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It was humid inside the tunnel. The hiss and squeal of the brakes announced the subway train’s arrival before the tone from the speakers sounded.“Pahk Street. Change to the Red Line,” said a muffled, disembodied voice. The stragglers hurried to the doors sliding open. A few moments later, the tracks were empty again. The platform was empty, too -- except for some litter, someone who gathered his torn clothes closer to his body while mumbling to himself, and someone who strummed the last chords to a song on their guitar.Jordan scooped the cash up from the guitar case. There were several one dollar bills, one twenty dollar bill, and a bunch of coins. They shoved it into the front pocket of their jean shorts and placed the guitar back into its case, snapping the clasps around the perimeter.“Not a bad afternoon,” they thought to themself as they pulled their wavy auburn tresses into a ponytail, stretching the scrunchie from around their wrist into a knot around the hair. They grabbed the guitar case by the handle and trudged up the stairs to cross over to the outbound side of the tracks. Untying the green and black flannel shirt from around their waist, it unfurled like a flag in the breeze kicked up by the oncoming train. Jordan slid their arms into the shirt, but left it unbuttoned over their black T-shirt.The train came to a stop and the doors opened to the right and left of where Jordan was standing. Allowing a stream of people to disembark, Jordan opted for the entrance to the left. There were no empty seats, so they grabbed hold of a metal pole and hugged the guitar case in a vertical position. They moved underneath Tremont and Boylston Streets, around the Common up above. The train stopped at Arlington and Copely, where a seat opened up next to the doors. Jordan sat down even though the next stop was theirs because they had been standing for hours playing their guitar in the subway station.When they reached Hynes, Jordan got out and walked back the direction they had come from down Newbury Street. They climbed the steps of the brick building and pulled open the heavy door. They climbed more stairs to reach their apartment.“About time you got home. We have to get to that pahty by 9. The good ones go to sleep early.” Deb was at the stove, melting butter on her pasta.“I can grab a bite, change clothes, and be ready to leave in a half hour,” Jordan replied.“Ya not gonna showah?”“For a bunch of nerds? Nah.”“Don’t be so judgmental. People think weah geeks.”“There’s a difference between music geeks and math nerds.”“Yeah those math nerds are gonna have money. And this music geek wants some.”Deb’s plan was to find a math nerd to marry at this party. Jordan was her wingperson. Jordan wasn’t interested in finding a math nerd to marry or anyone to marry. They just wanted to play in clubs to some adoring fans, maybe get a record deal. They fantasized about this as they got ready to accompany Deb to the party on the other side of The Charles.Just after 8:30, Jordan was headed back to Park Street on the train. This time, she and Deb hopped onto the Red Line up to Kendall Square. They sat side-by-side, Deb’s bare leg rubbed against Jordan’s black pant leg.“Thanks for dressin’ up,” Deb said sarcastically.“I put on eyeliner,” Jordan protested.Soon, they were over the river in Cambridge. Deb could hardly contain her excitement. Jordan was less than enthusiastic.“Now remembah to talk me up,” she advised.“I won’t need to. You’ll be the only girl there. They will be falling all over each other to get to you.”“Two girls. Except you ah not supposed to be my competition. Remembah that.”The person inside Jordan’s body cringed. He was not used to inhabiting a female body. He had been on Earth since the Martian Civil War, but always had found a male body before.Jordan was wrong. There were other girls at the math nerd party. One in particular caught their eye. While the boys were debating the correct equation to use when tapping a keg, she slowly swirled some scotch in a lowball glass.A John Mellencamp song floated into Jordan’s mind: “I want to be what she’s drinking, yeah I just want to be. I saw you first. I’m the first one tonight. I saw you first. Don’t that give me the right. To move around in your heart. Everyone was lookin’ but I saw you first.”Lena brought the glass up to her cranberry-colored lips for a sip. Her green eyes scanned the scene. She didn’t enjoy parties, but Jack had convinced her to go to this one. She watched him hold court on the couch. His dynamic storytelling held the attention of almost every female in attendance. Lena smirked at her lab partner.Her gaze shifted to a person who looked very much like her favorite busker. Whenever classes let out early, Lena hopped onto the train to Harvard Square or down below the Park Street Station to look for the guitarist. Usually Lena enjoyed music about as much as parties, but there was just something about that busker’s voice. It almost harmonized with itself. But what would the busker be doing at that party, without their guitar? The resemblance must have been a coincidence.“You look as out of place here as I feel,” Jordan offered.“How out of place do you feel,” Lena countered.“Tremendously.”“I take it you don’t go to M.I.T.?”“Berklee. You?”“M.I.T.”“Oh wow you go here? That is so not fair.”“Not fair?”“Most people get either brains or beauty. Some get neither. You got both. So not fair.”Lena chuckled, “What about you?”“Oh I got neither.”“What’s your name,” Lena asked while still chuckling.“Jordan,” they replied while offering their hand, “What’s yours?”“Kieran,” the dark-haired beauty responded and softly slipped her hand into Jordan’s. She felt the calluses on the fingertips and a little zing of electricity. “Mmm, musician’s hands,” she mused.“Not very soft. Sorry,” Jordan retracted their hand and looked down.“Powerful.”“You think so?” Velvet brown eyes raised to meet sparkling green ones.“So what brought you here?”“Deb,” Jordan motioned toward the bubbly blonde perched on the edge of the coffee table.Lena frowned internally that her busker was at the party with someone else. She motioned toward Jack and informed, “That dark-haired man she’s listening to is who asked me to go to this party.”Jordan looked him over. The brown-skinned man was dynamic and captivating. Of course this gorgeous woman would be here with someone like that. But the emerald eyes were back on Jordan. Lena downed her drink in a sudden motion and placed the glass on a nearby table.“They’re going to be there awhile. Let’s take a walk.”Jordan was surprised and confused. Before they knew what was happening, the person inside Jordan was moving their legs alongside the raven-haired beauty. The air was a glorious respite from the stench of stale beer and body odor. Lena grasped Jordan’s hand. Jordan swung their arms back-and-forth a few times in blissfulness.“I love this little bit of summer that comes back to interrupt fall,” Lena divulged.“I’ve always liked spring, when it starts to get warmer and everything seems to come back to life. My hay fever doesn’t like spring, however.”“Isn’t it strange how the school year ends at that time, though? And this spring will be the end of my time in New England,” Lena said wistfully.“Oh is this your senior year, Kieran?”“Yes, I’ll graduate and go back to Metropolis,” Lena replied sullenly.“You don’t like Metropolis?”“I don’t like my family.”“Who does?”Lena was shocked by this response. Usually people said something such as, "They can’t be that bad." She inquired, “Why don’t you like your family?”“They made decisions about my life for me.” The person inside Jordan was wounded. He thought they had gotten past that. “I was sick and they went to extreme measures to keep me alive,” Jordan continued.“But aren’t you glad you are still alive,” Lena asked.Jwe, the person inside Jordan liked this girl.“I don’t know.”“Well I am glad you’re here and that I get to listen to you play and sing.”Jordan stopped walking. “You’ve heard me play?”“Yes, in the subway. You’re very good.”They started walking again. “So why don’t you like your family?”“I was adopted. I don’t belong with them, and they don’t let me forget that. They just present me with a series of challenges that I undoubtedly fail.”“I can’t believe you’d fail at anything.”Lena's porcelain skin reddened, yet was still 3 shades more pale than her lips.

