Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kara is seated at a cubicle in her Supergirl costume staring at a typical pencil pusher hurriedly typing in the numbers. She looked around and saw Clark sitting in another cubicle behind her. He turned around and wave. 

“Let me know if you need any help!” 

Kara winced, hurriedly turned back around, and slouched in her chair. She looked back at the desk and saw the paper that brought her here. She was being charged $10,000 in property damage to the city while as Supergirl. Clark got the same paper, but he only has to pay $5. Her eyes started glowing red in rage while she gripped the chair. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths.

 “I hate being jealous, but it isn’t fair! I was supposed to be his defender, not the other way around. I even had military training before coming to Earth, but Clark makes everything here seem so effortless. It just makes me feel….irrelevant.”

It was a sobering thought that had been haunting Kara each day. If she couldn’t serve her purpose, what was she going to do? She was nearly drowning in her sorrows and self-hatred when she felt the office lady’s hand on her arm. She looked up at the lady and saw she had a cheerful disposition. Kara forced the smile back into her eyes and lips. 

“I am sorry that I drifted off there….um Connie. Isn’t that your name?”

“Oh, you remember my name!”

Connie’s smile looked so genuine. Kara would have found it cute if this pencil pusher wasn’t about to clear her out of cash. She forced her smile even brighter hoping to charm the pants off this lady to lower the cost down.

“Yes. I try to be good with names as I can. Were you able to find anything that can bring the cost of the bill down?”

Connie’s smile grew dimmer. 

“Shit!”

“Well, we can’t lower the cost…”

“Even though this is my first time?” said Kara with a pout on her face. 

She wasn’t above groveling. She didn’t have this type of money, and she will be damned if she had to beg Clark for help.

“I know this seems very steep, but when villains and superheroes fight in the city, it causes a lot of property damage. The tax was created to help discourage these types of situations.”

“Even when we are saving the city?”

“If there was no way to get the villain out of the city, there would be little to no charge.”

“Which is what happened in my case.”

Connie’s face fell a little and started twisting her hands.

“Well, not exactly. While fighting Livewire, you took out several buildings before taking her down.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Property could have been saved if you had utilized the fire hydrant and open pool in the area to stop Livewire due to her water vulnerability instead of using brute force.”

Kara slid further in her seat and sighed.

“I could have been more careful, but I was just in a hurry to prove I could do things faster than Clark.”

Kara looked back and saw that Clark had finished his payment and left. She looked back to Connie solemnly and asked, “What can I do now? Is there some type of payment plan I can do since I don’t have that type of money on me?”

Connie smiled a bit and said, “There are tons of options. We have a variety of payment plans, or we have different volunteer opportunities that you can choose to work off the payment.”

Connie passed her the book of all their volunteer opportunities and perused it for a minute. She was bored until one entry caught her attention and brought a smirk to her face. 

“I choose this one.”

Kara watched Connie’s face changed at her choice from a smile to a frown instantly. 

“Umm, are you sure you want to do this type of work.”

Kara smiled, and said, “Why wouldn’t I want to bring smiles to sick kids in a Children’s Hospital?”

“But…um… it is run by Lena…”

“Luthor. Oh, I am aware. I believe in judging people for their merit and not by association.”

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

“Oh, I am sure.”

“Me working for the sister of Clark’s greatest enemy. This will so get under his skin.”

Kara laughed wickedly as Connie eyes her warily while signing her up for the volunteer gig. 

Chapter Text

Kara sat at her kitchen table reading the news on her phone. On the front page, she saw the following: Flash Saves STEM In School. It had the Flash in Central City Middle School trying to get girls more interested in science, technology, engineering, and math. 

“Hmmm, wonder how much you owed to get roped into this?” muttered Kara. 

She shook her head. She hated being this cynical especially given the cause he was supporting. When she first came to Earth, she felt it was a travesty on how much the fields of science, tech, engineering, and mathematics seemed to be male dominated fields. On Krypton, everyone was on equal footing in those areas. Thinking about it caused her blood to boil. She took a deep breath and continued to read the article. As she read, it made her feel better that all the girls seemed interested in learning more. 

The real test is if they continue this outside of middle school. After my current objective, I wonder….

Kara sighed because she wasn’t able to finish that thought. She could hear her cousin coming a from a mile away. She shook her head and continued to pour coffee into her cup while reading the news. A couple of seconds later, Clark stood before her posturing. Kara kept looking down at her phone scrolling.

“You know the door is there for a reason,” muttered Kara. 

“Oh, come on. What is the fun in that? Besides, I just wanted to check to see how you are doing. Did everything go well with the IRS?”

“Everything went swell,” sighed Kara. 

Clark went to the kitchen cabinet and grabbed a cup. He then pulled up a chair to sit down and poured himself a cup of coffee. Kara kept her face as passive as she could, but she was beyond pissed. 

How dare he invade my space and think that he owns the place!

She kept her head down and poured more coffee for herself. 

No need to make more property damage over Clark even though punching him through a wall would be satisfying.

“What do you mean by swell? Did you have any trouble paying? If so, you know I would be willing to help?”

As much as she wanted to put him in a choke hold, Kara gripped the table while forcing the largest smile she could muster on her face. 

“They have a volunteer program so that I can work off the debt. I applied yesterday. I am just waiting to hear if I got accepted.”

Clark looked up at her startled. Kara smirked. 

Nice to see I can surprise even him. 

“I didn’t know that they had such a program. When they first rolled out the property damage law, you either had to pay the fine or get sued.”

“Well, it seems like times had changed,” smirked Kara. 

“Well, do you know what you are doing for volunteer work?” 

“I applied to volunteer at a hospital to help bring joy to sick patients.”

Clark patted her on the back which caused her to nearly cringe. She just focused looking down and sipping her coffee. 

“That is very amazing, Kara! Let me know if you get in. We maybe could do some type of double team at the hospital.”

He patted her on the head and got up and zipped out of there within seconds. Kara looked across the table where he sat. His coffee cup was still there with no coaster under it. 

For a superhero, you would think he would know how to clean up behind himself.

Kara shook her head as she gradually cleared up the table. She checked her phone and sighed. She still hadn’t heard back from the Luthor Children’s Hospital about her volunteer request. She went into her bedroom and searched her drawers. She looked around for a couple of minutes before stopping at a piece of paper. It had the contact information for the hospital, Samantha Arias. 

“Connie did say to reach out in person if I didn’t hear from them by last night,” muttered Kara. 

Connie expressed that usually they get immediate acceptance responses for the hero volunteer program after submitting the application. However, she had a feeling in this case that they may initially think that Supergirl’s application is a hoax given the circumstances. Kara balked at the thought. She clearly wrote Supergirl on the application. However, Connie countered that since people tend to only spend seconds looking through applications, they might just see the superhero logo and automatically assume Superman especially since Supergirl has only been around a couple of months. Given the lack of response, Kara now wondered if Connie could be right. She quickly zipped into her Supergirl outfit and stared at herself in the mirror for a minute. She stood up straight and did several quick poses. 

“Time to show Ms. Luthor that I mean business!” Kara exclaimed as she flew out the window. 

*****

Kara zoomed through the hospital. Some heroes like posing in public places to create what they would call a “friendly image”. Clark did it constantly. Kara personally thought that he does it for the attention. 

“It is probably not a good idea to pose for pictures when trying to do business with these people,” murmured Kara. 

After searching the floor, she finally found Samantha Arias’ office. She knocked twice and waited with her hands on her hips and standing as straight as possible. She waited a minute and the door opened to a startled looking brunette. 

“Wait…are…you…what!”

Kara smirked as her hand combed through her hair. 

“Hi! I am Supergirl! I recently applied to volunteer at the Luthor Children’s Hospital. I was told to contact you if I hadn’t heard back from you guys yesterday. I do hope it is okay if I just dropped by.”

Kara gave out the warmest, biggest smile she could muster. 

The brunette stared at her with a shocked expression.

“Ah, I remember the application. I saw the Superman logo on the application and thought that it was some type of joke. However, now I realize that the logo can also be for Supergirl.”

Kara chuckled.

I hate that Connie was right. 

“No worries. I thought that there might have been some confusion with the application and wanted to come down and explain everything in person if that is ok.”

The brunette quickly moved away from the door and said, “Please, come in.”

She guided Kara to a chair next to her desk. 

As they sat down, the brunette said, “Oh by the way, my name is Samantha Arias. I am the CFO of the hospital.”

Kara tried to stand up straight in the chair. It was uncomfortable, but she tried to ignore it. 

“Oh, I know. The information the IRS gave was pretty accurate even the picture.”

Samantha sighed and said, “I didn’t realize they were that thorough.”

Kara chuckled and said, “Well, I guess they wanted to provide as much information to make sure that we knew what we are getting into.”

Samantha leaned back into her chair, narrowed her eyes, and crossed her arms. 

“True point. Did they tell you what you would be getting into here?”

Kara smiled and leaned forward.

“Yes! They told me that I would be helping bringing smiles to children’s faces by reading them stories or playing games, things of that nature.”

Samantha leaned forward and narrowed her eyes more.

“And did they tell you that who the head of the hospital is?”

“Lena Luthor.”

“And that is not a problem for you?”

Kara leaned back and smirked. 

“Why would I get into issues that are between two grown men especially since I just got on the scene two months ago.”

Samantha scoffed and pointed at her chest. 

“So you are saying that you don’t have any type of loyalty to him.”

Kara wanted to grimace but kept a bright smile while clinching the chair. She struggled not to snap the arms in half. 

“My thoughts are that we are our own persons. I would like to be judged on my own thoughts, perspectives and merits. I am pretty sure that Ms. Luthor has similar insights.”

Samantha leaned back and gave a passive look. She stared at her for a couple of minutes, sighed and got up. 

“Follow me.”

Kara followed Samantha to the opposite side of the room which had a book case. Samantha pulled on one of the books slightly which opened the wall to reveal an elevator. 

“I didn’t realized that the hospital had a private elevator,” smirked Kara. 

“When you have Lex as a brother, one can’t be too careful.”

They got on the elevator and went up two floors. The elevator let off to a a short hallway with a door at the end. Kara tried to see through the door with her x-ray vision, but couldn’t. 

Her office is made with lead. Very clever. 

Samantha turned to her with a hesitant look on her face. 

“Wait here. I will let Lena know about the mix up and about your interest in helping.”

Sam then pressed her hand to the door which revealed a scanner which let her in. Once the door closed, Kara tried to use her super hearing to pick up any sounds. She smirked when she was able to pick up two voices. 

So not perceptive enough to sound proof the room. Interesting. 

Kara focused a little more and was able to hear everything crystal clear. 

“So remember the application from yesterday?”

“Yes, I do. I threw it out. It was obviously some type of prank.”

“Well, about that…”

“Don’t tell me we got more fake applications. Ugh! I am going to have to make sure that Jess is more stringent in how she filters out the crazies.”

“That’s the thing though. The application is real.”

Kara then heard laughter. It made her smile because the laughter sounded very melodic. After a couple of minutes the laughter died down.

“Wait, you can’t be serious!”

“I know it is hard to believe…”

“Tell him no.”

“Lena….”

“No! I don’t want anything to do with that pompous jackass. You can tell him to take that cape of his and stuff it up his ass!”

Kara then heard quick steps coming and the door burst open with a woman running straight into her and bouncing backward to the ground. The woman looked up and stared at Kara startled. Kara was nearly startled herself. She didn’t expect Lena to be this pretty with her green eyes and raven colored hair. 

“I thought you were him.”

Kara chuckled and held out her hand. Lena stared at it before taking it. 

As Kara helped her up, she said, “I can guarantee you I am much different than the my contemporary.”

Ms. Luthor is not a fan of the idiot either. This is definitely going to be fun. 

Chapter Text

Kara was seated across from Lena in her office. They were both just staring at each other with Samantha looking at them nervously from the other side of the room. It felt like they were in a never ending don’t blink challenge except that it had only been just a few minutes. Lena’s startled stare from early had turned icy. Kara had to admit to herself that Lena was impressive. The girl exuded confidence and intimidation with her stare, but it wasn’t enough to scare Kara off. She just kept giving her brightest smile while she waited. After another 2 minutes, Lena blinked, sighed, and shook her head. Kara had to stifle the chuckle that threaten to come out of her mouth. 

I may be able to wear her down just yet.

“Why are you here, Supergirl?”

“As I was telling your co-worker over there, I am here to volunteer for the hospital. I saw that you needed people to interact with the….”

Lena shook her head and said, “No, No. No. Don’t give me that professional bullshit! Why are you really here?”

The raven haired beauty leaned forwarded in her chair with her eyes issuing a challenge. 

Ah, she can be insightful. But would she be receptive to my true motives though?

“Honestly, I would like to use this opportunity to set myself apart from the one you called if I remembered correctly, a pompous jackass.”

“I knew I should have paid extra to have this whole office sound proof,” Lena muttered. 

Kara chuckled to herself. Lena was proving herself to be more and more interesting. She just wished she could be completely honest with her. It wasn’t quite a lie that she told her. She hated constantly being compared to the golden child that is her cousin. At least that is what the public believes. They already established a narrative in the papers that she was not only his cousin but that she was younger than him and had took her in like she was some poor defenseless child. 

If only they knew that I am not only technically older, but had to change that bumbling idiots diapers. 

“Some would see this as some type of ploy given our families history,” mused Lena. 

Hmmm, not taking the original statement. Going to have to push just a bit harder.

“I do see your point, but I think this can be an opportunity to help each other.”

Lena narrowed her eyes and scoffed. 

“And how exactly is that?”

Kara smiled brightly and said, “I did a quick research on this hospital last night. You poured a good portion of your money into this place to create state of the art equipment to provide the best quality of care for the children here. However, you have no investors to keep the cash flow coming. Several papers have done hit pieces which suggest you are working with Lex at the hospital in order to experiment on kids.”

“Which are all lies!”

Kara smirked and said, “I know that, but the public needs help with figuring that out.”

“What do you suggest?”

“I propose a partnership between the both of us. You can use photos and videos of me interacting with the kids at the hospital, and I can make an appearance at the hospital’s benefits and events to create a positive spin to rehab this place’s image.”

“And what would you want in return?”

“I just need to work off my $10,000. Plus, it would be an added bonus if this helps people to stop mistaking me for my cousin.”

Lena sighed and placed her head in her hands. 

“I don’t know about all of this.”

Sam came over and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Lena, this really could be we have been waiting for.”

“There has to be another way,” Lena muttered. 

Kara leaned back into her chair with a coy smile. 

“I guess the question you need to ask yourself is if you want your pride to come before the hospital since you don’t have enough money to keep it open another two months.”

Lena smashed her fist on her desk and looked enraged. 

“Hey! That is not fair. I can stretch my funds a little longer until we find somebody…”

Kara brightly smiled while leaning forward. 

“Do tell. Who exactly will be helping? The public hates you. Other superheroes seem to have the same perception as well since I am the only superhero that has applied to your posting other than the trolls since it went live over a year ago.”

The hate for Lena wasn’t exaggerated. The vitriol that Kara read in the paper about Lena made her skin crawl. The other superheroes weren’t much better. Some wanted to torture Lena to find out what she knew about Lex, but Clark stopped them. That startled Kara considering his hatred towards her brother. He said that going after her would go against everything they stood for. Kara often wondered if that was really true or if he was just giving the politically correct response. Kara stared back at Lena. She looked like she was in emotional turmoil twisting her hands like they were on fire.

Sam shook her head and sighed. 

“Lena, we are at the point where it is this or your mother and you know how your mother is.”

Lena placed her head in her arms on the desk and groaned for a moment. 

She looked back up with a grimace on her face. 

“Alright, we have a deal.”

Kara smiled brightly and put out her hand. Lena looked at it with a frown at first but gradually took her hand and shook it.

“Trust me! This will be a start of a beautiful relationship.”

“If only I could believe that fully.”

“Aww. Don’t sulk. I think we can make SuperCorp into a thing.”

Lena raised an eyebrow while staring at Kara.

“SuperCorp?”

“Yeah. A Super and a Corporate woman putting their families petty differences aside to make the world a better place. You can use it in marketing to promote the activities and benefits you want me to come too.”

“I don’t know about that.”

Sam chuckled and said, “It sounds perfect. I can already think of the things we can do with that theme.”

She quickly began jotting several ideas down in her phone.

Lena stared incredulously at her friend and loudly whispered, “Don’t encourage her!”

She turned back to Kara with reigned in passivity. 

“How do I contact you about upcoming events?”

Kara pulled from her pocket a small hand held device and handed it to Lena. She looked back up at Kara with confusion.

“You really just want me to press just the red button and you come running straight here?”

Kara chuckled and said, “While the red button is for emergencies, there are several other smaller buttons that you can used on the device.”

Lena frowned and looked at it more closely. She didn’t notice before, but there were several buttons, a phone and a pen. She pressed the phone icon which produced a holographic keypad where you can dial out and make a call. She noticed it had a contact list which currently only listed Supergirl, but didn’t display the number. She pressed the pen icon which brought up a holographic keyboard where she could type out messages. 

She looked up at Kara impressed but quickly changed her expression to passiveness. 

“This will do just nicely.”

She is so cute trying to hide how much she likes the tech.

Kara was jolted out of thought by a noise coming through her comms. 

“Supergirl, this is Batman. We need you in Central City. Gorilla Grodd and Solomon Grundy are raiding S.T.A.R. Labs.”

Kara sighed because she had been enjoying the tense conversation with the intriguing Ms. Luthor. 

“I am sorry to have to cut this meeting short. Duty calls.”

With that, Kara quickly flew from the room. 

It may take some time, but I think I can win Ms. Luthor over. 

Chapter Text

Lena sat at a table outside of her favorite restaurant Eduardo’s. She was currently looking through the menu with one hand while the other hand was tapping quickly against the table. 

She thought about her conversation with Supergirl a couple of hours ago, and it made her cringe. 

I hate being beholden to someone like her. Who does she think she is anyway?

Lena sighed and shook her head. Normally when people think they had the upper hand on her she would pull out a wild card and lord her brilliance over them. However, Supergirl was the first person in a long time to point out her shortcomings which she loathed. Lena has always prided herself on being self-sufficient, and it irked her that she had to resort to gimmicks like superheroes in order to get people to see the merit of her hospital. 

At least it is not that asshole. I can’t believe that goddess could be associated with a scum like him. 

Lena immediately blushed at the thought.

Sure, Supergirl is attractive. Especially her muscular legs and arms. I wonder if she has a six-pack. 

Lena quickly shook her head and sighed. 

“I need to get out more,” she muttered. 

I need to get back to the matter at hand. I refuse to let her think she won. I have one more trick up my sleeve if I could just play it just right.

She was lost in thought until she heard someone clear their throat.

Lena rolled her eyes, and said “It took you long enough to come back to take my order.” 

She looked up and froze. Sam was standing next to her with a smirk on her face. 

“Already having second thoughts I see.”

“How did you know I was here?” Lena croaked. 

Sam nonchalantly pulled up a chair next to Lena, sat down, and took the menu out of her hand. 

While perusing the menu, she said, “You and I have been best friends since high school. I think I know your more self-destructive habits by now.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Lena scoffed. 

“When something seems too good to be true, you run in the opposite direction into something that is worse than the original option.”

Lena tried to grab the menu back from the clever brunette, but she was way too quick. Lena sat back and sulk. 

“You still didn’t answer how you found me?”

“You’re lovely assistant Jess told me that you were meeting with mommy dearest today.”

“Traitor,” mumbled Lena. 

Sam chuckled and said, “The saint deserves a raise.”

Lena turned away and muttered, “I don’t know why you both care that I went to see my mother anyway.”

“Because neither of us are blind. We know you are here to ask her to fund the hospital, and we will both quit if you go through with this.”

Lena narrowed her eyes and said, “You’re both bluffing.”

Sam took out her purse and produced two letters to hand to Lena. Her face went pale as she realized that they were resignation letters. 

“I thought both of you liked my mother,” said Lena mystified. 

Sam sighed and said, “Your mother is a lovely person when it comes to personal things like friendship and family. I will always be grateful to her for being an amazing support system to Ruby and me when my mom kicked me out of the house at an early age. However, your mom as a businesswoman is…..less than desirable.”

Lena sighed and said, “I know you believe that my mother’s methods are unsavory…"

“That is an understatement. Lillian got where she is today by fear and intimidation. It works with her company, but it doesn’t foster a lot of trust between her and her employees.”

“I know which is why I wasn’t going to ask her for the money.”

“You weren’t?” asked Sam, narrowing her eyes.

“No, I was just going to tell her about our recent dealings with Supergirl is all.”

Sam stared at her for a moment and started chuckling. 

“What’s so funny?” asked Lena, frowning. 

“You think that your mom is going to give you the money to make you stay away from Supergirl.”

“Well, it is not like anyone in the family likes Superman anyway.”

“You do realize that Supergirl is her own person, right?”

Lena rolled her eyes and said, “That is what she keeps on saying.”

Sam shook her head and stared back up at Lena. 

“Okay. Let’s say this plan of yours works. Do you really think your mom will just give you the money and not want anything in return?”

Lena looked down and started playing with the tablecloth. 

“I do expect her to want to make some changes.”

“And what if we don’t agree with those changes? It would be really awkward to tell her no with us owing her billions of dollars.”

“It’s not like she would lord it over us.”

“I don’t think that she would do that, but I do believe the overall objective of the hospital will change if you go through with this.”

Lena frowned and said, “She knows how important it is for me to provide healthcare for children who couldn’t access it. She wouldn’t be so cruel as to cut that part out of the hospital.”

“I don’t think she would do it automatically. I think she would allow us to treat the current patients here because we made a commitment to them. However, she wouldn’t let anyone else enter the program.”

“You think she would phase it out like that?” 

“I do. The thing is she would have some justification on her side. We are bleeding cash right now. If we had a proof of concept that something like this could be sustainable, it would be one thing, but…”

“Proving it to her would take more time than we have…” muttered Lena as she leaned back into her chair and sighed. 

This hospital was something that Lena wanted to survive. She wanted to prove that a Luthor could do something to give back to the community instead of causing it’s destruction. She looked back at Sam forlorn. 

“Supergirl is the only option.”

Lena hated that conclusion being forced on her, but she realized she couldn’t go through causing the integrity of the hospital to change. 

Sam looked at her cheerfully and said, “Glad that you have come to acceptance on everything. Now, we need to figure out how to make Supercorp a thing.”

“What is a Supercorp?”

Lena and Sam both shrieked. They looked up and Lillian was standing across the table from them. 

As she sat down she said, “I didn’t mean to scare you girls. What are you talking about that has you so captivated that you are not noticing your surroundings?”

Lena felt like her mind was short-circuiting. She knew her original thought was to tell her mother everything, but now she wasn’t so sure anymore. 

Lena quickly composed herself and said, “Nothing of importance. We were just hammering out a minor business issue.”

Lillian cocked her head for a moment with her eyes closed. 

“Super…Super…Super…Wait, did you guys finally find a superhero to help with the hospital?” asked Lillian. 

Lena and Sam gave each other bewildered looks. 

I have to give it to my mother. She is always sharp. 

Lena gave her a forced smile and said, “Actually, we have. However, it is at the beginning stages. No need to bore you with the details.”

Lillian chuckled and said, “Nonsense, I would love to hear all about it.”

“I think you would love this particular hero. They are new on the scene but we do believe that our partnership will do wonders with the hospital,” said Sam.

“Don’t oversell it,” muttered Lena while sulking.

Lillian looked at her daughter's expression and mannerisms and frowned. She sat back in her seat and sighed. 

“What is wrong with this person?” asked Lillian.

“Lillian, what makes you think there is something wrong?” asked Sam. 

“My daughter over there is a nervous wreck.”

“Hey!”

“What? It is true. You have one hand quickly tapping on the table and the other one keeps twisting at the tablecloth. Is this superhero you got mediocre? As long it isn’t that moron Booster Gold, it shouldn’t do anything to tarnish the hospital.”

Lena sighed and looked away. 

Lillian moved her chair closer to Lena and wrapped her arm around her shoulders.

“My dear, it will be okay. We could always give that Booster idiot some etiquette lessons and media training. We can make it work.”

“It isn’t him,” Lena muttered. 

“Then, who is it?”

Lena hesitated for a couple of moments, turned to her mother, and said softly, “Supergirl.”

Lena quickly looked away and awaited to be berated, but nothing came. She looked up and was startled to see that her mom had a faraway look about her. 

“Is everything okay Mom?”

Lillian looked back at her puzzled, but then quickly changed back to a warm smile. 

“Everything’s fine dear.”

Lena stared at her startled and said, “Really? You don’t think this is a terrible idea?”

“Why would I?”

“Given Lex’s issues with Superman, I just thought that you would….”

“Support his obsession with him. You need to give me a little more credit than that.”

“Then, why don’t you say anything about his antics?”

“What makes you think I don’t? He just ignores me like everyone else who doesn’t agree with him.”

“But you still fund his endeavors. It is one of the reasons why he doesn’t harass you.”

Lillian shook her head and chuckled.

“What?”

“You know what your brother’s version of love is. Do you think that I am a willing participant in some of the things he does?”

Lena stared at her startled. 

“Has he threatened you?”

Lillian grabbed Lena and Sam’s hands and said, “Lex tends to exploit weaknesses and knows that I would do anything to protect you girls and Ruby. The only silver lining is that he has only wanted money so far.”

“Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” asked Lena

“Yeah, we could have come up with something to help,” said Sam.

Lillian shook her head and said, “This is something for me to worry about. Besides, I would rather talk about the plans that you have for Miss Supergirl.”

Lena and Sam shared a knowing look. She knew that she couldn’t push the issue anymore with her mother, but that wouldn’t stop Sam and her from figuring out ways to help her later. She shook her head. She was baffled at Lex’s antics. Lex had always tortured her because she was illegitimate. However, she thought that he would never mess with Lillian. He always seemed such a mama’s boy. 

One day I will put that psychotic asshole in his place.

Lena shook her head out of her thoughts as she heard part of what Sam was telling her mom. 

“Well, Supergirl says that she will provide promotional videos and photos for the hospital and participate in fundraising events,” said Sam. 

“That sounds very generous,” said Lillian

“It is not like she is doing it out of the goodness of her heart. She needs to work back the damage she has done for the government, and she believes this will help disassociate her image from Superman,” muttered Lena. 

“You make it sound like a bad thing,” said Lillian. 

“It isn’t genuine.”

“Not all things in business are. When an opportunity arises, you don’t hesitate or scoff at it. You quickly embrace it.”

“So you think I should just not worry about her motives?” asked Lena sarcastically.

“I didn’t say all that. Take the opportunity, but you should go in with your eyes wide open. You never want to allow anyone to get the upper hand.”

Lena shook her head and went back to looking at her menu. 

Lillian chuckled, turned to Sam, and said, “I am sorry that I was late to Ruby’s recital last night. By chance, do you have any pictures?”

“Sure, let me send them to you.”

As Sam looked for her phone, Lillian looked down at her own with a frown. She quickly typed out a message and clicked send: We need to talk. We have a situation brewing. 

Chapter Text

Kara liked doing missions with others. She did like doing solo stuff, but the team activities reminded her of her time when she was a cadet in the Kryptonian army. Her best memories were of the camaraderie and friendships that she gained with the other cadets. It was one of the reasons why she was glad she was invited to the League a couple of months ago. As she flew, she thought about the first time she entered the Watch Tower. 

Three Months Ago

Kara stood in front of the window facing Earth.

I can’t believe how beautiful it looks from up here.

It was her first day of joining the League. She initially thought that it would take her a lot longer to be accepted. She stood up straight and smirked. 

They finally recognized me as an equal. 

She almost let out a chuckle until she felt a hand pat her on the back. She looked up and almost frowned when she realized it was Clark. She forced a smile quickly back on her face. 

No way am I going to let this idiot ruin this day for me. 

“Kara, I was wondering where you went off to. I gathered the council together to meet you.”

She nodded and followed Clark down the hallway. 

While they walked, Clark said, “Just want to give you a quick rundown of the council members. While the League is made up of numerous heroes, the council is the one that makes up the rules we abide by. Green Lantern is a drill sergeant. Very much into following the rules. Green Arrow is a good marksman, but very deadly. I don’t know why they let him on the team considering his methods are less than savory. Martian the Manhunter is a very dour being. Always talks about how his planet was taken over by the White Martians. I know he lost his family, but does he have to speak of it so often? It has been 1000 years already. With Wonder Woman, you don’t ever offer to help. If you do, she bites your head off. However, maybe she will let you help since you are a woman and all.”

Supergirl just stared at him baffled. She always knew he was a jackass, but she didn’t think he would have the gall to voice all these things out loud.

“Batman is a loner. I am honestly not sure why he joined the League since it doesn’t seem like he likes missions. He tends to only want to be called when needed. His sole focus is Gotham. The Flash is an intern I guess. He is not a council member yet. We are giving him a trial run. He has been in the League for almost three months. He is a bit flighty. Probably best to go to the others first before asking him for any help.”

If you really feel this way about your team, why are you even with them? 

A part of Kara really wanted to ask, but she had no intention of doing anything that would ruin this day. 

They finally reached the doors to the main room. Kara held her breath as Clark opened the door revealing the main leaders sitting down around a round table. They all looked up at her surprised except for Batman and Green Arrow. Batman looked pissed off for some reason while the Green Arrow frowned. Kara got a sinking feeling deep down in her stomach and was hoping that the looks weren’t about her. 

Clark took a couple of steps in front of her and said, “Everyone. I would like you to meet my cousin Supergirl. She is going to make a fine member of this team.”

Everyone looked at each other startled except for Batman and Green Arrow. Batman was gripping the table. Green Arrow looked like he was going to get up and fight someone until Green Lantern forced him back down. 

Something is wrong. Did Clark…. No, he wouldn’t. 

Clark smirked, stood up straight, and asked, “Is anyone going to welcome our newest member?

They all looked up at each other frowning until The Flash quickly sped up to her extending his hand. 

“Welcome to the team Supergirl. I’m the Flash.”

Kara forced a smile and said, “Thanks. It is nice to meet you.”

Wonder Woman stood up and walked towards her. Well, walking wouldn’t be the right word. It was like she was a model strutting down the catwalk. Kara knew she was a goddess, but she didn’t expect her to seem so ethereal. 

She held out her hand and said, “It is wonderful to meet you Supergirl.” 

Kara shook her hand while blushing. She looked around to the others and none of them seemed to want to budge which caused Kara to become nervous. Wonder Woman seemed to take notice of her demeanor. 

She turned to Kara and said, “I am sorry for not having a warm welcome. You just caught us in the middle of an important development.”

“I hope I didn’t cause any trouble,” said Kara hesitantly. 

Wonder Woman gave her a warm smile and said, “No, you didn’t cause any trouble at all. It is just that this issue is kind of urgent. Do you mind giving us a couple of minutes with your cousin so that we can go over the details with him? Then, we can give you a more proper welcome.” 

Kara slowly nodded. 

I hope I really didn’t cause anything to go wrong. 

Wonder Woman turned to the Flash and said, “Can you give Supergirl a tour of the Watch Tower while we fill Superman on everything that has happened?”

“Sure,” said the Flash hesitantly. 

He nervously motioned Kara to follow him out the door. When the door closed behind him, the Flash started to tell her about the different features of the Watch Tower. However, she tuned him out. She used super hearing to focus on the conversation. 

“You son of a bitch!” said Green Arrow 

“What?”

“You really going to play dumb?” scoffed Green Lantern. 

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” said Superman.

“We told you no when you asked about Supergirl joining the League,” said Batman. 

“I remember, and it was the wrong call.”

“We all voted on the issue. What gives you the right to disregard our feelings?” asked Wonder Woman. 

“That’s rich coming from you since you seem to disregard half the population anyway,” said Clark sarcastically. 

“How dare you!” exclaimed Wonder Woman. 

“It is not my fault the truth hurts,” spat Clark. 

Kara heard a chair flipping over and a loud smack. She then heard the door fly open and crack against the wall. 

Clark sighed and said, “Now, she chooses a time to be sensitive.”

“What the hell is wrong with you?” asked Green Arrow. 

“We need to be working as a team, but you keep pulling bullshit like this that undermines everyone,” said Green Lantern.

“You really think that Supergirl is a bad asset?” asked Clark. 

Batman said, “We don’t know which is the problem. None of us has worked with her. She has only had several battles over the last three months. It really doesn’t give us much data….”

“You and your data. Not everything can be solved by that.”

“If you are that insistent, why not give her a trial run with the Titans? It would give her a chance to not only work with people closer to her age, but it gives us a feel of what she can really do,” said Green Lantern. 

“The Flash is close to her age and he is on the team?”

“How would you know since he wears a mask all the time?” asked Green Lantern. 

“Probably used his X-ray vision, “ muttered Green Arrow.

“I would never!” said Clark, appalled. 

“He is not being entirely honest with us,” murmured Martian the Manhunter.

“I would never violate our member's privacy.”

“I am not talking about that,” said Martian the Manhunter. 

“What do you mean?” asked Green Arrow. 

“He doesn’t think Supergirl is ready for the League, do you Superman?”

“No, that is not it. ”

“I can read your mind despite you trying to drown out your thoughts with the song Don’t Rain On My Parade.”

There was a couple of moments pause before Clark said, “This is a violation of my privacy.”

“Why the hell are you putting us through this if you don’t believe she is ready for the League!” exclaimed Green Arrow. 

“This is the only way I can watch her,” muttered Superman. 

“And that doesn’t sound creepy at all,” said Green Lantern sarcastically. 

“It is not like that. I can’t let her fly out with that logo, possibly embarrassing me. With her in the League, I would have a better chance of monitoring her comings and goings and making sure she has a better outcome in battle.”

“While I am not sure if she is ready for the League, she isn’t defenseless as you are making her out to be right now. She doesn’t need your hand holding through battles,” said Batman. 

“This is rich coming from you. Didn’t one of your proteges die because of your lack of care?” 

Kara then heard a scuffle where she heard several smacks until she heard one that resulted in a crack followed by a loud thud. 

“How did you do that to him?” marveled Green Lantern. 

“Kryptonite rings work wonders,” said Batman. 

“How much to buy one off you?” asked Green Arrow. 

“We have a serious problem on our hands. What are we going to do about Supergirl?” asked Martian the Manhunter.

Kara then felt something on her arm. She looked up and saw the Flash staring at her with concern. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Why?”

“You have tears streaming down your face.”

Kara touched her face startled. She didn’t realize she had been crying all this time. 

She shook her head and said, “No, I am really okay.”

Flash frowned and said, “No you're not. I can only imagine what you heard when we left the room.”

“You know about my super hearing?” asked Kara, startled. 

The Flash chuckled and said, “I kind of assumed. You would think the intellects in there would realize sending you away wouldn’t prevent you from hearing them.”

“Why did you play along?” asked Kara while wiping her face. 

The Flash paused and then sighed, “Your cousin recently has been making a lot of unilateral decisions without informing the team or just plain disregarding things that we have agreed on. It was a conversation that needed to be had before things got worse.”

“I didn’t realize.”

“Nor would we expect you. However, I do want to make one thing clear before we continue. I believe that you have the makings of being a great League member.”

“You don’t have to say that,” muttered Kara. 

The Flash patted her on the back and said, “One thing you should know about me is that I don’t say things I don’t mean. I am happy to have someone closer to my age on the team.”

“Ah, so you are younger than how you appear,” chuckled Kara slightly.

“Just don’t let the others know,” chuckled the Flash. 

Kara sighed and said, “So you really think I have what it takes huh?”

“I do. I have seen your battles on TV. You are doing a lot better than when I first started out.” 

Kara smiled and said, “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to find something to eat. I have to consume 10,000 calories a day so that I don’t pass out. Want to join me in the mess hall?”

“Sure!” 

Unknown to Kara as she happily followed Flash, another conversation was brewing. 

Batman, Green Arrow, Martian the Manhunter, and Green Lantern sat around the round table. They were staring at a knocked-out Clark. 

“How long do you think he will be out for?” asked Green Arrow. 

“Given his healing rate, I say about twenty more minutes,” said Batman. 

“Great, that gives us time to get out of this mess the idiot put us in,” muttered Green Lantern.

“What do you propose we do?” asked Martian the Manhunter.

“Obviously tell Supergirl that Superman made an error and offer her to join the Titans instead,” said Green Arrow. 

“I agree. It will give us time to observe her fighting abilities and her temperament especially. We don’t need another huge ego like Superman,” said Green Lantern.

“I think we should let her stay,” said Batman. 

“What!” exclaimed Green Arrow. 

“I think we should give her a chance to see how she does.”

Green Lantern frowned and said, “I am kind of surprised by your stance. You don’t have any concerns.”

“I do, but it is more long-term concerns,” said Batman. 

Martian the Manhunter frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

The Dark Knight looked over to the fallen Superman and sighed. 

He shook his head and said, “Superman has been a problem for a while. I don’t know if he is just going through something or this has been his personality all along, and it is just now starting to surface.” 

“What does that have to do with Supergirl?” asked Green Arrow.

“What if Superman loses control? What then?”

Green Arrow chuckled and said, “You easily took him out with that ring. I think we would be okay, especially if it is the six of us.”

Batman gave him a deadpan look and said, “The ring worked today because I had the element of surprise and his arrogance blinded him into thinking no one would go against him. He is not stupid enough to fall for the same thing twice.”

“I know it might be hard, but…” said Green Arrow.

