A/N: Happy new year! One more chapter coming in a couple pf hours so dont worry
Dedicated to david12leca for hands down the best review i've ever read...you really really made my entire week. Enjoy!
She had known he would come for her. From the minute, she had walked out of the DEO, she had been counting down the minutes, waiting for him to show up.
And here he was. Standing in her apartment, imperiously surveying National City's skyline, the same way he must have looked at Metropolis once.
Addressing his back, she said "Lex. You took long enough to find me. You must be slipping"
She saw the corner of his mouth, twitch upwards in amusement "Where is the Kryptonite?"
Lena gave him an enigmatic smile "You really didn't think it would be that easy now, did you Lex? I'll hand it over to you. Once you tell me exactly what it is that you plan to do with it"
She saw Lex sip his scotch, and survey her slowly over the rim of the glass, with clear sadistic amusement playing in his eyes. Lowering the glass, he said "Of course I didn't Lena. You were brought up as a Luthor after all. I would never underestimate you"
Forcing herself to remain calm, she drew upon every ounce of her upbringing, to lift an eyebrow imperiously "Well? What is your plan then, Lex? And please don't make me ask again. That would be tedious. And that's a word, which I would much rather NOT associate with you"
She felt fear twist into her gut, as she saw Lex chuckle in her response "I will tell you in due time, but I must say this…I am surprised to find you so impatient Lena, or does my memory serve me wrong? Because, I distinctly remember a sister, who exercised her indefatigable store of patience to beat me at chess… game after game."
Lena let out a breath, as she watched him turn "I wish I could say I liked losing back them, but you know even defeat has a purpose. Being on the losing side has taught me quite a few lessons…. All those times Superman beat me and threw me behind bars, I learnt how important it is to always have the upper hand as he did. Because no matter how hard I tried, he was always far more powerful. Superman also taught me that you need to have an ironclad purpose to win. Because his strength of purpose makes him utterly inexhaustible in a fight. No matter how hard a blow, I throw at him, he refuses to stay down beaten. He always gets back up and fights, driven as he is by his single minded purpose to never lose. Just so he can always be around for his sister, whom he will never allow himself to fail to protect. Regardless of the fact that she is just as powerful as he."
He turned to her, and smirked, victory evident in every line of his face "When you beat me at every single game of chess Lena, I understood the value of being cool and calculated. To you, chess was merely a game, a puzzle to be solved, nothing more. But to me, winning was everything. It was the only way I could prove myself to be the true heir to the Luthor name. The only way to stop mother looking at me pityingly, and to stop father from looking at me with his lips curled with ill-disguised disgust, as he watched me time and again, get beaten by a girl who was so much younger than I. But I never could win against you Lena. Because always I wanted to beat you so bad that I would let my anger cloud my judgement."
Lena felt bile rise in her throat. Lex had evolved. The man in front of her was unfamiliar, an unknown enemy. How was she now to win against him, if she didn't know any of his moves? How was she going to keep Supergirl safe, if not even a sliver of Lex's plan, was clear to her.
Doing her best, to remain the cool and calculated woman he feared her to be, she said "And do you believe that you have the upper hand now? As well as the necessary detachment that you will need to defeat Supergirl?"
She watched, as he slowly made her way to her. Her heartbeat became shallow, as she saw him raise his hand out of the corner of her eye. She tried her best not to flinch, when Lex held her chin, and tilted her face up in an unforgiving motion, to look straight into his eyes "No Lena. I don't want to beat Supergirl. I am here for you"
Lena's heartbeat stopped. She had grossly miscalculated. She understood now that this plan was to thwart her, not Supergirl all along.
She watched unblinking, as his fingers left her face, and he dropped his hand, opening his palm for her to observe what lay within. There in his white stony hand, she saw the tool of her now imminent downfall. A tiny silver nanorobot, placed so expertly behind her chin that it would remain undetected by both human and Kryptonian eyes. Her mind travelled back to a memory of their first conversation, held within the very same apartment. What foolish folly! Why had she let him cup her cheek. Misguided affection, and a desperate hope that he still held some love for her, had let her submit to his touch.
