It's All Greek to Me
After stopping by both Alex and Kara’s apartments to pick up pyjamas and other essential toiletry items, the four of them finally arrived at Lena’s penthouse. Lena suggested stopping at a department store along the way to purchase some clothes for Lura but to her surprise the younger woman asked, almost pleadingly, if she could just borrow her clothes instead. Lena was about to object, simply because she wasn’t sure she had any comfortable clothes for Lura to wear, before the younger Luthor said rather quietly “You always let me borrow your clothes.” How could Lena refuse her after that? So she agreed and stated that she may have a box, in the recess of her closet, filled with some of her old college comfort wear.
Lura beamed a megawatt smile at the older Luthor which inspired Kara to suggest that her and Alex could also contribute to the girl’s temporary wardrobe, as they didn’t know how long she would be stuck here. So with a variety of “vintage” clothes to choose from, Lura stepped out of the bathroom wearing Lena’s old, maroon MIT hoodie; with Alex’s black Adidas joggers; and Kara’s ridiculously comfortable, fuzzy, blue tube socks covered in the House of El sigil. Alex rolled her eyes as soon as she spotted the socks, of course Kara would pick those out for her. It was a stupid gag gift Winn had gotten her a few years ago for Christmas that Kara swears she only wears for comfort.
“What do you think?” Lura asked, spreading out her arms and doing a little twirl.
“You look great!” Kara said enthusiastically from her spot at the end of the couch, already in her matching set of pyjamas covered in drawings of stars and planets.
“Yeah. You look like the smartest Walmart shopper I’ve ever seen.” Alex says from her spot on the recliner, shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth. She opted for a more classic look of gray sweatpants and a slightly baggy, long sleeve, black shirt.
Lura sticks her tongue out at the redhead as she makes her way over to the couch, sitting down in the middle of it, about a foot away from Kara.
“How does everything fit?” Kara asks, tucking her right foot underneath her left thigh and turning her body towards the younger Luthor.
Lura smiles before she softly says, “Perfectly.”
“Okay, second dinner has been ordered and should be here in about forty minutes.” Lena says as she makes her way into the living room and plops down on the other end of the couch, sitting in a position mirroring Kara, with her body turned towards the blonde and the younger Luthor. Lena “opted” for her only set of black, satin pyjamas with white trimming. “Opted” being the key word as typically Lena didn’t even wear pyjamas to bed. Usually she would just wear underwear and sometimes not even that. To be fair though, she had luxurious satin sheets that just felt amazing against her bare skin, so she can’t really be blamed for wanting to make the most of it.
“Thank R-” she cut herself off, clearing her throat and patting her chest, playing it off before continuing. “Thank God, I’m starving.” Lura said as she sat up and reached for the bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.
“Hey! Sharing is caring!” Alex says, as she had just reached for more popcorn before Lura snatched the bowl away. “And besides you’ve consumed more calories today than an Olympic athlete. How are you still hungry?” Alex asks incredulously but also having a hunch as to why that may be.
“I told you, interdimensional travelling does wonders for your appetite and metabolism. And if Hobbits can enjoy a second breakfast why can’t I enjoy a second dinner?” The younger woman responds, nonplussed, around a mouth full of popcorn.
“Technically this is third dinner for you, considering you stuffed your face with the meal you ruined seconds after falling through the ceiling.”
“Alex, stop pestering her. If she’s hungry, she’s hungry. Let her eat!” Kara replies.
“Of course you’d take her side. Your stomach’s practically a blackhole.”
“Hey!...Rude.” Kara says slightly offended.
Lura glances at Kara before turning to look back at Alex, her gaze hardening at the redhead, almost threateningly. It strangely reminds Alex of the way she used to glare at Melanie Katz from across the hallway in highschool. Melanie was the school bully who would often take out her aggression on the most timid and meek of the underclassmen. Kara being the meekest of them all was constantly a target. Until one day when the bullying had become unbearably cruel and Alex’s threatening glares turned into rage-filled fists thrown into the face of Kara’s tormentor. The altercation resulted in a broken nose that made Melanie look as ugly on the outside as she was on the inside.
Alex cowered slightly at the baby Luthor’s stare and suddenly remembered her purpose of trying to gain the newest Luthor’s trust. So she decides to lay off with the teasing and implied accusations and changes the subject.
“Nice socks by the way. I can’t believe you still have those.” She directs that last part towards her not so subtle Kryptonian sister. Okay, so maybe she still teases them a little.
“What?! They’re really comfortable!” Kara says, trying to defend herself as she reaches into the popcorn bowl in Lura’s lap and stuffs her mouth.
“Well I, for one, think they’re adorable. And who doesn’t love Supergirl?” Lena asks with a smirk directed towards Kara. The blonde’s cheeks redden and she ducks her head, adjusting her glasses. Her comment having the exact effect Lena desired.
“Meh.” Lura says with a shrug as she continues to shove popcorn into her mouth.
All three of the older women turn their heads towards Lura. Alex and Lena with a mixture of confusion and disbelief on their faces; and Kara with a tiny pout and just a tinge of sadness.
“What do you mean ‘Meh’?” Alex asks with slight irritation in her voice.
“I mean, meh.” Lura says again with a shrug of indifference.
“You don’t like Supergirl?” Lena asks with concern.
“No, she’s fine. Great, even. I just prefer Wonder Woman.” Lura says as she continues to shovel popcorn into her mouth, trying not to laugh. If they’re going to keep up the charade then she might as well have some fun with them.
Kara releases an indignant squeak and it’s Alex and Lena’s turn to glare at the youngest Luthor.
“Wonder Woman?!” Kara says a little too loudly.
“Seriously are you insane? Does interdimensional travel scramble your brain, too?” Alex says at the same time that Lena argues, “Supergirl is far superior in almost every aspect in comparison to that, albeit gorgeous, Amazon.”
