The Unique Chapter 6: Day Five, a supergirl fanfic

DAY FIVE

Lena woke up in a gasp once again, but not for the same reasons as two days before. There was somebody in the apartment. Uninvited. She could feel it. The energy wasn't one she was accustomed to. Cursing under her breath, she jumped out of bed as quietly as possible, searching for the closest weapon, thinking about all the protective spells she had casted around the building. Who could pass through her spells and still be alive? She threw a quick glance to the clock on the bedside table. The glaring red numbers burned her eyes. It was close to 3 a.m. She remembered crying herself to sleep after Kara's departure. She couldn't call her for help now, could she?

Stepping into the hall joining the bedrooms to the living room, an empty one-candle chandelier in her hand, Lena remarked Liz's bedroom door ajar, her bedside lamp reflecting its pink light against the walls. She closed her eyes as she moved past it, hoping Liz was still sleeping and safe. A small shuffling in the room confirmed her fear. Liz had been awoken by the noise. She couldn't stop though, and she couldn't take her with her either. She wanted her to stay in her bedroom.

Turning around cautiously, Lena closed the bedroom door and made her way silently to the living room, her back brushing against the wall, praying that Liz would stay in her room. As she peeked behind the corner, she could decipher three figures, lighted by the moon light. Closing her eyes, she cursed again. She could take them down by herself, but not without using her powers. It wasn't the most discreet way for someone who was trying to adjust in a new neighborhood.

"Now we wait for her to come out?" One of the figures asked. It was a man's voice, high and young, if Lena could tell. Muffled too. Peeking once again, Lena noticed they were wearing masks. One of them had a baseball stick in his hand and was twirling it in the air. Another had a huge backpack on his shoulders. They weren't common thieves. They were here for her. Lena took a deep breath, willing her heart to slow down a little. In the hallway, Liz's door creaked slightly open. No, Lena screamed in her head. Please no.

"What was that?" Another one asked, his tone gravelly, as if he had a throat disease. "Somebody's in there." The first one said.

"Of course, you idiot. That's why we're here."

Lena heard them walking several steps. It was now or never. Willing the energy to burst out of her left hand, she summoned a fireball in it and jumped out of the corner, brandishing the chandelier high above her head.

"Stop right there!" She shouted. The three intruders stopped in their track. She heard Liz mumble her name behind her but she couldn't turn around.

"Look who we got here. This bitchy witch reproduced." The man in the center said. This one only had one thing in his hands. Glowing blue shackles. They were enchanted. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Lena tried to appear strong and confident. Now wasn't the time to let fear win. She heard Liz call out her name once again. The girl was approaching, Lena could feel it at the amount of energy that was filling the room. She was frightened. They were all in danger now.

"Liz, stay behind." Lena ordered in a tense voice, backing up as the three men were advancing threateningly on her.

"Mom!" Liz whined. Seconds later, her slim arms circled her waist. Lena closed her eyes, defeated.

"Looks like we'll kill two birds with one stone." The man with the shackles chuckled. His peers giggled mischievously around him. They were approaching dangerously and Lena couldn't really move further back with Liz around her. The girl's hands were starting to heat up against the fabric of Lena's tank top.

"What do you want?" Lena asked with a dry tone. "I can give you money."

The man with the shackles bent over laughing with exaggeration. The moon reflected dangerously on his mask, revealing bright red flames sculpted in what looked like leather fabric. He rubbed at the corner of his eyes with a finger, putting away an invisible tear. "We don't want your money, Luthor." He spit her name with venom. He took a step, the two men around him shaking their heads in synchrony. "We want to burn you at the stake."

He rushed on her, startling her as she dropped the chandelier and threw her first fireball, just missing his head. Liz screamed a sharp shriek and squeezed her arms harder, hiding in her mother's waist. Lena avoided a punch, tried to put her behind her, and threw a lightning bolt with two fingers right on the chest of the man with the baseball stick. The man flew across the room with the impact and crashed on the kitchen stools. The young man with the backpack was typing on a pad in front of a small portal Lena hadn't seen before in the middle of the room, undisturbed, and didn't even look up as his partners were being beaten up.

The living room window burst into pieces. Peeking through her parted fingers shielding her, Lena saw Kara's figure taking in the scene, as glass was crisping under her shoes. "What's going on?" She shouted, as if Lena had the time to explain.

"Ask them!" She shouted back. Distracted, she couldn't avoid the hard kick in her knee. She fell on the side, crying out, Liz falling with her several feet away, out of reach.

"Mom!" She screamed again. She was crying now. Lena groaned. She couldn't stand up. The man with the shackles approached and imprisoned one of her wrists in an iron bracelet. She felt drained immediately. Liz screamed again and she heard the noise of a crash. Where was Kara?

Looking around, Lena noticed the man still unconscious under the pile of stools, his chest fuming. The man with the shackles had been projected against the living room furniture. Kara rushed to her, taking her hand and trying to get rid of the bracelet.

"I can't break it!" She said through gritted teeth. Around them, the air was crisping with energy. Liz was overwhelmed.

"Take care of Liz." Lena pleaded but Kara didn't listen and pressed the bracelet harder, making Lena wince. "Kara, please! Liz!"

The blond looked up, alarmed, and met Lena's eyes before quickly looking behind them. Her eyes widened considerably. She stood up in a haste and rushed to Liz. A purplish glow was reverberating on the white walls, illuminating the whole room. Lena turned around painfully, her knee was already swelling. The bracelet around her wrist felt so heavy, as if her hand was surrounded by an invisible force.

"Liz, calm down!" Kara panicked, tried to touch Liz but got pushed away. The girl was circled by a purple shield, her eyes elsewhere, her hands burning. She was levitating slowly towards the ceiling. Her eyes shot a single laser, splitting the ceiling in half, causing water pipes to leak heavily on the floor.

"Liz, it's okay!" Lena shouted. The furniture in the room started to fly around, knocking the man with the shackles on the head. The scene was apocalyptic. There were broken glass and wood everywhere. The smell of dust and destruction invaded the room. Wind was coming through the broken window. One of the men was still unconscious under de stool. The younger one was still programming his portal. The man with the shackles stayed the only immediate threat. As if sensing Lena's eyes on him, the man groaned and stood up, approaching tentatively towards her. She crawled away, her heels sliding on the ground.

"You can't escape!" The man warned. Lena tried to summon a barrier to protect herself from a block of concrete falling from the ceiling but the only result was a sharp pain in her wrist. Looking down, she saw a burning mark on her skin. The man chuckled above her. "You can't use magic with this on."

He took her by the hair and forced her in a standing position. He threw her forward, towards the man building the portal. Lena leaned heavily on her good leg, whining in pain.

"Lena!" Kara shouted. Her head was whipping from right to left, not knowing if she should help Liz or free Lena.

"Protect Liz!" Lena shouted. The man slapped her across the face. She felt her lip split. The younger one next to them ruffled in his backpack and got a small gun out. He pointed it towards Kara and pulled the trigger. A green dart shot right into her back and Kara winced in pain. Kryptonite. They had Kryptonite.

"Now, we'll be left alone." The other man shoved Lena down, her knees clacking on the ground with force next to the portal. Looking back to Kara, Lena saw Liz fall in her arms, as the blond struggled to stay up, her veins resurfacing on her skin with a greenish color. Liz's blue tearful eyes looked at Lena.

"Mom! Mom!" She cried, fighting Kara who tried to keep her secure in her arms.

"Stay with Kara!" Lena shouted back. The blond looked at her. Lena saw the determination in her eyes. And then, everything went black.

Kara woke up to beeping sounds, a light weight on her chest and hair in her mouth. She tried to sit up but a hand on her shoulder prevented her of doing so.

"Careful." Alex said, her face coming into view. "You're not alone."

Frowning, Kara looked down. Liz was all over her, her arms securely around her torso, a wool blanket covering her. She was snoring lightly.

"She doesn't want to leave your side." Alex explained. Kara said nothing but looked around. They were in the old med bay in the Tower.

"What happened?" Kara asked but the events started to pile up in her mind. Lena's apartment being wrecked. The three men with their ugly masks manhandling Liz and Lena. Liz's burst of power. Lena being abducted. The Kryptonite dart.

Now that she was thinking about it, Kara felt a pain in the middle of her back. She remembered trying to protect Liz in her weakened state. Watching Lena be hit in the head by a baseball stick and taken away through a portal.

"I hope you can tell us. Where's Lena?" Alex asked, her hands on her hips. She was talking in whispers and Kara knew it wasn't to protect her from the noise. It was to leave Liz rest.

"She got abducted. Liz saw everything." Kara replied, her throat feeling dry as if paper had been shoved down her mouth and swallowed forcefully.

"By whom?"

"I don't know. They were three. With masks on. They used a portal. I heard Liz scream so I went there and it was chaos." Kara explained, her thoughts mixing up.

