#the other 1% is spent on wanting mon el booted

[selenas]

i just want yall to know I have this silent undying love for katie magrath that isnt going anywhere ever

#i m ay not shwo it.. but a 99% of the time inthink about supergirl it hink of kati e #the other 1% is spent on wanting mon el booted #also theres o much love i can barely type katie's last name jot th a down!

[lenacorporations]

all these years | supercorp

{ao3} | ~2.3k

It’s been three years since Lena last saw Kara in person, and seeing her again knocks the air out of her lungs—literally. One moment she’s rushing to get to L-Corp Tower and the next she’s swept off her feet by two strong arms.

Before she has time to process what’s happening she’s back on the ground, and a blue-and-red blur is pulling someone out of a still-moving car heading straight towards where Lena had been walking just seconds ago.

Even though Supergirl has been in National City for a little over five years now, everyone still stops to look and take pictures on their phone as their local superhero saves yet another life. People point and whisper her name, and after Supergirl has safely put the man on a wooden bench across the street she turns to look at the crowd.

No one pays any attention to the burning car wrapped around the lamp post just a couple of feet away from them as they all try to get as close to Supergirl as possible. They all want something from her, but Supergirl politely declines their requests for selfies as she seems to look for something.

Someone.

Lena’s frozen on the pavement. She still feels the pressure of Kara’s arms around her waist, no matter how short they touched her, and in an instant all the feelings come rushing back. Her heart swells in her chest until it feels too large for her body. All these years of trying to get over her, and with just one touch she’s back at square one.

Finally Supergirl’s eyes find her and she cracks a smile. One of those bright, jubilant smiles that always made Lena’s knees go weak. She tries to move, but her body doesn’t want to listen. All it wants is to dumbly stare at Supergirl.

She’s stunning. She always was, but there’s something different about her. Her hair still looks like she stepped out of a shampoo ad, but it’s a few inches longer than Lena remembers. She looks stronger, not just physically but mentally and emotionally, too. The distant look in her eyes and the tension in her shoulders are gone. And her smile, though it has always been genuine, seems softer now that it comes from happiness, too.

For a moment, it looks like Supergirl is going to walk towards her, but then a little girl tugs at her cape and asks for her signature. Kara breaks eye-contact, and just like that Lena regains control over her body.

She slips away through the crowd, unsuccessfully trying to calm her frantic heart.

/

No matter how much she tries to distract herself for the rest of the day, her mind keeps going back to Kara. She should’ve expected to run into her after moving back to National City, but for some reason she didn’t think it would happen this soon.

It’s nothing, she tells herself. Whatever feelings are making her head spin and her chest ache are just leftovers from before.

Before Sam. Before Reign.

So she turns back to signing off on reports for another few minutes, until she inevitably thinks back to the way Kara searched for her in the crowd with that look in her eyes, and she’s distracted again.

She hasn’t been this unproductive in months, and she’s about to just give up and go home when she hears the soft rustling of what can only be a cape, and the sound of boots touching down on concrete.

(Her heart doesn’t leap out of her chest. It doesn’t.)

(It does.)

She takes a deep breath and pretends to be focused on work for another moment, before giving in and turning around in her chair.

Supergirl is standing on her balcony, in all her might and glory. Her cape is fluttering in the wind, and she has her hands on her hips. It’s so reminiscent Lena wants to leap into her arms and never let go.

But they’re different people now. She can’t just expect everything to go back to normal, no matter how much she wants them to.

(Yet, at the same time, she spent all this time working through unresolved feelings and it feels like regression to let it all go to waste.)

It’s a staring contest, each of them on the other side of a window as if to maintain the illusion of distance between them. Eventually, it’s Lena who breaks eye-contact first.

She gets up to open the door, and when she gets onto the balcony, Kara takes a step back to give her space. But she does look at her with inscrutable eyes and a hesitant smile.

“Hey,” Lena says dumbly.

“Hi,” Kara breathes. Her eyes flicker down to her hands as she fumbles with the straps around her thumbs that keep her suit in place. “I, uh, I didn’t know you were back in town.”

Lena swallows. Kara looks so vulnerable right now, despite the suit and the hair and the crest. She looks like Kara. Her Kara. Mumbling, bumbling Kara. The Kara she fell in love with. “I’ve only been back for a week.”

“Right,” Kara nods, clenching her jaw. “How was your… trip? Did you see any elephants?”

Lena can’t help it—she laughs. “It was exhausting, but mostly satisfying. And yes, I did see elephants. Quite a lot of them, actually.”

Kara visibly relaxes at Lena’s laughter, and she finally looks up to meet Lena’s eyes. “You built schools, right? Must’ve been hard work.”

“More or less. I’d been donating to this program for a long time, and even though they don’t usually like to offer volunteers from overseas I had some engineering-related ideas that required me to be on site. And then I stayed for a couple semesters to teach at the University of Nairobi, since I was already there and, well—”

“You didn’t want to come back.”

Lena gives her a soft smile, leaning over the railing to look down at the streets below. Having Kara around helps with her fear of heights. “I wanted to build my own legacy. I love L-Corp, but I didn’t have a hand in making it into what it is today.”

Kara joins her at the railing. “That’s not true. Without you, it would’ve perished. You made it better.”

“I changed something that was already there. There’s a difference.”

Kara glances down at her chest. “I guess I can understand that.”

“Eventually time caught up on me, though. And now I’m back.” Lena turns to look at Kara. With the exception of this morning, this is the closest to each other they’ve been in years, and Lena wonders if being around Kara is always going to feel like this.

Her heart, scarred and stitched up from all the people she’s lost, is still beating. She can feel the steady thump thump thump against her ribs. Without a doubt, Kara can hear it, too. Does she know that Lena can barely remember a time when it didn’t beat for her? That she’s still the only one that can get it racing?

Kara’s lips are pressed in a thin line, her eyes set on something on the horizon. “Things were hard after you left. They were hard before you left, but in a different way. We were all still dealing with the aftermath, and I guess I underestimated how much I’d gotten used to having you around. To being able to lean on you if I needed to.”