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"Lena," Sam coaxed, "Earth to Lena."Lena waved her CFO off with one hand and grabbed the remote with the other to turn up the volume on the TV. The reporter continued, "... the site of Jordan Jacobs' Revolution Records new headquarters." Yellow bulldozers and excavators worked behind her. "The skyscraper will be a mixed-use building, with several floors of office space for lease." A video recording of Jacobs plays, first showing fans mobbing a car they are trying to get into, then Jacobs singing with their band, and then Jacobs under a Revolution sign. "We're excited to move from L.A. to National City and discover new acts," Jordan said on the film."Don’t tell me you're a Jordan Jacobs fan," Jess interjected from the doorway."As a matter of fact, I am," Lena retorted from behind her desk.Sam stood in front of the desk, so as not to block the view of the TV on the wall. "Ruby looooves coXst."Lena smiled, "Not to be that person, but I was a fan of Jordan’s before they were in coXst."Sam dramatically rolled her eyes. Lena changed the subject, “Anyway, please update me on things here while I have been at CatCo.”“Morgan Edge filed an antitrust lawsuit with the F.T.C.,” Sam reported, ”But I think I will be able to get the case dismissed and move forward with the JQB merger.”“That sociopathic cockroach is just mad that I bought CatCo before he could.”“How are things going at CatCo?”“Not as smoothly as I’d hoped. James Olsen and I seem to have communication problems. I was counting on Kara Danvers to act as a bit of a go-between, but she’s always running off to follow some lead.”“Well, you can’t fault her for staying on a story. Why do you think you and James Olsen are having issues?”“He probably still has difficulty with my last name. He often got caught in the crossfire between Superman and my brother.”“You are not your brother.” A few months later, Jordan Jacobs had come to National City for the groundbreaking celebration. The photo-op of them plunging a shovel into the construction site was accompanied by the ever-present gaggle of screaming girls. Jordan flashed their pearly whites and waved, as always. They really played it up by wearing a hard hat and goggles. Paparazzi called out their name so that they would look in their direction for a picture.That evening’s party had a completely different vibe. The wealthiest inhabitants of National City were in attendance, as well as some who made the trip from Los Angeles. Jwe fed off the attention. Jordan let him take center stage while she sampled the alcohol, just as she had done throughout most of their time in coXst. The only person she wished to see in National City was a certain green-eyed CEO, and she hadn’t turned up thus far. Jordan was trapped in a circle of all-knowing, old, white men when they finally caught a glimpse of La Luthor. How was she more stunning than years before?“Congratulations, Jordan,” Lena purred. The moment Jordan had been eager for since they made the decision to move to National City had arrived. But all they could do was slur out a thank you before being ushered over to another group of all-knowing, old, white men. They all had something they thought Jordan should invest in. Jwe found it all so exciting.Jordan's anger, disappointment, and disgust simmered the rest of the evening and boiled over once they were finally alone. "Why did you keep me from Lena," Jordan raged."You're drunk," Jwe retorted, "And you don't have to yell. I can hear your thoughts."Jordan washed down some Oxy with the first little bottle they grabbed from the mini-bar. They removed their already loosened tie and coat and flung them over a chair. They unbuttoned and removed their shirt and then struggled to get the binder up over their head. It was so tight that they had to roll it up over their shoulders. That missed the chair. They pushed their shoes off at the heels with their toes. They unclasped and unzipped their trousers, letting them drop to the floor. Jordan stepped out of the legs and staggered to the bed. In just socks and underwear, they flopped onto the mattress and quickly passed out.After some time passed, Jwe rose from the bed and found his way to the closet. He removed a heavy, white, cotton robe from a wooden hanger and wrapped it around Jordan’s body. Jwe replaced the hanger on the rod. With a flourish of a hand, the pants, shirt, and binder lifted from the floor and folded over a chair. He suddenly felt a wave of nausea crest. Jwe made his way to the bathroom and splashed some water on the face over the sink. He looked in the mirror at the body peeking out from the parted robe. The belly was pale and starting to protrude over the blue, cotton, boxer briefs. Above that were the sad, little sacks starting to sag. The body showed signs of wear and tear, but there was still a baby face with hardly any wrinkles and just a few freckles. The brown eyes had dark circles under them. The short hair over the ears was black, while the longer hair on top was blue. Jwe tied a knot in the belt, pulling the robe closed. He left the bathroom and went back to the clothes hanging over the chair. Fishing around in the pockets, he pulled out the room key card. He gathered the ice bucket and set out down the hallway. Luckily, Jwe didn’t encounter any screaming girls. He feared the screams would have a different tone if anyone saw them in this state. Just the muffled sounds of televisions spilled out of the rooms they passed on the way to the ice machine. The ice chips thundered into the bucket. He clutched it to the chest as he shuffled back to the room. Once inside, he added the ice to a glass and poured water from a plastic bottle into it. He hurriedly hydrated the body in an attempt to keep it from being too hungover in the morning.Sitting in a chair at the small, round table, he flipped open a folder of information to the page with the local businesses listed. He grabbed the notepad and pen bearing the hotel’s name and scrawled the name of the flower delivery place, along with its phone number. If he could call now he would, but they would not be open for several hours. Instead, Jwe called the front desk and asked for a wake-up call at 9 a.m. He crawled under the covers and turned off the light. Lena didn’t show her hurt nor disappointment until she was alone inside the hotel room she called home. She kicked off her heels as soon as she made it through the door. Her eyes filled and threatened to spill over. She poured herself two fingers of Van Horne’s and stood at the window. It was her third glass of Scotch. The first was to be what she was sipping when she and Jordan saw each other, just as it had been at that party at M.I.T. years ago. But Jordan had been too busy talking to everyone else at the party and hardly even acknowledged her presence. Of course they had to talk to everyone else at the party, Lena chided herself. That was the whole reason for the party, to introduce Jordan as the newest member of National City society. The second glass of Scotch, she downed quickly when Jordan ignored her to go talk to Morgan Edge, of all people. The man tried to decimate the waterfront area in order to gentrify the neighborhood with his own high rises. Morgan Edge. That’s who Jordan talked to instead of her. Maybe Jordan had changed since college. They sure looked different with the short, blue hair. Jordan woke up to a ringing telephone. They fumbled the receiver and got out a groggy hello. A recorded voice informed them that this was their requested wake up call. Jordan didn’t remember requesting a wake up call. The message repeated. Jordan placed the receiver back onto its cradle. They stumbled into the bathroom and turned the water on in the shower. They emerged refreshed fifteen minutes later and found a note on the table on top of the local information book.What are the flowers for, Jordan asked internally.Send some to Lena, Jwe answered.They thought back to that Saturday morning they met Lena at Park Street Station and rode the T to Haymarket. Jordan was unsure how Lena would traverse the uneven terrain. Most who wore high-heeled shoes in Boston kept them in a bag until they reached their destination, opting for more rugged footwear on the train. This woman could run in heels. Jordan looked from them to the boots they were wearing.“What,” Lena asked, “You don’t like my shoes?”“They’re nice. Too nice. Don’t want you to wreck ‘em.”“They’ll be fine. You want to grab coffee?”“Sure.”“I take mine black,” Lena revealed.“Like your men?”“What??”“It’s a line from Airplane. A joke. Surely you have seen the movie.”“Don’t call me Shirley. Yes, I have.” They chuckled together. “How do you like your coffee,” Lena queried, “Regular?”