Chapter 13: "Gone"
"Thing were falling apart. We just could not slow down. We were evolving into something greater, perhaps too much for our own good. And one thing always remained as I moved on. I saved a little bit of love just in case you would ever return home."
― Robert M. Drake, Beautiful Chaos
"Lena? What's wrong? Who is it?" – the brunette had dropped her phone but was still with her arm up completely motionless, only her lips trembling. Kara had heard the phone ring, at first, she didn't pay attention to it but as soon as she heard a gasp coming from Lena, she was alert trying to figure out what or who had disturbed her. The woman was as pale as a ghost, her eyes unfocused. When Lena didn't answer, Kara grabbed the phone but as soon as she did the line went dead.
"Lena, please, tell me what happened" – the blonde stroke Lena's hand trying to take her out of her stupor. It was almost eight in the morning, probably Jess was calling about some emergency at L-CORP, but what could had happened that would put Lena in such state?
"I have to go" – Kara was exalted by Lena's quiet statement, before she could enquire more, the woman was already out of bed and dressed, she threaded her fingers through her hair, later tiding it up into a messy bun.
"Go where?" – No response, Lena's gaze was cold, detached, this was a side of her mate that Kara had never seen before. When the brunette started walking towards the door her path was block by the blonde.
"I can't let you go until you tell me what's going on" – Lena finally made eye contact with her and Kara was relieved to see that her gaze had softened.
"Please Kara…" – she made a move as to pass through Kara without much success.
"No, I'm not moving" – the CEO sighed – "Listen Lena, I know what you're feeling right now, and I'm not telling you this as a way of saying, I'm literally feeling the same you are. I know how scared you are right now. I don't know how you are able to even move and not let this fear freeze you, so you are completely crazy if you think I'm going to let you leave this apartment just like that".
Another sigh. – "Jess, she was the one calling me…" – Kara could see Lena's throat bobbing, trying to let the next words out of her mouth – "She's on my office at L-CORP and, Lex… he's there with her" – thistime the brunette broke the eye contact, her gaze was now focused on the floor.
Kara's mind went railing with the new information. Lex's had been in prison for years, but he had managed to break out with the help of some dirty cops, he had gone under the radar for months and now he was at Lena's office. Before this, everyone believed he was dead, no one couldn't find any trail of him, even the Interpol hadn't been able to find his whereabouts, so the easiest thing to assume was that he hadn't made it at all, but after all this time, he was here, in National City strutting like a peacock.
"I'm going with you" – Kara said with authority.
"Kara, no. This is Lex we are talking about, I don't know what he's capable of, I'm not putting you at risk" – Even if Lena stance was as rigid as her own she couldn't let her go alone.
"Maybe you don't, but I know what he's capable of, I know he has something to do with The Order, that's why I have to go" – she grabbed Lena's hands – "Lena, I'll never forgive myself if something happens to you and I'm not there to prevent it, please…"
"Okey, but we have to be careful, he has Jess, we can't let him take the first hand, I might not know what he'll do but I know how his mind works, so if we want to save Jess you'll have to follow me and let me do the talking" – the brunette said with finality while she put on her coat.
"Okey, I trust you".
They arrived at L-CORP in a few minutes given that Kara's apartment was just a few blocks away from the building. When the entered, the building was completely empty, not even the guard who was supposed to work on weekends was there, they shared a worried look before heading towards the elevator that would take them to the last floor and Lena's office were she believed her brother would be.
The ride up seemed to last an eternity, both of them focused on the screen that showed the transition between the different floors. When they were finally on the end of the ride, both of them jumped when the beeping indicating they had arrived sounded. Before they left the elevator, the blonde took a deep breath and tried to controlled her mix emotions. Once she did, her eyes were shining with a dangerous shade of blue.
"Let's go"- she commanded and Lena followed her without hesitation, Kara knew she was affecting her if Lena's confident posture had something to say about it. Usually, Lena was this confident when she was surrounded by investors or strangers, but Kara could tell how Lena's body tended to shrink and compose herself again after every step they came closer to Lex, she was glad the brunette was now benefiting of the perks of being her mate.
