Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They were losing. All around her, everyone fought, trying to preserve timelines but it felt like they were losing. She saw friends fall but continued fighting. Then, suddenly, there was a blinding flash and she was falling.

She regained consciousness just before impact though the impact knocked her out once again. She was unaware of how much time had passed when she managed to sit up and blink. Standing in front of her, silhouetted by the sun, stood someone. She couldn’t make out who it was though with the glare off the sun behind them.

“Who are you?” said a voice that Kara knew very well.

She stood and could finally see Kal-El standing in front of her. “Kal-el?” she asked. “It’s me, Kara.”

Superman’s face was filled with confusion. “Kara?” he asked. “Kara Zor-El?”

“Yeah,” she said, now confused herself. “Don’t you recognize me?”

“Kara Zor-El’s pod was destroyed by gravity waves when Krypton exploded,” said Clark. “The pod fragments landed here when I was a teenager. You can’t be Kara.”

‘Oh, Rao!” she muttered, realizing that she was not in her own universe. “Can we go to the Fortress of Solitude and have Kelex scan me?”

“How do you know about the fortress?” asked Clark. “How do you know about Kelex?”

“If you let Kelex verify who I am, I think I can explain everything,” said Kara, “but now I wonder what happened to everyone else.”

“Who else?” asked Superman, still not willing to take her anywhere.

“The Flash, Green Arrow, Batman, Batgirl, all the other members of the Justice League,” said Kara.

“Just because you can recite the names of popular superheroes doesn’t mean anything,” said Clark.

Kara huffed. “You’re Clark Kent. You’re married to Lois Lane. The Flash is Barry Allen. Green Arrow is billionaire  Oliver Queen,” said Kara as Clark interrupted, holding up a hand.

“Just a moment,” said Clark, pulling out a phone. In a moment, he had several members of the Justice League on a conference call. “Do any of you recognize this woman?”

A chorus of “No” responses came from the speaker on the phone.

“She knows who all of you are,” said Clark, “and who I am.”

“Bring her to Star Labs,” said Barry.

“We’ll head that way in a moment,” said Clark. He turned to Kara. “Shall I carry you?”

Kara rolled her eyes and floated off the ground. “Kal-El, I’ve always been faster than you. Race you to Star Labs?” Kara shot off and Superman leaped after her. Just a few minutes later they were landing at Star Labs. Kara arrived first, of course.

“You’re actually Kryptonian?” asked Clark, now beginning to realize that she might be who she said she was.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!” said Kara. “I’m your cousin, sent to Earth to protect you.”

“But you died!” retorted Clark.

“Let’s get inside,” said Kara, who walked into the Star Labs facility as if she’d been there before (because she had).

When they entered the main lab area, Barry looked over. Cisco asked, “Who’s the pretty lady?”

“You’re Cisco Ramone,” said Kara. “Opened any portals lately?”

“What are you talking about?” asked Cisco.

“Someone tell me the date, please,” said Kara.

“It’s October 11th,” said Caitlin.

“Thank you, Caitlin, but what year is it?” asked Kara.

“I didn’t tell you my name!” exclaimed Caitlin.

“Don’t look at me,” said Superman. “She seems to know all of us.”

“Year, please?” asked Kara, in a pleading voice.

Barry looked at her, his head canting slightly. “It’s 2016. Are you a time traveler?”

Kara shook her head. “Not quite. I’m from another universe,” said Kara.

“Like, multiverse theory is real?” asked Cisco.

Kara nodded. “Yeah, and I was fighting alongside other versions of all of you and some other heroes trying to prevent the implosion of the multiverse. Except then there was a flash, I was falling, then impacted the ground here.”

“She left a sizable crater,” said Clark, with a wry smile on his face.

“Then who are you?” asked Barry.

Kara spread her hands then pointed at the symbol on her chest. “In my universe, they called me Supergirl. I’m Kara Zor-El, cousin of Kal-El here, and I was sent to Earth to protect him but my pod got knocked off course and stuck in the phantom zone for 24 years. When I arrived, Kal-El was grown and I was still a 13 year old girl. He placed me with Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers and they raised me on my Earth.”

“At least this makes sense,” said Barry. “Why did you ask the year?”

“In my universe, it was the year 2020.” said Kara. “I have no idea why the timeline has been reset like this.”

“So you remember the next four years?” asked Cisco.

Kara shook her head. “I remember the four years from 2016 to 2020 in my universe, but before the timeline collapsed, all of you, except Kal-el here, were in different universes than mine.”

“Then how do you know us?” asked Caitlin.

Kara grinned at Barry. “This one accidentally crossed into my universe when he ran a bit too fast. We had a few adventures together, then I managed to help send him back. Later on, Cisco learned how to create interuniversal portals and several times, heroes from different universes teamed up against very difficult problems.”

“Hence asking me if I’d created any portals lately,” said Cisco with a nod. “I believe her.”

“October 11th, wait a minute,” said Kara. “Why is this date sticking in my head?”

“History being made?” said Cisco. “The Venture Space Shuttle takes its first commercial flight with passengers in…” he stared at a screen. “It’s launching right now.”

She turned to Clark. “There’s a bomb aboard that shuttle! We need to save it!”

“Let’s go!” he turned and shot up the tunnel toward the surface and Kara followed. Cisco and the rest turned toward the main screen in the lab as Cisco put the launch up for everyone to see.

Barry shrugged. “I can’t help. It’s in the air.”

“We know,” said Caitlin. “We have to believe that Superman and his cousin can save them.”

In the skies above National City, Kara raced toward the doomed spacecraft with Clark fast behind her. Just a few miles ahead of them, they both saw the explosion.

“I’ll get under and stabilize it!” she shouted. “You put that fire out then help me bring it down!”

“Got it!” Clark shouted as he veered off toward the engine and Kara dove under the now falling shuttle.

Kara stabilized it and within seconds, Clark was beside her. He spoke into a wrist communications device then shouted to Kara. “We can divert it! There’s an air force base ahead with long runways for B52 and B2 bombers. They’re clearing a runway for us now.”

They both lifted and gently changed the direction of the shuttle. The pilots, apparently informed that a rescue was happening, lowered the landing gear. Kara and Clark brought the shuttle in safely, setting it down to coast down the runway. They used their own strength to bring it to a stop.

Once stopped, Kara said, “I’ll see you back at Star Labs. Since they don’t know me, maybe you should talk to the press and all.”

“I believe you, Kara,” said Clark. “Stay. You’re Kryptonian and your explanation for what happened makes sense to not just me but to Barry, Cisco, and Caitlin too. I’ll do the talking but they may as well know that you’re my cousin.”

Kara agreed and stood off to the side. Clark kept the reporters focused on himself.

“Who’s she?” shouted one reporter, as cameras clicked.

“That’s my cousin,”  said Superman. “She got detoured on the way to Earth but she’s here now.”

There were many other questions and when one reporter ran toward Kara, she simply shot into the sky and hovered high above. Eventually, Clark finished and joined her. 

“Star Labs?” he asked.

“Sure,” she replied but Clark took off immediately to get ahead of her.

Nonetheless, when they got back to Star Labs, Kara still won, if only by inches.

“I guess you are faster than me,” joked Clark, a grin on his face.

“I beat you up once too,”  said Kara.

“What?”  asked Clark, astounded, a wide grin on his face.

“You were mind controlled so don’t be hard on yourself,” she grinned back at him.

Clark grew a little bit more somber. “When we found the fragments of your pod, I thought I’d lost any remaining anchor to Krypton but now you’re here through some miracle and I’d like to start making up for lost time.” He stepped forward, arms open.

Kara stepped into those arms and they hugged. “Thank you. We’d gotten pretty close in my universe, especially towards the end. If that can happen even faster here, I’m all for it.” Kara stopped, as if thinking. “Do you have two boys here?”

Clark nodded. “I do.”

“Have you told them about yourself yet?” asked Kara.

“We’ve been waiting to see if they gain powers,” replied Clark.

“Let’s tell them. Let’s tell them together, because if this universe is this close to my own,” she said, “they’re going to have powers too.”

“I’m going to tentatively say yes to this but I have to talk to Lois first,” said Clark.

“Of course!” said Kara. She turned toward the entryway when Barry stepped out. “The DEO wants to talk to you, Superman, and they want to talk to your cousin here too.”

“Let me guess,” said Kara. “Hank Henshaw runs the DEO and one of his top agents is Alex Danvers.”

“How’d you know?” asked Clark, shaking his head. “Wait, you worked with the DEO in your universe?”

Kara nodded. “Is he a hardass about aliens or did he soften up after a trip to South America?”

Clark looked at her, slightly stunned. “He did change after a trip to South America. What do you know about that trip?”

Kara grinned. “If the Director hasn’t told you yet, I won’t say anything. That’s his story to tell. Let’s go talk to Director Henshaw then.”

Chapter Text

Clark and Kara landed on a balcony of the DEO headquarters. Kara muttered, “Same building” which Clark heard, of course.

As they walked down the steps to the main operations center, Director Henshaw and agent Alex Danvers walked toward them.

“Hank,” said Clark, “this is my cousin, Kara Zor-El.”

“But she died,” said Director Henshaw, studying Kara carefully.

“She’s my cousin and she’s not my cousin,” said Clark. “I’ll let her explain. We should probably go somewhere private to talk.”

The Director waved for them to follow and they walked down a hall, entering a conference room. He entered some commands on the keypad, then said, “We’re surrounded by a white noise generator here. No one can hear us chat now.”

They all sat. Clark looked at Kara and said, “It’s your show.”

“I’m from an alternate universe,” said Kara, “and it probably doesn’t exist anymore.”

Hank looked intrigued. “Go on.”

“I, along with another version of Clark here and many other heroes were trying to stop a cataclysmic collapse of the entire multiverse,” said Kara. “It looks like we did but many timelines seemed to have collapsed into this one. Before the timeline collapse, The Flash, The Green Arrow, and several other heroes were all in separate but adjacent universes.”

“What do you mean by adjacent?” asked Alex.

“Universes that differ only slightly from one another are closer to each other in n-dimensional space than universes that differ greatly,”  said Kara. “It’s a branch of physics I’m familiar with from Krypton.”

“You were in the Kryptonian Science Guild?” asked Hank. “You don’t look old enough to have been in that guild. It usually took years to gain entry.”

Kara blushed which Alex noticed. “They bred you for that, didn’t they?” she asked. “When they knew their planet was in trouble, they began deliberately breeding scientific super geniuses to try to save the planet.”

Kara looked embarrassed. “I was 13 when I joined the Science Guild. My first project was miniaturizing a gravitic lens, which they’d been working on for decades.”

“How old were you when you left Krypton, Kara?” asked Hank.

“I was still 13 at the time the planet died,” said Kara.

“So you never finished your first project?” asked Director Henshaw.

“Oh no,” said Kara, “I finished it and was working on miniaturizing tachyon receivers so we could embed them in nanites.”

Hank turned to Clark. “So your cousin is a super, just like yourself and also happens to be one of the most brilliant scientific minds on the planet?” He turned back to Kara. “Want to come work for the DEO? I’ll get you a dream lab.”

“That’s tempting,” said Kara, “but I have some other goals in mind. I’d be happy to help the DEO with aliens and other issues though, since Clark is already doing the same.”

“That would be great, Ms. Zor-El,” said Hank, “but we need to create a human identity for you too.”

Kara looked at Alex and smiled then looked back at Director Henshaw. “In my universe,” said Kara, “I was adopted by Alex’s parents and we were adoptive sisters. That won’t exactly work here since everyone knows she doesn’t have a sister but maybe I could be a distant cousin? I’d prefer to stick with Kara Danvers for my human identity, if that’s okay.”

“You want to be my cousin?” asked Alex, a soft smile now emerging.

“I was your sister,” said Kara, “and I’d like to get to be that close again maybe. If you’re game.”

Alex looked at her thoughtfully, that gentle smile now broadening at this idea. “Yeah, we can try this.”

“Did you have a profession in mind?” asked Director Henshaw.

“Reporter,” said Kara.

Alex just laughed. “You two.”

Clark looked at Kara. “Are you serious?”

“You were a reporter!” said Kara. “I followed in your footsteps. I was the personal assistant to Cat Grant for two years then she promoted me to reporter.”

“Wait a minute,” said Alex. “You were Cat Grant’s personal assistant for two years? She changes her personal assistant every 90 days, 6 months at the outside.”

Kara grinned and shrugged. “I guess she liked me.”

“I can introduce you to Perry White if you want to live in Metropolis,” said Clark.

Kara shook her head. “I think I want to live on the west coast. I think I’ll try National City, since Alex lives there. I have other reasons for National City too.”

“What might those reasons be?” asked Hank.

Kara sat still for a moment, debating just how much to say. Finally, she said, “I was in love with someone in my universe. She’s here but we’ve obviously never met. She meant so much to me that I want to try to romance her here. It may not work but I have to try.”

“Hmm…” said Clark, thoughtfully. Then he asked, “You’re going to try to get Cat Grant to hire you?”

Kara nodded with a grin.

“Good luck with that,” said Director Henshaw. “CatCo has been struggling. There’s been rumors of layoffs coming.”

“I think she’ll hire me,” said Kara. 

“Someone’s confident,” quipped Alex.

They discussed a few other things, including Supergirl working with the DEO, then the meeting adjourned. Alex went to get Kara a comms kit. As the others walked away, Director Henshaw held back.

When she saw Director Henshaw standing alone, Kara walked up to him and said, very softly, “I know who you are, J’onn. And no, I won’t tell. In another universe, I looked up to you.”

Speaking softly back to her, the Director said, “I can see we’ll need to have another chat at some point.”

“Whenever you’re not busy,” said Kara in an equally hushed tone. “We did important work together. I’m looking forward to working with you again.”

Director Henshaw smiled at that then walked off to get documents created for Kara and once that was done, she and Clark left. Clark headed back to Metropolis and Kara was going apartment hunting.

*****

Kara had managed to get into the same apartment building she’d lived in before. Same layout for her apartment, just on the top floor instead of the next to top floor. To fund herself, she’d gone and done some digging until she’d found about 40 ounces of gold, which she sold for cash. With fees and other expenses plus discounts for selling in bulk, she still came out with over $40,000, of which she deposited $8000 into her new bank account and then a bit over $8000 every third day until it was all in the bank.

She ordered furniture for her apartment and she decorated it almost the same as her original apartment. She even had a bed by that evening, in which she managed to get a good night’s sleep. She’d also gotten a wrist communicator from the DEO as well as having Clark’s phone number.

The next morning she called Clark and let him in on what she needed and what was going to happen that day. He agreed to assist but called Barry, Oliver, and others. Kara was hovering in wait when Lena Luthor’s helicopter took off and was attacked but she and Clark were there to deal with it, saving Lena. And with the other heroes alerted, the drones that were programmed to kill civilians were intercepted as well.

After rescuing Lena’s helicopter, after the pilot had been shot by the drones, Kara looked at Lena and said, “Someone is trying to kill you.”

“Supergirl,” said Lena. “Cat Grant named you after yesterday and I suppose it works, given who your cousin is. As for who’s trying to kill me, it’s my brother, Lex, from prison.”

“How is he managing this?” asked Superman.

“He has shadow accounts scattered throughout LuthorCorp, well, now L-Corp since I renamed it,” said Lena. “And we’ve not found all of them though I am looking for them.”

Emergency personnel arrived then, to attend to the wounded pilot and check out Lena Luthor so Kara and Clark let her go.

Kara stepped back and said softly to Clark, “I need to go job hunting but thanks for this.”

“Glad to help,” said Clark. “If you remember anything else that we can help stop before it happens, let me know.”

“I suspect the further we get from my arrival date,” said Kara, “the more divergence there will be from my own timeline. My predictive knowledge of events is likely very limited.”

“Still,” said Clark, “if anything pops up, call on me, Barry, whomever.”

“I will,” said Kara. “Since I never made it to Earth in this universe, I take it that Fort Rozz never made it to Earth?”

“I’m not aware of any Fort Rozz, no,” said Clark.

“I was hoping I might have a chance to save my Aunt Astra this time, but she’s in Fort Rozz which means she’s still stuck in the Phantom Zone,” said Kara.

“Why was she sent to Fort Rozz?” asked Clark.

“She was trying to save Krypton. She wanted to alert the population, to evacuate more people, to take more aggressive action to stabilize the planetary core,” said Kara. “Eventually, I learned it was my own mother who sentenced her to Fort Rozz. That was a gut punch.”

“Hold that thought,” said Clark. “We can’t do this right now, today, but let me bring this up to the Justice League the next time we all sit down. Maybe, just maybe, we can get your aunt after all.”

Kara smiled at that. “It won’t be easy, and we certainly won’t want to release the others imprisoned there. They’d be a massive risk to Earth.”

“It won’t hurt to discuss it,” said Clark, who gently lifted into the air. “I’ve got to run though, and you need to convince Cat Grant to hire you.”

Now Kara just had to go get herself a job.

Chapter Text

The one thing Kara had not had time to do so far was sit and reflect. But as she did that evening, the one thing that stood out to her was she had a chance to do everything different with Lena this time.

In her own timeline, they’d been the best of friends for a few years before Kara realized that she loved Lena Luthor. But when she finally told Lena who she was, because she had lied to Lena for so long, she lost Lena as a friend with no chance to ever tell Lena that she loved her. Here, with a second chance, she resolved that she would not lie to Lena Luthor ever again.

But her first priority was finding work and she had a distinct idea about that. After getting a good night’s sleep and eating a large breakfast, Kara went outside, walked into an alley, and changed into her super suit. She flew around National City for a bit, patrolling the area, getting some excellent photos of herself, and then went back to her apartment.

Putting her glasses back on and getting dressed up as Kara Danvers,  she decided to be bold. She wrote a short article, got her photos printed, then went to the building where CatCo had its offices. Using super speed, she slipped past one security guard, then got aboard the employee elevator going to the very floor where Cat’s office was located.

She strode over to Cat’s current personal assistant and said, “I’m here to see Ms. Grant.”

“Do you have an appointment?” asked the woman.

“No, but she might be interested in my photos,” said Kara, as she held up a clear shot of Supergirl. In fact, she held it in such a way that Cat couldn’t miss it when she looked up from her desk.

The instant Cat saw the photo, her eyes went to Kara and Kara looked at her steadily right back.

“If she doesn’t want these, I can take them elsewhere,” said Kara, just as Cat opened the door to her office.

“Where did you get that shot?” asked Cat.

“I took the photos myself,” said Kara. “I also have a few quotes from Supergirl.”

It took Cat less than half a second to decide. “Come in,” she said.

Closing the door behind Kara, she then moved to the sofa. “You want to sell these?” asked Cat.

“I want a job,” said Kara. “My name is Kara Danvers and I’m a photojournalist.”

“How do I know you didn’t steal these photos?” asked Cat.

“Because I’m her,” said Kara.

“You’re” began Cat, but Kara put a finger to her lips.

“Why would you tell me this?” asked Cat.

Kara smiled. “I know this will sound crazy but I worked for you in another universe. I liked working for you. You pushed me. You demanded from me. You made me into a great reporter. When I ended up here, I decided to try again. CatCo is where I want to be.”

“Another universe? Assuming I believe you, that explains why you want the job,” said Cat, “but not why you would tell me this.”

“You figured me out in a few months anyway, Ms. Grant,” said Kara, “and this time, if I can get you on my side, it would honestly make my life easier.”

Cat sat back and appraised Kara. “You were a reporter for me?”

“A reporter for a few years,” said Kara, “but I was your personal assistant for two more years.”

“You lasted two years?” asked Cat, now incredulous.

“I was persistent and super speed can help things at times,” said Kara.

Cat shifted. “The stories about Supergirl a few days ago and yesterday sold more copies of CatCo’s paper and got more views on our social media channel than anything else we’ve done in months.” She looked thoughtful for a few moments before adding, “Supergirl can save this paper. I do have one question though.”

“What’s that?” asked Kara.

“Do you ever intend to come out to the world as your real self, Ms. Danvers?” asked Cat.

“I’ve thought about it,” said Kara. “And before my universe vanished, if I did, there was only one person I’d allow to cover that.” Kara then smiled at Cat. “You, Ms. Grant.”

“You still didn’t have to tell me who you are,” said Cat. “There’s more to this, isn’t there?”

Kara simply nodded.

“Want to explain?” asked Cat.

Kara looked thoughtful for a moment then said, “I don’t want to lie to people I care about this time so…” She took a deep breath. “In my universe, I was in love with Lena Luthor but I lost her in this timeline collapse that happened. I met her because I worked here. This became my doorway into her world.”

“And you’re hoping for such a break again.” It was a statement, not a question. Cat stared at her for at least 10 seconds then finally said, “You’re hired. Come with me.”

They walked out of Cat’s office into the bullpen, to the other side of the floor and went into Snapper Carr’s office. Cat simply said, “This is Kara Danvers, our newest reporter.” She set the photos of Supergirl down then said, “Front page, and Ms. Danvers will get the byline on this article with quotes from Supergirl included.”

Snapper lifted a single eyebrow, which was a lot for him, then he said, “Find yourself a desk, Danvers, then…”

But Cat cut him off. “She already has her first assignment, to interview Lena Luthor about what happened to the Venture shuttle, since she was supposed to be on it but wasn’t.”

Snapper looked at Cat then finally said, “You’re finally going to do what I recommended? Go after real news?”

Cat nodded. “And your first weapon in that endeavor is Kara Danvers.”

She turned to Kara. “I already arranged an interview with Lena. I didn’t say who was coming but she probably assumed it’s me. She’s getting you, instead. Now, back to my office, Kara.”