“I’d rather have hot chocolate.”“Really? Okay.”Jordan grabbed the handle and pulled the door open to Dunkie’s and followed the brunette inside. Lena ordered the drinks and refused to let Jordan pay, waving them off as if the offer was an insult. Jordan shrugged and stuffed their little zippered purse back into their jacket pocket. They shimmied past other customers to get back outside. As they neared the tents, the heel of Lena’s left shoe plunged into a crack between two bricks on the sidewalk. She teetered, but Jordan caught her with a steady arm and held her until she could right herself. Maybe they held on a little longer than needed, but it felt warm. And then that warmth grew hot and led to anxiety and a little awkwardness. Jordan was suddenly very curious about some produce in a nearby booth. They shuffled along with the crowd, pointing to items that caught their eye. Lena bent over some Oriental Lilies. Jordan stayed back.“You ah, like those,” Jordan asked with much trepidation.“They’re very fragrant,” Lena half-answered.“Yes. One whiff and I get a headache,” Jordan supplied, “I call them Headache Flowers.”“Oh,” Lena quickly moved away.“It’s okay for you to like them though.”“They’re not my favorite.”“Which flowers are your favorite?”“They’re rare - Plumeria. Tropical. They use them to make leis in Hawaii.”Jwe thought of a pig roasting over a fire at a luau and women hula dancing. The visions filled Jordan’s head, so she shook it.“You don’t like those either,” Lena asked, somewhat wounded.“No, no. no. I just haven’t been there myself.”“It’s actually one of the few enjoyable vacations we had as a family, despite my not liking beaches. Father was only absent for a short amount of time and Mother actually relaxed for a day or two. Lex and I got along back then. His fascination with Superman hadn’t become an obsession yet.”“Why is your brother obsessed with Superman?”“He’s an alien with powers that no human could overcome.”Jwe recoiled but Jordan pressed on, “Why would you have to overcome Superman? He protects people. Ya know, truth, justice, and all that.”“But what if Superman didn’t protect? What if he decided -- or something made him do the opposite?”“So you agree with your brother?”“No. I think my brother is really just jealous and wants powers of his own.”Jordan decided to lighten the conversation. “If you could have a superpower, what would it be?”Lena barely hesitated. “Umbrakinesis.”“Umbrakinesis? I know about telekinesis, but not umbrakinesis.”“Moving through shadows, darkness. My mother - my real one - used to read me stories of adventure when I was little. There was one about a village that lay in the shadow of a volcano. The sun never shined there. A young girl was determined to find light and fought a snake to find the Medallion of Acrata. It gave her the power to move between shadows.”“What is it about girls and snakes,” Jordan pondered. “One offers fruit from the tree of knowledge. This one offers a medallion that moves a girl between shadows.”“Well, not really offers, per se. She had to defeat it to get the medallion.”“Oh, right. But if you’re moving from shadow to shadow, when are you in the light?”“Hmmm,” Lena thought aloud.“Remember, the light at the end of the tunnel may be you.”“Or an oncoming train,” Lena displayed her dark humor which they appeared to share.  They locked arms and laughed. Jordan dialed the number on Jwe’s note. When they answered, Jordan asked about having a bouquet of plumeria delivered. They were not sure they had any and placed the call on hold. Jordan tapped their fingers along with the recorded music.“You’re in luck,” the voice on the other end of the phone proclaimed. “We got a shipment in yesterday.”“Wonderful. How soon could it be delivered to L Corp?”“By the end of the week,” the voice answered brightly.Jordan’s heart sank. Those flowers needed to be in front of Lena immediately if she was going to forgive Jordan for not talking to her last night. “Would I be able to pick them up myself?”“We’re a delivery service.”“I understand. But I would like to pick up the flowers instead. I will still pay your delivery fee.”“You’ll pay for delivery, but pick them up?”“Yes. How long do you need to arrange them?”“This afternoon?”“I’ll pay double if you can have it ready for me in an hour.”“Ummm, okay.”“Great.” Jordan gave their credit card information. There was a quick intake of air when they read the name on the card.After ending the call, Jordan made another to the car service. They packed their things, dropped some cash on the dresser for housekeeping, and left the room. Jordan donned dark sunglasses as they neared the lobby. With a jogging suit and a baseball cap on, they looked more like a tourist than a former pop star turned record label owner. The day was bright. Jordan’s head began to throb, but they pushed the pain down. They were on a mission. The town car pulled up to the curb, and the driver jumped out. Jordan met them at the trunk, which had popped open. The driver helped Jordan hoist the carry-on luggage over the rear bumper, snapped the lid back down, and opened the door to the backseat. Lena was waist-deep in paperwork at her desk at L-Corp. She needed to plow through it at great speed so that she could start her day over at CatCo. Raised voices outside her office door interrupted the work. Lena pulled her taser from her purse with her left hand and pressed the intercom button with her right middle finger. “Jess, is everything all right out there?” The office door burst open. Jess followed a delivery person in a jogging suit with white flowers in a ceramic vase cradled in a box top into the room.“I’m so sorry, Ms. Luthor! He said he had to deliver this in person, but I told him you were unavailable. And then when you called on the intercom and I went to answer, he barged right in!”Lena looked at the flowers. “Plumerias,” she asked, already knowing the answer.The delivery person eyed the weapon in her hand. They shifted the vase to their left hand and held up their right. They smacked their chewing gum while saying, “Don’t tase me, bro.”Lena placed the taser onto the desk and took the box top containing the vase of flowers. She plucked the little card out and read aloud, “It’s so not fair.”“What the hell does that mean,” Jess asked.Lena’s eyes narrowed as she marched back up to the delivery person and snatched the glasses and backwards baseball cap off their head. Blue hair spilled out around the face that sported a wide grin. “Jordan,” Lena proclaimed without giving away if she was happy or angry they were there.“Jacobs,” Jess asked with eyes wide.“Nice to meet you, Jess. Sorry for all the commotion.” Jordan held out their hand to shake Jess’ warmly.Lena said, “Thank you, Jess,” signaling that she could go back to her desk. Lena sat back down behind hers.Jordan scooted a chair up in front of the large, white structure. “The rest of that message was: That we didn’t get to talk last night.”“Well, whose fault is that,” Lena asked indignantly.“Mine,” Jordan offered, “Hence the apology of hand-delivered flowers.”“You remembered my favorite.”“I remember everything you tell me.” Lena arched her left eyebrow in disbelief. “And you are the one I wanted to be listening to last night,” Jordan added.“Instead you were listening to Morgan Edge talk your ear off.” Lena said his name with a sneer.“Yeah, what’s his deal anyway?”“What’s his deal? Don’t you know after being his rapt audience last night?”Jordan detected a hint of jealousy in Lena’s voice and chuckled. “Truthfully, I didn’t hear a word he said. I just stared at him. He’s very handsome.” Lena made a sound of disgust. “Aw c’mon, Kieran. You know I’m a sucker for dark hair and light eyes.”“If you find Edge attractive, you are a sucker,” she spat.“Why the animosity?”“I hate that sentient bottle of cheap cologne. He leveled the waterfront to build high rises and forced people from their homes. And you bought a piece of it for your Revolution Records building.”That stung. Jordan asked Jwe in their thoughts if he was aware of all this. He was. He had been listening to Edge last night. It was Jordan who drowned it out with alcohol.“So if you don’t mind,” Lena continued, ”I have a lot of work to do.”Lena was hurt. Flowers weren’t going to cut it. Jordan had to come up with a more grand gesture. “Are you free for lunch?”“No, Jordan. I have to be at CatCo by lunchtime. I am trying to learn all I can about running a media company.”“I know a little about it,” Jordan offered, “The entertainment aspect of it.”“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lena softened slightly, “How long are you in town?”“I fly back up to L.A. this evening. I’ll move down to National City when the building is somewhat habitable.”