"Yeah, we found the portal. Brainy is working on it with J'onn. They're trying to find the last destination it was programmed with."

"The computers in the satellite didn't detect the signal?" Kara asked, frowning. Their computers were so performant, usually it was really easy to find what they wanted. And quickly.

"They did but we can't trace it back. It's over protected. Whoever did this knew who they were attacking."

The image of Lena with the shackles on came in the forefront of Kara's mind, the man's words accompanying it. Blood rushed through her veins, pumped in her heart. Lena was defenseless. And injured. Kara shot upright, putting her arms around Liz who startled awake.

"They used enchanted shackles against her. She can't use her powers!" She rushed out. Alex took her carefully by the shoulders.

"Okay, we'll find her." She said softly. "For now, you have to calm down and take care of yourself." She threw a pointed look down, towards Liz. Kara looked down too. The girl was shaking like a leaf, her eyes squeezed shut, her face buried into Kara's chest as if it could shield her from everything. Guilt poured into Kara's stomach like acid. She brushed her fingers through Liz's hair soothingly. The girl was relying on her now.

"Hey, sweetie." She said as gently as possible. Liz's face softened a bit so Kara continued to scrap at her head, remembering how it used to soothe Lena after a long day of work.

"I'll leave you to rest. But Kara, just so you know…" Alex said on her way to leave the room. "Mom arrived at the airport twenty minutes ago."

Kara nodded, letting her head fall on the cushion as Alex shut the door close. It wasn't the best moment for a family reunion. Kara had thought Lena would be there when Liz would meet Eliza. Now it was just the two of them, alone. She felt Liz looked at her so she gazed down. Her big blue eyes were staring at her.

"Do you know who Eliza is?" Kara asked with sweetness in her tone. She wanted Liz to feel reassured and not sense that something was wrong, even if she had seen the whole scene. The girl nodded hesitantly, her locks of hair shuffling around her face. Kara cupped her cheek and caressed it softly. "She's my other mom."

Liz nodded then a frown formed on her face again. Her lips trembled. Her eyes filled with tears. She looked up to Kara with all the pain of the world in her eyes. "I miss Mom." She cried.

Kara gulped and rushed to hug her tight against her chest. "I know. I do too. I promise we'll find her."

A lone tear glided on her cheek. Liz's pain was so intense, so raw. Kara couldn't bear seeing her hurt like that. She couldn't fathom how traumatic it must had been for her. She couldn't help but worry. For Liz, because the girl started to shake again, hiding in her neck and sobbing. For Lena, because she was somewhere alone, in danger and injured, without any possibility to defend herself. Again. It all felt too much like déjà-vu except Kara had to take care of Liz now. She couldn't spiral like the last time Lena disappeared. She couldn't give up.

Pressing a kiss in Liz's hair, Kara sat up slowly. She searched for a clock she knew used to be on the wall but was now in a corner, gathering dust against a chair. If it was correct, it was close to 7 a.m.. Lena had been abducted something close to four hours ago. They didn't have much time to spare.

"How do you feel about breakfast?" She asked Liz. The girl only shook her head, her nose rubbing on Kara's white shirt. Kara sighed. A new ball of anxiety formed in her stomach.

"You know your mom wouldn't let you skip breakfast." She tried, but mentioning Lena was a mistake. Liz whined and hid even more against her, her tears flowing in torrent. Kara wanted to smack her head on a wall. What an idiot. She searched eagerly for an idea, something that could cheer up Liz. Truthfully, it was pretty hard because she was upset herself. Maybe traumatized a bit too, even if she had seen worse. The men had been really violent with Lena, manhandling her thoroughly, taking advantage of her lost of powers. It wasn't fair. It was infuriating. She hadn't been able to do anything except replaying the images in her head.

Looking down, Kara pressed another kiss against Liz's forehead, hugging her as closely as possible. She was sharing her feelings, she just was better at controlling them. At hiding it. But she understood. "It's okay if you don't want to do anything. I understand. I'll stay with you, I promise."

Liz sniffled ungraciously and rubbed at her eyes. Her gaze was unfocused, staring at the room without really seeing anything. "I…" She cleared her throat, her little voice coming out all gravelly. "I want mom."

Kara cupped her cheek, slid her thumb to collect her tears. "I know, baby. We're searching for her."

Liz's face scrunched up in pain, as if knowing Lena had to be searched for was wrecking her inside. "Why is she gone?" She pronounced in a broken voice, the last syllable in a strangled cry. Kara felt tears form in her eyes as well. The innocence in Liz's demeanor was squeezing her heart in a tight grip. She pressed her lips together, swallowing her own pain.

"I don't know. I promise everybody is doing everything that's possible to find her."

"Maybe she's at home." Liz said, a bit of hope in her features, the light passing through the tears and lighting her face, the round chubby angles of her cheeks. Kara wanted to believe it as well. She wanted to wish for it but she knew that it was impossible.

"I don't think so, sweetie." She replied in a soft and slow tone, not wanting to crash Liz's hopes too soon. "If she had gotten home, she would've rushed here to find you."

Liz frowned. She looked confused for a minute then her eyes filled with tears once again and she met Kara's eyes with panic. "What if she don't come back because I breaked our home and she's mad at me?" Her voice broke at the end and a fresh round of tears slid on her cheeks.

Kara's surprise burst out of her mouth in a wet gasp. She hugged Liz close, engulfing her in her warm arms, pressing her head in her neck. "She's not mad at you, baby, I can swear to you she is not." She said pointedly. She hoped Liz believed her. She hoped it wouldn't make Liz doubt her powers even more. They truly didn't need that.

Seven years ago, Lena had been kidnapped quite often but the consequences had only been on adults, taking a toll on their nights, preventing them from good night rests. Preventing Lena from trusting her own employees, her friends, her own family. Sure, Lena had had nightmares for days every single time – even she never talked about it with Kara, the blond had heard her wake up night after night. Sure, Lena was now quite afraid of heights since her quick fall from her balcony, seventy stories from the ground. Sure, she was preparing her coffee herself now, too afraid to be poisoned a second time. But she had managed. Kara had had numerous sleepless nights as well, her ears counting the heartbeats and the breaths across the city. Kara knew Alex and Kelly were keeping their weapons close during the night, too scared of somebody entering their home and hurting Esme. When Esme got kidnapped by Lex, the stakes had risen drastically. They all had understood that their lifestyle wasn't for children. Keeping Esme's identity secret had been a priority after that. And teaching her good fighting reflexes too, when she got of age. Now, Liz hadn't been kidnapped but she had seen Lena being hit several times and taken away. She had seen her house being transformed into a battlefield. She had witnessed Kara being weakened and not able to protect her. It was even more a miracle she was still trusting her to protect her now.

Kara secured Liz in her arms and hummed slowly in her ear, scraping at her scalp soothingly. She knew deep down in her heart that the repercussions this time would be unmeasurable. And she couldn't bear the thought of it.

The first touch of her feet on the ground and she ran. She ran because her life depended on it. After all the times Lex had tried to kill her, she had learned she better be running than face whatever that was. She had woken up in a van, her body rocking from left and right, hitting the body of the trunk she had been shoved in. It had felt like hours. She had faked being unconscious when they had opened the trunk, only to be dropped on the ground carelessly as if she was a piece of meat. Her head was hurting. Her knee was swollen. Her whole body felt weak. But Lex's endless attempts had taught her one important thing. Only a Luthor could survive it all.

So she ran. But they didn't let her go too far.

A gun shot irrupted in the air. Lena felt the bullet brush past her arm and she froze. Hands in the air. Her breaths coming out shortly. Her mind found two options. Staying and being tied up. Running and being shot. The choice wasn't a hard one. Her leg was already making her regret her momentum of bravery. They were in the middle of a forest, in a glade. The sun was slowly rising behind the trees. It could be a good place to have a picnic. It only filled Lena with dread. Nobody around would be hearing what they would do to her. A hand took a fist of her hair and made her turn around. Her whine of pain was swallowed by the clacking sounds of the shackles around her wrists and ankles, preventing her from fighting back. Running was a stupid idea anyway. She couldn't go too far with those on.

"Don't run, princess. We don't wanna miss the party, now, do we?" The man with the gun said in her face. His breath made Lena nauseous. She could really see them now. They were wearing complete leather masks, with only their eyes and mouths visible, that made them look like ridiculous sadomasochist porn stars. Lena almost rolled her eyes at them. She was already fed up of their game. She was facing the young man with the backpack, he was wearing a jacket with a lot of pockets and mittens. The one who used to carry the shackles was in a black tank top and military pants, his tattooed arms looking pumped up. He had the mask with the red flames. The third one was keeping her in place. The other two chuckled and he turned her around, in the direction she was actually fleeing, shoving her forward.

"Come on, Luthor. Death is waiting for you."

