Lena finally comes clean to Kara about the Kryptonite...and it goes as well as expected! Can they learn to work together before their luck runs out? And who the heck let Alex out of the Medbay?! Only one way to find out!
The DEO was surprisingly quiet considering there was a murderous Kryptonian on the loose, something Alex was all too happy to take advantage of.
Granted, Sam was actually in custody beneath L-Corp but that was a closely guarded secret and also the reason the agent was currently in the midst of a jailbreak from the Medbay. As long as Sam was in custody, the youngest Arias was left without her main support system. Alex knew she could never replace Sam, would never even dream of it. But she was more than willing to be there for the scared teen while they figured out when, or even if, they could get Sam back to her normal soccer mom persona.
Peeking her head cautiously around the corner, she heaved a sigh of relief when she found the door to her quarters and the hallway leading up to it blissfully "Supergirl free". She knew if her sister caught her limping about, with an oxygen tank in tow no less, that she would find herself strapped to a medbed for the foreseeable future! Lena's confession about her manufactured Kryptonite had Kara dragging the young Luthor off to the DEO's conference room with J'onn, leaving Alex unsupervised.
There was obviously more going on between the two young women than a simple friendship but Alex tried to give her sister the space she needed to figure things out. Though this current disagreement was sure to throw a wrench in any romantic plans for the time being.
Not wanting to push her luck, Alex limped quickly to the door, keying in her code and slipping inside before she could be discovered. She had hacked the surveillance camera outside her quarters from a tablet in the Medbay, so she knew Maggie and Rowan were on their way to the mess hall leaving Ruby in the room alone. The teen had been sulkily going over her missed work from school when Alex snuck through the door, eyes wild as if she was being chased!
"Alex!" Ruby was understandably surprised to see her hero slipping through the door stealthily when she was supposed to be resting in the Medbay. The teen was immediately on her feet and rushing towards Alex, arms widespread.
"Hey kid." Alex replied with a lazy smile, happy to receive the near crushing hug. A muffled sniffle was all the warning she got before Ruby started sobbing into her chest!
"I thought…I thought Mom…she hurt you!" The teen wailed into Alex's sweatshirt, unable to stop the tears from flowing.
Alex clumsily maneuvered them over to the couch, wanting to comfort the younger girl but already feeling the effects of her injuries. When they finally collapsed onto the couch, she set her oxygen tank aside and wrapped both arms tightly around the girl.
"I'm okay, kid. Everything's gonna be okay. A few broken bones can't keep me down."
At the mention of her injuries Ruby jumped back as if she'd been burned! "You're hurt! I'm sorry I hugged you so tight!"
Alex gave her that trademark lazy smile, pulling the girl back into a slightly softer hug. "It's all good, kid. I've had worse. Though don't let Maggie hear me say that!" She added with a rueful chuckle.
"Scout's honor." Ruby held two fingers up in a mock salute. Alex couldn't help but laugh at the girl's antics. "So, ummm…" The teen quickly grew somber and Alex could tell the girl's thoughts had turned to her mother.
"She's okay, Rubes. Your Aunt Lena is doing everything she can to figure out what happened and as soon as they spring me, I'm gonna do everything in my power to help her get your mom home. I promise."
Ruby nodded sullenly, slumping against the older woman, taking comfort in her presence. "Hey Alex?"
"Yeah, kid?"
"Do you think…? Am I gonna become like my mom?"
"What do you mean? Like super smart and kinda dorky?" Alex teased, trying to add some levity to the moment. "You're definitely gonna be tall! Cuz, Sam is like freakishly tall."
"She is not!" Ruby pushed the older woman playfully. "Maybe you're just short?"
"Nah, that's not it."
"Hey Alex?"
"Yeah, kid?" The agent answered with a good-natured sigh.
"You're not supposed to be out of the Medbay, are you?"
"Nope."
"Alex!"
"I had to make sure you were okay. It wasn't even that far and I brought my oxygen with me."
Ruby's eyes darted from Alex's face down to the cannister on the floor, having missed the contraption in her earlier distress. "We have to get you back to the Medbay right now!"
"In a minute," Alex mumbled, feeling more drained by the minute. "For now, how about some cuddles?"
