Chapter 36: 36. Poisoned
Monday morning, Kara woke up feeling tired and run down. She didn't get up with Lena like she usually did. She just stayed in bed, even after everyone else was up.
“I called James,” Alex said, sitting gently beside her and stroking her hair. “No need for you to go to work today.”
“Mmmph,” Kara responded groggily.
“And Lena’s gonna have Andy take the kids to school.”
The reporter pulled her wife down to snuggle.
“I love you, Angel, but I gotta go to work.” She laid there for a few seconds rubbing Kara’s back, then kissed her temple before getting back up. “Why don’t you come with me and lay under the sun lamps? Apparently that antivenom is working really slowly, and I’d like to keep an eye on you.”
“I don’t wanna move,” Kara complained.
“All the more reason to come to the DEO,” Alex told her. “Do I need to get J’onn to come carry you? Cause I will.”
The idea of being carried didn’t sound half bad to the Kryptonian, but her pride stood in the way. “No, no, I’ll get up.” She reached out a hand to her wife for help.
“Oh, boy,” Alex helped haul Kara’s butt out of the bed, making exaggerated, loud groaning noises as she did so.
Normally, Kara would laugh at her wife’s antics, but she just didn’t have the energy. She sat on the edge of the bed with her eyes half-closed, while Alex gently brushed her hair and put it in a ponytail, then dressed her in a hoodie and sweatpants.
“Last chance to let me call J’onn.”
“I’m up, I’m up!” Kara stood on shaky legs and grabbed onto Alex’s arm for support. She was weaker than she thought, and it was a struggle to walk. When she got to the living room, she had to sit down on the couch to rest for a minute.
“I’m calling J’onn,” Alex said with finality. “Just lay back down, and let him come get you.”
Kara wanted to argue, but she was too tired. She laid her head down on the arm of the couch and fell back to sleep.
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Alex sat down next to Kara as soon as she hung up with J’onn. They would all have to make a show of actually leaving through the lobby, so she just stroked Kara’s back as she waited for her boss to show. It felt like forever before the buzzer went off at the front door. She got up and let the Martian in. His look of concern matched her own.
“It was all I could do to get her this far,” Alex lead him to the couch where Kara was laying as still as could be. She noticed the Kryptonian was sweating again. Damn it! Why hadn’t the antivenom worked? Her condition was improving last night!
J’onn knelt down and scooped Kara up in his arms. The blonde wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed herself to be carried. This really freaked Alex out. Kara wasn’t even protesting anymore.
When they got to the lobby, the guard at the desk stood up in alarm. “Oh my god! What happened? Do I need to call an ambulance?”
“No, we've got her. She’s sick. We're taking her in to be seen right now,” Alex told him.
“I can call for a police escort, if you want,” the guard offered.
“That's not necessary,” J’onn said. “We work for the FBI.”
“Oh!” the guard responded in fearful fascination. “Alright! Good luck!”
The alarmed doorman held the door for J’onn as he carried her wife out to the DEO-issued 4x4 in front of the building. He deposited her in the back seat and just let her lay down. Alex climbed into the passenger seat, and let J’onn drive. She was completely panic-stricken, and she called Lena to have her meet them at the DEO.
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Lena sped her way to the Department of Extranormal Operations. Her heart was in her throat. Kara should have been feeling better today, but instead she was worse. She mentally went through everything they had done last night, but she couldn't account for any mistakes. Between herself, Eliza and Alex, the three of them had thought they had found the perfect antivenom for Kara’s illness. Apparently, they were wrong.
She pulled into the driveway of the DEO and raced inside. The elevator took far too long going up to the top. A few people stared at her as she ran down the hallways, but she didn’t care. She had to get to Kara. She bumped into someone going in the same direction as her, but she didn’t pay much attention.
“Lena!” the person called.
She turned around to see Winn, a grim expression on his face and worry in his eyes. “Winn!” she hugged him, and then urged him to walk faster toward the medbay. “Come on! Damn these windy, identical hallways!”
“I know, right?” Winn huffed. “You wouldn’t believe how many times I got lost looking for the bathroom when I first started working here!”
“Less talking, more taking me where I need to go!” Lena loved Winn, but she didn’t have time for chit chat right now.
At last, they arrived at the medbay, where a pallid Kara laid half-naked under a bunch of bright lamps. She assumed they must be replicating sunlight in order to stimulate her Kryptonian healing ability because getting a tan was in no way a cure for being poisoned. She immediately started asking Winn about the specs.
A minute later, Alex hurried in, and Lena ran into her arms. “It’s gonna be OK, sweetheart,” Alex soothed her. “We’re gonna figure this out. Maggie, J’onn, Winn, and Mon-El are all investigating how to cure this. We’ll get it.” She gave Lena a kiss without thinking.
