Lena stared at Metropolis as she stood in the living room. It was always her favorite place in the house. The large windows looked out over the gardens with the city in the distance. But after her absence, the room did nothing but force Lena to listen to her thoughts. She lost her nerve somewhere over the Midwest, and the hand that was once steady shook against her thigh. She missed her Dad. She missed her wife, her best friend, and she missed Diana. She even missed J'onn. Their relationship was fresh, but he had proven time and time again that he cared for Kara and Alex, and that was something Lena appreciated more than she ever got to tell him. Losing them caused her heart to fracture, and Lena knew she was one wrong move away from breaking completely. Which was why she needed to get a handle on her emotions before Lillian and Lex got home. Security informed them of Lena's arrival, and Lena took advantage of the empty manor to collect herself.
"I have to admit this place is creepier than my old room back at the Tower."
Lena sagged a little and turned around. Raven stood in the far corner, uncharacteristically out of her cloak and in her civilian wear with a beanie covering her Ajna chakra. She was growing out her hair, and Lena didn't know if it was because she didn't see her as often as she used to, or if recent events caused her to pay more attention, but Raven was getting older. It caused another fracture in her heart, and Lena forced herself to smile.
"Did Alex send you to find me?" she asked.
"No. She has no idea where you are." Raven folded her arms and looked around before adding, "I was in the bar when you left it, and I erased the message before she could see it."
"You were in the bar?"
"I was. You seemed agitated and unstable, and nothing good comes from that type of emotional combination. I wanted to make sure you didn't do anything stupid."
Raven shot her a look, and Lena flinched, the gun in her waistband heavier than it'd been before.
"I won't apologize for it."
"And I'm not asking for one. You did what you thought was best, and we can't change what happened. But you need to be sure about this course of action."
"So you're here to condemn me."
"I am here to catch you when you fall. Because you will fall, Lena, and it will destroy you. Trust me, this route only ends one way. I'm here to hopefully pick up the pieces, regardless of how this moment ends. But you need to be sure about whatever you do. I know losing Kara hurt. You wear your pain like I wear my cloak, and it is heavy. It's so heavy on you, and you want it to end. Still, can you pull that trigger when it matters?"
"I don't know," she whispered. Lena sniffed and shook out her arms. "Murder is easier when you know the faces will never haunt your dreams. Those men in the bar were faceless figures that I will never remember. But Lillian and Lex will creep into my subconscious, and no matter what decision I make, there will always be this doubt."
"I have never known murder to be easy."
"You know what I mean."
"I know, there's a thin line you're walking, and you're so close to falling over the edge."
Raven's head cocked, and she held up her hand. Lena didn't know what she heard, but the half-demon gave Lena a grim smile.
"If you pull that trigger, be ready to deal with what follows," she warned, melting into the shadows.
Lena rubbed her forehead and turned around, looking at the portrait hanging above the fireplace and the urn beneath it. Lionel stared at nothing, seeing nothing, and Lena felt nothing for him. There was no connection, no grief, and no guilt. All Lena saw was a sad man who ruined lives for fun. Including the people that he was supposed to love and protect. Lena heard heels in the hallway approaching the living room, and she faced the door as it opened.
"Lena, what a pleasant surprise," Lex greeted.
"I hope you die in your sleep."
"Children, play nice," Lillian scolded, clutching Lex's elbow. "I will not have our first get-together be ruined with your fighting."
Lena rolled her eyes and shoved her hands into her pockets. It was almost pathetic how easily she read between the lines. Lillian was sick, quite possibly dying, and it was disgusting what she chose to do as her final actions. Lena closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then released it. She opened them again and stared at Lex and Lillian. They were the perfect family, the legacy of Lionel Luthor. Lex led Lillian to the couch and moved to the drink cart. He poured Lillian a glass and handed it to her before turning to Lena. The faux look of sympathy was the only warning before he said the one thing Lena was hoping he wouldn't.
