Work Text:
# **Falling Without Flying**
The fight had gone horribly wrong.
Kara had faced dangerous villains before. She had fought aliens, metahumans, world-ending threats, and enemies powerful enough to level entire city blocks. Usually, no matter how difficult the battle became, she always had one advantage: her powers.
This time she lost them.
The villain had been carrying some kind of experimental weapon. The DEO hadn't even been able to identify it before it was activated. One blast of strange violet energy had struck Kara directly in the chest, and within seconds she felt everything disappear.
Her strength.
Her flight.
Her invulnerability.
Everything.
The villain escaped during the confusion, and Kara spent the rest of the afternoon being poked, scanned, and questioned by worried DEO agents.
Eventually she couldn't take it anymore.
She needed a distraction.
She needed something normal.
That was how she ended up at L-Corp.
As soon as Lena saw her walk into the office, she could tell something was off. Kara looked exhausted, her shoulders slightly slumped, and there was a heaviness in her eyes that hadn't been there a few days ago.
"Kara, you look like you haven't slept in a week," Lena said, setting aside the tablet she had been reviewing. "Please tell me Cat Grant hasn't somehow found a way to make your job even more stressful than it already is."
Kara laughed softly as she dropped into the chair across from Lena's desk.
"It honestly wouldn't surprise me at this point. I think she could probably create three new disasters before breakfast if she really put her mind to it."
That earned a smile from Lena.
For the next hour, they talked about anything and everything. Kara told ridiculous stories about CatCo, Lena complained about corporate meetings that should have been emails, and before long the tension Kara had been carrying all day began to fade.
Being around Lena always seemed to have that effect.
Eventually Lena glanced at the clock and sighed.
"As much as I'd love to continue avoiding my responsibilities, I should probably get back to work before my board starts wondering whether I've disappeared."
Kara stood with a small smile.
"I should probably head home anyway. Thanks for letting me hide in your office for a while."
"You never need permission for that."
The words were simple, but they lingered with Kara as she left.
---
Night had fallen by the time she reached downtown.
Normally walking home wouldn't have bothered her. She had spent years knowing she could hear danger long before it arrived. Even if something happened, she had never truly been vulnerable.
Tonight was different.
Tonight she was just Kara.
The realization made her uneasy, but she tried not to think about it.
She turned down a quieter side street, her hands shoved into her jacket pockets against the cool evening air.
She never heard them approach.
A sharp impact exploded across her face.
Kara stumbled backward as pain shot through her jaw.
For a split second she was too shocked to react.
She had forgotten what it felt like to be punched.
Actually punched.
Before she could recover, another man slammed into her side.
The kick landed directly against her ribs.
The pain was immediate and overwhelming.
Kara collapsed to the pavement with a cry, instinctively wrapping her arms around her stomach.
Everything hurt.
One of the men grabbed her purse.
Another yanked her phone away.
By the time Kara managed to push herself onto one elbow, they were already running.
"Hey—"
The word died in her throat.
There was no point.
They were gone.
The street became silent once again.
Kara remained where she was.
The cold concrete pressed against her cheek.
Every breath sent pain through her ribs.
For several minutes she simply sat there trying to gather herself.
The humiliation almost hurt as much as the injuries.
She was Supergirl.
She protected people from things like this.
And yet tonight she couldn't even stop three muggers from stealing her purse.
Eventually she forced herself to stand.
Immediately she regretted it.
Pain flared through her side.
A soft groan escaped her lips.
Her apartment was too far away.
Her phone was gone.
Her wallet was gone.
She couldn't call anyone.
Couldn't take a bus.
Couldn't get a cab.
The only place nearby was L-Corp.
So that was where she went.
---
The receptionist looked startled when Kara walked through the front doors.
She probably looked awful.
One side of her face was already bruising.
Her lip had been split.
Her hair was a mess.
Most importantly, she was struggling to hide how much pain she was in.
Before the receptionist could even say anything, the elevator doors opened.
Lena stepped out.
The moment she saw Kara, she froze.
The smile that had been on her face disappeared instantly.
"Kara..."
Kara tried to smile.
It wasn't very convincing.
"Hi."
Lena crossed the lobby immediately.
The concern in her expression deepened with every step.
"What happened to you?"