“I’ll see you then.” Lena stood up and rounded her desk to say farewell.Jordan was encouraged that some of the ice had melted. They embraced with their chins on each other’s shoulders. Lena’s arms wrapped around Jordan’s upper arms and back. Jordan’s hands held her lower back. It felt strange and familiar at the same time. Lena breathed in the scent of the hotel’s shower gel. Jordan felt the warmth and softness of her cheek against theirs. They both were slow to end the hug. When they parted, both wanted to kiss but thought better of it.Jordan waved to Jess on their way to the elevator. When they emerged from it in the lobby, they pulled their phone from their pocket and called the architect.“J.J., we broke ground on your building today!”“Are you on site, Mr. Frame?”“I’ll be there in a half hour.”“Good. I’ll meet you there. I have some changes.”“Changes? Now?”“Yes. We need to lose several floors of office space and convert it to apartments. See you soon.”In the car, Jordan called their assistant.“Hi, J.J. Problem with the flight?”“Not yet. I plan to be on it in a few hours. Need you to look into something for me, Sherry.”“What’s that, boss?”“Making the condos in the new building into low-income housing instead. Zoning requirements, etc.”“On it.”“Thanks. See you in the morning.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As soon as Lena entered CatCo, James Olsen was at her heels. He questioned the increase in advertising space in the current issue of the magazine. She had to explain that they had to make up revenue from low subscription prices with ads. It’s a delicate balance. More ads to get more money, but not so many that you repel the readers. Print media was disappearing as it was. Everything was moving online. Lena said more ads were a necessary evil. That sounded ominous to James, coming from the mouth of a Luthor. Kara Danvers brightened the room when she entered, until she indicated the television screen on the wall behind the desk. Morgan Edge was at the Luthor Family Children Hospital.Jordan saw Edge on their television screen in their office in L.A. as well. They grabbed the remote and turned up the volume on the GBS channel. Edge said, ”It was a nightmare, and we would have given anything for it to end, am I right,” as he turned his back to the camera. He faced children in wheelchairs with oxygen masks strapped to their faces. Doctors and nurses looked on. “Then the Daxamites, the ships just up and left. You know why they left,” he asked, facing the camera again. “It was a lead-dispersal bomb that drove ‘em away. I have a colleague whose son was sick. He brought him here. There were other children in this hospital with the same symptoms. The doctors told me that there were other children in still other hospitals all displaying the same symptoms. Lead poisoning,” Edge announced with conviction, his stance like that of a politician. ”You know it’s fitting that we’re here in this hospital,” Edge continued, crouching down next to a child in a wheelchair, “Lena Luthor built the bomb that poisoned these boys and girls.” There it was, the accusation. Jordan’s mouth dropped open. Off screen, reporters yelled questions, asking for proof. Edge told them to “keep it down” out of respect for the children. He was the one using them as a backdrop.Lena hurried to the hospital, with Kara close behind. When they arrived, they found Samantha there. Ruby’s friend, Luke, had collapsed outside school. Then, Lena spotted Morgan Edge and marched right up to confront him. He held her off with a finger in the air. He made a show of signing off on the medical expenses for the sick children. Edge pontificated about the “cobra effect”, also known as “perverse incentives”. It’s an unintended negative result of a solution meant to improve a situation. An economist coined the phrase when describing an event in India. The British government ruled at the time, and wanted to rid the area of the venomous snakes, so they offered a bounty for every dead cobra turned in. It worked at first. But then people started breeding cobras in order to kill them and receive the bounty. Edge sold this theory as what happened when Lena repurposed Lex’s device to release lead into the atmosphere to stop the Daxamites from invading Earth. It worked, but then poisoned children.Jordan texted Lena.Lena Luthor🔽11:44 AM Hey, I saw your hospital on the news. U OK?Yeah, I’m not sick. I just made innocent children sick. 11:51 AM11:52 AM Good. Oh You really think it was your fault?I configured the device to put lead in the atmosphere 11:54 AM11:55 AM You did that to save people from a violent invasion. If you knew it was harmful to kids, you wouldn’t have done it.Are you sure of that? I am a Luthor 11:56 AM11:57 AM Stop thatI’ve got to go prepare a statement. I’m giving a press conference about stepping down from CatCo and L-Corp. 11:59 AM12:00 PM What?? No! Don’t do that, LenaJames Olsen suggested it and I think it’s a good idea 12:03 PM12:05 PM Oh of course James Olsen thinks that. He’s been giving you a hard time running CatCo. He wants control back.Well he’s getting it until we figure this all out 12:07 PM12:09 PM Is there anything I can do?Come up with a cure for lead poisoning 12:10 PM12:11 PM My money is on you to do thatLena heard an angry man shouting her name out in the corridor. His son was in the hospital. Was this Luke’s father? He was wearing a green flannel shirt under a black hooded sweatshirt and veins popped out from his neck. She rushed out, flanked by James, Kara, and Sam. Assistant Eve had been blocking him from entering the office and then left to fetch security officers. CatCo employees in the open office area looked on as the man described the condition of his 12-year-old son. Lena’s eyes filled with tears as she apologized. This only angered the man more. He was then escorted out by security. Later that afternoon, Jordan was sitting at the audio console in Recording Studio A. They adjusted the sliders to bring the vocals above the guitar from an earlier session. Jordan tried to capture the live sound of the Latinx punk rock band from San Antonio on a studio recording. The music spoke to them and they were anxious to release their record to the world. The small television screen on the shelf above the old CD players was on with the volume down. They caught the surging crowd on screen out of the corner of their eye. They paused playback of the music and moved the slider up on the channel to which the TV was connected. “LOCK HER UP,” the crowd chanted. They waved signs about poisoning children and not trusting L-Corp. But they may as well have carried pitchforks and torches.Lena strode the makeshift stage wearing black heels, a red and black pantsuit, her hair pulled up in a tight bun, and a solemn expression. She introduced herself amid the shouting. Microphones from five networks were attached onto the clear plexiglass podium, all aimed at her. “I know a lot of you are angry. I hear you,” she said, “I would be myself if I felt someone had poisoned my children. So, my thoughts go out to everyone who is afflicted. I heard what Morgan Edge told you this morning. And I wish I was up here to say something different…” The throng began to quiet to hear her words.Jordan was as transfixed as they always had been when looking at Lena Luthor. She continued, “...The truth is, I don’t know if my device hurt children. And until I do, I realize that none of you can have faith in me. Your faith is something I have worked harder than you may realize to keep, and the fact that I might have lost it breaks my heart.” Jordan’s heart broke a little at that admission. Anyone else would have denied any wrongdoing. People who have intentionally hurt people have refused to accept responsibility for their actions. That right there was class. And then, gunshots rang out. Jordan sprang to their feet, trying to get closer to the TV, as if they would be able to see what was happening off screen. James ran to Lena and pushed her down. Sam ducked. The camera swiveled back to the horde, just in time to catch a person in a black hooded sweatshirt being tackled to the ground by a Black man in a gray Luthor Corp jacket. He pulled back the hood to reveal the crying face of a woman with short, red hair. The camera cut back to the stage. Lena kneeled above a grimacing James with both hands flat against the spot where a bullet had entered his shoulder. She literally had blood on her hands.Jordan paced the small square of space in the studio. They wanted to jump back on a plane to National City. They dragged a hand back through their hair.Lena didn’t get shot, Jwe thought to Jordan.We don’t know that, Jordan answered.
