Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Let me show you.”

Project Cadmus acquired all the information it could on the aliens who visited the world; there were very few events outside of their knowledge.

“They’re dangerous; even your champion Supergirl. You may think she’s a hero, but it takes so little for heroes to fall.”

Last year, word of Supergirl’s turn to the dark side had sparked their interest. It hadn’t taken too much work to track the event to its source; Lord Technologies had been involved with placing some chemical in a location that Supergirl would visit.

It was a simple matter of corporate espionage to find out the composition; a rock with some similarities to kryptonite. It came out an odd red colour, quite unlike the real thing.

“I promise you, the day will come you’ll agree with us. These aliens, even the ones that call themselves heroes, cannot be trusted.”

Once the rock was created, the question was the delivery method. Supergirl likely wouldn’t be caught out the same way again.

Luckily, there were other ways to approach her.

Hank Henshaw had reported that Jeremiah Danvers had an alien for a daughter, with connections to Superman. It hadn’t been exactly hard to put the pieces together.

An operative had been given a ring fitted with the red kryptonite, and had visited Kara Danvers’ apartment, posing as a door to door saleswoman. It only took a short visit for the infection to begin.

“I know you don’t believe in the cause,” Lillian Luthor said. “But you will.”

“I thought you might have a reason for your visit, mother,” Lena said, standing on the opposite side of the desk. “I’m not interested in your prejudices.”

“I only wanted to remind you,” Lillian said.

Lena wasn’t an idiot. Of course she was suspicious.

About a day after her mother came to her office making vaguely ominous claims, Supergirl started turning on the city. It didn’t take a genius.

Somehow, her mother was behind this.

So Lena called Kara. She knew Kara had some kind of connection to Supergirl, both through her articles, and being able to summon Supergirl.

“I’m coming over,” Kara said, as soon as Lena mentioned Supergirl.

Kara had hung up rather suddenly, then.

About half a minute later, the glass windows to Lena’s office shattered. Lena jumped to see a woman hovering in the air.

Supergirl wore black, her head and hair all the more distinct over it. There was a flicker of red on her face, and her eyes were unlike any other time Lena had seen her.

“You mentioned me?”

Supergirl drifted closer. She gently set herself down on the floor; Lena meanwhile jumped to her feet.

“Supergirl-”

She knew she ought to trust Supergirl; but this was barely her.

“Luthor,” Supergirl said. She smirked as Lena flinched at the name and her tone. “What do you want?”

“I wanted to help-”

“I think my family’s had quite enough ‘help’ from Luthors,” Supergirl said.

Lena had her back to her desk. Trying to keep it subtle, her hand edged along the underside, to where a panic button had been set.

She’d almost reached it when Supergirl sent a jet of heat vision, burning through the wood and shattering the circuitry. Lena quickly yanked her hand away.

“Did you forget I can see through that?” Supergirl said.

Lena straightened. She tried to meet Supergirl’s eyes; tried to ignore the threat of light in them.

“My mother did something to you,” Lena said. “I don’t know what, but-”

“I do,” Supergirl said.

Lena hesitated.

“This has happened before,” Supergirl said. “Come on Luthor, I thought you were meant to be smart. I know exactly what happened.”

“Then you know this isn’t you.”

“I know that I’m free,” Supergirl said. “And I know how it felt when this was stopped, last time, and I’m not going to let anyone put me through that.”

“This is what they want, Supergirl,” Lena said. “My mother- People like her want you to be seen as a threat. They want people to think you’re a monster, just because you’re an alien. You’re meant to be a symbol-”

“Like you care.”

“Supergirl-”

“Your little alien detection device,” Supergirl said. “Funny how that works, isn’t it? You’ll go after aliens so long as it makes you money, but now you’re trying to defend us. Newsflash; we don’t need your help.”

“It was never about targeting aliens,” Lena said. “It was only meant to help protect-”

“Humans, right?” Supergirl said. “Protect the humans from the big, bad aliens.”

Supergirl moved closer. Her feet picked up just slightly off the floor, angled as though she were on tiptoes over centimetres of empty air.

With that extra height, she made Lena back closer into the desk.

“Turns out, you do need protecting,” Supergirl said. “The only reason you’re alive, the only reason anyone’s alive, or that any city stands, is because I let it. You didn’t need to peddle your little machines to make people scared, I can manage that just fine.”

“Supergirl-”

“Look at your brother,” Supergirl said.

The tiniest flick of Supergirl’s wrist, and Lena’s desk was wrenched off the floor. It clattered back to the ground, skidding along.

Now free, Lena tried to run. Supergirl appeared in front of her with inhuman speed, moving until Lena was backed against the wall.

“Think about it,” Supergirl said. “How much easier would things have been if Superman had snapped his neck the first time he started stirring up trouble? You’re so weak, all of you. I could level this city in an hour, but it’s just not worth it.”

“You’re a better person than this,” Lena tried.

“Is ‘better’ constantly holding back, to try and make you people feel a little safer?” Supergirl said. “If so, I’m definitely done with that. What would the point be?”

Another step closer. Lena’s eyes darted sideways.

Someone would have had to have heard the noise; but what were they doing about it? What could they do about it?

“You think you’re powerful, up here in your tower, looking down on the world,” Supergirl said. “That’s not power, Luthor.”

Supergirl glared, and searing light burned into the wall a hair’s breadth from Lena’s ear. She froze, trembling on the spot. Slowly, Kara lifted a hand, a fingertip brushing Lena’s cheek; she applied only the tiniest pressure, making it all too clear how much strength she was withholding.

Lena wasn’t used to fear. She’d been through so much, especially with her family. She’d put up with Lex and his growing obsession; she thought she could cope with anything, after that.

And then the woman who was meant to be a hero, and who she thought was a friend, bored a hole into the wall right next to her. She felt the heat.

“That’s power,” Supergirl said. “Life or death, at a thought. And I’m done helping you, just like I’m done holding back. I don’t care who did this, I don’t care if it’s your mother: I’m free, and I’m happy with that.”

“I know you-”

“Do you?” Supergirl said.

“You’re a hero-”

“You’ve been reading Cat Grant,” Supergirl said. “She wanted a symbol, not a person. I’m not a girl scout.”

Lena hesitated.

“You don’t know me,” Supergirl said. “I bet you couldn’t even guess why I’m here.”

“Because we were friends,” Lena said. “You needed to talk to someone-”

“Friends?” Supergirl said. “We were never going to be friends, Luthor. Even you don’t want that.”

Lena tensed.

“I’m here because you called me,” Supergirl said.

Lena faltered. She stared, slowly putting pieces together, starting to recognize Supergirl’s face-

“Kara?”

“Don’t call me again,” Supergirl said, ignoring her.

Another flash of heat vision, that time at the wall on the other side of Lena’s head. She flinched, closing her eyes for an instant-

And then Supergirl was gone. Lena opened her eyes, staring at the empty room.

Slowly, she slid down the wall until she was on the floor, shaking.

Alex was doing her best to coordinate. Kara was the universal priority, now: National City needed Supergirl, and it absolutely did not need a red-kryptonite afflicted Supergirl.

Kara knew what to expect this time, though. She’d been keeping her distance, evading Alex and J’onn and every DEO agent now that she knew they had a cure.

“Have you contacted Clark?” Alex said, into her phone.

“I’ve told him to keep his distance,” J’onn’s voice came back.

“What?” Alex said. “We could do with the help.”

“The last thing this city needs right now is two Kryptonians duking it out,” J’onn said. “This is up to us.”

Which meant they needed a trap; somewhere Kara would go, and where she hopefully wouldn’t expect a trap.

Ideally a place with copious amounts of lead around, for that matter. Sneaking up on Supergirl wasn’t the easiest thing to do.

Alex paced her apartment. The hope was that Kara would talk to her; Alex had a panic button that was just a thumb twitch away. It ought to call the DEO to her side quickly enough.

It wasn’t much of a plan, but it was better than nothing.

She nearly hit the button on principle when there was a knock at her door. Alex shook it off; this was making her jumpy.

Answering the door, she was surprised to see Lena Luthor.

“Hello?” Alex said, confused.

“I’m here about Kara,” Lena said.

She was as business-like as ever; brusque and efficient. Alex couldn’t recall seeing the charming side Kara so often mentioned.

“She’s not here,” Alex said. “How did you even get my address?”

“I looked it up,” Lena said. “It doesn’t matter. I know Kara isn’t here, just like she isn’t at what’s left of her apartment.”

“You went there?” Alex said.

“I saw the news,” Lena said.

It had been something Kara had done as the effect of the red kryptonite took hold. To a point, its effects were unpredictable; it stripped away the more benevolent aspects of her mind, but as to what was left, and which parts were in focus, that was anybody’s guess.

Kara had been talking so much about holding back; trying to pass for human, when she wasn’t. Somehow that had translated to nearly tearing down her human apartment. It was the first real giveaway that she’d been affected by red kryptonite again.

“If you don’t mind, I’m a bit busy,” Alex said. “I’ll tell my sister you were looking for-”

“I didn’t say I was looking for her,” Lena said.

“Aren’t you always?” Alex said. “We’re not exactly friends, so I don’t see why you’d come to me.”

“Because you’re her sister,” Lena said. “Not by blood, I’m assuming.”

“What’s your point?” Alex said, coldly.

“You’re the only person I can think of who’s likely to know,” Lena said.

“Know?” Alex echoed.

Lena regarded her for a few seconds, uncertainly. She wanted to talk, but it seemed as though there was something she didn’t want to be the first to say.

It took Alex a moment to read it.

“Have you seen her recently?” Alex said, slowly.

“A few hours ago,” Lena said.

Alex breathed out through her teeth. She moved back, letting Lena inside.

“She’s not been herself lately,” Alex said.

“I’ve noticed,” Lena said.

“It isn’t her fault,” Alex said.

Lena paused.

“What happened?” Alex said.

“She tore apart my office,” Lena said. “Nearly ki- She was scary.”

“What was she wearing?”

“I think you know that,” Lena said.

The red skirt, the boots, the blue, and the S symbol. Alex nodded, slightly.

So, a Luthor knew who Supergirl was now. That had the potential to go badly. Still, one disaster at a time.

“How did you know it was- Kara?” Alex said.

“She told me,” Lena said. “And, well, it’s not the hardest thing to believe. Just look at her.”

“And you came to me?” Alex said.

“I had to talk to someone,” Lena said. “What’s happened to her?”

Alex shifted. She moved back to sit on the back of her sofa, exhaling. It took her a moment to piece an explanation together.

“We call it red kryptonite,” Alex said. “It affects her mind, like the normal affects her body. As far as we know it’s created in labs, but the only sample we know of has been destroyed. We don’t know where the new batch came from.”

“My mother,” Lena said.

“What?”

“The day before… this, started,” Lena said. “She visited me. She was just being ominous, talking about how aliens were a danger, even Supergirl. Then this happened right afterwards. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence.”

Alex closed her eyes for a moment; Cadmus. That would explain a few things.

“How can I help?” Lena said.

Alex opened her eyes again, frowning.

“I don’t want this to keep going on,” Lena said. “I don’t know what you think of me, but you have to at least believe that.”

“You’ll help?”

“You’ve got the full resources of L-Corp,” Lena said. “This city needs Supergirl, the way she should be.”

Supergirl hovered over the city.

She could hear everything, and if she tried, she could see just as much. The walls didn’t block her vision. She could see the people scrambling, and hear their worrying.

She was tired of pretending to be human.

The worst thing about freedom was figuring out what to do with it. When the whole world opened up before you, what could you choose? There were too many options to consider.

And then her eyes were drawn to Lena’s home. It was one of the larger buildings near the city, and it was covered with black spots, even to her X-ray vision. Well, it probably wasn’t surprising that the Luthor home was already lined with lead.

There were a few spots all over the city where she couldn’t see, but none so large; and none that she glimpsed Alex walking into.

Kara lowered herself, extending her senses to hear what she could. Lead blocked her eyes, not her ears.

Slowly, voices came into focus.

Do you think she’s coming?

She’ll have to. By the sound of it, she doesn’t trust either of us.

Then we need to plan, sooner rather than later.

Believe me, I know.

That was Alex’s voice, definitely, and… Lena? Well, that was to be expected, it was her house.

Kara reached the roof, and kept going. Lead really was fragile. She landed neatly on the floor, guiding herself with quick glances ahead to land just in front of Alex and Lena.

“Do you think I couldn’t hear you?” Kara said. “You’re planning against me, and I know what that ends up being. Me, back to not being free, and suffering.”  

“Kara-” Alex began.

“And you,” Kara said, ignoring Alex and facing Lena. “This is how you react?”

She took a step forwards, scanning the chamber. It was grand, gaudy; and every wall seemed to have a sheet of lead in.

Still, that wasn’t nearly as secure as people thought. She ran a quick circuit of the room, coming back to where she’d started before Lena or Alex could finish a breath.

It was empty, behind all the lead-lined obstacles. The only way they could bring a weapon into the room would be from outside, in which case she’d hear it coming.

“I think you’re forgetting who I am,” Kara said. “You can’t surprise me. Hide behind lead all you want, I can still hear you. I can hear everything. I always used to tone it down; hold back, to make you more comfortable, but I don’t need to, do I?”

Alex’s eyes darted sideways to Lena; Lena fidgeted slightly.

“I’m not human,” Kara said. “You want me to act like I am, to fit in; to have the same kind of life as one of you. But why? Why should I hold myself back for you? I’m free, so I don’t need to worry about making you feel at ease.”

She turned to Alex.

“Do you want to know what Maggie’s doing?” Kara said. “I can hear her. In fact-”

Kara turned her head to a spot to her right. She focused, and sent a ray of heat vision at the wall, quickly melting a hole. It kept going, through windows and stone and cars and skimming past the occasional person, until it scored the table Maggie was sat by, brushing by her.

Kara watched her jump up, looking around, taken aback. Alex stiffened at her expression.

“I can see her,” Kara said. “I just burned her hand. Never knew I could do that; well, I never tried. If I listen, I can find anyone in the city, and I just need to look to kill them. Complete power over life and death; and what do you have?”

“Kara-” Lena tried.

Kara rolled her eyes, bored. She took a step forwards.

“And you,” Kara said. “I used to be so awed by you. A CEO, one of the most powerful people in the city, wanted to be a humble little reporter’s friend. Well, guess what? This reporter is better than you. Stronger. And I heard your heartbeat, and I know what you were thinking. I’m not the one who should have felt awed.”

Kara met Lena’s eyes, coldly. Something in Lena’s expression set, and as Kara took another, taunting step forwards-

“Kara,” Lena said, firmly.

“Luthor,” Kara said, her tone mocking.

“Whose house do you think you’re in?”

Kara had just enough time for her eyes to widen, before Lena clicked a switch.

The house had definitely belonged to a certain Luthor before Lena; the ubiquitous lead was all the evidence Kara needed of that. And it barely took any time for the mechanisms concealed behind the lead to pull back, and a sickly green glow to peer through.

Kryptonite; Kara thought Superman had hidden all of it, but it probably wasn’t a surprise Lex would have some stashed away. There wasn’t much here, whether because he’d only salvaged a little or because Lena was disposing of it, but it didn’t take much.

Kara slumped forwards. She glanced upwards, glimpsing Lena’s face; pain and pity in equal measure.

There was a shout from Alex, the sound of footsteps from outside, and the noise of the door. Kara paid little attention, struggling on the floor.

She felt the weapon hit her, as it had before; the cure rushing through her. She felt the red kryptonite be forcibly expelled from her system.

And then the pain came rushing back, taking the place of the fierce freedom that had filled her.

She barely noticed as the kryptonite was retracted, or Alex rushing to her side.

She shifted, slightly. Lena was still standing there, a remote in one hand. Kara nodded to her, trying to convey thanks as best she could.

Kara had toyed with the idea of telling Lena she was Supergirl, there was no question about that. Maybe it was to comfort Lena and let her know she was trusted, maybe she just wanted the chance to be fully open with her.

She hadn’t wanted Lena to find out like this, though.

Kara closed her eyes, and let herself be overcome by darkness.

Chapter Text

She’d been at the DEO for a few hours, slowly going through all of the tests. Her metabolism wasn’t unduly taxed, and there was no more sign of red kryptonite in her system.

Kara knew it wasn’t over, though; she remembered last time. Actions and words had consequences.

After getting out, her first stop was at her apartment. She stared up at it from the street.

It had been put down to just one of the many buildings Supergirl had damaged. People had been compensated, and Kara had done a brief stint in costume to do what she could to improve the roof, even if people shouted at her.

Her room had taken the brunt of it, though. It would take a little while for it to be repaired.

Which meant she needed somewhere else to sleep. She went to her apartment to pick up a few of her belongings and changes of clothes, before leaving.

Mentally, she went over the people she knew. There was always the option of a room at the DEO, but it wasn’t the quietest place.

Soon enough, she made her decision, and walked through the street. The weight of her bag didn’t bother her; still, she acted as though it was a strain.

Eventually she came to Lena Luthor’s home. A little nervously, she knocked.

Lena opened the door, and for a moment she was shocked into silence. She looked at Kara for a few seconds, impassive. Kara was so used to seeing Lena smile when she came by that it hurt a little.

“Um, hi?” Kara said.

She hesitated. Lena stared; apparently she was just as unsure of what to say.

“So, um, I think we need to talk,” Kara said. “A lot. Uh, I’m sorry for what happened, I-”

“Alex told me,” Lena said. Her voice was less warm than usual.

“Right,” Kara said. “Are you… ok?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” Kara said. She hesitated again. “I’m so sorry.”

Kara lingered where she was for a few moments. It was hard to put everything she wanted to into words.

That was the problem with the aftermath of red kryptonite; she stopped feeling certain things, so when those feelings returned, they overwhelmed. There were apologies and pleas and indistinct shouts of pain whirling around in her head, and she had no idea which to express.

“Can I stay over?” Kara said, suddenly.

Lena blinked.

“I mean,” Kara continued, hurriedly, “My apartment didn’t really survive… what happened, but you don’t have to, if you’re uncomfortable or if you never want to see me again or-”

“Kara,” Lena said, interrupting the babble. Something in her gaze softened, though only slightly. “Relax. I’m going to want to see you again, you’re my only friend here.”

Kara breathed out a long, slow sigh of relief.

“Can’t Alex help?” Lena said.

“She would,” Kara said. “She’s my sister, she has to, but I don’t want to make her. She’ll put on a happy face, and act like what I did doesn’t bother her, because that’s the kind of sister she is, but it should bother her. She deserves a little time. She deserves to feel what she needs to, without me interfering.”

Lena paused.

“I’ll stay out the way,” Kara said. “Give me a window I can fly out of and you’ll never see me, and I’m not- I’m not going to try to hurt you, I promise.”

Lena was silent for a few seconds more, regarding Kara. It was hard not to feel nervous under that gaze.

“I believe you,” Lena said.

She paused, again. Then, slowly, she moved back.

“I’ve got several spare rooms,” Lena said. “You can stay.”

“Thank you,” Kara said, relieved.

Lena still watched her; even she didn’t seem quite sure as to why she’d said yes. Kara lingered at the threshold.

“Are you sure this is ok?” she said.

“It’s fine,” Lena said. “Come in, Kara.”

It was still a few moments before Kara moved inside. Lena guided her to a hallway adorned with various spare rooms; Kara picked one, and was left alone.

There wasn’t much to unpack. She only got halfway through, anyway, before she got a phone call alerting her to a fire. Quickly, she changed into her Supergirl costume, and flew out.

She returned, a little demoralized. It was the same as before; people didn’t really learn. They were blaming her again: still, she knew that they’d accept her again eventually. It was just a matter of getting to that point.

Then she got back to unpacking. There were a few sets of Kara-Danvers clothes, her laptop, and some decorations. She didn’t put the decorations anywhere that looked good; instead she just made sure she had them.

There was no point in looking like she was going to stay. She probably wasn’t, she just needed to wait until her apartment was more liveable.

She checked her emails; she’d written into Catco to mention what had happened with her building, and she’d been given a couple of days off to deal with it.

She opted not to mention that she’d found another room so soon. She didn’t like taking sick days, she rarely needed them, but she’d rather take a little time to recover.

Walking into the offices where everyone would be talking about the news of Supergirl’s latest fall wouldn’t help.

She sent an email to check on Maggie. She hadn’t been too badly injured, more shocked than anything, but Kara still felt guilty. She wasn’t meant to hurt people.

As the day wore on, Kara went out twice more. She sped through, sorting out the problems people faced, and left quickly.

Then there was a knock at her door. Kara jumped a little, to see Lena.

“Do you want dinner?” Lena said.

“Wh-what?” Kara said.

“Dinner,” Lena said. “It’s about time. I made more than one serving; I usually use it as leftovers, but seeing as you’re here…”

“You cook?” Kara said, surprised.

“Why is that so strange?” Lena said.

“It’s just hard to imagine you…” Kara said.

“Working?” Lena said. “I find it relaxing. Do you want to join me?”

“Um, s-sure,” Kara said, stumbling up to her feet. “Um, why?”

“Why what?”

“You’re inviting me to dinner,” Kara said. “After… you didn’t exactly seem happy to have me staying here.”

Lena faltered for a moment.

“It’s complicated,” Lena said. “I don’t blame you for what happened. And it can be lonely, eating here. If you’re staying here, and I’ve got enough food, why wouldn’t I invite you?”

“Thank you,” Kara said, genuinely.

Slightly taken aback, Lena nodded. Kara followed her out through the hallways, to the dining room.

Kara didn’t know if she’d be able to figure out her way around the Luthor household. She’d be honest, she usually cheated; instead of remembering routes she just used X-ray vision to look through walls and found the way to her destination.

With all the lead in these walls, that wasn’t really an option.

She wondered how many walls had kryptonite in. Was it just the room where Alex and Lena had lain their trap, or was there more?

She didn’t ask; she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She didn’t even ask if the kryptonite was still there, or if it too had been given to Superman for him to confiscate.

They made it to the dining table. It was oddly small, given the size of the room and house; there was enough room for six people. Only two places were set out, facing each other along the shorter length.

Lena gestured for Kara to sit. She came back with two plates, putting one by Kara. She left, and came back again with drinks.

“It smells good,” Kara said, trying for conversation.

Lena nodded. For a moment, she seemed self-conscious; she couldn’t have had many opportunities to cook for others.

Kara waited as long as she could to start eating. As awkward as this was, she wouldn’t pass up good food. She was hungry, and it really did smell good.

At her first mouthful, she smiled across the table to Lena. It was just another talent Lena seemed to have.

“So,” Lena said, eventually. “You’re Supergirl.”

“Um,” Kara said. She swallowed. “Yeah.”

A few silent moments.

“I was thinking of telling you,” Kara said. “Before, I mean.”

“You were?”

“You’re my friend,” Kara said. “I wanted you to know. I don’t like lying to people, I just… have to, sometimes. You’d helped me, and, well, I trusted you.”

Lena paused.

“Really?” Lena said.

“I wouldn’t lie to you,” Kara said. “You know that, Lena,” she paused. “Ok, I did lie to you, about being Supergirl, but only about that, I promise.”

“It’s hard to know what to think,” Lena said.

She stared at Kara, her expression thoroughly unreadable. Soon, though, she returned to her meal.

“So that’s why we met?” Lena said.

“What?”

“You were Supergirl, you thought I had something to do with bringing down the Venture,” Lena said. “That’s when we met for the first time. You and Clark Kent, and I can probably guess who he is.”

“I didn’t know you,” Kara said. “Just-”

“Just my name,” Lena said.

There was something odd to her tone; something brittle. It wasn’t her usual dislike of her name, she’d pointed out the unfairness of that association all the way back in their first conversation.

Something else. A little uncertain, Kara continued to eat, Lena’s eyes always on her.

“Why?” Lena said.

“Lena?” Kara said.

“Why did you become my friend?” Lena said. “It’s a little coincidental, don’t you think? A Luthor and a Super just happen to run into each other.”

“What?” Kara said. “It wasn’t like that, Lena-”

“Just keeping an eye on me?” Lena said.

“No,” Kara said. “No, who would- who would do that?”

“You wouldn’t be the first,” Lena said. “I’ve had a lot of people who pretended to be friends.”

“Not me,” Kara said. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“Why not? Your cousin did.”

Kara hesitated.

She was vaguely aware that a lot had happened before she’d become a hero, and she’d never had too much contact with Clark. She didn’t know him as well as she’d like.

Still, it didn’t seem like him.

“What?” Kara said.

“It was a few years ago, now,” Lena said. “Back when he was trying to get at my brother. Superman came to my window, and gave the whole speech about how I should trust him, and how he could help me, and how he wanted to be there for everyone, including me.”

Lena paused. She stared distractedly at the air beside Kara’s face.

“I never had many friends,” Lena said. “Just Lex. I never shared my family’s prejudices, to their disappointment; the idea of having another friend, and Superman no less, was appealing. I almost believed him, until he made it very clear he just wanted my help to apprehend Lex.”

“I’m sure he didn’t mean…” Kara said.

“I know,” Lena said. “He was doing what was best. Still, you can see why I might not believe you.”

Kara hesitated.

It seemed like a small thing, all things considered; she could almost see herself doing it, if she ever needed to. Ask someone close to a dangerous individual to help take them in.

Still, especially for someone who’d led Lena’s life, it would feel more like a betrayal than it was meant to.

“He wasn’t the only one,” Lena said. “The Luthor name brought with it certain associations, long before Lex began his crusade. Money, prestige… I’m used to false friends.”

“It was real,” Kara said.

“What about my mother?” Lena said.

“What?”

“She’s the person you’re after, isn’t she?” Lena said. “Alex said something about a Project Cadmus.”

“I only found that out recently,” Kara said.

“How recently?”

“Less than a week,” Kara said. “She abducted a friend. I saw her when I tried to help him.”

“And before that?”

“I wanted to be your friend,” Kara said.

She met Lena’s eyes. After a few seconds, Lena looked down.

Kara finished her meal, but didn’t say anything. She’d said, when she’d arrived, that she and Lena needed to talk, and it certainly sounded like Lena had a lot to say.

She’d let Lena speak in her own time, though.

Of all the ways to come out as Supergirl, this had to be one of the worst.

“I won’t tell anyone,” Lena said, eventually.

“What?”

“That you’re Supergirl,” Lena said. “You want that secret. I’ll keep it.”

“Thank you,” Kara said.

“Tell your sister not to worry,” Lena said. “That is, if you can take me at my word.”

“You know I can,” Kara said.

Lena’s expression shifted, just slightly. Something seemed to please her, but it didn’t count for much.

“Are you ok?” Kara said, after a moment.

Lena was silent.

“You seem…” Kara said, and her voice trailed off. “Uh, not ok.”

“My only friend nearly killed me,” Lena said. “And I know, red kryptonite, it wasn’t your fault, but it’s sobering. I can see why Lex was so afraid of your cousin.”

Kara closed her eyes briefly. It was the same thing that plagued the rest of the people of National City; they couldn’t forget what they’d seen Supergirl do.

It was something that just took time to get over. Still, it was far more personal for Lena; Kara felt another twinge, hating the memories she had.

Then something about Lena’s words hit her, and she faltered.

“Are you… afraid of me, Lena?” Kara said.

Lena met her eyes. It took her a moment to respond, and that was all the answer Kara needed.

“It’s not easy,” Lena said.

“You know that wasn’t me,” Kara said. “What I did, it wasn’t…”

“I know that,” Lena said. “Just give me a little time to stop seeing it.”

Kara paused for a moment; then nodded.

This wasn’t how she’d wanted this to go. Of all the ways she’d imagined telling Lena who she was, including a few embarrassing nightmares, Lena had never seen her become a monster.

All things considered, Lena was taking it well. Kara hoped that was the case, at least.

“It’s not like what you said wasn’t true,” Lena said.

Kara frowned; looked across.

“That’s not how it works, from what I’ve gathered,” Lena said. “Inhibitions get taken away, but nothing gets added.”

“It’s the worst part of me,” Kara said. “It’s not what I really think; there’s more than just the bad, I just stop noticing that when…”

Lena paused for a moment. She shifted in her chair, moving back.

“You asked if I was afraid of you,” Lena said, more confidently.

“Lena-”

“The answer is yes,” Lena said. “Because what you said was true. And I know, normally you’re not like that; normally you’re better than that. But the fact is you’re capable of it, and you’re you. I used to think you were the nicest person I’d ever met. A reporter with no agenda, no sneaking quotes on and off the record; someone who was willing to give a Luthor a chance.”

“I am-”

“But you’re that too,” Lena said. “Even Supergirl I admired, because as much as I’ve tried, with my family, I couldn’t agree with them. I only saw you as a hero, I didn’t think about what that meant.”

Kara hesitated.

“You have the power of life and death over all of us,” Lena said. “And yes, that frightens me, because I trust you, but I don’t trust anyone that much.”

That, Kara didn’t blame her for. Lena hadn’t really had a life where trust would come easily.

“Seeing you like that...” Lena said. “You said it yourself; you can kill with a look. Hear where someone is, find them with your eyes, heat vision. That’s anyone in the city, maybe more, that could die because of you, in seconds.”

“I would never-”

“But you did,” Lena said. “Red kryptonite or not, influenced or not, that’s something you’re capable of, and Kara if you think that’s not scary then you don’t understand being human at all."

Kara was silent. She’d heard views like that before, and Clark had mentioned that they were somewhat common in certain circles.

Then again, they felt far more justified now, in the wake of the red kryptonite.

“I’m working on earning peoples’ trust again,” Kara said. “I’ll try to earn yours again; you matter to me. Anything that you want.”

“It’s not that simple, Kara,” Lena said. “I don’t even know if I can trust someone that much.”

“You let me live here,” Kara said.

“I gave you a chance,” Lena said. “Besides, it’s not like you’re any less dangerous outside.”

Lena hesitated.

“And I like having Kara around,” Lena said. “Even if…”

Even if I’m scared of you. Kara didn’t quite know how to respond to that.

She’d never wanted people to be scared of her. She knew it might happen, after the latest incident, but that didn’t make it pleasant. And having someone she knew afraid, that hurt so much more.

The worst part was that Kara couldn’t even blame her. She was all too aware of how she looked on red kryptonite. It was a wonder Lena was even willing to be in the same room as her.

After a few moments, Lena closed her eyes. She gave a long exhale.

“Do you remember everything?” Lena said.

“I try not to,” Kara said. She hesitated. “But yes.”

“You said something,” Lena said, and faltered. “To me.”

“Anything I said, it’s not-”

“It’s not like that,” Lena said.

“Then what?”

“You said you heard my heartbeat,” Lena said.

Kara’s eyes widened slightly.

“Oh,” Kara said. “That.”

“What did you… mean?” Lena said, guardedly.

It was another thing Kara had been vaguely considering bringing up. She’d never quite worked out how; and now everything had come pouring out.

“It’s not intentional,” Kara said. “I normally control my hearing, but I’m more… sensitive to some things. Heartbeats, breathing; it started when I was just getting people out of buildings, but it always helps to have a sense of where people are, and-”

“Kara,” Lena.

Right, less babbling. Kara swallowed, and continued.

“It’s hard to not hear yours,” Kara said. “It gets… faster.”

It was Lena who paused, then. Her cheeks coloured slightly, and she stared at Kara.

Kara wasn’t proud of being able to listen in like that, but it could be hard to miss. Every time Kara walked in the room, Lena’s heartbeat quickened. It wasn’t too hard to work out what that meant.

The first time it had been an accident, but Kara had ended up paying a little more attention after that. It had just been sheer curiosity; she hadn’t believed Lena would…

Lena’s heart had raced over dinner, but Kara doubted it was for any good reason, this time.

“You know,” Lena said, shortly. She breathed in. “Well this is humiliating.”

“No, Lena, I-” Kara began, catching herself. “I try not to pay attention to things I hear that I shouldn’t, or things I see that I shouldn’t. I understand, I do, just-”

“You didn’t say anything,” Lena said.

“I couldn’t,” Kara said. “I shouldn’t have known, and…”

“But you did know,” Lena said.

“And it was… complicated,” Kara said. “Relationships with people who don’t know about me are trickier, and I hadn’t told you, and if I did my cousin arrested your brother and… I didn’t know where to start.”

Kara looked across the table, unsure of what to say. She could understand Lena feeling betrayed, people never liked having their feelings unwittingly leaked.

But she didn’t really know where this conversation was meant to go.

“Would you have said anything?” Lena said.

“I don’t know,” Kara said. “Would you have wanted me to?”

“Then, or now?”

Kara hesitated.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lena said. “I don’t know why I asked.”

Slowly, Lena stood up.

“You can stay,” Lena said. “That’s all this is, and all it’s going to be.”

“Ok,” Kara said. “Um, thanks for dinner.”

Lena watched her, then gave an odd smile. Her gaze softened.

“Thank you,” Lena said. “Would you want to do it again tomorrow?”

“Uh, if you want to,” Kara said.

She tried to hide how her eyes lit up. Lena was a good cook.

“I don’t want you out of my life,” Lena said. “Of course I’d like you there.”

Kara breathed out, and smiled in relief. Lena almost returned it, before walking away.

Chapter Text

Kara knew she had the whole city to apologize to. In practise, though, she had to go person by person.

She’d given people a little time to get over their instinctive fear at seeing her, and gone back to helping the city. It wasn’t enough, they were warier after last time, but at least she was showing that she was back to normal.

It was Maggie that she decided to approach.

She remembered, far too clearly, what she’d done: just to prove a point to Alex she’d located Maggie, and focused, shooting heat vision through walls and buildings to skim past Maggie’s hand. She’d heard Maggie cry out.

Kara hated herself for doing it.

She flew through the city, cape billowing out behind her. It almost felt wrong to locate Maggie, this time; she did it the same way she had before, listening for the sound of her voice.

Kara landed carefully. Maggie was in the alien bar she often visited; Kara went inside, doing her best to look contrite.

“Hi, um, can we talk?” Kara said.

Maggie glanced back to her. She paused, uncertain. Of course, she wouldn’t have seen Supergirl attack her. She might suspect, and she’d definitely seen the news stories about Supergirl, but she couldn’t be sure.

A little guiltily, Kara’s eyes drifted to the bandage over one of Maggie’s hands.

“I wanted to apologize,” Kara said.

“So it was you,” Maggie said. “I didn’t know what to think.”

“It was and it wasn’t,” Kara said. She hesitated. “I was… affected by something, I’d never normally act like-”

“I get it,” Maggie said. “I see weird stuff almost every day, this is hardly the strangest.”

Kara breathed out, slowly. It could have gone much worse.

“Come on,” Maggie said, “Sit, no one likes hanging around on their feet. If you want to talk, let’s talk.”

“Are you ok?” Kara said.

She moved, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table to Maggie. Maggie flashed a smile.

“I’m a cop, not like I haven’t had worse,” Maggie said. She waved with her bandaged hand; “Scared the life out of me, but sometimes a shock to the system’s what someone needs.”

“You’re more… cheerful than I was expecting,” Kara said.

“Had a good night,” Maggie said. “It’ll probably be a couple of days before I end up mad at anything, so relax.”

“What happened?” Kara said.

“Kind of down to you, actually,” Maggie said. “You made me realize life was short. There’s a girl I was interested in, but I never did anything because, well, it’s complicated. I wanted us to be in a better situation.”

“Oh,” Kara said. Her expression dropped, slightly.

“It has a happy ending,” Maggie said, misreading Kara’s expression. “Asked her out, and it went well. If life’s short, we should make the most of it.”

“I’m happy for you,” Kara said.

“You don’t seem it,” Maggie said.

She tilted her head, regarding Kara. Kara tried to disguise her thoughts.

She was thinking of Alex. She knew how Alex felt for Maggie, and she doubted Alex would take it well to know Maggie was seeing someone else. A rejection was one thing, but coming face to face with it hurt more.

“Just… thinking of a friend,” Kara said.

“Right,” Maggie said, sceptically.

“I was, uh, I know someone that, uh, liked you,” Kara said.

There was a pause; Maggie regarded her for a few seconds. Then, she smiled.

“Oh, I get it,” Maggie said. “Guessing you haven’t spoken to your sister then?”

“Not much, since- wait, um, what sister?” Kara said, hastily trying to cover up. Maggie chuckled.

“Come on,” Maggie said. “I’ve seen you with Alex, so pretty obvious you were talking about her, and you seemed to get really affected. Plus I’ve seen you hanging around the alien bar out of costume, and I make a living by figuring things out. Don’t look so surprised, Kara.”

Ok, so that was the second person she’d outed herself to lately. Kara couldn’t confidently say whether that was good or bad.

“Um,” Kara said.

She didn’t really know what else to add. Maggie chuckled.

“It was Alex,” Maggie said.

“Who was?” Kara said.

“The girl,” Maggie said. “I didn’t go out and pick someone out over her, it was her.”

“It was?” Kara said. Her eyes lit up, suddenly. “That’s great! I should call her. Um, if you’re ok with…”

“Why wouldn’t I be ok with it?” Maggie said.

Kara gestured at her hand. Maggie raised her eyebrows.

“Really?” Maggie said. “I told you, I’m fine. And I told her that, for that matter. What’s got you so glum, Supergirl?”

Kara hesitated. A lot of things, if she was honest; a day on red kryptonite and most of her life had been torn apart. It took effort to rebuild, and it wasn’t easy when she was in costume.

“Do I scare you?” Kara said.

“What?” Maggie said. She shrugged. “No.”

“Even after…”

“This?” Maggie lifted her hand. “At the time, sure. I think you’ve earned our trust though. Why, who’s scared of you?”

“Everyone,” Kara said.

“Who in particular?” Maggie said. “I know that look, that’s not something you feel when a generic everyone’s turned on you.”

Kara paused. She shook her head, after a moment; it wasn’t something she wanted to talk about.

Lena had been justifiably upset about how Kara’s super-hearing had violated her privacy, there was no need to leak any more secrets.

“Someone,” Kara said.

She paused for a few moments, not sure how to continue.

“I don’t blame her,” Kara said. “She’s got more than enough reason to worry, but still… I wish she didn’t.”

“There are always going to be wishes you could make,” Maggie said.

“I know,” Kara said. “It’s just… weird, to not like something that I can understand completely. I can see why she’s afraid, I can’t judge her for it, but it’s… unnerving.”

Kara hesitated.

“I’m meant to bring hope,” Kara said. “That’s what all of this was for, really. To make people feel safer. What does it mean if I just make them scared?”

“Give it time,” Maggie said.

“I know, time worked before,” Kara said. “It just… it feels like I should be doing more than waiting it out.”

Maggie shrugged. She shifted, leaning back in her chair to better regard Kara. A smile played at her lips; evidently she wasn’t thinking much of Kara’s disguise.

“Sorry for letting it all out on you,” Kara said. “I was meant to be apologizing to you.”

“And you did,” Maggie said. “Besides, apparently I’m just the counsellor for your family. If you need any help coming out, you know where to find me.”

Kara coughed, and quickly tried to cover it up. Maggie watched her with some amusement.

Then, something in Maggie’s expression changed.

“Tell me you haven’t been avoiding Alex just because of me,” Maggie said.

“N-no,” Kara said. “Not… really.”

“Kara-”

“She’s always so nice to me,” Kara said. “I wanted to give her a chance to… not be. She deserves to be mad at me because of what I did.”

