Chapter Text
The compact sedan cruised gently through the downtown streets of a busy National City. It was easy to keep a low profile in such a packed city, but that didn’t stop Lena from anxiously glancing out of the tinted windows. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt as the man beside her droned on and on.
“I’m just saying,” Jack’s voice cut through her thoughts, “if you made more of an effort to talk to people, you may get a girl to ask you out.”
Lena had to laugh at the mere suggestion. “I have no trouble picking up chicks. Besides, what makes you think I’d take your advice?”
“I’m talking about dating, Lena.” Jack put down the phone he was mindlessly scrolling through to give her a stern look. “You know I’m a big fan of your ‘hit it and quit it’ style, but I’m talking about a relationship.”
“So I should be taking advice from a serial monogamer?” Lena asked with a smirk.
“At least I’ve been on a second date in the past decade,” Jack spat back before picking up his phone again. His best friend was great, but he knew he had hit a nerve. They weren’t in their twenties anymore—in fact, they were barely still in their thirties.
“Did you read that article in the Daily Planet last week? Fascinating.”
“We live in National City now, not Metropolis” Lena replied, but she kept her eyes focused on the buildings passing by outside. It was a poor excuse and Jack knew it. Of course Lena kept up with the papers in her hometown. How else would she learn all about the Luthor family drama?
“Apparently two thirds of women who say they’re too busy for a relationship are actually quite lonely.”
“Thank you for keeping me up to date on the inner-workings of the female mind.” Lena said with a sly smile.
“Anything for you, love.” Jack gave her a beaming smile and a wink just to make her laugh. Lena hated that he kept bringing this topic up like a dog with a good bone, but in the end she just couldn’t bring herself to be mad at him over anything. He was quite infuriating like that.
“I would be remiss not to mention the skin benefits.”
“Since when does the Daily Planet have a beauty section?”
“It was in the lifestyle section, actually.” Jack observed his reflection in the mirrored back of the driver’s divide and stroked his beard affectionately. “My skin is always better when I’m in a relationship.”
Lena chuckled beside him before planting a chaste kiss on his fuzzy cheek.
“Whatever you say.”
“I’m serious, Lena,” he insisted, “Look at my face, I’ve got blemishes for the first time since grad school. It’s a bit unnerving, to be honest.”
She just shook her head and resumed her people watching out the window. Jack was such a sweetheart it was almost disheartening to see him unmoored after so many failed relationships over the years. If a good guy like him couldn’t keep a relationship going, what chance did she have?
The car slowed to a stop outside a somewhat modest townhome near the center of town. Despite its modern design, the building seamlessly blended in to the historic buildings lining the row. The odd pair walked to the wide glass door where a young man in a department store button down and wrinkled khaki pants greeted them.
Lena tried to hide her smile as Jack gave the man a stern look-over. Her friend’s look settled on contempt after he clocked the gold band on the man’s finger. Lena knew that look and nudged Jack’s arm to keep him from saying anything. It wasn’t their place and they were technically undercover anyway.
“It’s an extraordinary townhouse,” the realtor recited, “with a total floor space of nine thousand square feet—not including the garden.”
“Has it been recently remodeled?” Jack asked as Lena nodded. She drifted away to snap a few pictures of the room while Jack held the man’s attention.
“Might I ask what you do?”
“I’m in the tech business,” Jack said, keeping with their rehearsed plan, “Just simple smart-home conversions and installations, that sort of deal.”
“And your wife?”
“She’s head of finance,” Jack waved off the man’s question, “Makes sure I don’t embezzle money for the most part.”
Lena glared at him as Mr. Khaki led them into the next room. She said to keep the attention off her, but he didn’t need to throw her under the bus. At least she wasn’t just the secretary this time.
“This view of the living room was recently featured in Sports Illustrated.”
“I thought they were more into the swimsuit gig.”
“Sara Lance designed the room herself,” the man said with his chest puffed out, “It’s capable of converting from a lounge and home theater space into a sparring ring with the flip of this switch.”
