Just another place for me to post my writings and ramblings. Wattpad- https://www.wattpad.com/user/fernwehbookworm -- AO3- https://archiveofourown.org/users/FernwehBookworm -- Twitter- https://twitter.com/FernwehB00kworm
Hey, I am in the middle of reading your fanfiction “Wolke the F*ca up“. I really enjoy reading it even though Lena and Kara are painfully long figuring out their situation and aren‘t together🥲 but the main reason I‘m sending you a message is because i just realized part of your username is German and I was wondering if you also are German😅
Greetings from Germany :)
Emma
I'm American but my great grandparents were German. I've always loved the word Fernweh so I decided to use it 😁 Glad you are enjoying the fic 💚
For the person commenting on not taking a pay cut, he HAD to change his lifestyle to be able to afford to pay his employees a living wage. He talked to accountants and they helped him break the numbers down based on data about the cost of living and various factors about the commute, housing issues, etc. All inspired by his best friend going nearly into debt over medical costs meanwhile he had several houses, a jet, and drank champagne daily.
He sold stock, houses, and changed his spending and as a result, his employees were overall happier and the way they worked improved. They all bought more shit and had more kids and did all the consumption people want for us while also enjoying their work and their boss enough to band together and buy him a fucking Tesla as a thank you.
And you know what he realized after taking his pay cut? He didn’t need the champagne or the girls or the “lifestyle” of being a billionaire. He feels fulfilled in his work and with the people he’s surrounded himself with and he feels that he’s made a step in the right direction that other businessmen and billionaires should follow.
Please read the article and his statements on twitter because it’s eye-opening to see that you CAN be successful doing things ethically.
fun fact: The middle ages was obsessed with bright, garish colours. Armour we think of as silver, grey or black was probably bright yellow and pink with green slashes.
I saw this ask from @murdershegoat and I couldn’t get it out of my head, so please accept this short thingy.
—
Lena slouched a little further in her seat. The heavy pull of exhaustion in her bones made her want to do nothing more than to go home and sleep. There was a spot on the left side of her ribs that she knew was already bruising. Director Danvers had told her she was lucky nothing was broken, and then promptly chewed her out until her ears rang. Lena didn’t think she had been that chastised since Lillian had stuck her in that awful Catholic boarding school when she was seven. She reached up and prodded at the thin butterfly bandage above her left brow. Her skin felt sticky and chilled under the form fitting padded jumpsuit and she could still smell the faint electrical burn from her modified EXO-Suit armor.
She hadn’t meant to put it on. The EXO-Suit. Hadn’t meant to blast out of the DEO main hangar without flight clearance. Hadn’t meant to fly through US air space illegally… but Kara had been in trouble. She had been overwhelmed by the alien and it’s weird secreting neurotoxin that was sapping of her strength and focus and the DEO agents couldn’t help her and Lena couldn’t just sit there in her Prada behind a screen and watch her get the shit beaten out of her. She wasn’t angry enough with Kara anymore to meanly want that to happen. Each sickening punch she heard through Kara’s comm unit made everyone in the HUB flinch and made Lena feel like she was going to vomit. Each panicked grunt or slurred request for help please help made terror drip icy down her spine. They may not be friends, but Kara was still Kara.
Her Kara.
So she defied orders. Kicked off her new Louboutins and sprinted barefoot through the compound to her corner of the Lab she shared with Querl Dox. She had locked the lab down, quickly changed into the protective jumpsuit and braided her hair back as she rushed through the suit pre-flight checks. She had recklessly ignored a few warnings, hence the burning electrical smell, but the suit had worked well enough. Lena had been able to reach Kara in time, the propulsion rockets whining shrilly with how hard she was pushing them. She vaguely remembered bellowing something unintelligible right before she plowed shoulder first into the alien, the proton beam canon in her right palm humming with a dull thump thump thump as she emptied the charge into the belly of the screaming beast. Each blast made her nerves up to her shoulder tingle and her teeth rattled in her skull.
It had been a blur of too many gangly too-long limbs and thick brackish blood and concrete dust as she grappled with the alien, forcing it back for a few scant heartbeats until it mustered the strength to retaliate as the new holes in its stomach threatened to lose the purply ropey flesh of its entrails. It had been her turn to get knocked around after that, but she got in a few more good solid blows until Kara had been able to get up and help her finish the fight. She winced again when she accidentally pressed a little too hard on the fresh cut above her eye. God, she was sore.
“-national guard are finally beginning to secure the area. Our teams should complete the decontamination procedures within the hour, and Querl is scanning through traffic light surveillance to see if we missed anyone for treatment.”
Director Danvers’s low murmur carried across the DEO HUB as she filled J’onn in over three different tablets full of data. He nodded gravely and lowered his voice.
“How many did we lose?”
Lena glanced up, her heart sinking. She knew there had been casualties. The alien had appeared so suddenly, and was so angry… her eyes slid across the HUB to Supergirl. To Kara. She was listening quietly, standing with her arms tensely crossed across her chest. Like Lena, she was a little worse for wear. There were tears in her dull suit and her face had been hastily wiped clean of grime. She looked beyond tired.
“Thirty-six.”
The sadness that swept through the room was palpable. Lena heard the agents react around her, but her vision was tunneled on Kara. Poor Kara, who had done all she could in the face of her opponent. Who would carry the weight of those thirty-six lost lives on her shoulders with all of the others she had lost in her short life. Her face crumpled and she slunk out of the HUB looking small. Lena watched her go with an ache in her chest. She hurt for those that had been killed, hurt for the family and friends left behind. And she hurt for Kara who blamed herself for their deaths even though none of them were her fault. Lena wanted to follow after her but she was torn between the ugly swirl of emotions in her chest. Torn between the old hurt from Kara lying to her and the need to go to the best friend she missed so much and comfort her.
To tell the woman she had accidentally fallen in love with that it was going to be okay.
It had to be okay. Eventually. After there was a period of mourning.
When Lena finally pulled herself from her jumbled thoughts Nia flopped down next to her with a groan. She had thankfully missed the actual fighting with the alien, but she had picked up Supergirl’s slack for the evening and was sporting a new fat lip from a run-in with a mugger. Nia peeled her mask off and scrubbed tiredly at her eyes, smearing her eye makeup. Lena watched her head and look her up and down like she was surprised she was still sitting there. The younger hero nudged her with her knee and gave her a pointed look. Lena couldn’t help but bristle a little.
“What?”
Nia rolled her eyes. “You should go check on her.”
“I-”
“She’s up on deck three.”
Dreamer was heaving herself up and out of her seat before Lena could respond. As she gawped after her, almost offended, her eyes met Alex’s. The Director mouthed a please? And like that, her decision was made for her. Lena braced herself and rose from her seat with a huff and a grimace. She left the HUB without anyone stopping her, and wandered out into the main foyer. It took her a little longer than normal, but eventually she made it up the three flights of stairs. Sure, she could have taken the elevator, but she needed the extra time to prepare herself. What did she even say? Was there anything that she could say? Sorry you blame yourself for innocent deaths? Lena was trying to move past the hurt in her chest, not compound it onto Kara.
Her techy flat soled boots scuffed on the top step of the third deck. Lena gathered her wits about her like the battered EXO-Suit they had cut her out of and took a deep breath. She turned and made her way down the wide dim hall. The emergency exit lights reflected a dull eerie red on the polished floor. Her soft footsteps echoed into the empty space and the metal circuitry on her jumpsuit rattled flatly. It was easy to spot the only other lone figure at the end of the hall.
Kara was bracing her arms on the railing and looking out through the wide window that spanned the entire deck. Lena could see the defeat in her posture from fifty feet away. Kara didn’t look at her as she approached, which thankfully helped Lena not feel nearly as awkward about encroaching into her space. Kara looked too young with a too heavy weight on her shoulders. Lena followed her eyes and could barely make out the flashing emergency lights across the bay. It clicked that she was looking at the damages that she hadn’t been able to prevent and a surge of protectiveness propelled her forward the last couple feet between them. Kara jolted back to her senses as Lena took her by the arm and turned her towards her. Her blue eyes were dull with unshed tears under a furrowed brow and she opened her mouth to speak but drew up short when she realized it was her. The spark of fire she had found to tell whoever it was to leave her alone fizzled, leaving her looking even more defeated than before.
Lena watched a flash of apprehension flicker over her face and promptly forgot what she was going to say to her. What Lena did know, was that she needed to get Kara away from the window so she would stop looking at the wreckage. Away from the tragic incident she was taking the blame for. She pressed forward and, thankfully, Kara let herself be guided backwards until her back thumped against the concrete wall in the dim corner. The mix of old hurt and protective emotions in her chest settled, only to be replaced by betraying affection and Lena lost track of what exactly she was doing. Her hands had left Kara’s biceps and were smoothing up the sides of her neck as she stepped in too close. Too close and god she loved her. She could smell the soot and dust as she pulled Kara’s face down until the tip of her nose was just brushing hers. Lena felt like her heart was floating somewhere above her head and she knew, she knew, that this wasn’t a good idea but her heart was in control. She needed comfort through contact, and she hoped that Kara did too.
“Stop torturing yourself.”
Warm hands curled carefully around her waist and pulled her in as Lena pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. And Kara was kissing her back and of all the feelings in the world, this one made Lena feel the most free. She sank into her with a sigh, the crushing wave of relief nearly making her knees buckle underneath her. No, she still hadn’t completely forgiven Kara. She hoped she could one day. But this stolen moment was a needed reminder that Kara was still very much her home. A home where she hoped to happily lay her heart again one day. Lena wound her arms around Kara’s neck and kissed her again, kissed her a little bit deeper, a little bit slower and wondered if one day she would be kissing her under different circumstances with different intentions. It was a nice thought.
Kara released a shaky breath and pressed her forehead to Lena’s as she wrapped her up in her arms and leaned a little heavier on the wall. They just breathed for a moment, and then Kara was leaning back in with a gentle brush of her lips against hers and a promise in her touch. Lena let her, greedily relishing the attention and committing Kara’s mouth to memory. Maybe if she forgave her this could be her new normal? Lena was sorely tempted. Even if it wasn’t this, just being able to hug her again and sprawl out on the couch with a bad movie playing sounded absolutely wonderful. Lena was sorely tempted to hope for even that.
Kara kissed softly a few more times, each one more firm than the last as if she was reminding herself that Lena was present and alive and safe. She made Lena’s heart jump into her throat with each gentle touch. And then her lip was trembling, curling, and her shoulders began to shake as she failed to hold back her grief. Kara shuddered and crumpled again as she pressed her face into the crook of Lena’s neck. She slid to the floor with a helpless racking sob, dragging Lena with her. It took a moment to sit comfortably with how Kara was trying to curl into her, but Lena held her tight and tried to hold her together with her embrace. She pressed her face into the side of Kara’s neck and sank more comforting kisses against her skin because she didn’t know what else to do.
Vanderbilt University soccer starting goalkeeper Sarah Fuller will be available as a kicker for the football team against Missouri on Saturday, November 28th, 2020. If she plays, she will be the first woman to kick for a Power 5 conference game.
