Lena and Alex didn't speak much on the walk to the lighthouse, both wrapped up in their own thoughts, and Alex needed all the breath she could just to keep walking. The wind was up, pushing the clouds quickly across the sky, allowing them irregular but welcome patches of sunshine. Everyday for the past couple of days Alex had been going for a short walk with Kara to try and increase her stamina, but the walk to the lighthouse was by far the greatest distance. Alex dragged herself up the last few steps to the top of the lighthouse, clinging to the rail for support. Her legs were wobbly and she was dripping with sweat, but she had to do this.
"Are you - you don't look great," Lena said, turning to Alex. She'd left Caoimhe with Kara back at the hotel as a sort of consolation, knowing that they'd keep each other company. Kara was more than happy to go for a ramble through the town with Caoimhe at her heels, though it had felt peculiar for Lena not to have Caoimhe sniffing and galloping along the beach beside her. Kara had half-heartedly suggested she go with Lena and Alex, but that idea was quickly shut down.
"Yeah, I - I'm…" Alex fought to catch her breath. She pulled off her gloves and wiped her forehead. "Think I'm going to need a sleep this afternoon."
Lena nodded. Alex hadn't looked so unwell for a week or more, and it made Lena nervous. "Right, well, here we are. I guess you know what we're looking for."
Alex made her way to the light and inspected it, but wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for. "You know more about electronics than me," she said to Lena. "Kryptonite is green, but it's possible it's encased in something. I've only ever seen it in solid form, but in theory it could be a liquid, so…"
"So find what looks unnecessary," Lena said, kneeling down to get a better look under the beacon.
Alex slumped against the wall of the lighthouse.
"Are you sure you're all right?" Lena asked.
Alex went to nod, but then shook her head. "Just give me a minute," she said, closing her eyes as a wave of nausea washed over her. "I just - I'll come good."
"You're not like Kara and allergic to this stuff too?"
"No," Alex said. "I'm just regular-unwell."
"This could have waited."
"No. It needs to be done. For Kara." Kara had spent hours at Lena's house on Tuesday afternoon, and a couple more hours happily debriefing with Alex everything Lena had told her about Lex and his time in America and their speculations about his knowledge of kryptonite, as well as Kara's amusement that Lena had thought that Supergirl was a propaganda stunt. Alex knew that Kara had kept some of Lena's secrets to herself, and accepted and respected that.
Lena pulled a screwdriver out of her pocket and lay down under the beacon. "You and Kara go to quite some lengths for one another," she said, carefully dismantling it, placing the pieces aside in order so that she could reassemble it without too much difficulty. These things were always easier to take apart than put back together.
"She's my sister," Alex said.
"In a lot of families that doesn't necessarily mean much."
"I know. But it does to us."
Lena was glad she had something to do with her hands and somewhere to look other than at Alex. She pulled out some cabling and detached a couple of wires. "Well, you're very lucky."
"I know," Alex said, her breathing slowly returning to normal. "Kara means a lot. Supergirl might help fight to protect London and its people, and she might have pulled me out of the ocean, but it's Kara Danvers who's saved me."
Lena bit her lip. She would never understand what it was like to have someone like that in her life. A family member who was there, no matter what. But perhaps now she had half a chance. Alex seemed to fit the bill for a favourite cousin, but what she wanted from Kara was more.
"This is - unusual," Lena said, carefully disconnecting a metal box several inches cubed with wires coming out of it from inside the light. She slid out from underneath the beacon and sat up. "Could this be it?"
Alex shuffled over to take a closer look. "Can you open it?"
Lena pulled a smaller screwdriver out of her pocket and began to take the box apart.
"How many of those did you bring?" Alex asked.
"Enough," Lena replied, busying herself. "I'd rather bring my own tools than need to rely on the lighthouse-keeper's." A minute later she had the box open, and inside was a glowing green stone with wires connected. "Is this…?"
Alex nodded, her stomach tightening. This much raw kryptonite could kill Kara. No wonder it had made her so ill. "That's it."
Lena reassembled the box, then handed it to Alex. "What happens to it now?"
"I'll send it back to our people in London. They'll be able to safely dispose of it."
Lena felt an ugly thought rising inside her. What if the sisters were really spies? What if they were using her, and this had all been some ruse to gain her trust? What if they were sending the Kryptonite to Lex? Or if they were spies for the American government and were going to send it back over there for them to use as weapons? Lena would not let herself be a part of any destruction. Lex was causing more than enough of that for one family.
"And you're sure it will be safe?" Lena said, looking at the pieces of the beacon laid out before her. Would it shine as bright without the Kryptonite? How had Lex known that the substance would work with the light? What other properties did it have that he knew about?
"Certain," Alex said, wrapping the box in layers of brown paper, then placing it in the string bag she had brought along. "Once we go back to London, I can try to clear your name. Get you a British passport or visa or whatever you need. Kara is right about you. I think you're capable of wonderful things, Lena."
Lena pretended not to hear, and busied herself with reassembling the beacon. Would the light be dimmer? Would the townsfolk notice? Would they report it to her if they did? She realised that the kryptonite was not powering the light in any way, that was all done thanks to Lex's clever engineering, but the light had been used to amplify the Kryptonite. She explained her theory to Alex. "So perhaps in the storm, with all the lightning and extra water molecules, increased the range of the Kryptonite."
"Only one way to test that theory," Alex said, "And I'd really rather not."
Lena sat up and smiled. "It's nice to have someone to talk to who understands what it is I'm actually talking about."
"To be honest, I only understood about half of that, but it definitely sounded like a solid theory," Alex said, still feeling too light-headed for scientific discussions that she would generally take a strong interest in. She looked out the panoramic windows at the view across the Atlantic ocean. "Time for the long hike home?" she asked, turning to look back towards Luthorsport.
"It's not that far," Lena said, pocketing her screwdrivers.
"It's going to feel like it for me."
Alex ended up holding onto Lena's arms for support for most of the walk back to town. They went straight to the post office for Alex to send the Kryptonite away before returning to the hotel. Caoimhe leapt up on Lena, overjoyed to see her mistress, and Kara wrapped her arms around Alex who was pale and sweaty.
"You look terrible," Kara said.
"I feel it," Alex confessed, leaning into Kara.
"But you got it?"
"We got it, and it's now on it's way to H."
"Thank-you," Kara said. "Want me to carry you upstairs?"
Alex nodded, feeling completely drained.
"I'll leave you be," Lena said. "And I won't bother you this afternoon, I - "
"No, please," Kara said, looking over Alex's shoulder to Lena. "Bring the cards," she smiled.
"But, Alex is…"
"I'm not dead," Alex mumbled. "Come back for Kara, even if I'm asleep."
"Please. I insist," Kara said.
Lena smiled, a warm feeling growing in her stomach. "Well I guess I'll be back in a couple of hours then."
"Perfect," Kara grinned, and scooped up the exhausted Alex to carry her upstairs. Kara looked back at Lena. "I'll see you later on, then."
Lena nodded. "See you soon," she said, feeling light enough to skip home.