Maggie exhaled.

“She was worried,” Maggie said. “Once she saw I was mostly fine, it didn’t seem to bother her that much. It doesn’t bother me. She doesn’t blame you, Kara.”

“That makes one of us,” Kara said.

After a few seconds, Kara shook her head. This wasn’t really the place for this; Maggie was apparently new to knowing who she was, it wasn’t fair to drag her in completely.

Slowly, Kara moved to stand up. She’d apologized to one person.

And, all things considered, she was missing her new, if temporary, home. It was well-positioned, to let her hear most of the city, and comfortable; and she did miss Lena.

Even if Lena looked at her with fear now.

“Thank you,” Kara said.

“Any time,” Maggie said. “Besides, I figure you’re going to be the one who’ll give me the shovel talk about Alex, so ought to get on your good side sooner rather than later.”

Kara found herself chuckling. She nodded once, to Maggie.

“Will do, later,” Kara said.

“I’d suggest doing it in costume,” Maggie said. “You’re much less intimidating as Kara Danvers.”

Kara smiled, before saying her goodbye. She could tell what Maggie was trying to do, but she didn’t quite feel up to joking about being found intimidating.

The moment Kara was outside, she started to fly.

It wasn’t easy to see inside Lena’s home. Kara had promised herself to not use her powers invasively; well, she’d made that promise a while ago, but she had to be extra careful around Lena.

She still had the sound of Lena’s heartbeat in her ears. Still, whatever affection that might once have betrayed was gone.

The lead that filled the walls of the house made it easier. Kara could scan her room through the window from a distance, making sure it was clear, before slipping inside.

Kara crouched as she landed, turning and tugging her cape inside, before closing the window.

She didn’t get changed. It was nice to lounge around every now and again in just the uniform. Layers could get uncomfortable, and she didn’t want to take it off in case she was needed.

It was about half an hour before she overheard a bank robbery. Quickly, she went to work. It took barely any effort at all to disarm the robbers, holding them back until the police arrived.

She took extra care to hurt no one, and kept an especial eye out for the bystanders. The worst that happened was that a bank robber nearly broke a few fingers, but that was his fault for hitting her.

The next time Kara returned to her room, Lena was standing in the doorway. Lena stiffened slightly, to see her in costume again.

Of course. The last time Lena had seen her as Supergirl, it hadn’t really gone well.

“Welcome back,” Lena said.

“Th-thanks,” Kara said. She straightened. “Um, do you want me to change?”

“I know you’re Supergirl, there’s no need,” Lena said.

Kara hesitated. Lena didn’t seem especially comfortable; evidently Lena realized that.

“It’s just… strange, seeing you,” Lena said. “I never really took it in before, but I should have noticed. You look just like her.”

Kara was rather aware that Lena was staring at her. It was the costume, Kara knew.

“Did you, um, want something?” Kara said.

Lena blinked. Something in her expression set.

“Right,” Lena said. “We can’t have dinner tonight, I have a visitor.”

“Oh,” Kara said. That news upset her more than she’d thought. “Who is it?”

“That shouldn’t matter,” Lena said, coolly. “I’ve arranged to see someone, I’d like you to not be here when that happens.”

“I, uh-” Kara hesitated. “Why?”

Lena raised her eyebrows. Instead of speaking, she just looked at Kara.

“You don’t trust me,” Kara said.

“You said you understood,” Lena said.

“I do, I just… I won’t get in the way.”

“And if I want the meeting to be private?” Lena said.

“I can’t look through the walls here,” Kara said, “And I won’t listen in.”

“Like you’ve said,” Lena said, “Sometimes you hear things without meaning to. I’d like to avoid such… mistakes.”

Lena’s heartbeat quickened. Kara tensed; the moment Lena had brought up her overhearing, she’d instinctively done so.

Still, she couldn’t ignore what she heard. Lena was nervous about something; more than Kara would have expected. Kara didn’t like being feared.

“Ok,” Kara said. “Just over dinner?”

“Five thirty to eight ought to cover it,” Lena said. “To be sure.”

“Right,” Kara said.

She hesitated. Lena was still looking at her, expression unreadable.

Lena really didn’t trust her. Kara shifted, and nodded.

“I’ll be out of your way,” Kara said. “I- There’s someone I need to talk to anyway.”

“There is?”

“I’ve got a lot of apologies to make,” Kara said. “I’ve been avoiding Alex, and I probably shouldn’t.”

Another awkward pause. Lena’s eyes flitted down, again, to the S on Kara’s chest.

“Why do you do it?” Lena said, eventually.

“What?” Kara said. She followed Lena’s gaze; “Be Supergirl?”

“Be Kara,” Lena said. “I’ve never understood that. Why not just be one or the other?”

“I used to be,” Kara said. “Only started using my powers less than two years ago. Alex was in danger, so… I had to save her. And I liked helping her, and helping everyone else, and…”

Kara shrugged. There wasn’t much of a story there; she just couldn’t stop, once she’d started.

“Why did you do anything before then?” Lena said.

“Do you have to ask me that?” Kara said. “When people know I have powers, it’s… complicated. Less safe, for everyone. At first, I was just suppressing everything, but once I was revealed to the world, I couldn’t keep doing that.”

“So you’d rather be Kara, instead of Supergirl?” Lena said.

“Not at all,” Kara said. “I love being Supergirl, but I couldn’t start doing that immediately; and I wouldn’t have anyway, until I was older. My foster family were worried about me. They wouldn’t have wanted their daughter to go out and make herself known to the world, especially given all Superman’s foes would come after me.”

Foes like Lena’s brother. Kara hesitated, but Lena didn’t seem to react.

“But, now?” Lena said. “If you love being Supergirl, and you’re known to the world, why do you stop? Why not be a hero full-time, rather than taking time off. You could save more people that way.”

“Maybe,” Kara said. “But’s tricky. I like my life; Supergirl can’t have friends the same way Kara can. She can’t get a job, she can’t get people looking at her like she’s just one of them.”

“You’re not.”

“But it’s nice to feel as though I belong,” Kara said.

Lena faltered at that, but she nodded. That much, at least, she understood.

“It keeps me… connected,” Kara said. “Human. If I was just Supergirl all the time, flying around the city, stopping crimes, and never doing anything else, sooner or later I’d stop seeing the value in what I was doing.”

It was something Clark had said to her, when she was so much younger. It hadn’t really been advice, just an anecdote on one of his visits. She’d liked his stories.

None of the villains had secret identities, and as time went by they just got worse and worse. They couldn’t pass as anything more than what they were, so they had no breaks.

Every second set them apart; every time someone looked at them and recognized them, or they had to jump through hoops to just buy food without being caught and arrested, a brick was added to the wall dividing them from everyone else.

Kara remembered feeling sorry for them. Sure, they were criminals, but after a certain point it was self-sustaining. They couldn’t be anything else, because there was nothing connecting them to the rest of the world.

With a secret identity, she at least got a break; a home, friends…

“I don’t want to be separate to humanity,” Kara said. “Not above it, no matter what some people say. I want to be a part of it. I’m not trying to be superior. I thought you’d be glad of that.”

“Because I’m a Luthor?”

“Because you don’t trust me,” Kara said.

It still stung to say.

Lena looked down. Whatever she’d been considering saying went unspoken, and instead she continued just to regard Kara with the same, piercing gaze.

“I do trust you,” Lena said. “Just not as much as I’d have to, to not worry.”

She paused.

“Don’t you get scared?” Lena said.

“Of what?”

“Of not being right,” Lena said. “Of supporting the wrong thing, or growing to defend the wrong thing, or just of making a mistake.”

“There’s not much room for ambiguity in most of what I deal with,” Kara said.

“And you’re not afraid you’ll go past that?” Lena said. “Not everything can be as clear-cut as straightforward crooks or world-ending plans.”

“I’ve got friends,” Kara said.

“Who can’t stop you.”

“Who won’t have to; if I start changing they can tell me, and I’ll listen,” Kara said. “And they can stop me. You did, earlier. If it comes to the worst, I trust them to stop me, but I also spend every day making sure that never happens.”

Kara spoke confidently, without so much as a hint of a doubt. Somewhat taken aback, Lena stared.

“You’re sure what you’re doing’s for the best?” Lena said.

“Seems like it,” Kara said.

“And you’re really not worried about being on the wrong side?”

Kara hesitated. “Are you?”

Lena blinked.

“You know how I feel,” Lena said.

“But, about yourself,” Kara said. “Are you ever afraid that you’re on the wrong side?”

“If this is just a way to make me think about-”

“No,” Kara said, quickly. “I mean it. Because, doesn’t everyone wonder about that? What if you’re wrong? What if you’ve made a mistake, or supported the wrong thing? What if the people you’re fighting against are right? They seem to believe in what they’re doing, at least.”

Kara closed her eyes for a moment. Most hours, she could hear people who disagreed with her. Usually their voices faded into the tumult she tuned out, but if she tried she could pick them out.

Her hearing really was a mixed blessing. It was how she could get to people in time, when they were in danger, but it ensured she heard a lot of things she didn’t want to hear, and had no business hearing.

Kara sighed.

“Everyone just does what they think is best,” Kara said. “We try, we sometimes fail, but so long as we can admit when we’re wrong…”

“It’s not that simple for you,” Lena said. “A mistake, from someone with your powers…”

“It’s worse,” Kara said. She nodded; “But it’s not that different for you, is it? You’re a celebrity, you’re a CEO, your decisions have huge repercussions. That alien detection device-”

“I know what you think about it,” Lena said.

“But you’re still going through with it,” Kara said. “You think it’s right. One of us is wrong, and either way there’ll be consequences.”

Lena paused.

“I suppose,” she said.

Lena was still lingering in the doorway. Her brow creased, while she looked at Kara; maybe that was understanding.

Hopefully that was it, at least. If you understood something, you were less likely to be afraid of it. Certainly, Lena didn’t seem to have the total trust needed to make her completely comfortable, but it was a start.

“But I can pay for my mistakes,” Lena said. “Lex proves that. Look at him now. What about you?”

“I made plenty of mistakes, when I was starting out,” Kara said. “I just work as hard as I can to fix them, and to redeem myself for them.”

“And if it’s something you can’t fix?” Lena said.

“That won’t happen,” Kara said.

“You mean it hasn’t, yet.”

“I mean it won’t,” Kara said. “There are lines my cousin and I won’t cross, no matter what; even if it’s a situation where it could help.”

“You mean killing,” Lena said. “Superman has made it rather clear what he thinks of that.”

“We won’t do it,” Kara said. “Even if it’s a good situation. Once you do something for good reasons, that just makes it easier to do it for bad ones. We can’t expect everyone else to do the same, but like you’ve said, it’s different for us. We can’t afford to risk corruption.”

Another, longer paused. Lena stared, her eyes drifting up from the S, to Kara’s face.

“Not the answer you expected?” Kara said, slightly playfully.

“I didn’t realize you’d put so much thought into it,” Lena said.

“We have to,” Kara said.

Lena shifted. She still hadn’t come into the room. Kara didn’t approach her, worried about her reaction to the costume.

Had Kara surprised her? She couldn’t quite tell.

It must have been a while since a Luthor last had a proper conversation with a Super. It must have been a while since a Super had been a conversation like that, regardless; they had few people to discuss their powers with.

Eventually, though, Lena exhaled. She shook something off, refocusing.

“I should be getting to dinner,” Lena said. “Remember not to be here.”

“Five thirty to eight, I remember,” Kara said.

She nodded, a little disappointed their discussion was abruptly over. Kara watched Lena leave, before turning, and walking back to her window.

Well, there was always something for Supergirl to do.

Kara had left Lena’s house long before five thirty. She flew a quick circuit of the city, stopping a few crimes she overheard, before slowing. Well, she’d delayed long enough.

Navigating the city was different at higher altitudes, but Kara had her usual advantage. She never needed to memorize routes, when she could see straight to her destination. Weaving and descending, Kara quickly found her way to Alex’s window.

Unsure of the etiquette, Kara knocked on the glass.

Kara knew Alex was in her apartment, and was alone. Still she was a little nervous as she floated there, waiting. She wouldn’t enter without an invitation.

Alex came by quickly enough, though. She barely needed to look outside; there were very few people who could reach her outside window, and even fewer that would knock.

She opened the window, and Kara crossed the threshold, feet touching the floor.

“Alex, I’m so-”

Barely a moment passed before Alex stepped closer and hugged her, arms wrapping tightly around Kara, and her head resting over Kara’s shoulder.

“You don’t have to apologize, Kara,” Alex said, at once.

Kara hesitated, somewhat surprised. Slowly though, she lifted her arms, returning the hug. She should’ve expected this from her sister.

“I’ve missed you,” Alex said.

“I wanted to give you time-”

“I don’t want time without my sister,” Alex said. “I’m fine, Maggie’s fine, and it’s over.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure,” Alex said, and squeezed tighter. Human strength might not be all that much to a Kryptonian’s, but Kara was still impressed by the hug.

It was a small while before Alex moved back, still relieved to see her sister again.

Kara glanced quickly around the apartment. Not much had changed; well, she wouldn’t expect it to. It had only been a couple of days.

“So, um, I spoke to Maggie,” Kara said.

Alex’s cheeks coloured slightly.

“I guess she told you,” Alex said.

“A little,” Kara said.

After a moment, Kara bounded over to the sofa. Alex went with her, sitting down first.

“I want to hear it from you, though,” Kara said. She beamed. “So? Tell me about it.”

Chapter Text

Kara returned to Lena’s home long after her mystery guest had left. She went straight back to her room, and slept.

She didn’t ask about the visitor. She suspected it was just a business partner of Lena’s; Lena had made it clear she was worried about the potential of Kara’s powers for invading privacy. Of course Lena would be careful.

From a distance, it would be harder to accidentally pick-up stray words or thoughts. Not impossible, admittedly, but harder. Kara didn’t like straining her powers like that.

If she wanted to she could hear everything, but there were so many things no one wanted her hearing. In general, Kara tried to limit how much she listened in on, and how far she let her senses stretch.  

The day passed like any other. She saved people, put in a few public appearances, and made her return to Catco. Even Snapper was a welcome distraction.

She might have been imagining it, but the jeers against Supergirl seemed to have lessened. Maybe people were just getting tired.

Regardless, it was good to get back to her room at Lena’s house. Though it was temporary, it was beginning to feel like a home.

It was fairly late in the day when Kara got back, after work at Catco and adventures as Supergirl. She lingered in her room for a few moments, before deciding to leave, and find Lena.

While she had said she wouldn’t get in Lena’s way, Lena didn’t seem to mind her wandering too much. Besides, if Lena complained she could easily never do it again.

Kara made sure to limit her hearing. She knew what Lena thought of the potential eavesdropping she could do.

It took a while to find anything though, from just wandering the house. It was a huge place; Kara could barely believe Lena lived there alone. Honestly, she could barely imagine the whole Luthor family living there; there’d still be so many unoccupied rooms.

Soon enough, though, Kara found her way to Lena. Kara followed the route she was most familiar with, and ended up at the dining room where they’d had dinner before. That room was adjacent to the kitchen, and she didn’t need super-hearing to hear the noises from inside.

Slowly, Kara approached. She hesitated in the doorway.

Lena was leaning over a pot and a pan, occasionally stirring each. Still, she heard Kara open the door, and looked back over her shoulder.

“Kara,” she said. “I was just about to go looking for you.”

“You were?”

“Are you free for dinner again?” Lena said.

“You’re not busy?” Kara said. “Your visitor from the other night…”

“Is gone,” Lena said. “They weren’t staying.”

“Ok,” Kara said. She smiled; “Looking forward to dinner again. Though you don’t have to cook for me.”

Lena briefly glanced back at the hob, before gesturing out to the room.

The kitchen was to scale with the rest of the house: bigger than was practical. There were countertops running the length of each wall. One was littered with a food processor, a microwave, several electric whisks, and various other tools, while the other was left bare.

Then there were two islands down the middle, each seeming to have its own oven and hob, as well as a workspace. And on top of that, there were more drawers and cupboards than Kara could count.

“If I’ve got this kitchen, I may as well use it,” Lena said. “Besides, it’s relaxing.”

She crouched, opening a drawer that was apparently filled with various herbs and spices. She regarded them for a few seconds, before picking two.

“Take a seat,” Lena said, “It won’t be long.”

After a moment, Kara went back out to the dining room. She sat down where she had before, and where a place was already prepared.

She didn’t know if she’d ever get used to seeing Lena out of the office. Kara was so used to seeing her in a more professional capacity that it was strange to see her looking so, well, domestic.

A couple of minutes later and Lena was coming out of the kitchen with two dishes. She sat herself down opposite Kara.

“Enjoy,” Lena said.

“Thank you,” Kara said. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the meal; “It looks amazing.”

Her tone was a little more breathless than complimentary. Lena gave a slightly, amused smile at Kara’s eagerness, though it faded quickly.

It was a few moments before Lena spoke.

“You’re not going to ask?” Lena said.

“About what?” Kara said. She looked up.

“Who I was talking to last night,” Lena said.

“It’s like you said, it doesn’t matter,” Kara said. “It’s your life, and there’s no reason I should know everything that goes on in this city.”

There were a few more seconds of silence. Lena ate, regarding Kara oddly.

Maybe she was surprised by the answer, maybe she was pleased; or maybe it was just what she’d expected. When Lena wanted to be unreadable, she succeeded.

“I was talking to my mother,” Lena said.

She paused, then, and watched Kara stiffen.

“Your-” Kara stumbled. “I thought the two of you didn’t get on?”

“We don’t,” Lena said. “We haven’t really spoken properly for a while.”

“Then… why?”

“After what happened, do you need to ask that?” Lena said.

Kara’s gaze drifted down.

“I figured you’d prefer to be out of the house for that,” Lena said. “I didn’t tell her you were staying here; not as Kara, or Supergirl, if that’s what you’re worried about.

“I wasn’t thinking that,” Kara said. “It just… doesn’t seem like you.”

“It doesn’t?” Lena said.

“No,” Kara said. She paused. “I don’t think you agree with what Cadmus are doing.”

“I don’t,” Lena said. “They’ve gone too far, but that doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”

“You believe that?” Kara said.

“You broke into my office,” Lena said. “You nearly killed me. You could have killed so many others, and it’s only luck and my brother’s booby traps that stopped you. And you’re only one of the aliens on this world. If Cadmus are the only ones working out how to fight a threat like that, what should I believe?”

Kara faltered.

“They’re the only reason I was dangerous,” Kara said.

“This time.”

“And this is the entire reason they did it,” Kara said. “To make people afraid of me, and of aliens; they want you to think like them.”

“So I’m playing into their hands,” Lena said. “That still doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”

Kara tried to eat. It would be easier, at least. Eventually though, she had to look across to Lena.

“Do you support what she’s doing?” Kara said.

Lena hesitated, and it made Kara ache.

“Not at the moment,” Lena said, slowly. “But, it’s like I said. I understand why they’re doing it.”

“Not every alien is automatically evil,” Kara said.

“But the ones that are, are far more dangerous than any human threat,” Lena said. “You proved that. You were one person, with no financial or political power, and the entire city was scared of you when-”

“When Cadmus made me bad,” Kara said.

“Even so, not every alien will be like you,” Lena said. “Do you know how many are on Earth? The predicted amount gets larger every day. You and your cousin try to be heroes, but there can’t be any more than one or two other aliens who follow in your footsteps.”

“So?” Kara said.

“So, look at how many threats to this city, and this world, have come from beyond the Earth,” Lena said. “There was Myriad, last year; a whole group of people with powers like yours who would have removed free will and could have done worse. There was that… thing that attacked Senator Crane last year, and the one that launched a nuclear missile, and the one who tried to kill the president… and that’s just in the last couple of years. I’m sure you ran into more than I could name offhand.”

Lena paused, to inhale.

“Whichever way you look at it, you’re outnumbered,” Lena said. “Far more do harm, than help. We can’t always rely on you for protection.”

“You shouldn’t,” Kara said. “But there are better ways than what Cadmus does.”

“Like?”

Kara hesitated, before deciding to go ahead. Hank could give her the lecture on confidentiality later.

“The DEO,” Kara says, “It’s an organization run by humans to deal with the aliens that are threats. It’s top secret, but-”

“It doesn’t seem like it’s worked,” Lena said. “You’re the one who clears up all the messes, and if you’re aware of a top-secret organization I’m guessing they rely on you to do their work for them.”

“I help.”

“Then it’s not enough,” Lena said. “Cadmus have threatened you, though. Nearly beaten you.”

“And that’s a good thing?”

“Of course not,” Lena said. “But it’s proof they can do what they claim to be able to do, and defend the Earth from threats like…”

“Threats like me?”

Perhaps Kara shouldn’t have been so surprised. Lena had seen her turn into a monster, who wouldn’t question their permissiveness of Kryptonians when faced with that?

Because Lena didn’t trust anyone with the kind of power she’d seen Kara had. Lena couldn’t quite meet her eyes.

“Who do you trust more?” Kara said, suddenly.

“Excuse me?”

“Me, or your mother?” Kara said. “Who would you trust to do what’s best?”

Lena faltered.

“That’s not a fair question, Kara,” Lena said.

“Isn’t it?”

Project Cadmus had to be composed of some of the worst of humanity. People who didn’t care about their victims, or the people they experimented on; people so obsessed with a nebulous possible future that they’d do immeasurable harm to the present.

Slowly, Lena breathed out.

“You,” Lena said. “If that’s the choice. You know how I feel about my mother.”

She closed her eyes for a few moments. When she opened them, she was facing Kara fully.

“I don’t know which ideal I support,” Lena said. “But I don’t think her concerns should just go ignored. That’s all I’m working for. My mother may not be trustworthy, but she certainly is not the devil incarnate. Her judgement won’t change because of exposure to a rock, and she doesn’t work alone. She’s accountable: you’re not.”

Lena reached across for her drink, to wet her throat.

“I did confront her,” Lena said, more quietly. “The people she put in danger, because of what she did to you. Or the fact she’d be winning people over based on a lie.”

“What did she say?”

“It didn’t matter to her,” Lena said. “She kept talking about the threat you could pose, the apocalyptic potential of the aliens like you on Earth. In the face of that, not much else matters.”

“Do you agree with her?” Kara said. “Do you really think we’re that dangerous?”

“I didn’t,” Lena said. “I never would have even considered it.”

She faltered.

“Until my only friend tormented the city,” Lena said. “Until I looked into your eyes, and only saw coldness, and saw what you can do the moment you stop caring.”

Kara couldn’t disagree with that, and maybe that was the worst thing of all.

“For as long as I’m in control, you know I’ll never do that,” Kara said.

Lena looked across.

“I wish I could believe that,” Lena said.

Another silence. Lena’s eyes flickered over Kara; though Kara was in her casual clothes, it was hard to stop seeing her as Supergirl, once you knew what to look for.

An expression that looked like it was always on the verge of offering to help, ever-sympathetic eyes, and a complete lack of guile or fear. It wasn’t unnerving, not like that, but Lena had seen that expression twist.

Lena exhaled, eventually.

“The last person I trusted completely was Lex,” Lena said. “He was my best friend, for years. The best brother anyone could want; I know what everyone says about him, but he wasn’t always like that. He was a good person.”

Lena spoke slowly. An odd smile passed across her face, at some long-lost memory.

“Things changed,” Lena said. “You of all people have to know what he became.”

“Not everyone’s like Lex Luthor,” Kara said.

“Lex wasn’t like Lex Luthor, at first,” Lena said. “I tried so hard to reach him, but in the end…”

“I’m sorry,” Kara said.

“Everyone’s ‘sorry,’” Lena said.

Lena’s reticence to trust wasn’t surprising, at any rate. Kara regarded her, not quite sure what to say.

A betrayal like that had to hurt; no one would want to go through it a second time. Complete trust, the kind Lena would have to have in Supergirl, was enough of an ask for most people, let alone those who’d had their trust betrayed.

Kara sat in silence. She knew she should disagree with Lena’s views, without question. And, yes, she certainly did.

But somehow she still managed to understand, and that worried her.

“I hoped I could reach my mother,” Lena said. “I was never as close to her as I was to Lex, but I wanted to at least try. It’s hard to give up on family.”

“What happened?” Kara said.

“Lex is her son,” Lena said. “What happened is what I should have expected.”

Lena looked away, then. She toyed with her food for a few seconds, appetite lost to distraction.

“I still miss him,” Lena said. “I hate him for what he’s done, but I remember who he was. You probably think that’s stupid.”

“No,” Kara shook her head quickly. “I understand.”

Lena glanced across the table, less than convinced.

“My aunt,” Kara said. “She was one of the Kryptonians last year. And I know they were dangerous, and a threat, but when I think of her I don’t think of the person who nearly killed me, I think of the woman that was always there for me on Krypton.”

She met Lena’s eyes. Lena was silent.

“I know it’s not the same,” Kara said. “An aunt and a brother are entirely different relationships but, I just- I know what it’s like to remember the best in someone, even after they change.”

Lena regarded Kara strangely. For a moment, it was like she was looking for something; trying to see some new aspect.  

Soon, though, she sighed.

“I didn’t know about that,” Lena said.

“Not many people do,” Kara said. “There aren’t too many people that Supergirl can talk with.”

“That much I understand,” Lena said. Her eyes drifted. “My mother- She was only ever really Lex’s family. Even now he’s in prison, and when I invited her here, she’s as distant as she’s ever been.”

“You deserve better than that.”

“I keep telling myself that,” Lena said. “I keep wondering what it would be like if she did care, though. Every time I see her I know that it’ll never happen, but it’s something I still want.”

“Don’t torture yourself,” Kara said. “There have got to be more people in your life-”

“Who?” Lena said. “I don’t like my mother, but at least she’ll be there. My only friend is- well, you.”

“And you don’t trust me,” Kara said, for her.

“I can’t,” Lena said.

Lena paused, then. She moved to speak, but caught herself, and fell silent.

They ate for several seconds. The meal was getting colder, after all they’d spoken about. After a mouthful, Lena convinced herself to speak again.

“Your family put my brother in prison,” Lena said. “Now you’re pursuing my mother. How long will it be before you come after me?”

“That won’t happen,” Kara said.

“You sound confident.”

“Because I am,” Kara said. “You might not trust me, but I trust you.”

Lena faltered.

Soon, Lena’s expression set into something firmer. She looked across to Kara, unblinking.

“How much?” Lena said.

“What?”

“How much do you trust me?” Lena said. “I’m a Luthor who’s talking to the head of Cadmus. What is it you’re really thinking?”

“I’m thinking that you’re Lena,” Kara said. “You were kind to me, and you helped stop some of Project Cadmus’s plans.”

“What about the alien detection device?” Lena said. “You made it clear what you thought of that; you said you wrote a hatchet job on it. It nearly destroyed our friendship, back then. If you’d gone on and published your first draft…”

“I know,” Kara said. “And I can see it your way; there are bad aliens out here. Just… not all of us should be outed.”

“There isn’t always a right answer,” Lena said. “If there was a way to target the bad while protecting the good, I’d be happy to fund that. There just isn’t.”

“Some aliens just want to live their lives,” Kara said.

“How many are like that?”

“I don’t know,” Kara said. “A lot.”

Lena shifted in her seat.

“I’ve thought about it,” Lena said. “What kind of aliens would come to Earth? There are the obvious answers; invaders and the like, those who want to take something from us, or force something upon us.”

“That’s just a minority,” Kara said. “There are others, refugees-”

“I know,” Lena said. “I don’t have any problem with the idea, but my question is why they chose here. And I’m fully aware of the kind of people that can make that argument, but you said you trusted me, so hear me out.”

Kara hesitated.

“There have got to be other worlds out there,” Lena said. “The number of aliens that have been reported, there have to be hundreds of inhabited planets, and they can’t all be destroyed.”

“There are a lot,” Kara said. “I’ve seen some.”

“Then you can tell me,” Lena said, “How advanced is Earth? I imagine not very, compared to those worlds; if they have the technology to cross space, that suggests a greater level of development. And on top of that, so many of them seem to have superpowers, by human standards. Just look at you.”

Lena paused for a moment. She watched Kara, trying to gauge her reaction; trying to determine if she could continue.

“If there are aliens that want to go to another world, that’s fine,” Lena said, “But why go to a world where they’re superior? I imagine the state of interplanetary politics isn’t like Star Wars: there’s no all-seeing Empire. There are a lot of places you could go if you had to leave your home, rather than coming to an underdeveloped world. Am I right?”

Kara hesitated. It had been years since she’d been on Krypton, and since she’d even been able to play attention to how things were. She’d been young at the time, too.

Still, Lena’s description seemed broadly accurate. She dimly remembered hearing of countless factions, and countless worlds. There probably were numerous worlds that would house those that needed it.

“It’s complicated,” Kara said. “But it’s not always a choice.”

“Maybe, for some,” Lena said. “Crash-landings can only account for so many, and I don’t imagine Earth is a thoroughfare. There can’t be that many ships that come by here. What reason do the rest have?”

“I haven’t asked,” Kara said. “It doesn’t mean-”

“I’m not saying they’re all invaders,” Lena said. “Maybe they just want a sense of security, to be more powerful than the locals: and maybe they’ve had reason to be afraid. But their peace of mind doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be safe. We should know if there’s a superhuman next door. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s that we need to protect ourselves.”

Lena paused, briefly. She caught her breath, before facing Kara more fully.

“I know,” Lena said. “You haven’t asked every alien on Earth for their life stories.”

“I think they deserve to be here,” Kara said. “I never needed to question them.”

“Then let’s talk about you,” Lena said. “I’ve read some articles. You were sent to Earth by your parents, like Superman.”

“They wanted me to look after my cousin,” Kara said. “That’s all. I just got here a little late.”

“Do you know why they chose Earth?”

“I was too young to ask,” Kara said. “And I think they were in a rush.”

“Did they tell you what to expect?” Lena said. “For as scientifically advanced a society as I’ve heard your home-world was, I imagine they had to know.”

“That we’d get powers?” Kara said. “They warned us, on the way here. They knew what would happen.”

Lena nodded, her expression unchanging.

“Then they sent a baby and a child to a planet populated by people who couldn’t harm them, and people they could do unimaginable harm to,” Lena said. “I doubt they could have predicted kryptonite; even if they knew it was theoretically possible, the chances of some ending up here were astronomical, and would take years. That’s years for Superman to grow up. That’s years that he would have been unopposed.”

“He’s a hero.”

“But how could they have known that?” Lena said. “They were sending a god to Earth, and he was only a baby. He could have grown up to be anything.”

“I was meant to help look after him,” Kara said. “Raise him. If I’d been here…”

“You weren’t,” Lena said. “They shouldn’t have relied on everything going right; but I will admit that I suppose there was a time constraint. Still, you were only a child. Do Kryptonians mature much faster than humans?”

“We’re not too different.”

“Then they couldn’t really know anything about you either,” Lena said. “I know things went well, but there was no way they could possibly know that. At best, that’s negligence. They gambled the fate of a whole world on how you would turn out.”

Kara hesitated.

Clark’s father had left him a recording. He’d showed it to her, years ago; Clark was meant to serve as Earth’s protector. After a fashion, it was meant to be repayment for giving him a new home.

But, Kara had to admit, Lena was right. There was no way anyone could know what he’d grow up to be; or how develop. No one knew what they’d become, on Krypton. They became heroes, but they could just as easily have been monsters.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Lena continued, quickly. “Even after your worst moments, you have helped. But the idea of aliens coming to Earth isn’t as simple as people want to make it. You’re dangerous, and the attitude that has to be behind choosing Earth…”

Lena closed her eyes, her voice trailing off.

“I don’t like talking about this,” she said, a little too late. “I sound like my brother.”

“You can always talk to me,” Kara said.

Her voice was a little quieter, though.

“My mother sent me here,” Kara said. “I was... young. I trusted her, for years after that. But I’ve been… learning that she made mistakes. That she wasn’t perfect. It took me years to admit she was flawed.”

“I know how that feels,” Lena said.

“But I’m not going to apologize for coming here,” Kara said.

“I wouldn’t ask you to,” Lena said. “I’m not my mother. She’s… extreme. But you see my point of view?”

“I do.”

“Then you know why I support the alien detection device,” Lena said, “And why I have to be wary. I know what you try to be: but I know what you could be, as well.”

“And that scares you,” Kara said, hollowly.

“Wouldn’t you be afraid?”

Kara couldn’t answer.

Chapter Text

Dinner with Lena hadn’t gone as well as Kara might have wanted it to. She’d hoped to at least begin making repairs on their relationship, and maybe they’d bonded a little.

But, in the end, Kara felt like she could see more clearly than ever why Lena was afraid of her.

Some of it was empty rhetoric: things Kara had heard countless times before from the anti-alien movement. Some of it made more sense than she wanted it to, though.

There was only one person Kara could really talk to about any of this.

She wandered through the corridors at the DEO, relying on memory more than her enhanced vision that time. She found her way to one of the secure rooms with relative ease; she was one of the few people with clearance to get inside.

She entered a code into the panel by the door, and let it confirm that it was her doing the entering, before it slid open. She walked inside.

The hologram of Alura Zor-El flickered to life. Kara faltered for a moment by the threshold of the room, as she often did.

It was strange to see her mother again, after everything. Every time she came into this room her mind cycled through countless thoughts; relief at seeing her again, disappointment when she remembered this was only an imperfect hologram, gladness that at least it was something…

“Mom,” Kara said.

The hologram stared straight ahead. It was just one of the many imperfections in the program; it would never be able to pass as her mother. It would never even pass as a person.

Still, it was something. She was something; and though she didn’t contain all the information Kara might want, it seemed likely her mother would have included some kind of last message, or some kind of explanation. Answers.

“Why was I sent to Earth?” Kara said.

“To help raise your cousin,” Alura said.

Kara paused. Right, she couldn’t expect a program to elaborate.

“Why was Earth chosen?” Kara said. “Out of all the inhabited worlds, and all the systems in just this galaxy, why were we sent to Earth?”

“It was decided that Earth was the safest place for you,” Alura said.

“But why?” Kara said. “We went to other worlds; I had friends on them, like you did. Why not send me to one of them? Why would a strange world be any safer?”

“You were in danger,” the hologram said. “There were many who bore a grudge against me and my House for those I sentenced. Without Krypton as a shield, a world without connections was the safest place for you.”

“And Kal-El, I guess he was in danger for similar reasons,” Kara said.

“Of all potential worlds, Earth’s Sun promised you safety,” Alura said. “You would have powers to defend yourself, and your cousin, in case you were found.”

It was about what Kara had thought. Even so, it was good to hear it from her mother.

They wanted her to be safe; who wouldn’t? And if there was anywhere in the universe that a Kryptonian was safe, it was under a yellow Sun.

Still, Lena’s words came back to her; no matter how sympathetic their motivations might be, they’d still chosen to gamble with the fate of the world. A Kryptonian who didn’t hold themselves back, who wanted to do harm, was immeasurably dangerous.

That was all the more true in the days before anyone knew who Superman was, and before Kryptonite had come to Earth. For that matter, it was dumb luck that anyone knew the effect Kryptonite had; a less helpful Superman wouldn’t have gone to the meteorite, and wouldn’t have been affect, and who would have thought to expose him to a random space rock?

“What about the people who were already here?” Kara said.

“Your safety was our primary concern.”

“I know that,” Kara said. “But what about the humans? We could have been a threat to them.”

“Your safety was our primary concern.”

Kara let out a frustrated breath. AIs could be frustrating, especially ones that had been rushed together.

“You didn’t know what I’d grow up to be,” Kara said. “Or what Kal-El would have been.”

“You would have been safe.”

“At what cost?”

“Your safety was our primary concern.”

Kara exhaled again. So much for answers.

“What would have happened if we grew up to be monsters?”

“You would not,” the hologram said.

“How can you know that?”

“You are my daughter,” Alura said, with no emotion. “I knew that you would grow up to be the best that you could be, and would teach your cousin the same.”

Optimism, then. It was understandable; for all Alura’s faults, she’d always seen the best in Kara. She’d always been kind, and always been hopeful.

So, it really was just negligence.

Maybe she and Jor-El had been in too much of a hurry to think over every detail. They’d certainly had a deadline. Even so, six billion lives was an awful lot to gloss over.

“Don’t the humans that live here matter?” Kara said. “The risk to them…”

“Your safety was our primary concern.”

Kara closed her eyes.

She knew, all things considered, she was just talking to a computer program. It was emotionless, inconsiderate, and all but incapable of original thought. It had only scraps of her mother.

Still, it did sound like her; and it sounded so cold.

“Thanks,” Kara said, voice hollow.

It was a sobering thought; the only reason she was here, was because of a lack of empathy, a short-sightedness of people prioritizing their children over a world. Kara could sympathize, and she could understand.

Maybe her real mother would have more complete answers, but she wasn’t here.

But even so, she didn’t feel as though it was right to risk a world. Not for her, at least. She’d happily give her life to save the Earth.

Then again, she couldn’t judge her mother too harshly. Though she didn’t have a daughter, Kara did have a sister, and she couldn’t honestly say what she’d do in an analogous situation. If it meant saving Alex’s life, Kara would risk so much.

So, it was understandable.

Understandable, yet something Kara couldn’t quite agree with. A lot of things had seemed that way, lately.

Kara was in her apartment, checking the progress of repairs, when Alex came to visit.

She’d been dwelling, when she hadn’t been working. Kara had to admit, she’d been given a lot to think about. There was no denying that.

Lena’s view of aliens had never been the best, but Kara was used to that, and regardless she’d give Lena a bit more leeway given who’d raised her. She was fairly sure, too, that Lena’s view was harsher than it might otherwise be, in the aftermath of the red kryptonite incident.

But what was she to think when it seemed like Lena was right?

Kara wasn’t sure what she’d expected when she’d gone to see her mother’s hologram. Even after everything, she thought there would be answers there; something that would make it all ok.

Instead, she’d heard the same story Lena had told.

What was that meant to mean?

“Kara?”

Alex let herself in, approaching where Kara was pacing. Kara glanced distractedly to her.

“Hey, Alex,” Kara said. “How’d it go with Maggie?”

Kara was disappointed she’d missed how it started between the two of them. She’d admit, gossiping with Alex could be fun, and they always shared what was happening in their lives with one another.

But Kara had missed it. She really wished that she’d been there for Alex’s first date with Maggie, even if just to watch Alex’s excitement and help calm her nerves.

Still, she could at least try to make up for it. Kara was making up for a lot of things, lately.

Besides, Alex and Maggie seemed to spend a lot of time together, regardless.

“Beat her at pool,” Alex said.

“Pool?” Kara said. “Where’d you go?”

“The same bar as usual,” Alex said.

Kara blinked.

“What’s wrong with that?” Alex said. “Dates don’t always need to go to fancy restaurants.”

“I know,” Kara said. “Just surprised. Sounds like you’re more or less doing what you did before you were dating.”

“I guess,” Alex said. She shrugged; “We enjoyed it before, we can enjoy it after. Besides, it was where our sort-of first kiss was, so it’s pretty romantic.”

“And you get to beat her at pool,” Kara said.

“That too,” Alex said.

Alex was still smiling to herself. She probably didn’t even realize she was doing it; Kara liked to see her sister that happy.