Lena looked at the muscled one above her shoulder and gave him a hard look. Death wasn't a threat she was scared to face. He was probably the leader of the group so he thought everybody feared him and his ridiculous arms, but she couldn't care less. She had been sequestrated for months, violated – probably to an extent she didn't want to know – so death wasn't that frightening. She could deal with that if it was the only thing they wanted from her. A small smile curved on her lips and she turned around, walking apparently, inevitably, to her death, hearing Lex's sociopathic laugh in the background.

"Kara, you should be resting, the Kryptonite isn't entirely out of your system yet." Alex said, knowing she was wasting her time. Her eyes were following Kara as her sister was walking hastily around the main room of the Tower, Liz cradled in her arms, as she was trying to find a solution.

They had called everybody to warn them about the situation. Nia and Brainy had confided Ambrose to Nia's sister for the day and had come immediately to the Tower. Brainy was rolling from side to side on a stool, his face serious. Nia was standing on the left side of Kara, away enough not to bother her but close enough to be a reassurance presence. J'onn was leaning on a wall in a corner, his cape swiping the air coming from the balcony. Alex was leaning with both of her hands on the table, looking at Lena's old L-Corp tablet, analyzing the data they had collected about the signal. She was throwing side glances to her wife from time to time. Kelly was typing furiously on the old computer, putting the signal in again and again, hoping it would find Lena. Kara had never seen her so tense.

"I don't want to wait around for something falling on our lap like last time." Kara said in a shaky voice. "Lena is a mother. She's our friend. We can't let her with them for too long." She threw a pointed look to Alex. "I saw them, they were violent and cruel. We don't have much time, I'm sure if we don't hurry, something bad will happen to her." She was moving furiously with her hands. They were all speaking with hushed voices, knowing too well how Liz was sensible at the moment. The little girl winced to every noise, squeezed Kara like her life depended on it every time someone would speak to a normal level. The noises had overwhelmed Liz the instant they had left the med bay. In a way, Kara was glad it was just her hearing that would bother her and not all her powers at the same time. Dealing with an out of control half-Kryptonian wasn't easy.

"I know that. We all do. But we already did everything we could." Alex repeated for the hundredth time. It was true, Kara was conscious of it. The signal couldn't be trace back. Nobody knew who those guys were. No one had claimed the attack on Lena Luthor, the last heiress of the Luthor fortune. The portal couldn't be activated back because it was built with an auto-destructive function. Nia couldn't see Lena in her dreams since she had unblocked her magic and, even if she had tried nonetheless, it had led nowhere. They had nothing. The only thing they were certain of was that Lena was still on this Earth, in this dimension because J'onn could feel her.

"It's not enough!" Kara shouted, her fist hitting the table and breaking it in half. Liz startled at the crash and started to cry again, gripping on Kara's neck desperately. The room fell silent. Even Kelly stopped typing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Kara cooed in whispers, caressing Liz's hair. She felt the tears pooling in her eyes so she stared at the ceiling, praying for the emotions to go away.

She was so angry and desperate. She didn't know how to deal with a traumatized child. And the only thing she knew about, which was how to save the day, wasn't possible now because she didn't know where to search. It was maddening. She felt powerless, just like the last time Lena had disappeared. The emotions were swirling in her body and she didn't know how to organize them. She wanted Lena back. She wanted her safe. She wanted Liz to stop crying so she could stop feeling so guilty for not stopping the horrible men from taking her mom. She wanted her to stop crying so the acid in her stomach could stop burning its way to her throat. She just wanted everything to stop.

"Do you think they are the ones who…" Nia cut herself short, a finger on her chin as she was standing on the side. They were all staying out of Kara's way, avoiding bothering her as she was pacing the room.

Kara sighed and brushed a hand in her hair. Truthfully, she had wondered about it too. Were the men who attacked Lena the same ones who kidnapped her seven years ago, sequestrated her for months and put a alien baby in her?

"I don't know. They didn't seem smart enough. Except for the boss. He looked evil with his mask on."

"What did the mask look like?" J'onn asked from the wall he was leaning on.

"It was black and red. It was covering all of his head and there were flames on it. It looked quite aggressive." Kara showed with motions around her own head.

"Flames you say." Brainy said, jumping from his rolling chair and taking the keyboard from Kelly. "You said they used shackles on her, too."

"Yeah, they were glowing blue. The guy who put them on her said she couldn't use magic with them."

Brainy was typing furiously on the keyboard. The hope it caused in Kara's heart was terrifying. She liked Brainy's enthusiasm but she knew it could only lead to disappointment. She had had a good amount of that disappointment when she was searching Lena those past seven years. It was devastating every time Kara had realized she had nothing, not any clue about where Lena could have been. Nonetheless, a spark resisted. Kara was hoping that it meant something. That Brainy had an idea or knew something that could help them. A last seed of hope resisted in her body, in her heart, ready to be nourish, to be watered and to grow. They just needed a good lead. Please.

"Did it look like that?" Brainy asked, turning the screen toward her. Everybody approached to look at the images. It was showing old looking masks with different colors of flames on them. The flames were surrounding the eyes or bursting from the mouth. The fact that they were disposed on a table didn't help the disgust face to appear on Kara's face. It was ugly, truthfully, but Kara wondered why those men were wearing them and what it meant.

"Yes, it's…" Kara squinted at the screen. "It was dark so I didn't see the others but it's similar."

"These masks were used by a group called the Salem's purifiers. They were a small group of extremists in the 2000's who thought the Salem trials were the best thing ever happening in America." Brainy explained. "They were… How do you say here?" He walked around the broken table pensively. "A groupuscule. They had small means but big ideas. And guns. The last ones of their group were arrested twenty years ago after an assassination attempt."

"Do we know who they were targeting?" Alex asked, her hands on her hips. Brainy smiled knowingly.

"Lionel Luthor."

"No way." Nia exclaimed, coming up to him. "We have our link."

They didn't pause to ask how Brainy knew about all of this. Brainy was a Coluan, it was explanation enough. Now they could move forward. The simple fact that all their problems were always, ultimately, linked to the Luthor family wasn't missed by Kara though.

"Alright, so we could search for the children of those guys. Or look what happened to the ones who got imprisoned. See if they got out recently. Revenge is a strong motivation factor." Kelly said determinedly as she walked to the computer again, Kara, Alex and Nia gathering around her.

"The ones imprisoned are dead." Brainy stated behind them. They all turn toward him. "Lionel had them killed."

"How do you know it was him?" Alex asked with a frown. Brainy started to pace again with his hands in his back.

"He wasn't as intelligent as his children to erase his traces. I followed the money. It led to a bank account in Switzerland with his name on it in big bold letters." He joked, mimicking a sparkly sign with his fingers.

"When did you do that?" Kara frowned too, caressing Liz's back unconsciously. The little girl was still hiccupping from time to time but her heartbeat had slowed down considerably. Kara was keeping her close, trying to give her as much reassurance as she needed. She hoped her warmth and the beating of her heart could soothe Liz at least a little. Even if she was discussing with her family to find a solution, her mind was always on high alert and she kept checking on her daughter from time to time.

"Just now." Brainy smiled proudly. Kara opened wide eyes. Sometimes, she forgot how impressive he could be.

"Fine. Then what about their children?" Kelly asked, rounding on him. "Did you find anything?"

"No." Brainy rose a finger. "That's the mystery. All of them disappeared."

"You had to be kidding." Alex sighed, at the same time Nia said, "How surprising."

"I can't find a thing about them after the year 2008, which was the year Lionel got them incarcerated." Brainy explained.

"Lena was fourteen at the time. She could know them." Nia chipped in.

"I doubt that. Lionel wasn't the kind to share his evil scheme at the table during dinner." Alex shook her head pensively.

"But it may be people she was surrounded with." Kelly said, sharing a glance with Nia.

"Lena was at boarding school from twelve to eighteen years old." Kara shared pensively.

Something felt wrong. Kara had a bad feeling. Lena didn't seem to know her attackers and even less be aware of what they wanted from her. The men had looked terribly prepared, knowing exactly what technology they needed to enter Lena's house. They used Kryptonite on Kara knowing she would be there to protect her. They used enchanted shackles on Lena to prevent her from using magic. And not a lot of people knew the extent of Lena's magical background, only that she had magical powers from this article Andrea had released seven years ago when they had defeated Nyxly. So those guys were really well informed. Remembering their discussion Kara had heard on her way to Lena's apartment, she had doubts about them acting alone. The one with the bright flames looked intelligent but the other two were just minions. They had been there to show muscles. No, the more Kara thought about it, the more she became convinced that they couldn't have acted alone. They must had been more than three of them.

"But when you say all of the children went missing, how many are we speaking of?" Kara tilted her head on the side, addressing Brainy who was just on her right.

"Seven." Brainy didn't hesitate to reply.

"Oh man." Nia exclaimed, rubbing at her forehead.

