Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lena was just about to leave for her meeting with the board when she got both memos. “Dear Ms. Luthor, this is to inform you that your meeting today has been moved up from 4:30pm to 3:30pm,” Lena looks at the clock, 4:04pm.

“What?” She couldn’t believe what she was reading. Surely the board couldn’t possibly think Lena was this stupid. She looks at the other memo, starting to get more confused by the second. She read aloud,

“‘Dear Ms. Luthor, due to your absence the board has voted to reject your proposal. Have a nice weekend. Mr. Morgan Edge’s office'?! They can’t do this to me!”

She had worked too hard on this proposal for them to just not even give her the chance to give it. Well they certainly have another thing coming if they think I’m giving up without a fight. Storming out of her office Lena makes her way up to the boardroom planning on giving them a piece of her mind. As she’s about to reach the hallway where her destination lies, she hears Edge and the other board members.

“I swear, that Luthor gets crazier every year,” Edge says.

“If I ever hear the word ‘Krypton’ again, I’ll step in front of a bus!” one of the other board members chimes in.

Edge laughs and replies, “I’ll push you.”

At this point all the men are laughing so hard they’re oblivious to Lena approaching. As she gets close she calls Edge’s name. For a moment they all look like deer caught in headlights, and then before Lena can blink they all scatter.

“Mr. Edge, wait!” Lena cries.

The board members manage to run off into the offices nearby and lock the doors behind them. They all had managed to escape except for Morgan Edge himself.

Knowing he was caught, his shoulders slump slightly for a second before he straightens back up. Edge turns around and plasters his signature condescending smile on his face.

“Ah Ms. Luthor, what can I do for you?”

Holding up the two memos Lena seethes, “What in god’s name are these?”

It didn’t seem possible for that smile to get even more belittling and condescending; however, as Edge looks at the memos, he proves this wrong. His smile seems to become almost menacing as it grows. He looks her directly in the eye.

“Well it appears to be the memo informing you of the time change to your meeting with the board. And the other one looks to be informing you that since you missed said meeting, the board voted to reject your proposal. What seems to be the problem?”

Lena is irritated at his feigned innocence. This had to be the most offensive insult to her intelligence she had ever witnessed.

“Mr. Edge, your secretary did not send me the first letter until after four o’clock this afternoon, and sent the second one immediately after the first. Do you honestly expect me to believe that was done by mistake?! No secretary is so bad as to have screwed up so severely.”

Edge scoffs at her remark. “Now you’re just making this up, why on earth would I instruct my secretary to do that? I can’t help it if you can’t seem to perform the simple act of being on time-“

“Excuse me?!”

Lena is about to tell him how ridiculous that sounds, but Edge goes on as if she hadn’t said anything.

“-this is why women should stay at home and only busy themselves to tending to their children and husbands. But I consider myself a generous man. Which was why when Mr. Spheer vouched for you and asked us to hire you as his assistant, I agreed. We even kept you on after Jack got himself killed following that Kelex goose chase. What a mistake that turned out to be. The only thing you’re good for is maintaining that blasted boiler. Even then you’re hardly worth the headache to keep around.”

Lena stood there in shock. She knew the board never liked her. She had more intelligence in one single brain cell than most of the “experts” they had brought in put together. She knew their fragile egos could never handle that, but this? She couldn’t believe that this kind of disdain and loathing was just below the surface of their forced tolerance. She pressed on however, not quite willing to give up if there was still any chance of getting her expedition funded.

“But Mr. Edge if you would just give me a chance to show you my proposal, you’ll see I found some compelling new evidence of Krypton’s existence. There was a mistranslation that was missed-”

Edge cuts her off, “Look Ms. Luthor, this museum funds scientific expeditions based on facts, not legends and folklore. And we certainly wouldn’t fund an expedition based on the delusions of a woman and her deceased boss.”

At this point Lena is absolutely fuming. She couldn’t care less what Edge and the board said about her. She was used to worse treatment, since being a woman and trying to make a name for herself in this profession was basically impossible. What Edge said about Jack however was what finally made her snap. Lena couldn’t help the smug smile that forms on her face as she takes out a sealed envelope.

“Well Mr. Edge if that’s really how you feel, then you won’t mind accepting my letter of resignation.”

Lena holds out the envelope to Edge and his smile instantly vanishes as he tries to back track.