Alex took a few steps forward, to the remains of the wall. Wind rushed past her. Idly, she surveyed the damage.

“Doesn’t look like much work has been done,” Alex said.

“They’re focusing on the people who don’t have anywhere else to stay, first,” Kara said.

“I guess that makes sense,” Alex said.

She took a few moments at the edge, before moving back. She glanced around; Kara had taken some of her possessions with her, so the apartment was a little sparser than she was used to.

What was left was covered in protective sheets. It left the place looking almost eerie.  

“So how is your new place?” Alex said. “You were staying with Lena, right? That has to be… interesting.”

“It’s a great house,” Kara said.

“It wasn’t the house I was worrying about,” Alex said.

Kara faltered for a moment.

“Wait,” Kara said, “We were talking about you. And Maggie. You and Maggie. I want details!”

“Really?” Alex said, bemused.

“Really!” Kara said. “I missed the last few days of your life, so I want a catch-up. Is Maggie nice?”

“Always.”

“Does she pay for the drinks?”

“Depends who wins at pool,” Alex said. “So, tonight, yes she did.”

Alex chuckled a little at her sister’s enthusiasm. There was just something so unique about Kara’s brand of perpetual sunniness.

“Have fun, then?” Kara said.

“A lot,” Alex said. “Maggie’s always… She’s wonderful. And encouraging; honestly they’re the first dates where I’ve really cared about how it goes, and she knows that. She’s just… perfect.”

Alex hesitated. She straightened.

“Sorry for gushing,” Alex said, in an attempt at being more formal. Kara just chuckled.

“No apology necessary,” she said. “I’m glad you’re happy.”

“I am,” Alex said, slightly breathlessly. “It’s like, everything matters more. I’m actually looking forward to the goodbye kiss, and to just sitting there, near her. And there are all the things, like holding hands; I always thought people just did that because it was cliché, but there’s just something about touching her that…”

Alex’s voice trailed off. Kara smiled to herself.

It was almost an amusing reversal. They’d talked about relationship drama more than once, but it was usually just Kara who got excited about it. Alex had always seemed more standoffish, until Maggie.

Her sister’s happiness was a welcome distraction.

“Anyway,” Alex cleared her throat. “I wanted to talk about you.”

“Sure you don’t want to talk about Maggie some more?” Kara said, teasing.

Alex flushed, slightly.

“What’s it like, living with Lena Luthor?” Alex said.

“Not what I expected,” Kara said, after a moment.

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

“Mostly good,” Kara said. “She cooks, too. Her dinners are amazing.”

“So living off more than takeaways?” Alex said. “I guess that’s a step up.”

“It’s a big place,” Kara said. “Still not quite sure how to find my way around, but I’m working on it. I mostly leave through the window, though.”

“How about Lena?” Alex said.

Kara hesitated.

She had so many answers to that question. She always liked spending time with Lena, before the red kryptonite incident, so that was a factor.

But there was more to it, now. There was the guilt she had to feel when around anyone she’d hurt, and the knowledge that Lena was afraid of her. Lena, at least, was being open about what she felt.

That was good in a way. Kara was surrounded by people who spent their lives protecting her, so honesty could be refreshing. It could be unpleasant, too.

“Kara?” Alex said, after a moment. “Is everything…”

“It’s fine,” Kara said. “Just thinking.”

“Is it… not good?” Alex said. “Is Lena-”

“Lena’s fine,” Kara said. “It’s just complicated. You- You know what I was like, she’s still dealing with that. I can’t really blame her.”

“If you’re uncomfortable-”

Kara shook her head. Alex watched her sister for a few seconds, not quite sure.

“She’s happy for me to live there, she cooks for the both of us,” Kara said. “She’s been kind to be, when she didn’t have to be. Lena’s always kind to Kara, just…”

“Just?”

“She’s afraid of what Supergirl can do,” Kara said.

“Oh.”

“It’s not- it’s not like it’s unreasonable,” Kara said. “I can see why. It takes a little getting used to, that’s all.”

Kara hesitated, and looked away. The idea of being feared still took some getting used to.

“It’s not like she’s wrong,” Kara said.

“Kara-” Alex said.

“If I’d been affected by the red kryptonite for any longer, I might have done something that couldn’t be fixed,” Kara said. “And I wouldn’t have cared. Everything- everything was so easy, then. It shouldn’t have been, but it…”

Alex moved closed. Kara swallowed.

“You’ll make up for it,” Alex said. “You have, hundreds of times over. You’re a hero, Kara.”

“Sometimes,” Kara said.

“Always,” Alex said. “You know what happened wasn’t your fault.”

“It still couldn’t have happened without me,” Kara said.

She hesitated for a moment.

“Lena and I talked about- something,” Kara said. “When I was sent to Earth, it was… dangerous. I was a child being sent to a world where I’d get incredible powers.”

“And you did good,” Alex said.

“But I might not have,” Kara said. “No one could have known that; not mom, or dad, or Clark’s parents. If Clark had been found by a family other than the Kents, or I didn’t end up with the Danvers, we could have been raised to become anything.”

“But that didn’t happen,” Alex said.

“It could have,” Kara said. “They risked a whole world. That’s… that’s exactly what people are worried about. Aliens, other worlds, who don’t see humans as equals, but just as… things. A means to an end; a place to send children, no matter what happens to the Earth.”

Kara hesitated.

“What if they’re right?” Kara said.

“They’re not,” Alex said.

Alex moved, until she was standing in front of Kara.

“You’re entirely too nice, sometimes,” Alex said.

“What?”

“You don’t have to listen to everyone,” Alex said. “Sometimes it’s ok to just not care. People can be wrong; you don’t have to look for redeemable qualities, or make excuses for them.”

“But-”

“Sure, it could have happened,” Alex said. “A lot of things could have happened. You could spend weeks contemplating nothing but what-ifs. I’ve been thinking about them lately, after everything. What if I’d come out to myself sooner? There’s so much potential, and so many things that could have happened, but honestly it doesn’t matter. That isn’t what happened, this is.”

Kara hesitated.

“We don’t know what would have happened,” Alex said. “You can imagine the worst, but we don’t know what would have actually happened. Speculation is just speculation. If I’d come out sooner, maybe I’d be dating Vicki, or maybe that wouldn’t have worked out and I’d still be with Maggie. If you’d ended up with a different family, maybe they’d have tried to corrupt you: or maybe you’d have come through the same.”

Kara met Alex’s eyes, something odd coming into her expression.

“All I know,” Alex said, “Is that if you hadn’t come to Earth, then maybe, maybe, there would have been less risk. But I also know that I definitely wouldn’t have had a sister like you, and I wouldn’t give that up for anything.”

There were a few seconds of silence; Alex didn’t blink.

Eventually though, Kara shifted. She straightened, somewhat uncomfortable at being stared at so intently, but she nodded.

“Thank you,” Kara said, softly.

Alex looked at her for a few moments more, trying to gauge Kara’s reaction.

“Do you want to keep living with her?” Alex said.

“My apartment’s not repaired, yet,” Kara said.

“I have a couch,” Alex said. “I know why you didn’t ask before, but I don’t mind, honestly.”

“I’m fine,” Kara said.

“You don’t have to forgive her,” Alex said.

“It’s not-” Kara said. “I… I understand why she thinks the way she does. If I lived her life, and saw what she saw, I’d be wary too.”

“Sometimes you can give people more chances than they deserve,” Alex said.

Kara smiled.

“What about Maggie?” she said.

“What?” Alex said.

“Are you sure you want me in your apartment?” Kara said. “If you and her…”

Her voice took on a slightly insinuating tone; Alex glanced away.

“I- I wouldn’t mind,” Alex said.

Kara chuckled.

“I’m fine,” Kara said. “Really. She made me think, that was all, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Alex regarded her sister, not entirely certain.

Supergirl was fighting a trio of aliens in the city. By the sound of it, she had it handled; there was no need for the DEO to get involved, save for the wrap-up afterwards.

So Alex took the opportunity to pay a visit to Lena Luthor. A flash of a fake FBI badge got her to the house’s front door. She slowed for a moment outside it, looking the building up and down.

Ok, she could grudgingly admit that it was a nice-looking place.

Alex knocked on the door, and waited, rather impatiently. She fidgeted a little on the spot.

After a couple of minutes, she scanned the entrance, and found the doorbell. She rang that, instead of knocking; maybe the house was too big for Lena to hear a normal knock.

Not much longer after that, Lena opened the door. She seemed somewhat confused to see Alex.

“Hello?” Lena said. She frowned. “Kara isn’t here-”

“I’m here to see you,” Alex said.

Lena’s confusion continued unabated. Still, she took a slow step back.

Alex walked inside, closing the door behind her. When she turned back to face Lena, her expression was far less charitable. Lena, however, was turning to walk into another room.

“This isn’t a social call,” Alex said.

“Oh?” Lena said.

She turned back around, and barely flinched under Alex’s glare. She’d seen worse.

“For some reason that’s beyond me, Kara actually wants to stay here,” Alex said. “She’s giving you more trust, frankly, than I think you deserve. She always tries to see the best in people; I don’t.”

“Is this just going to be a speech about how you don’t trust me?” Lena said, less than concerned.

Like she didn’t hear the same thing several times a day.

“I thought I could trust you,” Alex said. “You just about managed to change my mind when you helped us.”

Lena arched an eyebrow, somewhat impatiently.

“I’d suggest hurrying,” Lena said. “So what did my brother do this time? Or was it mom?”

“This has nothing to do with your family,” Alex said. “This is entirely about you.”

Lena faltered.

“I don’t know what exactly your problem is,” Alex said. “But if it’s hurting my sister, I’m not going to let it continue.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re talking with her, aren’t you? Saying everything that’s wrong with aliens, repeating the same bigotry that’s on the news every day,” Alex said. “Not like I can change what you think, so believe what you want, as wrong as it is, but don’t go repeating it to an alien.”

“Not that it’s any of your business what we talk about,” Lena said, “But Kara takes part in the conversations too. She asks about-”

“When my sister comes home wondering if she should ever have come to Earth in the first place, then it becomes my business,” Alex said.

Lena stiffened.

“Kara’s kind,” Alex said.  “Kinder than she should be, sometimes. Just because you get the opportunity to poison her with your prejudice, doesn’t mean you should.”

“I’m not-”

“I’m talking,” Alex said. “I don’t care about your excuses, all I care about right now is my sister. This has nothing to do with me not liking you, it has everything to do with Kara.”

Lena hesitated.

“I can tell you this much,” Alex said. “If Kara ends up doubting herself because of you, on top of all the guilt she’s carrying around after the red kryptonite, then it’s not going to be aliens you’re going to have a problem with.”

There were a few seconds of silence; Alex was proud of just how much she could put across in just a glare. Admittedly Lena had been unflappable for some of their exchange, but somewhere along the line she seemed to have been affected.

Slowly, Lena breathed in.

“What happened with Kara?” Lena said, more quietly.

Alex paused.

“Something you said to her,” Alex said. “She shouldn’t have been sent to Earth because of something you can’t possibly know about the risk.”

Lena’s eyes widened.

“That wasn’t meant to be…” her voice trailed off. “I was trying to illustrate a point, not imply-”

“Do you think it matters to Kara which alien you’re talking about?” Alex said. “She’s one of them, directing a complaint at the rest is still directing it at her.”

“I’m not having this conversation with you,” Lena said. “There’s more to it than that. But if what I said hurt Kara, you have my apologies.”

Alex raised her eyebrows.

“Your apologies?” she echoed, disbelievingly.

“Is that so hard to believe?”

“It’s hard to believe you think that counts for anything,” Alex said. “Honestly, out of everyone I thought you’d be the least likely to want to stir up fear.”

“Out of everyone?” Lena quoted. She continued coolly. “What, exactly, is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re a Luthor,” Alex said. “Thought you’d understand the problem with people judging you based on your associations, rather than who you are.”

Lena’s expression became far colder.

“I’ve let you speak,” Lena said, softly. “Now, listen to me. First, my family’s crimes are not something for you to reduce to a cheap comparison. Second, I am not comfortable with anyone having the powers of Supergirl, but that does not mean I blame Kara for her heritage. I would never intentionally hurt her.”

Lena’s voice became gentler for maybe a second.

“Third, leave,” Lena said, cold again. “I’ve listened to you, now you can go. Unless you have anything else to say?”

“If Kara-”

“I’ll add you to the list of death threats I get every day,” Lena said. “Are we done? Good.”

Lena walked past Alex, and pushed the door open. She turned on the spot, and faced Alex more fully, waiting with what didn’t quite pass for patience.

Slowly, Alex moved closer. When she was level with Lena, she paused.

“What you think doesn’t matter to me,” Alex said. “You’re not that important. What you say to Kara does. Be as wrong as you want, but don’t put anything more on Kara.”

Lena inclined her head, only slightly.

Her glare never once diminishing, Alex walked over the threshold. Lena closed the door behind her, and stood where she was for a long few seconds.

She stared at the plain back of the door. Part of her wondered what Kara was doing; part of her wondered how profound the effect was that Alex had claimed she’d had. Lena felt a brief pang.

Maybe that was just how her family was: destined to destroy everything around them. She’d just wanted Kara to understand-

Slowly Lena breathed out, then turned, and walked away.

Chapter Text

Kara was a little surprised to wake up with Lena in the doorway to her room.

Kara knew she’d gotten back late the night before. She’d gotten a takeaway still as Supergirl on the way back; some customers had been wary of her, but equally she had just saved the neighbourhood so the business-owners themselves had been friendly.

This was the first time she’d seen Lena for a while.

“I’m sorry,” Lena said, before anything.

Kara blinked. She shifted in her bed, rubbing her eyes. Kryptonian physiology unfortunately didn’t extend to doing away with tiredness.

“What?” Kara said, drowsy.

Lena hesitated.

“I’ll come back when you’re awake,” she said, after a few seconds.

“N-no,” Kara said. She tried sitting up, stretching out. “I’m up, I’m up, Lena, you don’t have to go.”

Kara moved, until she was vaguely vertical, if bleary. Lena hesitated for a few moments in the doorway.

“What did you want to talk about?” Kara said.

Lena paused, before choosing to walk into the room.

“Your sister came to see me,” Lena said.

“Alex?” Kara said. “I didn’t think she liked you.”

“She doesn’t,” Lena said. “She made that very clear.”

“Oh,” Kara blinked. “What did she-”

“Nothing bad,” Lena said. She paused. “I’m glad she came, actually. It gave me a chance to… think.”

Lena paused at that. She moved to sit at the foot of Kara’s bed, legs unsteady.

“I’m glad I know you,” Lena said.

“Lena?”

“What we talked about before,” Lena said, “The risks of you coming to Earth. I don’t want you to take that the wrong way; I don’t think they made the right decision, but that has no reflection on you. It wasn’t your fault.”

Kara shifted, still a little tired. It was a few moments before her mind caught up with what was being said.

“Lena…”

“I never wanted to hurt you,” Lena said.

“I know,” Kara said. “You,” she glanced down. “There was a… kind-of program of my mother on the pod I came to Earth in; a hologram. It’s not perfect, but it can let me talk to her. Kind of. And, it’s just, her answers were exactly what you thought; she just didn’t care.”

“Which isn’t your fault,” Lena said.

“Still,” Kara said. “You were right. I’ve been finding out that she was flawed, that she made mistakes, this is just another…”

Lena shook her head. She closed her eyes for a moment.

“I didn’t say any of that to make you think the same as me,” Lena said.

“You didn’t?”

“No,” Lena said. “I know what you believe, and most of that’s almost part of you. I wouldn’t want to change that.”

Lena faltered.

“I just knew what you were thinking of me,” Lena said.

“I was- what?”

“After everything I said,” Lena said. “Worry about aliens, defence of the detection device, talking to my mother… You were thinking I sounded just like Lex.”

Kara hesitated. 

“I was trying to show you that I wasn’t,” Lena said. “That I’ve thought this through. I don’t hate aliens, I’m not jealous; I’m wary, but there is a reason for that. It’s not the same as- them.”

“I never thought you were,” Kara said. “Not once.”

“I doubt that.”

“Really,” Kara said. She shifted, to meet Lena’s gaze, insistent. “You’re too different to him for me to ever think you’re alike. From pretty much the first time I saw you, I knew you were nothing like him.”

Lena paused for a moment, then.

“I didn’t want to be,” Lena said. “I just sounded so much like… So I tried to justify myself, explain myself, and I came off sounding exactly like the rest of my family.”

Lena closed her eyes.

“I just wanted you to understand me,” Lena said, softly.

“I do.”

Lena closed her eyes, to see Kara facing her with a level of kindness that was almost surprising. It certainly would have caught her off-guard, if she didn’t know Kara.

Lena breathed out, momentarily remembering all the times she’d seen Kara in her L-Corp office. Kara always seemed to have that smile; that likely-undeserved optimism, that promise that she was listening.

“I’m glad you came to Earth,” Lena said. “I’m glad to know you, Kara, no matter what else happens.”

“You said-”

“That you’re dangerous,” Lena said. “That’s true, and it’s not going to stop being true. But there’s more to you than what could happen.”

Lena hesitated.

“I can see the danger,” she said. “But I’m not my brother; I’m not going to just ignore the good as well.”

Lena regarded Kara, suddenly uncertain, and trying to gauge Kara’s reaction. For her part, Kara didn’t seem quite sure of what to say.

“I don’t think you’re like them,” Kara said, quietly.

Lena smiled.

Lena lingered where she was for a few moments. She’d never planned to say anything more than her apology, but still, it was hard to leave Kara.

“You know what I think,” Lena said. “But none of that has anything to do with you.”

“You’re scared of me,” Kara said.

“I’m scared of what you can do,” Lena said. “It’s… different. If you were anyone else, I’m not sure if I’d want to be in the same room as you. This is- being able to talk like this, it’s good.”

“I don’t really know what to think about that,” Kara said.

“Me neither,” Lena said.

The more time passed, the easier it was to look at Kara. Lena doubted she’d forget the effect of red kryptonite, and the eyes that had burned, and the casually lethal strength, but maybe at least she’d be able to think of Kara without remembering of that.

Finding out Kara was Supergirl, especially that way, was like Kara had become a whole new person. She had to reacquaint herself with the person behind the façade; actually get to know her anew.

The more she learnt, the less changed.

“Thank you,” Lena said, after a moment.

“For what?” Kara said.

“Listening,” Lena said. “Even if I put it badly, you- Most people, if they hear a Luthor talking about aliens, they ignore it. You didn’t. You actually… heard me.”

“I’m always going to listen to you, Lena,” Kara said.

“Even if, sometimes, you shouldn’t,” Lena said. She gave an odd smile; one Kara echoed and brightened.

Kara shifted, then. Her eyes didn’t move from Lena, and she watched Lena with a trust Lena wasn’t used to.

“When I talk about aliens,” Lena said, “The risk, the need for the detection device… That’s no reflection on you. If every one that came to Earth was a refugee who never made the decision, or had a valid reason… that would be one thing. But I know you’re not like the rest.”

Kara could almost hear the caveats in Lena’s words. Not yet or you try not to be. They’d talked about similar issues before.

Lena was trying to comfort her, even if she was bending the truth about her views slightly. Maybe Kara should have felt more grateful than she was, but she shook her head.

“It doesn’t work like that,” Kara said, haltingly.

Lena frowned.

“I spend most of my time as a human,” Kara said. “I look it, but I’m- not.”

“I know.”

“But the alien detection device,” Kara said, “That sort of thing, the attitude it causes… it’s directed at all of us. It- I know what you mean, I understand, but the ones you say you’re fine with are just as affected.”

“There’s always a war between security and freedom,” Lena said. “You can’t have perfect freedom without losing security, but you can’t have perfect safety without losing freedom.”

“But all aliens shouldn’t lose their freedom,” Kara said. “They’re not less important than humans; and humans always object to being profiled that way.”

“It’s not the same,” Lena said. “The harm an alien could do is beyond any human. They often have powers, always have better technology…”

“But where’s the line?” Kara said. “How much of a risk does there have to be, before it becomes acceptable to you? And how can you even measure those chances?”

Lena hesitated, briefly.

“And it’s more than just the detection device,” Kara said. “It’s the attitudes that would come with it; the people who’d feel legitimized.”

It was that which made Lena falter, though.

“Like my mother,” Lena said.

Kara paused.

“You were going to say that, right?” Lena said. “It’s the kind of thing my mother would support. Encourage, even.”

It didn’t seem to be something Lena wanted an answer to. Kara waited, unsure.

“I know you don’t agree with her,” Kara said.

“Not about everything,” Lena said.

Lena’s expression shifted through various emotions; from guilt, to coldness, to something kinder.

“But some things,” Kara said, uncertainly.

“We both agree that the sky’s blue,” Lena said.

“That’s not what…”

“I know,” Lena said. “But a point of view isn’t wrong, just because… someone like her thinks the same.”

“I’m not saying that,” Kara said. “But you’re basically endorsing that prejudice; I know you don’t agree with the extremists, and I know you’d condemn them, but the detection device is exactly the kind of thing they’d want. It doesn’t matter if you support them, if they think you do…”

“They’re always going to think I’m on their side,” Lena said. “Curse of being a Luthor.”

“Do you want to make it easy for them?”

Lena hesitated.

Kara tried not to look away; after the last conversation, she knew she wanted to reply to Lena. Lena’s words had been going around her head for a while, and there was a lot more she had to say.

It wasn’t that Lena was wrong. She was smart; it was just that Kara couldn’t agree.

And after how much Kara had ended up dwelling on what Lena had said, she wanted to make it clear why she disagreed.

“I understand what you’ve said,” Kara said. “I know there are… risks. I just don’t think any of the benefits outweigh the harm. Do you?”

Lena paused.

“I don’t know,” Lena said.  

“Then why risk it?”

“Because we don’t all have superpowers,” Lena said. “I don’t want to just do nothing. L-Corp’s meant to be a force for good, and I’m not going to be able to turn it into that if I don’t do anything with it.”

That much, Kara could understand. She’d become Supergirl because it was so hard to stand idly by when she had the power to help people.

Maybe she shouldn’t be surprised Lena felt the same.

And there was always the chance that the detection device would help; maybe it wouldn’t stir up prejudice, maybe people were better than she thought.

Kara still didn’t feel comfortable risking that.

Lena sighed, slowly.

“I didn’t want to talk about this again,” Lena said. “I-”

She closed her eyes for a few moments. Eventually, when she opened, she looked again to Kara.

“You know that none of this is to hurt you,” Lena said.

“You said,” Kara said.

“I know, just-” Lena exhaled. For a few seconds, she was far less confident than Kara was used to seeing. “You believe it, don’t you?”

“I believe you,” Kara said.

She barely had to think about it.

Lena had been nothing but supportive, before the red kryptonite incident. She’d been warier of Kara afterwards, but so was most of the city.

All things considered though, conflicting opinions aside, Lena had still been a friend.

Kara was living in a house that had kryptonite in the walls. She was sleeping in a house Lillian Luthor could visit, and had a secret identity known to Lena. If Lena was trying to hurt her, she had countless ways to do so.

Kara met Lena’s eyes, unblinking, and genuine. Lena looked away.

“You know how I feel, don’t you,” Lena said, softly and flatly.

Her tone made it very clear what she meant. Kara stumbled over her words. Mute, she nodded.

She’d let that fact slip on red kryptonite; it was hard for her to ignore the sound of a heartbeat, particularly when it quickened whenever Lena saw her.

There wasn’t much that could mean; and Kara wasn’t blind. She’d noticed how Lena looked at her.

Kara had never wanted to give it much thought. She’d had enough of relationships where she had to keep her identity secret, to say nothing of the complications Lena’s family would cause. It was one of those facts she was vaguely aware of, but didn’t want to dwell on.

“I wasn’t going to mention…” Kara began.

“I could never do anything to hurt you,” Lena said.

She closed her eyes.

“How long?” Lena said.

“What?” Kara said.

“How long did it take for you to work it out?” Lena said.

“Not- Not too long,” Kara said.

They hadn’t talked too much about this particular subject. Lena had been understandably self-conscious about it; no one wanted their feelings to be so easily unearthed.

“Um, why?” Kara said.

“Is it so strange that I want to know?” Lena said.

“No, I mean, uh, why did you… feel?” Kara said.

Lena raised her eyebrows at Kara’s phrasing, then breathed out. It took a few seconds before she replied.

“I don’t see why that would be strange either,” Lena said.

She hesitated. For a few moments, she regarded Kara, her gaze softening.

“To begin with, I liked you because you were separate from all of this,” Lena said. Her lips quirked. “You were pure, and innocent. No sneakiness, no paranoia, and no connection to the Luthors or the Supers.”

“Oh.”

“That was what I needed,” Lena said. “Just someone who was… separate. Someone who I could look at without being reminded of literally everything that has ever gone wrong in my life.”

Lena looked away.

Kara felt a swell of sympathy. It wasn’t like Lena was wrong; whatever else could be said about Luthors, they’d led a privileged life. Rich, powerful, respected; it wasn’t until Lex had entered the public eye that any of them would’ve experienced any particular suffering.

It was no wonder Lena might want a break from those associations.

“Is- is that it?” Kara said. “You liked me because I wasn’t Supergirl?”

“I liked you because you were good,” Lena said. “No ulterior motive. Understanding. Accepting. Willing to give me a chance, and really do so, without turning your nose up at me. God, do you know how rare that is, Kara? No, you probably wouldn’t. Always trying to see the best.”

Lena breathed out, slowly. She found she couldn’t look away from Kara.

“And you weren’t after anything,” Lena said. “Even when we disagreed, you never… That’s rare, especially in a reporter.”

Kara’s cheeks started to colour.

“I’m- uh, I’m not-” Kara said, tripping over her words. “I mean, it’s not that-”

“Supergirl can’t accept a compliment?” Lena said. “That’s… interesting.”

Kara flushed.

“What I really hate, is that I didn’t guess who you were,” Lena said.

“Wh-what?” Kara said. “I- I’m good at keeping the secret.”

“You told me you flew to my office,” Lena said.

Kara looked away.

“And,” Lena said, her tone becoming thoughtful, “There was how nervous you got around the alien detection device, and how my engineers reported a burnt circuit afterwards. There’s how you look, and how you’re apparently the only person in the city to openly know her. And…”

Lena sighed. She shook her head for a moment, looking at Kara.

“I’ll, um, remember that,” Kara said.

“I don’t think I wanted to see it,” Lena said. “I wanted you to have no part in any of this. To just be… I wish you weren’t Supergirl.”

Almost as soon as she said it, Lena’s eyes widened.

“I don’t mean that,” Lena said. “Not like it sounds. I-”

“I understand,” Kara said. “It’d be easier if I was just a human. I think the same, sometimes, I just like being Supergirl.”

As if that was ever in doubt; Kara smiled to herself. She’d had an easier life for so long, but the opportunity to start helping people…

It seemed as if Lena, at least, understood that. With all her family’s money she could have vanished off the map; instead she’d chosen to stay in the public eye, to fix what her brother had done with L-Corp.

“Am I that different?” Kara said. “Now you know, I mean.”

Lena hesitated.

“Not really,” Lena said. “You still… listen. You treated the detection device fairly in your article, and even now you’re not just ignoring me. And you could, so easily-”

“No, I couldn’t.”

Lena faltered for a few moments.

Then she started to stare at Kara, an entirely different look in her eyes. Kara couldn’t quite meet her gaze.

“I trust you,” Lena said, breathing as much as speaking.

She blinked, looking almost as surprised as Kara at her own admission. Lena hesitated.

“Everything I said is true,” Lena said. “The power you have, it’s more than anyone should have. And you being sent to an underdeveloped world like Earth wasn’t the right choice. But none of that is your fault.”

Lena shifted, for a moment staring at Kara more intently, trying to read any aspect of her expression.

“And what you could do, the danger you could pose…” Lena said. “That danger is real. But it hasn’t happened, and maybe it won’t, but I don’t know. All I know is what has happened, and what I’ve known of you, and how you’ve acted. No one can know the future, but I do know the past and the present.”

Kara was tensed, slightly. Instinctively, Lena rested her hand on Kara’s.

“All I know is that right now, at this moment in time, I trust you,” Lena said.

It was hard not to feel self-conscious under Lena’s eyes, when she looked that way. She had the kind of gaze that made it very clear she was watching, and that she actually saw you.

“I-” Kara said. She hesitated; she knew what those words would mean to Lena. “Thank you.”

Lena’s cheeks coloured, just slightly.

“I thought you should know,” Lena said.

Then, she stood up, and rather quickly made a goodbye to leave the room. Kara tried to ignore the fading sound of her beating heart.

Chapter Text

Alex expected her sister to show up, eventually.

She kept her window open, just in case. When apartment shopping, she’d found an apartment with large windows for just that reason. She always wanted her sister to be able to visit.

Now, Alex suspected Kara would want to talk to her. Alex hadn’t been able to keep from talking to Lena Luthor, after what she’d heard, but she knew the inherent trust Kara seemed to have in Lena.

So, Alex waited.

It was a good few minutes before the curtains blew forwards, and Kara landed neatly on the floor. Alex waved across.

“Hey Kara,” she said.

“Alex,” Kara neared. She paused for a moment. “You talked to Lena.”

There it was. Alex shifted, to sit up, and paused the TV.

“You know I had to, Kara,” Alex said.

“Why does no one trust her?” Kara said.

“It wasn’t anything to do with trust,” Alex said. “Anyone who said something like that to you, I’d talk to.”

“She wasn’t…”

“You were so upset when I saw you,” Alex said. “Do you expect me to not care when that happens?”

Kara had to smile at Alex’s tone. Kara glanced across to her sister, moving to sit by her feet on the sofa.

“She apologized,” Kara said.

“Well- good,” Alex said. “She should have.”

“Alex!”

“What?” Alex said. “You’re not going to tell me you’ve started agreeing aliens need to be outed, or that you shouldn’t be on-”

“No,” Kara said.

Still, she hesitated for a few seconds. Alex moved, sitting up straighter; any levity in her expression quickly faded.

“Kara?” Alex said, uncertainly.

“It’s just…” Kara’s voice trailed off.

“What happened?” Alex said.

She knew what it meant when Kara looked like that. She’d seen it more than she’d liked lately, too.

“There was almost a car crash, near Fifth,” Kara said. “The driver got out of control. I did what I could to help; I couldn’t just stop the car, if it crash into me that could hurt the driver, so I tried to slow it, and get people out of the way…”

Kara hesitated.

“Some of them ran away from me,” Kara said. “Not the car. They just- they saw Supergirl coming, and they ran. I mean, they’re safe, and I should be happy about it, but…”

“They haven’t forgotten about the red kryptonite,” Alex said.

“It shouldn’t bother me,” Kara said. “But-”

“You’re allowed to feel bad,” Alex said. “I know the standards people hold heroes to, but you’re more than that. You’re, well, you. If it bothers you, it bothers you. Just remember that what happened wasn’t your fault, and sooner or later, they’ll have to see that.”

“I know,” Kara said. She shrugged, uselessly. “It- I don’t think it’s something I’m ever going to likely seeing.”

Alex smiled across. That much, she could understand; for someone as empathetic as her sister, causing people fear would never sit well with her.

“What does that have to do with Lena?” Alex said.

Kara faltered, for a moment.

“The red kryptonite,” Kara said. “I was so… cruel. I could have done so much, and I would have done anything.”

“It’s over,” Alex said.

“I know,” Kara said. She hesitated. “It’s over because of Lex Luthor. He set up a whole house to be a trap for a kryptonian. If he hadn’t, if he wasn’t that full of hate, if-”

“You can’t seriously tell me you’re sympathizing with Lex Luthor,” Alex said. “Sometimes empathy can go too far, Kara.”

“N-no,” Kara said, quickly. “But if he hadn’t… I don’t know what would have stopped me.”

“We’d have found a way,” Alex said. “There’s more kryptonite-”

“In a ready-made trap?” Kara said.

“We’d have managed,” Alex said. “The Luthor home was convenient. That’s all. Besides, what’s that meant to prove?”

“I don’t know,” Kara said. “That- well, sometimes they’re right. There are bad aliens, and- And maybe that paranoia isn’t so bad, if it helps…”

“You’re guilty,” Alex said, quietly.

“Wh-what?”

“That’s guilt talking,” Alex said. “You hate yourself for what happened, you blame yourself, you want an outlet. Maybe you’re even convincing yourself that the most anti-Kryptonian people out there have a point, just because of how it feels.”

Kara hesitated. She’d admit, it was becoming easier to see where people like Lex were coming from, given how dangerous she’d been and what it had taken to stop her.

It felt like more than guilt though. Then again, it was hard to be sure.

“Kara,” Alex said. “Lex Luthor is wrong. Lillian Luthor is wrong. Nothing that happened was your fault; and nothing needed their help.”

“I don’t-” Kara said, and hesitated. “I did think that, but… It’s not like I don’t have a reason to feel bad.”

“I know,” Alex said, softly. “Sometimes you just need to work through the guilt. Wait it out. It takes time- but, Kara, you don’t need to look for ways to make yourself feel worse. You can’t try to agree with people, just because you feel like the monster they see you as. You’re not. The fact you feel guilty just proves it.”

Kara smiled, gratefully.

“So just ignore the Luthors,” Alex said. “Lex and Lillian, and… if that’s why you’re staying with Lena-”

“It’s not,” Kara said quickly.

“Kara-”

“It’s not, Alex, I promise,” Kara said. “Lena’s been… helpful.”

“Sounds it,” Alex said.

There was scorn in her voice. Kara stumbled for a moment; but then, she had to admit Alex had a point. She hadn’t seen any of the good sides.

She hadn’t seen Lena hurrying to apologize, balking at the idea she’d hurt Kara. She hadn’t seen Lena swearing that she trusted Kara. She hadn’t seen Lena’s openness, or honesty.

And maybe Lena wasn’t perfect, but Kara could hardly begrudge her trust issues, after all she’d been through.

“She has been,” Kara said. “I know you always want to see the best, but… sometimes I need to be around someone who thinks I can be… dangerous. Someone who doesn’t make me feel bad for worrying about what I could do.”

“Kara-”

“I know you don’t mean to,” Kara said. “You wouldn’t hurt me, but you’d never see the worst in me. Not that Lena does, but…”

There were all kinds of ways to feel bad. There was sadness, regret, and there was guilt. Support helped with some of that, but her friends would never blame her for what happened.

And yes, she knew it wasn’t her fault, but acknowledgement helped too. Whatever influences she’d been under, it had still been her powers that had done all that harm.

“I don’t trust her,” Alex said.

“I know,” Kara said.

“And I reserve the right to say ‘I told you so,’” Alex said.

“Got it,” Kara said. She chuckled to herself.

Working through guilt was one thing, but Alex could cheer her up, regardless.

“Ok,” Alex said. She regarded Kara for a few moments, before her expression lifted. “Now for the real question.”

Kara tilted her head.

“Should we arrange for a delivery,” Alex said, “Which means we can sit around here, and just laze, or are you going to superspeed to the take-out, which means you’ll have to move, but the food gets here faster.”

Kara pouted.

“Mean choice,” Kara said.

“Hardly the first time you’ve had to make it,” Alex said.

“It’s still mean,” Kara said.

J’onn had promised to keep the Danvers sisters safe; he hadn’t really needed Alex’s insistence to make sure Lena wasn’t a threat. Not that it hurt.

As it turned out, there was only a limited amount that they could do. As advanced as DEO technicians, hackers and equipment was, L-Corp had access to almost the same. A lot of their hardware wasn’t meant to be available to the public just yet, but corporations like L-Corp always seemed to either have contacts, or make their own.

Which meant a lot of the email- and phone-hacking they’d done to watch potentially dangerous figures ran into a wall. Winn was working on it, but even if he got in, there were likely to be more obstacles, and they’d almost certainly be detected.

Making it a priority didn’t do away with the obstacles.

A lot of their options were kept away from Kara. It wasn’t exactly a secret, if Kara looked up ongoing surveillance she’d find it, but the information wasn’t volunteered. She was too much of an optimist to be comfortable with the details.

If they couldn’t directly access L-Corp’s and Lena’s systems, then that lead to more roundabout means of surveillance.

All couriers that serviced the city were being tracked for deliveries to any L-Corp site, or for that matter deliveries from. Nearby street cameras kept an eye on the Luthor household.

One ongoing worry was what surprises Lex had left behind. There was kryptonite in the walls of his house; that was one. They couldn’t say how many more of his offices and buildings and secret labs would have similar traps.

They’d scanned the most obvious areas, but evidently he had workarounds.

So far, they were leaving it put. At least they knew where it was; the hope was that Cadmus might be interested in stealing some, or transporting it elsewhere. They could follow it, if that was the case.

And if that never happened, as it seemed, Luthors had to have good security. It was fairly safe where it was.

J’onn sat by a list of all of Lex’s known properties; it went far beyond his public purchases, including several found only by a piece of investigative journalism from one Clark Kent.

DEO agents were checking out the facilities they could get access to, adopting whatever agency was most convenient as a cover. Only a handful had the mechanisms necessary to conceal kryptonite, and most had been stripped bare long since, after Lex’s arrest.

He scrolled on, to a list of the properties whose ownership had been passed on to Lena.

“Hey, J’onn. Anything I can help with?”

J’onn absolutely did not jump at that. Still, Kara had a remarkable talent for sneaking up on people, if accidentally. He turned, to see her off to the side of the room.

“I’m afraid not,” J’onn said. “We’re looking out for potential kryptonite storage facilities. It isn’t something that’d be safe for you.”

Kara moved closer. She frowned, a little, remembering how unpleasant kryptonite could feel. Then the screen in front of J’onn caught her eye.

“List of properties registered to Lena Luthor,” she quoted. “That’s where you’re searching?”

“We know she has some,” J’onn said. “They were meant to have been searched before, but we missed the kryptonite in Lena’s current home. If there’s more out there…”

“I understand,” Kara said. She paused. “Have you thought about just asking her?”

“If she wanted us to know she had kryptonite, she’d have told us a lot sooner,” J’onn said. “It may be that it was only so well-concealed in Lex’s homes: that seems most likely, but we’d best check.”

“You don’t trust her?” Kara said.

“Trust is earned,” J’onn said.

“She’s helped us,” Kara said.

“That’s a start,” J’onn said.

There was a beep as a message came through. J’onn ticked off another of the facilities on the list; it had been fully checked out.

That still left several more, as well as the likely problem that they didn’t have a complete list of Lex’s labs.

“Does Clark know?” Kara said.

“He’s aware,” J’onn said. “With the potential… issues of extracting the kryptonite from Lena’s house, he’s reluctantly agreed to leave it where it is, so long as we keep a close eye on it.”

“Issues?” Kara echoed.

“He doesn’t want another Luthor as an enemy,” J’onn said. “Extracting it from the home of a public figure without her permission will be… tricky.”

J’onn paused.

“If we asked her, do you think she’d agree?” J’onn said. “You’re living with her, you know her better than any of us.”

“Why don’t you just ask her?” Kara said. “Find out.”

“If she says no, it’ll make her unwilling in future,” J’onn said. “It would be like we wanted to steal from her. I only want to ask if you think she’ll say yes.”

Kara hesitated, for a moment.

“I don’t think she will,” Kara said.

J’onn glanced across to her.

