Party in the Green Glow
Lena really didn’t enjoy parties. She'd learned from a young age that they were nothing more than a way to put forth an image, to push an agenda, and to make allies by rubbing shoulders. At least that's what being a child of the Luthors had taught her.
However, she could appreciate the ambience of clinking glasses and undertones of manipulation. Just because she didn't enjoy them didn't mean she wasn't in her element. The subtle mind games were exactly what she excelled at.
She had held this party for her employees of L-Corp to help them feel as if they were getting to know her, and impressing upon her the importance of their job. After renaming and relocating she thought it would be prudent to raise morale, so to speak. But doing so would require sacrifices. Sacrifices such as her spare time that she could have used to get through the stack of reports that was still growing on her desk.
Despite the fact that she thought it was a slight waste of her time, Lena was already seeing her employees warming up to her, and beginning their political games.
The man standing next to her was speaking about… well Lena wasn’t really sure what he was talking about. Even though she nodded along with the story and made the appropriate comments as he continued, it wasn’t a very captivating subject and she found her attention wandering to other subjects.
One in particular being Kara Danvers, the reporter who hadn’t judged her by her name, but rather by her own merits. The girl who was so far her first and only friend in the city.
The CEO wished she had been able to invite the other woman, but knew it would look odd to invite a Catco employee to an L-Corp gathering.
Withholding a sigh, Lena nodded as the man next to her grew animated even as her thoughts grew more distant. Her mind was captured by glasses framing sky blue eyes that lit up brighter than the sun with a smile.
As caught up in her thoughts as she was, Lena was beyond shocked as the windows blew in on all sides and screaming began.
Everyone ducked under their arms as glass streamed down, and figures in black swung into the windows off of suspension ropes. Lena had thought that whatever floor they were on would be private enough to not be interrupted. How wrong she was.
“Everybody hands up! Get on your knees!” cried a masculine voice from in front of her. Everyone immediately complied to the instructions as fear coursed through their veins.
Lena looked up to see one of the men pull of the ski mask he had on his face with one hand as his other still clutched the oddest looking weapon she had ever seen.
Lena instinctively knew the weapon was alien as it was a sleek silver cylinder with some form of grip that the man was holding onto. Despite the odd form, the oddest thing about it was the glass compartment within the barrel that glowed a sickly green. Lena was instantly intrigued in spite of the panic sweeping through her.
“Nobody move,” the man without the mask said. His eyes were a cold grey and his face was hollowed out with a sinister look. “Move and you’re shot, we wo-”
Whatever he was about to say was cut off as a streak of red and blue collided with his back, sending the man flying. In his place stood Supergirl, assessing the rest of the men.
“Saved again,” Lena said under her breath as she watched the hero’s mouth tilt up into a smirk.
Lena studied her as she did a quick 360, counting the assailants in the room, who all had their weapons trained on her. Lena noticed all of their guns looked much less alien than the currently unconscious ring leader’s. They looked distinctly human, though Lena could tell they still weren’t normal guns. They had no magazines loaded and had a small box just above the stock.
Before Lena could hypothesize their purpose, Supergirl sprang into action, knocking three of the invaders into the wall before anyone could blink.
“Get down!” she yelled in her most authoritative voice, and every partygoer did so immediately, many of them with tears streaming down their face.
Lena counted 5 assailants still standing, aiming their guns toward the caped hero. Supergirl rushed the two that were standing nearest to her just as one of them on her left got a shot off.
A sound wave erupted from the barrel of the gun and hit Supergirl square in the chest, sending her into the wall behind her where she left a crater.
She staggered to her feet and Lena watched as a grimace of pain spread across her features. She flew faster than the CEO’s eyes could follow and clotheslined two men before catching another with an uppercut, leaving all of them incapacitated on the floor. She dashed off to the two men across the room left standing. They both managed to fire the sonic blasts, which again knocked the hero back onto the floor behind her, which was luckily free of and civilians.
Lena watched as her employees scrambled toward the exits on their hands and knees, paying the ground littered with glass no heed as they frantically tried to escape the situation. The two men left standing were too preoccupied with the Super to try to stop the fleeing people.
Lena followed their example and began crawling toward the emergency exit as she began to hear the whir of helicopter blades. She assumed that the choppers were Supergirl’s back up as she continued to pick her way across the floor.
Supergirl unsteadily pushed herself to her feet and dodged the next shot sent her way. Lena was shocked to see blood trickling out of her ears as she fought her way towards the assailants.
