Lena struggled not to limp into the office the next morning after teaming up with Supergirl. It was an incredible experience, fighting alongside one of the most beloved heroes on the planet. However, it's hard to enjoythe moment whenbullets are raining down on you. Sure, the suit and reflexes helped. But when there's a gang of people who are smart enough to shoot at the one that isn't bulletproof? That's when things get tricky. No matter how much her suit could absorb the impact and break apart the bullets, it still hurt like a bitch when there was one she couldn't dodge in time.
Don't even get her started on the aliens playing dirty with their tech. Lena was tempted to stay home and spend her day in an ice bath to numb the aching that she felt as a result.
But, of course, she came in anyways. She was doing pretty well with moving slowly and making sure that she gave herself time to relax as she moved around her lab to make improvements to her suit. (She may or may not have "borrowed" some of the alien tech that was left after apprehending them so that she could use it to make counter-measures). Then Jess paged her and said that Kara was on her way down to see her. By the time Kara walked in through the door, she had to try and keep the look of absolute agony off of her face from how quickly she moved to hide the suit and notes.
"What are you doing down in the dungeons of L-Corp?" Kara asked playfully as she opened her arms for a hug.
"Kara! Hey, what are you doing down here?" she greeted as she tried to hide the grimace from moving forward to welcome her friend with a hug.
Her friend frowned. "I'm, uh, actually here on more official business, unfortunately," she sighed apologetically.
Lena groaned. "Snapper sent you here to get a quote from me, didn't he?"
Kara's eyes widened. "No! No, no, sorry, that's definitely what this is about." She took a deep breath. "I'm sure you realized that I knew that detective that nearly arrested you yesterday."
"Yeah, her name was Maggie Sawyer, right?"
"Yeah, so anyways, she and my sister are trying to work together to find your mom and Metallo. Supergirl works with my sister and she came to me this morning with a proposition for you."
Lena arched an eyebrow in faux intrigue. "A proposition?"
Kara hesitated. "Yeah... they want you to try to lure your mother out of hiding."
"Really?" Lena really hoped she was as good of an actor as the rest of her family; otherwise, all this fake surprise was going to give her away in a heartbeat. "That doesn't really seem Supergirl's style."
"Oh trust me, it's not," Kara said with annoyancejust below the surface. "But she had a talk with Spider-Woman last night. She seems convinced that they wanted you framed so that they could get to you more easily, and that if you were used to draw them out--"
"My mother and Metallo could be apprehended," Lena finished. "Alright, so what's the plan? In what way am I going to be bait?"
The reporter looked up in shock. "Wait, really? That easily? You don't want to think it over first?"
Lena smiled. "Look, my mother is a horrendous, vile woman. Every second that she is out there is another second that she is a danger to this city," she ranted. "I want her back behind bars."
Her friend smiled at her warmly. "I always knew there was a reason I liked you."
"Oh, thanks, Kara. Nice to know that you just realized that."
They laughed and Kara pulled her in for another hug. "You know I don't mean it like that." She pulled back to look at Lena. "Thank you for agreeing to this. You don't have to."
"Just try to stop me. So, what exactly am I going to be doing?"
Kara laughed nervously. "Well, um, you see, that's where everything thinks that we're going to hit a bit of a snag with you..."
Lena arched an eyebrow with genuine intrigue this time. "What do you mean that you think you're going to hit a snag?"
The blonde looked down and began to fiddle with her fingers like they were the most interesting things in the world. "Well, ya see, we were planning on you making your rounds at the Luthor Family Children's Hospital-"
"Absolutely not," Lena interjected with finality. "I'm perfectly okay with letting myself be bait. What I am not okay with, however, are children being possible collateral damage to the matter!"
Kara flinched and held up her hands. "I know! I know, and I absolutely hate it, too. But everyone knows that you make atrip to see them at the beginning of the month," Kara began. "If you don't let Supergirl and my sister help, then you're putting them even more at risk by going in there alone. And I know that you would never cancel on them; you don't have the heart for it. Please, Lena? We have a plan to keep the kids in one general area so that when they come for you, they won't be in the crossfire."
Lena looked into those pleading blue eyes and she sighed in defeat.God, I'm a useless lesbian."Fine, fine. But I want Spider-Woman and Guardian there fighting, too," she conceded. "I want all the kids at the top floors so that when the fighting starts, they'll be out of harm's way altogether. Hopefully, anyways."
Kara nodded eagerly. "Done. But, why do you want Spider-Woman and Guardian there? Don't think Supergirl can handle it?"
