Order and Joy
Kara hadn’t really wanted a rally.
No, she was enjoying being off the hook after earning Lena’s wrath last time. A day and a half without power, cooped up in that room made her antsy enough to be excited to put on her suit and zip around.
Of course, she wasn’t exactly confined to her room, but after reading about Alex she didn’t exactly want to walk the depressing halls of L-corp, and she definitely didn’t want to deal with Lena. The sterile walls of her room suited her just fine.
And the flowers were nice, although she’d never admit it to Lena.
The problem was that the city didn’t help ease her mind. The air was thick with tension, the streets lined with guards clad in black, their glowing insignias marking them as Lena’s. Their presence was everywhere—watchful, unwavering.
Civilians carefully avoided their eyes. No one lingered, no one smiled. Even from a distance, Kara could feel it—the weight pressing down on every corner of this city.
Lena had National City under complete control. No one dared to even challenge it.
This wasn’t home.
This wasn’t even close to home.
Her ears pricked when she heard a guard raising his voice. He sounded really angry. She sped over to find out what was going on- maybe doing Supergirl duties would help her to feel a little normal.
“... common filth standing around here gossiping. You need to learn your place, sweetheart, because it isn’t one you should be talking back to me from.”
The man was raving, clearly beyond reason. When he made an aggressive motion toward the woman he was accosting, Supergirl was between them in an instant.
He flinched only a little, at the very least Lena’s guards were trained well for combat.
“Oh and now you think you’re some kind of hero.” His face was getting redder.
She put on her best Supergirl timbre, this was her first impression here, after all. “A super one, actually.”
His punch was stopped easily in the air, and her returning blow put him on the ground.
Two more guards rounded the corner, and Kara recognised one of them from her possy the other day.
Evidently the recognition went both ways, because he warily put a hand out to stop his partner from attempting an attack. That earned a quirk of Kara’s lips, being “in” with Lena Luthor was finally paying off.
She turned to check on the woman from before, but found a gaggle of people watching her. Most looked wary, but one took a brave step forward, pointing at the crest on Kara’s chest.
“Like Superman?”
Kara put on her best winning smile. “Yes. I’m not from around here, but I help wherever I can.”
More people clamoured a bit closer, wariness giving way to curiosity. They were asking all sorts of questions, and it was drawing a real crowd. Kara was definitely causing a scene. Five minutes ago was probably when she would have jetted off usually, but she feels obligated to give these people a little hope.
She stammered her way through a few questions, and suddenly she was standing on a table, and the crowd had grown massive, and this was totally a rally.
“I know what you’re all thinking,” she started, voice clear but careful. “That I’m not from here. That I don’t understand this city, or what it’s been through. I do know one thing,”
A murmur rippled through the crowd—quiet, uncertain.
“People don’t thrive under fear. And whether you realize it or not, Ms. Luthor's reign has inspired a lot of fear. This is the result of it.” she gestured to the guard, now across the way, seething on the ground with his hands still clutching his stomach.
“Now that I am here–”
A flicker of movement in the back caught her eye.
Her stomach dropped.
No. Not now.
Lena stepped into view with the poise of someone who owned the ground she walked on, because— frankly– she did.
Kara faltered for half a second—just long enough for Lena’s gaze to catch hers.
The corner of her mouth curved, just slightly in that awful way distinct to this world.
Kara swallowed.
Lena took a step forward, and the crowd parted easily for her, their faces draining of color.
Kara could feel the air shift before she even spoke.
“Now that you are here, we have nothing to fear.”
The words weren’t loud, but they carried.
Kara felt her brows furrow, what? Kara was in the middle of calling Lena a tyrant, and she was here agreeing?
Lena traversed through the crowd with purpose, her expression perfectly schooled—amiable, interested, utterly in control.
She stopped just beside Kara, turning to address the audience with the grace of a seasoned politician.
Lena’s gaze flicked toward her, and—there it was. A much more familiar look.
Like they were in on something together.
The crowd noticed. The shift was subtle, but Kara saw it—the way some people exchanged glances, the way others suddenly seemed less hesitant.
Lena turned her attention back to the people, her smile warm—reassuring.
“National City is safer than it’s ever been,” she said smoothly. “Yes, we’ve made changes. But change isn’t something to be feared—it’s something to be embraced.”
Another murmur.
“It is regrettable that some people’s perception of me has soured during that change. But with order restored, Kara is here to help me return joy to National City.”
