Luthor-Danvers - A Reckless Endevour
Part 4 - An Almost Perfect Getaway
“Alex, hey.” Lena said, greeting the DEO director on speaker phone. “I’m just about to walk into a meeting, can I call you back later?”
“Lena, Lex had a visitor. Something interfered with our systems, so we just got the code yellow. Nothing has happened yet, but we want to be careful until we’re able to identify the visitor.” Lena was stunned, silently processing the news. “In the meantime, you and El should go home just to be safe.” Alex warned in a quick, clear voice. Lena still hadn’t spoken, her mind racing a mile a minute. “Lena, are you there?” Alex asked.
“Ye--Yeah, yes. Sorry, yes.” Lena stammered as she got up from her desk. “I’m packing up now. I should be at El’s school in 15 minutes.”
“Just go straight home. Kara’s already on her way to the school.” Alex said reassuringly.
Lena felt a sense of relief knowing that her indestructible wife was guarding their daughter. “Thank you, Alex, and if you hear anything, any updates at all, please keep me informed.”
“Sure thing. Now get home and stay safe.” Alex softly ordered.
Lena was on autopilot the entire drive home. Who would visit Lex? Lillian’s out of the picture, and most of Lex’s former associates have scattered to the wind. Her mind kept going in circles. It had been so long since Lex was locked behind bars, and well before El was in the picture. El only knew bits and pieces of Lex’s story, just enough to quell her inquiries, but certainly not enough to appreciate the risk.
Her phone vibrated, notifying Lena of an incoming call from her wife. She picked up immediately.
“She’s not here, Lena.” Kara said in a panicked voice.
“What do you mean she’s not there?” Lena asked, the words coming out angrier than anticipated.
“I went to the school and asked them to pull El out of class, but they said she was marked ‘excused.’ They even checked her classroom just in case, but no El. No one has seen her all day.” Kara quickly explained with a shaky voice.
“That’s . . . that's not possible. I dropped her off. I saw her walk into the building.” Lena said in disbelief. “Call Alex now and tell her to check El’s tracker. I’ll check her phone's GPS as soon as I’m home.”
“Ok, call Alex.” Kara confirmed to herself. “Right. Alright.” Kara took a deep breath. “I love you Lena. We’re gonna find her.” Kara said in a reassuring voice, attempting to sooth her wife’s worries, just as much as her own.
Lena was so choked up, she just nodded her head as if Kara could see her, and hung up the phone.
“Alex, El’s not at school. Can you check her watch tracker.”
“Hang on, I’m working on it.” Alex said without missing a beat. “It shows El at--” This can’t be right… The DEO director quickly rebooted the application just in case the system was still experiencing issues.
“Alex where!” Kara said urgently.
“She’s at school.” Alex said with traces of confusion and fear in her voice. This may just be coincidental, but the director couldn't help but suspect Lex’s visitor had something to do with El’s disappearance.
“Alex, she isn’t here! The school checked and I--I can’t hear her heartbeat--” Kara’s voice cracked at the end.
“Kara, listen to me. Breath. We’re going to do everything we can to find her.” Alex said, trying to keep her composure for her sister’s sake. “Now, get back to the DEO. We’re already pulling up the school's security system and CCTV footage of the surrounding area.”
Lena saw the text from Kara. El’s watch wasn’t with the teen as it had been that morning. Lena couldn’t wait any longer, still driving with one hand on the wheel and the other working on her phone, Lena checked El’s phone GPS. Nothing. There was no location for the phone, meaning it was either off or destroyed. Lena threw her own phone in the passenger’s seat and sped white knuckled the rest of the way to the penthouse.
As she eased into her usual parking spot, something seemed off. Lena got out of her car slowly, grabbing the taser in her purse just in case. She looked left, everything was in order, then right and spotted it. The parking space belonging to Kara’s old camry was empty, and Lena knew Kara hadn’t driven the old car since El stopped playing soccer two years ago. Out of all the luxury vehicles, why would someone take the camry? Lena put the taser back in her purse. She had a good guess as to the answer to her own question. El.
—-------------------
El walks through the penthouse door at 3:48pm, once again dressed in her school uniform, and right as planned. The relief of being home is quickly shattered when the teen takes note of her mom standing calmly at the kitchen island. The last time Lena was home this early was when L-Corp was bombarded by a hit team. But, Lena’s far too calm… scary calm in fact. El schooled her face, she knew her only hope was to play it cool. She had no sense of what her mom did or didn’t know.
As soon as El made it to the island, Lena pulled her daughter into a tight hug. “Thank roa, El. We’ve been worried sick.” El was still processing the situation, but decided the best course of action was to act like nothing happened. The teen couldn't help but feel a surge of guilt as her mom pulled away from the hug, still holding El’s shoulders tightly.
“Mom. What’s going on? Why are you--,” El feigned innocence, trying to get a grasp on the situation. Lena’s concerned yet stern expression told El, her attempt at total innocence was in vain, Lena knew something. El quickly diverted her eyes to the ground in an effort to avoid Lena’s piercing gaze.