Light pierces through Karra’s eyelids and she groans. At the first sign of life, a furry head nuzzled into Karra’s neck and a cold nose pressed into her skin. Wet, slobbery kisses were quick to follow. “Yuck!” Karra cries out, shoving the large, white head away. “Why do you do this every morning Krypto?” Kara asks a fluffy dog. Hopeful blue eyes stare back at her until Kara relents and scratches behind the ears. “All right, all right. Let’s go out.”
Krypto’s tail, and half his body, begin to wag at the word as he turns circles and yips softly in excitement. The other side of the bed is empty. Kara rolls her eyes, never has her wife slept in on a Saturday. Kara knew just where she would find the woman of her dreams. Kara slips on her slippers and follows the giant, white ball of fluff to the back door. Krypto bursts into the cool morning air ahead of Kara and bounds off to find a spot. Kara follows the pavers to the side of the yard where a structure, almost as large as their house, sits. All the garage doors are open and Kara can just make out a pair of feet poking out from one of the well-maintained sports cars that had been lifted up to accommodate the mechanic.
“You know,” Kara starts, watching the tinkering movement stop, “When the doctor said ‘bed rest’, this isn’t what he meant.” Kara teases.
With swift movements from a woman in her 30th week of pregnancy, with twins, Lena rolls out from under the car and sits up.
“I am laying down.” Lena counters.
Kara rolls her eyes and offers her wife a hand to stand. Lena takes it, grudgingly. “My love, light of my life, keeper of my soul, and my haunting spirit,” that joke always makes Lena smile, “I need you to listen to the doctor so our little Thing One and Thing Two can be strong and healthy. Come inside, let’s have some tea.”
“Ugh, I want coffee. Black. A whole pot of it.” Lena rests her hands on her back and rolls her shoulders. Kara places her hand in the small of Lena’s back and helps her wife back towards the house.
“You made me throw out all the coffee because you were convinced you couldn’t control yourself. I am forbidden from buying it until after the babies are born.”
Lena sends her wife a death stare and Kara chooses to ignore it. “I am having the best coffee in the world imported when these two hooligans come out.”
“Hooligans?”
“Well I can’t very well call them ‘Sons of Bitches’ can I? And they love to play on my bladder. Start the water, I’ll be right back.”
Kara watches her wife waddle down the hall, falling more in love with her every day. It had been a long hard road to get here, full of ups and downs and a couple of breakups too, but they were here now. Married and starting a family. Kara still can’t believe that being haunted by a CEO would lead to a Pulitzer prize, the career she always dreamed of, a wonderful wife, and now a family. It wasn’t a happy ending, no there was still too much to live, but it did feel like the start of a brand new chapter with a long way to go.
Lena feels giddy with her first bite of food. Solid food. Because she is solid again. The warm tomato sauce bursts across her tongue, mixing with the garlicky crust and earthy flavor of mushrooms. A tomato slice pulls off with the melted cheese and Lena moans into the bite. Kara laughs from across the table in the rundown pizza place tucked into a forgotten alleyway. It was the best pizza Lena had ever had, living up to Kara’s claims. The pizzeria sold by the slice or the pie, Lena getting the former, Kara ordering the later. Which didn’t surprise Lena at all, after practically being by her side for a week. The Pizzeria was also open twenty-four hours a day, which was great for the starving CEO at 5 am.
Lena wipes at her lip self consciously as she notices Kara staring. “What?” Lena asks.
“Nothing, just still can’t believe you are actually here.”
“You’re telling me.” Lena laughs, “I was very worried when you went to your sister’s. I didn’t think I would ever be able to reach you.”
“Hey, I was freaked out. But we are here now.”
“Yes, we are.” Lena smiles softly. “Does this count as our first date?”
“Only if that means we get a second. This isn’t what I was thinking when I asked you out. I planned on roses and candles and probably some cheap champagne.”
“I think this is perfect.” Lena takes another bite and chews quickly before continuing. “Everyone always wants to woo me. To give me fancy things and impress me with money. This,” Lena gestures with her slice around the dimly lit pizza parlor, “This is wonderful.”
“Good, because I am far from fancy.” Kara smiles, a blush coloring her cheeks as she and Lena lock eyes. Kara only looks away when her phone rings.
“It’s Alex. Hold on,” Kara says and Lena nods. “Hey, Al. Any news? Okay, great. Yes, I’m sure she will want to be there. Thanks. See you soon.”
“Well?” Lena asks as Kara hangs up.
“They will have the warrant within the hour. They have enough to seize records, thanks to you. The team is gearing up to arrest Max Lord. I figured you would want to see that.”
“See it? I want to be a part of it. Come on.” Lena stands and takes one last bite of her slice and drops a large bill on the table. Kara scrambles to follow after Lena with her pizza box.
“Where are we going?” Kara asks through a mouthful of triple meat pizza.
“Lord Tech, of course. I need to talk to Max himself, plus he’ll need to be distracted. Otherwise, once he catches a whiff of the feds, he will disappear.”
“So what's your plan?” Kara asks.
“To go rub it in his face that I am not actually dead and then keep him talking until your sister busts down his door and cuffs him.”
“Doesn’t sound like much of a plan. How are you getting in?”
“Oh honey, I’m a Luthor. I can get in anywhere.”
Lena flags down a cab and Kara climbs in the back seat with Lena, continuing to eat her pizza. Kara offers Lena a slice but Lean declines. Kara just shrugs and hums happily as she finishes the last three before they get out in front of Lord Tech. Lena straightens to her full height, gathering an air about her that directly contradicts the sweats she had put on to replace the lab clothing she had been trapped in, collected and held for testing, of course. The MIT sweatshirt even covers most of her hands and Kara has tried very hard not to be distracted by that fact.
Lena strides into the building like she owns it, not even stopping as a confused security guard calls out for her to but then choking off their commands as they realize that a ghost has entered the building. Kara trails behind, unwilling to let Lena out of her sight now that she isn’t at risk of losing her.
The elevator is quite as Lena begins to set up the chess pieces in her mind. She is thinking through the moves Max and she had been playing for since taking over for Lex. She will play him like a fiddle until the FBI shows up. Lena smirks at the thought.
“So… this is my most interesting first date. Saving my date from completely disappearing, pizza, and now an arrest. I don’t think I can ever top this.” Kara breaks the silence and into Lena’s thoughts.
Lena laughs. “Yeah, it is pretty memorable. You are pretty memberal.”
“And you are very pretty.” Kara grins, cheeks stretching with the width of it. Lena laughs again and that is all Kara wants to hear. It is a great laugh.
“I have a feeling that the two of us working together will be a great thing,” Lena says honestly.
“Me too, but we can still go on a second date right? This isn’t going to be one of those situations that you don’t date people you work with, right?”
“I just don’t date people who work for me. Not with me. The better the chemistry, the better the result.” Lena winks. Kara is saved from stuttering out a response when the elevator doors open and Lena strides out. The CEO is no doubt on a mission. Kara is just along for the ride as the powerful woman tears a warpath past upper-level executive offices and makes her way to the giant doors clearly installed to stroke Max’s ego, his initials inlaid in gold, taking up the entire floor to ceiling doors.
Ignoring the stuttering secretary, Lena pushes the doors open and sweeps into the room. Kara mumbles an apology to the woman before brushing past also. Max stands quickly at the intrusion from behind his desk. Lena suppresses a chuckle. Max gathers himself and straightens his tie.
“L-Lena Luthor. What are- How are you not—”
“Dead? Yes, it seems like it was quite a misunderstanding.” Lena makes her way to the wet bar and pours herself a drink. “Want anything Kara? Max here only stocks the best whisky. It’s really his only redeeming quality.”
“Oh, umm, no thank you. Whisky isn’t really my thing.” Kara decides to hang towards the door.
“And who is this?” Max asks, noticing Kara only after Lena drew attention to her.
“Oh, the reporter who saved my life after my lab accident. She really is quite brilliant. And her story on my death will be printed in the morning, and then her story on my resurrection will be printed the day after. But I am sure, her article on your arrest will earn her awards.”
“My arrest?” Max repeats, indignantly.
“Why yes. You see, Max, you slipped up. You got sloppy and greedy while I waited for the opportunity to strike. I—” Lena is interrupted by Max’s phone ringing.” Don’t you need to get that? Could be important.”
“No, I am much more interested in how I might be arrested. You and I both know that I am too careful.”
“Oh, you used to be. But I think you have grown careless in your own age. Also without Lex protecting you and holding your hand, you got in over your head. I mean, really, trying to kill me when you were literally the only one who knew my plans had changed. That was just idiotic. And then, your man didn’t even do it right. He left it up to chance. An experiment gone wrong. Granted, it was almost clean. You almost got away with it, you just didn’t count on such a connection between me and a stranger.”
“What are you even talking about?” Max seems to be reigning his composure after his initial surprise.
“Are we really going to play this game?” Lena sighs after taking a drink and sets her glass down, purposefully next to the coaster. “Fine. I know Max. You sent in a sloppy assassin to kill me after I told you I couldn’t make our meeting because I was stuck in the lab. He just changed the settings on my matter transporter and it didn’t kill me. Instead, I was stuck in a state in between being molecularly solid and being separated. Luckily, I was able to anchor myself to my favorite pen and then communicate with Miss Danvers here,” Lena pauses to point to Kara, who wiggles her fingers in an awkward wave, “And she was able to reverse the conditions to bring me back.”
“And what proof do you have of all this pseudoscience you claim to be happening?”
“Oh not much on the actual science yet, but the assassin and your shady dealings, plenty.”
Max smirks. “That seems unlikely. Why else would you be here? You are just trying to scare me into confessing something that is untrue.”
“Oh, no. I’m just here to watch.”
“Watch? Watch what?”
A commotion sounds in the hallway and heavy footsteps thunder towards them. Kara moves away from the door and urges Lena to the side of the room as Max’s eyes go wide and fix on the closed office doors.
“Watch you be dragged away kicking and screaming,” Lena smirks as the doors burst open jackbooted, FBI swat troops storm in. The women raise their hands but are completely ignored as the agents surround Max Lord.
Agent Danvers strides into the room and begins reading out the arrest warrant and Max’s rights. She pauses briefly to salute Lena silently before shoving Max out the door.
Kara is busy watching her sister and doesn’t notice Lena dialing her phone.
“Yes, Jess? Dump our stock in Lord Tech. I have a feeling it’s about to tank. And anything of L-Corp buy up. I'm about to rise from the dead."
A couple of agents stay back to escort Kara and Lena from the building. By the time the reporter and CEO make it to the lobby, a massive crowd has gathered out the doors and Max Lord is struggling as he is pushed through the crowd. He bites comments at the reporters, jerking his head side to side, much like a muzzled dog on a leash. Lights flash like fireworks and Lena holds back, slowing to a stop just short of the doors.
"You should probably wait. This will be a mess." Lena says softly, taking a moment to actually look Kara in the eye.
Kara smiles softly, "Hey, we've made it this far together. I'm seeing this through with you."