“Now that’s a smart house!” Jack said with false excitement. It’s not that it wasn’t interesting or impressive, but Lena knew for a fact that inventing the hydraulics for the floor alone cost him three nights without sleep. No wonder he hated the damned thing.
“What happened here?” Lena asked pointing to some scuff marks on the otherwise unblemished hardwood floor.
“Ahh, yes, Mrs. Lance has an amazing sculpture collection, but moved it when she listed the property. She’s more than willing to cover the cost of repairs if you’re worried about it.”
“A custom room conversion and a sculpture collection?” Jack asked, “That can’t be cheap. Do fighters really make that much to bash each other’s brains in?”
“Of course!” Mr. Khaki said, clearly offended by Jack’s insinuation. “Sara Lance is the UFC’s lightweight world champion. She made $3 million off her last bout alone.”
“That much? Oh my god,” Jack said. Lena turned back to snap a couple of last-minute pictures and stop herself from laughing out loud. She’s fairly certain his hydraulic floor invention had only made Spheerical Industries a million dollars at the most.
“If you’ll follow me upstairs to the master suite—”
“You know what, honey?” Lena asked sliding up to her friend’s side, “I don’t think this is the place for us.”
“Oh?” he replied.
“Yeah, it’s definitely more of a man cave situation.”
Jack nodded along and they showed themselves out with Mr. Khaki the realtor looking every bit like the college athlete washout he probably was.
“Do you even know what a man cave is?” Jack asked her.
They had left the house quickly after Lena’s comment and made a beeline for the best sushi restaurant in town. She had bribed him with the promise of lunch anywhere he wanted if he helped her get those photographs for her latest case.
“Not entirely, but I’m sure the young man knew what it was,” Lena said with a wave of her chopsticks, “Besides, I had everything I needed.”
“So what sort of dirt are we dealing with here?” Jack asked between mouthfuls of sashimi. “Cheating, drugs, bribery?”
“Art.”
Jack paused in his manic eating and tilted his head like a confused puppy.
“Art is not a crime, nor grounds for a divorce payout last time I checked.”
“And when was the last time you checked?” Lena said with a raised brow.
“No, this is good. I want to know what my next wife will use to get more money out of me.”
“Is this why you’re always tinkering in your lab?” Lena asked with sincerity, “Because this is exactly why I kept offering to litigate your divorces.”
“No, no,” Jack shook his in dismissal, “Money isn’t a problem and you know it. Besides, I’d rather pay them their ridiculous alimony than be lambasted all over the papers as the heartless guy who set them out on the street with nothing.”
“Are you forgetting that they sued you for divorce and not the other way around?”
“I have a selective memory.”
Jack resumed his eating while Lena took down some notes after looking at the photos on her phone once more.
“In the Sports Illustrated article, there’s a statue by Paige Conner next to the TV where the scratch marks were. And in the study, another sculpture titled ‘Inspiration’ used to be in the corner by the window. Look at her instagram post, March 24th. And then the real killer, ‘Conception in Bronze,’ which was a limited run and there are only three in the world.”
“Ahh, yes, now I see,” Jack said, but Lena knew he had completely lost the thread.
“She sold the art back to Paige Conner to avoid it being counted as part of the assets.”
“Why would the artist buy it back?”
“Well, normally they wouldn’t,” Lena admitted, “But if you’re having an affair with the artist they might be willing to do it to keep their priceless items off the market.”
Lena zoomed in on her tablet before showing it to him. Jack took the tablet from her and swiped through a few of the photos before nodding along with her conclusion.
“Well, all right then.” Jack said with finality. “Next time I’m getting divorced, I’ll make sure to send you on vacation first. You’re far too observant for your own good.”
“Sara Lance’s affair is going live and I will get millions off her.”
“But for someone else,” Jack said pointing a finger at her, “See, that’s the point I don’t get. Where’s the pleasure in that? I get the whole vengeful Luthor thing, but I still think you should’ve stayed on the engineering track with me.”
“The pleasure is in winning,” Lena said with a straight face, “but for the record, I would’ve kicked your ass in engineering school. Unfortunately, when your trust fund is being held hostage by an evil stepmother, you do what she says.”