“And you still choose to live with her?” J’onn said.

“It’s not- I don’t think she’s planning to use it,” Kara said. “She just wants to feel… safe, and kryptonite’s the easiest way for humans to feel that, with… well, us. And it hasn’t been that long since she saw me on red kryptonite.”

Kara paused, and frowned at J’onn.

“You agree with her though, don’t you?” Kara said. “You wanted to keep kryptonite around, despite what Clark wanted, because of the danger of kryptonians.”

“I wanted to keep the option,” J’onn said. “I also want to keep it in the hands of people who can be trusted, and not accessible to the public.”

“I trust Lena to be careful,” Kara said.

“Maybe you do,” J’onn said. “I’m not you.”

“You’re a bit like her, though,” Kara said.

J’onn glanced sideways.

“You’re careful,” Kara said. “Protective. You might want the best for aliens, but you’ll take steps to prepare for the bad ones. Kryptonite, or… I think you’d probably get some use out of her alien detection device.”

“The DEO has ordered some,” J’onn admitted. “Being able to detect aliens would be useful; it would have helped in a number of the cases we’ve been involved with. But we’re also taking steps to be an exclusive buyer: it’s useful technology, but not something we want in anyone else’s hands.”

“You know the DEO,” Kara said. “Lena doesn’t.”

“We’re not hiring Lena Luthor,” J’onn said. “We’ve already hired one of your friends-”

“Winn worked out!”

“But the DEO has hiring guidelines beyond ‘are you friends with Supergirl?’” J’onn said.

“Ok,” Kara said. “But if you were her, who would you trust the device to? An organization you didn’t know?”

J’onn paused.

“You’re not that different,” Kara said. “At least when it comes to security, you believe similar things.”

“I accept aliens can be dangerous,” J’onn said. “But I believe in freedom too; a whole group can’t be assumed to be in the wrong. Not by the public, at least; security forces have a different role. We have to think like that, but it can’t be encouraged, and we don’t act until people have actually done something wrong.”

J’onn shifted, slightly discomforted by something.

“J’onn?” Kara said.

He shook his head.

“I really ought to get back to work,” he said. “Is there anything urgent?”

“Just checking in,” Kara said. “Lena’s having, um, someone else for dinner tonight, so I’m not meant to be around.”

“Someone else?” J’onn said. He looked up.

Kara fidgeted a little. Ok, so it was someone whose identity she knew, or at least suspected, but didn’t want to share. Kara wasn’t too good at keeping secrets.

“Anyone we should know about?” J’onn said.

Kara shook her head, just a little too quickly. J’onn kept staring.

“It’s not my secret to tell,” Kara said. “I- I promised. Sort of. If Lena wants to keep it secret, then I’ll keep it.”

I don’t want to use her. Kara looked away from J’onn’s curious gaze. As important a target as Lillian Luthor was, Lena deserved better than to just be used as a means to catch her mother.

Kara didn’t want to think what that would do to their friendship. Maybe Lena and Lillian didn’t get on, but Lena was still somewhat bitter at how Superman had tried to use her to get to Lex. She’d hardly want to go through that a second time.

And given the insistence with which Lena had asked her to stay out of the house, she probably was talking to her mother again.

Kara understood that, at least. Even knowing all the flaws of family, it was hard not to want the ideal.

Kara left, not long after that. J’onn stayed where he was, issuing orders to the teams checking various other facilities.

After a few moments though, his own words played in his head. He’d never really had much cause to voice the difference between what the DEO did, and what the Luthors were doing.

Focus on those who’d done something wrong; don’t rely on guilt by association, don’t assume that they’re evil just because they’re of a different species. Give them a chance.

People like the Supers, who’d not done anything wrong, weren’t the villains.

J’onn breathed out slowly, and clicked his way back, opening a different folder on the computer screen. With a little reluctance, he scrolled down to a document titled M’gann M’orzz.

Lena sipped her wine silently. She looked across the table.

She was sat opposite her mother, though she sat at the head of the table, rather than along the side as she did when eating with Kara. She was some distance from her mother.

The meal was a deceptive one; it was a roast, one that looked as though it took far more effort than it did. She’d spent about five or ten minutes on the ingredients several hours ago, and mostly just waited.

She wasn’t going to take ages making a meal her mother would like.

“Three visits in the same month,” Lena said, flat. “I’m blessed.”

“Is it so strange that I want to be sure that my daughter’s ok?” Lillian said.

“You never seemed interested before,” Lena said. “Or do you just need a replacement for Lex?”

“You may not be a Luthor, but I do still love you,” Lillian said. “After what happened, Supergirl breaking into your office…”

“Can we just stop pretending we don’t both know you caused it?” Lena said.

Lillian paused, briefly. She ate a mouthful of the meal.

“If that would make you more comfortable,” Lillian said.

“So you can stop acting concerned,” Lena said.

“Why would you think this is an act?” Lillian said.

“Because I’m not Lex,” Lena said.

“I’m well aware,” Lillian said. “That doesn’t mean I want to see you hurt.”

There were a few more seconds of silence. Their last meal had somehow skirted around this particular topic, and the red kryptonite, but something in Lena was less willing to allow the polite evasion this time.

Lillian ate, occasionally looking across the table to her daughter. Lena met her eyes.

They were both perfectly intelligent, and they both knew one another. Lillian knew what Lena was saying, that ultimately the attack of Lena was down to her. It was just a matter of waiting for a reply.

Eventually, Lillian gave a slight smile.

“What happened was… regrettable,” Lillian said. “I had no idea you and Supergirl were so close, that she’d come to you. You never had the best taste in friends.”

Lena stared across the table. She had years of practise at hiding the nervousness she felt around her mother.

“Someone was always going to get hurt,” Lena said.

“True,” Lillian said. “A small hurt in the short-term is not significant if it is to prevent a greater evil. There will always be collateral damage. Allowing people to continuously see Supergirl as some hero, rather than what she really is…”

Lillian paused.

“That would be the real harm,” Lillian said. “Not everyone sees the world the way we do.”

“The way you do,” Lena said.

“Am I mistaken?” Lillian said. “If my sources are correct, you helped subdue Supergirl with kryptonite. To my knowledge, all of Lex’s stockpile was confiscated. Even I couldn’t hold on to any, and yet you found a way.”

Another pause. Lillian met her daughter’s eyes, not reacting to what she saw there.

“I’m impressed,” Lillian said. “I should have told you sooner. It shows the kind of forethought I would more expect to see in your brother.”

Lena looked away.

She’d barely thought about it, to begin with. She’d been paranoid, after Lex had been arrested, and the Luthor hatred came out in full force. She’d expected Superman would come after her again.

It had been fear speaking, when she’d concealed a few choice shards. She hadn’t really known Supergirl, and hadn’t really had the opportunity to think about it.

“I’d never have had a use for it, if not for you,” Lena said.

“You would have,” Lillian said. “Maybe not for a few more years, but you would have been glad you had some defence, if my work doesn’t succeed.”

“You really don’t trust them,” Lena said.

“Would you?” Lillian said. “You just need to look at the history books. When a new race comes, there’s only one thing that happens to the old. It was Thanksgiving not long ago; remember how that started.”

“Aliens aren’t human,” Lena said. “There’s no reason to think they’ll act the same way as we have.”

“And no reason to think they wouldn’t,” Lillian said. “The behaviours that aid survival aren’t going to change all that much, from world to world. Sooner or later it will come to a choice between them or us, and we have to prepare for that day.”

“Because a few refugees are the worst the world has to face,” Lena said.

She couldn’t quite say where her defensiveness came from. It just pained her to agree with her mother.

Still, Supergirl was technically a refugee, and she knew full well that a lot of the aliens on Earth were just there for a place to live. She still questioned their motives in choosing Earth, but she could more easily accept them, than she could the ones that sought to subjugate.

“David Hahn,” Lillian said.

Lena frowned.

“Who?” she said.

“A teenager,” Lillian said. “A human. With some smoke alarms, batteries, paint, and inventiveness, he built a small nuclear reactor in a shed, with no help and no oversight. He put thousands at risk from radiation.”

“And?”

“That’s what one person can do, with limited knowledge,” Lillian said. “Do you believe that radiation is the worst that an alien can do? In the same situation, they could create worse. Intelligence is a weapon. Even alone, even with no materials, you can manage remarkable things with just what you can get.”

Lillian wetted her throat with some wine.

“That describes very few of our… visitors,” Lillian said. “Most are more dangerous than even that. They have abilities, and they have technology. We need a way to fight that, without relying on Superman constantly, because sooner or later he won’t save us.”

It was strange how hearing views she was sympathetic to in her mother’s mouth could suddenly make them less palatable.

“You’re wrong,” Lena said.

Her mother shifted, and looked across, contemplative.

“You’d favour them?” Lillian said.

“Supergirl isn’t the one who put my life at risk,” Lena said. “Mom.”

She paused.

“Given that, who would you suggest I trust?” Lena said.

“People had to know that she is a danger,” Lillian said.

Lillian looked across the table, again. She regarded her daughter, speculative.

“You know that you’re being watched, don’t you?” Lillian said, suddenly.

Lena stiffened.

“It took a little effort for me to come in here unseen,” Lillian said. “If I were you, I’d think more about just who it is that I trust.”

Lillian looked down, back to her meal again, and continued to eat. Hesitantly, Lena continued her dinner too.

Chapter Text

“Come on, Lena,” Kara said. She tugged on Lena’s arm.

Somewhat uncertain, Lena tried to straighten her dress. She never quite knew how she was meant to look in most settings outside of her work.

Still, she let Kara lead her into a part of the city she wasn’t so familiar with. It wasn’t like they were in any danger; Supergirl would see to that.

They’d taken one of Lena’s cars to get into the neighbourhood, but Kara walked the last stretch. She lead the way to a metal door, which she knocked on, and murmured something to someone on the other side.

Lena raised her eyebrows, curiosity overtaking hesitation as the door opened, and she followed Kara inside.

“Have to say, I didn’t think you were the type to go to dive bars,” Lena said.

Kara glanced back, then looked around. She chuckled to herself.

“It’s a bit more than that,” Kara said. “Come on.”

They sat in a quieter side of the room, on opposite sides of the table. Lena’s brow furrowed.

It wasn’t the kind of place that she was used to. The clink of pool balls, the muted music, the laughter, the rather strong smell of alcohol…

“I still don’t know why you brought me here,” Lena said.

“It’s- uh, it might help,” Kara said. “Some of the things you said, and that you were worried about, I thought…”

“What things?” Lena said.

Slowly, though, she was starting to suspect. Lena glanced around the bar again, taking in details.

A person she thought was wearing green gloves seemed to instead have unnaturally coloured skin, another seemed to have an unusually lengthy tongue, and was that person blinking with a second pair of eyelids-

Lena’s eyes widened, and she leaned forward, dropping her voice.

“You brought me to an alien bar?” Lena said, urgent. “Kara, tell me you didn’t-”

“You don’t have to worry,” Kara said. “Everyone here’s nice. Well, almost everyone. And they’re not all as bad as you think, they’re not all-”

“I’m a Luthor,” Lena said. “It doesn’t matter what kind of people they are, it matters what they think of me. If they recognize me-”

“You’re safe with me,” Kara said. “They know I’m Kryptonian, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

“I’m not safe here,” Lena said, her voice never rising above a whisper.

“You’re always safe with me,” Kara said.

Lena’s eyes drifted again. Not too many people were looking at them, as far as she could tell.

“Warn me, next time,” Lena said.

“I will,” Kara said. “I just really wanted you to come here.”

“Why?”

“Because of what you said,” Kara said. “You don’t trust aliens, but you trust me, because you know me. Thought you’d want to, well, get to know a few others.”

“I don’t think…”

“I know, it’s not really the same,” Kara said. She hesitated, about to say something else, before changing her mind. “It- You can’t know them for as long, but it’ll be a taste.”

Kara paused.

“If you want to go, we’ll go,” she said, a bit reluctantly, “But I thought this would be… good.”

“It’s fine,” Lena said, hesitantly. “Just give me a moment.”

She wasn’t entirely sure why she didn’t take Kara’s offer to leave. The alien issue was complicated, but even with nothing else to worry about she was hardly going to be a popular person here.

And maybe Kara could protect her, but the idea of putting her life in someone else’s hands didn’t appeal. It never had.

Lena looked around again. Now she knew that not everyone here was human, it was easier to spot the odd traits. Things she’d thought to be clothing, or optical illusions, stood out.

The more overtly non-humanoid races kept to the sides; no wonder she hadn’t seen them before.

“Are you ok?” Kara said.

“I don’t feel safe,” Lena said, her voice still soft.

Kara hesitated; Lena closed her eyes. It was strange to have one of their talks outside of her home, but it was a welcome distraction.

“You don’t understand,” Lena said, flatly. “You wouldn’t.”

“I try to,” Kara said.

“But you’ve never really had to worry,” Lena said. “Barely anything can hurt you. Whereas me, sitting here, I’m the most fragile thing in this room. From the aliens I’ve seen, and their strength, the powers they have, compared to me…”

Lena glanced out, again, warily.

“Imagine everyone in this room had a box of kryptonite,” Lena said. “Even if those boxes were closed, and lead, how would you feel?”

“I don’t know.”

“Would you feel safe?” Lena said. “Could you feel safe?”

“Probably not,” Kara admitted. “But that’s a choice, carrying something around is something they’d choose to do. Their species, that’s not… You don’t know if they even want the powers they have.”

Lena tensed; Kara followed her gaze. Someone was staring at her; still, when Kara turned to face them, they’d looked away.

Maybe they’d decided not to cause trouble, or maybe they’d decided Supergirl wouldn’t be sitting with a Luthor. Either way, it made things easier.

Still, it was with a little hesitation that Kara faced Lena again.

“They still chose to come here,” Lena said. “Like I said before. They chose a world where their biology means they have more powers than humans; that’s like choosing to bring a box of kryptonite. Those that chose this world…”

“I’ve asked,” Kara said. “Do you want to know why they chose here?”

Lena hesitated.

“What?” Lena said.

“I asked around, after we had that discussion,” Kara said. “This is a nice place to relax, for me. Got to know some of the people here. I mean, I don’t know everyone, but some of the regulars…”

Kara shifted in her chair, to better survey the bar. Her expression had shifted, suddenly, to something brighter.

“See, her?” Kara said, gesturing to someone at the bar. “She’s an anthropologist of sorts, she wants to know what humanity’s like on a social level. Most species have cultural aspects and ideas unique to them, and she’s part of a group that likes to collect those facts.”

Kara looked around, trying to find someone else. Her gaze settled on someone at another table, who was stirring his drink with an unusually long index finger.

“He’s here to collect a crashed ship,” Kara said. “I helped him find it, and he stabilized the damage to the engine, he’s just waiting to be picked up.”

She looked around again. Her expression fell slightly at a trio of less-humanoid aliens in rather strikingly illustrated shirts, all talking animatedly around a table.

“They’re, uh, tourists,” Kara said.

“They’re what?”

“Tourists,” Kara said. She hesitated. “Band shirts are basically Hawaiian shirts as far as other worlds are concerned. It’s a giveaway.”

Lena raised her eyebrows, staring for a few moments more at the aliens.

It was odd to think of them as something as mundane as tourists. Then again, maybe she should expect that; most people enjoyed seeing new sights.

She was distracted when Kara turned again, gesturing to another figure at the bar. This woman had dark hair, and the little of her skin that Lena could see was a far deeper red than would be at home on a human.

“She’s from Korugar,” Kara said. “Her world was taken over by a dictator a while ago, and he’s a member of a galaxy-wide organization. She wanted to escape him, and the organization he’s part of, and the best way was to fall off the radar and come to a world like Earth, somewhere that doesn’t routinely contact other worlds.”

Kara started looking around again, for someone else she recognized. Lena interrupted.

“I get it,” Lena said. “They have reasons for coming here.”

“A lot of reasons,” Kara said. “And, I know, it’s not quite an answer. Not all of them have new powers on Earth-”

“They all have technology.”

“Right, so they all come to a world where they have something more,” Kara said. “But where else would they go?”

Lena hesitated.

“There aren’t all that many worlds that are suitable,” Kara said, “And they think the same as you. They’re not going to go to a world where they’re at a disadvantage, especially if they’re fleeing danger. And ones like the tourists, they come here, but they go to worlds where the locals have powers they don’t too.”

She didn’t have the full story; Lena knew that. Everyone had their own lives, and their own motivations, and she could glimpse no more than a scrap. There was always more.

Still, the little she’d seen had left her profoundly uncomfortable. It wasn’t as though she was imagining the aliens that were a threat, or the scale of that danger. National City and Metropolis had seen their fair share.

Lena looked at the red-skinned woman, and at the tourists, and various others. Maybe she could sympathize with them.

“But what about the rest?” Lena said. “The dangerous ones. Your aunt, the would-be presidential assassin, the-”

“They’re not representative,” Kara said.

“So we shouldn’t do anything about them?”

“We shouldn’t punish everyone else in this bar,” Kara said.

Lena looked around, again. Her expression softened slightly.

Then she jumped up again as a woman approached their table. She looked human, much more than most people in there, but that wasn’t necessarily accurate.

Kara beamed to see her, nearly hopping out of her chair.

“M’gann!” Kara said. “Haven’t seen you since-”

“Your boss arrested me?” M’gann said. Still, she smiled. “Not that I can blame him. Good to see you again, anyway. J’onn had a change of heart; I gather you had something to do with it.”

“I did?” Kara said.

M’gann paused, and looked between the two of them. Her gaze settled on Lena.

“You’re one person I didn’t expect to see in here,” M’gann said.

Lena stiffened.

“She’s not like her-” Kara began.

“I’m not in any position to judge,” M’gann said. “We could debate for ages whose family was worse.”

Lena paused, then, not quite sure what to make of M’gann.

“Right,” Kara said. “M’gann, you recognize Lena. Lena, this is M’gann, um-”

“Last daughter of Mars,” M’gann said. She offered a hand to Lena.

Lena blinked.

“Mars?” Lena said.

“Yes?” M’gann said, uncertain.

“There are actually Martians?” Lena said.

“Some,” M’gann said, slowly.

Lena stared.

“Anyway,” M’gann said, “Drinks. What do you want? Kara, human or alien?”

“Human, this time,” Kara said. “We’re just here to talk.”

“Your usual, then?” M’gann said. At a nod, she turned to face Lena. “How about you?”

“The- same,” Lena said. She didn’t know what they served; might as well trust Kara’s judgement.

“Coming up,” M’gann said.

She left the table; Lena breathed out.

It was one of those odd things, like knowing Kara was Supergirl. Sure, intellectually, Lena knew aliens had to have lives of their own. Still, most of the ones she’d seen were the ones who’d proven themselves threats, or who tried to be heroes. The extraordinary.

An alien bartender just felt odd, standing out by how commonplace it ought to be.

“Megan?” Lena said, uncertain.

“M’gann,” Kara said. “Close.”

“She’s really from Mars?” Lena said.

“Yep,” Kara said; chuckled. “I know another Martian too. Lena, are you ok?”

“Just… surprised,” Lena said. “I didn’t think there were actually Martians. Almost seems too cliché.”

Kara shrugged.

After a few moments more, M’gann returned with two drinks, putting one down in front of each of them. Lena nodded her thanks.

“What did she mean, human or alien?” Lena said.

“Oh, right,” Kara said. “They serve a few alien drinks here. It can be… interesting to unwind. Human drinks don’t really, uh, affect me.”

“I suppose they wouldn’t,” Lena said. “So you get drunk?”

“Not often,” Kara said. “Though sometimes. Ask Alex, I’m pretty sure she’s recorded it.”

Lena snorted to herself. She could just imagine Kara drunk; all her normal adorableness out of control.

Then something hit her, and Lena stared distractedly at her drink.

“Lena?” Kara said.

“Just thinking,” Lena said.

“What’s wrong?” Kara said. “You know I’m always going to listen.”

And that was the problem. Lena had seen first-hand that Kara could listen too much; take things on board that Lena didn’t necessarily mean completely. She didn’t want her idle thoughts to make Kara feel guilty.

It took Lena a few moments to decide if she even wanted to explain. As much as she enjoyed her talks with Kara, she’d seen their effect.

“It’s not a judgement,” Lena said. “I- A drunk Kryptonian just isn’t a very nice thought.”

“Lena?”

“I trust you when you’re in control,” Lena said. “When you’re not… you know it’s scary, for everyone.”

“I haven’t hurt anyone,” Kara said. “I wouldn’t.”

“How can you know?” Lena said. “Anyone who’s been through college will tell you that you can do things you wouldn’t normally do, if you drink too much. I don’t even want to think the super-strong equivalent to stealing a traffic cone is.”

Kara snorted suddenly, putting her drink down to regain her breath. Lena raised her eyebrows.

“S-sorry,” Kara said. “Not really appropriate, just reminded me of something Cl- Superman told me.”

“And what’s this story from Clark Kent?” Lena said. “You can stop pretending I haven’t figured it out.”

“Right, uh,” Kara said. “It was a couple of years ago, and- I don’t know exactly what happened, either his powers were weakened, or there was something special about the drink, but he got a bit tipsy. Didn’t really hurt anyone, he just woke up with the L from the Luthor-Corp building in Metropolis in his bedroom.”

Lena raised her eyebrows.

“I know it doesn’t say much for keeping in control,” Kara said. “But, um, he didn’t hurt anyone. It’s just- We’re not perfect, but it’s not like we ever really…”

Lena sipped her drink, slowly. There was a smile playing at her lips.

“I remember Lex telling me about that,” Lena said. “It’s one of the few times I’ve seen him at a loss. It seemed like such a petty thing for Superman to do, but most humans couldn’t steal a letter from the top of a skyscraper. I don’t think he even considered ‘drunk Superman.’”

“He didn’t figure it out?”

“Not as far as I know,” Lena said. She seemed vaguely amused. “What happened to the L?”

“It’s somewhere in his Fortress of Solitude,” Kara said. “He hadn’t meant to steal it, but he wasn’t going to give it back either.”

Lena chuckled, then caught herself. Kara watched.

It wasn’t too hard to guess Lena’s thoughts; as amused as she might be by the story, and the memory of her brother being baffled, it was also the exact sort of thing she was worried about.

An alien with the powers of a Kryptonian, losing their inhibitions. Plenty of humans got into fights when drunk; that might end up deadly for someone with her strength.

“It doesn’t happen often,” Kara said, in an attempt at defence.

“So I can expect my logo to stay safe?” Lena said.

Kara looked down, hiding a smile. It didn’t quite feel appropriate.

“It’s… strange,” Lena said. “That’s the kind of behaviour I can’t condone. The kind of slip-ups humans make, they’re not always forgivable, but they’re more understandable. Usually there isn’t much harm done. But you, mistakes you make…”

Lena’s gaze drifted. It was all too obvious she was remembering the red kryptonite incident.

“If you lose control of your strength, you might brush past someone on the street, and break their arm,” Lena said. “If you stagger and fall over, you could crush someone. Imagining someone drunk with your powers…”

She shook her head.

“But somehow it’s refreshing to know you’re that, well, human,” Lena said. “That- I don’t really know. It should worry me more.”

“But you know you can trust me,” Kara said.

Lena was silent for a few moments. She looked across to Kara, gauging something.

“I think so,” Lena said.

Unconsciously, Lena shifted, leaning back. She seemed far more comfortable now than she had been when she’d come in.

Though her gaze did drift to look over the bar, it was less paranoid than it had been. She was curious, and interested, and maybe wary, but there was less overt fear.

Kara had hoped for that. People distrusted that which they didn’t know, so it made sense to give Lena a bit more experience of the aliens that were on Earth.

“So,” Lena said, slowly, changing the topic. “Martians.”

“Yep.”

“Tell me they’re not little green men,” Lena said.

Kara hesitated.

“You’re kidding,” Lena said flatly.

“They’re not that, um, little,” Kara said. “And only some are green.”

“Some?” Lena said.

“It’s a bit, um, complicated,” Kara said. “There are two kinds, green and white. Only- There aren’t really any green left. The White Martians, they wiped the Green Martians out, except for, um, one of my friends. J’onn.”

“What about M’gann?”

“She’s a White Martian,” Kara said. “But she’s not like the rest. She didn’t want to be part of- what they did.”

Kara looked down. J’onn hadn’t spoken about what had happened all that much; she didn’t blame him. Being among the last of your kind was a heavy burden.

She could imagine how it must have been, though, even knowing her imaginings couldn’t compare to the reality.

“I know the feeling,” Lena said.

She looked away, then, eyeing M’gann curiously.

Lena finished her drink. She found herself smiling; it was good to just spend time with Kara, no matter where they were. The bar wasn’t really what she was used to, but that was down to the décor more than the clientele.

She did feel out-of-place, true, but that was hardly unique to this setting.

And there was an alien here with a family who’d attempted genocide. It was another thing that should have been scary, but Lena’s own family would’ve wiped out the last Kryptonians. Lena wouldn’t hold M’gann’s species’ actions against her.

Strange to think it’d be an alien she’d find common ground with.

Lena smiled across to Kara, and Kara echoed it.

“Thank you,” Lena said, quiet.

Kara beamed.

Lena faltered for a moment. She’d been meaning to add something, but Kara had managed to make her forget her words.

She paused. Still, Lena had a smile on her face, trying to remember-

“What are you doing here?”

Lena stiffened at the stranger’s voice. Human or alien, she knew that particular tone very well.

There was someone standing at the edge of the table; Lena didn’t know him, but there wasn’t much question that he recognized her.

He wasn’t exactly heavily built, but Lena knew that wasn’t a reliable measure of how strong an alien was. For the most part he seemed human, if unusually pale. His hair had been cut short, but the stubs that were growing were far sparser, and thicker, than they would be on a human. They resembled the stalks of leaves more than they did hair.

“You’re not welcome,” the stranger said-

And Lena felt something in her mind prickle. She couldn’t place the sensation, couldn’t say where it came from, just that there was a dull pang that was suddenly there.

Was he a telepath? That would fit; something in her mind ached as though pushed against.  

It was little more than a second before Kara stood up.

“Hey!” Kara said. “She’s not bothering anyone.”

“Her family has,” the alien said.

“She’s not like them,” Kara said.

“How would you know?” the pressure in Lena’s head lessened, as he turned to Kara. “Who are you, anyway?”

In response, Kara lifted a few centimetres off the ground, until she was just high enough to be looking down on the heckler. Her eyes momentarily glowed a burning red.

The alien took a step back. Still, he lingered.

“Then you of all people have to know she’s-” he began.

“I know she’s nothing like her brother,” Kara said. “And I know you don’t know her. We’re not the ones looking for trouble.”

Kara’s feet slowly touched the floor again. Even out of costume, it was remarkably intimidating to see her temper suddenly flare up.

The alien regarded her for a few heated moments. Then, he tilted his head, giving Lena a last scowl, before deciding to back away.

There weren’t too many fights in the bar, and no one wanted to face Supergirl. Kara breathed out, relieved, moving back to her seat.

“Are you ok?” Kara said. “I’m sorry about-”

“Can we go?” Lena said, suddenly.

Kara faltered.

“You said, if I wanted to go, we would,” Lena said.

“Lena…”

“Please, Kara,” Lena said.

Her eyes darted sideways. It wasn’t that she felt unsafe; though that alien had been a reminder, Kara had shown quite plainly that she would protect Lena here.

There was just some things she could do without being reminded of. Her family was always one of them; and seeing Kara looking threatening brought back entirely different memories.

It had been getting easier; both being at the bar, and trusting Kara. To suddenly be reminded of-

As soon as Kara moved, Lena stood up quickly, and followed her out of the bar. She kept her eyes trained on the back of Kara’s head, ignoring the other people looking at them, and trying to not look too closely at Kara.

Chapter Text

Despite the unfortunate ending to their first visit, Kara and Lena found themselves returning to the bar.

It was Lena who asked. Kara had done nothing but trust her, time and time again, so it was only fair she return the favour.

Lena wasn’t quite so nervous the next time they went to the bar. She’d seen Kara was willing to defend her, and Lena knew it wasn’t fair she’d ever doubted that. Kara had proven it, over and over.

Maybe she’d never be entirely comfortable in a room full of people dramatically more powerful than her, but she could at least feel safer.

If nothing else, Kara was very good at being distracting.

“This isn’t really how I expected you to spend your downtime,” Lena said. “You-Supergirl, I mean.”

Kara looked up from a plate of snacks. She chewed for a few moments, and swallowed.

“What did you expect?” Kara said.

“I don’t really know,” Lena said. “Not… this. I wasn’t even sure you had a secret identity before, to be honest.”

“I thought everyone knew that,” Kara said.

“Not for certain,” Lena said. “I thought you’d relax somewhere quiet, like the Fortress people associate with your cousin,” she hesitated. “Lex thought the same, early on. It was hard to imagine someone with your powers socializing.”

“Why?”

“You’re above us,” Lena said. “It wasn’t until- I think it was Lois Lane, when he realized Superman had an actual connection to certain humans, that he considered Superman had to have a human life as well. I didn’t really agree, then.”

“I’m not above you,” Kara said. “I’ve never-”

“I know that. Now,” Lena said. For a moment, she closed her eyes. “I don’t know why I keep thinking of Lex.”

Lena shifted, sipping at her drink. She didn’t survey the bar that time.

She knew the patrons, and knew the stories of some of them. Some tragedies, some curiosities; some were markedly unsympathetic, but not criminally so.

“How were things, before?” Lena said.

“What?”

“When you were young,” Lena said. “I can’t imagine it was easy, when you came to a whole new world.”

“It wasn’t,” Kara said. “Honestly, it was… confusing. I didn’t really mourn Krypton for months, everything was… too much. I managed to stop tearing doors off their hinges, and flying with each step, and then I was faced with some part of your culture that was nothing like what I was used to.”

Kara breathed out.

“Clark couldn’t help with that,” she said. “He couldn’t remember Krypton. He could stop me being overwhelmed by my powers, but as far as engaging with Earth when I was used to different norms went, he didn’t understand.”

“You seem to have managed it well,” Lena said.

“With time,” Kara said. She tore her eyes back from the indistinct distance, to Lena. “I spent a couple of years not getting involved with things, or talking to anyone except my foster family. It was less… overwhelming. Not perfect though.”

“Loneliness,” Lena said.

Kara nodded.

“That I do understand,” Lena said.

“I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to be your friend,” Kara said.

“None of them were… acceptable,” Lena said. Something in her expression twisted. “There were a lot of people who just wanted the benefits of befriending a Luthor. Mother wouldn’t allow that.”

“I’m sorry,” Kara said.

Lena paused, again. She was struggling with her words; it wasn’t the first time Kara had seen her uncertain, but it was always unnerving.

“I know some of what I say is… wrong,” Lena said. “I’m learning. But there were years when all I heard was from my mother and Lex. I’m still not sure how much of this is me, and how much is what I heard.”

She met Kara’s eyes, a crack behind her gaze. Kara stumbled.

“I don’t blame you,” Kara said. “And you’re not… wrong. Not always. I don’t think anyone pretends this isn’t complicated.”

Lena smiled, more at Kara’s charity than her words.

“I’m still afraid,” Lena said.

“Of me?”

“No,” Lena said. “Never of you, not normally. Just of…this.”

She gestured with one hand; the bar, the aliens. Multiple super-powered individuals wandering around, drinking, and occasionally playing pool.

Being safer near Kara didn’t do much to dissuade the part of her mind so used to keeping an eye out for threats.

Kara rested one hand on Lena’s; Lena raised her eyebrows, but said nothing, and didn’t move.

And then-

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Both jumped; Kara pulled her hand back, turning to see a couple moving up to the table. Kara started grinning.

“Alex!” she said. “Right, um, Lena, this is- you know Alex. She-”

“Saved my life, then threatened it,” Lena said, gracefully. She offered a hand. “I remember.”

Kara blinked.

“And Maggie,” Alex said, gesturing to the woman beside her. “My girlfriend.”

She paused for a moment, trying out the word in her mouth. Maggie watched her, with an odd smile.

“Never actually said that,” Alex said.

“Sounds good, coming from you,” Maggie said. She turned back to face the table. “And you’re… ok, Kara, you hang out with Lena Luthor?”

“We’re, uh, living together,” Kara said.

Maggie blinked.

“Temporarily,” Lena said, hurriedly.

“While my apartment’s being repaired,” Kara said. “It seemed easiest.”

Maggie looked at the two of them for a few seconds. Lena looked away.

“Mind if we join you?” Alex said. She shot a mildly hostile glance across to Lena, making it rather clear she just wanted to keep an eye on Lena.

“Fine with me,” Lena said. “Kara?”

“Ok,” Kara said, after a moment.

It took about a minute to get the chairs. Alex slid in, to sit beside Kara, opposite Maggie. Alex kept looking over to Lena, however, silently warning her.

Their last meeting hadn’t gone so well, after all. Alex had never understood how Kara could trust so easily.

Maggie sat next to Lena, a little less comfortable. Still, she seemed more amused than anything by the CEO beside her, even if she was a stranger.

“What brings you here?” Maggie said, to both Kara and Lena. “Wouldn’t have thought this bar was exactly your scene.”

“Kara invited me,” Lena said. “I don’t… mind it.”

“And I like it,” Kara said. “Surprised I haven’t run into you more, actually. Nice to not have to hide being an alien.”

Both Maggie and Lena tensed, and looked at one another.

“You don’t look surprised,” Maggie said, slowly.

“Neither do you,” Lena said.

“I figured it out,” Maggie said. “You-”

“Likewise,” Lena said.

Alex reached for her drink, rolling her eyes a little at the scene. It was getting a bit hard to keep track of who knew Kara’s identity.

Not that she could blame Maggie for her surprise; if there was one person Alex would expect it to be kept a secret from, it was a Luthor. Even if Lena seemed better than the rest.

“Kara’s always been terrible at keeping secrets,” Alex said.

“Have not!” Kara protested.

“Name one friend you have that doesn’t know you’re Supergirl,” Alex said.

Kara hesitated.

“And all the surprise parties you tried to set up, when you were younger,” Alex said. “How did that-”

“I was tricked!” Kara said.

“Every time?”

“Well-”

Lena leaned back, getting more comfortable. Sometimes it was fun to just watch Kara; and by the sound of it she had a lot of interesting stories.

Lena had to admit, she did agree with Alex. Kara had never been particularly convincing when it came to denying she was Supergirl. That might just be hindsight, but even so there had been a lot of suspicious moments.

It was strange to see them, too. Kara and Alex were almost arguing, but there was no real anger there, no bitterness. Both of them were smiling, and Kara was even laughing, sometimes.

Maggie moved, next to her. Lena turned.

“This can last a while,” Maggie said.

“They fight a lot?” Lena said.

“Not exactly fighting,” Maggie said. “They- don’t you have a brother? Heard this is common.”

“We weren’t- like that,” Lena said.

“Bad luck,” Maggie said.

Maggie chuckled a little as the two Danvers started to realize they’d gotten distracted. Alex’s expression fell, slightly.

“Wouldn’t have thought you’d want to come here,” Alex said, to Lena that time.

“It isn’t necessarily how I’d choose to spend my time,” Lena said. “But I’m open-minded. It’s… interesting to see. And there’s Kara. Even if…”

“Even if?” Alex said, as Lena’s voice trailed off.

“Alex-” Kara began.

“You want me to say something that hurts Kara, again,” Lena said. She met Alex’s eyes. “Right? You want me to make another mistake, and prove you right.”

“I don’t want you to hurt Kara,” Alex said.

“But you think I will,” Lena said. “I won’t. Kara knows what I think, and she knows I trust her. It just takes a lot more to trust someone with extra powers, which describes a lot of the people in here. I can’t imagine you feel all that safe around them either.”

Alex faltered, though more at an elbow from Kara than Lena’s words.

“I do,” Maggie said, interjecting.

Lena looked away from Alex.

“I mean, sure, I’ve hung out here longer than you,” Maggie said. “I know a lot of the regulars more than you, so maybe that makes a difference, but I was never all that bothered.”

“How?” Lena said.

“I’m a cop,” Maggie said. “Way I see it, it’s not going to make any difference whether you’re faced with a human with a gun, or an alien with heat vision, or whatever. Humans are plenty capable of hurting each other, believe me.”

“I’ve experience of that,” Lena said. She paused. “I just- I don’t trust that easily. If someone can hurt me, I’m not going to be comfortable with that.”

“Why would this bar be any different to walking down the street, then?” Maggie said.

Lena hesitated.

“If anything, you should feel safer,” Maggie said. “You’ve got Supergirl looking out for you, after all.”

“I do feel safe,” Lena said, after a moment.

She looked towards Kara, as much to remind herself that Kara was there, as anything. Maggie noticed the glance.

“But you did say you didn’t expect to see me in here,” Lena said. “Why?”

“You know why,” Alex said.

“It’s nothing to do with what I think,” Lena said. “Everyone else in here doesn’t know that. They know my family; I’m an enemy because of that. Why would I feel safe here, if not for Kara?”

Another glance across the table.

“Ok, I think-” Kara began, trying to defuse the situation.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Lena said, apparently not hearing Kara. “I didn’t choose who adopted me. I choose my actions, not my brother’s, and I’m tired of people thinking I’m just a day away from becoming Lex. It’s the same thing you’re constantly accusing me of doing: making assumptions based on association.”

“It’s not the same thing at all,” Alex said. “You can’t blame aliens for things they had no part in: but you do have a connection to your family. They taught you, they raised you. We have a reason to not trust you.”

“I’d hoped to have shown I’m not like them by now,” Lena said. “I’ve helped you-”

“And you’re going forward with the alien detection device,” Alex said, “And you made Kara regret coming to Earth. And you’re keeping a stash of kryptonite in that home of yours.”

Lena closed her eyes, from exhaustion as much as anything. She exhaled, slowly, moving to speak-

“Do you blame us?” Alex said.

Lena faltered.

“Alex,” Kara said.

Alex’s expression softened, as she turned back to face her sister.

“You can’t tell me you agree with her,” Alex said.

“I- I don’t,” Kara said. “But- There’s more to it than that. She’s not a bad person, just for being raised a Luthor.”

“No, she’s a bad person because of what she’s done.”

“A lot of that- It’s not her fault she was raised with one attitude,” Kara said. “She’s not- What-”

Kara stumbled a little, unsure of her phrasing. She looked across the table, to meet Lena’s eyes;

“I know I’m not perfect,” Lena said. She paused, with some reluctance. “I’m learning. As you so astutely pointed out, I’m a Luthor. They raised me, I learnt from them. I know much of it is wrong, and I acknowledge that, but I am not going to reject everything I know on little more than empty optimism.”

Lena didn’t like to mention uncertainty, or vulnerability. Another leftover from the Luthors. Expressing those feelings to Kara was an entirely different experience to bringing them up to Kara’s sister.

Her tone set cold, towards the end. It was the easiest way she had to compensate.

And Kara, blessed as ever, didn’t seem to understand her momentary hesitance.

“I don’t expect you to change overnight,” Alex said, “But as long as you think my sister’s a bad person for just being here, don’t expect me to like you.”

“I’d never think that of Kara,” Lena said.

“You did before,” Alex said. “And what makes her different? She’s an alien, just as affected by what you do. You can’t say you make an exception for her, when everything you do-”

“I trust her,” Lena said.

