The Way You Make Me Feel

Lena could only take so much of the pretending as she watched Kara laugh and smile with her friends and family, not even noticing that Lena had been quiet for the last half hour, not participating in any of the conversations.

Her green eyes studied the assembled group. Nia sat across from Brainy, their fingers reaching towards each other but not quite touching. Alex and Kelly in the next seat cuddled and smiling lively at Kara who was regaling them all with a story from work. Work, which was a cover, a lie, which means that the story she was telling was probably a lie as well. A lie that they all were complicit in, just to manipulate the one trusting Luthor foolish enough to get close to them.

Suddenly mid sentence Kara paused and locked eyes with hers in concern, she gave the blonde a half hearted smile at which she received a blinding grin and the Alien resumed her fake story and Lena knew she was done for the night. If she had to sit here and watch the Superfriends pretend with her for one more second she would either shout or throw something at Kara, both of which would not be conducive to her long term plans for said supposed friends.

Slowly getting up and seeing that nobody noticed, typical, she slouched out of the bar via the back exit and fumbled in her purse for her lighter and pack. She hadn't smoked in ten years but Lex's gleeful reveal before death managed to do the one thing that her mother and brother combined hadn't managed to do and drove her back to smoking.

As she grasped the lighter though Lena heard a sound that made her pause. The soft thumping of the music from the bar behind her was no longer prominent, but suddenly Lena became aware that she was a Luthor, standing alone in the dark, in a place that was usually trafficked by Aliens.

But then she heard it again. A groan. And not one that was typically heard in the back alleys behind bars. No this was a groan of pain. Of anguish.

Abandoning all caution and since Lena certainly didn't believe she had anyone in the bar she could trust as back up, she shouldered her bag and slowly walked towards where she heard the groan. Her heels clacking against the pavement which she cursed but she realized she was already tipsy, pissed off and scared, the time for stealth was long gone.

As Lena cleared the wall hiding her objective from view she gasped as she came across someone lying in a heap, bleeding profusely from multiple injuries, the most serious of which seemed to be a stab wound to the stomach.

She was clutching her stomach and writhing in pain and even in her inebriated state Lena could see that the blood leaking from the woman's dark skin was not red. The bright magenta color was telling as she remembered reading about Phorians back in Lex's notes and more recently in the DEO archives.

Falling to her knees in front of the woman, paying no mind to her outfit or shoes, Lena ripped off her coat and rolled it up into a ball, pressing it firmly against the bleeding Aliens wound. Unbeknownst to her, tears leaked out of the brunette's eyes as she watched the poor, beautiful woman scream out in pain at her actions, scrabbling her fingernails against Lenas hands as she put pressure on the wound. Blood leaked out the corner of her mouth as she looked up pleadingly at Lena, her eyes glowing magenta, the same color as her blood.

"Please!" she implored the hurt woman. "I know it hurts but I'm trying to help." She knew at this point that her anger and resentment had to take a backseat. So took a deep breath and yelled out. "Kara!" as loud as she could, knowing that Supergirl's hearing would pick it up.

Bowing her head back down to resume the pressure, Lena felt soft hands touch her face and she turned to see the Phorian, he face still pained but her eyes were glowing magenta and there was an understanding there that she had never seen in someone else's eyes before, like she was looking straight through her soul.

Lena blinked at her as she saw the woman's fingers light up with the same magenta glow. And instinctively Lena shook her head, knowing that whatever this was it wasn't something good.

"P-Please!" she said in a hoarse whisper. "I-It's too... too l-late for me!"

"Don't say that!" Lena begged this total stranger whose death she couldn't bear to have on her conscience. Where the fuck was Kara?! "Help is on the way!"

She shook her head at Lena's words. And wiggled her fingers asking Lena to lean closer. Unconsciously Lena did so and the Phorian seemed to gain some strength from her proximity.