“Are you guys dating Lena now too?” Winn blurted out.
Lena sighed. “Fine, yes, Winn! But try to keep it to yourself, OK?”
He placed his hands on his hips and shook his head at them.
“Have you tried re-administering the antivenom?” Lena asked, ignoring him and changing the subject. “Maybe we didn’t give her enough.”
“We can’t,” Alex answered. “Her wound is closed, so now there’s nowhere we can inject her with anything.”
Lena looked between Alex and Winn like they were crazy. “If there’s a light spectrum to enhance Kara’s powers, surely there’s one to take them away, or at least make her weak enough for an injection!”
Alex blinked at her. “Oh my God, we are so stupid!”
“What?” Winn still didn’t get it.
“Red sunlight! We need red sunlamps!” Alex ran out of the room like a bat out of hell. “J’onn!”
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Maggie wandered into the alien bar, with Mon-El jabbering her ear off. She rolled her eyes at yet another ridiculous story of his before saying, “Alright, we’re here, shut up already.”
They headed to the bar first to ask the bar owner, “Hey, Jasper! Question: Do you know what a Joltorian is?”
“Yeah, that thing that attacked Supergirl yesterday?” Jasper answered. “I heard people talking, but that’s all I know.” He was a middle-aged humanoid man that didn’t look directly alien, but Maggie knew him to be a species whose name was very hard to pronounce with the human tongue. It sounded like ‘Rastafarian’ when people tried to pronounce it, which always made him laugh. His kind were telekinetic, and Jasper liked to show off his powers when making drinks, making the liquids float up into the glass or across the bar or whatever. He just thought it was funny. Maggie liked him for the most part, though she didn’t really know him all that well.
“Right,” Mon-El stated. “Well, do you have any idea how to counteract their venom?”
Jasper shook his head. “Not sure, but those people over there are from a star system near Joltor. Maybe they know?”
Maggie and Mon-El approached the folks at the table that Jasper indicated. They were pink people with pink tentacles on their heads where hair might have been otherwise.
“Hi, guys, how are you? I’m Mon-El, and this is Maggie, and that nice gentleman over there said you guys lived near Joltor, and you might be able to help us. See, our friend was hurt by a Joltorian, and we need a way to cure her of his poison. Is there anything you can do to help us out?”
The pink people looked slightly annoyed at Mon-El, but when they looked at Maggie, their irritation abated a bit, and they spoke to her when they answered. “Yes, we know what you need,” the woman said. (At least Maggie got the impression it was a female.) “We even know where to get it in this city,” she continued. “But it’s gonna cost you, and I doubt you’ll be able to pay the price.”
“What is it? Anything! We’ll pay anything!” Mon-El insisted.
The woman alien furrowed her brow at Mon-El, then took Maggie by the hand. The detective then saw a vision of a street crossing, and a few back alleys downtown where there was a ‘flower vendor.’ One of the flowers in this person’s collection was the Nextol blossom. It had to be added to the antivenom for a Joltorian’s poison to be fully eradicated. “There,” the woman said. “Now you know what you’re looking for. Lucky for you, you know someone who might be able to help.”
“Who?” Mon-El asked.
“Thanks,” Maggie pulled out a twenty and put it on the couple’s table. “Come on, Goofus.” She dragged the Daxamite away to go investigate the flower vendor.
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Alex was putting together a red sun medbay for Kara, along with Lena. She was so glad the CEO was there with her. It gave her a deeper comfort than she would have imagined. Lena was older and smarter than she was, so she had the utmost confidence that the pair of them could tackle this problem without further incident. The only problem was, they had to wait for Maggie and the gang to try to figure out how to get an antivenom to work, or find some other cure. They couldn’t put Kara into the red sun room again until they knew for sure they had a working vaccine, otherwise the poison would kill her ten times faster. Right now, the only thing she had going for her was her Kryptonian fortitude because every time they injected her with the antivenom, it just disintegrated in her bloodstream.
Lena stopped to take a deep breath, and Alex could see the tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.
“Come here, sweetheart,” the agent pulled her close. They were alone here, so she didn’t fear touching her partner. “We’re gonna figure this out, OK?”
The CEO didn’t speak, she only nodded.
“I love you so much, Lena. And Kara loves you, and she’s trusting us to help her. There’s no bigger show of trust than what she’s showing us now. We will not let her down, will we?”
“No,” Lena answered determinedly.
“There’s my good girl.” Alex kissed her tenderly. “Just try to breathe. We have to help each other remember to breathe right now, OK?”
Lena clung to her for dear life. “I love you, Alex.”