When they were at the double doors of Lena's office the brunette stopped in her tracks – "Let me go first, stay behind me" – Kara nodded and the brunette opened the door carefully. The first thing Kara saw was Jess sitting on the couch, her makeup was messed up, probably from all the crying, but she seemed unharmed. When her eyes landed on Lena's desk, her chair was turned towards the window and Lex was seating on it.
"Lex" – Lena's shallow voice interrupted the deafening silence that embraced the room.
Kara gulped while Lex slowly turned around the chair. His face was not yet visible when he spoke for the first time.
"Oh, dear sister. Your voice is music for my ears…" – he was finally facing them and Kara could see how her face showed surprise, but he quickly masked it behind cold eyes and a maleficent smile. – "You didn't tell me you were bringing company or I would have brought another glass" – he had two glasses and a bottle of wine above Lena's desk. He walked around the table and headed towards them, when he stretched his arm and came closer, Lena took a step back pushing Kara with her, her body serving as a shield between her brother and the blonde.
"Whoa, easy, I just wanted to introduce myself, there is no need to be this defensive, I would never hurt a fly" – he had a sick smile while he talked and Kara was sure this man probably loved the way his voice sounded. Once again, her thoughts were interrupted by Lena's voice.
"What do you want Lex?" – Lena asked with finality, probably tired of her brother's games. He turned around once again and walked towards the view, from this point they only saw his back and Kara's anxiety growth to new levels. He could have a gun, he could shoot Lena and she wasn't sure she was fast enough to stop the bullet from hitting her. Her hands were curled into fists, her nails leaving an imprint on her skin. Lena apparently noticed this, because she grabbed her right hand and gave a little squeeze, probably trying to calm her.
"Straight to the point I see". He poured himself a glass of wine, he kept stirring it for a minute before he made eye contact again. "So, Lena, I know for a fact that you've been sticking your nose where it doesn't belong… in my files, to be exact" –he took a sip of wine – "You look surprise, did you really think I wouldn't find out?" – his tone was louder, the vein on his forehead more prominent than before.
Kara watched how Jess squirmed, she could smell her fear, they had to take her out of there.
"Well, I thought you didn't have access to our servers anymore, but if I'm being honest, I was hoping for you to notice" – Kara looked at Lena in surprise, was she telling the truth? Had she set him up? Or was she bluffing? The brunette was a smart woman, whatever the case was, Kara was ready to back her up.
"You are lying" – he grabbed the glass with force, Kara could see his knuckles turning white.
"Am I? You know me Lex, you are a smart man, but I'm smarter" – Lena's lip was curving upwards in a small satisfactory smile.
"You fucking bitch, you're just a traitor, that's what you are! You don't full me Lena, I know you're bluffing, why would you come here with only the company of this…" – she pointed at Kara – "this wannabe photographer when you could have brought the FBI, or the entire CIA for that matter?".
Both of them were shocked. Lex knew who Kara was, why would he know about her being a photographer otherwise? Even so, Lena was quick to compose herself and Kara followed suit.
"Perhaps I'm lying, you'll have to wait and see" – Lena took a step forward – "Or, you can leave now and save yourself the trouble…"
Lex put the glass down, and started walking once again towards them – "I'll go if you tell me why were you going through my files".
"I needed some help with a project, I thought your journals could have the answers, but I didn't find anything useful" – Kara was in awe of Lena's ability to answer without hesitation.
"You insult me sis… I know which files you were checking, should I refresh your memory?" – Lex looked towards Jess. Kara knew what he was trying to imply, he was easy to read, if Jess founded out about the existence of werewolf, having such information would put her life at risk.
"Wait…" – Thankfully, Lena had also read Lex intentions. – "I needed information about them".
"Why?" – Lex took another step forward.
"I had a rough encounter with one of them" – Lena was trying to be as abstract in her answer as she could. Kara felt how tense Lena was after every step her brother made, without wavering she position herself between the brunette and the man and Lex gave her an enquiring look.
"That's great news! So, now that you know I wasn't lying, how does it feel to know that you were responsible for me being in an asylum by nothing but telling the truth?" – he was now facing Kara, he tried to move past her to see Lena and the blonde didn't falter, but the brunette came to her side once more.
