Floating around National City at night was one of the most humbling things Kara was able to do as Supergirl. She loved to notice how the city slowed down after all the workers had joined their family back. How the students were stuck on their homework. How babies would cry and mothers would soothe. Behind curtains, behind closed doors. Always hidden by everyone and everything except Kara's super hearing. She tried not to invade people privacy. She tried to be careful on what she was listening to, not risking being traumatized. But she loved listening to the people she had saved on the same day. Following them on their little journey, assuring herself they were okay. Sometimes they would tell how she rescued them because it was the biggest part of their day. Sometimes they would just hug their close ones a little closer or pray a little louder. She loved being a part of their everyday life. It was humbling. It reminded her they were not just numbers. Not just little ants she would see walking on pavements. They were true individuals, with their own lives, their own purposes, their own problems.
It was reassuring too. Because Kara had to admit she used her hearing also to soothe herself. She would lie if she had to say she didn't know how the hearts of every single one member of her family sounded like. Alex's heartbeat was the first she memorized. If she could focus enough, she would be able to hear it all the way to Alaska. The firm staccato showing that she was safe and sound. Often accelerating when Alex was with Kelly. For the others, it was harder because the further she would go, the harder it became to decipher them. Their heartbeats would mix with all the other beating hearts, and she would mix them up. Except for Lena.
Lena's heart used to go hectic randomly during the day. Kara would always rush to L-Corp, ready to fight whoever was causing Lena to panic. But she was always met with the young CEO regulating her breathing to stop the panic attack she was having. Kara would stay, hidden far above the building, listening to Lena's heartbeat slowing down to a normal rhythm. She had thought about asking, but she didn't want to corner Lena. And then, it became less and less frequent so she dropped the subject. As Lena became more and more accustomed to people, and friendship, and being in control at work, her heart stopped reminding her how hard her life had been before her move to National City. Now, Lena's heart was always a constant balance between deep bass steady sounds and raucous accelerations when she was laughing. Or lazy thumps accompanied with slow breathings when she had too much scotch. Kara found herself tuning on it regularly during the day. Just checking if it was still there. Or comforting herself with the beating, meaning Lena was safe and sound because, at the end of the day, it was more important than any problem Kara had at work.
And Kara wasn't ashamed about that. She had already lost so much. She couldn't be afraid to take care of the people around her. It was really comforting to listen to the heartbeats of the people she loved the most just before she would go back home and fall asleep. That was her routine. A habit. A simple soothing one.
But not that night. Because as she was checking for Alex and Kelly and Esmee in their home, for J'onn is his loft, for Nia and Brainy somewhere on a balcony, one of them was missing. Disturbed and forcing on her earing, Kara flew as calmly as possible to the Luthor Foundation. The L-Corp building reclaimed as the new Luthor Foundation building had kept the same letter on the side, but Lena was planning to change it. Lena's office had stayed at the same floor, only redecorated to match the new bright and vivid colors of the Foundation tree logo.
Frowning, Kara watched through the dark windows. She could hear the servers rolling in each floor. She could see through the walls how the rooms were ready to welcome a fresh round of children the next day. In fact, she could see all through the basement where the parking was still occupied by one remaining car. But she couldn't find Lena.
Worry was clawing at her stomach as Kara made her way to Lena's penthouse. With all her senses in high alert, she flew just slow enough not to break the sound barrier. When she reached the familiar balcony and stepped down on the concrete, some lights were on in the apartment. Hope sparked a bit in her mind. At least Lena had been there. But she may not be anymore. Kara couldn't hear Lena's heart. Not in the living room. Lena could be in her bedroom or the lab she set up for her personal projects, but Kara couldn't know. She couldn't see through those rooms' walls because there were made of lead, old remnants of their fight. She wasn't the type to enter a house non invited but something felt wrong. Grabbing the bay window, she tried to open it, since Lena kept it always open now, in case of an emergency. The window was locked. Frowning deeper, her face somber, Kara grabbed at the other end of the window. Same results. Sighing heavily, she forced the bay window open. She could fix it later. Lena wouldn't mind. There weren't supposed to be closed anyway. Something was definitely wrong.
Stepping into Lena's living room, Kara felt a shiver run down her spine. Something was off. The room was chilly, even for summertime, and there was something missing, but Kara couldn't say what. Everything looked clean and in place. Pristine. Lena kept everything perfectly in order, but even she couldn't always be that neat and there usually were traces of life at least. A laptop on a counter, a book on the coffee table, photos on the walls. But there was nothing. Calling Lena's name, Kara was hearing her voice reverberating against the walls. No response. Her eyes were committing everything they could into memory. Every detail mattered.
