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Lena doesn’t remember the crash.
The sound of artillery fire, the drones circling the helicopter, the pilot frantically pushing buttons to a dead communications system, shouting “Mayday! Mayday!” She remembers endless spinning, the city blending into a blur of color as gravity increases the speed of the spiraling death trap that surrounds her. She remembers seeing the ground below them in stunning detail, every bump and crack sharpened with other-worldly clarity. She remembers praying, even though she has never believed that anyone was listening.
But she doesn’t remember the crash. Just the preamble to the end of her life.
She wakes, disoriented and confused, to a different kind of chaos. She’s surrounded by people, and for a moment she thinks she’s still in National City, but these are not civilians. They wear white coats and masks cover their faces; their features are impossible to see clearly, even if Lena’s eyesight wasn’t wavering in and out. She tries to focus, but the shapes are moving too quickly and it hurts to keep pace with their frantic movements. They are talking to one another, medical jargon that should make sense to her but doesn’t. Her body is cold, yet her skin burns like a fever and she notices for the first time that she can’t move - not because she doesn’t feel her muscles screaming in protest, but because she is strapped to the table, like a psychopath, or a prisoner. Her neck, abdomen, and legs are bound tightly with military-grade restraints, her wrists shackled on either side of her head to the hard slab she lays on.
Lena flexes her fingers weakly, opens her eyes and sees one of the white coats, preparing the tools for sterilization. She opens her mouth, tries to speak, but the words won’t come. Where am I? Her vision sharpens for a brief moment and she realizes that white is not the only color on their coats. Red splatters across their chests in horrific arcs and splotches, and it takes all of a second for Lena to know that it is her own blood.
The white coat sees that Lena is conscious and barks an order to another close by. Seconds later, Lena feels the press of a needle in her arm and instantly goes slack, every muscle paralyzed so that she is helpless and at their mercy.
Lena starts to panic as more masked men enter, and though her vision remains maddeningly fuzzy, she recognizes the glint of light reflecting off silver - a long line of scalpels and other tools are placed by her side, and she hears the unmistakable snap of rubber gloves being donned.
A monitor starts to beep, high pitched and ominous, and Lena finally finds her voice, adding it to the chorus. She screams, wanting to fight against the straps that keep her immobile but unable to make her body respond. The injection has rendered every muscle useless, save for her vocal cords.
“For God’s sake, get her a sedative!” The first clearly heard words come from a familiar voice and Lena tries to lift her head, frustrated that she cannot even turn it. “Mm..Mo…” It’s no use - the connection between her brain and her mouth has been switched off; Lena is no more articulate than a babe.
Another needle. Another injection. Lena’s eyelids become as heavy as stone and she tries to fight it off, desperate to see the face behind the voice. She hears footsteps approaching, the sharp, unmistakable sound of heels on concrete. Lena glimpses a flash of an immaculately pressed skirt before the world goes dark, the cacophony of sounds start to muddle together as if she has been submerged under water.
“Under no circumstances are you to let her die, do you understand me?”
“Yes, Ms. Luthor.”
Lena feels a wave of relief wash over her and she succumbs to the drug’s effects, falling into a deep sleep. Everything was going to be ok. Her mother was going to fix her.
She wakes to unfathomable pain.
Every bone, muscle, and nerve ending is on fire. Her chest hurts, a dull throb that makes her rib cage tighten in response. Each breath is like a hot poker stabbing into her lungs, over and over again. The bones in her body feel as if they are too long for her skin to contain, and it is all she can do not to retch. Lena has never known such pain, did not think it was possible for it to exist in this way, and all she wants is for it to stop.
She receives another injection and she is too thankful for the blissful relief that arrives with it to be afraid of what they’re doing to her. She catches sight of new tools on the operating table nearby, but they are unlike any medical instruments she’s ever seen before. Long appendages that seem to connect to a metal cage, empty and waiting to be filled.
Lena sleeps, and dreams empty, pleasant dreams for the last time.
“ - can’t sustain her for long, it’s too unstable for prolonged use.”