She wasn’t listening anymore though. They both knew the real reason the museum kept her around was because she was the only person that could keep up with their boiler, which was temperamental at best. She would be nearly impossible to replace with winter right around the corner. When it became obvious that Edge wasn’t going to take the letter, Lena shoves it into the front pocket of his suit jacket and walks back towards the direction of her office.

She is about to turn the corner to the stairs at the end of the hallway before she throws over her shoulder,

“Good luck finding someone to put up with that blasted boiler!”

Honestly Lena felt relieved as she took her small box of belongings from the boiler room, which doubled as her former office, and walked out of the museum for the last time. She had been putting up with their bullshit longer than she cared to recall. Hoping that one day they would finally see that her and Jack were really on to something. I should have known better. After they banished me to the boiler room when Jack died I should have known they would never take me seriously. God I’m so happy to be done with those entitled jackasses.

Luckily Lena had prepared for every outcome she could possibly conceive. Which was why Lena could happily hand over a letter of resignation to Morgan Edge. The only outcome she hadn’t prepared for was how she was going to get to Iceland to look for The Kelex now. The Luthor fortune went to her brother Lex after their father died and she couldn’t very well ask him to fund it. Even if he said yes, him being in the asylum made it so their mother was in control of his assets, which she had been cut off from when she had refused to marry the last suitor Lillian had tried to set her up with.

After the long trek back to her apartment building, Lena sighs as she finally opens the door to her home. However as she crosses the threshold and puts down the box, she tenses. Something is wrong. Lena knows she should be alone but she has the distinct feeling she's being watched. She looks around and catches movement in the living room. Oh great, like this day wasn’t bad enough already.

Chapter Text

“Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my apartment?”

Suddenly a lamp turns on illuminating the intruder, a woman with short brown hair in a black dress with a plunging neckline and a fur coat.

“Lena Kieren Luthor?”

Crossing her arms, Lena glares at the woman that's making herself at home in her armchair.

“If I say no, will you leave?” The woman only chuckles. “Who are you and what do you want?”

“My name is Lucy Lane, I was sent here by my employer, Cat Grant. She has a proposition for you, one that she says you'll find quite interesting.”

“Wait, Cat Grant? As in the Cat Grant of Catco Media?! What in the world does she want with me?”

Lucy shrugs, “Can’t say, I’m only here to collect you to find out. So... what do you say?”

For a moment Lena mulls over her options. I just resigned from my job, and I’m definitely not getting any glowing recommendations from them. So I guess I don't have anything to lose.

“Alright, I’ll see what Ms. Grant has to say.”

“Excellent, now there’s-”

“Just tell me one thing,” Lucy gives her a pointed look. “How did you get into my apartment?”

Lucy grins and stands, “I came down the chimney. Ho. Ho. Ho."

Without another word she promptly walks out. Lena rolls her eyes as she follows the strange woman. What did I just get myself into.

As she watched her surroundings change from cityscape to countryside, Lena started to regret coming along. The drive to the Grant Estate had been quiet so far, neither woman bothering with small talk. So of course, that gave her time to overthink. She couldn't figure out what in the hell Cat Grant would want with her. Lena's only known accomplishment was that she was the first and only woman ever to graduate from Oxford. Which was usually overshadowed by the knowledge that she was a member of the infamous Luthor family. A family she hadn't spoken to in almost two years, and for good reason.

It all started three years ago when Lex was sent to Arkham Asylum. For years Lex had raved about how the world was being silently invaded by martians and didn't understand why no one else noticed or did anything about it. Money and status were the only things keeping him from being dragged away in a straight jacket. He was finally taken to Arkham when he attacked a reporter at a press conference, thinking he was an alien. At first Lena went to see him often. Then during her last visit Lex had asked Lena to break him out and had gotten violent when she refused. After that his doctor thought it was best she not to see him anymore, and Lena reluctantly agreed. Sadly her family problems only got worse.

With Lex deemed mentally unsound, their mother was given control of Luthor Corp and the family estate. Unfortunately for Lillian, life expectancy in Arkham was incredibly low and Lena was set to inherit everything when he died, not her. So she started setting Lena up with every spineless, easily manipulated moron she could find. Trying to avoid relying on her daughter to keep herself out of the poor house. After almost a year of Lena rejecting every single one of them, Lillian got desperate.

