Warped
Notes: Find me on Tumblr at spoopercorp and on AO3 as Local_Asshole.
Summary: Lena and Lucy meet up at Noonan's to discuss the former's recent discoveries regarding Gwen's project and its impeccable timing coinciding with Metallo's escape from prison.
WARNING: VIOLENCE.
[Me: Meet at Noonan's. 4:00.]
[Lucy Lane: Sure I'm already like ten minutes out]
[Lucy Lane: Is everything ok?]
[Me: Yes. I just need to have a word with you.]
[Lucy Lane: Why does it sound like I'm in trouble?]
[Me: You're not. I apologize, it was at a moment's notice.]
[Lucy Lane: Lena we've known each other for like a decade now, you don't have to sound like you're conducting a business meeting when we text]
[Me: Noted, Major Lane.]
[Lucy Lane: Biiiiiitch!]
"Hey, Luthor!"
Lena jerked, fumbling with her phone before shoving it into her hoodie pocket.
"Oh, sorry, did I scare - holy fuck, you look like shit."
The C.E.O. glared at the woman who slid into their booth in the corner, still a bit frazzled, "Thank you for the compliment, Major Lane."
Lucy chortled before her grin faltered at Lena's very unamused expression.
"Oh, well. No, but seriously, you look awful. What's with the get-up?"
She observed her friend closer, with jeans, sneakers, and a hoodie.
"I never thought the day would come where I'd see a casual Lena Luthor. It's kind of...silly. You even overdress for game night."
"Again, your commentary is very much appreciated," Lena deadpanned, "I'm sure you know all too well that my surname is synonymous with death and genocide."
"Okay, c'mon, give yourself more credit. I think your last name is more synonymous with xenophobia."
"Upon death and genocide are based off. That was my family's cause," the C.E.O. countered, nodding towards the other customers.
Lucy followed the gesture, her brows knitting at the sight of some very nervous looking guests glancing over in their direction now and again.
The brunette rolled her eyes and sighed, "Okay, don't get your panties in a twist. I'm being serious, you look like you haven't slept a wink, and you're really jumpy."
"I'm a Luthor, I have to run a company while dealing with near-death experiences on a regular basis."
Lucy opened her mouth, then clacked it shut, "That's...yeah, good point," she coughed awkwardly, "Is it about Metallo?"
"You mean his break out from prison? Sure. That has me a bit unsettled, but there are more pressing matters at hand."
"Explains why you went 'incognito' somewhat. So, uh, what exactly did you want to talk about..."
She trailed off when she noticed Lena's head was tilted to the side a mere fraction, her eyes darting rapidly around the restaurant.
"Hey," Lucy tried again, reaching for the Luthor's hand, which was clasped around her glass of water so tightly they trembled and her knuckles whitened.
She placed her palm over Lena's fingers, gently prying them off, "Loosen up. Take it easy. Just...don't shatter the cup, I can't exactly rest easy knowing the broken shards can actually tear your skin, unlike Kara."
The Luthor's shoulders deflated, relaxing at the mention of the Kryptonian. She turned her head to face Lucy with a more serene expression.
"And what exactly made her shatter her cup?"
The Lane snickered at the memory, "Roulette actually."
Lena furrowed her brows in question.
"She was jealous when Veronica came to visit you in high school. Like, insanely jealous. She was so smitten with you it was kind of gross honestly."
The Luthor seemed to unwind further.
Lucy smirked, retracting her hand, "Probably not as gross as her bed sheets though."
Lena immediately tensed again, sputtering, "W-What are you infer-"
"Oh you know exactly what I'm inferring," she continued to tease, "Did you change the sheets after you guys fucked? Did you disinfect everything in the apartment? I'm not sure I can go in there without a hazmat suit anymore."
Lena's blush deepened as she struggled to maintain her features, "We - We didn't-"
"Okay, okay," the brunette snickered, "I'm done teasing for today. Your reaction was almost as entertaining as Kara's."
"Well, I can tell you that neither of us appreciate your teasing, Major Lane," she pinched her nose, "Let's just get back on track."
Lucy grinned, "Right, so, why exactly am I in trouble?"
Lena rolled her eyes, "You're not in trouble."
"Okay, so why am I 'not' in trouble?"
The Luthor paused, lost in thought momentarily before speaking, "I think Gwen has some sort of personal vendetta against Supergirl."
"What? She knows-"
"No, she doesn't," Lena interrupted, the answer relieving Lucy.
"Gwen is too fond of Kara and too hateful of Supergirl to know they're the same person, but I'm afraid that she'll go digging. If she finds out about Kara, about her and I...she might lose it."
"With all due respect, I'm pretty sure your ex already lost it."
"She actually seemed a little unstable to me," Lena shook her head, "If Gwen snaps she won't hesitate apprehending Kara and experimenting on her. She's smart, takes risks, she likes to play dangerously. I know she's targeting Supergirl, but I don't want Kara in her crosshairs either, or else it'd make capturing her easier; Gwen will know where she lives, where she works...her friends, her family..."
"Why are you telling me all thi-"
"She knows I'm close with Supergirl," Lena rushed out, "She knows I don't have much to lose, that I'm used to it, but she may be adamant about finding Supergirl's human identity, and by extension, trace you especially, or Alex to the D.E.O. She and the government organization could be exposed as one of the worst-case scenarios. Though there are too many links, too many dots to connect - Gwen would have to choose the ones she wants to go after if she wants to speed things along, but I'm not sure, she's not the type to leave any nook or cranny undiscovered," Lena groaned, "If she cherry picks what to investigate, she could very well catch everyone off guard, but her background information would be lackluster. If she investigates everything, there'd be time to prepare, but she'd have too much detail on everyone."
"Why would I be especially interesting though," Lucy inquired, "Why-"
"General Lane is going to be the first person she'll want to negotiate prices for her projects," Lena whispered, "I'd be less concerned if he - your father...he's not the Army General anymore I heard, is he?"
Lucy pressed a hand to her head, going over the dire situation, "No. He was promoted to Secretary of Defense. Shit. This's bad."
Lena nodded in agreement, "I've already notified J'onn, and I've gotten Maggie and Winn to dig a bit."
Lucy's expression was one of surprise, "I thought you said-"
"I know what I said, but the information they retrieved isn't in regards to the project, not enough to stir investigation if they hid their tracks well enough."
"What'd you find?"
"Gwen's driving source," Lena's eyes drooped, forlorn, "She lost her little brother due to collateral damage during one of Supergirl's fights. A building dropped on him. They were celebrating his sixth birthday. Her mother was paralyzed in the same incident," she took a shaky breath, "Her little sister died a few months later when Supergirl was under the influence of red kryptonite. I don't know what happened, but..." she swallowed the lump in her throat, voice heavy like it carried a burden, "...her injuries were so bad they couldn't put her back together. It had to be a closed casket funeral. She was eight. Her mother committed suicide not long after."
Lucy felt bile rise in her throat, "Oh my God...that's horrible. I can't even imagine losing so many loved ones like that..."
She placed a comforting hand atop Lena's fist, "I'm so sorry, you must've known them pretty well."
The Luthor nodded tersely, "I didn't - she...Gwen never told me about what happened..."
The C.E.O. mustered enough strength to keep her expression as neutral as possible, though her unsteady breaths and tremored voice gave it away.
"Does Kara know?" Lucy asked.
Lena frowned, shaking her head, "I was told by Alex that she was spared the details of the red kryptonite incident, and if at all possible, any of the collateral damage she caused in her battles."
"Do you think that she should know?"
Lena deflated, "I-I'm not sure. It'd crush her for sure, and though she knows she has the right to that information...I don't believe I recall Alex stating she was curious enough to find out. I think Kara tries to avoid it in all honesty, her line of duty births numerous casualties," she sighed, "Ignorance is bliss, perhaps Alex is right to keep that information undisclosed, she's Kara's sister, she knows best, right?"
"Not all siblings know best, Lena," Lucy smiled fondly, "And if she's willingly avoiding that information, I think it's wise not to bring it up."
"I'm not so sure Gwen will hold back that information seeing Supergirl," the Luthor frowned, "There are three models in this line. The first is called the sentry, a bit taller than an average human; it's fast and agile, but also has brute force on its side. The other is the tank, it's essentially a giant; it's slower, but still pretty fast - it's focus is on power though, and it can't reach in narrow spaces with speed, but it does have an almost endless amount of ammunition cartridges."
"The other?"
Lena sighed, "Gwen designed a special one with an arsenal of pure kryptonite, the sentinel. But the element is too difficult even for L-Corp to acquire in massive shipments, so her prototype sentries may have different alien substances or weapons as substitutes - still rare, but less so, easier to get her hands on."
"Does she even know how to work them?"
Lena nodded, her voice quieter and hasty, "I've seen the blueprints, some parts briefly, but she seems to have a very keen understanding of the materials she's gathering. Gwen is...the A.I., with the help of alien technology, they're almost - they're sentient. They're advanced and mimic something lifelike in conscience, responsive to stimuli. But the intricate programming has left them...damaged, somehow. They were designed like parasites, they leech off of other organisms to prolong their lifeline in emergencies."
Lena pressed a palm to her head as if to soothe a headache.
"Gwen's teaching them."
Lucy did a double take, "What?"
"They're receptive to change and they evolve almost," the Luthor explained in a murmur, "I don't know how, but they don't age, not from infancy to adolescence to adulthood; I'm talking tactics and strategies. They can learn."
"How so?"
"There's this plan Gwen presented. It's like interconnected networks, a web of information. They're going to work like a hive mind. She mentioned this Source coming from something she contained to control them called the Box."
Lucy narrowed her eyes, watched as beads of nervous sweat rose from Lena's pores. At this point her sentences were almost panicked and afraid, so rushed they sounded like meaningless jargon.
The brunette clasped her hands in Lena's, "Hey, hey. Relax."
Lucy could feel her flinch, almost recoil, but she held her steadfast grip, trying to connect their eyes to no avail. She could feel the hands within her palms shake with a bone-deep tremor and found herself extremely concerned.
Clearly something was gnawing at the Luthor's mind, she knew more than she let on.
A worried expression painted Lucy's face.
"Lena, look at me," she whispered, unsettled, "Hey, look at me. What'd you see? Tell me what you saw."
The Luthor shook her head, evaded the question, "They start with the basics - chess or even checkers, and work their ways up from there. They learn at a phenomenal rate apparently," she chuckled, the sound unnerving, "Imagine, from birth - from creation - you're exposed to nothing but games like chess; everything is a transaction, a defense, an offense, the destination or victory matters, but the lives don't. Imagine being given a hammer from the beginning and-"
"And everything's a nail."
Lena nodded uneasily. She could feel her stomach swerve and flip inside as she tapped her fingers on the table nervously; she could see them tremble and see the glass cup of water sitting next to her shake as well.
Wait.
Lucy seemed to notice the peculiarity as well.
They ceased to dwell on it when the entrance to Noonan's opened, Maggie walking through with two officers behind her.
She motioned for them to stay near the door, mouthing an 'I'll handle this' before striding over to where Lena and Lucy stood to greet her.
"Something wrong?" the Lane inquired.
"Yeah," Maggie frowned, turning to the C.E.O., "I'm actually here on official business. The police station was sent some footage regarding Metallo's recent escape from prison that I wanted to ask you about."
Their expressions fell at the video.
"That - That's not me," Lena protested, desperate, "I don't know where you got that, but it's not me."
"Hey," Maggie reassured, her voice soothing, "I know. I believe you, and I'm sure Kara and Alex and everyone else would too, but the police station doesn't; we've reviewed the video a couple of times, it doesn't look tampered with," she scowled, "And they refuse to acknowledge shapeshifting aliens with agendas against the Luthor name. The timing of your schedule and Metallo's escape is too impeccable for them to ignore as a coincidence. I promise, we'll all figure something out. We'll find something to prove you're innocent," she smiled half-heartedly, "But until then, try to hold out as long as possible. I hear the cells aren't terribly uncomfortable, so..."
Lena frowned, nodding in a solemn manner.
Maggie slid between her and Lucy, whose expression saddened at her friend's journey to incarceration.
The detective stepped behind Lena and taking out the handcuffs from her belt.
"You're under arrest for aiding and abetting with a felon, accessory after the fact, conspiracy-"
She paused just before locking the Luthor's wrists together, distracted by the shaking of the table.
Lena and Lucy looked on, but just as abruptly as it started, it suddenly stopped.
They all shared a look of panic, and before they could open their mouths, an ear shattering explosion shook the foundations of the building and they went flying, the sound of broken glass hitting the ground littering their vicinity.
Lena groaned, felt the rubble digging into her back. The only other thing she registered was the unbearable high-pitched ringing in her ears and the faint sounds of screaming in the background.
She lifted a hand to gingerly touch the side of her head, feeling the familiar thickness of blood settle into the grooves of her fingertips.
Lena finally blinked her eyes open and saw she was pinned to the ground by a car that was likely blown into the restaurant like a projectile, the strength of the trajectory and velocity tearing its exterior.
A sharp pain erupted in the side of her stomach and she glanced down, scanning the out-of-place metal digging into the shallow surface of her skin.
"Lena!"
She breathed a sigh of relief, "Lucy, I-I'm here..."
"Oh thank fucking God," the soldier nearly cheered, dropping prone and crawling through the crevasse to see her friend stuck on the other side, "I didn't know how I was going to explain myself to Kara if I lost you."
Lena coughed, the dust and soot wafting uncomfortably into her nostrils and throat, "Where's Maggie?"
"I dragged her behind some cover. She's fine - out, but fine. Probably a concussion. Although that's pretty serious, you're the one that's pinned under a car."
"Wh-What happened?"
"I think Gwen created the prototypes a lot faster than we anticipated. Looks like a tank going off of your description. It attacked Noonan's. Lots of fire. Lots of broken shit," she glanced behind her at the chaos surrounding them, "It looks like it's looking for someone and I'll bet a hundred dollars that it's you judging from all the dark-haired women it's picking up and tossing around, so we've got to get out of here as soon as possible."
Lena chuckled humorlessly, "I'm in a little predicament here if you haven't noticed."
Lucy observed the metal carving itself cozily into her friend's skin.
"How deep is it?"
"Probably no more than a centimeter or two."
Lucy blanched.
That's still pretty deep. Her hypodermis very likely got punctured.
She sighed, "Cool, I'm going to pull you out then."
The Luthor gave her a look.
"I can tell you, Major Lane, that this's most certainly not cool," Lena grunted, gritting her teeth as she held onto the woman's arms.
"Cool," Lucy repeated, her voice rattling when she tugged the Luthor out swiftly, wincing at the woman's choked screams as the metal left a long laceration on her friend's abdomen.
"Son of a bitch!"
"Hey," Lucy chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood, "I'm pretty upset with the situation too, but watch the fucking language."
"Very funny, Major Lane," Lena snapped, biting her lip to prevent another yelp from escaping her throat.
"Can you just call me Lucy?" the brunette complained in a grumble, hanging the woman's arm over her shoulder, "Can you walk?"
Lena nodded, taking a good look at the machine, noting that it could stand as tall as a three-story building, "This one's a little bigger than the blueprints."
"A little bigger?" Lucy exclaimed, "That thing's massive! You didn't happen to see any overrides on the blueprints too, did you?"
"No. No override, Gwen would've had that information stored personally. And I'd rather deal with a tank than the others," Lena commented, analyzing the metal beast as its gears whirred and sputtered, "But this prototype was rushed through production. You guys might be able to get out of here alive."
"I'm sorry, 'you guys'?" Lucy repeated.
"It's after me, I can run somewhere with less civilians and you can tend to Maggie and the others here, get them to evacuate, or-"
"Awful idea," she interrupted.
"I'm sorry, how rude of me for not considering any of your ideas," Lena commented sardonically, following up with a rhetorical question, "Do you have any better ones?"
"You know what, Luthor?" the brunette bickered, "Your sarcasm isn't appreciated."
"I'm aware."
The hostile mech's head snapped towards them.
"Target identified."
"I think it sees us," Lucy whispered, grasping a better hold onto the Luthor, who was growing more limp next to her.
Lena grimaced, clutching her profusely bleeding wound, leaning into the soldier's hold for support, "No shit."
The robot released its thrusters, a burst of speed propelling it forward, drifting as its base slugged through the ground.
Lucy swerved, shoving the Luthor back into the crevasse and diving after her, hovering over her body protectively.
Lena yelped at the impact that left her dazed and blacked out momentarily, more blood gushing out of her widening injury and splashing onto the ground, creating a small puddle.
"Fuck, it's got my leg," Lucy grunted, hooking her hands onto the metal of the car for purchase.
Lena wrapped her arms tightly around the brunette's torso, pulling the opposite direction of the machine trying to drag her out.
"Shit," Lucy groaned, heaving out panicked breaths, "It's squeezing."
Lena could see over the woman's shoulder the robotic arm encasing almost the entirety of her leg. She shut her eyes when she heard a sickening snap of bone, then another, and then another, followed by Lucy's hoarse screams.
The brunette's grip faltered and Lena felt the robot tug more, pulling them out another foot, but she held on desperately.
"Can you run?" Lucy wheezed.
"What?"
"Can. You. Run?"
"I...yeah, I think I-"
"Let me go."
"W-What?"
"You heard me."
"I..."
"Let go of me, Lena."
The Luthor panicked, she could feel her body slipping from her grip.
"No, no, no..."
Lucy released a strangled cry, "Do it!"
"Shut up!"
With one last pull, the brunette was out and the tank tossed her over its shoulder, reaching into the crevasse again.
Lena breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Supergirl veer in to deviate Lucy's fall and catch her.
"What the hell took you so long?" the brunette shouted, her adrenaline-induced anger preventing her from completely feeling the pain, "That Transformer almost ripped my entire leg off!"
Kara winced when she saw the damage, "Sorry."
She quickly lowered her to one of the D.E.O. agents swarming into the building to be sent back to the medical bay.
The Kryptonian whipped around when she heard Lena shout, the machine's hand wrapped around her body firmly as she struggled futilely to escape with the one arm that was not trapped in the grip.
Kara felt her eyes burn, about to let out a blaze of lasers from them before a familiar voice crackled from the robot.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The blonde felt the burn in her eyes sizzle out and tried to make her voice as calm and collected as possible, "Let. Her. Go."
"I don't think you're quite in the position to make demands, Supergirl."
"Gwen," Kara growled, floating into the air until she was eye-level with the machine, "Let her go."
"Oh? You know my name? I'm flattered," the voice chuckled darkly, "But does Genevieve ring a bell?"
She did not reply, only confusion subtly colored her expression.
"No?" Gwen hummed, "Maybe Aria? Or Wyatt?"
The blonde continued to give her a puzzled look, glancing to Lena, noticing she had an expression of melancholic recognition at the names.
"Of course not," she scoffed, "Human lives are nothing to you. They're worthless. And you call yourself a hero."
The Kryptonian's brows knitted in frustration, not bothering to debunk such a solid, false statement, "You're surrounded. We could easily take this thing out."
"Of course you could," she admitted, "But you won't risk hurting Lena. You know very well that I designed this machine to be bulletproof. It'll just deflect the rounds and ricochet into the ground...or a body. And that'd make a pretty big mess for all of you to clean up."
Kara pressed her lips into a thin line, "Try me. Everything has a weakness."
The cocking of rifles below hardened her lie.
Gwen all but chuckled, "Well, you have more game than I thought. But who says I can't play the same?"
Lena began to panic when she heard the groan of metal, feeling the fingers of the giant tighten around her body once.
"You shoot. I squish her to the point she explodes into a pool of blood," she retaliated, "Unless you let me go, without any trackers. And trust me, I'd know."
Kara narrowed her eyes, recalling almost reluctantly all the times she noticed Gwen treating the Luthor with adoration and care, "You wouldn't. You're bluffing."
"Sacrifices are sometimes necessary. Try me," she echoed.
Before Lena could feel the metal hand move, her left arm was already shattered. Her torso tightened sharply, and she could feel her spine compressing, feel her chest and ribs cave inward, then several snaps as a stinging pain overtook her lungs, making her breathless.
Lena's bloodcurdling scream grated against Kara's eardrums and she broke her resolve, feeling it crumble down at the sight of the woman being crippled.
"Stop!" she begged, "Okay, okay! You can go, just..." she swallowed the bile down, "Stop hurting her. Please..."
The Luthor hunched over, softly whimpering, her vision blurring at the hot tears welling in her eyes, refusing to spill over. A tremor tingled her muscles and she began to sweat from the pain; her arm was crushed if the bloody bone sticking out was of any significance, and she could probably say the same with her ribs as several of them were either jutting out of her skin or pierced into her lungs.
A quiet, pathetic wheeze puffed from her chest, then she coughed painfully, watching the blood dribble off her lips and drip from her chin, joining the fair amount of red that poured from her body to the faraway ground.
"Oh?" Gwen hummed, "Consider my interest piqued. What exactly is your relationship with each other?"
Kara tore her eyes from Lena's broken body, now limp and dangling in the robot's fist, reluctant to let her out of her sight.
"We're friends," she stated with a cold bite.
Gwen did not seem to believe her, unsatisfied with the answer, but she let it go.
"Then I guess that's my cue to leave, before Lee bleeds out of course," she remarked, her tone just as cold, "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll all see each other again. In due time. Goodbye, Supergirl. It's been lovely."
Notes: Constructive criticism appreciated.