Chapter Text
Before today, Lena’s routine used to be so different. She would wake up before her alarm rang, stretch under her duvet allowing herself to absorb the softness of the pillows around her and the Egyptian cotton sheets caressing her body and stay in bed for a couple of minutes before opening her eyes.
She would get the tablet and her glasses from the nightstand and walk to the kitchen to brew her coffee while reading the latest emails and updates in the R&D projects she’d been monitoring. After her coffee, she’d walk to her closet to pick out her outfit depending on if she had meetings scheduled or not, and then hit the shower. Frank would be outside her building at 6:15am waiting to drive her to LCorp.
Once at the office she would meet with Jess to review the agenda for the day and scheduled meetings for the week. Then she would go to the lab to talk about specific corrections on the projects. Probably Sam would stop by her office mid-morning, bringing Lena’s favorite tea. They would sit on the couch and laugh about Sam’s latest dating attempts.
At lunch there would be a soft swoosh from her balcony, only to see her walking inside the office with a beautiful smile plastered on her face. That damn smile! Lena felt intrigued the first time Clark waltzed into her office with Kara. It wasn’t the obvious accusatory tone of his voice, but the warmth in the blonde’s voice that piqued her interest in the conversation.
Kara’s presence in her life slowly became a constant that she allowed almost unconsciously and by the time she realized how close they were, it was already too late. The hugs, the movie nights, the occasional touches, made her feel a kind of hunger she’d thought was long tamed. But while she was feeling all these mixed emotions towards Kara, she felt it might be unrequited and always decided it was a bad time to bring up the topic with the blonde, so instead she consoled herself with receiving the affection the little Danvers could provide through their friendship.
But today, it was midsummer of 2020. Mornings were now very different. Lena would wake up to the sound of boots running through the hall, on an uncomfortable bed without the warmth of her duvet, and still wearing the same clothes as the day before. As soon as she opened her eyes, she would feel her heart squeeze. It had been 5 years, 7 months, 3 weeks and 4 days since Supergirl was sent to the Phantom Zone by her brother, Alexander Luthor. It had been 5 years, 7 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 11 hours and 40 minutes since Lena has been working nonstop at the D.E.O. headquarters trying to bring her back.
Opinions among Kara's close friends were divided. Some had developed a kind of suspicion towards the Luthor heir, while others continued to support her normally. Alex was one of the people who had reservations about the multiple attempts to bring Kara back from the Phantom Zone; at least the first two years. The relationship between them, filled with a series of altercations and arguments at the beginning, evolved into a close friendship when the agent walked into the lab and heard the woman sobbing, holding her head in her hands.
- You need some sleep. – mentioned the auburn-haired sister in her usual tone of voice from the lab’s doorway.
Lena turned in surprise, then wiped her tears as quickly and discreetly as possible. Her heart was still trying to catch up with her breath. Kara’s voice in the background.
- I will rest when I bring her back. - she stated firmly. Alex nodded and walked closer until she was face to face with the digital form of Supergirl embedded into a crystal. In the recording, Kara was explaining the importance of a chosen family.
- It's so amazing to see and hear Kara. Feels so real. I mean, I know she's not here with us, but...- Lena was saying before her voice cracked.
- She'll be here soon. – Alex replied with a soft smile.
Alex was right, with Lena’s nonstop work, Superman’s kryptonian archives, Brainiac’s intellect and after five failed attempts and an unknown creature that crossed the portal bringing chaos to the D.E.O., they were able to find the way to bring Kara Zor-El back from the Phantom Zone. It was a Tuesday night; Lena was extremely nervous and tired. She’d barely slept the night before. She’d double checked every part of the equipment throughout the day until Brainiac felt offended that she was even reviewing his work as well. Then they got her… Kara was back. Lena’s eyes were wide open. She noticed that she was thinner, her muscles almost gone, her flawless blonde hair dull, her eyes full of terror and her whole body in constant alert.
For a moment she froze with her hand on the portal’s console, her breathing agitated and a knot in her stomach. Lena wanted to run to her, take her in her arms and reassure her that everything would be fine because she was Lena Fucking Luthor, she could make the world a safe place for Kara. But instead of doing that, she put her hands in her pockets and saw Alex run towards her sister, watching silently as they hugged.
After a couple of minutes of Alex assuring her younger sister that everything would be okay, Kara was able to stand with the help of Nia and Brainiac, but she was so weak that she couldn’t walk, so it was her cousin who carried her to the hospital gurney. They placed her under the sun lamp. Lena kept her distance and although her attention was on Kara’s heavy breathing, she was forced to turn to the group when Kal mentioned that the fortress was better equipped to help her. Before Lena was able to say a word, she saw Alex taking a step forward until she was in front of Superman, hands on her hips.
- She needs her family and what you propose will take her far away from all of us! -
- She’ll be taken care of and will recover in half the time. – he replied softly, while keeping his eyes on the blonde.
Alex was about to argue when Brainiac interrupted her.
- Agent Danvers, perhaps it would be best for Superman to take care of Kara. None of us possesses the equipment nor the knowledge to help her. Her vitals are dropping probably due to her overall physical condition and the solar lamps seem to hurt her skin. –
Lena turned to the blonde, although her chest constricted in agony as she saw Kara's face grimacing in pain, she had no other choice but to support Brainiac. Alex turned to her noticing her silence, feeling betrayed.
- It took us this long to bring her back and you’re willing to send her away, again?! – the agent said, walking through the group towards the green-eyed woman.
- Alex… they’re right. – the heir admitted with tiredness - You cannot deny that we didn’t take into consideration the toll that all this time trapped in the Phantom Zone would have on Kara. - Lena replied softly but with her arms crossed over her chest, digging her nails into her forearms.
Alex sighed and nodded. Although reluctantly, she walked to stand beside Kara and took her hand in hers. Under Lena's gaze until Nia asked if they should turn off the equipment, then the black-haired woman turned on her heels with a very quiet "I'll take care of it."
The group wondered how they would be able to transport Kara to the fortress in her current condition, but Superman intervened with a solution. He would fly to the Fortress of Solitude, take the regenerative capsule and transport her with Martian Manhunter’s help. The Martian agreed and Superman flew away.
It took almost two months inside a pod under Superman’s watchful eye at the Fortress for Kara to get back in shape; physically at least, since it took longer for her mind to get better. She was powerless at first and she was constantly awakened by the nightmares that plagued her every time she closed her eyes. She was also experiencing inexplicable aches, dizziness, shortness of breath and tachycardia. She agreed to see a specialist whose diagnosis was that her state of anxiety was causing panic attacks. They scheduled a series of therapy sessions to help her overcome this.
- Done with your session today? – Kal asked while placing dinner on the ice table as soon as his cousin walked out of her bedroom.
- Done for today. Is the Fortress always this cold? – Kara asked while wearing a red waterproof insulated jacket on top of three layers of shirts and sweaters, pants and boots.
- I guess… perhaps it’s time to go back to National City. You’ve been getting better through each training session, and you’ve become stronger each day. – he stated, crossing his arms over his chest.
- Yeah, maybe it’s time to go back. Kara Danvers might need a job though. – she said while reaching for a container of potstickers. – I missed… them. – she added after being momentarily lost in a memory.
- I’m sure Kara Danvers will be just fine. – he replied with a smile while using his superspeed to steal some of her food.
- Hey! Respect your elders!! –
He laughed out loud.