The night sky cloaked National City in a heavy darkness. Underneath the bright stars, a city ripe with crime. Yet, it's only amidst the darkness that the criminal element chooses to thrive. On a night such as this, with dimly lit streets, scattered numbers of party-goers; and an abysmal lack of police presence. An atmosphere ripe for a crime. A city waiting to claim its next victim.
Among the scattered few, a petite, milky skin, raven-haired beauty makes her way through the nightclub crowds. Her high heels echoing off the concrete as she swiftly tries to escape the crowded sidewalks. After a short while, she manages to seclude herself on a less trafficked walkway, slowing her speed to a steady pace. Her eyes glaze up at the stars, and she stares thoughtfully into the sky.
She stops for a moment to look down at her phone. There's a picture of a brunette woman dressed in red cape and blue spandex suit; a large S embedded across her chest. A smile graces her face as she looks at the phone, putting a sparkle in her emerald green eyes. The cold air causes an oasis to develop in her eyelids, and she shivers from the chill. Placing her phone in her pocket, she starts once again on her journey.
As she begins to walk, the sound of footsteps follows behind her. She pauses, and the sound ceases, then begins again as she speeds up her pace. But the footsteps speed up as well, until finally she stops once more, "You better be selling girl scout cookies," she says, turning to face her pursuer. The sudden sight of a gun makes her draw back slowly with her hands raised in front of her.
"Sorry Ms. Luther, no Thin Mints for you," the stranger says. He stands about six feet in height; and adorns a black leather jacket, white shirt, trousers, and a large medallion gold chain. Due to his girth, the zipper on his jacket is unable to extend pass his stomach. He waves his gun at her, yet the woman's eyes remain fixated on the struggle of his zipper.
"How about you put the gun down, and we both walk away and forget about this?" she suggests.
"Can't do that…See your brother killed my brother, and we are an eye for an eye type of family," he replies. He points the gun directly toward her. She closes her eyes and shields her face with her hands. Suddenly, a loud crash rings out, and her eyes shoot open. Standing before her was the brunette whose picture she'd been admiring in her phone. Her blue eyes are slightly concealed by the long locks of hair cascading down her shoulders.
"Lena are you okay?" her rescuer asks.
Lena looks over and sees her attacker lying beside a trash receptacle, "Thank you," she responds.
"Anytime." The red caped heroine looks down at the crook with a shadow of contempt in her face. In the blink of an eye, both she and the criminal vanish out of sight.
Alone once more, and soaking in the gravity of what just occurred; alternate outcomes began to play in her mind. A rush of adrenaline seizes her, stirring her into a heightened sense of alert. She feels the shock slowly begin to wear off as a feeling of fragility takes hold. The weight of her body overwhelms her, and her knees collapse beneath her. But before her legs can hit the pavement, she is quickly swooped up onto her feet.
"I got you," a voice says.
"Supergirl… you came back," Lena says softly.
"I wanted to drop big boy off at the station," she replies. "I'm going to taking you home now." She lifts Lena off her feet and up into the clouds.
Soaring through the sky, a peaceful silence was all that persisted above the city and its lights. The cool air whips across their faces as the caped hero zips pass the birds like a Boeing jet, disrupting their flying patterns. She dips suddenly, and without warning, causing her passenger to let out a shriek. Lena looks to her for signs of distress, but finds instead a devious grin playing across Supergirl's face.
"Not funny," Lena says.
"A little funny," Supergirl replies.
They lock eyes; Supergirl's pearly blues glisten in the moonlight, and Lena withdraws her gaze abruptly. An expression of curiosity shadows Supergirl's cheekbones, but she withholds mention of Lena's sudden shift. Instead she chooses to focus on the path ahead, their flight continues with no more exchange of words, or glances. Minutes later they arrive to their destination, and they lands softly on the roof of a luxury apartment building.
As soon as the strong jawed savior touches down, Lena leaps from her arms, just as quickly as she'd been swept into them. She darts toward the penthouse door which is attached to an octagonal glass dome. There's a clear view into Lena's home. A spacious two-story layout.
"You're welcome to come in," Lena says.
