Kara headed to her first class on Monday morning with a budding hope and determination in her chest. She was going to sit next to Lena as usual and tell her that she wanted to give her the whole story, from start to finish, no details left out, once classes were done for the day. Alex had hyped her up all morning and she felt more confident than ever about her decision to come clean about her identity to Lena.

But when she walked into the classroom, she was surprised to find Lena's seat empty. Lena always got to class early, and Kara was even running late that day; why wasn't her friend already there? Slowly walking to her seat, the confusion apparent on her face, Kara sat down and caught Alex's eye. Alex must've been able to see the crestfallen gleam in Kara's eyes, because she shot her a sympathetic smile and tapped her phone under her desk, just out of the teacher's line of sight.

Kara got the message, sneaking her phone out to see that she had a text message from Alex.

I heard that Lex went home with Lillian, the school isn't expecting either of them in class because of their loss. Maybe Lena went with him. She didn't mention leaving to you, did she?

Kara glanced over at Alex to shake her head, but the older girl was no longer looking in Kara's direction. Instead, she was hunched over her notebook, taking down the notes that she had missed while sending her text to Kara. Figuring she should do the same, Kara quickly caught up with the teacher before typing back a message to Alex: No, she didn't, and she sounded like she was determined to finish our conversation yesterday. She wouldn't want to be with Lillian while she's grieving. I have a bad feeling about this.

It was a few minutes before her phone buzzed again with a response from Alex, but Kara was still surprised at how quickly she responded.

I didn't think it made sense for her to go home either… bail next period and check her room?

Kara sent back a thumbs up before tucking her phone away and refocusing her attention back to class. However, while her hand scrawled the words on the board down, her mind was entirely elsewhere. She was worried about Lena; it wasn't like her to miss class, and even as upset as Lena was, Kara was surprised she wasn't using school as her outlet. She loved learning, and it would be just like Lena to grieve by pouring herself into work and books.

As soon as the period ended, Kara jogged over to meet Alex, who grabbed her hand and pulled her through a side hallway before dragging her into the girl's bathroom on the same floor as the dorms.

"What are we doing here?" Kara asked, confused.

Alex rolled her eyes. "You can't just play hooky and walk out the front door, dingbat."

"Rude," Kara commented, shooting Alex an annoyed look.

"We have to wait in here until the period is finished changing. A teacher with a free period will do a sweep of the halls to make sure no students are out and about, and in case we can't break into Lena's room, I want to make sure we're not out there when that happens."

"Got it," Kara said, nodding. They waited for a few minutes, during which they both busied themselves looking in the mirrors and checking the time periodically, unable to shake their worry for their absent friend. Eventually, they heard a set of footsteps walk down the hall, shuffle around a bit, then recede, and Alex gave Kara a small nod. The two of them left the bathroom once the teacher's back was turned and there was some distance between them before heading down the hall toward Lena's room.

Kara gave Alex a worried glance when they arrived at Lena's door. It was cracked open, which was as unusual as Lena being absent from class. Kara slowly pushed it open the rest of the way and noticed that there were scuff marks on the floor, as if someone had been dragged for a moment. Her eyes scanned the room and saw a little device on the desk, Lena's phone. Walking into the room quickly, Kara grabbed the phone and tried to turn it on to find it dead. Still, it was something; at least now, they could charge it and call Lex.

Alex walked in more slowly behind Kara, scanning the floor, the door, her eyes narrowed. She stopped where the scuff marks were and bent down, picking up a long, curly blonde hair, almost white. It was much lighter than Kara's hair and had more of a bouncy curl to it. They both knew whose it was. Kara felt her heart sink into her stomach. It felt like the ground was being yanked out from under her, and she was surprised she didn't fall flat onto her face right then and there. Alex seemed to notice that Kara had been hit by some kind of emotional wave and walked over to her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Kara leaned into it, allowing it to ground her, and forcing herself to take deep breaths.

"At least they weren't very sneaky," Alex offered, trying to help Kara look at the bright side. "In most kidnappings, there's absolutely no evidence left behind."

"Gemma has her," Kara said in a low voice, her words shaking angrily. "And there's no way to prove it. Gemma lives in this building too, her hair could be anywhere. Why do they have her? What does she have to do with anything?"

