Lena kicked off her heels and put up her feet on the couch in her hotel's suite. It had been a long day of handshaking and building walkthroughs, but as the new CEO of Luthor Corp., this was just one of her many responsibilities. Moving the headquarters to National City was being touted as a positive move for the company, and the mayor had made some very promising economic compromises to bring the multi-billion dollar company here. Right now none of that mattered as much as something to eat, something to drink, and a warm bath and not necessarily in that order. Tomorrow would be another long day.
Lena dragged the takeout menu off the coffee table and flipped it open, scrunching her nose up at most of the choices. Finally, she settled on something minimally acceptable. Grabbing her cellphone, she dialed the number on the back of the menu.
"Chen Yang Li," came the man's voice across the line.
"Hello, I'd like to place an order for delivery."
"What address?"
"To the Winchester hotel, please."
"Just a minute."
The man started speaking Mandarin, but before Lena could respond the voice drifted away indicating the phone had been placed down and the speaker was talking to someone else.
There were several seconds of pause, and then a clearly feminine voice said, "Hi, four orders of the Emperor Supreme steamed tofu with vegetables, only two sets of chopsticks, please."
Lena gasped then yelped in pain, dropping her phone. She twisted and fell off the couch, writhing on the floor. Finally managing to pull her shirt partially up, she unzipped her pencil skirt and tugged it and her underwear down enough in the back to fully expose her tattoo which was now glowing. As the glow faded, the words, "Hi, four orders of the Emperor Supreme steamed tofu with vegetables, only two sets of chopsticks, please," remained as they had for as long as she could remember.
Lena struggled to her feet, more than slightly disheveled, pushing a bit of hair behind one ear. "Jesus Christ. When they said that would hurt when it activated, they weren't kidding." She wandered over to a nearby mirror to look at her soulmark. It was still red, looking more like an actual new tattoo than a soulmark. She stared at it for several seconds, a look of awe and wonder on her face, before her eyes widened, and she ran back to where her phone lay on the ground and snatched it up. "Hello? Hello?" There was no one on the line. After a moment of cursing, she redialed the last number.
"Chen Yang—"
"Who just came in there and picked up Chinese food!?"
"Um … everyone."
Lena sighed, mainly at herself. "Of course. I mean, who just ordered four orders of the Emperor Supreme steamed tofu with vegetables with only two sets of chopsticks?"
"Oh, you mean the attractive blonde."
"She's attractive and blonde?" Lena let go of her skirt to silently pump her fist in the air three times, only stopping as her open skirt was falling off her hips. As she grabbed the skirt again, she asked, "Did you get her name?"
"I don't know," the man replied.
"Did she pay with a credit card? Her name would be on the receipt."
"She always pays cash."
"Always?" Lena stood up a bit straighter, hiking her skirt up into place and flinching when it hit the tattoo. "She comes in a lot?"
"Every Wednesday night. Did you want to order something?"
"I want to know where this damn woman lives!" Lena snapped. Then, taking several breaths, she said, "I apologize. That was uncalled for. I just meant, I'd truly appreciate any information you could provide me in finding this woman. It's of the utmost importance that I locate her as soon as humanly possible."
"I don't know where any of our customers live, but maybe my son may for this one."
"Your son?"
"He does deliveries, and I know he's said that sometimes he delivers to the customer that always orders four number fours on Wednesday night."
Lena asked a bit breathlessly, "May I speak with your son?"
"You just missed him. He's out on deliveries. He should be back within an hour."
"Son of a—" Lena thumped her fist against her forehead.
"Would you like to leave your number?"
"Yes. No. Yes. Um … Damn it." Biting her lower lip, Lena walked a small circle around the living area of the hotel room. "No. No, I'll head down to you."
"But my son isn't back."
"I'll wait. Thank you." Disconnecting, Lena called her driver and asked him to meet her downstairs in twenty minutes. She changed into something looser fitting but not entirely unflattering, yoga pants and a casual top, fixed her hair and makeup quickly, grabbed the takeout menu for the address, and headed out with her purse in hand.
Sitting in the car, Lena shot off a quick text.
Lena: Sorry for texting so late, but I need to tell someone. My tattoo just activated.
It was only a few seconds before she got a response.
Sam: Your what?
Sam: Holy fuck! Your soulmark!?
Lena smiled, some of her nerves easing.
Lena: Yes, that tattoo. Wish me luck.
Sam: Wait. Tell me about her.
Sam: What is she like?
Sam: What does she do?
Sam: What does look like?
Sam: Send pictures. smirky face emoji
Sighing, Lena raised an eyebrow.
