Lena was surprised to see Leo still up and at work. She had turned in after they had built the tuner and left Hope with the task of finding the right frequency to run the device with. "You're up early."
"I couldn't sleep well. I'm too used to Kara's snoring." Lena opened her mouth slightly before closing it unsure of what to say and a little surprised the woman of steel snored. "It's not super loud, I just am used to it. You know how some people listen to waves to calm them down? It's sort of like that, it sounds odd I know." He rubbed the side of his face.
Before Lena could reply her cell phone rang and after answering it with a simple. "Hello." There was a pause. "Of course Alex, I'll be right over."
Leo pointed toward the device. "So the frequency Lex provided in his journals is wrong and honestly even with Hope's A.I. computing power, there are hundreds of thousands of variables to find the correct frequency it's time neither of us have."
"I may have an expedited solution, Leo. Alex has just asked me to assist the D.E.O in apprehending a rouge Green Martian, Malefic, J'onn J'onzz's brother. Apparently, he has the ability to override another person's thoughts with his own. If we were able to harness Malefic's abilities, we could use them to determine what frequency is needed to implant thoughts into the brain." Lena had a small smirk on her lips she definitely seemed pleased as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Leo raised his index finger up pointing toward Lena. "Yes, but that would require us to detain him and Kara would never let us do that. She wouldn't approve of it."
"No, she would not." However, Lena didn't seem fazed at all by this obstacle.
"How are you going to capture a Green Martian without her knowing?" Of course, he recognized that look in her eyes. She was devoted and this wouldn't stop her, she'd find a way. How? He wasn't sure but Lena wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted. They both had that same drive when they were faced with an impossible obstacle. When they wanted something badly enough, they were driven, especially with pain as a strong motivator.
"They're using a projector to send him into a prison called the Phantom Zone so all I need to do is make a slight adjustment and send him here." Lena explained and the plan was nothing short of brilliance. No wonder she was so calm and collected.
"That will work. Well then let's go capture a Green Martian."
Leo could feel the pounding headache as he slowly sat up with his hand holding his head. He groaned painfully, what the hell happened? His eyes soon focused on who was opposite him; it was Kara, in her Supergirl suit but she was collapsed on the floor unconscious. "Kara!" He neared her and gently shook her. "Kara, wake up." His eyes then took in his surroundings only to find that they were trapped in what appeared to be a metal container, and the only thing that lit up the container was the green glow of Kryptonite. He gritted his teeth and carefully picked Kara up in his arms. "Kara…" His hand brushed away her golden locks from her face and she soon awoke. He hadn't talked to her since she told him her secret and to be honest, he didn't know how to process that revelation. His head was spinning that Kara Danvers and Supergirl were one and the same. It threw him and it was painful to think that she didn't feel comfortable enough to tell him the truth earlier.
She immediately groaned as the pain from the Kryptonite hit her body all at once. Her hand grabbed onto Leo's shirt. "Leo…where are we?"
"Trapped, but apparently life and death situations are sort of our thing." He soon was cut off as his brother's voice filled the container.
"Ah, I see you two are awake. I do hope you appreciate the ambiance of the Kryptonite. It does give it a homelike feel." Leo gritted his teeth. "Until you two are dead, that is. Any burial requests?"
"Yeah, how about you rotting in the deepest hole I can put you in?!" It was then that the container began to fill up with water. Leo's eyes widened, things were looking bleak and the odds of them surviving were slim.
"I'm afraid not. I do hope you die quickly dear brother, along with the Kryptonian." Lex said before disconnecting the feed.
Leo's eyes frantically searched around trying to find an escape but it seemed his brother had considered everything. The Kryptonite to keep Kara weakened so she couldn't break them out of the metal container. "I didn't mean for both of us to be put in this situation. Especially with us fighting." She knew the odds of them being rescued in time were slim. J'onn and Alex would not give up but this was Lex. Lex wouldn't make things easy.
