Emma opens the door to Granny's, allowing Regina to sashay inside first. For the first time ever, the dinky diner is empty, except for one larger than life presence, stealing Regina's breath away. It's only a red cape and a waterfall of sunshine curls but Regina and Emma appear to be speechless. Then, Supergirl whirls around, her folded arms untangling so she can mount her fists upon her hips in the most intimidating way (if it weren't for the brightest smile shining from her face).
"There you are," Supergirl gleefully breathes, confidently strutting closer to wrap Regina up in a bear hug. "I missed you."
Regina hesitates for a split second but then her arms are moving all on their own, slipping beneath the cape to feel that powerful suit beneath her fingertips. She was expecting something hard, sturdy, not this soft mesh material that's breathable and easy to maneuver in.
"Supergirl," Emma flatly says, inspiring Regina to break apart the lingering hug. "What are you doing here? We just sent you back."
"I know," the hero solemnly answers, crossing her arms across her chest again, showing off those deliciously sculpted biceps.
Emma scoffs to herself. Delicious biceps are her thing, she knows this.
"Where's Lena?" Regina nervously questions when she realizes the hero is alone.
This is when Kara Danvers makes an appearance in the hero; from blushing cheeks, twiddling fingers and a babbling mouth. "Umm, well, she's-she's back on our planet. Look, um, we need your help."
"Anything," Regina reflexively replies, persuading Kara's smile to brighten once again.
"Are you three almost done?" Granny abruptly interrupts, appearing from a swinging door carrying empty coffee pots with Ruby in tow.
"Granny, be nice," Ruby sighs. "Are you guys hungry? We don't open for another twenty minutes but I could whip something up."
"Sorry," Supergirl sheepishly says. "I don't know why I thought this was a twenty-four hours diner. I thought I could come here and wait before I called and woke you up." Sparkling blue eyes drift to Emma in amusement. "Lucky for me you two were together, huh?" She playfully teases.
Emma plants her hands upon her hips, attempting to project her stern sheriff persona but it's freaking Supergirl and nobody is going to intimidate her.
"We are good, Rubes. Now, what can we do for you?" The sheriff unsmilingly investigates.
"Right." Supergirl grows serious, her hands fidgeting to her hips once again. "When we arrived home, a really close friend of ours was waiting for us. She said she had been trying to reach us and she didn't know who to turn to. She explained that she had been experiencing blackouts, moments of the day she couldn't remember and things her daughter claimed that she had said but she couldn't recall."
Supergirl takes a moment to gather her thoughts, visibly expressing how torn up she is by the situation.
"I'm so sorry," Regina whispers, clasping onto a strong elbow and generating a pathetic smile from the hero.
"That's not the worst part," Supergirl scoffs. "Lena and Alex took our friend, Sam, to the labs at L-Corp, which is Lena's company," she rambles and Regina smiles fondly. "They ran every test imaginable and then Lena started piecing things together. Like how Sam's blackouts were occurring when Reign would attack the city. Sam's DNA and genetic makeup completely changes when Reign takes over her body."
"Shit," Emma mutters under her breath.
"Right?" Supergirl enthusiastically agrees, tossing her arms hopelessly into the air before she starts nervously pacing. "And we can't just kill her, she's our friend and we can't lock her up either, she has a daughter."
"No, no you can't do that," Regina mindlessly agrees while her brain kicks into defensive mode to formulate a plan.
Supergirl halts her pacing, stepping right in front of the magical beings before her. "Is there anything you can think of magically that can rip that demon out of Sam without hurting her?"
Emma snaps her neck to Regina as well, waiting for an answer she knows her highly intelligent girlfriend will come up with because she's not well versed with spells. Both blondes hold their breath, waiting on pins and needles as a realization washes over the former queen.
"Emma, call your parents, ask them to watch Henry and drop him off at their apartment. Meet me in my vault in twenty minutes," Regina states before she flicks her wrists, vanishing herself and taking the superhero along with her.
"Coffee?" Ruby retorts, holding up a fresh pot.
"God, yes," Emma grumbles. "I'm not ready to fight a super-villain from one of Henry's comics with a Luthor and a Super."
XXXX
First and foremost, Regina needed to pay a visit to a certain librarian heavily guarding Rumpelstiltskin's shop. Luckily, Belle didn't comment on the comic book hero standing beside her and retrieved exactly what Regina needed, no questions asked. So, after that visit, she transported herself and Supergirl to her vault to retrieve her mother's spell book. Yesterday she had magically made a copy of the book, purposely leaving out certain spells that she knew would be too complicated for Lena.
She quickly gathers many potions and ingredients she may need for this plan to successfully work with the help of her friend. Even though Kara is very busy inspecting the cold and "creepy" as she called it, vault.
"So, you traveled here alone?" Regina prods, neatly placing fragile glass bottles into a sturdy, handcrafted box.
