Author's Note: Good evening everyone! *Cough Cough* I LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! But really, I am so sorry for falling behind and completely off the map with this fic. To be honest, I have had a crappy year so far with trauma after trauma hitting me like a tidal wave. I am happy to say that things have finally calmed down so I can focus on my writing (between this fic and anther I've been working on in the RWBY fandom). Please feel free to leave a comment or hit me up on tumblr at blacklabrinth07. Anyway, for those of you have commented in the past, thank you. To my new readers, welcome! To my old readers, welcome back! Special thanks to my Beta mysteriesofthislife. It's been real... Enjoy!
alis volat propriis
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
– Theodore Roosevelt
The rain poured around her in deafening sheets. So much so that Lena had asked her driver, Frank, to wait for her inside the car and not in his usual waiting place of standing outside it. Lena reasoned that if she was asking him to drive her out in this weather, then it was only fair that she should be the only one to subject to the potential of getting soaked from the torrential downpour.
Of all the beautiful days of California weather National City had provided thus far, it seemed as if the Fates were laughing at her now, as this morning the heavens had released its downpour, catching the sun-baked citizens by surprise with its fever.
Lena adjusted her grip on her large black umbrella. The young CEO was happy to note that the wide brimmed water resistant material was holding its own against the constant batter of rain that threatened to seep through and ruin her designer dress-suit.
The dark blue three piece formal wear was a recent acquisition, and although Lena had longed to try out the new look, she had hoped it would have been for a more cheerful affair. In the dreary morning light that flooded through the storm clouds, the navy fabric looked almost black. The cool April air created little puffy clouds of mist as she exhaled deeply, the dreary weather only contributing to her somber mood.
Keeping her umbrella upright in an attempt to keep herself dry, Lena bent down to gently rest her bouquet of white lilies at the base of a large granite tombstone. The engraved words appeared white against the cool grey stone.
Jack Spheer
(November 13, 1985 - April 24, 2017)
Beloved Son and Friend
'Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle…'
"…The tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals… Martin Luther King Jr. You always had a flair for the dramatics, Jack." Lena chuckled to herself, feeling her eyes sting and her throat tighten at reading the inscribed epitaph and quoting the rest of the famed phrase.
The CEO did not know why her friend had requested to be buried in National City, rather than his home of Metropolis. But Lena suspected it had something to do with being closer to the 'city of dreams' and 'new beginnings' as the dreadfully cheery phrase spoke of once crossing the county lines on the freeway.
Lena sighed deeply, her breath dissipating in a light cloud of fog before her as she continued to stare down at her friend's grave marker. "You just had to go be a hero and get yourself killed for the sake of us mere mortals." Lena glanced away from the tombstone to admire the single white flower that she kept from the bouquet that rest between her delicate finger tips. "I had been following your progress with Spheerical Industries… We always talked about changing the world, and for a minute there, I thought you had done it."
Lena sighed, her breath mingling in the air in a cloud of white mist.
"But I have to tell you, Jack. I always held on to the hope that we would do it together… And now, what am I going to do without you?" Her green eyes left the tombstone to linger over the sea of various graves that marked the cemetery. She could see a lone figure in the far distance visiting another grave marker, but it seemed there were no other souls that braved the harsh weather.
"I'll be honest, Jack. I didn't know what to think when I first heard you had died." Lena felt her lips twitch into a hint of a smile. "I didn't want to believe it... I had to look it up for myself. Even reached out to your old CFO, Beth Breen, to hear what happened to you."
Lena paused as she listened to a gaggle of geese honking to each other as they flew to a nearby river. The tranquil scene was interrupted by a loud car horn that blared in the distance.
"I'm sorry for not coming earlier… I guess I never really knew what to say." Lena scoffed as she toed at the grass that was just starting to peek up from the muddy churned earth that covered the grave site. "Listen to me now, talking to a dead guy in the middle of a freak storm. You would have called me crazy if you could see me now."
The rain continued to pour around her in sheets, the roar of the rapid droplets drowning out the sound of her voice hitching from the tightness that clutched at her heart throat.
"But I think you would be proud of me, Jack. I finally found a way I can make a difference… Not as Lena Luthor, but as the other guy…" Lena placed her hand into her suit jacket pockets, her thumbs running over the inline stitching. "Sure, I'm not curing cancer with you in our garage, but I'm keeping my city safe. After everything that's happened, we need someone to keep an eye out for the little guys." Lena tapped her forefinger on the handle of her umbrella as she stared out over the cemetery in thought; her actions caused droplets of rain to hit her Italian leather shoes.
Lena sighed deeply, for once uncaring about the state of her shoes as she continued to stand next to the grave marker of her departed friend and ex-lover.
"I'm sure you read in the papers about Supergirl disappearing on us over a year ago. And while she's starting to make an appearance in public again, it's been every man for themselves for far too long. I had to do something." The CEO nodded to herself in reassurance as she continued in her one-sided conversation.
"At first I thought I was doing this only for the people of my city. And in a way, I am doing this for you too. But honestly... I've been doing this whole thing for myself. Perhaps I'm selfish, but maybe I needed to do this for me. I just wish you were still here, I should have told you everything a long time ago."
Lena sighed, looking straight up in an attempt to keep her tears from falling. Her hand in her umbrella tightened from the flood of emotions that gripped her chest. Her calm voice now shook as she spoke into the empty air.
"God, Jack… I know Biomax was your baby, but getting yourself killed from an experiment gone wrong? That just didn't sound like you. I hope you don't mind, but I think I'm going to ask a friend to look into your accident." Lena chuckled to herself as she rolled her eyes. "Bruce fancies himself as a detective between the playboy-billionaire act, can you believe that? Yeah… I bet you can."
Keeping her grip on the lily trapped lightly in palm, she brushed the tips of her fingertips over the crest of the tombstone. The wet granite surface felt cool to the touch as her fingers lingered on the grave marker.
"I'm sorry I couldn't save you." Lena's whispers where lost among the sound of the thunderous downpour. Silent tears rolled down her face as she could no longer hold back her emotions. She did not know how long she stood there in the pouring rain, her umbrella braving the storm as she stood silent in her vigil.
Lena took a deep breath and cleared her throat, using her wrist to dab away at her tear tracked cheeks being careful not to ruin her water proof mascara.