“Batman is right. Superman is way too unpredictable. And honestly, if we send her back alone, she is going to be solely under his influence. Do we really want that?” asked Martian the Manhunter.

“Is it really our responsibility?” asked Green Arrow.

“It is if she starts doing the same things as him or something worse,” said Green Lantern

Green Arrow stared at them all baffled, shook his head, and said, “I hate this.” 

“I don’t think any of us are happy with it, but if shit hits the fan with Superman, I would rather her being mentored and working with us than with that narcissist,” said Batman. 

They all stared at Superman for another minute before shaking their heads and gradually leaving the room. 

Present day

Ever since that day in the Watch Tower, Kara has gone out of her way to prove herself to the League that she deserved to be there despite Superman strong-arming them. She hoped that today would be another way for her to showcase her strengths and talents. When Supergirl got to the S.T.A.R. Labs, she headed directly for the hill next to the building where Batman directed her to land. The Dark Knight and The Flash were already there waiting for her. She tried to mentally prepare herself. 

“So what is the situation?” asked Kara. 

“I am not sure yet. I just got here before you,” said the Flash. 

They both stared at Batman quizzically.

“From the 911 calls, we have narrowed down that Grundy and Grodd broke in and are currently going through the place. They are not sure what they are looking for. So far they haven’t harmed anyone, and have let the civilians leave,” said Batman.

“Ok, so now that we know there are no civilians around, we should go in and take them out,” said the Flash. 

Kara and the speedster were about to head off, but Batman grabbed them from behind. They both looked back at him startled. 

“Why did you stop us? asked Kara, frowning. 

“Yeah, and why are we huddled up outside? Normally, we head right into the action.”

Batman sighed and said, “The IRS has been cracking down on us about the property damage issue…”

Kara rolled her eyes and the Flash sighed and walked away a few feet. 

“Not this again,” said Kara sarcastically.

“I am not thrilled with them either. However, they did make one point that is hard to ignore.”

Kara chuckled at the notion.

What could those pencil pushers who hide behind their desk know about the blood and sweat we shed every time we go out into battle?

She started to ball her fist in rage. 

“Are we really going to take advice from them? No offense to them, but what would they know about that art of battle?” asked the Flash.

“They know how to work together in a team,” said Batman.

The Flash and Kara stared at him startled. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked the Flash.

“I want you to think about the last mission that you had when you fought the person solo and when you fought the person paired up with someone. Which was more successful?”

Kara thought back to her previous cases. None of them had failed, but she did notice one glaring difference which caused her to wince. She looked at the Flash and he was grimacing. 

Probably came to the same conclusion that I did.

Batman looked between both of them and asked, “Are either of you going to answer?”

Kara looked down and paused for a moment before saying, “I tended to do worse on missions where I was working with someone else.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” muttered Kara.

Batman narrowed his eyes and said, “So you are not going to admit that you have a tendency to showboat around Superman which causes you to be careless during battle.”

Kara stared at him wide-eyed, “I wouldn’t say that…”

Batman sighed and said, “You actually do fine when you are on missions with others. But when Superman appears out of nowhere, it is like you lose your focus.”

Kara began twiddling her thumbs. She never met someone that was so perceptive about her and she hated it. 

The Flash looked nervously back and forth between Batman and Kara and said, “Is that something that is her fault though? A lot of the battles where he shows up, he isn’t necessarily needed.”

Batman gradually turned and locked eyes with the Flash which caused him to gulp.

“Do you have any light to shed on your past battles?”

The Flash looked away from him and said, “I may have been told on several occasions that I have the tendency to act before assessing the situation.”

“Glad you have had some insight,” said Batman gruffly. 

Kara wanted to defend the Flash, but what he said was true. He was always the first to act on a mission that had caused things to get worse before it got better. Kara shook her head and sighed. 

“What do you suggest we do?”

“The League will be doing a trial test over the next three months. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and I will be leading team exercises during that time in the hope of building camaraderie and combat skills between the members.”

Kara smirked and the Flash chuckled at the last part. Batman narrowed his eyes at the speedster. 

“Is something funny?”

The Flash looked up nervously and said, “I am sorry about that. It is just that you don’t seem like the type of person that likes socializing.”

Batman stared at him sternly before continuing, “The reason why the three of us are leading teams is because we have had past experience. Green Lantern had to work with the Green Lantern Corp, Wonder Woman had to train and battle with her Amazonian sisters, and I mentored and trained the Bat Family back in Gotham. The two of you will be working with me for the next three months.”

“I am surprised Superman didn’t volunteer for this,” murmured Kara. 

Batman stared at her with a slight smirk on his face which quickly turned back to passive. It was so quick that Kara almost missed it. She shivered. His smirk was kind of unnerving. 

“Superman did volunteer for this actually and in particular wanted the both of you to be on a team with him. However, we had a feeling that he might have used the time you had together to showboat as the Flash so eloquently mentioned earlier.”

The Flash started to chuckle. Kara had to pinch herself to keep her from bursting out laughing. 

The Bat has a slight sense of humor to boot. He is more intriguing than I give him credit for. 

Batman looked at both of them and asked, “Now, I want you guys to tell me what you think the best approach in the current situation is right now.”

The Flash and Kara stared quizzically at each other a moment before the speedster said, “I think I should go in first to scout the place while you guys follow. We shouldn’t have to worry about Grodd’s telepathy since the Atom updated our comms to block his power against us.”

“A good start, but there is an even better option,” said Batman. 

Kara hesitated for a minute and said, “I could fly above the building to use my x-ray vision to scan the place to pinpoint where they are exactly. Then, I could direct us to different points of entry. Once we are in position, we can then enter the building and easily cut them off.”

“Good assessment. Best we get started then,” said Batman. 

Kara beamed a wide smile and the Flash gave her a pat on the back and a thumbs up. She flew off excitedly. She got into position and looked through the building. It took her a minute to see that they were on the first floor of the south corner of the building.

“I see that Grodd and Grundy are on the bottom level in the south corner of the building. It looks like they are ransacking a room in search of something. I can come at them from the top while the Flash can cut them off in the south entrance and Batman can come in from the North.”

“Good plan. Let’s get into position,” said Batman. 

Before they did anything, they heard static coming from the comms followed by a voice. 

“Hey, I am about ten minutes out from you guys. If you wait, I can help,” said Clark.

Kara froze, balling up her fist. 

He does this more and more. I can’t stand it. 

“Superman, we got this. I am heading into the building now,” said Supergirl. 

“Supergirl, wait!” yelled Batman.

Kara turned off her comms and flew into the building. 

Batman turned to Flash and yelled, “Go after her and provide support. I will enter through the other entrance to make sure that they don’t get away.”

The Flash nodded and sped off. Batman headed to the North entrance of the building. He had a handle on everything until a certain someone had to intervene. 

“Batman what is the situation?” asked Clark.

“This doesn’t need your attention. Supergirl, Flash, and I have this handle. Don’t come down here,” said Bruce sternly.

“But I could….” said Clark.

“Listen. If you come down here, you and I will have a problem. Do you understand me?” growled Batman. 

Superman sighed and said, “Fine. Hopefully, she doesn’t make a mess of things.”

The line went silent. 

“It is no wonder she has such a complex,” muttered Batman as he entered the North side of the building.

Chapter Text

Kara entered the building through the service entrance on the roof and flew down the stairwell until she reached the bottom floor. She quietly walked down the hallway until she heard voices. She peeked through the door at the end of the hallway and saw that Grundy and Grodd were still inside. Grodd was busy still looking for something. However, Kara focused more on Grundy. He wasn’t doing anything. He was frozen in place with a blank expression on his face. Kara knew that he was the living dead, but normally he was more animated than this. She slowly approached as Grodd continued to do his search.

“Where is it? The device should be here!” exclaimed Grodd while throwing a table into the wall. 

“If you had asked nicely, maybe someone would have been willing to help you,” exclaimed Kara as she punched Grodd from behind, sending him flying into a wall. While Grodd was momentarily indisposed, Kara turned her attention back to Grundy expecting an attack. However, he was still standing in the same place when she first entered the room. She went towards him and waved her hands in his face. He didn’t even blink. Kara stared at him baffled. 

“What did he do to you?”

While she was lost in thought, Kara heard the Flash shout, “Kara, behind you!”

Kara looked behind her to see Grodd’s fist come close to her face. She ducked just in time causing Grodd to stumble forward. While he regained his balance, Supergirl saw a blur sped through from behind and punched him in the back which caused him to hit the floor hard. 

Kara turned to Flash and said, “Thanks for the save.”

The Flash smiled and said, “Anytime.”

Grodd gradually got back up and stared at the two heroes disgruntled. 

“I don’t have time for you fools. Grundy! Defend your Master!”

All of a sudden, a loud groaning noise filled the room. Kara turned around and was unsettled by what she saw. Grundy had turned to look at them but his eyes were rolled to the back of his head and his mouth was wide open. 

The Flash turned to Grodd startled and asked, “What did you do to him?”

Grodd smiled menacingly and said, “I did what I must to ensure my legacy. Grundy was initially resistant, but some fine-tuning helped him to see things my way.”

Grodd walked away as Grundy ran full speed at the two heroes. The Flash dodged to the side and Kara started to fly above. Kara thought that she had a good vantage point. However, Grundy jumped high enough to grab her by the foot and swing her to the side crashing into the Flash. The impact was great enough to cause them to both hit a wall. 

“Oww” groaned Kara, gradually sitting up. 

“That hurt,” muttered the Flash getting up.

Kara looked up and saw Grundy moving full speed ahead again. 

Kara turned to the speedster and said, “You take him from below and I will try to take him from above. “

“Will do.”

The Flash sped forward and circled around him multiple times generating enough energy to shoot off a lightning bolt. It hit Grundy squarely in the chest causing him to go backwards. Kara flew up above and blew her freeze breath on him and encased him in ice. 

Kara landed right in front of her ice sculpture and grimaced. The Flash came up behind her and stopped in front of Grundy.

Kara turned to the Flash and said, “How do you think Grundy was being controlled? I thought that Grodd can only mind control living things and Grundy is the undead.”

The Flash frowned and said, “I have two working theories. Either magic is involved which I don’t know if Grodd would really subscribe to that level of mysticism or there is some type of mechanical device embedded in Grundy that is forcing him to do these things.”

Kara used her X-ray vision to scan Grundy’s body. It took her a minute, but she finally found what she was looking for.”

“He has a small mechanical device underneath his right ear that seems to be emitting some type of electronic pulse,” murmured Kara. 

“Scary to have the control of your body taken away like that,” marveled the speedster. 

“It is,” said Kara softly.

The speedster turned to Kara and asked, “So, about earlier?”

“What about earlier?” asked Kara startled. 

The speedster sighed and said, “Superman radioing in that he wants to come in on the mission with us.”

Kara tried to keep her face passive but struggled. She hated that she let him get to her each and every time. She wanted to prove that she had what it takes. 

“Do we have to talk about it now?” Kara asked with her voice strained. 

The Flash gave her a soft smile and patted her on the back. 

“When you want to talk, I will be there to listen.”

“Thanks!” Kara said while giving a slight smile. 

Kara turned to look back at Grundy. She didn’t want to leave him there with the mind control device on him. She was about to use her laser vision to destroy it, but she heard a cracking noise followed by a bam. She looked down but it was too late. Grundy’s arm had broken free of the ice and his hand wrapped around her neck gradually squeezing it. Flash went to try to help, but Grundy’s other arm broke free and grabbed him by the neck. Grundy swung his arms back and flung the heroes forward into the wall creating a crater. 

Grundy swung both hands to the ground and hit it at full force. The impact caused a crack to rapidly form on the ground that quickly spread to the wall that the supers hit. The crack spiraled upwards towards the roof causing it to collapse and bury the heroes. Grundy went forward towards the wreckage but stopped when he saw two metal balls hit close to him. The balls started to release gas that spread everywhere which caused Grundy to thrash around aimlessly in rapid rage. While Grundy was distracted, Batman headed towards the wall wreckage. 

“Supergirl! Flash! Can you hear me?” shouted Batman. 

The gravel from the wreckage slowly moved as Kara gradually climbed out followed by the Flash. They were covered in dust. 

“Are you guys okay?” asked Batman. 

“Just peachy,” groaned the Flash.

“Never have I looked more forward to a long hot bath,” muttered Kara. 

“Any of you figured why Grundy is more aggressive than usual?” asked Batman. 

While wiping the dust off her costume, Kara said, “There is a small metallic device under his ear that is emitting some type of electrical stimuli into his body. If I get close enough, I think I can remove it.”

They suddenly heard clapping, looked over, and saw Grodd clapping about 15 feet to the side of them. 

“You think it will be so easy to take my masterpiece off of Grundy? Then, let's make it a more even playing field.” 

Grodd threw two baseball-sized metal objects at them. Kara and the Flash easily caught them. 

The Flash smirked and said, “You really think these were going to take us out.”

Suddenly, there was a pop noise. The balls opened revealing a tiny electric lightning that zapped them briefly causing them both to drop the balls. 

“Kind of anticlimactic,” muttered The Flash. 

“Not everything I do is for the dramatics,” smirked Grundy. 

Kara shook her head. She was getting tired of this primate’s smugness. She started to try to fly, but couldn’t. She then tried to stare and use her laser vision, but nothing happened. 

She panickedly turned to the speedster and said, “Something is wrong. I can’t use my powers.”

The Flash tried to get himself to vibrate but nothing happened. He turned to Grodd mortified. 

“What did you do to us?”

Grodd chuckled and said, “It is quite genius really. I realized that some types of lightning can subdue the powers of a speedster. I combined it with the light of a red sun so it can be multipurpose for your Kryptonian friends as well. The effects are not permanent. However, I wonder how you will fare against Grundy in this condition.”

Grodd turned to Grundy and said, “I came for what I was looking for. Finish off these nuisances.”

Grodd runs towards the exit to escape. Grundy rushes towards them. 

Batman turns towards Kara and the Flash and aaked, “Do you think you can fend off Grundy while I go after Grodd?”

Kara knew the odds were against them without her powers. Grundy was inhumanly strong. 

Let’s hope my military background shines through all this. 

Kara turned to Batman and said, “Go, we can handle it.”

“We will be fine,” said the Flash.

Batman nodded and gave chase to Grodd. 

Grundy turned his direction to go after Batman. Kara took a stone from the ground and threw it at Grundy. 

“Hey, idiot! Who said you could leave?”

Grundy turned around screaming. 

“Did you really have to make him mad?” asked the Flash.

“It was the best I could come up with,” muttered Kara. 

Grundy started charging towards them.

“Well, I suggest we start running then,” said the speedster.

The Flash grabbed Kara and started running in the opposite direction from Batman. As Kara and the Flash ran around keeping Grundy distracted. Batman finally had Grundy in his sights. He threw his bat ring at Grodd which grazed his shoulder causing him to falter. Batman took that slight to high kick Grodd from behind which caused him to fumble forward into a wall and drop the device he was holding. It crashed to the ground breaking into multiple pieces. 

Grodd looked down horrified and yelled, “Do you know what you have done?”

The gorilla turned to Batman with rage in his eyes and charged towards him. He swung his arm at Batman, but he ducked. Grodd kept throwing punches until one landed and hit Batman in the chest. The force of the punch causes him to fly into the wall. Grodd turns to leave, but Batman throws the bat lasso which proceeds to wrap around the gorilla's feet causing him to fall and hit the ground in a loud thud. As Batman gradually walked towards Grodd, the gorilla easily tore through the lasso and charged toward him. 

The Dark Knight tried to dodge, but Grodd grabbed his cap and threw him into the wall again. 

Grodd smiled menacingly while walking towards Batman and said, “I will take great pleasure ending your pathetic life after you took my chance of having a new life away from me.”

Batman smirked and asked, “What makes you think you have won?”

Grodd laughed and said, “I must have hit you so hard that you are not thinking straight. No matter. Let me put you out of your misery.”

Grodd was so busy laughing that he didn’t notice that Batman hit a button on his utility belt. As Grodd was about to land a final blow to Batman in the stomach, he froze. His face quickly turned to pain. He fell to the floor writhing in pain. 

He grabbed his head and screamed, “That noise. Where is it coming from?”

“The bat ring that grazed your shoulder was laced with nanobots. I just needed to distract you long enough for them to get to your brain before I activated them. Scientists have noticed the frequency they produce while moving can impair even the greatest of telepaths.”

“Make it stop!”

“I will if you tell me what you were doing here.”

“Never!”

“Well, I guess you can writhe in pain until the cops get here.”

Grodd gave him an incredulous look before breaking down.

“Fine. Fine. I was trying to use the device to make more gorillas like me.”

“Why?”

“Why would I want to be only intellect among a mass of stupidity?”

Batman sighed while taking out more nanobots and placing them around Grodd’s wrists and ankles. The nanobots quickly formed around his wrist and ankles as large metal bands. Batman pressed the button on the utility button to stop the frequency wave. Grodd moaned in relief. 

“At least what I wanted to do is more noble, unlike the horrors the device was originally intended for. Humanity’s abuse of technology will be their downfall.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’re the so-called Great Detective. Figure it out yourself,” spat Grodd.

Batman was about to question him more until he heard a huge crash. He sprinted back toward the area that Supergirl and the Flash were in. By the time he reached the room, he saw Grundy flung the Flash into a wall. Kara had her arms wrapped around Grundy’s neck and was holding on for dear life. 

“Hold on!” shouted Batman. 

He flung his bat ring at Grundy which hit him in the chest. It sent a wave of electricity coursing through his body causing him to scream. Grundy grabbed Kara from behind and tried to pull her off. Right before he managed to rip her hold on him, she was able to grab the metal device from under his ear before he flung her into a wall. Grundy faltered forward as his eyes went back to normal. He shook his head and looked around confused. 

“Where is Grundy?”

Batman rushed towards Kara crumpled on the floor. 

“Supergirl, are you ok?”

Kara forced a smile while barely raising her hand with the metallic device. 

“See, we were able to get this off him.”

She coughed into her other hand. When she looked at it, it was covered in blood. 

“We need to get you out of here! Can you move?”

Kara looked around and noticed that things were getting darker. 

“I don’t know…”

Before she could finish, everything went dark. 

Chapter Text

Kara looked up and smiled. Above her was Rao’s light shining down on her. She was surrounded by rolling green hills with a bubbling river nearby. She lay down with her eyes closed in the warm grass feeling the light tips against her fingers. She smiled as the heat from the red sun warmed her face. She felt a gentle hand nudged her. She looked up and saw her mom sitting next to her. She was wearing her blue ceremonial outfit for the House of El, with their family motto printed boldly in the center of her chest. Her long, curly brown hair hugged her face as she stared at Kara with so much love and warmth.

Kara smiled and said, “You’re here.”

Her mother chuckled and said, “Where else would I be?”

“I thought that you would be with Dad and the other scientists discussing the tremors around the city.”

“I think I had enough time listening to pompous men thinking that they know everything.”

“Even dad?” smirked Kara. 

Her mother chuckled and lightly slapped Kara’s arm.

“You know your dad is the exception. Your father is the only one other than me of course with common sense in that group.”

“Maybe, if you guys collected more data, you could…”

Her mother shook her head and said, “The tremors aren’t my main concern right now. I am more concerned about you.”

Kara frowned and asked, “Why?”

Her mother looked back out at the grassy hill and sighed. 

“I often worried that we set you up with an impossible task.”

Kara sat up, grabbed her mom’s hand in hers, and said, “You never did such a thing.”

Her mom gave her a forced smile and said, “But, we did. We sent you off into the unknown to watch over Kal El. I was 28 when I had you and felt overwhelmed. You were only 22 with no support…”

Kara hugged her mom and said, “You don’t have to worry. I arrived much later than Kal. He is an adult now.”

Kara looked down, sighed, and said, “He obviously doesn’t need me around. He just thinks I am a nuisance.”

Her mother shook her head and said, “You are no such thing. You are one of the bravest people that I know. You are always the first to volunteer to go into situations where I have seen grown men falter. Did someone forget that they were the youngest cadet ever to become a corporal?”

Kara chuckled and said, “I remembered the baffled look on Major Sans’ face. He told me I would fail out my first year.”

“And you proved him wrong.”

Kara looked at her mom wistfully and said, “I wish I had a chance to be in my new position. Back then I had a purpose.”

“Purpose is ever evolving.”

Kara frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

“You still have the same purpose of protecting Kal El. It is just the method of what you have to do has changed.”

Kara rolled her eyes and said, “That jackass could care less what I would think. Besides, he is doing fine on his own.”

“Are you so sure about that?” asked her mother. 

Kara frowned and tried to look up at her mother. However, everything had turned blurry. The red sunlight had intensified around her making it harder to see.

Kara placed her hand over her face and winced.

“Mom, I don’t understand.”

She heard her mother’s voice but she felt it was drifting. As the light became brighter and brighter, her mother said, “Remember the first principle of your training as a cadet. Kal El’s life depends on it.”

Kara jolted up breathing heavily. She looked around and noticed that she was sitting in a bed that had a sunlamp right above her. 

No wonder why I felt like there was sunlight on me.

She looked around more at her new environment and was startled. She was in a cave. A very well-lit cave. There were bats flying overhead. 

I guess that answers where I am at. 

She heard rumors before about Batman's supposed lair. She thought it was all myths about hiding in caves with bats especially considering how high-tech his weapons were. She shook her head. 

Looks like there was some truth to the rumors.

She looked to her left and was startled. There was a man unconscious in a bed a couple of feet from her. She didn’t recognize him at all. He had brown hair and peach-colored skin and wearing a white shirt. He appeared to be similar in age to her. 

Wonder if he is one of the Robins or even Nightwing. 

She tried to get up but winced. It felt like her body had been hit by a ton of bricks. She looked down at herself and was startled. She wasn’t in her Supergirl outfit anymore but in a nightgown.

“Hopefully my suit wasn’t destroyed,” muttered Kara.

She groaned again as she slowly made a second attempt to get out of bed. Once she got on her feet, she had to steady herself for several minutes. She looked over again at the unconscious man. He seemed to be the only person near and she wasn’t sure if she could make it around to explore. 

Hopefully, he is up for questions about this place.

Kara moved slowly towards the man. She tried to check to see if any of her powers like x-ray vision or super hearing worked so that she could try to see if there was anything wrong with the person, but none of her powers were working. 

Kara sighed and said, “I miss my powers.”

“You and me both,” the man mumbled. 

He sat up in the bed gradually and turned to stare at her. 

He smiled and said, “It is good to see you are awake. I wondered about you earlier.”

Kara looked back at the man hesitantly. She recognized the voice, but couldn’t place it for some reason. Didn’t help that her hearing was way less sensitive than normal since her powers were still gone. 

The guy looked at her quizzically for a moment and then started to chuckle. 

“I guess it is hard to recognize me without the mask, huh?

Kara stared at him for a moment quizzically until it dawned on her. 

“Flash, is that really you?” asked Kara baffled. 

The speedster chuckled and said, “I don’t know if I should take the shock in your voice as a good or a bad thing.”

Kara looked at him sheepishly and said, “No, it is nothing like that. It is just that other than my cousin, I haven’t met anyone else in their real-life personas.” 

“Makes sense given the secret identity and all.” 

He smiled, extended his hand out to her, and said, “Well, since the cat is out of the bag now, let me introduce myself. I am Barry Allen.”

She smiled and shook his hand. 

“My name is Kara Zor El, the last daughter of Krypton. I go by Kara Danvers on Earth though.”

“Nice to meet you, Kara.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

Barry tried to move himself so that he could sit on the edge of the bed in order to face Kara more, but the movement caused him to wince in pain. 

Kara looked down and began twiddling her thumbs. 

“I owe you an apology,” said Kara softly.

“For what?” asked Barry frowning. 

She closed her eyes and sighed. 

“I should have…I should have….”

Kara tried to hold back tears, but some started to break through. 

“Don’t cry. I am okay,” said the Flash softly.

“But it is my fault that this happened,” wailed Kara. 

“Sometimes missions go sideways. At least we completed the mission.”

“What makes you say that?” mumbled Kara while wiping her eyes. 

“I take it that you didn’t see the tablets next to our beds.”

Kara looked next to her and was surprised that there were tables next to the beds with phones, tablets, and a small basket of snacks. The speedster took the tablet and started scrolling until he found what he was looking for and handed her the tablet.

“See! Grodd is in jail and Grundy was eventually released since he was being controlled against his will.”

However, Kara was no longer looking at the article. She was staring at what it showed at the top of the screen.

“It says that this article was published 3 days ago!” exclaimed Kara. 

“Yeah, I saw that. I didn’t realize we had been out that long. I just woke up a couple of hours ago.”

Kara looked at him and frowned. 

“How are you so calm about this?”

The Flash chuckled and said, “Honestly, this isn’t been the longest that I have been unconscious for. When I first got my powers, I was was knocked out for 6 months,” 

“Wow!”

“I know. It was a lot to take in. But I got cool powers after the end of it. It is the same this time.”

“How so?”

“We are in the Bat Cave!”

Kara looked at him quizzically and said, “I get that, but why is that a big deal.”

“Big deal. Big Deal! How are you not reacting to all of this?”

“What is so great about the Bat Cave.”

The Flash looked at her baffled and said, “It is Batman’s lair. He has never revealed the bat cave to anyone other than those in the Bat Family. I have asked him the last several months to see it, and he would just stare at me for a couple of seconds and walk away. This has been my ultimate dream since I was a little kid.”

Kara gave a small smile and said, “I am glad to see that your dream came true. I just wished it happened under better circumstances.”

“It is good to see that you both are awake now.”

Supergirl and the Flash balked and turned to the side to see a man a couple of yards away walking towards them with a cart that had multiple trays. He was on the elderly side and dressed in a suit and tie. Kara went into a fighting stance.

“Who are you?”

The man stopped and chucked.

“My name is Alfred Pennyworth. I am the caretaker of Master Bru…Batman’s headquarters.”

“I can’t believe he actually has staff for the place,” marveled the Flash. 

Kara relaxed and looked at him sheepishly. 

“Sorry about being so defensive.”

Alfred smiled and said, “Don’t worry dear. I imagine waking up in a strange place can be quite unsettling, but rest assured we did our best to get both of you back to 100%.”

Kara nodded towards the sun lamps and said, “I am kind of surprised that he had those lying about.”

“Fortunately for you, your cousin has had a need for this in the past.”

“Really?”

Alfred smirked and said, “I have never met a person in my 70 years of life who doesn’t have some type of flaw or weakness. It would be kind of foolish to think otherwise.”

Kara cocked her head at him for a moment. It made her think about her dream and her mother’s request. 

I wonder…..

The Flash inched over towards the table and said, “Please tell me that there is food in there.”

Alfred unveiled the tops from the trays and Kara stared at the table startled. Not only was it filled to the brim with food, but it was with all her favorites: pancakes from Noonan’s, double-decker with cheese and cheese fries from Big Belly Burger, the Oreo cookie malt that she liked from The Dairy Shack across the street from her apartment and so much more. She looked over at the speedster and saw he had the same look as her. 

She turned to Alfred and asked, “How does he know what food we like?”

Alfred smirked and said, “He doesn’t get called the Great Detective for nothing.”

Kara just rolled her eyes. 

The Flash smiled and said, “It’s weird, but I am too hungry to care at this point.”

He started digging in. Kara sighed and started grabbing food and then settled in the chair next to the Flash. 

Alfred smiled and said, “I am glad you guys are enjoying the food. Batman will be in shortly to give you the rundown of what happened after the mission.”

With that, he left. Kara gulped at that last statement. She wasn’t looking forward to the upcoming conversation. 

As her mind started to spiral, the speedster said, “Don’t worry.”

Kara cocked her head and asked, “What?”

“You worry too much. It will be like a bandaid. It will hurt coming off, but then you will quickly move on to the next thing.”

“Is that really how you think the conversation is going to go?”

The Flash gulped and Kara yelped. They slowly turned around and saw Batman staring back at them. 

“Well, maybe…” said Barry before he stopped after seeing Batman narrow his eyes at him. 

Batman turned to Kara and asked, “Why are you not under the sun lamps? You need to stay under there for another 10 hours for you to be completely healed.”

Kara sheepishly ran back to her bed and laid down. Batman sighed and shook his head. 

“I am glad to see that both of you are awake and are able to move.”

“Yeah, I thought that there would be more damage considering we were fighting Grundy without our powers,” said Barry softly. 

“Well, since you brought it up, let’s go over your medical prognosis. Flash, you had a broken back, several broken ribs, and a cracked skull. We had to put you into a medically induced coma in order to keep you stable. Fortunately for you, Grodd’s device only muted your powers, not completely draining them like he originally thought. If it had, you could have been facing paralysis right now.”

Barry let out a low whistle while muttering, “Wow,”

Batman turned to Kara and said, “Supergirl, you had a punctured lung, broke both your legs, and your right arm. Grodd’s device seemed to zap you of your powers though for the time being. If it weren’t for the sun lamps, you would be dead now from all the excess blood loss.”

Kara winced at that last statement. She knew her injuries were probably bad, but she didn’t think it would be that bad. 

Batman gradually moved forward more making sure that he was equidistant between Kara and Barry. 

Batman growled, “This has been the most botched mission I have ever been on. We nearly lost lives in the field.” Batman turned to Kara, which caused her to gulp, and narrowed his eyes. “Because someone has a deep-rooted complex about themselves.”

“But at least we caught the bad guys,” said Barry hesitantly. 

Batman stared at him with a raised eyebrow and asked, “We caught them, but at what cost? Did you stop and think about the effects of the single decision that was made at the beginning of this mission?”

Barry wavily said, “No.”

“I thought so. Due to the decision to abandon the original plan, nearly cost you both your lives, your cities that you normally guard have been left undefended for several days so other League members had to divert from their normal duties to help out, and excessive damage was done to S.T.A.R. Labs.” 

Batman turned to Kara and narrowed his eyes. 

“All of this could have been avoided if someone had listened instead of reacting with their emotions.”

Kara winced. She wanted to say something to defend herself, but she couldn’t. She exposed her teammates to danger due to her own insecurities. She felt ashamed of her antics. 

Barry stared back and forth between Kara and Batman and said, “I know what she did was reckless, but shouldn’t something be said about the way that Superman acts when she is on missions though.”

“So you think that should excuse everything that happened several days ago?”

“No, that is not what I am saying….”

Kara smiled softly and said, “I appreciate you trying to not make this totally my fault, Flash, but Batman is right. I put you guys in danger due to my emotional issues and I am deeply sorry. I hope you both can forgive me.”

“It is already forgiven,” said Barry.

Kara looked up at Batman. He stared at her calculating for a moment before sighing and rubbing the back of his neck.

“The only thing we can do is move forward.”

“How?” asked Kara softly.

Batman sighed and said, “Well, we need to change our approach to our teamwork.”

He looked at both Kara and the Flash for a couple of seconds before asking, “What are your plans on Saturday and Sunday?”

Kara and Barry looked at each other confused and then back at Batman.

“Well, I normally do stuff with friends so…” said Barry.

Batman narrowed his eyes at him. 

“I am guessing that is the wrong answer.”

“You guess correctly. For the next three months, every Saturday and Sunday, you will be spending in Gotham. We will train for part of the day on Saturday and go patrolling at night. On Sundays, you will be going patrolling with one of my proteges.”

“Do we really have to do both days?” asked the Flash hesitantly. 

“I could make it just Saturday, but then you would both need to pay me back $1 million a piece for the damages at S.T.A.R. Labs?”

“What!” they both exclaimed. 

“Given the fight you two had, did you really expect there not to be any property damage?”

Barry sighed and Kara looked up sheepishly.

“Thank you for paying for everything,” said Kara.

“Yes, thank you! I can’t imagine that amount on top of my student loans,” Barry laughed nervously.

“Did you guys have any questions before I head out?” asked Batman. 

“Well, more so a concern. About the whole secret identity thing? You won’t…”

“Tell anyone?” asked Batman. 

“Well, yeah. I don’t mind everyone in this room knowing about me, but I would like to keep it from getting around the League if possible,” said Barry hesitantly.

“I have known about your identity long before this. I have no intention of sharing it with anyone now,” said Batman.

“How is that even possible? I am very guarded with my identity,” said Kara. 

“Same here,” said Barry.

“I find that people are not as careful as they think they are with their information.”

He turned to Barry and said, “Bartholomew Allen.” 

He turned to Kara and said, “Kara Zor El, aka Kara Danvers, or will you start using the alias Karen Starr that you seem recently fond of?”

Both Kara and Barry stared at Batman baffled. 

As he turned to walk away, Barry shouted, “Don’t we deserve to know who you are since you know so much about us?” 

Batman paused a moment. He turned around, took off his mask, and said, “Bruce Wayne.”

He then turned around and walked away. 

Kara turned to Barry whose jaw was on the floor. She couldn’t blame him either. The bad-boy billionaire playboy didn’t fit the image of what she had for Batman. 

Barry shook his head and said, “Guess this explains why he had $2 million lying around to bail us out.”

“Indeed,” murmured Kara. 

Overwhelmed with everything, she was about to lie down to take a nap when she heard a loud pinging noise. 

“Where is that coming from?” asked Barry while looking around. 

Kara followed the sound to the desk next to her. She went through the drawers until she found her communications device. On the screen, she saw that Lena was calling. She smiled and quickly answered. 

“Hello.”

“Well, it is nice to know that you are alive. I have been trying to reach you the last two days,” said Lena sarcastically. 

“I was unfortunately indisposed.”

“Meaning?”

“Passed out from injuries from a battle if you must know.”

It was silent for a moment. Kara almost thought that she hung up. 

“Are you all right?” asked Lena softly.

“I will be. I didn’t think you would care,” smirked Kara.

“It is not that. It is just that we have waited so long for a superhero to help with the hospital, I would hate to start the process all over again.”

“Don’t worry, I will be in fighting form by tomorrow.”

“Well, that is good to hear. That means you can participate in the photoshoot we are having at the hospital tomorrow.”

“The what now.”

“Photoshoot. We need promotional material announcing our partnership. It will just be a couple of photos with some of the kids in the hospital and doing other activities. If that goes well, we might also be able to do filming for the promotional video as well.”

“Sounds fancy.”

“It better be for all the money I am shelling to this media company,” muttered Lena. 

Kara almost chuckled. 

“What time do I need to be there tomorrow?”

“9 am sharp. I will send an itinerary of things you need to bring in a couple of minutes. Please don’t be late. These bloodsuckers in the media industry charge by the minute.”

“I promise to be there early.”

She heard a sigh before the line went click. 

Always intense that one. 

Kara cheerfully put her device back into the drawer and lay down. 

Barry smiled and said, “I am glad to see you with a smile on your face. Take it was a good call.”

Kara smirked and said, “The best kind.”

She was intrigued by Lena but didn’t know exactly why. The thought of irritating Clark as he irritates her was a bonus, but there was something about her that gave her a feeling inside her chest whenever they talked. It felt familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. She heard a ping on her device and saw that Lena left a message. It was the itinerary that Lena promised. 

Never met someone so prompt with everything. 

She read through the itinerary and cackled. 

“What is so funny?” asked Barry.

“I have to do volunteer work for the IRS to pay off my bill. The boss that I am reporting to has some interesting…. requirements for my first day.”

“Like what?” asked Barry while taking more food.

“Nothing too bad. I just think this will give me an opportunity to have a little bit more fun than she realized,” smirked Kara.

“Oh, I hope it goes well then.”

Oh, this will definitely be fun. I can’t wait to see her face with the stuff I bring for tomorrow. 

That thought helped Kara drift off into a pleasant dream. 

*****

Bruce sat at his computer station looking over an analysis report. His curiosity was peaked by Grodd’s last statement to him. There was a chance it was a bluff, but he rather be safe than sorry. It took him a little while but he was able to put enough of the pieces of the device Grodd stole back together to get a serial number. He hacked into S.T.A.R. Labs to do a search and shortly found an entire project file dedicated to the device. As he looked through it, Bruce frowned. 

“Interesting,” murmured Bruce. 

While he continued to read the report, he heard a squeaking noise. He looked up and saw Alfred wheeling a tray towards him. 

“You didn’t have to bring me food,” said Bruce as he went back to reading the report. 

“If I didn’t bring you food, you would starve to death,” mused Alfred. 

“I can eat later.”

“You haven’t eaten in over 12 hours. Passing out from starvation isn’t going to help anyone.”

Bruce sighed and turned towards the tray of food. He smirked that Alfred brought his favorite of salmon, broccoli, and potatoes. 

“I wouldn’t call myself exactly starved,” said Bruce while going in for the fish. 

“Yes, and I would like to keep it that way,” smirked Alfred. 

Alfred walked up to the computer and looked down at the report. 

“What mystery are you trying to solve this time?”

“Grodd mentioned that the device he tried to steal was originally being misused. I am hoping it is a bluff.”

“What is your verdict so far?” asked Alfred. 

“The device was being used to increase a subject's brain power. They started testing on primates. Grodd was actually the original test subject.”

“Looks like they were successful.”

“Indeed, which is what is troubling.”

Alfred frowned and asked, “How so?”

“After Grodd, it seems like a lot of the notes of the project were redacted. From the parts that show, it seems that they had moved to human testing.”

“Why do you think they went through covering up the details?”

“It looks like there are buyers interested. The person that put in the highest bid for the device is Lex Luthor.”

“So more than likely the project is on the unethical side.”

“Very likely.”

“What are you going to do?”

Bruce sat in his chair and sighed, “Nothing for now.”

