Chapter Text
Lena awoke with a start. The last thing she remembered was that they were trying to save as many as they could as many of the universes in the multiverse collapsed into one. But as she sat up in bed, nothing seemed amiss.
She rose, pulled a robe about herself, then went into the kitchen to make coffee. Grabbing a remote, she turned on the television. Local news was focused on a bank robbery in progress. The robbery had been interrupted by the arrival of the National City Police SWAT team but the robbers had taken hostages in the bank, threatening to kill them.
Lena waited. Surely Supergirl was about to show up. Surely Kara would put an end to this. But Supergirl never arrived. The hostage situation played out. A hostage was killed. The SWAT team went in. When they came out, the robbers were all dead but so were three hostages in total.
Panic set in so Lena grabbed her phone and dialed Alex.
Alex answered, “Hello?”
“Alex, where is your sister?” asked Lena.
“Who are you?” asked Alex.
“It’s me, Lena! Where is Kara?” asked Lena, desperation rising in her voice.
“I don’t know who you are, Lena, or whoever you are, and I don’t have a sister,” said Alex.
The line went dead. Lena leaned back against the refrigerator as she slumped down to the floor. “Noooo!” she screamed, as she burst into tears. She cried herself to exhaustion.
*****
Lena awoke again a little over an hour later. Her phone chimed beside her.
Looking at the number, she answered, “What’s up, Sam?”
“Where are you?” asked Sam. “I had to reschedule the board meeting when you didn’t show.”
“I… I need a day,” said Lena.
“Oh my god, are you okay? Should I come over?” asked Sam.
“No, I…” Lena burst into tears again.
“I’m on my way. I’ll be there in ten minutes,” said Sam.
Ten minutes became fifteen but Sam let herself into Lena’s penthouse. She found the brunette still on the floor, her robe and nightgown both still damp from tears.
After pulling Lena to her feet and bringing her to the living room, she sat down next to Lena and wrapped an arm around her.
“What the hell happened to you?” asked Sam. “You’ve not been this inconsolable since Jack died.”
“She’s gone,” muttered Lena. “She’s gone.”
“Who’s gone?” asked Sam. “Have you been seeing someone that I didn’t know about?”
After more sobs, more tears, Lena finally pulled herself together to tell Sam.
“Superman, several other superheroes, saved our world,” said Lena, “at least in a sense. You’ve heard of multiverse theory?”
“Of course I have,” replied Sam. “There’s been lots of speculation about proving it but no solid experimental methods have been found yet.”
“It’s real,” said Lena. “This universe around us right now is the result of the collapse of hundreds, maybe thousands of parallel time lines that were each distinct but similar. I remember the universe I was in, not this one.”
“And this woman you’re missing doesn’t seem to be in this universe?” asked Sam, realization slowly dawning.
Lena nodded. “She was Superman’s cousin. She hid it from me for years. When I found out, I was so angry with her but eventually we found our way back to one another. Through everything, I finally realized I was in love with Kara Danvers. But Kara Danvers doesn’t exist in this universe.” A sob escaped her.
“Hold on,” said Sam. “How do you know she doesn’t exist?”
“I called her sister!” said Lena, with frustration in her voice. “Her sister didn’t recognize my voice or number and she said she doesn’t have a sister. Then I searched for her online. I found no trace of her.”
“You’re telling me there are two Kryptonians, or were two Kryptonians on Earth?” Sam sounded incredulous.
“She was light itself,” said Lena. “She believed in me. She helped me believe in myself.” Lena’s head fell as sobs came again.
“Wait a minute,” said Sam. “Superman arrived on Earth after being sent here as a baby and his world ended, so if your Kara was also sent here, could she still be out there? Just under a different name? Living somewhere else.”
Lena sat up suddenly at that, turning and staring at Sam. “Maybe she is,” said Lena. “But if she is, she never became Supergirl, because she never had to rescue her sister Alex’s plane. That’s the event that caused her to reveal herself to the world.”
“Sort of like Superman’s first big save then.” Sam paused. “What are you thinking now?”
“Same person, different circumstances,” said Lena. “She told me she never planned to come out as Supergirl but after she saved Alex’s plane, it became inevitable. So if she’s still here, she’s still living incognito. Maybe she ended up with another family? How am I going to find her? She won’t even know me!”
“One thing at a time, Lena,” said Sam. “She betrayed you, lied to you, yet you still love her?”
“I was angry when I found out,” said Lena, “but ultimately, I forgave her. And I realized that I forgave her because I love her. Then the crisis happened and the time lines collapsed. I was helping then I woke up here in my bed.”
“If someone lied to you but you still love her, wow!” Sam shook her head. “You must really love her. Look, I’ll help you organize this search, but the board will be back this afternoon to discuss the new weapons deal with the Pentagon,” said Sam.
“Weapons deal?” Lena was shocked. “We stopped making weapons years ago! You agreed with me!”
Sam looked at her in surprise. “You’ve definitely changed,” grinned Sam, “but if you’re really ready to get out of the weapons business, I still am too.”
Lena sat up, purpose now filling her. “This ends today. Wait…” Lena sighed. “This company is still called LutherCorp, isn’t it?”
“Uh, what else would it be called?” Sam said with amusement.
“If we’re changing directions, I’m going to rename it. L-Corp. And we’re going into green tech,” said Lena, “with everything I can muster.”
Sam chuckled. “Lillian will be happy to hear that. She has wanted you to take the company away from the direction that Lex was taking before he ended up in prison.”
“Wait, my mother isn’t in prison with Lex?” asked Lena, astonished.
“She was the one that sent him there!” said Sam in a sharp retort. “She’s always seen Superman as a net asset to the world, unlike Lex.”
“Then after I stop this next weapons deal,” said Lena, “I guess I need to talk to my mother. Where is she now?”
“You really aren’t the same Lena, are you?” said Sam, mostly rhetorically to herself. “But I like this version of you. And your mother lives atop the Luthor Foundation Building, six blocks east of LutherCorp Headquarters.”
Realizing something, Lena stood and walked to the glass wall that looked out from her penthouse over the city. She breathed a sigh of relief. “At least we’re here in National City.”
Sam shook her head. “You fought your mother about leaving Metropolis though you did give in at the end. And this version of you is glad you’re here?”
Lena turned to her best friend. “Everything good that has ever happened to me or for me happened in this city.” Lena glanced at the clock. It was almost 10 am.
She turned back to Sam. “Just so I’m not totally surprised, is Jess still my personal assistant?”
Sam laughed. “Yes, she is, but why she is the way you’ve treated her for years, I’m not sure.”
“This version of me is different,” said Lena. “Give her a 30% raise, effective today, and a $15,000 bonus.”
Sam’s eyes went wide. “You sound a lot more like the 20 year old genius in the MIT Ph.D. program I used to know than the CEO I’ve come to know for the last few years. And frankly, I love it!”
Lena grabbed her phone. “Jess?”
“Yes, Ms. Luthor, what can I do for you?” asked Jess.
“Arrange for my personal jet to be ready to fly to Metropolis tonight,” said Lena. After a pause, Lena added. “Jess, I apologize for having been prickly with you in the past. You’ll be notified of a pay increase coming, effective today. And I promise to be a much more human boss.”
“Uh, thank you, Ms. Luthor! I’ll get right on having the jet ready for this evening.”
Lena hugged Sam. “I’ll figure this out. I’m a Luthor and I can figure out anything. I’ll be at the office after lunch.”
Sam smiled and nodded. “See you then. The board meeting is at 2 pm. Don’t be late this time. But why Metropolis?”
“Oh, I won’t be late,” said Lena. “And I’m going to Metropolis to ask Superman if he knows where his cousin is.”
*****
Lena had showered and dressed quickly, then called her mother saying she needed to talk. An hour after that, she had her mother’s blessing to stop making weapons, rename the company, and her mother’s sworn alliance in helping her find Kara. The one lingering thing in her mind was what if Kara didn’t remember her but part of her felt sure that if they were together again, they could find their way back to what they were before, in a universe that now only existed in her memory.
The board meeting had been explosive but when Lena revealed that she and her mother had bought back enough shares to control 51% of LutherCorp again, several board members, realizing their desires to continue weapons manufacturing were now dead, resigned on the spot. A few others took a few more hours to resign but nearly a third chose to stay and agreed with this shift in direction.
News of this seismic business shift spread within minutes of the board meeting ending.
Lena, back in her office, answered her phone as it rang. “This is Lena Luthor.”
“You’ve decided to really shake up the world, haven’t you, Lena?” asked Cat Grant.
“I’ve decided to make a lot of changes here,” said Lena.
“Given that you’ve got an excellent track record of getting what you want and reaching your goals, I’d like to send a reporter over to interview you about this,” said Cat.
“It will have to wait a few days,” said Lena. “I need to fly to Metropolis tonight and may be there for a few days.”
“Flying to Metropolis on a Tuesday?” asked Cat. “How about I send someone over at 1 pm on Friday afternoon? Will that work?”
“That will work. And Cat,” said Lena, “please do plan to come to our gala this year. I’m also renaming the company.”
“Big changes afoot!” said Cat. “Maybe this year it will be worth it.”
Lena left for Metropolis at 5 pm in National City. When she arrived, it was well after midnight. She would arrange to face Superman tomorrow.