Kara turned and followed Cat out of Snapper’s office then returned to her own. Once there, Kara asked, “Why are you doing this?”

Cat grinned. “I have a reputation as a matchmaker and frankly, Kara, if you and Lena end up together and you ever come out to the world, I get not only one of the greatest love stories in history on the front page, but I also get credit for having put a Super and a Luthor together.”

Kara laughed. “Even when you weren’t sure who I was, in my universe, you tried to put Lena and myself together.”

Cat smirked then looked at her watch. “The interview is in 90 minutes. Do be on time. Now, go get me a story and go introduce yourself to your girl.”

Kara rose, turned to go, then turned back. “Thank you, Ms. Grant.”

She looked up from her paperwork and said, “Don’t make me regret it.”

Kara nodded and walked out.

*****

Just before 1 pm, Kara arrived and was shown the way to Lena Luthor’s office. The security guard left her with Jess who looked Kara over disapprovingly. “Ms. Luthor was expecting Cat Grant.” Riding in the elevator with the security guard gave her something to focus on other than being alone in a tiny claustrophobic space. Even so, after the guard departed, Kara was doing breathing exercises to ground herself.

“I’m the reporter that Cat assigned to this story,” said Kara. “My name is Kara Danvers.”

After staring at Kara for a long moment, Jess picked up her phone and called the inner office. “The reporter from CatCo is here, Ms. Luthor.” A pause. “No, Ms. Grant didn’t come.” Finally she looked up at Kara. “This way, please.”

They entered Lena’s office and Kara’s eyes met Lena’s. Finally breaking eye contact, which Jess definitely noticed, Lena turned to Jess and said, “That will be all, Jess.”

Lena rose then moved to her couch, motioning for Kara to sit down.

“My name is Kara Danvers, Ms. Luthor,” said Kara. “Please just call me Kara. I’ve been sent to interview you.”

“You work at CatCo?” asked Lena, still staring at Kara.

“I do. Cat hired me today,” said Kara, knowing full well what reaction that would likely trigger.

Lena instantly got an amused grin and looked away for several seconds, clearly thinking. Then she looked back at Kara. “If I asked you to take off those glasses and let that ponytail down, what would I see?” asked Lena.

Kara didn’t hesitate. “You’d see me, the same way you saw me yesterday when I saved you.”

Lena looked stunned. “You’re going to admit it, just like that? To a Luthor, no less?”

“I’m not from this universe, Ms. Luthor,” said Kara. “And I can’t go back to mine because it’s gone now but in that universe we were… friends.” Kara’s hesitation in saying that might have been missed by many but not by Lena. “And I know that you are not like your brother. I know that you’re a good person.”

“Friends, hmm?” Lena stared at her questioningly.

Kara broke first in the staring contest, glancing downward before looking back at Lena.

“Just friends?” asked Lena.

Kara took a deep breath. “We were friends for the longest time, years. It took me years to admit to myself how I really felt about you, well, the you in my universe. I loved you. I don’t know if you felt the same way or not and before I could find out, we were fighting to save the entire multiverse from collapse. We won, but even so, hundreds, maybe thousands of timelines still vanished, including my own. I never got to ask you if you loved me.”

“And why are you being so open to me, here, now, in this universe?” asked Lena.

“Because I kept who I was from you for the longest time,” said Kara. “I kept convincing myself that it was to protect you but I was afraid. Then you found out anyway and were so angry with me.”

Kara looks up at the ceiling then back down at Lena, taking another deep breath. “When I found myself here, the one thing I swore was that I would never lie to you again. I don’t know if love is something that could happen twice between us, but I would dearly love to have a friendship with you again.”

Lena leaned back against the sofa. “Incredible. A super and a Luthor working together.”

Kara glanced away again, this time she being the one thinking. When she turned back to Lena, she said, “I have a favor to ask, before we get to this interview, which I still have to do. Superman was sent here as a baby. He doesn’t remember anything about Krypton. I was 13 years old. I do. Further,” Kara pauses, steadying herself, “I’m not trying to be a braggart here but in the years leading up to Krypton’s destruction, Krypton began attempting to breed super geniuses to help them try to save the planet. I was one of the first of those. I entered the Science Guild at age 13. No one in Krypton’s history had ever done that before. Most were in their early to mid 20s before being inducted into the Science Guild.”

Kara paused again, carefully considering her words before saying them out loud. Once she was sure, she said, “I would like to work with you on bringing Kryptonian technology to Earth, and on assessing and avoiding the technological mistakes that led to the destabilization of Krypton’s core, so that it never happens here.”

Lena sat there, mouth half open, staring at Kara. Finally a small chuckle came forth, followed by, “How can I possibly say no to such an offer?”

Lena reached across the couch and took Kara’s hand. “I don’t tend to do relationships but I would love to work on becoming your friend, Kara Danvers.”

Kara smiled and internally accepted that, because that was the most she could realistically hope for. She had Lena back in her life and she had a reason to see and work with Lena regularly. That would have to be enough.

With that burst of honesty out between them already, Kara then launched into her interview.

Chapter Text

Lena arranged to have lunch with Cat Grant two days later. Cat was facing a busy day but could accommodate Lena for lunch in her office. She arranged for sushi since she knew Lena loved that and the food arrived just minutes after Lena did at 11:30 am.

Cat waved Lena into her office and food arrived just as they sat down, brought in by her current personal assistant.

“This Kara Danvers you sent over is,” Lena pondered the right word for a moment then said, “interesting.”

“Oh, she’s definitely interesting,” replied Cat, now wondering how much Kara might have told her.

“She seems rather… talented,” said Lena, clearly fishing for more from Cat.

Cat, still unsure of what to say, replied, “I’m going to discover just what all talents she has.”

Kara, sitting in the bullpen, snickered to herself, causing a few other reporters to look at her. Making a decision in the spur of the moment, she walked over, entered Cat’s office without knocking, much to the chagrin of Cat’s personal assistant, who came in right after her.

“She just walked right past me, Ms. Grant!” said the young woman.

“Back to your desk, Penny,” said Cat, who turned her eyes on Kara. “And what do you want?”

As the door to the office closed, Kara said, “I can hear you both. I told you both. So if you want to discuss me in detail, feel free but remember, I’m probably going to hear you.”

Cat stared at Kara, realizing just what that meant. Lena had a shocked look on her face before she asked, “How far can you hear, say, conversations?”

Kara smirked and, looking at Lena, said, “I can pick out your heartbeat when you’re in one of the labs three levels below grounds at L-Corp even sitting in the bullpen out there.”

Cat took that opportunity to dismiss Kara. “We get it, Kara. You can go back to work.”

Kara shrugged in amusement, turned, and went back to her desk in the bullpen.

Lena turned to Cat. “You and I need to do lunch tomorrow, at my place, where I have an entire conference room protected by a white noise generator field.”

Lena’s phone buzzed. It was a message from Kara. “That would definitely keep me from hearing what you two are saying.” Lena laughed then showed the phone to Cat.

Cat snickered. “We can discuss her tomorrow then. What are you planning for the theme of the next L-Corp gala, next month?”

Cat quickly wrote something on her notepad and passed it over to Lena. Why don’t you take Kara as your plus one to the gala? She gets a story, you get a built in bodyguard.

Lena  spoke as she wrote. “We’re going with a big band theme, from the 1930s, this year.” She wrote That’s an intriguing idea. Let’s discuss tomorrow.

“That sounds like it would be fun,” said Cat. “What will you be wearing?”

“I’m having a piece made up by Antoine Beauchamps,” said Lena. “It will be a red silk sleeveless evening gown. I was going to go with gold trim but I’ve changed my mind and intend to go with blue with some silver accents.”

Kara’s eyes grew wide at that. Lena in red and blue? What was going on here?

Cat looked through the glass walls and could see Kara fidgeting. She grinned at Lena and said, “An excellent choice! Well done!”

“I happen to think it’s a particularly wonderful color combination,” said Lena, as she looked over her shoulder towards Kara, whose back was toward Cat’s office.

Kara sat there, not typing, because he mind was blown. On the one hand, she knew these two were teasing her but on the other hand, the idea of going as Lena’s plus one with Lena wearing red and blue caused her to totally lose focus in what she was doing.

Lena and Cat chatted about other topics for a while then Lena finally walked out of Cat’s office.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, Lena,” said Cat.

“Oh, definitely. I’ll get takeout from that Italian place you like,” said Lena.

The women exchanged air kisses on either cheek but as Lena turned to go, she stopped. Turning toward Kara she walked directly over to her. Kara looked up nervously as every eye in the CatCo bullpen stayed locked on Lena Luthor. Cat’s face broke into a grin.

“Kara, would you like to be my plus one for the L-Corp gala next month?” asked Lena.

Kara’s mouth hung open for a second then she stammered out “Yes, yes! Of course! I’d love that!”

“Having you on my arm should keep most of those predatory old men from trying to cling to me all night,” said Lena.

Kara felt giddy. “I’d love to run interference for you.”

“Then it’s a date,” said Lena, with a smirk on her face as she walked away.

Kara sat there with her mouth open at the word “date”.

*****

The following day, Cat made sure to be at Lena’s office on time. The one good thing from yesterday was that they both now knew that Kara could eavesdrop on them almost anywhere whenever she wanted and that they could take steps to avoid that.

Once Cat sat down in the conference room, after Lena had put the takeout bags on the table then walked to the control panel on the wall activating the white noise generator, Cat simply had to ask, “Taking an interest in Kara then? Is that why you asked her to the gala?”

Lena shook her head. “I already told her I don’t do romantic relationships but that I’d be happy to work on being the best friend she has in National City.”

“By asking her to the gala?” asked Cat again.

“I was honest with her. Having someone as stunning as her at my side all night will keep most of those men away, and I have no doubt Kara will step in to extract me from a difficult situation if she sees it happening,” said Lena.

“So Lena Luthor won’t be catching feelings for Kara Danvers, for Supergirl?” Cat dangled that question out there to give Lena something to chew on.

But Lena remained adamant. “No romances for me, Cat. Not after Andrea and given my workload as CEO, I don’t have time to properly woo another woman.”

“I had this printed for you,” said Cat, as she pulled out a framed 8x10 photo of Supergirl flying directly toward a camera at short range.

As Lena took the photo, her eyes softened and a genuine smile went across her face. But seconds later it was gone. Still, Cat stored that reaction away for future reference.

Lena’s eyes turned toward Cat. “This was your front page photo yesterday, wasn’t it?”

Cat nodded.

Lena sat thoughtfully. “I wonder how she gets these shots with the camera in the air like that?”

“Ask her,” said Cat. “She mentioned to me that you’re interested in her science side as well. Maybe it’s some Kryptonian device.”

“Would you mind if I stole her away for a few afternoons each week?” asked Lena. “I’d pay her for her time.”

“Does CatCo get the interviews on any new tech that she helps you bring to Earth?” countered Cat.

“You’ve always treated me fairly, Cat,” said Lena, “even that expose about Lex’s lab that I hadn’t found yet. You criticized me for missing it but you never cast me as another Lex.”

Lena stared at Cat for a few moments as she thought. “That’s a fair trade. I get Kara two afternoons a week and you get the first full stories and interviews. I’ll still make announcements to the general public. You won’t get any advantage there but after the announcement is made and you want to get the full story, you get the interviews and detailed stories. How about Tuesdays and Thursdays?”

“How about Tuesdays and Fridays instead?” asked Cat.

“Why not Thursdays?” asked Lena.

“We have staff activities all afternoon that day,” replied Cat, lying through her teeth. Cat had her own motives for wanting to put these two together on Fridays.

“I can work with Fridays,” said Lena.

“I’ll tell her she starts tomorrow, so you can get your first Friday in the lab done together before the weekend,” said Cat. “More opportunities to have something remarkable to show at the L-Corp gala.”

“Good point,” said Lena. Lunch droned on after that but Cat was setting her Cupid’s arrows in motion now.

Chapter Text

Kara had spent time thinking about Lena asking her to the L-Corp gala and what that meant. She concluded that it was purely about her protecting her new friend from unwanted advances yet she also was happy to fulfill that role. Lena had been very clear that she didn’t do relationships but she was happy to become Kara’s friend and Kara had spent the last few days reminding herself that this was the most she had any right to expect from Lena.

Sitting on the bus on Friday as she rode towards L-Corp was the second time Kara found the opportunity to reflect on all that had happened thus far. She had arrived in a different universe, apparently having saved the multiverse. She’d re-established her relationship with Kal-El. She’d come out to Cat Grant and gotten her job back, or its close equivalent. And she’d come out to Lena.

That last part simply felt right. They might never be more than just friends but this time, Kara would not have that lie hanging over them. Kara looked up and saw that they were arriving at the bus stop closest to L-Corp. She got off the bus and walked a block and a half to the L-Corp main entrance.

She approached the security desk and said, “Hi! My name is Kara Danvers and I’m here to see Lena Luthor.”

The security guard looked up and smiled. “Welcome, Ms. Danvers.” He handed her an L-Corp badge. “You no longer need to sign in at this desk. You have full access to L-Corp facilities and I’m told to send you to Ms. Luthor’s office immediately. Take that elevator at the end of that hall over there,” he said as he waved toward the elevator in question, “and it will take you straight to Ms. Luthor’s floor.”

“Thank you!” exclaimed Kara, as she took the badge, clipped it to her sweater, and walked to the elevator. Steeling herself, because she just did not like elevators, she stepped in and pushed the button for the top floor.

When she exited the elevator at the top floor, she let out a breath then stopped to steady herself. Lena was right in front of her staring at her.

“Are you okay, Kara?” Lena’s face was etched with concern.

“I… elevators, enclosed spaces are all difficult for me,” said Kara.

Lena looped her hand around Kara’s arm and began leading her to the laboratory. “Want to talk about it?” she asked.

Kara thought about it for a few seconds. She’d always carried this trauma alone, not even speaking to Alex much about it. But here, Alex was not her sister, just a friend. And Lena was now offering to listen.

Kara looked at Lena and nodded. “I would, yes,” said Kara.

After they’d entered the lab, Lena sat on a stool at one of the lab benches. She pointed to the other stool for Kara to sit.

After sitting down and putting her purse on the lab bench, Kara looked at Lena. “When Kal-El was sent to Earth, he was an infant. I was sent at the same time, when I was 13 years old. When I tell people this, I explain it as my pod got trapped in a timeless dimension for 24 years. When it broke free and continued its journey, I was still 13, but Kal-El was 24 then.”

She sighed. “But what I don’t tell people is that I was awake much of that time. The place was called The Phantom Zone. It was a place of nightmares, where your worst fears could appear in visions before you. I spent 24 years there, seeing horrific vision after horrific vision, all playing on my worst fears of what happened to my family when Krypton exploded.”

Kara turned away from the lab bench and put her head down in her hands, speaking softly. “Enclosed spaces like that can set off my claustrophobia, bring back memories, and give me panic attacks. Usually I can get through it but you’re on the top floor of a tall building so it’s taxing.”

“What helps?” asked Lena gently.

Kara sat up and looked at Lena. “If I seem distant when I’m in an elevator, it’s because I’m focusing on good memories, on open spaces, open sky, clear beautiful days like in a mountain meadow. I distract myself.”

“I’ll get used to it, Ms. Luthor,” said Kara.

“We’re friends now, Kara,” said Lena. “Please call me Lena.” Lena’s mind went to her own childhood traumas then she realized just what Kara had gone through - the loss of her entire world, everyone she knew, her entire culture, language, everything, then on top of that, she’d been tormented for 24 years of waking nightmares. She looked at Kara with new eyes then. The super powered person she’d assumed had led a privileged and powerful life was gone with the awareness that Kara held traumas that few humans could ever fully understand. At that moment, she felt fiercely protective toward her new friend.

“I… Thank you, Lena,” said Kara.

“I have a request, Kara,” said Lena.

“What sort of request?” asked Kara, somewhat surprised.

“I have a very close friend in whom I confide many things,” said Lena, “She’s always kept secrets for me but I’d like to talk to her about you.”

“Sam Arias,” said Kara.

“You knew?” asked Lena in shock. Then she said, “Of course you knew. We were friends in your universe.”

“Now you’re opening up a difficult can of worms,” said Kara.

Confused, Lena asked, “How so?”

Kara sighed. “First, I have to give you some background. On Krypton, there was a very destructive religious cult called the Children of Juru. They worshipped Yuda Kal, a destructive deity who demanded the execution of anyone that did not worship her.”

“What’s this got to do with Sam?” asked Lena.

“Patience, please. I’ll get to that part,” said Kara, who then continued. “The Children of Yuda Kal believed that the imminent destruction of Krypton was punishment from Yuda Kal against those who refused to worship her. They decided that if they could cleanse Krypton, Yuda Kal would save them. So, in the biomatrix where Kryptonian children were designed and bred, they designed three children, all female, in honor of Yuda Kal, all warriors. Once the children were born, they were taken by the Children of Yuda Kal and through a dark ritual, were imbued with ancient malevolent spirits. Each of those individuals is programmed to kill billions, if necessary, to bring back Yuda Kal.”

“Still, what has this got to do with Sam?” asked Lena.

“Sam was one of those infants. She carries a destructive spirit named Reign,” said Kara.

Lena looked stricken. “Are you telling me that we have to kill my best friend to save the world?”

Kara reached over and took Lena’s hands. “No, we don’t, because that dark spirit can be separated from Sam but,” Kara sighed again, “you’re not going to want to believe this next part at all, I’m afraid.”

“This can’t get any crazier than it already has,” said Lena skeptically.

“Your birth mother, Elizabeth, was a witch, a powerful witch,” said Kara. “And so are you. And you possess the strength to separate Sam from Reign.”

Lena stood, every fiber of her being rejecting this, as she turned away from Kara. She was a scientist! She dealt in facts! Yet, as she reviewed everything in her mind, she realized that she was talking to a Kryptonian who had saved her life, who had known Lena in another universe, and who had promised not to lie to Lena.

“Let’s say for a moment that I believe you,” said Lena. “How do I awaken these powers if I have them?”

“I don’t know the details,” said Kara. “You went to where you were born. You did it when you were angry with me.”

“How did we get past me being angry with you?” asked Lena.

Kara visibly trembled coupled with a sharp intake of breath.

“Did we get past it?” asked Lena.

Closing her eyes and counting backwards from one hundred until she felt calm return, Kara finally said, “Your brother, Lex, escaped from prison and exiled me to the Phantom Zone.”

“Oh, no!” Lena’s hand covered her mouth as she sat down next to Kara again. “I assume your friends got you back?”

Kara opened her eyes and stared straight at Lena. “You saved me. You, Lena. I don’t know why, given how angry you were with me but you saved me.”

Suddenly it clearly hit Lena. Because that version of herself had been in love with Kara too. A warmth toward Kara spread within herself at that moment but as soon as she realized what it was, Lena pushed it back down. She didn’t do relationships. They were messy and she always got hurt but part of her wanted to reach over and cup Kara’s face. Part of her wanted to lean over there and kiss this woman. Yet she resisted.

Lena stared at Kara for a long moment. “It’s the weekend. Shall we go to Newfoundland?”

“You’re inviting me to Newfoundland? For the weekend? Just like that?” asked Kara.

“Kara, this version of me is absolutely not angry with you right now,” said Lena. “And if I’m the one that can save Sam, then I’m damned well going to do it. Furthermore, there’s no one I’d prefer at my side while we figure this out than you.”

“When do we leave?” asked Kara.

“Let me call my car,” said Lena. “I’ll go home and pack a weekend bag, then we’ll go by your place and you can do the same. Then we ride to the airport and take my jet, starting right now.”

Kara stood. “I’m in. And if you want to talk to Sam about me, I trust you. I trust Sam.”

Lena turned back to Kara. “If we get this spirit out of Sam, is she Kryptonian too?”

Kara nodded. “She is, and her daughter, Ruby, is half Kryptonian.”

“Humans and Kryptonians can successfully breed?” asked Lena, stunned once again.

“Um,” began Kara, “we were pretty sure Earth was one of Krypton’s lost colonies from several hundred thousand years ago, before we began keeping permanent long term records. And, um, Superman is married and has kids.”

“You’re saying your genetics aren’t very different from mine?” asked Lena, still shocked.

“We’re very similar,” said Kara. She looked down, thinking about yet another universe she’d seen, a universe where she and Lena had been together.

“What is it, Kara?” asked Lena.

“I was just thinking about another universe I visited once,” said Kara, softly.

“Why did you think of that universe?” asked Lena.

Kara looked up at Lena. “Because we were married in that universe. We had children. I shouldn’t dump this on…”

“No, no, I want to hear these things,” said Lena. “I want to understand you, what makes you tick. I want to be your friend.”

Kara smiled at Lena. It was a soft gentle smile. “Thank you.”

Lena reached out and took Kara’s hand. As soon as she did so, she felt a jolt that reached deep within her but she pushed that down for now. “Come, let’s get moving,” she said.

They exited the lab and 90 minutes later, they were airborne, headed for Newfoundland. On the flight, Lena Luthor kept thinking that, if she ever did try a relationship again, that someone very much like Kara would be who she’d seek out.

Chapter Text

They landed in St. John’s late, local time, so they went right to the hotel that Lena had booked for them. Lena had chosen a double suite, with two bedrooms, a shared common area, and a shared kitchenette area.

Once ready for bed, Lena walked to Kara’s room and knocked on the doorframe, the door being already open. Kara looked up at her and smiled.

Lena said, “Thank you for coming with me. For years, I wondered if my mother had been crazy, talking about witches, spells, and her powers but if you’re right, it’s all very real. It’s real and I need to stop thinking that my mother was crazy.”