"I don't regret what I did, you killed people Lex, I couldn't let that happened again…"
"They were not people!" – his outburst made Lena take a step back, but Kara didn't move an inch, she knew her eyes were changing, but the menacing scenario playing before her was enough to bring her wolf side to the surface. If Lex were to find out about her while she protected Lena, so be it, she was ready to take the risk for her.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw how Lena checked her watch. "You're running out of time brother, the police should be here at any moment". As soon as she warned him, multiple sirens were heard. Kara knew for a fact that they hadn't made the call, they were worry about Jess safety if they did, but apparently Lena had an ace up her sleeve.
"Why would you warn me? Why let me leave when you could send me to that shithole again?" – he sounded genuinely surprise.
"Let's say I might share some ideologies with you about this subject now that you clarified what those people were" – Lena's voice was cold as ice and sturdy, fortunately, Kara could sense how sick saying those words made her feel, she was amazed by the CEO's capacity to keep the façade going.
"I knew you'd come to your senses once I explain it to you, after all, brilliant minds think alike…" – He walked towards the door, but after crossing it he spoke once again – "Miss Danvers, can you come here for a second?" – Kara made eye contact with Lena and she could see the fear on those vibrant green eyes. "It's okey" – she whispered before moving towards the door.
When she was at Lex side, he made a sign for her to come closer and down so he could whisper in her ear. "You don't full me blondie, I know what you are" – Kara's eyes went wide open "The Order send you their regards…" – After that she could feel something solid brushing her abdomen, before she could see what it was, the sound of two gunshots disturbed the moment.
She looked at him once more but he was already walking towards the elevator, she could hear her maniac laugh impacting into her eardrums, she could also hear Lena's voice, albeit a little distorted as if she was under water.
Even if she knew what was happening, her brain felt lazy, foggy, probably trying to catch up with the events. One of her hands was set on her abdomen, her clothes were damped. When she raised her hand, she saw how her skin tone was dyed in a crimson red. Soon after, her knees buckled and she fell to the floor unceremoniously and the pain started to kick in. Once she touched the floor, Lena was already there, kneeling beside her, her hands were applying pressure to her wounds. She was so desperate and worried that Kara hated herself for being the cause that put Lena in such state.
She could hear Lena talking, saying something to her, but she just wasn't able to understand what was it, even so, she tried to re assure her.
"Lena… it's okey, you have to call Alex" – Lena watched her, she said something else, but Kara wasn't able to distinguish what it was once again.
The pain got worse and she couldn't avoid the scream that came with it. She wanted to speak again but when she tried, she chocked on her own blood and she spat a mouthful of it before she tried again.
Lena had her phone on her hand and she was talking with someone, probably Alex. Her hand was covered in blood, and something else… Kara gasped. She brought her own hand up and then she saw it, between the crimson color, there was a thread of silver. Once again, she tried to talk.
"It's silver… he used silver bullets…" – all went black after that.
[…]
"She should know what could happen to her, she deserves to know who she is" – the woman's voice came through the door.
"If she knew, her life would be in danger, you know that" – this time it was a man's voice, deep and somehow familiar.
"Look at us right now, we are already in danger, at least if we tell her, she'll have a chance to defend herself, she'll know why are they coming after her…"
"Okey, okey, you're right. We will tell her tomorrow, once we're settle, for now let her sleep, she must be tired".
Her bedroom door opened – "Sleep well little one, we'll be always by your side, we'll always protect you" – she felt the pressed of soft lips on her forehead before everything vanished to black once again.
[…]
Her nerves were all over the place, she kept her composure long enough for Lex to leave, but before he did, he called Kara and her thoughts started railing, her heart was apparently trying to get out from her ribcage. Kara gave her a reassurance smile before walking towards him.
Her eyes were set on both of them, she wasn't able to even blink, too afraid of missing something. Her view of Kara was partially obscure by her brother's back, but she was able to see something bright being set on the blonde's lower abdomen. After the knowledge passed through her mind, things moved quickly, she was barely able to yell at Kara before the too familiar sound hit her.
After that, time seemed to move slower, everything was happening in slow motion, her brother's sick laugh, Kara's blood staining the carpet, and finally, her falling onto the floor. She was running towards her, the space between them wasn't long but Lena felt like it took a long time to finally come to her side.
