Number 9
Lena was furious. After managing to (somehow) politely depart Lily’s company, Lena had all but stormed out of the hospital; Kara’s pleas fell on deaf ears.
“Lena, please.” The Super huffed, stamping her foot in frustration. The Luthor paused, back still towards her friend, as she tried to compose her thoughts. They had just made it outside and thankfully the warm sunlight was helping temper her mood.
Licking her lips, the brunette let out a low breath, struggling to get a reign on her emotions.
Lilian wouldn’t be pleased, she thought, wryly. A Luthor not made of ice.
Scoffing, the executive whipped out her broken phone and pressed a few buttons in quick succession.
“Ms. Luthor how can I –”
The irate woman cut her off. “Cancel all my appointments for the rest of the evening. And send John to pick me up.”
There was a momentary pause as her assistant processed the requests.
“Yes of course Ms. Luthor, right away. I’ve texted John and he’s on his way as we speak.”
Lena nodded to no one in particular. Although not exactly related, having L-Corp issues off her plate settled Lena immensely and she eased her tone into something more amiable.
“Thank you Jess, I appreciate it,” she murmured before hanging up.
With her back still to the Super, Lena spoke.
“You’re coming with me back to L-Corp, and we will discuss this matter there.”
Her tone left little room for argument.
“Of course, Lena,” Kara’s soft voice floated from behind her.
Thankfully, John showed up a moment later, ushering both women into the darkened sedan.
As Lena settled into the plush seats, she waited. She waited for Kara to attempt to explain, to assuage the situation. But, to her credit, Kara remained silent which Lena appreciated. The silence gave her some much needed time to think.
Lips pursed, arms crossed, and eyes squeezed shut in consternation, Lena decided to survey the facts.
Fact 1: Kara had traveled back into time to “get Lena back.”
Fact 2: The only time Kara “lost” Lena was after the latter found out about Supergirl’s double-life as Lena’s best (only) friend.
So, Kara had traveled back in time to gain Lena’s favor by pretending she had trusted her from the very beginning. Or at least…. before Lex told her.
Fact 3: Kara had failed at least twice.
Supergirl had gone back “multiple times”, which meant Kara had made the jump at least twice (though how much she could count on the veracity of a 9-year old was beyond the CEO).
As she ran the scenarios in her head, none of them looked good. How was she to know this wasn’t the scenario where Kara succeeded? That Lena’s thoughts were still her own?
No – Lena shook her head. That was impossible; the only way Kara would have succeeded was if she had revealed her identity before Lex told her. And Lena’s memories still vividly told her exactly how the horrible reveal had taken place.
But – if the whole point was to “get Lena back,” then hadn’t she succeeded in this timeline? God, Lena had spent the last 3 months trying to get their friendship back to normal. Like a complete –
“Ms. Luthor, we’ve arrived.”
Lena’s eyes snapped open, turning her head to look out of the open door and towards her stoic, ever-reliable, driver.
“Thanks John,” she mumbled, sliding past him. She could hear Kara scrambling out behind her.
“Supergirl,” John said, politely, as she exited the vehicle.
“Thanks John.” Lena could practically hear the cheeriness in the blonde’s voice, and it rankled her.
Thoughts swirled in her head.
Was Kara not upset about another potential fallout between the two of them?
Did Supergirl really think she was not in the wrong?
And then the worst one…
Am I overreacting?
Moving as if on autopilot and still consumed by her thoughts, Lena somehow found herself back in front of her office.
“Ms. Luthor,” Jess breathed, standing up in greeting. “Supergirl,” she acknowledged, tilting her head.
“Jess, hold my calls for the rest of the day,” Lena directed, in lieu of greeting, as she strode past. “Let them know I’ll follow-up with them in the morning.” As an afterthought, Lena called out behind her, “and please order me a new phone.”
Lena had just enough time to hear Jess’ confirmation before her office doors swung shut with a resounding thud.
Kara followed the younger woman into the familiar suite, watching as the CEO walked towards her desk.
Back amongst the familiar…back in her element… Lena had visibly relaxed. And Kara wasn’t complaining.
Lena pulled a couple of glasses out from her desk. She poured a healthy dose of liquid into both, proffering one to the extremely uncomfortable looking superhero.
“Um, you know –” Kara started, eyeing the drink.
“Yours is alien based,” Lena interjected. “Mine is scotch,” despite herself, Lena gave the taller woman a small smile. “If you cared.”
Kara relaxed her features slightly and she offered her friend a careful smile as she picked up the glass.
“Of course I care.” Kara took a sip of the substance, noting the dull burn that traveled down her throat. How did Lena even get ahold of this st—
“If you cared, why did you go back in time to alter my memories?”