"No, of course not," Supergirl firmly declares before Kara makes another appearance. "Brainy and J'onn are here, at the town line," she quietly confesses while her cheeks explode with color.
"Kara."
"What?" She squeaks, flipping through the spell book just so she has something to do with her hands.
"You're a terrible liar."
"Tell that to Lena," Kara exasperates under her breath.
"Did things not go according to plan when you two spoke?"
"We...we-uh, didn't get to talk..." Regina immediately stops her task at hand and quirks up one curious eyebrow. "Ugh, why do you both do that?" Kara groans, slamming the book back down on the table.
"So in the twenty hours you were gone, you didn't speak to Lena about the kiss in the middle of Main Street?" Regina proceeds to fish for more information.
"No," Kara confesses through an annoyed exhale. "It's only like a twenty minute trip back and then Sam was there and needed our help and then we were arguing and I know I can be stubborn sometimes but god, she's so...so...ugh..."
"What happened to cause an argument?"
Kara's frantic eyes instantly drop to the table below. She nervously picks up the item they retrieved from Belle to fiddle with but Regina quickly snatches it away.
"You're just as reckless as Emma," Regina scoffs, carefully placing the cube back down. She folds her arms across her chest and narrows her gaze upon the hero, making Supergirl feel quite small despite her height advantage. "What happened?"
"Ugh, it was so ridiculous...I didn't even know she was mad at me until it was too late." Regina's glare hardens causing Supergirl to deflate. "Fine. Fine. Once we knew Reign was inside Sam we needed a way to contain her in an area in case Reign decided to come out and play. Lena...I'm still mad just thinking about it, but she told us she had kryptonite which would work because Reign is from Krypton."
"Alright," Regina says slowly as she tries to follow along.
"I don't understand why she would have kryptonite just lying around. That's the one thing that can take me down. The one thing! And then she argued that many things can take her down but she still gets in a car every day and we still have guns. But it's not the same to me, that stuff is made to torture me. And then she said I have some God complex which freaking hurt, probably more than the kryptonite. And then to top it all off, she told me it wasn't even her psychopath brother's, it was hers. She discovered the formula to make kryptonite!" Kara tosses her arms into the air, flustered and maybe out of breath if that sort of thing could happen to the alien.
"Kara, honey-"
"No, and then I demanded that she turn it all over to Alex, anything that can be used to make it and she told me no. No! That if this ever happened again, she needed a way to protect the planet. But I'm here! I'm right here, that's literally my job!"
"Yes, but can't you see that Reign almost killed you and sometimes even you need help. She's just making sure she has a backup plan if need be."
"I know," the hero exhales heavily. "And I realized that a little too late, kryptonite...it's just a knee-jerk reaction for me, you know? It makes me see red and I tried to apologize and tell her that I overreacted and that I don't like secrets and then she really got mad. She was all, that's the pot calling the kettle black," Kara says in an accent that Regina assumes must be her Lena impression...a very poor one. "And then she exploded at me for lying to her our entire friendship about being Supergirl-"
"Wait, Lena didn't know you were Supergirl?"
Kara squirms under the weight of the question. "Umm, no. Well, not until Reign dropped me off the building. I guess when I was half beaten to death I resembled Kara more than Supergirl. I don't know. She put it together then. Ugh, are you gonna be mad at me about it too now? Look, I just-"
Regina holds up her palm, instantly silencing those babbling lips. "I am well versed on keeping an alternate identity a secret. I kept my Evil Queen persona hidden for twenty-eight years and lied to Emma for months before finally confessing who I really was. I understand the need for someone to see you as one and not the other."
"Yes, thank you," Supergirl sighs in relief. "It was nice to have someone who just saw Kara and not need the hero. And I really, really, was trying to protect her. If something happened to her because of who I am..." she trails off, shaking her head and finding something else to fiddle with on the table. "Plus, it was really cute how she would act all superior and in control, like she could protect Kara from the world," she wistfully divulges, shrugging so innocently. "But now she's all mad at me and I don't know what to do to fix it."
"Talk. That's all you can do."
"Regina?" Emma hollers, rushing down the concrete stairs and unknowingly ending the private conversation. "Hey, Henry's with my parents. You two ready?"
"Of course," Regina answers, moving to gather her supplies until a travel coffee mug is thrusted into her space.
"I got you a coffee, thought you could use it," Emma sweetly declares. "I can take that stuff for you."
"Thank you, dear," Regina whispers, accepting the coffee while placing a delicate kiss to the corner of her lover's mouth.
Kara blushes, her eyes instantly falling to the floor so she doesn't seem intrusive.
"To the town line?" Emma anxiously asks.
"To the town line," Regina confirms and then flicks her wrists.
Kara's pretty sure she will never get used to the nauseating feeling of magical transportation. Vomiting on her super suit would not be a good look.