And he had taken advantage of her weakness to place the nanorobot within her chin, when he had cupped her cheek. He had bugged her with the robot, and had been listening to all her conversations with Supergirl. He had heard the maiden of steel confess her love for Lena.
Lena felt all hope that she had held, flee her heart. How was she supposed to get back up from this blow.
Smiling with sadistic understanding, Lex placed the tiny nanorobot in a glass jar on her coffee table, that held its sister nanobots.
He tapped the glass jar twice. A gesture that he had evidently pre-programmed. The nanorobots rose in a swarm, and flew to her in an instant, shaping themselves into iron bands around her arms, legs and mouth
Lena's mind worked furiously. She knew what he intended to do next. He would use her to lure Supergirl, and capture her. He would hold her hostage, and make Supergirl turn herself in, with a promise to spare her life. And then he would kill the girl of steel with the Kryptonite she had retrieved, right in front of her eyes.
She saw him make his way to the balcony, and call out in a sing-song voice that did nothing to hide his insane glee at being the winner of his murderous game "Oh Supergirl! Come out, come out wherever you are!"
The blackness of the night sky remained solid and unyielding. Uninterrupted by not even the slightest hint of red and blue. Lena felt a swell of relief. Had the blond angel decided to stay away then, and fight another day? Good. Lena's life was not worth the blond woman's. She should stay alive and protected, preferably somewhere far away from her mad brother.
She saw Lex clench his fists, and drew some small amount of satisfaction at his anger "Unless you want me to kill your girlfriend?"
Lena felt her heart twist in despair, as she heard the tell-tale sonic boom, announcing the arrival of the blond angel. She landed swiftly, with fury etched into every single line of her face, as her vivid blue eyes slowly took in the sight of Lena being held captive
The blonde woman spat out at Lex "You will let her go this instant!"
Lex let out a high shrill laughter of sheer madness, and rubbed his hands together in evident delight "Oh! So you do love her then, don't you Supergirl?"
Seeing the anger and desperation rise in Supergirl's eyes, he made his way to her and said slyly "One move Supergirl, and she is dead. I've programmed the nanobots to increase their grip on Lena's throat. The slightest hint of heat vision, or frost breath or any other one of your superpowers, and she is dead"
Supergirl threw him a look of pure rage, before her eyes returned to Lena, surveying her face anxiously.
Lena saw Lex observing Supergirl with interest, his smirk widening the more he studied her and took in the sight of her evident distress at seeing Lena captured. His mad grin grew so large that it seemed to almost split his face in two.
Lena did her best to look away, trying her best to do everything she could to stop the superhero from revealing the depth of her feelings for Lena to Lex. But within her heart, she knew it was a lost cause. The angel was nothing but honest, and Lex already had intimate knowledge of the blond hero's feelings for Lena, having eavesdropped on every single one of their conversations.
She looked back at Supergirl, trying to desperately convey with her eyes alone, that the hero should escape while she still had the chance. And felt infuriated, when all that did, was cause the superhero to clench her jaw, and plant her feet more firmly onto the floor, causing a slight spiderweb of cracks to form on her expensive Italian marble flooring.
Lex made his way to Lena. Without breaking his eye contact from Supergirl, he quickly threw back his arm and punched Lena, hard on the face. Feeling her vision turn black for a moment, Lena fought to stay conscious. Blinking furiously, she turned to look at Lex, who was looking at Supergirl with unhidden glee. Her gaze turned to the superhero, who was now floating horizontally, apparently having made the unconscious decision to fly to Lena, but held back by the knowledge that Lex could end Lena's life, if she came any closer
"Uh uh uh.." Lex taunted the blond woman
"You know I'll kill her if you get any closer"
Supergirl looked at him. Sorrow and revulsion, warring for prominence on her face "She is your sister"
Lex spat out furiously "No she isn't! No she isn't! Whatever little affection I felt for her died the moment she chose to align herself with you, And now."
