Chapter 11: 11. AdVENTURE Time
“Uncle Winn!” Jessie and Jamie cheered and ran to hug their favorite uncle.
“Hey!” Winn greeted cheerfully. “I got potstickers!”
“Woo-hoo!” Kara cheered, taking the bag from him with a hug of her own. “You’re the best!”
“I know,” the man answered.
“Kara,” Alex warned, “Don't you get into those yet.”
The Kryptonian pouted dramatically.
“Uncle Winn!” Jessie exclaimed. “Mom bought us the new Star Wars movie, and she said we could watch it after the Venture launch! Isn’t that awesome?”
“Sweeeet!” Winn cheered with a high five.
“Knock, knock!” Lucy greeted through the still-open door.
“Uncle James! Aunt Lucy!” they exclaimed with hugs. “We’re gonna watch Star Wars after the Venture launch!”
“Cool,” the couple answered much less enthusiastically than Winn. “Where do you guys want the pizzas?” James asked.
“Just set them on the kitchen counter for now,” Kara instructed.
“Mommy, did you get the ice cream?” Jamie wanted to know.
“Yes, I got three different kinds: Double Chocolate Chunk, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Cookies and Cream,” Alex informed them.
“Yes!” the twins exclaimed, clapping their hands.
Kara chuckled at her girls. They were always so excitable, especially when they had their found-family members over. “Alright, let’s everyone grab some food and find a seat!” she said. “Douglas, can you turn the TV sound on?” The launch wasn’t for a few more minutes, but they still had the pre-countdown stuff going on.
Everyone squeezed into the living room with their plates piled high. The twins argued over who got to sit next to Winn, ending with him switching places with Douglas and moving to the couch so they could each sit on one side of him.
When the Venture was ready to go, they all counted down together and cheered when the ship launched into the air. As they watched, news reporters announced that something on the ship had exploded, and it had started plummeting. Everyone looked at Kara expectantly. She immediately used her super-speed to change into her suit, and as she was headed out the balcony door she heard Jessie shouting at the TV.
“I pray she's watching this,” the news anchor had spoken solemnly.
“She’s not watching this, you big dummy!” Jessie exclaimed. “She’s too busy saving the day! Go, Mama, go!”
“Jessie!” Alex chided. “Don’t call people dummy! That’s not nice.”
The Kryptonian giggled and headed out.
Shortly after her she arrived to stop the Venture from falling, Superman showed up. “Hey, cuz,” he greeted her casually.
“Kal, for once in my life, I’m glad to see you. I think this is a job for the both of us.”
He nodded and flew around to put out the engine fires while Kara pressed into the nose of the ship to slow its decent. When they got it safely to the ground, Kara laughed heartily. “That was awesome! I mean, that was terrible. But it was awesome.”
“We've never saved anything together,” Clark stated the obvious.
“I know.”
“I've dreamt of this moment. The two of us teaming up,” he admitted.
“Really?” That was news to her.
Clark nodded.
Then, when she saw the family on bikes coming toward them, she told him, “I usually say hi.”
“Me, too,” he admitted.
“Way to go, Supergirl!” the young girl shouted.
“That's Superman!” the girl’s father spoke with awe.
“I used to change his diapers,” Kara shared with a huge grin.
“No way!” the little girl exclaimed.
“Uh, not exactly sure you have to tell them that,” Clark said, embarrassed.
“No, I think I really do.” Kara laughed some more.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
"How was your team-up with Superman?" Alex wanted to know.
Kara smirked. "I told everyone I came in contact with that I used to change his diapers, so that was awesome."
Alex laughed. "I bet he loved that."
"Yeah, not so much," Kara giggled together with her wife.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Clark.”
“Yeah?”
“Alex did some digging,” Kara informed him on the phone.
“What is it?”
“There was one passenger who had a seat booked on the Venture who mysteriously didn't show up last-minute. Lena Luthor.”
“Lex's sister,” he told her.
“Yup. But Lex can't be involved in this. He's in prison. Congrats, by the way.”
“Yeah, thanks. Well, Lex may be in jail, but his sister is now running Luthor Corp.”
“Yep, and she just moved to National City.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
When Kara laid her eyes on Lena Luthor, she immediately started salivating. This woman was beyond beautiful, and great Rao, did she smell fantastic! For once, she was thankful for the boner-repressing presence of her cousin beside her. Her body’s reaction shocked her to the core. She didn’t usually react like this to random women she just met… Or any women that weren’t Alex, really. She followed quietly behind Clark, perfectly content to remain silent and think about non-sexy things until she heard something she just couldn't let go.
"Lucky is Superman saving the day,” Lena said.
"Not something someone expects a Luthor to say,” Clark answered haughtily.
"Right," Kara responds without thinking. "And Supergirl was there, too!" she announced. Not just that big oaf.
"And who might you be, exactly?" the woman turned to her.
Oops! Now she had the CEO's attention. "Um," Stupid, Kara! "I'm Kara Danvers,” she answered slowly. “I'm not with the Daily Planet. I'm with Catco Magazine... Sort of." Smooth. She wanted to slap herself.
Lena Luthor smirked at her. "Not a publication known for its hard-hitting journalism. More like, 'high waisted jeans, yes or no?'"
That about sums it up. “I'm just tagging along today,” she informed, trying to get the attention back off of her.
“Right,” Lena answered, giving Kara the impression that the woman didn’t really believe her. “Can we just speed this interview along?” she asked Clark as she sat down at her desk. “Just ask me what you want to ask, Mr. Kent. Did I have anything to do with the Venture explosion?”
“Did you?” he pressed.
“You wouldn't be asking me if my last name was Smith,” she retorted.
“Ah, but it's not. It's Luthor.”
What an ass. That is not how to talk to anyone.
