Of Shovel Talks and Scars
Notes: Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on AO3 as Local_Asshole.
Summary: Alex gives Lena a shovel talk. Kara gives Maggie a shovel talk. Hell breaks loose upon Cadmus's bestial creation and Lena finally figures out that her girlfriend of several months is none other than National City's beloved Supergirl.
TRIGGER WARNING: LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE.
I) A Luthor and an Agent
"Jess, I told you that I wasn't to be disturbed," Lena stated, not looking up from her paperwork.
She heard a foot tapping impatiently and deduced that it was not her assistant in her office as the familiar clack of heels was absent.
The Luthor sighed, glancing up from her desk, eyes widening in surprise for a split second before composing her features.
"Agent Danvers?"
Alex ceased to lean against the doorframe and strode into the middle of the room, arms crossed.
A moment of silence passed before Lena cleared her throat, "Can I help you with something?"
The agent replied with a question, "How long?"
The Luthor arched her brow and sunk further into her chair in favor of a more relaxing position, "I'm assuming that you're referring to your sister and I?"
Alex narrowed her eyes.
"I take your silence as a yes," Lena sighed, continuing, "Look, I'm pretty sure already that you're not too fond of your sister's and my relationship with each other. As much as I wanted her to tell her family, it really wasn't in my place, so I could only wait until Kara was ready."
"How long?" the agent repeated, her stance still firm and steadfast.
Lena lazily looked up, aware of her the woman's intentions to frighten her if the tactical outfit and gun were anything to go by.
"Three," the C.E.O. answered vaguely.
Alex scoffed, clearly upset, "So about a wee–"
"Months," she interrupted, much to the agent's dismay according to her momentarily fuming eyes.
"So," the businesswoman continued, resting her elbows on her desk and placing a hand under her chin, "Did you find out or did she tell you?"
"She told me," Alex paused, "Sort of."
"Sort of?" Lena repeated, tilting her head curiously, her interest slightly piqued.
"You know, she's a rambler and all."
The C.E.O. chuckled casually, smirking, "Then a shovel talk's what brings you here I take it?"
"Yes actually, and I'm going to scold Kara when I see her again too for hiding this for so long," the agent nearly growled, "Three months."
"Isn't that a bit hypocritical?" Lena hummed absentmindedly, swiveling in her chair.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm talking about you and Detective Sawyer," she mentioned nonchalantly.
"Listen here, Luthor," Alex scowled, her tone harboring an icy edge as she stalked closer and leaned over until their faces were just several inches away, "That's none of your business."
"But it is, isn't it?" Lena commented unflinchingly, tapping her fingers in a rhythmic pattern on her desk, "If it concerns Kara, then it concerns me."
"And that works both ways, doesn't it?" Alex retorted, "If you pull anything even slightly suspicious, you won't know what's coming for you, and before you know it, you'll disappear off of the face of the Earth. And you very well know that I'm extremely capable of doing that."
Lena remained silent, her calm façade never faltering.
Alex frowned even further, "I don't trust you, so if you hurt her in any way–"
"I won't," the business woman tilted her chin up defiantly.
"Oh, but you will."
"You seem to be confident in that claim."
"Likewise, Luthor."
Lena narrowed her eyes, her vexation rising at the use of her surname, "But you're wrong, I'd never hurt her."
"That stunt you pulled with your mom communicates to me otherwise," Alex snapped, "Do you have any idea how much pain you inflicted on my little sister because of that? She trusted you, she was the only person who trusted you, and you decided to go fuck it up with that suicidal plan of yours under the pretense of betrayal."
Lena could not help but flinch at the comment and repeated herself in a soft, heartbroken whisper, "I'd never hurt her..."
Before Alex could say anything else, she finished her sentence, "...not intentionally..."
The agent almost snorted, "I don't trust you."
"I'm well aware."
She held her hand up to halt whatever the Luthor was going to say next, "But...if Kara has faith in you, then I can at least try. However–"
"Yes, of course," Lena interrupted, waving her hand, "I'll add you to the long list of people who want to get rid of me."
