Author's note: Reminder of the initial trigger warning for self-harm. Angst to follow.

In her bedroom – which was large enough to be a studio apartment – Lena laid on her stomach on her bed, hunched over her diary. In it, she wrote:

I don't even know what happened today. Kara… saved me, I guess. No… No, she did save me. I told her I was fine. But… I don't think I could've used my Luthor wits to get me out of that situation. Maybe I do need… No, that's stupid. Mother always told us: Luthors don't need friends. I don't need a friend. Kara's just a stupid, pompous, self-righteous prep like Supergirl. Ugh. Supergirl. Kara reminds me so much of her. I'm just glad I've never had a chance to go toe-to-toe with Supergirl. Ugh. At least she's not as bad as Superman. But, as mother always says, guilty by association. Plus, they're aliens!

Anyway, I don't know. I'm just glad things didn't get any worse. I guess I should've said thank you. I kind of feel like an asshole now, but there's no way in hell I'm going to say it at this point. Besides, even though she said she likes doing the right thing, I think she just likes to get into other people's business.

Gotta go now. Dinner time. Not sure I can eat. I feel sick still… like… like something bad is going to happen. This is the kind of thing that makes me want to hurt myself again. But…

Kara told me to 'Please, be safe.' No one's ever said that to me before. No one's ever cared. Ugh, I hate this. I hate not knowing what the hell her deal really is. I've always been able to read people, but I can't read her. Maybe I'm losing my touch, now that Lex is gone. Maybe I'm losing my Luthor wits. Anyway, I'll figure that out later. Time to try to stomach something other than water.

Later.

~L

~!~!~

The next day, when Kara saw Lena in the hallway at school, she offered a weak smile and a wave – a peace offering, to let Lena know there were no hard feelings about the way she had dismissed her the previous afternoon.

Lena ignored her and stared through her as though Kara was a thin curtain letting light through.

Biting her lip, Kara dropped her gaze and continued to her next class.

~!~!~

That weekend, Lena found herself in another uncomfortable position, this time with a family member.

"You're going," her mother asserted sternly. "I pay for that island, so you're going to go, and you're going to enjoy it."

Lena rolled her eyes and shot back, "I don't care about your stupid island, mother. I don't want to go."

"Well, isn't that too bad," her mother retorted with a smirk. "Because I'm your mother, and you'll do as you're told."

The young brunette felt her fists clench. More than anything, she wanted to punch her mother square in the face. But resorting to violence wasn't the answer. All she had to do was get through the weekend.

Deep breaths, Lena, she told herself. You can do this. It'll be okay.

Shortly after packing her things, she and her mother left the house and made their way to their private jet, where Lena reluctantly boarded the plane.

"I hate your stupid island," Lena mumbled, brushing past her mother to sit in the back.

"Enough, Lena," her mother snapped. "If you have nothing nice to say to your mother, keep your mouth shut. Understand?"

"Yes, mother," Lena replied, gritting her teeth.

She sat down without another word, putting on her noise cancelling headphones and tuning out the roaring of the plane engines.

Shortly, she was torn from her relaxed trance by a large bout of turbulence that shook the plane hard – harder than she'd ever experienced before. It felt like getting hit by a car, and her head shot forward and back in just moments, causing a sharp ache in her neck.

"What's—" Lena started to ask, jerking her headphones off. Looking out the window, she noticed one of the engines fully in flames as the plane veered off course to the side, tilting the entire cabin so that she slid sideways in her seat.

To Lena's shock, it took only moments for the plane to stabilize. But how was that possible? The engine was still blown.

Slowly, the jet began to descend – horizontally, but straight down. In a few short moments, they were on the ground again. The door flung open, making Lena's heart race even more fervently.

Supergirl.

"Are you folks alright?" the girl asked, cape flowing behind her as her skirt fluttered in the wind.

As Lena's mother stared in disbelief – she hated the Supers – Lena did the same, but with a softened expression.

"Folks? Is anyone hurt?"

Lena rubbed the back of her neck but shook her head, though her chest was rapidly tightening. Soon, Lena's vision went blank as all she could feel was her throat tightening and her heart racing.

"M-Mom," Lena choked out, pressing her palm over her heart and leaning over, supporting herself with her hand on her knee.

"Lena?" Supergirl asked, approaching her quickly and touching her arm. "What's—"

"D-Don't. I—" Lena protested, but Supergirl lifted her chin with one gentle finger and looked into her eyes, finding panic there. "I can't breathe."

"Lena," Supergirl said softly, trying to calm her as she used her X-ray vision to check for any abnormalities with her heart and finding none. "You're having a panic attack. You're going to be okay. We're going to get you to the hospital to—"

"No! I—"

"Lena," Supergirl repeated. "I need to you to try to breathe for me."

"C-Can't. It hurts," Lena sobbed, instinctively grabbing Supergirl's cape as she fell to her knees, still clutching her chest.

"It's okay, Lena. You're okay. Breathe with me, okay? Breathe in and count with me." Lena shook her head, but Supergirl continued anyway, cooing, "Breathe in. One… two… three… And out a little longer. You can do it, Lena. Out. One… two… three… four…"

Slowly, Lena's fists unclenched and fell to Supergirl's forearms. Her breathing had slowed, if only slightly, although her chest and left arm were still hurting. Slowed enough for her to begin to think rationally.