“Some steel under that Kansas wheat,” Lena grinned playfully, then grew serious again. “It wasn't always. I was adopted when I was four.”
Interesting.
“And the person who made me feel most welcome in the family was Lex. He made me proud to be a Luthor. And then he went on his reign of terror in Metropolis. Declared war on Superman. Committed unspeakable crimes.”
Kara and Clark scanned the room with their x-ray vision as the youngest Luthor turned to gaze pensively out the window behind her.
“When Superman put Lex in jail, I vowed to take back my family's company. To rename it L-Corp.” She pressed a button on a remote that turned on her TV, showing them her new logo. “Make it a force for good. I'm just a woman trying to make a name for herself outside of her family. Can you understand that?”
“Yeah.” Kara answered. Because wasn’t that something she’d struggled with her whole life on earth? Making a name for herself away from Clark? Away from Superman? It seemed that she was always in his shadow. No matter what she did, she felt like she’d always just be Superman’s little girl cousin.
“I know why you're here,” Lena continued. “Because a subsidiary of my company made the part that exploded on the Venture. This drive contains all the information we have on the oscillator. I hope it helps you in your investigation.”
“Thank you,” Clark told her.
“Give me a chance, Mr. Kent. I'm here for a fresh start. Let me have one.” Kara felt like there was more to Lena’s plea than met the eye, but she didn’t know the woman well enough to be certain. In any case, it made Kara’s heart clench a little.
Clark didn’t really give her an answer one way or the other. Just said a quick, “Good day, Ms. Luthor,” and headed out the door.
“Good day,” Kara told her, eager to escape the awkward position of being so painfully attracted to Clark’s arch nemesis’ younger sister.
When they were outside again, Clark spoke up, “I didn't see anything when I X-ray-visioned the room.”
“Yeah, me neither,” she told him. “What do you think?”
I've learned through hard experience not to believe anything a Luthor says,” he mused.
“Yeah, I know I'm not a reporter or anything, but I kinda believed her.” And that fact honestly had absolutely nothing to do with the ache of lust in her belly.
Clark’s cell phone rang. “Hi, sweetie… Yeah, I'm with Kara… Yes, I'm being careful… I miss you, too... I love you. Bye.”
“I love that she worries about you,” the blonde teased.
“Yeah, me, too,” he chuckled, missing her sarcasm completely. “How do you do it all, Kara? You have a full-time job, a family, and you’re Supergirl. When I was your age, I couldn’t even commit to a cell phone provider, let alone do all the things you do.”
Kara was amazed that he was saying this. “Well, it’s not easy, that’s for sure. But I’m not alone. I have so many wonderful people to help me with all of those things, and that makes all the difference. Having a family just pushes me harder to keep the world and this city safe, you know? That’s what ‘Stronger Together’ means.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry I couldn’t raise you, Kara.”
She wasn’t expecting that at all.
“I wish I could have,” he continued, “But honestly, I’m not sure I should have. Everything has worked out pretty wonderfully, even though things have been hard. You have Alex and Jamie and Jessie, and I wouldn’t want to change that, honestly. Your girls are lovely. I know you resent me for leaving you, but I know in my heart that I did the right thing. You turned out pretty great, Kara.”
Kara was completely flabbergasted. She’d waited thirteen years to hear his apology for abandoning her with the Danvers, and now that it was happening, she couldn't believe it. And not just that, he was complimenting her and her life! This was quite an interesting day, to be sure!
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Thank you, Mr. Kent,” Lena Luthor said after all the drama was over with her brother and Corben. “This is exactly the kind of press my company needs after yesterday's attack. And thank you for including that part about me shooting the guy. That'll teach Lex to mess with me,” she chuckled. “He'll be the laughingstock of cell block X.”
Kara remembered how startled she’d been seeing Lena shoot John Corben. She was grateful for the woman saving Alex’s life, certainly, but also very surprised. Lena Luthor didn’t give one the impression of being someone familiar with using any kind of gun, but her aim was perfect.
“Well, that's not exactly why I wrote it. I wrote it because it's the truth. I was wrong about you, Ms. Luthor. I'm sorry,” Clark stated.
“Well, if I can make a believer out of Clark Kent, there's hope yet. What about you, Ms. Danvers? I didn't see your name on the byline.”
“Uh…” Why did she have such a hard time talking to this woman? “Well, like I said, I'm not a reporter.”
“You could have fooled me,” Lena said, and Kara thought she might swoon at the intense look she was receiving. “I hope this isn't the last time we talk.”
“I hope not either,” she answered breathily. Oh, boy, was she in trouble if she ever had to talk to Lena Luthor again!
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Danvers,” Snapper huffed. “You get Lena Luthor.”
Crap!
“Her brother is infamous for his anti-alien sentiments. The desk needs your copy by noon, and if you want to keep your credentials, it better be clean!”
…
“Ms. Luthor,” Kara greeted the woman with a nervous handshake.
“Lena, please. It's good to see you again, Ms. Danvers.”
Why did she have to smell so good? “Well, if I'm calling you Lena…”
“Kara it is. Um, if you have a parking ticket, I can have it validated for you.”
“Oh, no, no, no. That's fine, I flew here… On... On a bus.” Really, Kara? What is this, Harry Potter? What is wrong with you? Get ahold of yourself!
For some reason, Lena acted like she didn’t even hear what she’d just said. “Well, I'm glad to see you decided to give reporting a shot. Although if you're here on the same day the President is in town to sign her Alien Amnesty Act, then…”
“I must be here to ask the sister of Earth's most notorious alien-hater her take on the President's executive order,” the Kryptonian finished awkwardly.
…
“Don't you think this device will force aliens back into the very shadows the President is trying to shine a light on?” She was having second thoughts about trusting this woman now that she’d seen this alien detection device.
