Full Summary: Cadmus' Project Exodus was a horrifying success, deporting over 400 aliens and one DEO agent into the furthest reaches of deep space. While suffering from the loss of her sister, Kara renounces her duties of being Supergirl, thus forcing National City to fall to chaos. Faced with a devastated city, Lena decides to take matters into her own hands as a new vigilante, while searching for the missing Super. After all, she is a Luthor, and Luthors never go down without a fight.

Notes: Hello, everyone! This is my first attempt at a Supergirl fic, so please let me know what you think. Since FanFiction had a word limit on the summary section, I have reposted it for you at the top of this page for your viewing pleasure. This is a slight alternate universe that takes place after ep. 2x15. Comments are always welcomed and much appreciated! Enjoy!

Of Hushed Confessions and Starry Nights

It was close to two in the morning by the time Lena was able to leave L-Corp and return to her penthouse across the city. The young CEO sighed deeply as she placed her purse on the kitchen counter and removed her coat. Kicking off her high heels, she rolled her shoulders as waves of tiredness forced the Luthor to pour a small amount of brandy into a tumbler from a glass decanter. The amber liquid burned in her throat as she sipped her drink. Closing her eyes, the CEO savored her drink. It had been a long day at the office and an even longer week as a citizen of National City.

Over the last two weeks alone there had been three bank robberies, one bomb threat in the underground sub rail system, one unsolved homicide of a notable judge, and an apartment complex that had burned to the ground. Earlier this morning the local news had broadcasted a live hostage situation that took place at the National Museum of Art which had lasted for over six hours. Lena had kept her TV monitor on in her office to watch the situation unfold throughout the day. She had followed the story, waiting for the tell tale blur of blue and red to appear, but the phenomenon never came. The CEO had watched the video coverage of the situation, even catching a quick glimpse of the detective whom had once arrested her a few months previously. But never once did National City's Kryptonian heroine appear to save the day.

The brightly colored superhero had not been seen in weeks and the media was speculating about what had happened to her. False reports of her death, capture, and incapacitation had been leaked to various news stations. Quite frankly, the Luthor was sick of seeing all of the negative media coverage of her favorite super and refused to believe their tales of defeat. This was not the Supergirl that Lena had come to respect and befriend. She truly believed that the woman was still alive, for if the hero had fallen, surely a body would have been recovered or there would be some sign of her disappearance. Surly, the world would feel her loss and be in mourning. As much as Lena wanted to believe in such notions, the fact of the matter was that Supergirl was missing and the city was falling to chaos.

Finishing her drink, Lena resisted the temptation to refill her glass and instead walked to the adjoining room which featured a new Steinway grand piano. The piano had been a recent addition to her penthouse after indulging in a moment of selfishness. L-Corp had just reached a record high in their economic gain for their semi-annual goal and the CEO had decided the purchase was to be in celebration of her company's success. With the piano prominently featured in the middle of the room with a balcony that oversaw the city at night, it was truly a calming and picturesque scene to behold. Bypassing the piano and walking across the polished wooden floor, she opened the door to her balcony and drank in the cool night air.

Leaning against the frame of the glass door, she basked in the calming view of National City at night. It amazed the woman that such a peaceful view could mask the horrors of a broken city that lay before her. A cool breeze pushed against her face, causing the lose strands of hair that had escaped her nearly pristine bun, to lightly whip across her skin. Her breath caught tightly in her chest as she whispered into the empty sky. "Supergirl? Where are you?" She did not know how long she waited there, leaning against the door hoping for some sign of the lost heroine. Only a light breeze answered her call into the night, her plea lost among the faint sounds of the city below.

Leaving the door to the balcony open to let in the breeze, Lena turned away from the balcony in defeat. Her bare feet thudded dully on the wooden flooring as she made her way to the piano, her hand lightly ghosting over the beautifully crafted instrument. She knew not why she decided to sit down on the small bench and play so late in the evening. It was only that the black and white keys seem to call to her and beg to fill the silence. With only a slight hesitation to determine the tempo, her long pale fingers began to touch the ivory keys with practiced precision and the instrument sang the melody trapped in her heart.

