Lena did what she did best when in need of a distraction, she got lost in her work. The rest of the world disappears whenever she is focused on science.
When she looked up at the clock, more than an hour and a half had passed. She felt a little guilty for leaving Elle that long, but she was pretty sure the red sunlight lamp was functional. She grabbed her prototype on her way up.
She stopped at her secretary desk. "Anything?"
"No Miss Luthor, as ordered I've delegated as much I could, then sent you emails about the rest. There is no emergency at the moment."
Lena nodded before she turned away. She opened the door to her private office to find her guest, arms crossed, back to her, looking through one of her windows.
"Forgive me for leaving like that, and for…" She looked at her watch. "Nearly two hours."
Elle didn't respond, in fact, she didn't move. Lena felt even worse, thinking she had really upset the blonde. After closing the door, she slowly walked to her desk, put the lamp on it.
"Do you believe in soulmates?" Asked Elle.
This was definitely not something Lena expected to hear at that moment. She frowned as she pondered. "I don't think so. I mean statistically, it's a terrible idea."
Elle lowered her arms as she turned around. "What?"
"If we believe human beings have only one match out of the seven billion people on this earth, more if you add aliens. What are the odds of meeting your soulmate? And then what if they die? I can't logically believe in it."
"On Krypton we had a matrix, that would match each of us with our most suitable partner."
"What do you mean by suitable?"
"Well it chose the most suitable mate, both in caste and genetic. Although sometimes it was simply an arranged marriage." Explained Elle.
"That sounds very romantic." Ironized Lena.
"This was how we reproduced too, a matrix would grow the child in a pod, combining our genetics in the most efficient way. Krypton was not a very romantic society, but it prided itself in being efficient." Stated Elle.
"And what do you think is best?"
"Well, Kryptonians destroyed their own planet, so I question how efficient they were." Elle's head tilted, in a very Kara like move.
It was still strange for Lena to have a Kara carbon copy in front of her, who could sometimes give her a glimpse of Kara in the way she acted or moved, and yet be so different in her speech and views.
"What about you? Do you believe in soulmates?" Asked Lena this time.
"I…Not so long ago I thought the concept was ridiculous, though now…I don't believe you have only one chance, but I think that when you meet someone and it feels like your souls connect, like they make everything better…that should be the fight of your life. So they can become the one." Tried to explain the general.
"The fight of your life?" Repeated Lena.
"Shouldn't we fight for the ones we love?"
Lena could only nod. She cleared her throat and looked away under the blonde's intense gaze. "I think I managed to make the sunlamp operational. I thought, maybe, if you agreed, we could test it here?" Tentatively asked Lena.
Elle joined her near her desk. "Let's get it over with."
"Okay then." Lena leaned over the prototype, pushed the switch button, a low buzz sound was heard before the room was bathed in a red light. "How do you feel?"
Elle shrugged; she closed her hands a few times before punching down the desk. "Argh!" She brought back her hand close to her chest. It hurt.
"What did you do that for?!" Asked Lena, her voice going high.
"Easy way to find out if my powers were gone." Explained Elle, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You could have just tried to fly! And if you still had your powers you would have destroyed my desk and maybe even the lamp!" Exclaimed Lena.
"It wouldn't have been workin…"Elle trailed off at the glare she received. She smiled. "I had faith in you." And Lena rolled her eyes.
They made sure it was working properly before turning it off, then check to see if Elle's powers were back. She was not in full capacity until she went for a walk on the balcony, but still charged enough not to be powerless.
"Good, then we should head to the DEO, Alex wanted to see me." Stated Lena as she grabbed the prototype.
"We're taking the lamp with us so they can make one too?"
Lena went to the wall, where she unveiled a safe, before opening it and placing the lamp in it. "No, we are not. I'm not sure they'll let me leave with it, and I'm not sure how much I trust them yet."
"Isn't it like lying?" Asked Elle, she didn't have to voice the idea that it was the reason why Lena was mad at Kara.
"It is…not disclosing every information." The general gave her a look. "I know, I know. The difference being I'm not lying to someone I care about; I'm being wary of a super-secret governmental agency. We, Luthors, tend to be paranoid like that."
