Kara, Lena, Alex, and the rest of the superfriends stood around the marble oval table in Lena’s home office, their makeshift war room for the time being, divvying out assignments to search the city. Brainy had already finished reviewing the school’s security footage at the main entrances of the school, but still found no sign of Lori or anyone looking remotely like her leaving the building.
“Could she have left from the roof?” Nia suggested as a long shot.
“Checking now… negative, the roof door sensors didn’t go off today.” Brainy confirmed.
“I just don’t understand how she seemed to disappear without a trace.” Alex questioned.
“There has to be another way...” Kara huffs. The super was getting more and more irritated. How could they send their daughters to a top-notch school with the best security in the city and still lose one? After they find Lori, Kara would be making a very concerted effort to get in on the PTA.
“There are five entrances into the school.” Brainy informs.
“What?” Kara exclaims. “But they only have the two main entrances.”
“Main, is the key word there. Briany’s right.” Lena pulls up the school blueprints for both the remodeled school, showing two main entrances, and the original blueprint, showing an additional three entrances.
“And they don’t keep security cameras or door alarms on any of them! In this day and age - I mean -” Kara was fuming now.
“Kara breath.” Lena warns in her CEO voice. “Lori could have left out of any one of those entrances. The two entrances on the north facing side lead to Central St. which has several bus routes connected. The entrance facing east leads to a dead-end parking lot, so we should focus our search on Central St. and those bus routes.
“We don’t have much to go off of, but if we split up, we should be able to cover the city in under an hour.” Alex shows the team seven sections of the city on the hologram, each color coordinated to the respective superfriend. As Lena went into more detail on specific locations, she was interrupted by a soft cough coming from behind the door. The group turned to see El, who had just made it home from school, peeking through the crack. El looked back at the group like a baby deer in headlights, completely frozen and then rushed off toward the stairs, shortly after which the group heard a loud thud from El tripping her way up the stairs.
“I’ll check on her.” Kara said as she left the room.
“Ellie, hey little one,” Kara found El laying on her bed, hands clutching her raven hair. “I know this is scary, but we’re going to find your sister, ok.” El shook her head as she sat up and looked at her Jeju with red rimmed eyes.
El took out her pocket notebook and pen and started writing - i’m sorry. My fault. Kara decided not to push El to speak, especially under such stressful circumstances.
“It's not your fault El. We don’t know what happened, but we’re doing everything we can to get Lori back.” Kara reassured as she started standing up to get ready to search.
El wrote again – She said she was just tired, but something else is wrong. I didn’t say anything and now she’s gone.
“What do you mean she said she was tired?” Kara asked curiously.
El wrote some more – She wasn’t acting like herself, she stopped smiling and talking to people. She was sneaking out the back entrance of the gym at lunch but I never saw her come back in today.
A light bulb immediately went off in Kara’s head - the east-facing entrance from the original blueprint - the one that leads to a dead end.
“El, did Lori say or do anything else? Do you know if she could have gone anywhere else?” Kara questioned. Jeju almost never used a serious tone like this with El and it made the teen shrink in on herself even more.
El shook her head with tear filled eyes. “‘m s-s-sor-ry” El said voice cracking.
Kara knelt down to look El in the eyes, “You have nothing to be sorry about. This was not your fault. Thank you for telling me, Ellie.” El threw herself into Kara’s arms, an occurrence that rarely happened. Kara held her daughter until a knock at the door caused the two to break apart.
“Everything ok here?” Lena questioned.
“Yes, I think El may have figured out which exit Lori left from.” Kara nodded down at her youngest.
----
Kara finished her segment of the city first and then looped around to help cover the others. Lena and Brainy stayed at the house monitoring various camera footage to signs of Lori, only spotting her a few times from footage taken hours prior. It was finally dark out and getting colder as the sun fell.
“The bridge, thirty-seven minutes ago.” Brainy calls out.
“Details please. Which bridge?” Lena cuts in.
“Lori was crossing the bridge on Hawthorn over the bay leading towards the industrial park just outside the city about thirty-eight minutes ago now.” Brainy clarifies pulling up the images of a lanky blond in a National City Prep school uniform - short sleeved blue polo, plaid gray and red skirt, blue knee high socks and ballet flats. The girl walked stiffly, not looking around, just forward. Lena couldn't help but think she was looking at a stranger. Why would Lori wander outside of the city? The industrial park was known for a variety of troublesome activities - drugs, gangs, prostitution, and all sorts of crime.
Brainy sent an update to the team on the ground. Kara was already flying toward the industrial park with Alex following behind on motorcycle. As she flew, Kara couldnt help but think of all the times she had to go to the industrial park to fight. The area seemed to attract all the worst sorts, and now apparently her daughter who was doing roa knows what.
Kara sped through the entire industrial park, but found no sign of Lori. “Brainy, you’re sure she’s here?”