"I just wanted to let you know that… that I'm not alone anymore. I have Maggie, Brianna, Jess, Bruce, and even Zor-El… Although, I did yell at her last time I saw her. It wasn't my most shining moment. You would have chastised me for losing my temper." Lena took a steadying breath as golden hair and brilliant blue eyes flashed through her thoughts only for her mind to drift to another blonde, one more reserved with a smile that could rival the sun.
"I met someone… Her name is Kara Danvers." Lena smiled wistfully as she twirled the stem of the lone flower between her fingertips. "She's kind, smart, curious, and compassionate, and… Jack, being with her is like coming home. I – I think I love her. Kara... She means everything to me... I think you would have liked her."
Lena paused, letting her words sink in. In the distance she could hear one brave soul of a bird sing, the playful tune cutting through the thunderous pour with abandon. Lena reached out to brush her fingertips on the top of the granite tombstone once more, the grey stone cold and smooth to the touch.
"Goodbye, Jack... And thank you for everything. I'll be back as soon as I can. Until then... Rest easy, my friend."
With a slight nod to herself, and one last look at Jack's grave, Lena turned around and carefully made her way back to her waiting car. She took care to avoid the rapidly building puddles on the asphalt pathway and slid into the back of her waiting car with as much grace as one can do in a navy three-piece suit and mud splattered Italian leather shoes.
Frank twisted in his seat to give her a soft smile through the opened glass tinted divider, not drawing attention to the lone lily that she twirled absentmindedly that still lay clutched in her slender fingers.
"Where to next, Ms. Luthor?"
Lena cleared her throat as she ripped her attention away from the soft white petals. "Ada Lovelace Park, please."
"Of course, Ms. Luther." Frank gave his boss a bittersweet smile, no doubt understanding the unspoken reasoning behind his employer's odd request on such a dismal day to be outdoors.
The car ride to the nearby park was quiet as the rain pelted the windows and the occasional car horn blasted through the morning mist that lined the city's docks this early in the morning. Frank deviated from his usual attempt at making small talk as they drove through the outskirts of the city's limits, the silence being something of which Lena was grateful for, the woman unsure of how to express her thoughts.
After a quarter of an hour had passed, Frank pulled the car to a complete stop at the edge of the parking lot, for the park. The older gentleman quickly exited the car to expand a large black umbrella while simultaneously opening Lena's door.
Lena accepted the offered umbrella gracefully, sending her driver a thankful smile. "Thank you, Frank. You can wait for me again in the car. This should only take a few minutes."
Franks smiled as he nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Ms. Luthor. Enjoy your visit."
Making sure to keep her umbrella upright, the lone white lily still grasped lightly in her other hand, Lena slowly made her way to the far northern end of the green space. On a normal day in National City, the beautiful park, named after the famous mathematician, would be swarmed with families from all over the city to have a picnic next to the small pond or maybe play catch in the open green space. But in this weather Lena was only joined by a few brave souls that were making their way through the garden lined walkways that acted as a shortcut to the nearby marina.
It wasn't long before Lena arrived at her destination, her footsteps seeming to echo amongst the roar of rain that flooded the ground. She squinted as she looked up at the imposing structure before her. What little sunlight that streamed through the dark storm clouds was blocked by the looming steel obelisk that stood proudly from the circular stoned paved walkway.
The monolith was a recent addition to the park, a memorial of sorts donated to the city by L-Corp. Lena smiled to herself as she recalled the headline that graced across CatCo's magazine. The bold words stated that an 'unknown' source had leaked online top secret government files on the results of Cadmus' Project Exodus. All four hundred and four aliens and one FBI agent that were listed on the report as missing for almost two years, now available for all eyes.
Once Lena was officially informed of the news, she felt extreme sympathy for her fellow citizens and thus was inclined to set up a charity auction, run by L-Corp, in which all the proceeds went to the building of this memorial.
Four hundred and five names were engraved, both in English and in their native language, along all four sides of the obelisk in neat rows. At the slanted top of the imposing blacken steel structure were engraved the following words in luminous silver: 'Ad Astra'.
'To the Stars.' Lena translated the chosen Latin phrase in her head as she watched the rivulets of rain rushed down the slanted sides and collected at the bottom of the monolith. The water pooled around the makeshift memorial among the extinguished candles, picture frames, flowers, missing person posters, and handwritten letters that littered around the site, hugging the base of the black structure.
Lena walked around the memorial until she reached the side that pointed to the West, her gaze lingering on the rows upon rows of names that marred the steel's surface. Being the woman who had commissioned the piece on behalf of L-Corp, Lena had no need of the kiosk that stood under a nearby pavilion that would locate the name she sought upon the etched black surface.
Making sure her movements would not jostle her umbrella, she bent down to place the lone white lily at the base of the obelisk. The flower rested besides picture frame depicting a family of four and a sodden little stuffed Teddy bear. While her own addition to the memorial seemed small, it served as gesture not only from her, but from Maggie and Kara as well.
On learning that the CEO had built the memorial in Ada Lovelace Park, both women had declined to go see the structure - Kara always coming up with an excuse to be too busy, while Maggie would outright refuse to visit. Lena respected their wishes to avoid the new memorial, either out of optimism or stubbornness, but she was a realist who knew that those people left behind and affected by the Cadmus attack would want some marker of the event where they were free to grieve for the loss of their loved ones.
A low hum filled the air, the thrum cutting through the harsh rainfall forcing the CEO to look away from the familiar name that stared back at her in mockery. Recognizing the noise as a greeting call, she locked eyes with a tall figure that stood to her right. The low hung ball cap hid the man's piercing slanted yellow eyes and the long sleeved grey hoodie that covered his dark cracked skin that marked him as an alien from the Eilafa 'ja. Uriel was a regular patron Lena recognized from her nights spent with Maggie, and now Brianna, at the alien bar. His normally cheery expression was somber as a child she recognized from Uriel's pictures as his son, Miyka 'el, gripped his father's outstretched hand.
Lena nodded in greeting to Uriel, unable to show a more heartfelt greeting to her grieving friend in fear that the paparazzi, that always seemed to follow her, would capture the moment of recognition between them and compromise Uriel and his son's safety. She couldn't risk them being identified as aliens by Cadmus, their family already torn apart by the terrorist organization that started this whole mess and horrible affair.
