AN: This chapter is not a sequel to the previous one. It is a separate story and, essentially, recaps the other chapters in this fic. It is based off of the Taylor Swift song of the same name.
Superman was the THE American hero. He was everyone's golden boy and everyone's heartthrob. There wasn't a person alive who didn't have some level of celebrity crush on him and the entire country idolized him like a god. He was everyone's hero and savior, everyone's favorite icon of hope and the American way. This level of adoration and obsession affected everyone, even young Lena Luthor.
"He's just so amazing!" the girl sighed almost dreamily as she hung up a poster of Superman in her room. It had been a gift to her from her big brother, Lex, who was Superman's best friend. He had gotten the poster signed by Superman specifically to Lena before giving the poster to her as a birthday gift. It was the best one she'd ever received and she'd thanked Lex a million times over for it.
But as good as the poster was, Lena couldn't deny some level of sadness that the poster was all she would ever get. Silly as it sounded, Lena genuinely had a crush on the Man of Steel (but then again, who didn't?) and it made her sad to think that a crush was all it would ever be. And she was even a little bit jealous that Lex was closer to Superman than she was. But through it all, Lena would still pretend and dream that, somehow, Superman would someday come to know her personally, and by name.
"This is wrong but, I can't help but feel like there ain't nothing more I'd pay," she sighed up at the poster, thinking about just how deeply she respected, admired and adored the mighty superhero. "Misty morning comes again and I can't help but wish I could see your face. And I knew from the first time you saved I'd be breaking all my rules to see you..." she paused to smile a little up at the poster, just admiring Superman's handsome and chiseled visage. "You smile that beautiful smile and all the girls in the front row scream your name," she continued as she imagined a giant crowd of billions, all screaming up in complete and utter adoration for the Man of Steel. Lena was among that crowd, nothing more than another face in it, but in her fantasy, Superman was still able to pick up on her, insignificant though she was. It really was her greatest fantasy that, despite only being another face in a giant crowd, Superman would somehow still be able to see her specifically.
"So dim that spotlight, tell me things like, 'I can't take my eyes off of you'," Lena pleaded softly, imaging Superman coming down from his place on high just to visit her. "I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl who's desperately in love with you," she admitted. "But give me a photograph to hang on my wall... Superstar..." and she fell asleep that night, gazing hopefully up at her Superman poster.
But these adorable, innocent, childhood fantasies quickly turned into nightmares when Lex took up arms against Superman and forced Lena to join him. He stole Lena's Superman poster right out of her room and burned it, forbidding her from ever even saying his name again. From that day forward, Lex declared war on Superman with Lena as his right hand, though things didn't go nearly that smoothly. For one, Lena felt immensely conflicted. On the one hand, she still adored Lex and wanted nothing more than to stay by his side like a good little sister. On the other, however, it became easily apparent to her that Lex was insane, and he was doing so many terrible things to so many innocent people that Lena could never truly get behind anything that he did. She found that her views were far more similar to Superman's than Lex's, but Lex refused to let her go. He kept her close, tormenting her and threatening her into submission. It was only when Superman finally managed to put him behind bars that Lena was able to be free of him. But although she was free of Lex, she was not free of his crimes. The world began to associate her with him, assuming that she would turn out just as twisted and evil. It stung Lena greatly, but what could she do except hang her head and bear it?
Fast forward a few years and Lena had successfully taken over Luthor Corp and renamed it L-Corp, attempting to clear the evil legacy her brother had left behind. She made her main HQ in the L-Corp building residing in National City. This city also had a local Super hero, but this one was Superman's cousin, creatively named Supergirl. Just like with Superman, it didn't take long for Lena to start falling. She tried to deny it at first, but when Supergirl willingly saved her several times over despite knowing exactly who she was, just for a moment, Lena began to hold out the hope that someone might finally be able to see her as "Lena" and not "Luthor". The moment that first spark of hope ignited within her chest, so did that first spark of affection and attraction for the Girl of Steel. Suddenly, Lena found herself celebrity-crushing all over again, only this time, she was a bit more guarded than before. But as guarded as she was, Supergirl had already caught her eye... and stolen her heart.