"You don't believe the plans to this machine would be safe with them?" Tried to understand Elle.
"I actually agree with Alex on that point, I don't trust pretty much anyone with these plans, which is why once the prototype was finished, I destroyed them all, including the calibrations, I already knew how to change the dial if it didn't work." Explained Lena.
"What if you need to build a new one?"
"I can do it. It's all in here." She pointed at her head.
Elle nodded. "You made it so the only way for someone else to build a red sunlamp would be to do it themselves or steal yours."
"Good luck with that. First they'd have to be able to steal it, then everything is encrypted on that lamp. If they could crack my code, they would've probably been able to build one on their own anyway." Said Lena as she brushed down the vest she had just put on.
An official DEO car was waiting to drive them. The car windows were tinted, so dark that Lena couldn't really see the outside. Lena wasn't sure how 'out' Kara was about her identities at the DEO, so Elle gladly removed the pink cardigan and Lena put her glasses in her bag.
When they arrived, Alex was waiting for them, welcomed them might be a strong word, she didn't look very happy.
Lena had a cold smile on her face as she said. "Always a pleasure Alex."
"You were supposed to be here a while ago." Complained the agent.
"Sorry, I got sidetracked by a project at work. I'm sure you know how it is." The smile didn't leave her face.
This time Alex turned to the Kryptonian. "You couldn't remind her she was late?"
The general was surprised by the reproach, she wasn't expected to be here, but it didn't seem to bother the agent, at least no more than Lena's presence. "I didn't know we had an appointed time to arrive. Not that I would have cared anyway."
Alex groaned. "Let's go, I started building a red sunlamp, but engineering isn't my strongest suit…"
"Are you saying that you need my help?"
Alex groaned as she turned around. "Follow me." She took them through security, Lena got everything she'd need for a future visit by herself, while Elle didn't have anything to do but be herself. The took an elevator, a few flights of stairs and walked down a long and dark corridor before they reached the lab.
Lena was wondering why this kind of facility tended to be so dark, why not white clean?
The general was carefully taking in as many details as she could, she was casing the place.
They didn't find an empty lab. Winn sitting behind a long table, electronical components in front of him. Supergirl was next to him, arms crossed.
"I see you are hard at work, agent Danvers." Lena's sarcasm was back. She didn't wait for Alex to respond. "Supergirl is here too. I didn't know you had any knowledge in that area, you always acted like you didn't. But maybe you were part of the science guild, like Elle?"
Kara's eyes grew wide. "I…yes, I was. But it was too long ago, and too many things are different on this planet."
"Right." Drawled Lena. It was awkward and tense.
"She didn't help." Said Winn surprisingly, on the shy side.
"Hey!" Exclaimed Kara, even if it was true, he made it sound like it was the opposite.
"She just…came to see how it was going. I made a comment, she followed and now…we are… kind of arguing about Harry Potter."
Alexandra Danvers actually facepalmed before glaring at the two. Slowly and discreetly Winn pointed his index finger towards the blonde. Kara's jaw dropped. "He said…there is no way Lena would have been a Slytherin!"
"She so would have!" Obviously, it was not the first time Winn affirmed it. The glared at each other.
Elle gave Lena a quizzical look, so she explained. "Harry Potter is a book series, in which there is a magical school. Pupils get sorted in four different houses according mainly to their personality traits. Slytherins are ambitious, cunning, achievement-oriented and have a strong sense of self preservation, among other things. They also have a bad reputation in these books, most of them being depicted as evil."
"This is a work place." Stated Alex. "You are supposed to work, and not…argue like children."
"But Alex! Slytherin!" Said Kara like it was the most evident thing in the world.
The agent ran her hand through her hair. "Fine. Lena would have a been a Slytherin."
"Ah!" It was Winn, while Kara exclaimed "What?!"
"Picture this…"
There was a small eleven-year-old girl making her way towards the sorting hat. Her wavy raven hair covered by a pointy black hat; she hid her shaky hands in the pockets of her Hogwarts robes. Her wary green eyes looked around the room, her brother had just left school the previous year, how she regretted not being able to see his face. He'd surely smile proudly at her while she was sorted.