Alex rubbed her shoulder in an attempt to be reassuring. "We're going to find her, Kara. But you need to calm down and we need to think about this rationally. They can't have taken her far so, most logically, given their age and outreach at this point in time, they would actually keep her on campus. They'd think of it as a keeping her in plain sight situation. Everyone's most likely to assume they'd be hidden far away from the place they were kidnapped in, right? Not Secret Agent Alex Danvers."

"Secret Agent Alex Danvers?" Kara asked, raising an eyebrow at her and seeming to lighten up just a little.

Alex grinned. "Yeah, and what should we call you? Supergirl?"

Kara gave her a little smile, not wanting to let on just how happy the nickname actually made her feel. She thought of her cousin, fighting crime in Metropolis, making a difference on Earth. If she could be like that… even though her initial mission failed, she'd be living out her parents' mission for her on a different planet, and that would make everything Krypton sacrificed so that she could live worthwhile.

"I like that," Kara said with a grin, "Supergirl and Agent Danvers, fighting crime, beating the bad guys, busting my best friend out of prison…"

"Don't get too carried away," Alex said, but even she was giving Kara a small smile. The two of them headed back to their room to charge Lena's phone, get ahold of Lex, and try to figure out a plan to find their missing friend. In the meantime, Alex sent texts to Winn and Nia to let them know what was going on and why they wouldn't be at lunch, and within about fifteen minutes, the two of them had both arrived prepared to help.

When Lena's phone buzzed to life, Kara quickly shushed everyone and found Lex's number in the emergency contacts. She called it, listening to it ring a few times as she nervously tapped her finger against the back of the phone. Pick up, pick up, pick up. Just when she thought it would go to voicemail, Lex answered.

"Lena? I mean, I was expecting your call, but not until later. Did you not go to class today?"

"Lex…" Kara said, suddenly unsure of where or how to begin, "it's me, Kara, Lena's friend? She's in trouble and we really need your help."

"What kind of trouble?" his voice was instantly alert. Kara heard a woman's voice in the background and Lex quickly snap, "It's about Lena, mother. This may have to wait until another time." Then, "Sorry, please continue."

"Gemma kidnapped her," Kara said, feeling the weight of the situation settle on her shoulders. It was like having the burden of Krypton on her shoulders once more; it was the same feeling she got when the top of the pod closed over her head and, though she was excited for what was about to come, she was horribly aware of the heavy burden that she was being entrusted to carry. But this time, it fueled a newfound confidence within her. She was going to find Lena.

"What? Why? To get to you? How do you have her phone?"

"I found it in her room," Kara explained. "She wasn't in our first period class, so we bailed to see if she'd just decided not to go to class. But her door was hanging open, and it looked like there was a skirmish in the entrance, and her phone was just sitting out on the desk so I grabbed it before Gemma or Andrea could think to go back and take it. We really need your help, Lex. I'm worried about her. I know you're grieving, and you want to be with your mother, and this is a lot to ask of you—"

"I get it," Lex interrupted, "I'll be there by tomorrow. And Kara," he added, "it's good to know that someone cares about my sister as much as you do. I'll catch the next flight, and in the meantime, Lena will be looking for ways to try to communicate with people directly outside of her location if she can't escape right off the bat, I'm sure. If you have any leads on where she might be, I'd walk around near those locations and see if you can hear anything."

"Thank you, Lex," she said, and the two of them exchanged goodbyes before hanging up. Kara quickly relayed what he had told her to everyone else, and then took a deep breath and nodded, as if to reassure herself that what she was about to say was a good idea.

"Nia, you're the only one who doesn't know that I—"

"You're Kryptonian," Nia said gently, "and you're Superman's cousin. I know I… may have seen it in a dream. I'm actually from Naltor; I don't just have vivid dreams, I have real premonitions and I can genuinely predict the future when I get visions."

"That's incredible," Kara said, a relieved smile on her face. "So, we have quite the power team then, don't we? I think it's supposed to be foggy tonight. If the clouds are hanging low enough, I can fly around and use my x-ray vision to see if I can find Lena. I can also use my super hearing to see if I pick up on her yelling, though I don't know how likely that'll be at night. Damn…" she murmured, "I really hope they gave her a window or a clock, at least."

