Cloak and dagger
Kara woke up two hours later. She was groggy, but at Lena’s side merely seconds after opening her eyes.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you knew, Lena”, she asked and reached out for Lena’s hand, interlacing their fingers.
Lena smiled and pulled down the mask.
“You’re the one asking me that? Don’t you think things could have been a lot less complicated if you just told me who you were?”
“I messed it up, didn’t I?”
“We both messed it up.” Lena gave her a tired smile.
“We can change things, Lena. We can get through this.” Kara pulled their joined hands up and kissed the back of Lena’s. “I swear I’ll never lie to you again. In fact, let me start right now … I love you, Lena. And not just in a best friends kind of way.” She bit her lip, bracing for the blow, but Lena just looked at her in amazement.
“I think I’ve loved you from the second we met. I was just really slow to admit it. … I mean, you know me. I can be really slow.”
“Kara …”
“You don’t have to say it back, Lena. You … if you don’t feel the same way … I just needed you to know. I needed to be honest.”
Lena took a deep breath.
“Kara … I don’t know how long I have …”
“Don’t say that, Lena. Please. We will find a cure.”
There was so much distress in Kara’s voice that Lena longed to pull her close and make everything go away. But she couldn’t. Her arms felt heavy as lead and every breath suddenly was an enormous task. Something wasn’t right.
“Just promise me that … you won’t lose yourself because of this. Please … Kara.” The coughing started again and this time it didn’t stop.
Kara pushed the mask back onto Lena’s mouth and nose and called for her sister.
Alex ran into the room, took a look at the various monitors and shouted orders. She injected something into the drip and within seconds, Lena was unconscious.
“We have to intubate her, Kara. You need to leave.”
“But she was fine a second ago.”
Kara looked like she was on the verge of crying.
“Kara, please. Let us do our job. We need to keep her stable for as long as possible. And this will help, okay?” Alex put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “We’re not giving up on her. I promise. Wait outside. I’ll be with you in a minute.”
Kara let go of Lena’s hand. She almost had to force herself to do it and walk the few steps to the door. Behind her she heard Alex give precise and calm orders while she pushed the tube down Lena’s throat. Kara felt cold … and angry. She looked down at her trembling hands. One of them reached out for the door and pushed it open. She felt completely detached from the process.
Outside she waited. She did not move until Alex came back out, getting rid of her rubber gloves and throwing them into a bin in the corner.
“Come with me”, she said and took Kara’s hand. She led her outside, past the control center and down one of the corridors until they stood in the room she used for meditation. Then Alex pulled her close and Kara broke. She cried until she had nothing left and they both sat on the floor, Alex with her back to the wall, holding her.
“You love her”, she said and Kara wasn’t sure if her sister was waiting for confirmation, but she gave one anyway.
“More than anything.”
“We will save her, Kara.”
There was no hint of doubt in Alex’ voice.
“How can you be so sure”, Kara still had to ask.
Alex smiled. “While you were having your beauty sleep, Brainy tracked Lex and also we’re waiting for him to call us.”
“Lex? Call us?” Kara stared at her. “Why would he do that?”
“Because Sam poisoned him … or she didn’t. The jury is still out on that.”
“Sam?”
“Sam Arias. The woman who saved you?” Alex got up and held out her hand to pull Kara up.
“Sam Arias?”
“Yes.”
“I know that name.” Kara took the offered hand and let herself be pulled up.
“Didn't she die? I mean, haven’t you been to the funeral of a woman of that name?” She looked at Alex. “If I remember correctly you called in sick and stayed at home for almost a week after that, even though that never happens, even when you're actually sick.”
Alex frowned.
“That had nothing to do with Sam.”
“You liked her, Alex.” Kara stared at her like she had some sort of epiphany. “You came back from Metropolis after the DEO had to help the FBI out with the Saturnian and you were smiling and texting someone, but wouldn’t say who. … You even went back there for the weekend.”
“Stop it, Kara.”
“And then they told you she had died.”
“Yes.” Alex bit her lip. “But she’s not dead. She’s out there in the control room. Very much alive. And she came back to kill Lex Luthor.”
“Alex …” Kara reached out for Alex, but her sister turned around.
