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sapphicscholar · 7 years

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A/N: I got a few requests for more of this story, so I’m back with a second part! As I mentioned in the first chapter, Lena didn’t feel like getting into all the baggage that came with her family name, so she only ever talked about herself as Lena, a grad student at MIT. This chapter borrows a bit from the dialogue of 2x01 as I reimagine what that interview might have been like had they already known each other…

Chapter Text

As they walked through the streets of National City, looking every bit the part of two ordinary human citizens, albeit more attractive than most and looking, at times, a bit too forced in their clumsiness, Kara tried not to let her excitement about spending more time with Clark—as both reporter and superhero—become too obvious. But it had been a long few weeks at the end of a long year, and there was something nice about being out with someone who knew what it was like to nearly tiptoe their way across the city streets, to shake hands and offer hugs that barely registered as effort.

So she made her way cheerily along with him, ready to see Clark Kent, ace reporter, at work, ready to see a form of justice being served that didn’t result from her fists or the intervention of the DEO. And sure, maybe she hadn’t quite put in the work of researching the subject of their investigation before they headed off to interview this Lena Luthor person, but in all fairness, she’d been a little too preoccupied with attempting to come up with an answer for Cat about what her future career would look like and trying to figuring out why things weren’t working with James—he seemed like everything she wanted, but should couldn’t help the way her heart wasn’t in it, the way her mind continued to drift back to thoughts of the all too brief fling she’d had with a beautiful, brilliant woman on the beach two summers ago. So she walked into an interview with almost no preparation or background knowledge, save for the few headlines she vaguely remembered seeing about a younger Luthor taking over the family business. She’d always been too disgusted by the last name to look into them, too horrified by what Lex had done to Clark to want to know about his company returning to the public eye.

“You ready?” Clark asked, grinning at Kara and pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Absolutely!”

Of course, it wasn’t quite so simple. Instead, they waited for several minutes as the guard checked them in and guided them through the metal detectors. (“You’d think they should make the Luthors go through the security, not their visitors,” Kara snorted.) Finally, they were escorted upstairs and directed to a check in desk where a young woman in a well-tailored black suit waited for them.

“Can I help you?” she asked.

Stepping forward with his press credentials ready, Clark adjusted his glasses and smiled brilliantly at the woman, catching sight of her nameplate. “Good morning, Jess! Name’s Clark Kent, I’m here about that interview with Ms. Luthor for The Daily Planet. I believe my boss, Perry White, already called about setting it up, but I can get him on the line in a jiffy if you need anything more.”

“That’ll be fine. I’ll let Ms. Luthor know that you’ve arrived,” Jess said, dismissing Clark and Kara, clearly unaffected by the aww-shucks charm that worked such wonders on most.

“Thank you.”

Clark carefully lowered himself into one of the few chairs, smiling over at Kara as he pulled out his reporter pad and pen and watched as Kara did the same. After a couple of minutes, the clicking of heels from far down the hallway drew their attention up, and a few moments later the newest Luthor Corp CEO appeared.

“Ms. Luthor, a Mr. Clark Kent from The Daily Planet is here, along with his…assistant, perhaps,” Jess explained, gesturing toward her two visitors.

Kara was too busy trying to keep her mouth closed to bother correcting Jess’ assumptions. Because standing in front of her was the very woman who had taken up so much of her mental energy these past few weeks—if she were being honest, she’d been a somewhat constant presence ever since those few days together two summers ago. She looked less the part of the grad student on vacation and more a corporate CEO, dressed as she was in a black pencil skirt and blazer with a red top that drew Kara’s attention to her chest, then up to her red lips in ways that really were not appropriate for the situation.

“Clark Kent, nice to meet you,” Lena finally said, giving no outward indication that her heart had sped up ever so slightly, that her thoughts were winding their way back to some of the happiest memories she had from the past few years—some of the only happy memories she had since Lex turned, if she were being honest with herself.

“I wish I could say we were meeting under better circumstances, Ms. Luthor,” Clark replied, tipping his head slightly even as Kara heard the hint of steel and accusation beneath his otherwise friendly tone. “I saw that you had a ticket for the Venture launch yesterday, and I couldn’t help but notice that you never did claim your seat.”

