me. Why go to such lengths for my comfort? I am used to couch-surfing as the houseless community calls it. The sofa is suitable."

"Yes, maybe I have only known you two weeks and three days, but," she held up a finger as if to dramatize her point, "you've been absolutely lovely all of those days and quite the wit. Your vibes check out."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "My vibes check out," she repeated, incredulous. "Hardly proof."

"Intuition can be a powerful force," Kara insisted. "And my intuition has quite loudly proclaimed you are good and worthy of what care I can offer. That includes a bedroom."

Lena sighed and looked out the window. Neon signs blurred with the bright lights of passing cars and trucks, and the glow of green stoplights. "Your words remind me of my Mum." She picked at a thread near her carry-on's zipper. "'Lena, the Great Music lives within all the living and Earth,'" she quoted, softly, "'It binds us to each other, and when we listen, we can understand the intentions of another.' She said that often."

"Wise words," Kara said, softly. "What is the Great Music?"

"Irish Druidism and magical practices believe in the universe being bound by the Great Music, it is…" she paused and pictured her mother's lessons. It'd been so long ago, and the trauma since had dulled its colors. Yet, the chalkboard her mother would pull out for lessons still sung in Lena's memory. "…it is not quite the soul of the universe, though I suppose one could make such an argument. Would be difficult to dispute. I prefer to think of it as the vibrations of our atoms in synchronicity. We all came from that singular Big Bang that started our universe, that soup of entangled particles, which flew out in all directions during the inflationary period. Perhaps all particles are still entangled, and that is the Great Music? Whose to say?" She smiled and glanced at Kara, who watched her with an intensity that heated Lena's cheeks and neck in a blush. "Mum used her intuition more than me. I preferred science and numbers."

"That's beautiful. I love it." Kara smiled wistfully. "Similar teachings exist in the religion of my people. Within all our people resides the ember of Rao, which connects us all in harmony. One of our eleven virtues." She looked down and gently ran her finger along the stitch next to Lena's hand. "The Science Guild's experiments with entanglement often worked in partnership with our Religious Guild. I recall reading about it not long before…" she trailed off, and a look of pain crossed her face. "… it's not easy to recall those years."

Lena lightly laid her hand over Kara's, unsure what to say. She's known loss her whole life, and Kara's expression and deep gravity in her words belies a loss of her own. "Don't force yourself," she said.

"I'm not. It's rare to have freedom to share of this," Kara said with a sad smile. "Usually I'm told to 'keep it secret, keep it safe.'" The last six words said in a hush, her shoulders hunched. When Lena raised an eyebrow, Kara leaned back and added, "You know, like in Lord of the Rings, the movies."

"Ah, right." She had not seen a movie in years, particularly one that old. "Secrecy I understand since my safety requires it, but I must ask, this is your heritage, is it not?" Lena's forehead wrinkled in bafflement. "If you feel safe to share and the location secure, then why not do so?"

"You're one of the few outside of Kelly that says that." Kara squeezed her hand gently, the pressure so light Lena almost missed it. "Thank you."

Lena had no idea how to respond, so only smiled. The silence stretched, but it held no awkwardness. If anything, Kara made her feet surprisingly safe. A feeling she had not felt in years.

As they neared the airport, Lena decided to take her chances. "Considering the circumstances," she said, quietly, "I have enjoyed your presence."

Kara smiled and laid her hand next to Lena's on the taxi's seat. "Honestly? I feel the same. Though I hope I don't find you bleeding out ever again."

"Can't guarantee that," Lena said with a wry smile. "I do have precedent with falling into troubling circumstances."

"Then I'll just have to rescue you," Kara said, firmly.

"Oh? Is that a promise?" Lena teased.

She had meant it more as a joke, but Kara half turned in her seat to meet her gaze with a seriousness that surprised Lena. "Yes, it is."