"You mean there're four other maniacs out there who could be hurting Lena?" Kara shrieked out.

Brainy's head rocked from side to side. "I mean the men who got arrested had seven children. It doesn't mean all of them are the new purifiers. Even if there is 99.7% of certainty that they are, since they all have disappeared after that."

Alex groaned in her hands. Kara turned around, not bearing to look at them. It was devastating. They only learned that Lena was even more in danger than before. Kara knew she shouldn't have let herself hope too much.

Diving her nose in Liz's hair, she walked toward the balcony. Alex called her name, probably afraid she would fly out. She wouldn't, it would frighten Liz even more. She just wanted some fresh air. The flowers were embalming the air. It smelled like Lena's shampoo. Kara swallowed the lump in her throat. The ball in her stomach seemed to only be growing and growing. She missed Lena so much. She didn't want her to be hurt. She didn't want her to give up, only knowing that their last shared words were that deceiving. She didn't want Lena to give up only knowing that they had shared their first kiss only to be denied any proximity the next day. She just wanted to squeeze her in her arms and never let her out of her sight never again.

Three days. It took her three days being back before the first killing attempt. How pathetic was that? Now she was on her own. Kara wouldn't be able to save her if nobody knew where she was. If nobody knew who wanted her dead. She didn't have any answer to that either. After crossing the glade with difficulty, they had thrown her in a cage that looked made of lead and steel with thick bars and a big padlock on the door.

"Now you can pray, you bitch." The man with the baseball stick had said before walking away. She could still see them from afar. One was gathering wood, another was bringing full cans of liquid, probably gasoline. The third one, the one with the red flames mask, was playing with a lighter endlessly, staring at her from his position on a wood trunk. They were preparing for a pyre.

Lena had never been religious. Scientists believed in proof and experiments, not in an icon that could be ruling their lives for them. It was too unpredictable. She believed in what she could see. And she could see the guns in the hands of her abductors. And the fire they were lighting up, one throwing branches on the pile, the other pouring oil or gasoline behind him. They had chosen her fate. Florence had warned her about witch hunters but she had never taken her seriously. She could only feel sorry for herself now. The joke was on her. She could only wish to end in a good place.

Lena could admit that she believed in afterlife. Seeing Jack appear in the middle of her living room had made her realize that she couldn't base her knowledge only upon science. Of course, magic had opened her eyes and made her more pragmatic. But since Jack had appeared in her house when she had summoned him, wouldn't it mean there was no place like heaven?

And if there was no heaven, there was no hell either, right? So, what was waiting for her? An endless empty life watching those who lived suffer a life she would be craving. How long would it last? The eternity? Lena was smart enough to know no real human being could fathom what eternity meant. It was out of reach. Nonetheless, she wished that she could have an eternity with Liz and Kara. Not the eternity but one eternity. One eternity that she could fathom. Until her last breath. Until Kara would fall out of love with her and leave her. Until Liz would be too old and too busy to bother visiting her aging mother. She could imagine an eternity like that. It wasn't out of reach. She just needed to fight a little longer. But what if she fought an eternity and it still wasn't enough for Kara to find her?

Lena wished she was religious. At least, she could have appreciated the disillusion of the possibilities to be rescued. The possibility that there was a god far above who was watching her and believed that it wasn't her time yet. But she didn't believe in that. Instead, she wished for Liz. She wished for Kara to take care of her. She wished for her friends to guide her through her life, to help her to live a life without her mother because Lena knew too well how it was. She wished for Liz to be loved and cared for. And to forgive her for the choices she had made.

She wished for Kara to find a love better than hers. Remembering the sad look on her face just the day before, Lena realized that she wasn't ready to trust the blond with her heart. It was too risky. Too painful. She wished for Kara to find the light again. Lena had noticed how Kara's smiles weren't as bright as before. How her eyes weren't full of hope as they used to. Age or experiment or just life's deceptions caused it. The weight of the responsibility to guide a whole world through its struggles. The weight of the loss of Kara's entire culture. Maybe it was all of this that pushed Kara to be a lessen version of herself. A dull version of her with even colors and Manichean values. So Lena wished for Kara to find her light back, even if it was through Liz. And if Lena could come back from this day safe and sound, she swore to herself she would help Kara finding it back herself.

Sighing, Lena looked up at the sky through the bars of the cage they had put her in. The position of the sun showed her it was around midday. She imagined that they were all searching for her, desperately, like she would do for them. Liz was probably terrified. Lena wished that she could be with her, reassure her, soothe her. Glide her fingers in her hair and tell her that she was coming back. Kara was with her, Lena was sure of that. She trusted her enough to know Kara would never leave their daughter's side. Her only regret would be not being able to say some last words to her daughter. You are loved. You are perfect. Don't let anybody say otherwise. Trust your mommy, she'll take care of you. Forgive me, I was too weak. I love you and I will love you for the eternity.

A tear escaped Lena's eye and she brushed it away furiously. She couldn't show weakness, not to them. Not to this type of men who thought themselves as superior. Lena had dealt with this type of men most of her life. They didn't deserve her tears. No, she had to be strong. For Liz. For Liz, she would die in dignity. For Liz, she would die without shedding any tears. For Liz, and for Kara, and for Esme and all her friends, she would be strong and patient just a little longer. Until those men would decide it was her time. Until then, she would hope. For all of them. Because nothing was done yet.

Time was running out. Kara was going mad. She was pacing and pacing next to her bed like a lion in a cage. She had stayed close to her daughter, keeping an eye on her. Liz was sleeping in her bed where Kara had slowly eased her in. Her eyes were red from crying non-stop. The little girl looked exhausted. Kara had asked J'onn to fly discreetly to Lena's apartment and retrieve one of Lena's clothes so Liz could at least be comforted by her perfume. Kara had read on a blog the other day that babies and children tended to relax when they were surrounded by their mother's perfume. Snowflake had also appeared out of nowhere, surprising everybody. He was now curled up next to Liz. Kara had showed him some cat crackers but he had only looked at her as if she was the stupidest human he had ever encountered. Kara almost thought he was right. She couldn't find a solution. She couldn't think clear enough to find a lead that could help them discover where Lena was. She couldn't reassure Liz enough that she would stop crying. She was just useless.

"Guys, I've found something!" She heard Kelly exclaim from behind her so she rushed to her. Kelly was on the makeshift table in the middle of the room with her laptop. The broken table had been replaced at some point by a wooden board on two trestles. Everybody gathered around her, looking at the screen and waiting for her explanations.

"So I was thinking about what we said earlier. Follow the money." Kelly motioned to Brainy. "But Brainy had searched only on Lionel's side. I thought that if Lionel had paid men to kill the purifiers, Lillian must have known about it." She then opened several pages on her laptop to show them. "And here it is. Lillian's bank account in the Bahamas. I didn't find anything directly linked to the purifiers but Lillian made several weird transactions toward people who might be the ones we're searching."

Alex and Brainy leaned forward, squinting at the screen before sharing a look. They smiled to each other. "Babe, that's genius! You're awesome!" Alex praised, kissing her excitedly on the cheek. Nia clapped in Kelly's hand. Brainy nodded victoriously. It was their first lead in hours so their excitement was understandable but Kara wouldn't be fooled twice.

"Slow down." She said with a frown. They all turned their heads to look at her. She almost felt guilty from crashing their fun. "So what, she paid people to erase their crimes. How is it linked to our situation?" She asked.

"Look at the screen." Alex simply replied with a shrug.

Kara frowned but complied. She crouched down in front of the laptop and scrolled through the pages. There were numbers and names. Several ones. Until only one was mentioned. Baxter. Kara looked up.

"I don't understand."

"Jason Baxter is one of the children we're searching for." Brainy explained.

"But this is money transferred to a Jenny Baxter." Kara couldn't see the link.

"Yes, his mother. Her husband was one of the former purifiers." Kelly added. "I checked. It's the family we're searching."

"Oh." Kara was confused. Why would Lillian give money to one of those families if they had tried to kill her husband? Even if the Luthors weren't known to be fully in love, Lillian wouldn't waste money just to enrage Lionel and pay a woman endlessly. So why? This Jenny Baxter must had had something on the Luthors. Something they had feared.

"Jason was born in 2004. They tried to kill Lionel in 2008. Then all children disappeared but Lillian kept sending money only to this one until two years before her death." Nia thought aloud, as confused as Kara.

The dots weren't connected. There were only a few reasons to why Lillian would have given money to somebody. She wanted to silence the Baxter. But for what? The only person Lillian had ever wanted to protect was Lex. Lena had never counted in the picture because Lillian couldn't forgive Lionel's betrayal.

"You think Jason is Lena's half brother." Nia stated, her shoulders sagging, her face showing disappointment. Kara gasped loudly. That wasn't possible. It was too easy, too far-fetched. Lionel wouldn't have dared. He only had eyes for Lena's mother. It would only mean more hurt for Lena, who would once again discover something her family had kept hidden from her for years.