“Gorgeous?!” Kara and Lura parroting Lena at the same time. Kara again with indignation and Lura with amusement.
“What?! She’s hot!” Lena says, stating the obvious.
“Yeah but, but--” Kara says as she tries to find a reason to invalidate Lena’s statement but comes up short.
“You know it’s true! Objectively speaking, according to the ridiculous and outdated societal standards of beauty, Wonder Woman is conventionally: very attractive.” Lena says in self defense as Kara deflates slightly.
“Lena’s right.” Alex says in agreement.
“Well she didn’t have to say very.” Kara says, sulking.
“Need I remind you, I said Supergirl is farsuperior in almost every aspect.”
Kara can’t help herself. She tries, she really does for like half a second. She knows better but she just can’t help it so she asks, “In that aspect as well? Like, attractiveness-wise?” She asks, pathetically hopeful.
Alex rolls her eyes while Lura pulls the collar of her hoodie up over her nose, trying to conceal her shit-eating grin.
Lena contemplates her answer for a brief moment, wary of the implications and neatly packed boxes that threaten to spill open, before settling on the truth.
“Of course.” She says resolutely before ducking her head and fidgeting with her fingers in her lap. “I suppose I’m a sucker for blue-eyed blondes in spandex.” She says with a teasing smirk as she looks back up at the Kryptonian and adds on “Although I do miss that skirt”.
Kara stares at Lena with an unreadable expression before smiling shyly, her cheeks slightly flushed. They share a moment, silently looking at each other. It’s such an innocuous action that somehow feels so incredibly charged. Lena reasons that it’s because they haven’t shared this much eye contact since they’ve properly reconciled. Their gazes have since been fleeting and skirting around the awkwardness that comes with mending a wounded relationship. Almost as if the relationship is brand new, when shyness precedes comfort, but in actuality, it’s simply because it’s still so fragile. The unspoken tension between them is making Lura, who is literally caught in the middle of it, slightly uncomfortable. So she breaks the nauseatingly repressed sexual tension between her *mothers* and asks, “So what movie are we gonna watch?”
“Anything but romance. Kelly makes me watch enough of those at home as it is.”
“Agreed. I’m not particularly in the mood for anything sappy, either. I think we’ve all had enough drama for one day.” Lena says as she reaches for a handful of popcorn.
“How about a comedy?” Kara suggests at the same time Lura says “Let’s watch horror!”
“Yes!” Alex shouts as she points at Lura while Kara and Lena both recoil at the suggestion.
“No! There’s no way. Alex you know how scared I got after watching Jeepers Creepers.”
“Yeah you refused to road trip back home for spring break--”
“--We would have died, Alex! And instead of a tombstone we would have been immortalized on a specialized license plate on the back of a pickup. You’re welcome for inadvertently saving our lives by the way.”
Alex just rolls her eyes and scoffs in response at the dramatic and invulnerable Kryptonian.
“How about a comedy horror? We can meet in the middle. It still gives you two psychopaths-” Lena looks at both Alex and Lura, “-all the gore your deeply disturbed minds crave while minimizing the scare/jump factor with some much welcomed comedic relief that us-” Lena gestures towards Kara and then herself, “-normal people enjoy.”
“Sounds good to me!” Lura says with an enthusiastic head nod.
“I’m in.” Alex says as she moves to grab the remote and begin searching for a film, seemingly having one already in mind.
“Kara?” Lena asks as she looks over at the blonde who is staring back at her while absentmindedly playing with the drawstrings of her pyjama pants. “Is that alright with you?”
“Hmm?” Kara hums as she continues to stare at Lena unblinkingly, as if she didn’t hear what Lena had said, despite her super hearing.
“Are you cool with a comedy horror?” Lura asks this time, amused by her jeju’s obvious drooling over her mother’s genius suggestion of a compromise.
That seems to snap kara out of her thoughts as she shakes her head and glances between Lura and Lena. “Yes! That’s fine, good. Good.” She says as she ducks her head and adjusts her glasses before letting out a breath and looking back up at Lena. “Good idea. Smart, you’re very smart. You’re smart...but you know that already.” She chuckles. “Along with like, every other being on this planet.” Oh Rao, she’s rambling. “Also probably on like, other planets too! I’m sure they know. Krypton knows. How smart you are, that is.” Oh no, just stop, you should stop. “Or I should say, Argo does at least.” Kara says as she suddenly visibly deflates at her stupid stupid rambling that somehow circled back to her deepest and darkest trauma. It often does, at least internally, but she usually never vocalizes it. The spiraling thoughts that are triggered by something so mundane as drinking her morning cup of coffee and thinking how much better it would taste with the extract of the oregus plant (that grows on the Draconis mountain top in Kandor) instead of sugar. Or perhaps both mixed together? She is constantly reminded of the old home she has lost in the smallest nuances of her new one.
Lena moves her left arm to stretch out on top of the back of the couch as if trying to physically comfort Kara in some way. Her heart breaks for her friend, especially since Kara’s trauma isn’t something they’ve ever spoken about or even truly acknowledged. Lura is, however, close enough to reach out and grab Kara’s hand so that is precisely what she does. They don’t acknowledge why Krypton’s inferred demise would make Kara so sad, they all know...even if Lura is not supposed to know. She wishes, in this moment, that she could just tell them everything but she knows she can’t. She was warned to adhere to the stringent rules of “time travelling” and promised she would not break a single one “under any circumstance”, before making the leap back in time.