Alfred looked at him baffled and said, “Surely, you have a plan that is better than that.”

“I am playing the long game with this. I have time since the only prototype they had was destroyed. It will take them a while to rebuild. Besides, I am more interested in looking into the creator of this device, Lena Luthor.”

“That can’t be a coincidence.”

“That is what I am going to find out. While looking into Supergirl’s file, I see that she will be working with Ms. Luthor for a while.”

Alfred raised an eyebrow and said, “I am surprised a certain someone hasn’t raised hell over that.”

“He doesn’t know yet. I have a feeling she is doing this out of pettiness.”

“You don’t think it is wise to sway her from this decision.”

“That thought occurred to me. However, this gives the League a rare opportunity.”

“Such as?”

“Lena Luthor has always been elusive. It is unclear if she is in alliance with Lex or not. Superman has stopped us from looking into her in the past. He threatened any superhero from taking her volunteer posting.”

“Why?” 

“He said that she has done nothing wrong and doesn’t deserve the scrutiny. However, given his antics the past year, some of us have wondered if there is more to it than that. Supergirl getting involved with her hopefully will explain some things.”

Alfred gave him a deadpan stare and said, “You know there is an easier way to get your questions answered about Clark.”

“Alfred, don’t,” Bruce sighed. 

Alfred shook his head and said, “She is a good source after all.”

Bruce leaned back in his chair and said, “I know.”

“Yet you are hesitant. Is it because you guys used to date or are you worried that she will confirm your suspicions?”

“Could it be a little of both?” Bruce chuckled.

“I imagine it could. However, we all have to make hard choices sometimes. I made a trip to the farm today.”

Bruce frowned and said, “That was a risky move.”

“I know, but it is not like I never visited up there before. Why are you more nervous than usual?”

“Hmmmm….,” mulled Bruce. 

He paused for a couple of moments before saying, “Clark has gradually changed to the point that I don’t recognize him anymore. However, I haven’t seen anything about him that would suggest why he changed though. He could have been hiding his motives all this time and finally revealing his true self.”

“Martha has the same sentiment as you. She noticed the change too and is caught off guard. Have you asked Kara about…”

“No, she is too caught up with her own emotional issues with Clark which are very much warranted.”

“How so?”

“He always says things to bring her down. I believe in objective criticism, but the way he talks about her makes you wonder if he cares about her at all.”

“Is that why you lied about the mission being a complete success and about her not being injured?”

“I didn’t lie. We did stop the villains. However, I wasn’t going to allow Clark to bask in his own glory and make her feel worse in the process. Plus, Supergirl and the Flash have been seen around the US the last several days thanks to J’onn and Clayface.”

Alfred looked at him baffled. 

“What? Clayface has been doing pretty well since the IRS has forced him into volunteer work.”

“I see. Do you really think you can keep being creative with your choice of words with Clark?”

“I have to be creative about this new venture in general. Kara needs to heal from the emotional damage that Clark has caused, but I can’t realistically expect her to do that while he purposely tries to intimidate her at every turn.”

“How do you propose to do that?”

“Normally, our missions come from the control room. Only one of the Leaders can assign who goes to what place. I automatically implemented that Clark couldn’t control missions she goes on, however, I gave her, the Flash, and me temporary code names in the system when we go out on missions going forward.”

Alfred smirked and asked, “And what code names would those be?”

“Power Girl, The Cape Crusader, and Impulse.”

Alfred raised an eyebrow. Bruce sighed. 

“It was the best I could come up with on short notice.”

Alfred shook his head and pulled out a cell phone from his pocket. 

He handed it to Bruce and said, “Well, since you seem to have a handle on everything else, that just leaves one thing for you to do.”

He walked out of the bat cave. Bruce stared at the phone for a moment and shook his head. He gradually went through the contacts until he stopped on one. He dialed the number. He waited four rings and was about to hang up, but he heard a click.

“Hello.”

“Hi, Lois. This is Bruce. We need to talk.” 

Chapter Text

Lena stared at the communication device that Kara gave her. She read over the itinerary once more before pressing send. She started to type out another message but stopped herself. 

Do I have the right to ask for details?

She kept typing and erasing her message over and over until she heard someone say, “Why not just press send already?”

Lena yelped and looked up. Sam was staring down at her with a smirk on her face. 

“When did you come in?” asked Lena while trying to steady her breathing. 

“I came in about five minutes ago watching you fret over what to send to your special friend.”

Lena rolled her eyes and muttered, “She is not my friend. We have a business relationship and that is it.”

“You have been glued to that communication device that Supergirl gave you the last three days. Do you always do that with your other professional relationships?” asked Sam while smirking.

Lena looked down and twiddled her thumbs.

“I admit I was concerned after what my friend said happened at S.T.A.R. Labs.”

“You mean Dr. Snow?”

Lena nodded. 

“Isn’t this the same lady that said that the Flash and Supergirl were at death’s door after the fight and the Justice League had them replaced with clones until they got better?” asked Sam warily.

“Yes.”

“Lena, I know this lady is your friend, but are you really going to believe they have clones out there fighting in their places?”

“The video she sent was kind of compelling though,” muttered Lena.

Sam sighed, “I saw the same video. All it proved is that the Flash and Supergirl were injured. There weren’t any clones.”

Lena leaned back into her chair and sighed. 

“I don’t know about clones, but Caitlyn was partially right about something.”

Sam sighed and said, “What is that exactly?”

“I managed to get in touch with Supergirl just now. She said that she wasn’t able to answer because she had been unconscious the last several days.”

Sam raised an eyebrow and said, “Really? I wonder why they would want to perpetuate that she was up and about then.”

“Probably so that the cities that the Flash and Supergirl defended didn’t go into an instant crime spree while their defenders were away.”

“Smart. Wonder how they did it?”

Lena cocked her head and sat thoughtfully for a moment. 

“If I had to guess, the Martian was involved. He has shapeshifting abilities.”

“But the Flash and Supergirl have been seen the last couple of days in different places across the world though.”

Lena leaned back into her chair and sighed. 

“Either he wasn’t as severely injured as her or they used another shapeshifter or possibly magic user.”

“The lengths they would go through to make sure everything is okay,” murmured Sam. 

“I hate the deception, but I get it. Unfortunately, we live in a world where people like Livewire or Captain Cold would hear about the heroes being disposed of and take the opportunity to cause chaos in the city. Better the illusion instead of the alternative.”

Sam nodded and said, “That’s true. Well, now that we know she is not a clone, how did she sound?”

“What do you mean?” asked Lena. 

Sam raised an eyebrow and asked, “Don’t tell me that after pacing back and forth over this woman, you didn’t ask her if she was okay?”

“I wasn’t pacing,” Lena muttered while looking away. 

However, Lena knew that was a bald-faced lie. When Caitlyn sent her the tape of Batman carrying Supergirl out of the lab, she looked lifeless. The super annoyed her, but she didn’t want to see her get hurt. Watching the video made her realize that she didn’t have any knowledge about Supergirl at all. 

She went on a deep dive into different news articles and videos about Supergirl’s heroic adventures. It kind of alarmed her how many videos she watched of the blonde. It did give her more insight into her personality. She seemed way more personable than Superman. He always helped but held himself above everyone else like no one was superior to him. Supergirl was more friendly and liked to help the everyday person. She could stop a train and help retrieve a cat stuck in a tree. Nothing seemed too big or small for her to do. Not enough heroes realize that while people need help with the big things like attacks and invasions, the community also needs help at the local level. She was glad that National City finally had someone that realized that.

Sam narrowed her eyes and said, “You were pacing and holding that device of hers. Just admit that you were concerned.”

Lena rolled her eyes and said, “Fine! I admit I was concerned. I didn’t want to see our investment go down the drain.”

Sam smirked and asked, “Is that the only reason?”

Lena pouted and said flustered, “Oh, just shut up!”

Sam chuckled and said, “Ah, I hit a nerve. Fine, I will stop teasing. Although, you didn’t answer my initial question. Did she sound okay?”

Lena looked down while twiddling her thumbs and said, “She sounded fine. She said that she would be able to do the photoshoot tomorrow.”

Sam smiled and said, “Great! Were you able to go over the itinerary with her?”

“I sent her the itinerary and things to bring.”

Sam frowned and asked, “Why would she need to bring anything other than herself?”

“Well, I thought that she may be more comfortable in different clothing considering the activities she would be doing tomorrow.”

“What things did you think she needed to bring?

Lena went through the communication device, pulled up the message she sent Supergirl, and handed it to Sam. 

She quickly scanned through the email and then looked back up at Lena with a raised eyebrow.

“What?” asked Lena. 

“You really thought that it was appropriate for you to ask her to bring this stuff?”

“I think it is reasonable considering the activities we would be having her doing.” 

“Wasn’t the point of this whole thing to have her wear her costume so people understand the partnership?” 

“I wrote on there that the clothing in question needed to have her insignia on it.”

Sam looked back down and read again. She shook her head and chuckled.

“You have it in very tiny writing.”

Lena looked away and said, “Well, she supposedly has good eyesight. That shouldn’t be a problem for her.”

Sam handed her back the device while smirking.

“I didn’t realize how smitten that you were with Supergirl.”

Lena looked up baffled and said, “I am not smitten. I just asked her to bring clothing is all. This will be all professional and tastefully done. You’ll see.”

Sam shook her head and chuckled. 

Lena frowned and asked, “What’s so funny?”

Sam smirked and said, “I am just looking forward to tomorrow is all. I am curious to see how Supergirl responds to the stuff you asked her to bring.”

Lena smiled confidently and said, “She will be professional. You’ll see.”

Sam shook her head and smiled as she turned to walk away. 

“I’m going to head out for the day. I’ll see you tomorrow morning with Ruby.”

Lena frowned and asked, “Wouldn’t Ruby be in school?”

Sam cackled and asked, “Do you really think that my daughter, who started a Supergirl fan club at school, would really sit out this opportunity?”

Lena chuckled and said, “I didn’t think she liked her enough to want to miss school over it.”

Sam smirked and said, “This coming from the same woman that snuck out of the house and stole her mom’s car in order to see the Backstreet Boys concert.”

“I hate when you use my own past against me,” muttered Lena.

Sam laughed and said, “I love you too, Lena. See you tomorrow!”

After she left, Lena scrolled through the itinerary one more time and frowned. 

This is appropriate. Yeah, she will come with something professional tomorrow. 

*****

Lena arrived at the hospital at around 8 a.m. to make sure everything was set up correctly. While she was going over the setup layout with the photographer, she heard someone scream, “Auntie Lena!” Lena smiled and turned around to see 10-year-old Ruby running full speed ahead with Sam trailing behind her. Lena scooped Ruby up and gave her a big kiss on the cheek. 

“How is my favorite niece?” 

“Excited! I get to meet Supergirl today.”

Lena looked the girl up and down and chuckled at her outfit. She was wearing a Supergirl costume: a cape, shirt with a symbol, skirt, red boots, and all. 

“You look adorable in your costume. I think a certain someone will be really flattered.”

Ruby's eyes beamed and asked, “You really think so? I worked extra hard to make the costume with Mom’s help.”

Lena looked up and raised an eyebrow at Sam and said, “Surprised you didn’t buy a costume for her.”

Sam sighed and said, “Believe me I tried, but our little fashionista here said that those costumes weren’t perfect enough. Spent 6 hours on that thing.”

Lena chuckled while placing Ruby on the ground. 

She faced Ruby and said, “Your mom loves you very much.” Lena smirked while turning to Sam and said, “I believe the last time you tried to sew ended with you throwing the sewing machine out the window.”

“Have you ever tried to make a zipper appear invisible on an outfit? It is damn near impossible!” exclaimed Sam. 

Ruby hugged her mom and beamed, “You were able to do it on this outfit though.”

Sam looked down at Ruby. She sighed first before smiling. 

“I will always do my best to try to see that goofy smile on your face.”

Ruby pouted and said, “I don’t have a goofy smile.”

Sam smirked and said, “You’re right. But how about now?”

Sam quickly started tickling Ruby which caused her to fall over in laughter. 

Sam laughed and said, “There’s that goofy grin I love.”

Lena watched as they collapsed on the floor together with laughter. She smiled at their antics. She couldn’t imagine a life without them or her mom. However, she hated that she had a hint of jealousy.

I wonder if I’ll ever have something like that. 

“It is nice to see you guys know how to have a little fun.”

Lena nearly jumped out of her skin. She quickly turned around to see Kara beaming back at her. 

“What are you doing here?” Lena shrieked while trying to catch her breath. 

Kara smirked and said, “Ah, you forgot already I was coming for the photoshoot. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. I thought that you were more organized, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena managed to force her face to be passive and said, “That wasn’t what I meant. I told you we weren’t starting until 9 a.m.”

“Well, I know it is early, but not by that much. It is only 8:53 right now,” smirked Kara. 

Lena looked down startled at her watch. 

She looked back up at her hesitantly and said, “I am sorry about the outburst earlier. I didn’t realize I lost track of time.”

Kara rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled, “It’s okay. I know how easily the day can get away from you.”

Sam walked up to Lena chuckling and patted her on the back. 

She turned to Kara and said, “You are definitely something Supergirl. I haven’t seen anyone get Lena this flustered in years.”

Lena glared at Sam and muttered, “That is so not true.”

Lena turned back to Kara hesitantly and said, “Uh, well, then. Since you are here, we can get started. If you can just…” said Lena, but then stopped. 

She looked down to see that Ruby had hidden right behind her and had slightly peeked her head out. The boisterous girl from earlier had turned shy.

Lena smiled at Ruby and shook her head. She got it though. It is one thing to have an idol that you follow, but it is another thing to finally get a chance to meet them. 

Lena said, “It is okay. I'm pretty sure she doesn’t bite.” She looked up at Kara and smirked. “Unless I am mistaken.”

Kara laughed and said, “I promised to be gentle.”

Kara got down to eye level with Ruby and held out her hand. 

“I’m Supergirl. What is your name?”

Ruby stared at Kara with such admiration and wonder. She shakily held up her hand and stuttered, “I….mmmmmm Ru…..b….y.”

Kara beamed and said, “Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, Ruby. It is not every day that I meet someone that has the costume down to the very last detail.”

Ruby beamed and asked, “Really?”

Kara chuckled and said, “Yeah, the costumes I have seen so far use the same logo as Superman.”

Sam frowned and asked, “How is it different? Don’t you have the same S symbol on your chest?”

Kara sighed and said, “The S that you call it is the Kryptonian symbol for hope. On Superman’s suit, the symbol is surrounded by a yellow background. Mines has a blue background.”

Lena turned to Ruby and said, “You have a good eye, Ruby.”

Ruby started looking down and blushing. 

“Thanks! I worked really hard on it with Mom’s help.”

Kara turned to Sam and said, “You guys have really good craftsmanship.”

Sam chuckled and said, “I am glad that I was able to do the outfit justice.”

Before they could say anything else, the photographer approached Lena and said, “Ms. Luthor, we have everything set up. When would you like to start.”

Lena said, “We can start now.” Lena turned to Kara and said, “Were you able to bring the things I requested.”

Kara smirked and said, “Don’t worry.” She took a red backpack off her back, patted it, and said, “I have all the things I need here.”

Sam smirked and said, “I am curious to see what you brought along.”

“I think you will be pleasantly surprised,” Kara beamed. 

Lena stared at her hesitantly and shook her head. 

Think positively. She wouldn’t do anything foolish. 

They gradually walked to the photoshoot. Lena was initially worried that Ruby would want to be in the photos or behind-the-scenes videos that they took. She didn’t really want to promote any type of favoritism (at least not ones that were being published to the public). However, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Ruby stayed on the sidelines cheering her idol on. Lena couldn’t blame her though. She was impressed by Supergirl's professionalism during the first part of the photos. She posed amazingly and was open to any suggestions the photographer had. They had her flying around the outside of the hospital and posing, carrying twenty trays of food while floating toward a patient and had her reading a story while children surrounded her. Lena couldn’t help herself from smiling when the children initially mobbed her and tried to climb all over her. However, she handled it gracefully and got the kids to calm down in order to do the photo. She was a little bit shocked with how personable she was with the kids. She always made sure to look at the kids and answer their questions. It was very endearing. It almost reminded her of….She shook her head. 

That person died a long time ago.

After the story time was finished, it left them with three scenes to photograph. She wanted to highlight the new physical therapy that they were offering the kids: swimming, yoga and ballroom dancing. She had asked Supergirl to bring customized outfits for these three activities. She nearly smiled but had to force it down. 

It is all professional nothing more. 

They decided to start with the pool first. 

Once they got to the pool, Kara marveled while looking around. 

“This place looks awesome! This pool is much bigger than the outdoor pool near my place. And the saunas look so relaxing!”

“Water therapy has proved to be very valuable. We noticed that 90 percent of our patients that try this tend to improve tremendously,” said Sam. 

The photographer walked up to Kara and asked, “We will be set up in five minutes. I was thinking about doing some photos of you in the water, but didn’t know if you had something you wanted to change into or if you didn’t mind your costume getting wet.”

“Don’t worry. I have something special in mind,” Kara smirked before disappearing in a blur. 

The photographer turned to Lena and asked, “She is coming back right?”

“She knew she needed a swimsuit. I would imagine it would just take a minute for her to change.”

“If you say so,” said the photographer as he went to set up for the next shoot. 

Sam walked over to Lena with a smirk on her face. 

Lena sighed and asked, “Why are you looking like a Cheshire cat?”

Sam chuckled and said, “Don’t pretend you are not eager to see what Supergirl looks like in a swimsuit?”

Lena hated to admit that she was a little intrigued, but she wasn’t going to let Sam know that. 

She kept her face passive and said, “You have such naughty thoughts. Besides, she probably will wear a swimsuit that covers most of her anyways.”

Sam chuckled and said while pointing, “I think you underestimated the super this time.”

Lena turned around to see what Sam was looking at and her eyes nearly bulged out of her head. Kara was walking back towards them while waving and smiling brightly. That part wasn’t shocking. The shocking part was that she was in a blue bikini. It showed off her toned arms and six-pack abs. It looked like an actual goddess was walking towards her. She felt the heat rising to her face. 

Sam rested her arm around Lena’s shoulder and chuckled.

“If this was an anime, you would have fainted with blood gushing like a geyser out of your nose.”

“I would not,” Lena pouted. 

“Your red face says otherwise,” smirked Sam.

Lena started fanning herself and said, “I am just hot because of the heat coming from the pool.”

“Really?” asked Sam. She turned to Ruby and asked, “Do you believe Auntie Lena?”

Ruby laughed and said, “Auntie Lena has a crush on Supergirl. Wouldn’t it be awesome if they dated and got married!”

Lena nervously chuckled and said, “Ruby, I don’t have a crush on Supergirl.”

“You look like the girls in my class who are scared to admit their crushes. You should tell her! I bet she likes you too!” exclaimed Ruby.

Lena turned to Sam hopeful and said, “Tell your daughter this isn’t a crush. I am just hot and tired.”

Sam smirked and said, “Yeah, you are hot for that six-foot Kryptonian that is walking this way.”

“Don’t encourage her delusions!” exclaimed Lena mortified. 

“What delusions?”

Lena shrieked when she saw Kara standing right next to her. 

Kara rubbed the back of her neck and said sheepishly, “I thought you saw me waving to you before. I didn’t mean to startled you.”

Sam smirked and said, “I am not sure if startled is the right word.”

Kara cocked her head confused and said, “I am not sure what you mean.”

Ruby smiled and said, “It is simple. Auntie Lena really lii….”

“Ruby, I will give you $100 if you leave right now to get ice cream from the cafeteria!” shouted Lena. 

“Okay!” beamed Ruby. 

She quickly took the money and skipped out of the room. 

Kara chuckled and said, “I feel like I missed something there.”

Lena tried to keep her face passive and said, “Oh, don’t you worry about it. You have more photos to do. However, I thought I told you that the outfits you bring needed to have the Supergirl logo on them.”

“It does,” said Kara while pointing at the middle of her chest. 

Lena had initially avoided looking at her boobs because she felt like it would be her undoing. Her breasts were a lot bigger than she thought. Seems the suit she wore was more loose fitting than she realized. As Lena stared, she did eventually see what Kara was talking about. It looked like the bikini top clasped in the front and the clasp itself was the Supergirl logo.”

Sam looked at Kara impressed. 

“That is quite clever especially since you had limited space to work with.”

“I tried my best to put it in a place that would stand out,” beamed Kara. 

“Clearly,” Lena muttered. 

Kara raised an eyebrow at Lena who stared back at her horrified. Lena didn’t realize she said that last part out loud. 

She quickly composed herself and said, “Clearly, that was a brilliant idea.”

“Oh, thank you! I guess I should go get started then.”

She sauntered off as Lena continued to stare. 

She watches her swim around in the water with the children. She had never felt so flustered in her life by someone. She didn’t realize she was taking shallow breaths until she felt Sam pat her on her back. 

“You need to breathe my girl. It would be kind of embarrassing for you to pass out from hyperventilating over her body only for her to have to save you.”

Lena pouted and said, “Why do you have to mock me?”

Sam smirked and asked, “What type of friend would I be if I didn’t tease you?”

Lena rolled her eyes. 

Sam gave her a soft smile and then a hug. 

“On a serious note, it is nice to see you like this. When Andrea left, you broke down and closed yourself romantically to anyone for years. It is nice to see you attracted to someone for a change.”

“It is not like it would ever work. There is too much baggage there,” muttered Lena. 

Sam sighed and said, “All because they wear the same symbol doesn’t mean that she is anything like him. I would think you of all people should know that.”

Lena winced at that statement. She hated that everyone automatically lumped her in with Lex. Anytime she tries to do something positive, people automatically think she has something nefarious planned. She wanted to be seen as her own person. 

I hope for my heart’s sake that she is nothing like him.

As the swim shoot continued, Lena was barely able to hold it together. She nearly fainted when Kara got out of the pool. The water made the bikini hug her body more than she thought possible. 

Kara waved at Lena and asked, “Where to next?”

Lena panted while fanning her face, “You can meet us next door in the yoga room.”

Kara cocked her head at her and asked, “Are you okay? You seemed very flushed.”

Sam started cackling and Lena glared at her. 

She turned back quickly to Kara and forced a soft smile. 

“You don’t have to worry about me. The heat from the pool is getting to me. That is all.”

Kara nodded and said, “Oh, I forgot the heat gets to humans more. My body is 10 degrees warmer than the average human so the temp feels very mild to me.”

Sam smirked and said, “That is an interesting fact about yourself. Will you be sharing more with us?”

Kara smirked and said, “Maybe.” 

And then she was gone in a blueish blur.

Sam turned to Lena and chuckled.

“Are you really going to be okay, Lena? You are panting hard over there.”

Lena glared at her and exclaimed, “Oh, shut up!” before storming out of the room to the yoga studio.

Sam walked behind her cackling. 

****

Lena thought that the yoga room would be a safe space. 

She can’t dress too crazy with this right?

However, Lena soon discovered that she was wrong. Kara came back with a blue yoga outfit. The top part was a crop top with the Supergirl logo on it and the bottom was form-fitting and accentuating her body in all the right places. She nearly drooled on herself as she watched Kara help the children with various yoga poses. 

Sam gradually approached Lena and handed her a cup of water. 

Lena frowned and asked, “What is this for?”

Sam smirked and said, “With that thirsty look in your eyes, I figured that you needed something to cool yourself down.”

Lena rolled her eyes and said, “You are just as childish as Ruby.”

Sam chuckled and said, “Speaking of which, I should probably go off to see where she went. Hopefully, she didn’t go into a sugar coma for all the bribe money you gave her.”

Lena gave her a deadpan look and said, “Just go find your daughter.”

As Sam walked away, she said, “I will try to be back before the dance portion starts.”

Lena got quickly nervous at that part. The last two shoots proved that Kara wasn’t shy about flaunting her assets. She wonder if she could survive the dress she had in store for them.

*****

Lena wrung her fingers as she waited inside the ballroom. She didn’t know what to expect. Her mind nearly spiraled until she felt a hand on her shoulders. She looked up and saw Sam looking back at her. She noticed that she was alone though. 

She frowned and asked, “Where is Ruby?”

“Currently in my office sleeping off the sugar coma that you encouraged.”

“Didn’t think she would crash that fast.”

“Eating four different types of ice cream can do that to you.”

Sam looked around and said, “I see that the main star hasn’t come yet.”

“She’ll be back any minute now.”

Sam turned to her and smirked.

“You look like you are about to come undone.”

“I just might,” muttered Lena. 

“I am curious. What did you expect when you asked her to bring her own clothing?”

Lena looked up at Sam sheepishly and said, “I thought she would look amazing, but I didn’t think she would look like that. She gives Wonder Woman, an actual goddess, a run for her money.”

“So you are sticking with the clean version of events instead of admitting that you just wanted to see her in sexy outfits?”

“Hey, that is not true!”

Sam raised an eyebrow at Lena.

Lena looked down and said, “Well, it is not completely true.”

“Finally! Now, if only we can get you to ask her out.”

Lena cackled and said, “That woman has no thoughts of me right now.”

Sam smirked and pointed, “There is no time like the present to ask her.”

Lena turned and saw Kara walking over to them. Lena’s heart nearly skipped a beat at the whole look the girl had going for her. Kara was wearing an above-the-knee light blue dress. The heart-shaped bust line accentuated her cleavage area. In the chest area, it had the Supergirl logo. The dress fit her like a glove and showed off all her curves. She was wearing six-inch black high-heeled shoes. She was a little impressed that Kara had such agility and grace while walking with shoes that high. Lena could never pull it off. The one thing she was sad about though was that she had her hair in a bun. She liked the way her curly blonde hair flowed down her back. Kara beamed as she walked over to them. 

Sam leaned over Lena and whispered in her ear, “Noticed how she always has her eyes on you when she makes a dramatic entrance into the room.”

Lena blushed and said, “She does not.”

However, Lena smiled a little. It was nice to wonder if that was really true.

Kara finally approached them and asked, “Do you like the dress?”

Lena tried to remain passive, but couldn’t help but a little smile to come out.

“You look very beautiful,”  said Lena blushing. 

Sam smirked and said, “Don’t listen to Lena. She is downplaying it. You look absolutely drop-dead gorgeous. I would be honestly surprised if you were still single.”

Kara chuckled and said, “Well, leading a superhero life doesn’t leave that much room for dating.”

Sam raised an eyebrow and asked, “But what if you met someone that you were interested in?”

Kara turned directly to Lena with a sexy smile which caused Lena to yelp. 

“If I ever met someone that interested me like that, I would somehow make it work.”

Just then the photographer approached them and said, “We are ready to begin when you are Supergirl.”

Kara smiled at the photographer and said, “Before we get started, do you mind if I run an idea by you?

“Sure. Let's walk and talk.”

Kara followed the photographer to the middle of the ballroom while Lena watched on baffled. She realized why Kara had her hair in a bun. She was wearing a backless dress. Lena never found the backside of a person interesting, but seeing Kara’s made her swoon. She had never seen a back with so many muscles.

Sam came over to Lena and patted her on the back.

“If that wasn’t a sign that she wants you badly…”

Lena shook her head and said, “No, I don’t know what that was, but I know it wasn’t that.”

Sam shook her head and sighed. 

“So she is going to have to spell out her feelings for you huh? Well, this will be fun to watch.”

Lena glared and her. She was about to say some quick-witted, but she heard the photographer call her name. She looked up, and she noticed the photographer waving over to the middle of the room with him and Kara.

Lena quickly walked over to them and asked, “Is there something wrong?”

The photographer smiled and said, “No. It is the actual opposite. Most of the photos and videos we have so far have been of Supergirl and the kids. We got some good stuff, but Supergirl thought it would be good to have several photos of the two of you. I agree that it would show a powerful image of two giants working together.”

Lena looked up startled and said, “I don’t know about all that. I think the focus should be on the kids.”

“I know that the kids are a main focus, but you also want to have a selling point. What better one than having photos of you two working together especially when Superman and Lex Luthor couldn’t,” said the photographer. 

Lena looked up nervously at Kara and asked, “What did you guys have in mind?’’

Kara chuckled and said, “It is nothing too outrageous. I just thought we could gather the kids around to watch us do the waltz together.”

Lena blushed and asked, “You really want to dance with me?”

Kara smiled and said, “Sure! It will demonstrate the teamwork that we want to promote.”

Lena wrung her fingers together and said, “I don’t know….”

Kara took Lena’s hand in hers and looked her directly in the eyes which caused Lena to yelp.

“If you are worried about your dance moves, you can leave it to me. I can lead us through an entire song.”

“I am not even really dressed for it,” muttered Lena. 

“Nonsense. You are wearing a dress under the lab coat you are wearing and you have high-heeled shoes. You will be perfect.”

Lena looked back and forth between the photographer and Kara. They stared back at her with eager faces. 

Lena sighed and said, “Fine,”

She took off her lab coat revealing a red short-sleeved summer dress. 

Kara smiled and said, “See, you don’t look that bad. You are absolutely gorgeous.”

Lena looked down blushing and said, “Thanks!”

She looked up at the photograph and asked, “Where do you want us?”

“You guys will stand right here. I will gather the kids, and when the music starts, you can start dancing.”

As the photographer went to gather the kids, Lena stared back at Kara and chuckled nervously.

“I can’t remember the last time I danced.”

Kara smiled and moved closer to her and said, “Don’t worry. I will make sure we look fantastic.”

Just then, music started to play. It took Lena off guard, but Kara just smiled and gently took her hand, and said, “Let’s show these kids how it is done.”

Kara drew Lena close to her and held her in her arms. Lena didn’t know that her face could get so beat red. They started gliding on the dance floor. As they moved about, Lena noticed one thing. Kara was good at leading. Her mother invested so much in her doing cotillions during her teens, but she had two left feet when it came to dancing. Partly because she kept overthinking the steps and would then trip. However, with Kara, she didn’t focus on making a mistake. She felt a warm sensation that she couldn’t put her finger on. 

What is this feeling? I have danced with other people before and never felt this way.

While she was lost in thought, Kara leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Do you mind if we do a spin and then I dip you?”

Lena stared at her startled at first. When her dance partners tried to spin her or dip her before, it led to her either crashing into a wall or bringing both her and her partner crashing down. However, as she looked at the genuine smile coming from Kara, she heard herself saying, “Yes.”

Kara moved them in a circle before she finally spun her around several times and then did the dip as the finale. As the big wave of applause came in from the children and crew, Lena finally realized what she was feeling as she stared at Kara’s beaming smile. She felt safe. The thought caused her to become nervous. With the antics that Lex would pull, this feeling was foreign to her. 

I have an army of security, but still feel scared. Yet when I am with her, she makes me feel like I have nothing to worry about. How is that possible?

As Kara brought her back up to a standing position, she looked at Lena with a worried expression and said, “Ms. Luthor, I hope that I wasn’t too for…”

Kara stopped talking and frowned. 

Lena stared at her hesitantly and asked, “You hope that you weren’t too what?”

Kara stared at her for a moment and sighed.

“It will have to be a question for another day. Just got a call that there is a robbery in progress.”

Lena looked at her startled and said, “Oh, you should go.”

Kara looked down sheepishly while rubbing the back of her neck.

“I just feel bad that I am kind of leaving you in a lurch. I know we didn’t get all the footage you wanted.”

Lena stared back at her shocked. She honestly thought that she would just fly off instead of feeling any type of remorse. Especially since she was going off to do something noble.

Lena smiled and said, “You are not leaving me in a lurch. With the video and photo footage we took today, I believe that we have enough to put out a commercial and some printed material.”

Kara smiled and said, “I am glad to hear that.”

She quickly left in a blur. 

Lena sighed. She didn’t really want to see the super leave. As she turned around to head towards the photographer, she saw a blue blur and then Kara was suddenly in front of her in her costume. Lena nearly yelped and fell back before Kara caught her. 

Kara chuckled and said, “Sorry about that. I sometimes forget that my speed can startle people.”

After Lena took a moment to control her breathing again, she said, “That’s okay. I am surprised that you came back though.”

Kara beamed and held out a blue folder to her. 

Lena looked at it hesitantly and asked, “What is this?”

“It is just something that I have been thinking about since our initial conversation. Can you look it over and message me what you think later?”

“Sure,” said Lena surprised. 

Kara looked back at her excitedly and exclaimed, “Great!”

She was then gone in a blink of an eye. 

Lena looked down at the folder intently. A part of her was curious about what the super wanted her opinion on. Was it related to the hospital, did it pertain to Lex, or was it something completely different? Her mind started to spiral until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulders. 

She looked up and saw Sam smiling back at her. 

“I am surprised that you didn’t tear through that folder already.”

Lena sighed and said, “I don’t know. It is just I am so used to people wanting things from me constantly that I wonder what her angle is?”

Sam sighed and said, “Not everything has to be dramatic.”

Lena gave her a deadpan stare and asked, “Given my track record, can you blame me?”

“Let’s think about it logically. I doubt that she would give you something that was unethical or illegal out in the open like this where there are multiple witnesses. The worst thing she could be doing is asking you a favor. There is no harm to see what it is.”

Lena sighed and said, “I don’t know…”

“Would it make you feel better if I take a peek first?”

Lena nodded and handed the folder over to Sam. She hated to admit it, but her mind had been fickle about Kara for the last several days. It wasn’t like her. When she doesn’t like someone, she usually sticks with that impression. However, with Kara, she felt different. She wanted to believe that she was better than “Him”. She just wasn’t sure she could trust that feeling though.

Lena watched Sam as opened up the folder. Sam stared at it a moment before laughing hysterically.

Lena frowned and said, “What’s so funny?”

“The fact that you were worried over this makes it ten times funnier.”

She handed the folder over to Lena. She gradually looked down at the contents and balked at what she saw. They were logos for SuperCorp.

She sighed, shook her head, and said, “I didn’t think she was really serious about this.”

Sam looked up at Lena coyly and asked, “Are you really surprised by this? I just watched that girl eye fuck you throughout that entire dance and you are surprised that she ships you?”

Lena rolled her eyes and said, “That is not what this is. This is just a gimmick. Nothing more.”

Sam sighed exasperatedly while waving her hands in the air and said, “You are hopeless.”

She then walked over to the photographer to talk about the photos taken. 

Lena just shook her head and frowned as she walked away. 

There is no way she likes me that way. Or could she?

Chapter Text

Lena stared at her computer screen baffled. She knew that the commercial she put out would gain attention, especially with the amount of money put towards it. However, she didn’t expect anything like this. She felt Kara and Sam’s eyes on her waiting for her response. They all agreed to gather four days after the commercial was released and go over the report the social media and marketing analysts had about the commercial. 

Lena turned to Sam hesitantly and asked, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

Sam let out a low whistle and said, “Yeah, I knew it would be high, but not this high.”

Kara smirked and said, “I remember saying it would go this way. You two need to pay up.”

Lena looked up at Kara. She was all bright-eyed and smiling. She found that Kara’s smile conflicted with that smugness of hers, but she definitely earned it. No one could have predicted this outcome not even the production team behind the commercial. Lena sighed and rolled her eyes. She went into her purse, took out $500, and handed it to Kara. 

“A bet is a bet,” muttered Lena. 

Sam went into her purse and grabbed a $20 which Lena balked at.

“I thought you betted more,” said Lena shocked and feeling a little bit betrayed. 

“Supergirl made a passionate speech at the end about the commercial doing well that it made me waver in my decision,” said Sam as she handed the $20 to Kara.

Kara chuckled and said, “I don’t get why you guys are so surprised. You have a video centered around two powerful women in their own respective fields helping sick children in a hospital. Why wouldn’t the video go viral?” The only way it would have been more successful is if we added cats to it.”

Sam quickly took out her notebook, started jotting down notes, and said, “Actually, that is not a bad idea.”

Lena sighed and said, “Don’t encourage her.”

Sam gave Lena a deadpan stare and said, “We need to milk this publicity for all its worth. Plus,  kittens are instantly viral. Why not?”

Lena shook her head. She wasn’t sure about the cat part, but Sam was right. The commercial took off in a bigger way than she had imagined. They originally started with the video to get an idea to see what people’s perception of Lena would be. Her marketing team initially suggested waiting two weeks to see how the video does with viewers. While they felt that Supergirl may be a draw, they were worried that Lena’s name still may be a distraction. They were cautiously optimistic that the video could get 100,000 views. Everyone did except Kara. She thought that they were all crazy for not being extremely excited about the venture and thinking that it wouldn’t spread like wildfire. She estimated that the video would have over 200 million views after two days and insisted that they met sooner to strategize their next moves. Lena initially humored her thoughts and agreed to meet four days after the video’s release to discuss the video’s prospects. But as she sat at the desk looking at the numbers, she wished she didn’t doubt the super as much.

Lena shook her head, turned to Kara, and said, “The video far exceeded your expectations. It is currently at 750 million views after four days.”

Kara smirked and said, “I told you that people would like SuperCorp.”

Lena muttered, “I still can’t believe that word is trending.”

“You have that reporter from Catco to thank about that. She has been promoting you two heavily on the company’s blog the last two days,” mused Sam.

“You mean Kara Danvers?” asked Lena. 

“Yeah, that is the one,” said Sam.

“I am kind of surprised that she promoted that so heavily. Didn’t she win a Pulitzer last year for her expose on the drug rings in National City?” asked Lena.

Kara shuffled nervously from side to side and said, “Maybe, she really believes in the work that we are trying to accomplish.”

Lena stared at the super warily. She always had a confident demeanor, but now she looks almost timid. 

