Kara's never been inside a prison before. She idly wonders if they're all more or less the same, with barbed wires and high walls and watchtowers. If they all look as gloomy inside as they do outside. If the incessant buzz of doors is the same in all of them. The warden personally greets them at the gates and insists to show them to the room where Lillian's waiting.
She glances at her sister, who walks determinedly at her side, head held high and staring straight ahead with resolution in her eyes. Kara, deep down, is grateful for her presence.
The guards all look at her reverently; no doubt impressed by the way she carries herself in her Supergirl outfit. Or perhaps it's the mere fact that they are in the same room as her.
After long minutes of walking and listening to the warden's excited explanations about his prison, they stop in front of a metallic door. Through the small Plexiglas window, Kara's eyes meet Lillian's.
The shark-like smile the Luthor offers does nothing to reassure Kara.
Alex stands in a corner of the room while Supergirl sits opposite Lillian Luthor. The prisoner is handcuffed to the table between them but she doesn't look any less confident in her orange jumpsuit.
"I only requested Supergirl. Didn't think you'd have a lapdog tag along," she begins as she looks at Alex.
Supergirl's face betrays nothing and she knows Alex doesn't react to the jab either.
"Why am I here," Kara asks.
Lillian takes a few seconds to answer, and Supergirl understands that it's a tactic to give herself the upper-hand. Make her wait to get a rise out of her. She can't let it get to her.
"You are here," Lillian starts, "because I have information that you need, and you have something I want."
"And what is that?"
"You can get me out of here."
It's what they expected, what Alex warned her the Luthor matriarch would want, but Kara's breath gets caught in her throat nonetheless.
"Never," she replies after a second.
Lillian smiles again.
"Well, in that case, I won't help you find my son."
Kara knows, right this moment, that she's lost this battle.
"No deal," Alex reminds her as soon as they step out of the room. "We said no deal."
"I remember. But if she knows where Lex is hiding… Alex, you know he's the bigger fish here."
"She doesn't know. She won't give up her son; he's not…"
"He's not what?"
Alex looks like she doesn't want to finish her sentence.
"He's not Lena. That's what you wanted to say. She actually loves Lex, so you think she won't give him up," Kara guesses.
"Look, Supergirl, I know that Lena was important to you, but she was the one to send her mother in prison. Nothing this woman says is going to help you find the man who killed her."
She's not dead, Kara wants to scream.
"I want to talk to her alone," she says instead.
"What? No."
"I'm not asking, Alex."
The two sisters stare at each other for a long minute. Kara can't back down, not on this. If this is her only chance of catching Lex Luthor, of getting answers out of him, she will not allow anyone to blow it. In the end, it's Alex who caves first and she steps aside to let Kara back into the room.
"Don't play her game," she warns one last time.
"Alone at last," Lillian remarks as soon as the door closes behind Kara.
"You will be out of here if the information you give is good."
"I want that in writing."
"No. You'll have to take my word for it."
Lillian looks at her, unimpressed.
"I may be a murderer, Supergirl, but the people I've killed so far were nothing but criminals."
"They were still human beings. And you're also convicted of attempted murder. On innocent people this time."
"Hardly people," she scoffs. "These are my terms. Get me a deal on paper, give it to my attorney, and I'll tell you all I know about Lex's hideouts."
Kara doesn't have a plan, and it's becoming more obvious to Lillian by the minute. She thinks fast, steels her nerves and says something she doesn't even mean:
"Your son killed your daughter and you're still protecting him."
"My son didn't call the police on me, now, did he?"
"You deserved it. Lena did the right thing, and you know it, as much as you hate it."
Her words are met with silence, because both women know Kara has a point.
"Lena was the one who refused my love. I had plans for her, but she was always the free spirit of the family. She was much more of a wild card than Lex ever was. Always trying so hard to be a Luthor without actually wanting to be one."
There's bitterness in the older woman's tone, and her eyes are unfocused, a sign that she's lost in memories Kara can't understand. She detects a hint of sadness on Lillian's face, but it's gone as soon as it appears.
"I gave her so many opportunities to truly be a part of the family, but she kept pulling away."
