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In this chapter, we'll finally find out who Lena's kidnapper is. Just a warning about the end – there's some torture.
Lena blinks.
She struggles to focus her eyes on her surroundings, stares into the dim light in order to understand her environment.
She's in a small room. Cabinets and cupboards outline the walls, but there is nothing distinctive about it, nothing that tells her where she is.
Her wrists are firmly strapped by her side and a belt runs across her middle, tying her to a cold metal panel that holds her a little short of vertical.
She's alone, the only noise being the faint humming of the lights emitted from the underside of the higher cupboards. A chill sends a shiver down her spine and she realises that she isn't wearing Kara's cardigan anymore.
And then everything comes flooding back; being in the cabin, going to bed with Kara, waking up to find her gone, looking for her in the woods.
A hand clamping over her mouth, stifling her screams for her girlfriend.
And then nothing.
Lena's body suddenly fills with dread, with panic. The rise and fall of her diaphragm quickens with every short breath when she realises the last thing she can remember.
She couldn't find Kara.
Kara had been out there and Lena couldn't find her.
What if she's been taken too?
What if she's here somewhere, strapped to a bed, frightened and alone and confused?
Beautiful, sweet, innocent Kara who always sees the best in people, probably taken because of her association with a Luthor.
This isn't the first time Lena has been kidnapped, and she knows that it won't be the last attempt, but Kara doesn't deserve this.
At least Alex and Maggie weren't in the cabin. At least they'll be safe.
Maybe they're out there right now, looking for Kara, looking for Lena too because they've come back to find the cabin empty.
A detective and a fed are probably scouring every inch of the city and its outskirts, desperately searching for them. Supergirl is probably helping them and that thought lifts a tiny weight from her chest.
Until the door handle rattles.
A man enters, a white lab coat draped over his shoulders, carrying a silver briefcase and a clipboard under his arm.
He quickly glances at Lena but says nothing, instead turning his back on her and placing the box on the countertop with a thud.
Lena stares at him, her brows knitting together.
"Where am I?" She asks, her voice hoarse, probably from the shouting in the forest.
The man ignores her as he fumbles around in his coat pocket before pulling out a pen and scribbling something on his clipboard.
"How long have I been here?" She tries instead.
The man still doesn't turn around, doesn't acknowledge her.
Lena can feel uncontrollable anger building inside her. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"
The man visibly freezes, probably shocked by Lena's outburst almost as much as she is. Hostages weren't usually this vocal.
He resumes his work and digs around inside the briefcase, pulling out vials, needles, syringes and a black strap.
Lena's eyes widen in horror.
The vials are filled with a bold red liquid.
Blood.
But something more is mixed in with it, another red substance of a slightly different shade, something that Lena doesn't recognise.
The man picks up the strap and turns to face Lena properly for the first time. She takes in the blankness of his expression, the way that he refuses to look her in the eye.
He stands in front of her and reaches out to grab her arm. Lena begins to thrash around as much as she can despite the wrist restraints. Her attempts to escape the man's grasp fail and after a struggle he manages to wrap the strap across her arm, pulling it tight across her bicep.
"What are you doing? What is that?" Lena asks, looking between her arm, the man and the red vials in panic.
If the man has any intention of answering her question, which seems unlikely, his opportunity is cut short when the door slowly, eerily creeks open.
Lena stares open-mouthed at the figure that stands in the doorway.
"Mother?"
Lena continues to stare at Lillian, too shocked to say anything else. Her face changes from surprise to confusion to disbelief to anger, all in the space of a few seconds.
"Oh Lena, do close your mouth," Lillian says, striding into the room and clicking the door closed. "You look so silly gawping at me like that."
Lena's eyebrows knit together. The normalcy of the insult surprises her, and Lillian sneers at her daughter's expression.
Lena feels anger rise again, grits her teeth to stop herself from screaming at the woman who was supposed to love her, care about her, look after her.
Be her mother.
Not have her kidnapped and restrained in a dingy room.
Lillian studies Lena in silence, something that used to disconcert her but no longer had the desired effect.
"What am I doing here, mother?" Lena eventually asks, trying to sound more annoyed and inconvenienced than angry. She doesn't want Lillian to see her fear, the worry she feels for Kara.
Lillian cackles. "Of all the questions you could ask, that's the one you choose?"
Lena glares at the smug woman. "What should I be asking?"
Lillian grins. "You're a smart girl, Lena. I'm sure you can figure that out yourself."
Lena sighs, exasperated. She knows that her mother is playing games, messing with her head and deliberately avoiding her questions but she doesn't know why.
"What's in the vials?"
Lillian takes a moment to consider her answer. She begins to pace slowly, the sound of her heels colliding against the floor echoing around the room. "That would be telling."
"For goodness sakes, mother," Lena hisses, tilting her head back against the cool metal behind her. She's had enough of her incessant teasing to last her a lifetime.
Lillian says nothing, displays no emotion despite her daughter's outburst. She simply stands there, her arms folded, leaning slightly against one of the cupboards.