Lena seems to deflate with relief to not have to face the mob alone. Then she takes a deep breath to build herself back up. One of the agents opens the door for them, the other leading the way with the first following behind the two women. It takes a moment for the press to turn from where Max Lord was loaded into a government SUV and to turn to look upon the newcomers. Kara could have sworn she could hear a pin drop in that second. But it would have been lost in the next as the reporters scramble to get a good look.
More agents force themselves between the crowd and the CEO, forming a small circle to give her room. Lena ignores all questions and waits for the chaos to die down as she levels a glare over the crowd. Soon just the flashing of lights and shuffle of feet fill the air.
"Now, I realize you have many questions. I will not answer most of them, the exclusive will be going to Catco because, with their reporter's help, I was able to contact the FBI and help provide information for them to arrest Max Lord. As you can see, I, Lena Luthor, am not dead. Nor was I ever. I sincerely apologize for the multiple power outages and L-Corp will be working to help those affected. The rest of the story can be read tomorrow through Catco. Good day."
Lena strides towards The final government SUV without waiting for more questions, Kara right on her heels. The questions come anyway, some even thinking to throw some towards Kara. Kara follows Lena's lead and ignores them all. Once an agent closes the door, all the shouting is finally muffled and the flashing lights are barely visible through the darkly tinted windows.
Lena deflates once more and leans her head against the glass, closing her eyes. Kara watches her. That's all Kara feels like she is doing, too afraid of Lena suddenly disappearing again. Without looking, Lena holds out her hand and Kara just stares at it. Lena sighs and opens her eyes to look at Kara.
“I thought there was going to be handholding that came with our dating?”
“Dating?” Kara asks, still confused.
“Well, we had one date, and I would like to go on a second. Multiple dates usually means dating. Unless you didn’t enjoy our first date?” Lena raises an eyebrow at Kara.
“No! What? I mean, yes! I had a great time. How many people have a first date that ends in the arrest of a corrupt businessman?”
“I’ve had three. Granted, the man was the date for the other two, so this is far better.”
“This has been the best first date I have ever had.” Kara twines her fingers with Lena’s and relaxes against the seat of the car.
After a debriefing with Alex, Kara and Lena were free to go. Kara shuffles a bit on the sidewalk outside of the building, unsure what to do. She wasn’t really ready to go home just yet. “Would you like to come back to mine and watch a movie?” Lena asks as if reading Kara’s mind. “I need to shower first but we could order more food and just hang out. I don’t think I’m ready to be alone yet.”
“Me either. Is that weird? I mean it was only a couple of days, but it's like I am so used to your presence now, it will be weird to be without.”
Lena smiles softly, “Same. Come on.”
A short cab ride later, and the couple make it to Lena’s penthouse. Kara tries not to snoop too much as Lena showers but Lena did say for Kara to help herself to any drinks in the fridge and pick from the take out menus in the drawer. Kara orders from her favorite Chinese place and settles on Lena’s much too comfortable couch to look through her video streaming services.
Lena is out before the food arrives and she pays cash when it does. It’s a weird sort of domesticity that Kara feels settling over her as Lena pads towards the couch with a paper bag in her fuzzy socks. Kara smiles at her and Lena grins back.
“There are some sweats and a t-shirt I put in the bathroom if you want to change,” Lena says while unpacking the red and white cartons.
“Sounds perfect. I’ll be right back.”
A quiet evening in with a wonderful woman is just what Kara needed after all the chaos and panic of the week. The food dwindles to just enough for leftovers as Kara and Lena pick at it. Lena stands to put it away before settling on the couch, right next to Kara. Without thinking, Kara lifts her arm and places it around Lena’s shoulders, pulling her close. It felt like something she had been doing for years, not for the first time. Soon the two begin to slowly sink lower and lower into the couch, and by the time the credits roll, Kara is half asleep on her back with Lena snoring softly in her chest. Kara manages to reach the remote to turn off the TV and pull a blanket over them. There was no way she was waking Lena now, plus the couch was really comfortable.
This is where Alex finds them, well she finds Kara. Alex uses her spare key to unlock the door and bursts in to find Kara sitting at the table with a soft smile on her lips. Kara looks like she is about to laugh when she registers Alex’s presence at the door.
“Alex!” Kara shoots to her feet as if she has just been caught doing something she shouldn’t.
“Kara! What are you doing? Kelly called me. She said you ran off!”
“I… Nothing. Just trying to finish this article. I think I got it now.”
“And you came to your apartment that is compromised in some sort of way?”
“Yeah, about that. Look it’s nothing. Just… A friend pulling a prank. It’s all taken care of.”
Alex watches closely, she knows her sister is lying. Kara was never good at lying. Kara also keeps turning her head a bit to the side, as if she was hearing someone calling her name but she was refusing to turn her head to acknowledge them.
“Just a prank, huh?”
“Y-yup. Everything is fine. Completely normal.”
“Really? Then why did Kelly call me, worried, because you had run off yelling something about Lena being there and you not being crazy.” Alex makes her way closer to Kara, shutting the door behind herself.
“I was just disorientated from the glitch in the program. As soon as I cleared my head I was fine. Then I had an inspiration for my article and decided to write. It’s done now. I just have to submit it.” Kara sits back behind her computer and picks up her pen, playing with it between her fingers. Fidgeting, a classic sign.
“Well, that’s great!” Alex says, “Then we can have a movie night tonight. I’ll tell Kelly to come and we can get takeout.”
“No!” Kara shouts then immediately regrets it when Alex raises an eyebrow. “I mean, no, it's fine. I need to catch up on sleep and I’m sure you and Kelly have to work early.”
“We have hardly spent any time together. It will be fun.” Alex pulls out her phone and is already dialing Kara’s favorite Chinese place.
“Seriously Alex—” Kara is cut off by her sister ordering some of her favorite foods.
“We can’t talk about everything you need to know if your sister is here,” Lena says in Kara’s ear.
“I know.” Kara says under her breath, trying to move her lips as little as possible. “But I don’t have much choice right now.”
“Just keep the pen close. It’s helping me focus on staying together.”
Kara nods just barely then pockets the pen to keep it in reach. While Alex finishes the order, Kara submits her final draft and hopes that Snapper will like it. Then she logs off and powers down her computer to face an evening of trying to act normal around her sister.
“Okay, food will be here in an hour, so will Kelly. What do you want to watch?”
“I don’t care. You can pick.” Kara Grabs drinks from the fridge for the two of them and joins Alex, who has already settled on the couch and is scrolling through the menu. Kara settles next to Alex and feels Lena settle next to her also, as much as Lena can settle.
Kelly arrives and Alex let’s her in. Kara can hear hissed words as they work through an argument before returning. Kelly has her own plate of leftovers and Kara watches Lena eye the food longingly. At some point, Kara fell asleep, she was still semi-conscious of her sister and Kelly talking softly and laughing at the movie. At some point, a blanket is draped over Kara and the television turns off. Soft sounds of Alex and Kelly cleaning up pull at Kara’s consciousness.
“I’m worried, Alex. The reading I had from the program is troubling. I really think something is wrong. I… I think she may need more help. This could be stress-induced.”
Kara stiffens and is alert almost instantly. She can see Lena looking into the kitchen area intently, the pen was still clutched in Kara’s hand.
“I know. She’s lying to me and I don’t know why.”
“I've seen it a couple of times before. Patients lie because they know what is happening isn’t normal. Seeing things, hearing voices, or maybe paranoia. It’s not a good sign.”
“What do we do?”
“Maybe if we can get her to my office again then I can get a colleague of mine to evaluate her for… more extreme care.”
“Like what? Getting her committed?” Alex hisses at her girlfriend.
“If it's necessary. Alex, you know I love her like my own sister. I am terrified of what might happen if she doesn’t get the help that she needs. She could be suffering a mental break. We can’t ignore that.”
The silence is tense. Kara stares at Lena as Lena looks back with fear. This could ruin everything. Lena would never make it back to the physical world. Kara could not get trapped in a facility because she is not crazy. An audible sigh comes from Alex.
“Yeah, okay. We can get her there tomorrow. Come on, once she’s out from a movie she won’t wake up. We can take her bed, it's too late to go home.”
Sounds fade to the bedroom but Kara stays unmoving on the couch. Kara weighs her options before sitting up slowly. Lena sits next to Kara and Kara feels the cold presence of Lena’s hand on her’s.
“We have to go. Now. It’s getting harder to hold myself together. We can’t wait until the weekend. And if your sister somehow commits you against your will, then I might as well be dead.”
The lamp clicks off in the bedroom and Kara remains silent for several more minutes. Then she stands as quietly as possible and grabs her shoes by the couch. She pads to the door in her stocking feet and eases the lock open as quietly as possible. With a small squeak, the door opens and closes and Kara puts on her shoes in the hall.
“Okay, time to go,” Kara says half to herself and half to Lena.
It’s late, almost 3 am, and the world is quiet. As quiet as a city can be. The walk to L-corp is nerve-wracking, every little sound had Kara looking over her shoulder. Street lights glow yellow and it throws the world into a surreal alternate reality as Kara makes her way between the light and shadows. When Kara approaches the looming shadow of the L-corp building, Lena directs Kara towards an underground garage where Lena’s own personal entrance will be.
“It has a handprint scan, how is that supposed to work?” Kara asks when she approaches the shiny plate next to the door.
“There is an override code. Just don’t mess it up. There are no retries before security is alerted. Ready?”
Kara swallows hard and nods.
“Okay. It’s long. 31415926535897932384” Lena says the numbers just slow enough for Kara to input each one of them. When the last number is imputed, the light turns green and the door slides open for Kara to step through. She makes her way down the short hallway towards the elevator doors.
“How in the world do you have that number memorized?” Kara asks in amazement.
Lena gives her a surprised look. “It's the first twenty digits of pi.”
“You have the first twenty digits of pi memorized?” Kara asks with disbelief.
“I have the first 100 digits memorized,” Lena says smugly.
“Wow, your brain is so attractive,” Kara says.
Lena blushes. “That is not normally a compliment I get about attractiveness.”
“Well, it should be. Okay, next code?”
“8822672”
The elevator dings open almost immediately and Kara steps in. “Floor 33” Lena reminds Kara of the lab floor.
“What does that code mean then?” Kara asks as the elevator ascends.
“Radium. The element that Madam Curie helped discover. It’s the atomic number, weight, period number, and group.”
“So really are a geek under all that genius.” Kara smiles at Lena.
“You really have no idea. Are you sure you still want to have dinner with me?” Lena smiles back.
“More than ever,” Kara says seriously. The door dings open on an empty hallway.
They continue like that through four more doors until Kara and Lena are standing in the still broken lab. The papers and glass on the floor had been cleaned up, but the window was still cracked and the work stations were disrupted. Lena quickly makes her way towards the machine, passing right through a table turned on its side.
“Shit, they took my laptop. It’s probably up in the CEO’s office, knowing Jess. There is another elevator directly up at the other side of the room. Come on.” Lena is on a mission now. Moving quickly, Kara follows. Worry knaws at Kara as she notices Lena not looking as solid as she had before. Lena is running out of time.