Lena finally made her way to the exit door and began to usher those who hadn’t already gotten out into the staircase, still watching the action unfolding between National City’s hero and the armed men. Lena saw through what had once been floor to ceiling glass walls the choppers stabilizing and turning to the side to display sharp shooters with their aims trained on the assailants fighting against the hero.
Supergirl rushed one of the assailants and let her momentum carry her to dodge another sonic blast and take out the one standing closest to her.
She shoved that one into the wall and turned to her next target as a voice cried out over a megaphone. “Disengage and lay down your weapons! I repeat: Disengage!”
Lena watched as Supergirl was unaffected by the instructions and rushed the next attacker. Lena assumed the girl couldn’t hear due to the hits she had sustained and the trails of blood the dripped out of her ears.
What happened next seemed to happen in slow motion as Lena realized that the man with the alien gun had recovered and was beginning to aim his weapon at Supergirl with a vicious smirk marring his features.
The hero flew at the last combatant with the sonic gun and wrestled the weapon from his grip before knocking him out with a reserved blow to the temple.
Lena cried, “Supergirl, behind you!” as the leader had raised the silver barrel to point right at the caped back of the hero.
Supergirl didn’t hear her cry as she stood looking down on the man she had just neutralized before two gunshots ripped through the air.
Lena watched as the leader was kicked back by the recoil before jerking as he was hit by a bullet from the chopper hovering in the air beside the building.
Lena looked over, stunned and horrified to see the bulletproof girl fall to the ground with an agonized cry, a green crystal the same color as the chamber on the alien gun sticking out of her left arm.
The hero clutched at the bleeding wound before drawing her hand away as it burned.
“Supergirl!” a frightened voice yelled as none other than agent Danvers glided into the window with a rope set up similar to those of the attackers who had broken through the windows earlier.
The agent rushed to the aliens side as she collapsed towards the floor, her ears still bleeding sluggishly and a look of intense pain twisting her face.
Lena rushed from her spot by the door to help as agents began rushing up the stairs.
“Supergirl, can you hear me?” agent Danvers asked with quiet worry.
The hero nodded and forced what was supposed to be a brave smile on her face, even as it fell short in a grimace. “Barely” she replied.
Lena studied the gruesome crystal coated in the girl’s blood as the Alex slowly grasped the the glowing green.
“Alright Supergirl, you’re gonna need to be brave for just a second longer, okay?” Lena asked loudly to ensure she was heard as the agent sent her a grateful look.
The hero nodded and squeezed her eyes shut before Alex quickly yanked the protruding crystal out of the girl's arm.
Supergirl gave a pained groan as Alex threw the green substance to the opposite side of the room. “We’re going to get you out of here to heal up. I’ll catch up as soon as I can,” Alex told her as agents with a small portable gurney walked towards the girl on the floor after exiting the elevator.
The hero merely nodded again but looked to be in less pain as the blood flow out of her arm was quickly ceasing.
Alex took her hand and squeezed it before letting go and turning to face the other agents. “Cuff the assailants and get them ready for transport.”
Lena observed the agents go about their job before turning to Alex who was watching over the task’s completion. “So,” she started awkwardly. “What was that green stuff? How could it harm someone invulnerable?” Lena rushed out as she looked at the agent.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that,” Alex replied smoothly.
She turned to look at the CEO, seeming to reevaluate her presence. “I’ll escort you to the ground floor. We are going to have to have someone check out your hands,” Alex said with a vague gesture to Lena’s fists, which had blood oozing out of them from the numerous scrapes she’d acquired crawling through glass.
Lena was somewhat surprised as she felt pain lance up her arms. She hadn’t even realized they’d been bleeding.
Lena shrugged and walked toward the elevator with the agent in tow. They waited in silence before the elevator arrived and they walked in. Alex pressed the button before assuming a stiff posture with her hands behind her back, facing the closing doors.
Lena studied her frame and noticed the worry pulling the woman’s features down. Lena understood her worry for the caped hero, and had noticed the particularly close relationship between the two.
“So I know you already said you couldn't, but there’s really no chance of you telling me about the green crystal?” Lena asked into the silence.
Alex seemed to stiffen even further before she replied curtly. “No there’s not. What would you want to do with a weapon to hurt Supergirl anyways?”
“I simply want to know. It’s better to be aware, and that way we can restrict the substance,” Lena replied, defending her intentions.
“My agency is perfectly capable of that on its own,” Alex said harshly.
“And what agency would that be?” Lena followed up.
Alex stayed silent, and after a few tense seconds waiting for a reply, Lena released the breath she had been holding, realizing she wasn’t going to get an answer.
