The one where Lena Luthor saved Christmas
Chapter 5
'Going live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1' The director said from the doorway of Lena's spacious office. They'd collectively chosen to film the broadcast here, less contrived a setting than the building's studio.
'Good evening National City.' Lena began, nervous, though she didn't betray her fears to the camera. She was dressed elegantly as always, her CEO attire was the garb in which she was most confident, and tonight's events were some she had never anticipated occurring, much less with so little notice. She only hoped Superman would be able to play his part as well as she had.
'For those who do not know me, my name is Lena Luthor, CEO of L Corp.' She continued. She didn't imagine there were many adults who were unaware of her, her notoriety proceeded her after all, but she was addressing children, and she doubted many of the under 10s kept up to date with current events much.
'First let me begin by explaining how I'm speaking to you, before moving on to why.' Nobody was going to be taking her word on faith, and she had just appeared on every TV and every channel in the city without warning.
'I'm using the emergency broadcast system, setup for times of great crisis. This is one such time.' She explained seriously. Thousands of children distraught, she definitely thought it counted. Especially given she knew how unhappy Kara might be. The CEO had tried to contact the other woman, even just to give some moral support, but had received no answer. Whatever she was up to, she must be busy. She was probably going to get even busier. She hoped she'd get a free pass from the authorities for this minor infraction, the system was laughably easy to hack into.
'We have lost a major icon today, in battle scenes both horrific for their violence, but more importantly, because of the hero we have lost faith in.' Lena continued.
'Let me tell you now, that Supergirl is as good and as kind as she ever was.' She said, dramatically. She'd done a couple of theatre courses in college, she KNEW how to bring the gravitas.
'But I have a surprise for you, people of National City, and especially the youngest of you listening.' She continued, quieting her voice and leaning forward, hoping that her audience was rapt enough to lean forward into their screens.
'L Corp has been a rebranding, to move away from a company, Luthor Corp, with a well-deserved negative press. My brother, now imprisoned, developed terrifying weaponry in a hopeless feud against the aliens among us, in particular Supergirl's cousin, Superman.' A bit of background for the very few unaware. Hopefully it wouldn't come back to bite her.
'Though I've always spoken out firmly against Lex, few have been willing to believe that I've wanted to change the company for the better. We develop clean technology to help people, a world away from the pain and suffering Lex continually brought.' Perhaps that might mitigate the situation with the stockholders.
'This, today, is the work of my brother, of that I have no doubt. Only he has the capability and the resources to have built a replica to match Supergirl.' She explained gently.
'The Santa you saw fall today wasn't real. A robot, made to fall at the first sign of Supergirl's superiority. To make you lose hope in her goodness, today of all days.'
'I know this will be difficult to believe, having witnessed it with your own eyes. But we don't have to take it on faith, not anymore.' Lena continued. She'd had a thought, hours ago, and had been working ever since to achieve it. Few who knew her well would ever think she'd be the one going out on a limb to save Christmas. The things she did for love and friendship, honestly.
'Being a billionaire has its privileges, I'm aware of that more than most. But now I choose to use those connections as a force for hope.'
'In a moment, we go live to the North Pole, where Santa himself is ready to give a message of hope to the young people of the city.' She really hoped her face seemed as inscrutable as ever.
'Thank you for listening, and I hope you all have a merry Christmas, filled with family and love and joy.' End scene, camera feed redirected. Lena breathed a sigh of relief and poured herself a glass of the good scotch. Hopefully this would all blow over.
'Er, hi, am I on?' Clark started, entirely unconvincingly. Lena had helpfully arranged a last-minute rental suit for him, a really high quality one, and he'd been able to pick it up a few blocks away from his apartment. He wasn't entirely convinced of how successful he'd be playing a rotund older man, but he'd give it his best shot. Lena had been right, their only option now was to fight loss of hope with hope. He'd donned the padding with good graces, ignored the scratchiness of the ultra-realistic beard. The CEO had given him a camera and set it up to feed, he didn't have to worry about activating it, it was a live feed, ready to be accessed. He had been assured that he wouldn't be visible to the masses until Lena finished her segment, but he nevertheless stayed entirely still for the duration. It wouldn't do to out himself as Superman, or even worse, Clark.
'Sorry, I'm not used to being filmed.' He began again, slightly flustered. It didn't help that he was having to use a third iteration of his voice, this time trying to sound wizened and kindly instead of powerful or nervous.
'As you can see, I'm in my Grotto, wearing my suit and ready to fly tonight.' Perhaps explaining the obvious, but some people would probably need a second to adjust. His fortress looked astonishingly appropriate as a Christmas setting, covered in ice and snow. Lena had given him a beautiful looking sleigh to take with him too, not exactly easy to keep out of sight. Clark had flown straight up with it and just kept above the clouds until he landed.
'Everything Miss Luthor has said is true. I was deeply saddened to learn that her brother had used your belief to make a villain out of a hero.' Back on track Superman, nice and easy, he thought. Lena had started to relax too, back in her office. Who knew the man of steel could pull off pudgy old codger so well?
