A/N: Establishing myself in the Supergirl fandom one fic at a time.

Today was the day. Sky blue eyes snapped open as the thought made its way to the girl's mind. Today was the day. She hastily got out of the weathered mattress she called bed and tied her unkempt hair into a messy ponytail, strands falling around her face. She didn't bother changing her clothes, she didn't have anything better to wear anyway. Taking a deep breath, she walked to the window and jumped outside. She never used the door, something about jumping out the window always made her feel… freer. Hoards of people were already making their way to the central offices; the exam center, whatever everyone liked to call it. It was a huge building on the other side of the wall and a rite of passage from rags to riches. A privilege that only a tenth of all the people who were there would manage to enjoy after everything.

There were people all around her with their families and friends, looking like they had definitely seen better days. She saw people walking hand in hand, in pairs, in groups, some chatting enthusiastically and some with a forlorn expression on their faces. She felt a pang of jealousy settle in the pit of her stomach, then. She had no one to talk to, no one to take her mind off what was about to happen. It was the most important day of their lives, and she had no one to share it with. Her sister, only a year older than her, had already gone through this a year ago and she hadn't seen her since. She hoped it was because she had actually passed the tests and not because she had gotten killed in the process. She knew her sister, however, she knew how tough she was, she was fine. She had to be.

It was a forty-five-minute walk from her place to the headquarters. She had lost count of how many steps she had climbed when she finally saw the imposing building in its entirety, the huge 'L' that was adorned everywhere putting an extra weight on her chest. The whole building was in the shape of the letter, as she would later come to realize.

"Be sure everyone's in position. I don't want last year's events repeating themselves."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And go tell Corben that I'll need to speak to him after the announcement. Have him wait in my office."

"Yes, ma'am."

"And for goodness' sake, Lena, at least act like you want to be here. People would kill to be in your place."

'People will kill to be in my place…' "Right. I'm sorry."

"Go now. The ceremony's about to begin."

Put these on." A red t-shirt and a pair of blue sweatpants were shoved into Kara's arms. They were exactly her size, she realized but didn't question it. The people here probably knew at what age she had lost her first tooth, so of course they would know her clothes size.

"Please do not forget your locker number," came a robotic voice from the speakers and some people laughed.

"As if I'm ever going back to those rags after wearing these," a man exclaimed, his hands running up and down the soft material of his new clothes.

"Everyone please gather in the main hall. You have five minutes," a woman, obviously high in the ranks, spoke from the door. Her hair and makeup were immaculate and so were her clothes and she made everyone look (and feel) inferior. Kara hastily hid the necklace she had been wearing under her shirt and followed the others to the meeting point. She could already feel her heart beating faster and her palms sweating and they hadn't even started yet.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Process." A girl who looked much too young to even be there, let alone the one running this whole thing had appeared on the balcony above them. "As all of you know, this is the most important day of your lives. Whether you pass or fail is up to you. Make sure you do your best and then some and always remember, no matter who you are, you all deserve to be here and you all deserve what's to come."

"Well, that sounds just a little bit ominous," a young man whispered close to her ear, but Kara was too busy studying the Process leader and her every move.

"To begin," the girl continued after a short pause, "each of you will be interviewed individually by one of our agents." Murmurs could be heard all around as her gaze rose to a balcony higher up than the one he was on, where some people that had previously gone unnoticed were standing and Kara followed her eyes. A tall, imposing woman nodded at the girl who was speaking and, immediately after, Kara found herself staring straight into her intense eyes as if she had somehow sensed she was being watched. "Those of you who will pass, will then proceed to the next test," the girl carried on with her speech, but the words were background noise in Kara's mind now; that woman had certainly caught her attention and peaked her interest. "In the end of this elimination process, only a tenth of you will remain. Only a tenth of you will be worthy to live the rest of your lives in the Haven. So try your best; make yourselves and your families proud and come celebrate and live life as it was always meant to be lived. I wish you all a good luck." It was the sudden surge of talking all around her that brought her attention back to what was happening. She blinked rapidly a couple of times, apparently having forgotten to do so while staring at the woman on the balcony. The girl in front of them took one last look at the crowd before turning around to leave, not bothering to answer any of the many questions that the candidates were shooting her way. Kara followed the woman with her eyes as the latter made her way towards the girl and placed an obviously firm hand on her shoulder, making her wince slightly.

"You did good, Lena," the woman stated as she tightened her grip on the girl's shoulder. It was no doubt going to bruise later, Lena knew that. "You didn't stumble once."

"Thank you," she replied curtly. Anything more would be unnecessary, she knew that too.

"Now, don't get too comfortable. The interviews are about to begin."

"Are you sure I should be conducting one?" the girl asked despite herself and the woman's eyes narrowed.

"Have you no faith in yourself?" she asked.

"I have more than enough faith in myself," Lena defended immediately, making sure to keep her voice calm and level. "I'm not even of age yet, though. I'm not supposed to be here." That was something that had always bothered her. She really wasn't supposed to be there, not for another three years anyway and that was if she was capable to pass all the tests. It felt like cheating. It was cheating.

