Chapter 1: Lena Luthor

The dew from the night air made its way lazily down the window pane as the world around it began to stir. Lena watched as the light of dawn broke the night sky, unfettered to the restraints of the past, if only for a moment. Maybe that's why Lena found enjoyment in watching that small drop of dew dance down the glass surrendering to the sun as it slowly claimed its brief existence.

The rest of National City took a little longer to gear up for the day and the pace soon drowned out the early morning songbirds and replaced them with the familiar sounds of a bustling city.

Lena had been here all night and was rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger in small circular motions when her assistant quietly entered the room with a fresh cup of coffee in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. She politely smiled as she accepted
the coffee and gestured for her assistant to leave the paperwork on her desk. She took a few sips as she continued to stare out her window at the city below, relishing the warmth of the cup nestled in her hands. She wasn't much of a coffee drinker these days, usually taking a few light sips and dumping the rest in the sink, but this particular morning required an extra pick me up and she welcomed the caffeine.

She was about to turn around to attack the new mound of paperwork when she spotted a familiar red-blue blur streak across the sky a distance away from L-Corp. She watched as the air suddenly formed a crystallized swirl of white vapor as Supergirl disappeared in a shot leaving a similar white trail in her wake. Some emergency must've caught her attention. To see something unnaturally take to the sky so effortlessly and yet make it look ordinary as if she herself could just glide up and follow her in a
similar fashion, was awe inspiring, especially since she was not that fond of flying.

Lena's cell rang and she pushed herself off the wall and answered it in one quick motion.

"What have you got?" She spoke briskly as she walked to her desk.

"The results you requested are back and they look pretty promising." The voice on the other end replied. "It looks as if we can begin the next phase, if we get the city's approval."

"Excellent. I'll call right away to begin the process of getting permits. I want this done quickly. Thank you for your time and effort on this, you will be compensated in kind." Lena paged her assistant and in an instant he entered her office. She made
a motion to cancel the rest of her meetings and he nodded in understanding and promptly stepped back out shutting the door behind him.

"Thank you Miss Luthor, it has been my pleasure." With that Lena ended the call and collected her things. Before leaving her desk she contemplated her still hot cup of coffee and decided against it, leaving it behind.

As she made her way along the highway her cell rang again and she groaned instinctively when she spotted the caller. She hadn't spoken to her mother since the incident with Metallo, when Kara had to send supergirl to come rescue her. She clicked the end call button on her steering wheel and subconsciously pushed a little harder on her accelerator. To have her mother use her like she did, to let her. Now her jaw clenched impulsively as she gripped the wheel tighter in her hands. It was maddening. Why was it so easy for her mother to have such an affect on her? It was her own fault. She never should have taken Kara's advice and reached out to her, but it's hard not to be affected by her either. Kara had a charm about her she was drawn to in a way she'd never been drawn by another person before. She made it sound easy to try and start fresh with her mother. If there was any two people who could affect her in such contrasting ways it was Kara and her mother. Step-mother. She found a new resolve and buried it. She refused to let herself feel victimized based on her parentage. That was out of her control and nothing she could do would change that fact. She would instead focus on the things that she could control, and right now that was this tiny pet project of hers that she had been working on for quite some time and now, it was finally coming to fruition.

Darkness.

Glass shattering.

Weightlessness.
She didn't see it. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts she didn't have time to react. Her body lurched forward as her seatbelt strained to hold her in place, what came next was a series of events that blurred together as her mind filled with adrenaline. Her breath caught in her chest not willing to make the sounds she heard crying out desperately in her head. Images of metal, sky and bumper and then stillness, an unnerving stillness as her eyes tried to adjust to the sudden abruptness of the chaos just moments before. She was in shock, trying to process what just happened. For a moment she couldn't quite make out the scene unfolding in front of her.