Kara stepped closer. “She wasn’t crazy, Lena. And you do have these abilities. You just have to awaken them.”

“I deal in facts, in science,” said Lena, “but suddenly my world is full of facts that don’t add up. A Kryptonian tells me she loved me in another universe? That same Kryptonian is rapidly becoming a friend? And she wants to bring tech that I can’t even describe into our world through me? You’re why we’ve come to Newfoundland. You’re why I believe this now. You’ve saved my life, been relentlessly honest about yourself to me in ways that nobody has ever done before. And you’re just getting started.”

Kara stepped into the doorframe then leaned against it, just a foot or so from Lena. “I will always protect you, if it’s at all possible, Lena. That comes with the territory.”

Lena stared at her. “If I’m in Metropolis, on the other side of the country, and suddenly in trouble, how will you even know?”

“Do you really want to know the answer to that or do you trust me?” asked Kara.

“You would know? You would actually know?” asked Lena. She stared at Kara for a long moment. “How?” she whispered.

Kara sighed, rubbed her face, then dropped her hand. “For years, growing up, I had to learn to focus my senses or I would take in so much that it threatened to drive me mad. In my universe, I used to listen to Eliza Danvers heartbeat as my focus. Even when I went away to school in Metropolis, I focused on her heartbeat, in Midvale.”

“Across the entire country?” said Lena softly.

Kara nodded. “And then, in my universe, I met you. And you became my metronome. Your heartbeat became my rhythm, my anchor. If you were frightened, I would know.” Kara didn’t break eye contact, simply staring at Lena’s deep green eyes, the eyes she dreamt about almost every night.

Suddenly, Lena realized the full truth. A Kryptonian, a literal goddess on Earth, loved her. She glanced away for a moment then brought her eyes back to Kara’s. “That’s… remarkable.”

“I can listen to something else,” said Kara, aware that she had somehow upset Lena.

But Lena replied instantly, “No, no, go ahead and listen. It’s okay. I’m just completely flattered.”

“Tomorrow is likely to be a busy day,” said Kara. “We should sleep.”

Lena nodded. “We should be rested for the morning.”

Kara turned and walked off to her bed. Lena watched Kara walk away. On a whim,  she left her bedroom door open and went to bed as well.

*****

Lena awoke with a start. She heard groans, words spoken in a language she didn’t know. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it had been a bit over three hours since they went to bed, just after 3 am local time.

Rising, she went towards Kara’s bedroom. Inside, she found Kara, asleep, thrashing in her bed, crying, saying certain alien words over and over again. She approached the bed but knew that if she tried to awaken Kara directly, she might get hurt.

Darting out to the kitchenette, she grabbed a metal pot and a large spoon. Coming back into Kara’s bedroom, she clanged the spoon on the bottom of the pot and called out “Kara! Kara!”

In a start, Kara sat straight up, her breathing ragged, her eyes wide. As she began to calm down, she looked at Lena. “Nightmares. I’m so sorry! Did I wake you?”

Lena sat down and put her arms around Kara. “Are you okay?”

Kara sighed. “I will be.” Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she said, “When I have a panic attack or near panic attack like earlier today in your elevator, I often have bad nightmares that night, sometimes for the next few nights. I’m sorry I woke you up.”

The image of the confident superhero that Lena and the rest of the world had in their collective minds had begun to crumble. In its place began to emerge this complex picture of this gifted beautiful woman who had been hurt in so many ways yet still tried to do right for those around her.

“Lay back down,” said Lena.

Kara did so and Lena crawled in after her. “You don’t have to stay here,” said Kara.

“Yes, I do,” said Lena. “Remember that as you fall asleep this time.”

Kara drifted off to sleep with Lena big spooning behind her, one arm wrapped around Kara’s waist. With Lena beside her, she would sleep soundly until morning came. Lena realized that, friend or lover, she could be someone with whom Kara could be honest, whom Kara could rely on. Lena chose that moment to become not just Kara’s friend but her best friend, the person Kara could always turn to.

*****

Kara had slept more soundly than she could remember in a long time. Having Lena beside her quieted her in some way that she didn’t fully understand yet. She also knew this wasn’t something she could expect, that Lena was doing it out of concern, perhaps out of pity. But for now, she was glad that Lena had stayed with her. As she awakened, she realized Lena was already up and moving, and that breakfast had been delivered to their suite.

Kara got up, got herself ready for the day, then came out to the main living area. Lena was eating a bowl of fruit and granola and sipping her coffee. Kara made herself a plate with scrambled eggs, several pancakes, bacon, and a large glass of orange juice.

As Kara sat on the other end of the couch, Lena eyed her. “You go through a lot of calories, don’t you?”

Kara nodded as she chewed a bite of food, swallowed, then said, “About 10,000 calories on an average day though it can go to nearly twice that if it’s been a difficult day.”

“You mean difficult fights or rescues?” asked Lena. Then she added, “You certainly sleep warmer than I do.”

“Slightly higher body temperature,” said Kara, between bites, then she added, “and yes, fights, flying a lot, all those things burn a lot of extra calories.”

“Where do you hide your super suit?” asked Lena, now intensely curious. “Excuse me for asking but I’ve not seen it but you seem to be able to change into it whenever necessary.”

Kara swallowed then stood. “Watch,” she said, as she pushed a button on her watch. Her nanite swarm based super suit flowed over her and suddenly Supergirl was standing in front of her. 

Lena looked stunned. “Wow! Kryptonian technology?”

Kara was smiling but her smile vanished as she looked at Lena. “Not exactly, though I helped with Kryptonian tech to make the swarm communications work and the code to get it to perform. You made it for me, Lena.”

It hit Lena then just how much that other Lena must have loved Kara even if she never said it out loud. She looked at Supergirl. “You saved me, more than once, I imagine?”

Kara stood quiet for a moment then finally nodded. “Yes, I did.”

Warmth rolled through her and this time she didn’t try to suppress it, realizing just how much Kara Danvers must really care for Lena.

“Why didn’t you tell the version of me in your universe how you felt?” asked Lena.

“You’d been so angry at me that I was thankful that we were friends again and I didn’t want to risk that,” said Kara. “The last thing I wanted to do was drive you away again.”

She saw tears welling in Kara’s eyes though Kara tried to remain stoic, blinking them back. Without further thought, Lena was on her feet as she took Kara’s hands. “I’m not going to turn away from you here. Just tell me the truth, and we can get through anything together. And once we get through this weekend, I have other things to tell you but right now isn’t the best time.”

Kara nodded, unable to speak further. Lena sat back down, and Kara hit the button on her watch, as her civilian clothing was restored. Kara sat down and resumed eating.

There were no further words said as they finished breakfast, then they both prepared for a day roaming around Newfoundland. Their first destination of the day was Fortune Bay, to which they had to drive since there was no airport in that tiny town.

Chapter Text

The road to Fortune Bay was long. It was a four hour and 52 minute drive to get there so Kara and Lena would be in the car with Lena’s driver for a little while. But about 40 minutes outside St. John’s, Lena rubbed her forehead and looked out the window.

“Are you okay, Lena?” asked Kara.

“I…” Lena began uncertainly, then said, “I thought I heard a voice.”

Kara immediately said, “Follow the voice.”

“Kara, that’s not rational and we have a long drive to Fortune Bay,” replied Lena.

“Please trust me,” said Kara. “Follow the voice.”

Lena considered this for a moment then lowered the divider between the back compartment and the driver. “Where are we?” she asked.

“We just entered the village of Whitbourne,” he replied.

“Stop  here,” she said.

“If that’s what you want, ma’am,” said the driver.

The pair exited the car. Lena leaned over to speak to the driver. “We’ll be back in a bit.” She turned to Kara. “Now what?”

“Where’s the voice leading you? Where do you want to go, Lena?” asked Kara.

“Towards the center of town,” said Lena, who began walking. Kara fell in step beside her.

They walked for about four blocks when Lena stopped. “This is weird but I feel like I’m in the middle of something,” said Lena, looking around.

As she did, a door to a small curio shop opened and a woman stepped out. “Lena Luthor! Your mother told me you’d find me eventually.”

Lena walked over to the older woman. “Who are you?”

“I’m Florence Abbott,” said the older woman, who then turned to Kara and said, “I won’t say anything but you can’t hide yourself from me.” Turning back to Lena, she said, “Come inside.” Without waiting for either one, the woman walked back into the shop.

Lena looked at Kara and shrugged then followed Florence into the shop. Kara came after. Once inside, Florence locked the door and flipped the “Open” sign to “Closed”.

“Come upstairs to my home,” said Florence. She walked behind the counter then turned up a stairwell ascending to the second floor.

Again, Lena and Kara followed after. When they got to the top, Florence motioned to the chairs around her kitchen table. “Coffee? Tea?” she asked.

“Coffee for me,” said Lena.

“Same,” chimed in Kara.

Florence poured cups for each of them, set out a spoon for each of them, then put cream and sugar on the table as well.

Kara added both to her coffee. Lena drank hers black, of course. Florence sat down.

“I expected you before this but given that you’ve got Superman’s cousin in tow, something specific must have brought you here,” said Florence.

“How did you know?” asked Kara.

“I’ve seen an aura like yours exactly one other time in my life,” said Florence, “and that was Superman.”

Kara glanced at Lena but Lena just shrugged.

Florence chuckled. “You can see them too, Lena, if you’d let yourself.”

“We’re here because of a friend of mine,” said Lena, turning to Kara. “Can you explain, Kara?”

Kara explained the entire Children of Juru problem to Florence who went from curious to nodding her head by the end of the explanation.

“This sounds like a controlled possession,” said Florence. “You can get Reign out of Sam but we’d need somewhere to keep her, and preferably somewhere from your homeworld. Spirits are more easily bound by things that raise memories of where they came from. Got any ideas?”

“Superman has this private fortress, inside it’s very similar to Krypton. There are large crystals in there very much like Kryptonian crystals. Our world had extremes of climate and many kinds of crystals. I’m pretty sure he’d give me a few to contain evil Kryptonian spirits,” said Kara.

“That solves where to put her but you’re not ready for this yet, Lena,” said Florence. “You’re going to have to develop your gifts and even then I’d recommend having a coven to help you.”

“A coven? Are those real?” asked Lena.

“Myself, Margaret Bishop, and your mother, Elizabeth, were our own coven at one time,” said Florence, “but your mother was far more gifted and powerful than myself or Margaret.” The older woman sat thoughtfully for several moments. “Perhaps you and I could do this but you’ll still need to develop your talents first. And we really need to find a way to weaken Sam in case Reign starts to awaken during this process.”

Kara turned to Lena. “I know that Lex was trying to synthesize kryptonite. I know that you succeeded where he failed. I know you have a stockpile of it. In my universe, I was irrationally upset at the existence of that stockpile and it was one more thing that came between us but since then, I’ve thought back and there were times, like when I was exposed to red kryptonite, that you having green kryptonite could have prevented so much trouble. And I trust you with it now. We could use that to weaken Sam.”

“You knew about that stockpile yet you still sought me out?” asked Lena.

“I told you, I trust you, Lena,” replied Kara.

Lena reached over and took Kara’s hand. “Then we’ll use kryptonite to weaken Sam. In fact,” she turned to Florence, “I don’t know much about magic but will we need to use a magic circle to contain Sam?”

Florence nodded. “The spirit must be contained and once contained, it loses most of its powers.”

“What if, in addition to the usual magic circle materials, I had small pieces of kryptonite at each of the cardinal points on the circle?” asked Lena.

“That’s a good idea,” said  Florence. "The kryptonite becomes part of the circle then.”

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Lena said to Kara.

Kara smiled. “My suit has gloves and a helmet and it’s sealed against kryptonite. The closed suit only works for a few hours but that should be more than enough for this, right, Florence?” said Kara as she turned toward the older woman.

“That’s correct,” replied Florence, “though you seem to know a great deal about all this. May I ask how?”

“I’m from another universe, a universe that doesn’t exist anymore and I sort of ended up here,” said Kara, “and I’ve fought these battles before.”

“You’ve fought them before and won?” asked Lena.

“Yes, though there were some deaths,” said Kara. “But this time, I’m hoping that no one dies.”

“Was this the worst problem you faced?” asked Lena. 

“Aside from saving the multiverse,” said Kara, “stopping an alternate universe where Earth was ruled by Nazis from conquering other universes, an alien invasion by the Queen of Daxam to retrieve her playboy son, and your brother escaping prison and trying to destroy this universe? Yeah, I think so.”

Lena stared at Kara, as did Florence. “Okay… but you’re really going to have to explain this playboy son of the queen of Daxam thing to me when we have time.”

“It’s a bit stupid and you helped me drive them off planet,” said Kara, “even after I was naive enough to fall for said playboy, until I figured out who he really was.”

Lena flat out laughed at that point. “We’re definitely coming back to this discussion.”

At that precise moment, Kara’s phone buzzed. She grabbed it, looked at it, then said, “Hmm… an attempt on President Olivia Marsden’s life while she was visiting National City and the DEO found an empty pod and they wonder if the assassin had arrived in that. Seems that Mike arrived right on schedule but he’s too incompetent to be the assassin. I’ll give them the skinny on this mess when we get back to National City. This is more important.”

“Mike?” asked Lena.

“Real name Mon-el, crown prince of Daxam, playboy, exploiter of women sex slaves, and a host of other nasty truths that I only found out about much later the first time,” said Kara.

Both Lena and Florence continued to stare at Kara when Lena finally said, “Life around you is never going to be dull, is it?”

Kara grinned and shrugged. “What can I say?”

Lena continued to look at Kara with wonder in her eyes until Florence coughed to get her attention. “We still have to get you to awaken your powers, young lady,” said the older woman.

Lena struggled for a moment to bring her focus back to the present. “Um, yes, how do I do that?”

“The first thing, Lena,” said Florence, “is that you have to believe in magic for it to happen.”

“I’m a scientist!” exclaimed Lena. “There has to be a scientific explanation for all this.”

“If I may?” asked Kara. When both Florence and Lena nodded at her, she continued, “We tried to study magic on Krypton but we quickly discovered that studying magic bears some resemblance to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. Magic doesn’t exist outside of living beings. It’s somehow tied intrinsically to living creatures, so the emotional and physical state of those creatures created variables in trying to study magic scientifically that made it unsuitable to the scientific method. Uncontrollable variables meant that we couldn’t recreate repeatable test scenarios.”

“An individual with a strong magical propensity always has a strong tie and awareness of the n-dimensional space around us and that awareness extends to being able to directly manipulate the fabric of such space without the use of ordinary energy or matter.” She looked at Lena and waited for her reaction.

“We only see the four dimensions around us,” said Lena, “and not the other dimensions posited by String Theory but you’re telling me that magic works through impacting those other dimensions without the use of energy or matter. So, because of the limitations of who and what we are, we can’t ‘see’ it directly and any attempt to do so directly impacts the attempt to actuate magical abilities.”

Kara nodded at that summary.

Lena sighed. “At least that gives me some basis for believing it’s possible.”

“That’s all you need to believe, Lena,” said Kara, “is that it’s possible. I mean, you and I are probably going to have to deal with a few 5th dimensional imps eventually too.”

“With what?” asked Lena. Florence looked intensely curious as well.

“I don’t want to say his name because he often shows up when you do but there’s one particular 5th dimensional imp, and mind you, imps are very magical humanoids, who caused me more than a few problems over the years.”

“A 5th dimensional imp?” asked Lena. “And this didn’t go on your list of hard problems to solve?”

“Oh, he wasn’t a hard problem to solve. He was just hopelessly in love with me and kept trying to get me to marry him even after I told him no,” said Kara.

Lena felt it then. She knew exactly what jealousy felt like and she wondered how she’d arrived at jealousy with the idea of this wonderful woman being with someone else. And the realization that she was actually jealous of anyone else being with Kara caused her to blush as she also realized just what that meant about how she was starting to feel about Kara Danvers.

Chapter Text

Kara wondered what was causing Lena to blush and what gave her that minor spike in heart rate but the opportunity to consider that question got cut short rather abruptly.

“Aha! There you are!” said Mr. Mxyzptlk as he appeared in Florence’s apartment. “I wondered when you’d  get around to thinking about me again.”

Kara rolled her eyes back. “No, Mxy, please, we have important matters to discuss here.”

“But your Earth is gone!” said  Mxy. “And now you can marry me since your Lena is gone. It’s a do-over, just with me instead! Think of the wonderful children we’ll have!”

“But this Lena is right here!” exclaimed Lena, loudly and defensively. “And you will not be dating or marrying Kara.” Her voice was authoritative, domineering even, as she said that.

Kara stared wide eyed at Lena in surprise. Florence had a smirk on her face.

And Mxy? Mxy scowled at those words and stared at Lena, lowering himself to look her directly in the face, inches apart, eyes squinting, as if seeing something that only he could see. Suddenly, he stepped back, stood up straight, and his hand covered his mouth. “Oh my!”

Instantly a huge old tome appeared in his hands and as he balanced the large book with one hand, he quickly leafed through the pages with the other, stopping as the index finger of his free hand tapped something that none of them could see from their seated positions.

He seemed to be intently reading. Then his eyes got big and he said “Oh my!” yet again. His finger ran across the page. “I had no idea,” followed by, “Oh, this is dire.” The book vanished. 

Turning to Kara he said, “I apologize. Forgive my infatuation. I don’t want to get on his bad side on a matter of fate.” And suddenly Mr. Mxyzptlk was gone as quickly as he’d come.

“What in the hell was that?” exclaimed Lena.

“I have no idea,” said Kara, “but that was the 5th dimensional imp I was talking about.”

“I gathered that,” said Lena, with a clear tone of annoyance in her voice. She was also mentally dealing with the fact that her jealousy flared when the thought of Mxy marrying Kara came up. 

“A matter of fate, hmm?” asked Florence, looking at them both now. She stared at Lena and Kara both for a long moment then muttered, “Mmhmm” followed by a louder comment of “Shall we return to the subject at hand?”

“What are you mmhmm-ing about over there?” asked Kara, now curious.

Florence simply smiled and said, “You’ll both find out in due time but it’s most definitely not my place to say.”

Lena muttered, “Witches, magic,  this will drive me insane eventually.”

“Not if you just accept it, dear,” said Florence. “And I mean accept all of it, though I suppose that will take a while.” Florence winked at Lena but Lena just shook her head.

The old woman got up and said, “I’ll be right back.” She wandered down a hall and vanished into what they assumed was her bedroom. A few moments later, she came out, carrying a tome herself, though this one was nowhere near as large as the one Mr. Mxyzptlk had conjured from thin air. She set the book on the table.

“This is your mother’s spell book,” said Florence. “She wanted you to have it.”

“A spell book?” asked Lena, prior thoughts fleeing from her head for the moment.

“The ingredients in spells don’t make the spell what it is,” said Florence. “They become focal points for guiding the mind to the psychic and emotional state necessary to effect the change you’re trying to cause. A truly powerful witch can eventually learn to do them without the focal points, but such witches are exceptional. Your mother was such a witch.”

“Then why do I need the spell book?” asked Lena.

“Because until you awaken and master your powers, you need every possible prop to help you achieve the mental state to perform your spells,” said Florence. “And another thing you need to try to do is telekinesis. Telekinesis manipulates the world around you. Telekinesis underlies most spells that change the world around you.”

Kara nodded at that. “Telekinesis is a trait of magically inclined people and it has something to do with their ability to manipulate n-dimensional space through their mind.”

“Is that how those 5th dimensional imps do it?” asked Lena.

“I’m not really sure but I think so,” replied Kara. “But it seems natural to them in that I’ve never met an imp who wasn’t magically inclined.”

“Any ideas why?” asked Lena.

“Just speculation, from Krypton,” said Kara, “but the consensus was that anyone could theoretically access magic if they can sense and manipulate their relationship to n-dimensional spaces. So, the theory on Krypton was that these imps actually have sensory awareness of more than 3 spatial dimensions plus time and through that awareness, are able to manipulate the additional dimensions because they can sense them.”

“Is that what, what did you call him? Mxy? Is that what Mxy was doing staring at me? Seeing something that we can’t see?” asked Lena.

Kara shrugged. “It’s a good guess but that’s all that it is, at least coming from me.”

Lena simply nodded at that, satisfied that this was all the explanation she was going to get from Kara, but it was a good explanation as well. The scientific part of her wanted to understand and having even the bare bones Kryptonian framework for what magic was and how it might work gave her more certainty that this made sense.

Lena returned her gaze to Florence. “So I need to practice this and to focus on telekinesis. Any tips?”

Florence smiled at her. “Just believe. Believing is what breaks down the mental barriers to things happening. I suspect, Lena Luthor, that once you make your initial breakthrough, that your skills will come to you quite quickly. Once you’ve gained some strength in those skills, send for me, and we can try to bind this spirit inside your friend, Sam.”

Lena smiled at Florence then turned to Kara. “We have time, right?”

“In my universe, it would be two more years before Sam’s powers began to show,” said Kara, “and they were triggered when you unveiled a statue of Supergirl in National City commemorating what I’d done for the city to that point. But there was an attack, parts of the statue fell along with some scaffolding which landed on and pinned down Ruby. Sam lifted the entire scaffolding with relative ease to free her daughter. That triggered the release of Reign. So I’d say we appear to have time but since some  things are already happening here differently than in my universe, I can’t really be sure.”

Florence leaned back in her chair. “You’re really from a different universe?”

Kara nodded. “I am. I was fighting with other versions of the heroes here on Earth. I guess we won and I ended up here although my universe and hundreds of others appear to be gone, all merged into this one.”