The question was gentle, but Kara could hear the alarm underneath it.
"I got mugged."
Lena stared at her for a moment.
Then her eyes widened.
"You got mugged?"
Kara nodded.
"They took my purse and my phone. I tried walking home, but honestly I wasn't getting very far."
For a second Lena didn't say anything.
She simply looked Kara over, taking in the bruises and the way she was protecting her side.
When she finally spoke, her voice was remarkably calm.
"You are coming upstairs with me immediately."
---
The medical room connected to Lena's office wasn't large, but it had everything necessary for treating minor injuries.
Kara sat nervously on the examination table while Lena gathered supplies.
The situation would have been embarrassing under normal circumstances.
Unfortunately, it became significantly more embarrassing when Lena turned around and said, "I'm fairly certain your ribs are bruised, which means I need to actually see the injury."
Kara immediately looked away.
"Oh."
Lena raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
"I mean... okay."
Several seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
A small smile appeared on Lena's face.
"Kara, unless you've recently learned how to make injuries visible through sheer force of will, you're going to have to lift your shirt."
The tips of Kara's ears turned red.
She wasn't entirely sure why.
It wasn't as though Lena was being weird about it.
Still, somehow the idea made her unexpectedly self-conscious.
After another moment she carefully lifted the edge of her shirt.
Lena's expression softened immediately.
The bruising spreading across Kara's ribs looked much worse than she had expected.
"Kara," Lena said quietly, "that looks incredibly painful."
"It definitely feels incredibly painful."
The attempt at humor earned a small shake of Lena's head.
---
Cleaning the cuts turned out to be even worse.
The moment disinfectant touched one of the scrapes on her stomach, Kara nearly jumped off the table.
"Oh, that stings."
Lena looked up.
"It stings?"
"It really stings."
"Kara, it's a tiny cut."
"It feels like a giant cut."
A laugh escaped Lena before she could stop it.
Kara looked offended.
"I am suffering."
"I can see that."
"No, I don't think you fully appreciate the severity of the situation."
Lena's shoulders began shaking slightly as she continued cleaning the wound.
"The severity of the situation?"
"Absolutely. I'm being brave about it, but this is clearly a medical emergency."
That finally made Lena laugh properly.
The sound filled the room.
Kara couldn't help smiling despite herself.
For some reason hearing Lena laugh always made things feel better.
Even when she was technically being laughed at.
---
By the time Lena finished bandaging her ribs, the worst of the pain had settled into a dull ache.
Kara was curled up on the couch in Lena's office with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and an ice pack against her cheek.
Outside, rain tapped softly against the windows.
The city lights shimmered through the glass.
Lena sat nearby working on her laptop.
The atmosphere was peaceful.
Comfortable.
Safe.
After a while Lena finally looked up from her work.
"You know, I don't think you should go home tonight."
Kara blinked.
"What?"
"It's late, you're injured, and quite frankly I don't trust you not to trip over something and make the situation worse."
A small laugh escaped Kara.
"That's a little rude."
"It's also completely accurate."
Kara considered arguing.
Instead she found herself smiling.
"Okay. I'll stay."
Lena returned the smile immediately.
"Good."
---
Much later, after Lena had shown her to a guest room, Kara stood alone by the window.
The city stretched out below.
Normally she would have flown over those buildings.
Normally she would have been soaring through the clouds.
Tonight she couldn't.
For the first time since losing her powers, the reality of that truly hit her.
It terrified her.
But then she thought about the evening.
About Lena dropping everything the moment she saw her.
About careful hands cleaning wounds.
About warm blankets and concern-filled glances.
About laughter.
About feeling cared for.
And suddenly the fear didn't seem quite so overwhelming.
Because even without her powers, even without flight, even without everything that made her Supergirl—
she wasn't alone.
A gentle knock sounded at the door.
Lena peeked inside.
"I just wanted to make sure you were settling in alright."
Kara smiled.
For the first time all day, it felt completely genuine.
"I am now."
Lena smiled back.
Neither of them seemed in a hurry to look away.
And standing there in the quiet warmth of L-Corp, Kara found herself thinking that maybe losing the ability to fly wasn't the worst thing that could happen.
Because somehow, without ever realizing it, she had found something worth staying grounded for. ❤️