Lena: I haven't actually met her yet, so I don't know the answer to any of that.
Lena: Goodnight, Samantha.
The texting dots appeared and disappeared before reappearing.
Sam: WTF are you talking about? How can your soulmark activate if you haven't met her?
Lena: I heard her voice over the phone.
Sam: On a con call?
Lena: Ordering Chinese food.
Lena's phone rang, and she considered not answering. With an eye roll, she picked up. "Hello, Sam."
"You need to explain this."
Lena chuckles. "I thought I just did."
"No, you texted me some nonsense about your soulmark and Chinese food. Come on, Lena. We promised each other we'd reach out as soon as either of us found our soulmate. Now spill."
"I'm spilling, and technically I haven't found her yet. I just heard her voice, and it activated my tattoo. So you know, when they say 'burning sensation' that is utter bullshit. Replace that with 'branding iron' sensation."
"Yeah, whatever. I still don't get it. Tell me exactly what happened."
Running her hand through her hair, Lena sat back in her seat. "I had just finished the last walkthrough and gone back to my hotel room. I grabbed a takeout menu, made a call, and while I was on the phone I heard someone in the restaurant. She said my soul phrase, and suddenly it felt like my ass was on fire."
Sam snorted.
"Samantha Arias, do not laugh at me. I am still your employer."
"Oh lighten up, Lena. It's funny. Lena Luthor, CEO of Luthor Corp, soon to be L-Corp, has a tramp stamp."
"It's not a tramp stamp. I didn't choose to put it there, Sam." Lena wrapped one arm around her torso. "Ugh, why did I call you?"
"Because I'm your best friend," Sam reminded her. "So, where are you now?"
"I'm driving out to the Chinese food restaurant."
"To meet her?"
"To shake down a delivery boy for her address. She picks up on Wednesdays and pays cash, but apparently, she gets delivery at other times. The gentleman who answered the phone thought his son could help me locate him."
"And you couldn't just wait until next Wednesday."
"She's been described as an attractive blonde, so no," Lena said casually waving her free hand in the air.
"Ooooh. What restaurant?"
Lena flipped over the menu that was resting in her lap. "Chen Yang Li."
"Oh, I know that place. It's isn't far from the new headquarters. I can meet you there in like thirty minutes."
"What? No. Why would you meet me there?"
"Because I want to see this hot blonde."
"Attractive, Sam, attractive blonde and I don't need your help. Anyway, don't you have Ruby?"
"Nope, she's with Mrs. Qualter tonight. My flight only got back two hours ago. I got in less than an hour ago, and I've been going through emails. I haven't even changed yet."
"You work too hard."
"Yeah, google hypocrisy when we get off the phone. So, I'll see you at the—"
"No, you will not. Get off the phone, close down your laptop, and don't set an alarm if you don't have Ruby. Take tomorrow morning off."
"But the relocation—"
"Is going fine, and you can't help with it if you're burning yourself out. I don't expect to see you before noon tomorrow, Miss Arias. That's an order."
"But, Lena—"
"Goodbye, Sam." Disconnecting, Lena slipped her phone into her purse ignoring the two calls that came quickly after that and the numerous texts.
Chen Yang Li wasn't much more than a hole in the wall. The exterior was bright red with yellow lettering, a yellow vertical sign with red Chinese letters stretching from top of the door height to the street outside. It was the sort of place Lena would have avoided at all costs had she seen it prior to making the call, but luckily, she didn't. Instead, she pushed open the door barely glancing at the jingling chimes that marked her entry as she bustled her way to the counter.
The interior was red and white. A cooler with soda and bottled water marked the end of the counter that wasn't mesh with the wall. Generic, faded pictures of meals stood back marking the division between the kitchen and the dining area. The dining area consisted of three booths and four tables, all in reds and blacks. On one wall was a wipe board marking the daily specials. The number four was the Emperor Supreme steamed tofu with vegetables, and Lena's eyes widened at the sight of it. She waited impatiently for all of three more seconds, without anyone appearing, before ringing the bell sitting out on the counter.
"May I help you?" A smiling man asked as he approached the counter from the kitchen area.
Hands folded in front of her, Lena put on her most welcoming smile. "Yes, I called earlier about the woman who comes in every Wednesday and orders four of the number four specials. You said your son might be able to get me her address."
"Oh, you're that lady." The man's eyes shifted left and right. "My son isn't back yet. You're welcome to wait. Would you like to place an order?"
"No. Well, let me check with my driver." Lena made a quick call and then said to the man, "May I have an order of egg rolls and an order of crab rangoon, please."