That man got shot. She’s all right.

She’s not all right. I have to be there for her.

She’s got people. There’s nothing we can do.
Jordan sat back down and put their head in their hands. “We could have lost her,” Jordan whispered. Sam invited Lena to stay at her house and gave her a gray and blue National City University sweatshirt to change into. She thought Lena would be safer there because nobody would know where she was. Lena was afraid she was placing Sam and her daughter, Ruby in harm’s way. She also wondered aloud if Sam would want her there if Ruby had fallen ill. But Ruby wanted her Aunt Lena there too, and brought pillows out to the couch for her.Lena broke a glass and grabbed another to continue polishing off a bottle of red wine. Maybe when it was emptied she could crawl inside and hide there. Kara arrived at the house to find the inebriated and despondent Lena. She swept the shards of glass into the trash. Lena’s dark hair fell in waves past her shoulders and most of her makeup had been rubbed off.Kara sighed, “I came to let you know that I’m not done. Not by a long shot. Until we know for sure, I will turn over every rock, and -- ““Jussstop,” Lena interrupted. She put her hand up in the “Stop” position.Kara sat down with a confused expression, her brows furrowed. “You are one of the strongest women I know,” she informed Lena, “Why aren’t you fighting?”“Because I did it. Kara, I did it. You know, all I ever wanted to be was good. My whole life I was a pariah. First, because I was rich and because of my brother…. And then, finally I did just one thing that was good. And now I’m the monster that poisons children,” she scoffed. “You know, even Lex Luthor never did that.”“Anyone who knows you knows that you would never -- ““Maybe I’m the same. People are sick. It’s my fault.” Lena started to choke up.“There’s still a chance it wasn’t you.”“I know you believe that everything is good, and kind, and that is one of the things I love about you. But that’s not the real world. In the real world, my last name is bin Laden and everything I do hurts people.” Lena took a gulp of wine before continuing,”Hey you know, it’s in my DNA, okay? So please, just stop. Stop believing in me, okay? I am not worth it.” She downed the rest of her glass while Kara looked on with a pained expression. Lena’s phone dinged, so she picked it up to look at the text message.Jordan Jacobs🔽7:24 PM I’ve been thinking about you all day. What’s going on there?I’m half cut 7:25 PM7:26 PM You’re what?I polished off a bottle of wine by mself this afternoon 7:28 PM7:30 PM You’re alone? Where are you?In undisclosed location. Kara is here 7:32 PM7:32 PM I’m glad you’re not alone. I saw the press conference. Did Olsen get shot??Yesm in th shoulder Hell be okay 7:33 PM7:34 PM So relieved nothing happened to youIt should have been me 7:35 PM7:35 PM Lena! No! Don’t say that! Look, it’s gonna be alright. These kids will get better.7:36 PM People will know you didn’t mean to harm them. Right?7:37 PM Lena?Lena was passed out on the couch. A fire crackled in the fireplace. Kara skimmed through public records on her laptop. Sam arrived home. Sam had known Lena for a while but had never seen her in this state. She thanked Kara for staying with her and told her she could go home. They commiserated about bad dreams keeping them up at night and didn’t mind spending time investigating the situation instead of trying to sleep. Together, they found that the families of the sick children were all over the city, and not from the same neighborhood. Sam jumped onto Kara’s laptop to hack into the National City Financial Trust website, and then the West National City Bank website. They discovered that many of the families had eaten from Delaney’s Dumpling Truck. Could it have been food poisoning? The food truck had been at Frances Park on the 21st for National City’s first Oktoberfest. The pair checked on Lena and concluded she was not going to wake up any time soon. They decided to investigate Frances Park in person.Of great interest on site was the indoor community swimming pool. Sam tried the door but it was locked. When she looked away, Kara easily bent the latch guard plate cover and opened the door. The two women chatted about going to such pools when they were children. They discovered that they had something in common - both had been adopted. Kara bent down to get a sample of the water. She used a device made by her friend, Winn. She called him to let him know she was using it. He was able to detect instantaneously that there was a synthetic compound in the pool. When it was combined with water it mimicked the properties of lead. Those children got “lead poisoning” from the community pool, not the device Lena modified to rid the earth of Daxamites! Upon further investigation, Kara and Sam found the chlorine used to treat the pool water in a storage area. The label on the buckets showed it was manufactured and or distributed by the Acre Lee Chemical Company. Kara grabbed her phone again and called Lena. She was still passed out on the couch and it took a few rings for her to wake up.“Lena, Sam and I are at this pool and all the kids who got sick have been here,” Kara explained.“I thought I told you to stop.”“It wasn’t you.”Lena sat up. “What?”“There’s a synthetic chemical, when it touches water it becomes toxic to the body. It mimics the same symptoms as lead poisoning.”Lena stood up. “Well, how did it get in the swimming pool?”“It’s in the chlorine containers. They’ve been using it instead of chlorine. Sam and I are gonna try to track down the manufacturer. Acre Lee Chemical.”“Acre Lee Chemical,” Lena asked.“Yeah. You know it?”“No. No,” Lena lied. She had a photographic memory and recalled reading that a certain adversary owned stock in the company. “Thank you, both of you,” Lena stated before ending the call and changing into a different outfit of Sam’s. A black pantsuit and green jacket looked more formidable than a college sweatshirt.Morgan Edge didn’t agree. He remarked that she looked horrible when she entered his office. “Those sick kids really got you tied up in a knot, huh,” he asked from a seated position behind his desk.