The blonde was bleeding heavily, Lena had never seen something like this. With trembling hands, she put pressure into the wound but her brain was frozen, she didn't know what to do next, but Kara, who was lying there, with a grimace on her face was the one helping her.
"Lena… it's okey, you have to call Alex" – Kara's voice was shallow, almost like a whisper but she seemed calm, Lena didn't know how she did it.
"Yes, of course, Alex. Where's your phone? Come on… where is it?" - Kara was watching at her but her gaze was unfocused. She found the blonde's phone on one of her pockets and immediately searched Alex's number. The phone rang three times before the woman picked up.
"Hey! what's up kiddo?" – Alex cheerful voice came through the speaker.
"Alex… It's Lena" – she said with trembling voice.
"Oh God, not again… please tell me Kara is okey" – her eyes went to the blonde once more and her heart fell to her stomach when she saw Kara spitting a mouthful of blood.
"You need to come to my office right away" – Kara was trying to say something, she came closer to hear her.
"It's silver… he used silver bullets…" – Kara faded after that and Lena's heart stopped.
"Please Alex, I think she's coding" – she didn't even try to hang up the call, she quickly checked for Kara's pulse but she wasn't able to find it.
"Oh my God, Oh my God, Kara please…" – she knew how to give CPR but she needed someone else to keep applying pressure to her wounds, that's when she remembered Jess was there, she was still on the couch, pale as sheet, apparently she was in shock.
"Jess!" – she yelled, nothing, she tried again, this time her voice was louder – "Jess! I need your help, come here!" – this time the woman responded and soon enough she was sitting next to her.
"Listen, I need you to maintain the pressure on her abdomen, okey?" – her assistant nodded. Once Jess hands were in position, she opened Kara's airways tilting her head slightly back and she started with the compressions using her own weight as help.
"Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty" – she pinched Kara's nose before blowing into her mouth two times. Nothing, she kept going – "Twenty-nine, thirty" – she blew into her once more. "Come on Kara! Don't leave me, please" – her sight was blurred by her tears.
"Once more, do it again" – Jess said with conviction and Lena's strength and hope came back to tried again.
"One, two…" – first blow, nothing, second blow, she waited a couple of seconds. She was about to do the next set of compressions when Kara took a deep breath, spitting some more blood in the process and she opened her eyes. Lena was crying but this time her tears fell like a waterfall.
"Kara, God, you came back, you're okey, Alex is coming, you are going to be okey" – the blonde tried to speak, but Lena placed her index finger on the blonde's lips – "Don't please, just, save your energy, whatever you want to tell me, you'll tell me later". The blonde nodded and the beep sound of the elevator's door opening came through. Once again, Alex Danvers was coming to her office followed by her team.
Alex was quickly at her side, pushing her towards the side to asses Kara's injury.
"She was shot twice on her abdomen, she was coding so I had to give her CPR" – Lena said with ease as if just a few minutes before she hadn't been falling to pieces, although the tears kept coming, still afraid for Kara's condition. "She mentioned something about silver bullets".
Alex gaze was suddenly on her. – "What?" – her hands went to her sister's wound – "Son of a bitch! Gomez! Take her, and let Dr. Simmons know that she's been shot with silver bullets". Without losing any more time, the team set Kara in a stretcher and got her out of the room. "Who did this to her? – Alex mutter between teeth.
"Lex… my brother did this" – Lena looked up to see Alex reaction, but the woman had a straight face.
"Thank you for your help Miss Luthor, we got this from here" – the older of the Danvers replied and turned around to leave, but Lena wasn't having it.
"Alex! Wait!" – the sound of her heels resonated in the quietness of the room. "I'm coming with you" – she stated, not giving space to discussion.
"The hell you are!" – there wasn't time for this, Kara needed her, she could feel it through their connection, she was scared and she wanted to see her.
"Your sister needs me and I need her, please Alex" – she wasn't one to beg but for Kara she didn't even try not to.
"If you think I'll let a Luthor come near my sister again…"
"She's my mate Alex" – she hoped the statement would help her case. Alex looked surprise.
"She told you".
"She did, and if you know about mates, you know how strong our connection is. You can't keep us apart Alex, you shouldn't…" – she could see Alex's resolve falling to pieces.
"Yeah, I know. Let's go then, but you'll have to sign an NDA once we're there" – the woman was still cold but her features had softened.