The man rang her up, and Lena waited while the food was prepared. She had brought the food to her driver and was back inside when an older teen showed up on a bike. He headed to the back of the restaurant, and Lena was already on her feet by the time he came around front again.
"My dad said you wanted to talk to me?" He scratched his head through his red baseball cap.
"Yes, there's a woman who comes in every Wednesday night and orders four of the number four specials. Your father says you deliver food to her sometimes. Do you remember her?"
He smiled. "Oh, sure. She's super nice and a good tipper. She always talks to me, asks me about school and stuff like that. Do you know her?"
"Not yet, but I'd like to. What's her address?"
"Oh, uh … I'm not sure we should tell people our customer's addresses. Isn't that like illegal or something? Hey, Dad, isn't is like—" He stopped speaking when Lena put a hand on his arm.
With her wallet in her hand, she pulled out a wad of twenties and held them up to the boy. "I swear I don't mean her any harm. I just want to talk to her. Now, can you get me her address?"
"Uh … I guess it's not technically illegal. It's probably more of an unwritten rule."
Lena smiled. "Smart boy. The address?"
We went over to the counter and pulled out one of the boxes. It was filled with receipts. He started to flip through them and finally found the one he wanted.
"This is her. She always orders a ton of food even though she lives alone."
Lena looked at the receipt. "You're sure this is it?"
"Yup, cashew chicken, boneless spare ribs, coconut shrimp and a triple order of potstickers."
"For one person?"
The kid shrugged. "I think."
Handing over the cash, Lena said, "Thank you. You're doing a good thing here."
"Say hi to the lady for me, okay?"
"Definitely." Lena typed the address into her phone as she walked out to her car. She gave it to her driver who put it into the GPS. They drove several miles across town before stopping in front of an apartment complex. Brow furrowing, Lena asked, "Is this it?"
"Yes, Miss Luthor," her driver responded.
"But it's an apartment complex."
"Yes, ma'am." He turned in his seat so he could meet her gaze. "Is that a problem?"
"No, I just …" Lena pulled out her phone and went to the note she'd made about the address again. There it was, but no apartment number. "Well ... shit."
"Ma'am?"
"Just a moment. I'm going to call the restaurant." She redialed the restaurant.
"Chen Yang Li."
"Hello, you may not remember me, but I was just there asking about a woman who orders four number fours every Wednesday night."
A long sigh came through the line. "Oh, I remember you."
"Ah, good," Lena said undaunted. "So, the young man was kind enough to provide me with her apartment address, but he failed to give me the apartment number. Could you please ask him for that?"
"He's gone home for the night."
"All right, but he's your son. Can you call him?"
"No, it's a school night. We don't do deliveries after 10 PM."
"I don't need a delivery. I need to know her apartment number. I need thirty seconds of his time."
"We open tomorrow at 10 AM. His shift starts at 4 PM. Did you want to place an order?"
"No, I don't want to place a bloody order. I want … look, I just need to ask him one quick question. It won't even take a minute."
"Tomorrow afternoon. Is there anything else?"
Lena grumbled. "No. Thank you." She disconnected. "I'm going to buy that damn building and put in a fucking strip mall."
"Miss Luthor, what's wrong?"
"I don't have the bloody apartment number, and the kid who has it won't be in until tomorrow afternoon." She ran her hand through her hair, tugging at it.
"Oh, well we could check with the restaurant tomorrow and just come back here then."
"Absolutely not. I'm a Luthor, and Luthors aren't put off by something as minor as not having all the data they need laid out at their feet. Luthors get what they need; so I'm going to get what I need." Lena popped open the door, hopping out of the car and heading toward the apartment.
"Miss Luthor!" her driver shouted where he stood by the car. "Should I go with you?"
"Stay here. I'll text you when I know more."
He nodded and got back into the car.
Lena studied the list of names at the buzzers on the four-story apartment. There was an initial and a last name next to each mailbox. She sighed heavily. "Of course, no first names. Why make this easy." She pressed her way up the buttons, hitting them all and saying, "Delivery here with your food," several times when anyone answered. Eventually, she was buzzed in. "The security here is a shambles. There is no way my soulmate will be staying here."
Lena went from door to door, knocking and waiting to see if anyone answered at this time of night. More often than not, no one would answer. When someone did, it wasn't an attractive blonde woman, and she was left to ask, "Did someone here order Chinese food from Chen Yang Li's tonight?"
Lena was on the third floor and had reached the fourth apartment. Statistically, that meant she was more than halfway through ruling out apartments that could contain her soulmate … minus the ones who didn't answer. Still, she was getting closer to an answer. She knocked, hearing a response from within.