Before Lena could say anything, Sam said, “That may be it, but regardless, we should capitalize on this viral sensation before it runs cold. I already ordered a bunch of team SuperCorp shirts with the first logo that Supergirl designed. Those should be ready in two days.”

“You did what!” exclaimed Lena. 

“I know that it is a little excessive, but people are already making their own SuperCorp shirts online and selling them on Red Bubble. Also, don’t be mad, but I also had shirts made with the phrases Hold Me Like That, I Want To Be The Girl With The Red Dress, Hot Kryptonian Coming Through, and Supercorp is Couple Goals.”

Lena started rubbing her head and asked, “I’m afraid to ask, but why those in particular?”

Sam smirked and said, “The most viewed parts of the video were when Supergirl held you close at the beginning of the dance, when Supergirl dipped you at the end of the dance, and when Supergirl came out of the pool wearing her bikini. Those three clips are also trending online with those phrases as well.”

“This video is supposed to be bringing awareness to children and to the facility,” muttered Lena.”

Kara came and patted Lena on the shoulder which caused her to blush. She looked up at the super who looked down at her smiling genuinely. 

“Before this video came out, there were only articles and videos on the potential dangers that the hospital could cause to the community. There were tons of conspiracy theories about the hospital being a front to abduct children and experiment on them. Now, the video is swaying people’s perspectives. I have read a ton of articles over the last four days that not only humanized you but made people want to actually visit the hospital and make their own opinions about the place,” said Kara. 

Sam nodded and said, “Supergirl is right. The hospital has seen a 200% increase in visitors in the last four days. I also have numerous reporters who are waiting for an exclusive about our partnership with Supergirl that we need to field through.”

Lena smiled at that. She had run into a bunch of parents of children who were receiving care at her facility the last few days. The number one comment that they made was that they didn’t realize there was such affordable care for their children in the area. It made her a little sad that her name prevented people from realizing the hospital's potential and preventing others from seeing its true value.

Lena turned to Sam and said, “I will only grant the exclusive to Catco.” Lena turned to Kara and said, “I hope that you can be there for the exclusive.”

Kara nodded surprised. 

Sam raised an eyebrow and said, “Don’t get me wrong. I like them, but I am kind of shocked that you didn’t want to go with a company that is more global.”

Lena smirked and said, “Well, they are the only news organization that hasn’t written hit pieces on me or the hospital. Also, we do have one of their reporters to thank for giving us a boost in viewership with her campaigning.”

“So would you want me to arrange with Catco to have Ms. Danvers interview you and Supergirl?” asked Sam.

Kara nearly crushed the desk with her hand that she was leaning on. Sam and Lena looked around confused by the noise. 

“Did you guys hear that?” asked Sam still looking around. 

Kara laughed nervously and said, “I accidentally moved the desk while leaning against it. Sometimes forget my own strength.”

As Kara continued to laugh nervously, Lena and Sam stared at her oddly for a moment. 

Lena shook her head, turned to Sam, and said, “No, I think it would be better to get Cat Grant herself. She is the one that named Supergirl after all.” Lena turned to Kara and smirked, “I hope that a certain someone can use their connection to Ms. Grant to make sure she doesn’t do any hardball questions.”

Kara stared back at Lena startled. 

“Why do you think that I can control her?” asked Kara. 

“I have seen the interviews she has done with you. She asked tough questions but none that would send you crying into the corner.”

Kara looked at Lena warily and said, “I have never met a person who can control Ms. Grant, but I can suggest that she be gentle with you.”

Lena smiled and said, “I definitely appreciate it.”

Kara blushed slightly. She wasn’t really looking forward to that conversation with Cat, but she liked it when Lena smiled at her. She doesn’t do it too often. She wished she could make her smile more. 

Lena turned back to Sam and said, “Now that we got that out the way, we should begin plans for a benefit dinner in order to get more donations into the hospital. I was thinking of a charity auction.”

“Ohhh, I like that. What do you think we should do?” asked Sam.

“Well, remember we treated Mr. Longfellow’s daughter a couple of years ago for that rare disorder she had?”

Sam nodded slowly and said, “Yes, he was so grateful because most of the doctors had given up hope on his daughter until he got her treatment here.”

“Yes, he was so grateful that he has been sending all the new toys from his toy company for the children to use at the hospital and for the Christmas drive. I thought we could partner with his company and do an auction on the hottest ticket items for Christmas this year.”

Sam smiled excitedly and said, “I love it.” Sam turned to Kara, smirked, and said, “We can have the super here be Super Santa for the day and hand out gifts.”

Kara chuckled and said, “I would love to do that. Now, all I need is helper elves.”

Sam smirked and turned to Lena and said, “I am sure Lena would be more than happy to help you out.”

Lena rolled her eyes and said, “There is no way that I am dressing as an elf for Christmas.”

Sam smirked and asked, “Who said anything about you dressing as an elf, Mrs. Claus?”

Lena blushed and nearly fell out of her chair. 

“Mrs. Claus…I don’t know if that is….”

Lena looked towards Kara who had a beaming smile on her face. 

“I like that idea. We would make a cute couple,” said Kara blushing.

Lena started blushing even harder. 

“Well…if you think so…I guess it is okay,” said Lena while blushing and wringing her hands together. 

Kara smiled and said, “Perfect, I already have ideas for costumes, and I have a cool idea for decoration of the….”

Kara frowned and then sighed. 

Lena looked at her hesitantly, and asked, “Is everything okay?”

Kara looked up at her startled and mouthed sorry while pointing at her ear pieced. 

Lena nodded and watched Kara continue to frown. 

Kara rolled her eyes and asked, “How did you get access to this line? You are not supposed to have clearance anymore.”

Kara was silent for a minute before her face changed from a frown to terror. 

She looked up at Lena frantically, and said, “I have to go! I am sorry!”

And then like that, Lena and Sam saw a blueish blur and then she was gone. 

Sam turned to Lena concerned and asked, “What do you think that is about?”

Lena frowned and said, “I hope that whatever it is she will be okay.”

Chapter Text

As Kara flew, she replayed over and over again what Clark had just said to her.

I just received a distress signal on my device from my mom. It looks like it is coming from the farm. I am still far out in space and won’t make it in time. Please hurry and help her!

Martha Kent was the first one who welcomed Kara to Earth. She was actually the one who found her when she crash-landed on the planet. She was so kind and loving which was something Kara so desperately needed after seeing her own world shatter before her very eyes. Once Kara got settled at the farm, Martha immediately told Clark about her. 

It wasn’t that Clark wasn’t welcoming. He was more cautious. Kara was initially understanding at first. Unfortunately, Zod had come before her and caused havoc on Earth. After Clark sent him to the phantom zone, it took him over a year to rebuild people’s trust in him. Now, he had Kara, a new Kryptonian popping into his life, and he wasn’t sure what her intentions were. Every time he looked at Kara, he seemed conflicted about how to respond. So she gave him space. She stayed at the farm while Clark continued his life in Metropolis. It wasn’t bad. Martha was a second mother to her. She would offer her advice and help her acclimate to society. Kara knows that part of the reason that they bonded was through their tragic losses. Kara had lost everything she knew, and Martha had just lost the love of her life. They leaned on each other to try to continue living. They talked about everything, but the thing that made her the most happy was Martha’s willingness to listen to her tales of Krypton. Clark avoided the subject like the plague, but Martha fully immersed herself. She listened eagerly through all her stories and a lot of the literature that the Fortress of Solitude had. She had also started to learn Kryptonian. She was at a beginner level still, but it made Kara’s heart swell that there was someone else with whom she could converse in her mother language. She couldn’t imagine another person in her life being taken again after everything she went through. 

Kara went as fast as she could. She thinks that she broke Mach 5 which she knows will put her in the DEO and possibly the IRS radar again especially if there was property damage. However, Kara didn’t give a damn. She needed to make sure Martha was safe. When she saw the farm in her field of vision, she had to fight her instinct to burst through the door. She remembered how being rash just weeks before nearly led to her almost losing her and Barry’s life, and she didn’t want the same thing to happen to Martha. She flew around the farm while using her X-ray vision. She didn’t see anything unusual until she saw the house. What she saw caused her to go from being frighten to more confused than anything else. She landed as gently as she could on the ground (due to Martha going off on both Clark and Kara for leaving craters across her lawn) and quickly walked to the house. She looked under the mat on the porch to get the spare key and entered the house. She heard noises coming from the kitchen and followed them. Once she got there, she saw Clark in his Superman costume sitting next to an embarrassed Martha in a robe at the kitchen table. 

She scanned the room and noticed that there were two long-stemmed candles in the middle of the table and two plates that had little bits of half-eaten food on them. Next to the plates were two wine glasses. One was empty and the other was a quarter of the way full. There were rose petals on the floor that led out of the kitchen into the hallway. If she had to guess, Kara thinks they probably lead to Martha’s bedroom. She then looked back and forth between Clark and Martha once more. Martha still looked like she wanted to crawl into a hole and die somewhere. Clark had an unnerving look about him. She had seen that look before when he was about to go into a rage. She can tell that he is holding back by the way he is gripping the table. Considering that it is made from nth metal (the strongest in the galaxy) and was starting to bend slightly tells her that something happened. She had a pretty good idea of what happened but didn’t want to assume. 

Please let this idiot not have called me because his mother actually decided to have a love life. 

She looked back and forth between them hesitantly and said, “Clark, you told me to come here because there was an emergency, but it doesn’t seem like there is one taking place. Was the emergency device activated in error or did something else happen?”

Clark stared at her coldly for a moment and said, “Since I brought you in, I didn’t expect much, but I damn well-expected loyalty.”

Kara looked back at him shocked, and said, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Clark sneered at her and said, “Don’t feign innocence with me. You know what you did, and I need you to terminate the contract you have with them right now.”

Kara looked at him surprised for a minute and then it dawned on her. 

Don’t tell me this whiny bitch went to tattle on me to mommy.

Kara clenched her fist. She knew that Clark would get irritated. That was her goal, but she hated that Martha got dragged into this mess and ruined her evening. She took a deep breath to try to keep calm. 

Kara forced a smile and said, “I am taking a guess you heard about my partnership with the hospital.”

Clark slammed his hand on the table and yelled, “You’re damn right! You took a job with the enemy!”

Martha looked confused between Kara and Clark and said, “I don’t understand. How is working at the hospital some type of betrayal?”

Clark turned to Martha with a disgusted look while pointing his finger directly at Kara.

“You always defended her saying that she came to Earth to do no harm and that we should trust her. But she has been working with the enemy this whole time.”

“And who exactly is the enemy?” asked Martha hesitantly.

Clark turned towards Kara and spat, “Lena Luthor.”

“Lena is a civilian who runs the local hospital for children in my area. There are no records of her doing anything nefarious or the hospital for that matter. She is not only smart but very kind-hearted,” said Kara lofty. 

Clark smirked and said, “Oh, I thought that you were smart enough not to get sucked into the Luthor’s charm. They appear nice, but they are nothing but a bunch of vipers.”

Kara smirked and said, “I didn’t realize that you have a grudge against anyone last named Luthor. Doesn’t this go against the Almighty Superman’s policy about tolerance and acceptance?”

“They deserve nothing from us!” exclaimed Clark. 

Kara raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you really going to let your hatred for one person spread to everyone else?”

Clark shook his head, scoffed, and said, “I knew that you would be unreasonable which is why I thought mom could talk some sense into you.”

He turned to his mom expecting some backup. However, when he looked at his mom, she stared at with with a rage in her eyes that caused his face to go pale. 

“Mom, why….”

Martha held up her hand to silence him. He gulped and sat silent.

Kara had to stop herself from bursting out laughing. 

Can’t believe he is such a mama’s boy.

Martha rubbed the back of her head for a moment and turned to look back at Clark with an angry glare in her eyes which caused him to back up a little. 

“Let me see if I understand this. You forced me to hurry out of bed and didn’t give me a chance to put on any clothes because of some big emergency….”

“But mom…”

“Excuse me, did I say that I was finished speaking?”

Clark looked down and said, “No ma’am.”

“I thought so. You bring me out here half dress because you said that Kara was in some type of crisis and all of this is because she is working with Lena Luthor? You have known Lena all of her life. Where the hell is all of this aggression coming from?”

That last statement piqued Kara’s interest. 

Kara frowned and asked, “Wait. Martha is making it sound like that not only have you known each other for a while, but you have at least been friendly towards one another in the past.”

“She and that group were never friends to this family,” grumbled Clark.

Martha frowned and asked, “Clark, how can you say that? Lillian used to watch you all the time when you were growing up and after Lena was born, she used to follow you and Lex everywhere. She idolized you and thought of you as a brother.”

“It was all lies. They didn’t give a damn about this family. It was all an act!” exclaimed Clark. 

Martha gently grabbed Clark’s hand and said, “I know when you and Lex broke up things went to the point of no return for both of you….”

Kara kind of tuned out for a minute after that. Her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She never knew that Lex and Clark dated. It gave a new context of their relationship. During their battles, Kara often thought that there was something that she was missing. As much as she hated to admit it, Clark was very calm and level-headed in a crisis. He is a straight shooter when fighting and usually likes to finish his fights as quickly and efficiently as possible. However, with Lex, a large part of their fights seemed very personal. Often Lex would put Clark into a chokehold, caress his face, and either call him “My little bitch” or “My cuckold”. It would cause Clark to go into a blind rage and not really care about his surroundings or actions. It had been the only time Kara had actually seen him do major property damage. 

She wondered if anyone in the League knew about their relationship. She always thought it was weird the last six months they made sure that one of the original seven was around to make sure Clark didn’t lose control when Lex was around. Kara shook her head. As much as she wanted to continue down this rabbit hole, she knew she needed to stay present in the current conversation. She tried to refocus. 

“…I know Lena was hurt when you stopped talking to her. She doesn’t understand why you think Lex turned her against you. Lillian has asked me often the same thing…”

“You’re still in contact with them!” exclaimed Clark with a shocked expression on his face. 

Martha sighed and said, “I have been friends with Lillian since I was 5. I’m not ending a 45-year friendship because you and Lex broke up with each other.”

Clark stood up and looked down at his mother with hurt in his eyes.

“You chose them over me!”

Martha stood up and tried to reach out to Clark, but he recoiled instantly from her. Martha tries to keep her face passive, but she strains to try to keep her tears at bay.

Martha gradually moved towards him and said, “Clark, I know Lex cheated on you and it broke your heart and then he started with that alien conspiracy group, but those things he did are on him, not Lillian and Lena.”

Clark looked at her startled at first and then started laughing manically. Martha stared at him with concern while Kara edged forward to try to get next to Martha. 

“What is so funny?” asked Kara hesitantly.

“That you guys would think that I am that petty to hate them all for over Lex’s cheating and group activities.”

Kara smirked and said, “I wouldn’t use petty. I think you are beyond cra…”

“Kara,” said Martha while staring at her sternly.

Kara sighed and looked downward sheepishly. 

Martha shook her head and looked at Clark with worry in her eyes.

“If it wasn’t those things, then what exactly happened that made you hate everyone in the Luthor family?”

Clark started pacing rapidly back and forth. After going back and forth for a minute, he started to slow down to a normal pace until he stopped and looked at Martha with a forlorn look on his face. 

“When I used to think of love, you and Dad would immediately come to mind. You were caring, and gentle with each other. Always knew what the other was thinking and very considerate of each other’s needs and wants. I knew that I wanted that for myself. I thought I had found that with Lex. However, I never realized at the time how blind love makes you.”

“Clark, I’m….” said Martha but Clark raised his hand to stop her from finishing. 

He looked at her with tears threatening to pour from his eyes. 

“Please let me finish,” said Clark softly. 

Martha nodded solemnly.

Clark took a couple of deep breaths and said, “I let my perception of your love color my view of what love should be. It made me realize that some people are incapable of loving someone else.”

Kara looked up at Clark curiously and asked, “How so?”

“When Lex and I first met, he was nice to me but tended to be aloof. He liked to hang out to himself when he was visiting with his family. When Lena and I would play out in the backyard, Lex tended to watch us from afar often perusing a book at the same time. I just thought that he was a loner until he randomly asked me to hang out more when we were both around 13. I was surprised at first because I thought he was just nice to me because our mothers were friends. However, Lex said he kept his distance because he was intimidated by me due to my alien heritage. However, after talking with his mom, he thought that he should be more open. The next three years we got closer until we started dating. He would constantly send me notes telling me how much he loved me and thought about me throughout the day…”

Kara let out a gasp which drew Clark’s attention. Clark stared at her with a raised eyebrow.

Kara looked up at him sheepishly and said, “I’m sorry. It is just hard for me to imagine that narcissist having a romantic bone in his body.”

Clark shook his head, sighed, and said, “Lex acted completely different back then. I used to take us flying to look at the stars. One day while we were flying, he told me that one day he would make a way for both of us to visit the stars so that we could see where Krypton used to be. He knew he couldn’t bring the planet back, but he thought it could maybe answer more questions that I had about where I came from and see if there were any close by planets that had more information about Krypton’s history. I was touched that he cared so much about us and that he even thought about us doing things in the future.”

Kara frowned and asked, “If he was so caring, then what caused his whole personality to flip?”

“Lex and I went to different high schools. He was also a year ahead of me. During his senior year, he became involved in a group at his school called Leviathan…”

Kara looked at Clark baffled and asked, “Isn’t that the…”

“Yes, it is the same alien-hating group that we deal with today. Back then, they would go to schools saying that they were teaching kids leadership skills when they were really trying to brainwash kids into thinking that aliens were the enemy and humanity needed to take back control of the Earth.”

Martha frowned and asked, “How did the school get away with having a group like this on campus?”

Clark sighed and said, “It didn’t help that the principal was related to the leader of the group at that time. The more that Lex got involved in the group, the more his hateful rhetoric came out. One day, he kept going on and on about his hate for alien life, and I just snapped. I asked him how could he be with me, an alien if he hated alien life so much. He looked at me dumbfounded for a moment. I don’t think he ever thought that I would call him out on his bullshit. I got sick of waiting for an answer so I just walked away. I thought that we were through, but Lex came to my house the next day with roses and apologized. He said that he had left the group and he wanted to focus on making us stronger.” 

Clark chuckled for a moment before continuing and said, “I foolishly thought that he meant that we would work on emotionally and mentally strengthening our relationship. However, I was very naive. When we resumed our relationship, everything was about the same except for one thing. We never hung out in public anymore. Originally, I was hurt, but I just figured that maybe Lex needed more time to focus on college since he only had a couple of months left of his senior year. When he eventually left, he said that he would keep in touch. He did for the first three months, but our calls became less and less frequent. Part of me was concerned that he got back with Leviathan again, but I checked the school’s website and didn’t see any mention of it. 

I eventually convinced myself that maybe he was just busy. He said he was taking 21 credits that semester which is very hard to do especially if he was doing anything social. However, things changed when I was asked to babysit Lena one day. When I arrived, I was told she was in her room studying, but that I would just need to make sure she ate dinner within a couple of hours. I checked on her and saw she was indeed studying so I went on ahead to the living room to finish up some of my homework before making us dinner. After a couple of hours, I finished my homework made dinner, and went to get Lena from her room, but she wasn’t there. I initially panicked but then realized it was kind of silly to do so. The Luthor mansion had over 100 rooms she could be in. I’m fast but didn’t really want to zoom throughout all the house looking for her. I decided to see if I could listen for her heartbeat and I was able to. I followed it until I got to Lex's room. The door was slightly ajar. I was initially annoyed because Lex hated when Lena would go playing around in his room and was afraid this would put a strain on our relationship which was already being held by a thread at this point due to the lack of communication. I went to quickly get her out of there. I initially was going to drag her out of there but I noticed a terrified look on her face. I turned towards the direction she was looking at and froze. On the TV in his room, it was playing a video…”

Clark stopped and rubbed his hands on his face. 

Martha looked at Clark with a solemn face and said, “Dear, you don’t have to continue if it is too painful…”

Clark looked back down at his mother somberly and said, “No, I want you to understand why I feel the way I do.”

He took a couple of deep breaths and started fiddling with his hands. 

Clark said softly, “In the video, it had Lex experimenting on me in his room. On nights that I would sleep over, he would wait until I was asleep and then start pumping me full of sleeping gas to make sure I didn’t wake up. He would then use Kryptonite to cut me up and take  tissue and blood samples.”

“He did what!” Martha shrieked. 

“That wasn’t even the worst part.”

Kara stared at him with dismay. She couldn’t imagine how it could get any worse than he described. 

“I’m afraid to ask, but how could it get worse than that?” asked Kara.

“During these tests he did, he would often stop to caress my face and say that he was doing it for us so that we could be equals.”

“His delusions have no bounds,” said Kara astounded. 

“I still couldn’t believe what he did to me. I just stared at the TV for a while until I heard Lena starting to cry behind me. I didn’t have the energy or time to want to comfort her. I just wanted to know where she found the video. She wouldn’t tell me at first because she didn’t want to get Lex into more trouble, but she finally pointed me toward the trunk under his bed. I pulled it out and discovered that there were more videos and journals documenting the details of his experiments on me. He had been experimenting on me for months without me realizing it. He was trying to figure out how to make me weaker or a least make himself stronger. I was furious and instantly flew out of there and into his dorm. However, he wasn’t there. I flew around frantically trying to find him until I detected his heartbeat. As I got closer to it, I realized that I was getting weaker to the point that I couldn’t fly anymore. I still kept walking towards it which led to a library in the middle of campus. I followed it downstairs. By the time I got downstairs, I noticed that I had green veins on my arms. I kept going until I heard Lex. He was speaking to a group of people. He and his new girlfriend had started up Leviathan at his college and was telling them that he discovered a way to give them all powers to fight off alien scum. My first thought was to run in there and try to kill him with my bare hands, but I knew there was a bunch of Kryptonite around him if it could affect me even so far away from the library. I decided to quickly get away.”

Martha instantly got up and hugged Clark. His shoulders started to sag as she embraced him and leaned into the hug. 

“Clark, why didn’t you tell me about any of this? All you told me was that Lex rejoined the alien group again and was seeing someone else.”

Clark looked down and said, “I wanted to for so long, but Dad said not to.”

Martha looked at Clark baffled and asked, “Wait, your father knew all of this?”

Clark nodded and said, “After I got back home, I passed out on the floor in my room in tears. Dad found me like that an hour later. I told him what happened and he told me he was going to try to fix everything. It was late at night so the next morning, he headed out to Lex’s college and met up with several police officer friends that he knew in the area. They dressed in plain clothes so as not to spook anyone. When they checked out the library, they found nothing there. Not even Kryptonite. They went to Lex’s dorm and found out that he had transferred to a college overseas about a week ago. His police friends were able to get the school to pull footage of around the dorm and the library and it didn’t show me or Lex there at all.”

Kara frowned and asked, “It makes sense that Lex would have fled and hid all the evidence, but couldn’t Lena collaborate with your story?”

Clark chuckled manically and stared at Kara which caused her to become uneasy. 

“She became a Luthor like the others that day. Dad asked her about the journals and the videos when he got back, and she said that she had no idea what I was talking about. In fact, her parents were pissed when dad got there because I had left Lena alone unsupervised,” said Clark sarcastically.

“Where was I when all of this was occurring?” asked Martha. 

“You were out visiting Aunt Eliza in National City for the week.”

“Okay, I get why I didn’t know about all this when it happened at the exact moment, but why didn’t you two tell me when I got back,” asked Martha concerned. 

Clark sighed while rubbing the back of his head and said, “Dad didn’t want to say anything because things didn’t look good from my end. I was making serious allegations where there was no proof. Not only was Lena withholding the truth, but it seemed like Lex was one step ahead of me.”

“How so?” asked Martha quizzically. 

“There was video footage showing that he was already at his school in Paris when I claimed he was at his old campus. The footage showed multiple sightings of him during the week in Paris. Also, the school does show transfer forms of him going to another school mid-semester because he got accepted to a prestigious fellowship program. Plus, the library that I had entered was supposedly closed off with a security guard standing by because of vandalism. The security guard said that no one came by that night.”

“That still doesn’t explain why your dad didn’t say anything,” said Martha incredulously. 

Clark looked at Martha desperately and said, “I looked at best like a jealous boyfriend or at worst like someone who had a break from reality. There was no proof to show that what I said was true.”

Martha frowned and asked, “Did your dad at least ask Lionel or Lillian what happened?”

Clark sighed and said, “Dad, didn’t really go into details with them especially when they found out about the the lack of evidence from the school. When he got there, all they were concerned about was why Lena was left at home alone. All Dad told them was that I left because I found videos and journals showing that Lex had hurt me deeply. Concerned his parents invited Dad in and went to search Lex’s room, but the trunk of videos and journals were gone. The TV in the room was gone as well. Since they didn’t find anything wrong, they decided to agree to drop the issue and take it as me being mad about Lex breaking up with me.”

“Did you ever question the Luthors yourself after this?” asked Kara. 

Clark spat, “Of course I did! When Dad asked me if I was sure I was remembering things correctly, I went to Lena first and asked her. She denied everything. She started crying when I kept drilling her for answers until her parents asked me to leave.”

“Oh Clark…” said Martha quietly.

“Don’t oh Clark me! That bitch was lying! If she had told the truth, she could have helped me get Lex in jail back then!” screamed Clark. 

“How do you know she was lying?” asked Kara softly. 

“What the fuck that is supposed to mean? Of course, I know she was lying!” screamed Clark.

Kara quietly looked at Clark for a moment before she said, “I know that you and I are human lie detectors now with our powers. However, were you able to use that ability back then or was there something else that showed she was lying?”

Clark stared at her a minute fuming before he muttered, “I knew how to detect a particular person’s heartbeat, but I didn’t learn how to use it to tell if they were lying until a year after that incident.”

“Then how do you know that she is lying?” asked Kara.

“I just know that she is and her parents are helping her!” spat Clark. 

Clark turned to his mom anxiously and said, “This is why I didn’t want to tell you, Mom. I saw the way that Dad doubted my story, and I didn’t want you to doubt me too.”

Martha instantly embraced her son and started rubbing his back. Clark let off a muffled cry into her shoulder. 

Martha said softly, “I believe you. I just wished that you had told me sooner so I could have helped you.”

Kara watched on as Clark broke down and cried against his mother’s shoulder. He has been carrying this around for over a decade causing him so much grief and despair. It added a new layer of her thoughts on Clark that would explain some of his behavior. 

Kara approached Clark, placed a hand on his shoulder, and asked, “You have been carrying this around with you for so long. Have you ever thought about talking to someone about this?”

Clark looked at her hesitantly and said, “No, why?”

Kara took a step closer and said, “You have so much anger inside you about what happened. You have every right to be angry. You were violated by someone you love and trusted. However, carrying around that anger for so long is not healthy. Therapy can be a bene….”

“No,” said Clark sternly. 

Martha looked up at Clark concerned and said, “Why not? It can be helpful…”

Clark instantly backed up and stared at them hesitantly and asked, “You don’t believe me do you?”

Kara tried to approach him, but Clark recoiled causing Kara to stop in her tracks. 

“No one said anything about not believing you. I believe you and so does Martha, but we can both tell that what happened has had a lasting effect on you. Doing therapy to sort out your feelings isn’t a bad thing,” said Kara. 

Clark scoffed and said, “We do the extraordinary. What would it look like if someone like me needed therapy?”

“It would humanize you for one thing,” said Kara softly.

Clark cackled and said, “Haven’t you always talked about how we should be proud of being Kryptonian and how superior they were to humans.”

Kara rubbed her head and sighed. 

She looked up sternly at Clark and said, “First of all, I never said that Kryptonians were superior to humans. All I said was that our technology was more advanced. Despite our technological advances, we still recognize the need for having therapists and psychiatrists.”

“What?” asked Clark startled. 

“Mental and emotional health is just as important as physical health. Being in the army, you were required to have a mental health professional during and after your term of service due to the emotional and mental strain that occupation has on the individual,” said Kara. 

“But they didn’t have the powers we have now…” said Clark. 

Kara interrupted him and said loudly, “That is why it is more important for us to have mental health professionals in our lives. I have had a therapist ever since my time in the Kryptonian army and I have learned that one wrong move can affect the lives of many. That is a lot of responsibility put on one’s shoulders and our planet wanted to help to ease that weight on us. I am kind of surprised the League hasn’t made this mandatory.”

“Maybe, you are weak enough to need therapy, but I don’t need it. What I need is justice. If you really want to help me, you can force Lena to confess to lying years ago about Lex,” spat Clark. 

Kara shook her head and looked at him sadly.

“I can’t do that.”

“Why the hell not?” screamed Clark. 

“If Leviathan is really involved in this….”

“Which they are!” snapped Clark. 

Kara paused for a moment and then continued calmly, “If they were involved, we know from our dealings with them now that they have people that can work in the shadows so they are not seen and can erase people’s memories. Considering that all the things you saw quickly disappeared that night and Lena changed her story, there is a high possibility that they quickly got rid of the evidence on Lex’s behalf and erased Lena’s memories of the incident.”

“No, no, no! She lied. I know she did!” yelled Clark. 

“Considering Leviathan’s level of power and influence, you don’t even want to consider the fact that they have some level of influence to change or manipulate the situation.”

Clark backed away from Martha and Kara frowning at them. 

“I should have known it would be useless talking to you. Don’t come crawling to me to save you when that bitch eventually screws you over!” screamed Clark.

Clark then flew away in a blur. 

Martha ran to the door and screamed, “Clark, wait!”

Kara went to the door and saw Clark flying away. Given that he was flying upward, it looked like he was headed back to the Watch Tower. Martha instantly burst into tears. Kara wrapped her arms around Martha and led her back to the kitchen table. 

They sat down for a while until Martha said, “I didn’t realize that he was in so much pain.”

Kara shook her head thinking about it. Clark had always tried to portray himself as a strong and disciplined person. You would have never thought that he had so much inner turmoil. She wondered how he was able to hide it for so long without seeing the cracks seep through.

“I am not sure what to do to help him,” said Martha softly while wiping the tears from her face.

“He would have to want help to start with. It is interesting that he hasn’t got any help from the League on this,” said Kara. 

Martha put her head in her hands and said, “He thinks that he should do everything on his own. I am wondering if this incident is the reason why he doesn’t trust anyone to help him.”

Kara thought about it for a moment. This incident was a catalyst for something, but not for what Martha thinks it is. 

“I think he has held on to his hatred for so long that he didn’t think about some important questions,” said Kara. 

“Like?”

“For starters, how could Lex be on campus and overseas in two places at once? How did the tapes, journals, and TV disappear from Lex’s room? Why would Lena tell a different story of what happened that night? And finally, why didn’t any of the adults tell you what happened that night? I can see why maybe Lillian or Lionel would want to keep quiet if they were really hiding something, but I don’t buy Jonathan not saying anything. Based on your stories about him, I don’t believe he would have kept an allegation that big from you.”

Martha nodded and said, “You’re right. Jonathan wouldn’t have. When I got back from California, Clark had decided that after his current semester, he was going to leave Smallville and go to Metropolis University. He said he didn’t want anything around him that reminded him of Lex or the Luthor family. Clark at first wouldn’t say what was bothering him, but Jonathan said it was because of Lex being with Leviathan again and cheating on him. I just don’t see Jonathan watering down the story like that. I am still baffled by the whole story. Clark has talked about coming in contact with Leviathan in recent years. I am surprised he didn’t mention this when they became more prevalent.” 

“I am too in all honestly. They have people who could erase memories and other materials and shapeshifters. Clark knows all of this, but he has held onto his hatred for Lena and the others for so long, that he doesn’t want to consider the other possibilities.”

Martha sighed, “It is a shame because I do believe that if Clark asked Lena for help, she would have, but I fear that he has burned that bridge.”

Kara turned to Martha and smiled and said, “Well, I haven’t yet.”

Martha raised an eyebrow at Kara and asked, “You really think she would be willing to help Clark? Their last conversation at the house really didn’t go so well.”

“How so?”

Martha sighed, “He threatened to throw her car into the lake if she didn’t leave. When she stood her ground, he went through with it. Lena was obviously furious and told him she had given up on him and to my knowledge hasn’t spoken to him since. I am kind of surprised that you are working with her. I would think that she would have seen the symbol you wear and would have run for the hills.”

“Did she know that Clark was Superman?” asked Kara hesitantly.

“Has Clark told her? No. But Lena isn’t stupid either. Clark didn’t hide any of his powers around her so when she saw someone flying around doing the things Clark used to do, it wasn’t hard for her to put two and two together.”

“Hmmm,” murmured Kara. 

“I am glad that she gave you a chance. I have talked to her in passing. She has been polite, but doesn’t stay to chat really long.”

Kara got up and started towards the door.

“Hopefully, I can keep up this goodwill with her. I hope to work my way toward asking her about the things that Clark talked about. I will also make sure to check with the League to see what they think.”

“Thanks, Kara. I know that Clark won’t admit this, but I do appreciate you looking into this further.”

Kara sighed and said, “Well, he is family after all even though he treats me like crap.” 

When she got to the door, she paused.

She turns to Martha smirking. 

“You can tell your partner back there that they can come out of hiding now,” said Kara beaming. 

Martha looked at her flustered and said, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Kara chuckled and said, “Clark was too blinded by rage to see the signs, but I know that you have a special friend you are seeing. I can hear their heartbeat and it has been beating pretty fast since I have been here.”

Martha’s face turned beat red and started wringing her hands.

“I don’t know what to say….”

Kara smiled and said, “You don’t have to say anything. I am just happy that you have found someone. I was worried that you would close yourself off after Jonathan died.”

Martha smiled softly and said, “Thank you.”

“Hope you have fun with your sexy time,” smirked Kara, and she was gone in a blur. 

Martha turned beat red as she hurried and closed the door. She took a couple of deep breaths and headed back to her bedroom. 

She closed the door and turned on the lights. She frowned when she saw her partner was almost dressed. 

“How much of that did you hear?” asked Martha hesitantly.

Lillian Luthor turned around as she was putting on her top and said, “Everything.”

Chapter Text

“Why are you leaving?” asked Martha hesitantly.

Lillian had finished getting dressed and had just grabbed her purse. She looked up at Martha conflicted while wringing her hands.

Lillian said softly, “I didn’t think you would want me here after everything Clark said.”

Martha quickly went over to Lillian, gently grabbed her hand, and guided her to sit back on the bed.

As she gently rubbed Lillian’s hand, Martha said, “I don’t want you to leave.”

Lillian turned to face the other way and murmured, “I don’t understand why not.”

Martha gently turned Lillian’s face around so that she was facing her. She cupped Lillian’s face gently in her hands which caused Lillian to slightly gasp.

Martha said softly, “You have known me longer than anyone on his Earth. Do you really think I would ask you to leave so quickly without speaking with you first?”

“No,” murmured Lillian softly.

“Then why were you quickly trying to leave?”

Lillian closed her eyes to try to prevent tears from coming out. She struggled to prevent her lips from quivering but wasn’t able to.

“I was afraid of what you might say,” said Lillian shakily.

Martha pulled Lillian into an embrace with Lillian resting her head on Martha’s shoulder. Martha gently rubbed her back.

After sitting in each other’s arms, Martha said, “I just have a couple of questions. I promise not to judge.”

Lillian twiddled with her thumbs and asked, “What questions?”

“When I came back from California, the only thing I heard from Lionel, Jonathan, and you was that Lex cheated on Clark and he was still with Leviathan, and they broke up. Is that how you remember it or not?”

Lillian looked down at her thumbs for a couple of moments before looking up at Martha with a sad expression on her face.

“It is not that simple,” said Lillian softly.

Martha frowned and asked, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Lillian looked down and said, “When we got home at around midnight, we found the front door wide open. We went around the house and saw that everything was okay with Lena asleep in her room. Nothing seemed to be tampered with or stolen. However, Clark was nowhere to be found. The only evidence of him being there was the dinner that he cooked that looked like only one person picked over and his books were still laid out on the table in the living room. We checked the security footage to be sure and it looked like the only people inside the house that night were Clark and Lena since we had given the rest of the staff off that night. We woke Lena up to see what had happened, and she said that Clark found out about Lex cheating on him and confronted him about it. We called Clark and Jonathan’s cell phones and the house phone to see what happened, but they all went straight to voicemail. We did reach Lex, however.”

Martha raised an eyebrow and asked, “Really?”

Lillian nodded and said, “Yes. In Paris, it was morning so we knew he would be awake. He said that he called Clark to let him know that he was breaking up with him to be with another girl and that he didn’t take it so well.”

“How so?” asked Martha.

“He said that there was a lot of screaming and crying on Clark’s end. Lex said that he apologized for hurting him but then the line suddenly disconnected. Lex said he tried to call multiple times to the house phone and Clark’s phone but they went straight to voicemail. He said he was concerned though.”

Martha scoffed which caused Lillian to pause. Martha sighed and said, “I am sorry. I told you I wouldn’t judge at least not until hearing everything. Please continue.”

Lillian shook her head and said, “I know what you are thinking, but you have to remember back then, we didn’t know the lengths of deceit that Lex was willing to go through in order to get what he wants. I had no reason to have doubts at that point.”

Lillian looked up solemnly and stared directly at Martha and said, “Besides, I know exactly how it feels when the person you trust most in the world rips your heart out.”

Martha looked down and started wringing her hands and said softly, “It was a different time back then.”

Lillian quickly placed a hand on Martha’s in order to stop her hands from moving.

