Chapter Text
Lex Luthor escapes prison before dawn on a Tuesday while being moved - for some unknown reason - to a new Supermax prison. His henchmen kill eight federal penitentiary guards and six U.S. Marshals. Security camera footage from the wrecked armored transport shows Lex laughing and waving his middle finger at the lens before jumping from the truck and vanishing.
“How the hell did this happen?” Alex Danvers asks, glaring at this paused image twenty minutes later. Arms akimbo, her index finger brushes the butt of her pistol. No one in the DEO control room has a satisfactory explanation, and the Director sounds scarily upset, so no one responds.
“Don’t everyone answer at once!” she barks. “Okay, here’s a workable query: where did that bald psychopathic asshole disappear to? Get on it. Everyone. Find him.”
Personnel scatter to their workstations and get cracking. At the lead terminal, Winn Schott’s fingers blur across a keyboard as he tasks satellites and sets up broad spectrum scanning for the usual Lex Luthor-slash-Cadmus signatures: radiation, explosions, Kryptonite, creepy push messages on broadcast channels, Kryptonite…
Alex orders a tactical team to post up at Kara’s apartment, then ducks into a quiet alcove and places a call to her sister. This news can’t wait for long, even though Kara is probably dead asleep. Supergirl worked very late last night subduing a score of violent aliens with Guardian and Valor, and she’s earned some rest. Alex clenches her fist, grinds her teeth, reminded again that Kara so rarely gets what she deserves.
The phone rings three times before a soft voice comes on the line, whispering. “Alex, whatever it is, can’t it wait? She just fell asleep -”
“Your brother just broke out again,” Alex says, simple and direct. “There was an unscheduled prison transfer. We weren’t informed, and he was inadequately guarded. Fourteen LEOs are dead. We’re ramping up for the search.”
The line is quiet for several moments. Lena takes a slow breath and exhales shakily, her breath stuttering into Alex’s ear. “Do you need her to come in?”
“Not just yet. We have no leads,” Alex admits. “You should pack a bag. When she comes in, you’ll probably be bunking here until this is resolved.”
Lena doesn’t argue. “Right, then. Good hunting.”
Alex wants to say that this will be the last episode of this overdone drama, that she will issue a shoot-on-sight order for Lex Luthor, that every federal agent and wetwork operator at her command will be authorized to end his murderous reign with extreme prejudice.
But Lena doesn’t need to hear that Alex is planning to kill her brother. And Kara really doesn’t need to hear it. Alex will gladly bear the professional and personal consequences of her decision if it means Lex never kills another innocent person, never again threatens her sister’s life and happiness.
“I’ve sent a tac team to cover your building, so sit tight for now,” Alex says instead. “Please tell Kara to keep cool. I’ll update you soon.”
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Lena slips the phone into the nightstand drawer. She reaches toward the foot of the bed, where Kara has kicked all the covers, and pulls a sheet up to her chin to fend off a sudden chill. Lena’s bare skin has turned to gooseflesh and her heart thuds loudly, suffusing her entire body with the chemistry of terror. Beside her, face down and starfished across two-thirds of the bed, Kara stirs a little.
If Lena can’t get herself under control quickly, Kara will hear that galloping heartbeat, will smell her fear, and she’ll wake up in a panic. It’s happened before; Lena had several vivid nightmares last year about her mother’s death, repeatedly reliving the moment when Lillian smiled up at her while plummeting from the L-Corp roof. Lena often screamed herself awake only to find she was safe, held in strong arms, caressed and soothed as Kara wept against her hair.
Meditation has helped, and she carves out time for the practice twice daily. She begins her breathing exercises, drawing in air slowly for eight seconds, holding it for five seconds, and exhaling for ten. Soon her racing heart slows to a normal rhythm. Tears rim her eyes and she rubs them away.
Lex is free. He’s killed again. He will, at some point, try to kill Lena. She is literally sleeping with the enemy, and their Luthor blood tie won’t mean enough to spare her life.
She knows Lex will have to go through Kara to get to her, that Supergirl will protect her right up to her dying breath…and that’s exactly what Lena fears most. She cannot and will not let that happen. Prison has never kept Lex in check for long; each capture and incarceration provides a temporary respite at best. When big brother makes his move this time, little sister will play for a terminal checkmate.
“Hey.”
Lena turns her head and finds Kara, face half submerged in a pillow, regarding her with one blinking blue eye. “Hey. Go back to sleep.”
The blue eye squints with suspicion. “You look thinky.”
“That’s just my face.” Lena brushes a fingertip over Kara’s eyelid, gently closing it. “Sleep, you.”
“You, too.” Kara catches her finger, gives it a little squeeze.
“I’m awake,” Lena says. “But it’s very early. I’ll just lie here with you for a while.”
Kara yawns and raises up on her elbows. “Sun’s up. Open the shutters. I’ll recharge in no time flat.”
Lena finds the remote and aims it toward the eastern wall, comprised of floor-to-ceiling reinforced panels without UV filters. The shutters rise and sun floods the room. Golden light sweeps across Kara’s bare skin and she practically purrs, drawing her shoulders forward, stretching kinks from the abused muscles of her back. Lena spreads her hand over a large green and purple bruise, rubs lightly, watches it fade like magic.
“What was that one from?”
“Utility pole. Giant gator-faced jerk bushwhacked me while I fought six of his jerk friends.”
Kara arches her back against Lena’s palm, seeking more pressure. Lena obliges by casting off the sheet and straddling Kara, settling lightly atop her ass. She strokes the heels of her palms, firmly, from sacrum to shoulders, digging into knotted tissues and rubbing in circles. Kara’s face drops against the pillow and she mutters something that sounds like holy geez that feels good, and Lena digs in harder.
“Did they hurt you?” Lena knows the answer is probably ‘no,’ but she needs reassurance that Kara is durable, a survivor, well-nigh impossible to kill.
“Just the usual scratch and dent.” Kara grins over her shoulder. “Twenty percent off retail?”
“Sold.” Lena tilts forward, pressing soft breasts against her lover’s bulletproof skin, kissing her cheek, biting her earlobe. “My unbreakable girl.”
In a heartbeat, Kara turns herself over and sits up. She regards Lena with darkened eyes and a question forming in her mouth.
“Yes,” Lena preemptively answers, nodding. “Please.”
Kara smiles and Lena feels a rush of goodness - endorphins, oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine - surge through her body in anticipation.
Kara kisses her neck, her mouth, her breasts, and warmth blooms in every cell. Her eyelids flutter and close. Kara holds her waist, squeezes her hips, grips her ass, grinds her stomach against Lena’s sex, and adrenaline spurs a bold rush of heat. Kara bends her backward until Lena lays supine atop her legs, then reclines into the pillows and, with one tug, pulls Lena’s cunt to her mouth.
Lena cries out softly, palms her own breasts, and surrenders to the singular experience of being eaten out by a hyper-focused alien with low oxygen requirements. Kara’s tongue is a flowing ribbon against Lena’s skin, a silken thing of ceaseless and graceful motion, snapping rigid and plunging inside, circling and stroking her clit, rooting out sensation from every little fold. Lena feels like a breeze-borne feather, weightless and free for several long and merciful minutes. She grasps blindly at Kara’s head, fingers knotting in flaxen hair as she keens sharply through her climax, calling her lover’s name until the sounds break down to smiles and silence.
As her senses return, Lena opens her eyes and is only mildly surprised to find her nose mere inches from the ceiling. Kara’s body is a rigid, floating beam supporting her as they levitate five feet above the bed. Lena stretches her arms to the sides, dangles her legs in the air, and delights in the slow, easy aftercare - kisses and nips and licks - Kara provides.
“Kara,” she murmurs. “Beauty. Kitten. Cherie.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re flouting Newton again.”
Kara grins, smug and mischievous, and rests her chin on Lena’s mound. “Managed to miss the ceiling fan this time.”
Lena rolls her eyes, snaps her fingers and points to the bed. “Lobby, please.”
“Yes, miss.”
The descent is a prank of fits and starts, with Kara dropping rapidly and then slowing, over and over until they crash onto the mattress in a giggling heap. Lena barely gets her breath before Kara starts crawling up her body, raining kisses onto her skin, and wrapping her in a tender straitjacket of arms and legs.
“Good?” Kara asks, as if her attentions were ever less than profoundly satisfying.
Lena hums a confirmation. Mouth open against Kara’s throat, she feels the Kryptonian’s steady pulse tapping against her lips. She kisses the spot, blesses the life in her veins. The moment is damn near perfect. But it could be better, Lena thinks, and she wants to extend this beautiful fugue as long as possible before returning to reality. So she asks: “May I return the favor?”
Kara tenses and hesitates, stalling in silence. Which usually means she’s either not in the mood to receive, or she already maxed out her sex drive while making love to Lena. The protracted and vicious fight she endured just a few hours earlier also plays a part, although they’ve yet to fully explore why that happens, why Kara is too discomfited to receive affection close on the heels of dealing out violence. Lena has asked about it, has expressed a desire to understand. So when Kara is ready to talk about it, she will be waiting.
“It’s okay,” Lena assures her. “Whatever you want. Or don’t want. Always.”
The tension instantly bleeds from Kara’s body. She kisses Lena’s temple. “I love you.”
Lena smiles and says it back immediately, without effort, like a mirror reflecting light or a canyon returning an echo. It just happens; it just is.
The next words, however, require some genuine energy to push out. “Alex called just before you woke up.”
Kara chuckles softly. “Checking on me? I told her I was fine.”
Her heart rate starts to pick up and Lena reminds herself to breathe, deep and slow, until it eases off. She lifts her head, pulls away just enough to look Kara in the eyes. “Lex has escaped again.”
All the mirth drains from Kara’s face. Her brow crinkles and her jaw sets firm. “Did he kill anyone?”
Lena nods. Tells her everything. “The DEO is getting the search underway. Alex will call when they have news.”
“They won’t find anything. Not until he’s ready to show himself.”
“I agree.”
“We need to move you to the DEO bunker.”
“I know the routine by now. It’s okay.”
Kara clinches her fists against Lena’s back. Her embrace remains warm, but her eyes are unfocused, pale and cold. “This can’t keep happening,” she says. “If he comes here, I’ll…I will stop him. I won’t let him hurt you.”
There’s something jarring in her voice, a sharp red edge Lena’s never heard before. It reminds her that while Kara Danvers might be the kindest person in the world, Kara Zor-El is perhaps the most powerful being on Earth. Awakening her anger is probably not a great idea.
Between Alex Danvers (who would murder a mountain if it threatened Kara), Lena Luthor (same), and protective Kara with her temper flaring…Lex was probably safer in prison. Maybe he’ll head to Metropolis first and Superman can save everyone some trouble.
“I believe you,” Lena says. She taps Kara’s chin and recaptures her attention. “Same goes, you know. I won’t allow anyone to harm you.”
Kara blinks rapidly and swallows hard. She only manages half a smile. “Believe me, I know.”