Chapter Text
As I type away on my laptop, my stomach starts to growl with hunger. I take a sip from my water bottle as I await Kara to bring us lunch from Big Belly Burger. She always knew how to make my day a little bit brighter.
I smile to myself as Jess turns the com on and says, “I have Kara Danvers in the lobby waiting for you, Ms. Luthor.”
“Send her on in, Jess. I’m starving.” I reply, eager for her appearance.
About five seconds later, Kara gives a light knock and pushes open the door. I flash her a smile as I get up from my work chair and make my way over to her. She’s wearing her favorite white button up with a black sweatshirt over it and navy blue pants. She’s so dorky I think to myself.
“You know you don’t have to knock when you bring food!” I exclaim, laughing. She laughs with me, holding the bag out.
“I got your favorite.” She smirks, raising her eyebrows.
“Did I forget to mention how amazing you are.” I say, snatching the bag playfully.
“Don’t forget that some of the food is for me too. You know I don’t share.” She says defensively as she makes her way over to our couch. I call it ours, because the only time I ever sit on it is when she’s here.
I pull out five individually wrapped burgers and one in a separate container. Obviously, those five are for Kara and two large fries sit at the bottom. I remove those from the bag as well, crumbling the paper bag up into a ball. I eye the trash can across the room.
“Think I can make it?” I ask Kara.
“You can try, but you probably won’t succeed.” She replies with another smirk, before she takes a huge bite from her first burger.
I pull my wrist back just enough and flick it as hard as I can. We both watch the paper ball fly through the air, spin a 360 on the rim of the garbage can, and fall inside.
“Yes!” I exclaim, fists pumping in the air.
“Well, I suppose I was wrong after all.” Kara mutters in-between bites.
“You owe me some more printer ink,” I say, smirking. "and copy paper."
“Hey, I never betted on anything!” She muffles, mouth full of food.
I laugh at her, “I’ve got to go away for a couple of days.”
She swallows her food and asks, “Business trip?” as I pick up my burger.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “I’ve got to go to Metropolis and meet someone there about a new project I’ve been working on.” I say, taking a bite from my burger.
When Kara finishes her five burgers and fries in a phenomenal ten minutes, she asks “I’ll get the scoop on it?”
I nod my head, as she adds “Off the record, of course.”
As I finish my food and throw the trash away, Kara embraces me.
We stand there for a little while, holding onto each other. I breathe her scent in one last time, a mix of strawberries and vanilla, and let go of her waist.
“See you on Monday.” Kara says with a smile. She opens the door and walks out.
***
I quickly open the door to my apartment and gather just the necessities I will need for the trip. I throw random clothes from my dresser into the suitcase and run to the bathroom to grab my toothpaste, toothbrush, hairbrush, etc. I throw it all in a separate bag and tuck it away in my suitcase, while I scan the room for another pair of shoes. I find a pair under my bed and throw them in the bag and seal it up. I pick the luggage up and head to my car; I throw the luggage in the back, close the trunk, and run back to the apartment to lock up.
“Lena!” I hear someone call my name. I turn to see who it is, and it’s the person I did not want to see right now, but I can’t ever say no to her.
“Kara!” I exclaim, flashing her a smile. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
“Nothing, I just forgot to give you something for the road.” She says, grinning. She pulls something out of her coat pocket, a necklace.
“It was my mothers. I always wore it when I was a child. I felt like it protected me. I want you to have it.” She says, taking my hand and placing it in my palm. The necklace itself was made of a dark silver, and the gem hanging from it was crystal clear, and it shined in the sunlight.
“Thank you, Kara. I love it.” I say warmly.
“Here, I’ll help you put it on.” She murmurs.
I turn around and hold my hair up while she brings the necklace around my neck and shortly thereafter, I hear a click. I put my hair down and turn to face her.
“It looks so beautiful on you,” she says tenderly.
“Thanks.” I murmur.
“I’m gonna miss you.” Kara murmurs as she embraces me into a big, tight hug.
“I’m not even gone yet.” I say with a light laugh.
“I know, but you haven’t gone away very often.” She says sadly, letting go.
“Have fun.” She adds with a smile.
“Fun will definitely be out of my vocabulary this weekend.” I reply with a chuckle.
She flashes a smile, “I guess it will be. Take care, Lee.” She turns and starts walking back down the road.
“I can take you home real quick, if you want me to.” I offer.
“That’s okay, I’ve got Alex up here to pick me up.” She replies with another smile. It’s like she has never frowned a day in her life.
“Oh, okay. Bye, Kar.” I yell, since she’s almost to the edge of the road now. She smiles and waves at me.
***
I’ve spent almost two hours driving, but I needed a secure, secluded place for Project Moon. I’ve told no one about this, and tonight will be the first night of trials. I have only discovered what I am only a month ago, the gene triggered by an event of which only I am aware of.