Lena glares back, her fists balled so tightly that her knuckles are white from the strain.
The older Luthor notices and closes the distance between them. She gently wraps her hand around Lena's.
Lena's whole body tenses at her mother's touch. It feels peculiar, wrong even. From being little she has always craved closeness and human contact but it was a rarity in the Luthor household, so to have her mother carefully taking her hand and trying to unclench her fists was more confusing to her than being kidnapped and held against her will.
Lillian's eyes look up to find Lena's stormy green ones glaring back at her, defiance and anger burning deep within them. But Lillian can also see turmoil flickering behind the fury, the confusion she has caused by taking her hand.
Lena gulps hard, has to fight the chaos that churns inside her, has to stop it from gripping her and taking over her every thought. She knows that her mother is playing a game, a game that she can't let her win. But the more she tries to figure out what her mother wants, the further she gets from the answer.
Because there is no obvious answer, despite what Lillian says.
Her mother is wicked, immoral and a criminal.
Worst of all, she is unpredictable.
Lena is first to drop her gaze, unable to stare into Lillian's cold eyes any longer. She suddenly looks a little defeated, even if she is trying to hide it. She quickly regains her composure, sets her jaw and wriggles her hand until Lillian lets go.
The elder woman remains quiet and never takes her eyes off Lena as she backs away, sensing that a question is burning on the tip of her daughter's tongue.
"Where's Kara?"
Lillian raises an eyebrow, her mouth turning up into a half smile. "I'm a little shocked that that wasn't your opening question, but you got there in the end."
Lena's heart begins to beat faster. "Answer me!"
Lillian laughs. "You always were a demanding child, Lena," she states, folding her arms.
"I don't care about what you want or why I'm here or even about what's in those vials," Lena growls. "But if you've done anything to hurt Kara I swear I'll-"
"You'll what?" Lillian cocks an eyebrow.
Lena doesn't finish her sentence, instead opting for a different approach. "Just tell me where she is."
"She isn't here," Lillian says simply. "I haven't taken her."
Lena tries to read her expression. She can usually tell when her mother is lying, but her face gives nothing away if she is.
"I don't believe you."
Lillian walks up to Lena, moves her face to within inches of her daughter's. Lena can feel her hot breath on her face as she speaks.
"I. Don't. Have. Her."
Lena struggles to comprehend her mother's words as she realises that she isn't lying.
Kara isn't here.
Her mother hasn't taken her.
So where is she?
Lena's eyes suddenly fill with tears. She can't stop them from flooding down her cheeks and it angers her that she can't wipe them away. Her chest heaves uncontrollably as each breath catches in her throat, which begins to feel more and more constricted with every passing second. She bites her lip in an attempt to stop it from trembling, feels blood seep into her mouth.
"I h-have to find her, you have to l-let me go," Lena blubbers between shaky breaths. "Please, I n-need to find her."
"You see, this is your problem," Lillian begins with a sigh. "This is why you'll never achieve anything. Lex never let love get in his way, and that is why he's so much stronger than you'll ever be."
Lillian nods her head at the man beside her. He had spent the last few minutes busying himself with the vials and syringe, but upon receiving Lillian's signal he leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
"You could have been incredible," Lillian continues as Lena sniffles, struggling to take in her mother's words as her worry for Kara grows. "You could have made an important difference to the world, but you always choose to fight for the wrong side."
The door opens and the man returns, followed closely by Hank Henshaw. He doesn't even spare a glance at Lena; he takes the syringe and stands in front of her.
"But who knows, you may still make a difference yet. There is still time for you to redeem yourself and become the Luthor, the hero you were destined to be. After all, she's been lying to you, Lena. If you knew who Kara Danvers really was, you wouldn't be so eager to find her."
An almost unnoticeable nod from Lillian tells Henshaw to inject Lena with the blood. She tries to fight him but he grips her arm and plunges it in, his cyborg technology enabling him to know exactly which spot to insert it into to get the quickest results.
"No! No!" Lena screams. "I don't believe you! You have to let me find her!"
She watches the vial empty into her arm, feels the liquid swirling around in her veins. It feels strange, fuzzy.
"Supergirl will come," Lena spits, venom dripping in her voice. "She'll find me. She always does."
Lillian smiles arrogantly.
The fuzzy sensation that has quickly spread through Lena's body disappears and is replaced by a warm ache.
And it keeps getting warmer.
And warmer.
And warmer.
Until her entire body feels like it's on fire. Every vein, every blood vessel, every inch of her skin burns and she cries out in pain. She thrashes around, grits her teeth as the feeling intensifies but all she can think about is not knowing where Kara is, not knowing whether Alex and Maggie and Supergirl have found her, not knowing whether she's safe.
When the feeling eventually subsides and leaves only a dull ache, Lena's head lolls against her shoulder and she feels her eyelids drooping. As much as she tries to fight it, she can feel herself slipping into unconsciousness.
A single sentence shatters through the darkness that envelopes her as she loses the battle.
"Where is your precious Kryptonian now?"
Let me know why you think Lillian has taken Lena!