Alex's eyes were already closed, her arms wrapped loosely around the teen as she sunk further into the cushions. Ruby was torn, knowing that her mentor was hurting but also seeking the comfort the older woman was offering.
"Okay," the teen conceded, cuddling closer. "Just for a little bit then I'm calling Maggie or Aunt Kara."
"You got it kid."
The atmosphere in the conference room was tense.
Kara had, predictably, flown off the handle and dragged J'onn into the mess to boot! Even if Kara was wrong, her surrogate father was loathe to admit it, and so Lena found herself hopelessly outnumbered. She wished she had insisted Alex tag along as the eldest Danvers had at least seen the value of her invention.
"Is it true that you have been subduing Samantha with a controlled substance?"
Lena glared at J'onn, offended by his question.
She was only trying to help and yet here she was facing an inquisition. They were all still reeling from the revelation that Samantha Arias and Reign were one in the same, and yet here they were fighting over methodologies. Lena was determined to get past the unpleasant nature of this current meeting so they could get back to the task of saving Sam.
"Ms. Luthor?" J'onn pressed, arms crossed tightly over his massive chest. Lena didn't miss how intentionally formal he was being with her. It hurt more than she cared to admit.
"Yes. I have been working on a cure for my friend who has been infected by the parasite Reign. And yes, in order to contain the violent nature of said parasitic entity, I employed the use of Kryptonite."
"Which you made?" Lena almost flinched as Kara's voice cut through the tension in the room. Up until this point, the Super had done little more than scowl, the 'Danvers Crinkle' prominent on her brow.
"When I acquired L-Corp, I discovered that my brother had many hidden labs working on anti-Kryptonian projects. It was in one of these abandoned sites that I encountered the formula for Kryptonite."
"And you didn't think to turn it over to the proper authorities?" J'onn inquired angrily.
"And whom might that be?" Lena challenged; one eyebrow angled high. "Why would I turn L-Corp's assets over to a government agency that has already left itself defenseless by removing the one thing that can bring Reign to her knees? You forget Director; I am merely a consultant here. Neither I nor L-Corp has any obligation to the DEO and my first and only priority is Sam."
"Your only priority?" Kara challenged; face twisted with hurt. "What about Ruby? What about Rowan? Alex? Me? Do any of us mean anything to you?!"
"Of course, you do!" Lena shot back on the verge of tears. "I meant that my motive was to help Sam, not hurt any of you."
"But you did." J'onn interjected, his emotions always surface level when it came to his adopted children. He looked ready to argue the point further when Kara stood abruptly from her chair.
"Enough." She stared around the room before she continued. "This isn't getting us any closer to saving Sam or defeating Reign. We need Lena's research to stop Reign and cure Sam. That should be our focus."
"Very well." J'onn agreed with a curt nod. "Reign will remain in containment at L-Corp while Ms. Luthor works on a cure. I'm sure Alex will be eager to join you once she's able. Hopefully, between L-Corp's technologies and the DEO's we will be able to synthesize a cure. Ms. Luthor, I trust you will be more forthcoming with any future developments?"
"Of course, Director." Lena somehow managed to retain her composure. "As I said, my…main concern is Sam." Kara gave an undignified snort at her words but failed to comment further.
J'onn exited the conference room leaving Kara and Lena behind. Predictably it was Kara who broke the fragile silence.
"Were you ever going to tell me?" She eyed Lena suspiciously.
"I honestly don't know, Kara..."
"You don't know?!" The blonde roared, fists clenching.
It was obvious that she was lashing out over Lena's perceived betrayal. Kara Danvers had never raised her voice to Lena. Unfortunately, she wasn't dealing with Kara at the moment, she was dealing with Supergirl. Lena found it odd to suddenly be so aware that Kara was in fact two very separate entities, much like Sam.
Where Kara Danvers was soft lines and warmth, Supergirl was sharp edges and cold detachment.
"Kara..."
"Do you have any idea what it feels like for me? Every time I'm even near Kryptonite, I can feel my skin crawling, the nausea, and a burning agony that won't fade; the last remnants of my planet, toxic to me in every way. That's what you have in your lab, Lena. My destruction..." Kara's eyes were so filled with hurt that Lena had to turn away. "We're supposed to be friends, Lena…maybe more…"
"I am your friend!" Lena couldn't for the life of her understand why she was yelling, more than likely a buildup of emotion from the last 72 hours. "But Sam is my friend too, Kara and I won't let Reign destroy her just because you dislike my methods."