"I heard about your Kryptonian. Well, both of them. The world mourns them now, but don't worry. They'll move on."
The 'as will you' was unsaid, but Lena heard it anyway. She looked away from Lex and focused on Lillian.
"You're dying."
"As one does with time," Lillian responded, sipping at her drink. "Thank you for your well-wishes."
"I want nothing more than to watch you wither away like a dead flower, but my time here will be short."
"Where else do you have to go? This is your home."
"No, this is a prison. And for the record, I lost the love of my life, and then I lost my best friend, then my father, and then my mentor. I lost the people that I loved more than anything in the world because you wanted to get one last game in before you died. Do you realize how psychotic that is?"
"I wanted my family together," Lillian said. "I was willing to do what needed to be done to make that happen. But you never have appreciated all that I did for you."
"You've done nothing for me other than cause irreparable emotional and mental damage. I have trauma longer than the Declaration of Independence because of you."
"Don't be so dramatic, Lena."
"No, you shut up. It's – fuck! It's so fucking mind-blowing how two people can be so delusional!"
"You married an alien to spite me!"
"Get over yourself, Alexander! Me changing LuthorCorp to L-Corp was out of spite. Me changing my last name to Wayne completely was out of spite. Marrying Kara was the one thing that made any fucking sense, and you took her from me!" Lena took a deep breath and collected herself. "Enough of this. In her death, Kara took my tolerance for games. So what do you want? Money? A way out of the country? Whatever you want, you can have it. Just please, leave me alone."
"I can't do that, Lena. I already told you that I want you to come home and stop this ridiculous notion that you are anything but a Luthor. Don't you realize that you and Lex can change the world?"
"Lex tried that and went on a murderous rampage," Lena deadpanned.
"With you by his side, you can help change the way the world sees him."
"Oh, please. Lex will always be a raging, narcissistic, megalomaniac psychopath just like his father, and no amount of good publicity will change that."
"Careful," Lex warned.
"Or what? What could you possibly do to me that you haven't done already? You took my wife, my best friend, my mentor, and my father, and you ruined my life. Just like you've been doing ever since you discovered the boy you fell in love with didn't love you back." Lex's eye twitched, and Lena laughed. "Aw, did I hurt your feelings? Does your mother know that her precious baby boy was only angry with Clark because Clark rejected him? It had nothing to do with Clark being an alien. I found that out years down the line, and I laughed so hard and went to bed with my Kryptonian wife. Is that why you hated Kara so much? Because she reminded you of what you couldn't have? I mean, honestly, Lex. You became the world's biggest anti-alien supporter out of heartbreak. How pathetic is that? And then here I come, the Luthor that wasn't supposed to exist, who goes and gets the girl? And not just any girl, but the one that came from the same cloth as the man that didn't want you. I bet that stung. Did it hurt, Lex, when you discovered I was happily married and getting all the benefits that you didn't? Because I enjoyed every minute of it."
"ENOUGH!" Lena blew Lex a kiss, and he took a step forward. Lillian stood from the couch with effort and put her hand on Lex's chest. "Need I remind you, Lena, that if it were not for us, you would have been living in some orphanage?" she asked, her voice cold and detached.
"I am aware of that. And after the shit you put me through, that would have been a better choice. Anything would've been better than living in this house of horrors."
"You could have left," Lex spat.
"I did!" Lena laughed in disbelief and threw her hands in the air. "I moved to Gotham. You would have never seen me again, but you two took that from me. You took the last family I had left because I didn't want to work at LuthorCorp. So don't fucking act like I'm being unreasonable. You two have been destroying everything that I have tried to build for myself for as long as I can remember. And you blamed me for something I had no control over. I didn't ask to be the bastard child, but I know one thing for sure. I am not a Luthor. I never have been. I don't care whose blood runs through my veins. I am a Walsh, a Wayne, and a Danvers. But most importantly, I am a Zor-El. And that outweighs what you want me to be a million times over."
