In the end, Lena didn't use Truth Seekers. She did, however, ask J'onn to wait in the next room while she spoke to Lex and Lillian - just in case. He agreed to read their surface thoughts, only their reactions to her news and nothing too deep or private. He would also be able to help her if there was going to be any trouble.

She invited Lex and Lillian to her home, at a time when she knew Kara would be busy at CatCo. Lillian would have would have laid out fancy food and drinks, then taken her time getting to the point. Lex would have switched between a dozen different topics, until she was so unbalanced she would be unprepared for the truth.

Lena waited until they were seated, and came straight to the point.

"I'm dating Kara."

Lex raised an eyebrow and watched for his mother's reaction. Lillian frowned, then tilted her head as if waiting for a further explanation.

"I'm not coming back to work for you, either."

Lillian sighed, "Lena you're family, of course you'll continue to work with us. As for whatever is going on between you and the Kryptonian, can you really trust her? Is she responsible for this decision? We know what is best for you, dear..."

"I'm an adult, I know what is best for me."

"And throwing away your family and your career..."

"That isn't what this is about."

"Then what..."

Lex placed a hand on his mother's arm, "I believe Lena has a few other things she wishes to share with us first. Perhaps we should hear her out."

"Oh and I suppose you already know all of this and just forgot to mention it to me?" Lillian glared at her son, who shrugged and tried not to smile.

They turned back to Lena, who was trying to stay calm. Only the fact that J'onn hadn't revealed himself reassured her that she didn't need to worry. Yet.

"I'm going to start my own company, a non-profit so you don't have to consider me your competition. I just want to tinker with a few ideas, work on things that can help other people, go back to the work I started before I re-branded to LCorp on my Earth. This way I can set my own hours, not be tied to demands for results to a keep a few shareholders happy and work around Jora."

"We can set you up with lab space and everything you need," Lex offered.

"So you can sell whatever I come up with to the highest bidder? Or drop by and tell me where I'm going wrong? No. When Jora is older, I might take on some freelance work - collaborate with the DEO on some of their projects, but that's it."

"Cutting ties with us as well?"

"Only if you can't accept my new family."

"Of course we accept you and Jora," Lillian smiled, "you'll always be Luthors."

"And Kara?"

"Do you really expect that to last? She's an alien, you don't even know..."

"Kara is Jora's other biological parent."

Lillian opened her mouth as if to reply, then closed it as she processed the new information.

"Lex?" Lena turned to her brother, "do you have anything to say?"

"Stubbornness is a Luthor trait."

Lena put her hands on her hips, "you know that's not what I meant."

"Jora is still my niece. I would have preferred you choose a human to fall in love with, and although I don't think Supergirl is good enough for you I suppose there were worse candidates for you to choose from."

"But Kara is a girl, how..." Lillian finally managed to speak.

"Mother," Lex shook his head, "I'm not sure Lena is comfortable discussing that biological anomaly with us, and as her brother I am not comfortable hearing about it."

Lena smiled, somewhat relieved with his answer, "I just wanted you both to know that I love Kara and she loves me. We're going to start openly dating, which will mean some press coverage thanks to the Luthor name, but her Supergirl identity will remain a secret. As far as anyone else will know, I am dating Kara Danvers."

She waited for the information to sink in. Lex was the first to speak up.

"If you won't work with me at our family company, I must insist that you continue to work with the DEO. You can choose flexible hours to fit around Jora, but..."

"What part of no..."

"You don't understand what's at stake!" Lex finally raised his voice.

Lena took a step back. Although Lex's temper was worse when he acted calmly, because he would be able to think of something to say or do that would hurt her, she'd always felt a greater fear when he raised his voice.

"Children, please," Lillian stepped between them. "This is no way for Luthor's to act."

"No, that's exactly how Luthor's act, ordering other people around," Lena reminded her. "Only this time I'm not backing down."

"Then don't come crying to me when there's blood on your hands."

"Are you threatening me?" Lena wondered why J'onn hadn't come out yet to back her up.

"No, I'm trying to warn you but you just won't listen."

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

"Well go on then."

"You've got more brains than the rest of the DEO put together, maybe with the exception of Brainy. We need you working with the DEO, helping us to prepare for future alien threats..."