She couldn't show that she was scared, she kept on repeating it in her head "I'm a Luthor. I'm a Luthor. I'm…" She didn't stop as sat the stool. She raised her head high, her strong jaw tense. She didn't stop until she heard another voice in her head.
"A Luthor."
The first thought that came her was. "Adopted Luthor."
"Hmm if you say so. Now where to put you."
"Slytherin. I'm a Luthor. I need to be put in Slytherin." There was no option for her. She had to be sorted into Slytherin, her whole family had been in Slytherin. She wouldn't disappoint them if she was sorted in Slytherin. She didn't want to know what would happen if she wasn't. Her mother…
"Are you sure? With your mind, you would flourish in Ravenclaw."
"I need to be a Luthor. I need to become a Slytherin."
"Fine then." He agreed to in her mind before screaming. "Slytherin!" And little Lena's body sagged with relief.
"Fine! Fine!" Conceded Kara. "I can see an eleven-year-old Lena being put in Slytherin like that. But, I'm…just…how could we have been friends while I was a Gryffindor?"
Lena didn't really think before responding to the blonde. "Kara sweetie, you're definitely not a Gryffindor."
Alex hmmed as she thought about it, not willing to admit that the Luthor might be right.
"What house would you put me in then?" Asked Kara, a little curious.
"Hufflepuff." Answered Lena before she explained.
This lanky blonde girl had just been called to be sorted. People were whispering about her, Kara Zor-El, from the Zor-El family, they had died in a magical accident as they were working on a new potion, the cauldron had exploded.
She ignored them as she walked confidently up the few stairs to the stool, as she sat, she spotter her adoptive sister and waved, a big smile on her face. Alex made a face at her new sibling.
"Well, well…where should we put you?"
"Hello"
"I see bravery, lots of it."
"How are you? I'm starving, what about you? Are you looking forward to dinner? What am I thinking? You probably don't feel hunger because you are an object, not that I mean to be offensive…" She trailed off. "Sorry."
The sorting hat ignored the babble, he was used to it, even if this was a good one. "There is a strong thirst for knowledge, you seek the truth."
"No, it's because I was too stressed to eat, which usually never happens, but it did, and I'm starving..."
He kept on ignoring what he considered to be irrelevant. "There something else, a strong sense of loyalty, fairness, a strong dedication to the ones you love…"
She wasn't sur if he was finished, but she really needed to know. "Do you think we might get donuts for dessert? I really love donuts. Oh! And maybe before that, potstickers?"
"The Hufflepuff common room is right next to the kitchen." He informed her. He could feel the joy emanating from the girl at that thought when her mind exclaimed "Really?!"
That was it. He screamed "Hufflepuff!"
Kara was pouting. "I was not like that when I was elven!"
Lena shrugged. "Maybe not, but that's how I pictured it. Even if it wouldn't have happened like that; Kara, you are a Hufflepuff."
"Great! Now that that crucial matter has been settled, maybe we can go back to work?" Asked an annoyed Alex.
There was a silent pause. Kara and Winn looked at each other before simultaneously saying. "Gryffindor."
Alex groaned as she let herself drop on one of the chairs around the table.
Lena could see Elle wasn't really following. "If you want to read them, I have the books at home."
"Did you like them?" Was the more important part for Elle.
"Yes, they are nice books."
Alex hit the table with her palms. "Fine. Kara you can't stay here. You are obviously a distraction. Wasn't there something you wanted to show to Elle anyway?"
"Yes!" Kara seemed excited about that idea. "Come on, since we're not wanted here." She made a motion we her hand as she started walking towards the door, indicating that her alter ego should follow her.
Lena looked at Elle. "You don't have to."
"I know I don't, but Supergirl and I have come to an understanding." Elle clasped her hands behind her back, gave the scientists a head nod before following the jolly version of herself.
"Great. Now Lena, let us show you what we have so far." Alex wanted to go back on track.
Winn didn't object to what Alex said, even if it was mostly him who had done the job, and started to explain to Lena what he had done so far.
Both Kryptonians walked side by side in silence for a moment. "May I ask, where we are going?" Finally asked Elle, they had been walking for a little while.
"Of course, you may, but I won't tell you. This is a surprise."