Lena held her hand palm side up, “Give me the keys, El.” El knew a losing battle when she saw one. El conceded and went without argument to the side pocket of her backpack and fished out the camry keys, placing them in Lena’s hand.
“I--I’m so sorry mom. I didn’t mean to worry you.” El apologized as she tried to move away from her mom, her guilt intensifying by the second. The teen had never done anything even remotely bad (other than maybe sneaking into the weapons locker), so she didn’t know what to expect next--disappointment, anger, yelling, punishment, etc. Lena’s relative silence felt like the calm before the storm. At this point, the best El could hope for was a stern “go to your room”, but no such luck.
“Take a seat on the couch. Jeju will be home soon, then we need to have a talk.” Lena instructed in a tone that made it clear this was non-negotiable. El quietly made her way to the living room as if she were a suspect enroute to an interrogation room. She plopped on the couch, dropping her head into her hands with a sense of defeat.
After taking a few seconds to gather heself, El’s mind went back to work trying to figure out her next move, if she even had one. She wasn’t willing to give up on her project just yet, especially now that she’d enlisted Lex’s help. And, like Lex said, she had all the intelligence and cunning of a Luthor. This is just a little set back.
First, she knew she had to determine what her parents know about today, besides that she hijacked the camry. El pulled her phone out of her backpack and powered it back on, all the while keeping an eye on Lena in the kitchen, aware that the CEO could look up at any moment. From the home screen El could see a dozen or so missed texts and calls.
Based on the texts and their timestamps alone, El surmised that, an hour after she left the prison, there was some sort of DEO emergency that required El to stay at the penthouse for security reasons. There was no indication that anyone knew about El’s visit to Lex nor that she stole DEO equipment and impersonated an agent. If they had, El was certain Director Danvers would already have El in a pair of kryptonite cuffs and off to a DEO holding cell. Even though her Aunt was a softy at home, El knew that, as the DEO Director, Alex had a duty to uphold the law, even if it meant locking El away.
El surmised that she had only been partially caught, which was a relief. Her project could still move forward, she just needed to exercise a bit more foresight and caution from here on out. For now, El’s objective was to mitigate the damage. She knew she’d have to own up to some of her wrong doings and maybe indulge her parents in the conversations she’s been avoiding. If everything went as planned, it would all be worth it in the end.
The sound of boots lightly landing on the balcony made El tense up, the anticipation of Kara’s arrival finally coming to an end. Lena lifted her head to see Kara open the glass door. The penthouse was eerily quiet as the Super made her way to the kitchen. She eyed her daughter sitting on the couch, elbows on her knees, head in her hands, completely stoic. El could feel Kara’s eyes on her, but couldn’t bring herself to look up for fear of seeing Kara’s disappointment.
When Lena initially called Kara and told her about what El did, Kara almost didn’t believe her wife. But, when Lena sent the garage security footage, a detail El had overlooked in her haste, Kara was still shocked but couldn’t deny the truth. Even though the couple was relieved to see El hadn’t been kidnapped or injured, they were concerned beyond belief. El was always such an easy going, smart, and kind kid, she didn’t have a rebellious bone in her body, or so they thought.
Kara gathered Lena into a warm hug. Some of Lena’s tension from the day dissipated as she rested her head on Kara’s strong shoulders. “How’s our girl?” Kara whispered.
“Quiet… I think this is a discussion we all need to have. Any updates on Lex yet?”
“No, but Winn’s working on clearing up the interference with the security footage. The audio is completely lost, but the video might be salvaged.” Both Kara and Lena had gone through the prison’s footage. The visitor was blurred enough to be any generic DEO agent. Hopefully Winn could work his magic to clear up the underlying data feed.
The couple refocused their attention on El, who still hadn’t moved. Even though they had discussed how to approach handling the situation with El less than an hour ago, they both felt at a loss now. Nonetheless it was time to face their daughter.
El kept her head down as she heard her parents approach. The teen’s adrenaline from earlier had finally worn off and the lack of sleep from the night before was taking its toll on her exhausted body. Lena took a seat on the couch to El’s left while Kara pulled a chair over so that El could look at both Lena and herself as they spoke.
“El, what happened today?” Kara asked in a firm but even tone. El still didn’t move. The guilt and shame that came with knowing how much worry she caused her moms was eating away at her. El couldn’t bring herself to look at her parents’ disappointed faces. She had to say something but she needed to take care not to get caught in a lie.
“Sweetheart, please talk to us.” Lena said as she gently put a finger under El’s chin and raised her daughter’s head to meet their gaze. El’s tired eyes met her parents. “What happened?” The couple’s concern deepened as they noticed just how exhausted the teen was.
“I-- I ju--” El stuttered as she began, “I just couldn’t do it today.” El finally managed to get out, releasing an exasperated breath.