Supergirl moves from her stationed position on the roof and toward the door. "I've never seen your home before."
"Yeah, I guess you haven't." She presses her finger against the biometric lock and the door unlocks. "Neither has Kara, and she's my best friend," Lena says, as they enter the apartment.
Supergirl takes a few steps inside, then stops and scans the apartment, making use of her x-ray vision. "It's all clear in here Ms. Luthor."
"Lena, please."
"Lena," Supergirl repeats.
"Can I offer you a drink?" Lena asks. She walks over to her wet bar and tosses her jacket on the barstool.
"No thank you, I actually was heading somewhere when we cross paths."
Lena returned from behind the bar, "Well thank you," she says, stopping steps away from her guest. "If there is anything I can ever do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."
"Well now that you mention it… maybe no more walking alone at night," Supergirl suggests.
"I can't agree to that. I like a good midnight stroll."
"Lena please," Supergirl pleads, "one day I might not be there to save you."
Lena grimaces, "Who says I need you to save me?" she replies, as she takes a step closer. "Maybe one day you'll be the one that needs saving."
Supergirl chuckles, "I have no doubt that if the occasion arises you're more than capable," she leans in; "but till then, I'm the one doing the saving. So, try to stay out of trouble."
She turns away and takes off into the darkness. Lena fixates on the blue blur as it disappears into the horizon. Closing her eyes, she inhales deeply, caressing her arms as the cold air nips away at her bare skin. She places her back onto the door, shutting it close, then slides down onto the floor. Burying her head into her lap she sits quietly, until a knock on the door startles her upright.
Rising to her feet, she glances at the clock on her wall, then shuffles over to her front door. A quick view of her monitor, and her eyes roll back into her head. Hesitantly she swings the door open. On the other side stands a middle aged, slender build, brunette; with broad shoulders and a long neck. She dons a pants suit, high heels, trench coat, and stands at about five nine. Her shadow casts a long shade over Lena's small frame.
"What do you want?" Lena asks, not extending a similar invitation she's just given to her previous visitor. She enters back into her apartment leaving the door ajar, giving the woman an option to enter.
The woman pushes pass the door before it shuts completely. "As always, a pleasure to see you too," the woman says scornfully.
"What do you want, Lillian?" Lena asks bluntly.
"Oh so, it's Lillian now?"
"It makes more sense than calling you Mom. Especially since, when it comes to me, you tend to fall short of that moniker."
"Still playing the victim, I see?"
"Still playing the victimizer," Lena retorts.
Lillian removes her coat and places on a nearby seat, and then takes the seat herself. She looks up at her daughter, her cold blue eyes piercing into Lena's. She reaches into her pocket pulls out a card, then holds it out. Lena glares cautiously from the distance, then grabs the card from her mother's grip.
"What is it?" she asks.
"You'll need it to go visit your brother," Lillian informs her.
Lena hands the card back, "I'm not going to visit him," she says definitively. She walks back behind the bar, pours a shot of bourbon, then chugs it. A disapproving glare from her mother, and she takes another.
Her mother stands from her chair, "In that case, he says to ask you how plans are going?" she says.
Lena's complexion turns pale and her face twists, "What did he tell you?"
"Everything."
"I told him not to say anything to anyone," Lena snaps.
"He told me to tell you that you left him no choice. You stopped coming to visit and hadn't returned his calls," Lillian relays.
"Damn him!"
Lillian slithers toward the bar, "Ha! I told him, but he just wouldn't hear it," she says, "he just wouldn't believe his baby sister would turn her back on him."
"I didn't," Lena replies, hoarsely.
"You did, and you know it," Lillian responds, she turns away from her daughter, and grabs her coat from the chair.
"Don't turn your back on me!" Lena screams, then throws the empty glass at her mother. It misses her by inches. "What do you plan on doing with this information?" she demands to know.
Her mother chuckles at the sight of the broken glass. "Don't you worry. You can go back to your pet reporter… and her merry band of misfits. See how that works out. And when it doesn't, you know where to find your family." She exits the penthouse, and Lena stands in the middle of her living room with a helpless look in her eyes.