XXXX
A twenty minute flight to Earth-38, a fifteen minute drive to L-Corp from the DEO, and Supergirl was back in Lena's lab with two magical heroes. When they arrived, Reign had completely taken over, red, fiery lasers shooting from her eyes, desperately attempting to escape the glass walls Lena had confined her in. Emma had immediately jumped beside Regina, both women in a stance that screamed they were ready for battle, luckily, the kryptonite had worked and for now, the villain wrapped in black leather was trapped.
Alex was standing beside the see-through cage, hopelessly chatting away to coax Sam back to the forefront of her mind and plush Reign out altogether. One name was on her lips, Ruby, and Emma and Regina could only assume that was Sam's daughter.
Lena tosses her tablet down, provoking Kara and Emma to wince in unison. "This is absolute torture," she complains, heels angrily clicking away as she ignores Reign's tantrum.
"Talk," Regina whispers in Kara's ear as Emma shoves the hero toward Lena's direction across the lab.
Kara clenches and unclenches her fists several times before she carefully approaches her friend like some abandoned stray cat. "Um, hey..." she tentatively whispers, "how are you?"
Lena glares, unimpressed and oozing boiling frustration. "Really, Kara, that's your opening?"
"How about, you were right. We needed the kryptonite to contain Reign."
"Until the next time you feel threatened and accuse me of trying to obliterate you," Lena snaps, causing Kara to flinch once again.
"They seem oddly familiar," Emma mumbles directly in Regina's ear so nobody else in the room can hear.
"It's like looking in a mirror," Regina deadpans before leading Emma toward a vacant table where she can begin creating her potion.
"Lena please," Kara begs, stealing a step forward and lowering her voice, "I swear, I trust you. I know I lash out when kryptonite is brought up but I'm so sorry, I didn't mean anything personal. I promise you, I trust you. I know you would never use that against me but that doesn't mean that someone else couldn't find it, steal it and try to kill me," she whines, silently praying that Lena will forgive her because she really can't stand the thought of this amazing woman not in her life.
"Don't you think I know that, Kara," Lena exasperates, whirling around on her heels and stomping away toward some blank wall.
To say Kara is confused is the understatement of the century but everyone else seems to be preoccupied with Reign to notice them. Lena places her hand against absolutely nothing and Kara's eyes double in size as the wall slides open just far enough for Lena to step through. She's gone for a split second before she is viciously stomping toward Kara, the wall closing behind her.
"I know Supergirl has every right to fear kryptonite but I need to know that I have something to protect myself when push comes to shove," Lena bitterly explains before roughly snatching Kara's hand and placing a small device inside. "I'm only human, Kara, and no matter how many weights I lift, I could never come close to the power you possess. My ability to create kryptonite has nothing to do with you, this is about me."
Kara swallows thickly, her heart anxious and pounding in sync with Lena's angry heart. She quickly glances down to where Lena's hand covers whatever device resting in her palm. "Lena-"
"Contrary to belief, I don't want anything to ever happen to you, Supergirl," Lena firmly demands, very seriously holding onto Kara's gaze.
And it's the first time that Lena is acknowledging Kara as Supergirl, creating this unexplainable desire to explode within her. She wants to shoot through the roof and fly a few times around the Earth, she doesn't do that. She wants to toss Lena on top of the nearest desk and kiss her with every fiber of her being, she doesn't do that.
Instead, she swallows and whispers, "I'm so sorry, for everything."
Lena nods just once and takes the red block back. Kara wants to protest, wants to interview the scientist like a good reporter would but all words leave her brain when she watches Lena place the item against the S upon her chest. Kara inhales sharply, her brain programmed to always expect the worst but then she meets those watery green eyes before her and sees nothing but sincerity and maybe love. She melts.
She's not entirely sure what she is witnessing as it leaks from the crimson box but soon it's spreading across her suit, molding, melding, becoming one with the material upon her chest. She watches in awe as more of her suit morphs into a new kind of suit, covering her arms, spilling down to her legs and crawling up until she has some kind of helmet over her head. She inspects the new suit and blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.
"Pants!"
Lena cracks a smile and nods. "Anti-kryptonite suit, made just for you, Supergirl."
Kara is overwhelmed with the amount of emotions flooding her. Her heart is hammering away with love and adoration, her brain is completely blank except for one thing, hug Lena. And so she does. She scoops her up, squeezes her tight and lifts her right off the ground, persuading a little yelp to escape the proper CEO.
"Thank you. Thank you so so much!"
Lena relaxes in the arms of Supergirl. She is no stranger to the woman of steel's arms, she has been rescued so many times by her now. It feels safe, wholly protected, secure, maybe even a little invincible. And the amount of times she has hugged Kara Danvers close, always warm, peaceful, full of love and giddiness. And now...it's all bleeding together as one. She has her favorite alien and her favorite hero all tied into one. Because after all, Kara Danvers was always her true hero.