Maggie cleared her throat, trying to distract Alex from her protectiveness. It succeeded, to a point; Alex drew back into her seat, still watchful.

Something was making Maggie smile.

Kara jumped up, suddenly. She seemed grateful for the potential distraction. She frowned, paying attention to something only she could hear.

“There’s a fire,” Kara said. “I ought to head off. Uh-”

Alex, at least, relaxed. She knew Kara had to hurry off for situations like that often enough.

“Go, Kara,” Alex said, encouraging.

“Right,” Kara said. “Uh, Lena- Do you want a ride home?”

She’d carried a few people around, and it wouldn’t take her too long. She could get Lena most of the way back, before the fire really spread much more.

And if Lena was only at the bar because Kara made her feel safer, then she might not want to linger.

“I think that would be best,” Lena said, frosty, looking across to Alex.

Lena stood up just after Kara did, each of them moving out to the front of the table.

“Goodbye,” Kara said. “Uh, sorry for running.”

“I understand,” Maggie said. She gave a small salute; “Up, up and away.”

Then the two were gone. Maggie raised her eyebrows, staring at the empty air for a few seconds. Even knowing Kara was Supergirl, seeing her powers still took a little getting used to.

Silently, Maggie reached for her drink.

“So, how long has that been going on?” Maggie said.

“What?” Alex said.

“Kara and Lena,” Maggie said.

“Since after the red kryptonite,” Alex said. “I thought she told you? They moved in after…”

“I don’t mean the moving in,” Maggie said.

“Then what?”

“You know,” Maggie said. She gestured indistinctly in the air. “Kara and Lena.”

“Mm?”

“Kara and Lena,” Maggie said. Alex was still staring, mystified. “Emphasis on the and.”

It took a few seconds before Alex’s eyes went wide.

“Wait, you think-” Alex said. “You mean they’re-”

“Well, duh.”

“No, no,” Alex said. “They’re just- and I don’t even know why they’re that to be honest.”

“Did you see how they looked at each other?” Maggie said.

“It’s not-”

“And Lena trust-issues Luthor trusting Kara?”

“But-”

“The fact they’re literally living together, even after Kara tried to kill her?”

“They’re not-” Alex tried again. She inhaled. “Maggie, I don’t think you’re really seeing…”

“I’ve got a pretty good track record as far as this stuff goes, Danvers,” Maggie said. “You’ve got to admit that.”

Alex hesitated. Slowly her expression shifted to something horrified.

“You really don’t like Lena, huh?” Maggie said.

“No,” Alex said, flat. “I was going to give her a chance, right up until she hurt Kara.”

“I don’t think she means to,” Maggie said. “No one who looks at someone the way she did would want to hurt them.”

“Doesn’t mean she isn’t still doing it,” Alex said.

“It doesn’t,” Maggie conceded.

“Didn’t think you’d trust her that easily,” Alex said.

“I’m giving her a chance,” Maggie said. “She’s got baggage. I’ve known a few girls who picked up more than anyone wanted from their families, it takes a while to shake that stuff off, even if you’re aware of it.”

“If she even wants to change.”

“She’s got a crush on Supergirl,” Maggie said, and shrugged. “Not something I’d expect if she hated her.”

“She’s not crushing on my sister,” Alex said.

“Sure,” Maggie said, sceptically.

“She isn’t!”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Maggie!”

Lena paced.

She’d never really been lonely in her house, despite its size.

Sometimes she had guests, at least she did before Lex’s vendetta had reached the news, but that was it. Most of the time she lived in a building that could probably house an army, by herself.

It hadn’t bothered her. She’d always had an odd relationship with loneliness; she’d been vaguely aware that she was lonely, but it had never been a huge concern for her. You could easily adjust to a lot of things.

But now Kara was out being Supergirl, and she was home alone, and she was pacing the corridors that suddenly seemed an awful lot larger.

Her footsteps echoed hollowly, and no matter how far she walked she only found silence and stillness.

Once, she wouldn’t have minded that.

Now, however, she knew what it was like to actually have someone in her life, and home. Even if Kara was only briefly out, being a hero, and would be back eventually, Kara was only staying temporarily.

It was a pity.

Look at her, missing an alien. That should have been unthinkable.

It would be good to not be so alone. Reluctantly, Lena let herself think that.

The detection device was almost ready to be sold. That thought came into her mind out of nowhere. There were a final few tests to run, to make sure the calibration was perfect, but otherwise she expected to put it out there soon.

Kara would hate that.

Lena couldn’t quite see it her way. It was true what Maggie and Kara had said; not all aliens were dangerous, humans could be just as deadly, the device might stir up resentment…

But when all was said and done, you could at least see when a human was armed. You’d know.

And that sparked off another thought; fear. It always came back to fear. In the alien bar, she’d been scared of everyone. Before that, she’d been scared of the red-kryptonite affected Supergirl flying towards her with hate and fire in her eyes.

She’d been scared of having her secrets known, her heartbeat overheard with no effort. She’d been scared of a god in the city, not knowing what they might do.

How much of that was her? How much of that was reasonable, and how much was just what she was used to thinking?

She shouldn’t be scared, not of Supergirl at the very least. That much, Lena felt certain of.

Kara had earned that. But what about the rest?

A legion of strangers, all with their own stories, all with their own motivations, and all choosing to come to Earth, a world where humans struggled to protect themselves from themselves.

She thought of Supergirl, again, and the red kryptonite.

There were things to be scared of. Lena couldn’t question that. Lena kept pacing, walking into a side room, and sitting down.

She reached for a phone, typing in a number from memory. It didn’t ring for long.

“Mother,” Lena said. “I was hoping we could meet for another dinner. I- I think you were right about some things.”

Chapter Text

Supergirl was far less of an awe-inspiring figure after you’d seen her in her pyjamas. If there was any sure-fire way for Lena to forget the terrifying figure that had attacked L-Corp, it was to see Kara wrapped up in a blanket burrito.

She’d never be used to Kara’s schedule either. Lena was used to early mornings, and she often forgot not everyone kept the same hours. Apparently even superheroes liked lie-ins.

Lena moved back from the door to Kara’s room, heading back to her room to check and answer a few emails.

While she spent most days at L-Corp, there weren’t actually all that many things she had to do that couldn’t be done from home. She had a fair amount of freedom, it was just good to put in appearances.

Then she went to the kitchen, idly preparing a marinade. If her mother was coming for dinner, she ought to prepare.

She walked past Kara’s room occasionally, listening for noise. When it sounded as though Kara was awake, she knocked on the door.

“Lena!” Kara said, brightly.

“I need you out of the house for dinner, again,” Lena said.

Kara faltered.

“Oh,” Kara said. “Is it…”

A moment of silence. It wasn’t too hard to guess what Kara was going to say, just like it wasn’t hard to guess why Lena wanted her out the way.

“She’s visiting,” Lena said.

Kara hesitated.

“It’s safer for you if you’re not here,” Lena said.

Lillian didn’t know Supergirl was staying with Lena. That was probably a good thing; no one could guess quite how she’d respond.

It was unlikely Lena was the only one who knew how to use Lex’s kryptonite traps, though.

Kara nodded, silently.

“Is there a problem?” Lena said, coolly.

“I just-” Kara said, and paused again. “Do you have to…”

“Have to what?” Lena said. “Talk to my family?”

Kara stumbled.

“You know what she’s…” Kara said.

“And I know what you’ve done,” Lena said.

“That was different,” Kara said. “Red kryptonite, I couldn’t-”

“But how would it look to an outsider?” Lena said. “They look at you the same way you look at her.”

Kara faltered for a moment. She could never put things well, not when she needed to.

“You know I don’t agree completely with her,” Lena said. “Just as you know I don’t agree completely with the unlimited freedom you support. If you listen, maybe she does too.”

“You can’t reason with someone like her,” Kara said.

“How would you know?”

“I’ve tried,” Kara said. “Superman was common knowledge as soon as I arrived on Earth, I was always in the middle of it. I know what people talk about, and- some people don’t want to change their minds.”

“And why is she one of them?” Lena said. “Because she’s a Luthor?”

Kara had the feeling they weren’t quite talking about Lillian.

“She’s not you,” Kara said. “She’s- She’s killed, or let people die. She’s… obsessed, no matter the consequences.”

Lena paused for a moment.

Slowly, she moved closer. She lightly touched Kara’s hand, and looked at Kara’s eyes. Kara tensed up; Lena almost smiled at that.

“Do you trust me?” Lena said.

“Always.”

“Are you going to keep trusting me?”

“I- yes,” Kara said.

“Then don’t think the worst,” Lena said.

She moved back a couple of steps, before hesitating.

“I don’t want the dinner to be interrupted,” Lena said. “Not by Supergirl, or Alex, or whoever else you can call up.”

“That won’t happen,” Kara said.

“Do you promise?”

“I’m not going to betray you,” Kara said. “I know- yes, I want her brought in, but I wouldn’t even know where she was if you hadn’t told me. You trusted me with that. And if you just want to talk to her…”

“I do.”

“Then I can’t say I understand,” Kara said. “But it’s your choice.”

Lena breathed a smile of relief, but her expression still set.

“You understand why I had to ask,” Lena said.

Kara nodded.

She remembered the story Lena had told her. She knew Clark’s intentions, but from Lena’s perspective it had seemed like just another person pretending to be her friend. In his case, it had been to get at Lex.

Lena regarded Kara, her expression thoroughly unreadable.

Kara was out of the house long before Lillian arrived. Lena supposed she was glad of that.

Still, she awaited dinner with some trepidation. She prepared the meal itself in advance, aware that her mother had mentioned the house being watched, so Lillian might be delayed. It was easier to keep it warm, than cook and aim for a specific time.

It wasn’t too much longer, however, before there was someone at the door.

Lena went to it, answered, and led her mother to the table.

“You came,” Lena said.

“You called,” Lillian said. “It’s almost like we have an ordinary mother-daughter relationship.”

Lena gave a tight-lipped smile.

“If memory serves, it took more than a call to get you to pay attention,” Lena said.

“Things have changed,” her mother said.

“You mean your favourite isn’t around?” Lena said. “I suppose you would have to make do.”

Lillian cocked her head slightly; accepting the sentiment, if not Lena’s tone.

Lillian had never been one to offer idle comfort. Lex had been her favourite, Lena knew that, there wasn’t really any point in cushioning it. And truth be told, she probably wouldn’t be spending much time, if any, around Lena if her son was free.

Both of them knew that, what was the point in pretending otherwise?

“You didn’t believe in the cause,” Lillian said.

“Things have changed,” Lena echoed.

Lena shrugged. After a moment, she stood up, fetching two filled plates from the kitchen. She passed one to her mother.

It was easier to eat than speak, especially when she couldn’t quite work out what to say. Lena always hesitated around her mother. Old habits.

She sipped at her wine.

“I can help,” Lena said. “I imagine even Cadmus has a resource problem. Anything clandestine would.”

“You’re offering L-Corp?” Lillian said.

“A small part,” Lena said. “A research team, perhaps. And some of what I could collect from Lex’s storehouses.”

“The ones the government raided?” Lillian said.

“The other ones,” Lena said. “The ones even you wouldn’t know about. I only found out about them when I took over his company. It took a while to find all the data he’d kept hidden, and where some of the money was going.”

“You kept what you found?” Lillian said. She raised her eyebrows.

“Lex was always smart,” Lena said. “Whatever he would have done with it, he did good work. Why wouldn’t I want to work from it?”

Lena hesitated for a moment. She shifted a little, uncomfortable at talking about her brother, as she ate.

There hadn’t been all that much in the storehouses; only a handful went undiscovered, and most of it had already been used in a last push from Lex, before his capture.

Still, there were some undeniably impressive bits of engineering. Technology was technology; it didn’t have to be used to fight a superhero, to be useful.

And then there had been the kryptonite. Lena was fairly sure she had the last free source, in the walls of her home.

“Why the change of heart?” Lillian said. “There was a time you wouldn’t have spoken to me, much less offered to help.”

“I saw,” Lena said. “There are a lot more aliens here than I thought. If even one of them acts like Supergirl did… It’s not an acceptable risk.”

Lillian regarded her. Lena shifted.

“There are conditions,” Lena said.

“Are there?”

“Collateral damage,” Lena said. “People who would be hurt, like there were when you exposed Supergirl to red kryptonite. I won’t support that.”

“Is that so?” Lillian said. Something played at her lips. “What if it’s necessary?”

“Find another way,” Lena said. “You said you want to help people. Save them, not kill them. If that’s the case, you shouldn’t want to.”

“It’s not a matter of want,” Lillian said. “It’s a matter of need. Lex understood this. Sometimes-”

“Can we stop pretending my brother was a champion of your ideals?” Lena said. “You know as well as I do he was just jealous. He was more upset that it wasn’t him who’d been given those powers, than he was that aliens were on Earth.”

Lillian paused, briefly.

“Lex made a difference,” Lillian said.

“Out of envy,” Lena said. “He was friends with Superman for a while, getting a front row seat to what he wanted, and couldn’t have. You’re making an anti-alien champion out of him; that was never what he was.”

Lillian’s eyes become colder. Still, she gave no other sign that her mood had changed. She ate, silently.

It was a good few seconds before she spoke again, and it was like she’d forgotten their latest exchange.

“Imagine there’s a train,” Lillian said. “In its path are a dozen people, and if it continues on, all of them will die. Imagine, also, a lever next to you, that when pulled will redirect the train onto a path with one person. You have a choice: inaction, or action. Let twelve people die, or pull the lever and let just one die. What do you do?”

Lena frowned slightly. Her mother had always been fond of teaching by hypothetical, and there was always more to them.

It was almost a cliché problem, though.

“I’d pull the lever,” Lena said.

“Because twelve lives are more important than one,” Lillian said. “Everyone understands this.”

Lillian finished her meal in slow mouthfuls, before continuing.

“Imagine, this time, you’re standing on a bridge above the train,” Lillian said. “A train’s coming, and ahead of it are the same twelve people. This time, there is no fork. The train will go on ahead, and kill those twelve people. However, there is one person next to you who is large enough that if they were on the train tracks, they would slow the train enough.”

Lena had heard that particular hypothetical situation before. She ate silently.

“The choice is very much like the last one,” Lillian said. “Inaction: leave twelve people to die. Or action: kill one, to save twelve. This time, however, you would actively have to kill. You wouldn’t be dispassionately pulling the lever, you would have to push someone over the railings into the path of the train. What do you do?”

Lena hesitated for a few seconds too long. Lillian smiled.

“People always struggle with that one,” Lillian said, “But it should be the same dilemma. One life for twelve. Nothing changes, except you have to actively kill, to save lives. Either way, it’s just collateral damage: for the greater good.”

“So you let some people suffer, to save more in the future?” Lena said. “I wouldn’t say those two situations are exactly equivalent.”

“Why?”

“Because imagine a world where you would be celebrated for killing someone,” Lena said. “Even if it was to save more peoples’ lives, sooner or later it could be you that needs to be pushed, and everyone would know anyone would be comfortable to do so. I can’t support that. People shouldn’t have to live in fear.”

Some consequences could be measured, some couldn’t.

Lena remembered Kara talking about the alien detection device. The measurable consequences were ultimately good, in her view; it would help keep an eye on the dangerous, superpowered individuals in the city. Lena would always support that.

But then there were unmeasurable consequences; attitudes that would be encouraged, attitudes that Kara was worried about. It was always hard to take those into account.

Impossible, even, to do so accurately.

“So?” Lena said.

“If I end up on the tracks, so be it,” Lillian said. “If that’s what it takes. People should be afraid, if there’s something to be afraid of.”

Lena hesitated for a moment. She shifted slightly, moving back from her empty plate.

“Even if you hurt people?” Lena said.

“More would be hurt if we didn’t,” Lillian said.

After a few more moments, Lena stood up. She took the plates, and moved back out to the kitchen. She spent a short time there, slowly steadying her breathing.

Then she moved to the fridge, opening it and scanning the shelves. She’d made a couple of sets of desserts for the night; she picked the ones on the lower shelf, and moved back out.

She gave one to Lillian, while keeping another for herself. They were each different meals.

“Cranberry,” Lena said, as she put Lillian’s down. “I never liked it, but I remember you did, and it’s been a while since I’ve had a reason to bake with it. I hope it’s ok.”

“Your cooking was always good, Lena,” Lillian said.

Lena tried not to watch too closely as Lillian started her last course.

“You said you agreed with me, on some things,” Lillian said.

Lena straightened.

“I do,” she said.

“All I’ve heard is disagreement,” Lillian said. “Do you agree with the cause?”

Lena hesitated. She watched her mother take another mouthful.

“I don’t want to live in fear,” Lena said.

“And what are you afraid of?” Lillian said.

Another pause.

“A… friend suggested I visit a bar that aliens frequent,” Lena said. “I got out of there, but when I did visit- I think one of them tried to kill me. I’m not sure. I think he was telepathic; I started to get a headache, before he was interrupted. And he made it very clear he didn’t like me. I don’t know what he could have done.”

“They are dangerous,” Lillian said.

“They’re powerful,” Lena said. “More so than any human. And it took me a little while, but I realized something.”

Lillian waited, expectantly.

No interruptions. Lena wasn’t quite sure why she was surprised to notice that. Even after everything, Kara wasn’t breaking in.

“It wasn’t me he was angry at,” Lena said. “It was my name.”

Lillian shifted, slightly more sluggishly than usual. She seemed about to speak, but Lena interrupted her.

“I’ve been in direct danger from aliens twice, recently,” Lena said. “And both times it was because of you, and Lex. There was what you did to Supergirl, and what Lex did to the name Luthor. And that’s it. Most of the danger from aliens that I’ve been in has been because of you, not them.”

“Lena-” Lillian said.

“I don’t want to live in fear,” Lena said. “But it’s never been them I’ve needed to be afraid of.”

“In time-” Lillian began.

“’The time will come,’” Lena quoted. “Mother, if the time was going to come, it would have by now.”

“Then why invite me?” Lillian said. She shifted, uncomfortably.

“To be sure,” Lena said. “To see if I was wrong,” another pause. “And to see how you liked my baking. I’ve never liked cranberry.”

Lillian stiffened suddenly, recognizing the implication. She pushed her dessert away, trying to stand, only to find herself too unsteady.

“It’s not poison,” Lena said. “I’m not you. It will put you to sleep for a few hours though. That should be enough time.”

Lena sat back, and watched. She’d timed it perfectly; her mother couldn’t quite talk, now.

Drugs didn’t work the same way they did in the movies, very little had an instant effect, but it’d had a fair bit of time to start acting.

There were all kinds of concoctions that most people might struggle to get a hold of, but corporations had access to a much larger variety of chemicals. She’d just needed to take a quick trip through L-Corp.

Lena looked away, as Lillian passed out. Then, carefully, Lena stood up. She walked over to the phone, keeping watch on her mother out of the corner of her eye.

There was no doubt Lillian would fall asleep, but she wouldn’t put it past her mother to exaggerate the effects, just to catch her by surprise.

“How long until you can get back?” Lena said, into the phone.

Straight to the point. She hesitated, for a moment, shaking her head. She was still in the mode she adopted when talking to her mother.

“Lena?” Kara’s voice came through the phone. “Is everything…”

“I’m fine,” Lena said. “But I remember what you said. My mother’s unconscious at the dinner table, and I think you said something about bringing her in.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Thirty seconds,” Kara said. “I’ll tell Alex, she’ll call the DEO, but I’ll get there first.”

“I’m waiting.”

There was a beep as Kara hung up. Carefully, Lena put the phone down. Breathe in, breathe out.

She turned around, and looked at her mother, not quite sure what to feel. They’d never really gotten along; and maybe, lately, Lena had begun to see where she was coming from, but she also saw just how dangerous her mother was.

Getting along with her mother had always been a childish wish. She’d put it aside, years and years ago, but for a moment, when she’d felt that instant of understanding…

Apparently not.

Lena approached the table, carefully moving the various bits of cutlery away from her mother. By now she was sure Lillian was out, but she also knew to never be too careful.

She’d barely even started when Supergirl appeared, bringing a slight breeze with her. Kara looked down to Lillian, not quite sure what to think.

“Lena-” Kara began.

She cut herself off. Lena shifted slightly, self-conscious.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Kara said.

“I wanted to know,” Lena said. She hesitated. “You trusted me.”

“What? Lena, of course I-”

“I wasn’t sure,” Lena said. She paused. “This evening was always going to end this way, whether you came bursting in or I was allowed to do this. It just means something you let me talk to her. Even after the things I thought and said…”

“I wouldn’t have made you…”

“I know,” Lena said. “That’s why I helped you.”

She met Kara’s eyes for a moment, not quite sure how to put it into words.

She wasn’t used to being trusted, especially not by a Super of all people. And maybe she’d taken on a few too many of her mother’s attitudes, and maybe she wasn’t quite so permissive as Kara, but Kara had still felt she could be trusted.

That meant a lot.

“Thank you,” Lena said.

“I- um-” Kara began, before they were interrupted by thudding.

Lena jumped, to see a group of uniformed people move closer. Kara quickly grabbed Lena’s hand.

“I, uh, left the door open,” Kara said. “I was- they got here faster than I thought.”

It was the DEO, then. Lena’s gaze darted to the side. It was oddly satisfying to see handcuffs click around her mother’s wrists.

It did seem like too large a group to deal with just one person, but then it was Lillian Luthor.

Alex was with the group; she gave Lena a small, grudging nod of approval. Lena gave a tight-lipped smile back, before facing Kara again.

“Can we- go somewhere quieter?” Lena said.

“Oh! Right,” Kara said. She nodded.

Taking Lena’s hand, Kara led the way out to the kitchen. There wouldn’t be anyone going past the dining room; they were just here to secure Lillian and take her away.

Lena closed the door behind them.

As they moved into the room, Lena idly kept her hand in Kara’s. She didn’t move away, looking at Kara strangely.

“Thank you,” Kara said, genuinely. “I know that- it can’t have been easy. But you really helped us, Lena. And you probably don’t get thanked too much, but I mean it. Thanks.”

Lena was still looking at her. It had been very hard to read her expression, since Lillian had been arrested. Hopefully it wasn’t regret. Kara opened her mouth to continue-

Lena grabbed Kara by the collar, pulled her closer, and kissed her.

Kara blinked. She didn’t move, or back away; technically she could have easily resisted having her suit tugged on, but she didn’t like to most of the time. Often she wanted to pass as human, and when she didn’t have any time to react-

It was over as quickly as it started, and Lena still looked at her, a glimmer of vulnerability in her eyes.

“Please don’t leave,” Lena said, her voice more uncertain than Kara had ever heard.

“Lena, what-” Kara said, breathlessly.

Ok, she’d known how Lena felt. Her heartbeat had given that away so long ago, but there was more than that to it. Why act now, why say that, why-

Kara’s mind was taking a few seconds to catch up.

“You’ve got what you want,” Lena said. “I know that.”

“What?”

“My mother’s been arrested,” Lena said. “You don’t need to be here any more, you can’t get anything else from me. But- Please, don’t leave, Kara.”

Kara shifted, lifting the hand that was already joined with Lena’s, and resting her other hand on Lena’s arm.

“That was never why I stayed here,” Kara said.

Lena faltered.

“Honestly?” Lena said.

“Honestly,” Kara said. “I needed a place to live, and I trust you. This was- not planned. And I’m always going to be grateful to you for it. But, I wouldn’t use you like that.”

“I… wasn’t sure.”

Lena hesitated. Then, something in her gaze shifted; vulnerability, to self-consciousness. All manner of things Kara wasn’t used to seeing on Lena.

Kara only took a moment to realize what Lena might be self-conscious about. Actions done in desperation might not seem like a good idea, afterwards. She hesitated for a couple of seconds-

Then Kara leaned closer, and touched her lips to Lena’s, taking a few seconds longer that time to actually register and enjoy the sensations. Lena all but melted.

“Do you trust me?” Kara said.

“Always,” Lena said.

“And I trust you,” Kara said.

Lena breathed out a brief sigh of relief, and she was the one that closed the distance between them for a third time.

Chapter Text

So.

Kara was fairly sure she was dating Lena.

Huh.

She wasn’t completely sure how it had happened, not that she minded. When Lena’s arms were stretched out over her shoulders, and Lena leaning closer to touch their lips together, it was hard to mind much of anything.

Kara still had most of her day to get through, before she could see Lena again. That being said, Snapper had assigned her to get Lena’s response to her mother’s arrest, so that was a convenient excuse.

Even so, Lena’s work with L-Corp quickly became overwhelming in the aftermath, as it had right after Lex’s capture. There were a lot of people to assure that Lena wasn’t like her family, all over again.

Cadmus’ last hurrah didn’t help matters either. The operation was still ongoing, if a little more withdrawn and purposeless, but they were adept at causing chaos. That left Supergirl to run herself ragged.

It calmed down soon enough, though, and Kara was just all the more relieved to fly back to her home, and lightly touch down inside.

“You don’t have to change,” Lena said, as soon as Kara appeared.

Kara blinked. She usually did, knowing Lena’s bad associations with the costume, even if she had to walk rather than speed to her room to avoid damaging the hall.

“You’re sure?” Kara said.

“Quite sure,” Lena said. “Come over here.”

It was astonishingly hard to guess what Lena was thinking, most of the time. She shifted on the sofa, leaving more room next to her, and she watched Kara’s every step as Kara moved to sit down.

Then, Lena leaned closer, smiling to herself.

“I always wondered what this would be like,” Lena said, softly.

Kara flushed. “I- uh, me?”

“No,” Lena said. She paused, then chuckled; “Well, partly. But also… this.”

She let her head loll onto Kara’s shoulder.

Kara was always able to hear everything, but suddenly she couldn’t pay attention to anything but Lena. Proximity to her always seemed to have that effect.

Lena’s heart, Lena’s breathing, that rustle as her fingertips brushed Kara’s suit…

Lena’s heartbeat was always dizzying. Kara was so used to hearing it speed up; Lena had been self-conscious of that, and Kara had tried not to listen. When Lena was so close, thought, it was like trying to ignore a foghorn.

Now, Lena’s heart was beating slowly. It was gentle; relaxed. After everything, Kara liked hearing that most of all.

Kara reached out, looping one arm over Lena’s shoulders.

“Cuddles are pretty great,” Kara said.

Lena chuckled.

“They’re a little new to me,” Lena admitted.

“I’ll help you make up for lost time,” Kara said.

After a moment, Kara moved her other arm, and brought her cape around and up until it was draped over the two of them. Lena raised her eyebrow.

“Were you cold?” Kara said.

“Not particularly,” Lena said. She pulled the cape closer. “Thank you, though.”

“It seemed snugglier,” Kara said.

“Is that a word?” Lena said.

“Should be,” Kara said.

So, things between them seemed to be good. It wasn’t like Lena had gotten over everything overnight, it had taken a while before she’d chosen to go against her mother, but even now Kara spotted the occasional moment of hesitation.

Kara faltered every time she saw that; but Lena pushed on.

“It’s about relearning,” she said. “When I see you, my instincts are… Luthor. I see the woman who attacked L-Corp before I see the hero who saved me. I just have to replace those instincts.”

If anything, Kara was more reticent than she was. Ironically, it was easier for Lena; she took risks on a daily basis, it was part of what running a company meant. Maybe they weren’t personal risks, but even so.

It was easier to risk hurting yourself, than risk hurting the person you loved. Kara held back, every second, trying just a bit too hard to remove even the tiniest chance of hurting her.

It was after a kiss, that Lena had first noted that. Lena had her hands knotted in Kara’s hair, while Kara’s were to her sides. That didn’t make her kiss any less enthusiastic, but Lena noticed.

“Should I be insulted?” Lena said, something amused in her eyes.

“Wh-what?” Kara said.

Lena’s hands dropped, fingertips ghosting down Kara’s sides until they reached her hands.

“You can touch me,” Lena said. “I don’t mind.”

“Oh, I, uh-” Kara rather quickly turned red. “I don’t know if…”

“I don’t mean like… that,” Lena said. “I’m not going to rush you. But- well, I take it you can feel when I touch you?”

“Y-yes.”

“Why don’t you?” Lena said.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Kara said, hurriedly. “Or make you feel like… I know you’re still nervous, and I don’t blame you, and I don’t want to make it harder than…”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Lena said. “Not now. Do you think I’d have kissed you if I was?”

“N-no, I don’t mean that,” Kara said. “Just… my strength. If I get distracted, I could- It’s the kind of thing you talked about. And you were right, I could be-”

“I trust you,” Lena said.

“But-”

“You’re right,” Lena said. “I am… nervous. I used to be nervous about a lot of things: I worked through it. The easiest way to deal with irrational fears is to face them, and see there’s nothing to be afraid of. That’s what I’m doing.”

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” Kara said. “That’s not- That’s the exact opposite reaction I want, from any of this.”

“I know,” Lena said. “And I want to be able to enjoy this. I want to be able to forget everything my mother said to me. And I want to get to that stage as soon as possible.”

“How?” Kara said.

Lena looked at her eyes for a moment, before her lips quirked.

Both of them were standing, rather close; Lena took one of Kara’s hands by the wrist, and guided it to the small of her back. She then took Kara’s other hand, and guided it to her soft, dark hair.

“Like this,” Lena said, so softly, and leaned nearer again.

Kara’d had a stupid smile on her face for hours after that. Lena couldn’t help but laugh.

It was hard to believe many of her mother’s fears had any grounding in reality, after spending so much time with Kara. Outside their talks, outside cooler exchanges, Kara was a complete and utter dork.

By far the least intimidating person Lena had ever seen.

And that was how they ended up wrapped in Kara’s cloak, and sitting on the sofa. Lena had taken to seeing Kara more, when she was Supergirl; recognizing and acknowledging that the woman she was dating was an alien.

The cape did make cuddling warmer.

“Stay out of the house tomorrow,” Lena said, suddenly.

“Wh-what?” Kara said. She hesitated. “Do you have a, uh, visitor?”

“What?” Lena said. She glanced up. “Like who?”

“I don’t know,” Kara said. “The last time you asked that…”

“It’s no one like my mother,” Lena said.

“I didn’t think…”

“It just won’t be safe for you,” Lena said. She paused. “I’ve asked the DEO to strip the kryptonite from the house. It’ll be out of the lead casing for a few hours tomorrow, so it’d be best if you weren’t anywhere near.”

Kara was silent. She shifted under the cape, her arm over Lena’s shoulders twitching.

“Kara?” Lena said.

“I don’t want to force you into doing anything,” Kara said. “You wanted…”

“I didn’t know you,” Lena said.

“But…”

“It’s my choice,” Lena said. “It’s not because of you- Well, it is because of you. You don’t deserve it.”

“It helped,” Kara said. “If there’s ever more red kryptonite…”

“Then you probably won’t fall for the same trick again,” Lena said. “And we can get the kryptonite from wherever it gets stored. I think Superman’s meant to be doing that.”

Kara squeaked.

“Clark’s coming?” she said, suddenly.

“Not tomorrow, but soon, apparently,” Lena said.

It was a few seconds before Lena’s eyes widened, too. She hadn’t given it much more than a cursory, academic thought; if Superman had hidden the rest of the world’s kryptonite, of course he’d come by to collect the rest.

It probably wouldn’t be a big deal, if not for the fact she was dating his cousin and only living relative.

“Should we… tell him?” Lena said.

“I don’t- I haven’t really… seen that many people,” Kara said. “I don’t know much about… but I guess we should? I mean, he’ll find out sooner or later.”

“It’d be better coming from you,” Lena said. “I got the feeling he didn’t like me.”

“He didn’t know you,” Kara said. “He just saw your brother. It’s different now.”

“Is it?”

“I trust you,” Kara said. “He’ll have to. And- oh Rao I’ll have to tell Alex. What if she thinks I’m copying her?”

Lena raised an eyebrow.

“I mean,” Kara said, hurriedly. “She only came out recently, and she did the gay thing first, and if I- right after she did-”

“I don’t think that’s going to be her problem,” Lena said, slowly.

“But it might,” Kara said. “When we were growing up, I always took attention away from her. I was the new child, the alien, and our mom had to focus on me, and Alex was… What if she thinks I’m just doing the same again? I’ll have to tell mom, which could detract from Alex’s coming-”

Lena shifted, her other hand moving to Kara’s upper arm. She met Kara’s eyes.

“Kara,” Lena said, levelly. “Breathe.”

Kara swallowed for a moment, before starting to chuckle. She was fully aware she could babble sometimes, particularly when she was nervous.

Then Kara’s eyes went wide.

“What is it?” Lena said.

“Are you going to want to tell your mom?” Kara said.

“What?” Lena said, flatly.

“I mean, I know you’re not really on good terms,” Kara said. “But it’s the sort of thing you might want to say, and, uh, if you do-”

“My mother’s never had any interest in my life,” Lena said. “I don’t see why she’d start now.”

“Oh,” Kara said. She wilted, slightly sympathetically, before hesitating. “Uh, good. That would have been an awkward family dinner.”

“Although,” Lena said. For a moment, there was a glint in her eye. “I would pay to see her face when she finds out I’m dating Supergirl.”

Despite herself, Kara laughed. Lena had a point; it would be quite a sight.

“Thank you,” Kara said.

“For what?” Lena said.

“Trusting me,” Kara said. “With… everything. Your mother, the kryptonite…”

“It’s not much,” Lena said. She hesitated. “It’s something I should have done sooner.”

At Lena’s house, the DEO’s work had begun. Lena was talking with J’onn about the various locations she’d found L-Corp channelling funds, and all the off-book sites she’d located; all of Lex’s warehouses that had yet to be discovered.

And while that was going on the humans of the DEO had been given an exhaustive list of the varying traps Lex had set up in the house. Each was being triggered, and every last speck of kryptonite taken and boxed up.

It was a big house, and surprisingly little kryptonite was needed to incapacitate a Kryptonian. There was a lot of ground to cover.

The kryptonite couldn’t spend all its time in lead boxes though, so as discussed with Lena Kara had gotten out of there.

Kara had called up Alex too. Lena hadn’t wanted to be anywhere near Alex during this particular discussion. They hadn’t had the best of exchanges.

Of course, Kara had arranged to meet Alex at the alien bar, so they ran into Maggie in short order. All things considered though, this was hardly a secret from her. Kara breathed in.

“So, uh,” Kara hesitated. “I’m seeing someone.”

“You are?” Alex said. “Since when?”

“Um, it’s recent,” Kara said. “I’ve known- them for a while, so it’s not rushed or anything, we just only really started going out…”

“Kara?” Alex said. “Why are you all jumpy? You know I’m not going to mind anyone you…”

“I know, I just…” Kara said. “It’s kind of awkward.”

“I honestly can’t think of anyone you’d date who’d be that awkward,” Alex said.

“Could be me,” Maggie offered.

Alex blinked, and both she and Kara turned to face Maggie.

“It’s not,” Maggie added, “Do I really have to add that? Besides, I don’t think little Danvers is gay.”

“Actually…”

Alex turned back to face her.

“I mean, on Krypton, it wasn’t that big a deal,” Kara said. “No one limited themselves. Some people had preferences, but it wasn’t strict. I’ve never exactly been, uh, straight.”

Alex was quiet for a second or so, considering; Maggie seemed more entertained by the Danvers family than anything.

“So this person,” Alex said, “It’s a girl?”

“Um, yeah,” Kara said. “Is that ok?”

“Why wouldn’t it be ok, Kara?” Alex said. “Especially now. I’ve never been…”

“They do say most homophobes are gay,” Maggie said. “Something you’re not telling me, Alex?”

Alex rolled her eyes. Kara chuckled slightly; she had to admit, having Maggie here did lighten the mood enough to make it easier.

“When did you find the time to start seeing someone, in the last couple of days, anyway?” Alex said. “You seemed pretty busy, with Lillian’s arrest, and…”

“It’s Lena,” Kara said, in one breath.

Whatever else Alex was about to say was rather quickly cut off.

“Lena?” Alex said, flatly.

“Um, yes?” Kara said.

“Lena Luthor?”

“Yeah.”

“The Lena Luthor?”

“Um…”

“You’re dating-” Alex paused, and breathed in. “Why are you dating Lena Luthor?”

“I can answer that!” Maggie said, suddenly.

From behind Alex, she was giving Kara a thumbs up. Kara bit back an inappropriate chuckle.

“She’s a good person,” Kara said. “You know what she’s done; she’s helped. Set herself apart from her family. And she’s taking the kryptonite out of her house, right now. She’s doing everything to…”

“Is she still going to sell the alien detection device?” Alex said.

Kara faltered. As she looked down, Alex hurried on, seeing her sister’s expression.

“Sorry,” Alex said. “I mean- I know you’ve thought about it.”

“I have.”

“And I guess you’ve got your reasons,” Alex said. “I trust you, I- it’s a bit of a shock. She’s better than I thought she was, I’ll give her that, but I don’t want you to get close and find out…”

“She’s not her brother,” Kara said.

“That doesn’t make her a good person,” Alex said.

Alex hesitated.

“I’m happy for you,” Alex said, after a moment. “If you’re careful. If you’re sure-”

“I’m sure.”

“Then I’ll trust her a bit more. For you,” Alex said. “Just tell her, if she hurts you then she’d better get used to aliens real quickly, because there isn’t anywhere on this planet she’ll be safe.”

Kara smiled, and breathed out a sigh of relief.

“Wait,” Maggie interrupted. “Don’t you live in her house?”

“Um, since my apartment got damaged,” Kara said.

“Nice,” Maggie said. She beamed. “Already moved in with your girlfriend? That’s what I call moving fast. Welcome to the team.”

Lena sent a text to Kara once the DEO had made their last sweep of the house, and left. Apparently there wasn’t so much as a mote of kryptonite dust left in the house.

It might take a little getting used to. She’d viewed the green substance as a safety blanket, as much as anything. Still, safety from what? She had to remind herself of that.

The walls were empty. Lena wasn’t quite sure what she’d do with all the hidden compartments now. Maybe she could tear away some of the lead plating as well; completely renovate the house.

If Kara was going to live here in the long term, that might be smart.

Well, wait and see. She hoped it would work out, more than she could really say. There weren’t too many people who’d willingly associate with a Luthor these days, and even fewer she could bear.

Lena walked through most of the rooms, where the kryptonite had been found and removed, keeping an eye out. She’d almost expected Kara to come home faster; she usually did. If Kara wanted to be here, she could arrive in seconds.

So, Lena wanted to make sure she hadn’t been delayed by any remaining kryptonite. It didn’t look it.

It was strange how quiet the house was, after all the work that had gone on there throughout the day. It had been filled with operatives lugging around various lead-lined crates and peering into every nook and cranny, and now nothing.

Not even Kara.

She wandered the house herself, idly looking into the various hidey-holes. It was unlikely the DEO had missed any, but she’d always been the kind of person who liked to confirm things for herself.

“Lena!”

And there was Kara. Lena breathed a smile, wishing not for the first time that her home was a bit smaller. Soon enough, though, she followed the sound to the right room.

“Welcome back,” Lena said. “How did it go?”

“Um, well,” Kara said. “I think. How about here?”

“A few dirty looks,” Lena said. “But well, too. There’s officially no kryptonite left in this house.”

“Are you ok with that?” Kara said.