'Miss Luthor got in contact with me, and I've taken time out of my busy preparations wrapping presents and talking to my reindeer to give you a message of hope.' Less convincing, but still something. Santa helped wrap the presents right?
'I exist, I support the supers, and indeed Miss Luthor, and I'll see you all very shortly.' Blunt and to the point. Credit where credit was due, Lena had had nothing to really lose in the latest scheme, and she'd gone far out of her way to help his cousin. It was the least he could do to help her stock prices. Maybe help get her a bit of positive publicity she was always after.
'How do you know that I'm the real Santa?' Clark asked, smiling into the camera. He really liked this part.
He strode over to the sleigh, stacked with fake presents. Unbeknownst to the audience, there were handles inside, out of sight. Clark sat on the seat, took the weight of the vessel and took flight, hovering just above the camera.
'Merry Christmas everyone!' He said cheerily. Lena had the good sense to cut the feed there. If she'd left it any longer, Clark may have felt uncomfortable enough with the situation to wave, likely upturning or breaking the craft.
Lena checked Twitter. #LenaSavesChristmas and #SantaLovesSupers were trending. The news outlets had been handed back control, with everyone covering the story. She wondered where Kara was, still no news from CatCo.
She poured herself another drink, before settling in to wait. If Kara hadn't published, it meant that she wouldn't yet be back at the apartment. As much as she liked Eliza, she didn't think it was appropriate for her to loiter there. Christmas and joy was for other peoples' families, she was content with her paperwork, of which she had plenty. And now she needed to start to mitigate the potential distaste of the board. While the public at large seemed happy enough with her, she'd involved the company very publicly in a matter which was not their concern, and could have seriously damaged their reputation.
She didn't get very far though, before National City's hero was gently knocking on her balcony window, cape fluttering in the breeze. She supposed she should have suspected it, but honestly, she hadn't wanted to think about the inevitable awkward confrontation. She liked Supergirl well enough, the woman was certainly decent enough to Kara. But she didn't know how the hero might feel about her brother's initial role in the drama.
'Lena, can I come in please?' Supergirl asked through the glass, after the CEO had failed to respond for a significant amount of time. Lena rose from behind her desk, putting the lid into the decanter before walking slowly over to the door. The hero could have easily gotten in if she'd wanted to, but she'd chosen to wait patiently. Mustn't be that cross then, she mused.
She was quite taken aback when the taller woman immediately took her into a hug. Of all the ways this could have gone down, this wasn't the one she'd have guessed. The super hugged her a little too tightly, but Lena revelled in it. She wasn't normally tactile person outside of maybe Kara, but it had been a trying day. The blonde woman smelled of smoke, and there was a hint of perfume which seemed familiar, but she struggled to place over the stronger scent. Poor santabot.
'Thank you! Nobody has ever… we were so lost, I didn't know what to do!' She rambled adorably. Lena's heart ached for her. Supergirl's confidence was absent, and it was clear the day had had a profound impact for her.
'Supergirl, are you crying?' Lena noticed with alarm.
'Maybe a little? I'm just so overwhelmed. I didn't think you cared. How did you get Superman to agree?' Supergirl continued. Lena's actions had been entirely unanticipated. As far as everyone knew, she was having drinks in the apartment with Eliza. Kara had had a couple of missed calls earlier on, but she hadn't had time to answer. When they'd gotten word about the broadcast, the entire DEO had stopped to watch it in full. Alex had nearly fainted with shock. Kara herself had had to sit down immediately, the metal chair creaking as she descended too hard and fast for its tolerances.
'He cares about you. His fears about my motives were less important to him than his desire to see the situation righted. And I do too. Kara is very dear to me, and while you and I aren't very close, I know how important you are to her, and how much Christmas means to her.' Lena responded, smiling gently. Their hug had ended, but they still stood closely together, Lena's right arm raising to gently stroke Supergirl's upper arm in what she hoped was a comforting manner. She really didn't spend a lot of time reassuring people.
'Aren't you supposed to be at Kara's place anyway?' Supergirl asked, without really thinking it through.
'How would you know about that? And I haven't seen any of her writing go up, which means she must be occupied. She wouldn't go home without the story. She's tenacious like that.' Lena answered, smiling fondly as she though of her friend. She supposed Kara had let it slip to the hero that she'd invited Lena, not that she minded.
'Oh, not as tenacious as you. How did you even think of it?' Kara said playfully.
'Kara again. She just seemed so radiant when she talked about the holiday, so hopefully, so excited to spend time with the people she cared about. I realised that what the people had lost when they saw your fight was hope. And the only way to bring that back was to prove to them that their icon was alive as well.' Lena rambled, unusual for her.
'You think she's radiant?' Kara asked, blushing.
'I think perhaps this scotch is hitting me a little harder than I wanted. I didn't mean to be so forthcoming.' Lena responded, nervous. She doubted the Girl of Steel would rush off to tell her friend about her attraction, but she hadn't meant to make it that obvious.
'Why not stage it in a grotto?' Supergirl asked, giving Lena a reprieve. It was good to know her friend thought she looked nice, it was always nice to receive a compliment.
