June 15th, 2006 – Somewhere in Metropolis
Kieran protected her head as she fell and crashed straight into a table. She hissed as the wood stood firm under the impact and knew without a doubt several of her ribs were at the very least cracked. She groaned in pain and clutched at her side.
"How interesting."
Kieran opened her eyes, coming face-to-face with a teenage boy with long black hair tied into a ponytail, and he tilted his head. She moved her eyes down the line, taking in the woman staring at her as if she were a speck of dirt, and lastly, the bald man with glasses perched on his nose and a newspaper resting on the table. Kieran felt sticky, and she finally took in the food around her. Inwardly, she sighed. After spying on the King and his feasts, she knew what people who had too much money looked like.
"Are you all right?" the boy asked.
"No," she said hoarsely.
"May I ask where you came from?" the bald man said, leaning forward.
"I have no idea," Kieran lied, wincing. "Where am I now?"
"Metropolis," the woman said coolly. She looked her up and down and added, "What are you wearing?"
"A dress?" Kieran answered, genuinely confused by the question.
The woman wasn't impressed by the comment, but the teenage boy snickered and stood up.
"Well. You have always wanted a daughter, Mother," he drawled. Kieran didn't like the way that sounded, and neither did the woman. The boy jumped in before she could respond and added, "How would we explain a strange girl who fell from our ceiling and landed on our breakfast?"
"She could be one of those aliens," the woman hissed.
"Aliens are real?" Kieran asked.
That got their attention, and the woman's face faltered for a moment. The teenage boy's smile was wicked as he clapped his hands together.
"See? Human," he said.
"What possible story could we have for a random addition to the family?" the woman said, resigned.
"Let's not act like there isn't an excuse at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean," he shot back.
The woman and man tensed in unison, and the boy glanced back at Kieran.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Lena."
The woman and man tensed even more, and the boy cocked his head.
"Even more interesting," he mused.
"That is enough, Lex," the man hissed.
"Very well."
"Lillian, will you please escort our guest to a room?"
The woman – Lillian – scowled and pushed back from the table.
"Come child, I'll put you in something more befitting a Luthor."
"What is a Luthor?"
The woman ignored her, and Kieran figured she should play along until she figured out how to get back to her family. She got up and limped her way after the woman, already planning to do whatever she needed to blend in with her new 'family.' Behind her, Lex and the man shared a look.
"What are the odds she has the same name –
"Enough, Lex," the man sighed. "We should have taken her to our friends at MPD."
"She came from the sky, Father," the boy said. "If she's no alien, she's something much better."
"There will be questions."
"As I said, you have an answer."
"You shouldn't even know about that."
"But I do."
"Lex-
"Father, think of the possibilities! What if she's from another realm like Dr. Hale said?"
"That woman is a quack in the science community, her and her ridiculous wife. I told your mother that you shouldn't have read that paper." The man stood and wiped his mouth. "Let this be a warning to you, Lex. Your obsession with the unknown will get you in trouble one day."
"Is that a yes?"
"My options are limited," the man sighed, waving him off as he walked away. "She is ours. For now."
Kieran, or 'Lena,' lay flat on the uncomfortable mattress in a plain, white room. She touched the ring on her chest, something she managed to hide from Lillian as she was thrown into something called a shower and had her hair groomed. She had always taken great care of her hair, so she wasn't surprised when the stylist, as Lillian called her, had little to change. The darker color would be something to get used to, and the clothing reminded her too much of what her mother used to wear. But they were all that she had until she could find a way home. They promised to help, but Kieran knew that was a lie.
They weren't going to help her. They wanted something, she could feel it.
Kieran gave them vague answers without giving too much away, specifically about her magic, because the family couldn't be trusted. They weren't good people, but she had no choice but to be patient and play along. Kieran turned her head toward the window, a large group of metal buildings in the distance, and she felt her eyes well with tears. Without her sister, she had never felt so alone. She curled into a tiny ball and wrapped her arms around herself, softly crying into her pillow.
Ten Years Later – National City
Several pencils erased and wrote formulas on her right, and a cup of coffee stirred itself on her left. In the center of the chaos, Kieran sat at her desk with a well-worn copy of Alice in Wonderland. It was an older copy from the 1940s, and she'd purchased it from a small bookstore during her trip to Sweden. With Lionel dead, Lex in prison, and Lillian nowhere to be found, Kieran the last Luthor to uphold the Luthor name. And by that, Kieran meant she was singlehandedly destroying the family name until all that remained was altruism and goodwill.