"And unlike the rest, I'll actually succeed."
"Duly noted, Agent Danvers. This was..." she hesitated, "nice."
Alex scoffed, "See you around, Luthor."
Though Lena could hear that there was less acid and venom laced with the word, she still found herself irritated by its use, "I do have a name."
"Yes, and I just used it," Alex smirked.
"A first name," she corrected, rephrasing herself at the asinine remark, "And I'd greatly prefer if you used it instead."
"When you earn it."
Lena rolled her eyes, "This has been lovely, so now you can see yourself out of my office. I'm a busy woman, Ms. Danvers."
II) A Sawyer and a Super
Kara was pacing around in Alex's apartment, contemplating what she should do.
It was her first shovel talk after all.
Her older sister never brought anyone of romantic interest home, or at least ones serious enough to hurt her. The majority of them were short flings because Alex easily lost interest.
Then again. They were all boys she brought home and she was never invested in them.
But Maggie was different. Maggie made her sister cry and made an indescribable fury boil in the pit of her stomach.
So when she overheard them on the phone planning their 'date', Kara took it into her own hands and flew into her sister's apartment, rehearsing what she was going to do or say, to make sure the talk was enough to intimidate though not scare off.
But all of her rationality was tossed out the window when she opened the door to see the face of the woman who made her big sister experience so much heartache.
And that was how she ended up roughly pinning Maggie against the wall, the only thing coming out of her mouth was a surprised yelp as she was dragged in at an inhumane speed.
"L-Little Danvers?" Maggie squeaked, surprised, "What's going on?" she chuckled nervously.
"No, so listen here, punk!" Kara began, shoving her against the wall again. Then she faltered when she saw the woman wince, "O-Oh, are you – are you okay? Was that too much?" she covered her mouth to stifle a worried gasp, "Oh my gosh, I'm – I'm so sorry."
The detective gave her a confused look, "Ummm, are you okay?"
Kara's eyes widened with uncertainty, "What – oh, no," then she shook her head and put on a glare, "Wait – yes?" she coughed, making her voice more serious, "Yes, I'm – I'm perfectly fine!"
"You don't sound so sure," Maggie arched her brow, then grinned, stifling a chuckle, "First shovel talk?"
Kara frowned, "Is it that obvious?"
"Kind of."
"Well, can you at least act like you're a bit intimidated? So that my pride isn't as bruised as it is now?"
"Okay, kiddo," Maggie smiled.
"Hey! Not helping!" the blonde pouted, crossing her arms.
"I can't really pretend to be scared when you're so..." the woman gestured at the reporter's figure.
"When I'm so what?" Kara prodded, offended.
"Kid, your outfit's composed entirely of pastel colors and you're wearing an argyle cardigan along with your hipster glasses, but I'm really trying here though."
Kara narrowed her eyes and scoffed, "Wha – I can – I can be scary! I'm – I'm taller than you!"
"That has nothing to do with intimidation," Maggie sighed, "You get flustered easily and your stuttering doesn't help either, and to be honest, even if you were pissed off I don't think you'd..."
She trailed off, giving the younger Danvers a pitiful look.
Saying the blonde was a little annoyed was an understatement, she was so ticked off that she forgot to restrain her superpowers, gripping the detective's dress shirt by its smooth collar and hauling her up in the air with one hand, effectively wrinkling the fabric.
Maggie gulped, her fear causing her brain to short-circuit and fail to make the connection between the blonde and Supergirl, "You're..." a nervous laugh, "Who knew dorky Danvers had muscle under those puppy eyes and modest clothes?"
"Yeah, and if you make my sister cry one more time, you can bet that I'll fly you up and toss you light years away from Earth and away from her."
It finally hit Maggie, "Y-You...you're Supergirl?"
Kara's eyes widened, "H-How'd you...oh..."
She glanced down and realized that her impassioned anger caused her to float, and that she had her sister's girlfriend pinned up against the wall a few feet from the floor.