“I didn’t say that to make you feel guilty. I am just saying that I understand what a breakup can do to a person. I was mad at Clark for being so irresponsible, but I know that a breakup can cause a person to do the unexpected. I tried to explain that to Lionel but he was furious that Clark had left Lena unattended and the door wide open. I had to convince him to let the matter rest until the morning since it was already so late.”

“I definitely understand his level of anger,” mused Martha.

Lillian sighed and said, “You have no idea. It was the first time I had seen him try to clear his entire schedule for the day. He nearly did except there were two morning meetings that he couldn’t push off due to their level of urgency. By the time he finished those, It was around 1 pm. We got back to the house at around 2. That is when the weirdness started.”

Martha frowned and asked, “What weirdness?”

Lillian rubbed the back of her head and said, “When we got back to the house, we noticed that Jonathan was sitting in his truck right out front. Our butler Mason was standing on the driver's side of the truck talking to Johnathan. As we pulled up behind Johnathan’s truck, Mason hurried over to us saying that Johnathan had been sitting in his vehicle motionless for the last half hour. The gardener initially noticed him sitting out front first. They didn’t think anything of it because you and your family have been constantly over to the house so much. However, when he didn’t make any attempt to go inside the house, the gardener went to get Mason to check it out. The window was halfway down on the car door so Mason did try to nudge Johnathan to move, but he kept staring straight in front of him without blinking. Lionel and I quickly went to the truck and he was unresponsive at first. Lionel was about to dial 911 when Johnathan quickly grabbed his hand from the truck and told him to stop.”

Martha quickly gasped, and asked, “Did he have a stroke?”

“At first, we didn’t know what was going on. He was a little disoriented at first. We asked him why he came to the house, and he looked around confused for a little bit. He said at first he came for Clark, but couldn’t remember why exactly. We then probed more and from the pieces that Johnathan gave, it seemed like Johnathan found out that Clark and Lex had broken up and the catalyst for it was that Lex recorded himself doing things to Clark and somehow Leviathan was involved, but Johnathan wasn’t sure what the recordings contained. We told him that he needed to go to the hospital, but he flat-out refused. I told him to at least let us have our on-call doctor check him out. We didn’t want to send him on his way if he had some type of head injury.”

“So you did have him checked out?”

“Of course. I eventually got Johnathan to agree to the checkup by threatening to call you to come home.”

“I wish you would have,” muttered Martha.

Lillian looked down and started twiddling her thumbs and said, “In hindsight, I wish I did too.”

They sat in silence for a couple of minutes until Martha asked, “What happened next?”

“Johnathan refused to have us in the room when the doctor examined him so we decided to check out Lex’s room since that was one of the things Johnathan mentioned. We looked for anything like a notebook, recorder, video, or DVD that could be used for recording information and found nothing. After we finished, we checked back on Johnathan and saw that the doctor finished examining him. He told us that the only thing that was wrong was that he was a little bit dehydrated which can cause a person to be confused or have memory issues. He recommended drinking 2 more bottles of water every day. We made sure to give him more fluids over the next two hours and he started to remember more. He had gone to Lex’s university to confront him but saw that there was no evidence of Lex being there despite Clark claiming something different. He said that once he found that out, he headed to our house to discuss what may have happened between the boys and to check with Lena to see if she knew something. We told Jonathan that we only so far had Lex’s version of events and that we didn’t find anything in Lex’s room to suggest that Lex had done anything wrong. Johnathan asked if he could see Lex’s room himself and look around, and he didn’t find anything either. He also talked to Lena for a bit, and she told him the same thing about Clark and Lex. Johnathan decided to head back to the farm and talk to Clark further to try to gain more of an understanding of what happened. I insisted on having Lionel go with him to make sure that he got home safely. Johnathan relented, and they went back to your house where they were confronted by Clark.”

Martha sighed and said, “I take it wasn’t a warm welcome.”

Lillian sighed and said, “No. He instantly asked what we did to his father. Lionel told him everything that had happened since we got home. Clark accused us of helping Lex and then zoomed over to our house. I saw a blur go through the house and upstairs. I followed it and found Clark in Lena’s room yelling at her about hiding Lex’s tapes and journals. I tried to talk to him, but he knocked me out of the way and I hit my arm on the table. Jonathan eventually got him to calm down, but Clark refused to leave until he checked out Lex’s room. He went in there tearing it apart and found nothing. He then zoomed out of there. Johnathan apologized for everything and left and then I went to console Lena who was crying hysterically in her room.”

“Is that why you had that brace on your elbow when I came back?” asked Martha quietly.

Lillian nodded and said, “Yes.”

Martha looked at Lillian solemnly while wiping tears from her eyes.

“What happened next?” asked Martha softly.

“A couple of hours later, Johnathan came back to apologize profusely and offer to pay for my medical bills. I declined. When Lionel found out about my decision a couple of hours later, he was initially pissed with me, especially with all the emotional and physical trauma that Clark had caused. He was initially going to go over to your house to demand some type of restitution until Lex called us right before he left. It left Lionel a little rattled.”

“How so?” asked Martha frowning.

“Lionel said that when he was talking to him, it seemed like Lex took great joy in Clark unraveling during their break up and seemed to hint that he may have done something to him. Nothing too specific but enough to give Clark some leeway to his claims. Lionel decided to do a small investigation being led by himself, and two other security employees that he trusted. I wanted to be a part of it, but Lionel refused.”

“Why?” asked Martha quizzically.

“Whatever Lex said on the phone with Lionel made him concerned that he wouldn’t have qualms about hurting other people including family members. I thought that Lionel was overreacting, but a couple of months later changed my mind.”

“Lionel’s death,” said Martha softly.

Lillian nodded and said, “The day before he died, he received a tip from someone who attended Lex’s old college. They allegedly had footage showing Clark and Lex on campus when Lex wasn’t even supposed to be there. Lionel took his security guards with him to check it out. Several hours later, I received a call from Lionel saying that I needed to take Lena and leave the estate and not come back. I took Lena to National City to stay for a while. I was hoping that Lionel was just being overdramatic, but then I got the call that Lionel was in a car accident where he was thrown from the car and slammed into a tree. They said that his death was instantaneous.”

Lillian paused for a few minutes before looking up at Martha and said, “The police said that Lionel was drunk driving at the time, but I knew it was murder.”

“I remember you saying that for a while after his death, but you dropped it. You said that you never realized that Lionel had a problem with drinking.”

Lillian said softly, “I didn’t have a choice in the matter.”

“How?”

“At the funeral, Lex showed up with the same security guards Lionel had working for him now. As they lowered Lionel to the ground, he wrapped his arm around me, whispered into my ear, and said: It’s funny how curiosity got the better of him. Hopefully, you won’t make that same mistake. He then walked away.”

“He really killed Lionel,” said Martha slowly.

She knew that Lex was capable of great evil. However, she is still sad to see that his path into darkness started when he was so young.

“With this, Johnathan’s memory issues, and Clark’s claims, I realized that these weren’t coincidences. The beautiful boy that I had nurtured and loved had become a monster. There were only two people that I knew I could trust, you and possibly still Clark. I immediately went to your home in Kansas to tell you everything.”

Martha frowned and said, “I remember that you came to my house directly after the funeral, but all we talked about was the funeral. Nothing else.”

“I was about to tell you everything at the house, but then suddenly I saw a red laser dot on your forehead. My heart dropped, and I didn’t know what to do until I heard my phone ring. I answered it, and it was Lex. He said that he would excuse me just once because of the emotional state I was in, but if I continued down the path that I was on, I would be sorry. I told him that I just wanted to talk to you about the funeral and nothing more. He told me fine and ended the call and the red dot went away on your forehead.”

Martha gasped at all of this.

Lillian continued and said, “I waited a month to make sure I wasn’t being tailed before approaching Clark. I knew he wasn’t happy with our family, but I thought if he knew what was at stake he would be willing to hear me out. I went to his apartment at Metropolis. When he answered the door, he instantly threw me against the wall and told me that I was scum and to not come back.”

Lillian started to break down and cry. Martha instantly embraced her.

“I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want Lex to hurt you, Lena, or Clark so I just let it go,” said Lillian shakily.

“You have been caring this around all this time,” said Martha softly.

“It has been horrible. I wanted to tell you so many times, but I couldn’t,” sobbed Lillian.

Martha rocked Lillian in her arms until she stopped sobbing.

“Why don’t you hate me after all of this?” murmured Lillian.

Martha hugged her back and said, “I know what you were up against now and I don’t blame you for anything. I do have one question though.”

“What is that?”

“Does Lex have you followed now?”

Lillian shook her head and said, “No. That is the only reason why I have been able to rekindle things with you because he hasn’t been keeping a tab on me for a while.”

Martha frowned and asked, “Why though?”

Lillian smirked and said, “His arrogance has gotten the better of him.”

“How so?”

“He is trying to run for a Senate seat in New York. He is going to make an announcement about it in two days.”

“You have got to be kidding me. After all of his battles with the Justice League and the other illegal crap that he has done over the years,” scoffed Martha.

“Unfortunately, Lex has been able to gain supporters by encouraging the hatred towards aliens and super-powered beings.”

“Not even his assassination attempts on Lena, his flesh and blood, have no sway?”

“None of the shooters in the case would give up who paid them for the job. When they did a trace, the payments would always come from a shell company overseas.”

“So no one is raising alarms about this?” sighed Martha.

“I didn’t say that. Before, when Lex did something that was illegal, it was only being evaluated by the state of New York since that is where the majority of the crimes he committed took place. He has been able to pay off the majority of government officials since living there. However, now that he is seeking a senate seat, it is causing the FBI and the CIA to take notice even though he hasn’t formally announced it yet. Normally, he would have Leviathan try to smooth things over for him, but they have come to an impasse.”

“What do you mean?”

“Leviathan reached out to me to try to get Lex to not run for Senate. His run would affect what they had in store for the state already.”

“Really?” asked Martha shocked.

Lillian laughed sarcastically and said, “Yes. Those idiots thought that I had the power of persuasion with Lex. I told them that Lex hadn’t listened to me since he was a little boy. They weren’t too happy about that though.”

“They didn’t hurt you did they?”

Lillian shook her head and said, “No. One good thing about them is that they are not violent unless it serves a purpose. After they talked to me, they indicated they were going to talk to Lex. I am not sure what was said, but I could tell after a week things definitely changed.”

“Like what?”

“They stopped bankrolling everything for him which means that he had to now foot the bill for everything he wants to do.”

“Including his run for Senate.”

“Exactly. The Board at Luthor Corp used to be lenient with him using company funds on his personal endeavors, but that stopped after his recent attack on Superman that nearly caused them to go bankrupt. He then shifted his focus on me to fund his venture into the Senate. However, with the CIA and FBI now breathing down his neck about where his funds are coming from, he is trying to find more legitimate ways to fund everything. His choices at this point were to use the rest of his funds to have me monitored or try to hide all his dirty little secrets. Fortunately for me, he chose the latter so I have been able to roam around more without being followed.”

Martha chuckled which caused Lillian to frown.

“What is so funny?” asked Lillian.

Martha shook her head and said, “I am sorry. It is just that it would be crazy if the thing that finally took Lex down was his financial holdings.”

“Hopefully, it is that simple,” murmured Lillian.

Martha turned to Lillian and asked, “Since Lex is distracted, what are you going to do now?”

Lillian gently grabbed Martha’s hand and turned to her.

“Actually, that is one of the reasons I came. Remember I contacted you saying that we have a problem?”

“Yes, I have been wondering about that.”

“Well, I found out a while ago about Lena and Supergirl’s plan to do a partnership. I may not be on Lex’s radar right now, but I know the commercial they just put out definitely has Lex noticing them.”

“I am kind of surprised Lex hasn’t retaliated at this point,” mused Martha.

Lillian sighed and said, “Trust me, if it wasn’t for the fact he was announcing his Senate bid this week, he would have found some way to attack Lena, Supergirl, or both. That is why I came today to convince you to come to California to live with me.”

“What?” asked Martha surprised.

“I know Lex well enough that if he is not able to intimidate Lena or Supergirl, they will try to force their hand by going after the people they care about. That would include you dear since you know about Supergirl and her identity.”

Martha turned from her to stare out the window silently. They stayed like that for several minutes.

Lillian started shifting back and forth nervously and said, “I know this is really sudden and it is  a huge ask, but I think it would be the safest option at this point and…”

Martha turned to Lillian and placed a finger on her lips. Martha gave a small smile and gently cupped Lillian’s face in her hands and kissed her gently on the lips. She pulled back and both women smiled shyly at each other.

“I know that you are right darling. Even with this new threat, it hasn’t been good for me to live here for the longest time. I have been living in the past for too long. Maybe this will give me the opportunity to see what else the future holds for me.”

Martha then straddled Lillian while smirking and said, “Besides, I know you well enough to know that this isn’t your only plan.”

Lillian chuckled softly while caressing Martha’s face and said, “That I do. I have so much to lose: Lena, Sam, Ruby, you. And I know you have Clark and Supergirl to worry about. I want us to be able to breathe again without having to worry about our loved ones being harmed. Once I have you situated in California, I will then start investigating Lex’s activities as of late. I doubt I will find the stuff Clark talked about today, but I am pretty sure I will find things of an illegal nature if I search hard enough.”

Martha caressed Lillian’s face softly and said, “I hope you realize that I will be coming along to help you in your investigation.”

Lillian smiled and said, “I would have it no other way.”

“Good,” said Martha as she took off her robe.

Lillian marveled at the beauty before her.

Martha smirked and said, “I guess all that is left is to celebrate our new venture.”

Lillian smirked and said, “I like the sound of that.”

****

Kara flew slowly through the sky. After talking with Clark, she didn’t know what she wanted to do. She knew she wanted to talk to Lena, but she wasn’t sure about how to approach it. Part of her wanted to be direct, but then she wondered how tactful that would really be. Lena and Clark didn’t have the best relationship, and she didn’t want to take sides. However, Kara slowly started to realize that she did take a side. She trusted Lena with her whole heart. Even though they hadn’t known each other long, she knew that Lena couldn’t possibly have done the things Clark mentioned. Kara winced. She knows that part is this is due to her not liking Clark so much though. Kara sighed and shook her head. She knew that she needed to get to the bottom of this, and it would be a very awkward conversation.

I just hope that she will be willing to be at least friends after this.

As Kara was about to increase her flight speed, she heard static on her comms.

“Supergirl, I need you to come to Gotham now,” said Batman.

Kara winced. She had completely forgotten that today she was supposed to be patrolling with Bruce and Barry in Gotham.

“About that, something happened that I really need to address right now….” started Kara.

“Is it life or death?” asked Bruce.

“No, but…”

“Then I expect you here in 10 minutes. Don’t be late,” said Bruce curtly before ending communication.

Kara sighed.

“I guess my questions for Lena will have to wait,” muttered Kara as she changed directions and flew to Gotham.

Chapter Text

Kara sat in the bat cave eating a croissant. She looked over and saw Barry going through a couple himself. She shook her head and chuckled at herself. As much as she didn’t want to necessarily be here right now, she must admit that she thoroughly enjoyed the treats that Alfred left for them when they came over. They were currently waiting for Bruce to arrive to let them know about their upcoming mission in Gotham. She was kind of surprised that he wasn’t in the bat cave waiting for them when they arrived. But then again, she and Barry have only been there for 15 minutes so far. She looked up at the tray that Alfred left for them. She debated between getting another croissant or going for the chocolate eclair but then sighed when she heard a swooshing sound. She turned slightly to the left and saw two batarangs. One was coming towards her and the other was headed towards Barry. She caught the one coming towards her with ease while Barry noticed the flying projectile at the last second forcing him to sacrifice his donut to protect himself from being hit. Kara’s eyes followed the batarang’s trajectory and narrowed her eyes at their assailant, a 10-year-old boy dressed in a black and white suit. Barry looked up a second later and noticed him too while frowning.

“You just made me waste a perfectly good donut,” muttered Barry while picking up the donut from the floor.

The boy jumped down from a narrow nook in the cave and said sarcastically, “Given you are the fastest man alive, I would think you should be able to multitask both. But then again, you are a so easy target.”

“Who expects being attacked when invited to someone’s home?” asked Barry exasperatedly.

“Someone who knows to expect the unexpected,” smirked the boy.

Barry rolled his eyes and went in for another donut.

Kara shook her head and said, “I see you are as mischievous as ever, Damian?”

Damian chuckled and said, “Someone needs to keep you on your toes. One day I will catch you off guard.”

Kara chuckled and said, “You will be waiting forever then.”

Barry frowned and said, “Not that I care, but you seem to be dressed very fancy for going out on patrol.”

Damian frowned and asked, “Did Father not tell you what the plans were for tonight?”

“I was just about to,” said Bruce.

Barry and Kara jolted and turned to see Bruce walking towards them. Kara was more surprised to see him in regular polo and khakis versus his usual Batman get-up.

“I take it from the different state of dress that we aren’t going patrolling,” mused Barry.

“Every once in a while being ourselves gets the job done better than our alter egos can,” said Bruce as he walked towards his computer mainframe and motioned the others to follow him.

He brought up an image of an older building that looked to be three stories with several statues of lions out front. Kara narrowed her eyes at the image and noticed it said across the top of the building Gotham Museum of Art and Technology.

“There has been a lot of rumblings about a hit being taken on the museum tonight,” said Bruce.

“What is so special about tonight?” asked Barry.

“The museum is opening its new exhibit on Ancient Lost Worlds. It will have art and tech from extinct alien societies.”

Kara frowned and asked, “Is there something in particular that is catching people’s eyes at the exhibit?”

“Other than the possibility of a hit, there hasn’t been much talk of what piece or pieces a criminal would want if any at all.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” asked Barry.

“When the museum first announced the exhibit, the rumblings were at their strongest. However, when the museum started to show images of some of the artifacts and then listing the different societies that were being represented, the rumblings went down until they were almost nonexistent.”

Kara chuckled and said, “They were probably excited about the prospect of advanced weapons or tech, but found out it would be mostly artwork.”

Bruce sighed and said, “I thought about that since it appears the majority of the things on display will be artwork. However, I rather be safe than sorry. Considering these things are from species that are long gone, the objects could have other uses that we are not aware of  yet.”

Barry nodded and said, “That’s cool. But one problem. Kara and I don’t have anything to wear to an event like this.”

“There is several outfit selection waiting for you and Kara upstairs. Once, you guys are finished getting ready, you, Kara, and Damian will head to the museum and just monitor the activities.”

“Wait, you are not coming?” asked Kara frowning.

“Unfortunately, I have other matters to attend to,” said Bruce while getting up from his seat.

Kara smirked and asked, “Don’t like going to fancy events?”

As Bruce started walking towards the exit, he said, “No, I am hoping an old friend can shed some light on another case I am looking into.”

“Are you sure you don’t need any backup?” asked Barry.

Bruce smirked and said, “She is formidable, but I think I can handle things on my own.”

Barry and Kara just stared at each other quizzically.

“Why do I have a feeling that whatever he is doing is going to be more interesting,” said Barry.

Kara smirked and said, “Probably is knowing him.”

Kara started to walk up towards the exit when she heard a yelp. She turned around and saw a batarang sticking out from Barry’s back with Damian snickering behind him.

“Dammit, what the hell Damian!” screamed Barry while pulling the batarang out.

Damian smirked as he walked past him and said, “You need to expect the unexpected more Barry.”

Kara shook her head as she continued towards the exit. It was going to be a long night.

*****

While riding in the limo, Kara took out the compact mirror to check herself out again. She was quite impressed with what Bruce had left out for her. He had left 10 elegant ball gowns for her to choose from. She decided to go with the most simple: A blue heart-shaped floor-length dress with no sleeves. She thought that it brought out the color of her eyes more. She was even more impressed that he also provided glasses and a red, long, and wavy wig. She chuckled when she thought about it. It shouldn’t surprise her that Bruce was so observant. She wouldn’t be surprised if he knew the secret identity of everyone in the Justice League and how they look in their everyday lives. Since coming to Earth, she always used glasses and a red wig. Clark thought it was overkill with the wig and that the glasses would be fine. Kara was personally surprised that more people didn’t realize that Clark without the glasses was Superman especially since he is a well-known reporter. She sighed as she looked at her other two compatriots. Barry was sitting next to her in a nice blue suit scrolling through the internet on his phone. Damian was across from them looking out the window. Kara frowned. The kid was always on guard. It made some sense given who his mother and grandfather were. She couldn’t imagine being trained to kill so young. She often wondered what type of scars it left behind.

“You think too loud,” muttered Damian.

Kara frowned and asked, “What?”

Damian sighed and said, “You have been staring at me for the last 10 minutes. It is the same stare that my dad gives me every once in a while.”

“And that is?”

“One of worry.”

Kara chuckled nervously and said, “I am not worried. I was just curious what you were looking at outside the window.”

Damian smirked and said, “If you don’t want to admit it, that is fine. If you must know, I making sure that we are not being followed.”

Kara raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do you really think that is a possibility tonight?”

“Chances are slim, but I rather be doing this than daydreaming like you or retyping the same message to just delete it over again to a secret crush like Barry over here,” smirked Damian.

“Hey!” exclaimed Barry while looking up at Damian. “Have you hacked into my phone again?”

Damian smiled wickedly and said, “No, you just admitted to what you were doing all on your own.”

Barry stared at Damian fuming for a moment until Kara started cackling. Both Damian and Barry looked up at her in surprise.

She looked at them sheepishly and said, “I am sorry about that, but Barry, you make it too easy for him.”

Barry slid down and sulked in his seat and muttered, “You should at least pretend to have my side.”

Kara rested a hand on his shoulder and said, “I do have your side. And if it makes a difference, I think you should just ask the person out in person instead of through text. She would be lucky to have a guy like you in her life.”

“You really think so?” asked Barry while staring at his phone.

“I know so,” smiled Kara.

Damian rolled his eyes and said, “You both are too sentimental.”

Kara chuckled and said, “You think that now, but I believe that deep down you have a soft side to you.”

Damian scowled at her as the limo pulled to a stop. A moment later, Alfred opened the door to let them out.

“I will be back in three hours unless you tell me otherwise,” said Alfred after they all got out of the car. He turned directly to Damian and said, “Damian, remember that….”

Damian rolled his eyes and said, “I know that we are only here to observe unless something happens, and if it does, do not use deadly force. Father already talked to me about this.”

Alfred smirked and said, “If you had let me finish, I was going to say that you, Kara, and Barry need to remember to work as a team. If you see something off, communicate with them instead of trying to handle it alone.”

Damian looked away sheepishly and said, “Fine.”

Kara and Barry chuckle softly to themselves.

Alfred smiled and said, “You guys have a good night, and I will see you soon.”

He promptly got back into the limo and drove off. Damian quickly shoved past Barry and Kara and headed to the museum door.

Barry chuckled and said, “Damian, remember we are supposed to stick together.”

Damian turned around and gave him the finger before turning back around and heading towards the museum entrance. Kara turned to Barry with a frown.

“What?” asked Barry frowning.

“You know that we are both adults here right?”

Barry rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Yes, I realized that.”

Kara raised an eyebrow and asked, “And you understand what that means?”

Barry sighed and said, “I will try to be nicer.”

Kara smiled and said, “Thank you. This already has the making of being a dull night. We don’t need to be at each other's throats as well.”

“I agree, but he makes it so hard,” muttered Barry.

Kara chuckled as she patted his back to console him as they walked towards the museum entrance.

******

Kara frowned while staring at the display before her while drinking her glass of champagne. They had already been at the museum for over 2 hours and nothing of note had taken place yet. When they first got there, they decided to split up and start mingling to see if they noticed anyone suspicious. However, that really didn’t take them that long. When Kara got inside, she realized that there was an unusually small crowd. When she went around asking, it looked like the museum only invited the fifty richest socialites in Gotham to view the exhibits first. It kind of made sense to start with them since the museum was hoping they could get funds out of them and also create word of mouth. However, none of the talks indicated any plans for a heist going down though. Still, the group of three decided to stay vigilant and keep observing people while they did a sweep of the place. They didn’t come across anything or anyone too unusual though.

However, Kara has been stuck at the display she is currently staring at. She wants to walk away, but she can’t.  The display has a  solid slab of rock that has three pastel crystals popping out from it. The crystals were green, pink, and blue. Something about this piece seemed familiar to her, but she couldn’t place it. She looked at the description and was instantly more confused which read the following: Currency from the planet Daxam. The Daxamites were a sister society of the planet of Krypton. In their bustling economy, they were known to exchange crystals for currency. The currency exchange was extremely popular since Daxam was a popular tourist attraction until the people’s demise during Krypton’s explosion. Who knows what future capital the society could have brought forth if their sister planet didn’t take them down with it.

Kara heard something snap. She looked at her hand and was surprised that the step broke from the champagne glass. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up and saw Barry staring at her concerned.

“Is everything okay? You have been staring intently at this piece for the last 15 minutes.”

Kara sighed and said, “I am fine. I just don’t appreciate the revisionist history they wrote for this piece.”

Barry looked at her surprised and asked, “Have you seen this before?”

Kara frowned and said, “I am not sure what it is. I do know that it isn’t what it says it is on the description.”

“How do you know?”

“Well, I have unfortunately been to the planet Daxam and their currency isn’t crystals. Their currency is called Draxs and they are usually orange or red coins.”

“Didn’t have a good time there?”

Kara paused for a moment while staring at the crystals before saying, “Their prince kidnapped me to make me his bride.”

Barry looked at her baffled and asked, “What?”

Kara frowned and said, “Daxam is a sister planet of Krypton. We believed in scientific pursuits and order. They believed in partying, pillaging, and enslaving people to do their bidding. However, a strange disease broke out there causing the the majority of childbearing women to die which caused the Daxamites to become desperate to keep their population alive. Thus, their prince kidnapped me.”

“How did you escape?”

Kara smirked and said, “Dumbass was surprised to learn that I had military training. He was terrified when I took out all his guards and then knocked him out cold and left.”

“Why would he be surprised?”

Kara looked down sheepishly and said, “Technically, Clark and my parents were high-ranking officials in the Guild. Normally, the children of high-ranking officials didn’t join the army. They are usually groomed to follow in their parents’ footsteps. The prince probably assumed that I either went the judge or the scientist track considering who my parents were.”

“What made you go against the norm?”

Kara smiled and said, “My Aunt Astra. She tended to watch me a lot while growing up because my parents tended to be busy with meetings all the time. She would be what you guys called an admiral. She is an excellent fighter and always had the least amount of casualties when leading her soldiers to battle. She is everything I strived to be in a soldier.”

Barry frowned and asked, “I noticed that you use the present tense when talking about her. Is she still alive?”

Kara winced slightly but quickly changed her face to being passive.

“I honestly don’t know if she died or not. When I was younger, my aunt gave me a holographic box so that we could send secret messages to each other. We mostly used it to talk when I was supposed to be sleeping. The day before Krypton exploded, Astra sent me a cryptic message saying that she was going on an undercover mission, but she would be back in a couple of days. I have no idea if that mission took her off world or not. I personally like to think that she is alive out there somewhere though.”

A single tear started to shed down Kara’s face. She quickly tried to wipe it away before Barry noticed. Barry softly placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

“You have lost so much. I wish there was something I could say to make things a little easier.”

Kara smiled and said, “You just being here listening helps a lot.”

Kara quickly took out her compact mirror. Partly to try to reapply her makeup, but also to use it as a distraction.

“Speaking of trauma, do you know where Boy Wonder went off to?” asked Kara as she was applying her mascara.

Barry nodded and said, “I can see him from here. He has been talking to that lady with her support cat.”

“I am surprised they let her bring that thing in with her.”

Barry chuckled and said, “I am more surprised that Damian is humoring her. I kind of feel bad for the kid. Every adult who has talked to him has tried to pitch him ideas for a partnership with Wayne Enterprises. I think that lady he is talking to now is trying to convince him that her company's nanotech can improve the weapons that Wayne Enterprises produces.”

Kara shook her head while she put her mirror compact away. She checked the time and saw that the event was due to be over in about 5 minutes.

She looked at Barry and said, “It seems like the bad guys decided to take the night off. Let’s get Damian and head out.”

“Sounds like a plan. Oooh, do you think we can convince Alfred to make us a batch of his apple cookies when we get back.”

“I don’t know about that. It is kind of late. Maybe, we can convince him to stop by somewhere on the way back to the manor. The food here was so horrible.”

Barry chuckled and said, “Considering this was for the elite in Gotham, I was kind of expecting the food to be better.”

“Same here,” Kara chuckled while she and Barry walked towards Damian.

As Kara got right next to Damian, she placed a hand on his shoulder and said, “I think we should head out now.”

Damian looked up at Kara with a look of gratitude that nearly took her off guard.

The woman that Damian was talking to looked up irritated at Kara and said, “We were in the process of an important business proposition.”

Kara gave a forced smile and said, “The boy is only ten. If you have a business proposition for Wayne Enterprises, I would suggest reaching out to them during business hours.”

Kara then took Damian’s hand and led him away from the woman who watched baffled as they walked away.

“Thank you,” muttered Damian as they walked away.

Kara smiled and said, “Don’t mention it.”

Barry chuckled and said, “I am honestly surprised you didn’t curse them out, Damian.”

Damian looked away sheepishly and said, “Father has told me not to do that anymore. Said never know who we will need to have business with in the future.”

Kara chuckled and said, “Glad to know that you can take advice from someone.”

As they headed out the museum entrance, Kara asked, “Did anyone notice anything strange since being here?”

Barry shook his head and said, “No. For the most part it was a dull night. How about you?”

Kara shook her head and said, “Same here. Didn’t notice anything too out of the ordinary. How about you Damian?”

“There is one person of interest I noted. You remember that guy with the red bow tie?” asked Damian.

Kara nodded and said, “Yes. That was the same dude that leaned against the table holding the punch bowl and causing it to fall over on the floor and the glass to break into hundreds of pieces.”

Barry chuckled and said, “He looked so mortified.”

Kara said, “I kind of felt bad for the guy since it wasn’t exactly his fault. That table was compromised. He only slightly put his weight on it before the table leg snapped causing everything to go everywhere.”

“Well, that guy acted strange all night,” mused Damian.

“Are you sure it wasn’t due to embarrassment? A lot of the patrons laughed at him when the table broke,” asked Barry.

“I think that was an outlier though. For the most part, he had a notebook and pen out and was writing things. He also kept checking his phone and messaging on it,” said Damian.

“He could be a reporter like myself. I would imagine that there would have been one or two here at least covering the event. If so, it would explain the phone and the notepad,” said Kara.

Damian sighed and said, “I know it could be nothing, but I have a hunch. Can we at least stay 15 minutes to make sure he leaves without anything?”

Kara looked up at Barry and said, “I don’t have a problem waiting another 15 minutes. How about you?”

Barry sighed and said, “Fine, but let’s at least do our short stakeout in the limo.”

Damian and Kara nodded and they headed to the limo where Alfred was there waiting for them. They waited silently for ten minutes until Kara heard a click. She sighed because she didn’t like what it was implying.

Barry frowned at Kara and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Kara frowned and said, “I just heard an employee lock the entrance to the museum. They are just now putting on the alarm as well. However, I haven’t seen our target leave the museum yet.”

“Are we sure he didn’t leave before us?” asked Barry.

Damian shook his head and said, “I saw him as we were leaving. He was at the table eating a crab cake.”

Barry rubbed the back of his neck and said, “I could phase in and do a quick sweep of the place to see if I see anything.”

Kara shook her head and said, “I don’t think that will be necessary. Look in the middle of the street.”

Barry and Damian looked and were surprised to see that the manhole cover in the middle of the street opened and the mystery guy came out with a backpack on his back. They watched as he scurried across the street into his car.

“I’ll go get him,” said Barry.

Before he sped off, Kara grabbed him and said, “Wait.”

Barry frowned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I think we should follow him to see where he is taking the stuff to.”

“I agree,” said Damian. He knocked on the partition in the limo. The partition went down causing Alfred to come into view. “Alfred, can you put the limo in stealth mode and follow that red car that just pulled out across the street?”

“Activating now,” said Alfred.

Barry looked at Damian quizzically and asked, “What is stealth mode?”

Damian smirked and said, “We can enable the limo to be invisible so we can follow without being detected.”

Barry chuckled and said, “Your dad has all the cool toys.”

Damian leaned back into his seat and chuckled while Alfred started following the red car. They drove for half an hour until the red car slowed down and parked in front of an old warehouse. They waited five minutes, but their mystery man never got out of the car.

Barry frowned and asked, “Why do you think he is still sitting in the car?”

“If I had to guess, I think he is wondering if he should go inside or not,” mused Damian.

“Why would you say that?” asked Barry.

Damian paused while tapping his chin and said, “This place seems compromised. The door is halfway open and there is broken glass out front.”

“The warehouse looks abandoned though. It could have always looked like that,” said Barry.

Kara shook her head and said, “No, Damian is right. I am using my super hearing on him now. When he first parked, his heart rate started to go up. He then took out his cell phone to call someone, but all he kept getting was a dial tone. He then checked a voicemail message that said Abort Mission that got cut off. Since the voicemail, his heart rate has been through the roof.”

“Guess the voicemail spook him,” muttered Barry.

Kara frowned and decided to do an X-ray scan of the warehouse. Her face paled when she saw what was inside.”

“The guy has every right to be spooked. There are 20 dead bodies inside,” said Kara softly.

“What the fuck?” asked Barry.

“I think it's time that we ask our mystery man some questions,” said Damian.

Before they were able to get out of the car, the mystery man quickly opened the car door, threw out the backpack, he was carrying, and sped off.”

Barry looked at Damian and Kara and said, “I will go after him. You guys check to see what he tried to steal from the museum.”

Barry then sped off. Kara quickly got out of the limo to retrieve the backpack and then quickly got back into the limo. Damian looked at the backpack curiously.

“I wonder if the attacker of those people inside was looking for this?”

Kara frowned and said, “That would be disturbing if that was the case.”

The door of the limo suddenly opened and Barry quickly came inside.

“I handcuffed the mystery guy to his car and also called the local authorities about him and the dead bodies inside. We should probably head off before they get here.”

As they started driving away, Kara asked, “Did the guy tell you what he stole and why?”

Barry shook his head and said, “He said he was given an image of the piece to steal this morning for him to pay off a debt to a loan shark. He was given instructions to bring the piece to the warehouse where he would be met by security to escort him into the building to meet with the loan shark and the buyer of the piece.”

“So there goes the lead with the loan shark,” muttered Damian.

Kara sighed as she opened the backpack to look inside. She was surprised at what she saw as she pulled it out. It was the Daxam currency exchange.

Barry frowned and asked, “Isn’t that the piece that you were staring at for a while?”

“Yes,” said Kara frowning.

Damian stared at it quizzically and said, “I don’t get it. It doesn’t look like it has much use.”

“it must have some value if someone was willing to go out of their way for it.” mused Barry.

Kara examined the thing more closely. Something was familiar about it. She noticed five dots on each side that went around in an arch.

Kara raised an eyebrow and said, “I wonder….”

She placed all ten fingers on the dots, and the crystals started to glow. Then she heard a garbled noise for a couple of moments until one phrase came through in a female voice: Kara Zor El. Then the lights from the crystal flickered and then went dark causing chills to go down Kara’s spine as she recognized the voice coming from the device.

Tears streamed down Kara’s face as she cried, “Mom!”

Chapter Text

Kara stared at the device with tears streaming down her face. She placed her fingers again on the dots hoping to get it to work again. It lights up for a few seconds before flicking out again.

Kara shook her head while sobbing, “No, No, No!”

She started shaking it rapidly to try to make it work. She then started to wack it multiple times hoping that it would jump-start it until Barry quickly grabbed her hands and forced her to stop while Damian quickly removed the device from her lap. Kara moved to try to grab the device back from Damian but Barry quickly moved to grab her hands again.

Barry said softly, “Kara, you need to stop.”

Kara looked up at him with hurt in her eyes and sobbed, “But it is my mom…”

“I know you have lots of questions, and I promise you that we will find you answers. Beating it out of the device is not going to help.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Kara sobbed harder.

Barry instantly wrapped his arms around Kara in a warm embrace. Kara initially pushed back but then relaxed into the embrace and rested her face on his shoulders.

Barry rubbed her back and whispered, “It’s going to be okay.”

Kara cried for a while while Barry rocked her back and forth gently. Damian mostly sat with intrigue at the device in the center of this chaos. Kara eventually sat up and wiped the tears from her red puffy eyes.

She smiled weakly and said, “I am sorry for my outburst.”

Barry, smiled, gently squeezed her hand, and asked “What outburst?”

Kara looked down and said softly, “It was inappropriate given we were in the middle of a mission.”

Damian placed his hand gently on top of Kara’s and said, “Father told me what happened to your home and family. No one would fault you for the reaction you had given everything you have gone through.”

Barry smiled and said, “I never thought that I would say this, but the kid is right for a change.”

Kara chuckled softly while looking at Damian and said, “I knew you could be sentimental.”

Damian rolled his eyes and muttered, “Don’t get used to it.”

Kara chuckled while looking back at the device for a couple of seconds. The device was Kryptonian. That is for certain. And her mom’s voice was on it. The question is why though. She went to grab the device back from Damian who looked at her hesitantly.

Kara sighed and said, “I promise not to wack it again. I just want to examine it is all.”