Her fingers danced across the keys and played through her frustration, anger, and sadness as Claude Debussy's Clair de lune echoed around the room. The music rose and fell in time to her swift actions as she poured her emotions in her playing; the bittersweet melody filled the void that she felt in her normally stoic heart. Her childhood memories were filled with countless chess matches against Lex and years of piano lessons under the watchful gaze of her mother. The memories of her childhood engulfed her as she played the song with the passion and precision of years of experience. She bowed her head as the last few notes faded around her and she lifted her foot off the pedal, effectively dampening the lingering melody.

"That was very beautiful, Ms. Luthor."

Lena jumped and held a hand to her rapidly beating heart as she turned around to face the lone figure floating in the night sky outside her balcony. "Supergirl! You're here." Her whispered declaration seemed to echo in the space between them.

The dark figure in the moonlight nodded solemnly. "I am."

Lena scrambled to move off the bench with very little grace as she ran to the window, subconsciously brushing the front of her burgundy silk blouse to smooth out non-existent wrinkles. "Why did you come here? Why now?"

Supergirl hovered in midair as she considered her words. "You called for me by name. I promised I would always be there for you."

Lena's mind buzzed as a hundred different questions floated to the surface of her mind, bursting to be asked all at once. She stared at the superhero before her, taking in the hero's dark wardrobe and unnervingly calm demeanor. However, the question that slipped from her lips surprised both women.

"Did you have a melody like this on Krypton?"

The superhero seemed startled by the remark, and yet a sad smile graced her lips. "Yes, we had something similar, but none as beautiful as what I heard right now." The woman drifted closer to the door as she hovered merely a foot off the ground. Without her cape, the hero looked smaller as her sleek frame was illuminated from the moonlight.

"I think you might be biased." Lena smirked as she shifted her eyes away from the black clothed super. "But I appreciate the compliment all the same. Do you normally linger outside the apartments of women in the middle of the night?" Lena lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow and lightly bit her lip as she watched Supergirl nervously fiddle with her hands. There was a soft thud as the woman landed on the balcony and slowly made her way further into Lena's apartment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. I was flying by and when I heard you play I – I had to listen. It was so beautiful…"

The last word hung in the air as an unspoken phrase flitted briefly in Kara's mind. 'You are so beautiful…' The hero shook her head to rid herself of such betraying thoughts, unsure as to where the thought came from. Her confused thoughts were interrupted by the Luthor as she quietly spoke, her eyes traveling up and down the super's form.

"Might I ask where your costume is, Supergirl?"

"Don't! Don't call me that name." Lena had jerked her head back by the hero's outburst. Taking a deep breath and holding her hands out in a calming manner, Lena slowly approached the angry superhero. When she spoke, her voice was calm but she couldn't keep her confusion from her tone. "But… that's your name. What else should I call you?"

Supergirl looked away from the Luthor and when she spoke her voice was lowered to almost a whisper. "You can call me, Zor-El."

Lena cocked her head to the side. "Zor-El?"

The hero walked across the polished wooden floor so that she stood facing the other woman. With gentle hands she took Lena's left hand in her own and placed the woman's fingertips on the red embroidered House of El crest on her chest. Moving their fingers together, Kara helped Lena trace the crest on her red Kryptonite outfit.

"This symbol is the coat of arms for the House of El. Superman and I are family through this bloodline. Zor-El is my surname."

Lena's hand tingled where the superhero's palm covered her own. She couldn't remove her hand from Supergirls's…'No… Zor-El's'…chest. Without her heels on, the hero was taller than her by a few inches, forcing the CEO to look up into the super's troubled eyes. "So I guess we're not exactly on a first name basis yet." Lena cracked a smile at the blonde alien; her voice was husky from the last night hours.

The hero's eyebrows scrunched together in sadness and the CEO had the distinct feeling that the super was debating on telling her something. In the end, the hero only shook her head and looked away from Lena's flirtatious gaze.

Lena's face softened. "What's going on, Zor-El? Why don't you want to be called by that name anymore? Why are you wearing that outfit? I recognize it from the red Kryptonite scare that CatCo covered last year. Is that why you haven't been seen in the city? Are you under the Kryptonite's influence now?" The questions tumbled out of her mouth in rush of words. With her free hand, Lena slowly raised her hand until her palm ghosted over the hero's cheek, staying far enough away so as to not pressure the young hero. "What happened to you?" Lena whispered her eyes full of sincerity as her gaze was captured by the azure eyes in front of her.