“I love you too, honey. I’ve got you.” She held Lena tightly as they both took slow, deep breaths.
A few minutes later, J’onn came through the door. “Sorry to interrupt, but we’ve got word from Maggie that they’re on their way to investigate a lead on a flower that’s supposed to help stabilize the Joltorian antivenom.
“They?” Alex wondered. “Who’s ‘they?’”
“Maggie and Mon-El,” J’onn responded.
Alex and Lena both raised their brows. “Maggie took Mon-El with her?” Alex was shocked.
“Apparently,” J’onn shrugged.
“That’s bizarre,” Lena commented.
“No kidding!” Alex said. “Maggie hates working with partners. She likes to do her own thing, and she doesn’t like Mon-El. Why did she let him, of all people, go with her?”
“You’ll have to ask her that when she gets here,” J’onn told her. “I just assume it was the Kara effect.”
“The Kara effect?” Lena asked.
Alex chuckled. “You mean that thing that makes you want to fall all over yourself to please her and do what she wants?”
“That would be it, yes,” J’onn smirked.
“Ah. Yes. That,” Lena blushed. “I thought it was just me.”
“No,” the director shook his head. “Definitely not.”
“OK, then,” Alex put her hands on her hips and blew out a breath. “We're almost finished here. Just a few more minor things to set up, and we’re good to go.”
“Excellent. It’s too bad I couldn’t requisition Miss Luthor for a job here at the DEO. She’s been invaluable to us the past few months. We owe you a great debt of gratitude.”
“Not at all,” Lena brushed him off. “I’m acting quite selfishly right now, trust me.”
“Well, that hasn’t been the case in the past, so we’ll let it slide just this once,” J’onn winked at her. Of course, he probably knew the truth about Lena’s relationship with them, but he thankfully chose to keep his mouth shut about it. “Keep up the good work, ladies.”
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Maggie turned the corner on her bike a little harder than she meant to, and Mon-El gripped her waist a little tighter. It made her feel uncomfortable. She already didn't want him with her, let alone on her bike. Then she thought of her sweet blonde laying sick in the DEO medbay, and she brushed off her discomfort. She'd been through worse. This was for the loves of her life. None of them would survive without Kara. She parked her bike in the alleyway, and they made their way to the flower vendor.
“Don’t speak,” she told Mon-El.
“Hola,” the vendor spoke to her. There was something unnerving about the shape of his eyes, but she didn’t let that shake her in the least.
“Hello,” Maggie answered.
“You don’t speak Spanish?” he asked.
“I do, but I prefer English,” she informed him.
“To hurt your father?” he grinned.
“Excuse me?” Maggie frowned. “That’s none of your business!”
“Anything and everything is my business,” the man continued to grin. “Especially when what you want comes at such a high cost.”
“And what cost is that?”
“Normally? One million dollars. But for Supergirl? Ten!” He spat the number angrily.
“What? Why?” both Maggie and Mon-El asked in an outrage.
The man sneered. “That little blonde bimbo has been parading around, making a name for herself, meanwhile, the rest of us are left being exposed and harrassed and left to Cadmus to die! If she and her stupid cousin had just stayed in hiding like they ought to have, then none of us would be running from Cadmus right now!”
“Hey! She’s a hero!” Maggie defended. “Which is more than I can say for you!
“Of course you would say that,” the man accused. “You both worship the ground she walks on, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us do! Ten million dollars, and not a penny less!”
“You think we just have ten million dollars lying around?” the detective huffed. “What kind of people do we look like?”
“The Prince and the Pauper, I’m sure,” the man sneered.
Maggie had no idea what he meant by that, but for some reason, Mon-El looked white as a ghost.
“Whatever. Look. We don’t have that kind of money!” Maggie insisted.
“Perhaps you don’t, but you do know someone who does.”
The detective sighed. This is not what they kept Lena around for, and Kara would not be happy letting the woman spend ten million dollars on a cure for her illness. But she knew Lena wouldn’t have it any other way, so she threw her hands in the air helplessly. “I’ll see what I can do, I guess. Don’t disappear on us.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” the man answered with another creepy grin.
Maggie headed back to her bike with Mon-El in tow. She was really dreading telling everyone the cost of Kara’s life, but it had to be done.
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Lena paced Kara’s sun room. The Kryptonian had been sleeping for the last few hours, and she hadn’t stirred in the least. Lena could barely breathe. If it wasn’t for Alex’s calming presence beside her today, she didn’t know what kind of state she’d be in. She wished Maggie was there too, but she knew the detective needed to be out there doing her part. At the moment, Alex was running around doing God-knows-what for the DEO, and Lena was free to do whatever she wanted to do, but she didn’t want to leave Kara, and so she paced.