Kara looks from Lura’s hand on top of hers up to the younger Luthor’s eyes and is about to apologize for her sudden change in demeanor when the younger girl shushes her. The Luthor does something even more unexpected and tugs on Kara’s arm, almost painfully, and pulls the blonde in for the tightest hug Kara has ever received on this planet. She briefly wonders if J’onn or Kal has ever hugged her this hard and for a split second questions the implication of that but ignores the fleeting accusation and collapses into the girl’s embrace. It’s silent in the penthouse except for Kara’s slightly staggered breathing, that suggests she’s trying her best not to cry, and Lura’s comforting shushes accompanied by the kiss she places on top of Kara’s head.
Alex finally breaks the silence by suggesting they watch “just a plain ole comedy instead” to which Lura and Lena both fervently agree. So Alex toggles over from Tucker and Dale vs. Evil to 21 Jump Street and presses play.
If Kara spends the entirety of the movie (with the exception of second dinner) wrapped up in Lura’s arms, nobody mentions it. Nor do they comment on the fact that throughout the movie Lena has inched her way towards the pair and finishes the movie with her body pressed up against Lura and head resting on the younger girl’s shoulder.
:::
They ended up watching both 21 and 22nd Jump Street while Kara and Lura enjoyed a second dinner. Kara even gave her last two pot stickers to Lura, insisting that the younger woman needed to maintain her strength, what with the “interdimensional travelling” and all. A lame attempt at disguising the offer as something other than what it actually was...a “thank you” for comforting her. Lura has never been one to decline food however, so she graciously accepted them. However, to Kara's surprise, the younger Luthor only ate one and gave the other to Lena who gladly accepted as well.
Something settled inside Kara’s chest watching the two Luthors smiling at each other as they happily munched on the Kryptonian’s favorite food. Something weighted and secure, like an unbreakable tether holding her to this moment and also more significantly, to them. She thinks of the only Kryptonian word that could possibly describe what she is feeling in this moment, Ukiem. Its exact translation to English loses some of its significance but she supposes it would most closely translate to “familial love”. A specific kind of venerable love that one could only feel and associate with their immediate family. She’s not sure how her alternate timeline self got so lucky, to be so close to these two, but she is sure of one thing: they are, without question, her family.
It was just past midnight when they had finished the second movie and began cleaning up their “second dinner mess” as Alex put it. After throwing away the last of the containers Lura let out an audible yawn accompanied by a laguid stretch that had all three of the older women shoo-ing the youngest one off to bed. She tried her best to argue that she wasn’t tired but couldn’t stifle the onslaught of yawns and endless blinking that meant her eyes were too heavy to keep open. After a moment of futile arguing Lura finally agreed to go to sleep when Alex said she would head to bed as well; thus assuring Lura that she couldn’t possibly be missing out on anything fun as both her and Lura were clearly the fun ones of the group. So Alex tightly hugged Kara goodnight, then briefly hugged Lena, before coming to a stop in front of Lura. Despite her growing affection for this young woman she was still well aware of the fact that they had technically just met, not even twelve hours prior, so she placed her hand on the brunette’s shoulder and gave it a good-natured squeeze before saying goodnight. But before she could take another step the youngest Luthor wraps the eldest Danvers in a bear hug and places a loud, exaggerated kiss on the redhead’s cheek. Alex chortles at the girl’s actions, too tired and charmed for a witty response and makes her way to the guest bedroom.
As soon as the guest bedroom door shuts Lura turns to her parents and asks, “Do I have to? *yawns* What if we just just stayed up *yawns* and play trivial pursuit, or, or chess, or maybe *yawns* maybe even piction-*yawning*-ary!”
“Yeah, no.” Kara says at the same time Lena says, “Nice try.”
Lura lets out a sigh of resignation before she squeezes Kara tightly and gives her a kiss on the cheek. Kara happily returns the hug and a kiss and wishes the girl sweet dreams.
Lena outstretches her arms, ready to embrace the younger Luthor, but Lura remains frozen in place just out of reach and staring at her silently. Lena drops her arms, unsure and slightly hurt, about to ask if everything is alright until Lura timidly asks, “Um, can you maybe-um, do you, do you think, I mean-” Lura quickly clams up and bites her lip, seemingly too nervous to spit it out. So Lena encourages her by asking, “What is it, Lura?” The young woman however still seems reluctant and almost embarrassed so Lena encouragingly nods her head, gesturing for her to continue, when she suddenly spits it out all too quickly.
“Doyouthinkthatmaybeyoucancomeandtuckmein?”
Lena and Kara both look at Lura in confusion, clearly not understanding what the young woman had just asked.
“What was that?” Lena asks.
Lura blows out a breath before steadying herself and repeats at a normal talking speed, “Do you think that maybe you can come and tuck me in?”
Lena’s eyes widen in surprise as Kara lets out a sigh of affection. Lura is looking down at her feet clearly embarrassed at the juvenile request. Her cheeks are tinted pink when she looks back up at Lena as the scientist remains still, silently staring at her.
“Nevermind that was stupid. That was a totally weird and, and dumb, kid thing to say! I mean you don’t even really know me and I’m technically not even a kid anymore and I just asked-”
“-Of course.” Lena cuts her off.
“-Of course? Right, of course, that was a totally dumb and a stupid thing to-”
“-NO! Oh God, no! That’s not what I meant, I’m sorry. I meant of course, yes, of course I’ll...I’ll tuck you in.” Lena says with flushed cheeks.
They both remain in place smiling at each other contentedly when Lena feels something nudging her arm. She looks down to see Kara’s elbow pressed up against her tricep. She looks back up at Kara’s face in question when the blonde clears her throat and tilts her head towards Lura. Lena just scrunches her brow in response and Kara laughs.
“It’s bedtime.” She says in amusement, kindly reminding the two of them to get a move on.
“Yes! Of course, bedtime.” She says as she grabs Lura’s shoulders and turns her around. “Come, off to bed so I can, tuck you in.” Lena says as she gently pushes Lura towards her bedroom.
“Are you sure? You really don’t have to.” Lura says insecurely as she’s guided towards the bed.