Kara and Lena waited for El to continue, but the teen was determined to let her parents lead the conversation so as to avoid inadvertently revealing any new information to them. “What couldn’t you do?” Kara asked, dropping her gaze to meet her daughter’s downcast stare.
El looked up to see Kara’s genuinely concerned expression. The emotionally tense situation in combination with her already exhausted state, made El chest ache with guilt and shame. She ran her hand through her long blond hair and looked up to the ceiling trying and failing to keep her tears from falling.
Finally, El took a deep breath to regain her composure before continuing on. “I couldn’t take another day at that school.” There was a sense of relief that came with her painfully true words. The best way to dance around a topic isn’t to lie, but to know exactly what truths to tell.
This was a start, but Lena and Kara needed more from their daughter. “We just want to understand, El.” Lena placed a reassuring hand on El’s shoulder. “But, in order for us to do that, we need you to tell us what's going on with you.”
El took a shaky breath, “I go to school every day and I feel. . . empty. You keep me there because you want me to be a ‘normal’ teen, but . . .” El was gaining momentum now, the dam holding her pent up emotions cracking. “The classes are a complete insult to my intelligence, and...” The volume of El’s voice was rising and the teen couldn’t stop herself from continuing even after seeing the hurt expression on her parents’ faces. “The other kids... I know you want me to make friends or whatever, but I will never be their friend. I am not like them! ” El took a deep breath trying to keep herself together, “I’m not normal. I will never be normal. I know you're disappointed with me but I just can’t be what you want me to be.” And with that, El picked up her bag and stormed off to her room, leaving Kara and Lena speechless.
“I can’t believe she thinks we’re disappointed with her,” Kara never wanted her child to feel the pressures of having to be anyone but herself, “Ok, so maybe I’m disappointed she stole a car and drove without a license… but… what have we done Lena.” The couple was well aware that El had been struggling in school, but not that it had gotten this bad.
“We’ll figure this out. Its probably time to call Kelly too. But Kara, we can’t let her off the hook. She needs to know that what she did was wrong. We need to impose some consequences.” Kara nodded at her wife’s wise words. They had never really punished El before and between the two Lena normally handled the discipline around the house.
One call to Kelly, three takeout orders of cheese pizza, and an hour of cool off time later, the couple made their way to their daughters room.
Knock knock…
El opens the door and drops back down to her bed, biochem books strewn about. She’s aware of her massive success earlier, but now it's time for an encore performance.
“Ellie, ” Kara sits on the edge of her daughter's bed. “Mom and I love you so much. We love what a smart, funny, sweet, caring person you are. We’re not disappointed in who you are… not one bit.” El can't help but crack a small smile at her Jeju’s words.
After a few moments, Lena broke the comfortable silence, “El, we still need you to tell us what exactly happened today.” If El thought she had gotten off easy by revealing her inner hatred for school, she was sorely disappointed.
El took a deep breath and began. “Mom took me to school, I went to the main building as usual, and then I left.” El shrugged and continued, “I came home and took the camry for a drive. And now we’re here.” El sighed. It was technically the truth, a very vague truth with large gaps but it was a safe start.
Lena and Kara were well aware El’s story was only a half truth at best. “Do you want to try that again?” Lena challenged, her eyebrow raised slightly.
“What? I was doing what normal teens do . . . I ditched and took a drive. It's not that big of a deal.” El rolled her eyes, “I’m sure you did far worse when you were my age.”
“El, this is a big deal.” Lena said, trying to emphasize the seriousness of the situation, “skipping school, not wearing your watch, hacking into the school’s system and altering your attendance record, stealing a car, driving underage and without a license,” Lena couldn’t hide her exasperation. “It's entirely unacceptable behaviour and you know better than this.”
“Nothing bad happened! No one got hurt and the car’s back in one piece.” El was digging her heels in and her exhaustion was really starting to show. “Seriously, relax mom. Luthors have gotten away with far worse.” Lena was stunned into silence at her daughter using the Luthor name in such a way. El immediately knew she had gone too far.
“No, El.” Kara’s eyes were piercing and her jaw clenched. “What you did was dangerous and illegal.” Kara paused, not breaking eye contact. “There was an emergency at the DEO today, and because you weren’t at school and weren’t wearing your watch--” Kara took a deep breath trying not to choke up at the thought of how panicked she and Lena had been earlier, “we couldn’t find you El. If anything had happened to you--” Kara shook her head at the thought. “We were so worried.” El’s heart dropped at seeing how upset Kara was. “What if you or someone else had been hurt?. . . Your actions have consequences, Luthor or not.” Kara and Lena looked at eachother, Kara giving a slight nod.
“Your jeju’s right, El. And we’ve discussed your punishment.” Lena’s voice was calm but stern. “You’re grounded until you’ve earned our trust back. That means when you're not at school, you’re home with me or jeju. No DEO or lab time either. And, for the next two weeks you’ll volunteer at the tutoring center after school.” El nodded, accepting her punishment.