She was irritated but knew she shouldn’t be at Damian’s response. She did lose control earlier. She was just glad they were more understanding than others would be in her situation. Damian nodded and gave her the device. She did a quick X-ray scan which confirmed what she already suspected. The device had Kryptonian parts that she recognized due to her father's job. It contained parts she had seen him use on his inventions. This also told her that this was more than likely either science or engineering-related since those two branches tended to intersect with each other a lot on Krypton. She turned it over to look at the bottom. Her heart skipped a beat at what she saw. Written at the bottom was the name Zor El. Her father’s name. She traced his signature with her fingers over and over. Looking at the signature caused a memory to unlock. She briefly remembered seeing her dad examining crystals similar to the ones in front of her. When she asked him what they were for, he said that the crystals were for saving data. She thought it was odd at the time because while they did use crystals to save data, they were usually no larger than the size of her thumb. The ones that were before her and the ones that her dad was working on were a foot long. It didn’t make sense to her to need something that big considering that most crystal drives were able to hold over 100 TB. She wondered if it really was a storage device or something more. As her mind began to spiral, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Barry staring at her with concern in his eyes.

“Is everything okay? You looked startled while staring at this thing.”

Kara nodded and said, “I’m fine. I just recognized the maker of the device is all.”

“Who?” asked Damian.

“My father,” said Kara softly.

“Did your dad mention ever working on something like this?” asked Barry.

Kara sighed and said, “Kind of. He had crystals like these that he was working on in his home lab. I remembered him telling me that it had to do with data storage, but it didn’t make sense.”

Barry frowned and asked, “Why?”

Kara said, “Well, the crystals that we use normally are similar to the size of a thumb drive. We never had crystals these large for saving data.”

“Do you remember when you saw him working on this?” asked Damian.

“A couple of days before Krypton exploded,” said Kara softly.

They were all silent for a moment before Damian mused, “It makes sense then why it is so large.”

Kara looked at him quizzically and asked, “Why would you say that?”

“If they knew of the possibility of their demise, it makes sense that a scientist would want to create a way of preserving as much information that Krypton has to offer so that it doesn’t become lost in history.”

Kara stared at Damian perplexed. She didn’t want to think that her parents knew that something was wrong and didn’t tell her. However, it did make sense. Her and Clark’s parents wouldn’t have had pods ready for them if they didn’t think there was a possibility of their planet’s destruction.

She shook her head and said, “Regardless of what this thing is, I need to get inside it. I have an idea of someone to ask but am not sure if they would necessarily help me at this point. Any suggestions?”

She looked back and forth between Barry and Damian desperately. Her first thoughts were to ask Lena. While she mostly worked in medicine, she knew that she had a Ph.D. in both Engineering and Technology and was at the top of her class. However, she wasn’t sure if she would necessarily be willing to help or not. Right now, they are working on an exchange of services with the hospital and her tax issues. While Lena seemed to have warmed up to her, it may not be enough for Lena to want to do anything extra. She knew she would be willing to grovel if that was what it took, but she would like to have a backup in case it was a flat-out refusal. Damian rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

“Father said that he wouldn’t be back for a couple of days. I am assuming you wouldn’t want to wait that long,” mused Damian.

Kara shook her head. She and Damian turned to look at Barry who stared at them baffled.

“I am just as clueless as you are on what this thing is,” said Barry.

Damian rolled his eyes and said, “We get that dumb ass. We want to know if you know of anyone that can help with this.”

Barry scowled at him for a second but took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He turned to Kara and said, “I have a friend from Palmer Technologies who may be able to help.”

Kara looked at Barry hesitantly and asked, “And this friend would be able to keep this discrete?”

Barry nodded and said, “She is very professional. This isn’t her first time working with superheroes. You may have heard of her before, Felicity Smoak.”

Kara breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Good. I have heard mostly positive things about her. I know she was integral in helping the Green Arrow and the Atom in their base of operations.”

Barry said, “Yeah, she is amazing with tech. I am sure she can give us some insight into what is going on.”

Kara smiled and asked, “Do you think you can find out tonight if she would be willing to meet tomorrow?”

Barry chuckled and said, “Sure. I am surprised that you didn’t want to try to see her now.”

Kara rubbed the back of her neck, chuckled, and said, “The thought did cross my mind. However, I need to be realistic. It is almost midnight. On top of that, I am emotionally drained and hungry. I would rather come at this with fresh eyes. Besides, this will give me time to ask a colleague of mine that I think may help.”

Damian smirked and said, “You are better than certain other individuals I know who wouldn’t care what hour it was to get the detail they needed and rush through this.”

Kara sighed and said, “I have no idea what this device holds and I rather go into this awake and mentally prepared than rush through the process. Also, I rather not do anything to damage this new relationship I have going with this particular person I want assistance from on this.”

Barry raised an eyebrow and said, “Relationship you say… Very interesting word choice.”

Kara looked up mortified and said, “That is not what I meant. It is just that…. we haven’t known each other long, and she already was apprehensive of me when we first met….”

Damian smirked and said, “Kara, I have never seen you flustered before. Is it because you want this person not just to be a friend but a special friend.”

“No,” muttered Kara while blushing deep red.

Damian turned to Barry smirking and asked, “Do you believe her Barry?”

Barry chuckled and said, “I think Kara is enchanted with this person.”

Kara turned to Barry while narrowing her eyes and said, “Traitor.”

Barry laughed and said, “You know I am just teasing. Besides, weren’t you teasing me earlier about my crush?”

Kara folded her arms and pouted and said, “Well, it is more fun to mock you.”

Barry looked at her coyly and said, “Sure it is fun to tease until the tables are turned. Who is this person that has you all flustered?”

“You don’t need to know her name,” muttered Kara.

“Aren’t you trying to have this person, Felicity and you meet at the same time? If so, I will just have Felicity tell me after she meets with you guys,” said Barry coyly.

Kara narrowed her eyes at Barry and sighed.

“Lena Luthor,” said Kara very lowly.

Barry looked at Damian and said, “I think she said something. Did you hear it?”

Damian said, “Nope. I think you need to speak louder for the class, Kara.”

Kara scowled at the both of them before muttering, “Lena Luthor.”

She looked down expecting disapproval from one or both of them. However, when she didn’t hear anything from either of them, she looked up and was surprised to see Barry giving Damian $100.

Kara frowned and asked, “What the heck are you doing?”

Barry looked away nervously while Damian had a mischievous look on his face.

Kara’s eyes narrowed and asked, “Why are you guys looking like that?”

Damian smirked and said, “The speedster and I made a bet. He and several others thought that you were working with Lena to get under Superman’s skin. I thought that you were doing that, but was also interested in pursuing her too.”

Kara balked at both of them and exclaimed, “You guys placed bets on me!”

Barry looked down while twiddling his thumbs and said, “It wasn’t like it was just us. Several others in the League placed bets. Even Bruce placed a wager which he is not going to be happy about.”

Kara looked at him narrowly. She was surprised that Bruce participated in this but was curious what exactly he wagered.

“What exactly did he bet?” asked Kara hesitantly.

Damian smiled wickedly and said, “Father said that if I was right, he would let me drive the Batmobile.”

Kara chuckled. It shouldn’t be funny, but Bruce deserved the chaos that would ensue due to his blunder.

Kara shook her head and said, “I am glad that I amused you guys.”

“Well, if you want to keep it rolling, you can tell us how Superman responded to all of this,” smirked Damian.

Kara rubbed the back of her neck and said, “He faked his mother being in danger to get me to come to his childhood home to confront me about working with Lena. The conversation devolved from there.”

Kara looked up at both of them hesitantly and said, “I take it you betted on that too.”

Damian nodded and said, “Yep, everyone knew he would be pissed. We just weren’t sure how much though. Two popular opinions were that he would either try to fight you or just disown you.”

“I don’t think that Clark and I will be talking for a while,” muttered Kara.

Barry sighed and said, “I kind of figured since you didn’t suggest asking him about the device.”

Kara cackled and said, “Clark was a baby when Krypton exploded. He wouldn’t have a clue of what this thing is.”

“He may not, but the Fortress of Solitude might have the answers you seek,” said Barry.

Kara sighed and said, “I could go there, but it would alert Clark of what I was doing. Given our last conversation, I don’t know if I want him anywhere near this.”

Barry nodded and said, “I get it. So what’s the game plan for going forward with everything?”

“Barry, see if Felicity could meet at around 7 p.m. in National City if possible. If not, we can meet at a different location. This way it will give me time to see if Lena is willing to join us or not. I will send you the meet-up place later,” said Kara. She turned to Damian and said, “Would you be able to follow up on the thief and his associate? I don’t know if that will lead to anything since the buyer of the piece and the loan shark are most likely dead, but I rather cover our bases just in case. Given the level of carnage, you need to have someone with you when investigating this.”

Damian nodded and said, “I will get either Nightwing or Batgirl to help. They are both in town this week.”

He took out his phone and started typing down information.

Barry smiled and said, “Great! Now that everyone has gotten their orders, what should we do the rest of the night?”

While still looking down and fiddling with his phone, Damian said, “I am ordering Big Belly Burgers to be delivered to the house. Did you guys want something?”

Kara smirked and said, “Aww, here you are being so thoughtful.”

Damian scowled and asked, “Do you want something or not?”

Kara and Barry chuckled while they gave him their orders as they drove back to the Wayne mansion.

*****

Several hours later

Kara was back at her apartment in National City. She had fun joking around with Barry and Damian after they got back to the mansion. She avoided leaving for a couple of hours because she knew she would eventually have to contact Lena. When she finally left and got back home, she thought taking a shower and changing into pajamas would help her get more relaxed. However, she lay frozen staring at her communication device.  She knew it was too late to call Lena, but wasn’t sure if she should just send out a quick message about the meeting or do a phone call in the morning.

Kara moaned and said, “Why does this have to be so hard?”

However, Kara already knew the answer to that. She was afraid of what Lena’s response would be to the request. What if she said no or thought that she was trying to take advantage of her? She could sense her mind begin to spiral. She decided right then to quickly write out a message to Lena and hit send. She took a deep breath, put her communication device on her nightstand, and snuggled under the covers.

“No use to worrying now,” muttered Kara as she closed her eyes.

A couple of moments later, she heard her device pinging. Kara quickly sat up and grabbed it. She was surprised to see that Lena was calling her.

Kara quickly answered and said, “Hello Lena. I hope I didn’t wake you with the message I sent.”

“No, I was already awake still. Did everything go okay with the emergency you had?

Kara frowned and asked, “Emergency?”

Lena stuttered and said, “Well… I don’t know… if it was an emergency or not….It is just that you had a look of terror on your face when you left earlier….”

Kara winced when she thought about what she was talking about. She did leave her earlier without any explanation.

Kara chuckled nervously and said, “My compatriot, who you are not very fond of, used deception to get my attention on an issue.”

Lena scoffed and said, “He has some nerve. Probably wasn’t even important either knowing him.”

Kara sighed.

If only she knew the half of it.

She knew that what Clark told her was a discussion that Lena and she needed to have. However, she didn’t want to risk the fallout before finding out information on the device. Her parents had this device made for a purpose. She wanted to know what it was and if there was even a shred of hope they were still alive.

“Actually, I would like to talk to you about what was said during his ruse at a later time. However, I have a more pressing issue that I would like to discuss with you.”

Lena was quiet for a couple of moments and said, “I am curious about what Superman had to say, but whatever this other thing is seems to have you on edge. What is it that has you so rattled?”

Kara took a couple of deep breaths and said, “I found a device a couple of hours ago. I don’t know what it is. However, I was able to power it on enough that I heard my name called out by my mother and then it fizzled out and won’t come on anymore. I checked over the device and saw that my father’s signature was on it so I know it has to be one of his inventions. I know that you have a Ph.D. in technology and engineering and was wondering if you would be willing to take a look at this?”

The silence between them was deafening. Kara looked up at the keypad and saw that the call was still going.

Kara started fiddling with her thumbs and said, “I know this is a huge ask and we don’t know each other that well. But this is something very important to me. After my planet exploded, I arrived with nothing but my space pod. I never thought that I would see anything from my parents again….”

Kara had to stop herself from starting to sob. She didn’t want to guilt Lena into doing anything for her.

Kara sniffed and said, “I know that this can take up some of your time and resources. I would be willing to pay if that is the issue…

“Supergirl, stop!”

Kara went silent and looked at her phone nervously.

Lena sighed and said, “I’m sorry. That came out more forceful than I intended. I was silent there a bit because I was startled by your request.”

Kara looked down and sighed.

I knew I shouldn’t have asked.

“I am sorry Lena for putting you on the spot. You can forget that I ever asked…”

“No, wait! I didn’t mean anything negative about it. I was startled because I didn’t think you would trust me like that.”

Kara frowned and asked, “Why wouldn’t I trust you?”

Lena was silent for a moment before saying, “Well, there is my brother, everything said about me in the media, and I assume Superman has a few choice words for me as well. You are trusting me with huge information about yourself. I am kind of surprised that Superman hasn’t stopped you himself.”

Kara rolled her eyes and said, “That idiot doesn’t speak for me. I make up my own mind about people and I trust you wholeheartedly.”

“Really?” asked Lena meekly.

Kara smiled and said, “Really,”

Lena stuttered and said, “Well then…. I would be happy to help…. When would you like me to go over this thing?”

Kara smirked. It was interesting to see this side of Lena that she was able to take her off guard. She hopes that she can gradually earn more of her trust.

“Well, I was hoping this evening at around 7 p.m. If that is too soon, I could make other arrangements…”

“7 p.m. is fine. It’s a date then.”

Kara smirked and said, “A date you say….”

Lena stuttered and said, “You know….what I meant…the time you suggested is fine is all.”

“Sure it is,” said Kara sarcastically.

“Just message me the location, and I will meet you then.”

Lena quickly ended the call. Kara chuckled to herself. She shook her head, put the device down, and got back under the covers. She was excited. She was getting one step closer to getting into the device. The one thing that surprised Kara even more as she drifted to sleep was that she was equally excited about seeing Lena. It made her start to wonder.

Is this was love is?

******

Later that day in Washington D.C.

Bruce made his way into Washington Memorial Hospital. He was carrying a holder containing three cups of coffee and a box of donuts. He quickly got onto the elevator and went to the rehabilitation floor. When he got to that floor, he quickly went to the nurse’s station where a nurse was sitting.

“Excuse me, I was looking for a patient here. Ms. Lane,” said Bruce.

The nurse looked up at him surprised.

Bruce frowned and asked, “Is there something wrong?”

The nurse quickly shook her head and said, “No, it is just Ms. Lane hasn’t had anyone visit her except for her sister. We kind of all thought that she was a loner given her disposition.”

Bruce's face saddened a bit before he quickly changed his face to passive.

“It is hard for me to get out here given my workload, but I plan to be out here more frequently.”

The nurse smiled and said, “I am glad to hear that. Having a good support system can do wonders with helping a patient on their road to recovery. Ms. Lane’s room is 425.”

Bruce said, “Thank you.”

He quickly set off for the room. He was kind of surprised that it wasn’t that far from the nurse’s station. He stood there for a moment pondering. He felt like he was opening Pandora’s box. Once he stepped inside, there was no turning back.

Bruce sighed and said, “Here goes nothing.”

He stepped into the room and frowned when he saw the first bed was empty. He looked up and saw that there was a curtain dividing the room though. He gradually went to the curtain and pulled it back. Behind it, the bed was empty. However, in a recliner next to the bed, was Lois. She had a blanket over her and was fast asleep. Bruce stood there a moment not knowing what to do. They had agreed to meet at this time, but he also knew how tired she was given her situation.

He had started to turn around when he heard Lois say, “Leaving so soon, Bruce.”

Bruce turned around to see Lois sitting up and yawning.

Bruce chuckled nervously, and said, “I didn’t want to disturb you. You seemed to be sleeping so peacefully.”

Lois gave a soft smile and said, “You know I’m never late for an appointment.”

Bruce smirked and asked, “Does that include being asleep at the start of the intended time to meet?”

Lois chucked and said, “Semantics.” Lois motioned towards the food and drink in his hands and asked, “Are those for me?”

Bruce smiled while handing her coffee and opening the box of donuts.

“You know I don’t like to come empty-handed,” smirked Bruce.

Lois quickly took the cup of coffee and a pink frosted donut. When she started drinking the coffee, a smile started to appear on her face.

Lois beamed and said, “I missed Carla’s Cafe coffee and donuts so much. The coffee and food here are terrible.”

Bruce pulled up a chair that was in the room and moved it closer to Lois. He took out a donut, grabbed a coffee, and started eating.

“Kind of thought you could use some decent food. Hospitals have never been known for providing flavorful meals.”

Lois smiled while placing a hand on top of Bruce’s.

“Well, I appreciated it. I am grateful for everything that you have done since our last conversation. I don’t know if I could have afforded for my sister to get the surgery that she desperately needed.”

Bruce gave a soft smile and said, “You don’t need to thank me. I am just glad I was able to help. By the way, where is the said patient?”

“She went to get an X-ray done to see how her progress was going and then should be in physical therapy for another hour. I thought that it would give us some time to talk about this concern that you had. You were very vague on the phone.”

Bruce sighed while rubbing the back of his neck.

“I wanted to ask you about Clark.”

Lois rolled her eyes and scoffed while going into the box of donuts and grabbing a chocolate one.

Bruce raised an eyebrow and asked, “Things aren’t going well between you two.”

Lois leaned back in her chair and narrowed her eyes while eating her donut. She stared at Bruce for a couple of moments before she said sarcastically, “I have been on my own while trying to take care of my sister as she was in and out of the hospital due to her leg and arm injury that happened while in battle overseas. I had no support for the last six months and now the first person that reaches out wants to talk about my ex-fiancé of all things.”

Bruce looked at Lois startled and asked “Ex-fiancé? Since when?”

Lois cocked her head and looked at her quizzically at first. She then straightened up and looked at him baffled and said, “You didn’t know.

Bruce shook his head.

Lois sat back and cackled.

“I can’t believe the almighty Batman missed out on information.”

Bruce rolled his eyes and muttered, “It is not like I know everything.”

Lois smirked and said, “Let’s not pretend that you don’t have a file on everyone in the League about their strengths and weaknesses. You must be losing your touch in your old age.”

Bruce smirked and asked, “You think I’m old? What does that say about you since you are a year older than me?”

Lois chuckled and said, “Touché.”

They were silent for a few moments before Bruce said, “In all seriousness, what happened? Clark still wears his engagement ring when he is not at the Watch Tower and he tells everyone that the wedding is still on whenever anyone asks him about it. It is also odd that he never mentioned that Lucy was severely injured while she was fighting in the Middle East considering how close they were.”

Lois shook her head and sighed.

“Why is it you want to know Bruce?”

Bruce leaned back in his chair while rubbing his neck and sighed.

“Honestly, you don’t have to tell me what is going on. I knew it was a reach coming out here, but I am kind of running out of options at this point.”

Lois frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Clark has been acting weird over the last year. It started small with just passive-aggressive things here and there, but now he is combative with members and disregarding decisions that the League has made to follow his own agenda. He has also been using more brutal force in battles. I know that red kryptonite can cause personality changes, but usually, it happens all at once and the red kryptonite has to be on the skin at all times for the change to take effect.”

“Why ask me? There were others that you could have gone to first…”

“Martha is as baffled as everyone else about Clark’s behavior. And then with Kara….”

Bruce shook his head.

Lois frowned and asked, “Did something happen with her?”

Bruce sighed and said, “The way Clark treats her is downright cruel. I seriously doubt he would confide anything with her. With the way he has been acting, I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to hurt her at some point.”

Lois sighed while leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes.

“I wouldn’t ask if there was anyone else that I could turn to about his behavior. The other members of the League think he has been hiding his true motives for years, but my gut instinct is telling me it can’t be that simple,” said Bruce.

Lois took a sip from her cup of coffee. She stared at Bruce for a moment.

“You’re not wrong,” mused Lois while going in for another sip of the coffee.

“How so?” asked Bruce.

Lois stared at Bruce hesitantly for a moment before she said, “If I tell you my theory, it stays between us?”

Bruce raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is it really that bad?”

Lois sighed and said, “To explain, I will need to reveal personal sensitive information. I don’t mind telling you because I do believe you want to help, but others in the League….”

Bruce nodded and said, “I understand. What you tell me stays between us.”

Lois nodded while looking down at her cup of coffee. She traced the rim of the cup for a couple of moments before she said, “Clark started changing about a year and a half ago. We always used to talk about everything, but it gradually stopped. It wasn’t for the lack of trying on my end. His responses became shorter and shorter until he would give one-word answers. Then about a year ago, he started to become more aggressive, lose his inhibitions, and not filter his thoughts. I assumed that red kryptonite was involved, but I didn’t see any signs of it near Clark. I thought about investigating, but then I got this tape…”

Lois paused. Bruce noticed that her lips began to tremble and tears started to form around her eyes.

Bruce moved closer to her, grabbed her hand, and said, “If this is too much for you, we don’t have to discuss it…”

Lois shook her head and said, “No, I want to. I just need a minute.”

Lois paused and took a couple of deep breaths.

“The tape mysteriously appeared at my office. I asked around and no one saw where it came from. The security cameras in the office were conveniently down as well. I thought about throwing the tape away, but I thought that it could be from one of the informants that I had on one of the several stories that I was working on. They all dealt with corruption of government officials so I thought that someone had gotten video evidence to me discretely. I took it home and played the tape expecting some scandal, but as I viewed it, I realized it wasn’t the scandal that I was hoping for.”

Tears started to stream down Lois’s face.

She quickly wiped her tears and said, “Clark was on the tape with Lex. They were in Clark’s office. Lex was all in Clark’s face screaming at him and Clark was screaming back. They started pushing each other back and forth until it went in a completely different direction.”

Bruce frowned and asked, “How so?”

“Clark held Lex by the throat against the wall. Lex then said that he missed the passion that their relationship used to have which startled Clark enough to release him and take a step back. Lex then took Clark’s shock to instantly go over and kiss him. Clark instantly pushed him off and stared at him for a moment. However, he then walked over to Lex and passionately kissed him back. They made out for a couple of minutes before Clark carried Lex to his desk and fuck him up against it.”

Bruce stared at Lois baffled. They were silent for a couple of moments before Lois chuckled while wiping away the tears from her eyes.

“I never thought that I would see the day I would make you speechless.”

Bruce shook his head and stared back up at her baffled.

“Are you sure this video was real?”

Lois nodded and said, “It’s real. Clark has a birthmark on his butt that was visible in the video during their fuck session. He was also wearing his engagement ring.”

Bruce leaned back in his chair with his face in his hands.

“Dammit, I owe someone an apology.”

Lois frowned and asked, “Why?”

“When Damian first began to live with me earlier this year, it was a rough transition. He was combative and constantly misrepresented the truth to serve his needs. Fortunately, he is doing better now. However, I am now thinking back on one thing he said a couple of weeks after arriving at my home.”

“Which is what?”

“He said that when he first arrived with his mother in Gotham, they saw Clark and Lex on a secluded rooftop doing the exact thing you were describing earlier. He wanted to know if it was common for members of the League to fraternize with the enemy in that way. I thought that he was making it up, but now I am not so sure.”

Lois sighed and said, “I shouldn’t have been surprised though. They did date for a while after all.”

Bruce looked at her baffled and asked, “They did what now?”

Lois looked up at him surprised and said, “You really didn’t know his back history did you?”

Bruce shook his head and said, “I thought I did, but obviously I missed a few things. When did they date?”

“Mostly through high school. They were together for several years.”

“What caused them to break up?”

Lois leaned back into her chair and sighed, “Clark would never tell me what happened. All he said was that Lex violated his trust. However, I could tell that whatever it was affected him deeply. Every time he would talk about Lex, it would fill him with rage to the point his eyes would glow red.”

“Did they start up their relationship again?” asked Bruce.

Lois played with the cup of coffee for a couple of moments before she said, “I don’t know. When I saw the tape, I immediately confronted Clark about it. He at first claimed that the tape was doctored. However, when I pointed out his birthmark and engagement ring, he instantly started crying and begged me not to leave him. He said that he acted on his weaker impulses and that it wouldn’t happen again. I couldn’t accept that answer, and we broke up. I was obviously devastated, but something bothered me though. Someone filmed it and gave it to me. Why were they filming Clark’s office? Did they know that was going to happen or were they filming his office for another reason? Given Clark's super hearing, why didn’t Clark hear the camera and know that he was being filmed? There were a lot of unanswered questions.”

“Did you ever find your answers?” asked Bruce.

Lois said, “Just as I started to snoop around, I got the call that Lucy was injured in a plane crash in the Middle East. Everyone in her unit died except for her. She was flown back to D.C.. and I have been here taking care of her ever since.”

“Has Clark been out here to visit you since you have been here?”

Lois shook her head and said, “No. He has been radio silent since I quit the Daily Planet and began living out here. I was surprised by his lack of interest. Lucy and Clark were friends before we even dated. However, he hasn’t reached out to her at all since the accident.”

“I am kind of surprised given his and Lucy’s friendship. I understand maybe not visiting to avoid you, but I would have thought that he would at least call,” said Bruce.

Lois sighed and said, “I thought so as well, but I haven’t had time to focus on whatever is going on with him. I have been busy trying to take care of Lucy, paying her bills, and working at Georgetown University as a guest lecturer so I can have a flexible schedule to be at the hospital more.”

“I wish you would have told me that you were struggling,” said Bruce softly.

Lois stared at him hesitantly for a moment before shaking her head.

“Honestly, I wasn’t sure whose side you would take in this. Plus, we dated before. Although we didn’t end on bad terms, I wasn’t sure if that meant that you would still want to help.”

Bruce smiled softly and said, “There is nothing that you could have done to prevent me from helping. I just wish there was more than I could do.”

Lois smiled softly and said, “You did plenty. The new bionic arm and leg that Lucy has is working wonders. She is still working on gaining control of them, but the doctors think with practice she can be out of here in two weeks.”

“I am glad that she is progressing nicely.”

“I know that she has been fighting hard to save the leg and the arm because she felt without them she wouldn’t be able to be on active duty again. However, I think the bionic material is giving her a new outlook on life.”

They stared at each other in pleasant silence for a couple of moments before Bruce said, “I noticed that you still haven’t stated your theory yet about Clark.”

Lois smirked and said, “I thought that it would be quite obvious from the information I gave you.”

Bruce chuckled and said, “All right. If I consider everything you said, someone has gone to great lengths to prevent people from finding out about Clark’s personality change. You were the closest to him. They first tried to throw you off the trail with the sex video. When that didn’t work, Lucy was injured. Although the last one may be harder to prove though.”

Lois shook her head and said, “No, it won’t.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow and asked, “You don’t think so?”

Lois leaned forward in her chair and said, “There are too many inconsistencies regarding the accident. Lucy’s unit wasn’t supposed to be extracted from the area. She said that her commander was suddenly given the order to leave the area without any reason as to why. I reached out to my dad who is a high-ranking official in the army and he said that there is no record of an order asking them to leave the area. Officially, her unit should still be over there and officials are scrambling to figure out who gave the order and how everything went wrong. He was also extremely angry that he couldn’t visit Lucy in the hospital. His commanding officer has remanded him to his post in New York and won’t grant him an exception to travel. Said if he left, it would be considered as being AWOL.”

“Someone went to great lengths to make sure that you were busy worried about Lucy,” mused Bruce.

“Exactly,” said Lois while sipping on her cup of coffee.

Bruce rubbed his temples with his fingers. Lois statements seem to indicate what Bruce had thought for a while now. Someone was doing something to alter Clark’s behavior and they didn’t want anyone to notice. Given the lengths that they were going through, it meant that the person had quite a bit of power and influence.

Bruce sighed and asked, “Do you have any idea who would go to these lengths so that they can alter Clark’s behavior?”

“If I had to guess, I would say Lex.”

“Why is that?”

“Lex hasn’t done anything illegal in the last six months. In fact, he has been doing charity work. Currently, the media thinks it is all for show or being used for nefarious reasons. However, he is trying to promote that he is a changed person. A couple of days ago, I received messages from some former work associates saying that Lex is going to announce his bid for the senate of New York.”

Bruce shook his head and said, “I wish I could say that I was surprised, but that would be a lie. He is probably going to try to feed off the anti-alien hate that has been rising in recent years.”

Lois nodded and said, “And wouldn’t it prove Lex’s point if suddenly Superman went on a raged-filled rampage across the United States.”

Bruce leaned back in his chair and groaned, “Shit.”

“Exactly. The real problem is going to try to find out how this change is occurring,” said Lois.

“There are too many ways to change a person’s behavior. It could be drugs, something implanted in him, hypnosis, or it could be another version of kryptonite that we could not be aware of,” said Bruce.

Lois frowned and said, “I wish I could have been more helpful.”

Bruce shook his head and said, “You have given me a lot more than you realize. We at least know that Clark isn’t being an asshole on purpose. Now, we just need to figure out who is doing this to him.”

Suddenly, they heard some squeaking, and Bruce and Lois turned around and saw a nurse pushing Lucy in a wheelchair.

“Bruce, why are you hear?” asked Lucy startled.

“Lucy, don’t say it like that especially since he is the one that paid for your medical stay here,” scolded Lois.

Lucy looked at Bruce baffled and exclaimed, “What!”

Bruce chuckled while rubbing the back of his head and said, “I talked to Lois about a week ago and she told me about your situation. I knew that I had to help.”

Lucy smiled and exclaimed, “Thank you!”

Bruce shook his head and said, “No thanks is necessary. I am just happy to help. How has the therapy been going?”

Lucy smiled as she started detailing all the exercises they were having her do to gain control of her new bionic leg and arm. However, as Lucy continued to talk Bruce couldn’t help for his mind to wander. He knew that he would need to tell the League members about Clark’s condition. However, he knew the hardest part was going to be having a conversation with Clark. Even before his personality shift, he hated talking about anything medical that had to do with him. Would he be willing to accept this information and help? For the first time in a long while, he didn’t have an answer on how he should proceed.

Chapter Text

Lena looked up from her desk in her office at the hospital while rubbing the back of her neck. She felt a little foolish right now. She was currently looking at 20 different outfits ranging from casual to professional. Ever since she talked to Supergirl the night before, she wasn’t sure how she should present herself. She sighed while twiddling with her thumbs. She vehemently denied accidentally saying it was a date last night, but that has been all she has been thinking about. However, she would never tell Supergirl that now at this point. She kept wondering if this was Supergirl’s way of easing into the topic. She was bringing her in on something very personal to her. Lena sighed and started banging her head on the desk.

“Knowing myself, this is all in my head,” Lena muttered.

Suddenly, Lena heard a knock at her office door.

“Come in,” muttered Lena while laying her head on the desk.

Sam entered the room yawning and said, “You owe me for coming in this early at 8 a.m. What is the big emergency?”

Just as Sam got closer to Lena’s desk, she noticed the row of clothes over to the side and came to a full stop.

Sam turned back to Lena while narrowing her eyes.

“There better be a good reason you had me come in early on a Saturday morning.”

Lena looked up hesitantly and said, “I don’t know what to do. You are my best friend and you give the best advice.”

Sam sighed while sitting on the chair in front of Lena’s desk.

She yawned and said, “Please tell me you at least have coffee and food.”

Lena smirked and said, “You know I always come prepared.”

She pointed to the left of her desk and Sam was startled to realize that there was a tray of food next to it. It was filled to the brim with croissants, donuts, and various fruits. There were two coffee cups. She noticed on the cups it said, Cafe Basil.

Sam turned to Lena with a raised eyebrow and said, “You must be desperate if you are throwing around Cafe Basil. I thought that they were closed for a couple of weeks for remodeling.”

Lena smirked and said, “I knew this was a last-minute inconvenience having you come in so early. Plus, I know they are your absolute favorite. It really didn’t take all that convincing. I just promised them the next several events we host, they can cater.”

Sam smiled and said, “I really appreciate it.” She took a sip of her coffee and felt an instant pick me up. She looked back up at Lena and said, “So, you are going through a lot of trouble to impress someone. It must be for something big. Did we get a new investor in the hospital?”

Lena shook her head and said, “No, nothing like that.”

Sam took a bit out of a pink frosted donut while looking up thoughtfully.

“Well, if it isn’t an investor, then what got you all nervous?”

Lena looked down while twiddling her thumbs.

“You have to promise not to judge.”

Sam frowned and asked, “Why would I jud…” Sam stopped in mid-sentence and started smirking.

“Does this happen to have to do with a certain blonde Kryptonian you have been obsessing over?”

Lena started blushing and said, “I wouldn’t say that I was obsessing.”

Sam chuckled and said, “You clung to that device she gave you as if your life depended on it after she left suddenly yesterday.”

“Well, you saw how scared she looked as she flew off the last time we saw her,” muttered Lena.

Sam chuckled and said, “Yes, I remember. I also remember seeing you type out and rewrite a message to her hundreds of times before you left to go home that day.”

Lena rolled her eyes and said, “Well, excuse me for being concerned.”

Sam smirked while sipping her coffee.

“You should just ask her out already. You want to. You obviously think she wants to if you are putting this much effort into dressing up for her. By the way, how did that come about?”

Lena blushed and said, “Well, she messaged for help on a personal project she has going on.”

Sam leaned forward with intrigue.

“That’s amazing! What is it that she wants you to work on?”

Lena frowned and said, “I am not sure if I can say what it is. I might have said too much by saying she wants to work together.”

Sam nodded and said, “Fair enough.” Sam looked over at the outfits with a thoughtful look on her face.

Sam pointed and said, “Without knowing what you guys are working on, I would go with the red dress with the black belt. It is sexy in the sense that it draws attention to your breasts, but not so sexy that it is inappropriate for the workplace. This way you can play it safe in case this is just really help that she is asking for instead of the sexual healing that you are craving.”

Lena rolled her eyes and said, “Sam….”

“What? You know you fantasized about this woman numerous times. Why hide it now?”

Lena just gave her a disapproving glare. Sam chuckled and went on to grab a croissant. Lena looked up at the dress that Sam suggested. It was pretty and would look good on her without making her look too desperate for attention in case this was all in her head. Lena smirked.

Hopefully, this outfit will make her flustered for a change.

Suddenly, two pings ranged out. Sam looked up startled to see Lena’s face light up like a kid in a candy store. Lena quickly went into her purse and pulled out the messaging device. She stared at the message for a minute before groaning and hitting her head against the desk.

Sam frowned and asked, “Don’t tell me she canceled on you?”

While laying face first on the desk, Lena muttered, “No, she still wants me to come. She just sent me the location of where to meet her.”

Sam looked at Lena quizzically and asked, “Okay, then what’s the problem?”

“I just feel so stupid now.”

“Why? You were a bundle of energy just now. What changed?”

Lena looked up at Sam forlorn and said, “She invited two other people to help on this project. I knew it was too good to be true. I should just return the outfits.”

Lena started to get up, but Sam grabbed her and said, “Lena, sit back down. Don’t you think you are being just a tad overdramatic?”

Lena sniffed and said, “No, this is obviously just a business thing that she wanted. I knew I shouldn’t have been too hopeful.”

Sam sighed and said, “Here we go again.”

Lena frowned and said, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Sam just gave Lena a deadpan stare. Lena looked at her frustrated and exclaimed “What!”

Sam shook her head and said, “You tend to self-sabotage before even asking the most relevant questions first.”

Lena rolled her eyes and asked, “Like what?’

Sam gave Lena a thoughtful look.

She sighed and said, “Do you remember when Ruby got sick when she was two years old?”

Lena looked at her quizzically and said, “Yes. We were all scared because we didn’t know what was wrong with her. She had the symptoms of the flu but none of the regular medicine was working. What does that have to do with what is happening now?”

“Patients was never a strong suit of yours.”

Lena rolled her eyes and said, “Fine, I will keep quiet.”

Sam smirked and said, “Thanks.” Sam took another sip of her coffee while staring off into the distance. “I remembered being terrified. My baby was sick, and I had no way of helping her. I originally wanted to stick with her original doctor, but you and Lillian convinced me to get a second opinion. And we did. We called in specialist after specialist trying to see what was wrong. It took us going through ten people to figure out that Ruby had a blood disorder that only fifty people have had in the last century. Fortunately, we were able to use a blood transfusion since I was a match to her to treat it, but if I hadn’t listened to you and Lillian about seeking out others for help, Ruby may not be here today.”

“Oh…” said Lena softly.

Sam smiled softly and grabbed Lena’s hand.

“I wouldn’t write off the Super yet. I am not sure exactly what you are working on, but since it is a personal problem, I am assuming that she would want multiple people on it so that it can be looked at from every angle. And despite what you think, I would take it as a win that she asked you to work on this. Considering her lifestyle, she is entrusting you with something very precious, and depending on what it is, it could lead you to figure out her identity. She has to think highly of you if she is risking that much of herself.”

Lena blushed. Mostly because she felt stupid. She remembered the desperation in Supergirl’s voice when she described the device she wanted her to look at. It was the last thing she had from a civilization that was no more. She couldn’t imagine losing literally everything and having to start over without her loved ones around her. Of course, the Super would want as many people as possible on it to crack the mystery.

She looked up at Sam, smiled, and said, “Thanks for talking me down.”

Sam smiled and said, “Sure. I’m always here to pull you back from the edge that you are so fond of visiting.”

Lena swatted Sam playfully while grabbing her cup of coffee. As she sipped, she looked up at the red dress thoughtfully.

“Do you really think the red dress is a good idea?” asked Lena.

Sam smirked and said, “Not only is it a good idea, but I would be willing to bet money that a certain Kryptonian will do a double-take when they see you in it.”

Lena blushed as she looked back up at the dress.