"Of course, whatever it takes…".
Not long after, they were at a building in the middle of the city, Lena had signed every single paper they gave her and they were now on their way up to the medical bay according to Alex.
Since the moment she met Kara, something inside her was different, she didn't feel lonely anymore, she felt this invisible string tiding her up to something… someone, she supposed now that what she felt was her special connection with Kara, but since the time Alex's team took her from her office the feeling had disappeared. She wasn't able to sense it anymore, and the notion scared the hell out of her, she feared for the worst outcome.
The elevator took them up, and together with the beeping after every floor they passed through, came the sound of her own feet bouncing against the marble floor.
"Is she in pain?" – Alex broke the silence, her voice almost a whisper.
"Sorry?"
"Kara, she told me how this connection between you two would allow you to feel what she's feeling. Is she in pain?" – the agent asked once more.
"I don't know, I don't always feel what she does, it comes and go most of the time. But, right now, I can't… I can't feel anything, it's like we were never linked…" – she couldn't avoid the sob that came after her words. She looked down when she felt something warm against her hand, Alex had grabbed her.
"She's going to be okey, I know Kara, she's a fighter".
The door finally opened and both of them were running towards the room where Kara was being operated. When they arrived, the room was being clear, someone was already cleaning the blood stains on the floor. Lena's heart stopped; she was about to lose it when a woman approached them.
"Agent Danvers, we just finished surgery, we were able to stop the bleeding but she coded twice and was out for some minutes. We stabilize her and remove both bullets, but apparently the projectiles contain liquid silver inside. We have her now connected to something similar to a dialysis machine, it should filter her blood from the silver remnants. The next couple of hours are critical, we'll have to do a CT scan to see if her brain was compromised by the lack of oxygen during her coding, but we believe there's a good chance for her to come through this" – Lena's heart started beating again.
"Thank you, Dr. Simmons, for everything" – Alex said while she was still holding her hand.
"I'm glad I could help, you can see her if you want, just one at a time, I'll check on her in an hour" – the woman said and left through the corridor.
Lena was still in shock, her eyes were set on the floor, her thoughts railing. She felt something rubbing against her cheek.
"Hey, Lena, look at me. She's fine, you're fine. Come on, let's go see her".
Despite her disagreement, Alex let her in first, she thought that having her sister's mate next to Kara would give her the necessary strength to keep fighting. When she walked inside, the strong smell of antiseptic assaulted her sense of smell. Once she was by Kara's side, a few tears rolled down her cheeks at the sight, the blonde was awfully pale, her skin tone the living proof of the previous events. Lena grabbed her hand in hopes of feeling something, of recovering their connection again, but all she felt was the coldness of her mate hand, a new wave of tears assaulted her and her vision became blurry for the third time that day.
"I… I can't feel you Kara…" – she let out between sobs, her throat hurting in the process. "All of my life I tried to find something that would make me feel alive, for the longest of time I thought my search was in vain, I… I finally gave up after years and years, but then, I saw you for the first time across that room, and… my heart felt like it was beating for the first time. Even if I'm learning how to live my life on my own thanks to you, I can't lose you, I just… can't" – her head fell on the blonde's chest and her sobbing worsened.
Sometime later, two arms were grabbing her from behind and she was being hugged tightly. Alex was there with her, sobbing by her side while both of them heard the steady beeping of the heart monitor.
Thirty-three days had passed by since Kara had been shot by Lex. Three days after her surgery, Dr. Simmons had given them a new medical report about Kara's condition, this time Alex was the first one to fall to her knees and all Lena could do was cry with her until there were no tears left.
They did that for the longest of times, day after day. Alex had become her support system and Lena had become hers and that's how they were able to function enough to keep going. As the weeks passed, Lena became more cold, more emotionless, whatever it took for her to stop feeling or at least feel less and Alex was not doing any better, but at least she had Kelly, Lena on the other side, was completely alone, Kara left her and her brother was responsible, such a tragedy end for the joke that was her life.
[…]
"I'm so sorry little one… we won't be able to keep our promise, but you'll be okey. You're special Kara, you'll find out some day. Some bad people might want to hurt you because of who you are, but you'll have the strength to defend yourself. Lena… remember that name, promise me you'll remember that name" – she nodded while the woman gave her the saddest look she had ever seen and saw how life stopped reflecting in her mother's eyes.