"Alex, it's unlocked!" Kara yelled. A few moments later, there was a second knock, and she headed toward the door. "Honestly, Alex, how much food did you …?" Kara opened her door and stopped talking as soon as she saw Lena standing on the other side. Smiling, she pulled herself up to her full height and tucked some hair behind her ear as she cleared her throat. "You're not my sister. Sorry about that."
Blinking back at Kara, Lena crossed the fingers on both hands as she held them up, saying a silent prayer, and said, "Did you just order four orders of the Emperor Supreme steamed tofu with vegetables with only two sets of chopsticks?"
Eyes wide, Kara gasped. "Yes, I—" Was as far as Kara got before she yelped and spun, pulling at her shirt. "Son of a—!"
She finally yanked the shirt off over her head, yelping and spinning the whole time, glowing words showing across her ribcage. "Did you just order four orders of the Emperor Supreme steamed tofu with vegetables with only two sets of chopsticks?"
Panting and wincing, Kara leaned on her door jam, "Okay, that … that …"
"Fucking hurt?" Lena suggested.
Kara shook a finger at her. "Yes, that but totally worth it because you're her. Hey, hi. You're her. You made my ah …" Kara pointed at the words on her side that were now raised, an angry red.
Lena's eyes grazed across Kara's torso, skimming the blonde's gesturing limb. "Yes, your abs … ah arm … ah tattoo … dear god. Ahem, yes, your soulmark activated. I'm her. I'm your ah …"
"You're my soulmate." Kara's smile grew impossibly wider. "Oh, won't you come in? I promise I'm not a serial killer or anything."
Lena chuckled as she entered the apartment. "Oh, I don't think you're the one who has to promise that."
"Pardon?"
Lena waved her hand casually.
"I'm Kara."
"Lena." Lena held out her hand.
They shook hands, and Kara asked, "How did you find me?"
"Actually, I was calling in a dinner order when I heard you come in to pick up food at the restaurant. By the time my soulmark had finished activating, they'd hung up on me."
"Ah, rough. And you hunted me down?"
Lena shrugged. "I suppose I could have just gotten a private investigator to track you down. This may seem a bit extra. I don't mean to come off as extreme but—"
"No, no." Kara held both hands out in front of her. "This is perfect. You have no idea how glad I am to finally meet you after all these years."
"I suppose it has been several years since we got our soulmarks." Lena chuckled.
"No, I mean since I've been ordering that same damn meal. Ever since Chen Yang Li's opened three years ago, I've been ordering the same meal. It's their Wednesday night special. So like clockwork, I've been ordering it every Wednesday night expecting that someone at the restaurant would say my soul phrase to me. Once a week I order it, and all I get is food. The worst part is," Kara ran both of her hands down her face, her shirt still dangling from her left hand. "Lena, I hate tofu. I'm not that fond of vegetables, but I really despise tofu. Thanks to you I never have to see another piece of bean curd, tofu, or even edamame again so thank—"
"I'm a vegetarian."
After several seconds of awkward silence, Kara cracked up laughing. "Of course, you are. Well, more for you."
Lena nodded in agreement. "More for me."
"So, your soul phrase was …?"
"Your order. I heard you say it, and the next thing I knew my tattoo left me feeling like my skin was on fire. By the time I picked up the phone again, they'd hung up on me."
Kara's gaze skimmed along what she could see of Lena's skin. "Where is it?"
"Hmmm?"
"Your soul mark." Kara gestured to her rib cage, and she blushed slightly. "You've seen mine now. I got that out of the way. Sorry. Where's yours?"
"Well, mine's a bit … embarrassing."
"Lena, seriously? We just met, and the first thing I did was whip my shirt off in front of you. That's not exactly a very good first impression." Kara laughed.
Lena's returning laugh was full of nervous energy. "It's better than you think."
Brows furrowed, Kara replied, "Look, I don't want to make you feel pressured into—"
"No, it's fine. It's just been a topic of discussion in the media throughout the years, so I suppose I'm a bit sensitive about it. It is my soulmark though, and it led me to you." With a gentle smile, Lena said, "It's not like you're some nosy reporter who's going to publish something on it."
Kara scratched at the back of her neck. "Well, I'm not going to publish anything on it, that's for sure."
"Here, I'll show you." Lena placed one hand on the back of Kara's couch.
"Only if you want to."
"It's fine." Lena pulled up her shirt, catching it under her arms to hold it in place, and tugged down her pants just a bit to expose the tattoo.
Kara took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes with her free hand for a moment before replacing them and swallowing hard. "I, ah, see what you mean about placement. It's still kind of red. Does it hurt?" She gently traced the outline of the letters with the fingertips of her free hand, the one with her shirt in it resting on Lena's hip.
