Chapter Three: The Luthor Mask

Kara's POV

Entering the office, Miss Grant caught me before I could sit. "All writers in my office. Now!"

Once we were all present, Miss Grant spoke. "Tell me, what is this?" Clicking a button, a black Comaro pulling out of a private airfield came on the screens. None of us dare speak a word. "It is Lena Luthor flying back into town." Another click and a close up of the driver's side came into view. "TMZ, of all outlets, snapped these a few days ago. TMZ! Not CatCo!"

"To be fair, Miss Grant," James began.

"No! No excuses. For the past four years this woman has been a mystery since her brother tried to kill her. I want information!"

"She's a menace," another reporter spat. Irritation bubbled in my veins. "She's just like her brother."

"She's nothing like her brother," I growled. All eyes fell on me. Oh, crap! "She's never tried to kill anyone. Human or alien."

"How do you know this, Kiera?" Miss Grant studied me for a moment.

"Just because she's a woman who likes her privacy, doesn't mean she's a menace or like her family. She testified against her brother. Agreed that he should be locked up."

"Good point." Miss Grant turned her attention to the rest of the room. "Take this as an example to keep your assumptions to yourselves. Don't let it cloud your judgment. You are all dismissed." She paused, eyes on me. "Except you." I froze. Once the office was empty, Miss Grant closed the door. "Sit." She pointed at the couch.

"Yes, Miss Grant?"

"I don't know who you're dating, or were dating, but it was, or is, good for you. You're getting teeth. An edge that you've been missing. It looks good on you," she paused. "I'm proud."

Warmth filled my chest. "Thank you, Miss Grant. That means a lot coming from you."

The powerful woman took a seat at her desk. "Now, get out there."

After helping Maggie chase down a ring of jewelry thieves, I went home. Entering my window, I showered and changed before relaxing on the couch. Flipping through the channels, nothing seemed interesting. All I could think about was Lena and her kryptonite heart. I hate that her mother did that to her. A mother is supposed to be the one person you can trust. Her life would be different if I could have saved her that day.

Hearing the lock turn, I saw Alex hanging her coat. "Hey, what's up?"

"We need to talk." Grabbing a beer, Alex plopped down on the other end of the couch. "What's really going on? The past month you've been hot and cold. For two weeks, you were overly perky. The past two weeks, not so much. Today, you were both. Not to mention the whole black van thing? Your earpiece went offline right after that. The plate came back as an L-Corp van. What happened?"

Crap. Crap. Crap. Don't twitch. Don't twitch. Don't twitch. Crap. Crap. Crap. "After I checked it out, nothing came of it."

Alex studied me. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing." I tried not to fidget.

"Liar," Alex laughed. "You're sleeping with someone. That's the only explanation," she joked.

"What? No I'm not!" I exclaimed. Oops. Crap!

Nearly choking on her drink, Alex leaned forward. "Originally, I was joking. Who is it?" I shook my head. "Come on! It can't be that bad. It's not like you're sleeping with a Luthor." My face paled. "Are you?" Alex's eyes grew. "Kara!"

"I can't help it! She's sexy, gorgeous, brilliant, and her eyes! I can't even."

"She?" Alex blinked through the confusion. "That leaves two of them. You're sleeping with Lillian or Lena." Biting the inside of my cheek, I could feel heat burn my cheeks. "You're sleeping with Lena Luthor?" I grinned. "She's evil!"

The words came before I could stop them. "Evil in bed."

"Kara!" Alex threw a pillow at me. "I can't believe you, my innocent little sister, said that!"

"I'm sorry!" Both of us had to wipe tears from our eyes.

"In all seriousness, just be careful. I would tell you that even if her last name was Smith."

"Thank you, Alex." I relaxed into the cushions.

"Does she know who you are?"

"She's actually the reverse. She doesn't know Supergirl is Kara Danvers."

"How did that happen?" Alex emptied her beer.

"She, uh, got bored and kidnapped me," I grinned.

"She did what?" Alex groaned. "The shit lesbians pull." Covering her face, she shook her head. "For fuck's sake. Does anyone know the two of you are doing the dirty in her office?"

"Nope. You're the only one."

"Are you dating now?" Her brow rose.

"No, just sex."

"Huh," Alex thought. "There's nothing wrong with that. I just thought you wanted a relationship before having sex for the first time."

Shrugging, I fidgeted with a corner of the pillow I held. "Everything happened so quickly. It was like my body overpowered my brain."

"Did you not want to do that?" Becoming defensive, Alex shifted forward. "I'm not above kicking some Luthor ass."

"No! No. I wanted to. I really wanted to," I mumbled. "I just wasn't expecting it to happen. Ever. Especially with her."

"Oh, okay." My sister relaxed. "Apparently she enjoyed it too. If she keeps having you come back."