"Just… don't think about what her cell is like," Alex said, having a hunch that it wasn't very nice. Kara gave her a grim nod.

Winn piped up, "I can see if I can hack into Gemma or Andrea's information and figure out where they might be hiding her. That would also be helpful if they're corresponding at all through text or messaging."

Alex nodded. "Nia and I can check in the places that seem most likely for them to be hiding Lena and see if Nia has any visions or we hear anything from Lena. We will find her."

…

It was Wednesday, and they had not found Lena yet. Lex had returned the day before, and had been helping Winn with hacking and had been questioning Gemma occasionally about if she had heard from, seen, or heard anything about Lena's whereabouts to try to get her to crack. Unfortunately, Andrea and Gemma were both unyielding, and Kara seemed unable to locate Lena despite her best efforts to see or hear through walls. Many of the buildings were blocked; somehow, she was unable to see into them, and it made it difficult to figure out where Lena was.

Kara was sitting in class, unable to focus, thinking about Lena sitting somewhere, alone, being treated like a prisoner. Her heart ached, and she watched the clock intently, watching each second drag by in agonizing slowness. She drifted through her classes like she wasn't even there, ignoring everything going on around her and staring, watching the clock. She was so lost in her thoughts and concerns that she missed the hand reaching out of the janitor's closet to grab her arm and yank her in.

This was familiar. The door swung shut and locked, and when Kara had finished spinning and becoming aware of her surroundings, she found Gemma standing behind her and the door. But this time, Kara didn't give a fuck what Gemma knew. Whipping her glasses off, Kara forcefully grabbed Gemma by the neck and slammed her into the wall, some of the bricks cracking under the effort. Gemma grunted, kicking and trying to pry Kara's hand off of her throat, but to Kara's surprise, it was like the force of slamming her hadn't impacted her at all. She was unscathed.

"Put—me—down—" Gemma managed to cough out.

"Where is Lena?" Kara snapped, her eyes burning so hot that Gemma could see flames literally start to lick at the edges.

"I'll tell you…" Gemma choked, "when you put me down."

Kara begrudgingly dropped Gemma, letting her stagger to get her balance. She eyed Gemma warily, watching her rub her neck as if it had just been a bit uncomfortable to be held like that and Kara hadn't been crushing her windpipe.

"You're not human," Kara said, her eyes flicking up and down to confirm that Gemma was totally fine.

"I'm not an alien like you are, though. You're a refugee. You have to fight for your rights. I've been here since the dawn of time. I'm a god on this planet. So, for now, we're even," Gemma said, rubbing her neck as if to say, seriously, even if you didn't hurt me, that wasn't comfortable. "You want to know where Lena is," she went on, straightening up. "I'll let her go in one piece, but I want you to do something for me."

"What?" Kara asked, her expression and tone still guarded and distrustful.

Gemma smirked. "Get me into the Fortress of Solitude."

Kara narrowed her eyes. Kal-El had shown her the fortress when she first arrived on Earth so that she would know that it was there, how to get there, and how to use its resources. She also knew that it was filled with countless weapons kept there under lock and key, priceless information that only she and her cousin were supposed to have access to. What could Gemma possibly want from the fortress?

"Why?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.

"I am aware that the fortress possesses a wealth of information that people on Earth could not have dreamed of researching themselves; technologies unknown to this planet, locations of precious artifacts, unknown historical information… information that might include where to find the Medallion of Acrata. I promised Andrea I would help her get it, and this is the only way I can see fit to do so."

"The location of the medallion, that's the only thing you want?" Kara asked, her eyebrows furrowed in a serious expression. Gemma nodded. "And you're aware that I can have you destroyed if I unauthorize you?" Kara asked, still looking hesitant and on the edge. Gemma nodded once more, a glimmer shining in her eyes as she realized that Kara was actually considering taking the bait.

"I am not trying to hurt anyone Kara, I…" Gemma said, her voice shaking with emotion, "I just want to help her find the medallion. Lena is perfectly fine, and you will be too, if you just get me into the fortress, allow me to get that information, and then bring me back here."

Kara was silent for a moment, as if she were seriously considering the offer. Then, she said, "No. I am going to keep looking for her myself. What you're doing is wrong, and there is too much that I don't want getting into the wrong hands. You need Lena alive if you want me to do anything for you. You're going to have to come up with a better reason why I should take you there if you want me to do something so stupid and reckless."