“Acre Lee,” Lena announced as she stalked toward him.“Acre what,” he feigned ignorance. He was the one who looked horrible, in a rumpled striped shirt and loosened maroon tie. Edge stood and moved around to the front of his desk. “Acre Lee, that’s where the coyote gets all the stuff that he’s gonna use to kill the roadrunner from, right?” Clever. But that company was Acme.“It’s a company you own,” Lena proclaimed, wearing a determined look and her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. “I remembered it from due diligence before I invested in your buildings. Established in 1982, manufactures hydrogen gas and sodium hydroxide and also simple chlorine used for swimming pools. Acquired by Edge Global seven years ago.”Edge stammered, “I’d have to check my records, you know.” He leaned against his desk.Lena continued, ”You used it to poison kids in swimming pools in order to drag my name through the mud.”He laughed it off. “Come on. That’s it? That’s what you’re bringing? That’s what you got? I say you did it, you say I did it? I expected better out of you.”He advanced on her slowly to intimidate her. But there was something else she brought - her gun. Lena cocked the hammer and aimed the pistol up at Edge. Before she could pull the trigger, she was hit on the head from behind.Lena came to, strapped inside a C-130 cargo plane with a gasp. She unclasped the belts and found a porthole window. It was too dark to see anything. She was up in the stratus. Yellow Acre Lee Chemical drums were banded together with black plastic strapping. Lena made her way to the cockpit to find no one inside. It was being piloted remotely by the man who had knocked her unconscious. The stooge looked like an 80s villain in a gray Members Only jacket. Morgan Edge sat next to him with his suit jacket now covering his rumpled shirt, watching Lena on a camera monitor. She grabbed the aviation headset and attempted a mayday call, but Edge and his goon jammed the transmission. Lena had figured out his plan and had to alert someone. He was taking his swimming pool scheme to another level. The water the chemicals were getting dumped into next was the reservoir.The distress call reached the DEO. Despite it being garbled, Kara instantly recognized Lena Luthor’s voice. She whipped off her dark-framed glasses and the clothes covering her super suit, and launched into the air. Edge ordered the cargo hatch open. The pallet of chemical drums waited just inside the door. Lena found a metal pole to jam the release. Supergirl flew into the plane through the opened hatch, over the chemical drums in a blue and red blur. She grasped the lever and closed the ramp. Lena smiled. Edge commanded his thug to crash the plane. Supergirl strained to hold the plane in place. Falling into Supergirl’s plan, Edge took over the controls and blew up a plane engine. Flames shot out from under the wing. The pressure of Supergirl’s hands against the roof ripped the plane in half. Lena fell to the bottom of one half, while the other half held the chemical drums. Supergirl held a half in each hand but couldn’t hold on for long. A selfless Lena urged Supergirl to drop her half in order to hold onto the other. Supergirl refused and shouted to her to climb up to her. And climb she did, reaching hand over hand. Supergirl cheered her on and well, she was in the kind of skirt to do it. Lena neared the top of her half and jumped. Supergirl let go of her half of the plane and caught her by the arm.After a day like that, most people would want to be at home in bed. Lena Luthor went to CatCo and found James Olsen at his desk, his arm in a sling. “Mr. Olsen, I didn’t expect you to be here.”“Well, the news never sleeps.”“How are you really,” Lena asked with a tight-lipped smile. “I was worried about you.”“Well, I’m kind of a hard man to keep down, Miss Luthor,” James answered with the same type of smile.“You know, I have a rule. Whenever anyone takes a bullet for me, they get to call me Lena.”He chuckled, “Okay, well, Lena it is. And uh, my friends call me James. Or Jimmy.”“Well, feel better, Jimmy Olsen.” Lena backed up a few steps with a wider grin and turned around for the door.Again, she didn’t go home. Lena returned to Sam’s house. She poured more wine, but this time in celebration. Sam shared the good news that the antidote L-Corp synthesized was working and the kids were getting better. Lena and Kara sighed in relief. Sam joined them on the mustard-colored couch. The three clinked their wine glasses together and hugged. The group hug was broken up by three different ringtones from three different phones. Ruby called from her friend’s house to say goodnight to her mother. Alex called her sister to ask her to meet at the bar. She had just broken off her engagement to Maggie. Jordan called their old friend instead of texting this time.“Hello,” Lena answered.“Hey, you didn’t text me back. What’s happening?”“Oh, sorry. A lot has happened.”“Are you okay?”“Yes, I’m much better now. The kids are getting better. L-Corp came up with the treatment. And I wasn’t the one who poisoned them.”“Great! So what made them sick?”“A chemical that your friend, Morgan Edge, dumped into a swimming pool.”“What? He’s not my friend.”“You said you were a sucker for him.”“That is not what I said.”“Jordan, I have to go. I’m at Sam’s and it’s rude of me to stay on the phone.”“Oh, I didn’t know. Well, I am glad you’re alright. Talk to you later.”“Bye.”Jordan flung their arm out to the side and toppled some half-filled moving boxes over.Jwe thought, Good thing there wasn’t anything breakable in those.Shut the hell up, Jordan responded.
Why are you mad at me?

You’re the one who had to get chummy with Morgan Edge that night.

You’re the one who got drunk. Just like you did for almost every coXst show.