Kara choked on her drink, spluttering the alien liquid all over her uniform as she gaped at brunette woman in shock.
The statement hadn't been said with malicious intent. And Lena no longer seemed angry, just...disappointed. For some reason, that made Kara feel a lot worse.
“That’s not exactly what I was…” Kara trailed off, eyeing the now-exhausted CEO with astonishment.
“I swear Lena. That’s not…” she shook her head, biting her lip.
“Maybe it was,” Kara corrected, eyes shuttering closed as she took a deep breath. “I told myself I was just trying to correct my mistake, but…”
Kara trailed off and opened her eyes. To her relief, the other woman looked caught off guard at Kara’s admission.
“But, if I’m being honest, I really just wanted you back in my life.”
Lena blinked at the Super in silence, unsure of how to respond. It seemed as if the other woman was turning a light shade of red, but it could have been the glow of the slowly dipping sun. Or Kara’s overly hopeful imagination.
Kara chuckled to herself. Definitely the Super's overactive imagination.
Eventually, Lena settled on taking another sip of liquid courage.
“How many times?”
Kara felt her grip on the glass tighten. “Sorry?”
“How many times did you go back?” Lena leaned against her desk, eyeing the amber liquid in the glass as she swirled it. “By my estimate I would say more than twice – you’re not one to give up after a couple attempts, but less than five. You’re not obsessive. Four?”
Green eyes looked up and held cerulean blue.
Kara let out a low laugh, shaking her head. “I don’t know why I’m ever surprised by you. Yes, it was four.”
Nodding, Lena licked her lips, readying herself for the inevitable question.
“And is this the fourth time?” Lena could feel herself buzzing, and it wasn’t from the alcohol. She waited with bated breath as she worried exactly how Kara would respond.
“What – no, Lena. This is not the fourth time.” Kara shook her head with fervor as she heard the other woman let out a sigh of relief.
“No, every time I went back, I realized I only made things worse.”
Lena scoffed, taking another sip from her glass. “And what if it didn’t?”
Kara blinked. “What?”
Lena fixed her with a look that would have caused grown men to cower. “What if it didn’t make it worse? What if I forgave you? What if I accepted you from the start?”
Kara found herself momentarily lost for words.
“Would you have erased everything else that happened? All of my memories? All of our memories?”
Kara opened her mouth to respond but found she simply didn’t have the words to suffice. Because frankly, she didn’t know what she would have done. It was quite possible…quite likely, Kara would have switched realities around if that meant having Lena back on her side.
“Kara, we would have been completely different people.”
The words were like an open-handed slap to the face and Kara took a physical step back in shock.
Because being subjected to such a stark revelation terrified her to no end.
Because one of those four scenarios had gotten awfully close to being perfect.
Because Lena was right.
Her Lena – Her best friend was the one with the good and the bad and all of the experiences in between. That’s what made her the Lena that Kara would have gone to the ends of the world for.
And Kara almost erased that.
Kara took a deep drink from her glass, feeling her emotions waver.
“You’re right.” She sighed, looking at Lena in regret. “You are so right, and I’m so sorry.”
“She only did it for you, you know. Personally, I would have thought it was so romantic.”
Both woman whipped their heads towards a tall man leaning against the doors.
“Roman—” Lena spluttered, looking at the man that had suddenly just appeared at her door. “Excuse me, but how the hell did you get in –” Lena started, about to crucify the man to high heavens for multiple affronts.
“Kara, friend," the man grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Do you want to do the honors? Or should I?” Kara groaned in frustration.
“Lena, there’s no point.” Lena’s head turned to Kara in abject disbelief.
“Excuse me?”
Groaning, Kara shook her head vigorously.
“That’s Mxy.”
Lena gestured to the air. “Is that supposed to mean something?”
“Yes…no,” Kara sighed. “He’s from the 5th dimension. He’s the one that sent me back in time.” Kara was starting to a distinct buzzing, a tell-tale sign that she was getting tipsy. Any more alcohol and Kara couldn’t be trusted to talk straight, let alone protect Lena from an overzealous 5th-dimensional imp. She eyed the liquor before setting it down on the table. Out of sight, out of mind.
“Mxyzptlk, to be precise,” the man beamed, eyes freakishly wide. “At your service,” he whirled his hand and bowed grandly towards Lena.
“Oh boy,” Lena muttered, shaking her head before retreating behind her desk.
“Mxy, what are you doing here?” Kara asked, tiredly. “It’s too late for this.”
The man in question shook himself upright. “Why, it’s just five past 5 pm!”
“Exactly,” Kara and Lena rejoined in unison. Kara looked over at the other woman, offering a small smile. Despite herself, Lena couldn’t help but let out an amused chuckle as she rolled her eyes.
