Firstly, I would like to apologise for being away for so long! I took a bit of a breather from writing but I'm back and hoping this new chapter makes up for it.

I also had an idea for a Sanvers slow-burn AU that I've started to work on so be sure to look out for that in the future!

As always, thank you for reading and be sure to let me know what you think! :)

It's cold.

She knows she shouldn't be able to feel it, but she can. It chills her to her bones. The sun offers no warmth because it's obscured behind thick, angry cloud, which threatens to unleash its fury at any given second. The wind whistles through the leafless trees that creak under its force, the crunchy mass below them swirling eerily.

She watches as Alex, J'onn, Sam, Winn and James and a couple of others carefully remove the coffin from the back of the car. Across the side, 'Lena' is spelled out in crisp white plumerias, the most perfect ones she thinks she's ever seen. She knows how they'd have looked in Lena's office, in that little vase on the coffee table, the vase that now sits filled with less beautiful flowers, all of condolence, so much unlike the time Lena had crammed as many as she could in her office to thank her for believing in her.

The coffin is expensive but simple; all mahogany with silver handles and an 'L' printed into the top, just over where her chest lies inside. It rests on each of their shoulders, their faces solemn as they walk slowly in step towards the church, its huge oak doors already open, waiting for Lena. She feels Maggie take her hand and allows herself to be guided, to follow the bearers.

The inside of the church offers little protection from the harsh cold of the day; it's just as grey and gloomy and suffocating. Maggie gestures to her seat and they sit down, the detective never letting go of her hand.

When Lena is placed at the centre of the front of the room, Alex materialises at her other side. Her face is pink from the cold and her eyes shimmer with tears that she tries not to shed. She links her arm through hers and grabs her other hand, squeezing it tightly.

She sees the small memorial booklet resting in her sister's lap. Lena's beautiful face smiles back at her. She herself had taken that picture last summer, had waited until Lena realised that she was pointing a camera at her because she knew that the candid result would be perfect. She looks away.

Almost as quickly as the minister begins speaking, it's her turn. She feels unprepared. She doesn't know what to say, but when she looks up, she's standing in front of the room, a single piece of paper clutched between her thumbs and her fingers. She opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out. She glances at the sheet in her hands but it's blank. Expectant faces stare back at her but the silence extends itself further and further into the room until its fragility is shattered by a single word.

"Kara?"

Alex stands next to her, takes the blank page from her grasp but begins to speak freely, though the words sound muffled and impossible to decipher in her brain.

The service is over as quickly as it began and she watches as the coffin is lowered carefully into the ground. She throws a single plumeria over the 'L' and suddenly everyone is gone, the ground has been replaced and she stares at the headstone. As she frowns despondently at the words, it feels like they carve deeper and deeper into her heart, cementing the reality of their meaning.

Here Lies Lionel Luthor

1963- 1998

And His Beloved Daughter Lena

1993-2018

Another Star Taken To Brighten The Sky

The heavens finally open and rain pours freely from the sky. It runs in streaks down the headstone and drenches the fresh soil by her feet, giving off an earthy smell. She doesn't care, doesn't feel it as it thrashes against her skin.

"Kara?" She feels a hand on her shoulder but she doesn't look around. "Kara?"

She stays in a daze for just a moment longer until she lets Alex's kind voice slowly but surely guide her away to her new reality.

/

"Kara?" Alex shakes her sister's shoulder lightly. She knows from experience that sleeping like that can't be comfortable, even if she had all her powers and was pretty much immune to physical pain and discomfort. She was reluctant to wake her, especially with her severe lack of sleep over the last couple of days, but she has no choice.

Kara rouses with a quiet grumble. She pulls her hair out of her face and Alex can see her crinkle already formed deep into her forehead; it hasn't left her face for days. She also knows that it's a sign of a bad dream; she saw that look so many times when they were younger and it still crushes Alex every time. Her heart sinks further when she sees that Kara is clutching Lena's hand and the look of realisation that falls harshly over her features as everything comes flooding back to her; in that moment it's like she's lost Lena all over again and she barely even had that moment of blissful ignorance.

