This story takes place between Season 4 and 5.
The prison door buzzed and then slid open as a guard appeared escorting Lillian Luthor into the private visitor room. An amused look appeared on the woman's face when she spotted her visitor. Then she walked into the room and took a seat in one of the floor-mounted metal stools at the table across from her daughter. The sound of the buzzer again signaled the door was closing and locking the two women in the room.
"This is a surprise. I figured since the situation with your brother has been resolved and I'm no longer a value to you as a source of information it would be the end of these mother-daughter visits. Unless of course, you came to talk about funeral arrangements."
"That's not why I'm here," Lena answered coldly.
"Good. Considering Lex's most recent fall from grace, I highly doubt a memorial service for the man who started a war and tried to take over the country would help L-Corps public relations problems. And given your brother's body was never recovered, I think we both know a funeral isn't really necessary."
"Lex is dead, mother."
Lillian sat in silence for several seconds, studying her daughter, making Lena wonder if she doubted the truth to her daughter's statement.
"You sound awfully certain." Lillian finally spoke, her tone laced with accusation.
"Lex was a monster. He'd already proved how much damage he could do even behind bars. If he had lived, he would have hurt more innocent people."
"Still, he's your brother, my son." She said softly.
"Oh don't pretend you are actually upset about this. A few days ago you tried to poison his tea and he planned to have you killed."
"I won't deny our relationship was hostile at best. But like I said, Lex was still my son and despite what you believe I'm not completely heartless. No matter how despicable he became, I still love him."
Lena realized her mother's eyes had significantly reddened in the last few seconds as tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. She kept her lips pursed together making Lena if it was to prevent them from quivering. Lillian suddenly looked small and frail for the first time in her life, nothing like the confident and take-charge woman who had raised her. She never had seen her mother cry, not even when she'd lost her husband. A surge of guilt rose in Lena. And for a brief moment, she searched for words to comfort her mother and apologize for causing her grief.
"Mom I…" She began only to realize she didn't know how to end that sentence. She was so shocked to see her mother look vulnerable. But how did she know this display of emotion was even real?
This was Lillian Luthor after all. Lena wouldn't put it past her to feign grief of her son's death to manipulate her daughter. This was the same woman who told her newly adopted daughter when she was four years old to stop crying for her dead mother. Lillian said her mother was gone and no amount of crying would bring her back and she was her mother now so Lena should just get used to it.
More silence passed then Lillian spoke up again, her cold, steely demeanor returning as she talked. "I must say I'm surprised. I didn't think you had it in you to take a life. I guess I have been...underestimating you all these years. Although, I doubt your blonde alien friend will approve given her sense of moral superiority."
"I don't care what she thinks," Lena said bluntly
Lillian raised her eyebrows. "Really? That's surprising considering how much you were worried about what she and the rest of your friends would think of you if they found out you were the reason Lex acquired superpowers. So what caused this change of heart?"
"I discovered that I can't trust her, just like everyone else in my life who claims to care about me. Our whole relationship has been a lie.
Lillian smiled. "So you finally learned the truth about what she does when she's not wearing the cape."
"You mean she pretends to be my best friend, yeah. But you already knew that."
She paused giving her mother a chance to deny the accusation when Lillian remained quiet she continued. "I always knew I couldn't trust you, but I thought I could at least rely on you to be consistent. So why, given your hatred of Superman and Supergirl, would you not tell me she's Kara Danvers?"
"I didn't think I'd have to tell you. I knew you would discover her secret for yourself at some point, I just never thought it'd take you three years. And given how obvious it is, you should have figured it out a long time ago, yet you didn't because you clearly didn't want to see the truth.
I also had my doubts you'd even believe me if I did tell you your best friend is Supergirl. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time you sided with the Kryptonian over your own family. You've always had a blind spot when it came to Kara Danvers. And I knew that even if I did tell you the truth, you wouldn't be grateful, but instead, you'd focus your anger on me instead of the people who actually deceived you, just like you are doing now."
"The fact that I'm here doesn't mean I have forgiven any of the people who claim to be my friends."
"I'm glad to hear that. I hope now you can finally see the alien for who she really is. She claims to be a hero, but look at all the harm she's caused, all the pain her lies have caused you. The Kryptonians want to paint themselves as our saviors, but the truth is they are the ones who need us. They know without us to idolize them and cast them as heroes, they are nothing but the last remnants of a dead planet. And if the world wasn't dependent on them, humanity would rise up and save ourselves. Your brother saw all along they were frauds and look what happened to him."
"Lex was a murderer! He got what he deserved."
"Lex might have been deranged but the Kryptonians made him that way."
"You're unbelievable, Lex is gone and you're still making excuses for him?"
"Your brother's methods may have been wrong, but his ideas about aliens weren't. He saw the truth about Superman and he tried to warn everyone, only to have the world turn on him. They called him a madman so he became one."
"Lex lost his mind because he couldn't stand all the attention Superman was getting instead of him. He just hated how people no longer saw him as 'The Man of Tomorrow.'"
Lillian sighed. "And here I was thinking you'd finally seen the truth about the Kryptonians, but even after Supergirl betrayed you still defend her family over your own. What did she say about lying to you all these years?"
"Nothing, because she doesn't know that I know."
"Really, you haven't confronted her for betraying you?"
"All these years Supergirl and her friends have treated me like a fool. They've lied right to my face every day. It's time for them to be in the dark for a change."
A faint smile crossed Lillian's lips. "Lena you are full of surprises today. Why confront them when you have a chance to pay them back for all the hurt they caused you? And you don't have to get your revenge alone."
"Do you think just because my friends betrayed me I am going to start trusting you again?"
"While that would be nice, that's not what I meant. Do you think your brother took over the country all on his own? Or that Eve Tessmacher was really hopelessly in love with him? No, there were others helping him, whom even he didn't know about. Lex liked to think he was the one pulling all the strings, but the truth is he was just a puppet himself, just like Lockwood. And while he is no longer in power, the ones with the real power are right where they want to be."
"And you think since I'm no longer friends with Supergirl, I would be stupid enough to get manipulated by some shadowy organization?"
"Don't think of it as you being used. Think of it as an alliance that can have tremendous benefits for you.
"Just like it had tremendous benefits for Lex?" Lena mocked.
"Lex was doing pretty well until his ego and obsession with Superman turned him into a liability. Thinking he could control a Kryptonian, even if it was a clone, was foolish. But let's not forget, for a while, he had the entire executive office under his control. And you could do so much more. For years you've let that blonde alien hold you back. You were content to live in her shadow, but now that you have finally come to your senses you can have allies who can allow you to reach your full potential."
"And what, take over the world, rid the planet of aliens? That's your goal, Mother, not mine. And I'm not interested in any group which you're endorsing, especially one that helped Lex kill a bunch of innocent people." Lena stood up and walked over to the cell door. "Guard." She called out.
"You really should reconsider. Stop letting your stubbornness get in the way of your intelligence. These people could help you punish Supergirl for all the hurt she caused you."
The guard appeared and with a buzz, the cell door slid open again. Lena turned back to her mother. "I don't need any help. I'll deal with her myself." Then she turned and walked out of the cell before her mother could argue with her anymore.
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