“I volunteered,” Lena said. “It’s got to be more comfortable for you. Even if the walls were lined with lead, you’d know it was there. Now it’s not.”

“It is a little,” Kara said. “But- if we weren’t, you know, would you still have…”

“Probably not,” Lena admitted. “But it’s not like that. I trust you, because I know you, and I want this house to be a place you can feel safe, also because I know you.”

“But if you knew me, and didn’t like me, like-like me-”

“Like-like?” Lena echoed, amused.

“Would you still have taken it out of the house?” Kara said. “If we’d only talked. You knew me, but didn’t want to date me or anything, would that…”

“I couldn’t know you and not like you, Kara,” Lena said.

Kara flushed for a moment.

“But to answer your implication,” Lena said. “I trust you. You know that. So I don’t need any defence from you, because I don’t think you’d hurt me. I’m sure of that.”

Kara was still flustered for a few seconds. She blinked, eventually managing to form words.

“That’s good,” Kara said. “I didn’t want- I don’t want you to do things just for me. I want you to do things because you want to, not because…”

Kara paused, before reaching back. She produced a small box, just about the right size to fit in her hand.

“This is for you,” Kara said.

Lena frowned. She reached across, taking the box. It was oddly heavy despite its size. She moved to crack it open-

“Don’t open it!” Kara said, suddenly.

Lena looked across to her, confused.

“It’s kryptonite,” Kara said.

“What?” Lena said, almost dropping it. “Kara, I don’t need-”

“I know,” Kara said. “But I want you to have it.”

“What?”

“It’s… not really fair,” Kara said. “I know you’ve said you trust me, and I know you’re dealing with the things you learnt, but- it’s not fair on you.”

“I don’t-”

“I don’t want to just ask for you to trust me,” Kara said. “You’re right, there are a lot of ways I could be… dangerous. And I’m glad you trust me, but I don’t want it to all be one-way.”

“Kara?”

“You trust me, and you show that just be being here,” Kara said. “But I trust you too, and I want you to know that.”

Lena hesitated.

“I want you to be safe,” Kara said. “And I want you to feel safe, completely. Even if there’s more red kryptonite, I don’t want you to ever feel like you’re in danger from me.”

Lena hesitated. She regarded the box, not quite sure what to think.

She didn’t open it. She’d seen that it could be painful for Kara; even a small amount of kryptonite, if concentrated, had an effect.

“I got it from the DEO,” Kara said. “Well, asked someone to get it, but you know what I mean. Clark hasn’t come to take it away yet.”

“I wouldn’t use it,” Lena said.

“I know,” Kara said. She smiled; “And I wouldn’t hurt you. That’s why I trust you.”

Well, it was… strangely sweet. Most relationships needed an equaliser. Still, it wasn’t entirely comfortable to carry around what was essentially a weapon made to specifically hurt her girlfriend.

Not quite sure what to think, Lena slipped the box into her pocket, and smiled at Kara.

Chapter Text

As happy as Lena was with Supergirl, her experiences with Kara’s cousin had been less enjoyable. Still, he was hardly worse than her own family.

He was due to visit the DEO at some point that day. Lena kept an eye on the news; there were reports of some mild chaos in Metropolis, so presumably he’d be taking care of that first.

Then Superman would collect the kryptonite from the DEO, take it to wherever he’d stored the rest, and leave.

All things considered though, he’d likely find time to talk to Kara.

Kara was excited at that. Lena would admit to finding it amusing; Kara was always a joy to be around, but all the more so when she was looking forward to something. She didn’t get much opportunity to meet her cousin.

Lena, meanwhile, remembered the side of him she’d seen. A Luthor would get rather different treatment from Superman.

She’d had a few markedly cool interviews with Clark Kent, and several months of him trying to make her turn on her brother.

She’d heard a lot about him. He was playful, always smiling, tried to keep people hopeful; ever the optimist, ever-friendly. It hadn’t felt like that to her, though. More than anything he had felt like one of the countless hordes feigning friendship with her to get some benefit.

True, it was nothing so cliché as wanting fame and fortune, but it was still just using her.

“You told him you’re staying here, right?” Lena said.

“He knows,” Kara said. “He texted; said he’ll visit once he’s finished with J’onn and the DEO.”

Lena paced.

“Don’t worry,” Kara said. “He’ll love you-”

“I’ll settle for indifference.”

“He knows you’ve helped us,” Kara said. “He’ll be grateful.”

Doubtfully, Lena kept pacing.

That much, at least, seemed to be a shared family trait. None of the Luthors wanted Superman to fly into their homes. With the number of people that meant Lena harm, she wouldn’t feel safe around anyone armed who she hadn’t vetted, much less someone with that kind of power.

Kara, at least, Lena knew. Even after a handful of cursory meetings, she couldn’t really say she knew Superman.

Idly, her hand brushed her pocket. A small, hard lump was in it; the small lead box of kryptonite Kara had given her.

Maybe it wasn’t the most tactful thing to carry, but she still wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it. She understood Kara’s thoughts in giving it to her, was even grateful to a degree at that amount of trust, but it was still disconcerting.

It wasn’t exactly something she wanted to leave lying around.

“He’s coming!” Kara said, suddenly.

“How can you tell?” Lena said.

“I can hear him,” Kara said. “He’s saying he’s almost at the door.”

The walls were still filled with lead. That was a small comfort, at least; Superman wouldn’t be able to peer inside and see how nervous she was.

She and Kara went to the door, arriving just moments before there was a knock. Kara opened the door, to let him in.

He wore a suit both like and unlike Kara’s, similar enough in design but different in detail.

“So, Lena,” Kara said. “You know, uh, Superman. And Clark, this is Lena.”

“We’ve met,” Clark said. He paused for a moment, then beamed; “It’s good to see you again, Kara.”

“It is,” Kara said. “We should do this more often, when there isn’t anything going on.”

“Is there ever a time nothing’s going on?”

“There might be, someday,” Kara said. “Anyway, come in.”

Kara was smiling. Clark was too, though it was a little stiffer.

Judging by how he kept glancing around, Lena suspected the walls were to blame. He probably wasn’t all that used to being in a place that blocked his vision. Even if he didn’t intend to use it, the option was still lost to him.

Kara had taken a little time to get used to it, though at least at the start she’d welcomed the limitations. It didn’t bother her any more, but it was new to him.

Well, every human on the planet had to cope with not seeing through walls, he’d manage.

“I was a little surprised when you said you were living here,” Clark said.

“I needed to be somewhere else,” Kara said. “Lena helped, and had a lot of spare rooms, and it’s…”

“A house-sized death trap for kryptonians?” Clark offered, albeit with some levity.

“It was,” Lena said.

“I needed that,” Kara said. “After the red kryptonite, it was… good to know I could be stopped. It still is. I don’t want to just be above everyone.”

Clark paused for a moment. At least he seemed uncertain, rather than coming in with his mind made up.

“And it’s been ok?”

“She’s been- she’s amazing,” Kara said.

Idly, she took Lena’s hand. Gratefully, Lena squeezed.

“Forgive me,” Clark said. “My past experiences with you were less… friendly, it’s going to take me a little time to get used to seeing you as an ally.”

“I remember,” Lena said. She nodded slightly; “I understand that.”

“So, um, I’ve kinda got news,” Kara said. “But you first, is there anything you want to, uh, say?”

“Should there be?” Clark said, slightly confused.

“I don’t know,” Kara said. “Is there?”

“Not that I know of,” Clark said.

“How’s Lois?”

“Lois is fine,” Clark said. He tilted his head. “Are you ok, Kara?”

Lena shook slightly, trying not to laugh. Kara’s awkwardness could be rather endearing, at times.

Kara stumbled, not quite sure of what she was meant to say. Sure, she knew what she had to tell Clark, and what she was meaning to tell him, but there was no good way to announce ‘Hi, I’m dating your greatest enemy’s sister!’

She’d have at least liked to try for some tact, but any way of easing him into it had deserted her mind. Eventually, Kara just mentally sighed.

“So, uh, news,” Kara said.

Then she was quiet, again. Lena couldn’t quite hold back a chuckle that time.

“Kara?” Clark said. “I can’t think of too much you’d need to keep from me. Only things that’d cause this much awkwardness are if you were dating someone or you broke something in-”

Kara squeaked. Clark raised his eyebrows.

“You did break something?” Clark said, suddenly worried. “I know you said you went to the Fortress a couple of times, which rooms? I’ve got a collection of crys-”

“N-no,” Kara said. “I didn’t break anything.”

Clark paused.

“Honestly,” Kara said.

“Ok,” Clark said. He breathed a sigh of relief; “So it’s dating?”

“Um, yeah,” Kara said.

“Then I don’t mind,” Clark said. “I don’t know if there’s much you could do that’d be awkward. You know I’m fine with you and James, if it’s Lucy… ok, that could make a few family functions confusing, but I can cope. Other than that-”

“It’s Lena,” Kara said.

There was a brief silence; Clark blinked.

“Lena,” Clark said, slowly. His gaze shifted to her, then to their hands. “Right. Should’ve spotted that.”

“I know what you think of me,” Lena said, “But I can promise you I’ve no intention of hurting Kara.”

Clark hesitated. He did seem somewhat caught off-guard; not so much disapproving as just taken aback.

“I’ll trust Kara’s judgement,” Clark said. “She’s… known you for longer than me. And more recently. If she- then I’ll trust you. Just like you can trust me to come straight to National City if I hear you’ve done anything-”

“Get in line,” Lena said, absently.

“What?”

“This is the second shovel talk I’ve gotten,” Lena said. “The first when we weren’t even dating, but the intent was there. ‘If you hurt Kara, I’ll throw you into space,’ or some equivalent. Her sister beat you to it.”

“Right,” Clark said. He paused, somewhere between still taken aback, and mildly amused. After a moment, however, his expression became serious. “You know I’m not going to completely trust you. I don’t know you, and…”

“My name’s Luthor,” Lena said.

“Frankly, yes,” Clark said. “I don’t have a good experience with that name.”

“Who does?” Lena said.

Still, despite their mutual wariness, there didn’t seem to be any overt hostility. Kara slumped in rather overwhelming relief.

“I’ll judge you based on who you are now, rather than who you were,” Clark said. “That’s all I can promise.”

“Who I was?” Lena echoed.

“Choosing your brother,” Clark said.

“I what?” Lena said.

“I asked for your help, back then,” Clark said. “You chose him, every time.”

“You were a total stranger asking me to betray the only real friend I’d had for years,” Lena said. “What would you have done?”

“The things he was doing-”

“I didn’t believe them,” Lena said. “Not then. Lex was- he was good to me, and there were always rumours about Luthors. Why would I believe you any more than I would them?”

She paused.

“I don’t like to be used,” Lena said.

Kara winced. Ok, so much for the calmness. She’d heard about their first meetings, and all things considered she could sympathize with both of them; both of them had entirely different preconceptions.

Sometimes no one was wrong. Clark had good reason to want help dealing with Lex, Lena had good reason to be bitter against yet another person who wanted to use her.

“That was years ago,” Kara interrupted, quickly. “What matters is now, right? After all, Lena’s helped. She gave all of Lex’s kryptonite away-”

“Kryptonite she stored away in the first place,” Clark said. “That she chose to keep.”

“She still got rid of it,” Kara said.

“After months,” he said. He paused, before looking at Lena. “You know how that looks, right?”

“It looks,” Lena said, “Like I had no intention of being vulnerable. You and half the world were coming after my brother, I didn’t have long to think, and you could be just another stranger who might decide to come after me, for all I knew.”

“If you were complicit, I would have,” he said. “I didn’t.”

“How was I meant to know that?” Lena said.

“Have I ever imprisoned the wrong person?”

“So?” Lena said. “No one was sympathetic to the Luthor name. You had more reason than most to hate it on principle.”

“That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be fair.”

“How would I know?” Lena said. “You can’t expect everyone too trust you, just because you fly around with that S on your chest. I’m not going to apologize for wanting to be safe.”

A pause; Lena shifted, only slightly uncomfortable. Her stony expression softened as she glimpsed Kara, however.

“Everyone human on this planet has to accept the fact that sometimes they’re vulnerable,” Lena said.

“Not every human on the planet does what I do,” Clark said. “And what Kara does. If I could trust kryptonite would stay in the right hands, that would be a different story, but I can’t. There’s too much at risk.”

“Every human who puts their life on the line accepts that risk,” Lena said. “Every human has a kryptonite.”

“You don’t,” Clark said. “Take it from me, or ask Kara.”

Lena raised an eyebrow.

“There’s nothing that acts quite like kryptonite,” Clark said. “The first time I ever experienced it, I passed out from the pain, and that was just from it being there. And- I’m not really used to that. I can get thrown through a building and it doesn’t hurt. The kind of blow that knocks me back doesn’t hurt either; there’s less friction holding me in place when I’m flying, it looks worse than it is.”

“So?”

“So, you’re used to it,” Clark said. “That’s one of the things I love about this world. I’ve- never really learnt to cope with the things you have. I grew up here, this world is all I knew, and nothing hurt. To go from not knowing pain, to that isn’t something I can put into words.”

“I shouldn’t have defended myself because it made you uncomfortable?” Lena said, flatly.

“No,” Clark said. “I- You need to understand why I can’t trust kryptonite to be in the hands of someone else.”

Lena rolled her eyes. Kara could imagine her response, pointing out how humans had to trust Superman and Supergirl with all their power; still, Lena opted for silence.

She could be so eloquent when explaining herself to Kara, but it didn’t seem to extend to anyone else. She’d only given a cursory overview of her justifications to Alex, and she’d gotten frustrated with Superman fast.

It was less about convincing people of anything, and more explaining why she thought and acted the way she did. She didn’t expect Clark to agree, just to see that she wasn’t acting for the same reasons as Lex.

“Are you that arrogant?” Lena said.

Kara winced.

“What?” Clark said, flat.

“You’re not the centre of the world,” Lena said. “And maybe kryptonite scares you, and maybe it should, welcome to how we have to feel every day. Perhaps humans are more used to it, fine, but we got used to it. If we can get over gods on earth, you can get over fear of a rock.”

“Kryptonite has no purpose except to hurt us,” Clark said. “But I’ve never- People know they can trust me.”

“How?” Lena said. “Because you want them to? Mental influencers, like the red kryptonite, show people do have reason to worry, even if they didn’t before. Even if they somehow knew you’d always act the same way.”

Clark paused for a moment; he briefly regarded Kara, before looking back to Lena.

“I haven’t destroyed the kryptonite,” Clark said. “It’s stored somewhere, safe, where it won’t be used. I don’t stand for the abuse of power.”

“We have that in common,” Lena said.

“You can’t be worried about trusting a stranger like me, and then expect me not to worry about the same,” Clark said.

There was another brief silence. At the very least, it seemed as though they understood one another; both were afraid, if of different things. Clark, of not being able to save people, and Lena of the potential harm that could be done.

Still, Lena had moved on, as her decision to let the DEO take the kryptonite had shown.

As for Clark, Kara would admit to being somewhat surprised. She’d spent years on Krypton, she was more used to it, but he had grown up invincible after all. To suddenly find out otherwise would be distinctly unpleasant.

Clark’s brow furrowed.

“What’s in the box?” Clark said, suddenly.

“What box?” Lena said.

“Your right-hand pocket,” Clark said. “There’s a small box, made of lead. There are only two reasons I’ve known anyone to make a box from lead, and usually it’s to hide something from-”

“You scanned me?” Lena said. “Your x-ray vision? What did you think I was hiding?”

“Something, clearly,” Clark said.

“Why did you-”

“Trust goes both ways,” Clark said. “What’s in the box?”

Lena hesitated. After their last exchange, it was almost the worst thing he could ask.

At the pause, Clark frowned more. His gaze flicked down, as though by sheer force of will he could look through lead.

“The other use of lead is to block the radiation from kryptonite,” Clark said.

Another pause.

“What were you saying about handing it all over?” Clark said.

“I did,” Lena said. She hesitated, then.

“I gave it to her,” Kara interrupted.

Clark blinked, facing her.

“What?” he said, confused.

“I gave her a little kryptonite,” Kara said. “It’s not much, and it’s the only part that didn’t stay with the DEO. But- um, I gave her that.”

“You- why?” Clark said, just as confused.

“Trust goes both ways,” Kara quoted him. “It- She trusts me, and I want to show that I trust her. Because I do, and…”

“There are other ways,” Clark said.

“None that are really fair,” Kara said. “I nearly- after what I did, I don’t want her to ever be afraid of me. I want to be vulnerable to her. For her. It’s- It’s only fair.”

Clark paused. He regarded Kara, still, with some softness, even if it was tainted by bafflement.

“I’ve no intention of using it,” Lena said.

Clark’s expression became a little cooler when he looked back to her. Their less-than-stellar history seemed to have only been exacerbated.

“You’re carrying it with you,” Clark said.

“I wasn’t going to leave it on my desk,” Lena said. “I don’t want anyone else to pick it up.”

Slowly, Clark took a step away. Though he spared the occasional friendly glance for Kara, his gaze was focused on Lena.

“The last Luthor I knew who carried around a box like that-” he began.

“I’m not Lex,” Lena said, “And I’m getting very tired of having to tell people that.”

“Clark-” Kara began.

He did look at her for longer, then.

“Give me a moment,” Clark said. “Or- time. I’ve no intention of hurting you, Kara, but… I need a moment.”

Rather quickly, he left the room. Lena and Kara watched him leave, flying as much as walking, vanishing in an instant.

Lena breathed out, slowly. She rested one hand on the box, as much to be sure it hadn’t been lost as anything, before looking uncertainly back to Kara.

All things considered it hadn’t been a total disaster. They’d expected Clark to be wary, and he seemed accepting enough of the two of them together. The problem was the little box.

“I shouldn’t have given you-” Kara began.

“I accepted it,” Lena said. “That wasn’t your fault. It was all of ours; mine, yours, and his.”

“I- I guess…”

And, even then, he at least hadn’t rejected it all out of hand. If anything, it seemed like Clark just needed time to process. Kara couldn’t blame him for that at least, there had been quite a bit dropped on him.

“Went better than I expected,” Lena said.

“I don’t know what that says about your expectations,” Kara said. Lena snorted.

Alex had requested an update on Superman’s visit, so Kara had hurried to the alien bar. Lena hadn’t wanted to come, that time. Maggie, too, wasn’t there when Kara arrived.

J’onn was at the bar, talking to M’gann quietly. According to Alex they’d been there a while; he wanted to hear all the details of what she’d been involved in, and what had prompted her to leave Mars.

A White Martian who’d refused to kill. J’onn still seemed to struggle to accept it.

Everyone had a fair bit of processing to do.

“I haven’t had any reports of a fire at Lena’s home,” Alex said. “I’m assuming that’s a good sign.”

“Mostly,” Kara said. She hesitated. “I think he was more… surprised, until…”

“Until?” Alex said.

Kara paused for a moment.

“I gave Lena some kryptonite,” Kara said.

Alex stared.

“Just a little,” Kara said. “I wanted us to be… more equal, I guess. Everything she used to say, well, it wasn’t all wrong, and I know she’s moving on but… I never want her to feel like she has to be scared of me.”

Alex was still silent, contemplating something.

“I’m guessing Clark wasn’t too happy with someone else still having kryptonite,” Alex said. “Especially not Lena.”

“Kinda,” Kara said. She hesitated. “And are you…”

“I’m giving her a chance,” Alex said. “Her heart seems to be in the right place, at least. If-”

Alex caught herself, briefly. Her expression shifted.

“You really trust her, huh?” Alex said.

“Huh?” Kara said. “I mean, yes, absolutely, I…”

“I just keep thinking I should’ve seen it,” Alex said. “I mean, Maggie saw it when you’d just met, but I didn’t and I’m your sister. It feels like I should have spotted…”

“You’ve had enough things to deal with yourself,” Kara said.

“Still feels like I should have noticed,” Alex said. After a moment, she chuckled to herself; “Apparently I just don’t notice anything gay. Maggie says as much.”

“If it helps, I took a little time to realize,” Kara said. “Realize for my part, at least.”

“You’re just oblivious,” Alex said.

“Am not!”

Alex just regarded her. She didn’t need to speak for Kara to look away, a little self-conscious.

“I’m happy for you, though,” Alex said. “Really.”

Kara paused, seeing Alex’s genuine expression. After how Alex had almost come to blows with Lena before, it was rather encouraging. It seemed Lena had earned a lot of peoples’ trust.

“Thank you,” Kara said.

Her gaze drifted, to where J’onn still sat at the bar. He was probably the wariest person left, beyond Clark. Then again, it was more understandable with him, his job was to be overprotective.

Hopefully, though…

Well, his opinion of M’gann seemed to be changing, at least.

There was a knock at Lena’s door. Frowning a little, she went to answer.

Kara was out talking to her sister, and she was the only person that ever really came to her house. She didn’t know quite what to expect when she opened the door.

A man stood there; fairly tall, dark-skinned, and with a severe expression that wasn’t remotely blunted by a bandage over one half of his face. Lena recognized him; they’d spoken a little yesterday.

“J’onn, wasn’t it?” Lena said. She glanced at the bandage; it covered the area just over and around one eye. “Did something happen?”

He paused for a moment, considering.

“Shapeshifting mishap,” he said, gruff. “Temporary.”

“Good to hear,” Lena said. “Is there something I can do? I thought we’d covered everything.”

Another, uncertain, pause.

“There’s just one more thing,” he said. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” Lena nodded. She turned around, starting to walk. “There’s a place to sit over-”

There was a thud, and Lena crumpled to the ground. He lowered his arm, showing barely a flicker of reluctance as he walked over her, and crossed to a wall. Then, he punched again, wood splintering at the impact with his fist.

Carefully, he crouched, and pulled the bandage off. It had been useful to avoid attention, but now it got in the way. From underneath it, a blue eye shone, and he peered into the chamber in the wall.

Nothing. Hank Henshaw stood up, scowling a little. Apparently he was too late; everything had been confiscated. Maybe he could go through the rest of the house, but what was the point? It would likely be pointless, and would take too long. Lena might come to, or Supergirl might return.

It wasn’t the time for a direct engagement.

Annoyed, Hank turned around, and began to leave when his eye caught something on the floor. When Lena had been knocked out, something had fallen from her pocket and clattered away.

He took a slow step closer, crouching and peered at the box, cracked open to reveal the soft shine of green.

Maybe it wasn’t a wasted journey after all. Hank closed the box, and picked it up, before walking out the door with a grim smile on his face.

Chapter Text

“Hey there,” Kara said.

She came to a stop, landing on the edge of a rooftop and sitting there, legs over the edge. Kara turned her head, offering a supportive smile.

There was a woman standing on the edge of the roof, eyes red, and her step trembling. She took a step back at the sight of Supergirl, thankfully moving away from the brink.

“Y-you’re…” she said, struggling to speak.

A lot of people still remembered the second red kryptonite incident; a lot of people were still scared. Kara couldn’t be sure if it was that which made the woman’s voice uncertain, or if it was just shock.

“It seemed like you needed someone to talk to,” Kara said. “I had to come.”

“You… did?”

“I heard you,” Kara said.

The woman hesitated. She didn’t back away from Supergirl; a lot of the city was still getting over its fear, but even though a lot of it was left there wasn’t much for her to be scared of.

That, and Kara was doing her best to seem approachable.

“Would you leave if I said no?” the woman said.

“If you meant it,” Kara said. “And if you didn’t want me around for any other reason. If you just want silent company, that’s ok too.”

The woman hesitated.

“No one listens,” she said.

“I will,” Kara said.

“But you wouldn’t understand,” the woman said. “You’re…”

“Here,” Kara finished, as the woman paused.

There were a few seconds of silence. The woman lingered; she’d moved back, but she was still uncomfortably few steps from the edge of the roof.

Kara kept an ear out, but there weren’t any major crimes being planned or executed, so she had a fair bit of time. It always hurt, when she could hear people suffer and had to prioritize.

When she could, though, she wanted to be there for everyone.

“Do you feel alone?” Kara said.

The woman hesitated.

“I’m guessing you don’t feel connected to all that many people, if you’re up here,” Kara said. “You can add one more to the list of people who care about you, though.”

“Everyone says that,” the woman said. “And they always try to… but it’s never real.”

“Yeah,” Kara said, sympathetically. “That feeling sucks, doesn’t it?”

The woman hesitated. “What would you know?”

“I was alone, when I came to this planet,” Kara said. “Everyone I’d ever known… I had a cousin, and a wonderful adoptive family, but Superman was a stranger to me, and my family didn’t really feel like my family.”

Kara hesitated.

“I don’t know what it’s like for you,” Kara said. “I don’t know about your family. But I know what it’s like to feel alone, even when people want to connect.”

“What happened?” the woman said.

“I got used to them,” Kara said. “I stopped holding on, and stopped seeing what I have now as a replacement. It’s just a different part of my life.”

The woman looked away, for a moment. Not for the first time, Kara wished she knew more about the people of the city; she might have struck a chord, or might have said something irrelevant.

“You’re not alone,” Kara said. “Even if it can feel it, even if it seems like the whole city’s against you, there’s always going to be some people. Take it from me.”

“I don’t know about that,” the woman said.

“What’s your name?” Kara said.

“Regan,” the woman said, after a moment.

Kara closed her eyes. There was the sound of tyres against the street, car horns, doors shutting, countless voices… And, there!

“Your roommate’s found your note,” Kara said.

Regan inhaled, sharply.

“She’s phoned your mother,” Kara said. “They’re frantic, trying to work out where you are, or what you’re… Your doctor’s in traffic, trying to get through it.” Kara opened her eyes. “They, at least, care about you Regan. They’re saying your name right now.”

Regan hesitated. She looked at the edge of the building, more uncertain.

“There’s no shame in needing other people to help,” Kara said. “We’re stronger together. And- believe me, things can seem overwhelming. It can seem like the bad stuff’s never going to end. But it always does, it has to, you just have to be able to outlast it, and I believe in you. People are always so much stronger than they think they are.”

Regan stumbled for a few seconds. She took a step forwards, but it was with less purpose.

She craned her head; looked down to the street, and hesitated. Then, she turned to Kara.

“I don’t know if…” Regan said. Kara smiled supportively. “Can you… help me down?”

“Any time,” Kara said.

Kara floated up until she was standing, moving carefully over to Regan. Regan took a step, until she was poised on the tops of Kara’s feet.

Then, slowly, Kara started to float; she moved over the edge of the building, keeping hold of Regan, and descended. It was several seconds before they lightly touched the ground.

“Are you ok?” Kara said, softly.

“I’m…” Regan said. “I’m not really sure.”

“That’s ok,” Kara said. “But find someone to talk to, and who’ll listen. Let it all out, with someone you trust. That can really help.”

Regan moved back, her feet touching solid ground. She looked at Kara, curiously.

“You… know what it’s like?” Regan said, uncertain.

“A little,” Kara said. Another supportive smile; “You’re really not alone.”

A slow step back. Regan stared at her, possibly some light dawning in her eyes, as Kara lifted off.

She was still smiling. It was good, to be able to achieve something more measurable. One life was still a life; still important.

Kara was still in the air when her phone started ringing. Quickly, she found a rooftop to land on, and pulled her phone out. After a glance at the screen, she answered.

“Hi Lena,” Kara said. “Is everything ok? I usually spend a couple of hours helping, well, everyone, but if you need-”

“It’s gone,” Lena said.

There was something strange in her voice. It seemed like worry; restrained, but identifiable even so.

“Lena?” Kara said. “What’s gone?”

“The kryptonite,” Lena said.

Kara tensed, feeling ice. That wasn’t meant to be a problem, not any more.

“Kara?” Lena said, after a moment of silence. “It wasn’t me, I promise. I would never-”

“I believe you,” Kara said. “But- what happened?”

“I don’t know,” Lena said. “I woke up on the floor, and I couldn’t find the box anywhere. And you know I carry it with me, there’s no way I could have lost it.”

“You woke up on the floor?” Kara said.

“I think I was knocked out,” Lena said.

“Are you ok?” Kara said.

“I think so,” Lena said. “They- It looks like they got what they wanted.”

Kara paused, briefly. She felt a brief flood of anger at the knowledge someone had gone into Lena’s house, and hurt Lena; anger she did her best to push away.

She couldn’t afford to be angry; the red kryptonite had proven that much, even if her past experiences hadn’t. Her powers meant she had to limit herself.

Kryptonite was out in the world again, too. Maybe not much, maybe just one shard, but that was all it took.

“Did you see who it was?” Kara said.

There was a pause.

“Lena?” Kara said.

“I don’t know if you’d believe me,” Lena said.

“You know I trust you,” Kara said. “Whatever you say, I’ll believe-”

“It looked like J’onn,” Lena said.

Kara faltered.

“I know he doesn’t trust me,” Lena said, “Just as I know he wouldn’t want me to have kryptonite. If he…”

“I don’t think he would,” Kara said.

“I know what I saw,” Lena said. Something odd entered into her tone; Kara hurried on.

“What about his eye?” Kara said. “Was one of his eyes strange, or…”

“He had a bandage on,” Lena said, slowly. “He said it was temporary, something to do with his shapeshifting.”

“Or-” Kara hesitated, not sure where to begin. “J’onn’s using the shape of a man called Hank Henshaw. We thought Hank was dead, but Cadmus saved him, and enhanced him. When I saw him, I hurt him; you can recognize him by the machinery around one of his eyes.”

If any eye was covered, that implied he was trying to hide something. It seemed more likely to be Hank than J’onn.

“Cadmus?” Lena said.

“He works for them,” Kara said.

“So this is my mother’s doing,” Lena said. “I know she’s in prison, but I doubt that would stop her…”

Kara hesitated. That would make sense; Lillian knew there was kryptonite in Lena’s home, knew Hank… It would only take a few words, or maybe even a plan set up before her arrest.

“I’ll keep you safe,” Kara said.

“He didn’t hurt me when he had the chance,” Lena said. “I doubt I’m the target.”

All things considered, Lillian did seem to have more family loyalty than Lex. She might not take betrayal well, but she wouldn’t want to punish it with murder.

“I haven’t seen anything,” Kara said. “But I’ll keep an eye out. If Hank’s planning something…”

“You’re the only one whose number I have,” Lena said. “Could you warn the rest of your friends? I think… he needs to know.”

“I- right,” Kara said. “I’ll head to Clark now.”

“Thank you,” Lena breathed. “I promise I didn’t mean for…”

“I know,” Kara said. “You don’t have to worry, Lena, I’m never going to think the worst of you.”

“You don’t know how much that means,” Lena said. She hesitated. “And- I’ll trust you about J’onn.”

“Thank you,” Kara said. “J’onn can be grumpy, but- he’s good. Unlike Hank.”

“Good luck,” Lena said.

“Stay safe,” Kara said.

A little reluctantly, Kara put her phone away. Then she lifted up into the air, moving further above the city, to look out over it without having her vision blocked by spots of lead that dotted the city.

Clark was still in the area. He stayed a couple of days when he visited, especially when the DEO had a lot of kryptonite to weigh and box. She ought to be able to find him nearby.

He was the first person on her mind. She’d tried to call him, but he was busy, which probably meant Superman was in the middle of something. Out of everyone in the city, he was the one that most needed to hear that someone had kryptonite.

The problem with how little time she’d spent with her cousin, comparatively, was how much harder it was to pick his voice out from the crowd. People like Alex, and Winn, and James, and Lena, she’d spent enough time with them to identify the sound of them easily.

Clark only visited occasionally however, and even then not for long; he was busy in Metropolis. He couldn’t afford to be away.

She knew what he sounded like, the recognition just wasn’t instinctive yet. So Kara changed tack, focusing on sight instead. If he wasn’t answering his phone, that meant he was Superman, so she ought to look for red and blue.

Of course, the Supers were popular. There were a remarkable number of themed outfits on the street on in buildings on any given day. She tried not to pay attention to most of what she saw, but her gaze was attracted to anything that looked like a cape.

Until-

There! Kara smiled, relieved, and started to fly as quickly as she could. She went over the buildings, before sharply ducking down, not quite landing. Superman was just around the corner.

She paused for a moment to scan with her x-ray vision again, trying to gauge what he was doing. She tensed, to see Hank Henshaw.

Well that answered the question of what he was doing.

Kara slowed where she was, not wanting to rush. If Hank had Lena’s kryptonite…

She caught sight of something in his hand. If anything, it looked like a knife; more primitive a weapon than she’d have expected, by there was a familiar, sick glow of green emanating from it. The blade itself was metal, but its proximity to the kryptonite would ensure it was just as deadly.

By the time it got close enough to cut, the kryptonite would be close enough to weaken.

Clark was keeping his distance, unsurprisingly. Still, his feet were on the ground, and his breathing was laboured. If he tried to flee, Hank caught up; still, Hank wasn’t near enough for the kryptonite to bring Clark to his knees.

Not yet, at least. Instead, Hank was smiling. The blue light that replaced one of his eyes flared.

“I’m Cyborg Superman,” Hank said. “I’m everything you’re meant to be, and all I am is human. Human technology, human inventiveness. We don’t need any aliens to fight for us. We don’t need any of you here.”

Hank lunged; Clark stumbled back.

“Meet your replacement,” Hank said. “Meet the man who’s going to kill you.”

Another lunge-

Kara circled around the corner, lifted her feet from the ground to fly, and accelerated as fast as she could. There wasn’t much she could do, in range of kryptonite; if she wanted to pull Clark out she’d be just as affected.

But kryptonite took her powers, not her momentum. If she lined up, and braced herself, and got fast enough-

She felt the sapping pain of the kryptonite, becoming awful for a moment as she passed Hank, before lessening. Still, she knew she was falling. She was in the air, but all that was keeping her there was her previous momentum. She felt the pull of gravity.

And then she hit Clark, and winced. If either of them were human, this would be an incredibly stupid thing to do; but they weren’t.

She pushed Clark back with all of her momentum, feeling the pain wash away in seconds as they put distance between themselves and Hank’s green blade. Quickly, slightly breathless, Kara pulled herself back up to her feet.

It had taken just seconds, but she’d gotten both of them far enough away to not be rendered completely helpless by the kryptonite.

She stretched, relieved to find whatever injuries she’d sustained in the impact had been all but cure.

Clark took a moment longer to stand up; he’d been exposed for longer than her. He didn’t pant for too much longer, though.

“Thanks, Supergirl,” he said, glancing sideways.

“Do miss teaming up,” she said. “Are you ok?”

“Am now,” he said.

He watched Hank, warily. Hank regarded them back, in turn, less sure of his ground against two kryptonians.

“Do I want to ask where he got that?” Clark said.

Kara hesitated. Well, she didn’t want to lie to him.

“He stole it,” she said. After a moment; “From Lena.”

Clark closed his eyes, briefly.

“Hank works for Cadmus, doesn’t he?” Clark said. “J’onn said something about him.”

“He’s with them,” Kara said.

“So an associate of Lillian Luthor has the kryptonite you gave to Lena?” Clark said.

“What?” Kara said. “No, she wouldn’t-”

Hank started to move closer; Kara lifted up into the air, Clark keeping to her side, until they were above Hank. Whatever powers he had, flight didn’t seem to be one of them.

Kryptonite wasn’t the worst of it; Kara knew that Hank was enhanced. Strong. Fighting him at the best of times was a struggle. Fighting him now could be fatal.

“Should we take this conversation somewhere else?” Clark said, looking down.

Kara looked around; there wasn’t much damage to the street. Hank wasn’t interested in ruining the city, or hurting people, just in coming after them.

More than anything, he looked pleased by the prospect of them fleeing. That wasn’t comforting, but it was something. He’d be satisfied, for now, with what he took to be a victory.  

“Probably,” Kara said.

Regroup, plan for what to do when Hank made himself known again. It was the best option.

Clark shot off into the distance. Kara kept up, following him until he picked a rooftop. It was easier to talk when their feet were on the ground.

“It was stolen,” Kara said, as she landed. “Lena has nothing to do with this.”

“How can you be sure?” Clark said.

“I know you can’t forget Lex,” Kara said. “But she’s nothing like him. I trust her.”

“Even now?”

“She hasn’t done anything,” Kara said. “Hank took it from her. She called me, as soon as she woke up.”

“That doesn’t prove anything.”

“Neither does someone else having kryptonite.”

“Having her kryptonite,” Clark said. “Lex was Lex, Lillian runs Cadmus, are you sure Lena’s the exception?”

“I trust her with my life.”

“It’s not just your life,” Clark said. “Kryptonite is the only thing that can reliably kill both of us, in human hands. There’s a reason I don’t want it out there.”

“You said you’d give her a chance,” Kara said.

“I said I’d judge her based on her actions,” Clark said.

He hesitated.

“I’m sorry, Kara,” he said.

Kara was about to reply when her phone buzzed. Clark gestured for her to take it.

Well, she wasn’t sure what more she could say, to be honest. As far as she was concerned, Lena had shown she could be trusted, and Kara didn’t know why some people didn’t see that.

Then she saw a text from Lena on her phone. She looked up, to see Clark glancing at the screen too.

“I have to go,” Kara said. “Will you-”

“I won’t go after Lena until you say it’s ok,” Clark said. “I trust you to not wait too long.”

“Thank you,” Kara said, uncertain. She nodded, before springing off.

When she flew, she spent as much time as she could high above the city. At the speeds she wanted to travel, the winds caused could be dangerous at street level.

As she lowered, she slowed down, before coming to a stop just by the front door of Lena’s house. She hurried inside, only briefly noting the DEO van outside.

Kara’s hearing lead her to a room where a rather unimpressed Lena was sat down. J’onn and Alex were standing. They turned, as Kara entered.

“Good to see you, Kara,” Lena said. Quickly though, her tone became cooler. “Could you please tell your sister and friend I have no intention of going with them?”

“What happened?” Kara said.

“Hank Henshaw was sighted-” Alex began.

“I know, I’ve just come from him,” Kara said. “Helped Clark. He’s still on the loose, with-”

“Kryptonite,” Alex said. “None’s missing from the DEO, so it came from here.”

“And as I’ve told you, it was stolen,” Lena said.

“Which isn’t a chance I’m willing to take,” J’onn said. “Hank Henshaw is dangerous, and if he has a weapon like kryptonite, we cannot afford to take any risks.”

“So?” Kara said.

“We’ll bring her to the DEO,” J’onn said. “Keep her out of the way. If Cadmus did steal from her, then she’ll be safe. If she’s involved, then…”

“I have no intention of becoming your prisoner, just to make you feel a bit safer,” Lena said.

“Why?” Alex said.

“Why do I want to not be locked up?” Lena echoed, disbelieving.

“Why are you so opposed?” Alex said. “It’s just-”

“I’m not going to act as though your vendetta against my name has any substance to it,” Lena said. “If I let you take me away, I might as well be saying that it’s fine for you to suspect me, and I’m tired of doing that.”

“This is nothing to do with your name,” J’onn said. “You were the only source of kryptonite. Anyone in this situation would be a suspect.”

“Even when they were knocked out and have a hole punched in their wall?” Lena said. “I won’t be held responsible for a theft I didn’t commit.”

“She’s not to blame,” Kara said.

She moved, until she was beside Lena. Both J’onn and Alex faced her; Alex looked more conflicted, while J’onn’s expression was set.