“Nonsense. I want to.” Lena assures her as she makes her way to the king size bed and lifts the corner of the duvet, gesturing for the girl to get in.
Lura happily makes herself comfortable in the warmth of the cozy bed as Lena pulls the duvet over her.
“So when you say ‘tuck in’ you mean like tuck in your feet and make sure this side isn’t going to pull up during the night and let in the cold air or do you mean like...swaddling a baby ‘tuck in’?” Lena asks unsure as to how she should proceed.
Lura looks at her seriously before smiling and replying “Burrito me, please.”
Lena laughs before shaking her head and doing exactly as she is told. She starts at the feet and works her way up but before she can tuck in the girl’s arms Lura stops her and says, “Wait!” And before Lena can ask what’s wrong the younger woman pulls her on top of her in an almost bone crushing hug. She tries to return the gesture but it’s difficult at this angle so she taps the girl’s arm and pulls up slowly, silently communicating for the other girl to lift slightly. She does so and Lena is able to get her arms beneath the younger woman and wrap her in a tight embrace. They both subconsciously inhale and simultaneously exhale deeply. Without thinking and with no hesitation Lena kisses the girl on her temple and whispers “Sweet dreams, Angel.” She’s not sure where the pet-name came from or why she said it but it feels right on her tongue and Lura seems to appreciate it as she holds Lena just a bit tighter before gently replying, “Goodnight” and giving Lena three succinct kisses on the cheek.
As Lena shuts the door to the bedroom she finds Kara seated on the couch, under a blanket, with a wine glass in hand. She makes her way over to join Kara on the couch and the blonde hands her a glass once she’s settled in underneath the blanket as well.
“I hope you don’t mind. I know this has absolutely no effect on me but I figured you could use a glass after the day we’ve had, and this is one of the only reds I actually kind of like so…”
“I’d hope so, it’s a thirty thousand dollar bottle.”
Kara’s eyes widen to the size of saucers as she spits out the sip of wine back into the glass and Lena just laughs.
“I’m joking.”
“Oh thank Rao.” Kara sighs in relief.
“It’s actually sixty-thousand dollars.”
“LENA!” Kara exclaims.
“Shhh! You’re going to wake up your sister and I for one do not want to be on the receiving end of a pissed off and sleep deprived Danvers sister. Especially that one.”
“You’re right. This one time, at band camp-”
“-No. Nuh uh, nice try. I’ve seen that movie, I know what you’re doing.”
Kara laughs before feigning disappointment and replying “Damnit!”
“And of course I don’t mind. I appreciate the thought. Cheers!” They clink glasses and take a sip, before settling in deeper into the couch.
They slip into a moment of comfortable silence but it’s clear they both want to break it; they’re just not sure where to start. Kara eventually takes the lead.
“Sorry about earlier by the way.” she says looking into her wine glass. Lena only stares at her in confusion. “About what?”
“I didn’t mean to make things awkward earlier when I mentioned Krypton and Argo out of nowhere and then kinda just, shut down.” She says looking anywhere but at Lena.
“No. Hey, look at me.” Lena says, as she reaches out her free hand and places it on Kara’s forearm. Kara however keeps her gaze down and adjusts her glasses.
“Kara, please, look at me.” She says gently, squeezing the Kryptonian’s arm more firmly. Kara finally appeases and looks at Lena.
“Listen to me. You have nothing to apologize for.”
Kara tilts her head back as if about to argue and Lena grabs the glass out of Kara’s hand and places both of their wine glasses on the coffee table.
“Kara.” Lena says as she grabs both of Kara’s hands and squeezes them to get the other woman’s attention. Once Kara meets Lena’s gaze the younger woman reiterates, “Nothing. You hear me? Nothing.”
“But-”
“-Nothing.” Lena repeats with finality. She can see Kara physically decompress as she rests her head against the back of the couch and stares up at the ceiling. Lena gently brushes her thumbs over the top of Kara’s hands still in her grasp. A reminder that she is here for Kara if she ever needs an ear to vent to or a shoulder to cry on. But she also vocalizes as much, just in case the blonde is too caught up in her own thoughts to realize.
“Kara, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But please know that I am here to listen and comfort you as best as I can should you decide to share. I meant what I said when we first reconciled. I meant it when I said that I’m here for you and always will be.”
Kara turns her head to look at Lena. “Really? Because it doesn’t feel that way.” She says with sadness in her voice. Lena stills and drops her head, releasing a sigh. She knows where this conversation is headed and maybe it’s about time they addressed the elephant in the room.
“You feel it too, don’t you?” Kara asks, acknowledging Lena’s silence as understanding.
“Yeah.” She says as she removes her hands from Kara’s and lets out a breath.
“Why?” Kara asks so earnestly. “Why does it feel like we never truly made up? It’s like there’s this physical barrier between us keeping us apart from who we used to be to each other.”
“I don’t know.” Lena says as she picks at her fingernails refusing to make eye contact.
“I know you’re trying, Lena but sometimes it feels like you haven’t completely forgiven me.”
“I have forgiven you.” Lena replies in earnest.
“Then why don’t we hang out as much anymore? Why haven’t you come to game night? Why didn’t you come to Thanksgiving? Why haven’t we hugged each other in over a year! A year, Lena!” Kara asks with tears in her eyes.
“We hugged today in the car when you tackled me and Lura after I agreed to this slumber party, remember?” Lena says quietly, also with tears in her eyes.
“Lena.” kara says as her voice breaks.
“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know, Kara. I have forgiven you. Truly, for all of it-”
“-And I’ve forgiven you.” Kara quickly adds.
“-But these things take time. It’s not like we can just say sorry and go back to exactly the way things were before everything changed. You said it yourself, it’s been over a year! That’s an entire year we wasted being angry and resentful and hurtful towards each other. An entire year of, of your life that I don’t even know anything about aside from the less than pleasant interactions we had while you were Supergirl.”