“If aliens want to be citizens, that's now their right. But if humans want to know which of their fellow citizens aren't actually one of them, then that's their right too. I'm a business woman. L-Corp is in the business of making money, and this device is going to make us a fortune. Unlike my brother, I'm going to do it for the good of the world.”
Yeah right...
…
“You wanted to see me, boss?” Kara asked.
“I have your article on Lena Luthor,” Snapper announced.
“That was some scoop, huh?”
"'Lena Luthor's stated goal is to repair the damage her brother did to the family name, but by branding an alien detection device with the name ”Luthor,” she has forever tied her company's destiny to that of America's xenophobic Right,’" he read.
“Damn straight.”
“‘Though shareholders may delight at the financial prospects of such a device, there is little for a concerned citizen to do but weep at the shameless fear-mongering to the country's immigrant-fearing lowest common denominator.’"
“I was really proud of that sentence.”
“What the hell is this?”
“It's... It's what you wanted. You said you wanted Lena Luthor's take on aliens. Well, here it is. She thinks they should be ID'd like lepers.”
“I am not questioning the scoop. What I'm questioning is the the clear slant in your reporting. If I wanted your opinion on the news, I would have assigned you to Op-Ed.”
Kara deflated. “So... So, I shouldn't report truthfully?”
“There is a difference between truthful reporting and bias reporting. This is over-saturated with your pro-alien slant. Facts, Ms. Danvers. Who? What? When? Where? Why?” Snapper counted off on his fingers.
“But nothing I wrote was inaccurate,” the reporter insisted. “That device is bad, objectively bad.”
“That's up for the reader to decide. Rewrite it. Next time, keep your personal feelings to yourself.” He threw her copy back at her.
“Now I know why they call him Snapper,” she complained as she hurried out of his office.
…
Kara nervously entered Lena Luthor’s office, “Hi, I'm sorry to drop in unannounced, I just got the message you wanted to see me.” She looked timidly down, and saw a lovely bouquet of white flowers on the table in front of Lena. “Those flowers are beautiful.”
“They're called plumerias,” the CEO told her. “They're pretty rare.”
Kara smiled. “They remind me of my mother.”
“Was your mother a writer, too?”
“No, she was, um, I guess, sort of a lawyer,” Kara fumbled for the right word in English. No one had ever asked her that before. Well, besides Alex, but she knew Kryptonese.
“Well, you've have a natural gift with words. The article's amazing,” Lena complimented. “Yeah, I knew you'd make a great reporter, but after I heard your bleeding heart, pro-alien views, I was afraid you'd do a hatchet job on me.”
“Oh, I tried. I tried, I wrote a scathing article about your device,” the reporter admitted.
“And?”
“And... My boss tossed it. He made me re-do it.”
“Well, that explains it.” Lena chuckled.
“The funny thing is, I'm glad he did. I mean, not at first, but some things happened that made me rethink my position.
“Do tell.” Was Lena flirting with her?
“I still think Alien Amnesty is a good thing, but, there are bad aliens out there.” Kara admitted.
“Well, I'm glad you can see from my point of view,” Lena said. “You know, when I was first adopted by the Luthors, I adored Lex. When he showed his true colors, I was crushed. I tried everything to reach him, bring him back to the side of good. But it was no use. I'd lost him. Finally, I realized that some people are just bad. And there is nothing you can do to change that. But, you can learn to protect yourself.”
“Yeah.” Maybe the youngest Luthor wasn’t quite so bad, afterall…
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“The fight club's been cleared out, like it never happened. No sign of where they went.” Kara spoke to Winn and Alex over the comms.
“Okay, so how do we find her? It's not like we're on the mailing list,” Winn complained.
“No... but I know someone who might be...” She flew to Lena Luthor’s office and barged in, pushing past the receptionist.
“Excuse me, you can't go in there!” The receptionist tried to apprehend her. “Stop!” Then, to Lena, she apologized, “I swear I just blinked and she got right past me.”
“Lena, I'm sorry. This is my fault,” Kara insisted.
“She's so fast,” the little Korean woman complained.
“I just need to talk to you,” the Kryptonian informed the CEO.
“Jess, will you make a note downstairs that Kara Danvers is to be shown in right away whenever possible?”
“Yes, Ms. Luthor.”
Kara blinked. “Really?”
Lena nodded.
“Thank you.”
“Now... How can I help?”
“I... I think a friend of mine has gotten involved in something shady,” Kara told her.
Lena smirked disbelievingly at her. “A friend?”
“No, an actual friend,” Kara insisted. “And now he's missing. Do you know of a woman named Veronica Sinclair? She caters to people in your, um, your circles.”
Lena pulled a face. “Tight dresses, tattoos like Lisbeth Salander? Yeah, I know Roulette. We went to boarding school together. I never liked her.”
“I need to find her.”
“Well, that's the trick, isn't it? Her little fight clubs stay mobile.”
“But do you know where she's holding the next fight? I wouldn't ask if I had any other option.”
“I'm a Luthor, of course I'm invited to her little pop-up. Not that I'm interested in her type of entertainment.” Lena wrote down an address and walked around her desk into Kara’s personal space before handing it to her.
There was definitely something electric between them, but Kara didn’t have time to analyze it. She had to save J’onn before it was too late. “Thank you,” she told Lena. “I owe you, big time.”
“Not at all. I know you'll be there for me when the time comes.” Kara could hear the woman’s heart rate go up at the admission, but she just didn’t have the time to think about it.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara turned from talking with James and Lucy to see Eve Tessmacher carrying a mountain of folders nearly as tall as she was. “Are you turning into Miss Grant? How much work did you give that girl?” she chastised James.
“I didn't give her anything,” he defended.
“Eve... Hey, hey, Eve, let me help you.” Kara ran over and took some of the folders from James’ assistant and set them on her desk.