"Well…I know you didn't mean to keep your secret identity for so long." Leo sighed his eyes locked with her blue eyes. "I-I still am upset, it's not easy for me to open up to people, Kara. But I… I am beginning to understand why you kept it. I forgive you. I will always love you, Kara." The water was already waist-high by now and Leo had his arms around Kara. "How are you holding up?"
Kara sighed, "I never meant to hurt you. I just was scared that because of everyone else in your life that had lied to you, I was going to be lumped in with them. I love you too Leo." She then shrugged when he asked her how she was holding up, she'd been dealing with it Kryptonite for years. "Oh, the Kryptonite…. Just peachy…" Her arms hung onto Leo tightly gritting her teeth. Her arms wrapped around his neck.
"I suppose ending like this isn't so bad…" His brother just might finally do it, kill Supergirl, and himself. There were worse ways to die and they wouldn't be alone.
"It's not over yet. Besides, there's still time we'll be found." Kara, still being as hopeful as she could in these circumstances.
The water crept up over time, getting higher and higher until it was just under their chins, and Leo and Kara were pressed up against the top of the metal crate. "They're really… cutting things close." He muttered before taking a deep breath along with Kara as the water completely filled the container. Kryptonians could hold their breath longer and if Kara survived, that would be enough.
When it seemed like there would be no rescue, the container was forced open while Nia, J'onn, Brainy, and Alex stood on the outside. Nia used her energy to materialize what looked like a whip latching onto one side while J'onn had his arms on the other side, and with their combined strength they forced a hole into the container. Water came gushing out and Kara's hand soon emerged with her free arm pulling Leo out. She gasped, taking in much-needed air into her lungs. "Kara!" Alex rushed toward her sister helping her with Leo and after setting him down on the concrete floor, Kara began to blow breaths into Leo's lungs.
"Leo, wake up… you can't leave me." She began to push her palms down firmly, giving compressions to his chest before blowing in again and then again. When Leo's eyes opened, he coughed up water onto the ground. He groaned and soon Kara enveloped him in a tight hug.
"Kara… too tight." He grunted.
"I'm sorry…" Kara loosened her grip, her hands resting on either side of Leo's face. "I thought you had…"
"Not yet…" Leo smiled before he felt Kara press a kiss against his lips.
Leo was examining the Green Martian through the camera feed. Lena and Leo had designed his cell to prevent him from phasing through the walls. Still, it was his ability to incept that was very dangerous. It was clear from the moment Lena and Hope attempted to probe the Martian's brain, it backfired. At the moment he had inhibitors blocking his ability. He could almost sense Lena behind him feeling her eyes glued onto his back. His arms crossed over his chest. "How's Hope?"
"She's finally not under his control. Probing his mind had unexpected results."
"Yeah, you're not going to break his mental block, it's too strong even with the inhibitors. He needs to be willing." It was clear Malefic was highly skilled in his abilities. Getting this Martian to be willing wasn't going to be easy. He was completely driven by revenge, he wanted his brother dead and nothing else mattered.
"I just need to convince him that it is in his best interests to assist me." Lena stated before walking into the lab approaching the Martian. She was so close to success, she wouldn't be stopped by this Martian. She walked toward the force field separating Malefic and herself and stood in front of him.
His eyes opened, "Approaching me while I'm still conscious," His head turned and he smirked at her. "How thoughtful of you."
"It seems we have gotten off on the wrong foot." Lena began to walk pacing slowly in front of the force field. "So I have a proposition. You have the ability to incept thoughts into people's minds. I want to study your brain, so I can develop a technology that can do the same thing." No point in lying she might as well tell him what she wanted.
The man scoffed and slowly sat up. "Forgive my skepticism, but the last time someone showed interest in my brain, the High Council sent me to the Phantom Zone."
"You'd be back in the Phantom Zone if it wasn't for me." Lena snapped, why couldn't he understand she wasn't an enemy. She would be a greater ally than an enemy.
"And yet, now we are at an impasse. What's in it for me?"