Lena lets out a soft sigh. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” Kara says, turning to look at Lena. “You lost her, too. We were all just doing what we thought was best. After I recovered, I continued being Supergirl. And you… you built schools in Kenya.”

“I didn’t mean to stop replying to your messages,” Lena says. She wants to say It’s just that I’ve been in love with you for five years and you never loved me back. I needed the distance to get over you. That’s why I didn’t text back, or return your phone calls. I trusted your support system to pick you up after I left, but I’m my own support system and after Sam I just couldn’t sit around and do nothing. She wants to say It didn’t work, though. I’m still in love with you. I think I might always be in love with you. Instead she says, “Time zones are a bitch.”

Kara chuckles. “Tell me about it.”

“Mon-El?” Lena guesses.

“He went back to the 30th Century with Imra after we defeated Reign,” Kara nods. “We tried to keep in touch, me and the Legion, but our lives are too different. I haven’t heard from them in two years. I assume they’re doing alright. Still saving the galaxy one planet at a time.”

Lena tenses at the mention of Reign, and Kara must’ve noticed because the look in her eyes softens and she frowns. “Sorry. J’onn thought it would be best to just talk about it. No avoiding names or sugarcoating anything. And since he can literally read minds we went with it. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised it actually worked, too.”

“It’s okay,” Lena mumbles, trying to shake the electric current running down her spine every time she’s reminded of everything that happened. It doesn’t really work, not with Kara literally standing next to her, whose entire existence is a reminder of Sam. Of Reign.

(Another reason she had to get away from her, Lena thinks.)

Kara doesn’t seem convinced. The crinkle between her eyebrows deepens and she tilts her head. “Are you still seeing that therapist?”

“Not in a while,” Lena admits. “I was planning on calling her after I got back, but it just kind of slipped my mind with everything else I had to do.”

“That’s good. Talking helps, apparently. Who would’ve thought, right?”

A gust of wind blows the clouds past the moon, and when Kara looks at it the light reflects in her eyes. She’s beautiful.

Lena bites her lip. “How’s Alex?”

“Better,” Kara says, a smile tugging at her lips. “She’s one of the people that took it hardest, I think, especially because it happened so soon after Maggie. Sara helped a lot, though. She took time off of time travel, which is kind of ironic now that I think about it, and spent a couple months helping out around here. I should’ve known there was more going on at that wedding.”

Lena only met Sara Lance once, when she and a few others came from Earth 1 to help with Reign, and even though they hadn’t met under the most ideal circumstances she seemed nice. A little aggressive at times, but her heart was in the right place.

“And, uh—” She takes a deep breath, holding it for three seconds before slowly exhaling. “Ruby?”

“As well as you would expect. She’s still in school, so that’s good. And we tested her for powers at the DEO. I think everyone was a little relieved when it turned out she doesn’t have any.” Kara chuckles softly. “When Alex said she wanted kids I didn’t expect her to adopt a teenager just a couple months later, but I think it’s been good for both of them, especially with Sara popping up every now and then.”

“And you?”

“Me?”

Lena nods.

“Well, you know I blew out my powers. Didn’t get them back for nearly three months. People made up all kinds of stories. Then James got hurt in fight and it kickstarted them back into action, if you can call it that. Been flying around ever since.”

Lena remembers. Even from across the world, news of Supergirl’s return spread like wildfire. Apparently not just the US deals with superpowered heroes in capes.

“And?”

Kara sighs. “Apparently the DEO has some mental health services for field agents. I’m not magically healed, but—you know. Turns out EMDR works on aliens, too. Some days are better than others, of course, but I’m getting there. Lots of my ‘unresolved trauma’ is now resolved trauma.” She makes airquotes with her hands, but her face and tone are serious. “What about you?”

“Some days are better than others,” Lena repeats. She’s not good with words, especially not putting her feelings into words. Words are empty, it’s actions that count has been drilled into her her entire life, and it’s hard getting rid of that mindset. “Losing people you love is never going to be easy.”

“I guess not,” Kara says, the corners of her lips curling up in a sad smile. She looks at Lena. “Did I lose you?”

Lena shakes her head.

“Feels like it sometimes.” Kara reaches out to tuck a strand of hair behind Lena’s ear. Her fingertips feel hot against Lena’s skin, and she has to remind herself to keep breathing.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles.

Kara looks at her and, without a warning, wraps her arms around Lena’s waist. On instinct, Lena buries her face in Kara’s neck and closes her eyes, breathing in the scent she’s been craving for years. Kara’s body is soft and warm, and Lena wants nothing more than to freeze time and stay like this forever.

Too soon, Kara starts pulling back, and Lena lets her.

“I’m glad you’re back,” Kara says. “I missed you.”

Lena is never going to fall out of love with her. She tried and failed. No matter how much it hurts to be in love with Kara, she’ll suffer it all because in the end she’s had a taste of the forbidden fruit and nothing else can satisfy her anymore. No one else makes her feel like she’s flying.

“Yeah,” she says with a sigh. “Me too.”

#supercorp #supergirl #lena luthor #kara danvers #supergirl fic #supercorp fic #fic #i wrote a thing

[xswestallen]

Well, her name is Supergirl

Summary: When they visit Earth-38, Iris is worried Barry might have a crush on Kara, but realizes that she might be the one with a crush on Kara. Is there anyone Kara has a crush on?

A/N: Inspired by my own crush on Melissa Benoist's portrayal of Kara. I see where the SuperFlash shippers are coming from, so I put a bit of that in here. But, Westallen and SuperCorp are my ships.

Team Flash was currently on Earth-38 to help Kara stop another alien threat from destroying National City. Once Supergirl, The Flash, Kid Flash, and The Vibe saved the day, they went back to the D.E.O.

“I want to thank you guys again for coming across the multiverse to help me.” Kara told them.

“Anytime.” Barry assured her with a smile.

“Do you want to come back to my place for dinner? It’s a shame we only get to hang out when an alien race is trying to destroy one of our Earth’s.”

“Yeah. I’m always happy to see you. It’s also a shame how often aliens try to destroy one of our Earth's though.”