Things will be hard tonight, but no one must know about this. I park off the side of the road, and press a button on a control panel on the dashboard. The cloaking device unveils the mansion. Lex gave me the mansion a year ago, saying he didn’t have much use for it anymore. This is where my “business trip” will be all weekend. I cannot tell Kara about this just yet, because I don’t have full control over what I am, and it terrifies me in every waking moment since that night. I get out of the car, key in hand to the house. I walk up to the porch, unlock the door, and push the door open. The house smells a little musty, and all of the memories of childhood come rushing in again, aching my heart. Me and Lex had some good times here, and some very bad ones. Then he went on his reign with Superman, and it completely destroyed the family, and our bond. I go back out to the car to get my luggage. I shut the trunk, and enter the house, the atmosphere taunting but yet comforting at the same time. I spend about an hour unpacking, although I could have gotten it done a lot quicker. I walk into the living room and sit on the couch.
“Hope, how much longer until the sun is down?” I ask the house’s AI.
“Approximately twelve minutes, Ms. Luthor. Shall I launch Protocol A?” She asks.
“Not yet, Hope. I need to change.” I say.
“Of course, Ms. Luthor.” She replies.
I walk back to my bedroom and change into a black tank top and boylegs. I open a compartment in the dresser that contains Protocol A. I take the syringe and walk back into the living room. I sit on the couch and inject the syringe into my arm and plunge the liquid into my bloodstream.
“Hope, is it time yet?” I ask nervously.
“Yes, Ms. Luthor. I will launch Protocol A.” She replies.
“Thank you, Hope. I will be on my way now,” I murmur, getting up off the couch and heading for the door.
“I will cloak the house while you are away, and I wish you luck.” Hope says.
“Thank you again, Hope.” I reply as I turn the doorknob.
I open the door, and run for the woods. I pick up the pace once the house is out of sight, my chest barely heaving, moving my legs as fast as I possibly can in this body. The glow of orange on the trees from the sunset illuminates my skin, and I feel carefree, like nothing can stop me. I run farther and farther into the woods, dodging trees and limbs until the sun sets and the moon replaces the sun. Then, the painful transformation settles in. I fall to the ground, pain enveloping my entire body as each and every one of my bones breaks, one by one. I yowl in torment as my legs transform behind me, so do my arms. My spine rearranges itself, stretching and conforming into the new body I will inhabit now. My body evolves into the beast, as my face finally constructs into a dark brown, square muzzle and my transformation ends. I howl into the night, and arise from the ground. I start to run again, my paws hitting the earth with ease, my speed increasing by the second. I’m hungry, so I decide to find some prey. I’m not like other wolves, who feed on humans. I struggle not to let the wolf take over, to keep my humanity with me, because I don’t want to become a killer or possibly something worse. I don’t want Kara to ever be afraid of me, afraid of the wolf. I scent a rabbit in the downwind, slowing my pace not to startle it. I spot it, ten yards away, munching on a berry. Its back is to me, and my mouth starts to water, the rabbit being much bigger than I anticipated.
I lift my paws and shift my weight to my hind legs to make it easier to stalk up on the rabbit. I slowly creep toward the animal, the rabbit still distracted with the task of eating the berry. I’m only five yards away now, the rabbit still unknown of my presence. I put all of my weight onto my legs, rear back, and launch myself forward. I grasp the rabbit with my paw, and crush its neck with the other one. I pick the rabbit up with my teeth and carry it back to a fallen tree to eat it. I set the rabbit down on the log, and go back to grab some of the berries it was eating. I snag a mouthful off of the bush and carry them back. I set them aside and start to eat the rabbit, the flow of blood and the stringy meat quenching my hunger. I finish the rabbit off and eat the berries, the juice refreshing my scorched tongue. My mouth tastes a little tangy from the meat, so I wander off to find some water. I find a river not too far from where I ate, and I guzzle a mouthful and spit it back out. I lap up some more water before I leave the river and travel deeper into the woods. I start to run again, the wind ruffling my fur and leaving me euphoric. I skid against the ground as I scent a human, stopping dead in my tracks. I start to head the other way, afraid that I won’t have control over myself. I smell the air again and this time the scent smells different.