One could only hope.

*****

Kara looked thoughtfully around her apartment. She did one final walk-through to make sure that everything was okay before meeting with Lena, Barry, and Felicity. She had just moved in a couple of days ago. She had frequently thought of moving with Clark coming and going as he pleased, but she thought that she could deal with it. However, Clark’s antics became more and more frequent so she finally bit the bullet and decided to start her search last week.

Interestingly enough, she had been receiving email ads about the Wayne Towers which caused her to chuckle. She shouldn’t be surprised that Bruce owned property this far out west. Units usually cost $5000 a month, but she thought about just checking it out for fun. Plus, she was curious to see what type of apartment Bruce owned. She made an appointment with the realtor to visit some of the vacant units. She fell in love with the first one she was shown. It was on the top floor. It had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, a balcony which would make it easy to fly in and out unnoticed, and was fully furnished. When the realtor told her the amount of the place, she balked that it was only $500 a month. When she asked why, the realtor said that the owner was only willing to go up to this amount and wouldn’t be adjusting it anymore. Baffled, she went and confronted Bruce about it. She didn’t want him to do things for her out of pity especially since he already spent one million dollars on the property damage she caused at S.T.A.R Labs. However, he sat her down and explained that some of the League members had expressed concern for her safety since Clark had been acting more erratically and thought she should be in a place he didn’t have easy access. She thought he was exaggerating. However, after her conversation with Clark two days ago, she was happy that she took Bruce’s offer. It also helped that the apartment had a state-of-the-art security system that was soundproof and x-ray-proof so that a certain Kryptonian couldn’t hear and see what was going on in the apartment.  However, Kara was able to still hear and see everything outside of the apartment. Bruce tried to explain to her the special technology used to make that possible, but that just went over her head. The main thing that she enjoyed with this new arrangement was that Clark couldn’t just go and come as he pleased anymore.

Her thoughts were disrupted by the doorbell. She smiled and hurried to the door. Standing there was Barry and a woman with blonde hair and glasses who were each holding several metal boxes.

“Hey guys! Thanks for coming! exclaimed Kara.

She ushered them inside and closed the door. Barry and Felicity set their boxes on the ground.

“You know that we are happy to help,” smiled Barry.

Kara turned to Felicity while smirking and said, “And who is your lovely friend here?”

Barry started rubbing the back of his neck and blushing.

“This is….Felicity Smoak…. She is the….the friend that I have been telling you…about.”

Kara extended a hand and said, “It is so nice to meet you. Thank you for taking the time to come out to help. I know it was short notice.”

Felicity eagerly took her hand and smiled.

“Don’t mention it. Do you know how many times I have been yanked out of bed to work on a case? At least you gave me a time frame.”

Kara frowned and said, “That’s terrible.”

“It is, but it kind of comes with the territory. Most want fast results before a case runs cold. Besides, I would have come if you had only given me an hour to meet.”

Kara gave her a quizzical look and asked, “Why?”

Felicity chuckled and asked, “Do you know how many League members are female?”

Kara grimaced when thinking about it. The male superheroes definitely dominated. Besides Kara, there were only five other full-time members which were Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Zatanna, Vixen, and Black Canary. It is sad considering the League has forty members.

“There isn’t a lot of us,” muttered Kara.

“Exactly. While the other women are awesome in their own right, none of them are very personable. They fight crime and then leave quickly. You, on the other hand, are very personable and hands-on. You also tend to help with anything whether it is finding a lost dog or fighting a metahuman attack. You are a role model that girls need to see that they can do anything whether it is big or small.”

Kara started blushing and said, “Thank you!”

“Don’t mention it!” smiled Felicity.

Felicity started looking around in amazement.

“This is a pretty amazing place you have here.”

“She is right. The living room alone can fit my entire apartment,” said Barry in amazement.

Kara smiled and said, “I was lucky to get this place when I did.”

“So, where did you want us to set up this stuff? asked Felicity while pointing to the boxes she and Barry brought in. It will take a couple of minutes to set up all my equipment.”

“Umm, I thought that we could eat first so that we can get a chance to know everyone a bit better and then take a look at the device,” said Kara.

Felicity smirked and said, “Ahh, I didn’t know a meal would be provided. You’re the best.”

Kara smiled and said, “I wanted to provide you guys with something from coming out all this way.”

Barry patted her shoulder and said, “You know you didn’t have to bribe us with food to help.”

“I know, but it is something that I wanted to do. Besides, don’t tell me that you aren’t a little bit hungry.”

“Not even a little bit,” smirked Barry.

They suddenly heard a gurgling sound. Kara and Felicity looked around until they noticed Barry blushing. Kara and Felicity started chuckling.

“Stupid stomach,” muttered Barry.

Felicity patted Barry on the back and said, “There is no need to be embarrassed. Besides, it is not surprising since you have to consume so many calories in a day.”

Barry smiled while blushing and said “Thanks!”

Barry turned to Kara and asked, “What are we having?”

Kara motioned for Barry and Felicity to follow her.

“I kind of wasn’t sure what everyone’s likes and dislikes are so I went with an assortment of food options.”

As they entered the kitchen, Barry and Felicity balked at what they saw. There was a large circular table filled to the brim with food and drink which included a variety of burgers, fries, fried chicken, croissants, donuts, bagels, and several liters of soda and juices.

Kara chuckled at their shocked expression while rubbing the back of her neck.

“I got food from both Big Belly Burger and Noonan’s. I know that this seems like a lot, but I wanted everyone to have a variety of choices to choose from. Also, it is not like the food will go to waste between Barry and me if no one else wants to eat.”

“Ahh, so you have a similar metabolism as Barry?” asked Felicity.

Kara nodded while chuckling.

“Yeah, I didn’t realize that it was abnormal until I went on my first date with someone when arriving here. His eyes nearly bulged out of his head when he saw the bill.”

“I can only imagine,” mused Felicity.

“Since then, I tend to monitor what I eat when I am out,” said Kara.

Felicity patted Kara on the shoulder and said, “Well, you are among friends now. You can eat to your heart's content. I am a foodie, and wish I could eat like that without gaining a pound.”

Kara smiled. Felicity was as nice as everyone said she was. She could see why Barry had an obvious crush on her.

“You guys can dig in. My friend Lena should be here any moment.”

Just then the doorbell rang. Kara’s face lit up brightly, and she practically floated to the door.

Felicity chuckled and said, “I am curious to see who this friend of hers is that has her literally on cloud nine.”

Kara quickly opened the door and saw Lena standing in the doorway. Looking at her nearly took her breath away. She was wearing a red dress that hugged her body in all the right places. She had a black belt wrapped around her waist. Kara was trying to avoid looking at Lena’s boobs which seemed to be enhanced by the dress as well. Kara could feel her face become flushed. Her favorite part about Lena’s appearance was her hair though. She was wearing it down for a change which really gave her a softer look.

“Lena…you….look…..absolutely gorgeous,” said Kara breathlessly.

Lena smiled while blushing and said, “Thank you.”

Kara stared at her for a couple of moments before Lena chuckled and asked, “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

Kara blushed while looking down embarrassed and said, “I am sorry. Come in.”

As Lena looked around, she placed down the metal suitcase she brought, she said, “I hope I didn’t keep you guys waiting long.”

Kara smiled and said, “You are right on time. The others are here just eating right now.”

Lena looked at her quizzically and said, “I am surprised you didn’t immediately have us work on this device of yours.”

Kara chuckled and said, “I tend to work best when I have a full stomach. Besides, I thought that this would be a good opportunity for everyone to get to know each other.”

Lena frowned and asked, “Are you sure these other people that you have here don’t mind working with me? I know you said that they are colleges of yours and I know Supers in general tend to not like those with the last name Luthor.”

Kara grabbed Lena’s hand, started rubbing soothing circles, and said, “Barry and Felicity are good people. I wouldn’t invite people here that meant you any harm. I hope you know that.”

Lena smiled softly and said, “I do,”

Kara smiled and said, “Well, let me introduce you to the gang we have here.”

Kara led Lena to the kitchen where Felicity and Barry were already sitting down and eating.

Lena raised an eyebrow at the amount of food and asked, “Are we expecting more people?”

Kara chuckled and said, “I tend to eat a lot due to my biology. Also, I wasn’t sure if everyone had dinner or not so I got something if you wanted a meal or if you just wanted to snack.”

Lena smiled and said, “That was very thoughtful of you.”

Kara blushed and said “Thanks.”

They were interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. They looked around and noticed an excited-looking Felicity running over towards them.

“I can’t believe that I get to meet the Lena Luthor,” squealed Felicity. She turned around to Barry, frowned, and asked, “Why didn’t you tell me this was the Lena you were talking about?”

Barry chuckled and said, “I kind of wanted it to be a surprise.”

Felicity rolled her eyes and said, “I normally like surprises, but if I had known I was meeting her, I would have brought my memorabilia with me.”

Kara raised an eyebrow and asked, “Memorabilia?”

Lena stared at Felicity quizzically and said, “Not the response I was expecting when meeting you guys.”

Felicity looked at Lena baffled and said, “You have got to be kidding me. Your medical journals are legendary. I have multiple journals at home that I like to read about your work with nanobots and their uses for growing human body parts. If I had known you would be here, I would have brought one of them for you to sign. Oh, my name is Felicity by the way.”

Lena smiled while blushing and said, “It is nice to meet you, Felicity. I am glad to hear that you are fond of my work. If you give me your address later, I can have a copy of one of the journals I have sent to you signed.”

Felicity beamed like a child in a candy store. She instantly hugged Lena and said, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Lena chuckled while patting her on the back and said, “No problem. I am glad that you find the journals a good read.”

Felicity looked up excitedly and asked, “Do you mind if I ask you about your recently published journal about regrowing the heart using nanobots?”

“Sure,” said Lena as they walked to the table.

While Lena and Felicity talked about her medical journals, Kara smirked at Barry and said, “You downplayed Felicity’s admiration for Lena.”

Barry chuckled and said, “Felicity has been a fan of Lena’s for years. She is the only person who has interacted with the League that will vocally talk positively about her. That is one of the things that I like about her. She is willing to give her opinion even when it's an unpopular one.”

Kara smirked and said, “She really is a lovely person. I can see why you are so smitten with her.”

Barry blushed and said, “You are just as incorrigible as Damian.”

Kara chuckled as she led the conversation to other topics. Kara was quite excited that they all seemed to get along. They all talked about a range of topics ranging from science, music, movies, theater, and operas. Throughout dinner, Kara’s eyes always gravitated back to Lena. She was absolutely glowing from all the positive conversations. Kara wished that she could see Lena smile like this more often. As everyone started to get full, Lena finally addressed the elephant in the room.

“So, I have two questions that I am curious about?” asked Lena hesitantly.

“Sure, what’s up?” asked Kara.

Lena looked around nervously and asked, “I am not sure if I have a right to ask the first question, but I am curious.” She turned to Barry and Felicity and asked, “Are you guys Supers?”

Barry nearly choked on the juice he was drinking and Felicity bursted out laughing.

Lena frowned and said, “I am sorry for asking. You don’t have to answer…”

Felicity shook her head while chuckling and said, “You’re fine. I am flattered that you think I have superpowers. I wish I had them, but I don’t. I am the person that Supers call when they need tech support.”

Lena chuckled and said, “I would have never thought of Supers needing tech support, but it does make sense now that you mention it.”

Felicity chuckled and said, “Yeah, when they need help with their computer systems or gadgets breaking, I am the one they call.”

Lena then turned to Barry hesitantly and asked, “And you?”

Barry stared at her thoughtfully for a couple of moments.

“I have a feeling that I will be seeing you a lot more since I am friends with Kara. She thinks highly of you which makes you okay in my book. I am the Flash.”

“I knew it!” Lena said excitedly.

“How could you possibly know?” asked Barry baffled.

Lena chuckled and said, “Well, out of the League members Supergirl and Flash seem the most personable. Instead of leaving after an incident, they stay behind to talk to people and assure them. Plus Supergirl and the Flash seem to team up a lot along with Batman.”

“And you didn’t think I could be Batman?” asked Barry.

Lena chuckled and said, “Batman comes across as a serious person and no offensive, you seem too affable for that.”

Barry nodded and said, “None taken. The Bats does have a commanding presence around him, but can be personable sometimes. Can’t believe that I have been able to see his Batcave.”

“That kind of leads into my second question,” said Lena. She turned to Kara and asked, “This looks more like a home than a lair. Do you live here?”

“Yes,” said Kara.

Lena looked at her baffled.

Kara frowned and asked, “What?”

“Well… it is just that….. you trust me enough to know where you live?” stuttered Lena.

“Yeah, why is that surprising?” asked Kara.

“She has a point. I was a little surprised when Barry told me that you lived here. Most Supers don’t reveal something that personal. The only reason why I know where Barry lives is because I was friends with him before he became a hero,” mused Felicity.

Kara leaned back into her chair and sighed.

“I can see your thought process. Honestly, if we get the device working again, it is going to reveal my name like it did last time. Plus, I am assuming it will have other personal information about my life as well considering it is from my parents. Given all of that, I wouldn’t bring anyone on this if I didn’t think I could trust you with my private information.

“You really trust me with that much information?” asked Lena meekly.

Kara grabbed Lena’s hand, smiled, and said, “I would trust you with my life.”

Lena blushed while looking down and pulling at her dress and said, “Oh…”

Kara smirked. She liked it when she could make Lena blush like that.

Felicity looked at Kara thoughtfully and said, “I am kind of still surprised you trusted me. We never met before today.”

Kara smirked and said, “You came highly recommended by Barry and others in the League. However, do you know what sealed the deal on me trusting you?”

Felicity shook her head and asked, “What?”

Kara smirked and said, “I heard about the time you were at the Watch Tower when Superman was going on a misogynistic rant about Wonder Woman. Afterward, you used nanobots to spell out the word asshole on his cape. Superman didn’t understand why people were laughing at him because every time he looked at his cape, nothing showed. Once he turned back around, the word asshole would appear back on his cape again. It drove him crazy for the week you had that stuff on his cape.”

Lena bursted out laughing and said, “That is the best thing I have heard of in years.”

Felicity chuckled while rubbing the back of her neck and said, “Not one of my most finest moments. I have never been big on revenge, but I just wanted to take him down a peg. He was humbled down during that week that the nanobots were on the cape, but after I stopped, he just went back to being his narcissistic self.”

“You should have kept it on his cape,” mused Lena.

“I would have, but then he got photographed with it while in battle. I thought it was funny, but other members in the League thought it wouldn’t send a positive message to the public if they ever found out about the infighting between members so I stopped.”

Lena nodded and said, “I get it. But it would have been glorious if you have kept it on long enough that people started calling him Mr. Asshole. That would have driven him insane.”

Barry and Felicity snickered at the thought.

Kara smirked and said, “It would have and that is when I knew I wanted to meet you. I like being around people that can call him out on his bullshit.”

Felicity chuckled and said, “I aim to please.”

Lena turned to Kara and said, “I see why you gathered us in particular here, but I am still curious why you don’t have a lair. I know you trust us, but what do you do if you need to meet with other Supers that you don’t want them to know your identity?”

Kara frowned and said, “I used to have a lair, but Superman kind of ruined that for me.”

Lena frowned and asked, “How so?”

“I have a friend that I used to work with. He was the very first person that I told that I was Supergirl, and he was very excited for me. He helped me to create the costume, and he created a small lair in the office building we worked in. It was an abandoned office with a couple of computers and a police scanner, but it was a nice little setup. There was another co-worker who figured out who I was on his own that would help us sometimes. He was nice. I would often get a weird vibe from him, but I would ignore it. After a while, I noticed that Superman would always be there when I was at a crime scene. Sometimes, he would even beat me there and solve the issue on his own. Later, my friend and I figured out that Superman was using this co-worker to spy on me to report my comings and goings. After we realized we had been compromised, we disbanded everything.”

“That’s terrible,” said Barry frowning.

“Though not surprising,” mused Lena.

Felicity frowned and asked, “Why do you say that?”

Lena leaned back into her chair and sighed.

“The Superman I know has always been paranoid and territorial. I imagine he didn’t take it so well that a new person that is bearing his symbol is fighting crime.”

“It is not his symbol. It is a family crest,” muttered Kara.

Lena smiled softly and said, “I understand that, but I get the feeling he doesn’t see it that way.”

Kara sighed while rubbing her head and said, “I had a feeling that may be the case which is why I hope that whatever happens here, you guys can keep to yourselves. Especially from Superman.”

“I think I can safely say you don’t have to worry about anyone here running to your cousin,” mused Barry.

Lena and Felicity nodded in agreement.

Kara smiled and said, “Now that we got that out of the way, let’s check on the device.”

They all left the kitchen and followed Kara to her home office.

*****

Kara paced back and forth in her office with Barry not too far from her. Lena and Felicity were on the other side of the room using the equipment they brought with them to examine the device. They had been in the office for over 2 hours now.

Barry sighed and said, “You are going to wear out the floors if you keep going at this pace.”

Kara stopped and looked sheepishly at Barry.

“I know. It is just I don’t know what to do with myself. I am assuming the device is something that is meant for me since I heard my mom call out my name, but what is this just something insignificant like a calendar reminder or some random notes.”

Barry hugged her. Kara leaned into the hug while she felt tears forming around her eyes.

Barry said softly, “It is not insignificant. Something small can have a profound impact on your life. When my grandmother died several years ago, I remember saving the last voicemail that she left me. She was reminding me to come over so that I could pick up the pumpkin pie she made me. I still listen to the voicemail even now because it reminds me of the memories that I have of us making a variety of different pies together and being able to hear her voice again. It makes me feel that she is still with me. I believe that this device will do the same for you. It may be a random voice recording asking you to do chores, but it will be giving a piece of them back to you.”

Kara smiled weakly and said, “Thank you. I would have never thought of it that way.”

Barry smiled while patting her back and said, “Sure, that is what friends are for.”

They heard someone clearing their throat and turned to see a concerned Felicity and Lena staring at them.

Lena reached out, touched Kara’s shoulder, and asked, “Are you okay?”

Kara smiled while wiping her tears and said, “I’m ok. I am just a little bit nervous about what we will discover about the device.”

Lena smiled softly and said, “I understand being a little nervous especially when walking into the unknown. Felicity and I were able to figure some things out, but if you want to take a breather before we continue, that’s okay.”

Kara smiled lovingly at Lena which caused her to blush.

“I appreciate you looking out for me, but I rather face this head-on. If this turns out to be something trivial, at least I have something back from my parents that they worked on.”

Barry patted her on the back and said, “That’s the spirit.”

They all headed to the table that contained the device.

Kara smiled hopefully and asked, “What did you guys find out?”

“Well, we discovered two things. One it looked like the power source was exposed in the back and chipped. Could explain why it wasn’t able to stay on. I was able to fix the exposure and the chip. Found it interesting that the device is powered by Helium of all things which you can easily get access to,” said Felicity.

“We also noticed that there seem to be fingerprint scanners on the device that allow access to only certain individuals. It looked like some of them had cracks that I was able to repair. However, to test, we would need you to hold the device to see if it will turn on again,” said Lena.

Kara nodded. She stared at the device hesitantly for a minute. She then slowly placed her fingers in the fingerprint reader and watched as the device started to come to life. First, the crystals started all flashing until only the blue one stayed on. It stayed lit for a minute before it projected an image in front of them, her mother. Kara nearly choked back a sob. She hadn’t seen her mom in so long. Her mother looked as stoic as ever.

Her mother’s image said, “My name is Allura Zor El. This message is for my daughter Kara Zor El. If you are hearing this message, this means that your father’s and my plan to save Krypton failed. Hopefully, you and Kal El made it safely to Earth and are adjusting to your new environment. We know that this journey that you will be on will be your hardest yet. This device is small, but I hope that it will alleviate some of the hardships that you will experience on Earth. It contains the complete history of Krypton and a variety of other tools that you may find useful. To gain access, follow the coordinates on the green crystal, and it will lead you to the best area to activate the device.”

Her image flicked out and the room was quiet again. All of them looked amazed at the device which now had the green crystal pulsating with weird white symbols flicking through like the images on a slot machine. They suddenly heard a sob. Felicity, Lena, and Barry turned around to see tears streaming down her face. Lena rushed to her and instantly hugged her. Kara was initially startled at first but then leaned into the hug. She has always been a fan of hugs, but hugging Lena made her feel warm and safe.

Lena's eyes grew big once she realized what she was doing and started to pull back a little, but Kara held her close and said, “Thank you. I needed that.”

Lena smiled shyly and said, “I wasn’t sure if this was appropriate or not. I just wanted to do something that helped make you feel better.”

Kara smiled and said, “It did. I just became overwhelmed. I thought that I had lost everything from Krypton and to learn that I will now gain some of it back gives me immense joy.”

“I am glad that Felicity and I were able to give a piece of your history back to you,” said Lena softly.

They stared into each other’s eyes lovingly. Kara caressed Lena’s face and started to lean forward. Before their lips connected, a loud ping was heard throughout the room which startled everyone. They looked around and realized it was coming from the device. The green crystal was flashing white text that said the following: 34.0224° N, 118.1670° W.

Kara frowned and asked, “What are those?

“Aren’t those longitude and latitude coordinates?” asked Barry.

“You’re right. I wonder where that is,” said Felicity.

Lena said while looking down at her phone, “I’m already on it.” After a few moments, Lena looked up and said, “It looks like it leads to East LA which is about fifteen minutes from here.”

Kara was kind of surprised. She knew that the Fortress of Solitude led Clark to activate it in the secluded Arctic. She wondered why it was leading her to an area that would have a heavy population around.

Lena noticed Kara’s look and said, “You seem hesitant about this.”

Kara sighed and said, “I am kind of surprised that it is leading to an open place. I kind of figure that the place would be more hard to get to.”

Lena smirked and asked, “Aren’t we kind of assuming here? For all you know, the coordinates could lead to a portal to another dimension that is more private.”

Kara chuckled. She never took Lena for a fantasy fan.”

Kara smirked and said, “You’re right. No time like the present to find out what is waiting for us.”

With that, they all left the apartment with the device to see what this new destination had in store for them.

Chapter Text

Kara was a little paranoid about where they were going which is why they decided against normal travel options. They didn’t know what they were getting into or if they would have to eventually forgo their vehicles to get to where they needed to go. Kara flew Lena and the device to the location while Barry carried Felicity while using his super speed. All four got to the location at the same time and were startled by what they saw. It was a dilapidated 10-story apartment building. The majority of the windows were either busted out or boarded up, weeds and ivy growing everywhere, paint was chipping everywhere and was discolored, and the stairs leading up alongside the building was hanging off the hinges.

Kara frowned while shaking her head, “This can’t be right.”

Felicity shrugged her shoulders and said, “Maybe it looks this way to steer people away.”

“Maybe,” mused Kara. She used her X-ray vision to see what was inside. What she saw left her even more complex. “That’s strange,” muttered Kara.

Lena frowned and asked, “What is it?”

Kara shook her head and said, “I used my X-ray vision to see what was inside, and there is nothing. The entire apartment has been gutted out. There are only the four walls, a roof, and the front and back door. That’s it.”

Barry looked quizzically at Kara and said, “Wait. You mean there isn’t any rooms or floor levels at all?”

Kara shook her head and said, “No. It is just an empty shell.”

Barry said, “I can do a quick run inside to make sure there is really nothing in there.”

Kara nodded. Barry looked forward and speed through the building. He was gone several seconds before returning. He shook his head and was perplex.

He turned to the others and said, “Kara’s right. There is nothing inside.”

Felicity turned to Kara and asked, “Is there anything about this building that that seemed significant to you? Maybe something that you parents thought that only you would notice?”

Kara shook her head and said, “There is nothing ringing a bell about this place.”

“I think I may have something,” mused Lena.

The others turned around to see her rapidly scrolling on her phone.

“Did you find something?” asked Kara hopefully.

Lena looked up hesitantly and said, “I think so. I did a quick search on who the owners of the building are: Roz Le and Laura Zine.”

Kara chuckled softly.

Lena looked up at her quizzically and asked, “What?”

Kara shook her head while chuckling softly.

“If you rearrange the letters of those names, it would be Zor El and Alura In Ze. My parents’ names. My dad was very fond of anagrams.”

Felicity raised an eyebrow and asked, “So your parents have been to Earth before?”

Kara looked back at the apartment confused and said, “They must have. I am not sure why they wouldn’t have told me this before.”

Barry said, “Maybe they didn’t want to. I get the feeling that this was sort of a last resort option for them.”

Kara nodded while looking back down at the device. The green crystal was still glowing with the coordinates on it. She looked back up at the building with a look of determination.

“I am going to go inside with the device to see if it does anything while in there.”

Kara took a couple of steps forward until the entire device started glowing soft yellow. The device then forced itself out of her hands and zoomed towards the front door of the apartment. She thought that the device would break through the door, but was surprised that it phased through.

Felicity chuckled nervously and said, “Well, I didn’t see that coming.”

“Neither did I,” murmured Lena.

Barry rubbed the back of his neck and said, “Well, at least we definitely know that we are in the right place.”

Kara looked at the others hesitantly and said, “I know that things just got a little weird just now. I would understand if you wanted to wait here while I check it out.”

Lena rushed towards her, grabbed her hand and shouted, “No!”

Kara looked at her startled which caused Lena to look down blushing.

“I didn’t mean to scream like that. I just wanted to say that this was a team effort and we wouldn’t abandon you in your hour of need.”

Barry nodded and said, “Lena’s right. We are with you until the end.”

Felicity fist pump her hand in the air and said, “Here, Here.”

Kara smiled and said, “Thanks, guys!”

She looked back at the apartment with more confidence and said, “Here’s to the unknown.”

They walked up to the apartment and walked through the door. All around them was darkness.

Lena frowned and asked, “Barry, how were you able to run around and see anything in here earlier?”

“This is strange,” said Barry.

“Please don’t say that,” muttered Felicity.

“Well, it is. When I was in here, it wasn’t pitch black. Kara, can you see anything?” asked Barry.

“No, not even with my X-ray vision,” said Kara nervously.

Suddenly a bright white light appeared which blinded them. As it gradually went down, the four began blinking rapidly to adjust their eyesight. Once they were able to see again, they were all shocked by what they saw. It looked like they were in a lobby for a fancy apartment building. On one side was a fancy staircase that led upstairs. On the other side was two elevators. In the center of the room seemed to be a service desk with what looks like a woman behind it. Kara felt tears streaming down her face.

“Mom!” she screamed as she ran forward.

She wrapped her arms around the woman and squeezed really tight.

“You don’t know how much I missed you,” sobbed Kara.

The woman patted her on the head and said, “I am sorry to disappoint you Kara, but I am not your mother.”

Kara gradually took a step back and looked at the woman hesitantly. She looked exactly like her mother down to the clothing she would wear.

Kara looked at her hesitantly and said, “I don’t understand.”

The woman smiled and said, “I am sorry about the confusion. I am Kalex 2.0.”

Barry super sped to Kara and asked, “Is everything okay?”

Kara looked back and forth between Kalex and Barry with confusion on her face.

“I don’t understand. Kalex robots are metallic with wide oval heads, narrow body, short arms, no legs, and are half your size. You look so….”

The woman smiled and said, “Humanoid.”

Kara nodded and said, “Yes.”

“Your mother thought that you might find my aesthetic more pleasing. However, she did leave an earlier Kalex model that I can transfer my data too if you find me in this form too uncomfortable.”

Kara shook her head and said, “No, you’re fine as is.”

However, Kara wasn’t sure how she felt. This thing smelled, looked, felt, and sounded just like her mom. In one sense it made her happy because she was starting to forgot small things about her appearance. On the other hand, it made her sad because it reinforced the fact that her mother is truly gone.

Kalex gradually looked at Barry, Felicity, and Lena and then faced Kara again with a smile.

“I see that you brought guest with you. I did a scan on them to see if they posed a threat, but didn’t find anything. Did you wish for your guest to have continued access to this location?”

Kara nodded and said, “Yes, I would like them to have access. But before you do that, can you explain where here is?”

Kalex looked up thoughtfully while tapping her chin.

“Hmmm… The best way I could describe it is that we are in a pocket dimension.”

Lena frowned and said, “So we are in a universe within a universe?”

Kalex nodded and said, “Yes. Alura and Zor El chose this building because they realized it had a pocket dimension located inside. They created a device that you brought here to safely entered and exit the dimension and to create a place to house all of the things they left you.”

“Wait, so we are technically still in East LA?” asked Barry.

“Well, yes. I think the best way that I can describe it would be similar to show here on Earth called Wanda Vision.”

“You know pop culture things here?” asked Felicity startled.

Kalex nodded and said, “Yes, once you activated the device, it allowed me to absorb all of the data that is on the internet.”

“Fascinating,” said Lena breathlessly.

Barry rubbed the back of his head and said, “It is amazing and all, but I am still trying to figure out how this place is like anything in Wanda Vision.”

Kalex chuckled and said, “In Wanda Vision, Wanda created her own bubble or pocket universe that fit everything in her image. However, outside the bubble, they saw a dome shape that surround the area that she took over. Same premise here. To anyone outside, it will look like an abandoned building. Same if you enter the building and don’t have clearance. However, if you do have clearance, you are transported to this fancy place.”

“And what would this place be called?” asked Kara.

Kalex smiled and said, “House of El.”

Kara smiled when she heard that. It has been so long since she heard that phrase. She felt like she had gotten back a small piece of home.”

Kalex's eyes started glowing.

Kara frowned hesitantly and asked, “Is there something wrong?”

Suddenly, they heard a ping and Alura’s eyes stopped glowing and she smiled.

“I just added your friends to the approved list. They will be able to enter here even if you are not with them.”

“That is amazing!” beamed Kara.

Lena twiddled her thumbs and said hesitantly, “I am not sure if that is a good idea.”

Kara walked over to Lena and gave her a soft smile while gently grabbing her hand.

“I told you that I trust you completely.” She looked up to Barry and Felicity said, “And I meant that for everyone in this room.”

Lena muttered, “I understand that, but what if someone  forces there way in this place while we are trying to entered. For example, what if Lex had his goons drag me inside to show them around.”

Kalex chuckled and said, “You have a very active imagination.”

“Okay, but it is a real possibility,” muttered Lena.

Kalex smiled and said, “To ease your worries, know this. When you enter, you instantly are beamed to this dimension. Even if they had a hold of you, only you would come here. They would stay behind in the empty abandoned apartment.”

Lena breathed a sigh of relief and said, “That is good to know.”

Kalex turned to Kara and asked, “Is there anyone else that you would want to have access to this location?”

Kara nodded and said, “There are several people that I would like to add actually.”

Kalex went behind her desk to pull out a tablet.

She handed it to Kara and said, “This is a hand held tablet that you can use when you are away from here. You can use it to add as many people that you want to have access remotely access everything within the House of El.”

Kara frowned and said, “I don’t know if I want something like this on the outside with me in case someone gets their hands on it.”

Kalex nodded and said, “Your father thought that you may feel that way so the device has a cloaking feature.” Kalex pointed out a button to Kara and said, “If you leave this button enabled, it will make the device only visible to you and everyone you approved to have the device.”

Kara smiled softly and murmured, “He really did think of everything.”

Kalex looked curiously between Kara and her friends and asked, “I am glad that you have friends that you were able to bring here, but I did want to ask you something.”

Kara looked at her thoughtfully and asked, “What?”

When I was activated, besides downloading data about Earth’s current situation, I was to set up a link to the device that Jor El made for Kal El so that he could have access to this location as well. However, I noticed in the clips that I have seen of you two online would be best described as….tense. I wanted to make sure if you want me to proceed.”

Kara looked at her surprised and asked, “You can go off directive like that?”

Kalex nodded and said, “To a certain extent. If I observe something wrong, I can make observations and possible remedies. Also, your parents knew that you would be the one that would be primarily using me so they made it so that you can override anything that they set up other than two features.”

Kara raised an eyebrow and said, “Which are?”

“I can’t go against anything you command unless you are about to do harm to yourself or others, and I can’t harm you. If I get corrupted, I am set to self-destruct.”

Lena looked at Kalex with marvel and said, “It is amazing how much Krypton is technologically more advanced than Earth. We are decades, possibly even centuries, behind in coming up with robots even remotely similar to you.”

“Would you guys like to explore the other floors of this building?” asked Kalex.

The four all eagerly nodded. Kalex smiled and motioned them to follow her.

“This building has 10 floors. We are currently on the first floor. To the left is the staircase that leads to all the floors, and the right is the elevators that lead to all of the floors. In the center of the room is my docking station. I am usually there unless you need me on one of the other floors. In the far back are portal stations.”

Lena looked baffled and asked, “Portals? Where do they lead to?”

“You can set the portals to lead to anywhere you want, and once on the other side, you can decide if you want it to be a permanent doorway back here,” said Kalex.

“That is amazing,” said Kara.

“The travel possibilities could be endless,” marveled Lena.

“There are restrictions. Currently, it is set to transport you anywhere on Earth,” said Kalex.

“Still, imagine if this form of travel was available to everyone. The cost for travel alone would be amazing,” said Lena.

“A lot of this would depend on who had control of it and if someone would create a monopoly,” mused Felicity.

Kara nodded and said, “That is similar to what happened on Krypton. People who had financial advantage would try to be gatekeepers of the technology and charge absorbent prices for one-time use. The judicial guild had to put a stop to it and initiate strict regulations for use.”

Barry shook his head and said, “It’s sad that greed follows people everywhere.”

“Still, the scientific part of my brain wants to see how it works,” mused Lena.

Kalex smiled and said, “Based on what I have downloaded about you, I think there are other things in this building that you would find more interesting.”

Lena chuckled and said, “I am sure that you are right.”

Kalex motioned for them to follow her to the elevators. They explored the different floors one by one. The second floor had a monitor station where they could see the different floors and rooms for the entire building. It also had monitors that had various news outlets from a variety of different countries. The third floor contained all weapons. It had a mixture of Kryptonian weaponry and some from Earth. The fourth floor had a training room. It had a variety of exercise equipment from Krypton and Earth. It also contained a pool, sauna, and changing room. The fifth floor caused Lena and Felicity to squeal. Kara never heard anything so high-pitched before in her life. The floor contained the medical wing and research labs. Both of them ran around like kids in a candy store looking at the various medical equipment and technology. Kara and Barry had to practically drag them out so they could explore the rest of the building. The next two floors they spent the least amount of time in: the sixth floor had meeting rooms and a large cafeteria that was fully stocked with food from Krypton and Earth and the seventh floor had 10 guest rooms that came with a living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and two toilets. The eighth floor caused Barry to get excited. It contained a vast arrange of vehicles. It had a variety of cars from Earth, several transport devices from Krypton, and a midsize spaceship that could contain a crew of 10 people. The ninth floor had a library and computer lab containing all the information on the history of Krypton and Earth.

The last floor took Kara off guard. When they entered, she immediately started to sob. Lena rushed to give her a hug with Barry and Felicity not that far behind.

Lena rubbed her back and asked, “What happened?”

Kara looked up at her with tears streaming down her face and said, “This is my home.”

Lena, Barry, and Felicity all looked up startled. As they looked around, it dawned on them that the decor was different in this area than in the guest rooms in the lower area. The guest rooms had typical American furnishings. While the area they were in now did look like a home, the furniture and decorations were all foreign.

Felicity turned to Kalex quizzically and asked, “How were you able to fit all these things in the device? This is a massive amount of stuff and the device is small.”

Kalex smiled and said, “We have shrinking technology on Krypton that was used to shrink down everything to fit into the device. Once the device was activated again, it allowed everything to become full size.”

Kara looked up to wipe her tears and gave a soft smile.

“I remember it was a relatively new process. They were just starting to test on small animals.

Kara looked around while smiling and said, “I can’t believe that they recreated all of this for me.”

As she was about to turn around, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. On the left side of her was a door. Underneath the door, she could see a pulsating blue light.

Kara turned to Kalex and pointed to the door and said, “This door shouldn’t be here. Where does this lead?”

Kalex nodded and led them to the other room. Once inside, Kara was surprised to see three cryo-chambers. Two were extremely small and one was large. All three had a glowing blue light that surrounded it, but you couldn’t tell what was inside.”

“What are these?” asked Lena.

“Cryo-chambers,” said Kara softly. She looked at Kalex hesitantly and asked, “Does the large one contain one of my parents?”

Kalex shook her head. Kara looked saddened at first but then put on a passive face. If her parents were here, they would have been leading her through the building and not Kalex.

Kalex looked at her quizzically and said, “It seems that I have made you sad.”

Kara smiled, shook her head, and said, “No, you didn’t. It was just wishful thinking on my part.”

Kalex nodded and said, “I know that I can’t bring your parents back, but I think there is something here that is eager to see you again.”

Kalex went up to the docking station of the first cryo-chamber and entered a code. Once she was done, the chamber opened, and out walked an orange cat.

Kara rushed forward to the cat and instantly embraced it in a hug.

“Streaky!” shouted Kara. “I never thought that I would see you again.”

Streaky started purring loudly and rubbing her head against Kara.

Lena, Barry, and Felicity all rushed over to try to pet the cat. Whenever Barry and Felicity tried to pet the cat, it would dodge out of the way.

Lena hesitantly approached the cat. Streaky noticed her and instantly jumped from Kara into Lena’s arms and started purring loudly which took Lena off guard.

Barry chuckled and said, “Lena must have the magic touch.”

Lena chuckled and said, “I am sure it is nothing of the sort.”