Barry and Kara both laughed. Kara’s laugh was playful and infectious. Iris was too busy admiring it to feel jealous of how cute it was. Or how Kara’s long, golden hair with it’s gentle curl swayed but still managed to frame her face perfectly. It was amazing how Kara could go from badass, crime fighting, bulletproof, stronger than a locomotive, Supergirl in a cliche cape, to a bubbly, adorkable, girl next door.

“Sorry, Kara.” Wally said. “I’d love to stay but I have a final tomorrow that I should be studying for. I don’t think my professor is going to buy the ‘I had to go to a parallel universe and help Supergirl’ excuse.”

Iris was disappointed they had to leave so soon, and from the looks of it, Barry and Kara were too.

“I can head back with Wally and then vibe back over to pick up Barry and Iris after dinner.” Cisco offered.

“That’d be great!” Iris and Kara said at the same time. They made eye contact and Iris felt her heart beat a little bit faster.

“Thanks, Cisco.” Barry said.

“I guess I’m an inter-demential soccer mom. Vibing around and picking up her kids.” Cisco said as he opened up a breach.

“So what’s for dinner on Earth-1 tonight, mom?” Wally joked.

“Hey mister, I will turn this breach around.”

Cisco and Wally went through the breach, leaving Barry, Iris, and Kara. Barry had already changed out of his suit but Kara was still wearing hers. Iris was lingering a little too long on the gap between Kara’s skirt and thigh high boot.

“Race you to my apartment?” Kara asked with raised eyebrows and finger guns pointed at Barry.

“You’re on, Girl of Steel.” Barry put his arms around Iris and carried her with him at super speed across National City.

Iris and Barry arrived outside the apartment building first. Kara was not far behind (a little out of breath though).

“You’ve gotten faster.” Kara said as she lead them inside.

“A few months in the speedforce will do that.” Barry squeezed Iris’s hand as he said it. It was still difficult to think about those months they were separated. Iris returned the pressure.

“Speedforce?” Kara tilted her head, confused.

“We couldn’t really explain it if we tried.” Iris said.

They walked into Kara’s apartment and Iris took a look around. “I love your style, Kara.”

“Thanks!” Kara said as she chopped up some peppers on the counter. “I can help you with dinner.” Barry said.

Iris spotted an easel and some paintings of scenery. Ok, so Kara has super powers, is a great singer, AND she can paint too! Iris was impressed. When she turned to ask Kara about the paintings, she noticed that Barry had already prepared dinner.

“Wow.” Kara was staring open-mouthed at the three course meal in front of her.

“Barry is an excellent cook.” Iris told her.

Dinner was delicious, just as Iris exected. Kara’s stories about Krypton, Superman, differences between this Earth and one Barry and Iris lived on, and villains she’d fought were gripping.

“So wait, this guy just appears out of thin air and suddenly your in a wedding dress? And he says he’s going to marry you?” Iris asked when Kara began telling them the story of Myxlplyx.

“Yeah, it did not sit well with my boyfriend at the time.” Kara side with wide eyes.

“At the time?” Barry questioned.

“Mon-el and I……. aren’t together anymore” Kara didn’t look as troubled by this as Iris thought she would’ve been. Iris remembered Mon-el’s concern for Kara the Music Meister put her in a coma and how his kiss saved Kara. “It’s fine though. I’ve kind of met somebody else.”

“That’s good. So, this Myxlplyx guy, How did you stop him?” Iris asked.

“How did you say his name forwards, let alone backwards?” Barry asked.

They were all laughing when somebody knocked on the door. Kara got up to answer it and looked pleasantly surprised once she saw who it was. A tall, somewhat intimidating looking woman with dark red lipstick was smiling at Kara.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” the woman said.

Kara seemed a little nervous. “Not at all. I mean, Barry and Iris my friends from…. Um camp. Summer camp are here and we’re having dinner. Why don’t you join us?”

The woman looked amused and said “Thanks, I’d love to.”

“This is Lena Luthor.” Kara beamed as she said the name.

Lena was also interesting to talk to. Apparently, she was the billionaire CEO of a huge company called, L-Corp. It was obvious to Iris there was something going on between Lena and Kara. They kept stealing glances at one another but quickly looking away if they were noticed.

“Lena also helps Supergirl.” Kara informed them.

“We’re so lucky to have a hero like her in our city.” Lena was looking at Kara, who was absentmindedly eating some of her salad. “She’s an incredible woman.”

Kara blushed but attempted to hide it. Iris and Barry exchanged knowing looks.

“Maybe one day she’ll tell me her real name.” Lena sighed.

The room went awkwardly silent. Kara looked like she was in deep contemplation. Iris stuffed a large bite of food in her mouth to avoid having to say anything.

“How did you meet Kara?” Barry asked.

“Oh, it’s kind of a long story.” Kara said, looking relieved at the change of subject. “The important thing is that we’re friends now. Best friends.”

“I’ve never had a friend like Kara before.” Lena said, lovingly. Iris didn’t know why, but she was now feeling a little jealous of Lena. Kara and Lena seemed to momentarily forget two other people were in the room as they admired each other.

Iris intentionally, and loudly, dropped her fork on her plate. The sound brought two doe eyed girls back down to Earth. Kara was blushing again. Lena looked perturbed by the interruption.

“So,” Lena said looking at Barry and Iris. “How did you two meet?”

“We were best friends.” Barry told her, smiling at Iris.

His use of “best friend” did not go unnoticed by Lena or Kara. The former gave vindicated look at Kara, who was playing with her peas and not looking anyone in the eye.

The rest of the night wasn’t as awkward. Kara talked about her time working at CatCo and asked Iris lots questions about working for CCPN. Iris found out they share a favorite movie, The Wizard of Oz. For a minute Iris indulged a fantasy where Kara wasn’t an alien and instead had an Earth-1 doppelgänger who Iris could hang out with everyday.

When Cisco texted Barry to let him know he was back on Earth-38 and ready to take them home, Iris was tempted to ask the inter-demential soccer mom for five more minutes. Iris hoped she’d get to see Kara again soon. Was it wrong to wish for another evil alien attack so that she could admire Kara’s lagoon blue eyes and perfect cheekbones for a while?

Back in their loft, Barry and Iris were preparing for bed. Iris was sitting on the end of their bed, applying lotion to her legs. She caught Barry ogling her as he brushed his teeth.