"I enjoyed watching her die."
Lena narrowed her eyes on Lex, and he feigned indifference, flicking lint from his suit.
"When she hit the Earth, I felt vindicated. It was almost like Christmas, watching the so-called Girl of Steel struggle to take a single breath. And I waited for you to appear. I watched every news channel, hoping to catch a glimpse of you, but you never showed. Where were you, Lena? When your wife fell from the sky?"
"The same place you were when your father fell from grace."
Lex twitched, and he said, "Do not speak to me about our father."
"I had a father," Lena corrected coolly. "And it was not that pathetic man you have hanging over the fireplace."
"You tread a thin line, sister."
"Then let me make my position clearer."
Lena turned on her heel and went to the portrait. She ripped it down and smashed it against the floor, breaking the frame in half.
"Stop!" Lex shouted, running across the room.
Lena picked up the canvas and tore it into pieces, throwing them in Lex's face. He reached for her, but she dodged him and grabbed the urn on the mantle. Lex froze, his hands outstretched, and Lena tossed it up and down. She moved backward, knowing that Lex wouldn't move until Lena put down the urn, and she smiled at him.
"This is heavier than I thought it would be. I wonder what's inside." Lena cocked her head, and the smile fell. "Let's find out, shall we?"
Lena spun and threw the urn against the wall near Lillian's head. It shattered on impact, and ashes rained down on Lillian. Lena felt a hysterical laugh bubble in her chest, and she threw her head back. Her amusement was short-lived as Lex picked her up and was about to smash her down against the coffee table. But he never got the chance. Lena felt something solid catch her and put her on the couch. There was a flash of red and blue, and Lena couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Neither could Lex or Lillian.
"You're supposed to be dead!"
"Not dead, just really fucking pissed off."
Kara took Lex's head and twisted it sharply to the right, letting the body fall to the floor. She stood over him, fists clenched, and those electric blue eyes were almost black when they landed on Lena. It took a moment for it to settle in Lena's mind, and Kara blinked. The blackness was gone, and she suddenly looked exhausted. Kara's knees buckled, and that time, it was Lena who caught her.
"Kara?"
"Hey, I missed you so much. But can you tell Alex I'm alright?" she said, her words slurring a little. "I wasn't supposed to fly that fast, but your heart – I heard your heart."
"I can – yeah. Yeah, I can tell her."
"Thanks. Rao, I think I might've flared," she muttered. "And why is there dust everywhere?"
Lena felt like Kara was on the verge of unconsciousness and couldn't exactly yell at her wife over it. She just came back from the dead and saved Lena's life. Lena put Kara down near the couch and pulled her phone out of her suit. She sent Alex a quick text message, plus another one asking how the fuck Kara was alive, and all Alex said was:
A long fucking story that will require whisky and therapy.
Lena took that for what it was and looked up at the sound of a gun cocking. Lillian's hand trembled as she held it, and Lena arched an eyebrow.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said. "Kara wasn't the backup I had planned."
"What?"
Two black tentacles shot from the shadows and snatched the gun out of Lillian's hand and knocked her into the drink cart. Raven emerged from the shadows and came up to Lena's side.
"I can't believe you destroyed an urn."
"Too much?"
"Absolutely." Raven stared at Kara. "You look like shit," she said. "And why do you smell like death?"
"I missed you too."
"No, I mean you smell like-" Raven paused, and she narrowed her eyes. "Kara, where exactly have you been?" she asked.
"Someone said it was Purgatory," she groaned. "Worst place ever. They didn't have potstickers or noodles."
Lena felt a migraine coming and took the gun from Raven. Raven grabbed her wrist, the unspoken question in her gaze and Lena gave a short nod. Raven let her go and knelt next to Kara, putting her finger in the center of her forehead. Lena could hear their conversation even as she went to find Lillian slowly pushing herself off of the floor.