The story they came up with was that Kieran was Lena Luthor, Lionel's bastard daughter from an affair. Kieran did a little research based on comments Lex made here and there, and she discovered that the real Lena Luthor was at the bottom of the ocean in a private plane that went down due to an "electrical outage." Instinct told her Lillian had something to do with it, and Lionel was too scared of his wife and his reputation to admit it. Regardless, Lena Luthor was the fifteen-year-old mistake that came back to haunt Lionel after her birth mother drowned. It was a story too close to the real Lena Luthor to be picked apart, so the media left it at that.
And so as she got older, Kieran had taken Lena Luthor and turned her into a household name for good. Lillian and Lex hated her for it once they realized how she was twisting their plans for her. Lionel did too at first, but then he saw she was making more money being compassionate instead of arrogant and cruel. He became her ally when it mattered, but Kieran learned early on that cancer had a cruel way of tearing through a family and leaving nothing but ruin in its wake. Nevertheless, with Lionel gone, Lex's obsession with Superman became a problem. He became a vindictive and rageful prick who would decimate a city if it meant bringing down the Man of Steel. Lillian supported her son and his irresponsible inventions. She even gave Lex a million dollars to help him build 'Superman's greatest threat.' Kieran watched from her dorm as the makeshift robot took one hit and short-circuited on live television. Superman dragged Lex out of the machine and flew him straight to prison. Lex was furious, and Kieran poured a healthy shot of tequila in celebration.
One thing about the new world was that the liquor worked faster and tasted better.
Lillian hated Kieran for not supporting Lex, but that was as far as it went. She would never admit they lied about where Kieran came from. It would've put too much scrutiny on the family, and Lillian hated anything that would destroy the family. Lex's anti-alien rhetoric was fine but revealing that they lied about Kieran after ten years would be too much. So, Kieran played her part in public. She smiled and attended galas, movie premieres, and birthday parties, but in private, she locked herself in her room and played music loud enough to drown out Lex's tantrums.
Kieran didn't know why Lex was so angry in the first place. It was obvious Clark Kent was Superman from the moment she saw him. A pair of glasses didn't change a person's face to the point they weren't recognizable just because they had a fancy suit and could fly. It was ridiculous, and Kieran felt maybe Lex was betrayed because he hadn't been smart enough to see it. His arrogance was a toxic and suffocating thing to experience.
A pencil tapped the side of her head, and Kieran looked up from the book she'd stopped reading many, many minutes ago. Too lost in her thoughts. She closed it and sat forward, glancing over one of her formulas. It had given her the answer she was looking for, and she sent the paper with the formula to her bulletin board and watched the rest of the equation come to life. She clicked her teeth as the solution still left her with more questions than answers, but it was closer than where she was. Dr. Hale sent her all of her formulas before she passed, and her wife, Professor Swan, was eager to help Kieran whenever she asked, but the woman was getting older, and her memory was fading. It was up to Kieran to create the device and honor the women, but it was taking a lot longer than she anticipated. But Kieran wasn't going to stop.
It didn't matter if it took her another ten years. She was going to find her family.
An alarm went off in the background, and Kieran puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. She grabbed her coffee, took the stirrer out, and tossed it in the trash. The pencils went to their box, and Kieran slipped on her heels. She placed her thumb on the control panel near the door, and the alarm shut off. The door opened, leading out to her office, and she made her way behind her desk. The lead door closed, blending in with the wall as if it wasn't there, and Kieran took a sip of coffee just as Supergirl landed on the balcony. It was fun pretending that Kara Danvers and Kara Zor-El were two different people. She liked seeing what kind of lies and excuses Kara could come up with to explain where Kara Danvers was or where Supergirl was. Kieran wasn't angry. Why would she be? Lying about one's identity was more complex than a matter of trust. Kieran was many things, but a hypocrite, she was not.
Supergirl's eyes were firmly trained on where Kieran had just exited, but the frustration on her face told her she couldn't see through the lead. Kieran sipped her coffee and waited. The last thing she wanted was for anyone other than herself to get into that room. Except for Sam and Jess. They were the only people who knew the truth, but they didn't count.