Lena strode forward, guiding the pair—though she could only focus on Clark, the one asking the questions, right now, lest her mind get bogged down with other questions and memories—into her office. She tried not to notice Kara holding her notebook at the ready. Apparently she’d survived her time as Cat Grant’s assistant and done well enough to earn a promotion.

In a clipped tone, Lena sighed, “There’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for why I wasn't aboard the Venture yesterday.” She strode across the room and hung her coat up, studiously avoiding eye contact with the blonde. Had she looked back, she might have noticed Kara looking a bit like a deer caught in the headlights, clearly deliberating between what she knew of Lena from their admittedly brief time together and what she now believed she knew based on her last name and the slightly mysterious circumstances surrounding the Venture explosion the day before.

Kara was too distracted to hear Clark’s follow up question, tuning back in only when Lena spoke once more, explaining something about a company emergency, something about renaming Luthor Corp. She let her gaze drift around the office, not willing to have it settle anywhere on Lena’s person just yet, not ready to feel the way her stomach swooped at the sight, at the memories that came flooding back to her.

“Ah, lucky,” Clark declared, and Kara felt her stomach clench at the idea that somehow she might be forced to choose between her cousin who, despite everything, she still idolized, and the woman she could have sworn she knew better than this.

With a chuckle and a smirk that finally drew Kara’s attention away from the large office with its stunning view to her painted lips and the thoughts of all that they had been capable of doing, Lena drawled, “Lucky is Superman saving the day.”

“Not something one expects a Luthor to say,” Clark countered.

“Right.” Lena fought the urge to roll her eyes, knowing exactly how this kind of interview went when she was already being reduced to her family’s name.

“And Supergirl was there, too!” Kara chimed in, somehow still needing Lena to recognize her achievements as both Kara, who she had been so quick to support during their days on the beach, and Supergirl, even if she had no way of knowing the two people were one in the same.

“And who are you exactly?” Lena asked with a faint chuckle, knowing it was cold and cruel and everything Kara probably already assumed about her as a Luthor.

“Um…” Kara paused, wondering if Lena really didn’t remember. “I’m Kara Danvers.” With Lena’s back turned to her, she had no way to know whether there was any glimmer of recognition there. “I’m not with The Daily Planet. I'm with Catco magazine.” Realizing this woman was already on a first name basis with Cat and might somehow mention it to her if she stayed out of jail, she amended her statement: “Sort of.”

“It’s a publication not known for its hard-hitting journalism,” Lena scoffed, letting herself be every bit the part of the cold CEO as she swung her hips and settled in at her desk. “More like, ‘High-Waisted Jeans: Yes or No?’”

Refusing to let her disappointment show, Kara simply nodded, gesturing half-heartedly with her hands as she explained that she was just tagging along for the day.

“Right.” After a pause, Lena arched a brow at Clark, who still hadn’t gotten to his questions. “Can we just speed this interview along? Just ask me what you want to ask, Mr. Kent. Did I have anything to do with the Venture explosion?” She looked down at her books, unwilling to look to see whether Kara looked as suspicious as her companion, as convinced of her guilt.

“Did you?”

“You wouldn't be asking me if my last name was Smith.”

“Ah, but it’s not. It’s Luthor.” Kara turned to look at Clark; sure, she wasn’t a fan of Lex either, but it couldn’t be fair to treat the woman like this, like she was guilty until proven innocent.

“Some steel under that Kansas wheat,” Lena purred, spinning in her chair and crossing her legs, knowing exactly what she was doing and refusing to let herself consider how much lower Kara’s opinion of her must be sinking. But eventually she gave in and turned to Kara, her tone softening slightly. “It wasn’t always. I was adopted when I was four. And the person who made me feel most welcome in the family was Lex. He made me proud to be a Luthor.” Seeing the way Kara looked at her—the way she looked at her like she wanted to believe she was innocent, like she was willing to listen to her, to fall back into the easy rapport they once had—became too much. She spun in her chair, missing the way Kara and Clark turned to assess her office as she continued: “And then he went on his reign of terror in Metropolis. Declared war on Superman. Committed unspeakable crimes.” She swung back around and pulled up slides on the large wall-mounted monitor. “When Superman put Lex in jail, I vowed to take back my family’s company—to rename it L-Corp, make it a force for good. I’m just a woman trying to make a name for herself outside of her family. Can you understand that?”