Finally, Alex came back into the room, followed by Maggie, Winn, Mon-El, and J’onn. None of them looked happy. Maggie immediately came and wrapped Lena in her arms. It helped immensely.
“What did you find out?” she asked them.
Maggie blew out a hard breath and put her hands on her hips. “Well, supposedly, there's a flower that stabilizes the antidote and keeps it from deconstructing.”
“But…” Lena could tell by their faces that there was a catch.
“But the guy wants ten million dollars for it! He said usually it only costs one million, but apparently, he hates Supergirl!” The detective threw her arms up helplessly.
“Ten million dollars?!” Lena exclaimed. “I've bought entire companies for less than that! Surely we can negotiate something!”
“You’re welcome to come with me and try. It sounded like his biggest problem was the threat of Cadmus looming over his head. Maybe we can offer him some sort of protection or something. There’s gotta be another way.”
“Alright, well, meanwhile, I need to get things moving, if I want to get ten millions dollars in cash. It’s not like I just have that kind of money laying around. I have to liquidate some assets. There’s a lot of paperwork involved.”
“I thought you were going to negotiate?” Winn said, confused.
“It’s just in case,” Lena informed him. “Like I said, these things take time and paperwork. I have to go.” She ran out of the DEO and sped back to her office. There was nothing that she would let get in the way of healing Kara. She got on the phone immediately and started the ball rolling.
When she finished, she called Maggie to pick her up. The detective suggested that they bring J’onn along as well, in case the DEO could offer some sort of protection program. They all agreed, and she went downstairs to meet them. It felt like it took them forever to arrive, but that was just her being impatient. Finally, J’onn showed up in a nondescript black 4x4 with Maggie in the passenger seat. Lena hopped in the back, and they were off to the flower vendor.
As they all climbed out of the truck, Lena put on her best negotiation persona and walked with authority behind Maggie, as the detective lead them in the right direction. Maggie hadn’t mentioned that this man was as creepy as could be, but she didn’t let it deter her. She was here for Kara, and that was all that mattered.
“I don’t see my money,” the vendor sneered. “I will not negotiate! Any soldiers you surround me with would only hurt my business. Anywhere you move me, Cadmus will find me. I want the money, or Supergirl can just die for all I care!”
“If Supergirl dies, I promise you, you won’t have a business left to come back to,” Lena spoke calmly. If this man could read minds, then she knew she only had to think of the right thing to persuade him, and in this instance it was herself, calling her mother and telling them exactly where to find this man. And meaning it.
“F-f-five million!” the man negotiated.
“How about you just give it to us?” Lena smirked.
“Nice try, Miss Luthor.”
“At cost,” Lena tried again.
“Two million, and not a penny less!”
“Half a million, and the detective here doesn't arrest you for extortion,” Lena crossed her arms over her chest.
“I'm a businessman!” the vendor groused. “You can't possibly expect me to sell for below cost!”
“Fine,” Lena huffed. “One million dollars! Give us the flower!”
“I don't see any cash.”
“We're good for it, come on!” Maggie insisted.
“Cash first!” the man demanded. “What kind of a business do you think I'm running here?”
“You really wanna know the answer to that question?” Maggie growled.
“Alright, ladies,” J’onn spoke up. “Let's move out. We'll come back when we have the money.”
Lena eyed the vendor suspiciously before turning on her heels and strutting back to the truck. She had done what she'd set out to do, and that was what mattered. Kara’s life was worth more than Lena, in all her riches, could afford to pay, but she’d be damned, if she wasn't going to negotiate until her last breath.
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Maggie was amazed. She'd never seen Lena in action like that before. She wasn't even sure how she'd done what she did. All she knew was that, as soon as this mess was all over, she was going to fuck Lena stupid. Kara too, when she was well enough. Then of course, she couldn't leave Alex out. It was going to be one giant love fest. She was certain that Winn would take the kids for them, if they just asked. Of course, they would have to give the kids their own purified love fest first, but that was fine.
She climbed into the back of the DEO truck with Lena and cuddled her. J’onn was psychic, so she assumed he already knew about their relationship, and right now, even if he didn’t, she didn’t care one bit. Lena was saving Kara’s life in a way that only she could, and Maggie owed her some kind of a Wookie Life Debt or something at this point. She couldn’t care less about who saw them cuddling.
“Where do you ladies want to go from here?” J’onn asked them, as if he was their chauffeur.
“Back to the DEO, please,” Lena answered. “My car is still there.”
“My bike too,” Maggie added.
“You got it,” he climbed into the driver’s seat and drove them back to the DEO.
“Thank you, J’onn,” they both told him when they arrived.