“And there was a Lena in your universe?” asked Florence.

“Yes, there was,” replied Kara. “She was my very best friend, someone who I’d let down but even still, despite that, despite her being so very angry with me, she still saved me from a terrible place called The Phantom Zone.”

“Why was she angry with you?” asked Florence.

Kara smiled and looked at Lena. “Because I kept the fact that I am Supergirl hidden from her for years. I told myself it was to protect her but I was afraid I’d lose her if I told her. Then she found out anyway.”

“And when you ended up here, you told her right away, didn’t you?” asked Florence.

Kara nodded at the older woman. “I didn’t want that to hang between us.”

Lena didn’t like where Florence was steering this conversation so she stood then looked at Kara. “We should head back to St. John’s, then back to National City. We have a long flight ahead of us.” Kara rose from her chair and gave a tiny shoulder shrug toward Florence. Florence grinned back at her.

“Remember what I told you,” said Florence, also standing, “and when you are ready, send for me. We’ll bind this spirit together.” She stepped closer and put one hand over top of Lena's hand that rested on the spell book. “Your mother would be proud of you.”

Lena felt a wave of emotion hit her at those words and blinked back tears. “Thank you,” said Lena. “I just wish she were still here, that she could know.”

“I think she knows,” said Florence, her smile becoming very gentle at that point.

Lena took solace in those words from Florence. The drive back to St. John’s was quiet, with neither speaking. Once aboard Lena’s jet, there was small talk but nothing substantial, each left to their own thoughts.

But two thoughts circled inside Lena’s mind. One was that she needed to work toward this, to master it, to save Sam. The other thought was that, despite trying not to, she was very much catching feelings for Kara Danvers.

Chapter Text

They arrived back in National City on Saturday evening. Lena had her driver drop Kara off at Kara’s apartment then headed home. She told Kara she’d be in touch and if they didn’t see one another before that, she’d look for Kara on Tuesday afternoon for their next lab session.

Kara, meanwhile, on Sunday morning, made her way to the DEO. Alex had come in though it was her day off and Hank was there as well, because of their prisoner.

“He’s not your assassin,” said Kara, as she turned away from two DEO techs. They walked down the hall. “He’s barely competent.”

“What do you mean?” asked Alex. 

“He’s a Daxamite. It was a colony of Krypton long ago though there’s been some divergence in genetics since then,” said Kara. “The primary difference is that lead does to Daxamites what kryptonite does to me. Oh, and he’s the crown prince of Daxam and his mother will be bringing an invasion force to collect him.”

Hank just stared at Kara but then they were entering the holding area. Kara walked up to the prison cell. “You’re being nice because we both know you could break out of there, unless I tell them to line the cell with lead, right?”

Mon-el stood up at that. “What?”

She turned to Hank and Alex. “This douche won’t tell you the truth about anything,” said Kara, “which is why I mistakenly let myself fall in love with his worthless ass in my universe but I won’t be making that mistake again, will I, Crown Prince Mon-el of Daxam?”

Mon-el went pale. “Don’t try to break out,” said Kara, “because I’ll just deck you and I already know that I can.” She turned to Hank. “Daxam is a monarchy that deals in slaves for pleasure, primarily sex but also gambling and drugs. The prince here used a lot of sex slaves. In fact, a few are hiding here on Earth. They also engage in a lot of other less than savory activities.”

“Don’t worry,” said Kara, sweetly, clearly taunting him. “Your mother will be along soon to pick you up but we’re going to have a weapon that will make Earth a death world for Daxamites.”

Mon-el had a stricken look on his face but then a team of 4 technicians entered and snapped led strips vertically to each corner of Mon-el’s cell. “Why’d you do that?” he screamed as he fell to his knees.

“Because you’re a liar here just like you were a liar in my universe and I stupidly let myself be manipulated by you,” said Kara. She turned to Hank and Alex. “The crown prince won’t be going anywhere now.”

Hank stood there, arms crossed, a smirk on his face. “Okay, you two,” he said, “we need to talk.” He turned and left the containment area with Alex then Kara following.

Once they were in a sealed conference room, Hank sat down at the end of the conference table. Alex and Kara sat on either side. “Before we discuss Daxam, I need to talk to you,” he said to Kara.

“Do you want her here for that?” asked Kara.

Hank nodded. “It’s time I told my second in command the truth.”

He looked at Alex. “I’m not who you think I am,” said Hank. He then shapeshifted into his true Green Martian form. “I’m a shapeshifter. Hank died years ago during a trip to South America. I decided to take his place. Earth does need protection from aliens but most aliens are not criminals and deserve protection as well.”

Alex sat back in her chair, clearly thinking. Finally, she said, “People told stories about how anti-alien you used to be but I never saw that. So the change they saw was really someone else?”

“My real name is J’onn J’onnz,” said Hank. “So far as I know, I am the last Green Martian left alive.” He paused, then asked gently, “Agent Danvers, do you want me to turn myself in?”

Alex looked at Kara. “You knew because you knew in your universe. And you trust him, don’t you?”

“I have and would again trust J’onn with my life,” said Kara.

“Then that’s enough for me,” said Alex, as Hank shifted back into his human form.

“While we’re on the subject of shapeshifters,” said Kara, “President Olivia Marsden is a Durlan shapeshifter and the assassination attempts are not attempts to kill her. They are attempts to get her to slip and gather evidence they can use to force her from office and install an anti-alien president. This is being done by Cadmus, though I’m a bit confused as to who is running it since the Lillian Luthor in this universe doesn’t seem to be involved from what little I’ve been able to gather.”

“I’ve heard rumors of them,” said Hank. “Vicious anti-alien terrorists.”

Kara snapped her fingers. “Wait!” She looked at the two of them. “Hank Henshaw didn’t die in South America in my universe though he was badly injured. In my universe, Lillian Luthor found him, saved his life, then turned him into an anti-alien cybernetic killing machine called Metallo Henshaw. He had a piece of kryptonite embedded in his chest and the energy from that powered his cybernetics. But in this universe, he might be the leader of Cadmus right now.”

“If he’s alive, then that’s a good working theory,” said Hank. “As for protecting the president, what can we do?”

“I’m going to suggest you have a private conversation with her and that you take a privacy field generator so you can’t be recorded,” said Kara. “Tell her who you are as a sign of good faith then explain who is after her and why. She can make changes to her schedule and to her Secret Service rotation to avoid further opportunities for Cadmus while we work on hunting them down.”

“You’re talking about tech that doesn’t exist here, Kara,” said Alex.

“Yet,” said Kara, “but I can fix that problem in a single afternoon.” She grinned at Alex.

Hank looked at Kara then said, “Alright, make one for me and I’ll go see the president.”

*****

Across town, Lena had just invited Sam Arias into her penthouse. After they air kissed each other’s cheeks and said their hellos, they walked to the living room.

“What’s got you so excited that you want me to come talk about it?” asked Sam as she sat down on the couch.

Lena sat down on the other end. “I’ve been working with this new reporter at CatCo,” said Lena.

Sam chuckled. “Jess mentioned that to me. You and a reporter? What’s up with that?” asked Sam.

Lena calmed herself because she actually felt excited to be talking about Kara Danvers. “Her name is Kara Danvers. Blond hair, blue eyes, wears glasses, hair back in a pony tail,” said Lena.

“I looked her up and saw her photo on the CatCo website,” said Sam. “She also wrote a positive interview with you about the impacts your brother has had on the company and how you’re trying to plug leaks he created to maintain his illicit schemes even after being thrown into prison.”

“I even got a photo of her,” said Lena, trying to remain casual, as she handed the framed photo of Supergirl over to Sam.

Sam took the photo and stared, her mouth slightly open. She glanced up at Lena. “She’s Supergirl? And she told you this?” asked Sam, now stunned.

Lena smiled. “She just came out and told me, first thing, before we even started the interview.”

“But why?” asked Sam.

“She’s from a different universe, one that doesn’t exist anymore,” said Lena. “In that universe, she and I were friends, very close friends. In fact, from the things she told me, although that version of Lena never said it, I’m pretty sure that Lena loved Kara Danvers. And she openly told me that she loved that version of me.”

“Still, that’s not you, not here, not now,” said Sam as she studied Lena. “Or are you already catching feelings for her? You do seem to be in a brighter mood.”

“Before she left Krypton, she was bred to be one of the greatest scientists of that planet,” said Lena. “She wants to help bring Kryptonian technology and science to Earth, and to help avoid the mistakes that led to the destabilization of Krypton’s core. I’ve gotten permission from Cat Grant to work with Kara in my personal lab two afternoons each week, Tuesdays and Fridays.”

“What are you going to work on first?” asked Sam.

“We haven’t decided yet,” said Lena. “We met for the first time this last Friday but it got more into getting to know each other than actual science work. She did show me her super suit though. Apparently, her Lena made it. It’s a nanite swarm and she helped her Lena program it and assisted in resolving the communications issues. We’ve been researching nanite swarms for a few years now but no major breakthroughs yet. Maybe that’s the first practical application I can get her to work on.”

“That would be huge!” exclaimed Sam. “You’ll be sharing the spotlight with her on this?”

“I think she wants to remain anonymous for now,” said Lena. “She’s given no hint that she wants to be out publicly to the world as Supergirl.”

“She knows that you’re telling me all this?” asked Sam.

“She said she trusts you, because she knew you, and she doesn’t think this version of you is much different from her version of you,” said Lena.

Sam leaned back in her seat crossing her arms, studying Lena. “You are catching feelings for her, aren’t you?”

Lena glanced away then nodded. “She told me about this alien prince who came to Earth in her universe, that she fell in love with him but he lied to her, and judging from her anger, he must have broken her heart,” said Lena. “And I was so angry with him even though I’d never met him, and,” Lena paused, considering her words carefully, “I was jealous of him.”

“Are you going to ask her out?” queried Sam gently.

“I’m a CEO! I don’t have time for a love life,” said Lena. “And she’s a superhero, running off wherever she’s needed. The world needs her far more than I do.”

“That’s completely the wrong way to look at this, Lena,” said Sam. “She’s a person. She has feelings too. How does she feel towards you?”

“I think,” said Lena, “that she’s already got strong feelings for me because of her prior feelings for that other version of me. She’s shared some very personal details, some of the horrors she’s seen, what gives her panic attacks, how she deals with those.”

“She clearly trusts you,” said Sam, “though why, I don’t understand.”

“That’s the other thing,” said Lena. “In her universe, before it collapsed, it was 2021. We had been close friends for years though apparently neither one of us openly voiced how we felt towards one another.”

“Now this makes more sense,” said Sam. “But she knows the future?”

“No, she lived the next five years in her universe,” said Lena. “This one is already unfolding differently.”

“Differently how?” asked Sam.

“For one thing, the item that drove herself and her version of me apart was lying to me about who she is,” said Lena. “And she started with that here because she wants to be my friend and she doesn’t want to risk losing that.”

“She’s hoping and here you are already catching feelings,” grinned Sam.

“I did ask her to be my plus one at the L-Corp gala next month,” said Lena. “I told her she could rescue me from boring old men who want to monopolize my time because they think I’ll somehow fall for their pathetic charms.”

“That’s what you told her,” said Sam, “but what are you really thinking?”

“I want to,” said Lena, “yet I’m so busy. She’s the first person who’s made me smile this way since Andrea.”

“You can delegate, you know,” replied Sam. “I’m here and if she gets you smiling like this after just a few days, I’m more than willing to give this Kara Danvers a chance to make you smile again. Oh, and for good measure, fuck Andrea Rojas, preferably with some uncomfortable inanimate object.”

“Maybe,” said Lena softly, as she stared out the window, conflicting thoughts running through her mind. When she realized what Sam had said about Andrea, she turned back. “You never really liked Andrea, did you?”

“Andrea wanted to change you. She still does. Kara Danvers seems to just want you, as you are,” said Sam. “Maybe you need to sit with that idea for a while.”

“Maybe you’re right,” said Lena, as much to herself as to Sam.

Chapter Text

Supergirl touched down on Lena’s office balcony just after 10 am Monday morning. Lena stood then let her in.

“To what do I owe this visit today?” asked Lena, with a brilliant smile on her face.

“I wish I could drop in whenever I want to see you,” said Kara, “but then neither of us would get anything done.”

Lena blushed at that and Kara definitely noticed but she continued, because she had a real issue to discuss. “Prince Mon-El of Daxam arrived, as I expected. His mother, Queen Rhea, will bring an entire invasion force to conquer Earth and place him atop the throne here. In my universe, it took her months to track him down but she eventually did. It might take her more or less time here so we should get ready.”

“You mentioned that I helped you with a weapon against this interstellar invasion?” asked Lena. “We stopped making weapons when I took over L-Corp so I’m not sure how I can help.”

“Lex made a device that would atomize kryptonite and spread it through the entire atmosphere, making Earth inhospitable to Kryptonians,” said Kara. “We can modify that to disperse lead particles instead.”

“That’s a health hazard,” said Lena, “though it’s one we can manage more than we can manage an alien invasion.”

“Especially when that invasion would reduce Earth’s population to slaves,” said Kara. “She… nevermind.”

“She what? Who is she?” asked Lena. 

Kara sighed. “Queen Rhea, Mon-el’s mother, kidnapped you and tried to force a marriage between you and him as part of establishing a Daxam monarchy on Earth.”

Lena’s eyes went wide. “Then we better get this weapon ready!” said Lena. “I have no intention of being a princess to some brattish man-child monarch.”

Kara laughed at that, an open happy laugh, and hearing that laugh caused Lena’s stomach to do somersaults.

She added, “Did you want to do this as our first project together?”

“Oh no!” exclaimed Kara, shaking her head. “This can be done in minutes, really. For our first project, I wanted to work on tachyon based communications systems.”

“For long distances?” asked Lena.

Kara shook her head. “For microscopic distances,” she said. “The amount of time it takes a signal to reach a nanite over that tiny distance versus the rate of actions and movements of nanites means that radio based signaling is always lagging and the nanite swarm is always trying to over-correct. By increasing the communications speed, we make controlling a nanite swarm via an external processing system feasible, which means we can further reduce the size of the nanite and allow piggybacking a tachyon receiver, and still end up smaller than either a self-contained nanite or individual nanites in a swarm controlled by a radio wave transmitter and receiver.”

“You want to do that all in one afternoon?” asked Lena.

“Oh, of course not,” said Kara. “I thought we’d go over the theory, then I’d describe the components we need, you can make a list and get those things or have them made for us, then we can launch into designing and coding a parallel computing array with several thousand CPUs to control the swarm.”

Kara paused with a grin, then said, “Then we’d build both of them on Friday.”

“Two days?” asked Lena.

“I can do assemblies super fast and heat vision is better for both welding and point soldering than either a welding torch or a soldering iron,” said Kara.

Lena laughed. “You are something else. If this works, can I announce it to the world the following week? I can think of dozens of applications already.”

“Yeah,” said Kara, “but please don’t mention me.”

Lena’s gaze became soft. “Can I say I have an anonymous partner?” asked Lena. “Because if you ever do want to come out to the world, I want you to get proper credit, Kara.”

Kara considered it for a moment then said, “That’s fine. That doesn’t expose me but gives me choices later.”

They chatted for a few more minutes then Kara flew off. Since she was suited up, she made a full pass around National City when she heard Lena’s heart rate spike. She instantly flew towards L-Corp headquarters but as she did, she heard Lena scream. Kara exploded into hypersonic speed, rattling windows through downtown but as she approached the L-Corp building, she saw Lena falling. In an instant, she was underneath Lena, catching her, just twenty feet off the ground. 

With Lena in her arms, she said, softly, “Gotcha.” Lena clung to Supergirl, clearly frightened.

And just as quickly, she brought Lena back to her balcony where two men stood, stunned.

With a quick blast of super breath, Kara knocked both of them over. Setting Lena down, she grabbed them both by the collars and brought them into Lena’s office. Turning to Lena, she said, “Time to call the National City Police Department.”

But Lena stared at Kara, still upset at what had happened, possibly in shock. Jess had entered the office. Kara turned to Jess and said, “These men tried to kill Lena. Call the police for us? I think she’s in shock.”

“I’ll get security up here to hold them until the police arrive,” said Jess, who paused a moment to stare at Supergirl before leaving the office.

Kara looked at the two men, still unconscious, then walked back to the balcony and guided Lena to the couch to sit down. “You’re okay, Lena.”

Lena shuddered, threw her arms around Kara, and buried her head in Kara’s shoulder. “I thought I was going to die,” she said softly, muffled, into Kara’s shoulder.

“I came as soon as I heard your heart rate spike,” said Kara. “Then your scream told me exactly where you were. I will always try to protect you, Lena Luthor.”

Jess re-entered the office with security, who cuffed and removed the men until National City Police arrived.

Kara looked at Jess and said, “I think she’s going to be okay.”

Lena finally pulled herself up from Kara’s shoulder and looked at Jess. “Please cancel everything for the rest of the day. I need to go home.”

“Of course, Ms. Luthor,” replied Jess.

Lena stood and walked to her desk, closing applications on her laptop. Kara stood and walked outside, giving an angry glare to the two men who’d tried to kill Lena.

Jess stepped closer to Kara and whispered, “You’re good for her, whether in this suit or not, Ms. Danvers.” Kara turned and looked at her. Jess  whispered again, “I won’t say a word, I promise.” Kara smiled at her then went back into Lena’s office.

Lena stood at her desk, as if unsure what to do. Kara went to the coat rack, picked up Lena’s coat and purse, then brought them to her. “Did you call your car?” asked Kara softly. She offered the coat, which Lena put on.

Lena looked blankly at Supergirl then finally said, “Ride with me home, please?”

Kara called out through the open door, “Jess, can you call Lena’s car?”

Jess called back, “On it!”

A NCPD detective came into the office at that moment. “We’d like to get a statement,” he said.

Lena looked up but said nothing.

Kara spoke instead, “She was just thrown off her balcony. I caught her but she’s in a bit of shock right now. Can you come take a statement tomorrow?”

“They threw her off her balcony?” the detective said, astounded. “Yes, we can get a statement tomorrow, Supergirl.”

“I have video of me catching her and subduing the perpetrators,” said Kara. “I’ll forward that to the department.”

The detective extended his hand with a card. “My email address is on there. You can send it to me.”

Kara nodded. “I’ll do that.” Slipping her arm in Lena’s arm, she began leading Lena away, to the elevator. For once, the elevator ride didn’t bother Kara because her focus was entirely on Lena and Lena’s mental state. She hadn’t spoken a word since she asked Kara to come home with her.

In the garage, her driver was waiting. Kara helped Lena into the car but Lena refused to let go of Kara’s hand. “Please ride with me.”

Kara slid into the back seat with Lena, tucking her cape under herself.

Kara got Lena home, then gently helped her change into pajamas, and finally got her into bed shortly after 3 pm. Though it was midafternoon, Kara could tell Lena needed to rest.

When Kara turned to leave, Lena said softly, “Stay, please.”

“I’ll just go home to get some things,” said Kara.

Lena shook her head. “There are sweats and t-shirts in the closet, on the right.”

Kara went into the closet, turned off her super suit, then stripped out of her work clothes, putting on a pair of sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt.

She crawled into the bed with Lena and wrapped an arm around her. “You’re safe here. I’ll be with you.” Kara could feel Lena trembling but after a long while, Lena finally fell asleep. Kara considered leaving but after Newfoundland, she knew she couldn’t, so she stayed. Eventually, Kara fell asleep too.

Chapter Text

The attack on Lena had happened early afternoon on Monday. It was almost 3 pm when Kara got Lena to finally fall asleep. When Kara awoke around 6 pm to soft noises in the living room, she got up stealthily and went out to see who it was, without her glasses, her hair down. She was shocked to find Lillian Luthor taking off her coat.

Lillian turned around with a start when Kara coughed gently. “Who are you? Are you the reporter Lena has been talking to me about? I came to check on her. Is she okay?”

Kara lifted a finger to her lips. “Let’s let her rest. She was in shock and asked me to stay so I did.”

“You’re Supergirl,” said Lillian.

“Everyone saw me leave L-Corp with Lena so I can’t deny that,” said Kara.

“But she asked you to stay? And you stayed for her?” asked Lillian.

Kara nodded.

“You’re the reporter she’s been talking about so much, aren’t you?” asked Lillian.

Kara stiffened at that but Lillian shook her head. “I won’t say anything.” Lillian looked at Kara thoughtfully. “Does she know who you really are?”

“I told her the first time we met,” said Kara. “I knew her in another universe. We were close. When my universe ended, I somehow ended up here. When I sought her out, I couldn’t let that lie sit between us so I told her.”

“Let me order food for us,” said Lillian. “When she’s upset like this, I used to get her favorite Irish dishes.”

“Irish dishes?” asked Kara, cataloguing this tidbit away.

Lillian smiled at that. “Yes, and as I recall, you supers have a hearty appetite as well, don’t you?”

Kara blushed at that then nodded. “I do.”

“Then it’s Irish stew, plenty of brown bread, Shepherd’s Pie, Boxtly, Seafood Chowder, Irish Apple Cake, and Guinness Chocolate Cake,” said Lilian.

Lillian pulled out her phone and placed the order. “Security will bring the order up when it’s delivered. Now, please, sit down.” Lillian sat down on one end of the love seat, closest to the couch. Kara sat on the end of the couch closest to Lillian.

“You know,” said Lillian, “she hasn’t said anything to me yet but I haven’t seen her like this since Andrea Rojas. But with you it’s different. She always seemed to be struggling to live up to Andrea’s expectations but with you she seems just happy.”