"Here, this should help with your nausea," Raven said. "Going to Purgatory is not a trip someone like you should have been able to make."
"Oh, right. You haven't met Jack's boyfriend." Kara laughed and rested her head on the back of the couch. "Sam freaked out."
"Sam's back too?"
"We came back at the same time."
Lena heard that and shoved the hope down beneath her anger. Lena didn't wait for Lillian to get up. She pressed the gun against her temple, the choice of killing her or leaving her alive no longer undecided after everything that happened.
"Wait, Lena, please! Please, have mercy. Let me live, and I will never bother you or your family again. Please, let me die on my terms," Lillian begged.
"Mercy?" Lena hissed. "You dare beg me for mercy? You almost burned the world down, for what? For me? Bullshit. You did it for yourself. You did it because you felt guilty. You did it because you are dying and wanted to make amends, but you are too stubborn to change your ways and make the effort. You thought you could step in when I was at my lowest, and that I would take whatever you offered me because I was desperate. And that is where you went wrong. There is nothing that would have made me crawl back to you. Nothing."
"But you're here-
"I came back to know why, and now that I know, I'm done. I will make sure this house rots from the inside out, that the legacy of the Luthor family remains a stain in history, and I will personally have LuthorCorp torn down. You will die knowing that I hate you, that you failed at being a mother twice over, and that your attempts at reconciliation fell so far short it was never even a possibility. Your legacy ends here."
Lillian's eyes went wide when Lena pulled the trigger, but the gun jammed. Lena tried again. She did it over and over until someone cleared their throat. Lena looked over her shoulder, and she felt more than saw that Lillian deflated in relief at the newcomer's appearance. Lena kept the gun pressed against Lillian and turned around; her eyes narrowed.
"Who are you?"
"Lucifer Morningstar."
"As in Satan? Get real," she scoffed.
"He's telling the truth."
Lena looked at Raven, and Lucifer frowned at her.
"Hold on, are you one of mine?" he asked.
"Trigon is my father," Raven said flatly.
"Ew, nasty fellow. You have my condolences. But yes, please listen to the little half-demon. I am who I say I am. Kara was supposed to tell you I was on my way, but it is clear the resident superhero overtaxed herself even after I warned her to take it slow."
"Lex was going to kill her," Kara argued weakly.
"Right, sacrifice and love. Boring. Anywho, I apologize for my tardiness but there was a matter I needed to take care of in LA. My, you've made a mess of the place haven't you, Miss Wayne?"
Lena balked, and she asked, "What are you doing here?"
"For one, I am Jack's boyfriend, but we can chat about that later. To answer your question, I am here for Lillian."
"What? Why?"
"I wanted to see how her plan was coming along," he said. "And also to make sure that she keeps her end of the deal."
"Wait, you made a deal with Satan?" Lena asked, glancing at Lillian.
"I wanted insurance that you would come home," she said defensively.
"Well, that was stupid," Raven drawled. "You never shake the Devil's hand."
"Don't spoil the fun, little demon," Lucifer said, clicking his teeth.
Raven rolled her eyes but said nothing else and went back to keeping Kara conscious. Lena looked between Lillian and Lucifer, and she couldn't believe her life. Maybe that's why Alex said whisky and therapy were needed to have the conversation. Lena took a deep breath and released it.
"What was the deal?" she asked.
"By the end of the week, you must be broken and at the Luthor doorstep. In return, Lillian will give me her soul and sixty-perfect of her fortune. You technically are beyond the doorstep, but you crossed over it. I find that satisfactory," he said. "Lillian wanted me to take everything from you, and I accomplished that, which is why I am here."
"But she isn't broken!"
"That's according to who? Because to me, this is Lena broken. You were the one that assumed it would be something different."
"And this is why you don't shake his hand," Raven muttered.