Alex nodded. "I think Lionel broke another woman's heart, abandoning her when she fell pregnant, and Lillian worked her ass off to cover it, but it didn't stop the child to crave for revenge."

"That's not… Don't you think we're going a bit fast here?" Kara frowned. Truly, it seemed plausible. Lilian would have paid years for this child to be hidden. She was capable of it. But revenge and a hidden brother? That was too easy.

"Do you have any other reasons for Lillian to give money to a family who lost everything because the father tried to kill Lionel? Go ahead. I'm listening." Alex said, her hands on her hips.

That could actually be it. The Luthors wouldn't have taken Jason with them like Lena since he still had a mother. But Lillian had always wanted to keep up appearances, to protect Lex from knowing who his father truly was. She died with one more secret. Kara pitied that woman. What a loveless life she had lived.

"So the only reason for those men attacking Lena would be revenge?" Kara said, unbelief written on her face.

"Yeah, well, that wouldn't be the first time." Alex shrugged. "Them being part of a witch hunter cult could weighed in the balance too."

"But how do we find them now?" Nia asked, already planning their next move.

"I'm searching for all the data we can find on Jason. His credit card, his car, the brand of his favorite shoes. With luck, we'll find an address." Brainy winked to her before his eyes glassed again as he dove in his pool of informations. They were all ecstatic. They had a lead, a real one. That put them closer to Lena. Kara couldn't believe it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she turned around to go back to Liz. Once closer to the bed, she laid next to her daughter. Liz was breathing heavily. Snowflake's head rose when he felt the bed digging. Kara placed a kiss on Liz's head and smelled her shampoo. Flowery, fresh and sweet. The same as Lena's.

"We'll find her, baby girl. I promise." She whispered in her ear. Liz only hummed, the warmth radiating from her little body. Yes, they would find Lena and bring her back. Kara had hope.

Lena startled awake, the cage rocking from side to side before falling heavily on the ground in a cloud of dust and pollen. She coughed roughly.

"Waky waky, Luthor. Time's almost up for your big moment." It was the man with the red flames mask. He was pushing the cage with his feet, making it rock like a boat. Lena braced herself against the bars and waited for him to stop. When the cage fell once again on the ground, the man crossed his arms.

"So I was thinking, since you're almost dead, maybe it would be good to have our talk. I wouldn't be able to tell you how your father sucked once your skin will be as melted as butter in the sun."

Lena frowned. Her father. What was he doing in all this? She looked at the man. His smirk could be seen through his mask. He was holding his head high, showing off his arms as if she could be intimidated.

"Don't waste your breath. I agree with you. He was a bastard." Lena said and turned around, not wanting to look at this man more than she was obliged to. The man snorted and rounded the cage to face her once again.

"Funny you think that because, you know, being his daughter has some perks. I'm sure you had the perfect life in the big and luxurious Luthor manor." His tone was supposed to be indifferent but Lena could sense something behind it. Was it anger? Jealousy?

It was her turn to snort. She approached the cage door and gripped at the bars tightly. "Perfect life? I think you got the wrong idea."

"Oh really?" He said casually. Then, his smile disappeared and he rushed to grab at her hands through the bars. "I think you still got it better than me." He spit in her face, saliva bursting from his mouth.

Lena tried to take her hands back, degusted by his breath and his behavior, but he held tight. He closed the distance and was now only mere inches from her face. "Do you have any idea…" He whispered dangerously. "what your father did to my family?"

Lena's eyes traveled between his eyes, panic settling in her guts. No, she didn't have any idea. But now that he was closer, the color of his eyes was already giving her some clues. She couldn't believe it, though. It was the same as hers.

"He was my father's friend. He betrayed him. He manipulated my mother into thinking she deserved better than him." The hatred was palpable in his tone. He spelled out every words as if he wanted them to be engraved in Lena's mind. "He tarnished her and knocked her up. Tarnished my father's reputation. And when he had the opportunity to do something good, to pay for his mistakes, he ran away!" He laughed there, mischievously, furiously. "He killed my father and let my mother rot in her farm, with a four year-old, without a penny to feed him! How is that for a hero?"

Lena didn't have any idea if what he was saying was true or not. She flinched when he moved away, her legs backing several steps to find as little safety as she could have in the cage. The cogs in her mind were turning quickly. Lionel wouldn't have done it twice. Lillian wouldn't have tolerated it. She remembered them fighting, so many times, but her memory wasn't that good. She was so young. And then she had been placed in boarding school until university so she didn't know what had been happening back in the manor.

The man slowly rose his hands to the back of his mask and Lena watched him with rapt attention. He pulled at the scratches and tore his mask away from his face. Like discovering the secret to a magic trick, Lena found it bittersweet. There, in front of her, was a man in his twenty's, brown hair, light green eyes, with a smirk plastered on his lips that she knew too well. He had a scratch on his forehead, probably from the fight of the day before. He looked like a mix between Lex and herself. She had always thought Lex had taken all of his appearance from their father, whereas she had taken her mother's genes but now she could see it. The shape of the eyes, the rounded nose. It was Lionel's. She had the same ones. There, in front of her, was a man who could have been a part of her family. Another brother she could have loved and who could have loved her back. But like all the things the Luthors touched, this relationship had been destroyed before it had even the possibility to exist. Curiosity and disappointed were mixing up in her. Like discovering the secret to a magic trick, it was falling flat. She had a new brother but he already hated her and she couldn't do anything about it.

"How about we reverse a bit?" The man – her half-brother? – came closer, extending his hand amusedly. "I am Jason Baxter. Your brother. One of Lionel's bastard son."

Lena looked at the hand then back at his face. One of them? The smirk wasn't diminishing. She felt pity for him. Of course, he had rendered her speechless but sadness was the principal emotion she was feeling towards him. He had thought that the news would have wrecked her, planning his revenge on crashing the image she had of Lionel. But it wasn't the case at all. Lena had had years of learning how her parents would always deceive her. She wasn't surprised one bit that Lionel would be able to abandon a child but raise another. She wasn't that surprised either to discover they might not be the only ones. She was more curious about how Jason had lived with that knowledge.

Living in the Luthor manor, how she had wished for the people outside to realize their lives weren't as joyful and perfect as Lillian was making it look like. As a teen, she had wished for her mother to be alive and for her father to be dead in replacement. Because he was never home and he was her father just because he could use her. Because she was as smart as Lex, if not smarter and he could brag about her merits during business meetings. He was her father just to punish her or send her gift card for her birthday. As the adult that Lena was now, and with the (little) work she had done on herself, she knew now that Lionel was her father because Lillian insisted that he took his responsibilities and rose her since she didn't have a mother to take care of her anymore. After Lillian's death, Lena had realized she had more to own to her adopted mother than she thought.

"What? Surprise? You didn't know, did you?" Jason danced a little on his feet, his smile making Lena uncomfortable. She shook the head absentmindedly. So this man was her half-brother. It was just her luck he happened to be a witch hunter too.

"Why now?" She asked. Because, if her logic was good – and it was always good – now that Lionel and Lillian were dead, now that Lena was the only heir remaining from the Luthor family, it didn't make sense to kill her. Jason would win more by asking her money, bargaining his knowledge against a hundred thousand dollars. It was what every little criminal like him would have done.

Instead, he just laughed harder. Lena had to wait two minutes for him to stop exaggerating his amusement. "Well, you decided to show yourself."

Lena frowned then the articles in the press came up to her mind. She almost groaned. Oh how Kara would be insufferable with this one. She had warned her about the attention it would get but Lena hadn't listened and now… Now she could only blame her hubris.

"You see, I always knew who my real father was. My mother wanted me to make her wish come true. Her last breath was just to tell me to avenge her name. To make things right. So I started training. " Jason showed off his biceps. Lena rolled her eyes. At least Lex wasn't the type to work out. "I learnt you were a witch a long time ago. When you and your super friends rescued National City and banished that imp from Earth."

Lena remembered vaguely what the media had said about it. Supergirl and her friends saving the city. Lena Luthor using magic being a surprising help. She had a fight with Andrea about that one, but her friends had ganged up on her, proving her it was all good feedbacks. People were happy to see her help, even if it was with magic.

"Did you know our father was the leader of the Salem's purifiers back in the day?" Jason tilted his head, his eyes glinting with mischief. He picked up his mask and caress it lovingly. "I'm sure he got close to your mother just because he was supposed to kill her."

The Salem's purifiers – was that the name of their little group? Lena knew Lionel hadn't been the most noble man. He had done some cruel things, killed a lot of people, corrupted numerous politicians and policemen. Had won money on lots of people's misery. But he hadn't been the most religious man either. She found it hard to believe he had been linked to a cult. Witch hunters were known to be really conservative. She couldn't imagine Lionel with a mask on planning his next killing attempt on a coven.