“Oh, thanks, Kara,” Eve said sweetly.
“And those were the yearly quarterly reports that Mike was supposed to do,” James informed Kara.
“Oh, Mike!” Eve gushed. “He is so nice! He was really struggling with his work and it's his first day. So I was just trying to help him out. He's so nice!”
James glared in Mon-El’s direction. “You want to get this, or you want me to get it?” he asked Kara.
“Oh, I want to.” The Kryptonian stomped over to the Daxamite’s workspace. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
Mon-El had his feet up on the desk. “Eating these red tubes. They're amazing. Like pure joy in food form.”
She snatched the redvine away from him.
“Mine!” he pouted.
“No, Mon-El, there's a time and a place for eating candy,” she chastised him. She’d say he was acting like a child, but her kids were more mature than he was.
“Yeah, and it's this time and this place,” he insisted, snatching the candy back and putting it in his mouth.
“No, this…” she indicated the space around him, “This is your place of work. So when James gives you a task, you should be the one to complete it. Not Miss Tessmacher.”
“She wanted to please me,” Mon-El told her like he was commenting on the weather. “On Daxam, when a woman wishes to please a man…”
“Wherever you're going with that, just don't. We are not on Daxam. Thank Rao.” Kara adjusted her glasses and put Mon-El’s feet on the floor. “Look, it... It's gonna be fine. It's still gonna be great.”
“Kara.” A woman’s voice came from behind her.
The Kryptonian turned around from chastising Mon-El to see Lena Luthor walking towards her. Oh, shit! “Lena!” she greeted the woman with a smile, trying to stay calm. “Surprise visit to Catco?”
“No, I'm here to see you, actually.” The CEO grinned.
“You are?” Kara's heart beat a million miles a minute, and she tried not to breath in too deeply because the way Lena smelled was just... Wow. So good.
“Yeah,” the CEO crossed her arms nervously across her chest. Kara could hear the quick beating of the woman's own heart. Why was she so nervous? “L-Corp is hosting a party this weekend. It's a gala fundraiser for the Children's Hospital after that horrific attack on their new building. I was hoping you'd come.”
"Gala? Is that like a party?” Mon-El asked excitedly.
“No. No, it's not.” Kara tried to block him from Lena. She could smell his Alpha pheromones, and it pissed her off. She released a bout of her own dominant pheromones in order to block his out. She wasn't entirely sure what kind of effect their pheromones had on humans, but judging by both of their track records, they did do something.
“You are literally my only friend in National City. Most people wouldn't touch a Luthor with a 10-foot pole. It would mean a lot to me if you were there.” Lena bit her lip flirtatiously.
Kara’s heart clenched. “Of course I'll come. I'm honored.”
“I love parties!” Mon-El chuckled, “Can I come, too?”
“No.” Kara let out another puff of dominant pheromones, but it was too late.
“Oh... Well, of course your friend can come. What's your name?” Lena asked interestedly.
“Mike. Of the interns.” the Daxamite grinned handsomely.
“Well, Mike of the interns,” Lena purred, “Find yourself a nice suit, and I'll see you there.”
“Bye.” Kara waved. Damn him!
“We are going to a party!” Mon-El giggled, waving a redvine in Kara’s face. “Yes!”
The Kryptonian snatched the redvine away in annoyance. If Mon-El thought for one minute that he was going to sleep with Lena, he had another thing coming. If he so much as looked at Lena wrong-
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Lena turned back to them. “I need your address, so I can send you the invitation.”
“Right!” Kara stole a piece of memo paper from Mon-El’s desk and wrote down her address. “There you go.”
Their gazes lingered a bit before Lena turned again and walked away. “Bye, Kara,” she waved.
“Bye!”
…
“Hey, have you seen the news?” James asked. “Sixty-three percent of people now support repealing the Alien Amnesty Act. And that's after I published the piece about Cadmus and these other terrorist groups exploiting social media.”
“Yeah,” Kara answered. “Snapper wants me to write an objective piece about it. I don't know how I'm supposed to be objective when I know what they're actually up to. Have you seen Mon-El? I mean, Mike?”
James picked up some folders off the desk. “I asked him to take this down to marketing like two hours ago.”
Kara tuned into her super-hearing to find out where Mon-El might have gone.
“Mike, do you have protection?” Eve panted.
“You mean, like a sword?” Mon-El asked stupidly.
Kara grimaced. “Oh, God, get it out of my ears! Ew…” She rushes to the copy room where the disgusting sounds were coming from. When she opened the door, both ‘Mike’ and Eve were in various states of undress, and Kara recoiled into the wall behind her. “What are you two doing? I mean, I know what you're doing. Just stop doing it!”
Eve giggled nervously. “Kara, this is not what it looks like,” she tried to say while the two redressed themselves.
“This is the definition of something looking like what it looks like.” Kara huffed. “Just go, Eve.”
The girl scrambled out of the room, not looking very regretful at all.
When she was gone, Mon-El boasted, “I think I might have more powers on Earth than we realized. Do you think that I can make any woman fall instantly for me?”
“No, you can't,” she lied. “What were you thinking?”
“That I haven't had sex in 35 years?” He followed her out of the copy room.
“You can't do that here!” she argued.
“Are you sure? 'Cause I've been watching this TV show about doctors, and I'm pretty sure it's okay.”
“No!” she huffed. “I am trying to help you fit in and you keep messing it up!”
“Okay, I'm trying very hard to be Mike, okay? But it is not as easy as you make it sound, Kara. I'm used to doing my own thing!”
“Well, you don't do your own thing here. You do my thing.”
“Um, okay. And if I don't want to do your thing?”
“Then find another mentor.”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Hi, Angel,” Alex greeted her partner as she walked through the door.