Supergirl was outside her passenger window, gently resting her raised car back down to the ground. A warm gentle smile resting easily on her lips. As the wheels of her car softly made contact with the road, she watched in amazement as supergirl's smile grew a little stronger as she leaned over to peak in at her. She raised her hand and flickered her fingers in a friendly wave and Lena unthinking, waved back in a similar way. Supergirl then shot up in a thunderous flash disappearing into the sun. Stunned, the sounds of cheers were barely audible as she recollected herself and took a sweeping look at her surroundings. Five maybe six mangled cars were all neatly lined up in front of her own off the shoulder of the highway. Something she figured was the work of Supergirl. She turned and saw remnants of car pieces, some of them her own, scattered
throughout the four lanes some 100 yards behind her. People, presumably the drivers of the other mangled cars, were all outside their vehicles looking up, clapping, as some tapered off as they began to convene to begin the inevitable process of trading insurance information.

She stepped out of her car slowly trying to take a quick assessment of herself to ensure she wasn't injured, short from a bruise she felt forming on the left temple of her forehead she felt everything else seemed to be in working order. She glanced up at the sky and wasn't too surprised not to see any signs of the girl who just saved her from what could have been a dangerous accident.

After she exchanged information, her neck and shoulders started to grow tense, the adrenaline nearly out of her system her body began to cope with the repercussions of her accident. She decided to head home to rest. The permits can wait. She thought to herself. She had been up all night the night before working on the engineering of her new device and the fatigue on top of the new soreness was starting to become overwhelming.

Once she arrived at her apartment, she quickly made her way to her bedroom to wash up. Finishing her shower, she threw her robe on and grabbing a small book she made her way out to her balcony which overlooked the city.

The morning had since faded away and the sun shone brightly in the cloudless sky warming her instantly. She took a long breath thinking back on the events of the morning, letting the accident sink in as she had time to process it. She could've been gone today. Instantly. Nothing in her power would've been able to stop that accident, and yet here she was at home and safe. She softly exhaled while saying "Thank you Supergirl."

The tone of her doorbell rang as soon as the words vanished from her lips, slightly startling her. Never being home during this time of day she wondered who could possibly know she was here. Curious, but with a bit of caution she made her way to the door and answered it to find Kara Danvers on the other side.

"Kara! What brings you here?" Lena asked as she widened the opening to welcome her inside.

Kara smiled, looking down slightly as she reached up to adjust her glasses. "Oh, you know," Kara took a few steps inside her head still leaning down slightly in shyness, "I was just, um, in the neighborhood, you know, for a story, and I thought I'd drop by and say hi." Her face brightened into yet another smile and Lena couldn't help, but to return it with one of her own.

"Well hello, and as flattered as I am that you came for a visit, just to say hi…" she said with an air of suspicion, "Why are you really here?"

Kara sighed slightly, her shy demeanor vanishing as she relaxed a bit more. She shrugged her shoulders. "Am I that transparent?"

Lena laughed and replied "I do pride myself on reading people, and you, " She looked her up and down playfully, "are as easy a read as they come."

Kara laughed and lifted her hands in mock surrender. "Guilty. I guess I'm not very good at hiding things."

"No, but that's one of the things I love most about you." Lena teased with a smile. She gestured Kara towards the living room and they both sat down on the couch. Lena readjusted her robe to allow herself to cross her legs.

"So, Kara, what brings you here?" Lena asked.

Kara's smile wavered slightly her tone sounding more serious. "I heard about the accident. I'm actually here to check on you. How are you? Are you hurt?"

"A slight bruise on the head. I'm not one to complain, I've had much worse in the past. I am surprised you found out so quickly though." Lena replied.

Kara had her eyes fixed intently on Lena's bruise, a small squint flashed in her eyes before it disappeared altogether and Kara's bright cheerful demeanor lit up her face once more.

"News travels fast." Kara shifted in her seat relaxing a bit more.

Lena smiled "Well thank you for checking on me so quickly. You are an incredible friend Kara."

Kara looked down, and grabbed up her bag. "I should get going." She stood up and Lena followed. "So soon?"

Kara turned to face her and Lena sensed a conflict within her. "Yeah I need to go, I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Call you later?"

Lena nodded. "Of course, you know I always enjoy hearing from you."

Kara came up to her and hugged her tightly. "I'm glad you're ok. I'll see you soon." Kara smiled and headed out the door leaving Lena stunned and a bit confused.