“I can’t deal with that right now. We have to focus on Lex and saving Lena. When all is done we can go back to psychoanalyzing this.”
—
“Shouldn’t he have called by now? It’s been like what? Three hours.”
J’onn looked at Sam.
“Yes, three hours and sixteen minutes. About the time it takes for the drug to do some damage. Right about know he will feel pain and realize that I haven’t been bluffing.”
“How do you know?”
“How do I know what?”
“How do you know how it works?”
Sam looked at him. “I’ve seen what the drug can do.”
“Oh?”
She huffed. “Oh, don’t look at me like you know me, J’onn J’onzz. I’ve never injected anyone with it before. I just had it, because I took it away from the Valeronian.”
“Fair enough”, he said and nodded, then he looked to his left where Alex and Kara appeared from a doorway. Given that only hours ago she had been close to death’s door, Supergirl only looked a little worse for wear. She seemed anxious however and Sam felt sympathetic.
She was about to greet them and finally introduce herself properly, when her phone began to vibrate. She pulled it from her jeans pocket and put it on speaker.
“Took you long enough, Lex.”
There was a second of silence. Sam saw Kara’s hands press down on one of the consoles, leaving dents.
“You’re a real pain, Arias. Can’t stay dead, can you?”
“Did you call to exchange pleasantries or is their actually something you wanted to say?”
“Hm, no time for pleasantries? How’s my darling sister?”
Alex put her hand on Kara’s arm.
“I don’t owe anyone my loyalty, Lex. I could just let the both of you die and not care about any of this. It would make my life a lot easier to be honest.”
“But still you really want the cure for what is ailing Lena …”
“Yeah, I really do. I’m a good person. I can’t help it. We have a chance to resolve this to our mutual benefit … or you die. Whatever you prefer.”
Sam looked up from the phone and saw that Alex was still holding on to Kara.
“How do I know that you won’t just let me die anyway?”
“You’ll have to trust me. Just as much as I will have to trust that you bring the right cure for Lena.”
“Thirty minutes. The Luthor warehouse at the docks. You know the one. Come alone. Let’s settle this like well … grown-ups.”
He hung up.
“You do realize that that’s a trap, right?” Brainy looked at her and Sam nodded with as much seriousness as she could muster. “Yes, Brainy, I’m well aware of that. But it’s also the best chance we got.”
“We know where he is. We’re tracking him. We could just get him now.”
“We could, but we couldn’t be sure that he has the cure with him. I’m counting on you to track him should he get away though.”
“Of course.”
“Sam”, Alex started.
“Do you have a better idea?”
Alex sighed. “No. But I won’t let you go alone.”
“She won’t be alone.”
Sam looked at Supergirl who stood facing her – now in her usual pose, hands on her hips, all bravery and determination.
Sam looked at her.
“Kara …” She let the unfamiliar name linger on her tongue for a moment. “Lex will be gone the second you appear. I will gladly accept you as backup, but if you want to save Lena, let me do my thing and stay out of it.”
Kara looked to her sister for support, but Alex shrugged.
“She has a point.”
“And what will you do if he brings his Lexosuit?”
Kara faced Sam again.
“I will have to trust that your superspeed is up to snuff.” Sam crossed the distance between them. “If it helps … if he messes with us, I will deal with him. … I promised Lena.”
“You promised her what?”
“I promised her that I won’t let you kill him. She doesn’t want you to go down that road.”
“But aren’t you going down that road yourself?”
Sam smiled.
“Fair point. But one of us is enough, don’t you think?”
--
The night was cold and rainy. The perfect weather for a cloak and dagger mission at the docks, Sam thought, as she made her way across a dark alley between enormous shipping containers. This place was like a maze and she was well aware of the fact that it held a multitude of options for an ambush. Just as much as she was aware of the fact that there was a number DEO agents nearby. Still, if Lex wanted to shoot her, he had every advantage.
She rounded a corner and reached an open square that ended at the water. Lex was waiting for her, the lamps above giving him an almost orange glow that could not distract from just how pale he looked or that he clearly was in discomfort.
Sam crossed the square.
“How’re you holding up,” she asked and studied his face, the furrowed brow, the small beads of sweat on his scalp.