Enter John Corben who was probably the single most boring and unintelligent individual Lena had ever met. Lillian knew him from when he worked for Lex, and knew Corben could be easily swayed into giving her the family estate, in exchange for getting put in charge of the company. All she had to do was get Lena to marry him and if she refused him like the others, Lillian would kick her out and cut her off.

Unbeknownst to her mother, Lena had been planning on renting a place closer to the museum and already had enough money put away for the deposit. So when Lillian gave her the ultimatum, she laughed in her face and told her to shove that threat up where the sun don't shine. Within a week Lena moved into her new apartment and cut off all contact with her mother.

Lena's first few months of freedom were great. Lillian hadn't tried to contact her, Jack was out following a lead on The Kelex, and it seemed like the museum was finally starting to warm up to the idea of letting her do more curating work. Then everything went to shit when Jack came back in a casket.

Lena was devastated when the police delivered the news. Jack didn't have any family to speak of and had named Lena his next of kin. So that left her with the responsibility of arranging his funeral and sorting through his estate. Which she had to do on top of trying to convince the museum to let her take Jack's position, so she wasn't out of a job. In short Lena's life was a wreck and it only got worse.

Lillian had been keeping tabs on her and wanted to take advantage of Lena's predicament. She showed up at Jack's funeral with false sympathies and telling Lena she could come home. Trying to convince her that the museum would probably let her go now that Jack wasn't there, and without that job she couldn't possibly support herself. Lena told her she wasn't going back and that since Lillian obviously wasn't there to pay her respects, she should leave. Before Lillian left she warned her that she would come home, whether she liked it or not.

A few days after the funeral Lena was given an eviction notice. Apparently her landlord had been told on "good authority" that she was no longer employed, and couldn't pay rent. She tried to give him proof of employment, since she had finally convinced the museum to keep her on, but he refused to change his mind. So with nowhere else to go, she moved into Jack's old flat. At first living there was painful, but she was beyond thankful that it kept her from being homeless. Or worse, having to crawl back to Lillian.

Weeks later, she was called into Morgan Edge's office. A prospective donor had come to the board with complaints about the museum having a woman curator. So now the board was reconsidering whether or not a woman was really fit for the position. Confused, Lena asked why they were having second thoughts just because of one complaint. Edge told her this individual was well known among their current donors, and had implied they could get them all to pull their loaned pieces from the museum. With all the recent budget cuts and having to find the money for a new boiler. The museum really couldn't afford to take that chance.

Lena knew there had to be more to it though, because the temperamental boiler had been a problem for almost three months now. Then she remembered the last conversation she had with Lillian, and realized that her mother was probably behind the complaint. And thinking back on it, she was more than likely behind her eviction too. There was just no way she could prove it.

So she made Edge a proposition. Lena would figure out how to get the boiler working by the end of the month and then maintain it, if the board would guarantee she could keep her job at the museum. He scoffed and told her they could discuss it if she could actually get the boiler working again. Within a week Lena had it working and Edge had to eat his words. With some debate about what added duties there would be and begrudgingly agreeing to move her office to the boiler room, the board again agreed to keep her on. After that, things were eerily quiet and it seemed her mother had finally given up.

A few months later Lena was on her way home when a car pulled up next to her on the otherwise deserted sidewalk. Two men got out and demanded she get in. Lena just rolled her eyes as she continued on her way. One of them blocked her path and told her they would take her by force if necessary. That's when the other man grabbed her from behind and started dragging her to the car. They were both in for a surprise when she broke free and proceeded to knock them both flat on their asses with a few well placed hits. So surprised by this turn of events, they immediately told her Lillian hired them to take Lena when she asked what they wanted her for. With that confirmed she told them it would be in their best interest to never bother her again. She took the sound of squealing tires from their hasty escape to mean they agreed. Lena had never been happier that she had made a point of learning how defend herself after she first started working in the city. It had now been over a year since Lillian tried to obviously screw her over.

Lena suddenly realized her mother might try something now that she's unemployed. Before her mind can go down that unpleasant string of what ifs, she's jostled out of her thoughts by Lucy taking a hard left. Lena looks outside to take in her surroundings again, realizing at some point they left the main road. After a few minutes they pass through an impressive set of gates bearing the Grant family crest and an imposing mansion comes into view.

“We’re here.”

“Now unless you’d like to be ripped a new one, I would suggest you don’t address Ms. Grant by her first name. Also- oh for god’s sake, come on!”