“12101815, it’s the birth date of Ada Lovelace. She was considered the first computer programmer, before computers were invented.” Lena tells Kara, unprompted, as Kara inputs the code into the elevator.
“Wait, before computers were invented? How?” Kara asks while getting in the elevator.
“She made an algorithm for Charles Babbage’s proposed analytical engine. Way ahead of their times and current technology.”
“Wow. Like how do you even think like that? It’s like trying to describe a color that no one else can see.”
“It is. But that’s how we advance in technology. People pushing the boundaries of imagination.”
The elevator doors ding softly open. Kara steps into Lena’s large and spacious office. It’s dark, the only lights far below in the streets of the city. The buildings out the massive windows are mostly dark. Soft white carpet pads Kara’s footfalls. The moonlight reflects off the white surfaces that fill the office. A large desk with an even larger chair sits in front of the windows.
“Quick, we need to turn off the alarm. There, by the door. 10241993”
“What’s that number?” Kara asks as she quickly steps towards the control panel. The digital screen counting down to the alarm going off.
“It’s actually, well, my birthday.” Lena lets out a small, uncertain laugh, “I know you are not supposed to do that, but really, if people get this far I don’t know if the last password will stop them.”
“It’s good to know you are human enough to use your own birthday.” Kara smiles over her shoulder at her phantom before inputting the code.
A loud buzz sounds and the screen flashes red as the code is denied. The timer hits zero. Nothing happens in the office. “Shit.” Lena has behind Kara, “Jess must have changed this passcode. Quick, find the laptop. Security has been alerted and we have about three minutes. It’s probably in the wall safe. 08241995. Jess’s birthday. I doubt she would have changed that.”
Kara does as she is told and it works. The paper light laptop is there and Kara grabs it, bolting for the elevator. Once inside it starts to descend, then it jets to a halt.
“You have been detained. Security is on its way. Do not resist.” comes a deep voice through the speaker.
“Override it with that keypad. 06262015” Lena shouts.
“Legalized marriage?” Kara asks as she inputs it.
“Yes, but I can’t explain them all to you.”
Kara sees stress etched into Lena’s face and it seems to be making it harder for Lena to stay present. She flickers in and out of focus. Her voice sounds muffled and far away. Kara watches her until the door opens and rushes to turn on the lights and set up the laptop and inputs another code that Lena gives her.
It’s a frantic rush of connecting cables and turning dials. Kara’s hands are shaking from nervousness. The computer seems to take forever to call up the program that Lena had been using to run the machine. Kara can hear shouting out in the hall. Quickly she begins to push overturned work tables to the door, even pilling chairs on top of them, anything to keep the security out. Kara Rushed back to Lena to start setting dials on the machine to where they should be.
“Good, That should do it. Now just hit ‘run’ on the program. It will take a mi—” Lena’s voice was getting softer and softer and then suddenly Kara can’t hear her anymore. Kara could see through Lena now. Time was running out.
In the silence, a phone rings. Kara jumps and stares at the phone mounted to the wall. It rings into the stillness and Kara finds herself walking towards it to answer.
“Kara! Kara! What are you doing? How are you doing this?” Somehow, it’s Alex. Alex is calling Kara on the L-corp lab phone. Which means, Alex is in the building. There is a loud thumping at the lab door and angry shouts.
“I have to do this, Alex. I have to save her. I knew I wasn’t crazy. How are you here?”
“They called the FBI and my director called me! What are you talking about? Kara? How did you get so far past security?”
“Lena. She's helping me to bring her back. Now, I have to finish this.”
“Do not turn that machine on! It will kill you too!”
“It won’t. It will bring her back.”
“ No it won’t! Kar—”
Kara hangs up the phone on her sister.
“Kara.” It's a whisper now, Lena’s voice. Barely louder than a breath.
It moves Kara forward. Lena is almost gone and only Kara can save her. Kara starts the program and waits. It’s just like her dream. The machine starts up, light begins to build until it is so bright that Kara has to turn away. The noise becomes deafening. Then, with the shattering of the window, silence falls. Kara thinks she might have blacked out for a moment because she is on the floor. The lights are out again which means there was probably another power outage. When Kara sits up, she sees Lena. For real. Slumped over in front of the machine, the dark head begins to move and sit up. A pale hand presses against a temple and Lena groans.
“Lena!” Kara cries and scrambles to the scientist's side.
“Kara?” Lena responds horseley.
“I’m here,” Kara reaches out and places a hand on Lena’s arm. It’s solid and warm. Kara smiles. “And you are here too.”
“I’m… here. Really here?” Lena is still processing.
“Yes.”
Loud bangs resound from the door to the room. It happens again as Kara helps Lena to her feet. With a loud groan and the splintering of wood, the door is broken down and big burly men rush into the room and pause as they find Kara with Lena’s arm thrown over her shoulder.
“Kara!” Alex cries as she rushes in after the men, Kelly right on her heels, followed by Jess.
Jess gasps as she takes in the sight of her employer and friend. “Lena!” Jess bursts into tears as she pushes a man aside to get to the CEO.
“Hey Jess,” Lena says softly, and is nearly knocked off her feet as Jess wraps her in a tight embrace. Kara steps away to let them have a moment. Jess is crying into Lena’s shoulder and Kara thinks Lena might be too but she can't tell as she is squeezed into her own hug with her sister.
“Don’t you ever do something that stupid again!” Alex practically yells in Kara’s ear. Kara feels another pair of arms as Kelly joins them.
“Sorry, but I am not planning on being haunted by a scientist again.”
“So you weren't going crazy?” Alex asks
“No, but I don’t blame you for thinking that.”
“But how…”
“It’s a long story that I don’t really understand myself.” Kara cuts off her sister's question.
There is shuffling on the far side of the room as security seems uncertain what to do. They were coming in to detain a criminal but now that criminal has somehow brought their employer back from the dead and there were now a lot of tears. A throat clears and Lena seems to pull herself together instantly.
“You may all return to your posts. I will fill out a report and submit it to the chief of security. As you can see, there is no break in here. Just the CEO accessing the office after hours with her friend.”
There are some protests and grumbling but a look from Lena silences the men and they file out of the room, one by one. Finally the women are alone and everyone looks to Lena.
“How is this possible?” Jess asks Lena.
“I don’t know everything, but something happened when I started up the machine and the field of transportation was expanded and I was affected as well. Then I was stuck in this between state and somehow anchored to the pen that Kara here stole,” Lena pauses to raise a pointed eyebrow at Kara, “I could communicate with her, then, and she was able to come here and reset the machine to bring me back to this plane of existence. But it took a bit to figure all that out and Kara here thought she was being haunted.”
“Well, wouldn’t you when someone writes ‘Help Me’ on your bathroom mirror and creepily starts music playing and knocks things over?” Kara defends herself.
“Of course you did that.” Jess rolls her eyes at her friend's antics.
“When there are a few times you can solidly touch things, you have to take advantage.”
“But, my program?” Kelly asks.
“That I can’t really explain, except it put Kara’s mind into a more open state so it was easier to contact her. I think it just appeared as a glitch in the system. Look, this is all science that is even beyond me and I’m going to have to study it. I don’t have answers right now except that I don’t think it was an accident. The settings I had Kara replicate weren’t the ones I originally set.”
“It wasn’t an accident,” Kara says softly, yet surely.
All four women’s heads turn to her. “How do you know?” Lena asks.
“A dream. I was watching you. You were setting up your test. While your back was turned and the experiment was running, I saw a shadow come in through the door. I couldn’t make much out, but then I saw a hand turn that dial,” Kara points towards the black knob, “then everything went to shit and the light got so bright I couldn’t see and woke up.”
Lena nods slowly, “That’s the one that was off. But I used the program to replicate the last settings.”
“Who could have known you were here and running tests?” Jess asks.
“I don’t know. I had even told you I had gone home.”
“I know.” Jess deadpans. “And I will never believe that lie again.”
Lena rolls her eyes. “And after I told you that, I… canceled my flight to meet with... shit…”
“Meet with who?” Kara asks.
“Max Lord.” Jess finishes.
“He knew the premise of the project because he tried to beat me to copyrights. I won, though. We were meeting about another project but when I canceled he must have figured I was close to a breakthrough. That would be bad for him.”
“How so?” Kara asks.
“Because he runs very shady import and export businesses in third world countries and this machine would bypass a lot of that. It would allow me to send medicine and food directly to those in need.”
“Cutting down on his profits,” Alex says, deep in thought.
“Exactly.”
“Do you have any proof of this?” the FBI agent asks.
“Oh, yes. I have been compiling it for a while. It's not airtight, but it may be enough for an arrest.”
The night was nearly sleepless as Kara tosses and turns. The few snatches she manages to catch are filled with shadowy hands and bright lights. Sometimes, she could swear she could hear Lena calling to her. Kara gives up around 4am and does the only thing she can think of, diving back into research. She has to actually begin to decipher the scientific terminology in the report.
“You look like shit.” Alex mumbles as she trudges into the room to start coffee.
“Pot calling the Kettle.”
“And under your eyes is just as black. I think your bags have bags.”
“And I think I almost have this figured out. I think… I think Lena was working on a matter transporter.”
Alex grabs three mugs from her cupboard and begins to get out sugar and creamer. “What? Like ‘Beam me up Scotty?’ Teleporting?”
“No, nothing that complicated. It seems the goal was to be able to send things like fruits and vegetables or medicines to third world countries. From what I can figure out, they were close, but Lena pushed the experiment by herself that night and used an apple which is much more complex than the small sample of pure iron they had been trying. From what the research team was able to decipher, an energy surge from the machine vaporized all the organic material near it, the apple, Lena, and some granola bars at a different workstation.”
“Wow, that is intense. I guess it's lucky that the explosion didn’t expand past the lab then. It could have been a catastrophe.”
“Yes, I believe they are scraping the project soon. Which will be a shame, it feels like they should finish it to honor Lena.”
“Or they shouldn’t so no one else gets hurt.”
“Very true. Got any pancake mix?”
Alex laughs and begins routing through her cupboards to make breakfast. Kara continues to reread everything, hoping to absorb more. Kelly appears, dressed in a sharp pant suit, and kisses Alex on the cheek. Kara feels a faint ache in her chest. It had been so long since she had this domesticity, even though it all had been a sham. It took a whole year for Kara to figure out she was the other woman, while Mike went home to his wife and two kids in the suburbs and left Kara waiting for him at his rented apartment in the city. She was completely unaware of his double life, Mike had told her he was on business trips. Until she figured it out, it was the happiest Kara had been. Then she was crushed. Last she heard, Mike and his wife were still together.
Kara pushes the loneliness away and refocuses on her computer, twirling the pen between her fingers. Out of the corner of her eye, Kara can now see Lena sitting in the chair to her right. Instead of focusing on the phantom, Kara just smiles and keeps working. When Alex and Kelly enter with pancakes, the image evaporates.