Kara readjusts and moves a bit closer to Lena as she takes one of her hands in both of hers and says, “But isn’t that what best friends do when they reunite after being apart? They pick up where they left off and catch each other up on every single detail of their lives and move forward!”
“And what? Just pretend like nothing happened?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“We weren’t just apart Kara, we were fighting.”
“So? Friends fight.”
“Not like that.”
“Me and Alex didn’t speak to each other for the entire summer before she left for college and we lived together.”
“That’s different.” Lena says with a scoff, wiping away an errant tear.
“How?”
“She’s your sister!”
“And she was my best friend until you.” Kara says as a couple stray tears run down her face.
Suddenly the door to Lena’s bedroom opens and a tired looking Lura walks out into the living room. Kara and Lena put more space between them as they sit up and quickly wipe away any more tears that threaten to fall.
“Sorry, am I interrupting?” Lura looks at them with a sad expression.
“Not at all. What’s up?” Lena says as she puts on a smile for the younger girl.
“Oh, I was just thirsty and wanted to get a glass of water.” she says as she stands there awkwardly.
“Of course, let me get you one.”
“I can do it!” She says with urgency as she hastily makes her way past the duo and heads into the kitchen to pour herself a glass.
“Actually I think I’m going to head to bed as well-” Lena says as she gets up from the couch.
“-Lena.” Kara says imploringly as she gets up off the couch, as if to stop Lena.
“It’s late and it’s been a really long day. Goodnight, Kara.” Lena replies briskly as she walks off to her bedroom leaving the door ajar for Lura.
Kara sighs in defeat and hangs her head when she suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks up to find Lura looking at her sympathetically.
“Just give her some time. She’ll come around. She always does.” Lura says with a squeeze to the blonde’s shoulder.
“Thanks, Monkey.”
Kara freezes for a moment, muchlike Lena had before, unsure as to what possessed her to call Lura that. But the young woman seems to respond in kind with a brilliant, affectionate smile and another tight embrace and kiss to the cheek goodnight.
Kara watches her stalk off to Lena’s bedroom and close the door before releasing a breath she didn’t know she was holding. What the heck is it with this girl? Must be a good Luthor thing. She thinks as she walks off to the guest bedroom to join her sister who is obnoxiously snoring. Just like old times.
:::
The next morning Kara wakes up to the smell of bacon and finds Alex making breakfast while Lena and Lura are seated at the kitchen island huddled over a tablet together.
“Morning.” Kara says as she makes her way towards the trio and leans against the counter next to her sister.
“Good Morning!” Lura says looking at her with a bright smile.
“Morning, Kara.” Lena says politely only briefly looking up from her tablet.
“Bout time. Thought I was going to have to send in a Disney prince to wake you from your slumber.” Alex says in lieu of a greeting.
“Eww.” Lura says with a scrunched up nose.
“Ditto.” Lena and Kara both say at the same time. To which Alex chortles.
“Jinx, you both owe me a coke.” Lura says as downs her glass of orange juice.
“Um, pretty sure those aren’t the rules, kid.” Alex says as she places the last of the bacon, eggs, and pancakes onto three separate plates, stacked high.
“Actually in my reality-”
“Nuh-uh, twerp. You’re in this reality now so you play by our rules and according to our rules...you’re a twerp. And twerps don’t get a coke, pepsi maybe, but not a coke.” She says as she sets the plates on the island and Kara grabs enough plates for the four of them. Lena then grabs two more stools for the blonde and her sister to sit down and join them at the island.
Lura mocks offense as she replies, “Rude!”
“Plate up kid, we’ve got a big day ahead of us. The last thing I want to hear is you whining on our way to Greece, rambling on about something ridiculous like how the clouds look like mashed potatoes and cotton candy with your tongue pressed up against the plane window, because you’re starving.”
“Mashed potatoes, Alex? You mean marshmallows? When has anyone ever looked at a cloud and thought, damn that looks like some good’n’tasty mashed potatoes?!” Lura says as she piles her plate high with eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Making sure to drown the stacks in maple syrup.
“Oh but you have no problem with the blue and pink cotton candy comparison?” Alex asks as she takes a bite of her eggs.
“It’s about texture, Alex!” Lura says around a mouthful of food.
Lena watches the two banter as if they’ve been doing it their whole lives and briefly thinks about what Lura’s alternate reality must be like. She can’t help but feel jealous of her “alternative self” and also sad that this isn’t her reality.
“Wait, what do you mean on our way to Greece? I thought we were leaving tomorrow?” Kara says, also around a mouthful of food and with a little bit of maple syrup at the corner of her mouth.
“Lena’s pilot is back.” Alex says after she swallowed her food, you know...because she has manners.
“Oh, so soon?” Kara asks Lena.
“Yep. Turns out four days with Margaux’s family is four days too much according to her.” Lena says as she looks down at her plate, neatly cutting into her pancake. It’s not necessarily a lie. Margaux did mention that her family was a lot but Lena leaves out the tiny fact that she doubled the pilot’s bonus as an incentive to return sooner. Simply because she made a promise to Lura and she fully intends to keep that promise and help her to the best of her abilities. It’s definitelynot because the thought of spending the day with the three of them with nothing to do but intentionally bond, most likely by having in-depth conversations and sharing feelings, terrifies her or anything. It’s just that they have a mission to complete and damnit if she isn’t gung ho about completing it as soon as possible!
“When do we leave?” Kara asks as she goes to refill her plate, already working through her first serving.
“In about two hours.”
“Cool.” Kara replies as she continues to eat while Alex and Lura resume their banter, or bickering, whatever you want to call it. She was really hoping to spend the day getting to know Lura more and showing her around National City. I guess we can just talk on the plane. She thinks sadly, knowing that Lena probably won’t be included in their conversations as she will most likely be working or sleeping off a Xanax, as she hates flying.