“It was my pleasure to see you in action, Miss Luthor,” J’onn smirked.
Both women smiled back at him. Yes, Maggie was definitely proud of her partner right now. They watched the director disappear inside as they stayed in the parking garage.
“If I light a few fires under some asses, I might be able to get that million dollars by lunchtime,” Lena told her. “But I should probably go to work to do that.”
“Alright.” Maggie pulled her in for a few kisses. “I love you. Stay safe.”
“You too, sweetheart. I love you too.” They kissed again.
“I’m gonna head inside.” She stole one last kiss before turning away.
“Bye.”
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Alex paced Kara’s sun room. With both Maggie and Lena gone, the agent was like a wounded panther, ready to lash out at the first thing to come through the door. Kara was strong, but seeing her wife sick was making her heart ache.
Finally, Maggie strode through the door and launched herself into the agent's arms. “You should've seen it, babe! Lena is like a negotiating master. I'm so proud to belong to her right now. You should be too. She convinced the guy to sell us the Nextol blossom for the original asking price.”
“Which was what, again?” Alex asked.
“One million, instead of ten,” the detective reminded her.
“Great Rao,” Alex breathed. “Lena’s seriously going to pay this guy a million dollars?”
“Yep.”
“Wow.”
“I know, right?”
“Kara is gonna flip,” Alex worried. “I'm pretty ambivalent about it myself. I mean, on the one hand, I want to do whatever it is that's possible to heal Kara, but on the other hand, this just feels too extreme!”
“I’m right there with you on that, but I don't see any other viable options.” Maggie put her hands on her hips and blew out a slow breath. “Lena’s getting the money together, as we speak.”
“Rao, bless her!” Alex had tears in her eyes. “I kinda feel like she's gonna own my soul now.”
“Yeah, I was thinking along those same lines earlier.” Maggie stroked Alex's face with her thumbs. “I don't think Lena thinks of it that way, though.”
“Thank God!” Alex walked over to Kara’s bedside. “You hear that, Angel?” she stroked the blonde’s hair. “We're gonna make you all better real soon.”
Kara didn't respond in the least.
Maggie stood on the other side of the sun bed and held her sleeping partner's hand. “Hang in there, Kara. We love you. Just hang on for us.”
Alex and Maggie sat together and held hands while they waited. It took a couple of hours for them to hear from Lena, and since they didn't get cell phone service in the med bay, they received word of the CEO’s success through Winn. It was a huge relief to both of them.
Lena asked for J’onn and Mon-El to meet her at her office to help guard the money, and Maggie insisted she go along, just in case.
Alex refused to leave Kara’s side. Her wife was her lifeline, and she just couldn't tear herself away when there was nothing she could do outside the DEO at the moment. She sat on Kara’s bedside and stroked her skin reverently. “I love you so much, Kara. Hang in there, Angel.”
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Maggie was bouncing her leg in the back seat of J’onn's 4x4, next to Lena. It was making her extremely nervous to be carrying around a million dollars. She'd never been around so much money in her life. It felt like driving around with a giant target on their backs.
Lena grabbed her hand to soothe her. “It's alright, love. Everything's gonna be fine.”
“You guys are dating Lena aren't you?” Mon-El observed.
The two women looked at each other. “What makes you say that?” Lena asked.
“Well, for one, you all smell like each other,” he informed them. “For two, you guys are being kinda obvious today. Plus, Kara kissed Lena on New Year's.”
“I guess it's our day for getting busted,” Maggie groused.
“It's OK, I suppose,” Lena mused. “As long as it stays between us.”
“I don't even have anyone to tell,” Mon-El shrugged.
“That's not true!” Maggie pointed out. “You know plenty of people, and the only one that knows besides you is Winn. So keep your mouth shut about it. I'm begging you!”
“Alright, alright!” he huffed.
“Thank you, Mon-El,” Lena told him. “There are plenty of people in this world who wouldn't understand. If the wrong people found out, they might try to take the kids away.”
“I won't talk about it. I promise,” he said seriously. “You know, on Daxam, it was the more the merrier.”
“You’re not joining us,” Lena shut him down right away.
He chuckled. “A fella’s gotta try.”
The rest of them rolled their eyes.
When they got to their location, they all climbed out of the vehicle and headed back to the flower vendor. The man grinned brightly as they approached. It didn't make him any less creepy.
“I see you have my money this time,” he greeted them.
“Yes, we also have this,” J’onn showed him a small, black, rectangular device. “If you’re really that afraid of Cadmus, perhaps we can help each other.”
“You want to tag me, like some common dog?” the man turned his nose up.
“If the shoe fits,” Mon-El commented under his breath.