“... tried the plutonium like you asked, but the cybernetics are not compatible.”
“What about -”
“ - would be killed immediately.”
Lena is out cold, and has been for almost twelve hours. She is unaware of the events that are about to unfold, how this impeding moment will forever change the life she could have had, if only a different path could’ve been taken, or a different choice had been made. When Lena looks back on this day, she will wonder if it would’ve made any difference.
“I have run the numbers a dozen times, and I am telling you, this will work.” Lillian hisses. The man before her shrinks at the sight of her fury.
“We know so little about its properties -”
“Because Superman will not tolerate its presence in the uses of modern science.” Lillian seethes, leaning into the man’s face. “Professor Vale, I ask you - what if the answer to all of our questions, the cure for all our diseases, the marvels mankind could accomplish, what if they all lie in that little green rock, and we would never know it because some polished alien with a god complex forbade it? Can you imagine what humanity would lose?”
Vale shakes his head and sighs, raking one hand through thinning grey hair. He has not slept in 32 hours. “A procedure like this has never been attempted before. There is absolutely no way of knowing if it will be successful. She could very well die the moment we insert the cybernetic replacement. It is too risky.”
Lillian grinned, A Cheshire cat stalking its prey. “Let me be the one who decides what’s worth the risk and what isn’t. For example, it was risky of me to employ you into my services, what with you being forcibly dismissed from that dreadful Arkham Asylum. Experimenting on the patients, wasn't that what you were doing? On the verge of losing your medical license, until I stepped in and made it all go away.” She cocked her head slightly. “Or would you rather all that work be reversed? I assure you, I can make it so that you can never so much as look at a stethoscope without being thrown in a cell for your insolence.”
Vale’s face paled considerably. He paused, then sighed in defeat as the fight went out of him. “Very well, Ms. Luthor. Have the kryptonite brought in immediately - time is of the essence and this procedure must be done quickly, else we risk severe damage to the cerebral implants. Have you chosen a trigger phrase?”
“I have.” Lillian glances at her step-daughter. She doesn’t see the wide-eyed little girl who came to live with them so many years ago, or the strong-willed woman she’s become, so desperate to make the Luthor name her own. When she looks at Lena, she sees only one thing - opportunity. And she plans on making the most of it.
When Lena wakes for the third time, she keeps her eyes closed. There’s no way of knowing how much time has passed - if she’s been here for hours or days, but the pain has subsided somewhat and she doesn’t want to risk being knocked out again. The silence that greets her tells her that she is alone; the men in white coats are finally gone. The first thing she notices is that she has been covered by a massive sheet, and she can feel some sort of heavy material around her upper body rather than a standard hospital gown. She tries to shift the fabric so that she can see what lies underneath, but meets resistance once more. She’s still strapped to the table and when she turns her head, she can see that the skin around her wrists has been rubbed raw with blisters. A quick look at the bindings around her ankles show similar marks, though she cannot remember struggling so fiercely against them. Her lips are dry and cracked, her tongue feels like sandpaper in her mouth. She knows she is severely hydrated, and wonders what was in the IV they gave her if not saline?
“Oh, good, you’re awake.”
Lena’s head snaps forward as Lillian steps out of the shadows, looking as proud as a lion with a fresh kill as she makes her way to Lena’s bedside. Lena does not like the way Lillian’s eyes survey her covered body, like Lena is a present that she’s dying to unwrap.
“Mother, what - what happened? I can’t… there was a helicopter, and then we were falling -” Lena searches for something warm, something reassuring that she can hold on to in her confusion - but finds none gazing back at her.
Lillian brushes sweaty strands of hair from Lena’s forehead, almost motherly. “Well, it seems that your overzealous brother tried to have you killed, dear. He nearly succeeded, too - but luckily, Mother always knows how to reach her children when they need her most.” She smiles. “However, you were in very bad shape when they pulled you from the wreckage - a collapsed lung, several broken ribs, and your heart… well, I guess the phrase “broken heart” is a bit more literal in this particular instance.”
