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It had been four months since Lex had been defeated. Four months since Lena found out that Kara is Supergirl. Four months of struggle as Lena tried to come to terms with being lied to by yet another person in her life. Actually, a whole group of people, all claiming to be her friends. But after many months of processing and working through her feelings, she was finally ready to start hanging out with her found family again. And her timing couldn’t have been better, J’onn was hosting another game night at his PI office.
Lena walked slowly into the office and was overcome with mixed emotions. Happiness mostly, to see that the gang was all there, but there was also a bit of sadness. In this room was the first time she was with them all after finding out that they had all been lying to her for years.
She shook the negative thoughts away and took in the view before her. Brainy was sitting in the oversized leather chair, with Nia perched on the armrest. Kelly and Alex were cuddled at one end of the sofa, with Kara on the other side of Alexa and a small space at the other. J’onn and James occupied the chairs across from the sofa, and the table contained an array of games.
Kara looked up when she heard the door open and a smile lit up her face. She was out of her seat immediately and started to cross the room at human speed to get to Lena. Once she was standing in front of her, face to face with her best friend, she stopped. They shared a moment, both taking in the changes in the other that the four months had wrought.
Kara wasn’t wearing her glasses, though her hair was pulled up. Lena looked tired, far more than she had since she and Kara had become friends. But they were both smiling, glad to be at a point where they were glad to see each other again.
Kara waited for Lena to make the first move, but they soon found themselves in a tight hug. Both trying to convey the fullness of their emotions through that single act.
After a moment they broke apart and slowly made their way over to the couch. Everyone stood and Lena made her way around the circle, giving everyone a brief hug. They all settled down and began the night of games.
*******
The evening moved along and at some point found Alex, Kara, and Lena at the refreshment table, talking jovially while pouring their drinks.
A thought crossed Lena’s mind, one that had been plaguing her ever since she found out about Supergirl. She decided that there was no time like the present to ask. “Hey, Alex, why did it seem for a while like you didn’t know that Kara is Supergirl?”
Alex paused and looked at Kara. They had a brief conversation with their eyes before Alex spoke, “Because I didn’t. Due to Colonel Haley’s persistent investigation into the identity of Supergirl, it was not safe for me to have that knowledge. So J’onn wiped that information from my mind.”
Lena frowned as she mulled that over. “Then how do you know she’s Supergirl now?”
Another pause and another silent conversation. “After my mind was wiped, I started to notice some gaps in my memory. J’onn reassured me that everything was normal, but while watching Supergirl and Red Daughter fight, I broke through the wall that J’onn placed and regained the original memories, just in time to save Kara.”
“Save Kara from what? She and Red Daughter were equals.”
“Actually we weren’t. She had been injected with some of the Harun-el and it caused her powers to evolve. She was much stronger than me and almost killed me.”
“She did kill you, Kara, there was a solid, two minutes when I thought you were gone for good.”
Lena interrupted Alex before she could recount the way Kara pulled the sunlight from the plants around her. “I’m sorry, what?!” She quickly turned to Kara, face full of confusion and concern. “You… WHAT?!?”
Kara quickly blurted, “Temporarily! It was only for a few minutes!”
“And, somehow, that is supposed to make me feel better?!”
“I mean, yeah,” Kara replied, with a guilty look on her face. “I’m not dead now, so there is nothing to worry about.”
Lena took a moment to process what she had just been told. Kara had died, like actually been fully dead. And she hadn’t known about it. She wonders for a brief moment if the group would have bothered to tell her that Kara was Supergirl if she hadn’t come back. Shaking her head, she takes a long drink of her wine, wishing for something stronger. After a moment, she finally speaks again, “Now that I know you are Supergirl, I am going to worry about you even more. Always throwing yourself into danger. What am I going to do with you? No more experiences!”
Alex chimed in, “I second that statement. That is the third time in two years that I thought I was going to lose you. You really need to be more careful.”
Before Lena can speak up and ask about the other two times, Kara replies, ‘I’ll do my best, but no promises.” Her smile turns mischievous, “You know this line of work, never know when something bad is going to happen.”
“Kara!” Lena and Alex yell in exasperated unison. They both take a step toward her, as though they are planning to smack her good-naturedly.
She superspeeds out of their reach, and looks around frantically before calling out “Oh, I hear something! Someone needs my help! Gottogobye!” as she runs out the door.
Lena and Alex share a knowing look before Alex speaks, “That was definitely not a real emergency. She didn’t even change into her suit.”