“Whatever you say Prince Charming,” the man retorted.
Mon-El glared but kept quiet after that.
“Do it before I change my mind,” the vendor held out his arm and J’onn injected a chip into him with the little device.
Maggie huffed impatiently, “Do you have the flower, or not?”
The man smiled his freaky smile and reached into the little camper behind him. He pulled out a small flowerpot, revealing a flower that looked like a cross between an iris and a tiger lily. In the bottom of the pot, there was a strange red soil that must have been native to Joltor. All in all, this plant was pretty cool, and it was a shame to have to destroy it.
Lena handed him the briefcase full of money, and he handed over the flower.
“Here you go,” the vendor handed Maggie a folded up piece of paper. “Instructions for care. You only need a couple of pedals from it for the poison’s antidote. Enjoy.”
Maggie beamed at Lena, who smiled adoringly back at her.
“When we’re done, we should keep it at my place, where we have the security,” Lena commented. “Let’s go. Thank you, Mr…?”
“You can just call me Steve,” the man smirked.
“Alright, thank you, Steve,” Lena just couldn’t drop her manners, even for this creep. It endeared her even more to Maggie. This woman was just the absolute best there was.
As they turned and walked back to the DEO 4x4, Maggie’s heart was pounding in her chest. She prayed to all the gods that she didn’t believe in that this would work. She prayed that nothing would go wrong, and she promised herself that if Kara survived this, then she would make tomorrow the best Valentine’s Day she ever had. She might even turn it into Valentine’s Week.
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Unbeknownst to one another, Lena was thinking the same thing as Maggie about Valentine’s Week. If Kara thought her office was full of flowers for saving her from her mother, just wait until she had an actual holiday as an excuse! She planned to do the same for Alex and Maggie, though, she might not be able to get away with sending flowers to the DEO. That might get her into some trouble with J’onn, and she didn’t want that. She would just have to send Alex’s flowers to the apartment.
As she was busy mentally scheming, she felt Maggie’s hand sneak into hers. Lena laced their fingers together and smiled at her wonderful partner. The partner that stood beside her when all the world thought she was guilty of setting her mother free. The partner that had risked her life to defend her against Corben. The partner who apparently shared her fondness for flowers. She loved Maggie Sawyer with all her heart, and she was thankful that they could be together on this very stressful journey. She reflected on how comforted she felt in Alex’s arms earlier. With her three partners, she was almost never alone anymore. It was a strange feeling, considering she’d spent the better part of her entire lifetime mostly alone. ‘I love you,’ she mouthed to the detective.
‘I love you too,” Maggie silently answered, leaning her head on Lena’s shoulder.
Lena couldn’t help herself. She kissed Maggie’s lips that were right there, just asking for it. The detective made no protests, simply kissed her back, and that was that. Mon-El could make all the dumb comments he wanted, but they were in love, and he couldn’t stand in the way of that.
They drove back to the DEO, and J’onn escorted them to the medbay where Alex was waiting for them.
“You got it!” The redhead ran to them and examined the flower. “It’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah, and we get to keep it!” Maggie told her happily.
“Awesome!”
“Let’s get to work, shall we?” Lena insisted. “We don’t have all day.”
J’onn and Mon-El cleared out, and Maggie resumed her seat next to Kara while Alex and Lena made the antidote with the Nextol blossom. It was relatively easy, now that they had the actual flower. They just had to combine it with the rest of the serum that they’d already made, then let it cure for an hour.
As soon as the antivenom was ready, they wheeled Kara into the red sun room and let it drain her powers. Then, they injected her with the medicine, and collectively held their breaths. It was a slow, torturous wait. An hour passed. Then two. Then, after the third hour had come and gone, Kara’s eyes started fluttering open.
Alex, Maggie, and Lena all burst into tears of relief.
“Alex?” Kara murmured.
“I'm here, Angel,” Alex kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. “We're all here. Me, Maggie and Lena are all here. We love you so much!”
They all took turns kissing her face.
“Are you ready to go back to your sunbed?” Lena asked. “I think the antidote is working now.”
“Yeah, I feel like I got hit by an asteroid.”
“I bet,” Alex kissed her head some more. “Come on, baby.” She wheeled her wife into the sun room, and her vitals immediately improved.
“Oh, yeah, that helps,” Kara groaned with relief. “What time is it?”
“Almost five,” Maggie answered.
“Great Rao! I slept all day?”
The other three women all looked at each other. “Well…” they all said at once.
Kara looked worried.
They explained to her everything that had happened since that morning, leaving her flabbergasted. “I can't believe you spent a million dollars! I don't have any way of paying you back!”
“You can pay me back in kisses,” Lena replied.
“How much is one kiss worth?”