“Well I never,” Mxy huffed. “I expected better from you Kara, especially after I came all this way to tell you about a certain little girl.”
The smile instantly fell off Kara’s face.
“What do you mean, Mxy?” It was a simple question, but the threat in her words was very real.
Not that Mxy cared. “Well, you broke that poor little girl’s heart and all. By telling her you two weren’t,” he shrugged noncommittally. “You know, together.”
Kara gritted her teeth. “What have you done, Mxy,” she asked, knowing full well she wasn’t going to get a straight answer from the imp.
Mxy bobbled his head and grinned, “Well it’s not what I’ve done, per-say.” The man swished a couple of fingers and both Kara and Lena found themselves suddenly sitting on the couch.
“Seriously Mxy?” Kara snapped.
Lena let out a low chuckle of incredulity. “What…are you some kind of all-powerful being?”
Mxy guffawed. “This one’s a keeper, Kara, I like her. I see why you wanted to change the past for her.”
“Mxy!” Kara let out an indignant squawk. That was still a fresh wound. But to Kara’s surprise, she noticed Lena trying hide a laugh behind her hand. Kara’s expression softened.
Mxy gave Lena a surreptitious wink. “All powerful? That I am.” Despite herself, Lena found herself giving the imp a smile.
With a rueful shake of the head, Kara finally interrupted the little display.
“So, are you going to tell us what this is about then Mxy?” Kara finally acquiesced to the other worldly being. If he could lighten Lena’s mood, maybe his presence wasn’t that unwanted.
“Even better,” he pipped, snapping his fingers. A 1990s television set appeared square in front of the two women. “I’m going to show you.”
“Kara…” Her name out of Lena’s lips was laced with trepidation, as the woman in question gave her a nervous glance.
Kara shook her head, “We won’t be going back into time, he’ll just be playing it back for us. Right Mxy?” Kara fixed him with a pointed look.
Mxy crossed his heart. “Scout’s honor!” Kara rolled her eyes, exasperated. Before she could get in a word edgewise, the imp popped in a cassette tape simply labeled, “Number 9”.
After a few moments, it became evident that there were...technical difficulties. “Is something supposed to happen…” Lena trailed off, staring at the still-blank screen.
“Uh,” Kara looked at Mxy who was in turn still looking at the TV.
“Sometimes it needs a good couple of smacks,” he grumbled, slamming his hand a couple of times against the box’s rims. "If Mxyflix wasn't down, we could just do this the normal way."
After several of seconds, a black and white image finally popped up.
"Ah, brilliant," he grinned at the two sitting on the couch.
Five Months Ago
Lena blinked, staring at Kara.
“Really?”
Kara shook her head in frustration. “He’s the quirky one, don’t ask me.”
“Shhh,” Mxy hissed, motioning towards the screen. “Here’s where it gets important.”
The face that appeared next on-screen startled Lena so badly she slammed her head back into the wall.
“Fuck,” she swore. Kara’s gaze was wretched from the TV to look at her friend, who was now rubbing her head in exasperation. “Lex.” She waved down a protective Kara who had gestured to Mxy to pause the playback. “I’m fine, Kara. Please keep going Mxy.”
The imp beamed. “My pleasure.”
--
Five Months Ago
Lex was pacing back and forth, his lab coat billowing behind him as he threw a clipboard across the laboratory.
“Failure after failure after FAILURE!” He screeched in rage. “How many fucking times do I have to fail to get this right!”
“I have everything I needed, it just needed one more try, just one more….”
‘Do you want to terminate the proceedings?’ A robotic voice called out.
The suited man looked at the computer screen in disgust. Bright red letters appeared on the screen. Terminate Experiment 8?
Muttering to himself, Lex slammed his hand down on the keyboard. “This one didn’t even get to 6 months. A fucking Stage 1 failure.”
‘Experiment 8 will be terminated,’ the robotic voice responded even as the bright red letters flashed across every screen in the lab.
Terminated.
Frustrated, Lex stormed out of the lab. “I need a fucking break.”
--
“What is he doing,” Lena asked quietly, eyes fixated on the screen.
“I don’t understand,” Kara responded slowly, looking back at Lena. “We never found this lab when we arrested Lex.”
Lena had a grimace etched onto her face. “My elder brother always did find a way to turn everything into a secret laboratory.”
She gave Kara a pointed look. “I mean, look at what he did in prison.”
Kara gritted her teeth. “Fair point.”
Mxy waved his hands in front of the two of them to gain their attention.
“I skipped ahead to the most important part,” he gestured grandly to the screen. “You two need to keep watching.”