"I'm sorry to wake you," Alex says, sitting next to her sister, who never takes her eyes off Lena. "But J'onn detained Lillian. He's bringing her in as we speak."

Kara doesn't say anything. Under the biting air con that she can still feel, she swallows hard and looks down at her feet, slipping her hair behind her right ear. She nods her acknowledgement.

"Do you want to talk to her?" Alex asks carefully, putting a steadying hand on Kara's shoulder.

Kara shakes her head. "Not yet. Will you… Please?"

"Of course, if that's what you want," Alex replies, although her mind screams "With pleasure." She's been desperate to get her hands on Lillian for years, to be given answers about her father and where she can find him. This is one of the best opportunities she's ever had; this time she can't escape. As much as she wants to grind out the answers to the myriad of questions she has about her father, though, he can wait. She's waited over ten years, she can hold on a little longer. Right now, the only thing on her mind is getting justice for Lena and answers for Kara.

Alex's eyes flit over Kara's hand that is still entwined with Lena's and her next words are almost suppressed in her throat at the unbearable sight. She takes a deep, steadying breath before she can even think about opening her mouth to speak. "The other thing, Kara…" She begins hesitantly, knowing that the time has come and that she's done everything she can to make it last this long. "They need to move Lena."

Kara's body visibly tenses. "N-now?"

"Uh, yeah… Now."

Out of respect and professionalism, most agents have given the med bay a wide berth – or avoided it like the plague. No one wanted to tell Kara that Lena had to be moved, but when Maggie and then J'onn said that they would do it, Alex cut straight in, arguing that she should be the one to do it, as much as she knew it would pain her and crucify Kara.

Kara sits motionless for another few seconds. She rubs her thumb across Lena's knuckles one last time before leaning over the side of the med bed and planting a long, lingering kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

Alex chokes back tears and tries to look anywhere except Kara and Lena. Out of her peripheral vision, she sees Kara step away from the bed. She gives the tiniest of nods and Alex gestures to the two agents standing outside the med bay, out of earshot. They walk silently into the room and begin to prepare to move the CEO.

Kara feels Alex's hand find hers, and much like in her dream, she finds her body being guided away, though she knows her heart will stay with Lena forever.

/

"Agent Danvers, I wondered how long it'd be before your pretty face made an appearance."

Alex's nose scrunches at Lillian's choice of words. It's not the first time someone has called her that and she knows it probably won't be the last, but something about it makes her skin crawl every time. It's demeaning and insulting but she instantly brushes it off and forces herself to focus. There are more important things at stake here than her distaste for a criminal's choice of poorly-disguised insults. "Why'd you do it, Luthor?"

Lillian cackles and doesn't even flinch at the venom poured into that last word. "Straight to the point, as ever, I see. You don't change, do you, Agent? Tell me, where's your sister and her silly little cape, hm?"

Alex just manages to stop herself from reacting the way she really wants to; hitting the glass case Lillian is being held in and trading insults won't do anything other than amuse the Cadmus leader and give her more fuel to use against her. She unfurls her clenched fist from behind her back as she speaks. "There is a queue of people who would love nothing more than to interrogate you until you are tired of playing your stupid mind games. You should count yourself lucky you got me."

Lillian's mouth flickers at the corners. She admires Alex's spirit and guts, though she's wrong about one thing; she'll never get tired of talking in riddles or being as unhelpful as she can, especially towards the DEO or anyone associated with the House of El.

Alex doesn't blink. She studies Lillian with a ferocious intensity that is only given away by the glimmer of anger and sadness that her soul-bearing eyes can't hide. Her set jaw and stern look would be enough to reduce most people to a mumbling mess but they both know that Lillian will be able to hold out longer than most.

"I thought you'd be too busy trying to cure my daughter," Lillian says nonchalantly, looking down at her nails like she's bored. "You are more brilliant than your sister, after all. For all her special abilities, you're the only one capable of saving Lena."