“At least until you can sue her in court and hang your own shingle on the opposite side of the country.” Jack said, raising his glass for a toast.
“Indeed.”
They touched glasses and continued their lunch, with renewed vigor on Jack’s part. He was probably right; she should’ve fought harder to stay on track in the engineering program instead of caving to her mother’s demands and entering law school. She should’ve done a lot of things differently in the past, if she was being honest with herself.
She thought back to Jack’s comments in the car that morning. She didn’t feel lonely—at least, not in the traditional sense. She had her work at the law firm, her friends there, but… at the end of the day she was technically their boss. And Jack was a great friend, but even he couldn’t be there every time she needed someone. Finding women wasn’t the problem; it was more like she wouldn’t want to spend any daylight hours with the ones she occasionally took back to her apartment. Maybe she needed a cat or something.
The next morning she donned her best battle armor—a deep purple three-piece suit—and marched into her office. Jess greeted her with a cup of black coffee and the morning update on the firm’s other ongoing cases in the elevator. She trusted the young lawyers in her firm, but they were often thirsty for victory and their naiveté occasionally led to overlooking important details.
Lena blew through the office and confidently greeted her client in the safety of her corner office before informing the women of her findings the day before.
“That two-faced, spiteful bitch!” The woman cried.
“Nyssa,” Lena chastised, “You know I don’t like spouse bashing. This happens all the time. I mean, you even mentioned in our earlier conversations that she had a reputation for sleeping around before you met her.”
“Is this enough proof to dissolve the prenuptial agreement?”
“It’s unclear right now, but I’ve dealt with the opposing counsel in similar cases. He’s a good lawyer, but I know all his little tricks.”
Jess entered her office after a brief knock to slide a note on her desk with a worried brow.
“Thank you,” Lena said as she looked at the note. Sara Lance had changed counsel, but she had no idea who this new lawyer was.
“Is this bad?” the woman asked as she noticed the lawyer’s frustrated look.
“No, everything’s fine,” Lena reassured her, “Your wife has hired a new attorney, but I don’t know the name. Perhaps it’s an acquaintance from your time in Star City? Her name is Kara Danvers.”
“I’ve never heard of her.” The woman said with a worried expression.
“It says she’s new in town, so we still have the advantage.” Lena reassured her. “A new attorney this late in the game who has never practiced in National City? Please, this is going to be easier than I thought.”
She paged Jess to let her know they were heading to court before walking back through the office and down to the ground floor with Nyssa keeping pace in her thigh-high leather boots. Appearing confident, Lena learned early on, was one of the most important things when litigating a case.
They arrived at the courthouse early, as per usual and Lena politely excused herself to the ladies room to get a moment alone. She held it together just long enough to make sure the room was empty before locking the door behind her and frantically pacing along the stall doors.
“It’s fine, this is fine,” she whispered to herself in the mirror. “It’s not a problem. You’ve never lost one of these, everything’s all right.”
She stopped in her tracks and rushed over to dig in her purse. She was finally able to uncover an emergency pack of Oreo cookies, which she unceremoniously ripped open. Two cookies were gone in mere seconds before she sighed in relief. It was called comfort food for a reason she supposed.
“Okay,” she quickly wiped the crumbs from her face and swiftly exited the bathroom to an impatient looking Nyssa and Jess. “Ready?”
Lena led the trio into the empty courtroom and immediately slowed to a quiet stroll. She had been accustomed to being the first in the room and having a few moments of peace and quiet to set up and prepare for battle, but not today.
A disheveled woman sat completely passed out at the defendant’s table. Her long blonde hair shielded most of her face, but they could still hear her gentle snoring. Her tweed jacket had been thrown over the back of her chair and Lena grimaced at the horribly wrinkled shirt and scuffed oxfords. Jess got her attention and nodded at the bags piled up next to her. Did she come here straight from the airport?
“That’s my wife’s new attorney?” Nyssa asked with disdain, but Lena shushed her. It’s not like she hadn’t thought the exact same thing moments before, but she had grown tired of hearing the woman lend voice to every passing thought.