As the elevator doors opened and the two woman stepped out, Lena paused and turned to Alex. “Tell Supergirl I hope she’s okay.”
Alex looked back at her and nodded and said “She’ll appreciate it,” as Lena walked off toward a nearby ambulance to get her hands bandaged.
-----
Kara sat under the sun lamps in the DEO waiting for her sister to get back. She was worried about Lena as she hadn’t been able to check on her after the attack before being whisked off to get checked up on and under the synthesized ‘sun.’
She hadn’t been expecting much of a fight at all, and had been shocked to encounter issues with the sonic guns, which nearly ripped apart her ear drums.
She had been more surprised still to feel kryptonite rip through her skin and cut through her nearly impervious armor. No regular attack mission would be equipped to take her down, and Kara found herself wondering why an L-Corp party had been used as a trap.
Kara was taken from her thoughts as the door to her room opened, revealing a worried looking Alex.
Kara gave her a tight smile and said, “Hey Alex. What’d I miss?”
Alex rolled her eyes at her cheeky tone. “We were seriously worried about you Kara.”
Kara pouted and brought out the puppy dog eyes without even meaning to. Alex rolled her eyes harder in response before a smile broke through her downcast features.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she breathed as she hugged Kara.
The sisters smiled into the hug, soothed by each others presence, and thankful that they were both okay. Kara found her mind drifting back to her first few years on a foreign planet with a sister who helped guide her through life on a strange new world.
Feeling especially grateful and nostalgic, Kara hugged her sister tighter, while still being careful to keep her strength reserved. One of the infinite number of things Kara missed about Krypton was not having to measure her strength at any given moment.
Kara was distracted by her reminiscing when her phone began to ring on the metal stand next to the bed. Alex pulled herself out of her little sister’s arms grudgingly in order to determine who it was that would be calling the hero at this time of day. It was nearly nine at night after all.
“Who is it?” Kara asked, confused.
“Let me check.” Alex picked up the phone and watched as the name Lena Luthor slid across the top. She arched a teasing eyebrow at the girl lying beneath the lamps before handing the phone over. “What’s Lena Luthor doing calling you at this time?” she asked with a coy tone.
Alex was about to hand it over when she thought about the events that had landed Kara in the position she was in now. An attack on the very woman that was calling her.
“Kara…” she started, horrified, before snatching the phone away before the younger girl could grab it. Kara gave her an even more confused look due to her strange behavior. “Tell me she doesn’t know.” Alex said as steel began to reinforce her voice.
Kara instantly looked shocked. “No! Of course not! I never told her, and I’ve been good about hiding it!” When Alex gave her a disbelieving look as the phone still rung in her hand, waiting to be answered. “Alex, I swear! Now give me the phone before it goes to voicemail,” Kara said reaching out towards her sister.
Alex continued to give her a questioning look, but slowly transferred the phone to Kara’s waiting hands.
“Hi, this is Kara,” she said formally.
“Kara, I’m so glad you answered. I assume you’ve seen the news?” Lena’s voice came through the device shakily, as if the adrenaline that had been pumping through her hours before hadn’t quite faded.
Kara had not, in fact, seen the news, but she was pretty sure she could make an educated guess on what it had been about.
“Yes, of course. Are you alright? Is anyone hurt?” Kara rushed out, ignoring her sister as her brow dipped down further.
“Everyone’s alright for the most part, just a couple of injuries from the glass. And well, everyone besides Supergirl I guess.” Lena answered. Before Kara could come up with a stumbling and awkward reply, Lena continued saying, “The guns really affected her. She was bleeding. But your sister was there. So I’m sure she’ll be alright.” She sounded relieved, though a little worry had managed to find it’s way into her tone.
“I’m sure you’re right, she’ll be fine,” Kara said as her sister’s look started to seem more like a glare. “I’m glad you’re alright.” Kara added.
“Thankyou. I am as well. But the main reason I called tonight is because I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind stopping by my office tomorrow night.” Lena sounded a little nervous and shy, which surprised Kara,who had always seen the CEO as stoic and confident. “There was something I was hoping to discuss with you.”
“Oh- uh, yeah. Absolutely. I-I can do that,” Kara answered messily, surprised by the question and change in demeanor.
“Great. I hope to see you around… hm, let's say seven?” Lena asked.
“Yeah that works for me. I can’t wait to see you.”
“Wonderful. Have a good night and I’ll see you then.”
