Chapter 3
It was Senior year. Kara was in the middle of shooting her 80th free throw when the door to the gym creaked open. It was just another regular day at Midvale High—basketball practice, loud music blasting from the speakers, and her teammates trying (and failing) to get the dance moves from TikTok. But then, from the corner of her eye, Kara noticed someone standing by the entrance, watching the chaos unfold. She did a double take.
Who the hell is that?
There, at the edge of the gym, stood Lena Luthor. Kara froze. Lena was new. That much was clear—no one who looked that effortlessly out of place was a regular here. Her posture screamed new girl, but it wasn’t just her unfamiliarity that caught Kara’s attention. Lena had this… air about her. The kind of confidence that made everyone else in the room seem like they were just a little bit less important.
She stood tall, shoulders back, in a perfect black leather jacket that didn’t look like it should belong to a high school student. Her hair was sleek, a sharp contrast to the neon lights flickering above.
And her eyes? Sharp. Calculating. Like she was assessing every detail of the situation before even making a move. Kara had seen girls like her before—the ones who never had to try, who just walked into a room and made everyone take a breath. She had met a few at other schools, before Midvale, and she knew they didn’t usually like people like her.
People who were a little too loud, a little too unapologetic. Kara didn’t know it at the time, but this would be the beginning of her least favorite rivalry.
It was the next day in homeroom that Kara actually spoke to Lena for the first time. Or, rather, Lena spoke to her.
“Hi,” Lena said casually as she slid into the seat beside Kara, dropping her bag onto the desk. Her voice was smooth, almost too smooth, like everything she said was deliberate. It was clear from the moment Lena sat down that she wasn’t shy.
She wasn’t awkward. She was just… there. And she expected to be.
Kara gave her a quick, cautious glance.
“Uh, hey.”
It had only been a week since Lena’s transfer, and everyone was still buzzing about her arrival. Some said she was a new scholarship student, others swore she was the daughter of some famous tech mogul or CEO. Either way, she was someone to watch, someone who could change things at Midvale.
Everyone had heard about her—how smart she was, how good she was with her words, how she could make anyone feel like the most important person in the room, without even trying. Kara wasn’t sure she bought it. But she also wasn’t not curious.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Lena continued, brushing a lock of hair out of her face, studying Kara intently. Kara blinked, caught off guard.
“Oh, really?”
Lena smirked. “Yeah. You’re Kara Danvers, right? The girl who can make a shot from anywhere on the court?”
Kara’s stomach flipped. She had never liked being referred to by her sport, as though it was the only thing that defined her. Still, she found herself nodding.
“Yeah, that’s me.” Lena tilted her head, sizing Kara up in a way that felt almost… predatory. “I hear you’re really good.Maybe you can show me some tricks sometime.” Kara’s heart rate kicked up. What was that supposed to mean?
Was Lena… flirting with her? No, no way. She was just being… friendly. Maybe a little too friendly. “Sure,” Kara said, trying to sound nonchalant. “Maybe after practice.” Lena gave her a knowing smile, one that made Kara’s chest tighten. “Looking forward to it.”
The rest of the day was a blur for Kara. She kept replaying that conversation over and over in her head, trying to make sense of it. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it wasn’t just Lena’s casual tone that threw her off. It was the way she had looked at her—the way Lena made it seem like she was already in control of the situation, even though it was their first real interaction.
And then, the next day, Lena showed up at basketball practice. Just… casually walked in like she was one of the team. No warning. No “I’m here to watch,” no “I’m here to learn.” She just strolled into the gym, straight past Kara, and took a seat at the bleachers, her gaze never leaving the court. Kara’s hands tightened around the basketball as she shot another basket.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this was… off.
A few days later, Lena approached Kara again after practice. This time, Kara was on her way to grab a bottle of water when Lena appeared beside her, as though she had been waiting for the perfect moment to insert herself into Kara’s life.
“So,” Lena said casually, looking at Kara with that same sharp, calculating stare, “your shot’s impressive. You’ve got a good arm.”
Kara raised an eyebrow, unsure of where this was going. “Thanks.”
“I’m not a big fan of basketball,” Lena continued, “but I can appreciate talent when I see it.”
Kara snorted, her skepticism creeping through. “So you’re a fan of talent? Is that it?”
Lena’s lips curled into that signature smirk again. “Something like that.” It was in that moment that Kara understood. Lena wasn’t just transferring to Midvale for the sake of it. She was here to stake her claim.
To take her place. And from that moment, Kara could tell—Lena wasn’t going to make it easy for anyone. Not for the girls who had always been the center of attention. Not for Kara. And especially not for the basketball team, which was Kara’s domain.
The next few weeks were a blur of rivalry and subtle glances. Kara didn’t know what Lena’s game was yet, but one thing was for sure: Lena Luthor wasn’t here to be a bystander. She was here to change things. And that scared Kara more than she cared to admit.
Over the next couple of weeks, Lena's popularity skyrocketed—almost unnervingly fast. It wasn’t hard to see why. Despite her aloofness and the fact that she rarely spoke to anyone unless absolutely necessary, she somehow managed to attract attention effortlessly. People who had never looked twice at her now gravitated toward her like moths to a flame.
She had this magnetic aura—confidence, beauty, and a sharp wit that made her feel untouchable, like she was already above everyone else.
Kara couldn’t help but notice how quickly the whole school seemed to bend to her will. Lena’s effortless charm didn’t just win over the jocks or the popular kids; it was the teachers, too. She got away with things that other students would have been reprimanded for. She never had to raise her hand; she was always called on first. She always sat at the back of class with a perfect view, her feet up on the desk, as if she was waiting for the world to cater to her.