“Affirmative, she started walking across the bridge forty-two minutes ago, and assuming Lori was consistently walking at her average pace, she would have made it to the industrial park twenty-three minutes ago.” Brainy explained. “Though, the human body tires quickly especially after longer travel with poor footwear. It's possible…”
“Found her,” Alex cuts in. “Kara, I need you to get down here.
After the death of winter, when the earth became alive and the rain poured during the night, the sound of crashing waves against the rocks began to drown the voices from the patio, as the slight breeze of the ocean surrounded the beach.
You buried your feet in the sand while the ocean breeze wrinkled your dress. The salty air invaded your tongue as your bloodshot eyes stared blankly at the ocean. From a distance, the debate in your mind was evident as you fought reality in silence, you didn’t want to believe it.
The passing thought of a life-changing event that could come at any time was more than enough to make you crash.
The flowers were supposed to bloom, the nights were supposed to be longer and the slight anticipation of the coming summer. But in the cold afternoon, during late March, everything shifted and changed.
Flower bouquets decorated the living room, as the soft music filled the house. Your hand kept playing with the red sun ring that sat in your right hand, as you stood beside the staircase with an unconscious gaze fixed on nothing.
People came and went with hugs and small nods of sympathy. Your family, the superfriends, Earth 1 superheroes and their families, DEO agents and more. But you waited in silence, waited to wake up, waited for the cheerful barking from the family dog, Krypto, as she landed in the backyard, to see her through the house with a smile. Waited for the scolding for not having socks on due to the cold floor, waited for the scolds of using super powers for chores, waited to be called for family dinner, waited for the long talks about the most uncommon things after work, waited for the last piece fight, waited for the loud laughs because of her favorite movies, waited for the night flights, and the roof talks.
Waiting for your family to tell you it was all a lie, waiting for the hugs, waiting for the ‘good nights’ and ‘I love yous', you waited for her but she never returned.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
The familiar voice of the neighbor’s kid brought you back to reality. Broody always had a cheerful smile and shiny brown eyes, full of life and energy. And now he stood with a small tucked-in shirt and bloodshot eyes, looking at you with pain and sadness.
With a cough and a small, shy nod, you nervously grasped the end of your sleeves and entered the house. You tried to look everywhere but him, as she placed her keys beside the family picture.
Smiles and laughter were caught in the picture, the beach background radiated summer and the sunkissed tans on all of you confirmed the vacation photo. It looked perfect, even though your hair was sopping wet and out of place, happiness radiated from you. You stood beside your family hugging you, Lena and Kara looking at you as if you were their center of the universe, enjoying one another, totally clueless about what the next year was going to be like.
And that's how you found yourself looking down at the tablet, her old suit up in a display beside her first photo appearance as supergirl, you knew the truth, that was not her.
She would roam around with polos, and colorful shirts, blonde disarrange hair. Red cheeks and a small mark by her eyebrow. Ocean orbs that are always smiling. That’s how she was supposed to be, full of energy and jokes even in the darkest days but not anymore.
There you wondered of a life without her, a life without her laughs, her jokes, her smile. A life where she wasn't there, where the memories of her were all you had, where she didn’t get to walk you down the aisle, a life where she didn’t stand beside you at graduation, and your first day of college. A life where one last time she decides to save the world instead of being with you.
——
The summer after high school graduation was the time when teens made memories and held them close to their hearts for the rest of their lives. The happiness and warmth as they prepared for the biggest change in their lives, college.
You were supposed to work for the first few weeks of summer, before going on your senior trip with your best friend before coming back home and organizing your things for college before going on the family trip to New York. But plans changed and you isolated yourself.
For you change has never come easy, from changing your favorite clothes as you grew out of them to the disappearance of your jeju. The last few weeks of Senior year had passed in a blink of an eye, one moment you stood beside your grieving family during Spring break, and the next you stood beside them with a cap and gown at graduation without your mom.
You didn't eat, didn't sleep, you didn't shower, you were just there. All around surrounded by painful memories that haunted you. The darkness of your room felt reassuring when everything started to turn until it wasn't the same she knew.
Everything was different, it felt different, it sounded different, it tasted different. There was a silence between the family, an unbreakable pressure each one of them had. And when her common phrase stood on the wall by the family portrait in her unique handwriting.
‘Things need time because time heals’
You couldn’t help but hate her even more. Because how could time heal this?
How could you see life after losing your jeju? how could you understand the meaning of it, how could you see yourself walking down the aisle, how could you not wish for her to be there on your graduation, how could you be able to go to sleep without dreaming of her, how could you keep missing her, how could you keep using your powers without her. How could you keep going when she wasn't there with you?
After long nights of missing her, you found refuge in the smallest things. Coffee and books became your support after your love for science, journalism and superheroes faded away.