'Well, nobody was likely to believe me if I took over a department store to film it. I'm aware through my brother that your cousin has an ice fortress, it didn't seem too far-fetched that it could be used as a polar base. Added advantage of Superman actually being able to fly a sleigh.' Lena laughed, grateful for the diversion.
'I… you are so smart Lena. You found the solution where dozens of government agents and two superheroes couldn't. And you're just going to go back to work? Come home with me.' Kara asked seriously, forgetting momentarily that instead of her glasses and comfortable clothes, she was in her distinctive blue and red outfit.
'Supergirl, I don't know where you live, and I have plans, I'm just choosing to delay re-joining them. I have work to do.' Lena said, feigning irritation.
'It can wait Lena. And you do. It's about time I showed you.' Kara said seriously.
'Where you live?' Lena asked, confused.
'No, you know that already. Who I am.' Kara said, smiling nervously before reaching up to tie her hair and taking her spare glasses from the secret pocket in her boot.
'Kara' Lena said quietly, after a moment. Such a simple disguise and yet it fooled so many. It was more the attitude than anything else really, she really should have caught on when Supergirl had rambled at her and gone in for a hug.
'I'm sorry I didn't…' Kara began to apologise. With her other friends, she'd had a lot of explaining to do, with hurt feelings and time to adjust. But Lena quickly interrupted her.
'It's fine. Secret identities are secret for a reason. I certainly haven't got the best background.' Lena began, before being cut off by Kara.
'It's not that. I finally felt that I had a person I could be myself with. Who didn't see the superhero, who wasn't afraid to relax around me. Everyone else is so aware of my powers that it was refreshing to be awkward Kara Danvers with you. And Supergirl doesn't intimidate you in the slightest. Do you know how rare that is?' She explained passionately. Lena had felt for the longest time like the only person she could be Kara Zor-El with, other than maybe Alex, though the CEO hadn't known it. Kara hoped she wouldn't lose that now.
'Then why tell me now?' Lena asked, stepping closer to her friend. She had been momentarily hurt, but had quickly understood the reasoning. She was a person well used to locking away parts of herself, she couldn't begrudge her closest friend the opportunity to finally be all of herself, even in secret.
'Because I really don't want to hide from you anymore. You've proven so often how trustworthy you are, and I don't want to lie to you anymore. I want to be honest with you.' Kara said, taking Lena's hand. No more lies from here on out. Alex would have to cope, she'd certainly been proven wrong today. No doubt Lena would be an asset of immense value to the DEO anyway, not that Kara really cared about that. She cared about her friend.
'I want to be honest with you too, in the interest of new beginnings and Christmas and whatever.' Lena started, trying to feel seem more confident than she felt. Kara's hand in hers was incredibly warm and incredibly distracting. Enough was enough. It was an evening for revelations and Lena was tired of trying to hide her affection.
'Don't tell me you're a superhero too' Kara asked jokingly, to try and break the tension.
'No, but please don't hate me for this.' Lena smiled, but immediately turned serious once again.
'Lena, I could never hate you. You're my favourite person' Kara said gently, brushing Lena's fingers with her thumb. Lena took a breath, before sighing.
'And you're mine. In fact, I like you a little too much. A lot too much actually.' She replied. Finally.
'Oh.' Recognition dawned on Kara's face. After months of flirting and closeness, it had taken a very direct admission for her friend to see what she meant to Lena. God she was oblivious. Lena loved her anyway.
'Yeah, I'm sorry, you're just so… you, and I really couldn't help it. Sorry. We can forget this ever happened.' Lena began, trying to control the damage. She couldn't bear to lose her friend, though she didn't for a second think Kara was that unreasonable.
'No, that… that wasn't an oh as in an 'oh no'. I'm surprised but happy about it? I admire you a lot Lena, and Rao you're pretty. Oh gosh, I'm rambling. Please stop me. I think we'd be really good together, only if you wanted though. Totally no pressure. It's not like I haven't thought about dating you. I'm just surprised you'd want to. You're so successful and beautiful and nice and beautiful…' Kara rambled gently, stepping closer to Lena and taking her other hand.
'You've thought about it? You think I'm beautiful?' Lena asked, smiling widely. In her wildest dreams she hadn't expected Kara to be interested. Though it made sense now why the other woman hadn't reciprocated or acted uncomfortable with the flirting, given she hadn't bloody noticed it in the first place.
'Oh Rao.' Kara said, blushing again. Superhero or not, she had exactly zero chill. Suave and sophisticated were two modes she could never hope to achieve. Lena didn't seem to mind though.
'May I?' Lena asked permission, stepping even closer and tilting her head upwards. Even Kara understood what she wanted to do.
'Yes please.' Kara replied, before leaning down into the kiss.
It was better than Lena had anticipated, and she'd anticipated it a lot over the past few months. Kara's lips were so soft. Her hands had moved, one to the back of Lena's neck and one to her waist. They both became lost in it, and it was several minutes before they stopped for breath, foreheads leaning together.
'Let's go home for Christmas Lena' Kara said, taking Lena's hand.
'I suppose I can take a couple of days' Lena replied, smiling, before moving in to kiss her once again.