The CEO chuckled at Kara's slight insecurity. "Look, it's nothing against Supergirl; she's saved my life plenty of times for me to trust her. But these are different stakes. I don't want something happening to her because of Metallo using Kryptonite against her, thus leaving the kids defenseless. If Spider-Woman and Guardian are there, they'll be able to hold down the fort at least."
"Don't worry, as soon as you go in, you'll be leaving. I'll make sure they leave you a car out back so that you can drive off and get out of there. Even if all three of them get defeated, your mom and her overkill bodyguard won't have any reason to stick around."
Lena smiled. "Thank you, Kara. As much as I despise the fact that children are a part of this plan, I appreciate how willing you are to negotiate all of this with Supergirl."
Kara's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, I'm sure she'll be fine with all of it," she assured nervously. "After all, if she's willing to ask so much of you, she's willing to allow some freedom about this. I assume, anyways."
Lena bit the smile back as it tried to fight its way onto her face. "I hope you assume correctly. Anyways, did you want to go out for lunch?"
"I-" She was cut off by her phone ringing, a disappointed sigh passing her lips as she saw who was calling. "Can't. Not anymore, anyways. Alex is calling and she usually doesn't call unless it's an emergency. I've gotta take this, but I'll try to get back to you. Talk to you later!"
"Bye!" she called to her friend who was already out the door. She groaned as her muscles practically gave out under her, causing her to sag against the table she had been working at prior to Kara's impromptu arrival.
She picked up her mask and considered it. "Sorry, buddy," she said. "You're going to have to wait to get some kind of facial movements for another time. The rest of the suit needs me more." A pause. "I'm talking to a mask."
A few days later, the trap was set for Lena's mother and minion. Lena would show up at the hospital, always the public spectacle considering everyone was just waiting until she went batshit crazy like Lex. She'd walk in and pretend that she was going to make her rounds, starting at the top and working her way down. (To Lena's delight, the hospital and government agency agreed to take the kids out for a day at a discovery center so there was absolutely no chance of casualties). In theory, Lillian would have already shown up and tried to take her. That's when Lena would make her "escape" while Guardian, Supergirl, and (eventually) Spider-Woman will come in and take the two of them down once and for all.
It was actually a really good plan.
Which is why Lena didn't understand why her hands were trembling as she neared the building. There was no chance of child casualties, no one would be able to know that she wasn't actually in a car, thus protecting her identity, and she was going to be able to finally put her mother behind bars. For good this time. So why was she terrified? She was a superhero for fuck's sake.
She was so lost in thought, she didn't even realize that the car had stopped and that she had already begun making her way to the doors of the hospital. There was a doctor standing at the door waiting to greet her, but after one look, she realized that there was a distinct outline in her coat pocket. A gun. They had dressed up agents as doctors and nurses, too.
Everything was a bit of a blur as she began her fake procession through to the elevators. Until she heard a crash and looked up to see Lillian's smug face staring back at her. Suddenly, everything was back in focus as she realized that she was being herded towards the back of the building and she heard the voices of Supergirl and Guardian talking to her mother.
Working quickly, she opened the door and placed a device that she programmed to hack into the car's system and drive itself to her apartment. She pressed a button on her bracelet and watched as her Spidey suit was revealed as the cloaking technology she had used turned itself off. Stripping herself of her other clothes, she tossed them in the backseat and quickly retracted her mask from where she had built it in. After sending the car on its way, she turned back to the door and listened to the blasts and cries that were coming from the building. With a deep breath, she ran in.
After sprinting through the building, the fight had been left in pretty much the same place as it was when she was ushered out. At least, she thinks it was. There were a few gaping holes that made it a little hard to distinguish what used to be what in the building.
"Where the hell have you been?" Supergirl called as she battled a minion that Lena recognized from when her mother tried to launch Medusa while Guardian battled Corben.
She ran over to help and proceeded to web his body to the wall until he was covered in four different layers of webbing. "Traffic was awful."
Before Kara could make a snarky remark, she cried out as she was shot forward by a blast of Kryptonite. Turning around, sherealized Guardian was on the ground, pretty much down for the count at the moment.
"Oh, look," Corben crooned mockingly. "The little bug thinks that she can beat us."
Lena snarled. "I can damn well try. And by the way, I'm an arachnid." Throwing her arm outward, she shot a string out at his chest and yanked it towards herself, letting her fist connect with his nose. "Shit, your face is hard!" she yelped as she dodged a punch from him, shaking her hand to try and dissipate the pain.
He kept swinging punches at her that she dodged easily as she attempted to web him up, only for him to rip his arm free with no effort. (She tried punching more, but that hurt her more than him so she just went with the more long-distance approach).
