Leadership and Compassion

Kara didn’t have a great excuse for choosing to stay the night in Lena’s tower. She told herself that finding justification for doing things that felt right wasn’t one of her strong suits anyway.

She lay in the bed Lena had provided—if it could even be called that. It was too pristine, too impersonal, like everything else in this place. A bed, a dresser, a private bathroom. Not a home. Just a space.

A place to keep her.

If she played her cards right, Lena might grant her access to the tech she needs to get a message out to Mxy. That is if she can get the Winn or Brainy from this place to work with her.

She wasn’t sure how this reality worked; if they were anything like her then they might not exist here at all. Lena would of course usually be on the list– but for unknown reasons she refused to entertain the thought of Kara leaving.

It would be a fair deal easier to just bust out, but from the little she had seen, this place was more advanced than her own Earth, and she couldn’t be taking any unnecessary risks.

She supposed society did benefit in some way from having a Luthor running her ambition unchecked, if only it didn’t come with a healthy dose of villainy.

Speaking of, hopefully there weren't deranged experiments in her future. She didn’t think there were, at least. Lena oozed confidence in her every action here, but even she didn’t seem to have a whole lot of rhyme or reason for her behavior around Kara.

Kara was starting to get a little antsy about Mxy’s unresponsiveness. It wasn’t like him to let a trick go on so long, but at the same time she had never seen him make a mistake with his magic like this.

The other thing Kara had never seen was a human of Lena’s strength. Being picked up was surprising, but to crush metal in her hands Lena’s strength had to be comparable to her own. Not to mention the Kryptonite- it had obviously been at the ready.

Why?

Maybe Superman was out and about fighting Lena’s rule as a dictator.

What on Earth had prompted Lena to take control of the government?

–

Kara didn’t sleep, actually.

She tried.

But even with the exhaustion weighing down her limbs, sleep never came.

Come morning, Kara exhaled sharply, sitting up.

As if it was waiting for that que, the door slid open.

Lena’s heavy jacket had been traded for something more refined—black slacks, a fitted vest over a high-collared shirt, all sharp angles and effortless control. Kara noticed that the front of the shirt was very structured, similarly to her outfit from after Kara passed out in her office.

Kara tensed as Lena stepped inside, moving with the same effortless precision as always. Her gaze flicked to Kara, taking in the way she sat rigidly on the edge of the bed, her hands curled into fists against the sheets.

"You didn’t sleep," Lena observed.

It wasn’t a question.

Kara swallowed hard. "How do you know that?"

Lena’s lips twitched in something like amusement. "Because you’re predictable."

Kara bristled. "I’m not—"

Lena’s brow arched, and Kara felt the weight of her attention settle over her like a second skin.

"You’re not used to this," Lena murmured.

Kara’s jaw tightened. "Being trapped?"

Lena’s gaze darkened. "Being seen. Don’t worry, it will only help me care for you."

Kara couldn’t help the habitual snark from arguing with Home-Lena, “Only if being “cared for” involves kryptonite.”

A sharp inhale is the only gratification she gets for her wit.

"You don’t belong here," Lena says smoothly, her voice even. "Which means you have nowhere else to go. No identification. No resources. You wouldn’t last an hour in my city."

Kara clenched her jaw.

Lena took a step closer. "But I have no intention of letting you find out how right I am on your own."

Kara exhaled, shaking her head. "I don’t need you to babysit me."

Lena arched a brow, looking almost amused. "Then who will?"

Kara’s thoughts flashed back to the uncertainty of whether her other friends existed here. She hesitated just a second too long.

Lena saw it.

Something flickered in her gaze—dark and pleased at the confirmation she had earned.

Lena was getting close now, and Kara still didn’t move away. She should have.

She knew she should have. But Lena was warm, and steady, and right there.

And Kara was so tired.

Her Lena—her real Lena—didn’t stand next to her like this anymore. Didn’t want to get along with her anymore.

But this one did.

Kara’s hands trembled slightly against the sheets, and Lena’s gaze flicked down, catching the movement, and something in her expression shifted.

"No one else is in your corner, Kara," she said softly. "Not here."

Kara inhaled sharply. "You don’t know me."

Lena hummed, considering her. "No," she agreed. "But I will."

Kara’s stomach twisted. She shouldn’t want that.

She shouldn’t want any of this.

When Lena reached out—slowly, deliberately—Kara didn’t stop her.

She barely breathed as Lena’s fingers brushed her wrist, tentative at first, before pressing down.

Firm. Certain. A claim.

Kara’s heart pounded.

Stop this. Move away.

But she didn’t.

Lena studied her, the sharpness in her gaze softening, just a fraction. "I made adjustments to your clearance," she murmured. "You’ll have access to the city, within limits."

Kara’s eyes widened. "Limits?"

Lena tilted her head. "You’ll have an escort, of course. We wouldn’t want you getting lost."

Kara’s pulse spiked. "You mean you don’t trust me."

Lena’s grip on her wrist tightened, just for a second. "Trust is earned," she said simply.

Kara’s breath came too fast, too shallow. This was a leash. A gilded one, but a leash nonetheless.

"You can’t keep me here forever," she whispered.

Lena’s expression didn’t change, but her hand slid down, just slightly, curling around Kara’s palm.

"Can’t I?"

Wordlessly, Kara shifted her hand away, and Lena made another dramatic exit with her ram-rod straight back and clicking heels.

Kara’s chest ached. This was all too confusing.

–

Kara had never been good at staying still.

Lena’s touch still lingered on her hand, and the jackhammering of her own heart had spurred her into action a few minutes after the strange interaction.

Now dressed in civilian clothing- something grey and generic, which matched the theme of this entire world apparently- she had spent the last hour—or what felt like an hour—pacing the length of the pristine, steel-lined room Lena had left her in.