Lena was manipulating the people. She made it look too easy, she was relaxed while twisted Kara’s own statements to suit her narrative. While using people’s faith in the house of El’s symbol as a weapon against them.
Kara’s heart pounded.
She had to say something.
She opened her mouth—
Lena’s hand settled lightly at the small of her back.
Barely a touch.
But enough.
Lena leaned in—just enough that from the audience’s perspective, it must have looked almost intimate.
“Kara,” Lena murmured, voice just for her. “Be careful.”
Not quite a threat.
A warning.
And the worst part?
It worked.
Kara’s mind scrambled for a response, for anything that wouldn’t come out shaken, anything that wouldn’t—
Lena smiled again, turning back to the crowd.
“I understand why some of you might have concerns,” she continued, effortlessly slipping back into her public persona. “After all, Supergirl is new around here. But I assure you…” She glanced at Kara, amusement dancing behind her eyes. “Kara has my full faith.”
Twice that Lena had used her name. She had no secret identity here, and lots of people were already searching for the “Blonde-beau” suspected of being involved with Lena from that awful gossip column.
Whatever angle she had, Lena played the crowd perfectly.
They were eating it up.
Lena was a cold hearted dictator, and Kara was an outsider—but Lena had her hand at her back, her lips at her ear. Right now, Lena was earning a lot of humanizing points with the people.
Kara barely registered the rest of Lena’s speech.
All she knew was that by the time Lena stepped away, the crowd’s tension was gone.
The unease had dimmed.
Because Lena had convinced them.
She always did.
And Kara hated—hated—that a part of her was still stuck on the ghost of Lena’s hand against her spine.
–
Kara declined Lena’s offer for a lift home with a seething glare, and instead changed into something more nondescript. She went to noonan’s, successfully this time.
She had planned on just sitting and taking in the atmosphere- the inside fortunately hadn’t been wiped of all it’s character- but not long after her arrival, a server informed her that they would serve her on the house.
She objected. Using Lena’s influence for her own gain made her feel a little nauseous. Eventually the server brought her food anyway. Kara dug in guiltily.
It took half an hour for Jess to walk through the door in her harried way. Kara snapped her head up to watch her.
The short woman scanned the area for Kara, and settled on the bench across from her with a huff.
“Can I help you?” Is all Kara asked before taking an especially large bite.
Jess narrowed her eyes with an admirable amount of attitude, slipping a card out of the pocket of her blazer and handing it over the table to Kara. It was a credit card, black and made of durable metal.
Kara spoke around her mouthful. “What is it?”
Lena’s assistant didn’t seem to like Kara all that much, because she heaved a sigh before answering the question.
“It’s connected to one of Ms. Luthor’s accounts. She thinks as long you are in the city you might find yourself in need of her funds.”
Kara’s expression soured to match Jess’s. Another way Lena wanted to keep Kara dependent on her. “I’m not interested in being babysat by your boss.”
“And yet she has given you a card with no limit.” came the snappy reply. “You should be grateful for the privilege she allows you. Ms. Luthor does not get attached to many things, and never lets them out of her sight.”
Was Jess seriously calling Kara a “thing” right now?
She stood and straightened her skirt before tacking on, “I’m surprised she didn’t kill you that first day just so she could keep you wholly for herself. Not to mention the way you talk back to her. It’s a wonder she is showing such restraint.”
Kara winced as Jess walked away. As much as Kara tried to convince herself that her old Lena was somewhere underneath everything here, Jess probably knew Lena well enough to know what she was talking about.
Regardless, Kara had been given a credit card with no limit, and couldn’t help but feel owed some retaliation.
–
Lena had painted National City in cold steel and muted grays, a world of sterile efficiency where any trace of personal expression had been systematically erased. Every inch of the city was curated, pristine in its austerity. Kara wasn’t naive enough to think she could undo that, but she could certainly ruin the aesthetic.
Kara hadn’t planned on spending her afternoon waist-deep in paint, but after the unfortunate attempt this morning, this is where she found her freedom.
She’d found the artists easily enough– Lena’s restructuring of the economy meant that for a long while all the artists in the city would struggle until it settled. A google search provided plenty of skilled people desperate for work, and luckily Kara could now afford to employ them all.
Lena had given her access to unlimited resources, and, less intentionally, unquestioned authority.
By midday, she and her army of muralists were standing in front of a barren stretch of concrete, its sheer expanse a canvas begging to be defiled.
