One was viewed as the child of a god and one was only human. One was practically immortal and one was completely vulnerable, to all of life's vicious traps and tricks. Despite their differences, however, no two people could've been closer. They were two halves of a whole. Kara "Supergirl" Danvers and Lena Luthor, two halves which combined to make one beautiful and perfect unity.
"Well, well, well," Lena murmured seductively as the Girl of Steel landed on her balcony at L-Corp. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"
"Nothing more than simple, trivial pleasures," Kara replied with a smile. "I've come to ask if you wanted to take a flight around town with me."
"Flying in the arms of my Super?" Lena pretended to scoff. "How very unoriginal and how very Lois Lane."
"Well, it worked for Superman, so maybe Supergirl is hoping that it will work for her too," Kara answered with a teasing smile. Lena pretended to consider the offer for a few seconds before she finally agreed, unable to mask a smile as she took Kara's outstretched hand.
"Very well, then," the Luthor said. "Take me! Take me far away from here."
"Was there anything in particular that you wanted to see?" Kara asked as she picked Lena up in a bridal-style carry.
"Aside from you? No," Lena answered with a smile and Kara felt her face flush with affection.
"What a cheesy pickup line," she grunted.
"But it worked, did it not?" Lena asked, close enough to Kara's face to see the way it twitched in response to her flirtatious remark.
"I suppose," the Super grumbled, but before her Luthor could say anything else, she took off in flight, leaving the balcony and the building it was attached to far behind. Up, up and away they flew, soaring together through the starlit skies of National City.
"It sure is beautiful up here, isn't it?" Lena sighed as she tipped her head back, getting a gorgeous view of the moon, and the woman in whose arms she rested so securely.
"It's not the altitude, it's you," Kara replied with a smile.
"Ah, now it appears that it is your turn to make the stupid jokes," Lena laughed lightly.
"Takes one to know one, I guess," Kara teased in reply, then, feeling rather bold that night, she began to lean forward to kiss Lena. She made sure to go slow, though, so that Lena would know what was coming.
Although Lena appreciated Kara's sense of chivalry and politeness, she sometimes found it frustrating. Kara didn't need to go so slow with her anymore. They had been a couple for about a year now. Kara didn't need to be so shy and hesitant with her anymore. To prove that point, Lena quickly leaned up and stole Kara's kiss, kissing Kara before Kara could kiss her. She pressed her lips to Kara's and pulled Kara's face closer to her own. Kara was a little bit surprised by the speed and vehemence with which Lena had initiated their kiss, returning it before Kara could even finish sending it, but she wasn't going to complain. Instead, the moment she realized that she had Lena's consent, she returned the kiss just as passionately, lips pressing hard against Lena's and mouth working rhythmically against the Luthor's.
For a moment, the pair hung suspended in midair, surrounded by nothing but the stars. It truly was like a paradise, but the two lovers were so lost in one another that the only stars that interested them were the ones in each other's eyes. The glory and splendor of the cosmos was lost entirely upon them, because they only saw each other. Kara continued to float there, hanging motionless in the sky, feeling like a star herself, as she continued to kiss Lena, murmuring sweet nothings to her as their lips continued to lock and unlock over and over. Lena reveled in the feeling of Kara surrounding her, pulling her in closer and tighter, and tighter and closer. They were two halves of a whole, coming together into one inseparable union in the starry sky of National City. Soon, it became impossible to tell which of them was the human and which was the alien...
A month later, the serenity of their romance had turned into raw agony and panic.
"LENA!" the scream Kara emitted was unholy as she looked over in time to see her beloved Luthor plummeting to the ground at a terrifying speed. The two had been fighting side by side against their latest foe, a rogue alien hoard looking to conquer the city. The aliens were relatively small in size, but they were large in number. From the start, Kara and Lena had been able to handle them easily, Kara protected by her natural Kryptonian strength, durability and power and Lena protected by her rebuilt, restored Lexosuit. As powerful and protected as that Lexosuit was, however, it was not infallible, and one of Lena and Kara's many enemies managed to find a weakness in it, a small chink in the suit's side. Once that wound had been opened, every other enemy quickly turned their eyes onto the Luthor and wasted no time in ripping the suit to shreds.