The white bed would be tempting if not for her proven restlessness, and the three walls or the room were bare, the fourth replaced by a single, floor-to-ceiling window overlooking National City.

But it wasn’t her bright-and-entertaining-National-City, so she was catastrophically bored.

Kara exhaled, running a hand through her hair.

She needed to get out of here.

Kara had no delusions about being left truly alone. She was being observed, monitored, probably locked in by some kind of biometric security. The closed door wasn’t just a door; it was a message.

Stay.

A familiar tightness settled in Kara’s chest, and she squeezed her hands into fists.

Lena had always had a way of making her feel trapped, even when she hadn’t meant to.

But that had been her Lena. The one who had once curled up on a couch with her, drinking wine and laughing over some terrible rom-com. The one who had looked at her with warmth—before that warmth had turned to betrayal.

This was a tyrant claiming one more pawn in her quest for power. So Kara decided to test those limits. The sun had risen now, and no curtains blocked its rays from giving Supergirl a much needed recharge.

Well- technically Supergirl would stay indoors for now. She wasn’t sure what the political climate surrounding Supers looked like here.

Getting out was easy enough. She stuck out a little bit among the workers at L-Corp, the outfit provided for her was a bit less than business professional.

Was Lena being considerate of the toll yesterday had taken on Kara by providing comfortable clothes? Or was it yet another powerplay, keeping Kara on her back foot in just one more way?

Regardless, Kara slipped off of the premises without issue.

That is, until she stepped more than 20 feet away from the building. It was like having a wool hood pulled over her head. The change was jarring, but after a moment of being disoriented she was certain that her powers were malfunctioning.

It couldn’t be a solar flare, if that was going to happen it would have been in the presence of the kryptonite earlier.

Experimentally she took a step backwards and all her senses sharpened instantaneously. Lena had created some kind of barrier that, when crossed, revoked Kara’s powers.

To Kara’s credit, she only hyperventilates a little before breaking into a jog away from the building. The same unpleasant experience of all her senses being limited at once made her a little dizzy, but she was determined to run it off.

The jog to the closest DEO branch was harrowing, all the city blocks looked similar in structure to the National City she was used to, but everything reflected the clean-slate yuck of L-corps new interior design.

Kara’s heart dropped to her stomach when the tall DEO headquarters should have come into view, and only the open sky was there to greet her. A stubby banking building standing in its place is what she discovered upon closer inspection.

No problem, she decided now was the perfect application of relentless optimism. Catco was her next stop.

Half way there she remembered that Lena had owned Catco for a while in her own timeline; anyone there might rat on her.

As if Lena wasn’t keeping tabs on her already. The power dampening technology further proved that under Lena’s guidance the scientific development of the city was far beyond Kara’s own National City.

Still, better safe than sorry.

She got close enough to look at the building, hoping to find some familiarity, but was disappointed to find the L-corp aesthetic imposed here as well. She winged a left and headed to Alex’s apartment instead.

Searching around the parking garage for a sign of any especially dinged up cars or a single motorcycle had disappointment ringing in Kara’s ears. Without Kara in her life, Alex’s might have gone in an entirely different direction.

Then, off to Noonans she walked. It was still a fast walk, but she didn’t have the motivation anymore to keep running her human cardiovascular system ragged.

The walk let her take more of the people in. They didn’t seem robotic or mind-controlled, which relieved the worst of Kara’s fears, but they definitely weren’t happy either.

She didn’t make it in the doors before some surly looking officers called out to her. They weren’t overly thuggish, but a small bumbling woman shoving through them and rushing up to Kara soothed Kara’s worry about a powerless fight.

“Kara? Kara, oh you are hard to pin down!” The only person in this timeline who knew Kara even existed was Lena, so it is safe to say the brunette looking up at her is some kind of evil minion.

One of the grunts started talking in a low voice, and Kara disregarded whatever the woman in front of her was blabbing about in favor of listening in on him.

“Yes, Ms. Luthor. Jess is talking with her now.”

She heaved a sigh and turned toward the L-corp building sticking up in the skyline to start the walk back without a post-workout smoothie.

It was close to L-corp that she spotted the first bit of personality through the entire city. A flower shop.

The bright colors reminded her perfectly of home, and the shop had charm without sticking out too horribly from its surroundings.

“Let’s stop by the flower shop!” was the only cue she gave her entourage, before shouldering between them to hurry over to it.

This, of course, did not inspire a good reaction from them.

A bit of a clamour broke out and they intercepted her again before she could make it inside the door. A rough hand grabbed at her shoulder, yanking her back with more strength than she was used to, another grabbed her forearm in an unfairly strong hold.

This, of course, did not inspire a good reaction from Kara.

Unused to regular people matching her strength; being restrained didn’t sit well with her after a morning already full of disappointments.

Her frantic tugging wasn’t doing anything to free her, and her shrill “Get off me!” garnered no response from the guards, but from the way their heads all uniformly turned slightly to the right, it had gotten one from Lena.

They started talking over one another to explain, and Kara made the snap decision that if Lena could play mind games with Kara, then she was inviting Kara to manipulate her right back.

“Lena, they’re hurting me!”

It took about three seconds for all the hands on her to suddenly pull away as if they had been burned.

She hadn’t had to fake the desperation- being trapped had always affected her negatively, so it wasn’t surprising to her that she stumbled slightly after being released. She backed up warily from the men, straight into yet another solid form behind her.

A quick turn confirmed that this one was metal, the figure clad in a Lexosuit. Her feet stumbled again beneath her, legs tired from the long run through the city and a familiar grip held her upright.

“Easy,” Came Lena’s voice from the suit.