“I knew it was a bad idea to leave kryptonite here,” he said.

“She deserved it,” Kara said.

“Even when this happens?” J’onn said.

Kara hesitated. J’onn exhaled; Alex shifted next to him, getting his attention. They exchanged a look for a few moments.

“This is your last chance,” J’onn said, to Lena. “Anything that happens after this that’s tied to you, we’ll come back with more people.”

“I wasn’t aware I’d done anything to lose my first chances,” Lena said, voice cold.

Alex met Kara’s eyes, somewhat sympathetically. Kara nodded, slightly, in understanding.

It was the DEO’s job to be paranoid, just like it was Kara’s to protect people.

Kara stayed where she was, as Alex and J’onn left. J’onn moved slowly, turning back at the door to look at Lena one last time.

Kara knew he could read minds, but she also knew he wouldn’t do it without permission, especially to someone Kara was close to. Kara doubted Lena would agree to letting a stranger poke around in her head, though.

It was hardly suspicious activity; most people wouldn’t want their minds read. And that was if Lena was even vulnerable; with a house previously lined with kryptonite, Kara had to wonder what other safeguards were in place.

“I’m sorry, Lena,” Kara said.

Lena shifted. She looked up. “Do you believe them?”

“What?” Kara said. “That you meant for this to happen? No.”

“Why not?”

“You know why,” Kara said. She crouched. “We’ll stop Hank, and get the kryptonite back, and it’ll be like this never happened.”

“Will it?” Lena said. “I don’t think they’ll trust me. It wasn’t like they did before, and this…”

“Wasn’t your fault,” Kara said.

Lena hesitated.

“He’s right,” Lena said, after a moment. “It was a bad idea, to leave the kryptonite here.”

“Didn’t you want-”

“I don’t know,” Lena said. “I- I know what you meant. But look what happened. And it felt… wrong, to hold it when I held you. I didn’t feel all that safer, anyway. I never felt in danger from you.”

Kara hesitated.

“I don’t want it back,” Lena said. “Not if this is going to happen again. If this is the risk, it’s just not worth it.”

Chapter Text

The city seemed to like Supergirl again, at least for the most part. Kara was glad of that. It was just ironic that it happened now.

Apparently some people had seen her helping Regan. It wasn’t much, and Kara hadn’t thought too much about it, but it had done away with some of the last vestiges of fear.

Now the city mostly liked her again, just as her relationships with her friends had become a little strange. Ironic, really.

The DEO was keeping an eye out for Hank. For his part, J’onn was getting in some training; he usually didn’t go out to the front lines outside of emergencies, but he wouldn’t be so bothered by the kryptonite. That, and who better to face the man whose identity he’d taken?

So they had options, at least.

Clark had taken a few sick days at the Daily Planet, though. He often did when there were emergencies, and taking care of the last shard of kryptonite qualified. He wanted this over with; Kara did too.

She hadn’t really needed to worry about most of her foes having access to kryptonite. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like, to be afraid that even generic bank robbers might be able to incapacitate her.

Kara flew a circuit of the city, stopping what crimes she could. As she moved, she spotted another blur in the distance; she neared, coming to a stop over one of the city’s shorter buildings.

Clark caught sight of her and, finishing what he was doing, approached. They both landed.

“It’s hard to stop being a hero,” Clark said. “Well, I guess you know that.”

“Yeah,” Kara said. “Is Metropolis ok, with you here…”

“It takes a few days for criminals to realize I’m away long-term,” Clark said, “And it doesn’t take me too long to fly back. Lois’ll call me if I’m needed.”

“Ok,” Kara said. She smiled. “Glad you can stay.”

“Me too,” Clark said.

He hesitated for a few seconds.

“About Lena,” he began, and faltered.

And they were back to that. Kara’s expression fell, slightly.

“I know what you think,” Kara said. “But you said you wouldn’t-”

“No,” Clark said, quickly. “I wasn’t going to… I just don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

“Which is?” Kara said.

“I’m not angry, or disappointed, or anything like that,” Clark said. “I was… surprised, to hear about the two of you, but it’s not that kind of problem.”

“You didn’t seem happy,” Kara said.

“I’m not,” Clark said, and paused. “But that’s nothing to do with you.”

He hesitated for a few moment. Clark glanced away, distracted by something in the distance, before closing his eyes and looking back.

“It’s like looking in a mirror,” Clark said.

Kara tilted her head, curious. When Clark took a moment to collect his thoughts, she waited.

“I was so, so proud when you started being Supergirl,” Clark said. “To see my cousin wearing the symbol, making a difference… And you weren’t making any of the mistakes I made. I’d like to take a little credit for that, but a lot of it was you; you had more control.”

“Clark?”

“I don’t want you to go through the same things I went through,” Clark said. “With…”

“Lena’s nothing like her brother,” Kara said. “if you’re worried about…”

“I’m always going to be worried about that,” Clark said. “You never met Lex. He could be so… charming. It was years before people were willing to admit that he’d gone too far.”

Clark hesitated.

“I don’t see much of him in Lena,” Clark admitted. “But at the start, I didn’t see it in Lex either. Ask even Lillian, we were- friends. And he helped me, more than once; I like to think at least some of that was genuine.”

He never talked too much about Lex, at least not as anything other than a foe. Kara paused.

“I trust Lena,” Kara said.

“I trusted Lex,” Clark said. “I was seriously considering telling him who I was, when he started…”

Clark’s eyes drifted for a moment. Kara hesitated.

She hadn’t been a hero when Lex’s reign of terror had begun, but she’d watched the news. She’d always kept an eye on her cousin.

She was sent to Earth to look after him, after all. Even if something had gone wrong and he was older, there had been a few nights she’d almost flown off to Metropolis to help him.

She’d seen a lot of what Lex had done, and how Clark had struggled. During the worst of it, she’d called him, and offered to try and help. She might not have mastery of her powers, but she still had something.

Of course, the times he could most do with her help, were the times he’d most refuse it. He wouldn’t put her in danger, as concerned with keeping her safe as she was with him.

“That’s all I can see, when I look at the two of you,” Clark said.

“Lena isn’t going to do any of the things he did,” Kara said.

“Do you think I’d have been friends with Lex if I hadn’t thought the same?” Clark said.

Clark closed his eyes, briefly.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know that’s not how you see Lena, but it’s how I- have to. Trusting Luthors doesn’t end well.”

“It didn’t for you,” Kara said. “I’m not going to stop- I’m not going to change things because of what you think might happen.”

“I know you won’t,” Clark said. “It’s just too familiar.”

“Why?” Kara said.

Clark looked at her.

“I mean, apart from the symbol on my chest, and her last name,” Kara said. “What is there in common? That’s not much of a connection. And- not everyone in our family was perfect, why should everyone in hers be evil?”

“I don’t know,” Clark said. “But it’s what seems to happen. Lillian violently opposes the presence of aliens like us on Earth. Lex took after her. You never met Lionel; he was different, but not what I’d call a caring father. Sometimes it seemed like he’d kill his whole family if it meant Luthor-Corp would do a little better.”

“And Lena’s done nothing to suggest she’s like that,” Kara said. “All she’s done is help.”

“Just like Lex used to,” Clark said.

Kara would admit, she was getting a little tired of hearing that name.

She’d never met Lex Luthor. She’d seen him a few times on TV, bald, often smiling, and never seen without a suit. And she’d seen his mugshot, of course; that particular picture had made her flesh crawl.

Everyone knew what he’d done, and he was no longer hiding who he was, butd there wasn’t the slightest glimmer of repentance.

“Don’t compare her to him,” Kara said, a little more sharply than she meant.

Clark looked at her, somewhat surprised. He breathed out gently, and after a moment his expression began to soften.

“I’m still dealing with it,” Clark said.

“With what?” Kara said.

“Lex,” Clark said.

He was quiet for a few seconds. Something in the distance grabbed his attention; Kara listened more intently, but relaxed when the sounds lessened. Whatever it was, it had been sorted out.

“I don’t know why he did- any of what he did,” Clark said. “I don’t know how he became that from the man I- knew. And because of that, there’s no closure.”

“Clark…”

“He’d probably love this,” Clark said, darkly. “He’d count it as a victory. I don’t understand what made him change.”

Clark shifted uncomfortably.

“I’m not going to be able to look at any Luthor without seeing him,” Clark said. “I’m sorry for that, and what it means for you. And believe me, I wish I didn’t see Lex everywhere, but it’s not going to stop.”

“Just don’t take it out on Lena,” Kara said. “It was Lex, only Lex. Ok, and Lillian. But not her.”

“I don’t want you to make the same mistake as me,” Clark said.

Kara regarded him, not quite sure what to think. It was almost easier to deal with blind prejudice, than it was trauma and misleading experience.

Then again, she’d learned that from Lena. People had reasons for thinking what they did, and it was never so simple for them to change their minds. It took time, and adjustment.

All things considered, Clark had more reason than most to be wary of the Luthor name. it just hurt that Lena was victim to that.

“Nothing I feel for Lena is a mistake,” Kara said.

“I hope it stays that way,” Clark said.

“It will,” Kara said, firm.

Clark regarded her expression for a few moments. It might have comforted him; it was hard to tell. There wasn’t the slightest flicker of uncertainty in how Kara looked at him.

“Let me know if she shaves her head,” Clark said, with an attempt at levity.

“Will do.”

He smiled to himself.

“I want what’s best, Kara,” Clark said. “Please tell me you believe that.”

“I do,” Kara said. “This is best.”

“I wish I could believe that.”

“You can,” Kara said. “She’s done nothing but help; she stopped me when I was affected by the red kryptonite, she helped us catch her mother, and she gave up her kryptonite, and that’s kinda a big deal.”

“is it?” Clark said.

“For her,” Kara said. “You know how you feel about having kryptonite out there; that’s how a lot of people feel about the powers we have. Just as dangerous, just as unstoppable… And even if they can trust us to do good, you haven’t given, say, Lois kryptonite, though you do trust her.”

“She doesn’t need it,” Clark said. “It’s not the same. Kryptonite is actively a weapon; what we have is…”

“Different,” Kara said. “I know. There are a lot of differences, but there are just as many similarities, and in terms of how it feels…”

“Why would it feel the same?” Clark said. “We don’t threaten.”

“Don’t we?” Kara said. “The symbol we wear could feel like a threat, to a Luthor. You’ve seen how a lot of people are treating her, after Lex’s crimes. As far as she knew back then, we’d be worse.”

“Still-”

“I don’t agree, completely,” Kara said. She hesitated. “But she does have a point. Her giving away her kryptonite to us, would be like you giving away your powers when around her.”

Clark paused.

“The only reason she has any kryptonite is because I gave it to her,” Kara said. “What’s happening is more my fault than hers. She didn’t ask for it, I just wanted her to have it.”

“It’s not your fault, Kara,” Clark said. “It was Hank who-”

“And it’s not Lena’s,” Kara said.

He hesitated. For a few seconds, he regarded her.

“Maybe I am seeing Lex when he’s not there,” Clark said, softly. “It’s just- hard.”

“I know,” Kara said. She offered a supportive smile. “But Lena’s amazing. Really.”

Clark’s eyes drifted for a moment, distracted by some thought.

“So smart,” Kara said. “Inventive, articulate, passionate… And she cares, so much. It’s- kinda an inspiration, really.”

Clark paused. Despite being on the verge of saying something, his mouth closed, and his expression became contemplative.

“I think this would have been a lot harder, without her,” Kara said. “Everyone hated me, after the red kryptonite. She was always there, and- she was afraid, but I can hardly blame her for that, and despite being scared she still sat by me, and helped me. And she’s been through similar; she’s still going through being hated by a lot of the public. She weathers it. She makes it look easy.”

Kara’s eyes unfocused. Her gaze drifted, to where she might be able to see the L-Corp building. If she concentrated, she could probably use her enhanced vision to find Lena.

“It’s impressive,” Kara said. “She’s impressive.”

Clark watched her, then breathed out.

“I’ll try to see the best,” Clark said. “But I’m not going to forget…”

“Thanks, Clark,” Kara said. “You can trust her. Uh, trust me.”

Lena sat at her desk. Running L-Corp had never been an easy task, there were a good few dozen subjects she needed to use at any given moment, but she appreciated the challenge. This wasn’t something that should be easy.

She wanted the company to become a force for good again, like it was meant to be. Most of Lex’s pet projects had been scrapped, and the few that survived had been repurposed for the sake of benevolence.

Of course, there was the problem of branding. Renaming the company only went so far; the Luthor association damaged the bottom line, which in turn damaged the capabilities of the company.

There was only so much good that could be done if the company went bankrupt.

Since her mother’s arrest, stock prices had shown another sudden drop. Lena called up a chart of stock values over the past years, making a note of various peaks. She was fairly sure she could guess what had helped them, but there was no harm in checking. Maybe they could be repeated.

L-Corp had been at record highs, before the lead-up to and aftermath of Lex’s arrest. There was a slow descent, followed by a sudden drop.

Lena had lead the company into a slow crawl back up. There had been a slight jolt after her renaming, and a continual ascent, but Lillian’s arrest had made the value drop to its lowest in the past ten years, at least.

It wasn’t good news.

With all the various projects proposed, only one was anywhere near completion, and it was the alien detection device Kara so disliked. Lena called up the specs, skimming through them uncertainly.

Her feelings were complicated, but honestly there was a very real chance L-Corp would go bust before she could do anything with it, if they didn’t get a new product out there. They needed something to encourage confidence and interest again.

It seemed the best way.

Lena replied to several emails, before calling up a list of predictions. There were a few things to keep an eye on, but the risk would be tremendously diminished if L-Corp could make more of a profit, and gain credibility.

She’d booked an interview with various magazines, though she’d promised the best one to Catco if they sent Kara Danvers. There was no harm in boosting her girlfriend’s career, after all.

Lena sighed, exhausted. She couldn’t wait to get home; there was just something about Kara’s endlessly sunny disposition that was perfect for curing stress.

There was the sound of thumping outside. Lena turned up, distracted by the rather heavy footfalls. Then there was a muffled voice; Jess if she wasn’t mistaken.

The door opened, and either J’onn or Hank walked in. Judging by the bandage covering half of his face, it wasn’t J’onn.

“Sorry,” Jess was saying, “I tried to stop him, I told him he didn’t have an-”

Lena pulled a gun out of her desk and fired at him twice.

Since the assassination attempt on her a while ago, it had proven useful to have a gun near her a lot of the time. Unfortunately, despite the time she’d spent training, it didn’t seem to do much good in this case.

There was the clink of metal striking metal; Hank barely flinched. Jess, meanwhile, pulled back.

“I’ll get security,” she said.

“I wouldn’t recommend that,” Hank said.

He idly picked at a bullet-hole in his shirt; Lena caught a glimpse of grey metal beneath it. One of his many cybernetic enhancements, apparently.

Lena sighed. Unfortunately, Hank was right. It was unlikely even L-Corp’s security would be able to do all that much. He’d gotten past them in the first place, anyway.

“Why are you here?” Lena said.

“A message from your mother,” Hank said, a slight expression of distaste on his face. “If you ask me, she’s far too concerned with you.”

“And when you’ve said your piece?” Lena said.

“I’ll leave,” Hank said. “It isn’t you I want to hurt.”

Lena paused.

“Don’t call security,” Lena said, to Jess. “They’ll only get hurt. I’ll shout if Mr Henshaw starts causing trouble, if not, then it would be best if we were undisturbed.”

“Yes, Miss Luthor,” Jess said, and hurried out.

Lena shifted in her chair, looking away from her computer, and over her desk. With almost disturbing patience, Hank walked over to another chair, and sat down just opposite her.

After a moment, he reached into his pocket and withdrew a knife. Lena tensed, before watching him place it gently on top of her desk.

There was a distinctive green shard atop the blade.

“Returning my property?” Lena said, coolly.

“It was never yours,” Hank said. “I just wanted to remind you, in case you were thinking of inviting a certain one of friends.”

Under the desk, Lena had her hands on her phone. Slowly, she started to delete a text to Kara; he had a point. Letting her know she ought to come here would just put her in danger.

“So what did you want to say?” Lena said.

“Nothing,” Hank said. “You’re a traitor to your species, as guilty as the alien scum who dare to walk this world. I would just as soon never talk to you; but your mother sees things differently.”

“What is this?” Lena said, darkly amused, “A last attempt to try and get me to join the fold?”

“Absolutely not,” Hank said. “She and I agree on that. You’ve made your allegiances clear. You’re not trusted: less a Luthor than you were before.”

“Thank you,” Lena said. “So, what makes you my mother’s lapdog?”

Hank’s eyes narrowed.

“I owe Lillian Luthor a great deal,” he said.

Carefully, he pulled the bandage from his face, and Lena found herself looking at a cold, unblinking blue light. She tried not to shiver.

“She still cares for you,” Hank said.

“She never cared for me,” Lena said.

“Believe what you want,” Hank said. “It doesn’t matter to me. She says I shouldn’t kill you, unless you get in the way. Remember that. It’s the reason you were only knocked unconscious.”

The lump on the back of Lena’s head prickled.

“Your mother wants to remind you of the people you’re defending,” Hank said.

“Another lecture?” Lena said, disinterested.

“A reminder,” Hank said. “National City has all but forgiven Supergirl for nearly killing people, and for the vandalism and damage that will cost hundreds of thousands to repair. They don’t know about red kryptonite: they believe Supergirl herself is responsible for that damage.”

“Damage you caused,” Lena said. “I know better.”

“Look at how they see you,” Hank said. “Vilified for the so-called crimes of your brother. You’ve done nothing, but they hate you, and continue to.”

Lena tensed.

“Think about that, when you’re trying to get comfortable in your new alien-loving bed,” Hank said. “How quickly they turn on humans, and how easily aliens get forgiven.”

Lena tried not to react to that.

She had tried to change public perception of her. She knew Kara faced similar problems, after Cadmus’ attack, and she’d been happy for Kara when things had improved.

But it was unfair, how people were quick to forgive her when Lena had done nothing but-

No. Now wasn’t the time not to think on that. She wouldn’t give Hank the satisfaction. She scanned the cyborg, briefly thoughtful.

Hands still under the desk, she started typing an email to Jess, relying on her memory of where the keys were.

“Supergirl’s a hero,” Lena said.

“Is she?”

“I haven’t done anything nearly as public,” Lena said. “What’s your point? Supergirl helps people openly, they get to see her face, and see her redeeming herself.”

“They get to see her making us dependent on people like her,” Hank said.

“Aliens aren’t some monster under the bed,” Lena snorted. “You’re looking for evil in the nicest person I’ve ever known.”

“Was she that nice when she was trying to kill you?” Hank said.

“That was my mother’s doing,” Lena said. “Remind her of that.”

Lena paused. Her gaze drifted, first to the glimmer of her phone under the table, and a reply from Jess. Next, she looked at the softly glowing green of the kryptonite-enhanced knife on her desk.

“When you next visit my mother behind bars,” Lena said, “Remind her as well that I’m finished pretending that she has anything worth saying. I’ve stopped caring what she thinks, and she doesn’t need to act like she cares any more.”

“Tell her when she’s free,” Hank said.

“She’s not getting out.”

“She will when Superman and Supergirl are dead,” Hank said. “Project Cadmus is founded to fight the threat posed by aliens. We’ve struggled because of the likes of them, convincing the world to rely on aliens to fight aliens, rather than looking at what humans can do. Lillian Luthor led Cadmus the way it should be led: when they’re no longer cowering behind Supergirl’s skirt, she’ll be pardoned. They’ll need her.”

“It’s a pity that’s not going to happen, then,” Lena said.

She tried not to shudder at the thought. If they’d release Lillian, it was more than likely they’d do the same for Lex.

Not without reason though; and if Hank wasn’t successful, they’d have no reason.

Hank didn’t seem at all concerned by her words. He didn’t seem concerned by much at all, content in his own invulnerability, and with no real worry.

Lena hesitated a few seconds, watching him. Then, as quickly as she could, she reached out, grabbing at the kryptonite-

With inhuman, enhanced speed, she felt Hank pin her arm down by the wrist, her fingertips unable to hold on to the blade. There was a crack; Lena cried out.

“I have no intention of giving this up,” Hank said, his voice low and burning as he met Lena’s eyes. His hand remained where it was, pinning Lena’s broken wrist to the desk. “Lillian told me not to kill you; but if you’re a problem, I’m more than able to hurt you.”

Lena drew one, rattling breath, before meeting his eyes.

“Likewise.”

Her shout had been the signal for Jess to call security. Bullets wouldn’t be much good against Hank, they both knew that, but she’d had an opportunity to look him over.

From what she could tell, he had an entirely metal exoskeleton. She couldn’t be sure if what covered most of his body was actually skin, or just an equivalent meant to hide the work put into him. Still, the fact was there was metal and machinery in every joint and muscle of his body, making him stronger and faster, and no doubt much more.

Knowing Cadmus, there might be a few enhancements based on alien technology, but a lot of it would be held together with human ingenuity.

The door to her office burst open, and a gun fired. There was a clink of metal hitting metal, again; Hank had just enough time to give a confident smirk, before he too cried out.

He withdrew his arm from the desk, by reflex. Lena hastily backed away, cradling her wrist.

“Thank my mother for that,” Lena said. “To improve profits we rented out the L-Corp factories. That particular weapon is a classic electro-magnetic pulse, designed for a military contractor. Plays havoc with machinery, which I imagine you have a lot of.”

Hank shifted, momentarily strained by having to carry the sheer weight of the metal that filled his body without the added strength. After a moment though, he righted himself; either his machinery was self-repairing or he had back-ups. Lena suspected both.

Fully recovered, they ought to be in the same situation as before. Now, however, he was scowling.

“I didn’t know if it would kill you,” Lena said. “I was curious as to how reliant you are on those cybernetic enhancements, and whether any would be resistant. An EMP seemed a fair bet, though there was a slight black body field to add to it.”

Hank turned around, to face the security guard holding the weapon. He glared.

“I expect it’s not very pleasant,” Lena said. “Maybe you could destroy the prototype, and fight your way out of the building, but getting through the other products lined up would be a painful experience for you. Even if nothing we have kills you, I don’t think you’d enjoy it very much.”

Slowly, Hank moved back to face Lena. She didn’t flinch at his glare, even the fierce light from his inhuman eye. She barely moved, even as her wrist ached.

Under all that machinery, he was still a human. He still had nerves: still felt. Without feeling he’d be all but useless, unable to know when he was holding onto something.

That meant she didn’t need to be able to kill him, to scare him off. She just needed to make staying seem like too unpleasant an option. Given how he’d yelled at the enhanced black body EMP’s effect, she doubted he wanted to linger.

That was just one weapon.

“This isn’t over,” Hank said.

He moved around the desk; the guard raised the weapon, prepared to fire if he neared Lena. Instead, however, he went to the window and shattered it.

Hank walked through, falling, and landing after just seconds He left quite a hole in the pavement below. Then he got up and walked away, thoroughly unscathed.

Lena breathed a silent sigh of relief, and turned to thank her guards. Then, with her left hand, she started typing out a message for Kara.

Chapter Text

The repairs on her apartment were more or less done. The workers had gotten to it, at last, and the place was nearly habitable again.

Circuitry and pipes had been done first of all, for everyone in the building. The wall was now solidly in place, however. It would take some decorating, but beyond that, she had an apartment.

There had been a time Kara looked forward to that. Now she was a little conflicted.

She’d enjoyed Lena’s place. The homecooked meals were just one of the perks. There was the TV, the couch, the bed, the various furnishings…

And, most importantly, Lena.

Kara flew by the street on the way back to her room at Lena’s. It looked almost like it had before she’d ruined it.

“What’s that expression for?” Lena said, curiously, as Kara walked in.

Kara hesitated, trying to figure out how she looked for herself, at first. More than anything, she felt confused. Slowly, Kara sat down.

“My apartment’s nearly repaired,” Kara said.

Lena faltered.

“Oh,” Lena said. “That’s… good.”

“Yeah,” Kara said. She hesitated. “I guess. I mean, we’ve been waiting for it for a while, so…”

“Are you going back?” Lena said.

“It’s not quite finished,” Kara said.

“Do you know when?”

“A day or two,” Kara said. “Not long.”

They were quiet for a few moments.

“Do you want to go?” Lena said.

Kara hesitated.

“I don’t really know,” Kara said. “I like it here. I’ve liked staying, um, with you. It’s… been amazing. And, have you-”

“It’s the happiest I’ve been since coming to this city,” Lena said.

Lena fell silent suddenly, after saying that. Kara regarded her.

“So can I?” Kara said.

“Can you?” Lena echoed.

“Can I stay?” Kara said. “Um, if you want. I’ve got a room, and I won’t need to pack or anything, and I get to still be here if…”

“I’d like that,” Lena said. She smiled. “I’d like that a lot.”

Kara breathed out, relieved and happy. She shifted, sat next to Lena. Idly, Lena lowered one arm over her shoulders.

Kara felt two fingers start toying with her hair. She smiled, moving into it, and catching a glimpse of Lena’s face.

“Thank you,” Kara said.

Lena tilted her head, unsure.

“For letting me live here,” Kara said. “Now, and then, even after what I’d done… And thanks for helping me.”

“I wasn’t going to kick you out,” Lena said.

“More than that,” Kara said. “I was in a bad place when I came here. I was… guilty. I’d hurt people, and nearly- Thanks for being there.”

“I wasn’t that helpful,” Lena said. “The things I said-”

“Helped,” Kara said. “It was- complicated. A lot of people were scared of me, and the people that weren’t, it felt like they weren’t paying attention. After the things I’d done, I almost wanted more of a reaction than… But I knew you saw that, you didn’t just ignore it, and you still wanted me here.”

Kara hesitated. She met Lena’s eyes for a moment; smiled.

“I still feel bad about what happened,” Kara said, “The things I did, and nearly did, to you-”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Lena said.

“I know,” Kara said. “But it feels like it was, and- You’re always there. Even when I’m at my worst.”

Lena felt herself look away. It was hard to be the recipient of that kind of trust, of that kind of love, for her particularly. How was she meant to respond?

Not that she didn’t reciprocate, but Kara seemed more used to receiving it.

“I won’t leave you,” Lena said.

Kara smiled. She shifted, leaning closer against Lena.

She heard Lena’s heartbeat again, it was always hard to ignore when she was this close. Kara closed her eyes, almost drifting off to the sound.

Then something caught her attention. Kara stiffened, slightly.

“What happened to your wrist, Lena?” Kara said.

Lena hesitated. Kara frowned, squinting and peering at the bones. She winced to see the breaks.

“I had a… visitor,” Lena said. “Hank Henshaw came to the office today.”

“Are you ok?” Kara said, quickly.

“Aside from this,” Lena said. She lifted her wrist. “He was just delivering a taunt from my mother.”

“He left?” Kara said.

“With persuasion,” Lena said. “L-Corp was making a few weapons for military contractors that turned out to be useful, once security got them. It made him leave without hurting anyone, at least.”

Kara sat up straighter, suddenly.

“You got rid of him?” Kara said. “How did you-”

“He’s mostly a machine,” Lena said, “Machines have weaknesses.”

“Oh, ok, right,” Kara said. “I- sorry, got distracted by that, I was wondering how we could… I’ll be asking your help with that. Uh, later. Are you sure you’re-”

“It’s fine,” Lena said. “I got treated fast, now I just have to wait for it to heal.”

“It looks bad,” Kara said.

“It looks-” Lena began, confused. Then she glanced at Kara, and remembered her x-ray vision. “Right, you can see. I guess it would look worse to you.”

Kara managed to tear her eyes away from Lena’s wrist. It was one of those sights she hated to see, but couldn’t stop looking at. Hank had-

“He shouldn’t have hurt you,” Kara said, quietly. “It’s not you-”

“I’m involved, ever since I helped you catch my mother,” Lena said. “To be honest, I was expecting worse.”

“I should have helped-”

“He had kryptonite,” Lena said.

“Still-”

“It’s not your fault,” Lena said. “You’re not always going to be there to save everyone. Besides, it’s just a broken wrist. I’m sure you stopped worse.”

“But it’s you,” Kara said. She hesitated. “I don’t want to let anything happen to you. It’s- It always gets complicated. There are people in this city it feels like I’d drop anything to protect, and you’re one of them. I just wish I’d been there, even if I couldn’t have helped. I want to have tried.”

“I didn’t want you there,” Lena said.

Kara faltered.

“I want to protect you too,” Lena said. “I’m not going to call you into danger when I can deal with it,” she smiled. “Now you know how we feel.”

“What?” Kara said.

“The people who care about you, and watch you put yourself in danger,” Lena said. “I’m so, so amazed by what you can do, and that you’re always willing to help people, no matter what, but… sometimes it’s hard not to worry. Any time I see or hear about an attack on the news, I wonder if you’re ok, if you made it-”

“I know,” Kara said. Her tone softened. “I can’t stop, any more than I can stop you wanting to be safe.”

“I’ve taken care of myself for a while now,” Lena said.

“Likewise,” Kara said.

Kara offered a fond smile. Lena chuckled to herself. The look of hope on her girlfriend’s face always made her feel lighter, no matter what.

It wasn’t like she’d ever want Kara to stop being a hero. That was as much a part of Kara as anything; it just didn’t make it any easier to sit on the sidelines and watch her girlfriend get in a fight on the news.

Somehow, it was refreshing to know it wasn’t all one-sided. Not that Lena wanted Kara to worry, and not that she’d doubted Kara cared, but still, it was nice to know.

“L-Corp’s at your disposal,” Lena said, suddenly.

Kara shifted, distracted again by Lena’s heart.

“I know you have the DEO,” Lena said, “But more support can help, particularly with a company more practised at R&D. If you want the things used to weaken Hank, or anything at all like that, just ask.”

“Th-thank you,” Kara said. She flushed, slightly. “I don’t want to distract your company from-”

“Being a force for good?” Lena finished. “What better way than helping Supergirl? If I have to choose between profits and lives, I choose lives.”

“So long as I can put in a few appearances,” Kara said. “Endorsements, that kind of thing. Supergirl supports Lena Luthor. Let me help you, as well.”

“You do,” Lena said.

“I’ll always want to help more,” Kara said.

“So will I,” Lena said. “You’re the most important person in this city to me, and I want to show that.”

Kara was silent for a few seconds, mouth opening and closing in rather adorable awkwardness. She went to adjust her glasses, before realizing she wasn’t wearing them.

“Thank you,” Kara said.

Lena sidled closer, closing the distance between them again, and sharing some of Kara’s heat.

She always though Kara ought to be warmer, with how much of the Sun’s energy she apparently stored. Instead, Lena had found Kara didn’t seem to be a different temperature to a human. It had surprised her.

Still, Kara was always warm enough to be comfortable.

“Speaking of L-Corp,” Lena said, eventually. “The alien detection device-”

“We don’t have to talk about that,” Kara said.

“We should,” Lena said. “You know why I couldn’t just scrap it.”

“Yeah,” Kara said, almost reluctantly.

“I thought about what you said, though,” Lena said. “I agree it isn’t something to put in the hands of the public. It’ll be used by the wrong people, or for the wrong reasons, or they’ll just think of it as an endorsement for views and actions I don’t support.”

“So, what will you do?” Kara said.

“Its release is tomorrow,” Lena said. “We’re selling to organizations only, and then only after vetting. Hospitals that need to know who they’re treating, police investigating alien-based crimes, Probably the DEO. We have to charge a little more to not run into difficulties, but… I think it’s worth it.”

“Oh,” Kara said. She hesitated. “J’onn did say they’d be useful.”

“I know it’s not perfect,” Lena said. “Maybe the wrong people will steal them. Maybe the devices will be abused. That’s the case with everything, though. We’ll do what we can to lessen the risk, but…”

“I understand,” Kara said. She paused. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Listening,” Kara said. “I know it can’t have been… It means a lot, that you listened.”

“I care what you think of me,” Lena said.

“But- I don’t want you to do things just because it’s what I want. I-”

“It wasn’t,” Lena said, then faltered.

Lena wasn’t too used to expressing her feelings, like this at least. There usually weren’t too many people she could talk to.

When it came to L-Corp, she relied on press releases and press conferences. All of them were prepared carefully in advance, every word and phrase scrutinized.

It was refreshing to not be judged. Even when she’d put things terribly, or not thought about what she meant, and hurt Kara- Kara had listened to her apology, her growth.

“There were a lot of things I didn’t think about,” Lena said. “There was too much I had to be careful of. And you were right about the dangers. The anti-alien people think I’m on their side, this would just confirm it for them. I’ve no interest in helping them.”

“You’ve done so much to help us, instead,” Kara said. “The only people who’ll think that you’re like that now would never change their minds anyway.”

“Thank you,” Lena said, quietly.

Lena wasn’t sure whether that was encouraging. Some days it still felt like far too many people hated her.

“I like how I’ve changed,” Lena said, after a moment.

“What?” Kara said.

“I’m not the same as I was,” Lena said.

“You’re not different,” Kara said. “You were always-”

“I am,” Lena said. She paused. “I was less… I wasn’t in a place where I could see any more than the problems. After everything that had happened, I was focused on the dangers, and helping L-Corp.”

Kara hesitated.

“Most people you meet change you,” Lena said. “It always happens, I’m just glad I knew you. I like the hope you gave me.”

“I’m glad I could help,” Kara said. She shifted, moving closer. “But it’s mostly you. You chose to develop, you chose what you wanted to do. You’re a good person. You always were.”

“I like to think so.”

“I saw it,” Kara said.

Lena felt Kara’s lips for a moment. She almost melted, smiling at the contact.

“And you’ve changed me,” Kara said.

“I have?”

“For the better,” Kara said. “When I started being a hero, I- well I wasn’t really that good. I took for granted that I’d succeed, and made a few mistakes, pushed myself too far. I got better, started small and worked up, but I kind of kept judging myself by Clark.”

Lena frowned. Kara shifted.

“People love him, so it didn’t feel that special that people loved me too,” Kara said. “I mean, I was always grateful, always happy, but- I didn’t realize how much it meant. Not until I heard what they could be thinking, and why they could be thinking it. It- I could be dangerous.”

“You’re not,” Lena said. “I don’t want to make you think that-”

“No, no,” Kara said. “It’s alright. To people that don’t know me, that just see me on the news… I can’t blame them for worrying. Their actions, yes, those can be problems, but if they’re scared by the possibility… I understand that. And really, it makes everything feel so much better.”

“It does?”

“People trust me,” Kara said. “Most people, at least. That means something, and I don’t want to forget how much. I was grateful, but- You made me realize how valuable it is. Your trust most of all. I- thank you, Lena.”

Lena faltered.

She wondered if she’d ever get used to compliments. Well, dating Kara, she probably would. Affectionate was too mild a word.

Lena smiled, and nodded slightly.

“You’re forgiven?” Lena said.

“For the red kryptonite?” Kara said. “I- think so. Not by everyone, but most people seem to have moved past it. The things I’ve done, they know I’ve changed.”

“I’m glad,” Lena said. “More people should realize you’re a hero.”

Something in Lena’s voice was uncertain, though. Kara moved beside her, until Kara could better face her.

“Lena?” Kara said.

“I’m happy for you, really,” Lena said.

“But?”

“What but?”

“I know you, your voice,” Kara said. “There’s a but.”

“I don’t- It’s selfish,” Lena said.

“Be as selfish as you want with me,” Kara said. “I want you to have everything.”

Lena paused. Kara met her eyes, as fervent as ever.

“It’s… something Hank said,” Lena said.

Kara went stiff. Lena took a moment, trying to gauge what she was thinking, before hurrying on. It seemed Kara just didn’t like Hank, especially after what he’d done to Lena’s wrist.

“The city forgave you,” Lena said. “After you destroyed buildings, and hurt people, and nearly did a lot more. And I’m glad, you deserve it. But I can’t help but feel it’s unfair.”

Lena hesitated, gauging Kara’s reaction. She’d hated her own response, when Hank had said it; she’d pushed down her bitterness, not wanting to give him anything.

It wasn’t that she blamed Kara, and it wasn’t that she thought Hank was right. It just hit too close to home.

“I’ve been trying for longer than you to shake off peoples’ impressions,” Lena said. “And they don’t even hate me for something I did. It was all Lex, and- They still talk about it. They still judge me because of it. Sometimes I just wish they held me to the same standards as you.”

Lena looked away for a moment, uncertain. It was little more than seconds before she felt Kara’s hand on hers, though.

“It is unfair,” Kara said. “You deserve better, and I wish I could give it to you that easily.”

“What did you do, to change their minds?” Lena said.

“Helped people,” Kara said. “Kept helping. In the end, it seemed to add up.”

“I’m trying that,” Lena said. She breathed out. “I’m making L-Corp better. I’m trying to help. It just never…”

“I know,” Kara said. She closed her eyes, and leant closer to Lena. “Hatred for Lex runs deep. The things he did- they were worse, and they went on for longer. It’ll take time.”

“How much time?”

“I don’t know,” Kara said. “But you won’t be alone. I promise you.”

Lena closed her eyes, embracing Kara’s warmth for a moment. The distraction was more than welcome.

She hadn’t expected to end up so close to someone when she’d moved here, much less with Supergirl. Lena could never regret it though.

After everything that had happened, and with all that was still going on, it was good to have a place she could feel perfectly safe. There was nowhere more comfortable.

“I don’t know how you got through it, sometimes,” Lena said, breaking the silence.

“My friends,” Kara said. “Surround yourself with people that do trust you. Focus on that. So long as you’re not alone…”

“I don’t know how many people like that there are,” Lena said.

“There’s me,” Kara said. “And Alex, she’s coming around. And once Hank’s dealt with and Clark and J’onn are less on edge, I’m sure they’d like you too. You don’t have to worry.”

Kara considered, for a moment. In a way, it was easier for Supergirl to seek forgiveness.

She was always out in the public eye. People saw the red and blue, or saw the S, and knew who she was, and knew she was helping. She could do more in a day than anyone.

L-Corp was a company though. What it did, it did slowly. Any decision was reached through dozens of people, at the very least. Products were pitched, considered, planned, designed, tested, refined, tested, refined again, before they were mass-produced and sold.

Whatever changes Lena wanted to make would take a while before they got through.

“Could you help me?” Kara said, suddenly.

“I told you, all of L-Corp will…”

“I know,” Kara said. “That- it might help you. Like you said, some people should lose their prejudices when they see a Luthor and a Super working together. When they see you being a hero, maybe they’ll treat you like they did me.”

“Do you need help?” Lena said.

“Hank, wherever he is,” Kara said. “Even without kryptonite- I wouldn’t want to get into a proper fight with him.”

“Is he strong?” Lena said.

“Very,” Kara said. “But that’s not why. I don’t like fighting people like that in the city. The damage it does, throwing one another around, landing on the street, hitting buildings… Metropolis has been rebuilt more times than I can count. I don’t want that for National City.”

Kara shifted.

“Especially after the red kryptonite,” Kara said. “People are just starting to trust me again, I don’t want to repay them by wrecking the city. It’s like you said. I can be dangerous; but I don’t want to be. I don’t want to risk people getting in the way. It’s one of the things you made me think about more.”

“And if the device I used at L-Corp works on him,” Lena said, slowly, “That’ll limit the amount of harm he can do, whether or not he has the kryptonite.”