Suddenly, Lena looked very vulnerable and naked, only a few thrusters left on her body. They were enough to keep her safely in flight, but with no more protection, Lena was left open to a slew of vicious attacks. She dodged quite a few of them which much expertise and ease, almost looking like a dancer as she weaved calmly in and out of every attack or projectile sent her way. At last, however, one lucky alien managed to throw a spear at just the right time in just the right place, and Lena was not able to move out of the way before it pierced straight through her side. The shock and pain of the attack was so severe that Lena didn't make a single sound as she dropped like a stone, a hundred feet up in the air. Instead, she could only fall, losing control not just of the tiny remainders of her Lexosuit, but of her body and mind as well.
"LENA!" Kara shrieked again, all inhibitions and other thoughts and priorities gone. In that one single second, when Lena was struck by the spear, Kara thought of nothing else except of saving her, catching her before she could hit the ground. Ignoring every other enemy in the area, Kara plunged herself into a nosedive, flying at Lena faster than that spear had. Kara managed to catch Lena 10 feet before she hit the ground. With Lena safe in her arms again, Kara managed to release the breath that she hadn't even realized that she was holding, but Lena was still so very close to death that Kara was still terrified. Ignoring the alien hoard she was supposed to be fighting, she flew for cover as fast as she could.
"Alex? Alex! ALEX?! I'M GOING TO NEED BACKUP, QUICK!" Kara bellowed. She knew her sister would hear her.
"Kara? What is it? What's wrong?!" Alex sounded alarmed.
"It's Lena!" Kara shouted back, a sob ripping itself from her throat. "She's been badly wounded! And I don't know if she'll make it! I'm bringing her back to you right now! Please be ready for us when we get there! PLEASE!"
When Alex heard this, she first began to protest, demanding that Kara get back into battle immediately and not waste any time trying to fly Lena to safety, but Alex already knew that Kara wasn't listening. When it came to Lena, Kara never listened to anyone. With a resigned and terrified sigh, then, Alex quickly barked the orders to other, nearby DEO agents that they were going to need a stretcher and various other life support equipment brought in, stat!
Kara arrived at the DEO a mere two seconds after a stretcher and the various other life support machinery were rolled in.
"Where is she?! Bring her here! Quick!" Alex commanded sharply as she watched her caped sister fly in. She, terrified, revealed Lena's mangled body, and even Alex needed a moment to register the gruesome wound. She had been totally skewered by the spear, it going right through her body.
"Put her down, put her down," Alex muttered sharply and Kara, already halfway in shock, obeyed at once, gently setting Lena's convulsing body down on the stretcher. It sickened Kara, but Lena needed to be put on the stretcher at a slightly sideways angle so that the spear in her body wouldn't be moved around too much or pushed in even deeper.
"Alright, now go, GO!" Alex commanded as soon as Lena was placed satisfactorily on the stretcher. She pointed back out of the DEO. Kara looked agonized at the thought of having to leave Lena now, especially when the odds were so high that Lena wouldn't live long enough to see Kara return, but one sharp look from Alex reminded Kara of her mission. She had saved Lena for now, and that was going to have to be enough. She had a battle to get back to now, or all of National City would follow in Lena's footsteps. She couldn't wait around any longer...
Supergirl had long since been an icon of brute strength and combat skill and it was no secret that she was one of the best and most vicious fighters on the planet. Her strength was the stuff of legends and her skills were highly praised where they weren't envied. She was revered warrior! The entire world could only stare in awe, admiration and respect every time Supergirl went off to battle, a host of spectacular powers at her disposal to help her win every battle with ease. Today, however, there was no awe, admiration or respect in anyone's eyes, just raw terror and fear.
Although Supergirl's strength was renowned, her anger was nearly never recognized. The people of the world saw her as a champion of justice, a maid of might, a stoic figure who fought every battle with a brave smile. Today, however, she had gone berserk. All of her composure and inhibitions were gone. The look of fury that was practically engraved onto her face terrified anyone who saw it, and the ferocity and brutality with which she slaughtered her enemies terrified friends and enemies alike. Never again would Earth forget how fierce the wrath of Supergirl could get. Her fury would become as renowned as her strength after this fight.