Alex bites her lip and shakes her head in disbelief. Lillian doesn't know that Lena is dead and right now, Alex doesn't think she deserves to. "What did you expect to achieve?" She asks, ignoring another back-handed compliment and making the firm decision to keep Lena's death to herself, at least for now. Where Lillian's going, there'll be no one to hear her cry, if she's even capable or in the least bit bothered about the latest life she's claimed. "What you did to Lena, it was sick and twisted and how you can even pretend that you're her mother is beyond me."

"Lena lost sight of what it means to be a Luthor. She needed a… push, shall we say, in the right direction. Now she can be exactly who she was supposed to be before the Kryptonian wormed her way into her naïve little heart. I've done her a favour."

"What you've done, is poison the only family you have left. Did you know what Kara's DNA and the Red Kryptonite would do to her body?"

Lillian lets out a long, unnecessarily dramatic sigh, the seconds between her answer dragging out. "I had my suspicions that it might not be flawless, but I didn't have time to waste on trying to achieve perfection. And it very nearly worked too. It still might."

"Where did you get the Red K?" Alex manages to keep her face from conveying her emotions as she fires off her questions, although her arms are folded tightly across her chest as she stares at Lillian through the glass case.

"I thought that was quite genius, if I may say so myself," Lillian says, a hint of boasting creeping into her smarmy voice. Alex doesn't know what there is to boast about. "The look on Supergirl's face when she realised what was happening… It was priceless, really."

"I won't ask you again." Alex's voice is stony and cold.

Lillian lets out an exasperated sigh. "Lex kept a formula in the vault in his mansion. It was all too easy to make. And those wings your agents took from me, they were Lex's too. He's such a clever boy. With my help, Lena could be as great as him."

"Lena is far greater than you or Lex will ever be. She's kind and compassionate and caring and the city was starting to see that before you corrupted her." Alex's voice begins to rise in volume and drips with anger until something flips. "That's why the Red K didn't work the way you wanted it to; Lena is good. You risked the life of someone you're supposed to care about," Alex shouts, her fiery eyes brimming with fury, unable to hide her emotions anymore. "Someone you're supposed to love-"

"Alex."

The eldest Danvers spins on her heels to see Maggie leaning against the door. Her clam but firm tone tells her she needs to take a step outside and cool it. She knows Maggie is right, even without saying anything. She won't get the answers she wants or Kara needs or Lena deserves if she erupts like Lillian wants her to.

"Don't think this is over, Luthor," Alex snarls, unfolding her arms but leaving her fists closed tightly by her side to try to channel some of her anger. She stomps her way towards the door her wife holds open for her, jaw clenched.

Maggie can see Alex seething even with when she has her back to her as she closes the door. She watches Alex's shoulders rise and fall as she sucks in a long, deep breath, her exhale audible but steady, if frustrated.

Maggie stands to Alex's right, a little behind her. She takes one of her hands in her own and begins to rub her thumbs over her knuckles soothingly in an attempt to calm her down. After a moment, Alex looks over her shoulder at her wife, her chin resting on her shoulder and her big brown eyes now filled with grief more than anger. Maggie slips her hand into Alex's, never breaking eye contact, and Maggie's touch alone is all Alex needs to cool down.

"Why don't you let me talk to her, huh?" Maggie suggests, rubbing her hand up and down Alex's right arm. "You should take a break, get something to eat or go find Kara."

Alex shakes her head as she turns to face Maggie. "I can't, Mags. She has to know what she's done."

"I know, sweetie," Maggie says gently. She knows that Alex will fight her on this every step of the way. "And believe me, I want her to answer for what she's done as much as you and Kara, but you have to promise me you'll try to get some sleep tonight, even if it's only a few hours. You can't help anyone if you're not helping yourself and Kara's gonna need her big sister now more than ever."