"I don't like surprises" Grunted the general as they finally walked into a room. She looked behind her as the door closed, leaving the two of them alone in a dark room. "What is this?"
Kara had a huge smile on her face as she stepped up to the wide platform in the middle of the room. She put her hand down on a panel and a blue light turned on all around them, right before a human figure appeared in the middle of the room.
The general gasped as she took a step back. Her heart was beating so fast. "What? What is this?"
"The pod that took me to earth, so maybe it was the same for you, had messages from Krypton in it, but more than that there was an interactive artificial intelligence program, designed by Alura from her living memory. It's not really her but…I know what it does to me and I thought…you might like to…see her again."
The hologram blinked a few times before speaking. "I seem to be malfunctioning, I need to run a diagnostic."
"No! No, it's…there are two of us. She is from an alternative universe." Explained Supergirl.
Elle's words were stuck in throat, this was her mother's voice. She had missed it so much; she could be saying pretty much anything and it would make her feel…there was no word strong enough that came to her mind to describe it. "Mom?"
Alura's hologram smiled. "Hello Kara." Just hearing her mother's voice call her name; she felt a tear run down her face and didn't wipe it. "Whatever it is that you wish to ask Alura, you may ask me." A second tear appeared.
"Maybe I should just leave you two alone." Whispered Supergirl.
"No!" The general grabbed her doppelganger's wrist. "I…just stay." Supergirl nodded, of course she would.
Elle looked at Supergirl. "There are so many things…I don't know what to ask."
Kara rubbed her arm, she had been there, but she knew there wasn't anything she could say that would change it.
She just looked at the image of her mother for minutes before she found her voice. "Where I come from…" She trailed off. Cleared her throat before she kept going. "What should I do if humanity was to lose its way?"
"From our data, the human species is still developing, evolving. They might stumble, they might fall, but they will rise again. They can be great people. Kal-El and you live among them, you can help them."
"Help them? guide them? Make them?" Overgirl needed that answer to be precise. There was a pause during which the AI seemed to think.
"You were taught the importance of knowledge. If you simply whip someone every time they don't do what you tell them to, what would they learn?"
Elle had a faint memory of her father reappear, so she whispered with a frown. "To fear the whip."
The hologram nodded. "You should be the light to show them the way, so they can join you into the sun."
The general nodded but it was Supergirl, right by her side, who spoke next. "They can learn to do better, but they can't do better if they don't learn."
"How do I know if I'm doing the right thing?" Finally asked the general.
"I'm not programmed to give you that information." Was all the answer she got, so she turned to Supergirl who made a face. "This happens a lot. It doesn't have all the answers, sometimes it needs more data, sometimes…I don't know."
"But she could answer my previous question." Argued Elle.
"It was probably something that was considered beforehand, how we should interact with the people of the planet they sent us to." Sadly explained Supergirl. "I've had my…issues with it too. It was a real problem when it came to Astra."
That didn't make sense to Elle. "What? Aunt Astra…" She was interrupted by a sign from Supergirl. "I'm on my way." She responded to whoever was speaking to her in her com. "I am sorry I have to go, there is a problem at a bank robbery" Was all she said before disappearing in a whoosh.
Elle stayed a bit longer but got frustrated by the number of times she was told "I don't have enough information" or "I am not programmed to give you that information". She'd ask if she could come back once she had collected her thoughts, and it was starting to be painful to be with an image of her mother that was pretty much an empty shell.
She rejoined the lab where she found Winn and Lena talking about circuit boards. "Where is Alex?"
"On her way to a bank robbery gone wrong." Said Winn without lifting his head. Lena on the other and looked up as soon as she spoke. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." She took a deep breath. "Yes, I am." She paused before asking. "I thought Supergirl was taking care of that bank."
"One of them turned out to be an alien, it will just take a little bit longer for Supergirl to take care of it. Alex ran as soon as she saw it was a bigger threat." Explained Lena before pointing at a monitor showing what was happening out there. The Luthor heiress tensed as she saw that, maybe she should be worried too. Supergirl was lying on the floor, evading one punch after another without hitting back, her left eyebrow was covered in blood.
"Winn." Alerted Lena.
He immediately looked up and commented. "Oh, this looks bad."