 Ren and Pat tried to jostle Jordan awake. They were backstage at Red Rocks and the opening act had just finished their set.“C’mon man,” Pat urged. He was the blonde, blue-eyed, small town, country boy. Pat wore his plaid shirt open to show off his bronzed smooth skin over his abs and pecs. A gold cross hung from his neck and a belt with a big buckle held up his ripped jeans.“Dang, not again,” Ren practically whined as he crouched down in his baggy white pants. He pulled the brim of his trucker hat covering his straight, black hair a little more to the side and peered at Jordan over metal framed sunglasses with his brown hooded eyes. He thumped Jordan’s chest.Jwe opened the small, glinted, brown eyes and looked up at Ren and then Pat. He brought a hand to the face to push wavy reddish brown hair aside and then raised the arm. Pat grasped the outstretched hand and pulled them up to a standing position.Rayshon’s dark brown face appeared in the doorway. “We’re on in ten,” he announced with his body clad in a workout suit already in motion toward the stage. Arun “whooped” as he followed in camouflage pants and olive green tank top. Ren helped Jordan pull on their black leather jacket. It was Jwe that knew all the steps and was raring to go.The lights went down, the crowd cheered, the curtain parted, and coXst launched into “I Need You Now”. The guys took turns singing, “I” in succession and then, “Need You Now” in unison. They all continued, “More than ever before. I’m calling out your name cuz i can’t ignore… this feeling in my heart. It’s so profound. Baby, I need you now.”Ren took the lead, “Every time I close my eyes, I see your face. I feel your touch. I know deep down inside that I can’t get enough.”Then it was Jordan’s turn to sing, so Jwe stepped up to the microphone to belt out, “I can’t deny this feeling. It’s taking over me. I need you now. You’re the only one I see.”They all sang the chorus again before Rayshon crooned, “I’m lost without you. I’m incomplete. You’re the missing piece, that makes me whole. Every moment we’re apart, feels like a lifetime in my soul.”Pat was center stage for the bridge, “I’m standing here, all alone. Wondering when… you’ll come home. Can’t you see? I’m falling apart. I need you now. I have, right from the start.” They all repeated the chorus to the cheering fans.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

It was the coldest time of year in Los Angeles, consequently it was just below room temperature outside. Sherry donned her navy blue peacoat and adjusted her blue, green, and red scarf. She pressed the intercom button.“Are you ready to escort me to the last company holiday party in L.A.?”Jordan’s office door opened. They zipped up their black leather jacket and crooked their arm in Sherry’s direction. She grabbed her bag and slipped her arm through theirs.“Is the car waiting?”“Of course.”The car took them to Descanso Gardens. In the relative darkness, Jordan would not be swamped with people wanting pictures and autographs. Jordan and Sherry followed someone in khakis and a headset, carrying a clipboard to a large hut. Inside were a little more than half of the employees of Revolution Records, enjoying the buffet. They stopped to make small talk at several of the tables. Sherry lingered at one, while Jordan made their way to the bar. They tapped a fork against their glass to get everyone’s attention. The room quieted.“Thank you all for coming. We have this room until nine, so feel free to go enjoy the lights and come back as you please. I want to thank you all who are making the move to National City with me and those of you staying to watch over things here. Please be sure to pick up your gift from the table before you leave tonight. Happy Holidays!”Jordan lifted their glass in the air before bringing it to their lips. There was some applause before everyone went back to conversing. A few ventured up to give Jordan a hug or pat on the back. The DJ started up the karaoke machine. A few obligatory coXst songs were played, and Jordan even sang a couple of times. Then, Jordan and Sherry took a stroll around the Enchanted Forest of Light.There was a package waiting for Jordan when they got home that night. Lena had sent some Ghirardelli cocoa mix with a cup that had “Love your mug” written on it. Jordan swooned. They got out their phone to call Lena.“Hey, thank you for the gift!”“Oh good, you got it. And thank you for the Funko Pop Millennium Falcon with Han Solo at the helm.”“You’re quite welcome. There was one with Lando, but how could I not get the one with Solo?” Jordan was elated that it seemed like they were back to talking like they used to. “I just got in from the Revolution holiday party. I wish you could have been there with me to look at all the lights and stained glass in the garden.”“That sounds beautiful. I have a little party at a friend’s apartment tomorrow night. Just a small gathering. Less than a dozen of us.”“That sounds cozy. You’ve got friends there?”“Yes. Would you believe it? I actually have a group of friends!”“That’s amazing,” Jordan feigned surprise.“I can’t wait to introduce you to Sam and Kara.”“I can’t wait, either. I know they were really there for you with all that went on.”“Do you have the date you’ll be here yet?”“Sadly, no. But, I will keep you posted.”“Please do. Happy Holidays, Jordan.”“Happy Holidays, Lena.”Jordan sighed happily.Oh, back in love, Jwe asked derisively.Let me have this moment, asshole, Jordan answered. Lena opted for scotch instead of the Danvers special eggnog and perched at the kitchen island in Kara’s loft. Jingle Bell Rock by Hall & Oates played for the umpteenth time. Everyone groaned, but J’onn insisted Winn play it again. Lena toasted to “health”, while James toasted to “happiness”. They smiled at each other as they clinked glasses.Sam arrived in a frenzy with Ruby just ahead of her. Alex Danvers, Kara’s sister, entertained young Ruby with tales of Supergirl. Sam looked for “the good stuff” at the kitchen island with Lena.“Hey.”“Hey.”“Are you okay? I mean, you look a little pale.”“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just tired,” Sam answered, “Not enough hours, I guess.”“Yeah, I get that.”Lena glanced over at the rest of the guests in the living room area. James looked up and met her eyes. Sam poured herself a drink.“You know, if you wanted, you could pull James Olsen right underneath that mistletoe.”“James? Don’t be ridiculous.”“I mean, I think he likes you.”“I’m his boss.”“Mmm, yes, because that’s never happened before.”Lena turned a brighter shade of red as she remembered their little fling. The two had met when Lena was in charge of the takeover of Sam’s company. Sam was a junior VP, and as much of a late-night workaholic as Lena. They were the only ones in the office at 3 a.m. Sam was hunched over her desk, looking at spreadsheets. Then, she was spread over her desk by Lena.Kara abruptly interrupted that memory with a “Hi” for Sam.“I don’t mean to eavesdrop, but I’ve been noticing chemistry between you two for weeks now,” she informed Lena.“There’s no chemistry, all right?“Okay,” Kara said sarcastically.Sam chimed in, “It’s off the charts.”“Okay, I’m gonna have to kill both of you, all right? But then I wouldn’t have either of my best friends, so that wouldn’t work. So I’m just gonna have some more scotch.” Lena brought the glass to her lips with a raised finger and a determined nod.Kara changed to a more serious tone. “You know, this year has been really tough for me, but I did get two really great things out of it. And that’s you guys.”Lena notified Kara, “I am not wearing waterproof mascara.”Kara continued,”I’ve always been blessed. You know, my sister, I’ve always had her, and she has my back, but I’ve never had best friends. And I couldn’t have gotten through what I’ve been through this year without you two.”Sam responded, “Okay, now you’re gonna make me cry.”