Lena felt her hands tightened into fists, her arms shaking with the added strain. She grit her teeth in frustration, angered that she was unable to express her emotions without jeopardizing the safety of the aliens in plain sight that had slowly flocked to the memorial when no one was thought to be looking. And yet here she was in the middle of a thunderstorm, braving the elements to pay her respects to her dead ex-lover and now to her best friend's sister who was still missing despite her friends and the DEO's best efforts.
It was frustrating.
It was humiliating.
It was reality.
Lena closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose and slowly released a steady stream of air through her slightly parted lips. She repeated the breathing exercise until her fingernails loosened their grip, the sharp nails having bitten into her calloused flesh to the point of drawing blood.
It was a promise that she would not fail again.
With one last release of her breath, Lena locked eyes with Uriel once more. Giving her friend a slight tilt of her head in acknowledgement, Lena turned on her heel and slowly walked back to the waiting car. The agitated CEO was careful to not let her anger nor her bleeding palms be seen as she graceful slid into the back of her car. Without bothering to give Frank directions to her next location, Lena felt the car come to life as they pulled away from the bayside park and merged seamlessly back into the busy city streets.
Lena leaned over in her seat to pinch the bridge of her nose before she reached for her cell phone with a deep sigh, quickly queuing up the correct contact that glowed on screen.
The recipient picked up on the third ring.
"Hey, Sawyer. Is there any chance you can meet me at the firing range? I've had a long day."
"... I'll bring the tequila and an overnight bag. See you soon, Little Luthor."
For the first time all day, Lena smiled.
[-][-][-]
It had been almost two weeks since Kara had a chance to hang out with Maggie, so as soon as she knew the detective was free, Kara left CatCo early after finishing an article and sending it for revisions to Snapper via email. It only took Kara a few seconds to use her superspeed to make her bed and vacuum the living room until the Kryptonian deemed her apartment acceptable for guests – even though Kara considered Maggie to be more like family then a guest at this point in their friendship.
A loud knock at her front door brought a smile to the reporter's face as she peered over her glasses with her X-ray vision to confirm that it was indeed the shorter woman at her door. Kara walked over with a spring in her step as she flung open the door to reveal her grinning friend laden with several boxes of pizza and a small case of Diet Coke.
"Pizza!" Kara exclaimed as she relieved the detective of her possessions.
"Hello to you too, Little Danvers." Maggie chuckled as she let herself in and scoffed at the alien trying to stuff a second slice of burning hot pizza into her already filled mouth. Kara shot her a shameless grin as she inhaled her second slice before taking down a set of plates.
"Hello Maggie, how's it going?"
Maggie sighed as she took off her jacket and hung it on the back of a high-top chair. "Still on the job, unfortunately. Hence the soda pops tonight." She lifted the six-pack of cola before selecting one of the bottles and twisting off the cap and taking a sip of the refreshing non-alcoholic drink. She offered the blonde a soda as a trade for a slice of the vegan pizza substitute that she would consume for the evening.
"Rough case?" Kara asked as she helped herself to a can of soda between bites of pizza. She turned on the television to the Netflix cue before pulling up, 'The Princess Bride' for their evening entertainment. Although, if this night was like the others, the movie would end up being ignored as the two women talked the night away.
"Just some odd cases have been popping up recently." Maggie frowned as she popped open the tab of a can of Diet Coke and took a long sip. "At first we thought that Livewire was responsible for a series of building fires and a string of murders throughout the city, but since her capture, they are still happening. My DEO contact has informed me that they've turned over the investigation to the police since there is no more evidence to suggest alien or metahuman involvement."
"I didn't know that you kept constant contact with the DEO." Kara tilted her head in confusion as she sat down on the couch and tossed a blanket over her legs. Maggie joined her on the couch and shifted so that she faced the reporter while still keeping the movie in view.
"My new contact is not as forthcoming as your sister," Maggie said with a half-smile. "I've found that the information sharing aspect of our working relationship is very one-sided."
Kara frowned. "I'm sorry about that. You know you can always call Winn or J'onn if you need anything."
Maggie waved off the blonde's words. "I'd rather not go around the red tape when it comes to secret government agencies."
Kara hummed in acknowledgement. "Understandable… Still, I'm sorry they're being jerks."
Maggie chuckled at Kara's choice of words. "I've had worse. Try working with the Feds. I can't get a Post-it Note from them without signing at least three different forms."
Before Kara could reply, the blonde straighten in her seat suddenly and cocked her head to the side, doing an accurate impersonation of a golden retriever listening for a dog whistle.
"Kara? What's wrong?" Maggie leaned forward as she watched her friend stare off into the distance before her face contorted into a stern frown.
"It's Lena," Kara answered as she picked up her phone and unlocked the screen before scrolling through it quickly looking for any notifications. "She must be spending more time in the L-Corp's lab recently."
Maggie frowned as she thought over her statement. "What makes you think that? Did she message you?"
"No," Kara sighed as she stared intently at her phone as if to will it to ring. "It's just that I can't hear her heartbeat anymore."
Maggie raised an eyebrow. "And this is a normal occurrence for you?"
Kara clicked her phone off and glanced up at the detective. "For Lena's heartbeat to disappear when she' in the L-Corp's labs?" Kara nodded. "Yeah."
Maggie gave her a look of disbelief as the Kryptonian fiddled with their phone's lock screen. "No, Little Danvers. I mean that you are constantly listening to Little Luthor's heartbeat."
The Kryptonian remained silent as she pondered the detective's words. A faint blush could be seen on the reporter's cheeks in the dim lighting of the apartment.
"Well yes, but I keep tabs on all my loved ones – including you." Kara shrugged as she took a large bite of her pizza and purposely avoided eye contact with the smirking detective.
Maggie's questioning gaze never wavered as she sipped her drink quietly as she observed the blushing alien. "Right… Whatever you say, Little Danvers."
They sat in silence for a few minutes as they ate their dinner and watched the movie, Kara going so far as to recite some of the more memorable lines under her breath. Maggie finished off her soda as she turned her thoughtful gaze on the supposed retired Superhero. "Hey Kara. You wouldn't happen to know where Veronica Sinclair is now, would you?"
Kara paused in her attempt to extract another slice of pizza from the second pizza box. "Last time I saw her was on Slaver's Moon. She was left behind there after our rescue attempt with Mon-El, and as far as I know, she never made it back to Earth."