"He was the one who recruited my father. They wanted to erase your kind. To burn them. To purify the planet like our ancestors had purified Salem."

No, Lionel had loved her mother. Their love story hadn't been the most honorable one but Lena was sure of it. They had loved each other. Lena had always believed that, even if she wasn't as loved by her father as she was by her mother, she had been a product of love. Knowing that this knowledge, this core belief could be untrue. That what her mom had put in her journals could be an illusion, the words of a naïve woman who was in love with a manipulative man, made her head spin. Stung at her heart. Wrecked her inside. She couldn't believe that because it would mean that all the things that she thought were true about herself weren't. All the things that had helped shape her identity would be fake. Lena wasn't ready for this to be true.

"You are nuts." Lena groaned under her breath. Jason stopped in his pace and looked at her. The smile on his face showed Lena he had won. He wanted a reaction out of her and he had won.

"Nuts you say. New heroes, I say." He resumed his pacing, his hands behind his back, playing with his mask. "Our father was a real leader, we have to give him that. They had good fun while he was at the head. Then you arrived and he had to give his alpha hunter position." He turned to look at her. His smile had disappeared, leaving only a stern face. "Then I arrived and he turned his back on his brothers. He denounced them before my father could punish him for his treason."

Lena observed him, analyzing every one of his movements. He looked unpredictable. His change of emotions was disturbing. It almost felt like speaking to Lex, except Lex was more voluble and intelligent. Lex had the education and the aristocratic arrogance Jason was lacking.

"Now it's your turn to pay." Jason lowered his voice. He took two steps toward the cage without quitting Lena's eyes. "When the sun will be set, we'll bring you to the pyre and leave you to burn. For all his mistakes. And for your abomination."

His last word gave her goosebumps. Lena had fought hard to accept herself as she was. Jason's cold tone was terrifying, she had to admit as much. Even if she didn't fear the concept of death, she didn't have a death wish either.

Jason turned around without addressing another word to her. He walked peacefully, one step at a time, as if he was taking a walk in the forest, searching for mushrooms or butterflies. Lena shook her head. She couldn't believe it. Another deranged brother. Once she would be back, she would ask Florence if she could read her hand lines. Maybe she had been cursed.

Looking up at the sky, Lena realized the sun was really low. Lower than she had expected it. How much time had she slept? How many hours before sunset? Two or three maybe. Her stomach grumbled loudly. She didn't know if it was out of hunger or anxiety. Her heart beat faster suddenly. Grasping at her tank top with clenched fingers, Lena tried to calm her heart, even if she knew the gesture in itself would do nothing. She tried to regulate her breath. She inhaled and exhaled consciously. The shackles never felt that heavy. She was sick of this situation. What would happen to Liz? She couldn't leave her alone like that. If nobody came, Lena would be dead in less than three hours.

She crushed her eyes shut, her heartbeat echoing in her ears, the blood pumping against her ear-drums. She looked down at the tattoo on her forearm and rubbed at it. It didn't glow like expected. Panic settled even lower in her stomach. Liz was alone. Kara was alone. She couldn't warn Florence. What would happen to her?

She fell to her knees, forgetting the pain in the left one, the shackles clinking their unbearable sound. She had been fooled. She had been arrogant and now she could only blame her hubris for not believing Kara when she had told her she should have hidden more. What was left to do now? Hoping? Wishing? Praying?

Lena shook her head, a small smile spreading on her lips, amused by her own stupidity. Nobody would come. Why would they? She had lied and betrayed them. She had given up on them. Why would they fight for her?

She shook her head again. She couldn't let darkness enveloped her like it used to do. She deserved better. Instead, Lena tried to remember Liz's face. She wished that she could leave a last kiss on her chubby cheeks. She wished that she could smell her natural scent one last time. She wished that she could talk to her one last sentence endlessly.

"I love you, my little lamb. I love you. Liz, I love you so much." She repeated, clenching at her heart, her eyes filling with tears. She repeated it an unmeasurable amount of time because, maybe, just maybe, one of those I love you's would float in the air, travel space and finally reach her daughter.

The night was just falling on National City and everybody was exhausted. They had been up for so many hours now that nobody dared to count. A silence had followed their come back from Baxter's house. The guy was nowhere to be found. His house had been empty, the laptop there had been erased. They had nothing that could lead them to a place Lena could be detained.

Kara was currently staring at the ceiling while Liz was sleeping on her. The girl had woken up from a nightmare in the middle of the afternoon and had been inconsolable. Something about Lena being kept in a cage. Kara had soothed her back to sleep, waiting for her friends to come back. How disappointed she had been when they had come back empty handed.

She had forgone the state of frustration now. She was just hopeless. Lena was gone. She must had to accept it. They couldn't find her. Nobody had a lead. The house had led nowhere. They could be in an entire other country for all she knew. On the other side of the planet, even.

"Mom?" Liz whispered, her head lifting up from Kara's chest. She looked around the room, confused, searching for somebody that, significantly, wasn't there. Kara rubbed at her back soothingly.

"It was just a dream, baby. Go back to sleep." Kara said softly. She didn't know what else to do. She didn't know how to tell Liz that they couldn't find her mom. That Kara had promised things she couldn't realize.

"No." Liz grumbled. She pushed up and sat on Kara's stomach. Her little frown only made her look more tired. "She's in my head. I hear her voice."

Kara looked at her, confused. She sat up as well and took her by the shoulders. "Liz, that's not funny. You can't be hearing her, she's too far. I don't hear her."

Liz's frown didn't sad anymore. It looked upset. Angry. "I hear her!" She repeated, her fist hitting Kara's forearm. A purple glow started to swim in her eyes. Kara realized that she had to deal with this matter carefully or they would have to face the little girl's fury.

"I know you miss her, baby, I swear I do. But that's not possible." Kara said softly. She tried to reach her but Liz pushed her hands away.

"I hear her!" She stammered, standing up. "She cries and she says I love you."

Kara looked at her as the girl was searching the room, her head tilted on a side or the other to adjust her ears and find the sound. Liz might say the truth. Lena had told her that they had a link. Liz wasn't just Kryptonian, she was part witch. They already knew that she was capable of things Kara couldn't do herself. Why couldn't she be hearing Lena?

"Liz!" She called her and the girl turned around in alert. "Are you sure this is…"

"Mommy, we have to help her!" The girl interrupted her. "She's in danger! She's really in a cage!"

Kara opened wide eyes, seeing all the honesty on her daughter's face. Her mind completely forgoed the nickname Liz had used to address her. She could hear Lena. She had dreamt about her, about where she was. This whole time Liz was linked to Lena and they didn't even stop to question her dreams. Kara stood up and took Liz by the shoulders.

"Okay. What do you know? What is she saying? Can you speak back to her?"

Liz's eyes travelled between Kara's in a frantic manner. She nodded eagerly. "She just says she loves me. She's hurt. She cries a lot." Liz's eyes filled with tears again.

"What else?"

"Nothing. She says I love you. She says your name."

Alex came back from the med bay with Kelly and J'onn. "What's going on?"

"Liz can hear Lena." Kara explained vaguely. She took Liz in her arms and pushed the button on her wrist band to activate her suit. "She's going to guide me so I can find her."

As she turned around toward the balcony, J'onn appeared in front of her. "Slow down, Supergirl. It may be a trap."

Kara groaned in frustration. Liz was squeezing her arms hard around her neck, but her heartbeat was slow. She was ready to go. "We don't have time and I don't care. I need to find her."

"Kara, it's crazy!" Alex hissed behind her, walking up the stairs.

Kara huffed and looked at the ceiling. "I don't care!" She repeated. The frustration was having the best of her. She turned around to make her point. "I love her, Alex! I can't just wait around and let her be hurt. I can't!"

Alex rose two surrendering hands. "I won't stop you. But we're not going alone."

"I can't wait for you all to prepare. Time is running out!"

"Alright then I'll go with you and take care of Liz while you free Lena." J'onn said with a trusting smile. Kara met his eyes and she nodded.

"And we'll meet you all as quick as the ship will drive us there." Kelly chipped in.

They all nodded. They had a plan. Brainy and Nia were back home with their son and Kara didn't think it was necessary to bother them. They could deal with those guys by themselves.

Kara walked determinedly to the end of the balcony but was stopped by a hand on her wrist. As she turned around, she noticed Alex was keeping her back. Her sister munched on her lower lip in hesitation.

"Just be careful, okay?"

Kara nodded and gave her a reassurance smile. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'll wear the anti-Kryptonite gear."

"Okay." Alex exhaled. Before Kara could go, she took her in her arms in a tight hug, Liz stuck in the middle. "I love you, sis. Take care of my niece."

Kara's heart did a somersault. Alex hadn't told her that in so long. "I love you too. And I will, of course." She replied in a shaky voice. Alex smiled and kissed Liz's cheek, who blushed profusely.