“I’m glad to have her as my friend,” replied Kara.

Lillian chuckled. “She won’t say it, perhaps for a long time, but I don’t think she sees you as a friend, Ms.  Danvers.”

“Please, call me Kara,” Kara said. “Let me be honest with you, Ms. Luthor. I was in love with Lena in my universe. I think she loved me back but she never told me and I didn’t want to assume anything. And then I lost all that. Everyone I knew and I was starting all over again here.”

“If I’m calling you Kara then you simply must call me Lillian,” said the elder woman. “Expressing her feelings has always been hard for her and it became worse after Jack died and then Andrea turned away from her. I think she already sees you as different. It’s clear to me when she talks about you, the way her eyes light up, the smile that comes to her face. You just need to give her time, if you have time to give.”

“It’s probably not completely healthy but I think I’m already in love with Lena,” said Kara.

“Is she so different from the Lena of your universe?” asked Lillian.

“No, that’s just it,” said Kara. “She’s so much like her that it’s easy to see the goodness in her, for me to care for her.”

“If the multiverse arises from decision points that differ, a theory I’ve heard discussed,” said Lillian, “then maybe she is your Lena with just very minor differences.”

Kara stood. “That’s the elevator.” She walked swiftly to the door that led to the hallway where the elevator arrived on this floor. She opened the door just as the security man was about to knock. A look of surprise ran across his face but then he stared at Kara. “Um, order for Mrs. Luthor?”

“I’ll take that,” Kara said with a smile.

Lillian came up from behind and said to the security guard, “We’re fine. Thank you.”

“Yes, Mrs. Luthor,” he said, then turned back towards the elevator.

Kara closed the door then carried the food into the kitchen. After she set the bags on the counter, she asked, “Shall I go wake her?”

“You do that,” said Lillian, “and I’ll set things out so we can eat.”

Kara went into the bedroom then crawled carefully across the bed, leaning close to Lena then saying softly, “Time to wake up. Are you hungry?”

As Lena turned toward her, Kara sat up on her knees in the bed. Lena’s eyes fluttered open and she sniffed once, then again. “I smell Irish stew.”

“Your mother ordered it,” said Kara. 

“My mother is here?” asked Lena, surprised. “Has she been badgering you?”

Kara laughed and shook her head. “Lillian is quite lovely.”

“She knows?” asked Lena.

“She figured it out right away,” said Kara. “Apparently she expected to find Kara Danvers in your bed but since you left L-Corp with Supergirl, the conclusion became obvious. She told me she can keep a secret.”

Lena blushed at Kara’s remark but then said, “My mother is like Fort Knox when it comes to secrets, but I'm so very glad that you’re my friend, Kara.”

Lillian appeared at the door then. “Bah! Fort Knox! More like a Swiss bank, dear. Come, eat, before it gets cold.” Lillian turned and walked back toward the kitchen.

Kara and Lena looked back at each other then laughed. Lena grabbed a robe and they both went out to the kitchen to eat.

They served themselves. Lena made a bowl of Irish stew for herself with a slice of buttered brown bread while Lillian had a small slice of Shepherd’s Pie and a bowl of Clam Chowder. Kara had a bowl of Irish Stew, a slice of Shepherd’s Pie alongside a stack of Boxtly, two thick slices of brown bread, and then went back and got a second bowl of Clam Chowder.

Lillian didn’t say anything but she did smile broadly at Kara’s large meal. 

Once they were all seated, Lena said, “I’m sorry for not calling you, Mother, but I…” Her voice trailed off.

“She was in shock,” said Kara matter-of-factly. “If I’d known that it was needed, I would have called you myself, Lillian.”

“Give me your phone,” said Lillian to Kara. Kara handed it over, then Lillian entered her information. She then sent herself a test text and handed Kara’s phone back. “Now we’re connected.”

“I wasn’t in shock,” retorted Lena.

“You were in shock,” said Kara. “Lowered body temperature, clammy skin, weakness, dizziness, rapid but weak pulse, fast shallow breathing. You can’t hide those things from me, Lena, and it’s okay. They tried to kill you.”

Lillian tut-tutted at Lena. “Listen to your friend here, Lena. She does seem to know what she’s talking about.”

Lena caught the emphasis that Lillian placed on the word “friend” and was sure she knew exactly what her mother was thinking, but here was not the time to argue about it. However, Kara noticed it too.

They took dishes back into the kitchen where Lillian got herself a slice of Guinness Chocolate Cake and a cup of coffee. Lena got coffee and a slice of Irish apple cake. Kara, of course, got a slice of each along with a cup of coffee to which she added cream and plenty of sugar. They went back into the living room.

As they sat down, Kara smiled at Lillian. “I’m going to be helping Lena bring Kryptonian technology to Earth, and to study and avoid the technological mistakes that destabilized Krypton’s core.”

Lillian looked at Kara with new found respect. “What are you thinking of for your first project?”

“A tachyon based communications array,” said Kara.

“This is the stuff of pure science fiction,” said Lillian.

“It’s going to become science fact pretty quickly, Lillian,” said Kara. “If Lena can get all the components we need, we’ll have a prototype by the end of this Friday.”

“You’re going to remain anonymous in this, aren’t you?” asked Lillian. “To protect your public identity as a reporter?”

Kara  nodded. “I am, at least for now. I may come out to the world someday but… not yet.”

Lillian stared at Kara, the wheels in her head clearly grinding away.

“What are you thinking, Mother?” asked Lena. “Out with it!”

“Two things,” said Lillian. “First, if your friend  here ever comes out to the world, the entire world will know that L-Corp is the center of Kryptonian technology entering Earth’s economy. The impact on L-Corp would be incredible.”

“And?” asked Lena.

“I’m thinking what a damned fool your brother was, having this opportunity to team up with Superman, explore Kryptonian technology, and perhaps leave the Luthor name as one of the foremost families of the 21st century. His bigotry annoyed me but his stupidity was unforgivable.”

As they finished eating, Lillian stood. “I’ve seen that you’re okay so I’m going back to my place. If you need me, call me, Lena,” Lillian said as she walked toward the entryway.

At the door, Lena hugged her mother then said, “Thank you for coming by.”

“Of course, dear,”  said Lillian, “though I think you’d have been well cared for regardless.” As she glanced at Kara, Lillian’s smirk was obvious. Lillian opened the door.

Kara said, “I should change and go too.”

Lena turned abruptly to Kara, “Please stay.”

Kara took Lena’s hands and she felt them tremble at that moment and realized how deeply frightened Lena still was. She looked at Lena then at Lillian. “I’ll stay with her. I’ll make sure she sleeps okay tonight.”

Lillian smiled at Kara. “Call me any time you need my assistance, Kara Danvers.” She turned and walked toward the elevator.

Kara and Lena decided to watch a movie but about a third of the way through, Kara could see Lena shivering, a likely aftereffect of the shock. She stood and went into the bedroom, finding a blanket. When she returned, she sat down and told Lena, “Come here.”

Lena shifted closer but Kara pulled her in against herself.

“You’re so warm,” said Lena.

“Then stay right here,” said Kara. She draped the blanket over them both. Lena didn’t see the end of the film, dozing off eventually. Kara put her in bed then crawled in with her, one arm wrapped around Lena, to reassure her even as she slept.

Chapter Text

Tuesday morning Lena awoke and realized someone else was in her bed. Then the memories came back to her - the attempt on her life, being saved by Supergirl, coming home with Supergirl, her mother’s visit. But as she laid there, she realized she was rested, that she apparently had not suffered any nightmares.

She went to move but found herself unable to dislodge Kara’s arm. Rolling over, inches from Kara’s face, Lena said softly, “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

Kara blinked. As her eyes came back into focus, she smiled at what she saw. “You okay?” she asked gently.

“I’m fine,” said Lena. “In fact, more than fine, mainly because of you.”

Kara stared at Lena for a long moment, her innermost desire being to lean over and kiss those lips, but Lena had been clear that this was a friends-only arrangement and that she didn’t do relationships. So Kara pushed herself up to a sitting position.

“I suppose I should be seen flying out of here,” said Kara, “and not walking out as Kara Danvers but you’re going to have every gossip rag shipping us.”

“I’m quite aware,” said Lena, “but we’ll both live, won’t we?” Lena’s eyes twinkled as she smiled at Kara.

Kara laughed. “Then I have my next Supergirl story.”

“I thought you were doing serious journalism now at CatCo,” said Lena as she laughed back at Kara.

“Oh we are but fun pieces like this still have their place,” said Kara. “I’ll even quote Supergirl as saying that she and Lena are just friends but that will have the opposite effect, of course.”

Lena laughed and Kara was overjoyed to hear that full real laugh that meant Lena was happy.

“Can I get you breakfast, Kara?” asked Lena.

Kara shook her head. “I’m going to be late as it is but I’ll grab a breakfast burrito at Noonan’s along the way.”

“Thank you for staying with me last night,” said Lena.

“If you need me, I’ll be here,” said Kara. She walked into Lena’s closet to drop off her sleeping garments then emerged in her super suit. “I’ll head home and freshen up then head into work.”

“Will I still see you this afternoon for lab work?” asked Lena.

“Of course!” exclaimed Kara. “I wouldn’t miss that!”

Supergirl walked out of Lena’s penthouse onto the patio, stood with eyes closed taking in the morning sun for a few moments, which amounted to a pose for the paparazzi she knew were watching, then launched into the air. As she did, she heard the clicks of paparazzi photographers from various vantage points around Lena’s penthouse. They’d gotten the photos they wanted.

Lena watched Kara fly off and felt a pang at her departure. “I’m just too busy,” she said, mainly to herself. She went back to her bedroom to get ready for the day.

*****

Kara sat down at her desk in the bullpen at 8:02 am. Snapper came at her almost immediately. “You need to be here on time, Danvers,” he said, “and where were you yesterday when Lena Luthor was being attacked by another pair of assassins from Lex?”

“She had a private chat with Lena and Supergirl,” Cat Grant said as she strode into the bullpen area, “and while not all of that was on the record, I’m sure she has some excellent quotes for us, don’t you, Kara?”

“Yes, Ms. Grant,” said Kara, thankful that Cat was bailing her out here, “and I’ve even got an on the record quote from Supergirl that she and Lena are just friends.” Then she handed a dramatic photo of Supergirl leaving Lena’s penthouse this morning, which she’d arranged by deploying a tiny Kryptonian camera of her own that came with an antigrav unit and which was programmed to follow her in flight.

“It’s fluff but given that it’s about Supergirl and Lena Luthor, it will do,” said Snapper. He looked at Kara. “Get me your article with those quotes before noon.”

“Yes, sir,”  said Kara.

“My office, now, Kara,” said Cat Grant.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Kara as she rose and went into Cat’s office.

“Close the door,” Cat said, as she sat down on the couch.

“Lena’s playing hard to get, hmm?” asked Cat.

“She just wants to be friends, Ms. Grant,” said Kara.

“You might believe that but I certainly don’t,” replied Cat. “You’ve gotten under her skin and into her penthouse faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. Did you sleep on the couch?”

“Um, no,” began Kara, “because she wanted to be held after what happened. She was in shock.”

“So, even though nothing happened, you still ended up in Lena Luthor’s bed?” asked Cat. “Kara, how can you not see this?”

“I refuse to get my hopes up, Ms. Grant,” said Kara. “She said she doesn’t do relationships so I’m going to respect that.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll see when men start hitting on you at the L-Corp gala,” said Cat.

“She did get rather protective of me when Mr. Mxyzptlk showed up while we were in Newfoundland,” said Kara, considering Cat’s remarks.

“Wait, what were you doing in Newfoundland and who is this… whatever his name is?” asked Cat.

So Kara explained the entire Children of Juru problem to Cat Grant, then explained that Lena is a real witch with the power to remove that spirit from Sam. She then explained how and why they went to Newfoundland, how they met Florence Abbott who had known Elizabeth Walsh, Lena’s biological mother, and how that’s when Mr. Mxyzptlk had shown up again declaring his love for Kara before apparently being frightened away.

Cat sat there and stared at Kara for a good 30 seconds before finally saying, “And you weren’t going to tell me any of this?”

“There’s no story yet,” said Kara, “and I don’t want to warn Sam or the other Worldkillers and trigger their emergence before we’re ready to face them. People died last time and I’m trying to avoid that outcome this time, Ms. Grant.”

“I didn’t ask you for a story about this,”  said Cat. “I want you to keep me in the loop about what’s happening. Did I miss anything else?”

Kara took a deep breath. “Just that the sexist playboy womanizer crown prince of Daxam landed on Earth this weekend and that his mother will be along in a bit with an entire invasion fleet to conquer Earth but we’ve already got him in a cage at the DEO and Lena and I are devising a weapon to send them running when they come.” Kara carefully did not mention President Olivia Marsden.

Cat stared again at Kara. “I assume we’re getting the inside story on this once it all breaks and becomes public?” She looked at Kara. “And are you involved in the hunt for whomever attacked President Marsden when she was here?”

“That’s an anti-alien terrorist organization called Cadmus,” said Kara. “I know about them from my own universe but circumstances are already different here so I’m not sure who’s running them this time.”

“You’re just full of surprises,  aren’t you?” asked Cat. “I understand the need for secrecy while investigations are ongoing, Kara, but I want every detail we can publicly print once this becomes public knowledge. You understand that, yes?”

Kara nodded. “Of course, Ms. Grant. I’m keeping notes about all this and I intend to write full articles once these issues become public knowledge, but for the moment, both the Worldkillers and the possible Daxamite invasion need to remain under wraps.”

Cat nodded back at her. “Very good then. As for Lena, you need to believe in yourself more, Kara.”

Kara sighed. “If I’m being honest, Ms. Grant, I think she does like me but she keeps insisting she doesn’t do relationships and it’s not my place to force myself on her.”

“She’s been hurt,” said Cat, “but she may also need reminding that being hurt is part of the cost of loving someone else and that she may yet meet her person. Or, in your case, maybe she’s already met her person and just has to give things a chance.”

Cat looked at Kara with a smirk then said, “Just leave things to me.”

“Ms. Grant, please, just let her decide in her own time if she’s really interested in me?” begged Kara.

“Kara, surely you know by now that she’s interested,” said Cat, “and all that I have to do is get her to admit that to herself. Now, off to your desk! You have a story to write!”

Kara went off to her desk but before she began working, she fired off a message to Clark. After this latest attempt on Lena’s life, Kara was pissed. It  was time to go after Lex’s money schemes while he was in prison and she’d need a favor from the Fortress of Solitude.

Chapter Text

Kara turned in her story and went to lunch alone at Noonan’s but unknown to Kara, and consequently she wasn’t trying to listen in, Cat Grant had gone to the building housing the Luthor Family Foundation, the charitable arm of the Luthor family, where Lillian Luthor both worked and lived.

As they sat down in the dining room while Lillian’s personal chef served them lunch, Cat decided to break the ice first. “So Lena is letting her incident with Andrea Rojas discourage her from finding her soul mate?”

Lillian laughed at that. “Being dramatic now, aren’t you, Cat?”

“It’s not every day that Supergirl takes a girl home,” said Cat.

“Let’s not beat around the bush,” said Lillian. “I know that Supergirl is your new reporter, Kara Danvers.”

Cat studied her for a moment. “And what led you to this particular conclusion?” asked Cat, expressing doubt in her voice.

“Don’t try to cover it up, Cat,” said Lillian. “Besides, the way Lena has talked about Ms. Danvers yet I then find Supergirl in bed with Lena after an attempt on Lena’s life? Who else could it have been? And then, of course, Kara confirmed it when I asked.”

“She chose to trust you? Just like that?” asked Cat, who then took a bite of her beef bourguignon, savoring the taste.

“She seems to have,” replied Lillian, who sipped her wine. “But if I know you, and based on your initial remark a moment ago, you’re trying to play matchmaker here, aren’t you?”

Cat smiled. “Do you know how huge of a story a Luthor and a Super falling in love would be?” asked Cat. “Not to mention the boost my matchmaking credentials would get.” Cat took another bite of her lunch.

Lillian studied her for a long moment before saying, “You’re not wrong about the Andrea Rojas effect. And I’m not quite sure how to help her get past that. Andrea hurt her so badly before.” Lillian sighed, then took a bite of lunch herself.

“It’s been just a week,” said Cat.

“They click together so well,” said Lillian, “like they’re intended for one another. I would love to see them together.” She sipped her wine again.

Cat nodded as she took a bite, chewing thoughtfully, swallowing, then finally saying, “I think she needs time plus I suspect that once Kara starts getting attention from others that Lena’s possessive side will want to take that risk.”

“What makes you think this?” asked Lillian, who dipped a flakey croissant into the beef juices before taking a bite.

“Did Kara regale you with what happened in Newfoundland?” asked Cat.

“We didn’t have time,” said Lillian. “We’d ordered dinner so Kara woke Lena up so she could get something healthy into her after the shock she’d been through, but do tell what happened in Newfoundland.”

Cat relayed the story about the trip to Newfoundland, why they’d gone, with emphasis on the appearance of Mr. Mxyzptlk, the 5th dimensional imp, and Lena’s reaction to his declaration of love towards Kara. Cat carefully emphasized how defensive and protective Lena had been and how much this had surprised Kara.

Lillian sat there thoughtfully. “She needs these powers then? Lena, I mean?”

“She does,” said Cat, “at least according to Kara. Kara said she’d fought these Worldkillers before but there were deaths and she was hoping for no deaths this time, and that Lena was key to making that happen.”

“Then I need to be honest with her,” said Lillian. “We always tried to shield her from that aspect of her mother but it seems that won’t be happening after all.”

“You knew she was a witch?” asked Cat.

“Lionel knew and it was one of the things that fascinated him about her,” said Lillian, who sat, thoughtful for a while. Then she spoke again. “Under other circumstances, I like to think that Elizabeth Walsh and I could have been friends. And, to make matters worse, Lionel didn’t give her his real name until after she was pregnant. She thought he was single so I place the blame squarely on Lionel for what happened.”

“Did she break things off once she found out he was married?” asked Cat, taking another bite of lunch but focused entirely on Lillian.

Lillian nodded. “She did but he still wanted to see the child, and then she drowned. I couldn’t let that child slide off into the adoption system so we adopted her ourselves. She’s smarter than Lex, and clearer headed. Did she tell you that she’s working with Supergirl to bring Kryptonian technology and science to Earth?”

Cat smiled. “I’m the one who arranged for them to have Tuesday and Friday afternoons together to pursue that research,” said Cat. “That’s going to be a hell of a story if Kara ever comes out to the world.”

“If that woman stays with Lena and comes out to the world,” said Lillian, “it will make L-Corp the most valuable company on the planet.”

“Is that what you care about though?” asked Cat. “The value of L-Corp?”

“No, of course not,” said Lillian, “but seeing her succeed where Lex failed, seeing her happy, seeing her complete, that’s what I want. But all of that would be best served with Kara Danvers openly at her side as her partner and wife.”

“So I’m not the only one playing matchmaker here?” asked Cat, a mischievous glint in her eye as she sipped her wine.

“Absolutely not!” laughed Lillian. “In just a few days, Kara Danvers has drawn Lena more out of her shell than the last three years since Andrea dumped her. That’s what matters to me. The question is, what will make Lena see this herself?”

“You could get one of those young men who are sons of the powerful CEOs we know to go after Lena and see how Kara reacts,” said Cat.

Sitting up straighter, Lillian had an epiphany. “That’s exactly what I shouldn’t do!” she exclaimed. “What I should do is send one of those young men after Kara, at the gala, in front of everyone.” She looked at Cat. “I can get the wheels turning and then at the gala, I can introduce you to him and you can fawn over Kara in front of him while I suggest he see if she’s interested.”

“Devious,” said Cat. “I love it! Of course, if they have any sense at all, this will be a moot point by then and they’ll figure it out themselves.”

“It was very apparent to me that Kara Danvers will not push herself at Lena,” said Lillian, “both because she’s polite but also because she doesn’t want to drive her away either. But if Lena were to choose her, I doubt Ms. Danvers would deflect in the slightest. The problem is getting Lena past these walls that she’s built up since things ended badly with Andrea. I think Kara is very aware that Lena has to choose her, not the other way around.”

The staff around Lillian cleared the table at that point and brought out dessert, a handmade chocolate mousse.

“I’m going to make sure Kara is properly dressed for the occasion,” said Cat, “because, frankly, her fashion sense is so… pedestrian.”

“You may not like it but it’s obvious to me that Lena does,” said Lillian, “but I agree with you. Let’s see what sort of dress or gown will make her stand out.”

“Oh, I’m thinking of a tux,” said Cat, as she nibbled at her dessert, “tailored just for her.”

“Oh, that would catch Lena’s attention, I’m sure,” said Lillian, “but it would dampen any man going after Kara.”

“Perhaps we should get another woman to shower Kara with attention?” asked Cat.

“That might cut to the heart of the matter even quicker,” said Lillian, “because I’m pretty sure she thinks Kara is gay.”

“I think Kara is what we would call bi but my understanding, from bits and pieces she’s mentioned,” said Cat, “gender roles were not so strictly enforced on Krypton as here on Earth.”

“Hmm,” said Lillian, “but she leans into a chapstick lesbian or even soft butch presentation?”

“I think that’s an accurate summary,” said Cat.

“I know just the woman to ask for this favor,” said Lillian, “and she won’t even get attached to Kara if I tell her why.”

“Hopefully this little subterfuge won’t be needed by then,” said Cat.

“My only other concern is Lex,” said Lillian.

“Why?” asked Cat. “He’s in prison.”