Lena paused in her step her eyebrow rising slightly, "We both want the same thing. We were each betrayed by the people closest to us. Work with me. I believe you have the ability to do great things."
Malefic hissed clearly he didn't have Lena's good ideals at heart. "I don't want to do great things. I want revenge. So I have a proposal for you. Martian biology prevents a brother from harming his brother. That's why I've been attacking the people closest to J'onn J'onzz. If you remove this barrier from my brain so I can kill my brother, I will give you access to my mind." Leo could hear their entire conversation through the camera feed; he shook his head, either she would agree and do what he asked or she could manipulate him. Either way, Lena needed Malefic and this alien was using that knowledge to his advantage.
"It is my mission to stop people from hurting each other. I will not kill." She'd crossed that line once before with Lex, not again. She was good, she wasn't the villain of this story. Things were not deemed clearly as black and white. She knew some things that she'd done others would deem her a villain. At least she was striving to prevent things like murder and betrayal from happening in the future.
"Perhaps." Malefic smirked knowing he left this human no choice but to assist him. "But you've gone to extreme measures to bring me here. And now, you are at the precipice. Studying my mind is the key. I know of desperation, human. I know the depths you feel."
"I would have to develop the technology first." Lena turned her back to him then promptly answered. "Your terms are acceptable. Let's get to work." Leo smirked, Malefic believed Lena wholeheartedly but he saw the subtle hints. She had no intention of allowing him to murder his brother. Poor fool, he'd be utterly furious when he realized Lena's true intentions. She wasn't afraid to take risks, and stuck to her own moral code just like himself. They were similar in more ways than one.
He knew that this Project Non Nocere was born from Kara's betrayal, her lie. Both Kara's had lied but one major difference was that his Kara had told him the truth. Lena's Kara, hadn't. Lex revealed that truth with his dying words. Leo grimaced, the thought of finding that truth from his own Lex made him sick. So going with that information, he saw Lena struggle with this hurt, and the only way she dealt with it was to bury it. Bury it with anger, with her senseless project since she hadn't come to terms with it as he had.
He'd spent weeks apart from Kara and it was only after that and her repeated attempts at calling him to explain, did he finally understand. That he finally forgave her because she was worth it, she deserved a second chance. She'd forgiven all the mistakes he'd made, he should at least forgive her.
Lena though, he got the sense that this was more than just the loss of a friendship, no, this connection to Kara was grounding for Lena. She must clearly feel strongly for Kara, but has not fully come to terms with it. With a friend, yes that would indeed hurt, but with someone you deeply cared for, someone you loved? That pain. That pain would be crushing. He couldn't let her throw away a relationship, Lena deserved to find happiness. He'd found it, so why couldn't his doppelganger have that same chance?
Lena didn't come out of the lab until well into the late hours of the night. She walked up into the living room finding Leo sitting on the couch with a glass of scotch in one hand. Lena poured herself two fingers before sliding out of her heels and sitting beside her doppelganger. "How's it going?"
She slowly took a small sip. "Hmmm well… very well. I'm going to test the limits of his powers tomorrow morning. Testing that should allow me to find the perfect frequency." Her eyes focused on Leo, but he seemed to be elsewhere, or rather he wished he was somewhere else. "You really do love her don't you?"
A small appeared on his lips. "I do, she's my best friend and I love everything about her. Even that little crinkle she gets right between her eyebrows. I don't feel like I have to prove anything to her, she knows everything about me. Knows all the horrible things I've done. Inspired me to do better, be a better man. I'm not perfect and she's not either but I wouldn't change her no matter what." Leo took another sip from his glass. "I'll get home to her. We've been in worse spots than this. Being separated by another Earth is nothing."
Lena said nothing, but his words only made her think about Kara. She was her best friend as well and she thought that they'd… they'd always be friends. She never considered the fact that she'd ever lose Kara in this way. That she'd be like everyone else who'd lied to her. She thought Kara was different. Part of her did miss her though. Lena took another drink attempting to drown out her thoughts.