"But I don't understand. You promised –
"No, I did not. You inferred a promise from what I said, but I never actively swore to give you anything but what you asked for. You said to break Lena, not destroy her. There is a fine line between the two. You also told me to kill the Kryptonian, which I did. It was tricky, but I was able to find Lex's synthetic Kryptonite. Speaking of Lex, I am sure his welcome party in Hell will be grand and better than he expects."
"You sent him to Hell?" Lillian exclaimed.
"Surely you didn't think he would make it to Heaven," Lucifer scoffed. "Regardless, you will join him soon enough. But I wanted to see the look on your face when you realize that making deals with the Devil will always end in my favor. You should have been clearer with your request. You said, and I quote, that I want the Kryptonian dead. But I would prefer to have Lena broken entirely when she comes to me. l want her to need her family, her true family, which will be Lex and me. End quote. The issue with that statement is that you and Lex are not Lena's true family. You lied, which voided the end of the deal. Therefore, all I had to do was kill the Kryptonian and break Lena to the point that she would seek you out. That is what happened. The deal is complete, and I can give up the illusion of death. Hence why there is a semi-conscious Kryptonian on the couch."
"So you're the one who killed them," Lena said.
"No, I borrowed their souls. They were never in any danger, and I would have had Kara back to you in time for the wedding. Speaking of which, are you in need of an officiant?"
"Are you even capable of blessing a wedding?"
"Never done one before. Plus, it's not like you two aren't already married."
Lena for sure had a migraine, and she said, "I will consider it when my entire world isn't upside-down."
"There's medicine for that. But, to end this lovely chat, Miss Wayne, if you could lower the gun and allow me to step in your place, I would be forever grateful."
Lena hesitated but dropped her weapon and moved back.
"Wait, Lena, don't let him take me," Lillian pleaded.
"You made a deal with the Devil. I am not getting involved."
"But he tricked me!"
"Oh, hush, Lillian. I'm the Devil. You should not have expected anything else." Lucifer cocked his head and smirked. "And when you ask me to kill someone, you must be specific. You said to kill the Kryptonian. And I did. However, you never said I had to keep them dead." Lucifer crossed the room and stood next to Lena. "Also, before I go, the plane crash was unplanned. But I managed to intervene before the final step. I returned your father in one piece," he said.
Lena swallowed roughly and said, "Thank you."
"Quite alright. Jack turned me into a bit of a softy when it comes to you all." Lucifer winked and put his hand on Lillian's shoulder. "See you at the wedding!"
Lena jumped back when a wall of fire took Lucifer and Lillian from the room, and she gaped at the spot where they used to be.
"What the fuck just happened?" she whispered.
"So. We should probably get Kara to the DEO," Raven said.
Lena turned and saw her wife starting to sweat. Kara never sweat, and Lena rushed over there.
"Get her back to National City. I need to stay here and take care of a few things, but I will be there as soon as I can."
"I'm taking her and then coming back."
"Raven-
"No arguments."
Lena rolled her eyes and gave up. She hesitated before kissing Kara on the forehead, and those blue eyes fluttered open.
"Man, I missed that," she whispered.
"I missed you too. I'm probably going to cry a lot later though."
"Me too. Get ice cream on your way home."
Lena nodded and moved back as Raven mouthed something under her breath. A portal appeared next to them, and Raven helped Kara through it. Once they were gone, the silence hit Lena hard, and she dropped the gun. It was done. That chapter of her life was closed, and Lena had a new one waiting for her in National City. Albeit a new one with one hell of a story attached to it already, but one that she'd been fighting for her entire life. A portal re-appeared in the same spot, and Raven stepped out with her hands in her pockets.
"That was fast."
"I was gone for ten minutes."
"Oh. Is she okay?"
"Alex said she has a cold from solar flaring."
"I'm still stuck on her being alive," Lena said dryly.
"Oh, I heard part of the story while I was there. You may want to add alcohol to your list of items from the grocery store."
"That's a given."
Lena rolled her neck around and sighed.
"What's next?" Raven asked.
"You're not going to like it."
"I rarely do."