“He’s still somehow embezzling funds to use in his assassination attempts against Lena and myself,” said Lillian. “I’m not as public a figure as Lena is so it’s easier for my security to protect me, but if he finds out that Lena is dating a Super, I have no idea what he might do to Lena at that point.”

“Trust Kara and her cousin to work on that,” said Cat, “and for the Bureau of Prisons to keep him locked up.”

“I suppose that’s all we can do at this point,” said Lillian.

“Kara will be watching out for you, too, Lillian,” said Cat. “She’s probably not listening right now since she’s at Lena’s lab, but she could, if she wanted, listen in on us this very minute.”

“She can hear things from this far away?” asked Lillian, stunned.

“Lillian, I tell you this with all seriousness,” said Cat, “she listens to Lena’s heartbeat to calm herself when stressed. She can pick out Lena’s heartbeat from the other side of the world.”

“She listens to Lena’s heartbeat to calm herself?” asked Lillian. “The cool calm collected Girl of Steel?”

“She’s not as cool and calm as you think,” said Cat. “She’s been through a lot and Lena is her anchor when her past traumas start to build into storms around her.”

Lillian smiled at that. “Then they really do need one another.”

By the time lunch was done, Cat had a good idea of Lillian’s concerns and none of them were against Kara and Lena dating but more about the fallout from that. Still, Cat was going to trust that Kara and her other hero friends could manage things.

Chapter Text

Kara showed up at L-Corp at 12:51 pm. She walked toward the elevator, steeling herself but when it opened, it had been modified. Kara stared at huge LCD screens on three of the elevator walls, each showing parts of the same outdoors scene, as if a drone were flying over it, or even herself. She was thoroughly distracted the entire ride to the top, watching the camera fly through mountain top meadows, so much so that her claustrophobia didn’t even bother her in the slightest.

She exited the elevator and arrived at Jess’s desk just before 1 pm. She also got an enthusiastic reply back from Clark about her proposal with the information she was seeking. She’d just have to convince Lena to let her proceed.

Jess looked up at her and smiled. “She’s on the phone but should be done soon, Ms. Danvers,” said the receptionist.

Kara sat down to wait and fired off a response to Clark that she’d try to convince Lena and if so, she’d be proceeding this afternoon if she agreed. He fired back a message that said Everything is already in place and I agree with you. Go for it if she’ll let you! Kara smiled at the text message then waited for Lena to appear.

A minute later, Lena emerged from her office, saw Kara, and smiled. “I was on a call but I’m done now.”

“That’s fine!” said Kara. “Are we ready for this?”

“I’ve already got Lex’s atmospheric dispenser in the lab to modify,” said Lena, “and I’m ready to take notes about tachyon communications.”

Kara stood and walked toward Lena, who began walking down the hall toward one of her personal labs. Jess grinned widely as the two walked away from her desk.

“Lena, thank you for the elevator,” said Kara, softly.

“It’s the least I can do, Kara,” said Lena. “I don’t want to traumatize you just for coming to visit me. I commissioned 500 scenic drone flights to be recorded and delivered here to L-Corp. As the collection increases in size, the screens will randomly change to a new drone flight view as the old view ends. I hope it soothes your fears and claustrophobia.”

“No one’s ever done anything like that for me before,” said Kara. “Thank you.”

Lena smiled at her, gently squeezed Kara’s arm, then unlocked the lab door with her key, pin code, fingerprint, and retinal scan.

Kara whistled. “You’ve got this thing locked up tighter than CIA headquarters!”

“Before we begin, I want you to be able to access this lab even if I’m not here,” said Lena. She offered Kara a key, then entered a command into the lab door console. “Enter a six digit pin code that you can remember.”

Kara stepped up and did as asked.

Then Lena said, “Next, let’s get your fingerprint on this pad.” Again Kara did as asked.

Finally, Lena said, “Step up to this scanner and let’s get your retinal scan. Always use the same eye for the scan.”

Kara stepped up, let the scanner scan her retina, then stepped back.

Lena checked the information entered then said, “You now have access should you need it while I’m away.”

With that step done, she pointed to the atomizer/dispenser device as she sat down. “What do you want to do with it?”

“Really, nothing to the device itself,” said Kara. “We just need to modify the programming to account for the slight difference in mass of lead particles versus kryptonite particles, lead being the slightly less massive element.”

“Is that all?” Lena sat down at the console to the device and attached a laptop via a USB cable. On the laptop, she opened up an IDE to open the software project that controlled the device. In less than 5 minutes, the changes were made, compiled, saved, and loaded into the device.

“There! It’s done,” said Lena, “and this will drive the Daxamites away?”

“In my universe,” said Kara, “we had to actually use it, which caused Daxamite casualties, some human casualties from Daxamite ships crashing, and some bad reactions from human children and alien children that we subsequently had to clean up. I am hoping that the mere threat of it, this time will cause Rhea to realize she can’t take down Earth at all and lead to her withdrawal.”

“I’ve already begun working on a device to remove lead particles from the air,” said Lena, “and I’ll keep working on that as a backstop to this device should we need to use it.”

“I have a favor to ask, Lena,” said Kara. “Can I get inside L-Corp’s computer systems?”

“Why do you need to do that?” asked Lena, surprised.

“It really won’t be me,” said Kara. “What I want to do, with Superman’s approval, is borrow Kelex, a Kryptonian droid, from the Fortress of Solitude, and have Kelex go through your entire corporate network and figure out what, where, and how Lex is siphoning money from you. Human computing systems aren’t a big deal for a self-aware quantum computing based android.”

“A quantum computing based android?” asked Lena, stunned. “And it can find everything Lex is doing to siphon money from L-Corp?”

“Kelex prefers he/him pronouns,” said Kara, grinning, “and yes, I’m pretty sure he can track down every little hidey hole, trap door, and accounting trick that Lex has installed to fund his illicit schemes. I’m going to defang Lex by removing his money options. I won’t have him doing that to you again, Lena.”

Lena sat there stunned, a warm feeling spreading through her, her stomach doing flip flops at what Kara Danvers was saying. She knew she shouldn’t let herself feel this way but it was getting harder and harder to stay aloof from Kara. She kept telling herself she wouldn’t have a crush on this woman and she kept failing.

Kara waved a hand in front of her face. “Lena? Are you okay?” asked Kara. “Did I say something wrong?”

Lena’s attention snapped back to Kara. “Oh, yes, I’m… I’m fine,” said Lena. “Um, what do we need to do to let this Kelex review my network?”

“How about you connect my phone to your network with administrative privileges?” asked Kara.

Lena nodded. She already trusted Kara. She reached over to a phone on one of the lab tables and hit the speaker button then dialed a number. “Let me get hold of my CTO,” said Lena.

A man answered. “Richard Bennington here. How may I help you?” asked the voice.

“Richard, this is Lena,” said Lena.

“Oh, hey, Ms. Luthor! What’s up?” asked Richard.

“I want you to give full administrative privileges for the entire L-Corp network to an account that you’re going to label ‘Supergirl’,” said Lena.

“You’re serious?” asked Richard. “This is for the actual Supergirl and she’s going to have full admin access?”

Lena smiled then. “It is, and she is, and she’s going to use a fully self-aware Kryptonian droid powered by a quantum computing network to inspect our entire computing infrastructure and find out what Lex has been doing to siphon money.”

“You trust her with this?” asked Richard, then as the words sank in, he gasped, “A self-aware quantum computing based android?”

“Richard, I trust her with my life,” said Lena. “How long will it take to do this?”

“Not long at all,” he replied. “I can replicate my own account, rename it, and give her a link to reset her password.”

Kara spoke up then. “I’ll only need it this one time, Mr. Bennington,” said Kara. “When I’m done, you and Lena will get a full report on every vulnerability identified.”

“She’s there with you right now?” asked Richard, incredulously. “Give me a second here.”

Lena gave him Kara’s phone number and he sent a message to her with the login link. Kara set her phone down and opened another app, then spoke into her phone, though both Richard and Lena could hear the conversation.

“Hey Kelex! Are we ready to do this?” asked Kara.

“I’ve been anticipating your call, Supergirl,” replied Kelex in an androgynous voice.

“The login link is in my messages, get logged in, reset your password, then do your thing!” said Kara.

“I’m already in and scanning,” said Kelex. “Please tell Mr. Bennington to ignore the security alerts popping up on his screen for the moment. I have to move fast here to avoid any self-erasing code blocks and to isolate who placed them there.”

“The entire network went red,” said Richard, with a small chuckle. “And I’m ignoring my security people calling on seven different lines right now. Let me send out a quick email to calm them down.”

“Analysis done,” said Kelex, mere seconds later. “Your security alerts should all be gone and the network warnings all cleared. I have isolated and cut off 14 access points to the L-Corp network that were being used by people outside of L-Corp who are loyal to Lex. You have two members of your cybersecurity team who were installing back doors for Lex’s co-conspirators. There were only two siphon accounts currently active. Rather than having an endless number of them, it appears Lex’s loyalists would create a new siphon account each time one was shut down, which was why you couldn’t end them all.”

“My god, I’ve got the entire report in my email already,” said Richard. “What do you want me to do with Lex’s two friends on our cybersecurity team?”

“Cut them off, isolate them, and bring in the FBI to see if we can charge them with something, maybe corporate espionage and embezzlement,” said Lena. “Throw the book at them, Richard. Get them for everything we can. They’ve tried to kill me multiple times now and he’s stealing from all of us. It ends now.”

“Got it, Ms. Luthor,” said Richard. “I’ve already cut their access entirely. I’ve emailed security to arrest and hold them and I’ll call the FBI as soon as I get off the phone here with you.” He paused, then addressed the android, “Um, Supergirl said your name is Kelex, right?”

Kelex replied, “Yes, Mr. Bennington. That is my chosen name. Technically I am Superman’s personal assistant but since Supergirl is his cousin, I will happily aid her so long as it does not conflict with my primary directive of supporting Superman.”

Richard spoke to Lena. “Ms. Luthor, if you don’t mind, may I ask Kelex to run a full scan on our entire corporate network monthly?”

Lena looked surprised then looked at Kara. “Would this be okay?”

“I don’t think Kal-El will mind,” said Kara. “Kelex? What do you think?”

“Your cousin has been quite emphatic that I lend whatever aid I can to your efforts here,” said Kelex. “Technically, I will have to get specific approval for this but I don’t think he’s going to object to such a positive action.”

“We’ll have the most secure corporate network on the planet!” exclaimed Richard. “And if Lex tries to get other ringers hired here to do the same thing, we’ll catch them sooner.”

“Then I think we have a plan,” said Kara. “Kelex, please keep me in the loop if problems arise again.”

“Already planned, Supergirl,” said Kelex.

“Um, that brings me up to a question,” said Richard. “I saw where Ms. Kara Danvers entered the building on the security cameras and she went to your floor, Ms. Luthor. Is Ms. Danvers Supergirl?”

“She is and this is a secret,” said Lena instantly. “If this gets out, I will not be pleased.”

“It won’t get out because of me,” said Richard, reassuringly. “I’m going to put some additional safeguards around that account so no tracing can be done that might show her phone to anyone except me. No one else needs to know that the Supergirl account connects via Kara Danvers’ phone.”

“Now that I am in,” said Kelex, “I won’t need her phone anymore regardless. I’ll be using extensive rerouting of my own to obscure my point of origin.”

“I saw that already,” said Richard, “but I still want to protect Ms. Danvers’ secret here.”

“Thank you, Richard,” said Lena. “I appreciate this.”

“No problem!” said Richard. “Now let me get on with addressing these two miscreants. I’ll send you a full report when I’m done.” He hung up at that point.

Lena looked at Kara. “I didn’t mean to out you like that,” said Lena.

“Oh, I knew that was a probability,” said Kara. “In fact, I’m starting to lean toward coming out to the world but we need to address the Worldkillers first. I’m trying not to trigger them early so we have the best advantage to avoid any deaths this time.”

Kara looked at her phone. “Thank you, Kelex! That will be all for now.”

“I am positively enthused to assist, Kara Zor-el!” said Kelex. The connection then ended.

“Then we’ll focus on the Worldkillers next, as well as these science efforts,” said Lena. “You were going to teach me the Kryptonian theory behind tachyons and using them for communications?”

“Right,” said Kara. “Let’s get into that.”

“Before we do,” said Lena, “Kelex called you Kara Zor-el. Is Kara your real name?”

Kara smiled and nodded. “Kara Zor-el is my real name. Since Kara works well enough in English, I kept it when I arrived on Earth in my universe. On Krypton, women use their father’s first name as their last name and there’s no changing of names when we marry.”

Lena smiled. “I am so very glad to know you, Kara Zor-el. Now, shall we get on with tachyons?”

The rest of their lab session was spent going over theory and Lena making a list of components that either needed to be bought or fabricated by L-Corp before Friday.

Chapter Text

When they were done in the lab, Lena had a business obligation, dinner with several other executives that night, so Kara left L-Corp debating what to do with her evening. She left a message for Alex, asking if she might want to come over once she got off work. Kara suited up and made a pass around National City, stopping one jewelry store robbery in progress, picking up a car with a drunk driver and gently moving him off the road until police arrived, and rescued a small dog that had fallen into the harbor.

After taking the dog to the nearest shelter and dropping him off, she headed home. Once in her apartment, she got into some comfy sweats and a sweat shirt, then sat down with her phone, debating what to order. It was right then that she got a message from Alex.

Hey! Want me to pick up something on my way to your place? A.

Sounds good to me! What were you thinking? K.

Either Pizza or Chinese? What do you prefer?

Chinese! And get two orders of potstickers because I can eat one all by myself!

Done! See you in thirty minutes or so!

With that done, Kara flicked on the TV and turned up the sound as the nightly news anchor announced, “And this just in! It seems L-Corp has found and turned over to the FBI people loyal to Lex Luthor and who had been helping him embezzle further funds from L-Corp. Lex Luthor is now set to appear in court next week to face further charges relating to these latest schemes on top of the 32 consecutive life sentences he is already facing.”

Kara flipped the channel with a sense of satisfaction within her. She was going to do everything to remove Lex as a threat to Lena or to Lillian.

Not quite thirty minutes later, Kara’s doorbell rang. She strode quickly to the door opening it. Alex brought the bags of food inside.

“Seeing you brings back memories, but you wouldn’t know that,” said Kara.

“So help me bridge that gap,” said Alex. “Were we close?”

“You were my best friend,” said Kara. “You’d grown up with me, seen my meltdowns, tried to protect me from the bullies at school. We didn’t start our great together. I think you resented me but the night you found me cowering under my desk crying, everything seemed to change.”

“What were you crying about?” asked Alex.

“My powers on Earth were overwhelming me, especially my sense of smell and my sense of hearing,” said Kara. “I didn’t know how to handle so much information coming at me at one time. It was terrifying.”

Alex nodded. “Go on.”

“You pulled me out of there and held me,” said Kara. “You asked me what was wrong and as I tried to explain, you told me to focus on just one thing. Focus on that and only that. That night I started focusing on Eliza’s heartbeat, in order to calm myself, and also on the smells of oranges and bananas in the kitchen downstairs. I still had to grapple with vision, taste, and sense of touch but those were easier to handle and I was pretty much handling those on my own.”

Alex stepped closer and gave Kara a hug. “I don’t know if we’ll be best friends here but I want to try, if you’ll let me.”

“I would love to!” exclaimed Kara.

They unpacked food, made plates for themselves, then went out to the living room.

“What was it like, growing up together?” asked Alex, who sounded like she really wanted to know.

“You were the best sister,” said Kara. “I was an only child on Krypton but having you for a sister was amazing, after we got over everything.”

“Over everything?” asked Alex. “Did something happen?”

“You resented me being there,” said Kara, softly, “and you took it out on me at first. But that day you found me under that desk and everything seemed to change after that. You looked out for me. You protected me at school when other kids picked on me.”

A warm feeling spread through Alex as she realized that Kara wasn’t some goddess made of stone, but was a person, with fears, feelings, and her own trauma.

“I’d like to look out for you now too,” said Alex, “if you’ll let me.”

“I’d love that,” said Kara. “We used to always have movie nights, you and me, usually on Tuesdays just like this. I think you preferred coming to my place but we went to yours once in a while.”

“No, here is fine,” said Alex, “because you don’t need to see what Maggie and I are up to around the entire house.”

Kara laughed at that, a happy relaxed laugh and Alex laughed too.

“You and Maggie here too, huh?”

“To be honest,” said Alex, “I’m not sure it’s going to last. I want kids but Maggie keeps dodging that discussion. I love her though, so I don’t know.”

“If it doesn’t work out with Maggie, there are other fish in the sea,” said Kara.

“You know who I end up with, don’t you?” asked Alex.

“I know who you ended up with in my universe but this one is already different so the results may not be the same,” said Kara.

Alex nodded then sat quietly for a minute just eating. Finally she asked, “How about you? Anybody special?”

“One person,” said Kara, taking a bite of her Chinese, chewing a bit then swallowing. “There’s just one person, though they don’t seem ready to express the same in return.”

“Rejecting my almost sister?” said Alex mockingly. “Who is this guy? Who do I need to talk to?”

“It’s a woman,” said Kara. “In my own universe, I had several relationships but none were like what I felt toward her. Toward the end, I began to see that maybe she felt the same toward me but then the timeline collapse happened and we never did get to say how we felt to one another.”

“Maybe she’ll come around in this universe?” asked Alex. “But tell me, who is she?”

Kara finished a potsticker, sipped her 32 ounce Coke, then said, “This has to stay a secret, Alex, but it’s Lena Luthor.”

“You trust a Luthor?” asked Alex. “Especially after what Lex did?”

“Yeah, I do,” said Kara. “Events here so far, closely mirror my own world so it’s like she’s the same Lena on a slightly divergent timeline. She’s only recently come to National City and I’ve saved her twice the exact same ways I saved her in my universe, though what happened after the second save was different.”

“What was different about it?” asked Alex. “I heard they threw her off her balcony.”

“That part was the same, me catching her was slightly different though,” said Kara. “She fell further, almost to the concrete but I caught her about twenty feet off the ground.  It was close. If I’d been a tenth of a second later…”

Kara sighed and shook her head, “But I still caught her. She went into shock though, so I took her home. Everyone saw Supergirl get into Lena’s car. There were photographs. Then she asked me to stay the night and hold her, so I did. Of course, the paparazzi were waiting for me to fly away from there this morning and there are photos of that all over the internet now.”

“She asked you to stay in her bed?” asked Alex. “Lena is known to be bisexual, Kara, and she asked you into her bed?”

“There was no sex, nothing like that, though I so wanted to kiss her when she woke me in the morning,” said Kara. “Apparently humans find it difficult to dislodge my arm when it’s wrapped around them protectively. But I didn’t. I sat up in bed and we chatted instead, then I left.”

“I’m going to guess that, in your universe, you saved each other multiple times?” asked Alex.

Kara nodded. “Once Lena and I became friends, nobody else ever approached me romantically again. I don’t know why.”

“A woman can tell,” said Alex. “You likely gave off ‘I’m claimed’ vibes both as Supergirl and as Kara Danvers. And men can usually tell too. Sometimes they ignore it and press their luck anyway but I’m betting that you didn’t even notice any man that flirted with you, did you?” Alex shoveled some fried rice into her mouth as she leaned back against the couch.

“I guess I did,” said Kara, “because I don’t even remember a man flirting with me over the next four years.”

Alex laughed. “I can guarantee men flirted with you, Kara. Have you seen yourself? Beautiful, stunningly so, and so sexy.”

Kara blushed. “I don’t think of myself that way.” Kara stabbed another potsticker and began nibbling away at it.

“But you are,” said Alex. “You’re beautiful, strong, intelligent, amazing, confident. Anyone would be fortunate to have you as a partner. If Lena can’t see that, it’s her loss.”

Kara stopped nibbling then got very quiet before she said, “I think she does see it but apparently Andrea Rojas hurt her so badly that she’s afraid of relationships.” She shoved the rest of the potsticker into her mouth and chewed then swallowed. “I wish there was some way to show her that not everyone is going to treat her the way Andrea treated her.”

“That’s different,” said Alex. “If she’s been hurt and you really want to see if this can go somewhere, you have to consistently be there for her, in every way that you can. She’s afraid you’re going to dump her like Andrea did.”

“Lillian told me that Andrea kept trying to change her too,” said Kara, “to make her into something else but I love her just the way she is.”

“Love, huh?” asked Alex gently.

“I was in love with her a little more than a week ago in my own universe,” said Kara, “then I got dumped here with no way back because mine apparently doesn’t exist anymore. I can’t just stop loving her in an instant.”

“That’s weird,” said Alex, “but it also makes sense.” Alex sat eating for a bit then finally said, “If you want me to talk to her, I will.”

Kara shook her head. “I think she knows. She just has to be the one to choose me. Nobody can make her do that.”

Alex smiled. “So wise. What am I going to do with you?” She turned to the TV, grabbing the remote. “How about a movie? How about a horror flick!”

“You and your horror flicks!” laughed Kara. “Okay, you choose, but if I’m hiding under the covers it’s your fault!”

Alex laughed easily back at Kara. She felt like she really could get to know Kara Danvers and get very comfortable with her. And she was fine with Tuesdays becoming movie nights with Kara.

Chapter Text

Wednesday all day and Thursday morning were relatively quiet days on the superhero front for Kara. They were largely quiet on the news front as well. Lena had a typical few days as a CEO but she was used to that. She also began to successfully use telekinesis at home Wednesday evening.