“From you? Priceless.” Lena bent down and kissed the blonde sweetly. “There's no amount of money in the world that could replace you. I love you so much, Kara!”
“I love you too, sweetheart. I love all three of you. Thank you so much for taking care of me. I don't know where I'd be without you all.”
“We’d be completely lost without you, Kara,” Alex informed her. “In fact that’s probably an understatement.”
“No kidding,” added Maggie.
“Indeed,” Lena agreed. The relief in the room was nearly palpable.
“Where are the girls?” Kara wondered.
“At home, with Douglas, of course,” Alex answered. “They’re fine. Everyone just wants you to get better soon.”
“Me more than anyone!” Kara grimaced. “Can we go home?”
“No,” Lena said firmly. “You stay under those sunlamps until you’re back to one hundred percent.”
Kara grumbled. “I wish we could bring the sunlamps home with us.”
“There’s no reason I can’t set something like this up at home for you,” Lena told her. “It’s not that complicated. We could use the bedroom the kids don’t use.”
“How long would that take to set up?” Kara wanted to know.
“Probably only a few hours. Less, if J’onn let's me requisition some bulbs from the DEO.”
“I bet we could convince him,” Alex said.
“Let’s do it,” Kara requested. “I wanna be home where we can snuggle.”
Her partners smiled adoringly at her.
“OK, Angel, let me go talk to J’onn and see what I can get for us.” Alex squeezed her hand and headed out of the room.
Lena lifted Kara’s hand to her lips and held it there for a long time before letting their hands fall back to the bed. She didn’t dare let go.
Maggie crossed to the side Alex had vacated and took Kara’s other hand.
“I still can’t believe you paid a million dollars!” the reporter seemed to be in shock about it. “I owe you my whole life! Everything!”
“You don’t owe me anything. I need you to love me without strings attached. Otherwise, what’s your love worth?” She swiped at the tears on the blonde’s cheeks, then kissed her on the head.
“Can you believe this chick?” Kara asked Maggie.
The detective grinned. “I wouldn’t have believed it, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes!”
“Wow,” the reporter sighed. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” she asked Maggie.
“That you wanna fuck her into next week?”
The Kryptonian giggled. “That’s my girl.”
Lena and Maggie laughed.
“Hey,” Lena added with a grin, “I’m not turning that down!”
They snickered some more.
“What’s so funny?” Winn wanted to know when he snuck through the door.
“You don’t wanna know,” Maggie informed him.
“God help me, don’t tell me,” he made a face. “I just wanted to come see my bestie.”
“Aww, that’s sweet,” Mon-El came out of nowhere and side-hugged Winn. “But shouldn’t you be more concerned about Kara?”
Lena wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. Either way, she felt that an eye roll would be an appropriate response.
Winn swatted at the Daxamite, but of course, the big guy didn’t appear to even notice.
“Hi, guys,” Kara greeted them. “I’m feeling a lot better now.”
“We’re glad,” Winn said. He looked a little awkward, not looking directly at the Kryptonian, and it took a minute for Lena to realize that Kara was basically in her underwear. She chuckled to herself at his bashfulness. It was endearing. “Can you… Can you, uh, like, put something over you or something?” he pleaded.
“Here,” Maggie grabbed Kara’s sweats from the counter and helped the reporter put them on. “There you go, you big prude.”
“That’s not- Nevermind.” He turned back to the Kryptonian, “Hi. Can I hug you now?”
Kara threw her arms out for him. “Yes, please!”
“Me too?” Mon-El asked, giving her puppy eyes.
“Oh, come ‘ere ya big lug!” she hugged him too. “I’m really proud of you Mon-El.”
“You are?” he asked, shocked. “Why?”
“Maggie and Lena told me how you helped out today.”
“They did?”
“Yep. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
The man blushed a little. “Thanks. I mean, um, anytime, you know?”
Winn pouted. “I didn’t get to help this time.”
“It’s OK, you always save the day,” Kara assured him.
“Hey,” Mon-El interjected, “So, um, like, do I get a car now too? Is that how this works? Because if I could have a choice, I would just love one of those motorcycle things like Maggie has. I mean, I know I’m a very fast man, and I don’t necessarily need one, but the cool factor on those things are just like…” he mimicked an explosion. “And I mean, obviously, it’s just too fun to describe…”
“Mon-El, you don’t even have a license!” Kara exclaimed.
“I could get one of those! Just tell me what it is and how to get it!”
Lena chuckled. “Alright, Mon-El, I’ll buy you your own motorcycle, if you get a license.”
“Yes!” He pumped his arm victoriously.
“Lena!” Kara chided her.