"I love you both. Go save our favorite tech nerd."

Kara laughed as she flew away, J'onn next to her, thinking how Brainy would be offended about that. Now that they were in the air, Kara levitated just above the levels of the highest buildings. She carried Liz carefully, her arms securely around her back and under her legs.

"Alright, baby, where do you think the voice of your mom comes from?" She asked Liz. The girl tilted her head in different angles, her eyes closed as she focused on Lena's voice. She pointed towards east.

"I think it's that way."

Kara flew in the direction, her speed not so quick so that Liz could guide them properly. J'onn was waiting for them patiently. They kept levitating just above of the buildings because Kara feared higher would make Liz loose Lena's voice.

"And now?"

"Go there!" Liz said excitedly.

"Is she still saying the same thing?"

Liz nodded. "She says I love you Liz and I love you Kara."

Kara blushed a bit. Hopefully, their daughter was young enough not to understand the impact of those words. She flew in the direction Liz indicated and they slowly quitted National City's skies to wander in the countryside.

"Do you hear her far?"

"I hear her more now."

"Okay. She may be near." J'onn said but Liz shook her head.

"No, she's far."

Kara and J'onn shared a curious look. They were both wondering the same thing. How Liz could tell? They resumed their fly, changing directions when Liz said so. Kara didn't mind searching the whole world like that if it meant finding Lena.

Her cries hadn't stopped when they had come to open the cage. They hadn't stopped when they had walked her up to the pyre. They hadn't stopped either when they had tied her up to it. The moon was full and high in the sky. The dark night was surrounding them as little animals traveled in the trees. Once again, it could have been a lovely place to relax and read a book, Liz running in the background with Kara, Ambrose and Esme playing football, Alex and Kelly curled up to each other and Nia and Brainy debating about the best villain in a TV series. But Lena couldn't imagine that anymore. It was asking too much from her already bleeding heart.

"Stop whining. You have what you deserve." The man with the baseball stick said in a bored tone.

Lena didn't even bother reacting. She didn't care. She was about to die, leaving a six-year-old behind. She was about to die, leaving the love of her life behind. She had seen better days. The pain was unbearable.

"All this Luthor pride just to cry like a little girl when you realize your time has come. How ironic." Jason laughed, coming in front of her with his hands on his hips as his minions worked around the pyre.

Lena just looked at him. She felt empty. Numb. She kept whispering her love to Liz, thinking hard about the color of her eyes. Kara's eyes. If she had to chose the last image she would remember before dying, it would be this one. Liz and Kara laughing, their eyes glinting as Kara tickled Liz lovingly. The sound of their laughs as her eternal melody.

"We're ready." The young man with the backpack said and Jason nodded.

"Now's the time, Luthor."

He only had used her last name to address her. That was funny. How Lena had resented this name, how she had despised it. How much she had wanted it to change, only to do it in Ireland to protect herself. She should have kept her Walsh identity. It might have prevented her from being in this position in the first place.

But she understood the appeal. Jason hated her for being a Luthor. He didn't need to know her. He didn't want to know the truth. He didn't need to know she was totally agreeing with him. Not the hunting witch part but the hunting Luthor part. No, he just wanted revenge. For crimes she hadn't done herself. For crimes her father was responsible of. How ironic, indeed. The full circle moment wasn't lost on her. All her life, she had fought to give the Luthor name its glory back. She had fought against prejudices and stereotypes. She had worked nights after nights, days after days, so that her name wouldn't be associated with corruption and felony. And now she was put on a pyre because she was a Luthor witch. Life had a weird sense of fun.

The two other men started pouring gasoline on the branches. Lena tried to breathe through her mouth. The smell was so strong it was giving her a headache. Then, Jason approached and lighted his lighter in front of her eyes.

"You see, fire is a magnificent invention." He opened and closed the lighter, the flame reflecting in his mad eyes. "A thing so beautiful and dangerous at the same time. You can either live thanks to it or die because of it."

He leaned away, closing and opening the lighter one last time. He made the flame dance against a branch one of the men had given to him. "Say fuck you to Lionel for me, would you?"

Lena hadn't had the time to reply. He had dropped the branch on the pile under Lena's feet and the fire was starting slowly at the base. She had been placed on a small hard wooden stool, her wrists tightly tied to a trunk of a tree from which the crown had been cut. She watched as the flames started to lick at the feet of the stool. The smoke was thick and dark grey. It was rising in the air, indicating their location if a walker was passing by. Lena almost wished for a walker to pass by. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing only by her mouth but it was useless. The smoke was too thick. The smell was too intoxicating. She coughed hardly, spit sliding on the side of her mouth. The mix between the gasoline and the different types of the trees used for the pyre was forming an aggressive odor. If Lena didn't die from being burnt, at least she would die from intoxication.

As the flames were reaching the soles of her shoes, a red figure appeared far above the three men. Lena squinted but couldn't decipher if it was true or if the smoke was causing her hallucinations. She saw a green blur going from right to left then going away. It couldn't be them. Lena looked down. She had to stop hoping. It wasn't possible.

She heard a scream and opened her eyes hastily. One of the men had disappeared and Jason and the youngest were now fighting Kara. Or they were trying too. She was wearing the whole anti-Kryptonite suit. She grabbed at the youngest by his collar and rose him from the ground.

"Give me one reason not to throw you through space like I did to your friend." Kara said threateningly and Lena realized she was talking about the third man. The one with the baseball stick. He was probably imploded in the atmosphere right at this moment. Lena didn't know what to feel about that.

"Kara, no!" She cried out. The flames burnt at her feet, licked around her shoes. She screamed in agony. It seemed to make Kara react. She threw the youngest away, pushed away Jason, who fell in a grunt, unconscious as his head hurt a rock on the ground, and rushed to Lena. Her helmet opened and Lena would have seen all the fear in her eyes if the pain at her feet hadn't been that awful. Kara extinguished the fire with her breath and Lena sagged heavily forward, immediately relieved but agonizing nonetheless.

"It's okay, I got you." Kara said. She tore her ties apart and took her in her arms. She eased her down gently, Lena's back hitting her lap, her burnt feet in the air. Lena opened her eyes and looked up. A small smile graced her face.

"Hey." She said tiredly. Her head was hurting so bad from the smoke. Her sight was all blurry but she could see it was Kara. She was surrounded by her perfume. She could feel her soft hand caressing her cheek. A terrible thought occurred to her. Now she could die happy.

"You scared the shit out of me." Kara exhaled. "You can't do that to me again."

Lena laughed but it came out more like a cough. "I'm sorry."

"You scared the shit out of me." Kara repeated. She wasn't the type to curse. Ever. Lena knew now that she had been really frightened. Slowly, she rose a hand and twined it with Kara's one on her cheek. Their fingers intertwined instantly.

"I'm glad you came." Lena whispered. A single tear rolled down Kara's cheek. It was the last thing Lena noticed before blacking out for the second time that day.

After bringing Lena to the med bay in the satellite where Alex had put her on oxygen and treated her burnt feet, and putting Jason and the other man into an interrogation room in the satellite, Kara had nothing more to do. She walked to the lounge area where Liz was curled up to Kelly. When the little girl saw Kara, her face immediately lighted up and she jumped out of the couch to run to her. Kara embraced her affectionately.

"Hey, little one." She said, kissing Liz's head. The girl only hummed and buried her face in her neck. "Did you have a good time with Aunt Kelly?"

Liz nodded against her. "Is Mom back?"

For once, Kara didn't feel guilt or sadness. Lena was safe. Hurt, but safe and just on the floor above them.

"She is. She's sleeping for now. Aunt Alex is checking on her but we'll go see her later. I promise."

Liz nodded again. Kara hugged her closer and shared a knowing look with Kelly above her shoulder. Lena's recovery was just starting. Her feet had been terribly damaged, her shoes stuck to the skin. Alex had to use tweezers to tear the last pieces of fabric for Lena's skin. Thankfully, Lena had been out the whole time, drugged by painkillers and probably too tired to resist it anyway. Kara hadn't dared staying in the room to watch her sister work. It was too awful and painful to watch. Alex had shown optimism though. Lena's tendons and muscles hadn't been touched. Only skin and flesh. Kara had arrived at the good time.

"J'onn found the third one." Kelly said tiredly from her position on the couch, scrolling through her phone. "He was in the forest."

Kara nodded. She knew she hadn't thrown him too far away. Enough to kill him, that was for sure, and she felt a wave of guilt and nausea form in her stomach at the thought she could have killed a man, but he hadn't been thrown through space either. Kara had acted on impulse. When she had seen the man with his baseball stick, remembering how he had been violent with Lena, slapping her across the face just the same morning, she had seen red. Not able to control herself, she had taken him by the arm and thrown him away, diving into the last remnants of her self-control at the last moment not to throw him as far away as she had wanted to.