One hand on the couch and weight forward, Lena nodded once. "A bit. It's more tender than sore. I think the mark wanted to make sure I knew it was you." She smiled as warmth from Kara's fingers bled into her skin.
"Yeah, I get that. My mark sure wasn't shy either. I definitely knew it was you."
"Kara, what the hell!" Alex yelled from the open doorway, a box of pizza in her hand. "Jesus Christ. It's Wednesday night. You knew we were coming over."
As Kara spun and pulled her shirt to cover her torso, Lena turned and pulled up her pants.
"Yay! Get 'em, Little Danvers!" Maggie whooped and smiled.
"Stop it," Alex ordered. "Do not encourage whatever the hell that is. Seriously, Kara, why would you … that … when you know you have company coming over?"
"I know why she would." Maggie grinned until her dimples showed from across the room. She walked over to Lena and extended her hand. "Maggie Sawyer, and unlike Kara, I haven't had the pleasure."
"Sawyer, I'm gonna kick your ass," Alex grumbled. "Ignore my fiancée. She's an ass."
"Speaking off asses—"
"Mags, one more word and you're sleeping on the couch," Alex threatened.
"This isn't what it looks like," Kara said as she tugged her t-shirt back on.
Maggie looked imploringly over at Alex.
"Nope, no comments, "Alex said. "You already wasted them all. Kara, maybe you want to introduce us to your … friend?"
"Oh, this is Lena." Kara threw an arm over Lena's shoulder, pulling the other woman closer and smiling. "She's my soulmate."
Alex's jaw hung practically unhinged. "What?"
"No way! That's awesome! Congrats kid." Maggie stepped in, giving Kara a hug as the blonde released Lena. "How'd you two meet?"
"Chinese food," Lena said with a laugh.
"Oh." Alex nodded also hugging her sister. "That makes sense given Kara's mark."
"Lena's too. Gentle guys, my mark is still tender." Kara winced. "That's what we were doing, looking at Lena's mark because it's on her … back. There wasn't anything else going on."
Alex nodded, holding out a hand to Lena. "I'm Alex, Kara's older sister."
"Lena. It's nice to meet you, Alex."
"You've met my worse half Maggie."
"Maggie." Lena shook both women's hands.
"You only got one pizza?" Kara took the pizza from her sister, lifting the lid and pouting as she looked at the food. "This is cheese. Am I being punished?"
"We had a pizza tragedy which is why we're late," Alex said. "It was Maggie's fault."
"It was not Maggie's fault. It was the mugger's fault," Maggie countered.
"You were mugged?" Lena asked, her eyebrows near her hairline.
"Just a little bit." Maggie held her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.
"How do you get a little bit mugged? You got mugged for your pizza?" Lena looked back and forth between Maggie and Alex. "The mugger didn't want the cheese pizza?"
"That's my kind of mugger," Kara said flopping onto the couch and dropping the pizza box onto the coffee table.
"No, it was some asshole with a knife. He demanded out wallets," Maggie explained.
"Then Maggie coldcocked him," Alex added. "Her dropped like a brick and hit the pizza boxes she was carrying on the way down. The pizzas went flying out of the boxes."
"Ugh." Kara laid back and moaned dramatically on the couch.
"Well, at least you're all right." Lena gently squeezed Maggie's arm. "You took quite a chance fighting off a mugger."
"Nah, it's just a day that ends in Y. I'm a detective in the NCPD."
"Who should have done a better job of protecting the pizzas."
Kara moaned again. "I'm going to starve to death."
"You can eat some of the Chinese food." Alex cocked a thumb toward the food on the counter.
Suddenly, Kara sat up on her couch, one arm thrust forward. "Death before tofu!"
Stifling a chuckle, Lena pulled her cellphone out of her purse. "Why don't I get you something else from the Chinese food restaurant?"
"They don't deliver this late." Kara pouted.
"I'll send my driver." Lena pulled up the last number that she'd dialed. "How about cashew chicken, boneless spare ribs, coconut shrimp and a triple order of potstickers?"
Kara's eyes widened. "You know my food order?" A sickeningly sweet smile came to her face. "You are my soulmate."
This time Lena chuckled. "I'll just call it in." After checking with the others, Lena placed the order. The man was hesitant at first, but Lena promised she'd send her driver and that this wasn't a trick. She ignored two other missed calls and several more texts from Sam looking for an update.
Once the food had been ordered, they all sat down to eat. Conversation went on for a little while, Lena talking about growing up in Metropolis, and Kara talking about Midvale. They got to know each other a little bit. Lena admitted she had a love of science and played chess competitively before having to go into the family business. She and Kara both talked about school for a bit, learning about their similarities and difference.
