Chapter Text
The spaceship jostles and trembles. Lights flash by outside faster than a blink of the eye. Lena has a hard time separating her motion sickness from the impending panic attack that’s brewing. She hates flying. And this, this is worse than any airplane, jet, or helicopter. She is soaring through space at an alarming rate in a lump of metal with virtual strangers. Deep breaths. In through the nose. Out through the mouth.
“We’re almost there.” Superman distracts Lena from her own anxieties. His country boy drawl slipping into his soothing words. “You’ll like Argo. It will be… more similar to Earth than you’d expect.”
“Yeah?” Lena’s voice wavers. Time to latch onto the lifesaver of a conversation starter that is being thrown her way. “Vacation destination?”
Superman laughs at her sarcasm. Genuinely. The kind of laugh that’s pulled from down deep but is still somehow on edge. A laugh or cry situation. Superman must be nervous too, though probably not about the flight. He’s got a lot riding on this too. Stuck his neck out for Lena in her time of need.
“Maybe someday. Lois would like it. I mean- it’s my home. Not like Earth is, but in its own way. The home that made me, not raised me.” Superman shrugs. Contemplating his own complicated life. He is going out of his way to ship Lena off to his ‘home’. “It would have been a beautiful place to grow up. Be normal. With a family who knew how to help me. Safer.”
“Family does not always equate to ‘safer’.”
Lena can detect her own sneering, bitter tone. She’s not proud but won’t take back her words either. Fingering her silver ‘L’ shaped necklace that’s inlaid with black diamonds. She presses the cool metal back to her chest, tucking it beneath the fold of her sweater. Their stale recycled air is chilled but Lena is still flushed from her near bout of motion sickness. The necklace had been a gift from Lex before things went sour for the millionth time. Repaired after Lillian had gotten her hands on it. The last thing Lena had that belonged to her mother and Lillian had hidden it away from her as punishment long ago. When Lena’s mother had died, and she was sent to live with the Luthors, her sense of safety and belonging died too.
Superman turns that intense, blue-eyed gaze on her, “No, no it does not.”
Silence falls over them again. Their spaceship is on auto-pilot, but their other crew members don’t care to chat much with her. Lena’s presence makes them tense. Nervous. They don’t trust her. Not even the guards that are supposed to accompany her on Argo.
“Kara’s the one who makes it feel like home,” Superman is apparently in the mood to share. Lena muses at the thought. “She reached out to me. Searched the galaxy to find me. Figure out if I lived or died. No one else did. They didn’t want to waste the resources at the time, but she made them. Convinced the council that they needed to.”
“Just like she convinced the council that they needed me?” Lena smiles ruefully. It’s hard to open up. Lena never opens up.
“You have something to offer, Lena. The council jumped at the chance to have you.” He pats her arm gently but pulls away at her non-committal hum of acknowledgment. She looks away and it’s a clear brush off. He’d sold his pitch and she’d bought it. Her best way out of a bad situation. It doesn’t make her naïve enough to believe that anyone was jumping at the chance to have her around.
“Kara jumped at the chance,” Superman murmurs more genuinely this time. A light note of confused bafflement lets Lena know that comment is true. This Kara, her future spouse. ‘Jumped’ at the chance to have Lena. A woman from a different planet who is seeking refuge from her own brother. Who frequently tries to murder both Lena and Superman. The woman’s cousin. Yeah, Lena was a catch for Kara. The woman has to be a complete fool.
The ship gives a violent lurch and drops. Lena lashes out to clutch her armrests and resumes her deep breaths. Squeezing her eyes shut. It won’t last long. It won’t last long.
“Looks like we’re here!” The piolet calls back.
“Finally!” Her grumpy, red-headed guard grunts as she brushes her way past Superman. Alex Danvers is a tough, no-nonsense scientist turned DEO agent whom Lena briefly worked with to stop the World Killers. She was also, decidedly, not Lena’s biggest fan. Something the red-head was not shy about sharing. Which is why it shocked the hell out of Lena that the woman volunteered to be her guard.
The ship lurches again. Lena feels her pale skin go green as her stomach begins rebelling. Argo’s protection shield was going to force her meager lunch back up. Deep breath in through the nose; out through the mouth. And repeat. Alex turns to frown at her as she buckles into her seat for landing.
“Don’t puke on me.”
Argo city opens before them as they disembark from the ship. The runway is little more than a large, grassy open field. A glistening foreign symbol illuminating from the ground is the only indicator it’s also their landing pad. Before them, Lena’s new life beckons.
The grass beneath her heels is dense but soft like the turf of a football field. Lena’s heels sink in making her wobbly and unsteady on top of her already weak recovery from the landing. They are surrounded by a wooded area, though it’s not terribly dense. The thin forest blocks their view of the rest of the city. Standing before them is a triad of serene individuals. All cloaked in long white gowns that reach the soft grass. One lone individual stands out. A tall blonde woman in an ornate light blue gown that fades into white at the sleeves and hem. Her wide, bright smile dazzles them in greeting.
“Kara!” Superman calls out, stepping forward with open arms.
Lena chokes on her tongue as the blonde steps forward. That’s her future wife? The fierce leader of Argo? Harnesser of the yellow sun and daughter of the House of El.
“Kal!” The blonde croons excitedly. Embracing her cousin openly, their small crowd looks on. Kara’s guards look displeased. “How was the trip?” Kara absolutely beams at her cousin. Radiating happiness.
“A bit bumpy. Your shields make for quite the landing.” Kal chuckles pulling his cousin close once more. He murmurs something that causes the blonde’s brow to crease. The other woman’s gaze darts around the field until it lands on Lena. Ensnaring her in its intensity. From across the field, Lena sees Kara request introductions.
“Cousin,” Kal loudly but affectionately begins, “Allow me to introduce my companions.”
Starring right at Lena he begins. “These are your new residents. DEO agents Alex Danvers and Winn Schott.”
“Welcome to Argo,” Kara nods graciously. Finally looking the part of the regal ruler.
“Your Highness,” Both Alex and Winn acknowledge with matching nods. A greeting Kal-El, Superman, explicitly told them to use. It makes the blonde giggle.
“I thought you’d like that,’ Kal smirks cheekily.
Kara’s hand is stifling her giggles, as she manages, “Just call me, Kara.”
Alex’s glare could cut glass as she stares down Superman. Lena wondered if he is worried that he isn’t invincible. His only power reserves are from the pin Lena had made for him. With the look Alex is giving him, he might need to use it. Winn flushes furiously and nods at the blonde. Over Kara’s shoulder, Lena notes her companions seem to improve the use of the title.
“And this,” Kal grandly gestures forwards, “is Lena Luthor.”
The clearing falls silent but Kara just beams that cheerful smile Lena’s way. It feels like the sun is shining on her. Blood rushes in Lena’s ears as she blinks numbly at Kara. All eyes are on the two women now.
“Lena,” her name is barely a whisper. It makes Lena’s belly flutter pleasantly.
“Kara,” Lena manages more firmly. Her voice lifting on the second syllable with her smile. Kara offers her hand in greeting. Clapping Lena’s own clammy palm in her own warm one.
“Welcome to Argo.”