And Kara knew that maybe she was reading too much into it, knew that maybe Lena’s words weren’t meant as an explanation for why she hadn’t given Kara her last name those years ago, but she couldn’t help the surge of sympathy she felt, couldn’t help the way she thought back to Astra and Non and their quest to save the planet at the expense of its inhabitants, even to her mother, the judge who she once thought could do no wrong. “Yeah,” Kara said softly with a small nod, ignoring Clark’s curious glance over at her.

“I know why you’re here. Because a subsidiary of my company made the part that exploded on the Venture. This drive contains all the information we have on the oscillator. I hope it helps you in your investigation.”

“Thank you,” Clark said, accepting the flash drive.

“Give me a chance, Mr. Kent. I’m here for a fresh start. Let me have one.”

“Good day, Ms. Luthor.”

“Good day,” Kara added, feeling the need to say something, anything, to acknowledge her presence in the room, especially after Lena’s speech. Even if it had been a line for the media, something fed out to keep Clark off her trail, Kara felt it resonate with her, wanted to give that chance to Lena to start fresh without any preconceived notions.

Once she and Clark made it out of the building and into the streets of National City, Clark spoke up. “I didn’t see anything when I x-ray-visioned the room.”

“Yeah, me neither. What do you think?” A part of her hoped he would confirm her suspicious that Lena seemed innocent.

“I’ve learned through hard experience not to believe anything a Luthor says,” Clark said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as they crossed the street.

Even though Kara wanted to trust her cousin who had so much more experience with this—both reporting and dealing with Luthors—than she did, she couldn’t help but push back a little. “Yeah, I know I’m not a reporter or anything, but I kinda believed her.”

Before Clark could respond, his phone rang, a small photo of Lois popping up on the display. She watched as the suspicious reporter seemed to transform in front of her. No matter how much he smiled with her and even with Lena, there was something so much softer to it now. She chuckled as Lois asked if he was being careful. “I love that she worries about you,” she said after he hung up.

“Yeah, me, too.”

“How do you do it all, Clark? You're an amazing reporter, a great boyfriend, and Superman. I mean, I love being Supergirl. That part of my life is clear. But the rest of it…” she trailed off, unsure how to put into words the fact that she just couldn’t seem to make it work with the man who was so absolutely perfect for her on paper. He knew her secret and was supportive; he listened to her, no longer turning to call Superman whenever things looked dicey, trusting her to handle it herself or ask for help if and when she needed it. He was kind and sweet and exceptionally handsome. And yet…

“You mean Jimmy?” It took Kara a moment to remember that Clark’s Jimmy was her James.

“How’d you know that?”

“It’s super telepathy. It’s a power you'll get someday.”

Kara’s head popped up at that. “Really?”

“No. Jimmy and I are friends, we talk,” Clark explained with a sympathetic smile.

“For so long, I kept my head down and moved forward. And life was simple.” Well, as simple as it could be when she was an alien balancing a secret identity while working two demanding jobs as Cat Grant’s assistant and the protector of National City. “And now I have all these options. An amazing guy and any job I want and I’m…I’m stuck.”

“I’ve been where you are. You know, trying to figure out how to be Clark and Superman.”

“Yeah, but you made it look so easy,” Kara interrupted.

“Well, it wasn’t. It’s still not,” Clark admitted. “Look, all I know is that being Kara is just as important as being Supergirl.” Kara nodded; that was something she absolutely understood. “Come here.” She let herself be dragged into a hug, trying not to panic too much as Clark told her to trust herself and listen to her heart when it came to things with James, especially when her gut and her heart both seemed to be guiding her back to a woman that was suspect number one for the Venture explosion.

---

As much as she hated flying, even if she had the facts and statistics that showed it was technically safer than other modes of transportation, Lena was at least pleased to have some distraction from the thoughts of Kara that hadn’t left her since their interview that morning. She wondered if she had imagined the softening of Kara’s expression before she left, wondered if it was just the effect of some residual optimism that hadn’t been wiped clean after Lex’s rampage. It wasn’t like they had stayed in touch after that summer—they’d agreed it would be best kept as fond memories, and Lena hadn’t particularly wanted to know what Kara thought when she found out that she was a Luthor—so the idea that the blonde lifeguard she once knew still felt some kind of affection for her was probably ludicrous. The fact that she still felt something for Kara mattered little.