Before Kara could offer an angry rebuttal, Maggie was between them, shocked by the raised voices she had heard coming from the conference room. She had one hand placed flat against her pseudo sister's chest, the other clutched Lena's hand in a silent plea. She was rushing from the Medbay, having returned from the mess hall to find her fiancée AWOL, when the shouting caught her attention. Knowing her daughter was safe with Hamilton and having a fairly good idea where Alex had gotten off to, she stepped into the room just in time.
"Let's just all take a deep breath, okay?" Maggie beseeched, willing the two women to calm down before they said something they were bound to regret. "The only way we're going to bring Sam home is if we work together."
Both women felt the fight drain out of them as they realized how poorly they were behaving. Lena felt truly awful, unable to even meet the tiny detective's eyes. These people were her family and she had nearly sacrificed one member for another. She could tell Kara felt equally as bad, if not worse, for losing sight of their objective.
"You're right, Maggie." Lena finally managed, giving the woman's hand a quick squeeze before meeting her eyes. "I'm heading back to L-Corp to check on Sam and I'll confer with Alex later on the findings."
"Lena…" Kara reached out to her friend but the younger woman shrugged her off as she headed for the door. "Lena…please wait. I'm sorry."
"So am I, Kara." The youngest Luthor replied with glassy eyes, pausing at the threshold. "So am I."
Kara moved to reach for her again but Maggie stepped in her way. "Give her some space, Little D." Kara sighed in frustration as she watched Lena fade from view, never once turning around.
"I... She had Kryptonite, Maggie." Kara raked her hands through her hair in frustration. "And I just…I just lost it…and now…" She gestured mournfully in the direction Lena had gone.
Maggie had to admit she was shocked to learn Lena somehow had something so dangerous in her possession but she had also seen how sincere the younger woman was. All Lena truly wanted was to help her ailing friend. It just so happened that the means to do so brought her in direct opposition of the person she valued the most.
"Look, I know how much Lena means to you Kara." Maggie tried to reason with the super. "But you need to give her some space. You blew up at her without letting her explain herself and trust isn't something you can give and take away as you please."
"That's not what I was doing!" Kara argued, arms crossed tight over her chest.
"Keep telling yourself that kid."
Maggie scoffed and headed from the room, not at all in the mood to argue with the super when her Danvers was on the lam. The stubborn nature of the Danvers sisters never failed to land them in hot water and Maggie was not about to waste time arguing with Kara when it was clear the super was digging her heels in.
"I don't have time for this, Kara. All I know is if you really want to build something with Little Luthor, you need to start trusting her."
Kara was left brooding in the conference room, wondering if she may have just pushed Lena away for the final time.
"What can I do to help, Ms. Luthor?"
Lena was jolted out of her reverie by the sound of Vasquez' voice beside her. Despite their disagreement over the Kryptonite, J'onn wasn't about to send Lena back to her lab to face an angry Worldkiller without backup. Fortunately for the young Luthor, after having worked side by side with the DEO during several potentially world ending crisis, there were a plethora of agents willing to protect the woman.
The first of such volunteers being Susan Vasquez.
In many ways the agent reminded Lena of Alex. She was quiet, serious, frightening in certain circumstances and loyal to the 'Super friends' to a fault. Luckily, that loyalty now extended to Lena and with it came the agent's expertise. While not on the same level as Winn, Vasquez had been manning the command center for years and possessed more than a decent grasp of programming even if she was more comfortable with a Glock.
"Are you any good at calibrating energy fields?" Lena asked as she passed the woman a high security tablet.
Vasquez gave her the hint of a smile as she took the tablet. "I dabble, Ma'am."
"You know, we've worked together long enough for you to call me by my first name."
"I'll try ma'a-I mean, um, Lena."
"That's all I ask." She answered with a smirk, grateful for the banter after the morning's previous blowup.
The pair worked in companionable silence, the quiet tap of fingers on keys almost comforting was it not for the fact that they were in an underground lab, surrounded by agents with high powered weapons, standing mere feet away from a nigh indestructible super being.
"How's this, Ma'am?" Lena raised an eyebrow at the agent's slip of the tongue but took the offered tablet nonetheless.