Slightly disappointed, Kara grabs a plate and a small stack of pancakes to douse in syrup. Nothing is better then Alex’s pancakes. Maybe sex, but sometimes the pancakes top that. They are made with the love of a sister and that’s all Kara needs right now.
“We have to leave in ten, I can drive you to work afterwards.” Kelly says eventually.
“Shounds mood,” Kara mumbles through a mouthful of fluffy goodness.
Kara swears she hears a giggle from behind her but fights the urge to turn around, she can’t be crazy. Not in front of the therapist. The last thing Kara needs is to be committed before this article is done.
><><><><>
“Okay, just try and relax. This is a full dive virtual reality. Physically you won’t move, but your mind will feel like it is. The program will read your thought patterns and try to take you to a happy place.”
Kara removes her glasses and takes the little black case from Kelly. With a deep breath, Kara pops the contact lenses into her eyes and Kara lays down on a very stereotypical leather couch and tries to do as Kelly says.
“Now, to activate the deep dive the key phrase to think is ‘Obsidian Pineapple Boots.’”
“Obsidian Pineapple Boo—” Kara gasps in surprise before she finishes her question.
Her vision goes black and then descends into a tunnel of colors before she finds herself in the snow. It’s shin deep but her boots protect her. The warm fur coat is soft and smells of home. Kara slowly turns as she takes in the landscape. SHe is home. Her childhood home. Before the fire. Trees are shrouded in snow and the full moon reflects off the ground, creating a false sense of daylight. The house is lit up with colorful lights and Stars of David. A menorah is burning in the front bay window. Everything is just as she remembers from when she was a child. Even the bite of the wind on her nose brings tears to her eyes, both from the cold and emotion.
"It's beautiful." Kelly says softly from beside her, dressed in her own winter clothing.
"It is." Kara steps up on the porch to look in the window.
Bathed in yellow light, Kara sees something she can't explain. The interior seems to be a mix of the Danvers beach home with her parents more rustic home from the outskirts of Moscow. Inside is her parents, and Jeremiah, Eliza, and Alex. A Christmas tree stands in a corner with stockings hanging from the mantle. On the mantle is a menorah. Its a perfect mix of both of her lives. One before the fire and one after.
"It seems you must equally think of your childhood home and the Danvers home as safe. The program pulled them together for you."
Kara only nods, unable to speak. A tear escapes her eye as she pulls off a glove to touch her fingertips to the cold glass. Instead of going in, Kara sits on the porch swing, hearing the familiar squeak as her momentum carries her back. Kelly eases herself into it with her.
"I didn't think I would ever see their faces again. If it wasn't for the couple of scorched pictures, I don't think I would remember them." Kara whispers into the cold night air. Music can be heard playing through the walls of the house and Kara closes her eyes to soak it in.
"That's part of why we are trying to launch this therapy program. So people can see loved ones again. Process emotions and maybe get closure. Our studies so far have yielded mostly positive results."
"Mostly?"
"There are a few people who, when confronted with past abusers and victims, were actually worse off. They require more traditional therapy. But it has helped build a screening program for who will be benefited by the virtual program and who won't be."
The conversation has helped Kara reign in some of her emotions and she takes a deep breath. "So what do we do now?"
"Now, we go back to where it started. Can you picture it? The lab that you first learned of Lena Luthor."
“Yeah. Easily. It's been a frequent place in my—" Suddenly instead of a swing, Kara is sitting in a lab stool with Kelly on one next to her. "---dreams." Kara finishes softly.
"You've been dreaming of the lab?"
"Yeah. Sometimes I just sit here and talk to Lena. Not about anything important to remember when I wake up. Sometimes I see her but it's like she can't see me."
Lena seems to fade into focus, already mid stride as she walks towards the matter transporter and begins to pull a panel off.
"And this?" Kelly asks.
"One time, she was pulling it apart. Trying to figure out what went wrong. Mumbling to herself that she didn't understand what could have happened."
In a blink, Lena was back at the computer. The room went dark. It was exactly Kara's nightmare from the night before. Kara's breathing picks up as she realizes what is happening.
"What is happening?" Kelly asks.
“This was my nightmare last night. I saw the accident happen. But I don't think it was an accident. Watch." Kara points to the man shaped blur of darkness as Lena is drawn closer to the machine.
"You mean how you think it happened?"
"Huh?" Kara is only half listening as she watches the light getting brighter. She can only see Lena's silhouette. Then that is gone. The whole lab is. Kelly and Kara are sitting at her kitchen table with Kelly on her right and Lena is sitting on her left. It's just like the first time that she and Lena talked.
"You mean how.you think it happened? You weren't actually there." Kelly points out.
"I know. But it just feels so real. Like I'm not watching my memories. I'm seeing hers." Kara gestures to Lena. *But then sometimes we just sit and talk and I've learned a lot about her. Like things I don't think I could make up. Like this. This was the first dream I had of her. I feel asleep after researching and then she appeared. We talked. She said she had been following me all day. She even called me Ponytail like Snapper did. Then when I asked about her life, she told me she hadn't really been living. She just worked herself to the bone. She was lonely and sad and found little joy in things outside of her lab."
"That is all details your subconscious could fill in with all the research you have been doing. You could feel like you know her. You saw the amount of projects and technological advancements L-Corp was involved in. And with how little she was in tabloids, she probably lived in her office half the time."
"Yeah she did. She even got a pull out sofa for nights she worked too late to go home."
"Did she tell you that?"
Kara watches Lena. She seems like she is laughing and carrying on a conversation with Kara, but Kara can't hear the laughter. But that smile, it could make Kara swoon. The way she shows almost too many teeth and scrunches her nose up. It's beautiful.
"Yeah, she did tell me that. But then I asked Jess, the acting CEO now, and she said it was true."
"You have good instincts then. Reporting is definitely the profession for you."
"There's been other things too. Stuff I haven't found online but I would email Jess and she would tell me it was true. And be pretty surprised that I would know."
"Like what?"
Lena gets up and goes to get a glass of water, moving around Kara's apartment like she had been there a hundred times.
"Like, she had a horse as a kid. It was the only pet she was allowed. He's name was Comet. Beautiful white stallion. Or that Lena was actually born in Ireland. That's not anywhere. Her adoption records were sealed. But it's all true."
"So Lena was an orphan from a different country?"
"As far as she knows. She saw her mother drown one morning, there is still no evidence whether it was suicide or and accident, and her father was never in the picture. Then the Luthors adopted her and brought her home." Kara smiles as she watches Lena in her pretend conversation. "She even still curses in Gaelic when she is angry, or slips into an accent when she is drunk."
"All confirmed by Jess?"
Kara sighs and finally looks back to Kelly. "Yeah. They were just too specific for me to ignore. I had to ask. At least Jess knows I'm trying to do an article on her or it would just sound stalkerish."
Kelly opens her mouth to respond but then it's like lag in a video game. She gets all jerky, disappears and reappears two feet to the left. Then she stands, sits, disappears and is gone.
"Oh god, finally." Kara jumps as Lena actually speaks next to her. "It took forever to figure out how to get into this program and to speak. Sorry I think I kicked your therapist out."
"Lena!" Kara gasps.
"The one and only." Lena smirks.
"This is real right? You are really here? I'm not crazy?"
"Yes jeez. Quite. I don't know how much time I have. I figured out what went wrong with the matter transporter. I'm somehow stuck in between planes of existence. That pen you stole, yes stole." Lena pauses to acknowledge Kara's sheepish expression. "I think that is my anchor in this plane. Well, the actual plane. But this virtual reality is making it easier to talk to you. Okay so if you hold that pen, it's easier for me to communicate. But I need you to help me."
An error message starts flashing above Kara's kitchen table. Then an override starts to be plugged in underneath it.
"Crap. She's terminating the program. Look, I need you to turn the machine back on. But reverse it so I can get back. I'm not dead. But I might be soon. It's getting harder. I feel like I'm fading. But not. Like it's getting harder to hold all my molecules together. They are trying to scatter and transfer my energy back into the universe."
"But—"
"Just hurry Kara! And remember the Pe—"
Kara snaps up right as her apartment disappears and she is suddenly back in Kelly's office. “Kara!” Kelly yells out.
“No! Wait! Why did you pull me out?”
“What do you mean ‘why?’ I suddenly got kicked out of my own therapy program. I’m the admin. That should not have happened. It's still an experimental program. I was worried.”
“She was there! I’m not going crazy. And she needs my help.” Kara hastily removes the lenses and grabs her purse.
“Kara! Wait! It was a glitch. Lena wasn’t actually there. I think your subconscious took over a bit.”
“No! She was there! I know it. I can feel it. I have to go.”
“Kara! Wai—” the office door slams shut behind Kara and she is practically sprinting through the hallway and to the elevator.
Kara doesn’t go to work. She hails a cab and heads straight to Alex’s. She uses her spare key to get inside and immediately starts packing up all her stuff. Kara scoops Streaky off the back of the couch and tucks him under an arm. This is the first place Kelly will look for her. Kara had asked the cab to wait for her and she climbs back in, immediately heading to her apartment. Once she is safely home, Kara locks her door and takes a deep breath. Streaky wiggles from her grasp with a meow of protest and disappears under the couch.
“The Pen!” Kara exclaims and digs in her computer bag. Kara cries out in victory as she snatches it from the depths and pulls it out. Then… Nothing happens. Kara slides down the front door and sits with her knees tucked into her chest.
“Come on… Come on….” Kara grips the pen, eyes roving the apartment, looking for any indication of Lena.
“Geez, relax. I’m like anchored to you or that pen. I've been here the whole time. You’re the one who couldn’t see me.” Lena materializes next to Kara, causing her to jump.
“Holy crap! Don’t do that.” Kara glares at Lena.
Lena just laughs and begins to wander around Kara’s apartment. She occasionally tries to touch things, successfully brushing a sheet of paper to the floor and rattling a glass. Her hand passes through the counter and the handle of the fridge.
“Wow. Okay. This is real. And I am not actually being haunted.”
“I mean I guess you kind of are. I’m a loose collection of energy that is somehow tied to either you or that pen or both, and I have been doing everything in my limited power to get your attention.”
“Okay, I may be even crazier than I thought. What the actual fuck is happening?”
“Ooo… That may be the first time I’ve heard you cuss. Very attractive. You should do that more often.” Lena strides back towards Kara. It’s a weird experience because there is no sound to accompany her footsteps. Kara glares at her ghost.
“Look, what I have been able to figure out is that something went wrong with my transmatter portal and I am now trapped in a void between places. It’s very hard to describe and I have no scientific terms on it. All I know is it feels like every molecule in my body is trying to separate and scatter and I am using every ounce of my will to keep it together.” Lena sits next to Kara on the floor.
“So what am I supposed to do?”
“I need you to turn the machine back on and reverse it. I think I can coach you through the settings.”
“Oh yeah. Sure. Just turn the machine back on. In a high-security lab. Easy.” Kara rests her elbows on her knees and runs both hands through her hair.
“It's fine. I can get you in through my private entrance.”