He turned to face Lena "And now my hate for her is equaled only by my hate for superman…because she has chosen to betray the house that has fed her, clothed her, and given her not just a roof but the fortunes of a multi-billion dollar company…all because she fell in love with you"
Lena felt tears prickle the corner of her eyes. Enjoying her torment, Lex stepped closer and slowly ran a thumb down her cheek "I may have felt the tiniest bit sorry for that orphan girl on my doorstep. But know this sister, I could never love you. Who could? You are, and have always been a reminder of my father's one foolish mistake. Besides, whatever affection I once may have felt for you died, when you chose to mercilessly beat me in chess, over and over again. If you think Superman was the first person I loathed, then you are wrong sister. I loathed you first, because you made me lose face, and because you were the first to make me taste the bitterness of defeat. I, who am the rightful heir to the Luthor legacy. But I never moved against you, because you have always had far less than I. Choosing foolishly as you once did, to go into R&D, instead of making a move for the chair to LuthorCorp. But now, things are different, aren't they? You have the company, the name, and I..I have nothing"
He turned to Supergirl "Don't make the mistake of thinking I will not kill my own sister. The only reason she remains alive now, is because I desire your death more. You submit peacefully, and I give you my word that she will live"
Supergirl took his request stoically, and refused to stop looking at Lena. Clear azure eyes held Lena's, the strength in them unflinching in their attempt to reassure Lena.
He advanced on Supergirl "Seeing you dead at my hands, will drive your brother insane with grief. Insane with the thought that he failed you, his one blood relative, and link to the lost home he always yearns to understand. He will finally understand what it is like to have all the power in the world at your disposal, and still fail at the things that matter the most. As I felt, when he overshone me, and took away all the glory I so richly deserved for all the good I had done for Metropolis"
Circling the blond hero, he stood behind her quietly "Go fetch me the Kryptonite, alien scum. Or I'll do worse to Lena than just punch her"
Lena saw the superhero swallow once, but those blue eyes refused to leave her own. Lena's heart throbbed painfully as she read the stubbornness in the superhero's eyes.
Smiling gently, the blond hero nodded at Lena, as if she were trying to bid her goodbye. The kindness in those eyes, obviously meant to absolve Lena from the future guilt of having been instrumental in the girl of steel's murder.
Lena cried out and desperately struggled against the iron bands restraining her. She watched, sickness piling in her stomach, as without another word, those blue eyes left her own, to scan Lena's apartment. The blond hero located the suitcase hidden in a secret alcove underneath her kitchen counter. Making her way to the counter, she broke it into two with a single tap. She dropped the suitcase containing the Kryptonite onto the floor, and imperiously kicked the suitcase over to Lex.
Lena knew what was about to happen next. Now he would torture the blond angel. It was time for her to act out her plan before Lena's mind stopped working, unable to withstand the agony of what the next few moments would undoubtedly entail.
She cast her mind out, furiously shouting her thoughts out to the Green Martian, whom she knew must have been alerted to their predicament by now. And who would undoubtedly be listening in, trying desperately to find a way to rescue the both of them.
She saw Lex smirk, as he picked up the Kryptonite. He gestured quietly to Lena's couch "I'm not so merciless that I would deny you these small comforts of life as I kill you, alien scum. I am human after all. Sit down"
Lena desperately shouted to the green martian, as she saw the blond superhero slowly walk across to Lena's couch. She saw the blonde woman quietly sit down, her eyes smiling reassuringly at Lena, trying to convey to her that this was all somehow not Lena's fault. Not Lena's fault that she hadn't anticipated any of this sooner, and prevented the situation from devolving into the painful torture she was about to be subjected to.
She saw Lex sit down on the coffee table, and screamed her plan even more furiously at the green martian. Why wasn't he answering her? Why wasn't he conveying words of assurance that she had been heard? Lena refused to accept that the green martian had not heard her words. Because if that were true, then all hopes of saving Supergirl was lost.
Lex reached into his jacket and drew out a syringe. Opening the suitcase, he filled the syringe with liquid Kryptonite. He held his hand out and gestured to Supergirl's arm.
Smiling softly at Lena, Supergirl turned and threw him a defiant look, before imperiously holding out her arm.