They were so caught up in their conversation that they had not heard footsteps approaching their vicinity.
Alex's voice rang out, "Hey, Maggie, you're here al – what in fuck's name!"
The two women glanced to the side at the entrance and Kara immediately released her victim, causing her to plop onto the floor.
The blonde ambled backwards, rubbing the nape of her neck and smiling sheepishly, "Uh, hi, Alex."
Maggie let out a relieved breath, standing up and straightening herself, pun not intended, "I never thought I'd say this, Danvers, but...your little sister kind of terrifies me."
Kara pumped her fists in the air and jumped for joy, "Yes!"
Alex buried her face into her hands and groaned before shooting a glare in the blonde's direction, "You gave her a shovel talk? And you revealed your identity? And you could've hurt her!"
The Kryptonian ceased her cheering, "Okay, first, yes, I gave her the shovel talk. Second, yes, I did reveal myself, but considering how heart eyes you are for her she would've found out eventually. Third, I didn't hurt her. So, there."
She grinned proudly.
Alex folded her arms, continuing to glower and tapping her fingers.
Kara huffed, frustrated, "Hey! Don't give me that look! Do you know how much I wanted to toss you out of the window when you went to give the same shovel talk to Lena?"
The agent had a look of shock, "You were listening the entire time?"
"Uh, duh, and you hurt her feelings too! You're supposed to bring fear and intimidation, not pain! What if you ruined things between Lena and I?"
"Well," Maggie interrupted, grabbing Alex by the waist, "This was fun and as much as I'd love to stay, we're going to be late for our reservation."
Kara rolled her eyes and shooed them away, her voice slightly bitter, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, welcome to the family, Sawyer."
"Wow, I wonder if you were as welcoming with Lena," Maggie smirked at Alex.
Her date stammered, "Well, uh..."
"And we're going to talk about that later. Right?" Kara almost growled, but before either of them could reply, she hugged them, though it was not completely filled with love.
Her embrace was so tight they were lifted into the air and she could hear their joints pop from the strain before loosening her grip slightly.
However, she did not place them on the floor and leaned in to whisper into Maggie's ear, "Again, if you hurt her, you'll find yourself in the worst planet I can throw you at."
"Kar!" Alex scolded, but was shut up when her little sister turned her glare at her.
"And you. I'll deal with you later."
She gulped.
The blonde quickly set them down and beamed, waving an enthusiastic goodbye, "Have a lovely date, ladies!"
III) Beast
Kara was not really expecting to fight an alien just an hour or two after her shovel talk. Since her older sister was on a special date, the hero insisted that she handle the case by herself and J'onn agreed, only because they knew the alien species well.
Or thought they knew it well.
Or more accurately not at all because the hulking, brawns and no brains monster Supergirl thought she would be dealing with turned out to be a shapeshifting beast. It was just bigger than an average male human with a startling amount of both brains and brawn.
What was more worrying was that the battlefield was in front of the L-Corp building where Lena was hastily attempting to evacuate her employees to ensure their safety.
"Supergirl, you have to retreat!" J'onn ordered in a demanding tone, "Pull back so we can analyze this alien, we have virtually no information on it and we can't risk anything."
"I tried that already," the heroine protested, evading another one of its razed sharp clawed blows, "It just targets civilians if I run away so just relay the details you already know to me."
"I was afraid you'd say that," J'onn sighed, and Kara could picture him rubbing his head in frustration, "It's a beast-humanoid hybrid that grows an average of seven or eight feet tall and is a relatively intelligent creature; it's known to be cunning and evasive, so be prepared for any tricks up its sleeves."
Kara took a moment to let the appearance of the monster sink in; its claws were at least a foot long and she recently discovered it could elongate and contract at will, so distance was her friend. However, the creature was extremely agile as well as harboring a surprising amount of strength, enough to mar the skin of a Kryptonian.
"We've determined it's not taking orders from anyone and is acting of its own volition; apparently, it has a few problems with the Luthors. Also, keep in mind that it doesn't like to finish its job quickly and efficiently, it likes toying around with its prey, so I suggest to engage with extreme caution."
