Chapter Text
Kara's eyes opened, and closed, then opened again.
She could feel her head pounding, one that felt like because of a hangover, but the thought of her being hangover just doesn't make sense. She groaned, and her eyes widened, for real. She beamed when the sunlight from her window slapped her in the face. She was in her apartment, she was ‘alive’, and so was everyone else.
She was in the middle of gazing through the City when she realised she felt like this has happened before. And God, it did. Yesterday, she woke up on the same position, then Alex came in, then Nia called, then Lex—
Oh, she was ‘so’ going to kill Lex Luthor.
But that wasn't the weirdest part, because she also remembered the events after that, which involved fighting with the other Paragons, the Legends, and Superfriends to defeat the Anti-monitor. What was weird, however, was that how they defeated him was a blur to Kara.
She couldn't quite remember it. Or, truthfully, she simply couldn't place which one actually happened and which one was a fragment of her own imagination.
She gulped, retreating back to her living room and settling on the couch. Her eyes wide, trying to connect all the dots, shaking her head over and over again because what she ‘remembered’ happened was something so absurd it couldn't be possibly true.
Then again, Lex Luthor was brought back from the dead ans they restarted the Multiverse… nothing seemed impossible anymore.
Kara slapped herself to actually wake up, rather too hard, that sent her groaning. ‘Idiot,’ she thought. It took a lot of slapping and pinching until she finally gave up, her recollection of the events seemed to still be so absurd that she knew she needed help to pin point which ones were real. Because, hell, she felt like she was going crazy.
Because in her mind, she remembered Rey shrinking the Anti-Monitor, but that wasn't the end of it. Someone came to help them, a new hero, Nia said. In fact, Nia said that she remembered this hero from her memories from this Earth — ones that happened in this New Multiverse that Kara never actually experienced. Nia said that the hero was called Doctor Lu, which was an incredibly corny superhero name, in Kara's opinion.
But — hear this — that wasn't the weirdest part yet! Because when Kara observed the ‘Hero’, she noticed some uncanny resemblance from someone she knew so well. It wasn't until she used her x-ray vision to see what was behind that mask when it was all cleared up for her, when it made her very much aware that it was all very, ‘very’ real.
No, she wasn't just missing Lena Luthor and seeing her face everywhere. No, Lena Luthor was really there, behind a hero mask, fighting using a pair of swords, moving with such ease, flexibility, and awareness as though she has been doing the hero thing since the day she was born.
It took Kate Kane giving Kara a shake for her to recover from her shock and continue fighting. No one else seemed to notice who was behind that mask, nor did anyone even ‘cared’ about a new Superhero. But Kara did, she really did that it didn't leave her mind until they were paying homage to Oliver Queen and the Paragons.
Until now.
Now that it was all so freaking real and all Kara could do was to force herself to believe that that part of the fight had just been in her imagination and nothing else. It was bad enough that this world thought Lex Luthor was a hero, let alone owning the freaking Department of Extranormal Operations, being her sister's boss and all that. But now she also had to deal with Lena — her former best friend whom, by the way, hated her — and find out if (1) she knew Kara was Supergirl in this Earth and (2) if she really was this infamous Doctor Lu, if one even existed.
Later that day, Kara went out with Alex — whose memories of the previous Multiverse now restored, all thanks to J'onn — for lunch. And much to Kara's discomfort, Alex pretty much confirmed everything to her. Well, not everything, because all Alex knew was that there really was an another Superhero in town but no one knew who was behind the mask. Not even them on the DEO.
If that wasn't enough to prove it to Kara, the sisters stumbled upon a propaganda video that promotes the “Man of Tomorrow”, Lex Luthor, with both Doctor Lu and Supergirl beside him. What shocked Kara, however, was how Doctor Lu's name was bigger than hers, not to mention her face took up most of the space on the videos and posters.
It wasn't like Kara was being petty or anything (except she was!) but she was curious, so then she turned to Alex, “What else did you think was real? I mean, before J'onn showed you the truth.”
“What do you mean real?”
“Like, how exactly did this Doctor Lu became a hero, for starters.”
“Oh,” Alex grimaced, chuckling nervously and it was enough for Kara to stop walking.
“Oh no?”
“Okay, don't freak out,” Alex said sheepishly, leading the both of them towards the entrance of Catco, heading to the lobby. “What I can remember — and believed — is that Doctor Lu appeared just a few months ago, when you tried to kill Lex Luthor.”
“What?” Kara asked in disbelief, both of them sitting down on the lounge. “Why would I do that if we're Allies on this Earth?”
“Well, you kinda figured out some shady business he have,” Alex said, “You asked me to help but I chose to stay away for the sake of my position. Anyway, well, Supergirl tried to kill the Man of Tomorrow, and you know what that looks like to people.”
Kara couldn't imagine the horror. “So you're telling me that…”
“They hate Supergirl,” Alex sighed, “A lot of humans and aliens alike petitioned for your capture that made you lie low for a bit. But then Doctor Lu showed up, saving the day. Then, well, let's just say Lex pleased the public by making you a sidekick to Doctor Lu and,” she made a quotation sign on the air, “forgiving you for what you did. The City doesn't forgive you though.”
“Okay, a ‘what?’” Kara breathed, standing up, disbelief on her face. “Alex, tell me you're joking,” she said seriously, but all her sister did was give her a sheepish and apologetic smile. Oh, she knew what that meant. “Please tell me you're joking.”