[…]
Lena was finally able to come back to her office, she had been avoiding it for almost a month but something deep inside her made her strong enough to do it. The first thing she did was pouring herself a glass of scotch, then she went to her desk and sat at her chair, for the next half an hour her eyes were set on the spot where Kara had fallen after she was shot. She struggled to take a sip of her drink, but apparently, she wasn't in the mood for that either.
"Miss Luthor, sorry to bother you but Miss Danvers is calling, what should I tell her?" – for the briefest of time Lena's eyes light up at the mention of that name, before the hard reality came crushing her hopes once again. Not having Kara around wasn't the worst part about this situation, not even close. The worst part was her traitorous brain forgetting about it and the feeling of false hope that creeped to her soul like a climbing plant for the shortest of times.
"Miss Luthor?" – Jess voice came again through the speaker.
"Tell her I'm in a meeting right now, I'll call her later".
"Of course, Miss Luthor" – her assistant hanged up the call and Lena was again immersed into a deafening silence. She never called Alex back, she just went through her meetings and her day on auto pilot.
Lena was arriving at her penthouse when her personal phone rang, she lazily searched on her purse before grabbing it and saw the caller ID, she picked up even when her first intention was let the call go to voicemail.
"Hey Alex, what is it?" – she was holding her phone with her shoulder while she struggled to find her keys.
"Lena! Thank God, I called you earlier but you didn't take my call" – Alex mattered quickly.
"I was on a meeting Alex" – where were her keys?
"Bullshit, I know you are lying, you've been avoiding me for a week now" – Why did Alex sound so cheerful and where the hell were her keys, she sighed. "Well, whatever, that doesn't matter right now. I need you to come to the DEO building ASAP".
"Alex, it's late, can't it wait until tomorrow?" – finally, she found her keys.
"No, it can't, it's about Kara, she said something Lena, Kara said something…" – she suddenly dropped her phone to the floor but she could still hear Alex voice. "Lena? What was that noise? Are you okey?" – she kneeled and grabbed it once again.
"Can you repeat what you said… about Kara" – she added in a trembling voice.
"She said something, please come here so I can explain it to you".
Before she was even able to process what had happened, she was already at the DEO, outside of Kara's room, Alex sporting a slight smile.
"I'm glad you came after all, before I tell you the news, I want you to meet someone" – she was in such a hurry that she never noticed the woman standing behind Alex. "Kelly, this is Lena, my sister's girlfriend, Lena this is Kelly, my girlfriend" – Lena was always anxious when meeting new people, but this woman had the sweetest smile she had seen after Kara's and something about her seemed so genuine that Lena let her guard down immediately.
Had Alex said Kara's girlfriend? – "Nice to meet you Kelly, and Kara… technically she still isn't, I mean…" – was she rambling?
"Save it Luthor, I have more important things to tell you" – Lena saw how Kelly grabbed Alex hand and Lena wished she could do that with Kara again. "A couple of hours ago, I was taking care of Kara and something on the monitor changed, at first I didn't take anything of it, but then I heard a murmur. I thought I'd imagine it, but then I heard it again and this time Kelly heard it too. I came closer to Kara, to see if it was really her and I heard her Lena, she was saying your name" – Alex eyes were bright while she tried to contain her tears.
"That's not possible" – It couldn't be. Her hands where shaking, her eyes where set now on Kara's form behind the glass door.
"I know what you're thinking right now, but Dr. Simmons came and they did a CT scan. Lena, her brain is healing, she says it's only a matter of time for her to wake up, she doesn't even know how or why, but Kara is healing".
She didn't even finish hearing Alex words, she practically run towards the blonde's bed when her eyes capture some movement. She was at Kara's side watching how her girlfriend struggled to open her eyes. Thirty-three seconds, Lena counted thirty-three seconds until Kara's eyes were wide open, the blue in them brighter than ever.
"Lena?" – Kara rasped. The tears that she had been containing for thirty-three days fell without restraint. "Why are you crying?".
Yeap, another chapter, hope you enjoy this one, as always please leave some review if you want! New Supergirl chapter tonight!