“I am sooo getting arrested for this. And then thrown in the looney bin.”
“Not if we succeed. I promise you, I will literally buy you a penthouse of your choice if you do this.”
“I don’t want a penthouse.”
“Car?”
“Nope.”
“Come on, everyone wants something.”
“How about a date?”
“A what?”
“You know, a date. Go out for food, maybe some sort of entertainment, maybe some hand-holding.”
Lena looks puzzled still. “You don’t want money or a penthouse? You want to take me ,” Lena points to Kara and then to herself, “on a date.”
“Yes. Why wouldn’t I want to take a beautiful woman who has given all of herself to the world to dinner?”
“Because I am a total stranger who is basically haunting you and we don’t know each other.”
“Well I have done a deep dive into your personal life, which is strange and stalker-y but, in my defense, you were dead, and I like what I have seen. You have also basically been following me for the past couple days so I hope you have seen enough to give me a yes or no answer. Full disclosure, I will still help you even if you say no, but I re—” Kara freezes when she feels something cold brush across her hand. Kara looks down to see Lena’s hand resting on top of hers.
“You are rambling.” Lena smiles and Kara swears she has goosebumps. “Yes, I would love to go on a date with you. But first, I need a body to do it.”
“Right! Yes! Of course. How do we start?”
Lena removes her hand from Kara’s and places it under her chin to think. “Well, I think we will have to wait until tomorrow night. Security will be tighter but there will be fewer people. And alarms won't be an issue since I can take you through my personal doors. It would just be the people. Hopefully, Jess has actually left the office during all this.”
“She barely has. She would answer my emails at any time of the night. She might actually be sleeping there.”
“Her husband is not going to be happy with me then. I’ll have to make sure to send them on a trip as soon as possible.”
“That will give me time to finish this article.”
“Finish it? But I’m not dead.”
“But no one else knows that. My editor still wants the story by tomorrow morning to be edited and put to print. Look, you can read it. It will just be good press and then I can start on your miracle return.”
“Ah, so you're just in it for the story.” Lena accuses but there is a playful glint in her eye that tells Kara she knows it's not the full truth.
“That’s the only reason I am helping the most beautiful ghost to ever exist. For a story.
Lena doesn't respond with a witty comeback, she just grins ear to ear and ducks her head to avoid Kara’s gaze.
“Let me show you the article, it would be great to get your opinion. I’ve mostly just been using Jess for fact-checking.”
“Well, Jess does know most of my life. She’s one of the only friends I have.”
“Good to know you consider her a friend. She didn’t seem so sure. But I can tell she loves you.” Kara makes her way to the kitchen table and opens her laptop.
“I don’t know what to tell you Kar. There is no one here, no forced entry, nothing.”
“How do you explain the mirror then?” Kara paces in her apartment while her sister continues to check every corner of her apartment.
“I don’t know. There isn’t anything there anymore. Normally smudges like that will stay until you clean it, at least a little, but I tried to fog it up and it's as clean as a whistle.”
“I’m telling you, it was there.”
“I’m sure it was. You don’t overreact. But I don’t know what to tell you.”
Kara collapses on her couch groans, her head hurt from lack of sleep and stress. Kara pinches the bridge of her nose and scrunches her eyes tight. Kara feels her sister sit next to her.
“You can come stay with me. Kelly has been spending a lot of time at the office anyway, helping prep some new technology for Obsidian to release next year.”
“Yeah, yeah okay. I’m going to pack a bag real quick. Can Streaky come? It's supposed to storm all week.”
“The stray?”
“Is he really a stray when he lives his best life?”
Alex laughs “Yeah, he just conned you into feeding and housing him.”
“And he returns the favor with love and affection.” Kara looks at the cat in question, lounging on the loveseat, in a weak sunbeam, purring contentedly.
“If he makes you feel better then yes, bring him. But he pees on one thing and it's back outside.”
“He isn’t a dog, Alex. He goes in the litter box just fine.”
Alex makes a face but relents. Kara goes to pack some clothes and toiletries and Alex grabs the cat’s belongings. Kara was right, dark clouds were already descending upon the city to start the week of rain and storms.
With a bag over one shoulder and a cat under the other, Kara leaves her apartment with her sister. She could be overreacting, but the mirror thing was too creepy to ignore. And Kara had to work on this article, already Snapper was criticizing her rough drafts and decimenting her sentence structure. Kara was already dreading the emails she knows are piled in her inbox from her editor. Kara called off work and just knew Snapper would not be happy with it. In order to keep the screaming to a minimum, Kara was going to have to have the first draft done by tomorrow.
“Okay,” Alex says when they get to her apartment. “Will you be fine by yourself? I have to go to work.”
“Yes. I feel better already.” Kara lets Streaky go and he immediately lands and scurries off to explore the new space.
“If you need it, you still know the safe code right?”
Kara scrunches her nose, “Yes, not that I like guns.”
“You have a Federal Agent for a sister.” Alex rolls her eyes. “It's just in case. I don’t know what is happening but I want you to protect yourself if you need to.”
“I will, Al. Go on to work. I’m just going to work on my article. Maybe take a nap.”
“Yes, please sleep. You look exhausted. Help yourself to food too.” Alex kisses her sister’s forehead. “Goodbye, call me if you need anything.”
“I will. Be safe”
Alex flashes a smile before leaving. Kara does feel better here, in her sister's home. It's full of love and memories of game nights. Also, Kara knows where at least six weapons are hidden that Alex made sure that Kara (and now Kelly) were trained to use. Kara turns the lock on the door and raids the fridge for snacks and something to drink before settling into work.
After about two hours, Kara’s eyes are beginning to droop and her yawns are uncontainable. “Okay, 20-minute nap. Then right back to work.” Kara mumbles to herself.
Kara settles on Alex’s super comfortable sectional and pulls a blanket off the back of it. As soon as Kara is comfortable, Streaky jumps onto her stomach and begins to purr. Kara runs her hands through soft fur and allows the motion and vibration to lull her into a much needed nap.
Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (any time of year)
You can find it here
Kara wakes with a start. The warmth on her stomach is gone and there is music playing.
Her mind is Tiffany-twisted
She got the Mercedes Benz, uh
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys
That she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard
Sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember
Some dance to forget
Kara locates the record player that Streaky is sitting next to and intensely staring at as the record spins round and round. He must have turned it on by accident. The cat tended to be too curious for his own good. With a sigh, Kara stands and goes to turn it off, picking up the car and moving him to the floor. Streaky protests but Kara ignores him. Upon inspection, nothing seems damaged. If Alex would kick Streaky out for peeing on something, she would shoot him for scratching one of her vinyl records.
Awake now, Kara sets back to work, determined to at least finish the first draft before five. Around noon, Kara helps herself to leftovers in Alex's fridge and continues working. Kara is deep into her final paragraphs when the TV clicks on, blaring sound. Kara practically leaps from her chair as the creepy piano plays.
You unlock this door with the key of imagination.
Beyond it is another dimension- a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind.
You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas.
You've just crossed over into . . . the Twilight Zone.
Kara feels as if her heart is beating in her throat and her stomach has fallen through the floor. Streaky is on the back of the couch, half laying on the remote.
"Boy… are you trying to scare me to death?" Kara laughs to herself and rescues the remote from under the cat and turns off the TV. Just ten more minutes of work and she will be done. Sending it off to Snapper to be covered in notes and changes and insults. But that is a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, Kara is going to make dinner for her sister and her sister's girlfriend and try and put this morning behind her.
Kara must be more tired then she thinks she is, even with the nap she had. All while making dinner she drops half a dozen utensils and misplaces just as many things. She could have sworn the bell peppers were right next to the cutting board as she chopped the carrots, but when she went to grab them they were on the counter behind her next to the stove. The peeler fell to the floor without Kara even touching it and the sharp knife followed a few minutes later, almost striking her foot on its dangerous journey down.
Kara was clumsy and a bit forgetful at the best of times, adding in only about eight hours of sleep in the last forty-eight hours, and Kara was a God damn hazard. But Kara was determined to make this chicken stir fry as a 'Thank you' to her sister. By 6:30 everything is done and staying warm in the oven and Kara waits for Alex, her sister had texted her about fifteen minutes ago that Alex was leaving work. Kelly would be about an hour more. Another ding of Kara's phone. Kara checks and it's a text from Jess, letting her know that L-Corp released more information to the reporters.
Kara decides to browse the new information while she waits. Picking up the green pen she had taken from L-Corp, Kara sets to taking more notes. She always found it was better to handwrite things first, it helps the information sink into her brain before transferring it to a digital format. Movement out of the side of her eye breaks Kara from her concentration. With a gasp, Kara sees Lena pacing by Alex's balcony door. But as soon as Kara focuses on her, Lena is gone with a blink. A chill passes down Kara's spine. Kara throws down her pen and tries to calmly walk to the kitchen for some water.
"I'm just overtired. That's it. Too focused." Kara mumbles to herself between sips of the cool liquid.
"Hey!" Alex calls and Kara jumps with a small yelp.
Alex throws her a questioning look from the front door and immediately scans the apartment for danger. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Fine. Just been working too hard I think."
"You really need to take time off."
"I know. I know. This is just such a crucial time. Anyway… dinner is ready. Chicken stir fry."
Alex's face softens from the concerned big sister to an appreciative hungry woman. "Great, Kelly said she won't be home until like 7:30 now so it's just us.
"So… Sister Night?"
"Sister Night" Alex confirms.
Kara squeals and grabs bowls to load with the medley of rice, vegetables, and protein. Alex grabs glasses for wine and heads into the living room to que up the newest season of Umbrella Academy. They watched the first season together and pinky swore to only watch the second together also.
After an episode, Alex gathers the dishes and disappears into the kitchen. She returns with a pint of Ben and Jerry's for each of them, allowing her sister to pick first. They swap halfway through the containers and Kara hums in satisfaction as she scraps the last of the melted ice cream from the bottom.
Kara ignores the fact that Alex keeps checking her phone. She's waiting on Kelly who is now half an hour later then she said she would be. It isn't until the end of the third episode that Kelly finally makes it home. Alex leaves Kara on the couch as they hear the front door open and the sound of bags hitting the floor and shows roughly kicked off.
"Hey babe! Kara made dinner. You hungry?" Kara hears Alex call.
"No thank you. I'm just tired. But I could go for a glass of wine."
"Coming right up."
Kara can hear the two in the kitchen now, talking quietly as Kara scrolls through her phone, waiting on them to come back. Alex sits in the middle of the couch, Kelly tucks herself into the corner and stretches her feet onto her girlfriend's lap. Kara resumes her position of her head on Alex's shoulder and their arms intertwined. Alex switches the show to something less intense and the Parks and Rec theme song starts.
Kara can feel the vibrations of Alex talking to Kelly about their days against her cheek. Between that and the familiarity of the show's dialogue, Kara can soon feel herself slipping deeper into unconsciousness.