"Good morning, Supergirl. To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked.
"I was coming to check on you after what happened."
"Thanks, but it stops becoming a thing after the fifth time," she said.
"Still. No one should have to go through this with their family," she said.
"Lex is not my family," Kieran said sharply. "And I have told you that multiple times."
A hint of Kara Danvers showed as Supergirl apologized. Kieran waved it off and gestured to the paperwork on her desk. She frowned when she noticed it had gotten bigger, and she cursed under her breath. How long had she been in her private room? Kieran shook her head and returned her attention to Supergirl.
"If that's all, Supergirl. I have work to do."
"Right, of course."
Supergirl gave a tight smile and turned toward the balcony. Kieran pretended not to notice the one last lingering look at the wall.
Sam knocked on the door and poked her head into the office.
"Hey, boo."
"I told you to stop calling me that," Kieran said distractedly.
"You said to stop calling you babe. I said boo."
"How about you stop calling me things in general?"
Sam grinned and closed the door behind her. She carried Kieran's lunch to the table and sat down.
"I brought you some of those vegan cookies you like and a kale burger with extra spicy mayo."
Kieran finally looked up, and Sam smirked triumphantly.
"What do you want?" she asked.
"Nothing," Sam laughed. "I know you need extra TLC today is all." Kieran scrunched her face, and Sam sighed, adding, "I told Jess that you didn't remember."
"Remember what?"
"Today's your birthday, kid," Sam said softly.
Kieran blinked and cleared her throat.
"Oh."
"I told Jess to hold your calls for a little while so we can eat," Sam said. "Come on."
Kieran nodded. She put down her pen and removed her hair from its ponytail. She scratched her scalp and kicked off her heels, softly padding her way to the couch next to Sam. She sat cross-legged, grateful that she wore pants instead of a dress or a skirt, and Sam rubbed her shoulder.
"You okay?"
"I will be."
"Okay." Sam tugged on her hair and added, "I forgot how long your hair is when it's up like that."
"It ran in the family," she joked.
Sam grinned and passed Kieran her burger. She took out a chicken sandwich for herself and settled down to eat.
"Oh, wait, I forgot to tell you. So you know that mommy-daughter tea was this morning, right?"
"I remember. How was it?"
"Ruby spilled green tea all over Ms. Harrison's dress."
"Ms. Harrison was the one who made those comments about you being a single mother, right?"
"Don't act like you didn't research every last thing about her after I told you what she said. But yes, it was her. It was hilarious after the fact, but Ruby had to get a stern talking-to in front of the principal."
"Of course, you are a responsible mother."
"Duh."
Kieran unwrapped her burger and said, "By the way, Supergirl stopped by this morning."
"Did she give you her usual 'family shouldn't treat family like this' speech?"
Kieran tilted her head, listening as something crossed into her boundary spell, and she tapped her chest twice, her signal for when Supergirl was around. Sam shrugged and ate her sandwich, and Kieran took a few bites before she responded to the initial question.
"Yes, but I reminded her those people aren't my family."
"Right. One of the joys of being adopted," Sam teased.
"Especially when your brother's idea of fun is mass genocide," Kieran muttered. In a louder voice, she added, "I appreciate her checking on me. It's nice to know the Girl of Steel doesn't hold the same grudge that her cousin does against anyone with the last name Luthor."
Sam faked a gag, and Kieran smacked her on the shoulder.
"When are you going to grow up?"
"The day you admit that you eat meat in the privacy of your home."
"I ate steak one time!"
"And I will never let you forget it."
Kieran huffed and said, "I liked you better when you hated me."
"I never hated you," Sam scoffed. "I was jealous of you. You were so damn smart for someone who couldn't even drink until our senior year."
"Legally," Kieran corrected. "I've been drinking since I was -
Kieran stopped. She put her burger back on the table and wiped her hands with a napkin. Her first time drinking was with Isabella for her twelfth birthday. She wanted Kieran to have her first drinking experience with people she trusted. They spent the entire evening drinking mead with Emmett. Ruby couldn't drink with them, but she gave them water to keep them from getting sick. It was one of her greatest memories.
"Hey, where'd you just go?" Sam asked softly.
"Where I always go," she whispered to Sam.
"Do you need me to leave?"
"No, no. I'm okay."