Lex surveyed her with childlike wonder "Who knew that it would be this easy. I needed no handcuffs, no metallic armor with green kryptonite. You have the power to end the world, and now I have the power to end you. And all I had to was threaten the life of my sister"
He smiled wonderingly at her, before his eyes darkened in a split second. He plunged the needle in a violent move, straight into her arm. Supergirl let out a cry of such immense pain, that Lena felt an echoing pain in every fiber and muscle of her body
Lex rose and surveyed the writhing woman, who had now rolled onto the floor, and had begun convulsing "I've injected her with a mix of slow acting venom and green Kryptonite. The poison will slow the effects of Kryptonite, rendering her conscious to fully appreciate the pain tearing through her system. An elegant solution, don't you think?"
Lena felt tears stream down her face.
She watched as Lex made his way to her, his eyes conveying sadness so insincere that it made Lena nauseous. "I am sorry that it had to come to this Lena. But just like you, betrayal is something that I have never been able to take lightly. And you, my dear sister, betrayed me by falling in love for the blonde superhero. As you never should have done. Why else, would you so vehemently deny your attraction to her? And pretend that you were in love with that mousy reporter, whom you and I both know, couldn't hold a sliver of appeal to the girl of steel"
He smirked at her, and Lena felt her heart beat painfully. "You understand her. Both of you are trying to make a name from yourself, trying your best to crawl out of the long shadows cast by your brothers. You see her working tirelessly to make this city a better place, something which you also try your best to do. You admire her conviction, and greatly value the fact that she was the first person to trust you in any meaningful way, despite your Luthor name. How could you not want that?"
He made her way to her, and cupped her cheek once again. Lena desperately tried to turn her face but was held fast by the nanorobots restraining her. "And of course there is no denying that both her and her brother are very attractive. I have long admired the strong bone structure, the jet black hair and dark blue eyes of Superman."
She watched his eyes rove over her features "But it is only lust that I felt for the man of steel. But you, my poor poor Lena, went and made the fatal mistake of falling in love with Supergirl."
She saw his watery blue eyes narrow in sadistic pleasure "A feeling that she returned with a full heart. How convenient! Because if she had chosen to not love you Lena, like everyone else on this planet, I wouldn't have been able to get this far. At last, I am close to achieving my goal of ending her race and her family tree"
He turned and saw the blond superhero, who had now stopped convulsing, her body too spent to be able to move any longer. A white froth, slowly beginning to form at the edge of her mouth. Blue eyes glazed over with pain and exhaustion, rolled unseeing in Lena's direction. Lena knew that even at the edge of death, the blond superhero was listening to Lena's heartbeat, trying to ensure that she was safe.
Lex saw the pain etched on her face quietly. Smiling at her magnanimously "Come. I will grant you this one last thing before I kill you. No matter how much of a monster you may think I am Lena, I can also be generous."
He looked at her and smiled "Tell her you love her. Let those be the last words she hears. She is afterall almost dead now"
He tapped at the nanorobot stream gagging her mouth, and they cleared away. Lena coughed out, her lungs expanding, and her tongue automatically trying to rid itself of the metallic taste that the nanorobots had left behind
She glanced at the fallen hero, whose eyes were now slowly drooping shut. Tears streamed down her face, drowning her heart in a sea of salty grief. Because now at the end, she knew without a doubt that she loved the blond hero. She thought back to the way she had reacted. If Supergirl's anger had been disproportionate at having found out that Lena had the Kryptonite, her stubbornness in refusing to forgive the blonde hero, was also just as disproportionate. And only meant one thing. Lena loved the superhero just as much, as Supergirl loved her. And that was the reason why the perceived breach of trust, had affected the both of them so very greatly.
Lena closed her eyes, willing herself to find the resolve that had propelled her to becoming the youngest successful CEO in the world.