“Baby,” Iris’s words pulled Barry out of his trance. “you got toothpaste on your shirt.”

Barry wiped the combination of toothpaste and drool off his chin and shirt. Iris got under the covers and was soon joined by Barry. When he put his big arms around her, breathed in her scent, and looked deep into her eyes, Iris felt overwhelmed with happiness.

“I love you so much.” she told him.

Barry’s eyes lit up. Iris knew that even after all the time they’ve spent together as a couple, Barry still questioned if it was real life or a fantasy when she told him she loved him. Iris ran her fingers through his already messy, chestnut hair. He closed his eyes and melted into her.

“I love you, Iris.” he whispered on the brink of sleep.

“Barry,” Iris said. Barry opened one eye. “Do you have a crush on Kara?”

Iris felt guilty for asking the moment she saw the shame on Barry’s face. Iris didn’t know why she was asking it. It didn’t upset her. Iris wasn’t the jealous type. She understood that it’s normal for people in happy, loving relationships to still develop small crushes. Iris loved Barry more than anyone and couldn’t imagine being with anyone else, but she could still appreciate how hot Oliver Queen looked shooting those arrows. Plus, Kara was awesome. If Barry had a crush on Kara, that was ok with Iris. She felt secure in their relationship and knew that it would never be more than just a crush. Iris knew she should just enjoy this sweet moment with the love of her life.

“Iris, I have been in love with you since elementary school. You were my first love, and the only girl I’ve ever loved. I would never want-”

“I know.” she put a hand on his chest trying to comfort him. “I’m not mad. It’s ok. I just saw how you two have this connection.”

“No. We’re just friends. Kara’s great but I don’t want to be with her. I want fight aliens or metahumans with her, high five, maybe get something to eat, and then come home to you. I’ve never had a crush on her.”

“But how could you not fall for Kara?” Iris was dumbfounded. “She’s beautiful, smart, nice, strong, charming, a totally cute nerd like you, funny in this really sweet way, and her hair always looks flawless, even if she’s been flying threw the city! And did you see the way she laughs? I know it’s kind of corny but I swear that laugh is musical. I’ve been dying to hear her sing ever since you told me about her rendition of Moon River.”

Iris was staring off into space, imaging Kara. When she looked back to Barry, he was watching her with raised eyebrow.

“I’m rambling, sorry. Is that what I look like when you start rambling about science stuff?”

“Yeah, you always give me the raised eyebrows.” Barry laughed. “It’s nice that you’re such a big Supergirl fan. The last time I heard you going on and on about a hero was when you were writing about The Streak.”

Iris was about to call him a lair, say how this was completely different than her fascination with Barry’s alter ego. But she bit her lip, knowing he was right.

“It sounds like you’re the one with the crush on Kara.” Barry said.

Once again, Iris was ready to deny it. But the more she thought about it the clearer it became: Iris had a crush on Kara/Supergirl.

“Just a tiny, little one….” Iris said in a small voice.

Barry laughed. “Great, first Oliver Queen and now Kara too. I better now introduce you to anymore of my super friends.”

“Barry, you know there is nobody on any Earth I love more than you.”

“Yeah.” he smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

“So hypothetical, if we didn’t live on different version of Earth, do you think I’d have a shot with Kara?”

“I don’t know,” Barry laughed “Lena is some stiff competition.”

Meanwhile, at Kara’s apartment, she and Lena were still talking. It was getting late, but Kara just didn’t want to say goodbye. At a lull in the conversation, Kara became infatuated with Lena’s hands. She wanted to reach out and hold them.

“What do you think Supergirl is like in her day to day life?” Kara asked Lena, curious to know if she’d ever thought about it before. "You know, when she isn't flying or using heat vision?"

Lena smiled. “Well, she’s probably just as noble and kind with her friends and family as she is with the people she saves. I bet they’re all thanking their lucky stars that they know her.”

Kara’s peachy cheeks were growing more red with Lena’s every word. Then, Lena did what Kara was trying to build up the courage to do, and took Kara’s hand.

“And weather or not they know that she’s the hero who saved them, who inspires them, who can do what they thought was impossible, they’re proud of her.”

Kara was caught up in Lena's praises for a moment, then she realized how naive she was being.

"Lena," Kara started nervously.

"I know." Lena said.

Kara thought that Lena finding out the truth would be scary. She feared Lena would be angry at her for keeping it a secret for so long. But, Lena didn't look upset. In fact, she looked really happy. Kara felt a surge of relief and bravery.

"There's something else too. Lena, I'm-"

Kara wasn't able to finish her sentence because Lena's lips on hers.

#westallen #supercorp #westallen fic #westallen fanfiction #supercorp fic #supercorp fanfiction #barry allen x iris west #barry allen x kara danvers #kara danvers x lena luthor #kara x lena #barry x iris #iris west x kara danvers #iris x kara #lena luthor #supergirl #dctv #barry allen fanfiction #westallen fluff

[the-dj-is-asleep]

One Night: Chapter 6

Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 

AO3

The wind makes it hard to talk. In fact, it makes it hard for Lena to do anything other than bury her face into Kara’s neck to avoid tearing up. So maybe Kara flies a little faster than usual on purpose. She knows that there are things that Lena wants to say and she’s not sure she wants to hear them. She's heard Lena argue for her all week. And she'd heard the way her arguments had become less and less impassioned, the way she had slowly started to concede points and let her own point of view be corrupted. Kara had hoped that Lena would stay strong, that despite all the vitriol being poured into her head by the woman she most wanted love from, she wouldn't be swayed. Clearly she had hoped in vain.

The flight to National City takes half an hour at the rate that Kara is flying. And when they arrive, Kara goes straight to Lena's apartment and deposits her on her balcony.

"I have to go to the DEO. Alex has to know I'm okay."

"Kara, wait. You know that wasn’t what I meant back there. I just meant that there are some aliens who-“

"I have to go," Kara says, not at all wanting to hear the way that sentence ends.

She takes off before Lena can say anything else. In the split second before she shuts off her super-hearing, she hears a quiet sob.