Kara came over and kissed her before hanging up her things. “Hi.”
“Your steps were exceptionally stompy just now. You all right? “ Alex asked in concern.
“Where do I start?” Kara huffed. “Mark almost got fired today.” She rummaged around in the fridge.
“Who?”
“Mark, uh... Mike. Mon-El. He doesn't take his job seriously, at all. It's really like he's never worked a day in his life!”
“Well, he's from a different planet,” Alex mused.
“I'm from a different planet, and I had to deal with the awkwardness of eighth grade when I first got here! I helped him get a new identity. I helped him get an internship. I even got him a new pair of glasses for a disguise in case he wants to put on a cape and help people the way I do. He has everything he needs, and yet, he's still a disaster!”
“Well, that's the problem,” Alex pointed out.
“What, the glasses? I can take those back but I don't think it's gonna make any difference.”
Alex smiled patiently at her partner. “Sit.” She patted the table in front of her. After Kara obeyed, she continued, “When you first arrived at our house, I thought, ‘Finally! I have a sister.’”
“An alien sister.”
“Even better,” Alex assured her. “But I still wanted you to be just like me. To do everything that I did. So I dragged you out to science fairs.”
“Those were so boring.”
Yes, when she first arrived, Kara never let them forget that earth’s highest technological advancement was as outdated on Krypton as the Stone Age was to Earth’s ‘Modern Civilization.’ Alex continued, “Made you watch scary movies.”
“What do you have against a good old romantic comedy?”
Only everything. “Forced you to listen to the music that I liked.”
“Yeah, your punk-rock phase was very strange.”
Whatever. What kind of person hates Pink Floyd? “But finally, I let it go. Let you do your own thing, find your own hobbies, listen to your own weird music.”
“Uh, NSync, first of all, is not weird. And second of all, they are amazing,” Kara insisted.
The redhead smiled. “Mon-El is not you. Just like you're not me. So what works for you might not work for him. You know, people just have to figure out what works for them. Know who they are inside. What they're meant to be. You wouldn’t try to force your kids to be just like you, would you? People need to be who they are, not what someone else wants them to be.”
“So you're saying, the job, the sweater and the glasses are a bit too much?
“Not everyone can rock argyle like you do,” Alex commented.
“Huh. I guess you’re right.”
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. She tried to remember if someone was supposed to come over. She couldn't think of anyone.
Kara lowered her glasses and x-ray visioned the door. “What is she doing here?”
“Who?” Alex wondered aloud.
Kara didn’t answer, she just got up and opened the door. “Lena! Hi! Come on in.” She looked back at Alex, knowing exactly what she was thinking:
Lena Luthor knows where they live? Good God, Kara, what the hell?!
“I'm sorry to keep dropping in on you,” Lena said, strolling elegantly into the apartment. “It’s-” She stopped short when she saw the redhead. “Hey, I know you. You saved my life.”
Alex stuck out her hand. “Special Agent Alex Danvers, FBI.”
“She's my wife,” Kara clarified.
Alex could have sworn Lena looked disappointed for a moment, but their guest quickly played it off. “This city's smaller than I thought.”
Kara chuckled awkwardly.
“Well,” the brunette continued, “Actually, maybe you can both help me. Um... You remember, I told you about that stupid fight club last week? Now it's my turn to ask for a favor.”
“Anything. Shoot.”
Alex made a mental note to kill Kara when Lena was gone. How can she say she’ll do anything for a Luthor?
“I need to get in touch with-.”
Just then, Jessie and Jamie ran out of their room, apparently looking for their parents to help settle an argument between them, but as soon as they both laid eyes on Lena Luthor, they stopped and stared openly.
“Whoa,” Jessie breathed. “Are you a model?”
Lena chuckled. “No, I’m a business woman and a scientist. I’ve never modeled a day in my life.”
“But,” Jamie protested, “You’re, like, the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen!” she threw her arms in the air for added emphasis.
Jessie nodded her firm agreement.
Lena blushed a little. “Well! Thank you very much!”
“What’s your name?” Jamie asked with awe in her voice.
“My name is Lena.”
“Hi, Lena,” the twins said in unison.
“What are your names?”
“I’m Jessie.”
“I’m Jamie.”
“Hello, Jessie. Hello, Jamie.” Lena shook both of their hands. “How are you?” She was polite as could be, that was certain. Was that how she really was, or was this hiding some more nefarious personality traits? Her kids were usually excellent judges of character, so maybe Lena wasn’t so bad after all. Even so, Alex wondered if it was wise to let a Luthor near her children.
“Great!” Jamie answered. “Are you staying for dinner?” she asked pleadingly.
Oh, Lord!
“Oh, yes! Please, stay for dinner!” Jessie enthused.
Kara grinned at the CEO. “You’re more than welcome, Lena, please.”
“I don’t want to intrude on your family time,” Lena demurred politely.
“Nah,” Alex waved her off. “You’re not intruding. Please, stay.” She motioned her towards a stool at the kitchen island. She wanted the chance to get to know this Luthor woman, whether or not she could be trusted. Kara seemed to like her a lot, and the kids were obviously fascinated by her. Alex wouldn’t waste an opportunity to chat the woman up.
Lena bit her lip, and looked at the irresistible pleading eyes of the twins in front of her. “Oh, alright. If you all insist.”
“Yes!” the twins exclaimed and sat at the island alongside her.
“Do you like Star Wars?” Jessie asked excitedly.
“Of course,” Lena answered. “Who doesn’t?”
The twins’ eyes lit up like Christmas morning. “What about Lord of the Rings?” Jamie asked.
“One of my favorite book series when I was growing up.”
The girls grinned and clapped their hands.
“Harry Potter?” Jessie quizzed.
“Sure,” Lena answered easily.