"You sent her abroad for years," Kara points out.
"To give her the best education possible," Lillian retorts, defensively. "Lena and Lex were both excellent students with a promising future. Lex followed in his father's footsteps, but Lena… Lena was a disappointment."
Kara's hands twitch in her lap but she flattens them on her thighs and reminds herself to not take the bait.
"A disappointment who sent you to prison. I can't imagine how betrayed you must've felt."
Lillian, to Kara's surprise, smirks.
"On the contrary, Supergirl. I don't think I've ever been prouder of her. What Lena did was cold, calculated and definitely well-acted. Exactly what a Luthor would have done. A shame she wasn't on the right side, really."
Kara sees the taunt for what it is and decides to move on.
"Back to Lex. Give me something."
"Get me my deal."
"Not without proof that your leads are credible."
Another staring contest begins after that, and Lillian must realize that Supergirl isn't going to agree to the deal unless she starts talking, because she sighs and sits up in her chair.
"Fine. I'll give you somewhere to begin. But you won't get more out of me unless you get me out of here."
Kara waits until they're back at the DEO to tell Alex and the rest of the team about the information Lillian gave her.
"Those are coordinates I need you to look up via satellite," she asks Winn as she hands him a piece of paper.
"On it," he replies immediately.
"Lillian said Lex used to spend most of his time there after his falling out with Superman," Kara explains to the others. "This is the first place I'm going to check out."
"You'll take a strike team with you," J'onn orders.
"Uhhh, guys?"
Kara, Alex and J'onn rush to his side.
"The coordinates point to an island eighty miles West of Catalina Island."
"An island?"
"Approximately eleven square miles of forest and sand," Winn adds as he types on his keyboard to show them pictures on the screen.
"There's no way to sneak up on him with a strike team if he's even there," Kara says. "I'll go alone."
"Like hell you will," is Alex's immediate response.
J'onn pinches the bridge of his nose as he senses another argument coming.
"If Lex is on this island, then I'm not risking alerting him by bringing a helicopter."
"If he's there, he might have trapped the whole island to protect himself from Superman, which means those traps would work on you as well."
"I'll be careful, I'm not stupid."
"You might need back-up. I'm not letting you go alone."
"Enough!"
Both sisters startle and turn toward J'onn, who stands tall next to Winn, with his hands on his hips.
"Now, Winn and I are going to work over the logistics, see if there isn't a way for us to reach the island without alerting him. You two, go home and get some rest. I'll call you as soon as we figure it out."
His tone leaves no room for arguments and Alex and Kara glance at each other, then back at him at the same time.
"Fine."
"Call us."
Kara lets Alex drop her off down her building and she offers to cook for them both, but Alex declines. Maggie is waiting for her at her own apartment and she hasn't had much time alone with her lately. Kara nods and watches as the motorcycle roars back to life and disappears into traffic.
Then she pushes the door to her building and waits patiently for the elevator. She reaches her door and thinks about the ice-cream waiting in the freezer and about how it won't be waiting much longer now.
Kara isn't sure how long has passed since she opened her tub of chocolate ice-cream and settled against the window to watch the sunset. She's thinking about revenge, and all the ways she's going to make Lex pay.
Her grip on her phone tightens and she catches herself in time before she crushes it into dust. Her phone. There are pictures of her and Lena in there, a few photos Kara had taken while they were out drinking one night. She remembers that night vividly, which is as much a curse as it is a blessing.
She remembers Lena's smile, the spark in her eyes and the sound of her laugh. She would give anything to hear that laugh again, to appreciate Lena's beauty once more.
Kara digs into the ice-cream only to realize that she's already scrapping the bottom of the tub. Pulled out of her reverie, she sighs and is about to get up from where she sits when something catches her attention.
Down below, among the passersby on the sidewalk, a figure stands still, looking up in her direction. The burning sensation on Kara's neck is back, and she springs to her feet. Her face almost pressed against the window, Kara watches as the person turns away and disappears from her sight.
Kara knows that gait.
She's studied it several times, not that she would ever admit that out loud.
"Lena," she whispers. "Lena."