Lena flushes in embarrassment and hurries to catch up. It's the third time that Lena's gotten distracted but she can’t help it. The entire mansion is filled with all kinds of artifacts and she wants to stop and examine them all. It's as if she's been brought to a museum, not someone's home. She's so impressed by the vast collection that she wouldn’t be surprised if the Holy Lance or Excalibur were tucked away somewhere.

“Ms. Grant is busy with her son right now. So you’ll be waiting for her in the library, she’ll join you shortly. One thing you should know, Ms. Grant hates small talk, calls it a waste of breath and time. However based on our lively conversation on the way here that shouldn't be a problem.”

Lena huffs and wants to mention she wasn't providing any lively conversation either, but is distracted by another artifact that catches her eye. She's so preoccupied that she doesn't realize she hasn't stopped following Lucy. And nearly walks right into her when she stops at a large set of open doors.

Lucy smiles, mistaking her distraction for nerves, “Relax Ms. Luthor, her bark is much worse than her bite.”

“I’m not worried, she can’t be any worse than what I used to deal with at the museum.”

“Well then, you don't have anything to worry about. Go ahead and wait for her inside.”

Lena walks through the doors and stops dead in her tracks. The library is absolutely overflowing with artifacts, it made the entrance hall look pitiful in comparison. Lena immediately heads over to the nearest bookshelf when Lucy clears her throat.

“Oh, and Ms. Luthor? … Don’t touch anything.”

Lena has no idea how long she's been waiting, time seemed to stand still as she explored the library. Almost every wall is completely covered with overflowing bookshelves. The parts of the walls not covered are filled in with old masks, weapons, and paintings. There's only one thing in the room not covered in artifacts or books, a large very sturdy looking desk in the middle of the room that has only a small package occupying the surface. Though that doesn't hold her attention long. What immediately caught her eye was the floor to ceiling section dedicated to what looks like ancient tomes, scrolls, and clay tablets. Inspecting the contents more carefully Lena wonders how in the world Cat Grant got a hold of all of this. Ms. Grant isn’t known for being eccentric, at least not in that way, and the dedication this sizable collection would require would definitely be hard to hide. Especially for a woman who owns a major US news outlet. I wonder how she's cataloged all this. Maybe that’s what she’s called me here for. That would be too good to be true, to resign from one job and find another all in the same day. Just as an ancient Sumerian tablet catches Lena’s eye, her attention is ripped away by the doors opening.

“Ah! Ms. Luthor good evening, thank you for coming here on such short notice.”

“It’s no problem Ms. Grant. Luckily my schedule is relatively free for the foreseeable future.”

“Hm, yes I heard about your resignation from the museum. Good for you, they were wasting your talents in that boiler room.”

How does she know about that?! Lena's surprise must show because Ms. Grant chuckles.

"Don't look so shocked. You're the first woman to graduate from Oxford with a degree in ancient linguistics and cartography, and at the top of your class no less. You honestly think I wouldn't want to keep tabs on your career? Especially when your field is of obvious interest to me?" gesturing towards the bookshelf that holds the variety of ancient texts.

"However your recent resignation from the museum is not entirely the reason why I asked you here tonight. I have something for you."

Ms. Grant takes the package that was sitting on the large desk and hands it to Lena.

"I was told to give that to you when you were ready. When I heard about your resignation, I figured it was the right time."

Giving into her curiosity, Lena starts to carefully unwrap the package. At first glance she thinks it's just an old manuscript. However upon closer inspection she realizes exactly what it is and lets out a gasp.

"Is something the matter Ms. Luthor?"

"Do you know what this is?"

"Hm, I assume some musty old book written in a language no one can read."

"No– well yes. This book... this book is The Kelex. It's a journal said to contain instructions and details on how to get to the lost city of Krypton." Ms. Grant scoffs.

"That's ridiculous, Krypton is just a myth."

"Ms. Grant, I've dedicated most of my career into finding evidence that Krypton exists. I've been researching how to find this exact book for years. It holds the key to finding the lost city of Krypton and this book. I think– no, I know this is it!"

"Even if that's true, it's written in a dead language." Ms. Grant now almost looks bored by their conversation, "Who could even read it."

"I can Ms. Grant. I've been studying dead languages my whole life. But I've been trying to find this for years. How did you get it?"

"Jack Spheer found it."

Lena feels like the air has been knocked out of her lungs.

"You knew Jack?"