The CEO ignored her and continued, “You have to pay for driver’s training, and if you want Alex and/or Maggie to teach you anything, you have to pay for it in free babysitting.”
“Deal!” the Daxamite didn’t even try bargaining. “That's easy! The kids love me!”
“Is that why they’re always beating up on you?” Maggie chuckled.
“Yeah, they think it’s fun to hit me because it doesn’t hurt me.”
“They don’t do that with Clark,” Maggie pointed out.
“They don’t like Clark very much,” Mon-El defended confidently.
“They told you that?” Kara asked curiously.
“No, they didn’t have to. They spent at least an hour beating on me in that bounce house yesterday, meanwhile, they didn’t even speak to Clark the whole night. That tells me, they love me.”
“You’re twisted,” Maggie shook her head.
“He has a point, though,” Kara mused. “They're polite to Clark, but they don't really play with him much. I don't think they dislike him, though. He's just not around much, and they don't know him that well.”
“They like Lois plenty,” Lena commented with a smirk.
“She makes more of an effort to talk to them on a regular basis,” the reporter informed them. “He's not all that great with kids who don't worship the ground he walks on.”
Everyone snickered.
Finally, Alex returned with a large plastic box. “Got ‘em!”
“What's that?” Mon-El asked.
“Sun lights to take home with us,” she answered.
“Yay!” Kara cheered. “Let's go!”
“Not so fast, missy!” Lena stepped in front of her. “Get back in that bed!”
“What? Why?”
“Because we still have to set up the light fixtures, and that’s going to require a whole new circuit breaker. We can’t just plug these lights into a regular lamp, silly.”
Kara pouted. “OK, but hurry? I’m hungry!”
“None of them have eaten anything all day,” Mon-El informed her. “Ooh! Can we order pizza? Pizza is my favorite, and I know it’s one of Kara’s favorites too.”
Lena looked knowingly at the detective, who was crinkling her nose up. “Only if Maggie and I can get some salads.”
“You guys are weird,” said Mon-El.
“Says you,” Lena retorted.
Winn called in their order, and he and Mon-El went to pick it up.
In the meantime, Kara called the kids and let them know she was OK and that they were all spending the night at Lena’s, so they should get their stuff ready. Since they had already done their homework and eaten dinner, they agreed to let Douglas drop them off with Lena and Maggie at the penthouse, so they could be showered and ready for bed on time. Alex would stay with Kara, until the new sun lamp setup was ready, and then she would bring her wife home.
It only took a little over a half hour for the guys to return with the pizzas and salads. They all ate their fill right there in the medbay before Lena and Maggie headed out to the hardware store.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Two hours later, Kara was finally able to snuggle up with all her girls in bed. They watched a movie in the newly dubbed ‘sunroom’ until the kids fell asleep. Then they carried the twins back to their own bed where they wouldn’t get sunburned. Alex and Lena both tried to convince Kara that she should sleep under the lamps for the night, but the blonde wasn’t having it. She insisted that she wouldn’t be able to sleep without at least one person next to her, so she would spend a couple more hours in the sunroom, and then she would go to bed with the rest of them, like always. She felt plenty better, and her powers were back to normal as far as she could tell, so she knew she’d be fine.
They spent the next couple of hours making love. Kara just couldn’t stop touching her partners. She had the three most wonderful women she could ever ask for, and she thanked Rao a million times over for sending them to her. Alex was the foundation of her heart and soul, and Maggie and Lena came in to compliment them like no one ever could. She felt so full and complete. She didn’t know how love could possibly get any better. Not only did she have three partners that she adored, but they clearly would do anything for her, and that scared her a little, but in a good way. She knew she would go to the ends of the earth for these women, and nothing could stand in her way. She wondered how in Rao’s name she got so lucky.
The only downside to all this was that now she was going to have to rewrite all three of her Valentine’s Day love letters to her partners to include more thanks for saving her life today. It was a small price to pay, though, and it wasn’t as if she didn’t enjoy it. They were just… long, and now she had to write more. Maybe she would just write a postscript at the end. Yeah. That could work. And maybe a couple more heart stickers. Yes. Lots more.
At the end of their lovemaking session, Alex wanted to be knotted. She often did, when they went through something traumatizing that nearly separated them. She said it was comforting to know that they couldn’t be split apart. Kara was all too happy to oblige.
When they were all spent, they turned off the sunlamps and made their way back into the Master suite to get ready for bed. Kara had a hard time sleeping. Her mind was buzzing with things. Tomorrow was Valentine’s Day, and it was also the twin’s birthday, and she was thinking about all the thing she wanted to do for everyone, including making them a special breakfast and taking them out to dinner. It was going to be busy, that was for sure. Busy, but wonderful.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone