Lena had been staring at her laptop's screen for the past forty-five minutes, and even though the words didn't change, she couldn't seem to comprehend what they were saying. Her mind was elsewhere, her thoughts trailing blonde hair and a billowing red cape. Kara hadn't texted her in hours, but Lena knew not to worry since she'd said she would be busy and unable to get to her phone. But something in her gut felt wrong. She couldn't put a finger on it, but this silence felt different than other ones. Lena picked up her phone and typed out a quick message.

Text me when you can, please, just so I know everything's all good. I love you.

She sighed and discarded her cell to the side. She was being paranoid, she told herself. Kara was fine. She was working on an alien homicide case, nothing more.

Lena stood and made her way out to the balcony. The afternoon was clear and bright, the buildings of National City gleaming in the white sun. Lena had just rested her forearms on the railing when she heard her office door open.

"I'm sorry, Jess, but now really isn't a good—" Lena turned and stopped. "—time." She titled her head, wariness settling in her like a drug.

Her own face stared back at her.

"Well, this is new," she breathed.

The Lena across the room gave her a terse smile. "I'm sure I don't need to introduce myself."

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're Lena Luthor."

Lena smiled, but the kindness didn't reach her eyes. "Putting that MIT degree to good work, I see."

Lena sucked in a breath and chuckled dryly. "Ouch."

"Yes, I am Lena Luthor, but on my earth, everyone calls me Kieran."

Lena crossed her arms. "How exactly did you get to this earth, Kieran?"

Kieran smiled, a gleam in her dark green eyes. "I'm not going to spill all my secrets to you. We may share the same face, but we are not the same person." She stepped closer, her hands behind her back. This Lena—Kieran—possessed power. Lena could feel it rippling off her as if it were a perfume she wore. What it was, she could only guess. "I've come here for a reason and I don't intend on leaving until I've accomplished it."

"What reason would that be?"

Kieran clicked her tongue. "You're a little slow, aren't you? I told you, I'm not talking about my plans. You'll find out soon enough."

"Should I be worried?"

"In what way?"

"Are you here to kill me?"

Kieran walked over to the large window, settling into a wide stance to Lena's right. "I thought about it."

"So you're not here to kill me?"

"You? No."

"Supergirl, then?"

She shrugged. "Calling for help isn't nearly as easy when someone doesn't reveal their intentions, isn't it?" She turned and Lena retracted her hand from her phone. "I've made no threat. Why are you trying to be rid of me?"

"Because even though we may not be exactly the same person, I know you. You're speaking calmly, asserting dominance in an attempt to distract me from how your jaw feathers when you think. You're planning on doing something here, but fortunately for you, I still have no idea what that may be."

Kieran turned. "I'll admit, that's impressive. I guess I should have suspected my doppleganger could have spotted my tell, but I'm impressed nonetheless."

"What the hell do you want with my earth?"

"I've been working with someone to eliminate a threat to our plans, and I believe you're the key in completing this."

Lena looked down her nose at Kieran, her hands now curled into fists under her folded arms. "I'm not interested."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "He said you'd say that." Kieran turned and approached Lena. "He also said that you didn't need to agree for you to be of use to us."

Lena backed up, side-eyeing Kieran warily as she continued to walk closer. She flinched as her back touched the balcony railing, the city below beckoning her over the edge. Lena reached for the knife-pin holding her bun together, but Kieran pounced, immobilizing her arm at her side, a sharp pain piercing Lena's chest. She looked down to see a small sphere branching off in multiple directions, like a spider, buried in her skin. Then, a blue light blinked and the device started beeping.

Kieran pulled Lena to her, her mouth brushing Lena's ear as she hissed, "Call for your lover."

Then Lena was being shoved over the balcony railing and freefalling toward the quickly approaching street below.

"Supergirl!" Lena shouted, hoping with all her heart, Kara could hear her. Within a second, a blur of blue and red shot across the city. Kara caught her in the air, but before Lena could allow herself to smile, she pointed to the device buried in her chest. "Bomb!"

Kara's face paled, but she whispered a quick apology before ripping the spider-like device from Lena. Lena grimaced, but didn't feel much pain.

In the following second, the beeping stopped.

….

There was no time.

Kara dropped Lena onto the balcony below and then shot up into the sky. She'd barely made it above the skyscrapers when the bomb went off. Kara hugged the bomb to her chest, wrapping her cape around the exposed side, and absorbed the impact. Heat coursed through her, her breath cut short. The blast had been contained, but when Kara looked at the debris left behind, she struggled to comprehend what she saw.

The entire front of her body had been pierced by shards of Kryptonite. It only took a moment for the disbelief to fade and the pain to take over. If her blood was gasoline, then the Kryptonite had set a match to it. The burning was more excruciating than broken bones, sharper than being pierced with a blade. It was a pain that consumed her, wrapping every fiber within her in green poison. As Kara fought for each breath, the shards of Kryptonite shifted in her muscles, sparking a new kind of agony. Just when the briefest thought crossed her mind, amazed at how she managed to stay in the air, she felt the debilitating effects of the rock take over. Her body grew heavy, and within a too-short breath, Kara was falling.