Kara walks into Lena's apartment with a will of iron and more bravery than she's ever needed as Supergirl. She'd agreed to dinner and a movie at Lena's and she knew that now was the best time to tell her. Kara had been talking herself out of it for weeks but the longer she she carried her secret, the heavier it got. And the longer she spent with Lena, the more she needed her to know. So, Kara had decided that tonight was the night.

Lena's apartment is wonderfully familiar. After spending a few nights there, as well as countless dinners and movie nights, Kara is comfortable enough to treat it as her own. So, she doesn't bother knocking, knowing that Lena left the door unlocked for her and that if Kara waits for her to open up like the did the first few times Lena will give her a look and say, "Just come in Kara. We talked about this."

The moment Kara walks in, the hair on her arms stands up. Kara feels suddenly and inexplicably on edge. The apartment is quiet except for some soft classical music playing in the background. Lena likes the peace and quiet after a long day of phone calls and board meetings. Kara can smell herbs and what is most likely chicken cooking in the kitchen. Everything seems normal in the living room, everything neatly in its place. She does her best to try and place whats wrong but nothing seems out of place at all.

It's only when Kara reaches out with her super hearing that she suddenly becomes consciously aware of what her subconscious had picked up on.  It’s Lena’s heartbeat, fast and unsteady, and now that Kara is focused on it, thunderously loud. The hair on the back of her neck stands up and something like a chill runs down her spine. She doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t pause to think as she runs into the kitchen. She sees Lena tied up to her chair, gagged, with tears streaming down her cheeks. As soon as she catches sight of Kara, her eyes widen and she shakes her head violently enough that Kara hears her neck pop a little.

Kara takes a step closer and then another and as she does she hears the hum of a machine coming to life to her left. For a second, everything slows down. Kara watches Lena’s eyes widen and Kara follows her gaze down to her foot where she can see the round little red dot of a laser. She follows it back to its source and sees a box, metal and small and making a small humming noise. Before Kara can react in any way, the humming stops and is replaced by a quiet beeping, one that Kara is a little too familiar with. She doesn’t think, doesn’t hesitate at all before throwing her body in front of Lena’s to hopefully protect her from the blast.

But instead of a fiery explosion like she’d expected, Kara is met only by the soft hissing of a gas being released. She glances towards the box and immediately pales. The gas is green and glowing and when Kara makes the mistake of inhaling it burns. The nausea hits her as she exhales and she’s powerless to do anything but fall to her knees. She tries holding her breath, but the damage is largely done as the dust particulates in her lungs already threaten to make her pass out. Her body wins the battle over her mind and without meaning to she pulls in a rasping breath and groans immediately as the effects of the kryptonite take hold.

Through the pain she can vaguely hear Lena shouting something, muffled beyond any hope of comprehension by the gag. She uses the last of her strength to look at her and as she fades out, all she can see is the forest green of Lena's eyes.

Kara wakes slowly and painfully. There isn’t a single part of her that doesn’t hurt, though she finds that the hurt is definitely concentrated in her head and lungs. She doesn’t even bother trying to open her eyes knowing that unless it is pitch dark on the other side of her eyelids, it’ll be too bright. She tries to manage her breathing, to figure out whether it’s better to take short and sharp breaths or longer softer ones and finds that neither option does the trick. She feels like she should be bleeding in her lungs, her throat and all the way up to her nose. She thinks that she would check to see if she was bleeding if she didn’t have to open her eyes to do so.

“Kara?”

Lena’s voice is soft and hoarse and Kara can’t tell if she’s actually far away or if the kryptonite is dampening her hearing.

“Kara are you awake?”

Kara knows she should answer, wants more than anything to reassure Lena that she’s awake and okay, but she can’t move, can’t open her eyes, can’t do much else but breathe even when Lena lets out a soft whimper.

“I’m sorry,” she says, softly and to herself, clearly thinking Kara can’t hear her. “This is… my fault. I should have known they would come after me again. I mean, I didn’t know that you were… well, y’know, her… but I let my guard down. After Supergirl, or well, you, saved me I thought I’d be okay. And you were there, every night making sure my nightmares didn’t get to much and I’ve never been happier. So I let my guard down. I’m sorry Kara, that you were dragged into this. I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry. There’s so much I wanted to tell you that I’m sure you don’t want to hear now. I was going to tell you that I-“

Whatever Lena was going to say is cut off by a door opening and two footsteps entering (one short and sharp, the other deep and heavy).

“Oh, stop sniveling Lena. That… alien… isn’t worth your tears or your words. I’ve tried telling you time and time again, but it seems that nothing will get through to you. That’s why I gave up, you know? I’d held out hope for so long that you would come to your senses like your brother did, but after that night at Lex’s cave, I saw that there really was no hope for you.”

Lillian’s voice sounds even farther away than Lena’s had but somehow her words hit more heavily. Kara finds herself trying to rage against the last dregs of kryptonite that have her essentially captive in her own body, but to no avail. No matter what she tries to do, she finds that her body won’t respond.

“You know that she won’t wake up right? The kryptonite gas we gave her was laced with a neuromuscular blocker. That was the whole point of the dust, of course. We didn't want to kill her... not yet anyway, but we couldn't figure out how to deliver the drug to her system. But then we found this device in Lex's store house and well... it took some work to figure out how to keep the drug active while airborne but we managed quite well don't you think?”

“What do you want with her?”

Lena sounds angrier than Kara’s ever heard her. She voice low and dangerous and she thinks that, had she been speaking to anyone other than Lillian, it would have worked to unnerve them a little bit. But Lillian knows her daughter to well to be affected.

“Hmmm, that’s not for you to know. You, my dear, are only here in case she does wake up. The alien seems to have a soft spot for you, lord knows why, and I believe she will be much less inclined to try and escape when you have a knife to your throat, don’t you think?”

Lena growls at her mother but then the heavy boots that Kara had associated with Henshaw move forward and there’s the cracking sound of skin on skin followed almost immediately by a whimper of pain from Lena. That in itself is almost enough to jolt Kara out of whatever weird coma Lillian has managed to put her in, but though she is itching to put herself between Henshaw and Lena, she finds herself irritatingly still.

Lillian clicks her tongue as if she’s disappointed in Lena.

“Really now dear, you should know better. Maybe it’s best if I leave you here on your own for a bit so you can learn some manners.”

She pauses as if expecting an answer but Lena remains silent so with a displeased huff, Lillian turns on heel and and marches out of the room. After the door slams shut behind them, Kara faintly hears Lena exhale in relief and then there’s a gentle hand on her sternum, and though Kara knows that it can’t actually be the case, she feels like it’s just a little easier to breathe.

“I’m so sorry Kara. But I promise you, I promise, I will find a way out of this. I won’t let them hurt you anymore.

Kara arrives at the DEO to find an exhausted Alex, J’onn, Winn, James, and Mon-El all standing around the control center with looks of utter despair. But Mon-El hears her land and he’s running to her in an instant, wrapping his arms around her shoulders in an embrace that nearly bruises her in her still somewhat weakened state. The hug doesn’t last long though because no one can stand between Alex and her little sister for long. Alex’s hug is desperate. She clutches at Kara’s shoulders, nails digging fiercely into the cloth at her shoulders. She’s crying and as Kara wraps her arms around her sister’s familiar frame, she can’t hold back the tears that prick in the corners of her eyes.

Winn, who had been shifting from foot to foot awkwardly, finally decides that he doesn’t want to be left out any longer and he all but throws himself at Kara. His arm fit awkwardly over Alex’s but his warmth is comforting and the soft words of relief he whispers against her shoulder make Kara’s heart feel like it might burst.

Of course, the warmth can only last for so long. J’onn clears his throat gently and waits until Winn and Alex step away. It’s all for nothing when James takes the opportunity to pull her in for a hug as well, the whispered words “I missed you,” all he’s able to get in before an annoyed “Mr. Olsen,” cuts him off.

“I’m done, I’m done,” he says, stepping back with his hands up in surrender and a soft smile.

“I’m glad to have you back, Kara,” J’onn says. “But we need to know what happened. So start from the beginning.”

Chapter 7

#one night #supergirl #kara danvers #lena luthor #supercorp #supergirl fic #supergirl fanfic #my writing #chapter 6

[dankaroo-writes]

something along the way

Someone’s trying to destroy Supergirl and the Super name, too. In a freak accident, all of the Superfriends have switched bodies with each other — except Kara. Now they have to get the bad guy (and switch back) before he strikes again.

ao3

chapter 1/3

Kara Danvers loves a good sunrise. She’s well aware that sunsets are supposed to be more romantic or more beautiful or whatever, but there’s something about how the light creeps up the treetops and over buildings, up the toes of her boots and over her face, warming every inch of her— she can’t get enough of it. It has little to do with getting her powers from the sun, although she does appreciate the sentiment that’s she’s literally soaking in the strength of it as it rises. If she’s honest, it’s more about the serenity and quietness of dawn. She loves the silence right before the birds start chirping, the street lamps extinguish themselves, car horns blare, the airwaves clog with radio signals and pop hits singles of the week.

It’s the colors that she likes best of all, though. The soft pinks and oranges and yellows and blues remind her of the home she lost. Even though they have nothing on a Kryptonian moonrise, they’re as close as she can get these days. As close as she’ll ever get, probably. Kara doesn’t make a habit of getting up early enough to watch the sun wake up the whole city, but she’ll keep herself awake an extra half an hour to see it on the days she spends the early morning hours patrolling National City. It’s special enough to her to warrant the extra morning grumpiness that she — um, everyone else — will face later for that fleeting moment of peace. Those are the days she can fool herself into thinking that everything will be okay somehow, and that her life is pretty good. Not that she doesn’t like her life! She has wonderful friends and a loving family. And being a reporter makes — made — her feel like she is — ugh, was — contributing to something important. Like she’s making a difference, superhero or not. Sure, Supergirl could knock bad guys three city blocks away with a single punch and hold up a building until everyone can escape, but Kara wants to help too and now that she doesn’t have a way, she feels lost. Cliché? Yes. True? Double yes. She feels lost but not quite as lost as when she first came to Earth, of course. Nothing will ever compare with the loneliness of being the sole survivor of an entire culture. Maybe she’s having a quarter-life crisis or something. She hasn’t had one yet, not counting the whole coming out as Supergirl stuff. So what if she was born 50 years ago? She’s technically only 26, she’s as much a millennial as Winn and James and Alex. They all had one. Alex had, like, three. So maybe that’s what it is. She’ll have to ask Alex for her opinion later. The whole funemployment thing stopped being fun when it meant she had extra time to think about all this crap, genius-alien-brain-that-should-know-better-than-to-be-all-existential be damned. She heaves a sigh and is ready to turn in for the night. If she gets home now, she’ll have… forty-five minutes of sleep before she’s due at the DEO. Great. She decides that it’s a sunrise morning. She’s sitting on the roof of her apartment watching the rays peek over the CatCo building and then L-Corp, and then— The unmistakable sound of metal crushing against cement has her pushing off into the sky, full speed towards what can only be a car accident. She arrives to see the front end of a silver Lexus flattened against the side of an overpass. Without a moment’s hesitation, the hero rips off the roof of the car to free any people inside but instead finds a small gray device with a flashing red light. The device begins to blink more rapidly, and, oh shit, it’s a bomb. She scans the area for potential casualties and finds none, grabs the device, and launches herself and it into the sky. When she’s above any possible flight path or where any kind of living thing might be dwelling, Kara throws it further still as the light turns solid and the device explodes. Everything is quiet. The city is safe. Again. For now.

---

“Supergirl! Check out this thing I did! It literally downloads—” Winn is flanking Kara with some sort of metal USB drive as she beelines to the center of the room, but she dismisses him with a quick Sorry, later! and a grimace. He heads back to his desk, grumbling and fiddling with the memory stick for a while before busying himself with security updates to the network. “Something weird happened this morning,” Kara walks up to J’onn, arms folded across her chest. “I heard,” J’onn says, “But I thought NCPD had it handled. Nothing extra-normal, alien or otherwise.” Kara inhales deeply and explains, “It just didn’t feel right. It was early morning. No one was out, no one was around. Why plant a bomb if there weren’t going to be any casualties? I’m glad no one was hurt, but…” “It doesn’t make sense.” J’onn says. “You think it was a decoy.” “Yeah, but, for what?” “Whoever is behind this is trying to lure you out.” “You read my mind,” Kara jokes, and the faint pull at the corner of J’onn’s mouth is the only indication that he appreciates her jab at the limitations of his Martian abilities. “Okay, so you’re being targeted. That makes this DEO territory.” Kara sighs as J’onn takes his leave to make some phone calls to the National City Police Department. “I’m gonna go get some food before something else blows up,” she announces to no one in particular, arms crossed. “Mind if I tag along?” Oh, Winn. She’d been sidetracked and completely forgot. It’s been a while since the two of them hung out one-on-one, since she and Mon-El started doing… whatever it is that they’re doing. On and off relationships are so not her thing, and she’s so stressed, and gosh, she misses her friend. She breaks into a grin. “Let me change real quick.” He drives them into the city, and Kara’s grateful for the sense of normalcy of not flying. Winn parks in front of Noonan’s. “Thought we’d go back to our roots,” he beams. “Also I’ve been dying for those almond bearclaws.” Kara laughs and agrees, “Yeah, I could eat probably ten and not get sick of them.” They chat idly in a booth, sipping their coffees and picking at the dozen pastries they bought to share. They reminisce for a while about working at CatCo together and how they met, and Kara laughs at the appropriate times but her smile doesn’t fully reach her eyes. Winn leans over the table and rests a hand on Kara’s arm. She looks him in the eye, a little surprised by the physical contact, and he asks, “Hey, Kara, are you doing okay?” She adjusts her glasses and looks at her lap. “Yeah, of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Winn looks at her with a sheepish smile, and treads carefully. “It’s just, you seem to be, wound up? I guess. I don’t know if that’s the right word. James and I were talking—” “Look, I know you guys do the whole vigilante thing together but talking behind my back—” the whispering makes it sound harsher than she means it, and she feels a little bad, but then Winn cuts her off. “Kara, come on. No, listen. We’re just worried about you. Ever since you stopped, y’know, having a routine that includes stuff other than saving people all the time, you’ve been a little… touchy. We were just thinking that maybe it’s time for a friend night?” He punctuates the proposition with what Kara affectionately coined his Winning smile back when they first started to become friends. (She’d laughed at her own joke for about five minutes, and Winn knew he’d found a true friend in that moment.) Kara inhales deeply and rubs her temples. “I’m sorry, I’m— you’re right. I am a little moody right now.” She fiddles with her hands and looks up at her friend. “I’d love that. Friend night.” They share a smile, and she continues with a wince, “Is it really that noticeable?” “Oh, yeah. You’re like, eat-a-Snickers levels of grumpy. I’m the only one with enough guts to say anything, though.” Kara clutches her chest in fake agony and bows her head in mock shame. “You’ve all been conspiring against me!” Winn’s glad to have gotten a positive reaction out of her. “Only because we love you! How’s tomorrow work?” “Yeah, that’s great.” But she sits on that for a second, and then remembers, “Oh, wait, I have plans with Lena, actually. Maybe Saturday?” He thinks for a minute, and then surprises himself. “Or,” he suggests, “you could just invite her like a normal person? Because she’s your friend? And this is your friend night?” Kara bites her lip in hesitation. “But she doesn’t know…” Winn gives her a look, eyebrows raised nearly to his hairline and half a smirk, that makes her want to draw her knees to her chest and curl up into a little ball. She knows she’s being silly, but the prospect of Lena knowing that she’s Supergirl has her stomach in knots. It’s her big life secret, that she’s an alien and a superhero. She and Lena are close, but are they there yet? Once they acknowledge it out loud, it’s kind of a best-friend-for-life deal. It’s a big step. A milestone, even. “Kara. The woman built a black body field generator, hatched a foolproof plan against her own mother to render a virus inert and save all the aliens in the city, runs a multibillion dollar corporation at the ripe old age of twentysomething, and has spent more than ten minutes with you. She knows.” “But!” Kara’s nerves have her reaching for any kind of proof that maybe Lena doesn’t know, but she comes up with exactly nothing. “She knows. Don’t insult her intelligence, I’ll tell her you think she’s not as smart as you,” he teases. He wouldn’t really, for reasons including he’s kind of afraid of Lena, but it’s fun to see Kara get flustered. She opens her mouth and gestures wildly with an index finger to defend herself, but only stammers out some vowels before she gives in, shoulders dropping in defeat. “I’ll text her.” She taps out a message and clarifies, “For the record, I don’t think I’m smarter than her. Or anyone else.” It’s not a fair comparison anyway, Kara thinks. Math and science classes are way more advanced on Krypton, and if Lena or Winn had the chance to learn there they probably would’ve done as well as she had. For sure. “Mhm.” Winn plays at being unconvinced, just to see Kara flounder a little. He misses this. She looks up to refute him and realizes he’s kidding. She sits back and crosses her arms, and then lets out a few short laughs before shaking her head and looking down at her phone. “If she doesn’t want to come, we’ll do Saturday, okay?” “She’ll want to come.” “But, I—” “You can’t keep her to yourself forever,” Winn says. She feels a little guilty about that, now that he mentions it. She wants Lena to be a bigger part of her life, she’s just worried because her friends didn’t exactly trust the Luthor at first, and that makes things weird. And Lena’s great, and Kara knows everyone will like her once they get a chance to really meet her, but it’s always hard to be the new person in a group and throwing her into the fire like this may not be the best way. For Lena’s sake, of course. Not because Kara’s afraid of taking that next step. Which she’s not. So Winn’s right. It’ll be totally fine. Just a normal old friend night. A night of friends. Of which Lena is one. “She’s a busy person, she probably won’t answer until tonight,” Kara says a little haughtily, “so I’ll let you know.” Her phone dings with a notification. Winn chuckles to himself, and Kara blushes a little. “She wants to come.” He whoops in excitement, mostly at being right, and they finish their lunch before heading back to the DEO.

---

It’s not awkward. Okay, it was at the beginning, but now they’re collectively three bottles of wine into friend night and things are great. Mon-El has been pawing at her hand for the better part of an hour, which has been kind of annoying, but other than that he’s behaving. Sort of. He’s also been pouting because she’s been paying more attention to Lena than him, but it’s only because Lena’s the newest and Kara’s her only connection to the whole group. It’s more important for her to be a good friend to Lena than a good girlfriend to Mon-El right now. She knows she’ll hear an earful about it later, but whatever. She’s having fun. And so is Lena. And everyone else, too. They’re playing a round of charades, with Kara acting and Mon-El and Lena trying to guess. James, Winn, Alex, and Maggie are sitting on the couch watching the hilarity about to ensue.

Kara holds up two fingers, prompting her team. “Two words,” Lena starts, and Kara makes a circular hand motion with both hands. “About…” Kara points to herself, “Supergirl.” Lena’s eyes are twinkling, and, yeah, it’s confirmed. Kara bites her lip and shakes her head no. “Kara, hero, hot girl, glasses?” Mon-El tries. Kara’s eyes widen and she shakes her head vigorously. She tries again and points between herself and Mon-El a few times. “Couple, dating, in love?” She rolls her eyes, and ugh, no, he’s not getting it, but when Lena blurts “Aliens!” Kara jumps up and down and claps, smiling. The other team is in stitches, and Kara’s pretty sure Alex is in tears. She holds up one finger. “First word,” Mon-El says. She starts to flap both of her arms up and down. A high pitched tone rips into her eardrums and she gasps in pain and doubles over, covering her ears. “Loud, sick, headache?” When she doesn’t respond: “Are you okay?” “Kara what’s the matter?” She’s not sure who’s asking what, but the tone stops and she drops her hands. “Sorry guys, there was this… never mind. It’s gone now.” She takes a breath and nods to show she’s okay, and starts flapping her arms again. Alex watches her carefully, and both Lena and Mon-El guess flying, and she’s ready to try for the second word when the tone starts up again. This time it’s reverberating in her skull and it’s persistent. She winces as she hones in on the source of the noise, and follows it to the windowsill. She picks up a small rectangular black box, and it juts out a lancet and pricks her hand. Well, tries to. The beeping stops when the lancet breaks off. Alex is off the couch in a second and steps towards her sister, holding up a cautious hand. “Kara, what’s —“ Something, no, someone smashes through the window. The intruder raises a massive blue fist and swings it at Kara, who ducks just in time and manages to get a hit in at his stomach on the way down. “Everyone, get back!” They’re matching blow for blow, so Kara throws her glasses aside and squints her eyes to zap his shoulder with her heat vision. The creature roars and grabs for her, misses, and stumbles. Kara takes advantage of his weak positioning to get a hand around his throat, and another around one wrist. She shoves him backward and has him pinned to the wall, next to the window he busted through. “You ruined friend night!” She’s mad, rightfully so, and headbutts the beast in his nose. One of his noses. Whatever. His face. He bares his teeth, but then his mouth twists into what can only be interpreted as a vicious smile. His confidence shakes her and she stares into his pitch black, beady eyes as she tightens her grip on him. With his free hand, he holds up a device identical to the one that Kara had found in her apartment and presses the small button on the underside. There’s a moment where Kara is afraid something terrible is going to happen, but then the brute’s face begins to fall, and oh, something is not right. All of the sound seems to get sucked out of the room, and then the device in his hand explodes. Kara is thrown across the room and lands in front of Lena and Winn, who are crouched behind the couch. The monster catches a glimpse of Lena as she’s pulling Kara behind it, and stumbles as he starts towards her. Kara looks up at him, confused by his hesitation at the sight of a human when he very clearly came prepared to attack a Kryptonian, and tries to stand up. She won’t let him hurt her friends. He takes one more look around the room, snarls, and then jumps out of the destroyed apartment wall to the street below. By the time the group has rushed over, he’s long gone. “Are you guys okay?” Kara’s facing her friends now, and they all look uneasy. Something’s definitely not right. There’s a few mumbled yeahs, and no one has a scratch on them. Thank Rao for small favors.

Kara turns around to inspect the damage to her house. The window is gone and the blast has taken a good chunk of the surrounding wall with it. A few pieces of drywall crumble and fall to the ground. She sighs. James walks up beside her and places a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay Kara, you can stay with me until this gets fixed.” Kara’s flattered, and her and James are good friends, but yeah, no. There’s hardly any awkwardness left from their break-up, and they made up after their fight about James being Guardian, but it would still be… weird, is what Kara settles on. She lets him down easy. “Thanks, James, but I think I’ll just crash with Alex.” She turns and offers him a reassuring smile, and then looks at Alex. Alex knits her brows and turns to look behind her, where no one is standing. “I’m not James,” James says, and then holds his hands up to look at them. “Wait, I’m James? No, I’m not!” “Did you hit your head? Should we go to the hospital?” Kara’s concerned, and reaches up to the man’s face to check for any missed injuries. “I’m James,” says Maggie, raising her hand. There’s a pause as everyone looks around the group. “I’m Maggie,” says Alex. “Wait, wait, wait. Everyone hold on.” Kara’s holding her hands out in front of her, trying to get her bearings. “I think I hit my head.” “Maybe, but, uh, I think something else has gone Super wrong,” and it’s Lena’s voice, but only Winn would talk like that. And make a joke at a time like this. “So if Maggie is Alex, and James is Maggie, who are you?” Kara turns back to ‘James.’ He huffs, “I’m your boyfriend, Kara.” Oh, great. So now her boyfriend is her ex, on top of this all. Perfect.

Kara looks between the two remaining people. Winn pipes up, "Alex." “Right. So if Lena’s Winn, and Winn's Alex, then you’re—” She faces the body of her boyfriend “—Lena.” Lena looks like she’s about to pass out. “I need to sit down,” Lena says. Kara closes her eyes and rubs them with the heels of her hands. “Okay, this is happening.” She takes a deep breath and picks up the device that has fallen to the ground.

“We need to call J’onn.”

#supercorp #supercorp fic #kara/lena #karlena #kara danvers #lena luthor #kara danvers/lena luthor #supergirl fanfic #there are a lot of other characters in here too #also warning: it starts out mon-el/kara sry #slow burn? maybe? they get together later #bodyswap trope