And the way she dressed? Designer clothes and accessories that screamed money, effortlessly styled to perfection.
But it wasn’t just about her looks or her sharp sense of style. It was the way she spoke, with that slow, deliberate confidence that made everyone around her feel like they were part of something important. She had this power—this unspoken, subtle power that made everyone around her feel like they needed to be on her good side, like they were missing out on something if they didn’t somehow catch her attention.
It wasn’t just that she was pretty; it was that she knew she was pretty, and she made everyone else aware of it without even trying.
And so, it didn’t take long before the students who had once ignored her—people who, just weeks ago, wouldn't have given her a second glance—were suddenly scrambling to be around her. They wanted to be friends with her. They wanted to get invited to her exclusive parties. They wanted to be in her orbit.
She became the queen of Midvale High almost overnight, and it wasn’t even Because of any big, flashy gestures. It was the way she moved through the halls like she owned them.
The way she spoke with authority, and the way everyone seemed to fall in line with her. The popular girls—who Kara had assumed would always reign over the school—were now her followers. And it wasn’t just the girls, either. The guys, the athletes, even the students who had always been too cool to care about anyone’s drama, they all looked at Lena with starry eyes, eager to please, eager to be seen with her.
It was like Lena had this innate ability to make people feel small in the best way possible. She didn’t have to be loud or obnoxious. She didn’t need to start rumors or spread gossip. All she had to do was be—and everyone wanted to be around her.
Kara hated how quickly Lena had claimed that power, and she hated how easily everyone had fallen into line. It wasn’t even that Lena was particularly friendly or warm.
Quite the opposite, actually.
She was cold, dismissive even, but somehow, that made her even more irresistible. It was like she was untouchable, the kind of girl who didn’t need anyone, but everyone wanted her. It annoyed Kara to no end, how someone could become so adored so quickly—especially someone who clearly had a chip on her shoulder, as if the world owed her everything.
It didn’t take long for Kara to realize that Lena wasn’t just popular. She was a spoiled little brat who had gotten used to getting whatever she wanted, no matter the cost. And even though Kara wasn’t one to be easily intimidated, she couldn’t deny how much the whole thing bugged her.
Every time she saw Lena’s perfect, uncaring smile or heard the way people gushed over her, Kara couldn’t help but wonder: How does she do it?
But what really irked Kara was the fact that Lena hadn’t even tried to win anyone over. She didn’t need to. Everyone was already falling at her feet, desperately trying to get her approval.
And Kara was… well, Kara was just trying to survive high school, and that kind of power was something she had zero interest in wielding. She was better off on the court, where things made sense. But watching Lena made her wonder what it would be like to have that kind of control.
Still, even as Kara tried to ignore it, she couldn’t escape the fact that Lena had completely changed the social landscape at Midvale. The school felt different. The halls felt different. Everything felt like it had tilted just a little too far into Lena’s world, and no one could seem to stop it.
Even with Lena’s effortless rise to power and popularity, one thing remained unchanged at Midvale High: Kara Danvers was still the queen of the basketball court.
No matter how much attention Lena garnered from the student body, no matter how quickly she took over social circles, Kara’s spot on the basketball team remained unchallenged. She was the star—undefeated, unstoppable, a force to be reckoned with.
Her name was synonymous with victory. When people talked about basketball, they weren’t talking about anyone else. They were talking about her.
Lena, despite all her social maneuvering, couldn't quite shake that. There was no amount of charm, no snarky comment or designer outfit that could steal Kara’s thunder when it came to the game. On the court, Kara was untouchable, and everyone knew it. Her athleticism and natural skill made her the undisputed leader of the team. She was the one who’d carried them to championship victories, the one who’d made clutch shots in the most high-pressure situations. Basketball was Kara’s domain, and she’d worked hard to keep it that way.
For a while, it seemed like Lena’s popularity might eventually bleed into every part of school life, even taking a little of the spotlight away from Kara. But when it came to basketball, Lena was a mere observer, no matter how hard she tried to insinuate herself into the world Kara dominated.
Lena was interested, no doubt, maybe even a little fascinated by the way Kara moved, how she could control the game with a flick of her wrist. She even mentioned a few times, half-mockingly, that she could probably teach Kara a thing or two about playing smarter, not harder.
But Kara knew better.
Lena could have all the social power in the world, but when it came to basketball, it was Kara’s name that echoed through the halls. It was her posters on the gym walls, her face on the cover of the sports magazine, and her number on the backs of the team jerseys.
And no matter how much Lena tried to weasel her way into conversations about the sport, she was never going to be the one leading the team to victory.
Kara saw it in the way people looked at her during practice. Sure, they respected Lena as the new girl—the social powerhouse—but they still respected Kara as the athlete. They still followed her lead. Even when Lena would show up at games, sitting with the popular crowd, her eyes never leaving the court as Kara scored point after point, there was something unspoken that made it clear: the game was still Kara’s.
It became a little game in Kara’s head, seeing how much attention Lena could try to draw to herself while Kara kept doing what she did best—winning. It was like a quiet battle of wills. Lena would push to get noticed, to grab headlines, but every time the gym buzzed with excitement after one of Kara’s game-winning plays, it was a reminder: Kara Danvers was still the face of Midvale High.
Lena might have changed the social scene, might have made herself the most talked-about name in the halls, but basketball? Basketball was Kara’s world, and it was a world where no one, not even someone as captivating as Lena Luthor, could touch her.