Every once in a while, you spend time in the park sitting on a bench, reading a new book with a small cup of coffee.
It was nice. But nice things can only last for so long. You think bitterly.
You tried to distract yourself from the voices in your head, you worked, but even that only lasts so long until you get back home.
The circles under your eyes grow darker, your favorite foods taste rubbery, and drinks become bitter, your pants become a loser, the red son ring stays on, and the kryptonite pills get taken more and your once full life becomes lifeless.
Memories haunt you, as everything becomes a hateful reminder. The food, the couch, the piano, the car, the house, the beach, the dog, the DEO, the tower, the superfriends. The revelation comes out so honest, you just don't try anymore.
The night was quiet, and you could feel each other's exhaustion. Your brunette-haired mom places the foiled dish on the table, The lasagna was warm, the salty smell of cheese and marinara invading the dining room.
You pluck out the fork on the table, before peeling back the foil trying to get a piece. You sit back and stay silent. You can taste the pasta, cheese, tomato, and meat but with every bite, the taste slowly starts to fade away, until it's all mushy and bitter. You hate it.
The empty seat in front of you is a reminder that she wasn't there anymore. It has been like that for a while, you think mournfully, eyes glued to the chair.
“How was work, darling?” Your mom asks you curiously.
Lena had always been a person of tranquility even during the disappearance of Kara, she tried to show no weakness in front of you since after all, you had no one but her, she had to keep it all together, how else was she supposed to be there for you. She was the CEO of one of the biggest science fundations, she had it handled, or so she thought.
“Good,” You murmured, eyes not leaving the plate while you picked at your food.
“That’s good, honey”
As usual, Krypto lay down beside your chair, waiting for you to pet him. While Lena hears the muffled sound of the golden retriever moving to her daughter’s side; she doesn't argue about his presence in the room, unlike before.
Like when you would sneak him food or try to pet him, even at the worst times possible. Or when you would roam around with him in your arms, and gather up an increasing amount of golden hair on your pants. When you would stay with him, instead of going out. When every single inconvenience was let known to the dog and not her friends. When he wasn't another reminder of her.
With that silence took over the dinner. As for you, you stood up to go to the kitchen, with no sign of acknowledgment to Krypto. Lena watched you leave, with bloodshot eyes sighing in defeat.
You werent dumb, you saw it, more like you saw him but it hurt more and more with time. Even on the darkest nights when you needed him the most, you could only see him across the backyard with your jeju playing catch, she could only see him in her hands with a small bowtie and a wide smile on her face. You could only see Kara through Krypto, and you hated her for that. For making you hate your best friend.
—
You write, write, and write.
You wonder if you'll ever stop. Your therapist said it would help, you don't believe it at first but when the sun circles the earth and the day of your disappearance is back. You're tired but try it, in hopes of something, anything.
In hopes of finding what the itchy feeling on your heart is, in hopes to understand it. Understand how you can find every cloud on a sunny day and hit every traffic light on the road while still deep down wishing she was there. And somehow embrace it, embrace all of the broken pieces of you that stand on the floor.
It has been a year now. You think.
It's almost absurd how you are there standing, breathing, blinking but not living. It didn't feel like living but existing. The same draining routine every day, made you wonder what anything else would feel like.
The pain in your stomach keeps hitting, the weight on your shoulders keeps fatiguing and you can’t fix it, you can’t manage it, you can’t understand why it’s simply not going away.
The bird's tweet, the wind tickling the leaves, and the laughter of the superfriends echoed in the house. Her coffee cup was on the stairs beside you, as you gazed towards the ocean horizon before looking down at the black phone.
Your fingers trembled as you grabbed it, dialing the number you hadn't called in a year. You weren't expecting your call to be answered, but deep down you hoped it would.
Just like you felt the first few months when your eyes trembled to close in tiredness. Because you couldn't handle the thought of going to sleep, because of that miserable second in the morning when you forgot she was gone, and your body wasn't on autopilot anymore.
But when she was met with the pitch of her voice as the voicemail message. Her breath shuttered as her eyes clouded with tears. Your breath hitched at her voice.
“This is Kara Danvers, I’m sorry I couldn't attend your call, please don't leave a message after the tone, just text me like that I might answer faster. And in case I don't see ya! Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night!”
You sniffed and wiped the streams with the back of your hand. “Hey, jeju…”
“I’m sorry, I'm so sorry” You sobbed.
“I'm sorry it has taken me so long to come back to you, I'm sorry for hating you, I'm sorry for not saying goodbye, I'm sorry for everything. But I can't forgive you, I can't.”
“I can't forgive that you left, and now there is a hole in my heart, where you used to be. I just-”
“I love you, and I miss you, I miss you so much.”
You hung up her phone and wiped your tears away. your nose and eyes matched the color of the red of your cheeks, and with a slight tremble in your walk, you twisted the door handle to the house.