Lena's heartbeat was rapidly beating in her chest as her pale fingertips brushed over the hero's jaw line. For a moment the CEO feared that she had crossed a line as the hero stiffened at her touch and she attempted to pull back her hand. Her movement was blocked, however, as a strong hand enveloped her own, forcing Lena's palm to grasp the blonde's cheek. The hero closed her eyes and let out a deep breath as she melted into the small embrace. They were close enough together now that when Kara spoke, her breath mingled with the Luthor's own. Lena cursed her body as it shivered involuntarily as a response to their close proximity; the warmth coming off the superhero's body enveloped the CEO in waves.

"No, I am not being affected by red Kryptonite. I just couldn't wear my uniform. It was Project Exodus…when Cadmus took all those aliens, she was aboard the spaceship. I – I couldn't stop the ship. Supergirl…Supergirl died with her." Kara struggled to speak, her voice thick with emotion. "She's gone because of me. I – I couldn't save her."

Lena's eyes narrowed in concern. "Who did you lose?" Kara couldn't answer, but merely shook her head. "Someone I love. She was the closest I had to family, and now... now she's gone." Kara's body shook as the tears silently fell.

'She looks so broken.' Lena's chest tightened as she gazed up at the city's most beloved hero falling apart in her arms. Carefully the woman wrapped the hero in soft embrace. The hero responded by tightening her arms around the CEO as she shook with silent sobs. "When I lost her, I couldn't put back on the cape. It was too painful." Resting her chin so it sat on the taller girl's shoulder, Lena held the broken woman as the hero let out her grief.

Kara's grip on her friend tightened as images of the night from two weeks ago filled her thoughts. Where had it all gone so wrong? Alex was trapped in the cockpit of Cadmus' spaceship along with four hundred other aliens that were captured during Project Exodus. Supergirl had flown to the furthest reaches of the atmosphere to push against the front of the rapidly speeding ship. Supergirl had screamed until her throat was raw and her muscles strained with the effort of trying to block the spaceship's flight path. An image of Alex pressing her hand to Kara's through the glass of the cockpit flashed in her mind. Through this action, the sisters communicated silently, the younger sister seeking reassurance from her better half. Kara had held her sister's stare, Alex never once doubting that Supergirl could stop the ship. Never had she been so wrong. Supergirl had failed Agent Danvers, whereas Kara had lost Alex. The hero cried out in anguish in Lena's arms as she mourned the loss of her sister who was now lost among the stars.

After a few minutes, Kara finally pulled away from her friend and wiped her eyes with the back of her black sleeved jacket. "I just couldn't do it, Lena. I couldn't be Supergirl anymore."

Lena's breath hitched by the use of her first name, and yet she pushed the hero gently away, her green eyes flashing with passion. "You can't just stop being Supergirl, people are dying!"

Kara jerked away as if she had been slapped in the face. "I know…" Her voice faded away as she tore herself away from her friend and hugged her arms close to her abdomen.

"What about the city?!" Lena gestured with her arm over to the balcony; the city's lights twinkled below with apparent calm. "Those people need you, Zor-El. They need Supergirl!"

"National City has survived without Supergirl before."

Lena jabbed a pointed finger at the hero. "Bullshit! That is such utter bullshit, Zor-El, and you know it!" Kara looked away in shame, the young hero refusing to look at her friend. Lena's hand fell to her side uselessly as she took a step closer to the defeated hero.

"They need you." Lena's voice shook as she reached out to grasp the Kryptonian's hands in her own. "I need you."

Kara squeezed her hands at the woman's confession, before ultimately tearing herself away from the beautiful CEO. "I'm sorry. I just need time." The hero turned on her heel and briskly walked to the edge of the balcony. Lena ran after the hero only to watch as the defeated superhero jump into the sky, her own gravity bound body coming to a stop at the railing while the alien floated a few feet above her.

"Please, don't leave us." Lena's voice was slightly obscured by the howling wind that swept through the night, but she knew the hero could hear her every word. "The city needs its hero back."

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Luthor." Lena tired not to let hurt show on her face as the blonde had switched back to the use of her formal name. As the defeated hero floated out away from the balcony, Lena could see tear tracks line the Kryptonian's face in the moonlight. "But that hero can't be me… Not anymore." Without another word, the superheroine flew out into the night leaving her crestfallen friend to watch the hero fly away, staring out from her balcony into the darkness, long passed when the alien's form had faded among the starlit sky.