“I'm sorry, Kara,” Alex said, forcing Kara to sit back down and then placing her hand on the latter's shoulder in comfort. “Why can't we just make everyone remember? Just like what J'onn did to me and the others?”
“It'll mess up the reality,” Kara said, shrugging, still thinking about what Alex just said because, Rao, there was too much to unpack there.
Supergirl, a Kryptonian, was a freaking ‘sidekick?’
Not just that. Because Supergirl, one of the seven paragons, was despised by many?
On what Earth?
On this one, apparently.
Kara was quick — not alien ‘quick’ — to stand up again, giving her sister a nervous smile. “Do you think Lena knows I'm Supergirl?”
Alex's raised her eyebrows, still very much distrusting with Lena, especially after that thing she pulled with the Non Necere and for almost trying to shoot Supergirl with Kryptonite. Sure, she did help save the world, but Alex couldn't be that forgiving. There could only be one Danvers sister with a disgusting amount of that trait, and it couldn't be Alex, for sure.
“Does it matter?”
“Of course it does?” Kara said, sounding more of a question than a statement, only realising that Alex doesn't know that Lena was Doctor Lu. “Also, why isn't she on that propaganda? What is her relationship with Lex on this Earth? If they aren't on good terms, I'm sure she can help us.”
Alex narrowed her eyes, “Need I remind you about what she did? Or did you forget about that too?”
“She was hurt, Alex,” Kara said through gritted teeth. Sure, Lena's betrayal has hurt her, but she didn't want to be a hypocrite and act like she didn't deserve any of it. She knew how hurt Lena had been, she knew it was coming, she knew and she still kept on lying. She deserved some of it, and she was aware of it. “I'm gonna tell her.”
“Well, Lena works at LuthorCorp, if I remember correctly,” Alex said, trying to remember what she knew of what people believed here. “If I'm not mistaken they're on good terms, and so were you. I'm not sure about the Supergirl part.”
Kara nodded, giving her sister a grateful smile before hugging her. “Thank you, Alex.”
Next stop: LuthorCorp's balcony.
-
Lena Luthor couldn't believe her eyes.
“You're dead,” she stated flatly, her gaze going up and down to her brother's very alive form. “You're dead, I killed you.”
Lex grinned at her, grabbing a glass of wine and offering it to Lena. “Yeah and you were merely a lonely CEO with friends who betrayed you and not the City's most loved Superhero,” he paused, pointing to Lena's attire, “You're welcome and I forgive you, by the way.”
Lena's eyes widen, looking down to her hands, seeing that she was wearing a tight green gloves, her body was in a green bodysuit that was squeezing her — literally. She remembered what she just did, things that happened with her wearing this ‘thing’, before seeing her brother and suddenly remembering everything. Like, two completely different lives were suddenly in front of her, merge into one.
“What did you do?” she asked, reaching for her face and feeling a mask, one that covered over half of her face, but it was soft, and barely making any difference with what she felt on her face. “Lex, what are you talking about?”
Lena followed Lex who was pouring his own glass of wine. Lex simply shrugged, opening the bottle, “Well, we were in some sort of a… crisis.”
The realisation dawned on her, remembering her last memory of the former reality or the ones she knew at least. Lex came to her aid, explaining how the multiverse had collapsed, restarting it to create a new one, worlds colliding as one, and for Lex, the most important part: “A very powerful being brought me back to life to help, which, I only did after he'd told me that 'you' — with all the memories from the previous world — would make it through okay and you have.”
“You gambled the fate of the universe to get what you want?” Lena asked, not even surprised because if that wasn't the most Lex Luthor thing to do, then she didn't know what was.
“It gets better,” Lex bragged, sipping on his wine with a sly smile. “In this world, you and I work side by side on LuthorCorp and the DEO and, most importantly, you work with Supergirl as the city's beloved Superheroes. Actually, no, Supergirl works for you. She's merely your sidekick and no one likes her. Once again, you're welcome.”
Lena wouldn't believe that if it hadn't for some flashes and memories she had on a life she's never lived. It was hard, remembering two timelines, two realities. But at least, it was enough for her to believe what Lex was saying — although not all of it, obviously. Lena gulped, her forehead creasing as she realised that in this Earth, she was working with two people who's done nothing but betray her trust and play her.
With clenched jaw, Lena walked back, speaking, “So I'm in hell?”
“We own this world, Sis,” Lex said, walking after her. “To everyone else, we are heroes and philanthropists. I was never in jail, I was never exposed and you… you are loved by everyone, doing ‘good’, saving lives, promoting peace. Isn't that all you want to do?”
Lena was aware Lex was only saying what she wanted to hear. Still, she couldn't shake off the fact that this reality doesn't seem so bad, not at all.
“Work with me, we can take down Kara Danvers together, then there'll be only two heroes: Us.” Lex sat down, his gaze haunting Lena but she couldn't seem to look away. “You don't need them Lena, those ‘friends’ that betrayed you, no. You need a partner and you're looking at the best possible option, right now. Imagine what we can do, together.”
Lena squinted her eyes, grabbing her glass and drinking, too, mimicking Lex's actions. “You think you have everything wrapped around your fingers, but you were a puppet of Leviathan before and you fought until your last breath for their sake. What makes you think it's any different now?”
Lex wasn't showing any reaction until he tilted his head, pure confusion written on his face as he spoke, “Who the hell is Leviathan?”