Supergirl savaged all of her enemies, kills becoming unnecessarily cruel, violent and dramatic. She ripped limbs and heads from torsos, she slowly burned enemies to death with her laser eyes, she froze body parts off one by one until her enemies died not from the cold, but from blood loss and shock, she dragged them through the skies and across buildings and streets. Through it all, a chilling and deafening scream tore itself from her throat, one long battle cry that never ceased. One endless roar of unfathomable fury and anguish. It was even louder and more blood-curdling than the desperate cries coming from her enemies and all of the battle's horrified spectators.
The corpses of Supergirl's enemies literally rained down from the sky that day and every citizen of National City quickly fled to their homes in terror, locking every door and window shut as Supergirl continued her rampage, heedless of anything other than avenging her beloved, and destroying every little last creature that had even tried to harm her. All she could think about was Lena, and what these monsters had done to her. She was blind to everything else, blinded by love, fear and vengeance. She flew through the ranks of her foes, singlehandedly annihilating every single little last one of them until there was no one left alive and no one left to retreat or be taken prisoner.
That day, National City finally learned to fear its Girl of Steel, now that they knew just how much she was capable of, and just how far she was willing to go. They could only tremble as she emerged victorious, carrying several heads of her slaughtered enemies, bathed in their blood, eyes wild and chest heaving from anger and exertion. She looked even more terrifying and monstrous than they had!
But just like during the battle, Supergirl was still blind to anything and everything that wasn't Lena. With the very last enemy dead, she wasted no time in flying back to the DEO as fast as she could, but even with super strength and superspeed, she was too late and too slow. Lena was already dead. And there was nothing she could do about it. Lena was gone. And that was that. And not even the Girl of Steel could save her.
"I'm sorry, we did everything we could, but it still wasn't enough. We were too late," Alex whispered brokenly as Supergirl barged in, Lena's bloody corpse lying motionless and colorless on an operating table. The spear was gone, but Lena was still not awake.
Supergirl suffered a complete and utter blackout, a meltdown of godly proportions. While everyone else fled the area, even Alex, Supergirl remained, alone and broken as she screamed, cried, sobbed and cursed out every single being in existence for taking her other half away from her. They had been two halves a whole, so what was Supergirl now that her half was gone? They were supposed to have lived together! Not be parted like this! Especially not so soon! But what could she do? What could Supergirl do? Even a Kryptonian was powerless before God. Lena was gone, and that was that. But that did not stop Supergirl's anguish and wrath.
But as volatile, vicious and violent as Supergirl's outburst was once she discovered that Lena was dead, she managed to maintain enough control over herself that she did not harm or break single thing in that operating room. Although her bellows and wails were sounds that would haunt the dreams of many DEO agents for many nights to come, Supergirl was physically as gentle as a lamb. She sank to her knees before cradling Lena's body in her arms, just like she had done whenever they would go on their late-night flights around town, just each other and the stars.
Even in such a vulnerable and chaotic mindset, Kara remembered to maintain a shred of her humanity and gentleness with Lena and she held the woman's broken body with an immeasurable amount of tenderness. Kara hugged Lena tightly, but not tight enough to upset a single part of Lena's already-mangled body. It would've been a beautiful sight to see, had it not been so painful. Even now, in Kara's most desperate moments, she could be gentle with Lena.
"An entire half of myself!" Kara whispered through burning tears. "How am I supposed to survive that? An entire half of myself! Gone..."
Although life and identity had always been very hard and confusing for the Kryptonian, never had she ever suffered quite so devastating of a loss as now. She had lost parts of herself before, bits and pieces chipping away from her throughout the years, but never had it ever been anything quite so drastic or painful as this. Never had she ever lost so much of herself all at once. It really was like losing an entire half of her identity... An entire half... of who and what she was... Human and alien both... And half of that was gone...An entire 50%... Gone...
Suddenly, Kara felt as though she had been zapped back to life. Without wasting a single second, she swiftly hooked Lena back up to all of her life support machines. Without another word, she zoomed out of the DEO and all the way to L-Corp, where she knew Lena had been working on creating different types of Kryptonite and other Kryptonian-altering chemicals. Kara sped around the lab like a madwoman until she found what she was looking for: Harun-El. It had the power to split and/or copy Kryptonians. It still was in its early stages, but Kara had seen its powers firsthand and she knew that, as basic as it was right now, it could work, and maybe, it just might work in the way that she was hoping...
Sprinting back to the DEO fast enough to leave a trail of fire on the ground behind her, Kara wasted no time in returning to Lena's room. Kara had snagged a Kryptonite needle on her way back and she swiftly used it to draw some of her blood out of her body. Taking that, plus some of the Harun-El, she mixed it before injecting it all into Lena's system, then she hooked the three of them up: herself, Lena and the Black Kryptonite. It was a total shot in the dark and Kara had no idea what she was doing, but she had been so suddenly struck by this idea that she was certain that it would work. She was even willing to go so far as to say that had it had been a Rao-send of an idea. What else could explain where such an idea had come from? And so quickly and clearly? So Kara sat there and waited at Lena's bedside, hooked up to her via the Harun-El, two halves of a whole brought together once more, physically connected and, if all went right, merged.
"Kara!" Alex had returned to check up on her sister only to be stunned by the sight of her hooked up to Lena's body.
"Don't worry Alex," Kara gave an unhinged laugh. "Everything will be ok now. I'm going to give Lena some of my Kryptonian physiology. With that, she will be able to recover. All she will need is the yellow sun!"
"Kara..." Alex gave her sister a compassionate and pained expression, stepping closer, seconds away from trying to unhook Kara from Lena.
"NO!" Kara thundered, raising a hand and threatening to strike Alex if she came any closer. "THIS HAS TO HAPPEN! I HAVE TO DO THIS! I HAVE TO BRING HER BACK!"
"But do you even know if it'll work?!" Alex cried in dismay, flinching as Kara snarled at her.
"Yes," Kara replied, and even though she had no way to back this statement up, she somehow knew it was true. She was going to give Lena half of herself, half of her powers, half of her immortality. And in exchange, Lena would come back again. Maybe it would irreversibly weaken Kara, but as far as she was concerned, it would be totally worth it. She would gladly give up some of her "godhood" to bring Lena back. Lena was already half of Kara, so what was Kara really losing by giving up 50% of her Kryptonian physiology?
Besides, the way Kara saw it, she wasn't really losing anything. That Kryptonian physiology would still be there, it would just be in a different body now. But it wasn't like it was just going to vanish. Instead, it was going to be divided up equally between herself and Lena. That way, when they were together, they would still be as strong as one full and complete Kryptonian. So, in Kara's eyes, nothing was being lost at all, just transferred over a little bit. But even if she had nothing to lose, she had everything to gain...
And against all odds, it worked. Lena was slowly but surely coming back. The monitors and machines hooked up to her said as such.
"The sun! The sun! Get her out of here! She needs the sun!" Kara muttered to herself, proceeding to then lift up all of Lena's life support (stretcher, machines, and all) and carry them right out of the DEO and practically into the middle of the street, where the yellow sun's glare was the harshest.
"Come on, come on, come on!" Kara whispered to herself, almost chanting. She could feel her heart beating painfully hard and fast. She didn't know if it was from anxiety, or from the fact that she had just brought herself down to human (or at least, half human). Either way, she had never been quite so aware of her own heartbeat, or how much it hurt, before.
Lena wasn't up yet. But color had returned to her skin. Then finally, she began to move, but the motions were no longer jerky or random. They were no longer the result of random neurons firing off in her injured brain. This time, these movements were fluid, organized... intentional.
"Lena?" Kara whispered hopefully, and sure enough, it was.
"Kara?" and Kara had never been so happy to hear her name before. Lena was back!
In the days to come, there was a lot of recovery needed... for everyone. The city needed to be repaired, the citizens' trust in their superhero needed to be healed, and Lena and Kara themselves had to get used to their new hybridization. Lena had to learn how to harness her newly Kryptonian abilities while Kara had to adjust to being one step closer to a mortal. Lena had to cope with newfound strengths and powers while Kara had to get used to the fact that she was weaker and more vulnerable than she used to be. It was a challenge on both sides, but as long as they were together, two halves would come together to make a whole once more and the healing process would become that much simpler.
"There you go, there you go!" Kara encouraged softly as Lena practiced flying. Because the Kryptonian power was shared equally between the two of them, neither of them could fly as fast as Kara used to when she was 100% Supergirl, but for once, they were able to fly together, and both of them considered that benefit to almost be worth the cost of Kara's original flying capabilities.
"Just a little bit higher now..." Kara continued to whisper gently, arms out and ready to catch Lena in case she fell. Lena, meanwhile, was uttering shaky little laughs as she continued to rise upward, propelled only by her thoughts and muscles. It was the strangest thing she'd ever done. Although she had flown alone before, it was always in that clunky Lexosuit, controlled by an array of highly sensitive controls. Now, she was flying naked, so to speak, and had nothing but her own body to do the flying. It was scary and it was weird, but it was fun!
"Woah!" she yelped a little as she nearly fell over.
"Here, if you pretend that you're swimming instead of rising straight up, it'll help you keep your balance," Kara advised, trying to show Lena how it would go. Lena nodded with another nervous laugh before putting her faith in Kara and tilting her body forward. It scared her to be flying on her stomach, because she felt as though she was about to either belly-flop downward or go shooting off like an arrow, but Kara turned out to be right and Lena found it easier to stay up in the air and move around.
"You're right!" she cried as she began to stabilize. "It worked!"
"I knew you could do it!" Kara laughed, joining Lena until the two were flying side by side. It was like a dream come true, for both of them.
A few weeks after Lena first developed her powers (while Kara lost some of her own) the two dared to take another midnight flight around town together, only this time, Lena was not resting in Kara's arms, she was flying all by herself!
"You're doing it!" Kara continued to encourage in delight as Lena looped around a building.
"I am!" Lena sounded just as amazed and ecstatic as she even managed to do a loop-de-loop. It was still a bit scary for her and she still lost control and balance occasionally, but she was getting much better at it.
"I'm so proud of you!" Kara smiled, reaching out to the Luthor. Lena smiled back and obliged to take Kara's outstretched hand, just like old times. Kara pulled her in closer, then, until they were standing (or floating) face to face and chest to chest and hand in hand.
For a moment, the pair hung suspended in midair, surrounded by nothing but the stars. It truly was like a paradise, but the two lovers were so lost in one another that the only stars that interested them were the ones in each other's eyes. The glory and splendor of the cosmos was lost entirely upon them, because they only saw each other. Kara continued to float there, hanging motionless in the sky, feeling like a star herself, as she began to kiss Lena, murmuring sweet nothings to her as their lips continued to lock and unlock over and over. Lena reveled in the feeling of Kara surrounding her, pulling her in closer and tighter, and tighter and closer. They were two halves of a whole, coming together into one inseparable union in the starry sky of National City. Soon, it became impossible to tell which of them had been the human and which had been the alien.
Kara and Lena continued to kiss, slowing floating through the sky in a waltz with the stars. Although they were still trying to get used to the fact that they were both essentially human-alien hybrids with the strengths and weaknesses of both, in times like that, when they were that physically close with one another, all of the awkwardness and discomfort of being a hybrid went away. Suddenly, they were both whole again, as they hung in the stars and in one another's arms and hearts.
Now they were both a mix of each, human and alien alike, sharing the power of godhood, one having sacrificed it for the other. Now they were on the same level and reunited once more in the stars. They shared immortality between themselves, two halves of a whole, and they couldn't have been any closer if they had wanted to. And when they were together, they were both whole and complete again. Kara "Supergirl" Danvers and Lena Luthor, two halves which combined to make one beautiful and perfect unity.
AN: Inspired off the stories of Castor and Pollux and Achilles and Patroclus. In a nutshell, Kara sacrifices some of her "immortality" to bring Lena back to life. Now they are both hybrids and can finally find each other as equals, sharing humanity and Kryptonian power equally between themselves.