"You are supposed to be wherever I tell you to be, is that clear?" the woman hissed, her hand now moving to grip the back of the young girl's neck.

"Yes, ma'am," Lena nodded hastily.

"Good. Now off you go." The woman pushed her forward leading her off with the other agents who were headed to the interview rooms.

"All candidates please proceed to the interview rooms. The test will begin shortly." It was the same robotic voice that had earlier instructed everyone not to forget their locker number. Kara felt her heart rate pick up as she slowly followed a small group of people she had befriended in the same direction everyone was going.

"Are you nervous?" a young man, Winn as she had found out, asked her as he walked next to her.

Kara shook her head and took a deep breath. "No. My sister is already there and I promised her I'd go find her. I can't be nervous."

"I'm sure you'll do great. We all will." It sounded more like the man was trying to convince himself rather than anyone else.

"I know we will," Kara nodded with a smile.

"There's so many people," came a voice from behind the pair after a second of silence. The girl who had spoken was smiling, in spite of how nervous she looked. Kara could see her hands shaking. "By the time we get to the end, there'll be like fifty of us or something. Maybe not even that." Her voice was firm yet warm. "Well, in any case, I'll see you guys there," she smiled again a toothy grin, making both Kara and Winn chuckle. "I'm Lucy, by the way," she reached out for a handshake.

"Kara," the blonde smiled. "And this is Winn."

"You guys know each other?"

"No, we just met here. But we grew up in the same neighborhood, apparently."

Lucy's smile widened a little as she nodded. "Well, it's always nice to have a piece of home with you. My sister left me her bracelet to carry with me for good luck." She patted the front pocket of her pants knowingly. "She went through the tests a few years ago. We never got along, but I still hope she's okay. I'm kinda excited to see her if I'm being honest."

Kara offered the girl a smile but didn't say anything. She listened on as her and Winn fell into easy conversation, distracting themselves from the upcoming first test. An interview didn't sound so bad, really, right? Kara could do that, she could answer some questions, she could talk about stuff. She silently thanked Eliza for making sure both her and Alex got a well-rounded education, despite their limited means. Yes, the interview was the easy part.

It was another half an hour before it was their turn. A green light went on over the big, heavy-looking door they had been standing in front of, signaling them that it was their turn to make their way inside

The room was dark and it took Kara a few short moments for her eyes to adjust themselves to the sudden change. Once they did, she could see that there were rows upon rows of cubicles, each separated by a wall in an attempt to prevent everyone from seeing one another. The only light sources she could locate were the small light bulbs used to light up each of the cubicles, making for quite an eerie sight. There were already people sitting in the cubicles, clear plastic partitions, 'screens' , in front of them, the name of a candidate flashing on each one.

Kara was walking slowly, her eyes scanning every name trying to find her own when her gaze suddenly fell on one of the agents. It was the girl from before, the one giving the big entrance speech. Despite her mature getup and makeup, she still looked young; even younger now that Kara was seeing her up close. Her green eyes bored into her as she stared at her with an intensity that made the blonde gulp nervously. She hastily checked the name flashing in front of the brunette and sighed softly when she realized it wasn't hers. It took her another half a minute to find her cubicle and get herself seated. The agent assigned to interview her welcomed her with a small smile on his face, the sight making her feel a little bit more at ease. She could do this.

"Lillian Luthor. All set for another year of testing?" The tall woman paused mid-stride.

"You don't work here," she stated matter-of-factly as she eyed the young woman who had just spoken from head to toe. To say she was not impressed by her boyish stance and choice of clothing would be an understatement.

The newcomer chuckled amusedly. "No, no I don't. My name's Margarita Sawyer," she reached for a handshake but the gesture was never returned. "I was sent here to watch and evaluate the tests.

"I don't believe I got that memo," Lillian crossed her arms in front of her chest as she looked down at the woman in front of her.

"It was a last-minute decision, I'm afraid. Sorry for the inconvenience, but it appears that I am your memo."

"I see," the woman scoffed. "Well, I'll need to check your ID first."

"Of course," Maggie nodded. "One can never be too careful," she added as she rolled up her sleeve and turned her arm so that the inside of her elbow was visible. Lillian shone a red light on the spot and nodded in confirmation a moment later.

"Very well. If you'll follow me, Mrs. Sawyer, the next round of interviews is about to begin."

"You can call me Maggie. Mrs. Sawyer is my mother."

"And you can call me Mrs. Luthor."

"Hello."

"Hi- I- I mean- That was too informal. Hello, I mean hello." The man sitting across from her narrowed his eyes and Kara felt a lump forming in the back of her throat. First impression was definitely out the window.

"Please state your name."

"Kara Danvers," Kara immediately replied, her hands clasped tightly on the desk in front of her to keep them from fidgeting.

The man looked at her inquisitively. "Are you nervous, Kara Danvers?"

"No, sir, I'm not." She quickly relaxed her hands and slouched ever-so-slightly.