"I really hoped it wouldn't come to this," Gemma murmured. "Kara… Superman killed Lionel Luthor. It was an accident, of course… he was only trying to destroy the device that Lionel was working on. But, it happened to be on a night when Lionel was working late, and he died in the fire. In any case, Lillian told Lex, Lex told Lena, and, well, if Lena knew you were Kryptonian…"

Kara's face fell. That couldn't be true. Lena would never forgive her.

"If you don't agree to take me to the fortress by next week," Gemma said softly, "I'll tell Lena the truth, and I'll tell Lex the truth, and they will both turn on you. You'll be finished here; if you think I'm bad, you haven't gone head to head with the Luthors. As a team, they're undefeatable. In the meantime, the longer you wait to decide, the longer Lena goes with the bare minimum, and even though we're taking care of her… she isn't looking great."

Kara was staring at the floor. Why did Superman have to be the one to kill Lionel? And here was Gemma, offering her a way to get Lena out immediately that wouldn't result in anyone getting hurt, and she wasn't taking it because of sheer mistrust? Why? Gemma was leaving, and Kara would have to wait to speak to her again anyways, but she didn't know what the right thing to do was.

Walking back to class, Kara felt numb. Gemma really had her stuck between a rock and a hard place, and she kept going back and forth between whether she should talk to Alex, refuse Gemma's offer entirely and hope she found Lena before they could tell her the truth, or agree to Gemma's offer without consulting anyone, let her take Andrea to the medallion, and hope that their bad blood was over…. there were too many potential scenarios, and in each one, too many things that could possibly go wrong. They were no closer to finding Lena on Wednesday than they were two days prior, and she honestly didn't know if they'd be any closer to finding her a week from then.

Just then, she froze. She could hear a conversation coming from outside of classroom she was in, and it sounded like Andrea and Gemma. Tilting her glasses down her nose to lessen their ability to block her powers, she focused on their conversation and strained to hear what they were saying to one another.

"…under the stables is a good one, but I just thought you would've rather her be in one of the ones that's a bit closer."

"There are only so many cells in the lab, the one under the stables is lined the heaviest so no x-ray vision will penetrate it. If we don't want them to find her, that's the best choice."

"But what about the—"

"Would you be quiet! We shouldn't be talking about this here."

Kara frowned. They had to be talking about Lena. A newfound hope spread through her and she quickly texted her group chat to let them know that she had urgent information that might help them find Lena. The rest of the day breezed by from there, and Kara felt certain that they were going to find her. She was right not to trust Gemma; now, she had a lead.

…

"The cell, or maybe just the outside of the underground lab, must be lined with lead, which is why I can't see through it," Kara explained to Alex, Nia, and Winn once they were safely hidden in the confines of hers and Alex's room. Lex, of course, didn't know about this meeting; any discussion of Kara's powers had to be done in his absence. "But we know where she is now. If we can figure out how to get in, there's a chance I'll be able to break into the cell. If the cell is lined with lead…"

"We'll just have to pick the lock," Alex finished, and Kara nodded in agreement with her suggestion.

"I can definitely figure out how to get you guys in," Winn said, "From there, though, it'll be all you."

Alex and Winn then launched into a discussion about the logistics of figuring out how to get into the lab. While they were speaking, Nia gently grabbed Kara's elbow and pulled her aside. She looked confused and concerned, and she glanced over her shoulder before speaking as if she was uncertain about saying what she was about to say in front of Alex and Winn.

"I saw something in a dream the other night," she said, looking down and to the side. "I don't know what it means but… I have a feeling you do." Her eyes met Kara's, and Kara felt a chill run down her spine at the worry in Nia's eyes. "I don't know if this plan is going to work or not, but I saw you… and Gemma… you were in what looked like a big glacier. I could tell from the energy that it was your domain, but it was like she was calling the shots. I had a bad feeling about it, Kara. I feel like it was a warning."

Kara immediately felt a sinking feeling fill her. "Let's just go forward with the plan," she said as confidently as she could, putting a hand on Nia's shoulder. "It's all we can do right now, but thank you for mentioning that to me. I'm… I'm not entirely sure what it means either, but maybe soon, it'll make sense."