Kara felt a large fist smash into her sternum and it sent her flying against the L-Corp building and sprawling on the ground.
"What did I just say about approaching with extreme caution!" J'onn snapped, masking his worry with anger.
The blonde groaned, ignoring his remark and making her fighting stance firm, but when she looked up the beast was nowhere to be found.
"What the hell-"
Kara was cut off by a large body slamming into her backside and through the entrance of her girlfriend's company.
She groaned in frustration, noticing that she was tossed against the famous logo, crumbling to the ground once more, and hissed, "Again? Seriously?"
Her opponent growled, baring its intimidatingly sharp teeth, saliva dripping from its hungry mouth.
"You're really getting on my nerves," Kara huffed.
It grinned in response before charging.
They exchanged several blows, both successfully dodging any incoming punches and kicks.
However, Supergirl forgot to take its tail, an extra appendage, into account and the barbed end sliced across her lower ribs, creating a rather bloody and nasty wound.
Kara was so distracted by the pain that she gasped and the beast found yet another opening, grabbing her by the shoulders and throwing her through the ceiling.
Unknown to them both, Lena was watching the fight behind an obstacle, deciding that distracting the alien was the best course of action for her to take, albeit rather stupid.
But she could not just stand by and watch National City's hero get pummeled to death.
It was just to give Supergirl enough time to recover.
She escaped from the safety of her hiding place and released several bullets from the chamber of her pistol, "Hey, fuckface! Over here!"
Lena miscalculated its speed as it was in front of her in a flash, knocking the gun from her hand as it slithered its tail around its victim's body.
She was wrapped in the strong muscles and felt them tighten around her torso, causing her to cry out.
The alien tilted its head and gave a toothy grin, enjoying the pain it was inflicting and tightened its grip even further.
Lena screamed at the crushing pressure as she heard the unmistakable sound of several cracks and snaps within her ribs.
She struggled to breathe and caught sight of movement from behind the monstrosity.
Supergirl was shaking off the daze that came with her rough landing.
I need to keep distracting it.
The Luthor took a shaky breath and smirked, "Is that all you got?"
The beast snarled and slammed her against the wall, pinning her with its tail.
Lena groaned at the harsh impact the surface made against her skull.
Her thoughts immediately trailed to Kara, her face morphed into one of regret when she recalled that they planned a date later in the week.
Her mind subconsciously asked itself a humorous question.
Would I rather be killed by this thing or Kara?
A barbed tail obscured her line of sight as it was torturously eased into her left shoulder, slowly twisting and turning, causing the worst pain possible and a hoarse scream was ripped from her dry throat as the shard dug deeper into her body.
"Don't fucking touch her!"
There was a flash of blue light and a burning smell invaded the Luthor's nostrils the moment the alien cried out in its own pain, and she was suddenly on the floor, clutching at her wounded shoulder and ribs.
Its tail was melted off by Supergirl's heat vision, and the hero tackled the monster to the ground, grappling and wrestling.
It clawed across her back and Kara gritted her teeth, refusing to shout as she swallowed it back into her throat.
She was so occupied with the pain she had not realized the beast was now targeting her girlfriend.
At the last second, Kara retrieved a metal pole, shielding Lena with her body as she casted the weapon into her opponent's heart, and she simultaneously felt a stabbing pain within her abdomen.
The blonde felt a viscous liquid dripping from her wounds and her mouth as her consciousness wavered.
Lena gaped at the scene, both aliens releasing a pool of blood onto the polished floor of her company.
The creature wailed in pain, flinging the caped hero from its claws as it died on the floor.
"No! Supergirl!" Lena shouted, watching the supposedly indestructible hero's back slam into the wall and gravity tug and pull her body, with her blood trailing down along with her.
She struggled to her feet and staggered over to where the Kryptonian was struggling to breathe, wheezing with every inhale and exhale.