Kieran picked back up her burger, and Sam let the conversation end. They ate the rest of their lunch in silence. When Kieran's phone went off ten minutes later, she turned it off. She glanced at the plant growing in the corner of her office, more alive than it was when she first bought it, and she sniffed. Tears welled in her eyes, and Sam immediately put down her food.
"Oh, baby. Come here," she murmured. "Come here."
Kieran fell into Sam's body. Sam wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head, rocking her back and forth as she cried. Sam was the only person who got away with casual affection. Though that might have more to do with the fact Kieran and Sam dated for six months. The point was, Kieran felt more comfortable in Sam's arms than anyone else currently in her life.
Kieran felt eyes on her from across the street, higher than any average spy, and she blindly reached for her phone. She pressed a few buttons, and a thin layer of lead fell over her windows. It took her a minute to get the density right, but of course, she figured it out. Kieran was confident that Supergirl could no longer see in her office unless Kieran wanted her to. So she adjusted her position until her head was in Sam's lap. Sam ran her fingers through Kieran's hair until she fell asleep.
"I think Lena and Sam are dating."
Alex had a mouthful of salad at that moment and started choking. Kara winced apologetically. Alex managed to swallow her food and held up her finger. She drank some water, and once she wasn't on the verge of dying, she glared at Kara.
"What have I told you about spying on Lena?"
"I wasn't! I went to see if she was okay."
"Lena's been a target of assassination attempts since she got here. I doubt this was any different."
"That doesn't mean I can't be worried. What if one of these days I'm too slow?"
"Lena can take care of herself," Alex said. "We've seen that plenty of times."
"But Alex-
"I'm serious. Leave her alone. You're lucky she still talks to you after that shit you pulled."
"But she had kryptonite," Kara argued.
"So do a lot of people in National City, dummy. Hell, even Diana has some back in Themyscira. No, the issue was that you let James get in your head about someone you swore up and down wasn't like her family. Then you accused her of being like Lex, and she reacted in kind."
"Since when do you defend Lena?" Kara huffed.
"I admit I had an issue with her namesake, but she's proven she isn't like them."
"Then why does she have a hidden lead door in her office?"
"What?"
"There is a lead door in her office. I saw her come out of it this morning, and then she has a lead window so no one can see inside."
"I can't tell if your issue with Lena is because she might be hiding something or because she might be dating Sam."
Kara shifted in her seat and folded her arms.
"What is it about Lena that gets you so out of whack?"
"I don't know what that means," Kara said.
"Like you can't decide between trusting her or hating her."
"Okay, so what? Maybe I like her a little."
"How old are you? Twelve?"
"Alex," Kara whined. "This is serious."
"Everyone already knows, dude, and that brings me back to Sam and Lena. They aren't dating."
"How do you know?"
Alex cocked an eyebrow and said, "Sam has been dating Jess for the last three months."
"Wait, what?"
"Do you pay attention to anything other than Lena when you fly by L-Corp every thirty minutes?"
"I do not-
"Yes, you do. You have a tracker in your suit, dummy."
Kara sunk in her seat and pouted.
"That still doesn't explain how you know Sam and Jess are dating," she grumbled.
"Because Kelly and I have a double date with them tonight."
"What!"
Kieran walked barefoot through her penthouse in a pair of oversized sweatpants and one of Sam's hoodies. She knew her best friends were out on a double date, so she would be alone for the evening. She turned on her record player and twirled on the spot as the music started to play.
I don't like it in the city
Cause nobody knows my name
'Til we start pickin' and a-singin'
Home sure sounds good today
Kieran placed her hand on the wall near her windows, and she watched the lead slip over her glass.
Well, I wanna go home
Yeah, I wanna go home
Yeah, I wanna go home
I wanna go home
Kieran grabbed a bottle of wine from her cabinet and placed it on the island. She lazily waved her hand, and a wine opener went about uncorking the bottle while a wine glass slid from the hooks down to the counter. Finding out she still had her magic in the new realm was a blessing. She can't imagine how much worse her life would've been without it. Kieran sighed as the wine poured itself and chewed on her bottom lip. She grabbed the glass once it was filled, and the wine bottle followed her in the air. Kieran directed it to the coffee table and sat down.