"Good," he nodded slowly. Kara could hear conversations going on all around her and she felt slightly nervous that her interviewer was simply staring at her. Had she messed up so bad already? "A very famous chemist," the man in front of her begun, snapping her attention back to him, "was found murdered in his kitchen today. The police have narrowed it down to six suspects. They know it was a two-man job. Their names are Felice, Maxwell, Archibald, Nicolas, Jordan, and Xavier." Kara struggled to remember every little detail of what she was being told. "A note was also found with the body with the numbers 26-3-58/28-27-57-16 written on it. Who are the killers? You have thirty seconds."

"Wh-what?" The blonde blinked feeling her brain short-circuiting.

"Twenty."

"Uhhh… Um, o- okay so…" She replayed everything in her head with as much detail as she could, her fingers drumming quickly on the desk and her teeth gnawing at her bottom lip as the cogs in her brain worked on overdrive.

"Ten."

"Felice and Nicolas," she blurted out just as the man was about to begin counting down to zero. He nodded for her to elaborate. "The- the numbers correspond to atomic numbers on the periodic table of elements," she explained. "Twenty-six is Iron, Fe. Three is Lithium, Li. Uh… Fifty-eight Cerium, Ce, twenty-eight Nickel, Ni, twenty-seven Cobalt, Co, fifty-seven is Lanthanum, La and- and sixteen is Sulfur, S." She could barely contain the relieved smile that spread across her lips as the interviewer nodded and looked at her, obviously impressed.

"Very well," he smiled back. "Now…" his voice drew out and Kara mentally prepared herself for another similar riddle. "I'm going to ask you a personal question." She nodded. "When was the last time you showered and washed your hair?" She felt the breath hitch in the back of her throat.

"When I had enough water to waste," she replied more quietly this time, trying to mask the embarrassment in her voice. The man nodded again. Kara was beginning to hate that. Sudden yelling coming from a cubicle close to her own made her jump in surprise.

"Are you even supposed to be here?" a man yelled, his hands banging on the desk.

A female voice, much calmer than his own, replied something that Kara was unable to make out. The man yelled again about how they were kicking out the best candidate they'd ever have, but, apparently, his interviewer was having none of it. He was escorted out of the room kicking and screaming a second later.

"Eliminated," the man explained and it took Kara a second to learn how to breathe again when she realized he was talking about what had just happened and wasn't, in fact, kicking her out as well.

"Are a lot of people eliminated during the interviews?" she asked despite herself.

"More than you'd think. This is a key process of picking out the bad seeds. You'd be surprised how many candidates fail even the most basic of questions. Now, why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

"Um… Okay… Well, my name is Kara, but you know already, I… I used to live with my sister but she's been in the Haven for a year now, so I've been by myself. My parents are both dead… I've um… I've never-"

"Sister, you say?" he interrupted her.

"Yes. Her name's Alex- well, Alexandra Danvers, she's only a year older than me."

"Is she the one who gave this to you?" he asked nodding towards the half-hidden necklace around her neck.

"N- no. It was my mother's." Her hand moved to touch the pendant as if it had a mind of its own. "It's the only thing I have left from her."

"You said your mother is dead, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Is that why you keep it?"

"It's the only thing I have left from her," she repeated, her fingers still playing with the silver pendant.

"You could've sold it, you know," he stated. "Would have gotten you quite a bit of money too. Since it's silver and all."

"I know," was the only thing that came out of Kara's mouth.

"What do you think of death?" The interview had gone from riddles to talk of death and Kara could feel herself losing her train of thought. She wasn't prepared for this.

"I think it's a… it's a natural, inevitable um… event in everyone's lives and it's no use fearing it or trying to avoid it. It'll get us all, eventually."

"You have no fear of death." It was more of a statement with a slight question mark at the end.

Kara thought for a second. "More like… a curiosity," she settled on saying.

The interviewer nodded once again, his eyes scanning the clear screen in front of him. "And what if I told you to leave that necklace right here?" he tapped on the desk with his finger and raised an eyebrow, curious to see how everything would play out. Kara felt a familiar sting behind her eyes. "Are you going to cry, Kara Danvers?" She hastily shook her head, willing the tears away. She slowly wrapped her fingers around the silver chain and yanked it away from her neck. Her hand trembled slightly as she placed it on the desk in front of her. The man smiled in approval. "Congratulations," he said and Kara suddenly felt light-headed. "You may proceed to the next round." It was her turn to nod now as she pushed her chair back and got up.

"Thank you," she muttered throwing one last look at the silver pendant.

"I wouldn't be too excited to see your sister if I were you," came the man's voice from behind the screen once again. "Says here she's dead." Kara's jaw felt slack and she had to stifle a sob.

A/N: So... hi! Yeah, I don't really have any idea what I'm doing but this thing just wouldn't leave my mind. Reviews and feedback would be greatly appreciated as this is my first Supergirl story. Thanks for reading, you guys! ^^

P.S: Any and all mistakes are mine and so is any OCCness you might come across