The sight of a large drone flying at their helicopter quickly drove all thoughts of Kara from Lena’s mind, and before she knew it, they were under attack. She closed her eyes and tried to make peace with how she would be leaving things. Sure, they weren’t perfect, but, she supposed, at least her reputation wouldn’t end up like Lex’s; she’d never have time to find out what a long life seeped in power and money would do to her.

But before the drones could kill her, the telltale red and blue blur of Superman swooped in along with the caped blonde she’d learned laid claim to the title of National City’s own resident hero. Within seconds, Superman was off to protect the city while Supergirl darted through the air, blocking fiery blasts and taking out the drones. Try as the Supers might, Lena was left to watch the helicopter pilot die in front of her, felt herself and the helicopter falling from the air—until suddenly she wasn’t.

“You’re safe now,” Supergirl told her once she lowered the helicopter back down to the landing site, checking for obvious injuries, then feeling for a pulse on the pilot.

“What the hell was that?” Lena demanded, too much in shock, the adrenaline pumping through her veins and narrowing her thoughts to fight or flight instincts, to notice the striking similarities between this caped hero and the lifeguard with perfectly chiseled muscles who picked her up as though she weighed nothing.

“Someone’s trying to kill you.” Oh, that was comforting. Perhaps not unexpected, but still never the thing one wants to hear. She lost sight of Supergirl as she was led to the EMTs, then finally allowed to go back to her office—shaken but undeterred from her mission to make Luthor Corp a force for good.

---

Kara listened and rubbed at her eyes as James told her he felt her pulling away, told her he knew he wasn’t imagining the way that things between them just didn’t seem to work anymore. And she wanted to object, to remind him of just how much chemistry they’d had together, the way they could and should have worked in reality. But after seeing Lena, after all those memories came flooding back with a force that shocked her even after years of having them slip back in dreams and, if she were being honest, fantasies, she couldn’t deny that things with James didn’t feel like that. So she let him end their relationship before it really began, watched him walk away with a wistfulness that felt more like nostalgia for something that never was than regret over true loss.

And then she listened to Cat talk to her about taking risks and chances and coming out as a brand new person—something that terrified her but also excited her, made her think that maybe, just maybe, there were things for her outside of the safe, predictable advertising job her online quiz had recommended or the sensible relationship she might have pursued with James. She knew Cat was only speaking about work—though the woman had a way of telling her things just when she needed to hear them, even when it had nothing to do with work—but she couldn’t help but think about what it might mean to take that leap with Lena, to trust this woman despite her last name and insist that, yes, they had called it a fling; and, yes, it had only lasted a few days; but, dammit, she wanted to see what it might become if they let things happen once more.

A voicemail from Alex informing her that Lena was the target, not the perpetrator, of the attack sent her running to Lena before she could dwell on her thoughts any longer.

“Lena, look, I know that you don’t owe me any favors, but please, please, would you postpone the renaming ceremony?”

“Kara, I appreciate that you care…despite everything. But if I don’t go through with this ceremony, they win. Lex and all of his supporters and the men who have been sent to kill me—they all get their way.”

“But what if they only got their way for a week? And then you can have the ceremony with a much greater security presence. We would have time to secure the area, make sure there weren’t any hidden bombs.” She didn’t point out that there had already been a hidden bomb under Lena’s seat.

“We? Are you telling me you’re a cop by night?” Lena arched an eyebrow in a playful challenge.

“Oh, well, uh, no,” Kara laughed, pushing her glasses up her nose and turning on her heels to follow Lena, who had grabbed her coat and was making her way toward the elevator, clearly intent on making it down to the ceremony. “They’ll win more if you die!”

“Very articulate,” Lena teased, wondering how easy it might be to fall back into old habits, to let themselves sink into the casual touches and the witty banter that had once masked a passionate heat between them.

“What would convince you?” Kara asked, stepping slightly into Lena’s space in the elevator and hearing the small hitch in Lena’s breathing, the slight acceleration of her heartbeat as Kara leaned in closer.

“I’m afraid I can’t be convinced.” Though, god, did this woman make it tempting to accept the offer.