She walked over to the woman and gently coughed to get her attention, but the woman only snored in response. She tried again, but to no avail. Finally giving up, she used the cap of her pen to gently trace a line down the exposed flesh of her neck. The blonde moaned rather loudly, but thankfully others had started to occupy the space around them.
She hummed and moved the curtain of hair from her face as she wiped some sleep from her eyes and tried to focus on the brunette fidgeting before her.
“I’m Lena Luthor. I’m representing Nyssa al Ghul.”
“…Lena…Luthor?” the woman was clearly still trying to process the daylight streaming in through the windows, let alone try to process whatever Lena had said.
“Right, for Nyssa.”
“Mhmm,” she replied mid-stretch, “I’ve heard great things about you.”
She stood up and raised her arms high above her head in a full-body stretch. Lena was thankful the woman didn’t appear to notice the blush creeping up her cheeks. The blonde was tall, even compared to Lena in heels, but she was also clearly strong. The fabric of her cotton shirt stretched tightly across broad shoulders and toned arms as she stretched. Lena turned away and swallowed in a futile attempt to collect her thoughts.
“That felt nice, by the way.”
“Excuse me?” She had been caught off guard by the woman’s comment.
“The neck thing, whatever it was,” she clarified, “It felt nice.”
“Yes, well… I realize you’re just starting to familiarize yourself with the case,” Lena pressed on with the pleasantries, “but I wanted to make you aware of—what is it?”
The blonde had been staring at her face in deep thought as if trying to solve a great mystery.
“You’ve got a little,” she said and pointed to the corner of her mouth. Lena reached up immediately, mortified in the realization that she must have missed a few bits of cookie crumbs. She knew she should’ve checked in the mirror.
“Uh, thank you,” she managed after wiping at her cheek. “Anyway, as I was saying. It has come to our attention that certain assets—oh!”
Lena instinctively withdrew from the woman’s space as the blonde picked a crumb off the corner of her mouth and licked it from her finger.
“Oreo!” she said in excitement. “They’re one of my favorite cookies.”
“You have a favorite cookie?” Lena asked, completely side tracked from her original mission.
“I have several,” the blonde gave her a bright smile and Lena felt the full heat of it’s rays as her face blushed profusely. This was a very bad sign. She had woken up this morning adequately prepared to take on Roger Dalton and his insistent flirting, not a woman who was in essence a personification of the sun. Assets! That’s why she walked over in the first place.
“Some—some assets have, uh, not yet been… accounted for, and—”
“I don’t settle.” The blonde sat on the defendant’s table to be at eye level with Lena, sho merely laughed.
“I said nothing of settling.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m fine settling, but it’ll have to be for…” Lena cocked her head to the side as she observed the women silently count on her fingers like a small child. “$3 million.”
“You must be joking.” Lena replied with a sarcastic grin.
“It’s what I’ll earn from this trial—well, plus expenses. I think it’s a fair settling amount.”
“Only if you win.”
“Oh, I always win.” Kara replied as she got up and pulled her equally wrinkled jacket on. “But I figured I’d give you a chance.”
Lena turned on her heel and strode back to her side of the court with anger burning her cheeks.
“It’s Mrs. Luthor, right?”
“Miss.” Lena spat over her shoulder.
“My mistake…”
Lena seethed in her chair and focused her attention on preparing the materials before her in perfect order. She turned the papers one-quarter turn to the right so they would be easily accessible from either side of the table in the event the judge asked to see anything. Her pen and pencil sat neatly along the top of her files exactly one inch from the edge of the paper.
Jess subtly cleared her throat and Lena immediately stopped her movements. One glance to her secretary told her she had an audience and she turned to head to find Kara Danvers observing her with a soft smile on her face. As they locked eyes she gave Lena another bright smile and a cheesy thumbs up. Lena couldn’t wait to bury the poor woman under an avalanche of paperwork.
Luckily for the blonde, Sara Lance’s arrival prevented Lena from giving her a piece of her mind. The judge blew through the side entrance and everyone in the room jumped to attention. She was not known for taking her time or being polite to anyone who dared enter her domain.
“Please be seated and come to order.”