Though people offered her food, Kara was protesting until something with protein showed up. Lena and Maggie tried to explain that both cheese and tofu had protein in it.
"Real protein," Kara said. "I want food, not what food eats."
"Is it too late for me to give up on this soulmate idea?" Lena asked.
"Yes. I'm keeping you," Kara replied putting an arm around Lena's shoulder and squeezing her gently, making the brunette blush.
"Awww, they're sweet. Were we ever that sweet, babe?" Maggie asked.
"No, because we're too badass. You can't be as badass as we are and be sweet like that," Alex said.
"I've seen you guys be cute," Kara said.
"Shut it." Alex pointed warningly at her sister. "So, Lena, what do you do for a living?"
"I run a technology firm here in town. Technically, it's from Metropolis, but we're relocating the U.S. headquarters to National City. That's why I'm here."
"What's it called?" Maggie asked.
"Um … L-Corp." Lena topped off her wine glass and took a hardy sip.
"You okay?" Kara asked.
Lena nodded. "Maybe I should call my driver and check on food."
"Why? You told him to wait at Chan Yang Li's until it's ready. I can't believe you have a driver. Your company must be doing pretty well." Kara took a sip of her soda. "I've never heard of it, but I don't know much about technology."
"Yeah, Kara's not much of a science person," Alex said.
"What do you do?" Lena asked eagerly.
"I'm a reporter."
The little color she had drained from Lena's face.
Kara squeezed Lena's free hand. "Are you all right?"
"Ah, I think I'll call my driver. Excuse me."
"Is she okay?" Alex asked.
Kara shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really know her that well. We only met a few minutes before you two barged in."
"Hey, we were invited. I wasn't expecting to see my kid sister half-naked and pulling some girl's pants off."
"Alex, that's not what was going on."
"Oh, that's what was going on." Maggie smiled as she stuffed some Chinese food into her mouth.
Kara rolled her eyes at Maggie. "Anyway, Lena and I barely got to talk before you two showed up. We talked about the marks, looked at each other's, and then we had company. You know the rest."
"You want us to get out of here?" Alex asked.
"I'd rather you stay." Kara slid forward on her seat, taking Alex's hand. "I'm kind of nervous."
"Why? Lena seems nice," Alex said.
"She does," Kara agreed.
"She's really hot too."
Alex turned to Maggie. "Hey, I'm right here."
"That does not make the girl any less straight. If your little sister had to pick up a soulmate, at least we got eye candy. Up high." Maggie held up a hand.
Ignoring Maggie, Alex said, "Kara, don't be nervous. Just be yourself. Your soulmate is supposed to be your best match, even if your best match is a classless idiot some of the time, they're still the right person to be in your life. You're amazing, so Lena must be amazing."
Fixing her glasses, Kara smiled shyly. "But, I don't even know if she's into girls. She might be straight. Maybe it's just a platonic match."
"I know a test. Want me to find out?" Maggie asked.
Alex narrowed her eyes at Maggie. "You know a test?"
Maggie nodded as she scooped up more food with chopsticks. "It works really well. Want me to try?"
"Would you mind?" Kara asked.
"Kara, this is probably more of Maggie's bullshit. Don't fall for it."
"Trust me Little D. I'll find out for you."
As Lena walked back into the room, Kara nodded at Maggie.
Alex pushed back in her seat. "Everything okay?"
Lena sat next to Kara again. "I think so. He's on his way back, but I think the man at the restaurant may have given him a hard time. He sounded … off."
"Off as in…" Alex waited.
"Just like he was keeping something back. I expect the man said something he thought would upset me. My driver has been with me for years. He's very loyal and has had to put up with a lot lately."
The others exchanged a look, and Maggie cleared her throat. "Hey, Lena, quick question for you. Are you straight, or are you into girls?"
"Jesus fucking …!" Alex's jaw tightened, and her hands curled into fists. "That's your test?"
"Yeah, it works really well." Maggie smiled over at Lena. "Well?"
"I …" Lena cleared her throat. "I'm not straight."
With a laugh, Maggie pushed Alex on the shoulder. "Awesome, neither is Little D. You two kids have fun."
"Ugh." Kara buried her face in her hands looking up at Lena seconds later. "I'm so sorry about that. That was awful."
"Well, it was a bit awkward," Lena admitted.
"A bit awkward?" Kara laughed. "That left awkward on second base and its rounded third and is on its way home."
"Good going, Sawyer. I need another drink." Alex leaned across, grabbing the bottle of wine and pouring herself another glass.