And I ran barefoot up the holler
In the shadow of the pines
With my brothers and my sister
We cut our teeth on homemade wine
Kieran tucked her feet under her legs and stared at the wall. Several pictures, images Kieran painted during her artist days, took up the entire wall. Some were of Emmett, Isabella, and a few of Ruby, Granny, and Regina. There was only one picture of her birth mother, and Kieran sipped at her wine. As the chorus played again, Kieran threw her glass at the wall. Streaks of red bled into the images, and she screamed, taking pleasure in knowing her penthouse was soundproofed in all the rooms.
Kara flew up into the sky until she was high above the atmosphere. She took in deep breaths and let the world continue to turn beneath her. Ever since she got to Earth, she'd been living up to a reputation that wasn't hers.
Kara wasn't Clark, and Clark wasn't Kara.
She didn't owe anyone on Earth a single thing, but she chose to save Alex that night. She chose to put on the suit, put herself in danger every single day, and protect the people she loved because she was able to do it. It had nothing to do with wanting to keep humanity safe or whatever bullshit Clark spouted in every interview. Kara fought herself every morning not to let National City go up in flames, if only for one day of peace. She admitted that another part of her wanted to see how far humanity would go to keep itself going. What would humans act like when they've been pushed to their limit? Could they do what her parents did and create something to attack one specific group of people? They'd already done it with slavery – the holocaust.
It wasn't unheard of for them.
Would humans give up their material things to save themselves from collapse? Or would they turn on one another? Who would go first? The poor or the rich? What would the Man of Steel do? Would he step between the fighting and give them the speech of all speeches? Would he inspire hope or fuel their rage?
Kara hummed and closed her eyes. The symbol on her chest meant more to her than it did to Kal-El. He didn't know his culture enough to participate in the rituals, the festivals, and the ceremonies. He wore the family crest like a costume. He demanded the unification of a group of species that would rather tear itself apart than come together. Kara blew out a frustrated breath and dropped from the sky. The weightlessness, as temporary as it was, was a relief. She opened her eyes when she heard J'onn flying next to her.
"Am I needed?" she asked.
"No. Your thoughts are rather loud, even when you're up there," he said softly.
"What happened to you staying out of my head?"
"I wasn't in your head. You've been acting strange since this afternoon."
"Do you think I'm self-righteous?"
"You can be."
"Gee, thanks."
J'onn chuckled and said, "I'm not condemning you."
"It takes a single thought to destroy all the walls I've built."
"What happened?"
"Alex mentioned that, to a lot of people, my identity was rooted in Kal-El. It was a truth I didn't think I needed to hear until she said it." Kara glanced out over the city as she slowed, hovering near L-Corp. She sighed and looked at J'onn. "But I don't want to be compared to Kal-El," she said.
"Then show the world who you are."
"I don't know how."
"You will figure it out," he said. "Do you want me to take over for the night?"
"Please."
"Of course."
"Thank you, J'onn."
"Always."
Winn blinked away his sleep as he shuffled into the DEO. The sun hadn't come up yet, but he'd been summoned by the sister he didn't expect. Kara met him in the control center with a piece of paper and a coffee. Winn smiled in thanks and sat down. He glanced at the rough outline of a new suit she'd sketched in the Fortress loosely based on ceremonial wear, and his eyes widened. Brainy, who'd been there since the night before, rolled over in his chair and stared at the image over Winn's shoulder. Brainy didn't say anything, but approval was written all over his face. Kara hadn't told Alex or Nia, well, she hadn't told anyone yet, but she knew her sister would be okay with it.
"Kara, this– are you sure?"
"I am."
Winn scratched at his jaw and said, "I can have it finished in like three hours. The good thing is the base of the suit is the same as your current one. It's just the colors I need to play around with, but it shouldn't take long."
"I can assist him if need be," Brainy said. "We may beat our three-hour timeline."
"Thank you, both of you. I appreciate this."
"You know I'm happy to do it," Winn said.
"Agreed."
Kara smiled and went to make herself comfortable.
That afternoon, Sam didn't knock as she entered the office. Kieran glanced up when her best friend stuck a phone in her face. She stared at the image until it sparked recognition and bit her lip.
"Hm. I see she has finally taken my words to heart."
"What do you mean?"
"I told her when we first met that I'm only trying to make a name for myself away from my family." Kieran leaned back in her seat and stared out of the window. "I guess Kara Zor-El decided to make a more formal appearance."