Nia nodded, accepting her answer and seeming a bit relieved, but Kara felt far from relieved. If their plan was going to work, she didn't have any clue in what timeline she'd be likely to still take Gemma to the fortress. Swallowing her fear, she reassured herself that their plan was foolproof. It had to work.

…

"Where the hell am I now?" Lena asked Andrea, her arms crossed. She was in a different cell now, one with a much less comfortable bed and a bathroom with awful plumbing and water that ran brown for about five minutes before becoming clear every time the faucet was turned on. Andrea glanced up at her as she set the tray of food down on the ground, rolling her eyes.

"We're obviously not going to tell you that," Andrea said. "Chill out—haven't you noticed that there's a little window in here? At least now you can see when it's day or night. You should be thanking me, I convinced Gemma to move you in here."

"Gee, thanks, now I have a bed that will surely give me back problems and plumbing that I'll likely get diseases from. But thank you, so much Andrea, for the square the size of my eyeball that I can look out to see a sliver of the sky! It's truly such a step up from the last cell you were holding me in. I really feel like I'm living in the lap of luxury here."

Andrea glared at her. "I thought I was doing you a favor."

"Doing me a favor? Who gives a shit if you've done me any favors when this is all said and done? Tell me, are you going to kill me before or after you kill Kara?"

"What do you mean?" Andrea asked. "We're not going to kill either of you."

"Oh, don't play dumb with me," Lena hissed, "We know each other better than that. And I know Gemma better than that. There's no way she's letting us live after everything we've seen her do. We know too much. Unless—you didn't really think she was going to let us live, did you?" Lena cocked an eyebrow. "Being friends with you wasn't so horrible, you know. We had some good times. I hope the medallion is worth it."

Lena didn't say anything else, but she gave the tray a kick, knocking its contents over. Today, it was a cup of vegetables that looked mushy and unappealing, another dinner roll, and a cup of water. Spitting on the tray, which was still directly at Andrea's feet, Lena gave Andrea a sharp, angry scowl.

"Might as well speed up the process," Lena muttered, turning and lying down on the rickety bed with her back to Andrea, staring at the wall. There was a moment of silence, as Andrea stood mulling in Lena's rant, before she quietly picked the tray back up and opened the door, shooting a sorrowful look over her shoulder at Lena before she shut it behind her.

As soon as Andrea was gone from the room, Lena closed her eyes, letting out a long breath. She was exhausted and hungry; being a problematic hostage was not serving her well, but she didn't want to give either of them the satisfaction of thinking she was breaking or giving in. She ate enough of the food and drank enough of the water they gave her to get by. She slept when she could, even though most of her sleep was spent battling her way through nightmares in which Kara fell right into Gemma's trap, and Lena was forced to watch as her friend suffered a long, painful death before Gemma finally approached her to offer her the same fate.

Her eyes found the "window" Andrea had been talking about, a little square like something Lena would've expected to see on a submarine. The window poked up just slightly through the dirt, providing some light to filter in through the top edge; she was underground, but it looked like she was in a basement, rather than a bunker of some kind. The sky was dark. It was nighttime, and Lena had absolutely no clue what day it was.

But Andrea had been right about one thing—Lena knew how to track the stars. And as her eyes flicked around, seeking out the various constellations she was able to recognize, she was surprised to figure it out. She was in the school's basement, directly under the library. Only the Coopers, she thought, would pay to have a school let them turn its basement into a laboratory, complete with cells for human subjects.

She wondered if the school even knew about it. Frankly, she wouldn't have been surprised if the Coopers had owned the land before the school bought it and had been the ones to sell it to them in the first place. Their family had an ancient lineage after all, and nearly all of them were alumni of Mount Helena. This was a good sign, though. If she was under the library, she had a chance of being found, and that was a piece of hope she found she had no choice but to cling to.

A/N We love a stalemate! But seriously guys the Superfriends have officially become ~a thing~!

Only a matter of time before Supercorp becomes a thing am I right or am I right?

Shit always gets worse before it gets better though, you know how it be.

I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, and thank you all for your support and kind words so far! I'm glad you're liking it so far!

Until next time,

Nana