Chapter Text
"Krypto! Go get the ball!”
Kara hurled the ball high into the air. Krypto shot after it with an excited bark, his red cape billowing behind him. Kara laughed, then flopped onto the grass.
The two of them had gone to the outskirts of Metropolis, where the city gave way to empty roads, rolling hills, and open fields. Far from the noise and crowds, it was one of the few places where they could relax and play without worrying about anyone getting hurt.
It had been two weeks since Superman's battle with Lex Luthor.
And two weeks since Kara had decided to return to Earth to rest and finally settle down for a while.
After learning about Krypto's kidnapping, realizing she could have lost both her dog and her cousin in a pocket universe, surviving yet another adventure in space, and nearly dying more times than she cared to count, Kara had reluctantly admitted that maybe Clark had been right. Maybe it was time to stop running, find somewhere to belong, and discover people she could truly call her own.
Even so, adjusting to life on Earth was still difficult.
Living beneath a yellow sun, completely sober, with every one of her senses amplified to their absolute limit, was overwhelming. Every heartbeat, every distant conversation, every bird in flight, every rustling leaf reached her all at once. Nature had become her sanctuary.
Her favorite places were the Fortress of Solitude and the deserts. They offered a kind of peaceful silence she couldn't find anywhere else.
Kara closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. Krypto would be gone for a while. The dog got distracted by practically everything—especially if it happened to be floating through space.
The peace lasted less than a minute.
The screech of tires echoed in the distance, followed by a terrified scream.
Kara sighed, rolling her eyes.
Of course.
She let her enhanced senses lock onto the sound and took off at super speed, reaching the nearest highway in the blink of an eye. A car had broken through the guardrail and was tumbling down the ravine. Kara rocketed forward, positioning herself in front of it before planting her feet against the ground. The collision sent a shockwave through the air, but the vehicle ground to a halt in her hands. Carefully, she lifted the mangled car, flew it back onto the road, and gently lowered it onto the asphalt.
She pulled open the driver's door and carefully nudged the occupant aside so she could get a better look.
Inside was a young woman around Kara's age. She had messy black hair, striking blue eyes, and a cut on her forehead. Blood stained the right side of her neck, collarbone, and shoulder, though the injuries didn't appear life-threatening. Then again, Kara was still learning the difference between "just a scratch" and "requires immediate medical attention" by human standards.
"Are you okay?" she asked as she unbuckled the woman's seatbelt.
"Oh yeah, absolutely," the woman replied dryly. "My brakes failed, I almost died, you know... average Friday."
Kara snorted.
"Cool. Have you ever considered less dangerous hobbies? Like jogging? Or golf?" She released the seatbelt.
"Don't touch me!" The woman slapped Kara's hands away as Kara tried to help her out of the car.
"Relax, Princess." Kara caught both of her wrists. "I'm just trying to help before you bleed out."
Instead of answering, the woman bit her arm.
"Ow!" The bite didn't hurt—not physically—but it made Kara realize something.
The woman was terrified. She was trying desperately to hide it beneath sarcasm and defiance. Kara immediately let go and took a few steps back. The woman stumbled out of the wrecked car, keeping as much distance between them as possible while frantically searching for an escape route.
"Hey." Kara raised both hands. "I'm one of the good guys, okay? I'm not going to hurt you." She pulled open her coat, revealing her suit beneath. The House of El crest gleamed brilliantly beneath the morning sun. The woman visibly relaxed.
"...I didn't know Superman had boobs and bleached hair."
Kara slowly tilted her head. What the hell was wrong with this girl? People she rescued usually reacted in one of three ways: gratitude, complete panic, or unconsciousness. This woman—with those ridiculously beautiful blue eyes—was fully conscious and seemed far more interested in insulting Kara than worrying about the blood running down the side of her face.
"First of all, Princess," Kara said, walking toward her slowly, only for the woman to take another cautious step back, "I'm Supergirl. Kara, for the friends." She smiled. "Second, if you don't want my help, fine. Not my fucking problem." Another step. "I'm going back to play with my dog." Another. "You can stay here and bleed to death if that's your thing." She cornered the woman against the car, leaning in until only inches separated their faces. "And for the record..." Kara smirked. "I'm a natural blonde."