Kara had picked the location carefully—an open plaza, one of the few spaces where civilians still gathered. If Lena wanted to erase this, she’d have to do it in front of an audience. Kara also thought that it being visible from Lena’s office window was a plus.
The first stroke of color felt like an act of defiance. Kara dipped her brush into a shocking, electric blue and dragged it across the gray expanse, leaving behind something bright and undeniably alive.
The artists followed suit, layering vivid oranges and golds, a landscape forming beneath their hands that crackled with movement and life.
Word spread fast. People stopped to watch, some whispering, others stepping closer, hesitant but intrigued. A few of the braver ones even asked to help. Kara, covered in paint up to her elbows, grinned and handed them brushes.
By the time the sun had started its descent, the mural was nearly complete. A sky stretched wide, too brilliant to be ignored, with streaks of pink and gold bursting over a cityscape far different from the one they stood in. A version of National City as it could be—warm, hopeful, free.
Kara stood back, hands on her hips, surveying their work with a self-satisfied nod. It wasn’t a grand rebellion, but it was something.
Something loud, and based on the people taking photos, something Lena couldn’t ignore. There should be a new article published by morning, “Supergirl creates a symbol of rebellion.”
Kara decided to call it a day and clean up. She wanted to go see the look on Lena’s face while it was still light out. If she was lucky, Lena would have been so caught up working that she wouldn’t have turned around and seen it yet.
–
She was a moment too late for that. When she landed on the balcony of Lena’s office, Lena seemed to have just barely come out to look at it. Still, Kara leaned back against the railing, and smirked at the way Lena’s jaw was clenched.
Kara braced for a biting remark, for a threat to be thrown her way, or even to feel her powers slip away from her once more. Instead, Lena took a moment to collect herself. Watching her strategize in real time made Kara uneasy.
Finally, Lena turned to her with something suspiciously close to amusement curling at the edges of her lips. "Thank you, Kara," she said smoothly. "It’s nice to see you fulfilling our promises by taking such an active role in improving our city."
Kara’s stomach twisted.
She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. "That’s not what this was."
Lena only smiled. "Oh, but it is. I wiped the filthy slate of this city clean, gave the people purpose and efficiency. Now you are returning them their happiness and creativity. We make the perfect team."
Kara ground her teeth, fists clenching at her sides.
Lena reached out to touch a smear of paint across Kara’s cheek.
“Just like I told them. Order and Joy. It could be our motto,” Lena’s eyes were twinkling at the possibilities, “Creator and Protector, Power and Warmth, Leadership and Compassion, Innovation and Heart. The possibilities are endless.”
Lena’s smile was real now. “I think we have a movement on our hands.”
She had tried to challenge Lena’s control, and, once again, Lena had turned it right back on her.
Kara felt like she might cry. Lena must have seen it, because she tempered her joy and took on the first compassionate look Kara had seen on her.
Lena reached for her hand—and she looked enough like the Real-Lena with that look on her face that Kara allowed it. Just a touch. Just enough to ground Kara in this moment. In her.
"I understand why you’re upset," Lena said, voice dipping lower. "Everything feels wrong to you. And of course it does. You’ve been through so much. Lost so much."
Kara’s breathing stuttered.
Lena’s grip remained gentle, but unrelenting.
"I don’t want you to be alone in this," she continued. "You don’t have to fight every battle on your own, Kara."
Kara’s jaw tightened. "I’m not—"
"You are," Lena countered, a quiet, knowing smile playing on her lips. "Even now, you’re trying so hard to fight me. To fight this."
Kara froze. “You’re not—”
Lena squeezed her hand, just slightly. "She’s not here, Kara. I am."
Kara’s breath came quick and uneven.
Kara wanted so badly to be home, to be comforted by her own Lena.
She wanted to pretend.
She pulled away from Lena anyway.
She glanced at the computer screen on her way out.
Lena’s chair had been left pushed away from the desk in a way that suggested she had read something and hurried out to the balcony.
The beginning of the article practically jumped out from the screen
National City Confidential: A Love Letter in Paint?
Following a shocking display from our usually-stoic leader, Supergirl– our very own Kara–
makes herself heard with a stunning mural. Is it a sign of defiance against National City’s new
way of life? Or a show of devotion to her lady high up in her tower? Only time will tell- but I’d
place my bets on the latter.
Kara swallowed hard. She had been so close to having the right message come across, and she knew from her initial reaction that she had caught Lena off guard. Somehow she had to break Lena’s control over the narrative.
How could she hope to do that when Lena could manipulate her so easily?