“Yeah. C-cool. Bye Lena,” Kara said, still a little off balance due to the shift in the woman, before hanging up.
Kara turned when she heard her sister scoff on the other side of the room. “No wonder she doesn’t know you’re Supergirl. You’re about as smooth as sandpaper around her,” Alex said, as she turned to walk out of the room.
-----
After the attack, Lena had been sent home to rest, but she was too hyped from long passed fear and too distracted to get any work done. Which is how she found herself sitting behind the computer in her home office, looking at a screen and debating the ethics of her next choice.
Lena was a scientific mind, and her inquisitive nature had been effortlessly trapped by the glowing green that had managed to hurt the unharmable.
Lena was sure that her brother had information on the substance. Going down a warpath with what was nearly an alien god meant a certain level of preparedness was required. Lex wouldn’t have launched an attack without every weapon at his disposal.
Lena’s curiosity violently warred against the thought of finding the information Lex had used to harm thousands. She wasn’t her brother, and she would never use the substance to harm the girl who had saved her more than once by now. But she felt like she was drowning in the unknown, and she had the means to answers at her fingertips.
She wouldn’t abuse the power. In fact, she’d probably never use it at all except to study it. She just ached to know what was so special about the mineral that it could pierce impenetrable skin. What in the vast universe could take down the virtually unstoppable.
Her hand twitched on the mouse, awakening the screen. The answers were right in front of her and she found she could no longer turn down the opportunity to learn them.
She entered the password to her computer, and then clicked on a folder named “Family Pictures.” Lena knew she could’ve thought of a less conspicuous name, but she didn’t expect anyone to be digging around in her apartment.
Lena looked at the time as the file was loading up. It was just after midnight, and she’d had a long day. She resolved she’d go to sleep as soon as she found the answers she was looking for. She had an important question she had to ask Kara tomorrow, one she couldn’t afford to mess up. She would need her rest.
Suddenly her computer screen turned black, and words that would torment Lena for days shone on the screen: Cadmus Files. Search:
Lena froze as she read the name of the organization that had tried to kill her twice by now, assuming the attack today was perpetrated by the same people, which was very likely.
The CEO swallowed past the hard lump in her throat that was restricting her air.
She still needed answers, no matter where the game from.
Lena slowly moved to mouse to click on the search bar before resting her fingers upon the keyboard. After a moment of hesitation, fueled by the knowledge that nothing but harm had come to her from this organization, she began to type in the name that had started it all. Superman.
Warily, Lena hit enter, and waited no time at all as the file on the alien instantly loaded.
File: Superman
Species: Kryptonian
Origin Planet: Krypton
Aliases: Clark Kent
Lena gasped at that. She had never expected a reporter as human as Clark seemed to be the Man of Steel himself. Once she recovered from her shock Lena continued to read.
Known Relatives: Supergirl
Lena was tempted to click on the file for the other hero, but she figured Lex wouldn’t have compiled enough information in the short time he had been free while Supergirl was active. She decided to continue to scroll down the screen.
Status: Alive
Power Source: Yellow Sun
Known Weaknesses: Kryptonite
Lena knew she had found was she was looking for, but found herself drawn to the final entry of information in the file.
Additional Information: Superman and Supergirl are the last known survivors of the Kryptonian race. Krypton exploded due to unknown reasons nearly fifty years ago. It is not known how they reached Earth. Kryptonite is the only known substance that can harm Kryptonians. It is a radioactive compound from Krypton that has several known types. Kryptonite generally glows green, while other forms have different colors. Long term exposure to Kryptonite weakens any Kryptonian. Full effects have not been explored.
Lena leaned back in her chair as she tried to process all of the new information. She twirled her chair slowly so she could look out her high rise windows at the skyline of National City; the city Supergirl had chosen to protect.
Lena couldn’t imagine the weight of being one of the last of her kind constantly resting upon her shoulders.
Lena suddenly resolved to help the hero, however she could. She would get a hold of some Kryptonite (Lex was bound to have some hidden in one of his old warehouses) so that she could analyze the mineral, and help the hero fight against it. She wouldn’t tell anyone of her plans, as it would put the caped girl in danger.
She would get a hold of some, analyze it, then get in touch with Alex, to discuss it with her. The agent wouldn’t be happy, no one likes the thought of a Luthor with the means to hurt a Super, but eventually she would come around and realize that Lena was trying to help.
Decided, Lena set about locating Kryptonite, and finding a way to have it discreetly delivered to L-Corp.
How was she to know that in doing so, she set in motion the events that would lead to the downfall of the very hero she was trying to protect?