As much as she hated to admit it. Her brother was right. She did love Supergirl. And she would tell her. But not like this. Not with Lex looming over them. She would do it, after she had rescued the both of them. She threw a glance at the Superhero, whose eyes were now shut, praying fervently that she wasn't too late already
She looked back at Lex, and mentally shouted out "Now!" to the Green Martian, throwing all her hopes in that one singular thought to the universe. She looked coldly at Lex and said "I hate you brother. Thank you for the gift of finally washing away the last vestiges of love that I once held for you"
She felt the nanorobots release her, and in one fell swoop, swarm over Lex. The nanorobots lifted him up into the air, and slammed him onto the floor. The bald man lost consciousness, and the nanorobots formed a thin layer on top of him, holding him imprisoned, face down on the ground.
Lena rushed to the fallen superhero and sank down on her knees. Turning her around gently, Lena cradled the woman's head in her lap, and gently brushed back a few stray strands of hair.
Blue eyes peered hazily at her. A soft smile formed on pale lips that now had a sickly green tint to them. Lena furiously swiped away the tears that obscured her vision and said "Hey! Its ok! Its gonna be ok..Alex…Alex, is on her way. I've got you. We'll get you some help, ok?"
Lena desperately tried to feel for a pulse through invulnerable skin, but found herself unequal to the task.
A shaky hand rose up to cup her face. The blond hero whispered "You're safe. That's all that matters"
The hand fell and those blue eyes closed, a beatific smile forming instead. The superhero's head lolled to one side.
Lena shook the hero furiously "No! No! You have to stay awake. Help is almost here! Please! Please Supergirl?"
Blue eyes blinked open. Lena could see the effort that the simple action cost the hero. Her heart broke in two with the realization that even so close to death's gate, the hero had a fundamental need to respond to Lena's pain. Looking at Lena, she breathed "Tell me Lena. I have to know before I…In a world without Kara Danvers, would you have loved me? Please?"
Lena felt like her heart was being ripped in two. One half firmly resting with her bespectacled best friend. And the other half finding its way to the dying hero, where it slowly began to die in time with the slowing breaths of the hero in front of her.
She could do nothing but nod dumbly. The superhero's breath hitched, and unfocused blue eyes, cleared for a second. Joy and love, beyond anything that Lena had ever seen before, shining in those sky blue eyes.
Leaning down, Lena choked out the question that had been burning in her mind. "Why? Why did you..? Why me?"
Why had the superhero chosen her? They had barely known each other. How was it possible that without even knowing the other intimately, and from only a handful of interactions during tense missions, the two had fallen in love? How was it possible that they been so attracted in such a fundamental way? Why did the superhero deem Lena worthy enough for her love? Why was she willing to throw away her life for a woman, whom she barely knew out of a couple of missions? Why did they affect each other so viscerally?
A cold limp hand rose back to cup Lena's cheek. A thumb gently brushed stroked Lena's lips. Soft blue eyes stared back at her.
"Because…You're my favourite too"
Lena's heart froze, distant echoes of her uttering the same words to a different woman sounding in her mind. Of bashful blue eyes hidden behind glasses, the exact same shade as the eyes that were now drifting shut, belonging to the broken hero in front of her. Of dirty blond hair pulled back severely, the exact same shade as the glorious lush waves that now lay sprawled on the floor.
It felt like Lena's eyes were looking at the Superhero for the first time, taking her in, drinking in all her features, as she lay clinging tenuously to life. They catalogued the small scar above her forehead, the slight crinkle on the nose, and those green tinted lips which had once been a pale very kissable pink. The very same features she had spent admiring on her bespectacled best friend, during all the movie nights they had spent together, cuddled on the couch.
Lena's mind froze as it was forced to confront the truth in front of her, in all of its unbridled nakedness. Lying in her arms, drawing her last breath was Kara Danvers.
The two women whom she had loved were the same. And Lena didn't know which was the greater tragedy. Was the fact that she had thought her heart was fickle and broken in two, divided between the two women whom she had once thought separate, the worst thing that could have happened to her? Or was it the fact that she was about to lose both of the women she loved, as her eyes unseeingly saw the Superhero stop breathing all together.
Rough hands pushed her away from Kara. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered Alex plunging a needle of clear blue liquid into Kara's chest, before the green martian grabbed the blond woman and flew her out of Lena's apartment