"Excellent work, Agent. Might I be able to interest you in a position at L-Corp?"
Vasquez blushed slightly at the praise, shaking her head. "I'm quite happy at the DEO thank you."
"Let me know if you ever change your mind." Lena replied with a smile as she approached the containment area. "I'm disengaging cloaking."
Vasquez moved closer to Lena; gun drawn, while the other four agents she'd brought surrounded the containment area. Though not armed with Kryptonite, each agent's gun could emit a powerful energy burst, enough to stun Reign until Sam could regain control or Lena could employ the Kryptonite.
"On my mark." Vasquez informed the other agents as they took position. "3,2,1…mark."
"Finally." Sam's voice purred from just the other side of the barrier, causing Lena to take a hasty step back. A predatory smile spread across the brunette's face as she observed the reaction. "I was getting bored."
"Sam?"
The smile grew ever wider. "Samantha is…out."
"Reign." Lena hissed, fingers furiously flying over her tablet trying to capture as much data as possible. "Bring Sam back!"
If Vasquez or the other agents were surprised to see Sam behind the barrier, none of them showed it. There was an unconscious part of Lena that recognized they must have known what they were walking into. Her first clue having been the non-lethal weapons each agent carried in lieu of their normal hardware. Her second clue being that none of the aforementioned agents immediately turned to her with looks of betrayal.
They knew, had known all along.
And yet they still followed Lena into her clandestine lab, miles beneath the city, intent on protecting her as much as the woman behind the forcefield. Had she time for it, Lena might have been moved to tears by the sentiment. As it stood, Reign was eyeing her with morbid curiosity and Sam was trapped somewhere in the recesses of her own mind.
"How long do you think you can hold me here?" Reign purred with malice. "I have come to this world with a purpose; one that I will allow to be derailed no further."
"Does your purpose include terrorizing innocent children?" Lena hoped that the mention of Ruby might bring Sam to the surface. Instead, that predatory smile returned.
"It will take more than that…" sharp nails were dragged across the forcefield as she answered Lena's question. "The child that delayed my arrival may be useful yet. The infant is of no consequence…it will be many years before her abilities are of value."
"What do you want with Ruby?"
"Nothing. It is Samantha who holds the child dear. And that will be her undoing."
Beside her Vasquez tensed and Lena knew she too heard the threat in Reign's words. They all knew it was unrealistic to hope they could contain Reign indefinitely. The countdown towards a cure was looming ever closer and as she glanced at the readings on her tablet, she could see the efficacy of her Kryptonite had already begun to fade.
"How long?" Vasquez asked having noted the worry flicker across her face.
Lena quickly reactivated the containment field, slightly satisfied by the enraged roar Reign released as she was cut off! Even though she knew the Worldkiller couldn't hear them through the field she gestured for the agent to follow her back to the elevator. With a quick nod to her team, Vasquez entered the lift and pressed the button for Lena's office. The atmosphere inside the lift was tense, only easing some as they strode into the spacious office.
"Ma'am?"
"Twelve hours." Lena sighed as she collapsed into her chair with worry. "Unless we find another manner with which to contain her or find a way to separate the two, we have less than a day before Reign escapes containment."
"You think she's going after Ruby." A statement, not a question.
"Call Alex. She and Maggie need to get the girls out of the city, tonight. Reign appears to have no interest in Rowan but I'm willing to bet they were created in the same way, meaning there may be something in our little miracle's DNA that may help us yet! But I still need time to figure it all out."
"Time we don't have." The agent surmised pulling out her phone. "Patch me through to the Director." She ordered once the call connected.
Over the next few minutes, Lena listened to Vasquez recount everything that had transpired in the few hours. She was sure the older man was as distressed as she over the prospect of Reign's inevitable escape and what that might mean for his family and the world at large! Vasquez ended the call, a stricken expression on her face.
"What's wrong?"
"Every safe-house the DEO currently has is either inside the city or lacks the necessary defenses to deal with a threat such as Reign. The Director is concerned that if she gets free, the first thing she'll do is start tearing up the city to find Ruby, putting innocent people at risk."
"So, we need someplace outside the city limits with military grade defenses?" Lena asked with a hint of a smile. "I think I can help with that…"