Lena is alone in the lab. It's late, darkness permeates the lab except for the lights around where Lena is working. Lena types vigorously at her laptop, brow furrowed in concentration. Lights are blinking on the machine behind her. Lena is mumbling under her breath. Kara laughs but it sounds weird, muffled.
“Hey, Lena.”
Lena doesn't respond, just continues to type away. From behind her ear, Lena produces a pen to begin writing. A green pen. With gold trim. The very pen Kara had acquired from L-Corp. After a few, what Kara can only assume is, equations, Lena cries out. Kara jumps with the rudeness of it, but then a giant grin spreads on Lena’s face. Lena begins to giggle excitedly while she inputs something into her computer and then Lena practically skips over to the machine and flips switches and turns dials. Then Lena runs back to her computer and the large machine begins to hum, lights flash. Quickly, Lena grabs an apple from next to her computer and places it on the small platform in the middle of the center hole.
Lena is fixated on the apple, only looking away to check her computer. Lena is so focused, Kara smiles to herself. It’s really cute. Kara stays back and watches the scene unfold. She feels excitement build in her chest, matching the excitement on Lena’s face.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kara sees a shadow move. It slides between desks and chairs, nearly shapeless and silent. Lights from the machines make a beacon in the near darkness, making the shadow even harder to see. Lena’s back is to it as she inches closer to the machine. Then the shadow materializes into a human form, completely shrouded head to toe. It reaches a handout and turns a dial out of Lena's eye line. Kara cries out but Lena can't hear her. The shadow slinks back into the darkness and is gone. Something changes in the hum of the machine. The light that had been circling the apple in the opening began to increase speed. Lights began to blink rapidly all over the network of technology. Lena's glee was slowly morphing into terror. Bright white light is building from the center and the hum has turned into more of a whine as it builds.
"No! No, no, no, no!" Lena exclaims as she scrambles to start turning switches and dials to turn off the machine. But it's too late. The damage has been done.
Kara has to close her eyes against the harshness of the light and feels herself get blown backward by the concussive force of whatever is happening. By the time she can see again, Lena is gone. The room is left in the same devastated state that Kara saw when she first arrived at L-Corp.
"Lena!" Kara yells, waking herself up.
Kara looks around to get her bearings. Alex and Kelly are still sitting on the couch next to her, staring at her in concern. Kara leans forward and rests her elbows on her knees, bearing her face in her hands and taking deep breaths. After a moment she can feel Alex rubbing circles between her shoulder blades.
"Bad dream?" Alex asks softly.
Kara nods and continues to try and calm her racing heart.
After a few minutes, Kelly softly asks, "Who's Lena?"
Kara must have yelled out loud and that's what woke her. "The woman I'm doing a story on. The CEO of L-Corp. She died in a lab accident. Well they assume. There isn't a body."
"And are you stressed about that?" Kelly probs gently.
"Yeah. I haven't been able to sleep. I've been up late working and then when I do sleep, I have dreams about her."
"Are they all nightmares?"
"No. Sometimes it's just like she is there in whatever weird dream I'm having. Sometimes we sit and have a conversation. Sometimes in my apartment, sometimes in the lab. That was the first nightmare."
Kara finally looks at her sister and Kelly. Alex looks concerned but Kelly has on her very serious face. The 'I'm psychoanalyzing someone' face.
"Is that the only time you see her?"
"Are you shrinking me right now?" Kara asks with a laugh.
Kelly makes a face at Kara's term. "I'm concerned that my girlfriend's sister is showing signs of stress-related anxiety."
Kara relents. "No. I keep seeing her out of the corner of my eye. Passing by a window, sitting next to me. Across the room. Just snatches. When I focus on her she's gone. It’s so weird. Like, I never knew her but somehow I’ve imagined entire conversations with her.”
Kelly is quiet for a moment. When Kara looks over at her, Kelly and Alex seem to be having a silent conversation with their eyes. A few nods and Kelly’s eyebrows furrow, Kara can’t see Alex’s face but assumes she is being just as expressive. With a huff of air, Alex turns back to her sister and continues to rub between Kara’s shoulder blades.
“Kara I really think you need to take time off. This amount of stress is not healthy. And this is not a healthy reaction to the death of a stranger.”
“I know. I told Alex I would after the article is submitted I would. But Lena, she deserves this. She deserves to be remembered for all the good she has done. Not for the awful crimes of her brother. Did you know she sponsors several group homes in National City? Not L-Corp, Lena does, personally. She even uses those homes to look for interns and to give scholarships to teens. I just… I can’t let her be forgotten. And all those other reporters, they are just going to twist the story. Or give bare-bone facts. I promised Jess and all the other employees I would write this. I can’t stop now.”
“You don’t have to. But look, maybe you can come to Obsidian tomorrow. We are working on this new virtual reality tech and how it can be used in therapy. Maybe I can help you get past this so you can sleep.”
“But I have to…” Kara trails off when she sees the glare from her sister. “Yeah, okay. I’ll come first thing. Then maybe I can still finish reading through this new research and get a copy to Snapper.”
“Good. It’s settled. I’m going to shower. Alex, get your sister a bed made up on the couch so that she might get some sleep. Goodnight, Kara.”
“Night, Kelly.”
When Kelly is gone, Alex wraps her sister up in a tight hug. “Don’t work yourself to death. I need my sister.” Alex kisses Kara’s forehead and then stands to get the extra blankets and a pillow from the closet.
“And I need mine. That’s why I am here. And your brain doctor girlfriend is going to fix me right up.” Kara tries to joke but it falls a little flat. Alex tries to smile but it looks more like a grimace.
“Sleep tight. We are just in the next room if you need us. Please, wake me up if you need anything.”
“I will. Goodnight, Al.” Kara settles under the fluffy blanket and rests her head on the pillow.
Alex moves about, checking locks and turning off lights before finally retiring to her bedroom. Kara can soon hear the shower turn off and Kelly and Alex talking in the bedroom. It’s too soft to make out words but the drone of it is comforting and Kara is soon slipping back into unconsciousness.
As soon as Kara gets back to CatCo, she pitches her idea to her editor, Snapper Carr. He stares at her for a solid four minutes before grunting out a response. “Fine. But you better do this right. Just the facts. We don't need a eulogy. We need an article that will blow the other four out of the water. Get going, Pony Tail."
Kara escaped his office as fast as she could before Snapper could change his mind.
It was already the end of the day. Kara had spent so much time at L-Corp she had worked through her lunch, very rare for her. With her stomach growling, Kara packed up a few things she thought she might need on her desk and decided to head home. While Kara walked the five city blocks back to her apartment, she ordered more takeout then she would probably eat but everything sounded so good right now. It was better leftover anyway. She is barely through her door when the delivery guy knocks. The smell of Chinese food permeates the entire apartment and Kara can barely focus enough to pay and set up her laptop before diving in.
When the first few bites settle into her stomach and take the edge off her hunger, Kara can actually pause to log into her computer and start researching. In between bites, Kara scrolls through article after article on Lena Luthor. Really, there is nothing about her up until her brother's arrest. There is one short piece back when she was four and being adopted by the Luthor's, her tiny hand is obscured by her father's as the now family of four leaves the courthouse after signing the papers. The occasional mention on various projects for school fairs but Miss Luthor is always listed as 'not pictured.' The next picture Kara finds is of Lena graduating high school as Valedictorian at the age of fifteen. She had refused to give a speech, stating 'who am I to speak about our high school experience when I was barely here even two years? They laughed and cried together. They have grown together in ways I will never understand. Let one of them tell them of a hope for the future as they look fondly on the past."
Which Kara thought was a pretty good speech in itself.
Then Miss Luthor was gone again, only resurfacing in research papers and a start-up application with a man named Jack Sphere, who Kara finds is the now CEO of Spherical Industries. Shortly after that is when Lex Luthor is arrested. After scouring those police reports, Kara finally finds how. Lena Luthor turned her own brother in. Her public statement says that she suspected something had been off with her brother. At first she assumed it was the pressure of taking over LuthorCorp, which he quickly renamed to LexCorp, after their father had died. But it continues even as the company went into a period of growth and prosperity. Investors were practically knocking down Mr. Luthor's door.
Miss Luthor noticed a heavier rotation of women through her brother's life. There had always been a new woman every couple of months because Mr. Luthor had been known to get bored easily. He was a very intellectual man, he even claimed his sister was his only match for wits. Then it seemed like a new woman every week. Miss Luthor worried about a scorned woman trying to blackmail her brother and said so to him. 'He just chuckled real lowly. And said there was nothing to worry about. It was all taken care of.' A quote from the police report.
She didn't know then, that he was wooing these women, giving them everything they could ever want, paying off their debts and dressing them in the finest clothes, and just when they would say they couldn't be happier, he would kill them. He would drug them and tag them like farm animals or game. Then hunt them like those very animals in the huge forests on the Luthor estate. Miles of undeveloped trees that were privately owned. Police still don't believe they have found all the bodies of the missing women who are presumed dead by Lex Luthor's hand. He buried them where he killed them. Still in torn designer dresses with diamonds around their necks and bright orange tags punctured through an ear.
Miss Luthor had started to see signs of the deeds slowly. Blood on a dress shirt carelessly left in a bathroom. A hunting cabinet left unlocked. Dirt tracked into Mr. Luthor's bedroom because the maids had been dismissed for the week. That's when she started spying on him. As a child, she had hid from an verbally abusive mother and knew all nooks and crannies of the Luthor estate. When she finally caught him drugging the next victim, she knew. She took what evidence she could to the police and cooperated fully. Lex Luthor escaped before being taken into custody and no one knows where to. As Miss Luthor gave the federal agency access to LexCorp’s financials, a whole other slew of accusations were leveled on the former CEO. He had been selling weapons on both sides of wars around the world, profiting from death and destruction. His list of crimes went on and on.
Kara begins to write, switching between tabs on the internet browser. It takes hours just to get her notes into a semblance of order and a skeleton of a rough draft. Kara even uses her found pen to take physical notes and jot down ideas as well. Kara works until her eyes start to burn and half her food is gone. By eight, Kara was also halfway through a bottle of wine. She pushes past that, diving in and losing herself in the research and the stories of Miss Luthor’s employees.
Kara blinks hard to try and rid the sleep from her eyes, she is too in the zone to stop now. When she opens them again, she startles at the woman sitting next to her at the table. Kara instantly recognizes her with the long dark hair and piercing green eyes. She’s even still wearing the lab coat that she was in the video.
“Okay, I’m dreaming. I have to be.” Kara mumbles to herself and rubs her eyes.
“Oh, yeah. You are definitely face down on your laptop. It’s quite adorable. Too bad all those ‘F’s’ are going to take up your pages. I hope you auto saved.” Kara watches the phantom of Miss Luthor laugh and then she ties up her hair in a high ponytail, exposing the sharp jawline that Kara saw in her company portrait.
“Yeah definitely dreaming. I think I’ve been thinking about you too much.”
“Honey, no one ever thinks of me too much.” Miss Luthor raises an eyebrow and flashes a smirk Kara’s way.
Kara blushes. “Well since this is all not real, care for an interview? Maybe my subconscious can tell me something.”