:::
“J’onn, it is I, Querl Dox. Your esteemed colleague and who I hope you would consider, a dear friend.”
The Martian shakes his head as he taps his ear piece. “Yes Brainy, I know it’s you.”
“Good. One can never be too sure, what with today’s social media hacking crisis and so called ‘prank calls’.”
“Is that right?”
“Oh identity theft is a real problem on this Earth, believe me. Someone hacked my twitter and said I liked butts. Can you believe that, J’onn? Butts! Of all the things I like, butts is at the very most in third place.”
“What a shame.” The Martian says with slight amusement.
“A shame indeed! I told Nia she was never allowed to update my status again unless I have reviewed it and given her explicit consent to do so.”
“Was there something you needed, Brainy?” J’onn asks as he’s learned you have to be direct with Querl, unless of course you want him to go on a never-ending tangent.
“Yes, you remember the disturbance downtown, the one from last night about the armored attacker with the metal staff?”
“What about it?”
“I was collecting some samples for Tower’s records and noticed a peculiar energy signal on my photon emissions transceiver.”
“And?” J’onn asks with curiosity.
“Well I followed the signal about a hundred yards to the end of the freight harbor and found something you might want to see.”
“I’ll be right there.” J’onn says, wasting no time and taking off from the Tower balcony and flying towards the harbor.
:::
“So where exactly do you think this lair is?” Alex asks from the driver’s seat, following the GPS Lena setup once they hopped into the hover-rental (ahh, the perks of being a billionaire). They’ve been driving/hovering for what feels like hours and after a long plane ride she just can’t wait to get there already.
“I’m not sure but there’s a high probability it’s either on or inside the tallest peak. And although my brother has a knack for flair and an affinity for being ostentatious even he isn’t bold enough to build it out in the open so probably inside the peak?”
“Oh he’s definitely bald enough.” Lura offhandedly remarks.
Alex snorts at the joke and Lena tries to hold back her smile at the horrible pun but one look from Lura and her smug face and Lena can’t help but break.
“I think we’re here.” Kara says as she looks out the window.
Alex puts the hover car in park and they all step out into the cold, pulling up the hoods on their parkas.
“Okay, so, definitely inside the mountain. But how the hell do we get there?” Alex says looking around at the albeit gorgeous but empty mountain top.
Kara lowers her glasses and looks around, clearly using her x-ray vision. Lura however still plays along and decides to ignore Kara’s blatant use of powers and looks out at the view instead.
“Um, guys, I think Lex just might be bold enough after all.”
Lena turns to look at Kara, “What do you mean?”
Without another word Kara bends down, gathers up some snow, forms it into a ball and throws it straight ahead at the view in front of them. Instead of tumbling off the cliff’s edge the snowball seems to disintegrate into thin air after appearing to collide with something they can’t see.
Lura gasps, “An invisible cloaking shield!”
“Damn, that’s brilliant.” Alex says as Lena gives her a look.
“What? I still hate the guy but I can recognize genius when I see it.” She says as she walks towards the invisible structure and touches what she assumes is the building’s wall.
“Lura, why don’t you go with Alex and see if you guys can find an entrance or panel or something and Lena and I will try to walk around and check the other side.” Kara says as she grabs Lena’s hand and begins to pull her around the side of the structure. Lura doesn’t bother to ask how Kara knows where she’s going and how she knows how to get to the other side of the invisible structure, because she can see it too, and just does as she’s told.
“Do you see a way in?” Lena quietly asks as she’s being pulled along by Kara.
“Yeah. There’s what looks like a door and maybe a biometric scanner right around this wall.”
Lena gasps, “Kara, wait!” she says as she tugs Kara to a halt.
“What is it? Are you okay?” Kara asks with concern.
“The edge!”
“What?”
“The edge of the cliff!” She says as she points down at the edge of the cliff that Kara almost just stepped off of with her in tow.
“Oh! No, I think it’s some kind of illusion or hologram.” She says and kicks some snow off what would be the edge of the cliff. The snow however doesn’t disappear over the edge but rather skids to a stop where it remains, stretching past the edge of the cliff, resting on what appears to be an invisible floor. “See?”
“Damn, that is brilliant.” Lena says with a relieved sigh as she continues to be led off of the edge of the cliff by Kara.
“Whoa, what are you guys doing?” Alex shouts.
“It’s not really the edge, it’s just a hologram!” Kara shouts back. Alex looks over at Lura, who is already walking off the edge only to see the girl walking on air.
“You know if you grew a beard right now you’d be a dead ringer for Jesus?” Alex jokes as she walks out to join Lura past the edge.
Lura rolls her eyes and replies, “Don’t be ridiculous Alex, you know Jesus wasn’t white.”
“Touche.” Alex says as they continue to walk around to what Kara has declared the entrance of the structure. Lena has her hand pressed up against something when suddenly the air around and beneath them rumbles. Suddenly, where there was nothing, now stands an enormous concrete building with reinforced Nth metal steel. A large steel, drawbridge door is lowered inviting them into the lair.
Alex looks at Lena, “Again, hate him with every fiber of my being...but damn!” She says as she walks ahead of them making her way inside.
“Alex, be careful! You should let me go first just in case it’s boobie-trapped!”
“And if it is, what are you gonna do about it? Die first?” Alex asks, as if daring her sister to reveal herself.
Kara just glances at Lura who is looking at her with a scrunched brow and petulantly stomps her foot, hastily following after her stubborn sister.
“Well if it’s an A.I. maybe I could convince it to leave us unharmed. I’ve been known to charm the circuit-boards off plenty of inorganic beings, something you could never do with that attitude of yours, young lady!”
Alex stops and turns around to glare at her sister.