Seeing the tattoo on Alex's forearm, Lena's brows furrowed. She looked up at Maggie. "That's the first thing you said to her?"
"Hmmm? Oh, nah. That's not my soulmark. My soulmark is on her other arm," Maggie explained.
Alex held out her arm where, "Que puto dolor," was written.
"What does that mean?" Lena asked.
"That fucking hurts," Maggie explained.
"Ah." Lena nodded. "I take it Alex spoke first?"
"Yup." Maggie put her foot up on the coffee table and pulled up her pants leg.
Lena cocked an eyebrow reading, "Freeze motherfucker." She looked over at Alex. "Are you also a cop?"
"FBI."
"Oh, good Lord." Lena quickly drained the remaining wine from her glass. "So, you're a cop, an FBI agent, and a reporter."
"That a problem?" Alex asked.
"No, I mean …" Lena sighed heavily. "Look, my company, I told you it's called L-Corp, and that's partially true. It will be once all of the paperwork that's been filed has been approved. It's being renamed from its current LLC."
Eyebrows raised, Alex asked, "Which is?"
Lena swallowed before responding, "Luthor Corp."
Everyone was silent until Alex asked, "You work for the Luthors?"
"Not … exactly." Lena placed her wine glass down on the table turning her hands over in the air in front of her. "I am the Luthors, well, one of them. I'm Lena Luthor, the CEO of Luthor Corp."
Again, there were several moments of silence until, with a smile that showed her dimples, Maggie said, "Hey, Little D, you got yourself a rich, hot soulmate."
"Still right here," Alex reminded Maggie.
"And she's still hot."
Gently squeezing Lena's arm, Kara asked, "Lex is …?"
"My brother."
"Are you okay?" Kara asked.
"Am I okay?" Lena raised her brows, tilting her head at Kara. "I've been various levels of screwed up my whole life. You just found out your soulmate, though she may be rich—"
"And hot."
"Shut up, Mags."
"Is also the sister of one of the most notorious homicidal maniacs this country has seen in this century. Are you okay?"
"Well, sure." Kara grabbed her glasses by the frames, adjusting them. "I mean, the century is still young. I'm sure there will be much more famous murders out there eventually. I mean, how many people did he kill, anyway?"
"Over two hundred," Lena replied dryly.
"Two hundred? Golly, that sure is a lot of murder."
"Did you just say golly?"
Kara nodded.
"Are you for real?" Lena asked.
"Gee, I try to be. I think being genuine is important." Reaching out, Kara took Lena's hand. "Now I understand why you had so many problems with reporters. They must really bother you, huh?"
"Well, of course, they do. Look what my family did."
"Not your family, your brother," Alex corrected.
"Right." Kara squeezed Lena's hand. "You're not Lex, and people shouldn't judge you by Lex's actions. You haven't killed anyone, have you?"
"Well, no but—"
"That's good enough for me." Kara smiled.
"That's it? No murdering and I'm good to go?" Lena asked.
"Lena, you're my soulmate. Your soulmate should be a good match for you. I think I'm a good person who makes good moral choices. That means you should be a good person who makes good moral choices. Right?"
"Right," Alex agreed. "That's how the bond is supposed to work, and Kara is an amazing person. You must be something special too. That's how the bond works most of the time. I don't know how I got stuck with this rude, pain in the ass, who has a problem with boundaries."
"Well, Alex, that's because …" Biting her lower lip, Kara suddenly became incredibly interested in her hands.
"What? What were you going to say, Kara?"
"Nothing."
"No, just say it." Alex stood up and took a step toward her sister. "I want to hear it. What does my little sister think about me? Just say it, Kar."
When the doorbell rang, Lena stood up. "That would be my driver. I'll get food and leave you two to fight it out." She walked over to the front door, pulling it open, a look of surprise on her face when she saw who was standing there.
With a bag of Chinese takeout food in hand, Sam was smiling broadly. "Okay, where's the hot blonde?"
Grabbing her right arm, Alex dropped to her knees on the floor, banging her fist onto the floor.
"Alex?" Kara stood over her sister. "Alex, what's wrong?"
With a gasp, Maggie jumped onto the couch and smiled, looking over at Sam.
"What's going on?" Sam asked.
"Uh, I'm not entirely certain," Lena admitted. "It almost looks like …"
Pushing up to her feet, Alex said, "Motherfucker."
Grabbing her leg, Sam fell to the floor hiking up her skirt to expose her thigh. "Fuck! Fuck!"
"Oh, yes it is." Lena smirked. "Like I told you, a bit more than a burning sensation."
"Damn, Alex, your other soulmate is hot too."