Throwing privacy through the window, Kara speed-walked to Lena's bedroom. The room she was met with was empty. Her mouth fell open and she stayed motionless at the door, her nails sinking deeply into the wood framing it. No bed, no blinds, no chest drawers. Everything was gone. Analyzing every single detail of the room, Kara searched how it was even possible. Lena was still in National City this same morning. She texted her right before going to work. Taking a step in the room, Kara's attention was caught by something on the floor. Crouching down at the center, she grabbed at a small black hair band. The last piece showing Lena's presence in the room.
Lena was there and then she wasn't. Somebody made her disappear. And they took the bed and all the furniture with them. As if to erase proof. Something bad had happened. Anxiety and dread weighed on Kara's chest. Glancing at the hair band in the palm of her hand, she crushed it in her fist.
She had to find her.
Lena woke up in a gasp. The balancing neon lights above her head made her wince. Covering her eyes with a hand, she sat down slowly and was quickly met with resistance. Looking down, she gasped again. Her abdomen looked swollen. Not just slightly swollen, but more like a balloon-ready-to-explode swollen. Her eyes went wild.
Taking in her surroundings rapidly, Lena realized the heat in the make-shift emergency room was scorching. Her skin was covered with a light clothing of sweat. Her long dark hair stuck to her face. The smell of antiseptics invaded her nostrils. She was sitting on a cot, machines regulating her heartbeat and blood pressure around it but they weren't connected to her anymore. Other than that, there was no other information as to where she was. Sensing something move in her stomach, she looked at it alarmingly. Was it what she was thinking it was?
Pulling delicately at the white-turned-grey tank top she was wearing, she slowly revealed the round belly. It was perfectly formed, her skin stretched to its limits. Lena approached it cautiously with a tense finger. When her fingertip was close enough to touch the skin, the form of a foot pushed against it. She inhaled sharply. Her breath became more and more laborious. She could feel a panic attack spreading in her rib cage, clawing and squeezing her inside. She didn't have time for this. With a hand on her chest, Lena crawled down from the cot and looked around for some kind of explanation. Her frantic eyes found a paper bag on a table with her name on it. She rushed to it. Inside, there were her phone, some cash, and an envelope.
Trying to calm her beating heart, Lena extracted the envelope and looked at it, scared to face what was inside. Her name was written on it in delicate letters. It looked bulgy. With shaking hands, she tore the envelope and pulled out a paper. It was a letter. As her eyes were scanning the words scribbled, her hand flew to her mouth. Slowly, her teary eyes glided down to her belly. Lena reflected for a moment. She read the short letter one more time. Then, in a haste, she pulled out the content of the envelope and found a platinum gem. A small symbol of the house of El was engraved in it. Her eyes hardened. She looked up with determination. In a new hurry, she put the letter and the gem back in the envelope and took her phone from the bag. She just wanted to check the date.
Waiting for the phone to light up, Lena looked around. There was nothing indicating where she was but the letter had explained it clearly. An island in Malaysia. That would explain the heat and humidity. Lex didn't have a property in Malaysia. Not that she knew about. Lilian owned a club in Singapore which was supposed to whitewash money for the Cadmus branch there but Lena inherited it after her death. So no Luthor could be behind this. If it wasn't her family, who did this? Shaking her head to erase her thoughts, Lena focused back on the phone. She just needed to make sure how much time she had passed on this freaking island. As the screen lighted up, her fingers typed hurriedly her password. Date and time were the first things to appear on her wallpaper representing Esme's face covered with chocolate. February 24th, 2022; 11:14 a.m.
A hand on her forehead, Lena tried to recall the last thing she remembered. It had been six months since Alex and Kelly's wedding. She remembered it. The music, the tears, the hugs. The car rolling away. Winn going back to the future. She remembered the weeks after that. Bringing the Foundation to life, working on the new logo, finding the sponsors, and dealing with the schools and orphanage entering the program. She remembered walking home, taking a shower, versing some wine in a glass and going to her bedroom with a book under her arm.
The letter said the truth. At least for the time she had passed on the island. It was close to five months. Lena couldn't remember anything after that night. Could she trust the rest of the letter? She brought her other hand on her stomach, caressing the fabric of her shirt affectionately. She was pregnant. With a baby who could tear the world in half. It was impossible. She couldn't go home. Not anymore. She had a child to protect first.