"You are not what people say Lena Luthor!" she declared and a deep warmth settled in Lena's chest at her words. "You will need to know who to trust, because you are one of our only hopes. This is my gift to you!" she declared and touched Lena's cheek with her glowing fingers even as the life left her own eyes.

Lena felt the surge of an unknown power flow through her and her body just couldn't handle it, even as she felt the wind being displaced next to her, the woosh of superspeed and her own name being yelled out, Lena surrendered herself to the sweet embrace of darkness.

'... damn it, it's the DEO again! Didn't I tell them not to bother me today?...'

Lena heard in a voice that was distinctly the older Danvers sister. She heard some shuffling as the noise moved away. She struggled against the darkness for a minute before managing to open her eyes.

She woke up to a darkened room. A very familiar room. Kara's room. She hadn't been back here since the revelation and being here now. Knowing how Kara had lied to her all those times, made her try and leap off the bed as quickly as she could. Unfortunately her body refused to comply with her request and all she managed was a groan before the door slammed open and Alex was in the room with her.

'... Oh for fucks sake, Luthor...'

She heard Alex say with a fond tint to her voice that Lena thought she was one hundred percent imagining.

"Lena," came a less exasperated and more restrained Alex Danvers' voice in her ear as she came closer and shifted Lena back into the bed she had half fallen off of. "You are in no condition to move right now!" she scolded.

'Damn it if she gets hurt on my watch, Kara might just heat vision my face off.'

'Wait what?' Lena thought to herself even as she resentfully settled back on Kara's ludicrously brightly colored pillows. 'Since when was she talked to like she was in the know?'

But even as she watched Alex fuss with the bedspread and her pillow unnecessarily she heard Alex's voice in her head without seeing her lips move.

'Honestly these two need to get their act together because the fucking unresolved sexual tension is killing the rest of us.'

Out loud she said. "Kara had to go in to work. She waited with you all day yesterday but had to show up today, said something about her boss being a hard ass?" she smiled and the genuinely warm feelings that she felt coming from Alex made her smile back at her a little. 'Wait warm feelings? What the fuck?'

Then the unspoken voice came again.

'Or more like Kara refused to leave your side for the last twenty-four hours and only agreed to go when an Alien downtown began wrecking shop. Or shops to be precise.'

There it was again. The voice. Alex's voice. Coming from Alex but without her speaking. Lena had never been accused of being very slow on the uptake, except by her brother moments before he died, but aside from that one incident, she considered herself to be very perceptive. So she was pretty sure she was listening to Alex's thoughts. Which should be impossible but then the events of what must be two nights ago flashed back to her. Phorians. Their main abilities included telepathy and empathy along with a very strong telekinetic power.

She remembered the Alien touching her with her glowing fingers. She remembered feeling a power surge through her. And then nothing.

And now she could here Alex's thoughts. Even feel what she was feeling? If that were true then where was Alex's hatred for her? Where was the deceit that she was sure had to be present in her so-called friends' hearts that caused them to keep such an important secret from her. Where was the reason that Kara had lied to her for all those years?

Suddenly, lying in Kara's bed waiting for her to come back and lie to her some more was the least appealing thing Lena could think of. But even as she started rallying herself to fight Alex for her freedom, the redhead herself gave her an out.

"Listen Lena, Kara asked me to stay with you but Supergirl has been fighting this Alien downtown all morning and I'm needed there for damage control. I've called Nia and she's on the way, she'll stay with you while I sort this stuff out okay?"

Lena smiled gratefully and nodded before grasping Alex's hand before she could leave.

"The Phorian?" she managed to croak out in her hoarse voice dry from disuse.

Alex's head dipped, even as she reached for Kara's bedside table and handed her a glass of water with a straw.

"I'm sorry Lena, by the time Supergirl arrived, she was long gone."

"I called for her," Lena said her eyes filling with tears. "Where was she!" she demanded her ex friend. "If she had been faster... maybe..."

Alex shook her head sadly, Lena felt the same sadness resonate in her chest. "The lab test came in last night, she was stabbed with a mercury blade. It's worse than stabbing Supergirl with Kryptonite. There was nothing Supergirl or you could have done to save her once that blade went in."

Lena closed her eyes in grief surprising herself at the level of pain she felt at the passing of a relative stranger. But the stranger had also left her a gift and she owed the woman her mourning.

"I'd like to see her," she said as firmly as she could with her eyes overflowing with tears.

Alex nodded patting the hand holding hers in solidarity. "I'll have it arranged once you're back up on your feet." she promised. "Rest for now, I'll see you later."

And Lena almost gasped in surprise as Alex leaned down and kissed her forehead softly before turning around to leave., she felt a deep seated affection settle in her chest that all was coming from Alex. It wasn't romantic in the slightest, it actually reminded her of the feelings she once held towards Lex but more protective.

She had to consciously hold back tears as the front door slammed shut and Alex's affection for her slowly faded, leaving a phantom thrum of warmth in her heart. How could Alex, Kara's sister feel something like that for her when she had already written the Superfriends off as manipulative and hateful?

Feeling stifled and confused once Alex had gone Lena slowly sat up in Kara's bed and took stock of the room and herself. Kara usually expressed herself all over her apartment but her bedroom was sparse. Of course the decor was over the top, because Kara, but the room only held her bed, a bedside cabinet, and a large window that Lena now presumed was for the Kryptonian taking in the morning sun.

There were heavy blankets draped over the curtain to block out the light that she presumed Kara had tucked up, the consideration confusing her further but the most confusing thing was the picture on the bedside table. The photo was not one she remembered being taken and on closer inspection it was apparent why; it wasn't a photo, but a painting. A Kara painting. And it was of the two of them staring at each other arms around one another as if they had just pulled out of a hug.

The emotions that Kara had captured on her face, she didn't remember ever showing that much of herself in any picture before, but it was clear that Kara had seen her express such emotion and then painted it. Then looking at Kara and how she had drawn herself. The genuine affection and love in her eyes. How could this person that Lena was convinced was using her and was faking their entire relationship, how could this person she believed secretly hated Lena, be the same person who had painted this portrait of them and then put it on her bedside to wake up to every single day?

Lena shook her head and slowly got up. The longer she stayed here the more confused she got and right now she needed time to process. Gaining the strength back in her legs Lena looked for her shoes, spotting them near the doorway and slipped them on. She was almost at the apartment door when she paused. It was so tempting to be vindictive, to leave and have the Superfriends flounder for a bit but the shadow of Alex's kiss on her forehead and with the memory of the painting still fresh in her mind, Lena walked over to Kara's well stocked fridge, took a notepad that she kept there and pinned a note to the fridge door with a, amusingly, Batman logo magnet and turned to leave.

Sorry. Had to leave, Jess called and reminded me of a very important meeting that I could not miss. I am absolutely fine, btw.

Lena

Walking to the elevator, Lena did call Jess, who she had asked to be transferred back over from Metropolis post Eve's betrayal , and asked her to send a car for her at Kara's place.

Two days later Lena had finally gotten a handle of her newly gifted powers. She had discovered that she had the ability to turn off and on her telepathic abilities and also cast a net, which could be pretty substantial, around herself and tune in to peoples thoughts and feelings. It had already proved pretty beneficial since she had been able to investigate and fire five members of the board because when she got close to them she had to resist the urge to hurl because of the feelings they were giving off. A subtle tap into their surface thoughts gave her an inkling as to what they thought of her and what steps they were taking against her and then it became a job for her lawyers.

She made a point of not invading people's privacy, unfortunately her empathy was something that was not as easy to turn off as the telepathy was. Fortunately her empathy gave her a hint as to what someone was feeling towards her and then she could decide whether she would invade their mind or not.

Of course Lena wasn't low enough to invade her employees' minds just because they were feeling resentful towards their boss, but her empathy allowed her to seed out those who were actively working against her and the company.

Her empathy, amazingly, also allowed her to realize just how loyal Jess was to her. She was genuinely surprised that someone who had worked with her for so little time, was so dedicated to her. In the next budget meeting Jess was going to be getting a sizable raise to add to her already substantial salary.

In the past two days the only member of the Superfriends that she had contacted was Alex, when she went to see the unidentified Phorian who had gifted her these powers at the expense of her life. She had even tried to transfer back the powers to her in the futile hope that she might wake up. She didn't and Lena had to fight against the tears that threatened at the sadness that engulfed her joining Alex's sadness at her grief compounding in a shitty day for one Lena Luthor.

She had been actively avoiding Kara, rebuffing two offers for lunch and a movie night invite with the excuse of missed work due to her being incapacitated for thirty-six hours, leaving her messages unread. Instead Alex and her had been communicating via text and it was a little comfort from afar mainly because Alex's correspondence reminded her of the blonder Danvers minus the emojis and the cat videos.

But today all that came to a head because she had texted and asked Kara to come over for lunch. After getting a proper handle on her powers Lena needed to find out once and for all, what their relationship was. How much of it was lies and why was she the only one in their group who could not be trusted with her secret identity.

After giving Jess the heads up to free up her schedule for the next hour Lena cast her mental net over the L-Corp building and waited.

She purposefully tuned out all her employees' thoughts and tried as much as she could to temper her empathy since she could already feel a headache coming on.

Lena didn't have to wait for long as she felt the presence of her ex-friend enter the building. It was easy to recognize her because she was the most exuberant personality in the vicinity, which was not a surprise. The cheerfulness was infectious and it didn't only affect her as she felt the doormans spirits rise as Kara walked past him.

'... Hey George!!...' she heard Kara say in her mind and she assumed in person as well. God she was just a literal ball of sunshine wasn't she? Lena thought to herself an unbidden smile threatening to mar her facade.

The cheery demeanor and optimism seemed to flow off Kara in waves but underneath it all there was something that was familiar, something that Lena herself had felt before, just yesterday in fact but this was more pronounced.

Grief.

Did someone else walk into L-Corp with Kara? Someone who maybe recently lost someone?

'... Ooh. That Rigellian was a pain in the butt today, I hope I don't still stink…'

Lena could feel Kara's presence now on the elevator and the grieving person seemed to have boarded along with her. Sighing she quickly hacked into the elevator camera and blinked as she saw only Kara in there foregoing her usual pastel for a fetching fitted dress shirt and pants combo that Lena refused to admit did things to her.

It took Lena Kara's entire elevator ride up to her floor to understand that it was Kara who was feeling so bereaved. But she wasn't really comprehending that conclusion. Just looking at Kara, anyone would think that she was the most hopeful, optimistic, happy person imaginable. Hell, even Lena, upon discovering Kara's secret, had concluded that there must be something fundamentally wrong with her than to point a finger at pure and perfect Kara Danvers.

What was worse was that on the ground floor and in the elevator she was getting a diluted version of Kara's feeling but as she stepped onto her floor the emotions seemed to multiply tenfold as Lena's head began to throb with the effort to maintain her mental net. The pain in Kara's heart was too much for her head to handle, so much so that even Kara's happy chirp at the return of Jess did nothing to help her state.

Struggling to shut down the mental net Lena clenched her hands against the table and stood up cursing her fate as Kara removed the last barrier between them and burst into her office, a large smile on her lips, blue eyes shining and a big belly burger bag swinging from her hand.

The smile left her face as she saw the state Lena was in. Lena herself could only imagine how she looked.

"Lena, what…"

Lena could only grit her teeth and demand a vague request before the darkness claimed her.

"S-Stop feeling t-that way!!" she tried to say before she collapsed, her last thought being that she didn't hit the ground like she expected, instead she was caught in Supergirls strong arms as she blacked out from Kara's pain.

I wanted this to be a oneshot. Turns out I don't know how to write a oneshot. Anyways tell me how it was? Yeah? Cheers!!