“Exactly,” Kara said.

Kara heard Lena’s heartbeat pick up. She loved her girlfriend for that; anything that got her brain firing excited her. Figure out what device was best, work out how to make it portable and easily powered, know how to use it, consider other adjustments, bring back-ups…

“Will you?” Kara said.

“I’ll always be there to help you, Kara,” Lena said.

Chapter Text

Lena stretched the band out between her hands. It was thin, and black, with a clasp at either end; it was meant to be worn like a bracelet. She’d rushed L-Corp to make it.

The blueprints were easy enough. There was the band, then at one point a small device set into it, just next to a light.

Kara flew in through the window; Lena turned around, and offered one of the bands to her.

“Um, thank you?” Kara said.

“It’s to help,” Lena said. “It detects kryptonite radiation. When you’re on the threshold of it having a measurable effect on you, it’ll light up orange. When it turns red, you’ll be losing your powers.”

“Oh!” Kara said, suddenly. Her eyes widened; quickly, she fastened it around one arm.

“I imagine it would be useful to know how close to Hank you can get, whenever he reveals himself again,” Lena said.

“Very,” Kara said. “Thank you.”

She beamed to her girlfriend. Lena smiled back.

Somehow, Lena found herself wanting to thank Kara, even if just for the gift of seeing that grin. It was beyond special.

“You’re welcome,” Lena said. “So, what brings you here?”

“Um, similar thing,” Kara said.

She pulled out something from her pocket, and lifted it up, dangling it. It did look remarkably like the gift Lena had given her. More than anything, it resembled a watch.

“I asked Clark for a spare,” Kara said. “It’s a signal watch, like the one James has. If anything happens, if you see anything- You’ll always be able to reach me with this.”

Slowly, Lena reached out to take it. She turned it over in her hands, peering curiously, instinctively pinpointing the various features. It was a rather impressive device.

Part of her was tempted to take it apart, figure out how it worked; the signal itself had to be pretty strong.

“I can get to anywhere in the city in a couple of seconds,” Kara said. “As soon as I hear it- If Hank’s after you, Lillian might be too, and Lex is still… I want you to be safe.”

Lena took the watch, regarding it for a few moments more. Then, quickly, she fixed it around one of her wrists.

“Thank you,” Lena said. “I’m not always going to use it.”

“I know,” Kara said. “I know you can take care of yourself, but- if there’s ever any risk, please call me. I don’t want to let you get hurt.”

“I’ll remember,” Lena said. “Let me help you too; that bracelet,” she gestured to the kryptonite detector on Kara’s arm, “It needs some calibration, but…”

“It’ll help,” Kara said, gratefully.

Kara moved closer, sitting on the edge of Lena’s desk. She glanced down at the paper.

“What’re you working on?” Kara said.

“Learning how some of L-Corp’s weapons work,” Lena said. “The ones that could be used against Hank. I want to understand them.”

“They’ll work?” Kara said. “I mean- of course they’ll work, you’re a genius, just-”

“They did before,” Lena said. “And a machine’s a machine. If something goes wrong, I want to be able to troubleshoot though.”

“Why would you need to-”

“I’m helping,” Lena said.

“From the front lines?” Kara said.

“Why not?” Lena said. “I don’t need both wrists to point and shoot. Depending on how long it takes for Hank to show up, we’re working on a generator too, so it could be even simpler. So long as it’s active, he won’t have access to any of his enhancements. He’ll be as strong as a human, and much slower from everything that’s weighing him down.”

“I-” Kara said, and hesitated.

Part of her was worried, but that was to be expected. She knew Lena was worried too, with how often Kara risked her life, particularly with kryptonite out there.

It wasn’t really fair to hold Lena back. Kara smiled.

“Sure,” Kara said. “Someone has to bring the anti-Hank weapons. If you’re sure you want to.”

“I’ll always want to help you,” Lena said.

“I mean- sure you want to see me,” Kara said.

“What?”

“As Supergirl,” Kara said. “I know that could be… weird for you. You see me in the costume, but you don’t really see me using my powers or fighting people, not much at least. And-”

“What are you talking about, Kara?” Lena said.

“I don’t want you to be scared of me,” Kara said, quietly. “Not again. The-”

“Kara,” Lena said, and met her eyes. “I’m never going to be afraid of you.”

“The last time you saw me actually fight as Supergirl was when I was affected by the red kryptonite,” Kara said. “I don’t want you to see that in me.”

Lena paused. She’d admit, she did remember those moments far more than she’d like to.

Since Lex had started sending assassins after her, she’d gotten close to death a few times. That had felt like the closest, though; so often Supergirl was protecting her. Then, Supergirl had been the danger.

She wouldn’t blame Kara for it, but the memory did make her falter. It was hard to forget Kara’s face, twisted, and the light as her eyes threatened to burn.

Slowly, Lena shook her head.

“That’s over,” Lena said. “I’m- not going to be able to forget it, but just seeing you fight isn’t going to scare me, when I know you’re yourself.”

“I’m going to get angry,” Kara said. “I don’t like it when I do, I don’t like the harm I can do, but- sometimes I can’t help it.”

“You’re only human,” Lena said. She paused. “In a manner of speaking.”

“I don’t want you to see me lose control,” Kara said.

“Then don’t,” Lena said.

“I don’t want to,” Kara said. She hesitated. “He hurt you. Just thinking about it- I never lose my temper. Or, I try not to, not when it’ll hurt people, but I know that when I see him…”

“I won’t blame you,” Lena said. “And- It might not be so bad.”

“Didn’t you worry about me losing control?” Kara said.

“Anger doesn’t have to mean you lose control,” Lena said. “For the first few weeks, everything I did at L-Corp was motivated by anger at what Lex had done to my name, and no small amount of spite. I wanted to make the company a force for good, and I wanted to erase him.”

Lena shifted slightly, fingers clenching on the empty air.

“Anger provides clarity,” Lena said. “It’s a motivation. A focus. We’re not in some children’s fantasy novel where it’s an impure thought: it’s a feeling we all have. Better to learn to use it than suppress it.”

“It still feels… wrong,” Kara said.

“That’s because you’re a hero,” Lena said. “You want to be better. It’s admirable, but some so-called flaws are perfectly acceptable.”

Then again, she could see why Kara held back so often. Some people could be intimidating enough when they scowled, but to see that from someone capable of lifting a car would be terrifying.

Lena had seen that, and there was no doubt Kara had learned it in one of her brushes with anger.

“I doubt Hank will want an audience,” Lena said. “If no one’s watching, you don’t have to worry about scaring anyone. I can promise I won’t be afraid.”

“Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Kara said. “J’onn will probably be doing most of it. He’s not affected by kryptonite. And you’ve got a machine to make Hank powerless, I might not even need to get involved.”

Lena moved, facing Kara more fully, turning her head upwards. It was a bit odd to see Kara sat on the desk, and the boost to her height, but it was far from the strangest thing she’d seen.

Carefully, Lena stood up, meeting Kara’s eyes. She rested her hands on Kara’s lap.

“Can you promise me something?” Lena said.

“I- um, what?” Kara said.

“If you do need to get involved, you won’t hold back,” Lena said.

“What?”

“The things you said on red kryptonite,” Lena said. “I’m not proposing you go back to that, but you’re not wrong. There are a lot of things you could be doing, that you don’t, because you don’t know how people would react if they found out you could.”

Kara frowned, and slipped off the edge of the desk, standing.

“Do you know where Hank is now?” Lena said.

“How would I know?” Kara said.

“Can you hear him?” Lena said. “You found Maggie like that. You listened hard enough, looked in the right direction, and found her from anywhere in the city.”

Kara faltered. Lena tensed, hurriedly taking her hand; she hadn’t meant to bring up a bad memory. She knew Kara still felt guilty for that.

Lena could get distracted, sometimes. She knew that. Put a puzzle in front of her, she could spend hours ignoring everything else, and applying Supergirl’s powers was a little like that.

“It doesn’t work that easily,” Kara said. “I have to focus my hearing, usually on what’s nearby. If I extend it, I hear everything, and it’s hard to sort between all of that. If I recognize a voice, I can focus on that; I usually do by instinct. Otherwise I have to try to search through all the sounds, hear every word from every person to see if I can find who I’m looking for. It’s- I don’t like doing that. People deserve their privacy.”

Lena smiled. It did ruin any attempt to find Hank, but she could hardly fault Kara’s reason. The same would likely hold for trying to look for him too, even with her enhanced vision.

“When we do find him,” Lena said. “Then, can you promise to not worry about scaring me? Do everything you can.”

She met Kara’s eyes. Kara nodded, briefly.

“I’m glad,” Lena said.

“I- yeah,” Kara said. She smiled. “Thanks for not being…”

“Afraid?” Lena said. “I’m not my mother. The city’s forgiven you, and I actually know you. There’s nothing I could possibly hold against you, Kara.”

Lena paused for a second, before finding herself leaning closer. Kara melted into the kiss, Lena’s fervent confirmation always welcome.

The rapid beating of Lena’s heart filled her ears.

When Lena pulled back, Kara couldn’t stop grinning. Lena stayed standing where she was, face very close to Kara’s, content to just watch Kara’s expression. It was a few seconds before Kara made a poor attempt to look more serious.

Chuckling, Lena pulled away.

In the end, Hank made it very easy to find him. He wasn’t even trying to hide.

Instead, he was pacing in a quieter alley, waiting patiently for word to trickle back to the DEO. A minute later, and Superman landed a few metres from him, one of Lena’s kryptonite detecting bracelets on his wrist.

The light was orange; he took a step back. Hank stood where he was, comfortably, the kryptonite knife in one hand.

Just behind Superman was a doorway; they’d recognized the setting as the entrance to the alien bar. No doubt this was Hank’s less than subtle threat; an incentive for them to show up, once he’d been sighted.

Hank waited. After a few seconds, he cast his eyes upwards.

“I expected more,” he said, unimpressed.

“We didn’t need anyone else,” Clark said.

“Pity,” Hank said. “I was looking forward to reminding you how weak you are, even together.”

Without warning, Hank sprang forwards. The only thing his cybernetic enhancements didn’t help with was reaction time, his brain was still human; but he didn’t need reflexes when he was going in a straight line.

He leapt with all the force he could muster, moving faster than even Superman could react to. The light on Clark’s bracelet turned red, and Hank cut-

And then Hank felt a remarkably strong grip on his wrist, holding the knife in place. There was a soft red light, and ‘Clark’ stood up straighter, his features reforming and rewriting themselves, until Hank looked into a green face.

“You,” Hank said. “I’ve been looking forward to this.”

J’onn struggled for a few moments, hoping to wrestle the knife from him. That had been the whole point of the diversion; still, Hank resisted.

It was just a second or so more before they pushed each other apart, the blade still in Hank’s hand. He looked almost pleased.

Then there was a rush of air. Supergirl came down, a little further in the alley, and the real Superman landed on the opposite side of Hank to her. With J’onn near the bar’s entrance, they formed a triangle around Hank, J’onn the only one able to be close to him.

“All three of you,” Hank said. “I was hoping for this.”

He cast his eyes around, taking them in. The metal half of his face managed to look as though it was smirking.

J’onn straightened, quickly, readapting into a fighting pose, and shifting back into the guise of Hank Henshaw. Kara and Clark each stood more warily, their eyes on Hank. They could only really stop him leaving.

“Give it up,” Kara said. “You can’t fight all of us.”

“Can’t I?” Hank said. “You think you’re so high and mighty, just because you’re aliens. Do you think I’m not prepared?”

Hank turned on the spot, keeping the blade aloft. The green kryptonite set into it shone softly; Kara felt a vague ache, and took a quick step back. The light on her bracelet stayed orange.

“The obsolete Superman,” Hank said. “The monster who took my face. And you,” he looked to Kara. “Lillian hates you most of all, for what you’ve done to Lena.”

“I haven’t done anything to her,” Kara said.

“You corrupted her,” Hank said.

“I let her make her own choices,” Kara said.

“She made the wrong one,” Hank said. “Ever since Lillian heard about the two of you… Let’s just say Lena certainly isn’t a Luthor in her eyes any more. I don’t need to pretend I care about her life.”

Kara stiffened. Her eyes narrowed, a brief flare of light emanating from them; a silent threat.

Still, Hank seemed all but invulnerable to her heat vision, so she didn’t waste the energy. He’d survived with no more than some of his fake skin peeled off, before; solar flaring might do the trick, but she couldn’t be sure. If it didn’t, she’d be powerless.

And if it did, she didn’t want to kill him. That wasn’t her.

“You won’t be going anywhere near her,” Kara said.

Kara’s eyes drifted past him. Superman stood closest to the entrance to the alley, and the main street. An L-Corp van should have parked just around the corner by now; she used her X-Ray vision to peer through the building and see it.

Lena was there. Clark had promised to protect her, at Kara’s insistence. She could see his nerves at having his back to a Luthor, but Hank did a good job at keeping most of his attention.

Lena was getting one of the anti-cyborg weapons out and ready, preparing to turn into the alley on Kara’s signal. Kara had a beeper; a twitch of her thumb would let Lena know Hank wasn’t looking towards the main street.

Once Lena was ready, they could catch him by surprise and-

Hank turned, to face Superman and so the street. Kara breathed out a sigh. Not yet, then.

“By the end of today, a god will be dead,” Hank said. “And if I can kill one of you, I can kill the rest. And even if I can’t, people will know. People will know humans can fight back, that were are just as strong as you.”

“I’ve never doubted that,” Clark said.

“No more will they accept you, just because you’re there,” Hank said. “They’ll see that there is a choice; to fight back against the likes of you, rather than bask in tolerating you because you seem too powerful. As soon as they know you can be defeated, they’ll turn against you.”

“You have a poor opinion of humans,” Clark said.

“The only reason you’re welcomed here is because people don’t know how to face you,” Hank said. “That changes. Tonight, at least one of you dies, and they lose a hero. Everyone will know you’re not gods, just trespassers.”

Hank turned slowly, again. Now, he faced J’onn, looking at the mirror of his own face with undisguised hatred.

“The biggest mistakes Jeremiah Danvers ever made were accepting an alien into his house, and letting you live,” Hank said. “I couldn’t tell you which was worse.”

Kara scowled. J’onn met his eyes, impassively.

“You’re nothing but the worst kind of thief,” Hank said. “How can you pretend to be good?”

“I’ve done more good with your name over the last ten years, than you did over your whole life.”

“You’re welcome to the name,” Hank said. “I’ve stopped being Hank Henshaw. I had to become something more to do this.”

He was still facing J’onn; the street was likely visible in his peripheral vision. Kara watched Lena fidget through the building, no doubt hearing vague echoes of the confrontation from around the corner.

She still held the weapon, prepared to charge in. Kara waited, impatient.

“I don’t call three against one good odds,” Clark said.

“You’d be right,” Hank said. “Like I said, I prepared.”

He shifted, but stayed facing J’onn, wariest of the one alien who could get close to him while he held that knife.

“There are two bombs in the city,” Hank said. “One has a grain of this kryptonite inside the casing. I have no need to hurt humans, but I trust two of you will be fast enough to prevent that. You, Martian, will have to be the one to dismantle the one with kryptonite, but I wonder which of you will go after the other.”

He looked slowly between Kara and Clark, smiling. The two of them tensed; before Kara nodded across to Clark.

She was the one that trusted Lena; and she was the one inside the alley. It made more sense for it to be her.

“You’ve got one minute,” Hank said.

The hand not holding the knife twitched, evidently triggering something. In the same instant, both J’onn and Clark leapt up into the air, searching the city for the two bombs. Kara’s hair moved slightly in the sudden breeze.

And while they were saving the citizens of the city Hank had put in danger, Kara was alone.

Slowly, Hank turned to face her. He lifted the blade, not needing to say any more.

The threat was clear. The alien bar was in this alley; if Kara ran from him, there’d be a slaughter. If she stayed, she’d have kryptonite to contend with.

“I was hoping it would be you,” Hank said.

He took a step closer; Kara felt something grip her heart. She stumbled to take a step back, the light on her bracelet still shining orange.

One blast of heat vision; she targeted his hand, rather than the knife. Shattering the kryptonite into sand would make it nearly impossible to gather up. Instead, she made him lose his grip; still his cybernetic body caught it again quickly enough.

“Nice try,” Hank said.

He started to lunge-

Kara flicked the switch to alert Lena, still moving back. Lena turned into the alley-

And Hank heard her, catching himself and turning on the spot. A blue beam of light shot out from his mechanized eye; he had a choice of targets, between one for revenge, and one that would save his life. He chose the latter, sending a bolt of energy into the weapon Lena held, rather than Lena herself.

She dropped it suddenly as sparks shot out from it. Hank smiled grimly.

“Fool me once,” he said.

And then he turned his gaze to Lena’s body. Kara didn’t need to be able to see through him to know he was preparing to shoot again.

Her gaze flickered to the kryptonite knife.

Don’t hold back. The world seemed to slow, as she remembered Lena’s words. It happened sometimes, when she used her extreme speed to its full extent; high speed was useless without being able to perceive and react to the world on a different level.

She hadn’t done it too much before. It was- well, it was unfair. It wasn’t like all that much could hurt her, anyway. In urgent situations, yes she tried, even if it didn’t always work, but most of the time it was unnecessary.

Lena was right about that; Kara didn’t want to scare people, especially so soon after the red kryptonite. If she started flying around as quickly as she could, dealing with crimes at the speeds of which she was capable-

There’d be chaos. With the paranoia about aliens that there already was, making herself seem even scarier would only make things worse.

And kryptonite was similar, come to think of it. Yes, it was a threat, when used well. Still, Astra’s group had managed to fashion an immunity. Clark likely could have, if he’d tried.

She wondered how much he’d thought about it. She hadn’t, really. It was just common knowledge; everything had to have a weakness, this was a kryptonian’s. If people thought they were invincible…

Well, it was just easier.

Less than half a second passed. Kara took the next half-second to fire her heat vision twice, and push herself two steps back.

She was moving as quickly as she could, running the short distance. She watched the light on her bracelet sluggishly flicker out. That was it; well out of the range kryptonite had any measurable effect on her.

It was about then the blasts of heat vision she’d sent reached Hank; one hit his hand again, making him drop the kryptonite knife. He’d be able to grab it again, but that wasn’t the point. What mattered was, for this instant, he wasn’t holding onto it.

The other shot hit the ground underneath him, turning stone to air. He stumbled, losing his focus on Lena for a precious moment.

The half second finished, and Kara shot forwards. She started flying, accelerating as quickly as she could. The light on her bracelet turned orange; she took all the extra speed she could, feeling something start to weigh her down.

The light turned red.

But it was the same principle she’d used to save Clark, before. She might be powerless now, but she was still a human-sized projectile travelling at incredible speeds. Impact would hurt, but she’d keep all her momentum. So long as she was moving fast to get away from the knife-

And Hank was in the air. That was what destroying the ground under his feet had achieved; physics held sway. It didn’t matter how strong he was when there was nothing for him to brace against.

She struck him, half-screaming with the exertion, and the shock juddered through her.

They were moving on already, rocketing forwards and leaving the knife falling and abandoned. Kara had angled them carefully, and they skidded across the ground just to the side of Lena.

The light on her bracelet faded to nothing.

Gasping, Kara got back to her feet, feeling herself heal. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lena running to the knife, lifting an empty lead box.

Hank was up before she was, lashing out. And there was the disadvantage to flying; there was much less keeping her tethered in one place. The same way she’d easily knocked Hank back despite all his strength, she felt herself be flung up into the air.

At least she had the advantage of flight though. She focused, changing her direction far more quickly than he could, landing on the ground with a resounding thud.

“What do you say to a fair fight?” Kara said.

He turned. Keep him looking away from Lena. She watched as Lena sealed the lead box, ensuring the kryptonite was out of play. Hank, meanwhile, glared at her.

Kara winced only slightly as a blue streak of light from his eye struck her. It was powerful, but she was all but invulnerable, when kryptonite wasn’t around.

Hank scowled. Then, he lunged.

They grappled for a few moments. Kara angled herself, taking a few hits, but not letting herself be pushed away again. She hooked a hand around his head, more interested in keeping him in place.

The worst thing to do now would be to let him flee. Sooner or later Clark and J’onn would get back, and-

After a few seconds, Hank suddenly went limp. He jerked sporadically, just about managing to pull himself back. When he struck at her again, Kara barely felt it.

Kara hesitated; before catching sight of Lena. She was holding the weapon Hank had ruined, kneeling on the floor with various wires and parts of the mechanism exposed.

“I cannibalized it,” Lena said. “It’s a pulse, rather than a constant stream. It’ll only last a couple of seconds, but there’s a back-up in-”

In the L-Corp van. Kara completed the thought before Lena finished, speeding to the van, and speeding back. Hank was just righting himself as Kara offered one of the spare guns to Lena.

Before Hank could shoot again, Lena fired. The machinery that gave Hank his enhanced skills gave one last desperate plea for life, before failing again. Hank grunted, slumping a little under the weight.

“I won’t give up,” he said, slightly breathless.

He staggered closer, managing to stay on his feet.

Unaffected by the black-body-EMP generator, Kara moved forwards. When he lunged, she was grateful to confirm almost all of his strength was gone.

“It’s over,” Kara said. “You made them think Lena betrayed them, you hurt Lena- she deserves better than that.”

Hank glared.

“You’re wrong,” Kara said. “I hope you get to see that, someday.”

A little wearily, Kara turned around and walked back. If she listened intently, there was no sound of a bomb going off; J’onn and Clark must have succeeded in dealing with that distraction.

Relieved, Kara went back to Lena’s side.

Chapter Text

“I don’t want it,” Lena said, as soon as they got to the DEO.

They’d agreed to invite Lena back to their headquarters. By all accounts, she’d proven her loyalty. Clark still regarded her with some wariness, but even he agreed she likely wouldn’t betray them.

Hank’s knife lay on the table, still in its lead box. At some point they’d probably remove the kryptonite from the blade, rather than keep it a readily usable weapon.

“It was yours, before,” Kara said.

“It was Lex’s,” Lena said.

“And you kept it for a good reason,” Kara said.

“I don’t need it any more,” Lena said. “I trust you. I did before, but now- I want you to keep it.”

“Someone has to have it,” Kara said. “I want there to be… protection. Security, if anything affects me again, or- I want you to be able to feel safe.”

Clark looked between the two of them, less than comfortable, but not speaking up. It took a few seconds for his expression to soften, once he took in Kara’s expression.

“I know what you said,” Lena said. “You want me to feel safe around you; and I do, but I want that for you as well. I don’t want you to worry about me hurting you, accidentally or otherwise, and I don’t want to be responsible for someone else getting hold of kryptonite.”

“It wasn’t your fault-”

“If I never kept it, none of this would have happened,” Lena said. “Hank was the one who stole it, but there had to be something to steal. I don’t want to make it easier for people like them.”

“There’s still a point to you having it,” Kara said. “We can be more careful in future. Hank looked like J’onn, but there’s no one else like that.”

“But what’s the use?” Lena said. “You fought Hank well enough even when he had kryptonite. It doesn’t help, not if you don’t want it to.”

Kara hesitated; Clark frowned.

“It’s a threat,” Clark said.

“Please,” Lena said. “My brother used it against you for years, and you seem fine. It’s not as powerful as you say it is.”

There were a few seconds of silence, before Clark nodded.

“It’s not… unbeatable,” he said.

“But people are more comfortable if they think it is,” Lena said. “I understand, but I’m not going to be part of it. I’m not going to carry around something that can hurt Kara, even if she could fight it. I wouldn’t use it now, and it wouldn’t have a point if she’s affected by something again.”

“Are you sure?” Kara said.

Lena turned, looking away from Clark, and meeting Kara’s eyes. For a moment, it was like the rest of the room had faded away; no J’onn, and no Alex. Alex fidgeted, slightly uncomfortable.

“I’ve seen you at your worst,” Lena said. “I’ve seen you angry. I’ve seen you not hold back. I’ve seen what ypu can do, and it doesn’t change anything. I trust you, Kara- more than I thought I could.”

“Lena…”

“Some people might want insurance,” Lena said. “I’m not one of them. I love you too much to even consider hurting you.”

Kara flushed a little; Alex cleared her throat loudly. Lena barely glanced at her.

“Th-thank you,” Kara said. “I know what that- I- Thank you.”

She stumbled over her words; Lena smirked slightly. She hadn’t meant to, but she’d never be tired of flustering Kara.

“Someone has to take it,” Alex said. “If you won’t-”

“Clark,” J’onn said. “He has the rest.”

“No,” Clark said. “There’s no point keeping it all together. J’onn, will you?”

J’onn paused.

“Not the DEO,” Clark said. “Not an organization whose leader will change, or that’ll be driving it in shipments that can be intercepted. You, personally, J’onn, will you take care of it?”

“I will,” J’onn said. He looked at Clark. “You can trust me.”

“Thank you,” Clark said. He glanced at Kara, briefly. “I’m used to working alone, but I’ve heard I don’t trust as much as I should. I know we’ve had… disagreements, but I know you want the same things.”

“I do,” J’onn said.

“And you,” Clark said. He turned to Lena.

She regarded him, gaze becoming a little frosty as she recalled their last exchange. She didn’t react at once, though.

“I’m never going to be comfortable around your name,” Clark said. “But you’re better than Lex.”

“I’m aware.”

“Truce?” Clark said. “I’ll be leaving National City soon, so we won’t have much contact. I’ll rely on Kara’s judgement, and keep away. How’s that?”

Lena paused.

“Ok,” she said, eventually. “If you mean it.”

“I do,” Clark said. “Cadmus wanted us to distrust you, and I don’t feel like giving them what they want. You’ve earned my trust for now, and you’ve always had Kara’s. If you ever lose that-”

“She won’t,” Kara said.

Clark paused; then smiled.

“That’s good enough for me,” he said.

He offered his hand. Lena regarded him, slightly uncertainly. She looked towards Kara and, at an encouraging nod, took his hand. They shook.

“Don’t expect me to visit Metropolis,” Lena said.

“I wouldn’t,” Clark said. “Not many good memories, I’m guessing.”

“Not compared to here,” Lena said. Her eyes drifted to Kara.

There was an astonishing amount of paperwork to clear up. Hank Henshaw was held at the DEO, surrounded by Lena’s black-body-EMP generators on an independent power supply, and a back-up.

Then there was the last shard of kryptonite, now in J’onn’s possession. He carried the lead box with him for a day, before coming in the next day without it, only briefly mentioning a secure hiding place.

Clark had left for Metropolis again, and that was another bit of paperwork.

Hank had to have an arrest report written up, there was more to add to the Cadmus file, there were a number of forms to fill in when it came to repossessing and privately owning kryptonite, there was a report expected on Superman’s help…

Clark, at least, had escaped that.

Kara popped out for a much-needed break, going to the alien bar. She jumped as J’onn walked in, but relaxed when he seemed less than judgemental. Just as weary as her, he walked up to the bar, and sat down.

“What’ll it be?” M’gann said, walking up to bar. She paused as she saw him; when he offered a tentative smile, she relaxed.

“On Mars,” he said. “There’s a plant with roots that come out of the ground that hoard water, and can be cut open to get flavoured-”

“I remember,” M’gann said. She smiled; “I used to love it.”

“Do you have that here?” J’onn said.

“Not… exactly,” M’gann. “I experimented though. I’ve got something like it.”

“That would be great,” J’onn said.

M’gann moved back, to get a few ingredients. There were a number of bottles and seeming-fruits behind the bar that even Kara didn’t recognize, no doubt brought in by multiple aliens.

Kara enjoyed her own drink, meanwhile. It wasn’t alcoholic, at least not on any level that would affect her, being one of the drinks made for the aliens who’d adopted a taste for human cocktails.

There was a fairly eclectic mix of things available there.

M’gann fairly effortlessly combined several bottles, squeezed a dash of some fruit juice into a glass, and added a pinch of sugar. She stirred it together, giving every indication she’d made this drink for herself a lot of times.

Kara beamed at her as M’gann moved past, and got a nod in response. M’gann put the drink down just in front of J’onn, and sat there.

He regarded it for a few seconds, a little surprised. Judging by his reaction it didn’t look exactly like the Martian drink he was thinking of.

Still, he lifted the glass, and sipped it. Slowly he swallowed that one mouth; then his face lit up in a way Kara had never seen on him. She laughed in delight as he quickly gulped down the drink. It was good to see J’onn in a better mood.

“I never thought I’d taste that again,” J’onn said.

“It’s not perfect,” M’gann said.

“But it’s closer than anything else,” J’onn said. “Thank you. I-”

It was at about that point he noticed Kara staring at him. Rather quickly, he stiffened, trying to make his expression look a bit more serious. Soon enough, he gave up, resigning to smiling.

“Is there anything else you’ve got that’s like- home?” he said.

“One or two things,” M’gann shook her head. “I was trying to move on. Forget it. There’s not much I’d go back there for, and not much I wanted to be reminded of.”

“There’s some good,” J’onn said. “When everything wasn’t…”

“You can look back all you want,” M’gann said. “Just don’t expect me to. We’ve different ways of dealing.”

J’onn paused. For a moment, he glanced down at his empty glass.

“I understand,” he said. “When I found out there was another Martian… I wanted someone I could talk to, who’d understand. When I couldn’t get that, and I found out you were one of- It was like losing my world a second time.”

“I can’t help you with that,” M’gann said.

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” J’onn said. “I suppose I’m saying sorry.”

“If you’ll forgive me, I’ll forgive you,” M’gann said. “Want another drink?”

J’onn nodded, happier than he’d been for a while.  

Amused, Kara shifted seats, until she was closer to him. It was refreshing to see J’onn so unambiguously joyful; even if the hope M’gann had given him had turned out to be for nothing, he had a little more of his home.

She knew that feeling, at least. When she’d first arrived on Earth, she’d wanted to never leave the Fortress of Solitude, and the familiar Kryptonian architecture.

“If you ever want to talk about it,” Kara said, as she sat next to him. “I mean, I don’t know Mars, but I know what it’s like to lose…”

J’onn turned his head. Something in his expression set; though there was a glimmer more light in his eyes, the grin had faded.

“I wouldn’t put that on you,” J’onn said.

“It’s already on me,” Kara said. “I lost my world. There aren’t too many people like us on Earth. I don’t remember it, and I can’t imagine what it was like to live with the White Martians- but I know what it’s like to be almost alone.”

“Even now?” J’onn said. “We weren’t on the best of terms.”

“You’re still my friend,” Kara said. She smiled.

J’onn hesitated for a few seconds. His gaze drifted, to where M’gann had almost finished a second glass of the Martian drink.

“Thank you Supergirl,” J’onn said.

Movie night at the Danvers household; well, at Alex’s house. Kara still wasn’t quite sure what she was going to do with her old apartment.

“Where’s Lena?” Maggie said, walking into the room.

“L-Corp,” Kara said. “They have to start another high profile project to keep things going, so she’ll have a few busy nights.”

“Bad luck.”

“Not really,” Kara said. “I fly past the boardroom when I can, see how things are going, wave, blow a kiss, and-”

“You’re sickeningly romantic,” Maggie said. “Don’t know whether to be grossed out or amused Lena Luthor’s into that.”

Kara flushed a little. Her face suddenly lit up when Alex walked into the room with snacks.

“Potstickers!”

There was a brief whirlwind, and Alex watched as half the snacks on the plate vanished in a heartbeat. Alex rolled her eyes, managing to completely the journey to the table without commenting on her sister’s mild abuse of her powers.

Maggie raised her eyebrows. Apparently it was something common enough for Alex to not react to. She didn’t know what to make of that.

“No Lena, then?” Alex said.

“She’s busy,” Kara said. “Maybe next week, if- She wasn’t sure you’d want her here.”

“I don’t want you to have to hide the girl you’re dating from me,” Alex said. “Lena’s welcome. I changed my mind on her a while ago.”

“You don’t mind?” Kara said.

“I don’t think she’s good enough,” Alex said, and shrugged, “But I’d think that about anyone you brought back. She’s proven she cares about you, and I guess it’s mutual.”

“It is,” Kara said, softly.

Alex smiled, and shifted, sitting back. So casually it might have been second nature, she lay an arm over Maggie’s shoulders.

“I didn’t get a chance to thank you,” Kara said.

“For what?” Alex said.

“When the DEO was after Lena, when Hank stole from her,” Kara said. “You convinced J’onn to leave, rather than arrest her. I meant to thank you sooner.”

“It’s nothing,” Alex said. “I shouldn’t have been so quick to suspect.”

“You still helped,” Kara said. “So thank you.”

The sincerity of the apology was only slightly ruined as Kara swallowed a potsticker from the small hoard she’d stolen.

Alex chuckled to herself, still comfortable.

“So how often do you have these movie nights?” Maggie said. “Get the feeling it hasn’t been normal scheduling, with everything that’s happened the last few days.”

“Every week, usually,” Alex said. “Less if we’re busy. More if we’ve missed a lot. It’s usually at Kara’s place, but…”

“Can we bring back that tradition?” Maggie said. “I imagine Lena’s going to have an impressive entertainment system. Wait, I don’t have to imagine. Kara, does she?”

Kara hesitated.

“I guess,” she said, after a moment. “I haven’t really looked at it. She doesn’t really use it.”

“Then we have to visit,” Maggie said. “When she’s free. No point in having something like that if you don’t use it.”

Kara pouted slightly. She’d always been quite proud of her own TV, and Alex’s set-up was a bit better.

Then again, she could see the appeal of Lena’s. She’d only occasionally seen Lena use it, video-conferencing from home with her laptop using the TV as a monitor, but the quality of image and sound had been impressive.

Well, it might be something to ask about.

“So, what’s the movie?” Maggie said, suddenly.

Beaming, Kara got to her feet, hurrying over to a shelf near the TV to rummage for a few seconds. She came back holding a DVD case with so cheesy looking a cover that Alex physically cringed.

“No,” Alex and Maggie said, at once.

Kara glanced at the case, frowning.

“No rom coms,” Alex said.

“You’re out-voted,” Maggie said.

“No fair,” Kara said. “There are two if you. If Lena was here-”

“You think Lena would want to watch that?” Alex said.

Kara faltered.

“Fair point,” she said, reluctantly turning to put it back down. “What do you want to see, then?”

Kara wasn’t quite sure why she was here. She knew some people wouldn’t change their minds, she knew some people were fixed in their ways, but she wanted to believe the best.

For Lena, if nothing else.

Kara sat down, folding her cape underneath her. It was always a bit awkward to sit down when she was dressed as Supergirl, but Supergirl was probably the only person who’d get the clearance to visit.

After a few seconds, a woman was lead to the opposite side of a screen. The guard left them alone.

“Hello Lillian,” Kara said.

Lillian Luthor regarded her for a long few seconds.

“Why are you here?” Lillian said, coldly.

“To talk,” Kara said. She paused. “Something Hank said implied you knew about… me and Lena. I just want-”

“It just confirms that Lena is not my daughter,” Lillian said.

Kara tensed.

“Did you think we could reconcile?” Lillian said. “That you could walk in here and I’d immediately see the error of my ways? You do not belong here. Lena does not see that, and worse she is trying to make room in her life for you.”

“Lena cares-”

“About the wrong things,” Lillian said. “I’ve forgiven a lot, over the years. I tried to be a good mother, but when she rejects everything I taught her there is nothing I can do.”

Kara hesitated. She let out a breath, slowly, and shifted.

Her expression became more resolute. It wasn’t as though she’d expected to achieve much here. It was disappointing, but not surprising.

“I’m here for Lena,” Kara said.

“She never wanted to be my daughter.”

“She used to,” Kara said. “You just never let her. But that’s not why I’m here.”

Lillian sat back, less than impressed.

“You would have let Hank kill her,” Kara said. “And if you’re like Lex, you still have contacts.”

“Naturally.”

“Which means you could do what he did,” Kara said. “I want you to know that I’m not going to let you hurt Lena. You’re not going to send people after her, you’re going to tell your friends at Cadmus to not hurt her.”

“Why?”

“I won’t let any harm come to her, especially because of you,” Kara said. “Lena deserves so much better than that.”

“Is that a threat?”

Kara paused.

“If you’ve ever cared for your daughter, you won’t try to hurt her again,” Kara said, ignoring the question. “I’ll keep her safe, from anything you can do.”

“We’ll see,” Lillian said.

Kara stared at her for a few long moments.

Part of her missed the freedom of red kryptonite. She hated to think that, but there were moments like this, moments where she started to feel so angry and yet had no outlet-

“We’re not the monsters you think,” Kara said.

She stood up, turned, and walked away just a little too quickly.

Kara relished the opportunity to just relax, when she could. So often she had to worry, she had to fly around the city, she had to fight, had to protect… And she loved it, but everyone needed a break.

And she had a place to come home to, and to relax. No one to be reliant on her, and no one to be scared of her.

Kara closed her eyes, and lay back, sensing Lena’s warmth as she lay down beside her. Lena tugged on her cape a little, pulling it over both of them.

“Hey,” Kara said, sleepily.

She didn’t need to open her eyes. Lena’s heart beat faster, and her breath was as distinctive as her voice.

“Hey there,” Lena said, close to Kara’s ear.

“Good day?”

“Potentially,” Lena said. “You?”

“Saved lives. Got scolded by Snapper. The usual,” Kara said. She paused. “Visited Lillian.”

“Oh.”

“Warned her to not go after you,” Kara said. “I don’t know whether she’ll…”

“I understand.”

“You’ve still got the signal watch, right?” Kara said.

Kara felt Lena’s arm rest, draped over her chest. There was the familiar ridge of the band around her wrist.

“I’ll be fine,” Lena said. “I’ve got security. And even if I didn’t, I’d trust you.”

Lena pressed a kiss to the lower edge of Kara’s cheek; Kara shifted, squirming a little and smiling.

“Looks like I don’t need kryptonite to find your weak spot after all,” Lena said, low.

Kara chuckled, and was about to say something when Lena kissed her again, a little further down her neck. Kara wriggled.

“Did you ever doubt that?” Kara said, after a moment more.

“Not really,” Lena said.

It was a couple of seconds more before Lena stopped kissing, opting instead to simply rest her head there, Kara’s pulse beating against her.

It was such a strange thing to feel. Most of the time Kara’s body might as well have been steel, firm and immutable, but there was still that steady thump of her heartbeat.

“Maggie wants a movie night,” Kara said, after a while.

Lena shifted. “Mm?”

“She was curious about what kind of TV you have,” Kara said. “Think she wanted to have one here. If you…”

“What movie?” Lena said, speculatively.

“Usually decide at the time,” Kara said. “But you’re my girlfriend, so you’ll side with me, right?”

Kara looked up with remarkably convincing eyes. Lena paused.

“I… don’t think this is something I want to get in the middle of,” Lena said.

Kara pouted.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Lena said.

Kara continued to pout. After a few seconds, Lena laughed, trying to look away. Still, she left a fond kiss on Kara’s cheek.

“Nice try,” Lena said.

“But they always want to watch horror movies,” Kara said.

“Never understood how you could be scared of those, given what you do every day,” Lena said.

“They’re mean,” Kara said.

Lena chuckled, and leant closer again.

“I’m not getting on your sister’s bad side again,” Lena said. “And, honestly, I love you Kara but you have terrible taste sometimes.”