"The morning loneliness comes around when I'm not dreaming about you. While my world wakes up today, you'll be on another round," Lena murmured, staring idly out the window of her office, secretly hoping to catch a glimpse of Supergirl flying on by. While Lena was stuck inside her office, Supergirl was out, free as a bird, saving the citizens of National City with all the strength, courage, compassion and heart of a hero. Lena both admired and envied her for this.
"But I knew when I saw your face I'd be counting down the ways to see you," Lena admitted, scooting her chair even closer to the window. "And you smile that beautiful smile and all the girls in the front row scream your name..." she smiled as she remembered how excited the people of National City always got whenever Supergirl was around. What little girl didn't squeal in delight when Supergirl flew overhead? Even Lena always felt a thrill whenever she saw the city's champion. She was just so beautiful and charismatic. Her presence was so inviting and inspiring! Lena was in love with her and her gorgeous smile and her proud posture. There wasn't a thing on Supergirl that Lena disliked.
"So dim that spotlight, tell me things like 'I can't take my eyes off of you'," Lena silently begged. She wanted nothing more than to gain the Kryptonian's respect, admiration, trust, pride and friendship. It was her wildest dream that Supergirl would one day see her not just as an ally, but a friend, and maybe even more. Silly as it was, she wished to be Supergirl's Lois Lane. She wished that Supergirl would one day see her and smile, not just nod in a formal politeness.
"I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl who's desperately in love with you," Lena acknowledged sheepishly. "But give me a photograph to hang on my wall... Superstar..."
"You touch the stars, you've touched my heart. I'm invisible but everyone knows who you are," the CEO of L-Corp continued. "And you'll never see how you see me to sleep every night from the radio..." Lena turned her head to the TV screen in her office. Whenever it was on and not being used to monitor the rest of the building, Lena would secretly use it to watch updates and broadcasts about the Girl of Steel. She would wake up and fall asleep to stories about Supergirl and all her noble, riveting triumphs over the forces of evil, injustice, inequality and oppression. Nothing gave Lena greater joy than to be able to watch Supergirl's legacy unfold. If only she could be part of that great legacy...
"So dim that spotlight, tell me things like, 'I can't take my eyes off of you'," Lena repeated hopefully as she flicked on the TV. It was quiet today, so no Supergirl, but Lena could still wait and hope. "I'm no one special, just another wide-eyed girl who's desperately in love with you, but give me a photograph to hang on my wall, superstar."
Suddenly, then, out of the corner of her eye, Lena saw something fly by the window. She turned around just in time to see the tail end of Supergirl's bright red boots cross the sky. Lena hopped up from her chair at once and ran out onto her office's balcony, watching as Supergirl got smaller and smaller as she flew further and further away. Although she'd only managed a glimpse of the famed hero, Lena still felt her heart pound with excitement and giddiness that she had been able to see Supergirl at all that day. As she continued to watch the direction in which Supergirl had flown, Lena couldn't help but smile even harder. Maybe Supergirl didn't really know who she was yet, but Lena was determined to change that someday. Someday, Supergirl would know who she was and she would smile when she heard Lena's name. This was a promise Lena was making! Somehow, someday, Lena would finally get one of her heroes to be proud of her and to notice her. Somehow, someday, Lena would finally get one of her celebrity crushes to reciprocate. Someday, somehow, Supergirl would finally see her...
"Sweet, sweet superstar," Lena whispered as she finally went back into her office, heart still pounding with joy and excitement. "Superstar."
AN: Like I said, this is sort of a re-write/summary of the previous chapters in this fic, done to the Taylor Swift song "Superstar". It was actually that song that really inspired me to write this fic at all, even though I'd had headcanons about Supergirl being Lena's celebrity crush for quite a while now. Just listening to that song today finally urged me to actually write it all out, so here we go! Hope you all enjoyed!