“Yeah, I don’t know where that came from.” Kara says as she shakes her head and looks down slightly embarrassed.
“Come on, let’s find this thing and get out of here. This place gives me the heebie jeebies.” Lura says as she walks past them and further into the lair. Lena, following close behind her.
“You must spend an awful lot of time with Lena’s little sister in her world.” Alex says as she walks beside Kara.
“Why do you say that?” Kara asks, confused.
“Because she sounds just like you.” Alex says as she wraps an arm around her little sister’s shoulder.
:::
“What is this?” J’onn asks, as he bends down and touches the charred markings burned into the pavement.
“I’m not entirely certain. From a bird’s-eye view it appears to be an image of some sort of scourge or cat o’nine tails but what its significance is, I do not know.”
“Hmm.” J’onn says as she stares at the marking on the concrete.
“Go back to Tower and pull up everything on symbols and mystic sigils from our database and let me know what you find.” J’onn orders.
“Certainly.” Brainy says before turning to take flight until J’onn stops him.
“Brainy, where in Greece did Alex say they were going again?”
“Mount Olympus, why?”
“Pull up whatever you can find about ancient Greek symbols as well.”
“You think this is somehow related to Lura’s quest?”
“I’m not sure but I have a strange feeling it might be.”
:::
“What the heck am I supposed to do now?” Lura asks dejectedly on the verge of tears, head between her hands. They are mid flight on their way back to National City.
“We’ll figure something out, don’t worry.” Kara says as she rubs soothing circles on the girl’s back, trying to comfort the distraught Luthor.
“How can it be empty? It doesn’t make sense!” Alex says as she contemplatively bounces her leg trying to think of what this all means and where to look for the Quantum Dimensional Extrapolator next.
“Mother didn’t even know it had been started let alone completed. Maybe it’s build deadline had been pushed so far back that Lex didn’t have the time to use it? Perhaps we stopped him just in time and locked him away right before he could put it to proper use?” Lena hypothesizes.
“Are we sure there was nothing there?” Alex asks again for the umpteenth time, giving Kara a look that reads “You double checked every inch of that place with your x-ray vision and found nothing?!”
“Yes, Alex! For the millionth time there was nothing there! No secret door, no hidden panel, no holographic illusion that covered up his secret weapons of mass destruction and instructions on how to stop them!” Lura practically shouts, losing her patience at the redhead and completely losing her composure.
Alex takes no offense at the girl’s outburst and feels nothing but sympathy for the young woman. Lura is in tears and Kara lifts the arm rest up to pull the younger woman in closer and wrap her arms around her. Lura begins to sob into Kara’s arms as the blonde holds her in a tight embrace.
“I’m sorry.” She whispers through her sobs. “I failed us. I’m so sorry.” She mumbles into Kara’s shoulder as she digs her fingers into the blonde’s back, too afraid to let go again.
“Shh. It’s okay sweetheart. We’ll figure it out. Everything will be okay.” Kara says as she gently rocks the younger girl, comforting her much like a mother would her child. She looks to Alex and Lena who are just staring at the upset girl they have quickly become so attached to. Alex tries to hide her heartache for the young woman but Lena wears it on her face, letting it well up in her eyes.
:::
“Find anything yet?” J’onn asks as he walks up behind Brainy, looking at the monitor.
“Negative. I searched through all the symbols and sigils contained in our Lexicon Index and found nothing. I am currently searching through all known databases containing knowledge of ancient Greek symbology, languages, and mythology. I have yet to find anything comparable to the scourge burned into the harbor pavement but I am 96.5% hopeful that we will find something soon.”
Just then the Tower doors swing open and in walks Alex, Lena, Kara, and Lura.
“J’onn I got your message, what did you find?” Alex asks, immediately stepping into her role as second in command.
“We’re not sure yet but I have suspicion that Lura might.” J’onn says as he stares at the girl as if he’s trying to read her mind.
Lura just tilts her head slightly and looks at J’onn in confusion. “What? What did you find? Will it help us find the extrapolator?”
“You tell me.” He says as he walks over to the keyboard and presses a key. An enlarged image of the scourge burnt into the ground appears on the monitor’s screen. Lura gasps. J’onn briefly tries to read her reaction before the girl rushes past him to stand directly in front of the monitor, eyes glued to the screen.
“There was a report of possible violent alien activity downtown. A civilian claimed she saw what looked like ‘that Colossus dude from Deadpool’ incinerate a Thalgorean into ashes with the wave of a glowing metal staff.”
“No.” Lura whispers just loud enough for J’onn and Kara to hear but not the others. Kara and J’onn immediately return their attention back to Lura.
“Brainy found this this morning in the harbor. We think the attacker did it.”
“This can’t be, this is impossible.” Lura says still talking to herself but loud enough for Alex and Lena to hear her this time.
“Lura, what is it? What’s wrong?” Lena asks as she walks over to the younger woman.
“This isn’t right, it can’t be right.” She says, frantically talking to herself and shaking her head fervently.
“Lura.” Lena says gently as she places a hand on the girl’s shoulder. Lura recoils from her touch as if she’s been burned and stares at Lena with desperation and tears in her eyes.
“No this can’t be, this is impossible.” She says, hands on her head tugging at the roots of her hair letting her tears fall freely. Kara rushes over to the young woman and tries to calm her down but to no avail.
“What aren’t you telling us?” Alex demands as she walks over to the brunette.
“Alex, stop.” Kara insists.
“You know what this thing is, who it is, don’t you?”
“Alex, I said stop!”
Lura only continues to cry and get her breathing under control as she had begun to hyperventilate.
“Look at her Kara! She’s a mess! One look at this image and she’s having a panic attack! She literally drops out of the fucking sky yesterday and that same day this thing shows up in downtown and kills a Thalgorean?!-”
“-Enough!-” Kara says firmly.
