Author's Note: Hey all! When it comes to fanfic, I'm a long-time reader, first-time writer. "Breaking the Surface" is a fic I started a year ago, not really knowing if I was going to post it due to lack of time. But, as you're all probably aware, writing is a clutch escape, plus some ideas will just keep pestering you until you get them on paper. I've really enjoyed seeing the responses so far, your kind words encourage me to keep this thing going! I'd love to hear your thoughts, critiques, reactions, anything you want to throw in there. Happy to get to know this community a bit better!
"Ms. Luthor?" Jess' voice echoed in the lab. When making her usual afternoon rounds she discovered Lena's empty office. In such cases Jess would look in the CEO's second most frequented space. Austere, state-of-the-art, and yes, a touch Bond villain-esque, Lena's lab could only be accessed with security clearance and fluency in Ms. Luthor's crisp communication mid-project. The latter qualification was necessary this morning as Lena poured over the rover, which was in hundreds of pieces on her table.
"What is it, Jess?" she replied without looking up. Her tone read more rushed than frustrated while she operated a drill to remove a screw. Brow furrowed, she gingerly extracted and examined a small chip from the opened panel, then plugged it into her tablet. After several seconds, a detailed report of its contents popped up on the screen.
"Your 4 o'clock has arrived." Jess reported.
"Completely man made." Lena said to herself, her shoulders easing as she pushed her lab glasses up on her forehead.
Ever since two DEO agents - neither of them the blonde, earnest one Lena was expecting - deposited the weapon at L-Corp a few hours before, Lena was expecting to find traces of alien engineering. Yet the rover seemed to consist of entirely human technology, as stated in the report. While it required L-Corp's enhanced software to decode - and several more hours of tinkering to collect leads - it was native to earth. Relief accompanied Lena's discovery. Though a cunning pyromaniac running around posed a threat, the fact that they were human made them no match for National City's protector.
"Kara Danvers is here for the follow-up interview." Jess elaborated on her earlier statement, waiting patiently for Lena.
Glancing up, the brunette shut off her tablet and headed with her assistant to the office. "Got a bit too absorbed," she glanced at her watch, already quarter-past. "It felt like I was working for five minutes, not hours."
"I'll be honest, Ms. Luthor, it's a bit frightening how focused you get." Jess cracked Lena up with her observation, her boss conceding that she had a point. As they entered the elevator, Jess cleared her throat nervously.
"So you remember that second date I was telling you about?"
"This Saturday, right?" Lena recalled, then turned quickly to Jess, concerned. "He didn't bail, did he?"
"Oh no, not at all!" The assistant reassured her, "The date's still on! But I realized it's the same night as Mr. Edge's gala."
"Ah, I see." More resentful at the upcoming event than at Jess' potential absence. Whether it was negotiating a deal or schmoozing at a soiree, Lena always represented L-Corp, maintaining solid PR for the Luthors and the company.
"Unfortunately." Jess confirmed. "I know I usually come with you, and I can totally reschedule my date if you need an assistant there! I don't want to leave you hang-"
"Jess," Lena soothed, familiar enough with Jess to know that she just saved her assistant several minutes of rambling, "I'll be just fine. Please, take the night off and enjoy your time with…?"
"Sebastian." She replied shyly.
"Enjoy your date with Sebastian," Lena winked, "And arrive with juicy details first thing on Monday."
"Can do, Ms. Luthor!" Jess giggled as the elevator dinged.
The doors opened to Kara sitting patiently in the lounge, notebook in tow. She greeted Lena with a warm smile and waved to Jess, who headed down the hall to resume her tasks.
"I swear I'm never this late!" Lena announced, ushering the reporter into her office. "Just an exceptionally wild week."
"Lena Luthor: Waits for No Man, Notoriously Tardy" Kara gestured as if putting a headline in the sky. "I'll sell that scoop to The Daily Planet."
A split second of anticipation hung in the air after the blonde's teasing. Lena sensed that Kara was testing the waters. Perhaps the reporter was wondering if the comment went too far. The thought amused Lena, but she decided to spare her.
"You wouldn't dare!" Lena feigned shock. She could feel Kara's relief, the ghost of a smile tugging at the reporter's lips.
"There's no stopping it. Smear campaigns are my true calling."
"A noble cause."
Kara snickered. Lena assumed a more serious tone.
"Well I'm sorry to make you wait twice. Between chasing leads and rescuing-" she caught herself as Kara raised an alarmed eyebrow. "Rescuing sisters from broken-down cars, your time is in high demand. Did everything work out alright, by the way?"
Kara glanced out the window, then back to the room, nodding.
"Yeah, all good! Just a ride and a tow truck. And no need to apologize, getting you again is awesome." A faint blush rose up her cheeks. "I mean, getting a follow up interview. It's so helpful for the story."
"It's no trouble! So," Lena sat forward in her chair and leaned over the desk, resting her chin on her hand. "Ask away."