"Not this again. What do you have against aliens?"

"The ones currently on Earth, or the ones still out there preparing to destroy us?"

Lena closed her eyes, "I don't know why I keep thinking you'll change..."

"When I travelled across the multi-verse to all those different Earths I saw things. Not every Earth was like this one. You know there are beings out there with the technology to destroy our planet with the push of a button."

"But they haven't done it."

"Not yet. That's why I need you working with the DEO to help defend us. To help keep Jora safe."

"That is not fair Lex. You can't use my daughter to..."

"Do you want to know the percentage of alternate universes where Earth no longer exists, or where humans are no longer free to live on their own planet?"

"J'onn!" Lena finally called for him, needing Lex to stop talking.

The sight of J'onn emerging from the next room didn't faze Lex, though Lillian looked surprised.

"I thought you'd have Kara hovering in the background, ready to rush out and protect you," Lex told her.

"I think you should leave," J'onn suggested.

"Not until Lena understands..."

J'onn walked over to Lex, took hold of his arm and started walking him towards the door. Lex didn't struggle, but when J'onn opened the door he turned back to his sister.

"I thought you'd want to help protect our planet."

With that, he left. Lena let out a sigh of relief.

"He's crazy," she directed the comment to J'onn, then turned to Lillian before he could respond.

"Crazy or not, your brother is right. If the DEO is going to protect Earth they'll need both of you to help."

"If he really cared, he'd employ more aliens to help him. Being open to their technology, to collaborating with them... The DEO has collected and confiscated technology from dozens of worlds but Lex won't authorise enough staff to analyse it all. He could be sitting on the very technology he wants and not be aware of it."

"Would you like me to suggest that role for you? If you took the lead on it, he might let you hire more staff and if you're in charge of that department you could fit your hours around Jora."

"If I do that, Lex gets what he wants. Again."

"Put aside the past for a moment, forget that it's even Lex asking you this. Pretend it's someone, anyone, else... This one for example." Lillian indicated J'onn. "If he came to you, claiming to have knowledge of an impending alien attack and asked for your help, what would you do?"

Lena didn't answer. She didn't have to, they all knew.

Lillian nodded, "I'll talk to him. See if he'll open up a little more about the specific dangers he's worried about. I hate it when he keeps secrets from me, but he isn't going to change."

Lillian didn't stay much longer and once she was gone, Lena thanked J'onn and let him go too.

Kara wrapped her arms around Lena as they snuggled up on the sofa, Jora was napping in another room and they were listening to music on a low volume, to help Lena relax.

"I thought they'd put up a fuss about us dating, but they just focused on getting me to work with Lex," Lena told her.

"J'onn told me what he said, do you believe him?"

"A lot of aliens have already found this planet and not tried to destroy it. Just because it happened to other Earth's doesn't mean we're in danger too."

"So you're not going to take him up on the offer to work at the DEO?"

"I've got a chance to start over, to create things without the pressure of LuthorCorp shareholders and their deadlines, and I..." Lena closed her eyes, "I'm tired of fighting Lex or trying to prove how smart I am to him. Working with him, or for him isn't what I want right now. Back on Argo I remembered how it felt to have a healthy balance between work and life. I took breaks, not just because I was pregnant but because I could."

"Then that's what you should do," Kara agreed. "The DEO has Brainy and Alex, and I believe in them."

"Me too," Lena gently kissed Kara's cheek. "And I believe in you more than anyone else. You're brave, and smart and kind."

Kara blushed, still delighted when Lena complimented her, "all those things describe you too."

Lena smiled, "I love you."

Kara kissed her and Lena wrapped her arms around the blonde's neck to hold her close. Then they laid together on the sofa for a while, Kara running her fingers through Lena's hair, listening to the music again.

"Would you like to stay here tonight?" Lena asked as the track changed, twisting her neck to look up at Kara for her reaction.

Kara looked surprised, then pleased at the question, "yes! I mean, if you..."

Instead of verbally re-assuring Kara what she meant, Lena sat up from the sofa and held out her hand. Kara took it and Lena led her to the bedroom, switching the music off as they passed the controls.