"How is he?" She asked softly, a pout on her face. She walked to the couch and sat next to her sister-in-law.

"Alive." Kelly replied with a pointed look. "His collarbone is misplaced and he has several ribs broken but he'll survive."

Kara gritted her teeth together. She was ashamed to admit that she thought he deserved more for what he had done to Lena and Liz. He was alive but she had secretly hoped he would be hurt more by the fall.

"Great."

"J'onn is bringing him here so we can question him with the others."

Kara nodded again. Liz's head rose from her mother's chest and she looked directly to Kelly. "Aunt Kelly, where is Esme?"

Kelly chuckled at the question. The two cousins seemed inseparable since they had met. "She's asleep in a bed in the dormitories. She was so tired she was almost sleep-walking."

Liz accepted the explanation. It made Kara think that the girl should be sleeping too. With everything that had happened, it was close to 1 a.m.. Liz should have been in bed a long time ago.

"By the way, you should go to bed too." Kara said to Liz who groaned.

"I don't wanna. I wanna see Mom."

"She's sleeping too."

"Maybe you can go and sleep with her." Kelly said, shrugging. Kara threw her a glance. That wasn't a bad idea. Lena would probably be relieved to see Liz immediately when she would wake up. Kara stood up from the couch. "You're right. We'll see your mom now. Say bye to Kelly."

Liz waved at Kelly excitedly and received a wave in return. "Bye Aunt Kelly. Kisses to Esme."

Kelly chuckled behind them and Kara could only smile widely. Liz's mood was more cheerful since they had found Lena and brought her back. The girl was still startling every time a door would slam shut or somebody would yell but she had a smile on her face now and Kara couldn't help but feel reassured. They could all heal from this from now on.

Lena never was a fan of being taken care of. It made her feel weak. Not that a lot of people was waiting in a line to help her when she was sick or hurt. She just never got used to it. When she was a child, the nanny in charge of following her everywhere was the only one caring when she got hurt. She would put a bandage on the scrap on her knees and kiss it better, just to remind her seconds later that a Luthor never fell on the ground so ungraciously. Lillian and Lionel never cared. Lex pushed her when they were racing, justifying his pettiness with false compassion and hiding behind values he wanted to teach her. Never back down. Never give up. Always get back up again. Actually, Lena should thank him, wherever he was. He did make her stronger. But now she couldn't let anybody close enough to take care of her, to relax, to just lean on someone for once and let go. And sometimes, she would like to do it. Sometimes, Lena just wanted to be able to shut her eyes and lean her head on a strong chest and just let the world turn around her without being a part of it. But she couldn't resolve herself to let go.

When her eyes opened slightly, she winced, feeling like her head was splitting itself in two like a huge watermelon. It wasn't the light per say, it was dark in the room. Her head was spinning and she felt like she had been put between vices. She remarked the oxygen mask on her face and breathed deeply only to be met with resistance. She coughed unceremoniously, toring the mask away from her face.

"Lena." A soft voice said from aside. Lena turned her head slowly to see Kara approach with all the care in the world in her eyes. "How do you feel?"

"Grand." Lena replied bitterly. Kara extended a glass of water to her and helped her sit up carefully. That was when Lena realized she wasn't alone in the bed. Liz was curled up to her, sleeping peacefully. Lena brushed a loose hand through the girl's hair. She had thought she would never see her again.

"Here." Kara helped her take a sip only for Lena to cough again. Her lungs were burning. Every breath was stinging her inside.

"She's shaken up. She was really scared for you." Kara explained, motioning towards Liz, her voice only a whisper. "We all were really scared."

Lena frowned. The events were mixing up in her mind. "She heard me."

"Yeah, she saved you." Kara confirmed, sitting down sideway on the medical bed. Lena watched her as she rubbed at Liz's back lovingly. She had abandoned her Supergirl suit to wear casual clothes, her hair flowing freely around her face, her skin devoid of makeup. Her eyes followed Kara's and fell on Liz. The girl had shadows under her eyes but looked peaceful. Lena felt proud of her. She was the one responsible for her rescue.

"I don't know how she did it."

Kara looked at her and shrugged. "It's too hard to explain at her age. I don't know if it's her hearing that is better than mine or her magic link to you but she was hearing you talk to her and the next thing we knew, we were traveling across the country toward Salem."

Lena's face scrunched up. Of course, those idiots would use a place as charged with history as Salem. She shook her head absentmindedly. She had to warn Florence so that she could relay the information to the witches she knew. There were witch hunters raising again to persecute them and Lena wouldn't let that go without digging to know more. She wanted to know if Lionel had really been a part of it. It would explain the reason behind Lena's late learning of her powers. She wanted to clear the story about her mother and father meeting, Jason's birth and what happened with Jason's family.

A biting sensation shot through her feet and she winced, moving her legs to ease the pain. Kara startled and rushed to her side. "Are you okay? Do you want me to call Alex?"

Lena shook her head. A post-it had been stuck on her infusions. Painkillers on the right, oxygen on the left. Lena grabbed at the drip on the right pouch and pressed it up. Alex had known a long time ago that Lena didn't like to be coaxed and that she could deal with her medicine herself.

"I may fall back asleep at some point." She said to Kara because she knew the painkillers would knock her out. Kara nodded knowingly. She sat down again and took Lena's hand this time. The gesture wasn't missed. Memories of the last time they had been alone rushed suddenly to Lena's mind. The softness of Kara's lips. The intoxicating taste of her tongue against hers. The desire that had shot irrevocably between her thighs at the contact of Kara's hips against hers. The strong pain that had squeezed her heard with a gloved hands as Kara had stepped away.

Lena rubbed her thumb on Kara's skin and cleared her throat. She would regret not keeping the oxygen mask later but for now, she wanted to talk to Kara. She had to explain why they couldn't be together. It was too dangerous for Liz.

"That's what I wanted to avoid. She can't live a life like this." She said without any preamble. Kara's head whipped towards her, questions in her eyes. Lena swallowed her saliva painfully and looked down.

"I wanted Liz to have a life away from all the drama around the super hero life. She's literally the biggest weakness you can have for your enemies and for mines. I didn't want her to have a life where she was put in danger or kidnapped twice a week or mind controlled by some freaky maniac of tech stuff. I wanted her to have a normal life. Free of the weight of being the daughter of the strongest woman on earth. Free from the weight of the Luthor name. I didn't want paparazzi to question her identity."

Kara frowned and her eyes flashed with something close to anger. "You were pretty okay with her being in full spotlight when I told you it was a bad idea."

Here, it was. The "I told you so." The deception on Kara's face when she realized Lena wasn't the perfect mother she should have been. Lena sighed heavily. Her ego remaining in her made her hold her head higher. Frustration flared her up and she was too tired to keep control of her words. She retracted her hand.

"You've been her parent for a week. I've been there for six years. I know what's best for her." She bit angrily.

Kara scowled, baffled, then leaned over. "And who's fault is that, uh? I think…" She whispered not to wake Liz up but her tone didn't leave any doubt about her feelings. "That you're delusional if you think it gives you the right to put her in danger. I will not accept that. And between the two of us, I think I have a better judgement when it comes to know what's dangerous and what's not."

Lena scoffed loudly. Liz shuffled in her sleep and Kara extended a hand to scrap at her scalp. The girl's face softened immediately. Lena recognized the gesture. The one Kara had done so many times on her during the time they were friends. It was before her pregnancy. Before the sequestration and even before the whole Supergirl breakdown. It was a gesture made out of love, unselfish and tender. Lena remembered how it felt to be taken care of by Kara. It had felt like being the center of the universe.

"You're right." Lena said, deflating. "I don't appreciate you thinking I would put our daughter in danger voluntarily though."

Kara snorted but grabbed at Lena's hand again. "Well, maybe learn to listen to me for once and I'll stop thinking you have a thing for dangerous situation."

Lena rolled her eyes but the motion hurt her head. She scrunched up her face again, willing the spinning in her head to stop.

"Are you okay?" Kara asked softly. "You should rest."

Lena nodded, swallowing the weird taste in her mouth and pinching her lips close. "I'll put the mask back on if that's okay."

Kara didn't reply, just helped her ease down and put the covers around her carefully. "Go to sleep. I'll stay there the whole time, I promise."

Lena recognized the small glint in her pupils. The care she was feeling for her. The worry too. Lena smiled lightly through her oxygen mask. She didn't like to be taken care of but she would admit that being taken care of by Kara wasn't so bad.

A/N: Hey, guys! What did you think of this one? Any thoughts on the witch hunters? I'm not really good at action scenes so I hoped it was clear and interesting.

Anyway, as always, thanks for reading. I can't wait to hear from you all. Thanks for the ones who commented. It's so funny to hear your theories and to share thoughts about the story. I also hope you all received my replies.

See you next week, I hope.

Take care.