"Yes, he was a dear friend. Jack helped me obtain and catalog most of the vast collection you've seen in this house." A small smile graces her lips, "Even tutored my son for a short while as well. He spoke of you often."

"He… He never mentioned you."

"He wouldn't have. Jack knew I liked to keep this little obsession of mine private. He wouldn't have risked that in mentioning me in passing, even to you. There wouldn't have been a good reason we knew each other aside from his expertise in ancient relics and languages."

That's when it clicks.

"Wait, so you knew this was real the whole time!"

Ms. Grant almost looks apologetic.

"I had to know for myself if you were all Jack claimed. I didn't doubt it but I had to be certain."

"So, what now?"

"That's really up to you. Now that you have the book, what do you plan on doing with it?"

"Start making plans for an expedition of course!"

"Okay, how do you plan on doing that Ms. Penniless?"

Lena pauses at that.

"Well, surely the museum will fund an expedition now that The Kelex has been found."

"Really. You're going to convince that misogynistic pig, Morgan Edge, to fund an expedition to a place he believes doesn't exist. That would also be led by a woman?"

Lena winces, "Fair point, but I will figure it out."

"By yourself? An expedition of that magnitude is going to need an impressive crew, and the equipment to go with it. How are you going to afford that?"

"I don't know alright! But I don't care what it takes to get there. Even if that means I have to take a rowboat!"

Ms. Grant grins as if that's exactly what she was waiting to hear.

"While your gumption is impressive, that won't be necessary. You'll be traveling in style."

Ms. Grant goes to sit at the head of the desk and flips a hidden switch. The top folds away as models of ships, subs, and other machines rise out of the desk. As she realizes Ms. Grant was testing her, Lena slumps into the only other available chair.

"Ms. Grant, how long have you been planning this?"

"Two years, since the crew that went to find the journal came back."

"That was around the time Jack left to follow that lead about The Kelex. So he actually found it?"

"Yes, but there was an accident on their way back. Some of the explosives left over from the expedition went off. Jack was one of the crew members who died in the explosion."

"I never knew… He went out on that lead and two months later I was told he was dead. I was never even given any specifics about what happened."

"I'm sorry for that," Ms. Grant shifts, looking uncomfortable for the first time. "We couldn't let anyone know what we found. It could have compromised the rest of the expedition and Jack knew he could count on you to finish what we started. In case he didn't come back."

Lena feels a flare of anger and grief at being kept in the dark. "Was he ever going to tell me?! Or was I only going to find out when he brought me back a souvenir?!"

Ms. Grant rolls her eyes, not fazed by her outburst.

"Don't be ridiculous, of course he was going to tell you. In fact, he told me in no uncertain terms that he was bringing you on after they brought back the journal. Jack didn't trust anyone else with the translation of that book. The only reason he didn't tell you sooner was because he didn't want to get your hopes up."

Lena deflated, knowing she was telling the truth. Jack would know not to tell her about all this until it was actually found. It would have been too devastating for them both if they never found it. So he kept it to himself to spare her, just in case. Stupid self sacrificing jerk! Why did he have to go and leave me out of all this? I could have helped, I could have… Maybe he wouldn't have– Lena cuts herself off before she can finish that thought. She can't think about that right now. Instead refocusing on her conversation with Ms. Grant.

"So what's the plan?"

"For now you can stay here in one of my guest suites until you set off with the rest of the expedition. I've already arranged for your flat to be taken care of until you come back. The expedition is set to leave in about a month, plenty of time for you to get what you need and get up to speed."

"That all sounds great. Except why wouldn't I just stay at my place until I need to leave?"

"Of course you can stay wherever you like. Though I figured you might like to stay here for easier access to research and to give you more room to work. You'll also have Ms. Lane and myself here for any questions you might have. I've instructed her to help you acquire anything you need and you don't have to worry about the cost of anything. I have that taken care of as well."

"I don't want to sound ungrateful, but this all sounds too good to be true. Why would you do this? What do you get out of all this?"

An unreadable expression flashes briefly across Ms. Grant's face before she schools her features.

"Like I said, Jack was a dear friend. I just want to help realize his dream of finding Krypton. If you can bring back just one shred of proof, then maybe Jack's death wasn't in vain."

After a moment of silence, Lena finally responds.

"I would do anything to prove that Krypton exists. I promise I'll do everything I can to find the lost city of Krypton and bring you back that proof."

Cat smiles, "Well then, shall we get started?"