Maggie grunted as she mulled over her thoughts flicking the pop tab with her forefinger. "I see… What about M'gann?"
Kara smiled as she cocked her head to the side in thought. "Oh, M'gann went back to Mars to help the other White Martians in their revolt. J'onn and I haven't heard from her since, but I am assuming no news is good news for now." Kara shrugged before taking another bite of her pizza. "Why are you asking about them?"
Before Maggie could answer, Kara's phone started buzzing as a 'Breaking News' alert came through from CatCo. Kara immediately jumped up from the couch and started pacing as her fingers flew across the screen of her iPhone.
Maggie straightened up and removed her plate from her lap as she wiped her greasy fingers onto a napkin and reached for her own phone. "What's going on?"
"There's an apartment complex that's on fire downtown. It appears that it houses a good portion of L-Corp's employees and their families." Kara spoke quickly as she typed frantically on her screen. "I'm calling Lena," Kara announced as she held the phone up to her ear.
Lena picked up on the first ring.
"Lena!" Kara shouted, but before she could speak, she was interrupted by the worried voice of the CEO.
"Kara, I know. I've heard and I'm on my way." Lena's voice seemed to be muffled by the sound of rushing wind through the phone's speaker. Upon hearing car horns blare in the background, Kara's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. Did Lena have the windows down in her driver's car?
"What?! No!" Kara shouted. "There's nothing you can do. Just stay away until the area's safe."
Kara was momentarily distracted as she watched Maggie whip out her cell phone and hold it up to her ear. "Brianna, it's Detective Sawyer. Have you seen the news? It's Lena. She's going to the apartments on her own."
'Brianna? As in Brianna Nelson, Lena's friend from the hit-and-run? How does Maggie know her?' Before the Kryptonian could voice her questions, Kara's attention returned as Lena spoke hurriedly in her ear. "Kara, listen to me. I've called the fire department, but it might be too late… Kara, I need to go. If nothing else, but to assess the damage and help my employees in any way I can."
Kara's grip on her phone tightened until it threatened to break under the pressure. "Lena, promise me you won't get near the fire. Just let the firemen do their jobs!" Kara had stopped abruptly in her frantic pacing to argue with the determined CEO. Kara knew that her pleading tones would more than likely be ignored by her best friend, but she felt the need to try to get across to the woman of just how dangerous the situation was. Kara glanced over at the detective whose back was turned to face her.
Maggie spoke softly into her phone. "Brianna, you know if she goes in there she'll die. Luthor's not fireproof, not even her thick skin is going to save her from the flames." Maggie caught Kara's eye as she finished her statement.
"Kara! I'm heading to the fire. I'll call you when I find Lena!" Maggie shouted over her shoulder as she shrugged back on her coat and quickly left the apartment. Kara's superhearing focused in on the detective's fading words as she spoke rapidly to Brianna. "Be on standby, we may have to come to you."
Before the Kryptonian could listen in on Brianna's reply, Lena's voice came through the phone once more, sounding more resolved and determined as ever.
"I'm sorry, Kara. But I need to go. I – I'll call you tonight. Good bye, Kara."
"Lena, please no! Lena! LENA!" Kara's shouts could be heard as Lena pressed the red icon on the screen of her left vambrace, thus closing the phone app and clicked on her voice modulator. Lena wished she had the time or forethought to have built in a smoke ventilation system or an oxygen mask for the suit. Lena felt a sense of dread as she calculated how much heat her suit could withstand before she would suffer from severe burns… In all honestly she wished she could have done a lot of things before tonight, but she was going into the situation blind.
And yet, she knew that she had to go and help in any way that she could as she deftly zipped between traffic on her motorcycle, mentally thanking Maggie for the private motorcycle lessons. Lena had been lucky in that by the time she had intercepted the police radio call about the fire, she was already patrolling the streets in her full gear. But the vigilante had been across town when she had made a U-turn and sped off towards the block that held the main L-Corp housing complexes.
Within a matter of minutes, the masked CEO pulled up in front of the burning building alongside two fire trucks, and watched as the uniform clad men and women helped evacuate the lower floors of the apartment complex. The sight that greeted her was something found only in nightmares.
The multi-tiered apartment was engulfed in harsh flames that lit up the night sky that wasn't obscured by smoke. The intense heat from the fire was almost to the point of overwhelming to the masked vigilante as she scanned the upper floors of the complex that by some miracle had yet to go up in flames. Both apartment buildings on either side of the burning building had a steady stream of people being evacuated from the ground floor exists. Lena assumed that a mandatory evacuation order had been given to the surrounding L-Corp apartment buildings since they were in close proximity to the burning building wedged between the other two structures. Lena quickly swung her leg off the motorcycle and leaned it up against the wall behind a nearby dumpster before rushing up to a fireman who was yelling directions to the other first responders.
"Has everyone been evacuated?" Lena asked, her mechanized voice clashing along with the sound of sirens from the surrounding fire trucks and ambulances that were arriving on-scene. The fireman turned to face the vigilante, his face contorted into shock at the unexpected arrival before he shook his head and set his face into a serious frown.
"We were able to evacuate the surrounding buildings and the lower floors of this one, but we are unable to reach the top floors!" The fireman shouted over the roar of the flames and screaming sirens. He pointed to a fire truck that had completely extended its ladder towards the top of the flaming crest, but it was several floors too low. Lena's eyes tracked the flames that burst from the windows on the middle floors of the building which were slowly crawling further up the brick siding. "The fire has taken over the 5th through 8th floors. We've sent a man up there to dose the flame with our hoses so that we can reach the upper floors, but I'm still waiting on a structural integrity report from my men who are inside."
He gestured further up the building where Lena could make out a small group of huddled men, women, and children who were on the top floor, the furthest away from the flames and smoke, waving frantically at the fireman who was suspended in air on the ladder. "We'll do our best, but until I hear back from my men, there's no guarantee that we can control the fire without the lower floors becoming compromised and collapsing."
"Where is the safest point of entry for me to swing in?" Lena asked as her eyes quickly scanned apartment complex and surrounding buildings looking for a high enough point of entry that wouldn't risk causing the building to collapse, nor add too much oxygen to the upper floors. The vigilante knew enough about fires to know that with addition of a concentration of oxygen, forcing her entrance into the wrong window could result in what firemen called a flashover. The added oxygen would create a wave of fire, sometimes to the point of an explosion - something Lena would rather not experience firsthand.
"Are you insane?!" The fireman looked at the vigilantly in bewilderment. "You don't have the equipment to survive in the heat or the smoke. You'll die if you go in there!"
"They'll die if I don't!" Lena shouted back as she violently gestured up at the trapped civilians.
The fireman held up his hands in a calming manner. "Just wait for Supergirl. She's reappeared lately, chances are she'll be here in time to save everyone."
"Supergirl isn't coming!" Lena shouted. "I'm the only one that you've got willing to go in there."
Lena jabbed her gloved hand towards her employees and their families who were trapped by a climbing wall of flames. "Look, we don't have time to argue. You're the expert here on fires, and I have the mobility to try and evacuate everyone who's trapped. Tell me which window I can enter from above the flames, but below the civilians that will do the least amount of damage and I'll jump in there from the building to the left."
Lena glanced away from the stern looking fireman as she did some quick calculations in her head about her trajectory from jumping the neighboring apartment complex into the burning building and vice versa from the upper floor. "Have your men open the windows on the 7th floor of the building to the left and I'll drop the civilians there."
It took a brief moment for the fireman to see the logic of her plan, before he nodded and pointed at a window on the far left of the 11th floor. "Alright, that's your safest point of entry on that building, but you'll need to break the window first. I'll have my men waiting for you on the other side and inform the paramedics of the situation."
Lena nodded sharply and made to turn away from the fireman, only to be halted as he grabbed her by the arm and gestured down to the protective gear. "This is Kevlar right?"
"Yes," Lena answered as the fireman let go of her arm and frowned.
"I want you in and out of there as soon as yah can, alright? Don't go playing hero because you've got some fancy armor. Those flames will melt the armor right off your skin if you get too close and it doesn't look like that mask is made to ventilate smoke either. If you must go, then do what you can, but do it quickly. I can't guarantee that my men and women will be able to break through to ya'll before the flames caught up to yah. Get in and then get out, do you understand?"
"Aye, aye Captain." Lena gave the fireman a mock salute as she unhooked her grappling gun from her utility belt and fired at the top of the neighboring building. Once she reached the rooftop of the complex, she took a few seconds to attach a small device to the end of her grappling gun, took aim at the appointed window and fired the shot. The C-4 ladened cable shot out and hit the window squarely in the middle before detaching itself and returning to the gun. Lena waited for the last civilian to be escorted from the base of the building and away from possible debris before she flicked open the command screen that glowed from her left vambrace and typed out a short sequence, causing the device to detonate. The small explosion blew in the window without breaking the wall as glass showered down to the ground below.
If Lena survived tonight, she was going to have L-Corp conduct a complete and thorough investigation of the cause to the fire.
'If…' She thought to herself glumly as she aimed her gun once more at the top of the building and jumped from her raised position so that her momentum of her swing would lead her right through the now opened window.
The Kevlar-clad vigilante crouched low to the ground as smoke collected in the hot air above her. Even a few floors up from the flames still caused the woman to immediately break out into a sweat, and she coughed violently from the smoke. Her eyes stung with tears behind her silver contacts as she pulled up the building's blueprints on her vambrace screen searching for the nearest stairwell. Within a few moments she located the doorway to the stairs and made her accent. The minutes seemed to trickle by as she raced her way to the top floor, the rising heat that seeped through her armor and the smoke that entered her heaving lungs made every step she climbed feel like she was already engulfed in the flames below.
Upon arriving to the top floor, Lena followed the blue prints on the small screen built into her gear as she located the door where her employees and families were hiding. The moment she rushed through the doorway Lena was met with various shouts of relief and surprise. There were eight people in total, all of which varied in age as they held wet towels, t-shirts, and other clothing to their faces to filter the smoke-filled air.
"Listen up everyone, I need you all to form a line and clear the window. I'm going to swing you to safety, but I can only carry one person at a time." Lena's orders were quickly followed as she helped to secure each person in her arms as she fired her grappling gun at the neighboring building and swung them to safety. It was a time consuming and stressful rescue attempt as with each passing minute, the civilians became more agitated and scared as Lena helped each person get to safety one by one.
"One more to go," Lena stated out loud as she held out her arms to a frightened young pre-teen with chestnut brown shoulder length hair and braces. The CEO recognized the young girl from photos the girl's father had shown her several months ago. The janitor, Shawn Laurence, had displayed the pictures of his daughter, April, with pride to Lena one night when she had stayed at L-Corp so late that the cleaning crew had interrupted her work. Upon hearing that the girl was thinking about studying mechanical engineering when she was older, Lena talked to Jess about awarding April a scholarship for her outstanding academic success and a standing offer of an internship working at L-Corp in the R&D labs during the summers between semesters during her future collegiate career.
Just as Lena's arms wrapped around the girl, the floorboards underneath their feet gave a large groan of protest before collapsing beneath them, causing the two females to plummet to the floor below.
Lena lay on a small section of what remained of the burning-hot floor as a quick, yet hazy glance around the room showed the fire had completely burned away a third of the room's ceiling as the flames crawled up the wall opposite them. Lena's mind struggled to gain focus as she first noticed the unconscious form of April who lay within reach, only to realize that her grappling gun had been knocked away from her gloved hand during the fall and that a huge piece of ceiling along with a part of a support beam had pinned her legs to the floor. Lena shouted as she strained to lift the heavy beam off of her, but without the proper leverage, nor her grappling gun to help reduce the weight on her legs, she was essentially trapped.
Twisting her upper body as much as she could, Lena was barely able to unclasp her cloak and drape it half-hazardlessly across April's still form. It was perhaps a moot-point, but she had to provide as much protection as she could from her position. With one shaking hand, Lena ripped away the lower mask and throat guard to help her labored breathing before opening the hidden screen on her arm and jabbing it to the Bluetooth setting so that her call was forwarded to her earpiece.
"Maggie…"
"Little Luthor! I just arrived on scene." Amongst the burning flames around her, Lena felt a sense of calm as she heard her friend's strained voice. "Where are you?"
"Maggie," Lena paused to cough violently into the air. "I'm trapped."
"You're trapped?! Luthor, where are you? What happened?" The detective's voice sounded frantic, Lena smiled briefly at the mental image of the normally composed and stoic detective losing her nerve. In another time, the scene might have even been comical.
"I think I'm somewhere on the 11th floor. I had one last girl to help before the floor…gave out on us. I-I'm trapped Maggie. There's a…a beam that pinned me down. I can't move it." Lena's voice was broken only by her frantic coughing as every intake of breath added to the particles of ash and dust entering her lungs.
As she lay trapped under the rubble, Lena's foggy brain took note of the inactive sprinkler system that aligned the ceiling. Somewhere in the back of her mind this registered as being odd, as the whole system appeared at first glance either damaged or turned-off – something that should have been checked in the monthly safety inspections that Lena knew the L-Corp apartment complexes underwent and passed with ease. Today it seems the safety system had failed.
Lena focused back into the sound of Maggie's voice as her friend was trying in vain to give her instructions and encouragement from her place on the ground.
"It's going to be okay, Luthor. Hang in there…"
"Maggie, stop. Please…" Lena's voice came out in a thick raspy grunt as the room slowly became more engulfed in smoke. The heat of the encroaching flames flickering closer to their ensnared bodies as the seconds slowly inched by.
"Oh no! I am not giving up on you. You did not become a kickass vigilante only to die in a fire!" Lena could imagine the angry Latina detective shouting into her cell phone.
Lena gently let her head fall back to the floor with a light 'Thump'. "It's alright Maggie… Don't insult my intelligence with lies… I know I'm not going to make it."
"Don't talk like that, Luthor…" But before Maggie could get in another word, Lena had already cut her off.
"Tell Kara I love her, please? Do this for me. I was always too much of a coward. What did you say to Danvers?...'We should kiss the girls we want to kiss'? I should have taken your advice a long time ago." Lena knew she sounded dramatic, but considering her current situation she believed the theatrics were justified.
"Lena…"
"Did you know, Maggie, that Supergirl once told me to 'Be your own hero.' I don't think this is what she had in mind… It's funny, ironic even, how in a few minutes Archaius will be a martyr. But Lena Luthor will have disappeared entirely."
Lena paused to grunt and shout as she tried one last time to shift the beam off her legs, but her strength had all but evaporated in the heat. In her frustration, loose tears slowly slid down her face, leaving streaks in the ash that dusted over her skin. In her mind's eye, Lena could hear the cold unfeeling voice of the Luthor matriarch berating her with the statement, 'Luthors do not cry', even over a decade later Lena could feel the ghostly sting on her cheek where Lillian's discipline had left the youngest Luthor stunned and with a new lesson to be learned. Lena closed her eyes and let the memory shift to a more recent one where someone else had laid a hand on her. This one with more love and tenderness than Lena had ever experienced as a woman with blonde hair and bright blue eyes gently cupped her cheek in the close confines of small bed in the darkness of night.
"Damn it, Maggie! I should have kissed Kara… Told her that I'd loved her." Lena coughed so hard that she almost missed the detective's frantic reply.
"Tell her yourself, Lena! If you can't get out then keep yourself low and wait for the fire department."
Lena sighed, feeling the flames start to lick at the floorboards less than two feet away from her Kevlar covered boots and legs. The smoke became so heavy that Lena could no longer make out April's body apart from the piles of debris lying around.
"It's too late, Sawyer. No one's coming… They can't get above the fifth floor. I knew that when I broke inside… Please apologize to Bri for me; she'll need to find a new boxing partner until Evon comes home."
Was the room completely filled with smoke or was her vision just going black?
"Shut up, Luthor! Just shut up and get out of there!" Maggie's voice rang in her ear. How she wished she could have had this conversation in person. Her mind drifted back to the night Maggie, Brianna, and herself drank at the alien bar for the first time, before switching to a scene of Maggie fighting along her in her office at L-Corp – the sound of gunfire bursting through the air, before finally switching to the first night Lena had encountered the small detective as the nameless vigilante.
A ghost of a smile flitted over ash-covered chapped lips, Lena's eyes closing in acceptance. "Thanks for always having my six, Sawyer."
"LENA!"
Lena's throat was too raw and dry to reply, her vision fading fast to a dark hazy outline as she let the flames seal her fate.
Suddenly there was something hovering only inches from her face. A tall form that was hunched over her body, her features could barely be made through the thick smoke – only golden hair and a small scar set between crystal blue eyes filled her vision. Where had she seen that before?
"Kara?" Lena's voice was so rough that she wasn't sure if she had spoken at all.
Before Lena could fully register who was before her, her vision turned to black.
[-][-][-]
Kara crashed through the brick wall of the apartment complex with enough force that the wall sprayed bits of debris across the burning room.
"Lena!" Kara shouted over the roaring of the flames as she scanned the third floor of the building with her X-ray vision. She had flown where the building's structural integrity would not be compromised, but as the Kryptonian searched the piles of debris, no sign of the elusive CEO could be found. She was a few floors below the fire line, hoping to spot her friend in the smoke-filled rooms.
After Lena had hung up on her, Kara had paced around her apartment as she waited for a call from Maggie to confirm Lena's safety. But as much as Kara paced around her living room floor, enough to burn a literal hole into the rug with her superspeed, the call never came.
"Come on guys, someone pick up. Please!" Kara muttered, only pausing to put out the embers at her feet with her ice breath. Kara huffed in frustration as every call to Lena was sent straight to voicemail and Maggie's phone line would cut to the constant beeping that indicated that the line was busy.
After about twenty minutes of eating the remaining pizza Maggie had brought and all the leftovers in her fridge, and with no answer from either of her friends, Kara changed into her Red-K suit and flew in the direction of Maggie's heartbeat and sirens.
She flew out of the way of the fire department that was scrambling around trying to put out the fire that was quickly engulfing the nearby apartment complex. Off to the side, Kara could see several paramedics attending to a small group of people who looked shaken up, but otherwise unharmed. Maggie and Lena were nowhere in sight, although Kara could hear Maggie shouting directions at the other officers that were blocking off the area to the news trucks that had arrived on screen. Maggie had her phone pressed tightly against her ear as she yelled at whoever was on the other side of the line.
Before she could float over to her frantic looking friend, Kara was blocked by an older man who was still wearing his work uniform with the L-Corp logo embroidered on his chest. He ran up until he was only a foot in front of her, shouting for her attention among the surrounding chaos.
"Please, Supergirl! You have to save them." The man pleaded, his arms waving frantically towards the apartment building that was still ablaze. "My daughter is still in there with the vigilante. Please, they were supposed to be back by now."