Then she turned to leave.
"Wait!" The woman's voice cracked. "Please... d-don't go."
Kara stopped. She glanced back over her shoulder, a smug grin tugging at the corner of her lips.
"You gonna behave?"
"...Yeah." The answer came with an exaggerated eye roll. "I will."
"Good girl."
Before the woman could protest, Kara scooped her effortlessly into her arms and launched into the sky. The woman shrieked. She immediately wrapped both arms around Kara's shoulders, digging her nails into the Kryptonian suit. Supergirl laughed. She flew at top speed until she spotted the nearest hospital. A second later she landed hard outside the emergency entrance, cracking the pavement beneath her boots and startling everyone nearby.
She carefully set the brunette back on her feet.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" the woman yelled, shoving Kara in the shoulders. She looked seconds away from throwing up.
"What did we say about behaving, Princess?" Kara reminded her.
Ignoring the glare she received in return, she grabbed the woman's wrist and dragged her inside.
“Let go of me!” the woman said, trying to break free.
"Supergirl! Hi!" One of the receptionists waved enthusiastically. By now, most of the hospital staff in Metropolis recognized her. She showed up with injured civilians often enough.
"Hey!" Kara smiled. "Car accident. Head injury. Can you take care of her?" She kept both hands on the brunette's shoulders to stop her from making another escape attempt.
"Of course!"
"Perfect." Kara flashed the woman an infuriatingly sweet smile. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Princess." She gave her a playful pat on the shoulder. Unfortunately, it landed directly on a bruise. The brunette hissed in pain.
"Fuck you."
That only made Kara grin even wider.
Before anyone could say another word, she shot back into the sky. Halfway home, Krypto slammed into her at full speed. The impact sent both Kryptonians crashing into a nearby field, carving a crater into the ground.
"Hey, buddy!" Kara laughed as the super-dog enthusiastically licked her face. "I was starting to wonder where you'd disappeared to." She scratched him behind the ears, and Krypto barked happily.
Kara's phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and glanced at the message from Clark.
Hall of Justice.
Emergency meeting.
Come now.
Kara frowned. Clark was usually the kind of person who sent five texts instead of one, each accompanied by an excessive number of emojis and stickers. If he'd kept it this short, something had to be seriously wrong.
Without a second thought, she shot into the sky, heading straight for the Hall of Justice.
Kara wasn't an official superhero. She wasn't even a member of the Justice League—not because she hadn't been invited, but because she'd refused. She preferred doing things her own way, helping people whenever she felt like it rather than following anyone's orders. Every now and then she'd lend the League a hand on particularly difficult missions, which just happened to be her favorites. Mostly because they involved punching some idiot through several walls. Clark had long since accepted that his cousin wasn't like him. Kara preferred roaming the galaxy as a vigilante; Earth already had more than enough superheroes. She wasn't nearly as famous as Superman, nor did she bother with a secret identity.
Kara simply existed.
She did whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. But if her cousin needed her… She'd always come. Because no matter how human he'd become—or the fact that he never grew up in Krypton—he was still the only thing left of her family.
----
Kara landed hard on the Hall of Justice lawn, leaving a shallow crater beneath her boots. She scratched Krypto behind the ears before letting him loose to play in the gardens. As amusing as it was watching her dog terrorize Mr. Terrific and Green Lantern, now wasn't the time.
She strode inside. Everyone was already gathered around Mr. Terrific. Jimmy Olsen was there as well, for reasons Kara couldn't immediately figure out. Lois and Clark were still dressed in their work clothes from the Daily Planet.
"Good morning, ladies," Kara greeted with a grin. She looked toward the men. "...And disappointments." She circled the couches before flopping down beside Hawkgirl.
"Hi, bestie."
"Do you always have to be so rude?" Green Lantern sighed.
"Do you always have to wear that awful wig?" Kara shot back.