The Luthor knelt beside her, surveying the injuries: lacerations across her back, ribs, and a stab wound in her stomach, all of which were bleeding profusely.
Kara's eyes were glassy, glazed over from the pain and loss of blood, and she barely managed to focus them on the beautiful face panicking above her line of sight.
Her vision was flickering, quickly fading around the edges as Lena futilely attempted to pat her cheeks and staunch the bleeding by ripping parts of her clothes off to utilize as tourniquets, causing Kara to have several sharp intakes of air.
By the time the D.E.O. backup arrived, Supergirl had lost consciousness.
IV) Revelation
Lena did not think the next reason why Alex would be so angry with her was for her own wellbeing.
The agent threw her hands up in the air, "Unbelievable."
The Luthor winced at her movement to lean back in her office chair, "What's the problem this time?"
"My team watched the footage of the fight."
"You think I had something to do with it?" Lena assumed, her shoulders deflating, like she was expecting to be suspected.
Alex was so shocked at the presumption that she was momentarily speechless.
"Listen, Agent Danvers," she sighed, "I know you don't like me, and I swear on my life that I didn't have anything to do with what transpired several days ago, but I'm willing to cooperate if you want to take me in for quest–"
"Oh God no!" Alex interrupted, "I wasn't implying that at all."
Lena's brow raised in surprise, "You...you weren't?"
The agent folded her arms, "Look, you know I don't like you, but not to the point where I'd automatically assume every nefarious event was planned by you. You've got to give yourself more credit than that, even I do."
It's kind of sad how she's just used to everyone hating her guts for no valid reason.
Alex frowned at the Luthor was slight pity.
Lena recognized that expression all too well and glared at the woman across her desk, "Please. Don't give me that look. I loathe it. Now, what was it about the footage?"
The agent cleared her throat, "I just came to give my thanks."
The Luthor widened her eyes.
"For saving Supergirl," Alex finished.
A mirthless and bitter chuckle emanated from the C.E.O.'s throat, "Hardly. But...I appreciate it. This is...very unlike you."
The auburn-haired woman raised a hand to halt her, "I'm not finished."
Lena closed her mouth, waiting.
"I also came here to tell you that what you did was utterly stupid and idiotic."
The businesswoman smirked, "There she is."
Alex scoffed, "You almost got yourself killed. You almost died."
"But I didn't."
"Very convincing argument coming from a woman with several doctorate degrees and whose I.Q. score is well over three-hundred."
"Two-fifty," Lena corrected, "You overestimate my intelligence."
Alex rolled her eyes, "Anyway, I'll never hear the end of it from Kara now," she grumbled, "She's upset we couldn't convince you to stay in the hospital."
The Luthor waved her hand, "No rest for the wicked."
"You successfully insisted on being released after, what, four days?" she growled, exasperated, "Have you seen yourself?"
"Thanks, Agent Danvers," Lena replied sarcastically.
Alex ignored her retort, "A few of your ribs were broken and bruised and your shoulder got impaled! You're in a cast and covered in bandages for God's sake, just get some rest!"
"I'm sorry," Lena apologized, "I know you're frustrated, but I do have a company to run, and I don't trust it in the hands of anyone else."
Alex buried her face in her hands, "Kara's going to kill the both of us."
"Speaking of," the Luthor began, her voice trembling, "Is she all right? She hasn't been answering my calls. I'm worried."
"Well – uh – she..." Alex trailed off on her lie, "She sort of got caught in the crossfire..."
Lena stiffened, "What?"
"She'll get better soon."
"And you neglected to tell me?" she scowled.
"She didn't want me to, and we all know you're busy with L-Corp."
The Luthor grimaced, "This company is worth absolutely nothing compared to Kara."
Alex sighed, "Look, Lena..."
The raven-haired woman startled at the use of her first name and could not help a grin twitch her lips up.
The agent continued, "She's fine, okay?"
The C.E.O. nodded slowly, voice cracked, "Okay..."
