Chapter Text
There was something wrong with her nine-year-old daughter. Lena Luthor could feel it in her bones. Something in Livi had changed over the past couple of weeks; It was obvious that there was something about her personality and demeanor that had shifted. And whenever Lena tried to approach Livi about it, no matter how gently, Lena’s carbon copy of a daughter was always resistant when it came to talking about it.
Soft was not something that Lena was, nor was it something she had ever been, but there was a piece of her heart that was sensitive to a sweet and innocent child growing up in a single parent household with the burden of her family’s namesake. Much like Lena, Livi was strong, but no amount of strength lessened the difficulty of what it was like to grow up with the last name Luthor.
So, Lena mothered, but she didn’t pry or press. She was as protective as mothers came, but allowed Livi to learn from her mistakes on her own and grow from them, while balancing the act of stepping in where and when it was necessary. More than anything, Lena made her sure her little girl knew she was wanted, supported, and loved and never provided Livi with a reason or opportunity to second guess that. Not even when she pushed her buttons and wore her patience so incredibly thin it was a miracle she didn’t snap.
“Livi, please don’t make me repeat myself for a third time,” Lena told her daughter with a sigh. The nine-year-old had ventured into their open concept living room after dinner, slumping down on the couch with her cell phone in hand. Her pre-algebra textbook and spiral bound notebook were opened and resting on the coffee table in front of her, the last subject she had for homework for the evening only half complete. It was pushing 7:30pm, the time that Livi usually started getting ready for bed, but that wasn’t a thing that ever happened until her homework was done. “Liviana,” Lena tried again, a bit firmer this time.
The younger brunette grimaced at the use of her full name; she hated being called Liviana, which Lena wasn’t oblivious to. She only ever used that version of her daughter’s name when she wasn’t listening, like at present, or when she was in trouble. “That’s not my name,” Livi retorted, her eyes never leaving her phone. Lena set down the plate she’d been washing with a huff. She dried her hands and made her way over to the back of the couch, leaning over and pulling the iPhone from her daughter’s grasp. “Hey!” The younger brunette shouted, turning to face Lena. “Give it back.”
“You may have it back once you finish your homework,” Lena stated, matter of fact. She pecked the top of Livi’s head before retreating, slipping the phone in her pocket.
Livi hopped over the back of the couch in an effort to catch up with her, Lena’s jaw dropping at her uncharacteristic use of the furniture. Livi knew better and usually acted much better, but before Lena could mention anything about that, Livi continued to press. “But that’s not fair. You get to use your phone when you do your work at home,” Livi argued, fists curling into a balls at her sides.
Lena crossed her arms over her chest, explaining, “That is an entirely different situation and you know it. End of discussion, Livi.”
But Livi wasn’t having it. Her grimace turned into a snarl and she lunged towards Lena, the pace of her heartbeat quickening with each second that passed. She went for Lena’s pocket, retrieving the phone from it in one swift movement. “Liviana Luthor!” Lena said, her tone growing louder and sharper with increased frustration. Like every child, her daughter had her moments, but she never acted like this, let alone over something so trivial.
Lena caught Livi’s forearm. Livi twisted and pulled in the opposite direction. Her face was flush, her anger reaching a level Lena had never previously witnessed. “My name is Livi!” She continued to twist and tug, breaking free with the next words that left her lips. “Let. Me. Go!” She screamed. But the scream wasn’t just like any other.
It was a highly enhanced scream of high amplitude, one that produced physical, destructive vibrations that sent Lena flying through the air. Her limbs flailed as she soared backwards, her back colliding with and crashing through the glass sliding door that separated their living room from the balcony. When the scream stopped, Lena’s body hit the cement along with the newly shattered glass, and Livi stood there, staring.
Frozen.
Livi squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a deep breath, blinking them open after a moment. Her clenched fists relaxed and her knuckles regained their color. Lena looked lifeless lying there ahead of her. Blood stained parts of her face, forehead, and arms. I did that? Livi thought, questioned, swallowing the lump that rose in her throat. But, how?
A gust of wind pulled Livi from her thoughts, a second, and very familiar, figure appearing and kneeling at Lena’s side. “S-Supergirl?” Livi stammered. Kara’s head snapped up, assessing their surroundings, the room, and the nine-year-old whom she knew quite well standing fifty feet away from her.
“Are you okay?” Kara asked, her voice urgent. She’d heard the argument. She’d heard the scream, and the accompanying sound of her girlfriend’s body breaking through a layer of thick glass. But something wasn’t right. The apartment was empty aside from Lena and Livi; she’d scanned it from the sky. There was no way whoever’d done this had gotten away that quick.
Livi backed away slowly, nodding in response to Supergirl’s question. Being in the same room as her favorite superhero was suddenly having the reverse effect on her than it normally did. “It w-was an accident,” Livi told her, the words leaving her lips before they had a chance to register first in her mind. Though, she wasn’t lying. “Please don’t hurt me,” she added, her emerald green eyes brimming with tears as she sank to the floor in a crouched position.
Kara rose from Lena’s side, her own eyes narrowing at Livi. Her tone of voice was laced with both confusion and hardness as she asked her, “What happened?”