"How dare you! This is not a wig. Three hundred and fifty-six chicks online think it's hot."
"I'm pretty sure ninety-nine percent of them are bots."
"I—"
"Guys, can we focus?" Lois interrupted before the argument could escalate.
Green Lantern folded his arms with an offended huff while Kara rested her head on Hawkgirl's shoulder.
"As you all know," Mr. Terrific began, bringing up holographic images of Metropolis, "we've been rebuilding the city after the devastation Lex Luthor caused." Graphs, financial reports, and reconstruction statistics filled the screen. "One of the biggest reasons we've been able to rebuild this quickly is thanks to the generous donations of an anonymous billionaire philanthropist." The next image appeared. A woman seen from behind appeared; she was barely distinguishable. "And today we learned that our mysterious benefactor is Lex Luthor's sister... Lena Luthor. She's currently in Metropolis.” Another slide. "And she's officially reopened LuthorCorp."
The instant Kara heard the name Luthor, her eyes flared red. A warm hand settled on her shoulder.
Clark.
She shut her eyes. When she opened them again, the heat vision was gone. Blue once more.
When Clark had told her everything Lex had done, he'd physically restrained her to stop her from flying straight to the maximum-security prison and snapping Lex's neck. He'd also stopped her from reducing LuthorCorp to ashes.
"So how did we find out?" Hawkgirl asked.
"Lena hired Eve as her personal assistant," Jimmy explained. "She told me." The room collectively stared at him.
"Why would she do that?" Kara asked, her anger replaced by genuine curiosity.
Eve was impossible to figure out. She was unpredictable, intelligent but extremely naive… and somehow everyone adored her. What nobody understood was why she was dating Jimmy—or why Jimmy acted like she was the worst thing that had ever happened to him.
"She says they're best friends," Jimmy replied with a shrug. "And that Lena isn't anything like her brother." He paused. "She thinks we should give her a chance." He didn't sound convinced himself.
"That's not all," Lois added. "Lena Luthor requested an exclusive interview with the Daily Planet." She hesitated. "And she specifically asked for me and… I accepted."
For once, Kara didn't even have a sarcastic comment. She was simply confused.
"The reason we called you," Clark explained, taking Lois's hand, "is because we need someone protecting Lois during the interview."
"We don't know what Lena Luthor's intentions are."
"And," Mr. Terrific continued, "we need someone to keep an eye on Lena until we're certain she isn't a threat—or working with her brother."
"Okay..." Kara leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "So why doesn't Clark do it? He already works with Lois. Nobody would suspect him."
"If Clark goes," Green Lantern answered, "he'd have to be there as Superman in case he needs to protect Lois without exposing his identity." He smirked. "And if Lena's even half as smart as Lex, she'll immediately realize there's something going on between Superman and Lois Lane.” He turned to the couple. “You two are terrible at hiding it."
"That's not true!" Clark and Lois protested in perfect unison.
"Clark, sweetheart," Kara said, "no offense, but every time you look at Lois, you stare at her like she personally hung the stars in the sky."
"And Lois checks out your ass every chance she gets," Hawkgirl added with a laugh.
Both reporters immediately turned bright red.
"After analyzing every possible variable," Mr. Terrific continued, "we've concluded that you're the best choice."
"Lex knows almost everything about Superman. But he knows almost nothing about you, not even your existence, beyond the fact that you're Kryptonian. So Lena won't either. You're less famous than the rest of us, meaning she'll probably underestimate you—if she notices you at all. And even if she does know who you are, she has no idea what you're truly capable of."
He smiled.
"If something goes wrong, you're the most effective person in this room. Not because you're the most powerful one. Because you're completely unpredictable. And since you don't have a civilian identity, you can walk into LuthorCorp as yourself, gather information, and Lena will have no reason to suspect you're spying on her."
"Okay." Kara nodded. "Investigate LuthorCorp. Protect Lois. Keep an eye on Lena Luthor. Got it." She crossed one leg over the other. "So... what do I get out of it?"