Lena raised her voice at Kara, "You could've let me know instead of making me worried sick like that! If you weren't injured I'd slap you upside the head."
The blonde huffed, "And you could've stayed at the hospital longer like we all wanted you to instead of threatening the staff to be let out early!"
The heroine gingerly sat on her girlfriend's office sofa, running her fingers through her thick honey locks and crossing her legs. She let out a small squeak and groan at the pain the movement caused her.
Lena could not help but rush to her side and sit next to her, worrying her bottom lip between her pearly white teeth and full, red lips.
"Are you okay?" they both asked.
Kara chuckled while the brunette smiled at their unified comment.
The blonde quickly frowned, "You...I thought you were going to die..."
Lena could barely make out her girlfriend's panicked expression through the dim lighting in her office and from the moon.
She placed a reassuring hand on her knee, thumb rubbing in soothing circles, "I didn't. I'm alive. I'm right here."
"But that doesn't change the fact that you could've!" she snapped, then her voice faltered, "You're just so reckless sometimes and I hate that."
Lena stood up, tugging at her girlfriend's sleeve, "Let's go home, we can talk about it there, and I can give you that quote you were assigned from Snapper."
Kara got up with her, and gently pulled her closer, hands travelling up to her neck and pulling her in for a gentle kiss.
The blonde smiled when she felt the vibration of her girlfriend's hum and her pale fingers tracing a path up her back.
However, she hit a tender spot that caused her to grunt and whimper in pain.
Lena immediately pulled back as she felt a peculiar ridge-like texture through the fabric.
She glowered at the blonde through the moonlight and flicked the lights on located behind her girlfriend, the brightness straining their eyes for a split second, "Take your shirt off. Now."
Kara chuckled nervously, attempting to change the direction of the conversation, "Now? Can't it wait until we're in bed?"
"No."
The blonde sighed and gingerly lifted her shirt up, wincing at the pain.
Lena gasped when she saw the state of the young woman's back.
A streak of five lacerations decorated it, which were scabbed over and scarring.
Kara turned around, unable to look at the Luthor in the eyes.
She shivered when Lena gently traced her fingers over the wound on her abdomen, then the slice located just below her ribcage.
Then it hit her.
"You're...you're her. You're Supergirl," her voice cracked, the hurt tone prevalent, "Why didn't you tell me?"
There was no answer, only silence.
Lena let out a shaky breath and a single chuckle, "Of course. It's cause I'm a Luthor. I should've known, I was a fool to think you stayed because you actually loved me." she spat, "No, you needed to watch me."
Kara snapped from her thoughts, cupping her girlfriend's teary face and pressing their foreheads together, "No. No, no, no, that's not it. That's far from it."
Lena flinched at the contact and shoved the woman in front of her away, recoiling when the blonde attempted to reinitiate physical contact.
"Lena, please, please, please listen to me," Kara begged softly, "It's not because of you being a Luthor. This..." she gestured to her and to herself, "Believe me when I say whatever between us is real."
"Was," the brunette corrected, voice broken and hopeless.
Kara was not giving up, and she grasped her wrist, "I...anyone who knows about...about me, they get a target slapped on their backs. You already have one on yours, and knowing about me will only make it bigger. I know I was selfish, and trust me, I was eventually going to tell you... That...that thing was after you."
She started to cry with Lena, "And when it got you..." her eyes darted at the cast on her girlfriend's arm, "...when you screamed, I was just so terrified. My fear of losing you skyrocketed. I..."
She trailed off, her sentence faltered pathetically as she tried to reach for another.
Her heart sank when she felt her girlfriend pull her hand away.
"I'm so, so sorry, Lena," she apologized again, so softly even she herself was almost unable to hear it.
She jumped when she felt a warm palm caress her cheek, and she leaned into it before being met with kiss that tasted like that familiar expensive lipstick and salt from the tears.
"Again," Lena whispered, breaking their kiss, "I'd slap you so hard if you weren't injured."
Kara grinned, "I know," then smashed their lips together again.
Notes: Constructive criticism appreciated.