With one last frantic look around the area for Lena, Kara tore her eyes away to nod at the scared man before her.
"I'll go get them, I promise." Kara stated before she shot off into the air and entered the building through one of the broken windows that was spitting flames on the fifth floor.
Once in the burning apartment complex, a quick glance revealed that there was no one in sight, nor in the floors below. Kara tried not to panic as she used her super hearing to scan the floors above, filtering through the sound of the roaring flames for the faint fluttering of a heartbeat.
There!
It was faint, but she could hear a heartbeat flutter several floors above and something that was muffled, but was still distinctly organic in sound. Using her x-ray vision to spot the source of the noise she shot through the burning floorboards at their weakest point so that the rest of the floors' integrity would not be damaged from her flight.
The smoke that filled the room was so dense that Kara resorted to using her x-ray vision once more to identify the two people that were trapped in the burning. One was the girl the man outside must have spoken about, as she lay unmoving, but breathing, her still form covered in what appeared to be Archaius' camouflage cloak. The high-tech material was glitching into different patterns, no doubt damaged from the flames that was licking at its sides.
Taking a quick glance at the barely conscious form of the vigilante that lay only a few feet away, Kara quickly scooped up the young girl and flew back through the makeshift shaft she had created on her way up.
Quickly spotting the short detective among the throng of first responders and news vans that had just pulled up onto the scene, Kara flew the unconscious teenager to the waiting arms of the detective.
"She needs medical attention right away!" Kara shouted over the roar of the chaos around them. Maggie's attention was drawn to Archaius' cloak that was wrapped protectively around the unconscious girl, the high-tech material shifting from a wooden pattern, to brick, and then to an odd bark design.
"Supergirl! It's Lena, she's…" Maggie's shouts were interrupted by the floating alien, who was scanning the surrounding area for her missing friend before turning her attention back to the burning building.
"I'm going back for her!" Kara shouted, her voice lost among the sirens and yelling of first responders on the scene. Maggie shouted after her, but Kara had already shoot back into the sky and through the open window until she was floating through the damaged floors up to where the vigilante lay trapped under a pile of debris.
Kara scanned around the room and the floors below, believing that if Lena had made it into the building in some delusion act of heroism, then she would either be with Archaius or somewhere below the fire line. But the elusive CEO's heartbeat was not heard, nor could Kara find anyone else in the building besides Archaius who lay barely conscious before her.
A shuddering groan ran through the burning building as the structure's integrity was compromised. Kara grit her teeth in frustration as she was met with an impossible choice: Use what precious seconds was left to search for Lena, or get Archaius to safety before the building would collapse. The Kryptonian knew that even with her super speed and strength, she would not have time for both.
With an angry yell, Kara gripped the support beam that pinned Archaius' legs to the floor and tossed the burning debris to the side with ease. With the vigilante no longer trapped, Kara leaned over Archaius and was startled to see that they had removed their throat guard and lower face mask to reveal beneath the hood a distinctly female face.
Silver eyes locked with crystal blue. Somewhere in the back of Kara's mind she registered that the woman was wearing colored contacts, another added layer to her elaborate disguise. The vigilante's eyes flashed in recognition as Kara floated above the woman's splayed form.
Archaius lips moved, but only an indistinguishable strained noise could be heard as Kara slowly lifted the hurt vigilante in a classic bridal carry. Kara scanned the vigilante's uncovered face, trying to identify the woman under the layers of soot, debree, and tear tracks. But swelling from the heat and burns caused her trademark high cheekbones and sharp jawline to be warped until it was unrecognizable.
Taking care not to jostle the injured woman, Kara flew through the holes she had created in the floors until she was free to fly out of the makeshift exit via a broken window. While the woman was clearly unconscious, her head had shifted during the short flight so that her face was tucked into Kara's side away from view from the onlookers below. Cameras flashed and reporters shouted questions to the reclusive superhero, but Kara ignored them all as she floated down to greet Maggie and the other rescued girl who was still being held by the Latina detective as paramedics rushed to their aid.
Once the EMTs took the girl away to be transported to the nearest hospital, Kara gave the limp form of Archaius to Maggie who now held the vigilante's glitching cloak. The detective lowered Archaius to the ground behind her car, effectively blocking the vigilante from view as Maggie checked for a pulse and continued to give the injured woman a once over.
"Archaius needs medical treatment. But she can't get it here." Maggie explained in a rush.
Kara loomed over the detective as she worked. "Maggie… Lena wasn't inside the building, but she told me she would be here. Where is she?"
Maggie looked around at the chaotic scene around them. "I don't know."
Kara felt her hands grip into fists as she heard the detective's heart rate picked up slightly before going back to its normal rhythm. She felt a pang of hurt upon realization of the influx biorhythms would mean.
"Maggie… Don't lie to me. Where is Lena?!" Kara's voice shook as she tried to rein in her confusion and hurt. Kara's eyes burned with a telltale ache that the Kyptonian knew meant that her eyes were glowing bright red, seconds away from bursting forth with overflowing power.
"Supergirl! She's not here." The Latina detective's tone forced Kara to lock eyes with her own. "But Archaius is, and they need your help. She needs treatment, the kind you need in a hospital. But if she is taken there by the EMTs then Archaius will be arrested, possibly before they receive treatment. Please help them first, I'll keep an eye out for Little Luthor."
Kara took a deep breath, pushing down her fear and hurt until she felt the burning heat die away from her eyes. "I'm sorry… What will you have me do?"
Maggie gestured down to the hurt vigilante whose breathing was shallow and ragged. "Fly Archaius to the rooftop of National City Hospital. Someone we can trust will be waiting for you there. She'll be able to stabilize her condition."
Kara nodded in understanding before reaching down to secure the injured woman into her arms, tucking the vigilante's head into her side to hide what was left of her identity to the cameras that awaited them. "I'll go, but call me as soon as you hear anything. When all this is done, we'll need to talk."
"I understand…" Maggie wiped her hands clean of ash and debris before gesturing towards the sky. "Up, up and away Supergirl."
Bending her knees to build up energy, Kara kicked off into the sky in a black blur. The flight to the nearby hospital took longer than she would have liked, but Kara was afraid that any added speed might cause further damage to the injured woman in her arms.