They heard a whoosh and turned to see that Elle wasn't there anymore.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Asked Winn.
"No. Elle would never just jump in, still dressed as Kara. Right?" She wasn't completely sure either.
It was quickly answered, less than a minute later a form was floating above the scene. She had an S shaped sigil on her chest, the same color combination, and a closed helmet. Elle had gone and taken the anti-Kryptonite suit Lena had started to work on. She groaned as she moved to sit in front of a console.
"What are you doing?!" Winn was a little worried as he watched Lena hack something.
"I built this suit, there is an onboard camera and coms. There." Different images appeared on the monitors, one was what Elle could see, one was an inside view of the helmet, so the general's face. And the last one had data on it, about the suit but also Elle's vitals.
Lena put on a com. "Elle, this suit is not completely operational."
"Lena?" Was the general' surprised answer.
"What do you think you are doing?" With that tone Winn nearly expected Lena to add young lady.
"Doing the right thing. I think."
"This is too dangerous. You are in no condition to use your power, even less fight."
"It's worth the risk." Stated Overgirl before diving. She propelled the orange creature away, it was nearly seven-foot-tall, very wide and it was all muscles. Tt had six eyes on the top of it head surrounded by what looked like little horns, he had those on his hand too.
"Elle?" Asked Supergirl from where she was laying on the ground.
"Who else?" Elle barely had time to help Supergirl up that the bank robber was up and charging towards them. They both took a step back at the last minute, he ran past them.
"Do we kill it?" Asked Overgirl.
"We don't. We arrest him."
"Okay, so we kick his ass and let the police do the rest. Fine by me."
He came back and immediately went for Supergirl.
"What am I?" Overgirl was talking to herself but Lena talked back. "She still is Supergirl and you are new…" Winn interrupted with a comment. "A new Power Ranger." "Winn shut it." And they both started to argue, then the coms were cut off.
"What the fuck is a Power Ranger?" She wondered as she evaded a punch, she had been standing there while Supergirl was avoiding his fists, an easy target. She took the opening she saw and punched him where his ribs should be. It hurt. So maybe he had more little horns all over his body, acting like some kind of natural body armor.
It was how the dance started, they ducked and punched, looking for a soft spot. He barely touched them it was more complicated when it was two against one.
Supergirl was distracting him while Overgirl moved around and managed to kick him between the legs. It didn't do anything, it probably hurt her own foot more than anything. "What does he have in his pants? Marbles?!" Asked Overgirl.
"Eww Elle! I don't want to know!"
The strange exchange distracted the bank robber enough that Supergirl landed a punch right on his nose. He stumbled back as his hands went to his face. They had found a soft spot. Which was not easy to touch again, he was keeping his guard up.
Overgirl stood next to Supergirl and they tried to break his guard, but he was a rock. Overgirl started to speed up, faster and faster until you could barely see the moves. She just hoped Supergirl would catch on, and she did. Once he was distracted, Supergirl walked around him, grabbed his arms to keep him in place. He immediately struggled but Overgirl had enough time for a small combo, direct, right hook, left hook, and finally right uppercut. Her last punch was so strong that both Supergirl and the Alien's feet left the floor for a second.
Supergirl lowered the unconscious body on the ground. He was quickly assessed by a DEO medic before he was cuffed.
"Elle. I need you to come back to the DEO right now." Announced Lena.
"I'll come back with Supergirl." She fist bumped the said hero.
"No. I need you to come back immediately." Ordered Lena.
"It will just be a few minutes." Argued Elle still a little out of breath after the fight. She jumped when she heard the voice from outside her helmet, of course Lena had installed speakers. "Supergirl. Bring her back!"
Supergirl looked at her strangely. "Lena?!"
"I don't know what's wrong, I might have…borrowed…the suit. It shouldn't…" She gulped; something was wrong. "be a…big deal."
"To the med bay! Now!" Exclaimed Lena.
Kara had never heard that tone in Lena's voice, and recently they had argued. It was…desperate. She'd question it later. She hoped Overgirl would try to hit her as she grabbed her. The general made a few intelligible sounds before her body went slack. Supergirl flew as fast as she could while carrying Elle bridal style.
Sorry about the HP part, I slipped.