Lena felt the blood drain from her face. “What... ”
“Darling, you would have died without me, without my help. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and all that.” Lillian waves a hand and takes a few steps backwards, keeping her eyes on Lena. “Cybernetics are a very up-and-coming field right now. Really, the possibilities are endless. I daresay you won’t even notice them after you’ve acclimated.”
“What did you do to me?!” Lena screams, her throat sore and raspy. She pushes against the cords around her wrists, shocked when they snap as easily as dried twigs. Her arms newly freed, Lena rips the sheet away and the flutter of receding fabric reveals what lies beneath. Starting from her clavicle and ending at her abdomen, with openings on either side for her arms, Lena is covered with thick metal that forms an armored chest-plate. Her left arm touches it, and she flinches in shock when she sees that her thumb and first two fingers are devoid of skin, muscle, and tissue, and the bones have been replaced with the same material. She is even more shocked when she finds that she can move them of her own will.
Then Lena notices the sickly green glow. She looks down at her chest where her heart should reside, and recognizes the cage she had spied earlier on the table. Inside is a large, polished rock that casts a faint pulse of light with each beat of what remains of her human heart.
“Now, dear, before you overreact - I’ve been assured that synthetic skin and muscle can be made to conceal your new… appendages. You won’t even know that it’s not real. As for the heart, well… I think you’ll come to appreciate the power that comes with the rather unfortunate color.”
Lena’s face contorts into a snarl and her ankle straps snap next. She rips the one around her stomach with her new metallic fingers and tosses it aside, swinging her legs over the table. She reaches for Lillian, poised to wrap her hands around her neck and squeeze until the air left her lungs for good. It was what she deserved.
“Checkmate.”
Lena stops dead in her tracks, unable to take even the smallest step forward. Her arms come to rest at her sides, and no amount of force can move them back to their intended destination. Lena struggles all the same, desperate to regain command of her own body.
Lillian clucks softly. “See, I knew you would react this way. You were always such an emotional child. Always so quick to fly off the handle.” Lillian places her hand on Lena’s cheek, stroking it gently as Lena seethes under her touch. “I know you don’t see it yet, but in time you’ll come to see this as a blessing. You said you wanted to make the world a better place, and we will do just that, together . Of course, you’ll need some training - those fingers aren’t the only new upgrades we gave you, and you’ll have to get used to the brute strength that comes with them.” Lillian smiles again, patting Lena’s cheek once more before removing it from her face.
“The first thing we’ll do is remove those Kryptonians from the board, once and for all. It’s ironic, isn’t it? National City so loves to boast that it’s home to the famous Supergirl, and yet… where was she when you fell from the sky?” Lillian shakes her head sadly and turns to make her leave. “I’ll visit you again in a few hours or so, and maybe once you’ve come to your senses, I’ll let you have your new body back.”
Lena shakes violently as Lillian’s footsteps fade, and she hears a heavy door swing open and slam shut, echoing off the walls of the empty warehouse. She wills her legs to move, twisting and turning in place as she struggles, but her feet are firmly planted to the floor as if they had been nailed there. Her eyes blur all at once and hot tears flow down her cheeks, and when she opens her mouth, what came forth is a piercing, agonized scream. Over and over the sound pours out of her, anguish and unabashed grief clouding every aspect of her very being until there is nothing left. Her life is over, her plans and aspirations for L-Corp crushed to pieces before she had even begun to build. Nothing would ever be the same again.
She balls her hands into fists, and the metal fingers bite into soft skin until they drip red with her blood. She makes a vow, right then and there - she will free herself from Lillian’s hold over her. She will play her game until the moment is right, and then she will kill her for what she’s taken from her. Then she will make sure that no one on Earth will ever be able to harm another ever again - it is the only hope she has left.
And I will bring peace to the world, in a way the so-called heroes could never do. Lena promises. Or I will die trying.
She will not realize until much, much later that the woman who had stepped into that helicopter died that day, along with everything the future had once held for her. Lena Luthor was no more - only Metallo remained.