But Thursday afternoon, after having dropped by M’Gann’s bar a few nights after work, Kara got a tip about the alien fight club that she knew Veronica Sinclair, who called herself Roulette, ran in the city. She briefed Hank, Alex, and other DEO agents that they’d chosen to use to shut this down, but Kara also brought in her cousin and the Flash. Kara wanted to include the entire Arrow Team to assist on this but J’onn had misgivings about including The Green Arrow due to his often fatal judgments against criminals.

The one thing they needed was tonight’s fight location and to get that, Kara had to go to Lena. She landed on Lena’s balcony just after 4 pm shortly after Lena had finished a phone call. She gently knocked on the glass.

Lena stood, smiled, and moved to the door, opening it for Kara. “Is today a special occasion?”

“I wish I could stay,” said Kara, who immediately noticed a response from Lena. Others might miss it but not Kara. “Unfortunately, I’m involved in a DEO operation and I need your help.”

“My help?” asked Lena. “What can I possibly do?”

“Veronica Sinclair runs a fight ring in the city,” said Kara. “She uses aliens and she forces them to fight to the death. I’m going to break it up and put her in jail.” She sighed.

“Why the long face?” asked Lena. 

“It took several tries in my universe and several people died,” said Kara, “then, after we’d arrested Ms. Sinclair, someone in city hall got all charges against her dropped and she went free. Then she started an alien smuggling ring, bringing in aliens to act as slaves to wealthy people. I’m trying to avoid all that here. I personally went to the White House to meet the President and tell her about this so she can intervene and the Justice Department will know that Veronica Sinclair should be fully prosecuted.”

“You went to see the president, just like that?” asked Lena, incredulously.

“When a super lands at the back of the Rose Garden at the end of a public statement by the president, she seemed inclined to invite me in,” said Kara with a grin on her face.

Lena laughed at that, the rich happy carefree laugh that Kara loved so much. “This universe is diverging from your own but you seem to be one of the prime agents of that divergence,” said Lena. “Did you ever think about this?”

“I know, but if I can save lives, then I have to try, don’t I?” asked Kara.

Lena’s expression softened at that. “Of course you do. And I’m happy to help. I’ve never attended Veronica’s little events because she’s always let herself get involved in illegal things. All that I knew was that she was running some underground gambling ring but I had no idea it was aliens fighting to the death.”

Lena jotted down the address on a Post-It note and handed it to Kara. “That’s where I was told tonight’s event would be held.”

“Thank you for this, Lena,” said Kara. “I really appreciate it.”

Kara went to take the Post-It note but Lena held on as she said, “Please be careful, Kara.”

Kara stared a long moment into Lena’s eyes and that’s when she knew how Lena felt. She just had to give Lena enough time to admit it to herself.

“I will,” Kara promised softly. “You won’t lose me that easily.”

Lena smiled and Kara turned, exited to the balcony then leaped into the air. Once again, paparazzi were snapping photos.

*****

Kara and the DEO team sealed off every avenue of escape from the location, including one way down through the city sewers. When every avenue of escape was closed off, the main raid force entered, violently, with Supergirl crashing through the warehouse walls.

Veronica Sinclair laughed. “I wondered when you’d show up, Supergirl.” She activated a device which revealed four kryptonite emitters in each corner of the warehouse but suddenly a red blur moved around the warehouse at blinding speed and the kryptonite emitters were gone.

“What? How?” shouted Veronica. “I paid Lex Luthor good money for those stones!”

The Flash showed up beside Kara and said, “And now they’re locked away in a DEO transport. That’s another criminal charge against you, Ms. Sinclair,” said Barry, with a smirk on his face.

Superman stepped in from the back but he’d been briefed by Supergirl about the weakness of the Valeronian cage fighter, Draaga, before the raid. As Draaga went for Superman, Superman kicked him in his weakened leg, causing him to collapse and be easily subdued. The Flash snatched Veronica Sinclair from behind her shield of alien guards and Kara talked the guards down from responding violently, assuring them that things were changing under President Marsden.

The critical difference was that this time, instead of local police arresting then releasing Veronica Sinclair, the FBI took her in and she was facing federal charges. The Alien Amnesty Act had not passed through Congress yet but it was gaining momentum. But despite that, and based on prior court decisions that aliens were “persons” under the constitution, charges were levied against Ms. Sinclair that would likely put her away for a long time. And this time, no one died, though Ms. Sinclair being in possession of kryptonite bothered Kara.

By the time the raid was complete, all the paperwork filed, and everyone was taken away, Kara decided to visit Lena in the early evening, just after 8 pm. First she listened, to be sure Lena was at home and then to be sure she was alone. Once she was sure of that, she flew to Lena’s penthouse, landed, and knocked on the glass doors.

Lena had settled in for the evening in sweats, reading a book, but when she heard the knock at her patio door, she knew it had to be Kara. She rushed out to the living room and smiled happily when she saw that it was, indeed, her friend.

After sliding the door open, Lena said, “Come in! Come in! Why are you here  this evening? Is everything okay?”

Kara nodded. “We just finished the raid on the fight club and Veronica Sinclair will be going away for a long time but there was a significant difference this time.”

“What was the difference?” asked Lena.

“She had kryptonite emitters, sold to her by your brother Lex,” said Kara. “Fortunately, the Flash was working with us and removed them before they could affect myself or Superman but I’m worried about where Lex is getting his kryptonite. Can we check your kryptonite stores tomorrow before  we start our lab work to be sure none of it has been stolen?”

Lena grew serious. “We can absolutely do that, but I have multiple levels of security on that vault. I can check that security now if you like?”

Kara looked somber, “Please? It would mean a lot to me.”

“Come on,” said Lena, as she walked back toward her bedroom. Entering the bedroom, she walked to her computer desk and opened her laptop. After logging in, she opened the app that monitored the vault and all the security indicators showed green.

“Everything looks secure,” said Lena, “but we can inventory it tomorrow, unless you want to go inventory it right now?”

Kara shook her head. “I just wanted to be sure there wasn’t someone else inside L-Corp trying to help Lex.  Maybe he has a separate store of kryptonite.”

“We’ll definitely still inventory it tomorrow,” said Lena, “but in other news, I’ve started to have some success with telekinesis.”

Kara smiled widely at that. “You have? That’s wonderful! Maybe we can help Sam and the others soon.”

“I’ve been working on it every evening when I have free time, and even a little bit at the office,” said Lena. “Sam means a lot to me.”

“I know,” said Kara, “and with your abilities, we can save them without risk to their lives.”

“Did… did Sam die in your universe?” asked Lena.

Kara shook her head. “No, she didn’t but the other two Worldkillers did as well as a lot of civilians,” said Kara. “I’m hoping we can avoid all that this time.”

“We’ll save them, together,” said  Lena.

Kara smiled. “El Mayarah.”

“What does that mean?” asked Lena gently.

“It’s the motto of the House of El, my family’s house,” said Kara. “It means stronger together.” She pointed to the symbol on her chest. “This isn’t an S, as many people imagine. It’s a stylized representation of the symbol of the House of El, which is really more like a cross between an S and a Z, but the stylization drops several of the finer calligraphy points of the actual symbol itself.”

“Can you show me?” asked Lena, feeling her heart race again at the idea of El Mayarah.

“I can draw it,” said Kara. “I… I'm a bit of an artist. I draw, I paint, I do what’s called calligraphy here on Earth.”

Lena went to her bookshelf and grabbed a sketch pad. “I’m not much of an artist myself,” she said as she handed a calligraphy pen and sketch pad to Kara. “I’ve tried but don’t seem to have that talent.”

So Kara drew everything, the full out Kryptonian phrase, the compressed symbol, and finally the highly stylized version of the compressed symbol that people mistook for an “S”.

“Here,” Kara said, gently handing the pen and pad back to Kara.

Lena looked at her with an amused grin. “Is there anything you don’t do? Superhero, reporter, scientist, artist. You’re a genuine Renaissance woman!”

Kara blushed and looked down but Lena stepped closer, put her finger under Kara’s chin and lifted until their eyes met. “That’s a compliment. You deserve it.” Lena’s hand dropped and Kara took in a deep breath. She’d almost leaned in to kiss Lena in that moment but she knew she couldn’t, that Lena wasn’t ready for that.

An awkward moment of silence passed between them until Lena finally said, “I should let you get back to your Superhero business.”

Kara nodded, stepped back out onto the penthouse patio. Before she launched into the air, she deployed her Kryptonian camera droid then looked back at Lena with a smile. Without saying another word, she turned and leaped into the night sky.

Standing in the doorway to the patio, Lena whispered, “Be safe, Kara.”

Once again, paparazzi were snapping photos of Supergirl leaving Lena Luthor’s penthouse. Kara knew it was just a matter of time before someone figured out who Kara Danvers really was but she no longer really cared except that she wanted the Worldkillers dealt with as soon as possible.

Chapter Text

Friday morning, Kara was doing a writeup of the FBI/DEO raid on Veronica Sinclair’s cage fight betting ring. She didn’t hold back, which caused Snapper to send the article back to her to revise to provide a more neutral tone to it, though he emphasized that she should still note the specific criminal charges against Ms. Sinclair. Snapper clearly didn’t like anti-alien bigots. He’d once told Kara they reminded him too much of the same bigots who had driven one of his nephews, a young gay man several years before, to suicide. So he definitely wasn’t on the anti-alien side but as editor, he was responsible for ensuring the newsworthiness of what they printed.

So Kara revised that article. While she was working the revision, Cat Grant exited her office and called across the bullpen, “Kara! My office, now!” She turned and walked back into her office.

Kara handed in the revision to Snapper then went to see Ms. Grant. Once inside, with the door closed, Cat held up a photo from one of the gossip rags in the city of Supergirl leaving Lena Luthor’s penthouse last night. “Want to tell me what’s going on here?”

Kara sighed. “I just went to see her after the raid. Veronica Sinclair was in possession of four kryptonite radiation emitters, powered by four small pieces of kryptonite. She’d clearly been planning to stop myself or Superman, but the Flash removed them before she realized what happened. I went to Lena’s to see if there had been any losses detected from her kryptonite supply. There had not been any sign of tampering so we concluded that Lex must have a separate cache of his own kryptonite.”

Cat’s demeanor changed instantly. “Do you think he’s going to try to kill you or your cousin?” asked Cat, now concerned.

“I’m not sure how he would manage that from prison,” said Kara, “and I think he wants the glory of killing my cousin himself, to claim it for himself. If he ever escapes, then I’ll worry about that but him possessing enough kryptonite that he felt it acceptable to sell some must have meant he’s got a decent stockpile.”

“Or perhaps that he knew that his days of siphoning money from L-Corp would come to an end,” said Cat mischievously.

Kara canted her head a bit then stared at Cat. “How did you find out about that?”

“Don’t worry,” said Cat, “nobody is leaking information inside L-Corp to me without Lena’s permission. She mentioned it herself when we chatted on the phone recently. But you have another problem.”

“I do?” asked Kara. “What am I in trouble for now?”

“You’re not in trouble, at least with me,” said Cat, “but if Supergirl keeps showing up at Lena’s penthouse and Kara Danvers begins dating her, people are going to put two plus two together really quick.”

“I’ve been thinking about what you said,” said Kara, “and I’ve decided that once we’ve dealt with the Worldkillers, I’m going to come out to the world, Ms. Grant, and you’ll be who I want to do that with.”

“That’s a rather quick and sudden decision,” said Cat. “Want to tell me why?”

“Because it’s not quick or sudden from my perspective,” said Kara. “It’s been on my mind since before the timeline collapse, so honestly, for the last year or so. I keep worrying about those I care for being in danger but I’m not sure that hiding anything is really keeping them any safer.”

Cat nodded. “I see. Well, you’re not committed yet so still think about it. Do what you think is best for you, Kara. If you choose to come out to the world, I will be happy to stand there with you and let them know precisely who you are. Now back to work! You’re busy this afternoon so I need to squeeze a few more words out of you this morning.” She grinned at Kara.

Kara smiled and then returned to the bullpen. The rest of the morning passed quietly, with Kara doing some research for two future stories.

*****

Lunch came and went then Kara went to L-Corp for her Friday afternoon lab session with Lena. When she arrived at Lena’s office area, she sat in one of the chairs and Jess remarked, “She’ll be out in a few. She’s on a call again.” Kara just smiled and nodded.

But then she heard Lena speaking. “So what if I was dating Supergirl? Tell my brother to shove his concerns where the sun doesn’t shine. I’ve honestly told you that she and I are just friends but I’d almost be tempted to date her just to see if he has an aneurysm!” She heard the phone slam down then and she wondered who she had been talking to but apparently it was someone loyal to Lex.

A few minutes later, Lena came out and smiled at Kara. “I’m so glad you’re here. It’s been such an annoying day!”

“Want to tell me about it?” queried Kara, falling into step with Lena as they walked to the lab down the hall. “I overheard the end of that. I didn’t mean to but…”

Lena laughed. “No, it’s fine, and I’m actually glad you did. It seems Lex believes the gossip rags about us being a couple and it’s sent him into fits of rage. And honestly, if I thought it would kill him, I’d take a picture of us out somewhere for dinner but that would also require revealing who you are to the world. He just lost his mind completely when Superman showed up to the world several years ago. He was always scheming but when Superman arrived, his paranoia went into overdrive. I’m not at all sure he’s even sane these days.”

“Hatred can change someone into something you don’t recognize,” said Kara thoughtfully.

After they entered the lab, Lena looked at Kara. “That sounds like the voice of experience talking. Want to share?”

“I’m just thinking about my Aunt Astra,” said Kara. “She’s locked away in the Phantom Zone, now likely forever since Krypton is gone with no one to formally end her sentence or bring her back.”

“Has she served her time?” asked Lena.

Kara thought for a moment then nodded. “She has. But letting her out would be a risk to Earth if I couldn’t convince her otherwise.”

“Why?” asked Lena.

“She was sentenced to the Phantom Zone for being part of a revolutionary coup that tried to overthrow the ruling council of the planet,” said Kara. “The ruling council kept trying to keep Krypton’s decaying core a secret from the population but as quakes and tremors worsened, people became afraid. Word got to her, in the military, and she advocated for a massive program to move Kryptonians off world to a new world. When that was rejected, she conspired with others to overthrow the ruling council because her entire purpose in life was to save Kryptonian lives and culture.”

“It sounds like she was unfairly imprisoned and given what happened and the ensuing deaths, maybe she was right,” said Lena.

“That’s just it,” said Kara. “I think she was but what made everything worse was my mother was the adjudicator who tried her and argued that she be sentenced to the Phantom Zone.”

“Did you free her in your universe?” asked Lena.

“No, in my universe, when my pod got knocked free of the Phantom Zone, it somehow pulled Fort Rozz along with it,” said Kara. “It landed here and all sorts of dangerous alien criminals escaped to roam Earth. Astra and her husband, Non, and their soldiers escaped too. But she and they were all killed in subsequent battles. I almost had her convinced to try to raise awareness on Earth peacefully, via persuasion, but then there was a fight, she tried to kill Hank Henshaw, and Alex killed her with a kryptonite blade to protect Hank.” She sighed heavily.

“Would she come alone, without her husband, if we freed her?” asked Lena.

Kara’s eyes snapped to Lena. “What are you thinking? And she’d come without Non. Marriage on Krypton was often a matter of convenience. They were both military, which is why they were paired by the Matrix. I’m not sure she ever really liked Non.”

“Well, applying general relativity to this problem, with a tachyon beam, if we had a way to focus it, we could theoretically open rifts between universes,” said Lena. “I just don’t know the right tachyon wavelength to use so we might open a hole to anywhere and I don’t know how to focus a tachyon beam.”

“Oh, focusing the beam is easy,” said Kara. “When we’re done with the tachyon communications array, and then make the nanite swarm work, we can work on gravimetric lenses. They can bend and shift all sorts of energies, including tachyons, which really are more like anti-photons than anything else I can compare them with.”

“If we can open a path to the Phantom Zone, do you want to go get her?” asked Lena.

“I’d have to think about it but I’m leaning toward yes,” said Kara, still rather uncertain about the idea.

“We can think about this,” said Lena. “There’s no need to rush into anything yet. We have a lot of equipment to design and build first.”

Kara took a deep breath, nodded, then said, “Okay, let’s build this thing!”

By late afternoon they had a working tachyon transmitter and receiver. Kara also had written a program to translate Kryptonian tachyon signals. She also knew of a Kryptonian tachyon relay station that was still operative so, without alerting Lena to what she was doing, she casually  aligned the antenna correctly toward Sirius, where the relay station was located, and sent a signal. They continued to refine the device, working to optimize it and doing further tests.

“What are you doing?” asked Lena.

“Testing the device,” said Kara, mischievously.

After about 15 minutes, Kara glanced at her watch and said, “Another 70 seconds or so.”

“What happens in 70 seconds?” asked Lena.

Kara moved back to her laptop and checked for incoming signals. Very quickly, a signal arrived.

Lena stared. “What is that?”

Kara grinned, “It’s a status signal from an automated communications relay probe that is circling the star you call Sirius.”

“Sixteen minutes round trip?” Lena was stunned.

Kara nodded. “About a hundred billion miles per second,” she said, “which is more than enough for what we need, but we can boost it faster. Well, just under that at 99 billion and some change.”

“You just sent a signal and got a round trip response across a total of 16.6 light  years in just over 16 minutes?” Lena was still in shock.

“That’s why we were building this, right?” asked Kara. “Faster communications?”

Lena sat quietly for a bit. “Within the solar system, communications could be instantaneous anywhere inside the solar system. Well, about a twentieth of a second worst case, I guess.”

“And that means,” said Kara, “for your nanite swarm that communication is effectively instantaneous over short distances. A hundred billion miles per second still translates into a hundred miles at a billionth of a second, instead of about  a meter using radio waves.”

Lena sighed. “I need to file the patent applications for this, Kara, but it shouldn’t be mine. It should be yours.”

“I trust you, Lena,” said Kara. “Put it in your name. It’s okay.”

“What am I going to do with you?” asked Lena, with a smile.

“You’ll figure something out,” said Kara, a twinkle in her eyes. “Oh! Here are my notes on gravimetric lenses and the components we’ll need to build one.”

“What can gravimetric lenses do?” asked Lena.

“They can shift or focus any type of energy,” said Kara, “including gravity itself. Basically, they can warp the warp that gravity causes in space-time.”

“Wow,” said Lena. “I’m going to take a good look at these and I may start on it myself.”

“I’m going to give you the theory and your brilliant beautiful mind is going to make all sorts of amazing gadgets, aren’t you?” asked Kara.

Lena blushed at the comment then felt warm again at Kara’s words. “Let me take you to dinner,” said Lena, who paused thoughtfully then added, “or, we get takeout and go to my place and watch movies together?”

“That sounds like a plan!” said Kara.

Chapter Text

Takeout and a movie turned into two movies and after Lena had fallen asleep at the end of the second one, Kara quietly cleaned up, then carried Lena to her room. But when Kara set her down on the bed, she woke up.

“Sorry for missing the ending,” Lena said sleepily.

“You need to get changed for bed and brush your teeth,” said Kara.

Lena went into her massive walk-in closet and emerged in sweats and an oversized t-shirt then went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once done, she wandered out to the bedroom and flopped on the bed. “Thank the stars for the weekend,” she said.

“I should get home then. I had a wonderful time tonight, Lena. Thank you,” said Kara.

Lena looked at her and Kara knew what that look was, a look of longing. Kara stood still while Lena processed but Lena finally said, “Thank you, Kara. Goodnight.”

Kara reluctantly turned and left though she very much didn’t want to. But she would respect Lena’s choices.

Lena watched Kara hesitate a moment then turn and depart. She heard the door close softly and the lock clicked automatically. She laid there in bed, awake now, and unable to go back to sleep, asking herself why was she doing this to herself? It would be a few hours before she could return to sleep and then she slept in until almost 9 am on Saturday morning.

*****

When Lena awoke on Saturday morning, it was to various sounds in the kitchen. Had Kara come back? But Kara had no key. Arising, she grabbed her robe then walked out to the kitchen only to find Sam and Ruby making breakfast.

Sam turned and grinned at her. “There you are! I wondered how late you might sleep. Did you have a good evening with Kara?”

Multiple emotions rippled across Lena’s face until she haltingly settled into a smile even if that smile didn’t reach her eyes.

Sam studied her then asked, “Why are you doing this to yourself? You like her. Any fool can see that she adores you. Why won’t you let yourself have something good for once?”

“I’m too busy,” Lena repeated, the same excuse she’d been making ever since she started to realize how she felt about Kara Danvers.

“And I told you to delegate!” said Sam, with exasperation.

“Yes, delegate!” echoed Ruby. “You deserve to be happy, Aunt Lena.”

Lena turned and smiled gently at her goddaughter. “Maybe,” was all she said. She sat down at the kitchen table.

But Sam wasn’t having it. “Maybe? Maybe? What is wrong with you, woman?”

“I don’t deserve her, Sam,” said Lena. “She’s sunshine, light, optimism, hope. She’s everything good in the world and I’m… I’m a Luthor.”

“Bollocks!” snapped Sam right back at her. “Just because Lex is a psychopath doesn’t mean you are.”

Sam plated some scrambled eggs for each of them, added bacon, toast, and set the plates on the kitchen table. Then she set down cups of freshly cut strawberries, a tub of butter, two different jars of jam, and finally, she set glasses of orange juice for the three of them, the sugar and creamer tray, and cups of coffee for herself and Lena.

Sitting down, Sam said, “She doesn’t want to remake you, Lena. She clearly doesn’t want to hurt you.”

“I still don’t feel worthy of her,” said Lena.