“Cat Grant,” Lena informed her client with a confidant smile, “Divorced four times. Horribly. She’s very tough on new lawyers.”
Judge Grant settled into her seat high atop the dais like a queen overseeing her miscreant subjects. Lena supposed she was at least partially correct considering this was divorce court.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Miss Danvers, as I live and breathe.” She said with the care and patience usually reserved for Lena alone.
“Good morning, Judge Grant.” Kara stood at attention before the icy judge.
“I told you the cold winters of Gotham were hard, especially on the skin.”
“Yes, Your Honor, but I made sure to moisturize as per your instructions.”
“Very good. Welcome back to the west coast, counselor.” Cat surveyed the courtroom to ensure there were no extra interlopers before proceeding with the case. Judge Grant was notorious for throwing observers out of her courtroom.
“I’ll hear opening arguments.” She said with a nod to Lena who promptly stood to address the court.
“Your Honor, I would like to move for a continuance. It has come to our attention that several discrepancies exist in the list of assets to be divided—namely, several works of art.”
“Uh, may I interject, Your Honor?” Kara’s voice rang out in the courtroom. She continued at Cat’s nod even if the judge gave her a lethal glare. “You’re referring to sculptures, I suppose?”
“Exactly.” Lena replied with a sour smile of her own.
“Art by Paige Conner?” Kara dug around in one of her smaller bags to find a few photos of the sculptures that had been missing from the townhouse.
“Actually, yes.” It was Lena’s turn to be caught off guard now and she did not enjoy the experience one bit. What had she missed?
“Let’s see here…” the woman flipped through a few photos before adding up the sculptures, “Looks like four or five sculptures by Paige Conner if my math is correct. Not really my thing—I prefer paintings—but these things are notoriously hard to come by from what I can tell.”
“Your Honor, we believe that these sculptures have been—”
“Anonymously donated to Star City’s Tactile Museum of Art?” Kara provided with a raised brow. “I’m surprised that Nyssa al Ghul didn’t mention it, Miss Luthor. See, her signature is on the donation document.”
Kara sauntered over to place a copy of the document neatly atop Lena’s immaculate pile of files. She smirked at Jess’ astonished expression before returning to her table. Lena took her seat to examine the document herself before side-eyeing her client.
“Oh, that reminds me, Your Honor, um, I’d also like ask for a continuance.” Kara said while rubbing the back of her neck and looking utterly sheepish. “I’ve just been retained as Sara Lance’s counsel, and I haven’t been able to fully research all aspects of the case.”
“Lack of planning on your part, Miss Danvers.”
“Agreed, Your Honor, but I do have just cause,” she reassured the steely judge who sat back with the hands in her lap. She had missed seeing the little blonde spitfire in the past decade or more. Gods, she was getting old.
“I have a receipt here… somewhere…” Lena watched, her mouth agape, as the blonde proceeded to pat her pockets and search through the haphazard stack of papers on her table. “Ah ha! Oh, uh, sorry about the drool, Your Honor.”
“Just bring it up here, Miss Danvers.” Cat said with an exaggerated eye roll. No matter how much time passed, Kara would always be the idealistic young woman she plucked out of her son’s newsroom.
“A six-month stay at the Daxamite rehab center for Nyssa al Ghul’s treatment of… oh, dear… heroin addiction.” Kara hazarded an embarrassed glance in Lena’s direction, but the brunette was too busy planning Nyssa’s untimely death that evening to notice. “I’d, uh, like to get to the bottom of that, You Honor.”
“Very well,” Cat said, handing the receipt copy back to her. “I’ll see you all in one week. Dismissed.”
Everyone hurried to their feet as Judge Grant rose and disappeared once more through the side door. Kara nodded to herself and began shoving piles of files and papers back into random bags. Lena deftly stacked her files and papers into a neat orderly stack in her briefcase before angrily strutting out the back of the courtroom. She needed a drink—or a few—and she needed to start being more selective about the clients she accepted.
She decided not to wait and ended up calling Jack as soon as she returned to her office with lunch.
“It’s not your fault that Nyssa al Ghul is a little off center.” Jack’s voice lamented through the office.