"Yeah." I can't tell her about Lena's heart. Or at least not right now.

Xxx

Lena's POV

Over the next few days, I kept an eye on the tabloids. Each of them had a different story about why I was seen during the day. The only one that hadn't published some outlandish theory was CatCo.

Maybe it's time for me to come into the light. There's only one reporter I would trust. Besides, allowing Kara to be the only reporter I talk to will give me an excuse to spend more time with her. Figure out what this weird sensation is.

Xxx

Kara's POV

"Kiera!" Miss Grant called from her office.

Scurrying from my desk, I entered the office. "Yes, Miss Grant?"

"You will never believe who just called and agreed to an interview."

"Queen Elizabeth II? You've been trying to get an interview with her for years!"

"No. The Queen still eludes me," Miss Grant scoffed. "It was Lena Luthor." Studying me, the older woman continued. "She's finally agreed to an interview. With only one condition."

Becoming nervous, I swallowed hard. "W-What's that?"

"That I send you. You're the only reporter she'll talk to." Folding her arms, Miss Grant leaned forward. "Why is it that a woman who refuses to give any type of interview or statement suddenly gives one?" Her head tilted. "Only days after you make that remark about her not being the monster she seems to be."

I tried not to squirm under Miss Grant's stare. "Change of heart?" I offered.

"Mmhmm." She clearly doesn't believe me. "I expect as much information about this woman as you can get." Waving her hand, Miss Grant shooed me away. "Go."

Standing outside of Lena's office, I tried keeping my nerves in check. I've been here before. I've done many things on many different surfaces. Why am I so nervous? Taking a deep breath, I knocked.

"Come in." Her voice was cold. Vastly different from the voice I had come to know.

Entering, my step faltered seeing Lena staring out the large window with her back to me. "You called for an interview." I tried to keep my voice even.

"I did." Turning, she motioned to a guest chair. "Sit."

Doing as instructed, I flipped open my notebook. "Where would you like to start?"

"I want to start with why you're so nervous." A devious glint shined in green eyes. "This isn't the first time you've been in my office," she paused, "Supergirl." Blood drained from my face. "Calm down." She waved a hand dismissively. "I knew long before I kidnapped you. Those glasses don't fool me. I see the way you look at me. You can change your hair and your clothes but you can't change your eyes."

Relaxing, I fixed my glasses. "Why haven't you said anything before now?"

"Because we don't talk much. That's not something we do. Our arrangement is more of a wham, bam, thank you ma'am type of thing. Then you leave."

Is that pain in her voice? She's the one who won't let me touch her. "What's changed?"

"I wanted to give you this." Lena pushed a phone across her desk. "If I keep kidnapping Supergirl, people will start getting suspicious. This way, you can come when I call."

My stomach dropped. "So, you didn't want to actually give an interview? This was all a ruse for a booty call?" I feel dirty. Stupid even. I thought…I don't know what I thought this had turned into. But not this.

"No. This wasn't a ruse." She turned to look out the window again. "I know you've been looking into me. What have you found?" How did she find out? I was so careful. "Don't deny it. You're a terrible liar," she chuckled.

Did she just try to tease me? "I did." Biting my lip, I looked away. "The children's hospital in town, you fully funded it. They get an anonymous donation every year on your birthday. The Toys for Tots program also gets a donation around Christmas. Regular toys for the younger kids and STEM related toys for the older ones."

"You have done your research. I've made it a point to hide that. It's not done through L-Corp finances. It's from my personal accounts."

"I'm not going to write anything that's not true or that you don't want public."

"Why?" She turned to face me. "Why do you seem to care? No one else does. All of the other media outlets write whatever they think will sell the best."

"I-I see past the Luthor mask you've sculpted and worn for so long. I see you, Lena. I see the woman who hates what she's become. Who thinks she's a monster. But you're wrong." My voice cracked. "You're not a monster. You're hurt."

Recoiling, Lena's eyes became hard. "You're wrong. Everything I do is for power, nothing else. Even fucking you is a power move. I've been inside you. Had you under my tongue. I own a piece of you now. As a Luthor, owning a piece of a Super is ultimate power." Her words were venomous.

She's lashing out. I've backed her into a corner and she feels vulnerable. She's scared. Everything clicked into place. Oooh. Maybe that's why she never lets me touch her. Even if it's not true, hearing that still hurts. "You're lying."

"What makes you think that?" Lena scoffed. "I've given you no reason to think otherwise."

"Because I've seen the real you. I saw it the first time we had sex and I asked if I could reciprocate. The look in your eyes changed. I didn't realize what it meant until I saw it again. There's a moment when we're having sex that your mask slips. It's a fraction of a second but it never changes. It's beautiful."