"Sawyer, you can forget about the couch tonight. I'm not even letting you into the apartment."
Ignoring Alex, Maggie vaulted over the back of the couch to where she strode up to Sam and helped the woman to her feet. "Damn, you're tall too. Hi, Maggie Sawyer. I'm your other half's other half."
"What?" Sam sucked in air through her teeth. "Oh, my God, that hurt."
"Yeah, they burn, but aloe helps. I'll be right back," Alex said as she wandered off toward the bathroom.
"Lena, who was that? What's going on?" Sam asked.
"That was Alex, your soulmate. This is Maggie, your soulmate's soulmate."
"My … huh?"
"You're part of a triad, darling. Do try and keep up."
Sam looked down with wide eyes at Maggie.
"So, I have a question for you," Maggie began.
"She's gay," Lena said.
"Oh, cool." Maggie grinned and picked up the bag of food that had been dropped on the ground. "I'm going to leave you to freak out and go feed the stomach over there. Her name's Kara."
"Hi!" Kara waved from her spot near the loveseat.
Sam waved back and whispered to Lena, "And Kara is …?"
Glancing over at Kara, Lena smiled shyly. "She's mine."
"Oh, she is cute. Very nice, Lena. The redhead, Alex, is Maggie's soulmate and … mine?" Sam's voice cracked at the very end.
"Yes, and Kara's sister."
"Our soulmates are sisters?" Sam smiled. "Ruby is going to love that."
"How is Ruby going to feel about the triad?"
Sam shrugged. "First let me figure out how I feel about it. Trust in the universe, right?"
Smile growing, Lena said, "They're all very nice." As Alex came back out with a bottle of aloe, Lena stepped away. "I'm going to join Kara for food. Excuse me."
"Uh, hi. I'm Alex."
"Samantha, but my friends call me Sam," Sam said shaking Alex's hand.
"Can I, uh, aloe you?" Alex held up the bottle, shaking it slightly.
"It's on my … upper leg, on the outside."
Nodding and kneeling, Alex squirted some aloe into her hand. "So, sorry for my word choice. I'm sure it's been lovely going through life with the word 'motherfucker' on your thigh. These things really hurt when they go off."
"Ha! Truth. Oh, God, that's cold."
"You okay?"
Sam nodded. "It feels good but cold. Don't stop. Anyway, you have to go through life with a soulmark that says your sister is hot, so I guess I should apologize about that."
Pausing in her ministrations, Alex looked at the tattoo on her forearm. "Oh, yeah, I always wondered who the hot blonde was. I never thought it would be Kara. That's awkward."
"Sorry." Sam shrugged.
On the couch, Maggie scooted closer to where Lena sat on the loveseat. "So that's your driver? I thought it was a dude."
"No, that's my best friend and CFO, Samantha Arias. I called her when my soulmark activated and told her about the restaurant. She said she was going to meet me there, but I told her not to. I suppose she went anyway. She must have run into my driver and ended up here with the food."
"It's a small world," Kara said.
"It's a pushy universe," Lena added.
"She doesn't seem to be freaking out." Maggie looked over the back of the couch. "That's a good sign."
"Oh, Sam doesn't freak out. She can stare down an angry board of directors and then go home and deal with her twelve-year-old daughter. She has nerves of steel."
"Daughter?" Maggie asked as she turned around suddenly on the couch.
"Is that a problem?" Lena asked.
"Nah, kids are cool so long as they're other people's. I'm up for kind of an aunt role." Grabbing her beer from the table, Maggie took a swig. "I tell you, the next game night sure will be interesting."
"What's game night?"
"Oh, you're gonna love it, Lena." Kara bounced just a bit on the love seat, a box of Chinese food in her hands. "Our friends James and Winn come over, and sometimes Mike but he's kind of a tool, and we play board games and video games. It's just for fun. You're not competitive, are you?"
Smiling just on the right side of her mouth, Lena replied, "I'm a Luthor. Of course not."
"Cool." Kara smiled back. "Tomorrow is game night. We're playing Monopoly to start."
"Monopoly? I've always wanted to try that."
"You've never played?" Kara half-stood in her seat. "Seriously Lena?"
Smile growing, Lena said, "Teach me?"
"Of course." Kara squeezed Lena's hand. "What kind of a soulmate would I be if I didn't? Come over early tomorrow night, and we can go over the rules before the guys show up. Oh, and if you don't play video games, don't tell Winn. He's like totally Fortnite obsessed right now."
Picking up her wine glass, Lena smiled into the rim as she took a sip. She'd regained her facade before she turned to Kara and asked, "Fortnite? What's that?"