Alex puffs out her cheeks and gives a small nod of agreement. Maggie's right about everything, especially Kara needing her. Her little sister's world has just splintered and fractured uncontrollably for the second time in her short life and Alex knows she's going to need someone there to hold her together, no matter how long it takes her to rebuild, if she ever does. "Okay. You talk to her, but I'm coming with you."

At that, Maggie searches Alex's eyes and sees only a steely resolve; she's always been good at channelling her emotions, even at times like these. Maggie thinks that she's never seen Alex come so close to losing control in front of a suspect – and who can blame her with Lillian Luthor on the other side of the glass – but she can tell by the determination set in her jaw that she won't let it happen again.

Maggie reaches for the handle, and after glancing at Alex one last time to check that she's ready, she's greeted by the sight of Lillian sitting unnervingly in the same position as when they left.

"Agent Danvers, back so soon?" Lillian looks past Maggie, her taunts immediately targeted at Alex, who doesn't react. "And you've brought the little detective with you. How sweet."

This time, Maggie sees Alex tense out of the corner of her eye. Alex can take any mocking or goading or threats thrown her way, but when it comes to Maggie or anyone she loves, she loves them fiercely and will protect them with every fibre of her being, even if it means putting herself on the line. It's one of the things she loves about Alex, but Maggie also worries that one day it'll get her killed.

Alex knows that this is all part of Maggie's job; she faces criminals who hurl insults and taunts and worse every day, but that one little comment is enough to make her blood boil. Maggie speaks before Alex has the chance.

"Y'know, what I wanna know," Maggie begins, her arms pushing back her leather jacket as her hands come to rest on her hips. "Is, of all the people in this world, why Lena? Why not get one of your mercenaries to do the dirty work?"

Lillian makes herself comfortable, taking off her jacket and placing it delicately beside her, deliberately dragging out the seconds before she gives her answer. "Superman never answered for what he did to Lex. He was hailed as a hero, a god among men. I wanted to break Supergirl in every way, to make the House of El pay for the stain it left on the Luthor name, to show the world that Supergirl isn't as perfect as she would have them believe. Of course you, Agent Danvers, would have been an obvious choice; Supergirl would be nothing without you and you're already the perfect weapon. But Lena… Weaponising Lena meant that she would finally see what it means to be a Luthor. And yes, I had to utilise her before the Red Kryptonite and your sister's DNA had time to reallywork their magic, but if the looks on your faces are anything to go by, I'd say I've been successful."

Alex can't stifle the incredulous laugh that bubbles up in her throat. She can't help the words that come tumbling out of her mouth, especially knowing that they're all true. "You'll never break Kara." Certainty – arrogance, even – stings the air as she fires back at Lillian. "She has been beaten and bruised and dealt so much crap in her life, things no one should ever have to go through, but each time she gets back up and fights to make the world a better place, to make sure no one has to suffer the way she has. And she has something you don't; people who love her, who'll help to stitch up the wounds monsters like you inflict. The way I see it, you underestimated my sister, and Lena. You did your worst and failed."

Lillian sighs, feigning boredom as she examines the cuticles on her right hand, arm outstretched. They all know she's far from bored; she's enjoying her petty game too much. "Well, wasn't that a rousing speech. Did you practice that in your bathroom mirror this morning?"

Alex bites down hard on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from retaliating. Her response was measured and true, not fiery and rash, but she doesn't know what her next one will be. A metallic taste spreads across her tongue as she feels the blood drawn by her teeth seeping into her mouth.

"But if you wanted to hurt Kara that much, why wait until now? Why not find some easier, less painful way – for Lena, at least – to get whatever it is that you want?" Sensing the waves of fury radiating off Alex, Maggie, ever the professional, switches the conversation back to Lillian, knowing that the eldest Luthor was classically trying to deflect the attention from her. She shifts her weight onto her right foot, arms folding and head tilting a little to one side, ready for Lillian's next practiced bullshit response.

"It was far easier to exact my plan if Lena was alone, and like I told Supergirl on the rooftop, I knew you'd leave her there. I love my children far too much to see my only daughter ruined by the poisonous family that destroyed my son."