“Can you dance?” Jamie wanted to know.
Lena nodded. “I took ballet for years when I was young.”
“Lena, I think our kids are in love with you,” Alex chuckled at the enamored looks on her girls’ faces.
The twins weren’t even embarrassed. They nodded in whole-hearted agreement.
“What’s your favorite movie?” Jamie asked.
“Actually, my favorite movies are old musicals like ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ and ‘White Christmas.’”
The kids groaned in disappointment, but Kara’s eyes bugged out of her head. “No way! Those are my favorite movies, too!”
“Oh, Lord!” Alex rolled her eyes. “I’m gonna lose my family to Lena Luthor.” She chuckled.
Kara swatted playfully at her. “Not true! We’ll just absorb her into our found-family like everyone else.”
“Yeah!” the twins cheered.
Lena looked like she didn’t know what to do with herself with all the attention. “Found-family?” she asked curiously.
“Yeah,” Alex explained. “Kara likes to bring home ‘strays,’ so-to-speak, and make them part of our family. I think it’s like... She lost her family, so she has to keep adopting people to make a new one.”
“Kara, you lost your family?” Lena asked sympathetically.
Kara’s jaw clenched a little before she answered. “Um, y- yeah. There was… There was an accident, I guess. I was the only one who survived. Well, me and my cousin.”
Lena took a slow deep breath. “I’m sorry. I think it’s beautiful that you try and carve out a life and family of your own.”
Alex agreed, and couldn’t help but stroke Kara’s hair adoringly.
“Thanks,” Kara blushed.
“We’re not adopted, though,” Jessie felt the need to say for some reason. “Are we, mommy?”
“Nope,” Alex answered. “I gave birth to you two the old fashioned way. I’ve got pictures and stretch marks to prove it!” she laughed.
“Wait,” Lena interjected. “You’re their birthmother?... Not Kara?... Because they look like little Kara clones.”
The twins giggled. “Everyone says that,” Jamie informed her.
“Well, it’s true,” Lena answered. “How’d you manage that?”
Kara laughed awkwardly, and Alex was afraid she might say something stupid, so she spoke up first, “I don’t know, but it’s awfully cool, isn’t it?”
“Indeed it is,” Lena said a little too interestedly, looking at Kara from the corner of her eyes.
“Do you want to play Just Dance with us, Lena?” Jessie asked excitedly.
“No!” Kara answered for the brunette. “Lena didn’t come here to see you, she came here to talk to your Mom and me.”
“Can we look at our baby pictures?” Jamie begged.
Alex chuckled. “OK, but stay in the living room until the grownups are done talking.”
The twins pouted, then scrambled out of their seats and ran for the master bedroom to get their photo albums.
“They will try to suck you in. We’ll see how well you can hold up under the Danvers Pout,” Alex joked.
“Oh, alright then,” Lena answered with a smile. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Your girls do seem to be quite irresistible. I bet they were adorable babies.”
Alex had to admit, Lena was extremely charming. If she was a bad guy, they were all in deep shit.
“So,” Kara spoke up. “What did you want to talk to us about? You want us to get in touch with someone?”
Lena nodded. “Yes,” she covered her mouth conspiratorially from the kids and whispered, “Supergirl.”
Oh shit.
“Wha- Um, What do you want to talk to her for?” Kara stammered.
Now Alex was suspicious. Was this a trap?
“I need her help to protect the hospital fundraiser. With those crazy goons out there with those alien weapons, I’m afraid of what might happen to the guests if she doesn’t show up,” Lena explained matter-of-factly.
Alex and Kara shared a look. The redhead was not happy with the open, trusting expression in her partner’s eyes.
“I’ll contact her for you,” Kara told her with a nod.
“Thank you very much,” Lena smiled brightly.
“You’re welcome,” Kara answered, clearly enraptured by the beautiful woman. Alex sighed inwardly, then prayed to God and Rao and anyone else who would listen that Lena Luthor could be trusted and she wasn’t trying to set a trap for Supergirl.
“Now,” Kara grinned, seemingly oblivious to Alex’s inner turmoil. “We were going to make chicken stir fry for dinner. Is that OK with you?” she asked Lena.
“That sounds lovely,” the CEO answered.
“So how are you liking living in National City?” the blonde asked while pulling ingredients out of the fridge.
“Honestly,” Lena sighed, “I haven’t had much time to explore it. I’ve just been so busy, you know?”
Alex knew exactly how Kara was going to respond, and she wasn’t disappointed. “Aww! Well, you’ll have to come out with us sometime!” Kara insisted. “Oh! We’re planning on going to the National City Aquarium next Saturday! You should come with us!”
“That’s assuming everyone lives through this fundraiser,” Alex pointed out.
Kara gave her a look of annoyance, to which, she simply rolled her eyes.
Lena bit her lip in indecision. She gave the impression that she wanted to say yes to the aquarium, but her polite upbringing was telling her not to.
Alex decided to give her a little help, “Oh, come on, Lena. Don’t make me get the girls to pout at you. Hell, I don’t even need the girls, I got the original pouter right here.” She pointed at her partner who took her cue and turned on The Pout.
Lena laughed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, all right!” She threw her hands up in concession.
“Yes!” Kara pumped her fist in victory. “Alright,” she said, chopping up cabbage, “So, where did you go to college?”
“Yale and MIT,” Lena answered. “You?”
“Alex and I went to National City University. We were going to go to Stanford, but then we had the kids, so that kind of went out the window.”
Lena’s brow crinkled a bit, “Hmm. Were you upset that you didn’t get to go to Stanford?”
Kara shook her head. She’d only ever cared about staying alongside Alex.
“A little,” Alex answered. “But I was too happy about the kids to be bothered that much.”
“So you had them when you were fairly young, then?”
“Eighteen,” Alex confirmed.