Kara smiled and said, “Honestly, I think Streaky likes you guys to various degrees. Normally, Streaky bites anyone who tries to come near her or touch her. Although, Lena’s interaction is a first. I have never seen her cuddle with anyone else but me. My dad hated Streaky because of the amount of times she bit him. I am a little surprised he actually saved her.”

Kalex smiled and said, “Your father knew you would need a friend when first arriving so he went through a lot of trouble to get her. He ended up having to use his dart gun to sedate her.”

Kara went over to Streaky, patted her head, and said, “I am glad he went the extra mile for her and me.”

Kara looked at the other two cryo-chambers quizzically. She turned back to Kalex and asked, “What do the other cryo-chambers contain?”

“The other small one contains Kal El’s puppy Krypto. Would you like to activate his chamber?” asked Kalex.

Kara looked at the chamber thoughtfully for a minute and said, “Krypto is Kal El’s puppy. I need to figure out a way to give him to Kal El without revealing this place. Plus, with my lifestyle, I know that I can manage Streaky, but Krypto was only about a month old the last time I saw him.”

Kalex nodded and said, “Understood.”

Kara looked at the other cryo-chamber and asked, “What is in the last chamber?”

Kalex stared at Kara hesitantly for a moment which took Kara by surprise.

Kara raised an eyebrow and asked, “I take it you are hesitant because this is something that could hurt me or others?”

Kalex looked at Kara thoughtfully for a moment and said, “This would be a grey area as humans would say.”

“Why is that? asked Kara.

“While shrinking technology has been successful on small animals, it has disastrous results on the Kryptonians that volunteered. Making them small has been fine but phasing them them into the device has caused them to explode,” said Kalex.

Kara turned to the last cryo-chamber mortified and said, “So that chamber contains someone and they may be in bits right now?”

Kalex nodded and said, “Yes. It is a high possibility. At the last minute, your dad had a volunteer to test this out. However, he wasn’t able to see if it was a success before Krypton exploded.”

“Is there a way to find out?” asked Kara.

“This chamber needs to decompress for two months and then we can open to see,” said Kalex.

“Do you know who is inside?” asked Kara.

Kalex shook her head and said, “I don’t.”

Kara frowned and asked, “Why not?”

“Do you remember how your father dealt with test subjects?”

Kara frowned on it for a moment until it dawned on her. She knew that her father did human trials for some of his research and he had explained before that they would give the people numbers instead of using their names. They didn’t want to create any personal connection to the volunteer and also didn’t want to do anything that could prejudice them during the research process.

Kara shook her head and said, “Never mind. I remembered he used a number system for his subjects.”

She went to the cryo-chamber to have a closer look, but then her stomach started to growl. She looked back at the cryo-chamber and shook her head.

She turned back to Kalex and asked, “Would there be a way to notify me when the cryo-chamber is set to open?”

Kalex nodded and said, “I can do that right now while you go into the kitchen to make something to eat.”

Kara nodded and led the others outside to the kitchen. Kalex turned back to the cryo-chamber and stared at it thoughtfully. She tapped in a couple of keys and turned to leave. As she was leaving, a name appeared on the keypad next to the cryo-chamber briefly and then disappeared: Astra.

Chapter Text

Kara and Lena chuckled as they watched Barry and Felicity examine the Kryptonian food synthesizer. They kept announcing what they wanted and watched in fascination as the food appeared out of nowhere. Streaky stayed perched on the counter observing their behavior until she fell asleep.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Felicity marveled, “I have never believed in magic, but this is beyond anything I have ever seen.”

Barry beamed and said, “I can’t believe these things from Star Trek are real.”

Felicity looked back at Lena baffled and said, “Why are you not more excited about this?”

Lena smirked and said, “Our hospital labs have been working on this technology for the last three years. It is not nearly as sophisticated as the one that is here, but we hope that we can get it to the point that it can provide food for the entire hospital.”

Kara beamed at Lena and said, “That is amazing!”

Lena looked down shyly and said, “Thanks.”

Barry looked at Lena with marvel and said, “Kara is right. That is an amazing feat. How were you able to do it?”

Lena waved her hand with an embarrassed look on her face and said, “We still have a long way to go on this project. Ideally, we would want to cure world hunger, but if we can at least have it up and running in the hospital, that would be a huge step in the right direction. We partnered with scientists from the Naran planet to make the food synthesizers. I have liked working with them so far because they have left detailed notes and easily explain their process so everyone can understand.”

“The Naran is a highly technological society. Besides being the original creators of the food synthesizer, they have made some of the fastest spaceships and are believed to be the original time travelers outside of speedsters,” said Kalex.

Kara, Lena, Barry, and Felicity jolted when they heard Kalex speak.

Kalex frowned and said, “I hope I didn’t disturb you guys.”

Kara shook her head and said, “You’re fine. I think we just didn’t realize you had entered the room is all. You have been quiet all this time.”

Kalex nodded thoughtfully and said, “I will have a reminder to make my presence more know to you guys from now on.”

Kara chuckled and said, “You really don’t have to go through all that trouble.”

Kalex smiled and said, “No, my goal is to make your life here easier. Plus, it would be good for me to learn social norms. I have the knowledge from the internet, but I am sure that there are things always to learn about this society.”

“I can see that. Having spatial awareness is a good thing especially if you are trying not to scare someone off,” said Felicity while grabbing a blueberry muffin from the food synthesizer.

Kalex smiled and said, “Spatial awareness. Got it!”

Lena looked at Kalex thoughtfully and said, “How long have you been alone here?”

“Hmmm….” said Kalex thoughtfully as she tapped her chin. Her eyes began to glow for a couple of minutes until they heard a ding. She turned to Lena smiling and said, “I estimate based on how old this apartment building is that I have been in the device at least 40-45 Earth years.”

Kara raised an eyebrow and asked, “How do you figure that?”

“Well, Kal has been on Earth for the last 35 years and your parents purchased this place five years before Kal’s arrival on Earth. I am not sure year wise when Krypton was destroyed or how long it would have taken Kal to get here since Jor El had made a custom made ship for Kal to travel in that wasn’t approved by the Kryptonian space board. Thus the estimation,” said Kalex.

Kara nodded hesitantly. She didn’t know if she would like the answer to her next question.

She shook her head, sighed, and said, “Why did my parents think to come to Earth and purchase this apartment? How could they even afford it?”

Kalex smiled and said, “Excellent questions!” Kalex tapped her chin thoughtfully and said, “I think the best way to start is to ask a question first. Do you remember the AI system that Krypton used?”

Kara frowned and rubbed the back of her head and said, “Yes, I have been wondering that because I think it has somehow found its way to Earth.”

Lena frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

Kara turned to the others hesitantly and said, “Brainiac started off as Kryptonian AI.”

Lena, Barry, and Felicity looked at Kara baffled.

“Wait, you mean the same Brainiac that almost set off the major countries’ nuclear warheads and almost caused a nuclear apocalypse several years ago?” asked Felicity wide-eyed.

Kara nodded somberly and said, “The very one.”

Lena rubbed the back of her head and asked, “I don’t understand how it is possible.”

Kara shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know either. I only recognized his voice. Brainiac didn’t have a physical body on Krypton. I tried to ask Kal about it, but he doesn’t remember the AI assistant and he won’t let me look through his things.”

Kalex nodded and said, “Brainiac didn’t have a body originally. Kryptonians used him for so many things with technology, power, infrastructure, and even social engagements. Nobody questioned our heavy reliance on Brainiac until your uncle Jor El. He noticed that the core temperature in Krypton was rising which caused more unusual weather. He built houses for himself and your father on the outskirts of Argo so they would be outside of Argo City’s reach where Brainiac’s mainframe was located. He had made it so that everything in the house was self-sufficient and relied on natural resources and solar power. Your father initially humored Jor El and helped him conduct experiments. However, your father realized that Jor El was right. They brought their findings to the council and they were denied the requests 10-2 because Brainiac deemed their work as contaminated.”

Kara frowned and said, “I am assuming that the two members that voted with Jor El were my parents, correct?”

Kalex nodded and said, “Yes.”

Kara looked perplexed and asked, “My dad was the head of the science guild. How could they not take his findings into consideration?

Kalex said, “Brainiac accused them of being emotionally compromised by Jor El’s propaganda of doom and gloom and the other members believed him. Once they realized they weren’t going to gain the guild's support, they took a sabbatical to try to find new planets that Kryptonians could inhabit in case the guild changed their mind. The only one they found closest to Krypton was Earth. They found it appealing because Kryptonians would easily be able to blend in,  have access to water source, and areas to make a settlement. Jor El and your father had different thoughts about where to live if they inhabited Earth. Jor El thought that they should stay in the arctic. Our body temperatures make it so we can survive the temperature and tough terrain and we would be for the most part invisible from outsiders. Your father thought that they should have the option to live among the people or not which is why he chose this location. It had the fortune of having a pocket dimension if they wanted to hide or if not, could use the space as normal. They ended up getting a good deal on this place. The developer of this apartment complex went bankrupt because they kept running into problems with building it. Equipment would keep breaking down and construction workers would randomly disappear which is why it was never fully completed. Unfortunately for them, they didn’t know that the pocket dimension was causing the issue with their equipment and people to disappear. The apartment ended up being foreclosed on and the state didn’t want to waste money in tearing it down. Also, no one wanted to purchase the area because of all the mysterious incidents that happened around it. Your parents were able to pay just $50 for the whole thing.”

“Were they ever able to come back here?” asked Kara.

Kalex shook her head and said, “No. Your father and his brother differed on when they thought that Krypton would self-destruct. You father thought that he and your mom would have five years once they got back from Earth to warn people about what was going on and what their contingency plan was. They knew that they didn’t have enough ships for a planet wide evacuation and that they wouldn’t be able to build enough in five years. That is why Jor El worked on this device. If he could figure out how to shrink people and phase them inside, he could at least fit 500 people in here which would be more than a single ship that Krypton had. Jor El believed that they had about a year. Unfortunately, your uncle was correct.”

Kara sniffed while wiping tears from her eyes. Lena gently rubbed Kara’s shoulder which caused her to smile at her softly. Kara looked back up at Kalex hesitantly and asked, “Did the council ever believe them?”

Kalex frowned and said, “Not until it was too late. Jor El was able to reveal what Brainiac’s true motives were a couple of hours before Krypton’s destruction: absorb all the information from Krypton, and leave on a body that he created from himself so he can go on and do the same thing to other planets. The council members tried to stop him, but Brainiac beamed himself away leaving all their ships disabled so they couldn’t escape. There were only two working pods because your father and his brother did everything off the grid. They put you in one and Kal in the other and sent this device and the device containing the fortress right after you guys hoping for the best.”

“That is crazy that your AI system went off the rails like that. The fact that it gained selfish needs like that is mind-blowing,” marveled Felicity.

“It makes you worry about our AI since it is becoming more advanced here,” muttered Barry.

Kalex cocked her head and said, “Based off my calculations, Earth is several centuries away from making similar mistakes that we did with AI if you guys keep on the same trajectory. Does that make you worry less?”

Barry chuckled slightly and said, “A little bit.”

Kalex frowned. Everyone was still looking a little down or awkward after the information she gave. She cocked her head for a moment while her eyes glowed and a ping went off. She smiled and said, “I know what may cheer you up. Before I interrupted you earlier, you guys were admiring the food synthesizer. Would you be interested in seeing the schematics for the machine and a video tutorial about its inner workings?”

Felicity and Barry looked at Kalex with pure joy.

“Yes!” both screamed.

Kalex smiled and turned towards Kara and Lena and asked, “Would you two be interested?”

Kara shook her head and said, “I haven’t really eaten yet so I think I will do that.”

“I think I will just join her,” said Lena a little too quickly causing her to blush.

Kalex nodded and said, “That’s fine. If you need me, just holler and I will be with you momentarily.”

Kalex turned towards Barry and Felicity and motioned for them to follow her out of the kitchen.

Kara and Lena turned to each other awkwardly for a few moments.

As Kara walked towards the food synthesizer, she said, “I am surprised you didn’t want to see this device’s schematics and video instructions. It would give you ideas probably for the one that you are trying to create at the hospital.”

Lena smiled shyly as she approached her and said, “I would rather learn more about a certain someone I don’t know much about yet.”

Kara turned to Lena, smirked and asked, “Is that so?”

Lena smirked and said, “Very much so.”

Kara felt her face heating up when she said that. She quickly turned away and set a command for the food synthesizer: 4 burgers, fries, chocolate shake, and four slices of sausage pizza.

Lena smiled. She liked she was able to make Kara feel flustered for a change. She made her order in front of the food systematizer: a Greek salad, yogurt, a fruit bowl, and a bottle of orange juice. They walked over to the kitchen table and set their stuff down to eat. After eating for a little bit, Kara looked up to Lena and asked, “What is it that you want to know about me?”

Lena smiled and said, “Anything and everything,”

Kara chuckled and said, “Talk about a tall order.”

Suddenly, Streaky jumped onto Kara’s lap, curled up to a little ball and started purring loudly causing both women to burst out laughing.

Lena smirked and said, “It looks like I have competition for your attention.”

Kara snuggled the cat to her chest and kissed her on the head which caused the cat to calm down considerably and rest on her lap peacefully. Kara continued to pet Streaky as she looked up at Lena while smiling.

“I love Streaky very much, but I think I am more interested in the woman that is in front of me right now.”

Lena nearly choked on her drink and blushed which caused Kara to smirk.

After Lena settled down, she looked up at Kara shyly and said, “You know how to charm all the ladies, don’t you.”

Kara smiled and said, “Just those that I am interested in.”

Lena raised an eyebrow and asked, “Really?”

Kara looked coyly at Lena and said, “You seemed surprised.”

Lena looked down while toying with her dress and said, “Looking the way that you do, you could literally be with anyone.”

Lena jolted when she felt a hand suddenly grab hers softly. She looked up to see Kara smiling back at her.

“I don’t just want anyone. I am interested in you.”

Lena looked up at her startled. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds causing panic to grow on Kara’s face.

Kara stuttered. “I mean…. if you don’t feel the….same way… that’s okay…it is just…that I thought…. that we were connecting…. and everything….”

Lena smiled and kissed Kara on the cheek which caused her to blush.

“I’m sorry about the pause. I have been envisioning this moment in my head for weeks and now that it is happening, it is kind of surreal.”

“Same here,” said Kara breathlessly.

They stared at each other lovingly until Lena said, “I want to take you on a proper date.”

Kara beamed and said, “Yes. Where to?”

Lena smirked and said, “It will be a surprise. Would next Friday at 8 pm be okay?”

Kara smiled and said, “That would be perfect. Can I have a little hint on how I should dress when going out?”

Lena smirked and said, “Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, you are going to have to be patient. I will let you know the night before what you should wear.”

Kara leaned back in her chair and pouted.

“I don’t want to wait. I wish we could fast forward to then.”

“I know we can’t jump ahead, but according to that clock up on the wall, I have an hour before I actually have to be back at the hospital. Why don’t we learn a little bit about each other before I have to go in.”

Kara looked up at the clock and was surprised it was almost 5 am. She had been having such a fun time with the others that she hadn’t realized they spent nearly 10 hours together.

Kara looked back up at Lena beaming and asked, “What did you want to know?”

Lena smiled, motioned towards Streaky, and said, “I noticed that Streaky has a yellow patch of fur that looks like a lightning bolt. How did that happen?”

Kara chuckled while looking down sheepishly and said, “That is a funny story.”

Kara and Lena continued to delight each other with pleasant conversation until they had to depart for the morning. Kara was initially sad at first. She wished that they could spend more time together. However, she remembered that she had a date to look forward to. She zoomed into her room and looked through clothes to see which would be deemed date-appropriate.

Better search here because if not, it means a shopping spree!

*****

Several Days Later

Bruce stood in front of Morgan Edge hearing him drone on and on about how a partnership with them would be beneficial to their respective companies. Bruce looked around for an exit and saw that there were another five tycoons similar to Edge waiting to pounce on him about their own companies. He hated throwing these fundraisers at the mansion. Not because of the actual fundraising itself. Bruce enjoyed that aspect of being able to give back to the community. What he hated was having to socialize with corrupted individuals like Edge to get that accomplished. At least their money can be used to do something good for society. He looked down at his watch and sighed.

Still, five more minutes left.

He tuned back in to listen to Edge to see what he was talking about now. Bruce nearly rolled his eyes when Edge said that the Environmental Agency had too many restrictions and needed to pull some back where different businesses are concerned.

He wouldn’t care if all the natural resources were gone as long as he got rich off of it.

Bruce sensed that someone was about to touch his shoulder. He looked up and saw Diana looking stunning in a short strapless black dress. Diana gently placed a hand on Bruce and said, “I am sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if Bruce could join me for a dance.”

Edge looked at her flustered due to her beauty and stuttered, “Sure…Sure…”

Bruce looked at her gratefully as they walked towards the dance floor. He put one hand on her shoulder and another hand on her waist and pulled her close. They started to waltz. As they danced across the dance floor, Bruce smirked, “It is not everyday I get saved by Wonder Women.”

Diana chuckled and playfully slapped his chest and said, “You would have eventually gotten out. I just couldn’t stand to see you miserable over there for any longer.”

Bruce sighed and said, “As long as they bring their big fat check books, I can endure it for the Humane Society.”

Diana smiled and said, “I never took you as an animal lover.”

Bruce raised an eyebrow and said, “I take it that you haven’t seen my menagerie of animals.”

Diana looked at Bruce startled and said, “Really? I have never seen any animals since I have been here.”

Bruce chuckled and said, “The last two times you were at the mansion, the team was dealing with a crisis so I get how you can miss them. But I have several dogs, cats, horses, cow, and a koi pond out back.”

Diana smiled brightly while looking at him and asked, “What are we doing here for? I would rather meet your fury friends than dancing around.”

Bruce smiled and was about to say something until he felt a vibration on his wrist. He looked down and saw that his timer went off. He looked up apologetically, and said, “Maybe some other time. We are about to make our grand escape.”

Diana looked up at him quizzically until she heard a bell ringing loudly. Everyone in the room looked up and saw Alfred on a giant platform ringing a midsize bell.

“If I could have everyone’s attention, can everyone please follow me into the theater room. We having the Amazing Zatanna performing her mystics wonders that starts in about five minutes. As everyone started filling out of the room. Diana looked at Bruce with a raised eyebrow.

Bruce looked at her baffled and asked, “What?”

“Using League members for entertainment?”

Bruce sighed and said, “You realize that outside the League she does still tour globally. She charges a hefty fee for her performances which are well worth it. Also, I needed her here to keep a certain person away.”

Diana frowned and asked, “Who?”

Bruce smirked and said, “I will explain everything soon.”

He looked around and saw that everyone had left the room except them. He motioned for Diana to follow him out of the room and to a different corridor that led to the library. Inside, he went to the secret trap door behind the clock and led them to the Batcave. Waiting for them was Oliver Queen in a black and white suit and a man in his 40s who had pale skin, dark brown hair and eyes, and a blue suit.

Diana turned to Oliver, frowned, and asked, “Arrow, why are you here?”

Oliver shrugged and said, “All I know is Bruce told me to head down here when Alfred made his announcement.”

Diana shook her head as she looked at the unidentified man. She looked at him quizzically for a moment and said, “I feel like I have seen you somewhere before.”

The man smirked and said, “I would hope so.”

The man morphed into Martian the Manhunter. Diana cocked her head and said, “I assuming you have the same reason for being here as Arrow.”

Martian nodded and said, “Indeed. I was asked to blend in and wait to come down after the announcement as well.”

Diana looked back at Bruce puzzled and asked, “Why the ruse?”

Oliver looked up at Bruce and said, “Diana is right. You have been vague about everything. It reminds me of the time when Earth was taken over by the Thanagarians, and we all had to go into hiding here.”

Bruce looked up at them frowning.

Oliver sighed while rubbing the back of his neck and said, “Please don’t tell me we are in a situation like that again.”

Bruce shook his head while heading to his computer station, started typing, and said, “I am hoping to prevent that.”

Martian frowned and said, “What happened that has you so concerned?”

Bruce said, “Just give me one second. I just need to add one more person.”

Suddenly, Green Lantern’s face popped up on the screen.

“Are you busy John?” asked Bruce.

John shook his head and said, “I am in private conference room in Oa right now. I won’t be disturb in here for a couple of hours. Did something happen while I was gone? It sounded kind of urgent.”

Bruce nodded and said, “There is several things that occurred that I think the League should know about.”

“I think it is safe to assume that it is about a red cape wonder that is conveniently not here,” mused Oliver.

Bruce nodded.

Diana looked up thoughtfully and said, “I thought that it was odd that Clark wasn’t here since the Daily Planet often sends him to report on fundraisers like these.”

Bruce sighed and said, “He was coming until he heard that Zatanna was performing here tonight.”

Oliver chuckled and said, “I never understood why the big strong Kryptonian was afraid of a little magic.”

“Well, it is one of the few things that hurt him. Plus, it doesn’t help that he thinks that Zatanna was the one that bewitched his cape to say Asshole while he wasn’t looking for awhile,” said Diana.

Oliver chuckled and said, “That was the best thing ever. I paid millions to have bots trying to trend Super Asshole on Twitter, but it never caught on.”

Bruce looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Oliver looked at him confused and said, “What? It is not like anyone hasn’t thought about doing that to the idiot. I am just glad that whoever pulled that prank was able to get under his skin for a while.”

Bruce leaned his back against the chair and said, “You say that now without knowing everything?”

Oliver shook his head and rolled his eyes.

John frowned and said, “I take it you found something about Clark that made you change your mind.”

Bruce nodded and said, “I had an interesting chat with Lois recently.”

Oliver raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do you really think his fiancé is going to have any objectivity on him?”

“I would say so since they broke up months ago,” mused Bruce.

Everyone looked up at Bruce startled for a couple of minutes. Oliver eventually shook his head and said, “That can’t be possible. He was just telling me yesterday that they were going to be sending out invitations about the date.”

Bruce shook his head and said, “He has been lying.”

Diana frowned and asked, “But why?”

Bruce paused for a moment before continuing.

“I am not sure if he is doing this out of embarrassment or if he is disillusioned. However, Lois noticed a change in behavior in Clark over a year ago. When she would try to investigate further several incidents happened that stopped her.”

“What type of incidents?” asked the Martian.

“One I can’t get into because it is a very personal issue that should remain private between Clark and Lois. It is damaging because it caused the end of their relationship but not severe enough that we would need to get involved in. The second incident involved Lois’ sister Lucy. Her entire unit was attacked overseas. They were told to ship out immediately and then the plane was shot down killing everyone, but her. She has been in the hospital for months trying to recover.”

“That is crazy. Do they know who did it?” asked Oliver shocked.

“That’s the thing. The whole thing is a mystery. No one knows who did it. What is even more baffling is that Lucy and her unit were never supposed to be on the plane, to begin with. They are officially still supposed to be posted there and there is no record of who gave the command that they should leave their post.”

John frowned and asked, “Isn’t Lucy and Lois’ father a high ranking official in the army? Wouldn’t he have an idea what happened?”

Bruce shook his head and said, “No, he doesn’t have answers. Also, he has been prevented from leaving his army post even when Lucy was brought back to the States injured.”

“I am kind of surprised that Lois hasn’t done any digging on this with the Daily Planet,” mused Diana.

“Lois quit her job at the Daily Planet and took a guest lector position at a university that is near Lucy’s hospital so that she can be there and take care of her,” said Bruce.

“It sounds like someone wanted Lois occupied so that she wasn’t paying attention to Clark anymore,” mused Martian.

Diana looked at Bruce thoughtfully and asked, “Did Lois have any ideas of who is doing this?”

Bruce rubbed the back of his neck and said, “Lex.”

“Why Lex?” asked Martian.

“I can’t go into the details why because it has to do with the first incident, but I do agree with Lois that Lex is the one behind what is happening with Clark.”

“Okay, if it is Lex, then how is he getting Clark to behave the way he has been?” asked John.

Bruce leaned back and looked up at the ceiling and said, “If I had to take a guess, it is Red Kryptonite.”

Oliver frowned and asked, “Doesn’t he need skin contact with that stuff to make him act crazy?”

“I think he has been,” said Bruce.

“How? asked Diana.

“I think that Lex is either injecting it in him or Clark is unknowingly consuming it,” mused Bruce.

All of them looked at each other nervously.

“For that to work, that means that he would have to be constantly monitoring Clark in order for that to happen. I don’t see how that is possible,” said Oliver hesitantly.

“It is since Lex knows Clark is Superman?”

“How is that even…” started Oliver, but Bruce stopped him and said, “I know it is baffling, but Lex knows. I don’t think he knows of anyone else identity, but to be on the safe side, I decided to have the meeting here instead of the Watch Tower. If you do hang out with Clark when you are not in your secret identity, you will want to be more aware of your surroundings.”

“I take it Lex is planning something big if he is going through so much trouble?” asked Diana.

Bruce rubbed the back of his neck and said, “Lois’ theory is that it has to do with Lex’s run for Senate.”

Oliver sighed and said, “Don’t remind me. If I have to hear his anti-alien speeches one more time on the news…”

“That is the point though,” said Bruce.

“What do you mean?” asked Oliver.

“If a well-known alien went on a rampage and lost the faith of the people, who do you think would benefit?                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Oliver frowned while rubbing his forehead and muttering, “That bastard.”

John frowned and said, “So basically, we have a ticking time bomb on our hands.”

“Exactly,” said Bruce.

Diana looked at Bruce curiously and asked, “Shouldn’t Supergirl be aware of what is happening to Clark? At least for her own safety?”

“Diana’s right. Clark has been more unhinged about her in the last week. Something about a betrayal,” said Martian.

Bruce sighed and said, “I did convince her to move out of her apartment so she has a safe place to go to now. However, I have realized that it is not going to be enough.”

Oliver frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

Bruce turned back to his computer and pulled up an article about the Gotham Museum of Art and Technology and the missing artifact.

Bruce turned back to the others and said, “I had the Flash, Supergirl, and Damien check out this Museum last week. They were doing an exhibit on art and technology from extinct alien planets. The artifact in this article was stolen once the opening was finished. The Flash, Supergirl, and Damien followed the guy who stole it to an abandoned warehouse. He was supposed to meet his loan shark and buyer interested in the device there. However, they were dead along with all of their bodyguards. Supergirl was able to get her hands on the device and found out it is a device created by her parents on Krypton.”

“Really?” asked Oliver baffled.

“You think the reason they were all killed was over that device,” mused John.

Bruce nodded and said, “When I checked the traffic cam a block away from the warehouse around the time the murders took place, there was only one car that passed by at that time. The driver was Otis Graves, one of Lex’s known henchmen.”

“So you think that Lex is after Supergirl too?” asked Diana.

Bruce shrugged and said, “I don’t know. The device itself was labeled as being from Daxam. The device does have Kryptonian writing on it, but it was not visible in any of the photos the museum took of the device. Even if he did find out, there is an equal chance that he thought the device was related to Clark somehow and thought that it would give him leverage over him.”

“Did Supergirl explain what the device is for?” asked Oliver.

“From my understanding, it is something similar in vain to Clark’s Fortress of Solitude, but she hasn’t gone into specifics yet. The only thing that I gathered is that Lex wouldn’t have been able to get into it either way since it has fingerprint scanners on it.”

“At least it is not a weapon of mass destruction that Zod brought with him the last time he was here,” sighed John.

Oliver shuddered and said, “Don’t remind me. I just glad we don’t have to go through that ordeal again.”

Bruce sighed and said, “I think we are being forced into a similar situation.”

Oliver’s shoulder slumped and said, “Don’t say that.”

“It is true though. When Zod was here, he used red kryptonite to make Clark go crazy and started causing chaos. It wasn’t until we ripped the kryptonite off him that Clark went back to normal and was able to fight Zod.”

Oliver frowned and said, “I still don’t see where you are going with this.”

Bruce rubbed the back of his neck and said, “Well, when we ripped the kryptonite off of Clark and he started to fight back Zod, the public was watching. They saw that once the kryptonite was ripped off of Clark, he went back to normal. Granted, there was a good chunk of the public that was either upset or lost faith in him for a while, but he gradually earned their trust back because they realized it wasn’t his fault. It was the kryptonite. With Clark being drugged this time, it is different. There is no way for the public to physically see that Clark is being drugged especially since his behavior has been gradually changing over the last year.”

John frowned and said, “I think that I know where you going with this. Do you really think he will do that much damage that he will lose the public support permanently?”

Bruce frowned and said, “I am concerned about that, but it isn’t our biggest concern.”

“Which is?” asked Martian.

“Last time all we had to do was yank the kryptonite off of Clark which took a short time. If Clark has been injected with or consuming something especially kryptonite, it is going to take days or weeks to get out of his system.”

Diana sighed and said, “Which means we would be battling him for the long haul unless we find something that can flush his system quicker.”

“Couldn’t we make sure to have the green kryptonite handy in case he loses control?” asked Oliver.

John shook his head and said, “I think subtlety would be our friend here. If we start stock-piling kryptonite, Clark is going to know that something is wrong. Besides, when we did used the green kryptonite on him with that whole ordeal with Zod, the small amount we did use knocked him out for a month even with the sun lamps. We thought for a while he wasn’t going to make it. Is that really the route we want to take again?”

They all looked at each other with unease.

After a couple of minutes, Bruce sighed and said, “I do have a plan.

“What do you suggest?” asked John.

Bruce turned back to his computer and brought up a folder called Project Trinity.

Bruce turned to the others and said, “I have a three-pronged plan that if we enacted now, we can be ready in a month in case something goes astray.”

“Is this something that would harm Clark though?” asked Diana.

Bruce frowned and said, “There is less likelihood of him getting killed with this option.”

They all looked at each other hesitantly and nodded. Bruce turned back around and opened the folder and continued to explain the content of his plan for the next several hours.

Chapter Text

It was pouring down rain and hail as Lena drove like a happy clam to her mother’s house. She has been beaming ever since Kara said yes to dating her. She hadn’t been this happy in a long time. So happy that she didn’t get upset today at all on the usual things that would bother her. Someone took her parking spot, the research lab had a fire that put them behind on a project for two weeks, and the basement flooded, but nothing brought her down. She just smiled and took care of everything gleefully. It made her employees look at her unnerved. Not that she was a bad boss, but Lena tended to be no-nonsense but fair. The incidents in the basement and research lab should have led to several employees being fired since they were at fault, however, Lena surprised them by saying everyone makes mistakes and for them to try harder next time. Now, she was going to her mother’s house for dinner with Sam, Ruby, and Lillian. She said that she had something important that she wanted to discuss with them. Normally, that would ring alarm bells, but all Lena could see was rainbows and kittens. Ten minutes later, she pulled up to her mother’s mansion, and quickly made a break for the front door. After her third knock, Lillian opened the door and ushered Lena in.

Lillian looked at Lena surprised and said, “You are smiling pretty hard for someone who is drenching wet.”

Lena quickly took off her jacket with a smile still plastered on her face and said, “It wasn’t that bad outside.”

Lillian raised an eyebrow and said, “Are you okay?”

Lena cocked her head smiling and said, “Yes, why do you ask?”

“My dear, it is storming outside and you are drenching wet from head to toe, but you are acting like you just came out a fairy tale movie.”

Lena chuckled and said, “Don’t be so dramatic. I have just had a good day that’s all.”

Lillian narrowed her eyes and said, “All right. If you say so. I still have some of your old clothes in your old room if you want to change and there should be a blow dryer in there as well. Sam is already in her room changing into something else. When you are done, you can meet us downstairs for dinner. It will be ready in 15 minutes.”

“Okay,” said Lena cheerfully as she skipped up the stairs to the second floor.

Lillian eyed her strangely as Lena skipped away. She shook her head and said, “Hopefully this mood of hers keeps going after the news I have today.” She shook her had and went towards the kitchen.

Lena skipped down the hallway and entered her old room. She smirks as she looked around. Her mom didn’t change a thing. In high school, she went through a phase that she only liked things in purple. Her bed, walls, and carpet were in various shades of purple. The only things that weren’t was her desk, dresser, and doors that led to her walk in closet and bathroom. She quickly went into her closet and changed into some old sweats and MIT sweatshirt that she had. She then quickly went to the bathroom to dry her hair. Once she was done, she felt refreshed and bounced out the room all the way downstairs and into the dining room. She salivated at what she saw set up on the dinning room table: roasted chicken, ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli, kale, cherry pie, and an Oreo cheesecake. It was all Sam and her favorites. Sam and Lillian were already sitting down and putting food on their plate. Lillian sat at the head of the table, while Sam sat to her left.  Lena skipped over to the chair to the right of Lillian, sat down, and cheerfully started filling her plate.

Once Lena finished plating her food, she looked around quizzically and noticed that she hadn’t seen Ruby around since she got here. She turned to Sam and asked, “Where’s Ruby?”

Sam chuckled and said, “Ruby’s friends invited her last minute to do a Disney movie night.”

Lillian sniffed while eating and said, “I am glad that she is socializing, but I didn’t think the day would come when she would miss out on hanging with her grandmother so soon. She used to get excited when Sam would tell her they were coming over.”

Lena smiled and grabbed her mother’s hand and said, “It is not like she ditched us forever. Plus, she still calls you every day to tell you what happened. In fact, I am sure tomorrow she will give you a full report of what happened at movie night.”

Sam chuckled and said, “Lena is right. You know in the next week she will want to have a sleepover here with you.”

Lillian pouted and said, “I know, but it is still not the same.” Lillian then smirked, turned to Lena, and said, “Unless a certain someone can give me grandchildren soon.”

Lena near spit her drink out and glared at her mother.

“I am no where near the point of having children right now. My lifestyle is chaotic enough as it is.”

Lillian smirked while continued eating her food and said, “It would just be nice is all.”

Lena rubbed her head and said, “You are barking up the wrong tree. Sam has a better chance of having a baby before me.”

Sam smirked and said, “Lillian don’t let her fool you. With a certain special someone in her life, I wouldn’t be surprised if she has babies within a year.”

Lillian looked over at Lena shocked and asked, “I didn’t know you were dating someone dear. How long has this been going on?”

Lena glared at Sam and said, “you too Brutus.”

Sam feigned shocked and said, “I don’t know why you are mad. With the way you have been smiling all day, I know that special project with a certain blonde Kryptonian must have went really well.”

Lena chuckled nervously and said, “That doesn’t mean anything.”

It wasn’t that Lena didn’t want to tell Sam about her date. She actually wanted to tell her at work but because of the incidents that happened, it caused them to have to do a lot of paperwork so they didn’t have any time to socialize. She was hoping to tell her after leaving tonight instead of being bombarded at Lillian’s house. She knew that her mom didn’t share the same hatred for Supergirl that Lex does, but a part of her was nervous she would disapprove of their dating still.

Sam raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh but it does when you didn’t freak out about the lab fire and basement flooding. You kept smiling and told everyone to do better next time. There was a bet going on with the employees wondering if you finally met someone or got fucked last night.”

Lena rolled her eyes, sighed, and said, “Don’t tell me you went along with these bets.”

Sam smirked and said, “Considering you can walk, I am leaning towards that you made out with the Super at least .”

Lena stared at her mortified.

“All this because I smiled all day. You act like I haven’t done it before.”

Sam looked at Lena with a look of sorrow which took her off guard given her jokiness earlier. She reached out and touched Lena’s hand and said, “It has been a long time we have seen that smile. With everything that happened with Andrea and then adding Lex’s shenanigan’s to the mix, you really withdrew within yourself.”

Lillian leaned forward to grab her hand and said, “Sam is right. It is nice to see you happy for a change and not worry about the next big crisis with Lex or with the hospital.”

Lena smiled softly at them and said, “You guys are too much.”

Sam chuckled and said, “You know you love us for it.”

Lena chuckled when she said that. She realized that they were right. She never thought that she would find someone that interested her, but there was something about Kara that makes her want to hope again. Every time she is near her, she feels like she is being kissed by the sun. She had never felt this way before. Not even with Andrea. She hoped this feeling never goes away.

Sam smirked and asked, “Are you able to spill what happened on your excursion yesterday?”

Lena blushed while looking down and said, “You know I can’t tell you about it.”

Sam playfully hit Lena and said, “I am not talking about the project itself. Did sparks fly, did you kiss and then started seeing stars.”

Lena looked up at her smiling softly and said, “I asked her out and she said yes.”

Sam shrieked and gave Lena a hug and said, “Finally!”

Lena hugged her back tightly. She knew that Sam would be ecstatic for her. She looked over to Lillian hesitantly. She breathed a sigh of relief when Lillian was beaming right back at her.

“I am glad that you found someone dear.”

“Thanks, Mother,” said Lena smiling softly.

Lillian looked down nervously while picking at her food and said, “Since you are starting new, I should tell you both about a new development in my life.”

Both girls looked at her worried.

Lena frowned and said, “It isn’t nothing serious is it?”

“Don’t tell me that demon spawn is threatening you again,” said Sam worriedly.

Lillian shook her head quickly and said, “No, it isn’t anything drastic as that.”

Lena raised an eyebrow and asked, “If it isn’t, why are you so nervous right now.”

Lillian looked down for a couple of moments and then looked back up at the girls with a soft smile and said, “I believe that this is one of the best decisions that I have made in a long while. It is just that I wasn’t sure if you would really take the news well.”

Sam raised an eyebrow and said, “Well, I ‘m intrigued.”

Lean looked at Lillian quizzically and asked, “What is this decision?”