“I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I’m here. I mean, I feel real. But I have never met you before. But I’ve been watching you for a while and all of a sudden you can see me.”
“Sounds very dreamish to me. So, Interview?”
“I don’t think that’s how dreams work.” Miss Luthor says with a laugh.
“I don’t think I could dream up that laugh, Miss Luthor.”
Miss Luthor winces, “If this isn’t real, then please call me Lena. Miss Luthor makes me feel like I am in a Boardroom.”
“All right, Lena then. I’m Kara.”
“Really? I thought it was Pony Tail. At least that's what that angry goblin man called you.”
“You saw that?”
“I’ve been with you almost all day. I've seen everything.”
“Everything?” Kara’s voice gets a bit higher.
“Don’t worry, I stayed out of the bathroom stall.”
“Oh good, my subconscious lets me have my privacy.”
“Still don’t think that’s true, but tell me, Kara, why are you doing this? Why are you trying to make me look so good? You don’t even know me?”
“I’m not trying to make you look good. You were good. The things you were doing for your employees and National City is amazing. Not to mention your charity helping third world countries. Like, What weren’t you doing?”
“I wasn’t living. I was working myself until I couldn’t think to fill the void of loneliness that I thrust upon myself by turning in my brother and cutting my mother out of my life.”
“Wow, intense. But you didn’t find joy in anything you did.”
“I did. But it was always just so temporary. And I had no one to share it with. I never understood why people would talk about sharing their lives with significant others but when the machine malfunctioned and I saw the bright light. It all hit me at the same time and then I was there, watching you interview with Jess.”
“Man, I really wish you weren’t dead. I would have loved to meet you.”
“But I don’t think I am.”
Kara jerks awake, scattering her papers and pens to the floor. She casts about for Lena before realizing she was in fact just dreaming. A glance at her computer screen does reveal a stream of F’s going on for way too many pages. The sun has long set and Kara looks at her watch to see that it is now three in the morning. She groans, she has less than four hours to sleep before getting up again.
Kara is dead on her feet the next morning, she bought two caramel ice cappuccinos for herself and drank them both before they had a chance to melt. Kara has to do a double take when she sits at one of the cafe tables. She swears Lena is sitting across from her, but when Kara blinks, she’s gone. Kara shakes her head and chalks it up to the lack of sleep. On the street, as Kara works on her vanilla cream-filled doughnut, she almost drops it because someone runs into her, she has an apology half way out of her mouth before realizing that the person is long gone.
Eyebrows drawn together, Kara finishes her trek to work and hides in her cubicle. Luckily, Snapper seems content to allow her to work on the Lena Luthor story and leaves Kara alone for the morning. It’s nearing noon when Kara’s phone buzzes.
Noonan’s?
Alex knows her sister very well. Noonan’s sounds perfect.
20 min? Kara responds.
A thumbs-up emoji comes in response and Kara begins saving her place so she can head out to meet her sister. Kara logs out and stands to swing her bag onto her shoulder, somehow knocking her pen container to the ground in the process. Kara groans to herself and stoops to pick them up. Someone giggles at her misfortune but Kara can’t pinpoint which one of her coworkers it was.
Kara shakes her head and lets it go.
“Hey Alex,” Kara greets as she sinks into the seat across from her sister at Noonan’s.
“Hey Kar… you look exhausted.”
“Gee, thanks. Good to see you too.”
“I’m your sister, I’m supposed to call it how it is. What’s up?”
Before Kara can respond, their waitress interrupts. “The usual, dears?”
“Yes, thanks, Carol.” Kara says.
“So?” Alex asks, raising an eyebrow.
“It’s nothing, really.” Kara tries to wave off her sister’s concerns but Alex continues to stare her down. “It’s just this L-Corp article. I stayed up way too late researching and fell asleep at my computer.”
“You have got to stop doing that to yourself.”
“I know, I know. I even had this super weird dream about Lena Luthor.”
“Weird how?”
“She was just there in my apartment, sitting at my table, and we just started talking. But then she kept saying how she didn’t think she was actually dead. It just felt so real. I don’t know. It was weird.”
“Sounds like you have been really focused on this. You were probably just overtired.”
“Maybe, but forget about me. What’s new with you?”
“Not much. I’m thinking about asking Kelly to move in.” Alex winces at Kara’s high pitched squeal.
“Not much?! That’s huge Alex! Really? I’m so happy for you!”
Alex laughs at Kara’s enthusiasm. “It’s not that big of a deal. She hardly ever goes back to her apartment anyway, mine is closer to both of our jobs and she already has half my closet space.”
“But still! That’s great. I love Kelly, well not how you love Kelly, but like I love Kelly as a very possible future sister-in-law.”
“Whoa, slow down sis. Let’s take this one step at a time.”
“Sorry, I just excited for you. It will be great. We should have a dinner party after you ask to celebrate.”
“Here you ladies go,” Carol set’s down the plates of food, Kara’s piled high with extra fries and a couple of extra pickles next to her burger.
“Thanks,” Alex accepts her club sandwich with a hungry grin. "Want my pickle?"
"Always," Kara grins as she grabs the spear from her sister's plate.
As Kara settles back into her chair, she does a double-take. She could have sworn she had seen Lena Luthor watching her from the door. But when she looked again there was just a woman with dark hair waiting for a seat.
"What's wrong?" Alex asks, noticing her sister's confusion.
"Nothing. Just, jeez, I must be really thinking too much about this article. I keep thinking I see Le- Miss Luthor out of the corner of my eye. It's happened a couple times today."
"Well, maybe when you finish this article, you should put in for some personal time. You haven't taken a day off since you became a reporter two years ago. And you have been pushing really hard this past couple of weeks. We even canceled the last two game nights, which, by the way, Kelly wants to have on Friday."
"Oh! Yes! I met a new friend interviewing for this article. Winn, he asked if we could hang out sometime so I told him he should definitely come to game night."
Alex raises an eyebrow at her sister.
"What?" Kara asks through a mouthful of fries.
"Kar…"
Kara swallows. "What?" She asks innocently.
"I think that poor man was trying to ask you out."
"Wha-? No. Wait." Kara rethinks their last interaction. She frowns hard and then shrugs. "He isn't really my type, plus I'm a little put off of men still. Don't get me wrong, I am still attracted to them but after Mike, I think I need a break from them."
"Hey, you won't find any arguments from me. Women are prettier anyway." Alex laughs.
"All right you big lesbian, yes they are. But I'm not really feeling the dating thing anyway. I just need some 'me' time."
"I don't need to know about your 'me' time. Some things are just best for sisters not to know.”
"Ugh, Alex! Not like that. Well… a little like that, but not the point. Okay changing the subject. How are you asking Kelly to move in?"
<><><><>
Kara was really starting to hate this feeling of being watched. It had nagged at her all day. Like someone was just behind her, watching everything she did. It followed her all the way home and into her apartment. Kara was trying to just chalk it up to lack of sleep and overthinking but then she just thought about it more and it became a vicious cycle. The back of her neck prickled as she locked her front door and Kara only hesitated a moment before chaining the door along with the deadbolt. Kara knew she should sleep, but this article needed to be done and prepared for whatever new information L-Corp sent out when they concluded their investigation. To Kara though, that information would be last. She really wanted to focus on Lena's life instead of her death. Kara ordered pizza and began to dive deep into her research again. Each new charity or fundraiser event leading to a new one. There were some that Kara could not find clear evidence of it being Lena so she emailed Jess who responded promptly with a list of events and organizations that Lena decided not to be listed on or listed as a minor contributor even though the exact opposite was true.
Around 9, Kara can feel her eyelids growing heavy as she shakes off sleep and takes another bite of her half-finished pizza. Or she tries to. Darkness envelops her consciousness and panic feels like it wraps around her heart.
“Where am I? Come on… come on. I have to find a way back. There… There! I have to—”
Kara jerks awake, knocking her pizza box onto the ground and nearly punching her computer screen. Though the confused, muddled images fade, the fear keeps her heart pumping. Kara isn't really sure what she was just dreaming of but it raised goosebumps on her arms.
Kara stands and shuts her computer. Even as she is telling herself how ridiculous it was, Kara checks all the locks on her windows and balcony doors. She even rechecks her front door. Satisfied, Kara goes to brush her teeth and climbs into bed. She still can’t shake the dream. Kara lays awake, listening to every noise of the city and her neighbors.
Kara must have drifted off at some point because soon she is woken again by a rattling noise. It’s slow, coming back to consciousness, but when she does, her knuckles tighten on her comforter as she remains as still as possible and held her breath to pinpoint the cause of the noise.
The rattling continues and seems to be growing more agitated. Quietly, Kara gets off her bed and grabs her baseball bat from her closet. Alex had insisted on her having something to protect herself when she moved out on her own. She had laughed at the time but she wasn't laughing now. Kara tiptoes back out into the living room, bat half raised as her eyes straining in the darkness. Luckily, the moon is full and illuminated the living space enough for Kara to look for anything out of place. The rattling noise came again and Kara's head snaps in that direction, lifting the bat higher.
With a laugh, Kara releases the breath she is holding. Streaky is perched on the fire escape swatting at the window to be let in. The stray cat had selected Kara's apartment to escape to when he sensed storms coming or drops in temperature.
Kara sets the bat against the couch and unlocks the window to let the demanding feline in.
"Hey bud, trying to scare me to death?"
Streaky just lets out a meow of protest at how long it took for Kara to allow him entry.
"Yeah, yeah," Kara says to him. "Come on, I'll put some food and water down. Then, you have to let me sleep. I only have three more hours."
Kara digs in the bottom of her pantry for Streaky's bowl and food. She fills one half with the dry food and the other with water. She has to concentrate not to trip over the cat circling her ankles. Kara sets it down with a scratch behind pointed ears and earns a contented purr.
By the time Kara is crawling into bed to try and sleep, Streaky is making himself comfortable at the foot of it.
Kara's alarm blares all too soon and she is starting to seriously consider time off like her sister suggested. Kara rubs the sleep from her eyes and looks at Streaky. He is sitting up with his back to Kara. He is too stiff for his normal behavior. As Kara watches him, Streaky's head slowly pivots to the right, then back to the left, as if tracking the movement of something. But he isn't looking at the ground. Streaky is looking straight ahead, if even a little up.
"Hey…". Kora mumbles, trying to break the creepy behavior, she taps him with a foot. Streaky doesn't even budge from his watchful stance.
"Okay, weirdo."
With the sun rising, most of the anxiety from the night before had faded, but the cats strange behavior still set prickled at Kara's neck.
She decided a shower would help clear the night from her mind and the sleep from her eyes. The hot water soon had the bathroom steaming and Kara lets her tense shoulders relax under the water pressure. She knows she can’t stay in all morning but boy, is she tempted to. Streaky is protesting at the closed bathroom door, hating being shut out of a room. With a groan, Kara turns off the water and grabs the towel from the bar next to the tub. A quick pat down before stepping out to wrap her hair up.
Kara turns to wipe the moisture from her mirror and freezes with her heart.