"Try and see how you'd prefer this then?" He shot a beam of Kryptonite at her and jerked in pain; she made a note that using the Kryptonite seemed to hurt him. Metallo stared as he realized that she'd barely even flinched, even if she was a few feet further back than she had been previously. "How the hell are you still standing?"
She smirked. "Well, this was the plan the whole time. For us to show up and beat you, so I made a few improvements to my suit," she explained nonchalantly as she dodged the punches he was swinging at her. "You'd be surprised at how relatively simple it is to make a suit resistant to Kryptonite and its concentrated effects like the death beam trick you do. Great party trick, by the way. I'm sure the girls love it. If they can make it past your whole... well, everything."
She was suddenly thrown to the side but a fierce swing to the side of her head. "Are you resistant to that?" she heard 'Cyborg Superman' say from where she pulled herself up from the ground.
"Admittedly, no," she said. "And I obviously can't really seem to hurt either of you much. So how about I just do this?" She shot strings at the both of them and quickly brought her arms together. Out of reflex, Metallo shot a Kryptonite beam and R2-D2 (she wasnotabout to call that jackass Superman in any way)shot an eye beam. That, combined with the force of the impact made the two of the crumple, if only for a few minutes.
"Good job," Supergirl commented from where she was starting to get up from where Metallo had knocked her.
"No thanks to you," Lena teased, nudging them with her foot.
"Well, if you want something done right, do it yourself," she heard her mother mutter from where she appeared behind a wall as she began firing at Lena. "I must say, I'm impressed by how you managed to disorient them. Not like it matters. Iwillget my daughter back."
"What makes you think she would ever give in to what you're doing?" Lena snarled as she made her way towards her mother, dodging bullets easily.
Lillian chuckled. "I don't. Do you think I would have my associates here with me if I did?"
Lena glared at her mother behind the mask. "Then why would you still bother doing this?"
"She's my daughter, and even if she doesn't see it now, she will understand why I'm doing this. One day."
Lena let out a bitter chuckle. "I highly doubt that."
Lillian clicked her tongue. "You're right. But I doubt you're leaving this room alive."
Before she could question what she meant, she turned to see Supergirl laying crumbled on the ground in pain as her veins glowed green, and R2 punching her in the face.
She was thrown into the wall so hard it cracked upon impact and she fell to the ground. She groaned as she slowly began pulling herself up from the ground. Suddenly, a hand was in her hair and yanking her up so that a fist could punch her. She cried out as her face began to crack from the force, her body aching from the blows that were being administered.
Lena flinched as her mother's voice came right next to her ear. "I like you; you have spirit. I hope to see you again sometime, so stay down if you know what's good for you." She stood. "Until we meet again, Spider."
Her mother began walking away with her two bodyguards in pursuit. "Self-righteous bitch!" she screamed at her as she walked away.
She collapsed to the ground in pain as agents began walking in and surveying the area. She vaguely heard Guardian groan and affirm that he was okay from where he had been knocked out on the ground.
"Are you alright?" a concerned voice above her that she knew to be Kara's asked.
"I just got beat senselessly by R2-D2," she deadpanned. "I'm kinda liking my spot here on the floor right now, honestly."
Kara let out an airy laugh and rolled her over so that she was face up and joined her, holding her side as the burn from the Kryptonite beam slowly healed. "We'll get them. Let's just be grateful that the kids weren't here to see any of this. God, I'm going to have to tell Lena about the repairs."
"I wouldn't worry about it," she replied. "As long as everyone is alright, I'm sure she'll be okay with it."
"So, how do you feel about your first major superhero battle?" Kara asked as she leaned back against the wall.
"My mask is horribly damaged, I'm pretty sure my face is bleeding, my body feels like it's about to shut down on me, and I still have to go to work tomorrow," she listed. "I think I feel wonderful, all things considered."
Kara laughed, and Lena was so glad that even amongst all the wreckage around them, she could still make her laugh and smile that brilliant smile of hers. "You're a pain in the ass, Spidey," she admitted. "But you'remypain in the ass. It's nice to know that you can still make humor out of getting your ass handed to you."
"Hey, I had them on the ropes!" she defended as she heard Kara laugh. "I did!"
After a flicker of hesitation passed over Kara's face, she leaned down and pressed a kiss to Lena's forehead. "Whatever you say, Spidey," she said as she pulled herself up. "You did great today. We'll call you when we have an idea on when the next fight is going to be. Until then, take the night off."
Of course, Lena could barely hear what she was saying over her heartbeat pounding in her ears thatKara DanversAKASupergirljust gave her a kiss.
"I know you're into me, Supergirl!" she called from her spot on the floor as the Super walked away with a light laugh.