While next to nothing had been published about Lena outside of her career - and Kara did some major digging prior to the interview - the Luthor family had long been the subject of articles, documentaries, and even textbooks. Remy and Astrid Luthor, both brilliant minds and descendants of titans of industry, invested their exorbitant wealth in medical research. Their 1982 breakthrough discovery of Daxam soil as a cure for lymphoma - extracting the enzymes and developing life-saving drugs for patients within the span of only two years - solidified their legacy in medicine. However, the Luthors' role in harvesting alien resources for human gain eventually became the subject of controversy. Amidst accusations of Daxamite exploitation they ceased their research, sold their patents, and founded L-Corp in the early 90's. A less divisive, profitable tech company was born.
Since then, Kara discovered, Astrid and Remy maintained an airbrushed reputation. No scandals involving L-Crop or its products. No salacious headlines regarding the patriarch or matriarch. Their sons, Alec and Dean, caused isolated scenes throughout the years: initially for a prep school suspension, then, in their early twenties, an incident involving public intoxication, the Real Housewives of Metropolis, and a llama. While the two had maintained cleaner records in the decade since, they were unfit and uninterested in taking over the company when their parents retired. It was their daughter, adopted by the Luthors when she was nine, who inherited the position of CEO just five years ago. No public records of Lena's biological family existed. The orphanage from which Lena came only mentioned "tragic abandonment" in a brief 2003 article announcing the adoption. As the only backstory Kara could really gather on the brunette, the dynamic between Lena her parents would have to serve as a springboard.
"What was it like growing up as a Luthor?" Commencing with a broad question, Kara wanted to give Lena space to talk without feeling trapped or cornered.
"Privileged," Lena admitted. "Nothing quite ever seemed out of reach. But my parents wanted us to be self-sufficient and try. Something reinforced by boarding school."
"You were away for all of high school?" Kara inquired, jotting some notes.
"All of middle and high school." Lena corrected her. Kara's expression must have looked surprised, as the brunette followed up with "It wasn't just being shipped off like in the movies. They were good schools, a way to raise me when my parents were still working. It worked for my brothers, so why not, right? I learned coding from trying to get around the school's social media site blockers at study hall."
"That's badass. In the nerdiest way possible." Kara laughed, causing Lena to throw her head back with a dramatic "I know!"
An image of teenage Lena popped into the reporter's head, astute and likely already groomed to be a businessperson throughout prep school. She had to bite back a chuckle at the thought of young Lena, addressing her peers in class as if they were in a boardroom, perhaps donning a pantsuit for student council elections by day, then hacking the school's database to access Facebook by night.
"Did your dynamic with them change while you were away?" The reporter probed.
"Well Alec and Dean are a bit older, so they were always sort of parental. When I needed Remy and Astrid, they could be reached. But I tried not to need them too much, I was too stubborn."
"How did your family's status impact you?"
"It helped that my peers in school belonged to much cooler families," Lena laughed. "Honestly! Actors, musicians, politicians. So that helped level it somewhat." She paused for a moment, rubbing her cheek pensively before continuing.
"It's rather weird when people know your family before knowing you. Makes you a bit more skeptical of intentions. Like when I took my first girlfriend home for winter break…she may have slipped her resumé to my parents at dinner."
"Really?" Kara's voice went up an octave. She tried to pass it off as disbelief rather than excitement upon learning this detail.
"Yeah! Pretty wild." Lena exclaimed. "So I found a solution to stuff like that by joining the swim team. Status disappears and you really are beholden to skill and work."
"And - please correct me if I'm wrong - a healthy dose of competition?" The blonde suggested.
"How'd you know?" The CEO asked rhetorically. "I'm a glutton for it. You?"
"Most definitely. Eternal bragging rights go to whoever finishes the most potstickers between my sister and I. She never stands a chance."
"I wouldn't like my odds if I were her." Lena speculated. Kara watched as the brunette removed her lab glasses from above her head and tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear. She fixed Kara with a curious look. "What's the age difference between you two?"
"Five years. I'm actually adopted, too." The reporter divulged, feeling a bit emboldened. She instantly regretted her statement when she saw Lena's gaze harden, almost imperceptibly. It was only a brief flash, but Kara knew a wall had just arisen.
"We don't have to get into that!" The blonde instantly backtracked, panic creeping into her mind. Lena simply shrugged it off with a small smile. "I'm sorry, I…just, um….I can relate. On a microscopic level, that is." Kara nodded, then after a moment of excruciating silence, concluded. "I went to public school."
After eliciting a hearty, unexpected laugh from Lena, Kara used the opportunity to pick up the momentum again.
"So you take over L-Corp at 23," the reporter kept her eyes trained on her notes, buying time to regain her composure, "what's going through your mind at this point?"
Lena graciously picked up without skipping a beat, giving Kara hope that she didn't totally lose the brunette with her forwardness. As the two delved into more serious conversation regarding the L-Corp and Lena's initiatives, Kara was still sorting out what "lose" meant in the situation.