Alex bites her lip, though not as hard as she did her cheek, and shakes her head. She unfolds her arms and begins to gesture as she speaks. "I'm not buying that, not by a long shot," she declares, taking a step closer to the case, a step closer to Lillian. "See, I don't believe you, and I'm sure Detective Sawyer doesn't either, when you say that you love Lena."

"Any why is that?"

"Because not once have you asked about her or her condition since either of us came in here."

Lillian's brow furrows so slightly that Alex isn't sure that it actually happened; the Cadmus leader regains her composure almost immediately, rarely one to let her façade fall. She stands up and turns to face her jacket where it still lies on the small bench.

"Lena's right, she's not your daughter," Alex seethes. She sees Lillian still, jacket in hand. "But she's like a little sister to me and you, you-"

"You killed her."

Alex and Maggie are taken aback by the voice that comes from behind them. They didn't hear anyone come into the room and they certainly didn't expect to hear that particular voice just yet.

This time Lillian does frown, although she doesn't move, instead keeping her back to the women on the other side of the glass.

"She's dead," Kara continues, clearly pained by the rightful accusation she's pinning on Lillian and the truth she's telling herself. "And you killed her."

"Kara-" Alex tries to step in front of Kara as she advances into the room, wanting to shield her from the sick truths that Lillian has been proudly declaring, to get her as far away from her girlfriend's killer as possible. Alex figures that Kara's heard every word, though. The lack of portable sun lamps means that either Kara's powers have come back in their entirety or she's just being stubborn, the latter equally as possible as the former. "You should-"

"Lena is lying seven floors above you in the morgue because your idea of revenge was to use me and the woman I love – loved – against me."

Kara wants to see Lillian's reaction, to see whether she feels any pain or even an ounce of remorse, but the Cadmus leader doesn't turn around, doesn't flinch, doesn't do anything to suggest that she even heard what Kara said. There's no way she could have missed it; the words sliced through the air like a knife and still hang heavily on either side of the glass case.

"I don't believe you," Lillian says eventually, but her voice betrays her as it waivers. She still doesn't turn, doesn't let anyone else see the flash of uncertainty in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter what you believe, Lillian. It's the truth."

Lillian listens to the undertone in Kara's voice. She doesn't sound angry or upset; her usual cocky, confident Kryptonian attitude has been replaced by an emptiness, a resignation that Lillian has always wanted to hear.

But not like this.

If Kara is telling her the truth – and if the pain etched across her face as she turns around is anything to go by, she is, or she's an excellent actress – she never meant for her to die.

But maybe, in the end, this is better.

Lillian knows that this will hurt Supergirl more than anything. It pains her that her adoptive daughter is dead, but the victory she gains from it means so much more because it's for her family.

"Every fight has some collateral damage. It's just unfortunate that this time it was Lena."

"Okay, we're done here," Maggie declares, marching both Alex and Kara towards the door. It surprises Maggie when neither woman puts up a fight and as she alone throws one last glance at Lillian, seeing the slight upturn of her lips, she notes the way that it doesn't meet her eyes.

/

"I just don't get how she can be so blasé about all this."

Alex paces back and forth behind Winn's desk, hands set on her hips. She studies the ground as she walks, trying to get into Lillian's headspace, though fortunately, Alex thinks, it's proving to be incredibly difficult. "How can you risk someone's life like that and not care?" Alex comes to a stop next to Maggie who leans against the central table and has watched Alex's agitated mental inquisition go on unrelentingly for the last five minutes.

Kara, meanwhile, sits silently in the chair beside Winn, eyes fixed on a spot on the floor, her mind a universe away.

"Well, she is a Luthor," Winn says like it's the obvious answer. He quickly twists back to his desk when he feels two of the three sets of eyes staring at him. A warning flashes across his monitor. "Uh, guys, there's an armed robbery downtown-"

"I'm on it." Kara suddenly snaps back to reality and is gone before anyone can try to stop her.