As they strolled through the courtyard behind the soon to be L-Corp headquarters, Lena surveyed the sparse crowds. “My brother’s serving 32 consecutive life sentences. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised there isn’t a bigger turnout.”

“You’re taking an awful risk, going ahead with the renaming ceremony with your life in danger,” Kara said in a last-ditch effort to change Lena’s mind. But she had glimpsed just how strong the woman was—from the few days they spent together, to the way she carried herself during their interview-interrogation and even the way she kept her panic in check while almost dying in a helicopter.

“I won’t have a life if I can’t make this company into something positive. All it will be remembered for is Lex’s madness.” And Kara found she couldn’t argue with that logic, so she went to stand by Alex Alex and resigned herself to forming a part of the small crowd gathered, resolving to protect Lena at all costs.

“I want to thank you all for coming,” Lena began. “My brother hurt a lot of good, innocent people. My family owes a debt, not just to Metropolis, but to everyone. I intend to pay that. By renaming my company L-Corp, we will usher in a new age of cooperation and community. Together, we will chart a brighter future.”

For a moment, Kara let herself smile along with Lena, let herself be swept up into the feeling of hope that seemed to swell in her chest at Lena’s inspiring words. But all too soon that moment was shattered as explosions rocked the plaza, flames bursting behind Lena. With confirmation that Alex was after Corben, Kara took off to keep the building from collapsing.

“Officer!” Lena yelled, darting from the stage and away from the flames and the chaos into which the ceremony had devolved.

Only when he turned to face her, he had his gun drawn and a malicious grin on his face. Once more, she found herself being saved by another one of the beautiful, powerful women that National City was apparently full of, though all too soon, the man had the woman pinned, his gun trained on her as Supergirl tried to talk him down.

The news that Lex had hired the man to kill her, that he had turned on her after years of being her only real friend and family, barely phased her at this point. It was just confirmation of every fear she’d ever had. And it was with that same sense of cold determination that she raised her gun and aimed it at Corben—aiming to wound, not kill; she wanted the man to talk, to rot in prison. She didn’t have the time or energy to try to parse out what Supergirl’s expression or her joke about having help meant, but, oh, those blue eyes looked too familiar—looked like the pair that had searched her face and her office behind a pair of black-framed glasses just this morning.

---

The next day, Lena found the pair of intrepid reporter-superheroes in her office once more—this time invited by her. Holding out the day’s issue of The Daily Planet, Lena smiled at Clark, perching on the edge of her desk. “Thank you, Mr. Kent. This is exactly the kind of press my company needs after yesterday’s attack. And thank you for including that part about me shooting the guy. That’ll teach Lex to mess with me. He’ll be the laughingstock of cell block X.”

“Well, that’s not exactly why I wrote it. I wrote it because it’s the truth. I was wrong about you, Ms. Luthor. I’m sorry.” Lena was nothing if not a pragmatist, but the way Clark spoke, she couldn’t help but believe him.

“Well, if I can make a believer out of Clark Kent, there’s hope yet,” she joked. But in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but wonder about Kara…would she be as easy to bring back? Figuring it was worth a try, she turned a flirtatious smile on the woman who was once more dressed in her cardigans and glasses. “What about you, Ms. Danvers? I didn’t see your name on the byline.”

“Uh, well, like I said, I’m not a reporter,” Kara answered with a chuckle and a shake of her head.

“You could have fooled me.”

In that moment, it was like everything clicked for Kara—all this talk of wanting to be in advertising because it was secure or had good hours meant nothing in the face of a career that could represent “truth, justice, and the American way” on its own.

“I hope this isn’t the last time we talk,” Lena added, settling in at her desk and looking only at Kara.

“I hope not either.” And Kara found that she meant it. Despite the way so many parts of her life seemed uncertain, despite the fact that she would be starting anew once more in a career and giving up the security of the job and boyfriend she knew, she found herself excited, feeling far lighter than she had been in years. And if Jess slipped her a business card from Lena with her personal cell and a note that read, “Dinner? Call me,” scrawled across the back—well, that was just an added bonus.

#supercorp #kara x lena #season 2 rewrite #supergirl #fanfic #kara danvers #lena luthor #ao3feed

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