"I… I don't… don't want to go…" she gasped between labored breaths.

"Go with her, Lena," the girl's mother ordered.

"Please," Supergirl gently added. "Please. Let me bring you. Just to be evaluated. I promise I won't hurt you."

Biting her lip and feeling the ache in her chest, Lena nodded, but was even more breath taken when Supergirl lifted her swiftly into her arms, bridal style.

Gasping as Supergirl took off in flight, Lena stared in disbelief of her surroundings while she watched the buildings pass below them. Even more to her surprise, Supergirl insisted on sitting with her while she waited for the doctor to evaluate her in the emergency room.

"You don't have to stay," Lena told her.

"Of course I'll stay. I want to make sure you're alright."

"I'm fine, Supergirl. Really," Lena lied, still feeling the tightness in her chest and the somewhat-slowed pressure of her heart thumping heavily.

Lena felt incredibly uncomfortable with the caring nature of the superhero, but Supergirl's persistence kept her quiet as the clock ticked by several more minutes.

"You're doing a good job, Lena," Supergirl finally said, touching the brunette's forearm with fingertips like butterflies.

Lena shivered and shook her head.

After a pause, Supergirl asked cautiously, "The plane was rigged to crash. Who do you think would've wanted to hurt you and your mother?"

Lena paused, stunned by Supergirl's words.

"I… I don't know," Lena sighed. "I'm sorry. If I knew, I'd tell you. Mother would want them to go down in flames."

"And… what about you?"

"What do you mean, what about me?"

"Would you want them to go down in flames?"

Lena paused, considering this. As cold as she was, she had never been quite as heartless as her mother. At least, she'd never wished death on anyone before.

"I guess not," Lena confessed.

Supergirl smiled.

"I'm glad. But don't worry. We'll bring them to justice, okay? As soon as I figure this out, you'll be the first to know, and I promise – I promise – I won't let them hurt you again."

Stunned, Lena stared. Then, suddenly, she was torn from the stupor of surprise and dragged into another fog – this time, a fog of confusion as she watched Supergirl's golden locks of hair bounce around her shoulders, light catching the blonde hair and illuminating them in the most striking way.

"Supergirl?" Lena asked, after a long bout of silence.

"Yes, Lena?"

"T-Thank you…"

Supergirl smiled and shrugged her shoulders, replying, "Don't mention it. It's my pleasure to help. Good job today."

Blinking with confusion, Lena tried to remember where she'd heard those words before.

~!~!~

Lena spent the following week at school thinking about the plane incident. Who would want them dead? She couldn't think of anyone, but her mother kept almost everything a secret. Lena was sure there were plenty of people who would put a bounty on her mother's head.

Then, her thoughts began to drift back to Supergirl and the way the woman had touched her, comforted her, coached her through the scariest moment in her entire life. How was it possible that she could be so tender towards a Luthor? It was unheard of.

Several times, her teachers had to shake her from her trance in the middle of class, as Lena continued to find herself preoccupied with thoughts of her near-death experience, and her rescue. When reports got back to her mother that she was performing less than perfectly, there were consequences.

"You are so grounded!" her mother shouted, upon receiving the phone call. "I give you everything, and I ask for so, so little of you, Lena. I ask for so little. Just that you keep up your grades. Your brother was never this incompetent!"

"It was a B on the test, mother! It's not like I failed it!" Lena shouted back.

"You might as well have! Dozing off in class? Completely missing half a lecture?"

"I didn't doze off in class! I just had a lot on my mind. I was… I was thinking about the plane."

Her mother paused and looked at her.

"You think that a little assassination attempt would stop me from running the business? Or get the way of my performance at my job?"

Lena felt her heart sink. She was so far from being anything like her adoptive mother that it hurt. Well… No… Her mother's disappointment in her hurt.

She yearned for acceptance, so she gritted her teeth and replied, "I'll do better, mother."

"Very good. I expect you will."

Upstairs in her room, Lena began to cry. The tears were angry, hot, and aggressively unwanted, but Lena could do nothing to stop them.

In her journal, she wrote, I'll never been good enough, and threw the book to the other side of the room where it hit the wall with a loud thud.

Angry with herself for crying and for never being good enough, Lena pulled a small box from her nightstand and removed a pack of razors from it. Taking one delicately from the box, Lena felt her tears slow and calmness fade over her.

Taking deep, slow breaths, Lena pushed her skirt up and dragged one of the blades over her thighs, where the long, thin line joined several others. As soon as she saw the blood bubbling up around the blade, her eyes fell closed.

In the morning, when she woke, she found her sheets soaked in deep, red blood.

"Shit!" she cursed, looking down at her blankets.

Leaping out of the bed, Lena quickly stripped the bedding, shoved it into a trash bag, and pushed it under the bed, replacing it with fresh, clean bedding.

"Fuck," she sighed, looking down at her thighs.

She'd fallen asleep in her skirt, which she'd also ruined.

Rubbing her temples, Lena sat down on the freshly made bed and sighed, "What did I just do?"