“I’d have found out about the art,” Lena lamented with pent-up frustration, “That’s why I asked for the continuance.”
“But didn’t that Danvers chick ask for a continuance?” Jack asked as a small explosion echoed through his end of the call.
“Do you need to go?” Lena stripped off her designed jacket and draped it gently over the back of her chair.
“No, no, they’re on it—Can I get a fire extinguisher over here?!” Jack left the call for a moment and Lena took the time to dig into her salad as she lazily flipped through the pages of her case files until he came back on the line. “Anyway, you got what you wanted. Why are you upset?”
“That Danvers woman beat me too it.” Jack’s laughter broke across the line as Lena glared at the phone.
“Don’t be like that now. She won the battle, go win the war.”
“I don’t know,” Lena mused. She took the phone off speaker and leaned back to look out the large windows to watch the city bustling outside. “I’ve never been up against someone like her. You know the world I work in—it’s all designer suits and no-nonsense, and overflowing with misguided confidence.”
“Are you describing yourself or other lawyers?”
“Very funny.” She turned back to angrily stab at her salad. “She’s very un-something. I can’t describe it. Maybe she’s just lucky.”
“Maybe it comes naturally to her,” he said, then after a beat added, “Is this Danvers girl cute?”
Lena nearly choked on her salad and managed to respond through a coughing fit. “I, uh, didn’t notice.”
“Bullshit.”
“She’s not your type, she already graduated college.”
“That’s not what I asked.” His teasing voice ghosted through the line.
Her response died on her lips as Jess rushed into her office to call “Channel four!” before disappearing just as fast as she appeared. Lena turned back to the small, wall-mounted TV in the back corner of her office.
The reporter on screen stood on the courthouse steps with people milling about in the background. She could tell it had been recorded earlier that morning just by the names and faces of those she knew entering and exiting the courthouse.
“…In court today, Judge Cat Grant heard opening arguments for the divorce case involving the World Champion MMA fighter Sara Lance and her wife Nyssa al Ghul. The two met…”
“Channel four, Jack.”
“I heard her,” he said. Lena heard the phone change to speaker as Jack dug around his workstation for the remote, “Whatever you pay that girl, you need to double it.”
Lena laughed at his ignorance. Jess had been with her since the beginning of her career and even followed her across the country when she left Metropolis. She had learned long ago that Jess was worth her weight in gold and had no problems paying her as such.
“…At stake is a reported $12 million. We caught up with Sara’s attorney, Kara Danvers, earlier today outside the courthouse.”
The blonde’s face suddenly filled the screen and she heard a large crash on Jack’s end of the line.
“You didn’t notice if she was cute? Are you kidding me?”
“Hush!” Lena chastised. Kara looked every bit as confident as she had standing before Judge Grant. She stood there next to Sara like they were pals heading out for a beer after work; jacket slung lazily over one shoulder and hand in her pocket.
“We do feel that Nyssa al Ghul’s monetary demands are outrageous.” Kara said with conviction, “After all, she may own the gym, but Sara’s the fighter bringing in the real money.”
“I can’t believe this girl,” Lena seethed, “I swear she flew into town this morning and she’s already got the media eating out the palm of her hand.”
“Speaking of eating out—”
“I’ll call you back.” Lena cut him off and set down the phone to focus on the interview.
“…Quite frankly, after this morning’s opening arguments, I believe the prenuptial will stand as agreed. Nyssa’s case doesn’t have a leg to stand on and, uh,” the blonde looked right into the camera as if she knew Lena would be watching and subtly wiped at the corner of her mouth just as she had earlier on Lena’s own face, “that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.”
She sat there, in her corner office, with her mouth hanging open at the blonde’s sheer audacity. Many have learned over the years not to test her patience, even fewer have had the nerve to challenge her directly in the courtroom. Kara Danvers didn’t know the danger she had just led herself into.
“Okay, Miss Danvers… I accept.”
Most people wouldn’t dare. Most people had at least heard the stories. Most people didn’t want to touch her with a ten-foot pole. Most people know better than to mess with a Luthor. She supposed Kara Danvers wasn’t like most people.