“Your mother must have been thrilled,” Lena said facetiously.
Alex scoffed. “Yeah, she flipped out a little bit, especially when we told her we were having twins, but she came around eventually. My mom’s actually a big softie.”
“Must be nice,” Lena said, almost too quietly to hear.
Alex gave her a sympathetic look, then caught her partner’s matching gaze out of the corner of her eye. She could already tell what Kara was thinking. The Kryptonian had a thing for collecting broken hearted, lonely people, and clearly Lena was fitting into that category. Kara had told her of the previous conversations she’d had with the CEO - how she was adopted, and the only family member who truly loved her had gone insane and tried to kill her. Now, this comment, and Alex just knew what it was doing to Kara’s heart. She braced herself for the worst and prayed for the best, like her father had always told her because sanity be damned, Kara was going to make friends with Lena fucking Luthor.
The twins either sensed they were done with business, or they just didn’t care, either way, they came barging into the kitchen with their baby books in hand. “Look, Lena!” they exclaimed, shoving the books at her.
The CEO picked up the top book that said “Jamie” in big blue foam letters, with a giant foam daisy in the corner. The first page of pictures were ultrasounds. The second page had pictures of Alex and Kara post-delivery, looking haggard, but sporting huge grins on both of their faces. The babies were so small and wrinkly, and their eyes were closed in sleep. “Aww!” Lena cooed. “I knew you were cute babies.”
The girls grinned at the compliment.
Alex and Kara stopped attending to their vegetables and cuddled up to watch Lena go through the baby pictures.
“That’s our grandma,” Jamie pointed at Eliza in one of the photos.
“Your mother?” she asked Alex.
The redhead nodded.
“She’s beautiful,” Lena complimented.
“Thank you.”
They continued to look through the pictures in each book, laughing and giggling, and oohing and ahhing. The girls were nearly sitting in Lena’s lap, and it reminded Alex of the time when Winn came over for the very first time, and five-year-old Jessie climbed right into his lap without so much as a ‘how do you do?’ The fact that her girls were so trusting of this stranger made Alex relax quite a bit. If Lena was as good with the kids as Winn was, then she was A-OK in this agent’s book.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Kara touched down on Lena’s balcony and let herself into the office.
“Supergirl.” Lena rose to greet her, heart pounding wildly.
Kara adopted her most heroic pose. As much as she liked Lena, she was nervous from wondering what Lena was nervous about. It couldn’t be just the simple fact of meeting with her, could it? “You wanted to see me?”
“Yeah, thank you for coming.” the CEO followed her across the room. “I wanted to invite you to my party.”
Supergirl frowned, “Kara Danvers told me you were going on with the fundraiser. You can't. It's definitely going to be a target for this gang.”
“Well, that's why I need you there to protect it,” Lena explained. “With Supergirl in attendance, I know my guests and I will be safe.”
“You like to take risks, don't you?” The Girl of Steel accused. “When Corben was after you and now this. Why?”
“Well, you can't live in fear. You, more than anyone, must understand that. Time and again, you risk everything to see justice done. Is it so hard to believe that I feel the same way? Or are you one of those people that thinks there's no such thing as a good Luthor?” Kara could hear and smell the woman’s trepidation at the possible answer.
“I believe everyone should be judged on their own merits,” she assured.
“Then judge me on mine. This party must happen, and I am asking you for your help.”
“Then, I guess I have no choice.”
“Thank you.” Lena smiled flirtatiously, “So Kara and I will see you tomorrow night?”
It was only now that Kara realized what she’d just done to herself. “Right. Yes, Kara and I will both be at your party.” She headed out the balcony door, then whispered to herself, “Crap!”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Okay, the Muon Particle Detector will let us know if there are any weapons within 100 feet,” Winn informed her.
“Are you sure?” Kara worried.
“Have I ever been wrong before?” Then, at Kara’s Look, he insisted, “Okay, this time I'm sure.”
“I see Lena!” she exclaimed. “Commence Operation Doubtfire.”
Winn scrambled into place for his part in the operation.
“Lena!” Kara called cheerfully.
“Kara, it's really great to see you,” Lena greeted, full of charm and looking deadly gorgeous. “I'm glad you could come. Um, have you seen Supergirl?”
“I'm sure she's on her way,” she answered a little too loudly.
Winn took his cue and ‘bumped’ into Lena Luthor. “Oh, I am so... Did I spill this on you? Does anybody have some seltzer?” he asked around him.
Kara took the opportunity to zip off and return as her alter-ego.
“Supergirl! I'm glad you could make it!”
Kara could smell Lena’s arousal. Uh-oh. “I still think this might be a bad idea.”
The brunette smirked. “Well, why don't we wait and see how the evening pans out.”
“I'll check the perimeter for any activity, and I'll be back at the first sign of danger,” Kara assured her. She zipped back out and returned as herself while Lena was still gawking at the space Supergirl had vacated.
The CEO sighed wistfully. “Kara, you just missed Supergirl!”
“Did I? Golly!”
Lena gave her a look at the antiquated word, but didn’t comment. “Would you like to dance?” she asked, holding out her hand to the blonde.
Kara wasn’t sure that was such a good idea. Lena’s scent of arousal had yet to dissipate, and she was partly convinced it was getting stronger. Still, she couldn’t think of a polite way to decline, and honestly, she did want to dance with the woman, so she took the proffered hand and allowed herself to be led to the dance floor. Lena smelled extraordinarily good on a normal day. Tonight, she smelled heavenly, and Kara was swept up in the moment. She found herself grinning like an idiot and not caring one bit because Lena was looking at her just the same. When the song was over, they clapped, and Lena excused herself to go back to mingling with her guests.