Frustrated, the two women settled back into the couch as Lex appeared on the screen once more. This time the supervillain unfortunately seemed to be in a much better mood.
--
Four Months Ago
Lex was rapidly typing into a computer.
“Yes, yes….this is perfect.” He all but jogged to another computer across the way.
“Vitals look good…subject has now successfully developed into Stage 2.”
Laughing to himself, Lex praised his own genius. “A Luthor and a Super…my DNA is too unstable, that’s why all the others failed. Mother never had the right….pedigree,” he hissed.
He jogged over to a fogged-up tube that towered over the bald man. Lex placed one hand lovingly placed on the glass. “But my naïve half-sister on the other hand solves that little problem. All it took was a little DNA manipulation, some tidy reconfiguration, and…”
He grinned wickedly.
“Already halfway there, just one more week and I’ll have what will be the most powerful weapon this side of the Earth has seen. With it, every last alien scum will be wiped from this planet. With their eradication, I’ll give the human race the true leader it deserves.”
A wicked smile crossed his face. But his dreams of grandiose and carnage were cut short by an ever-familiar voice.
‘Warning. Anomaly detected in the CSF.’
Horror appeared in Lex’s eyes. “No. NO!” He screamed, running back towards another computer.
Images appeared on his screen, one of which had a red circle around what was apparently a rapidly developing mass.
‘It is recommended to discontinue Experiment 9. Subject will not survive through Stage 2.’
Bright red letters appeared on the screen.
Terminate Experiment 9?
Lex let out a scream of frustration. Instead of acknowledging the request, he ripped the screen out of the interface and threw it against tube.
The megalomaniac stormed out of the lab without a backwards glance.
He never even saw the glass doors shift open and a certain, vacant looking girl walk out.
Two words flashed on the screen as its light dimmed.
Termination Failed.
--
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Lena hissed, staring at the screen. “That…she’s…” She shook her head. “Are you saying Lily is my daughter.”
Mxy snapped away the TV and was besides himself. “A Luthor,” he singsonged, gesturing to Lena. “and a Super,” he trilled, gesturing to Kara. “A Luthor and a Super, a Super and a Luthor, a Luthor and a-“
“Enough Mxy,” Kara snapped, staring at him. “What you’re talking about is impossible. Even on Krypton, this kind of synthesis was new technology. Never tested. There’s no way Lex figured this out when human technology is simply so far behind.”
Mxy gave her an incredulous look. “You understand Lex initially tried and failed to use his own DNA right?”
Kara gaped at him. “Lena, tell him,” the Super whirled on her friend who was simply staring blankly at into space.
“It’s…possible…” she trailed off, weakly.
Kara looked up at Mxy in triumph. “See!” she retorted loudly, “She says it’s…possible….” Kara tapered off as Lena’s words finally registered, whipping her head back around to Lena.
“Are you serious?” she whispered, looking at the younger woman with incredulity.
Lena shook her head, closing her eyes. “It’s…possible. There have been plenty of experiments done on animals to develop reproductive material from DNA.”
Kara gaped at her. “It’s a far cry from a baby mouse, to a baby human, Lena. Let alone a Kryptonian. Let alone a hybrid of both!” The woman retorted, indignantly. “Not to mention that the video claims that he developed that kid in what….1 week?”
Lena let out an exasperated laugh. “That part is definitely possible, I’ve seen it done with clones.”
Kara shook her head. “Look, if she really had a Super’s DNA,” the woman continued, refusing to concede that she might be the other parent in this equation. “She would exhibit the signs. As far as I can tell, Lily exhibited no superstrength, no superspeed, she couldn’t fly…” The blonde looked up at Mxy shrugging her shoulders.
“She’s not Super, Mxy.”
The imp shook his head in disappointment. “I expected more from you, Kara,” he murmured, looking at her with his expression quite bereaved. “She’s half Super, half human. No one knows how her powers would manifest. It might manifest during the time every human begins their progression to adulthood.”
He paused to consider his words. “I’d put it around 12-13, no?”
Kara groaned, pinching her nose. “Are you talking about puberty, Mxy?”
“It would make sense, Kara,” Lena murmured, finally coming to her senses. "It's also possible that her Super abilities might never manifest. Lex did deem this experiment a failure after all."
Kara was taken aback. “How are you so willing to accept this?”
Lena was silent for a moment, eyes closed as she appeared to gather her thoughts. Finally, she shifted towards Kara with her eyes now trained on what remained of her idle glass of scotch.
“That girl in that room… I didn’t notice until we really got to talking, but she felt like family. More than anyone else ever has, Kara.”
Then Lena caught Kara’s gaze and held it.
“And she had your eyes.”