“Can we skip the part where you mock me and just get to the exchange?”
He basically spat out the words.
“That bad, hu?”
He stood straighter.
“Even though I kindly asked you to come alone I am pretty sure that you are not. Neither am I, so I guess we’re at kind of an impasse. … I propose that both of us very carefully reach into our respective pockets and produce what the other so desperately wants and then we skedaddle.”
Sam chuckled. “Skedaddle? Really?”
She pulled a vial from her jacket pocket.
“In here are a million little microbes that – when injected – can make all your pain go away. What do you have to offer?”
Lex produced a very small cooler.
“What you want is in here.”
Sam looked at him. “Is it? Because I really don’t trust you, Lex.”
“Well, you can always come and find me if it doesn’t work.”
He sounded almost annoyed, but he opened the cooler and let her have a look inside.
Sam nodded and reached out with her left hand and while offering the vial in her right return.
Both took hold of their bounty.
Sam put the cooler into her pocket. When she looked up she noticed movement to her right. She wasn’t completely clear on the origin, but her gut told her to move and so she did. A second later a shot rang out. The bullet passed only inches from her head.
She saw Lex run and followed him.
“Sam? Are you okay?”, Alex sounded breathless, like she was running or concerned or both.
“Yes. I’m pursuing Lex.”
“Wait for backup!”
“No time”, she panted and turned a corner. Lex was nowhere to be seen. Behind her she heard multiple shots fired.
“Brainy, where is Lex?”
“One hundred and sixty feet north of you.”
Sam ran.
“Wait. He stopped.”
Sam ran to the end of the alley and leaned her back to a container. Her heart rate was off the charts. She pulled her gun and carefully glanced around the edge. Nothing.
“Brainy?”
“To your left.”
She proceeded down another small alley and ended up at some sort of junction. To her right was the harbor basin, to her left a huge crane on rails.
“He should be close to you.” She heard Brainy’s through her earpiece, but for some reason his voice sounded far away and hollow. She stopped and looked down. The ground seemed to move.
“Sam?” Alex’s voice sounded just as strange. Sam lifted her gun and realized that her hand was shaking.
“Sam? Do you copy?”
It’s not contagious, so it is the perfect thing to take out people without killing all of humanity. I’m rather proud of that.
He’d been lying. The reality of it hit her like a freight train.
“Sam?”
“Alex … you have to find Lex. Whatever you have to do, take him alive. He’s the cure.”
“What?”
“He lied. The virus. … It’s contagious.”
“So if he isn’t sick … That means he is immune. Which means he has antibodies.”
“Yes.”
“Supergirl?”
“On it.”
Sam moved forward. Soon she realized she would have no chance to catch up with Lex. Not with the way her legs felt like rubber and her head on the verge of exploding. She sighed, sank to the ground and leaned her back to the crane.
“Sam, where are you?” Alex now definitely sounded concerned and Sam couldn’t help but think that it was nice. Someone sounding concerned for her wellbeing.
“I don’t know”, she mumbled. “I’m just going to sit here for a minute.”
“Stay with me, Arias, okay? Let’s think this through. So the virus is contagious, but why would he lie to Kara and tell her something different when he planned to kill her and Lena?”
“I’m guessing that was not the plan after all. He wanted them to get out. For Kara to take Lena to the DEO and get everyone infected. There probably was going to be some malfunction in the generator that would have allowed Kara to get out. Be the hero. … He said the virus had a time delay. I should have listened more carefully”, she chuckled.
“How bad are your symptoms?”
“Bad enough for me to never want to stand up again.”
“Why would you feel like that, but I don’t?”
“I was closer to Lena, I guess.”
“Or I have another hour before I feel the effects.”
“I got him!” Kara’s voice was a mixture between anger and victory. “I’ll fly him to the DEO. Alex, you have to get back and get to work.”
“I will, as soon as I got Sam.”
“No. Alex, go”, Sam said. “The cure is more important.”
“You don’t fucking get to tell me what is more important.”
When Sam looked up, Alex was right next to her.
“Alex, please. You’re going to get yourself infected”, she pleaded, but Alex had already pulled her up and was now carrying her over her shoulder.
“I am not going to let you die on me again.”