Kara took this time to stress eat as many potstickers as she could fit in her mouth. She felt a little guilty about having these feelings for Lena because she was pretty sure Alex wouldn’t like it. At the same time, it felt so natural spending time with Lena. She felt like she was fighting against her own instincts. Just then, she heard a voice calling her from behind.
“What's your name, beautiful? Oh, it's you,” Mon-El sounded disappointed. “Um, are you gonna yell at me again?”
Kara carefully remembered her conversation with Alex. She had to treat him like one of her kids. Not like a Daxamite. “I'm not gonna yell at you…” she mumbled around a mouthful of food.
“What's wrong with your mouth?” he asked.
Kara swallowed her potstickers. “I'm not gonna yell at you again,” she said gently. “Where's the suit from?”
“Oh, you like it?”
“Yeah, it's nice.”
“Yeah, Eve gave me her little... Her plastic rectangle to buy things.”
“You used her credit card?” she might have raised her voice a little.
“You're gonna yell at me again.”
“I'm not gonna yell at you.” At this point, she felt like she was saying it as much for her own benefit as his.
They stood awkwardly at the table.
“I miss dancing,” Mon-El told her wistfully. “I used to dance a lot on Daxam.”
“Yeah, we danced on Krypton too,” she recalled nostalgically.
“Well, then…” The Daxamite held out his hand in invitation.
“Sorry, hold on.” She put down her handfuls of potstickers and wiped her fingers before accepting his hand and following him to the dance floor.
Off to the side, she overheard James and Winn talking. “If she wasn't into either of us, there's no way she's into this guy, right?”
“No, couldn't be.”
She refrained from rolling her eyes. She never should have told them that Kryptonians were polyamorous. It gave them...ideas.
It wasn’t long before the guys with the alien weapons showed up. Kara dealt with them as best she could, but she was almost a goner, when suddenly, the weapons flew up into the air and exploded into nothing. She stood there marvelling at the situation. Then Winn and Lena crawled out from under the bandstand.
“Oh, we weren’t under there…” he stammered. “We stopped it!” He gave a double thumbs up.
Kara called Maggie and had the guys arrested, but the next day, they all three mysteriously fell dead before they could give up any information about who gave them the weapons.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“Good morning,” Kara greeted Mon-El early Monday morning.
The Daxamite grunted awake on his cot at the DEO. “Am I late for work?”
“Oh, no,” Kara scoffed. “You were fired.”
“Yeah, I'm not sure it was my destiny to be an intern,” the man mused.
“Yeah, I'm not so sure either,” Kara agreed.
“So, you're not mad at me?” he asked.
She sighed. “I get the feeling I'm always gonna be a little mad at you.”
“Yeah, I get that feeling too.” Mon-El pouted a little.
“When I was younger, I had no idea what I wanted to be here on Earth,” Kara explained. “I had a family to help me and guide me, but... Ultimately I had to make my own choices. I was trying to impose those choices on you because when you landed I was just so excited to have someone to take under my wing... To look after. I never got to do that with my cousin. But you are not him, and you're not one of my kids. You are your own man. And your life here on Earth is going to be very different from mine, and that's fine. That's great.”
“So does this mean I don't need to get a job?” Mon-El asked hopefully.
“You still need to get a job,” she answered.
“Right.”
“But just pick something that you like. And I'll be here to help you, however you need me to. That's what a real mentor does. I got you something. It's a guide to National City.” She handed him a booklet.
“Hmm. Thank you, Kara.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“What's a strip club?” he asked.
“You know, let's just take that page out...”
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“I heard what happened,” Alex told Maggie when she finally tracked her down at the alien bar. The detective hadn’t been answering any calls after her alien weapons suspects mysteriously dropped dead on her. “You okay?”
“I've seen some crazy stuff since I joined the Science Force, but that was... That was... What are you doing here?”
“I was worried about you,” Alex sat down at the table across from her friend.
“Look, I'm sorry if I was a bitch the other day. I was just...”
“Hurting,” Alex finished for her. “You know, when Kara first came to live with us, she would lash out sometimes. Survivor’s guilt is not to be taken lightly. But no matter how angry she would get, she always ended up in my arms. I knew she was hurting, and I knew it wasn’t my fault. I just had to be patient with her. I’m no stranger to pain, Maggie. When my dad died, Kara did the same thing for me that I had done for her - just held me when I needed her. Or just sat with me when I couldn’t be touched. My point is, it’s fine to have some alone time when we’re grieving, but it’s good to have people that care about us around, too. I care about you, Maggie, and I want to be there for you while you’re hurting, but you have to let me. OK?”
Maggie softened a bit. “Thanks, Alex.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Have a drink with me?” Maggie passed over one of her shots of whiskey.
“You got it.” Alex grinned, and they clinked their shot glasses together.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
“You took a great risk, Miss Luthor,” Supergirl said. “Why didn't you tell me what you were up to?”
“I doubt you would've believed that a Luthor just wanted to see justice done.”
Touche. Though, Kara did feel like she could trust Lena now. “Well, I couldn't have stopped them without you. Thank you.”
“Who would've believed it. A Luthor and a Super working together?” They both chuckled together. “I hope we can work together more in the future.”
“Me too.” And there was that familiar electric charge between them again. Also, Kara could smell Lena’s arousal and hear her heart pounding. She wondered if Alex would be mad if they kissed. Probably. She wouldn’t do it. She didn’t want to hurt her wife.
“Oh! I didn't realize you had company,” another woman spoke from behind her.
Lena’s heart skipped a beat or two. “Would you excuse me, Supergirl?” she asked. “I have to take this.”
“Of course,” Kara answered, feeling both disappointed and relieved. She stepped out of the office and leapt off the balcony.
“Sorry I missed your party,” the mystery woman spoke to Lena.
“What else is new?” Lena asked.
Kara flew away before she heard anything else.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone