A/N: So this is just a little fic I started writing because I was bored, here is the first chapter, there is already a second one in the works and so hopefully that'll be up soon. As I just started writing this without much planning I don't actually know how long this will be, but as I love supercorp and reading/writing their fics I can promise you that this will get finished!
As always, I hope you enjoy it and please leave a comment telling me what you did and didn't like so that I can tailor the next chapter to your tastes more! (Also, all my fics are up on AO3 with the same pen name and story names so you can go over there to read it of you prefer that format!)
Superman remained on his knees, the body of General Zod less than a meter away. Camera's circled, thousands watching the breaking news live; Superman had killed somebody. Miles away in National City Supergirl stood in the DEO; Alex, J'onn and Winn stood beside her. No one spoke as they watched Superman slowly stand, his face grave as he looked round at the cameras before disappearing into the growing darkness.
Kara tried to call Clark many times that evening, calling Lois and James as well but no one had heard from him. The next morning she found him in his Fortress of Solitude; she tried her best to comfort him but what could she say when he had just destroyed one of the moral pillars he had built his identity on, other than 'you had no choice'? Eventually she left him to his thoughts, making him promise to call her if he needed anything.
In the days that followed Kara began to notice that something's were off about people. There was a bank robbery where a couple of thugs were holding several people hostage, when she arrived the criminals surrendered immediately, begging her not to hurt them, which Kara thought odd in its self, but when she went to untie the hostages they flinched and nervously chittered. She chalked it up to still being scared from the robbery.
The next day a similar thing happened with a mugging, the second the mugger saw her he dropped to the ground shaking and begging; meanwhile his victim, a young woman took off running when Kara moved towards her to make sure she was okay.
A couple of days later there was an incident where a small girl had gotten stuck at the top of a tall play frame, her foot lodged between two of the bars. Kara was flying past on her way home back from the DEO when she heard the mother calling for someone to help. When she arrived she saw that the mother was heavily pregnant and so unable to climb up to help the girl. When she saw Kara she turned white, telling her there was no need for her to be here, that someone else would help. Frowning slightly Kara reassured her that it was no hassle and, despite the mothers protests she flew up to the top where she easily dislodged the girl's foot and floated her gently to the ground. The mother grabbed the girl out of Kara's arms, holding her close as she practically ran, or rather waddled at high speed, away from her.
Alex reassured her that she was just imagining things and to shut up and eat her potstickers before they get cold, but there was still an element of doubt in the back of her head; she knew deep down that people had been acting weird, and she was pretty sure she knew why.
In the weeks that followed things did not improve; with Superman still MIA, Kara was the resident public Kryptonian of Earth. Whilst catching criminals became easier, with them simply handing themselves over in pure terror, the public's reaction to her became more hostile. There had been a noticeable increase in anti-alien, and more specifically, anit-krytonian propaganda and hate crimes. People had been clearing the street if she landed anywhere, parents picking up their children and hurrying away.
It began to bear down on Kara, the weight of Kal-El's action weighing on her shoulders to. It wore away at her moral, how was she meant to stay motivated enough to protect these people if they felt they couldn't trust her. No matter what Alex said and did to try and cheer her up, she couldn't understand what it felt like to be punished for someone else's actions.
The straw that broke the girl of steels back came about a month after the 'Zod incident' when she was flying over the city just as the sun had set she heard shouting and screaming coming from a street, flying down she saw that some men were holding a woman at gunpoint whilst she drew money out the ATM for them. She landed gently,
"Now gentlemen, is that really anyway to behave? She asked as she stepped forward, they jumped, spinning round; one of them fired a shot which bounced off her shoulder. "Put down the gun, you know it's not going to do you any good. Just be smart and no one has to get hurt." After sharing a glance both men threw their guns to the floor and ran down opposite ends of the street, she was about to give chase when a dented grey van pulled up behind her, turning she threw her arms up to shield her face as a glass bottle smashed against her. A pale green smoke poured from the shards, making Kara fall to her knees, gasping. Kryptonite.
Three men jumped out of the van, each wearing a ski mask to hide their face. They began punching and kicking her, jeering at her, asking how did it feel to no longer be a god. Telling her that they were the ones in control of who lives and who dies, not her. They left her in a bloody mess in the road, each giving a final kick before jumping back into the van and speeding away.
Kara couldn't go to Alex, she was away on a DEO training course somewhere in the Himalayas, Winn would freak out and call Alex, and J'onn had gone back to Mars for some celebration with his father. There was only one place Kara had left to go.
Lena was shocked when Supergirl staggered into her office, bloody and limping. She hurried over to her, putting her arm round Supergirl and helping her to the sofa,
"Supergirl, what happened?" she asked, a look of concern on her face,
"Some thugs," she replies, wincing at the pain talking caused, "they had kryptonite, and they beat me up," Lena had gone and opened a cupboard, retrieving a first aid kit she returned to the sofa.
"Why would they do something like that?" Lena looked puzzled, "going to all the trouble to get kryptonite, and not taking to opportunity to kill you, it doesn't make sense," she saw the frown on Supergirl's face, "I mean purely from a tactical standpoint, kryptonite isn't something you can just buy from a shop, so to get some and not take full advantage of its powers doesn't make tactical sense." She began to dab away at some of the blood on Supergirl's face,
"I think they were trying to send a message…" Supergirl winced again at the sting of the antiseptic, "after what my cousin did people have been scared of me, I think this was this way of saying that they're in control."
They continued in silence whilst Lena dabbed away at Supergirl's cuts, gently soothing her when she winced at the pain. Once all the dried blood was out of the way Lena could see the extent of the damage, she frowned as she held Supergirl's chin, gently moving her head side to side in order to see all the cuts and bruises. After a quick look over she sighed,
"Some of these need stitches, I don't have the things I need here to sort it out, and I'm assuming that you don't want to go to the hospital," she stood up, moving back over to her desk, she grabbed her coat and bag, pushing the files she had been reading in as she went, "I also want to check your ribs for any damage, as well as your leg, that limp looked pretty bad when you came in. If it would be alright with you I'd like to take you back to my apartment, so I can make sure you don't get worse overnight." Supergirl smiled slightly as she pushed herself to her feet, Lena rushing to support her,
"A Luthor taking a Super home, whatever will the papers say!?" she joked through the pain, leaning on Lena as they moved slowly towards the elevator.
Lena got Supergirl to lean against the corridor as she unlocked her apartment door, it opened out into an open plan apartment, a kitchen with small island and a living area which consisted of a sofa, armchair, both with blankets thrown over them, and TV; through the French doors there was a double bed with books piled on the table beside. It was smaller than you would imagine for a billionaire CEO, but suited Lena in the way that it showed her more human side.
She left Supergirl on the sofa whilst she went off to get supplies from the bathroom. When she came back she found Supergirl looking grave,
"What's wrong?" she asked, kneeling down in front of her, Supergirl frowned, an almost pained look came across her face,
"I haven't been honest with you Lena," she said, her voice carrying a serious tone. "You've always done nothing but help me and I can't help feeling I've betrayed you…" Lena tried to speak, to reassure Supergirl but she carried on before she had the chance, "I have seemingly let a people down recently, but I can't accept any more help from you until you know the truth," she winced again, her hand going to her stomach,
"Look, whatever it is can wait, I need to get you stitched up," Lena tried to push Supergirl's hand out the way but she caught Lena's wrist, causing her to look up at her, meeting her blue eyes that were filled with worry and guilt.
"I understand if you don't want to help me or even see me again after this, but… my real name is Kara Zor-El… or as you know me, Kara Danvers…" Lena was silent, her mouth slightly open as if she wanted to say something but had no words left, how could this be true? How could Kara lie to her… she was her best friend and all this time she had been keeping this from her, not trusting her…
She was pulled from her thoughts when Kara suddenly doubled up, crying out in pain. She had to put aside these thoughts and help Kara, no matter what had happened she needed help. Wordlessly, for she still didn't know what to say, Lena gently pulled off Kara's shirt, and pushed Kara down so she was lead across the sofa. Her fingers were cold as they gently traced along the edge of a bruise that spanned half of Kara's side,
"It doesn't look like there are any internal injuries, which is a miracle; there may be a cracked rib though so you have to be careful. Don't move, I'm going to get an ice pack to try and keep any swelling down." After checking the other, smaller bruises that littered Kara's abdomen Lena moved on to her face. Kara hissed in pain at Lena quickly sewed up the multiple cuts on her face. Once done Lena cleaned them again with antiseptic before declaring that once she had looked at Kara's leg she would be done.
"I understand if you want me to go once you're done…" Kara said sadly, knowing how betrayed Lena must feel. After pausing almost in consideration Lena looked up at her,
"Kara…" Lena took a long breath, her solemn look melting into one of care and worry, "you're my friend and I'm sure you kept this from me for good reasons, which I will want you to explain by the way. Besides, as I said I want you to stay in case you get worse overnight." Her tone was gentle but there was a wariness that Kara had never had before, or rather she had never been on the receiving end of it before. It was the wariness of someone who had been betrayed many times over their life, and yet still chose to trust again, even if it meant their heart getting broken… again.
Kara's cheeks had gone slightly red as she sat on Lena's sofa in only her bra and briefs, as Lena worked her way along her leg, checking for any sign of a fracture or damage.
"I think it's just a twisted ankle and some bad bruising along your shin and outer thigh." Lena concluded, putting an ice pack on Kara's ankle. "I'm guessing you'd like to borrow some pyjamas, or would you rather stay as you are?" Lena asked, her tone almost playful, quirking an eyebrow at Kara who smiled, that there was her Lena.