Your mom stood from the kitchen aisle and opened her arms. You ran from the door to her mother.
Lena held you tightly almost afraid to let go, swaying back and forth with a hand stroking your hair.
“It’s going to be okay, I promise.” She whispered attentively.
Lena’s emerald green eyes stared right back into the same blue orbs her super had. Kissing your forehead before pulling you into her arms again.
—
After that night, days appeared longer, the wind blew less, and the ocean was calmer. The house started to feel like home again, the lights became brighter, the paint became happier and the walls became peaceful. Krypto roams around more frequently, Lena works less and you are able to feel more.
Sunrises and Sunsets felt relieving on the beachfront, signaling the end and the start of something. Coffee and tea accompanied her in the early morning and late afternoons when you looked for her at the end of the horizon. Because even when every candle, every prayer, every photo, and memory made you hate her, it didn't make up for the fact that the only thing you had left was a hole in your heart where she used to be.
Two years have gone by since the cold and cloudy day in March when your life changed. When her comparison of a Piano and life finally made sense, it was too late, the suffering had already passed and the good in life was slowly fading back into her life.
It was getting easier, the routine helped, and the writing helped, but it was still exhausting for you. To do it every day.
Because even when your mom’s soft embrace became warmer when sweet words healed your cracked heart, and when others left sympathy, it was only you who could heal yourself, because only you knew where it hurt. The pain was deeper from your heart to your mind leaving scars with heavy pain and darkness that eventually would become a reminder and not a feeling anymore.
—
“Krypto. Stop!” You yelled when the dog ran through the back door to the beach.
The sunset was down on the blue ocean, and as the breeze of spring moved the sand, you ran down the patio, trying to catch up with the golden retriever.
Krypto jumped up and down as you stood looking at the now orange and yellowish ocean, as the sunset happened. Taking a deep breath you murmured sitting down petting Krypto. Putting the familiar black cup beside them.
“I miss you.”
Trying to not let the emotion take control, you grasped the end of her sleeves glancing at the ocean as the dog didn't hesitate to lay down on your lap.
With your hand through his hair, you knew as the wave crashed against the rocks and the ocean breeze harshly passed through them. That even when she couldn't be there to witness, she knew about the isolation, the hidden pain, the sadness, and the silence. It all ended by reflecting on one thing, You trying to understand your feelings, your world, your family, and yourself.
The familiar presence of Lena was known when she carefully dropped a blanket on your shoulders and sat beside you. Your lip trembled, as you tugged the blanket around yourself, Lena carefully laid a kiss on your forehead before your bloodshot eyes sobbed in grief.
In silence you turned back to your brunette mother, glancing at the green piercing eyes that always brought comfort in hopes of something.
With sympathy and sadness as she saw her daughter in pain, Lena wished to cease your pain, but she could only give the sweet and comforting words that could help you go through it, after all, she was missing part of her heart too.
As the day ended, the only thing that could be heard was the crashing of the waves in the ocean and the small echo of a young girl sobbing because of the loss of her mother.
—-
The night is long and Lena sits in the kitchen. A wine bottle opened up and the glass was full, her computer running through investors numbers and most of the work papers for the foundation. The engineering tab opens where Kara's suit remains unchanged. The brunette sighs as she hears knocking at the front door. She pulls Kara’s sweater down almost covering her shorts and adjusts her glasses before getting up
It couldn't be you, you had gone upstairs to watch a movie trying to lose track of time before going to bed. She thinks.
She walks up with furrowed eyebrows and opens the door hesitantly and it's met with a sight she had wished for so long.
Kara stands there in all her glory, her suit renovated with now gold straps and a small logo in her sleeves almost as if nothing had happened. Almost out of breath, she talks.
I read Supergirl in Training long time ago, but I think it's one of my favorite. So, in the middle of a commission started to do this sketches and then, well haha
Hope you like it!!
PS ignore that I sign every single one, I was thinking in upload them individually, then decided not to.
Some lovely anon sent me these manips imagining Liam and Luna Danvers-Luthor from my Supercorp fic and I’m speechless 🥺 Thank you so much! 🙏 I’m so emotional over these pixels. I love them 😍
You can read my fic here (it’s a wip, not finished!): https://archiveofourown.org/works/10023851/chapters/22343933
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Hey guys just update my supercorp kid fanfic, enjoy!
Some tomorrow’s will bleed.
The story of the 17-year-old genius daughter of Lena Luthor, the famous LCorp CEO, and Kara Zor-el also known as Kara Danvers who is Supergirl. When the young girl commits a mistake that changed her life, she decides to use one of her mother’s devices to go back 18 hours but ends up in a year where specifically when not even her mothers are together. She is different and people don't like different especially her family, would she bend over what she believes to please her mothers? or Will she finally confront them about everything that she had felt from them her whole life.