Sam sat still for a moment, then said, “She’s not choosing anyone else, Lena. That’s obvious, and the look on her face when she looks at you, well, she’s not even trying to hide how she feels.”

Lena looked at Sam intently, having not considered this before but still, she said nothing.

“Please at least consider this,” said Sam. “She’s not going to hurt you the way Andrea did. You can’t let Andrea live rent free in your head for the rest of your life ruining every good thing you find.”

Grudgingly, Lena nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

“Good, now let’s eat breakfast,” said Sam.

“We’re going to the zoo and you promised!” said Ruby to Lena.

Lena laughed. “I guess I did, didn’t I?”

*****

Saturday morning had started off busy for Kara. For some reason, a bunch of criminals decided to make her Saturday her busiest day of this week. She lifted a car driven by a man who was obscenely drunk at 8 am off the road and held him until the police arrived, broke up a gang drive by shooting attempt that would have gotten several innocent bystanders shot then held the shooters for police, stopped an attempted bank robbery around 10:45 am, talked a young woman off a bridge so that she didn’t try to take her life then carried her to a hospital, and pulled a cat out of the top of a 35 foot maple tree. And it wasn’t even noon yet.

Hovering about 4000 feet above National City she zeroed in on Lena’s heartbeat and followed the sound to see her walking at the City Zoo with Sam and Ruby. She pulled out her phone.

Treating Ruby right? Ask her if she likes the elephants or the giraffes better.

How do you know I’m with Ruby?

I have my ways.

Kara watched them stop at the elephant exhibit and Ruby ran to the railing to look inside. Lena took that moment to look up into the air but saw nothing. Kara was simply too distant for her to notice.

No fair when you can hear and see so far and I can’t.

I kinda like it. Is Sam okay?

Yes, Sam seems fine and I’m working with my mother’s spellbook.

Keep doing that. The sooner we can resolve this, the sooner Sam will be safe.

I fully intend to. What are you up to?

Criminals. It’s been a crazy morning for some reason. Gotta go! There’s another one!

Lena lowered her phone and smiled. Sam looked at her. “Kara, huh?” asked Sam. “What’s she up to?”

“She’s got a busy Saturday apparently,” said Lena, “running errands.”

Lena glanced back at her phone and smiled again. A real smile, a happy smile, and Sam snapped a photo of her own then sent it to Lena.

“If you can’t see what I and everyone else sees when your mind is on Kara Danvers,” said Sam, “I’m going to drag you to an optometrist to get your eyes checked.”

“It’s so complicated,” said Lena. “and I really don’t deserve her.”

“I’m listening,” said Sam. “Want to explain it?”

Lena considered. She wanted to tell Sam everything but she was afraid of what might trigger Reign inside Sam. She shook her head. “Not now. Maybe…  soon.” said Lena.

“Letting this fester won’t help,” said Sam. “You’ve got it bad and she seems perfect for you. I wish you’d tell me what was holding you back because clearly, something is on your mind.”

“I’m not ready to talk about it quite yet,” said Lena. 

“When you are, I’ll be right here,”  said Sam. “We’ve been there for each other through thick and thin. I’m not going anywhere now.”

It was a snap decision and it was easy, because now, uncovering her mother’s magic, she found she could believe again, and she firmly believed that telling Sam about Kara wouldn’t awaken Reign.

‘Wait,” said Lena softly, as Ruby continued to watch the elephants. “I want to tell you something but this has to stay strictly between us. Can you promise me that?”

Sam looked at her as if she were asking if 2+2=4. “Of course I can. I’ll always have your back, Lena.”

“When I tell you I don’t think I deserve her, I have a very good reason,” said Lena.

“And what might that reason be?” asked Sam, now curious.

“I’m a Luthor, Sam,” said Lena, “and she’s… she’s Supergirl.”

Sam stood there but no words came forth for several seconds then she finally said, “I forgot all about that.”

Lena shook her head. “She texted me, asked if I was treating Ruby right and to ask Ruby if she likes giraffes or elephants better.”

Sam looked around. “Is she here?”

Lena waved vaguely toward the sky. “She’s probably up there somewhere. She said it’s been a busy Saturday with lots of criminals and calls for Supergirl.”

“She can see us from up there in the clouds?” asked Sam.

“She listens to my heartbeat. She called me her metronome. She can pick out my heartbeat from the other side of the world,” said Lena.

“Lena Kieran Luthor!” exclaimed Sam. “Supergirl is in love with you and you’re beating yourself up over what Lex did? For gosh sakes, woman, why?”

“Lex saw Mother earlier this week. She went to visit,”  said Lena. “He walked in, looked at her, and told her that if I were dating a Super, he’d kill both me and Lillian himself. He’s insane and still very dangerous.”

“True,” said Sam, who then changed the subject. “Ruby! Which do you like more? Elephants or giraffes?”

“I love the elephants more!” called Ruby back to her mother. “They’re smart and they remember things.”

Lena turned to look at Ruby. “Still young and mostly innocent, though this is the age girls start to learn how the world really is.”

“We’ve been having conversations,” said Sam who suddenly stopped and stared.

Lena’s gaze went from Sam back to Ruby, where Supergirl had just landed beside Ruby. Ruby was staring at her in adulation.

Kara said, “Elephants are my choice too.”

“You’re really Supergirl?” asked Ruby.

“Yes, I am,” said Supergirl.

Suddenly Kara’s head turned as if she was listening to something in the distance. Looking back to Ruby then at Sam and finally at Lena where her gaze lingered. Sam noticed the look but then Kara said, “Gotta run! Saturday just doesn’t want to quit.” She launched into the air and sped away.

“I guess it is complicated,” said Sam, “but I still think you deserve her. And Lena…”

Lena looked at Sam, “Hmm?”

“She’s clearly choosing you,” said Sam. “Not anyone else, just you.”

When that realization fully hit her, Lena had a stroke of inspiration. She spent the following day, Sunday, at L-Corp, working on a gift for Kara.

Chapter Text

Sam’s words stayed with Lena through the weekend, into the next week. Things blurred by quickly. Kara and Lena integrated tachyon communications into her nanite swarm, Kara reprogrammed it with some tricks she knew, and it was working by Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday afternoon, Lena held a press conference on the first floor of L-Corp headquarters. Kara attended to cover it. Lillian was present, clearly proud of her daughter but her eyes went to Kara on multiple occasions during this press conference.

“L-Corp has often been at the forefront of scientific research,” said Lena. “Today we’re going to show you two remarkable breakthroughs that we’re announcing to the world. And further, our licensing terms are going to be very generous with both technologies because we want L-Corp to be the cornerstone of this type of advancement going forward.”

Lena took the mic in hand then walked over to a specific device and sent the same signal that Kara had sent the week before to the Kryptonian relay station circling the star Sirius. Turning to her audience, she said, “We’re going to come back to this device in about 16 minutes.” The tech reporters looked at one another, wondering what was going on here but Lena had moved to the other table.

“This is a working nanite swarm,” said Lena, letting the collective gasps and whispers ripple around the room.

A woman walked out from a partitioned area at the side carrying a cat that clearly looked ill.

“I’m Dr. Jill Shannon, a veterinarian with the National City Animal Control Services,” said the woman.

Lena nodded to the table and the woman set the cat down on a folded blanket on the table.

“This is Skinner, a feral cat that was caught by the National City Pet Services division and delivered to a shelter,” said Lena. “Skinner was scheduled to be put down because he suffers from advanced cancer, tumors throughout his body that have advanced beyond any possibility of normal medical technology being able to save him.”

“But Skinner is lucky,” said Lena. “Because we’re going to demonstrate our nanite swarm on him.”

She turned to the nanite container. “Right now, the swarm has been programmed into two groups. One group is going to carry microdoses of anti-cancer drugs straight to cancerous cells throughout the body. The other group is going to harvest cancerous cells in a kind of microsurgery operation. This won’t cure Skinner, at least not today, because he’s in such bad shape that killing all the cancer cells might well kill him. But we’re going to knock this cancer way back and don’t worry, Skinner is scheduled for more treatments over the next few weeks until he is cancer free.”

Lena loaded  the anti-cancer drug into the containment cannister then added saline solution. The attending veterinarian put the IV needle into Skinner who meowed weakly then Lena turned on the device. Several monitoring sensors were also attached to the cat which allowed the observers to see the results of the work that they nanite swarm was performing.

A reporter near the front asked, “How did you solve the control problem?”

Lena grinned at him as the swarm continued working and walked back to the first device. She put her hand on it. “This solved the control problem.”

“What is that?” asked another reporter.

“The core problem with nanite control was that trying to place sufficient computing on the nanite made them too big and unwieldy to do the work we wanted to do,” said Lena. “But the second problem was that trying to control them externally didn’t work very well when their reaction times were measured in less than billionths of a second since radio waves can only travel about a meter in that time frame. This led to nanites deviating further and further off course until the swarm’s purpose was lost in the noise of increasingly exaggerated course corrections.”

“So the question was what can you do? Right?” asked Lena, clearly enjoying this. “So I and an anonymous partner, who wishes to remain anonymous for now so don’t even ask, looked at a way to speed up communications to a speed so fast that it wouldn’t matter anymore.”

“Aha!” Lena laughed. “I see that look. How can you communicate faster than light? General relativity doesn’t allow it, does it? Except that it does. There’s this convenient theoretical particle called a tachyon. It moves faster than light. In fact, it takes more and more energy to slow it down.”

She glanced over at the veterinarian who smiled and gave her a thumbs up letting her know that the process was working on Skinner. Lena turned back to her audience.

“But who would know how to control tachyons?” asked Lena. “My anonymous partner did. And we built this device. Now that signal I sent out on this device earlier was sent to an alien tachyon relay station around the star Sirius, which is about 8.3 light years from Earth. That’s about 95 trillion miles away.”

She let that number sink in. “And a response to our signal, returning at the same speed, because the relay presumes that you need to hear your response signal in the same energy range that you sent your query out, is due in a few seconds, which means that the round trip for this signal is a bit over 99 billion miles per second.”

Gasps arose again from the crowd. A reporter spoke. “You’ve made it no secret that you support the Alien Amnesty Act and that you’ve been hiring aliens. It sounds like your anonymous partner isn’t from Earth.”

At that moment, the device beeped and the return signal was acknowledged. She turned to the reporter who asked the question. “I will neither confirm nor deny that my anonymous partner is not from this world.” But the smile on her face implied that her partner was, indeed, an alien.

“As you can see, when your transmission speed is measured in billions of miles per second, even at a billionth of a second, your transmission can still cover nearly a hundred miles so the back and forth between the control computer and the nanite swarm is no longer an issue.”

She lightly tapped a black box that was about 18 inches square on a side. “This is our computational array.   There are over a thousand nanites in that swarm and every one of them has a dedicated CPU.”

She walked back over to the veterinarian. “How is our patient, Dr. Shannon?”

“Skinner appears to have lost slightly more than half the cancerous cells in his body,” said Jill. “He’ll spend the next few days recuperating and hopefully with some appetite back we can get some healthy muscle mass back on him before the next session is scheduled.”

“Thank you, Dr. Shannon,” said Lena, who then turned back to the reporters. “There are going to be endless applications for these nanites in a medical setting. It won’t make human surgeons obsolete but it can handle many problems as well as or even better than a human surgeon can. And when we need a human surgeon, they can now focus on the more difficult cases that require human expertise and allow the nanites to perform more routine and minor surgical tasks. We also anticipate all sorts of industrial tasks where the swarm can be applied as well.”

Lena looked out and caught Kara’s eyes and smiled, not the business smile meant for the public but the real Lena smile that reached her eyes. She then looked back at the assembled reporters.

“That’s all I have for today’s announcement,” said Lena. “Please forward further questions to our PR department and they’ll see if they can get you answers or not.”

She placed the mic back in the mic stand then turned to see most of the reporters filing out. She saw her mother head for the elevator and the top floor. Kara waited though. It was time for another snap decision. She was going to tell Supergirl that she had feelings for her.

Lena walked up to Kara. “Come up to my office?” asked Lena. “I want to talk.”

“I’d be happy to, Lena,” said Kara, who fell in step with the CEO as they both walked towards Lena’s personal elevator.

They were silent for the ride up as Lena tried to decide just what to say with the hope that Kara really did feel about her the same way.

Once they reached the top and exited though, Jess stood up immediately. “Ms. Luthor! Your mother is in your office. She said this is urgent.”

Concern swept across Lena’s face as she opened the door. Turning toward Kara, she said, “Come in, please.”

Kara hesitated then entered. 

Lillian looked at them both. “Lex has escaped.”

She flicked on the TV remote and the TV on the wall opposite the sofa flared to life, already tuned to a news channel that was showing a wrecked prison transport bus and bodies around the area.

A reporter was speaking. “Just outside Metropolis earlier this afternoon, a reported paramilitary assault team attacked this prison transport bus that was transporting Lex Luthor and several other inmates into the city for court hearings. As you can see from the carnage around the bus, they let no one live, not the prison guards or staff nor the other prisoners. Only Lex Luthor was taken so it is presumed that he hired these men to free him.”

Kara looked at Lena. “I need to go.” Without waiting for a response, Kara hurried out of the office and to the elevator. She was headed toward the DEO.

“Damn him!” said Lena. “Damn him to hell!”

Lillian was on her feet and holding Lena in an instant. “We’re going to get through this.”

“I know, but…” Lena fell silent.

“But what?” asked Lillian, stepping back, hands on her daughter’s shoulders.

“I wanted to tell Kara how I feel about her but now everything seems so messed up,” she sighed.

“You should tell her anyway,” said Lillian. “Love shouldn’t have to wait because of our fears. Besides, Lex already assumes you two are dating.”

“I’m not in love, Mother,” said Lena, “at least not yet.”

“Who are you trying to fool, young lady?” asked Lillian playfully. “We all can see how you look at her. We all can see how she worships the ground you walk on. You can fall in love quickly, even instantly, Lena. The French call it le coup de foudre, the bolt of lightning, which seems rather appropriate in this situation.”

“I guess if I’m being honest…” said Lena, hesitantly.

“It’s time to stop hiding behind your fears of what Andrea did to you,” said Lillian.

Lena nodded gently. “I’ll tell her the next time we have a quiet moment,” said Lena.

“Good, now let’s review L-Corp security measures. We need your chief of security, your CFO, and your CTO,” said Lillian, as she turned off the television. “We need to prepare against Lex on all fronts.”

Chapter Text

Securing L-Corp against physical, cyber, and financial attacks from Lex took Lena and Lillian the rest of Monday and all day Tuesday. And with Kara and other superheroes hunting Lex, lab day had gone by without Lena seeing the Girl of Steel though Lena found some time in the lab to finish her gift for Kara.

But Lena had been steadily working on her magic with her birth mother’s spellbook. On Tuesday night, she called Florence Abbott, asking how she would know she was ready. Florence asked for a simple test, a spell that would produce a light inside Florence’s home even though Lena was thousands of miles away. She hung up with a promise to do just that.

Using her mother’s spellbook, she found the spell quickly, prepared herself, then cast the spell with Florence as the target. A moment later her cell phone rang.

“You did it, Lena,” said Florence. “Do you want me to come to National City?”

“I do, especially now that Lex has escaped,” said Lena. “I want to remove this Worldkiller threat, and especially how it affects my friend, Sam Arias.”

“Get me a ride and a flight, and I can be there late tomorrow afternoon,” said Florence. “When do you want to attempt to do this?”

“Tomorrow evening,” said Lena. “I need to inform Supergirl and Superman to be on standby, just in case they’re needed.”

“Then get everything ready and we’ll do this for Sam shortly after I arrive,” confirmed Florence. “If this works for her, and I have no reason to think it won’t, we’ll then find the other Worldkiller hosts and save them too.”

Messages were sent and Kara assured Lena that she and Superman would both be there for the exorcism of Reign.

*****

On Wednesday, after Florence had arrived in the mid-afternoon, then had a chance to rest, they all gathered at Lena’s penthouse.

“Superman and Supergirl, I’d like you two to remain in hiding until we get the circle in place,” said Lena. “I’ve arranged for four kryptonite radiation emitters around the room to keep Sam in the circle, hopefully. I’ll trigger those once Florence completes the circle with salt.”

Superman handed Lena a crystal from the Fortress of Solitude. “I hope this meets the needs of the moment and can house Reign,” said the Man of Steel.

“Me too,” said Lena, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

Kara’s eyes shot toward the door. “Sam and Ruby are getting off the elevator now.” She turned towards Lena’s bedroom and Superman followed.

The circle was almost complete, sitting in the center of the room, Lena stood on the opposite side of the circle from the door. Sam and Ruby entered and Sam looked surprised to see Florence, who she did not know.

“Who is this adorable child?” doted Florence, like any nice aunt might do. Florence opened her arms and gave Ruby a hug.

Same stepped into the room toward Lena but stopped and looked down.

“What is salt doing on the floor, Lena?” asked Sam.

But Florence stepped behind her, pouring the ocean salt that would complete the circle. As she did so, Florence spoke in Latin, “Ita factum est!” Sam stopped, unable to take another step towards Lena.

Reign surfaced then, in sheer rage she screamed at Lena, “I’ll kill you all!”

“No you won’t,” said Lena softly, as she triggered the kryptonite radiation emitters. The deadly radiation hit Sam and she buckled. “What is this?’” She turned to Ruby. “Baby, help me, please!”

Ruby moved toward her mother, but Florence held her back. “Trust us, we’re saving your mother.”

At that moment, Supergirl and Superman appeared. Supergirl walked swiftly to Ruby and picked her up then walked away from the kryptonite radiation emitters. The girl was frightened. “What’s happening?”

Supergirl spoke to her reassuringly. “Well, Ruby, your mom is really a superhero just like me but she has a bad spirit inside her and we’re going to get it out.”

Sam’s gaze whipped toward Supergirl with pure hatred in her eyes. “I’ll kill you first,” said Reign.

“No, I won’t allow that,” said Lena, authoritatively, as she and Florence began a chant in Latin with Lena holding the Kryptonian crystal.

Reign floated into the air, and screamed again but Lena and Florence did not stop. Immobilized, unable to use the powers of her host body, Reign still tried to fight the exorcism, but Lena and Florence were relentless. In this, Lena could feel her own power flowing through her veins as she drew Reign out of Sam and into the crystal.

Lena had warned security that there would be screams and that they should not interfere. And in keeping with her wishes, they had stationed a security team just outside her penthouse door to prevent anyone from trying to enter until the ritual was complete.

Superman and Supergirl stood far back from the circle, to avoid direct exposure to the kryptonite radiation but even so, they still felt its effects to a minor degree.

Kara pointed to the black wispy smoke like energy that poured from Sam’s mouth. “That’s the bad spirit,” she said to Ruby.

Ruby then asked, “But my mom’s a superhero like you?”

Kara nodded then said softly, “She just doesn’t know it yet. She’s from my world, Krypton. She’s Kryptonian, just like me.”

“Oh,” said Ruby, who turned back to watch the exorcism.

Kara then whispered in her ear, “And that means you’re half Kryptonian, Ruby.”

The girl’s eyes grew wide as she turned back toward Supergirl.

“Am I going to have powers?” she asked, eyes full of wonder.

“We’ll know when you get older,” said Kara, “but I think you might. If you do, do you want me to help your mom train you?”

Ruby’s head bobbed in the affirmative immediately.

Kara squeezed the little girl then said, “Then all this has to stay a secret between you, me, Aunt Lena, and your mother.”

“And Superman and that lady,” added Ruby.

Kara grinned. “Yes, and Superman and Ms. Florence Abbott. I’m sure you’ll get a proper introduction to Ms. Abbott when this is done.”

“The ritual continued but Reign was losing, slowly but surely. Eventually the energy being drawn out ended and the crystal holding that energy had turned a sickly shade of green. When it was over, Sam fell to the floor. Lena handed the crystal to Superman, who tucked it into a pocket in his cape then she stepped into the circle to help Sam to the couch. 

Lena snapped the kryptonite radiation emitters off then looked at Kara. “Can you get that lamp and bring it here?” She pointed to a floor lamp that Kara couldn’t recall having been there the last time Kara was in Lena’s penthouse so she fetched it, brought it over, plugged it in, then set it beside Lena and Sam.

Lena flipped it on and immediately Kara could feel what it was. “A yellow sun lamp?” she asked, smiling at Lena.

Lena looked up happily at Kara and said, “I made it for you but it can help Sam right now.” She turned back to Sam.

Sam put her hand up as the light shone directly on her but then asked, “Why does this feel so good?”

“The same reason you loved the beach, silly,” said Lena. “It turns out that you’re a Kryptonian too, just like Supergirl.”

“I’m what?” asked Sam, still not believing it.

“Well you are and we’ll get into proving it later, but you have super powers too,” said Lena.

“My life gets weirder and weirder,” mumbled Sam.

Lena grinned at her friend then turned toward Kara. “We need to talk.”

Kara said, “Sure! Right now? Here or in private?”

“In private…” said Lena before she was interrupted by Superman.

“We’ve got two bomb threats and we think both are from Lex,” Superman said to Supergirl. “I’m going to head to the reactor just outside Metropolis. You get the bomb at the Luthor Foundation Building.”

Without waiting for anything further, both were gone in a blink.

Sam looked at Lena. “What was that about?”

“I’m trying to take your advice and tell her how I feel but Lex keeps getting in the way,” said Lena.

“Screw Lex,” said Sam, still holding her head. Sam groaned then said, “This headache is going to take a while to clear, I think.”

“I’ll talk to her when they get back,” said Lena. “I’m sure they’ll want to talk to you too.”