"Pyjamas would be good, thank you!" she almost laughed, but held back, guessing that Lena was just putting on a brave face and was still hurt from the secret. Lena returned a few moments later with red and black plaid pyjama bottoms, a black vest top and her MIT jumper. She left Kara to get changed and reappeared a couple of minutes later, also wearing pyjamas, except hers were blue and grey, with a dark grey hoodie on. She joined Kara on the sofa, neither of them sure what to say.
"So…" Lena finally broke the silence, "why didn't you feel you could trust me with your secret?" she asked, fixing Kara with a steady gaze, Kara looked shocked, she stumbled over her words before pausing to gather her thoughts,
"Lena, it was never that I didn't trust you, I mean when I first met you I wasn't going to start with, 'hi I'm Kara, also Supergirl, your brother has vowed to destroy my cousin' but we became friends so quickly that by the time I knew I could trust you I knew how worried you were that people would judge you because of Lex, and that you would think I didn't tell you because you're a Luthor…" she paused to catch her breath and her thoughts, Lena still watching her, her poker face was impeccable, "I guess it just became easier to avoid the truth because I was so afraid of hurting you or losing you… it was never because I didn't trust you, I promise Lena…" they were both quiet again, "I'm so sorry…" Kara's voice was small and weak, worry dripping from every word. Kara looking down into her lap, not able to meet Lena's eyes, her mind going at a million miles an hour of all the ways that this might turn out. Those thoughts were quieted as soon as Lena reached over and gently took Kara's hand.
"I understand," she said softly, "thank you for being honest with me… even if it did take a while," Kara looked up and was relieved to see that Lena was smiling gently at her. "Come on," Lena stood up, gently pulling Kara to her feet too, "let's get you to bed."
At first Kara protested about taking Lena's bed, but Lena kept insisting that she would be fine on the sofa and Kara needed a proper place to sleep whilst recovering. Finally they compromised that they would both sleep in the bed. Once the lights were turned out Kara quietly whispered goodnight to Lena, who giggled and whispered it back, before they both fell asleep.
When they awoke the next morning to the sound of Lena's phone ringing, Lena reached out and muted it before returning to her previous position. It took both of their sleepy minds to realise that that position consisted on Kara curled up on her side, her face buried in the nook of Lena's neck, who was lead on her back with her arms wrapped around Kara's waist.
Lena pushed herself onto her elbows, rubbing her eyes to wake herself up, Kara, who was still half asleep, grumbled at the loss of her pillow before also pushing herself up, groaning slightly at the pain shooting down her side.
"Morning I guess," Kara said, also rubbing her eyes she habitually reached out to grab her glasses, before realising that they weren't there. Lena chuckled, watching her; she pushed herself up out of bed and began to wander over to the kitchen, turning on the coffee machine as Kara trailed behind, taking a seat at the island.
"So, why do you wear the glasses, I mean you obviously don't need the, to see, is it purely for a disguise?" Lena asked, curious as she grabbed two mugs and placed them on the island.
"yes and no," Kara replied, propping her chin up with her hands she watched as Lena busied herself making toast, "when I first arrived on earth I was 13 and unlike Kal-El I didn't grow up with powers, so when I first arrived I struggled to control them, I would get panic attacks in crowded places like school because it was hard to focus. My adoptive father, Jeremiah, made them for me; they're lead lined so it was easier to control things like my x-ray vision… I guess they just made me feel more normal, and over time became part of who I was." Lena poured them both coffee and placed a stack of toast on the table, now that she knew her secret Kara's ravenous hunger made more sense! Lena continued to probe Kara with questions about her powers and Krypton, listening enthralled as Kara described the cities and the fields, the people and the culture. "You know you could have asked Supergirl all this," Kara pointed out between bites of toast,
"Yes, but it's different now that I know it's you! Supergirl always seemed like that colleague that you're friends with at the office, but if it isn't business you don't tend to talk about something. Whereas you're just my quirky little Kara!" Lena laughed as Kara scrunched her nose up,
"I'm yours, am I?" Kara asked playfully, loving the cute pink blush that appeared on Lena's pale cheeks, Lena stumbled over her words a bit, trying to get herself out of the hole but only managing to dig deeper.
"Well you see, what I mean is that… well, you're my Kara, as in you're mine, in the way that, it's like my," with an exasperated sigh she gave up, giving Kara a goofy sort of smile, "yes, Kara, you're mine!"
Lena was still worried about the possibility that Kara could have a broken rib or that the bruise on her side could be a symptom of something worse, but Kara was still refusing to go to the hospital.
"Well what do you normally do when you've been affected by Kryptonite?" she asked as Kara changed into some of Lena's more casual attire,
"I'd wait until my body had absorbed enough radiation from your yellow sun for my powers to be back, then I'd heal much faster. Normally I would go to the DEO but Alex is on an important training course and if I go there she'll be called back and she'll fail the course"
"So what you're saying is that you just need to spend some time outside?" Lena asked, surprised at how simple it was, Kara nodded as she emerged wearing some dark jeans and a forest green t-shirt with some sort of tree design on it. "Okay then, it's decided, we're going on a picnic!"