Alex lets out a long sigh as she looks at the balcony leading out to the city. She feels an arm wrap around her waist, allows herself to relax slightly into Maggie's warm embrace, drawing comfort from the woman beside her.

"She'll be okay, Alex," Maggie says quietly, her cheek pressed to Alex's head as it comes to rest on her shoulder.

Alex doesn't say anything, only holds Maggie closer. She can't stifle the huge audible yawn she didn't even know she needed to let out and suddenly she feels more tired than she ever thought possible.

"I think it's time for that nap you promised me," Maggie says, rubbing Alex's back, but before either of them can do anything, a hurried cry rings around the room.

"Agent Danvers!"

Everyone in the central room looks first towards Alex, and then the corridor where the elevators are, from where the shouts echo. Alex lifts her head from Maggie's shoulder, not unused to having her name called when emergencies were unfolding.

"Agent Danvers," Payton pants breathlessly, the collar of her lab coat sticking up in different places. "We need you in the morgue. It's urgent."

Alex glances at Maggie apologetically, knowing that she's breaking her promise.

"Go get 'em, babe," Maggie says encouragingly, understanding that it's all part of Alex's job.

Alex places a kiss on Maggie's lips before following Doctor Peyton hurriedly in the direction of the elevators.

/

Kara lands on the DEO balcony. As she heads inside, she thinks that it seems a little quieter than when she left half an hour ago, especially because she can't see Alex or Maggie.

Winn still sits at his desk, J'onn standing over his shoulder, arms folded, face probably creased into a frown.

Kara ignores the whispers and all-to-obvious glances of the few agents who remain in the hub. They're worse now than the first few times she flew into the DEO wearing her suit, but she doesn't notice that they're not whispers of pity anymore.

As if sensing her presence, or maybe just hearing her distinct footfalls, J'onn turns around. "Supergirl," he begins, and Kara doesn't know what to make of the way he says her name or the look he's giving her. "Alex needs you in the med bay."

Kara's heart sinks. "What? Is she okay?" She can't help the fear and worry that threatens to overcome her. She can't lose Alex, and she can't lose her within a day of losing Lena. And it would crush Maggie too. She has to be okay. She needs Alex to be okay.

"Alex is fine," J'onn says, putting a reassuring hand on Kara's shoulder, realising how she'd interpreted his statement. "But trust me, you need to get down there."

With one last confused look, Kara nods lightly before making her way towards the medical wing.

She sees Maggie outside leaning against the wall, her eyes fixed on the ground like she's deep in thought until she sees a glimpse of blue and red out of the corner of her eye. "Kara!" She says loudly, pushing herself off the wall with the foot that was resting against it.

The Kryptonian stops in front of the detective who deliberately places herself between Kara and the entryway to the med bay.

"What's going on, Maggie? Where's Alex?"

"I need you to listen to me, Kara, okay?" Maggie says seriously, looking at the pools of blue that stare back at her. "Alex got called downstairs just after you left but she didn't want to give you any false hope, she wanted to make sure what she was being told was true before she called you. This is gonna be a shock and you're probably not going to believe it at first, but it's all real, okay?"

"What are you talking about?" Kara's crinkle sets itself across her forehead. "Maggie, you're not making any sense."

She wonders why everyone is being so cryptic, why she can't just be given a simple answer.

"Kara?" Alex's voice drifts out into the corridor and Maggie takes it as her cue to step aside.

Apprehensive, Kara throws Maggie another quizzical look before rounding the corner into the med bay, the smaller woman close behind her.

"Alex, what is going on-"

Kara falters. She doesn't blink, doesn't move, doesn't breathe. Maggie was right, it's like her eyes and her brain aren't working together, aren't functioning properly because as Alex finishes fixing a bed sheet around someone, looks over her shoulder, straightens and moves a little to the side, Kara can finally see who's lying in the med bed and she's sure she must be hallucinating.

A single word uttered in hope as much as disbelief escapes her lips.

"Lena?"