“-She’s been ridiculously vague about her reasons for being here, hell we still don’t really know what happened to her reality that was so world shattering! She could be lying to us. She could be faking this reaction right now. She could be working with this thing for all we know, sent from another world, going around killing innocent aliens!”
“She said ENOUGH!” Lena shouts at the redhead. Lena stands in front of Lura protectively, right next to Kara, glaring at Alex. Kara looks back at Lura who has her face in her hands. She decides to let Lena deal with her aggressively over protective sister in favor of wrapping her arms around Lura comfortingly.
“Enough, Alex! I will not stand here and listen to you accuse my baby sister of such atrocities! Especially since she has been nothing but kind and forthcoming about the things she can tell us.”
“Oh please, Lena how would you know?” Alex asks with a scoff as she runs her hand through her hair in frustration.
“I just know.” Lena says resolutely. “Call it a sister’s intuition if you will.”
Alex just laughs. “Oh really? You wanna ask Lura where she’s really from then? Or should I say when she’s really from?” Alex asks, stepping into Lena’s personal space.
“Excuse me? What are you implying?” Lena asks with a mixture of anger and confusion.
“You want me to tell her Lura? Personally I think you should tell her but there’s a lot of things you should have already told us but haven’t.” Alex directs the question to Lura over Lena’s shoulder.
“Alex, don’t.” Lura says quietly as she looks up at the redhead imploringly.
Lena looks back at Lura in confusion. “What is she talking about?”
“Yeah Lura, what am I talking about?” Alex pushes.
“Alex, please, you don’t understand.” Lura begs.
“Lura what’s going on?” Kara asks, releasing her hold on the younger woman and instead moving to hold her hand.
“Brainy, tell them what you discovered about the portal in Kara’s apartment that Lura fell through.” Alex says.
“Alex, I am afraid that in this particular circumstance it feels as though it is not my place to say.”
“It wasn’t a suggestion, it was an order.” She says turning her glare towards Brainy. “Now tell them what you discovered.” She says resolutely as she redirects her glare towards Lura.
Brainy takes a breath before elucidating on the time-travel particulates found in the energetic residue of the interdimensional transmatter portal Lura passed through. Lena takes a moment to process the information but remains silent.
“So...you’re saying that Lura didn’t travel through dimensions but rather through time?” Kara asks.
“Correct.”
All eyes are on Lura when Lena is the one to ask, “When?”
Lura knows what Lena is asking. She wipes her face and tries her best to stand up straight, drop her shoulders, and hold her head higher. Just as Lena had taught her.
“I’m from the future.” She says, resigned.
“What year?” This time it’s Kara who asks what everyone wants to know.
“2043.”
“You’re not my sister, are you?” Lena asks almost reverently. She is now standing directly in front of Lura who still has a vice grip on Kara’s hand that only tightens when the girl answers Lena’s question.
“No.” She whispers.
It’s as if all the air has been sucked out of the room.
“Who are you?” Lena asks, as a tear rolls down her cheek.
Lura physically deflates and purses her lips as if she doesn’t want to say, almost petulantly like a child about to argue.
“You already know.” Lura says and her voice cracks.
“I need you to say it.” Lena says almost inaudibly.
You could hear a pin drop, even without superpowered hearing.
“I’m your daughter.” Lura says as she pitches forward slightly towards Lena with bated breath.
Kara gasps and Lena releases the breath she was holding, tears now freely falling down her face. She stares at her daughter as if no one else exists in this moment. And they don’t, not to Lena. Not when she’s looking at something, someone, whose love she never thought she would ever experience. She is brought back to the situation at hand as she stares into the burnette’s sapphire eyes that are an identical match to those of the blonde on her left. Before she can begin to spiral into just why the fuck that is, she asks what Alex has been desperate to know.
She clears her throat before asking, “So why are you here? What is this?” She says as she points to the monitor over her shoulder.
Lura’s face only becomes more distorted with pain.
“He’s not supposed to be here.” She says dejectedly.
“Who is he? And what does he want?” Alex pipes up demandingly.
Lura knows she can’t give them an indirect answer and that a vague explanation won’t cut it. So she tells them the truth.
“He calls himself Nemesis, after the Greek goddess of retribution. He showed up a couple of years ago and caused chaos. His purpose is to bring his wrath upon beings that commit hubris. His victims are more often alien as they’re the ones that possess powers similar to the gods. But he has killed many humans as well.” She finishes weakly.
“Fuck.” Alex blows out with a breath.
“How many lives has he taken? I mean if it’s ‘world ending’ it must be pretty bad?” Kara asks despondently.
“Too many.” She responds solemnly.
“Kara?” Alex asks her urgently.
“What?” Kara responds.
“No.” Alex says as she looks at her sister and then back at Lura. “Kara?” Kara suddenly realizes what Alex is asking her and takes a breath. Lura simply shakes her head no. Alex lets out a sigh of relief.
“But you said he’s killed humans as well.” Lena says quietly.
Lura just looks at her completely heartbroken, tears falling once again, aware of what Lena is going to ask next.
“Who did he kill?” She whispers, already knowing the answer.
Lura’s chin wobbles and she takes a deep breath before responding, “You.”
Kara lets out a choked gasp and covers her mouth with her hands as the tears in her eyes finally fall down her face.
Alex runs her hands over her face and breathes out another, much more devastated “fuck”. Meanwhile Lena remains silent, unmoving.
“When?” She asks looking into her daughter’s eyes. Her daughter who has lost her, her mother. When Lura doesn’t respond she asks again.
“When did it happen?”
Lura steps closer to Lena and reaches out for her hands. Lena gives them to her immediately. Squeezing the girl’s hands in comfort and encouragement. Lura looks down at their joined hands and then back up to her mother’s eyes as she replies.
“Two years ago.”