"A salary generous enough to buy that apartment you've been wanting." Mr. Terrific smiled. "And more. After all...Lena Luthor's donations to the Justice League have significantly increased our budget."
Lois blinked.
"...You accepted donations from her?"
"In our defense," Hawkgirl said, raising both hands, "that was before we knew who she was."
"When life gives you lemons," Green Lantern grinned, "you take the money, Lane."
Lois rolled her eyes.
"Well," Kara said, standing, "if that's everything..." She stretched. "I'm gonna head out."
"Kendra, you coming?"
"Sure." Hawkgirl stood. "...Wait. Where are we going?"
Kara flashed a mischievous grin.
"We're going to investigate LuthorCorp, baby." She laced their fingers together and pulled Kendra toward the exit.
Lois watched the two women disappear outside.
"Do you think this is a good idea?"
Clark slipped an arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
"I guess only time will tell."
----
Supergirl and Hawkgirl watched LuthorCorp from the rooftop of the tallest building they could find.
Unfortunately, LuthorCorp happened to be the tallest building in Metropolis, making it difficult to spy on certain areas. The upside was that the rooftop they occupied had a clear view of one side of Lex Luthor's office—the office that would soon belong to Lena.
"Okay," Kara grumbled. "I've circled the entire building, and my X-ray vision is completely useless. We only have access to the floors and rooms with windows."
"That's because the exterior is lined with a thin layer of lead," Kendra explained. "Only the outer walls, though. Too much lead would be a health hazard for everyone inside. Once you go in with Lois, your X-ray vision should work just fine."
"Well, other than that, I haven't seen anything suspicious. Just employees working, construction crews renovating the office, and Eve taking selfies." Kara shrugged. "Still no sign of Lena Luthor."
"Should we ask Eve for information?" Kendra suggested. "She's our friend, and she's Jimmy's girlfriend. I'm sure she'd want to help."
Kara shook her head.
"I think it's better if we wait. If it's true that she and Lena are best friends, she'd probably tell her we were asking questions, and our whole plan would fall apart."
She glanced back toward LuthorCorp.
"Besides, it's still early. I doubt Eve knows anything useful about her yet."
"Mmm... you're right." Kendra rested her chin in her hand before suddenly frowning. "I still don't understand what she's doing with a guy like Jimmy. He doesn't deserve her."
"I swear!" Kara laughed. "I don't get what women see in him. He should be giving us lessons on how to pull baddies."
The two burst into laughter.
For another hour, they kept watch, scanning the building for anything unusual. Nothing happened. Eventually, boredom won.
"So..." Kendra said, leaning against the rooftop ledge. "What do you think Lena Luthor looks like?"
Kara had wondered the exact same thing. Nobody had ever seen a clear photograph of her. There was virtually no information about her—not even her age. The Luthors were exceptionally good at keeping secrets.
"No clue," Kara admitted. "She could be some spoiled teenage rich girl..." She paused. "...or a woman in her forties with the same shitty personality as her brother."
Kendra laughed.
"Can you imagine if she's actually a teenager?"
"Well..." Kara shrugged. "Batman somehow ended up with a small army of ridiculously competent teenage geniuses. Maybe she's a genius too." She sighed. "I just hope she's nothing like Lex." Her gaze drifted toward the towering skyscraper. "If she isn't, maybe I can wrap this mission up quickly, move into my new apartment, and never think about the Luthors again."
Kendra smirked.
"You feel like grabbing a drink?"
"You don't have to ask me twice."
Even if alcohol couldn't get her drunk anymore, Kara would never turn down a couple of piña coladas. The two heroines took off, soaring toward their favorite bar in the city. It had been a long day.
As they flew, Kara found herself thinking about the blue-eyed woman she'd rescued that morning. She wondered how she was doing. Meeting her had been... unexpectedly entertaining.
----
Several floors below, inside one of the lead-lined rooms of LuthorCorp, Lena Luthor watched the two heroes disappear into the distance through a bank of security monitors.
A slow smile spread across her face. She turned in her chair to face Eve.
"Eve, baby..." Her smile widened. "What can you tell me about Supergirl?"