It was definitely a person, but they didn’t smell like a human. I look up and find Supergirl, fighting another person. He wasn’t alien, but he had a green rock glowing in the center of his chest. Oh no. Kryptonite. The man flexes his chest, shooting Supergirl with a ray of kryptonite. The impact of the deadly ray knocks her out of the air and sends her spiraling to the ground. I run towards where she’s falling, leaping up the trees and launching myself into the air, catching her cape with my teeth. Her weight is a little too much for my jaw to hang onto and I go down with her. I let go of her cape and snatch onto the waist of her skirt. I press her against my chest, keeping her there as we finally hit the ground with a hard thud. I squeak in pain as a burning pain shoots up my spine. I was for sure I broke a couple of disks, possibly a rib as well. Supergirl groans as she rolls off my chest and onto the ground. She murmurs something into her earpiece, and shortly thereafter DEO agents swarm the forest area. I start to feel dizzy at the scent of so many humans, panicking as my hunger starts to appear again, my throat burning for the taste of blood. My body still isn’t healed, and I need to be human in order for my spine to be restored properly. Supergirl gets up, clutching her arm as her hand becomes stained with blood. She walks over to me and kneels beside me.
“Alex!” she calls out.
Alex emerges from the east, rushing over to Supergirl and I.
“This wolf saved me, but I think its in pain.” She explains to Alex.
“Should we take it back to the DEO?” Alex asks Supergirl.
“No,” I say, my voice low and rumbly. “I’ll be fine. I can heal myself.” I rumble, slowly getting up. My back aches, and I start to become annoyed with the pain. Supergirl backs away and lets me stand on my own.
“What’s it saying?” Alex asks.
“What’s she saying,” Supergirl corrects her, “She says that she’ll be okay, and that she can heal from the injuries.” Supergirl tells her.
“Thank you.” she says with a smile. I nod my head at her as she ruffles the fur on top of my head. I rumble in response, and she steps back to let me go.
“Will I see you again?” she asks before I run off.
“Perhaps.” I reply. I leap off the tree trunk and run back into the woods. I take a sharp left, and head east towards the mansion so I can transform back into my human self. After fifteen minutes of running, I finally come across the property. The house uncloaks itself and I run into the house, the door already opened for me, a perk from Hope. I collapse onto the floor, my body conforming back into a human. My bones recalibrate into their normal size, shrinking and thinning. My arched legs return back to their original form, as do my arms. My face shrinks back into its original form, a nose replacing my muzzle. I groan as my body starts to heal my spine, my disks creating more fibrosis to fill in the cracked sections.
“Is everything alright, Ms. Luthor?” Hope asks.
“I had a run in with Supergirl. She was going to die from the impact of the ground. I had to save her.” I panted.
“So, you remember everything when you were a wolf?” Hope asks curiously.
“Yes, Protocol A worked. Now I can’t be a danger to others. I’ll be in control.” I sigh with relief.
“Would you like something to speed up your recovery?” Hope asks.
“I think I’ll be okay.” I reply, my chest heaving against the cold, hard floor. I could barely feel the pain in my spine and rib now. I pull myself up off the ground, grimacing as my spine resets with a pop. I head back to my bedroom and throw some sweatpants over my boylegs. I’m surprised my clothes didn’t rip when I transformed. I walk into the kitchen and open the mini-fridge and find a couple of animal blood bags still in there, waiting for me. Human blood heals me faster, but animal blood tastes more natural and I don’t feel as guilty. I pull the knob off the bag and start sipping, the burning in my throat subduing.
“Were you not able to hunt, Ms. Luthor?” Hope asks.
“I had a rabbit, until Supergirl came along.” I muttered, heading out of the kitchen and flopping down on the couch.
“Is there anything else you need assistance with, Ms. Luthor?” Hope asks.
“Nothing right now, Hope,” I reply.
“I will temporarily deactivate, so my system can reboot and I can recharge. This will only take an hour. I cannot deactivate until you say ‘Deactivate protocols’, Ms. Luthor,” She says.
“Deactivate protocols, Hope” I reply, taking another sip from my blood bag.
I grab the remote from the counter and switch the TV on. I watch TV for a couple of hours, finishing the last of the blood until I hear a ding from my phone all the way back in my bedroom. Funny, my phone doesn’t get reception out here I think to myself. I heave myself up off the couch and make my way to my bedroom to get it. I find it on my nightstand and press the on button, the screen lighting up. A new text message notification from Kara appeared on the lock screen. I open the message:
Kar: How is the trip? Game night doesn’t feel the same without you :(
I reply with:
Me: It’s been okay, not the best. A few complications, but I’m making it. What game did you guys play tonight?
A minute later, she sees the message and the … of her typing pops up.
Kar: Jenga Quake. Alex hates that game, haha, but everyone else voted yes on it.
I smile and type my reply:
Me: Poor Alex. I miss you.
Kar: I miss you too. Noonan’s on Monday?
Me: Of course! :)
I set my phone down to go brush my teeth and get ready for bed. Today has been very exhausting. I glance at my clock for the time and it reads 1:13 am. I’m surprised Kara is still up. I open my bag up and retrieve my toothbrush and toothpaste. I brush my teeth and put my toothbrush away. I turn the light off and flop onto my bed, sleep overtaking my worn out body.