Upon her descent Kara squinted at the lone figure that was waving her down on the rooftop, her light blue medical scrubs were covered by a long white lab coat, its pockets bulging with gauze, medical tape, burn ointment, and disinfectant.
"Brianna?!" Kara exclaimed, before belatedly remembering that Supergirl had never been introduced to the medical Resident, other than at Lena's apartment as Kara Danvers. She could almost see Alex in the corner of her eye slapping her forehead at her sister's foolishness.
"Nice to see you too, Supes." Brianna winked with a smile before she shifted her gaze to her new patient. "Although I wish it were under better circumstances. What do we got?"
"They were caught in an apartment fire trying to get everyone out. I can't see if she broke anything, her suit is blocking my x-ray vision, but I would think that she might have cracked a rib or two. Looks like she and another girl fell through a floor."
Brianna nodded to herself as she took in this information before she knelt down to remove the burnt remains of the suit. Kara was surprised to see how easy it was for Brianna to find the hidden clasps and zippers that held everything in place. Almost as if she knew how the suit worked… But that would be impossible, right?
Kara cocked her head to the side in confusion as she considered Brianna's presence. "Wait a minute… I thought you worked at Luthor Children's Hospital?"
"I did," Brianna explained as she withdrew a box cutter from one of her residency jacket pockets, cutting into the protective Kevlar that had melted under the extreme heat. "While my Residency program had originally stationed me there, they have us rotate between hospitals in the area. I've been assigned to the trauma ward here for the second half of my Residency. I started working here about a week and a half ago."
Kara watched in fascination as Brianna continued to remove each part of Archaius' uniform, being careful not to touch the pieces that were damaged by the flames. Kara appreciated seeing the vigilante's gear up close, admiring the high quality of the material that had protected the woman's body from second and third degree burns as the undermost layer only showed the slightest damage.
Before Brianna could remove the vigilante's cowled hood, Kara's phone rang in her back pocket. She slid the unlock feature to answer the call.
"What do you got for me, Detective?" Kara asked, tearing her eyes away from the medical Resident, giving them some semblance of privacy as Brianna began rubbing burn ointment to the woman's face and other exposed skin.
"It's Lena. We found her." Maggie explained without bothering with a greeting. "She was found by firemen on the second floor trying to reach some of her employees that hadn't had time to evacuate yet."
"What?! What happened? And why can't I hear her heartbeat?" Kara exclaimed as she jumped into the air, ready to zip away at a moment's notice to her best friend's side.
There was a slight pause. "... The ambulance she's in is an older model. I think it still has lead paint on the exterior from back in the good old days." Maggie answered with a confidence that allowed for Kara not to question the absurdity of this explanation. "I'm following the bus on in my car. We'll be arriving in few minutes. If you want to try to see her, you'll need to go in as Kara Danvers."
"Right, thanks Maggie. I'll be down there soon." Kara nodded to herself at this logic. It wasn't like she could just waltz up through the hospital halls, demanding to see her best friend as the superhero that's been rarely seen over the last year and a half now.
"Understood. See you soon." Maggie hung up before Kara could reply. The blonde turned to face the medical Resident who had managed to find a gurney at the roof access door and had managed to lift the unconscious vigilante onto the wheeled cot.
Brianna stopped in her actions to give the superhero a roll of her eyes. "Go, I'll take care of her from here."
Kara smiled in her thanks before she shot off into the night sky. Knowing she would have a few minutes until Lena was escorted into the hospital, Kara flew home to take a quick shower to rinse out the ash and bits of debris caught in her hair, before changing and zipping back for a short flight to a nearby alleyway. Kara adjusted her glasses and pulled up her hair into a loose bun before she stepped around the corner and into the main entrance to the emergency room waiting room. She slowed her borderline frantic jog to a brisk walk as she approached the front desk, and cleared her throat to gain the attention of the attendant.
Kara crossed her arms and nervously tapped her fingers on her other forearm until the receptionist paused in her typing on her computer. "Excuse me, I'm here to see Lena Luthor? She should have been admitted not too long ago."
"Ms. Luthor is not accepting visitors at this time." The woman at the desk answered briskly without looking away from her screen.
Kara leaned in so that she was dangling over the side of the help desk. "Please, I'm sure she'll want to see me."
The woman sighed deeply before glancing away from the screen to give Kara an exasperated look. "Fine… What's your name?"
"Kara Danvers." The reporter fiddled with her glasses as she flashed the receptionist a smile.
With a sigh, the receptionist typed Kara's name into the computer, only for her eyebrows to shoot up in surprise as the results of her search flashed across the screen. "... My mistake Miss Danvers. It seems that you are listed here as family. I'll call you once Miss Luthor is released from intensive care." The attendant gave her a small smile as she gestured to one of the empty chairs in the center of the room next a lone television showing 'How I Met Your Mother' reruns.
'I'm listed as… Family?' Kara thought in wonder as she slowly walked to a nearby chair, being careful not to float in her momentary bliss. She sat in her seat only to stare at her fingers as she waited to hear her named call. The seconds slipped by, but to the Kryptonain time seemed to slow to a crawl so that it felt like hours before she was finally called by a nurse.
Kara had to physically hold herself back from using her superspeed to search through the hospital for Lena. Instead she resorted to fiddling with her fingers as she was escorted through the stark white halls until they reached the recovery ward for the ICU.
"Maggie!" Sure enough as Kara and the nurse rounded the corner, the detective could be seen resting on a chair positioned outside a private room. Maggie looked tired and worn as she rubbed at her face before she stood upon seeing her friend.
"Hey there, Little Danvers." Maggie spoke softly as she was tackled by the blonde blur that was the Kryptonian.
"Please tell me she's going to be okay." Kara whispered into Maggie's neck, before pulling away to hug herself in her worry.
Maggie sighed deeply. "I talked to the doctor about her condition. She re-injured some cracked ribs from a previous injury, probably from trying to reach her employees, suffers from smoke inhalation, and has several first and second-degree burns on her face and legs. But these should all heal in time. She's sleeping now from all the painkillers."
Kara let out a choked sob only for Maggie to pull her into another bone-crushing hug. "Kara, she's going to be okay."
Kara focused her senses so that all other sound faded away until she could hear a simple steady rhythmic sound that pounded steadily thirty feet away. It's only when Kara could hear Lena's heart beating that she allows herself to break down and cry.