Lena wraps her arms around Kara's neck and presses the small button hidden away there. The helmet automatically retracts but the suit remains, clinging to Supergirl's body.
"Lena, really, I can't thank you enough."
Lena buries her face in honey curls and whispers, "I can think of a few ways, but first, we defeat Reign."
Lena can distinctly hear the strenuous swallow from the hero.
"Uh, right." Kara stammers, setting Lena back down on her feet. "Right. Duty first," she sheepishly says, reaching up to fiddle with her glasses, something she is so accustomed to doing when Lena is around and making her so damn nervous.
But now she's Supergirl and there is nothing on her face to distract her from the gorgeous, flirtatious woman.
Dammit.
XXXX
"Please, she's not going to stay down for long," Sam sobs, a heap of defeated mess curled up on the cold floor. "She's not going to go without a fight, Alex. Please, I don't want to die," she wails even harder, persuading Supergirl to spin around on her heels and stomp back to where the two brunettes work side by side.
"Any progress?" Supergirl grills them once again, folding her arms angrily across her chest.
Both brunettes blink up at her before redirecting their attention back to the beakers bubbling in front of them. Neither one says a word.
"Look," Emma sighs from the chair positioned next to Regina's standing frame, "I know you're worried about your friend. I get it. I'm the kind of person who just wants to jump into action, punch someone in the nose, and be done with it." Kara purses her lips and nods firmly. "But speaking from experience, Regina needs to focus on this potion. One tiny mishap or wrong dosage and the whole thing will be a waste." Kara's eyes drift up toward the ceiling and Emma has an inkling she might be counting to ten in her head. "Take a seat."
"No, I can't. I'm too antsy."
And then Supergirl is storming off back to where Alex is trying to convince Sam or maybe herself, that everything is going to be okay.
"Stir that slowly," Regina instructs, handing Lena a thin metal rod.
Lena obeys, peeking out of the corner of her eye as the former queen rifles through all the bottles neatly lined up. She picks one containing some dark substance and if Lena didn't know any better, she would assume it was simply ink. Regina carefully sets the bottle down and uses a tiny syringe to suck out the liquid and measure it properly.
"You know, it was very hard for me to study that book you gave me," Lena says with a hint of insinuation.
"Regina, you gave her the spell book in Elvish?"
"She's a scientist, a genius," Regina deadpans before meeting Lena's curious gaze. "You're telling me you couldn't translate from the internet?"
"Oh no, I did. I'm just saying, the language made it rather difficult to understand."
"And now you'll know Elvish," is all Regina answers with.
"I suppose I will," Lena plainly replies but there is a hint of excitement in her tone that Regina is too busy to notice but Emma does.
She also notices the way Lena keeps eyeing Regina, the way she is so determined, so focused, like she wants to prove her worth to a fairytale queen. And Emma sees the glimmer of hope, the desperation of love and approval. She's been there so many times and now she understands that Lena is looking to Regina for guidance, a mentor. Emma smirks to herself and makes up some poor excuse to stand by Kara and offer them some alone time.
Regina bends down, eye level with the beaker and adds three drops of the mysterious liquid. "Keep stirring," she instructs but Lena is already on top of her task.
"I still believe this is all rather...silly. Science and magic don't mix."
"Why not? Isn't this just a chemistry set?" Regina smugly says.
"I suppose but I believe in logic and facts-"
"We are taking ingredients from a book and creating-"
"A magic potion," Lena chuckles.
"Just another form of medicine," Regina easily fires back. "I know this can be...overwhelming. I watched Emma struggle with magic for years because she was born to believe the exact opposite. I grew up with magic, sometimes I can't see anything but."
Lena nods thoughtfully, thinking of her mother and all the technology she created, not to mention her brother as well. "I suppose I shouldn't be so quick to deny when I've seen the technology my family has created."
"You built Kara an anti-kryptonite suit, a simple potion is nothing," Regina praises, watching as Lena's smile stretches from one ear to the other. "Lena, speaking of family tech, have you ever created a way to transport from one destination to another?"
"A portal," Lena vacantly supplies.
"Yes, a portal. Not just destinations but other realms..."
"Other dimensions? Planets?" She investigates, arching one eyebrow curiously. Regina eagerly nods. "Of course. I will give you one before you leave," she promises before they both fall silent for a moment. "You don't have those on your planet?"
"A magic bean, a special hat, but they are almost all extinct."
"I'll make sure you have one. Besides, I believe I might need some training in magic."
"That you do, my dear."
Their conversation is cut short when a glass shattering wail comes pouring from Sam's mouth. Lena and Regina turn their attention to the cage, watching as Sam's big brown eyes flash red.
"We're out of time," Lena calmly states despite the sheer panic rising in her chest.