“I am very grateful for both of you,” Lena professed. She never thought she would have two best friends like this, either. She was so grateful that her fling with Sam had morphed into such a close friendship. It could have made working together very awkward. Kara could have resented her for adapting the device to make the earth inhabitable for her boyfriend, but she didn’t. And sure, Lena would rather Kara be pointing out chemistry between the two of them, but she knew Kara didn’t think of her in that way. They were best friends, and most of the time that was more than enough.Lena thought back further. Her friendship with Jack was based on a working relationship until it turned into a romantic relationship. But then he made her choose between her family and him, and she chose to move to National City to run the family company. There was Jordan. They were almost inseparable that last year of college. That almost turned into a romantic relationship. But then Jordan went to Gotham when Lena went back to Metropolis. Andrea was her best friend at boarding school, with benefits. That was when Lena realized she was bisexual. She should have probably realized it earlier with Mercy Graves, her brother’s girlfriend. Lena reasoned that Mercy was a mentor to her and nothing physical ever happened between them. Andrea was the first girl she kissed. But then she betrayed her by taking the medallion Lena was looking for and lying about it. Lena almost didn’t become friends with Kara and Sam because of that betrayal. Her friendship with Kara reminded her of the one with Jordan. They both had her back. They both seemed so kissable. She hadn’t kissed them though. Did she have romantic feelings for every close friend she had ever had? Was that now happening with James? The day before Christmas, Lena marched into the center of a meeting James was holding in his office at CatCo. A crop circle was discovered in a field on L-Corp property. Lena was convinced Morgan Edge was behind it.“That man has a vendetta against me,” she announced to James, after the others had left the office. “Believe me, he will go to any lengths. Plus he’s the only man who has the tech and the resources to pull something like this off. It’s gotta be Edge."“I think it’s time to pay that Don Johnson-wannabe a visit,” James agreed.Morgan’s assistant stood up from his desk looking very “Young Republican” in his button-down shirt and tie. He tried unsuccessfully to keep Lena and James from barging into Edge’s office. They hadn’t even bothered to take off their winter coats since entering the building.“Lena,” he said with surprise while perched on the edge of his desk. Again, he looked horrible. The glass of scotch in front of him betrayed that he was drinking before noon. “Didn’t recognize you without a .38 in your hand.”“Maybe I should hit you over the back of the head and put you on a drone headed for the reservoir,” Lena countered.“Allegedly. Come on,” Edge answered. “I assume this visit is still off the record, though.”Perhaps this comment was in reference to the Editor-in-Chief standing next to her. Lena raised her phone horizontally to flash a picture of the crop circle.“Morgan, what is this?”“I don’t know. It looks weird.” He stepped toward them to get a closer look. “What, are you rebranding? I mean, hey, it worked for Prince, right?” Edge shifted his gaze to James.“I know you’re behind this,” Lena continued, “It’s more fear mongering, more of the same. You’re so predictable.” She placed the phone back in her pocket.“Lena, Lena, Lena, come on, it’s Christmas. Where’s your Christmas spirit? It’s my favorite time of the year.” He walked past them to his tall Christmas tree. It wasn’t gifts he leaned over to pick up, but two rolls of paper with rubber bands, not ribbons around them. “The only fires I’m lighting are the ones I’m gonna roast chestnuts over.”Lena wanted to roast his chestnuts over an open fire.Morgan stepped back in front of them. “And if you think I had anything to do with going after you, which you sure as hell can’t prove, my line of attack would be much, much more effective. Is that why you brought your bodyguard?”James spoke for the first time since entering Morgan’s office,”I’m here just to make sure that you remain civil.”Edge moved closer to Olsen. “Jimmy, I get the feeling your dislike for me is more than just purely professional.”“You get feelings?”Morgan turned his head away. “I, for one, have work to do, so if you wouldn’t mind, it’s time to go.”Lena quickly turned and headed for the door, but James lingered. When both neared the doorway, Morgan called out to them.“Oh, hey, come on, look. Hold up. What am I thinking? Where’s my manners?” This time, he did reach down for two gifts from under the tree and offered them up. “Little parting gift. Company present. I like to spread the cheer,” he said with a wide grin, holding a mug full of candy in each hand.“Bah humbug,” James refused flatly. He and Lena turned back for the door.“Merry Christmas,” Morgan grumbled to himself. Later that night, James accompanied Lena on a trek through the warehouses on the bay.“Where exactly are we going,” James queried.“I told you, this guy has access to Edge’s bank records. If Edge has been buying technology that can make those Kryptonian marks, this will lead us to him.”“That’s great, but I mean, literally, where are we going?”“Jimmy Olsen, are you scared? Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”A Kryptonian symbol was on fire on a water tower above them. Explosions erupted around them, and they ran to a dimly lit alley. The gravel was wet, causing them to slip and fall. James told Lena to stay down while he stood to face a man clad in leather, brandishing a laser gun. Luckily, James was able to deflect the shot with his shield and knock the man out with a punch. The assailant splashed down into a puddle. Lena got up from the ground as James turned back around to her.“Hey, so we’re alive,” he offered.“Yeah, well, thank God I was here,” Lena replied sarcastically.“You okay?”“It’s just my quarterly assassination attempt.”“Yeah, about that. Who the hell is this guy?”His name was Ken Adams. He used to work for the annual National City Tech Conference, which Morgan Edge hosted. Lena didn’t doubt that Edge hired Adams.Back at CatCo, Lena remarked that it was the second time James saved her from a shooter. She poured him a drink. They toasted to “Heavy days and Christmas Eve”, and then Lena grabbed him by his maroon tie and kissed him hard on the lips. She pulled back quickly with an embarrassed laugh. James clumsily placed their drinks back on the bar and kissed her again.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Jordan spent time in the studio up in L.A. It was one of the few spaces not filled with moving boxes. Charlie, the engineer, sat behind the sound board and slid the channel up so that the music Jordan had already recorded would play back. Jordan entered the vocal booth and placed headphones over their ears to hear it. Charlie hit the record button. Jordan stepped up to the microphone to sing the lyrics they had first written on a cardboard box a few days before.They sang the chorus in a low, soft, rumble: “Rain, rain, come and wash away my pain. Let it pour, let it pour, let it pour. Rain, rain, come and make it all okay. Let it pour, let it pour, let it pour.”Then the verses were a loud crescendo: “Drops fallin' on the windowpane. Memories flashin' through my brain. As the rain hits the ground, I hear a distant sound…. Lost in thoughts of you again. Wonderin' where our love did end. The rain is like a symphony
playin' just for me…. The rain is my only friend. It's there until the bitter end. I'll sing my song, the rain my muse. I'll never let it go, I'll never refuse.`` Sunlight streamed into James Olsen’s office at Catco. He stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the mosaic of monitors mounted on the wall behind his desk. His back was to the door that Lena entered.“It’s been two days since the world saw Supergirl be brutalized and still not a word about her whereabouts or well-being.”“She’ll turn up,” he offered.“I hope so,” she responded, “And Kara’s the only reporter who had a knack for tracking her down. Is she in yet?”“Kara? She…No, she’s, um… No, she’s not, actually.”“James, I was thinking, when Kara gets in, maybe we should all have a little… A little talk about what happened.”“Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay.”Bashful smiles were all around.“Yeah?”“Yes, we should,” James said before clearing his throat and moving back behind his desk.“It’s just that, you know,” Lena began to ramble, “We all work together, and we’re Kara’s two best friends, and you guys used to date, so she should know that we kissed.”“Definitely.”“I come from a family that lies, and we all know how that turns out, so…”They were interrupted by the sound of glass breaking and the appearance of the person who had beaten Supergirl to a pulp, Reign.“Why have you come here,” Lena questioned her.“To deliver a message.”“We are not your messengers.”Reign chuckled, “Yes you are.” She pointed at a man with short, brown hair wearing glasses and a green plaid shirt. “You, turn your camera on me.”He shakily lifted the video camera to his shoulder. After focusing the lens on the villain, he hit the record button.“This man was a thief, condemned by his own actions,” Reign indicated the person on the floor that she had thrown through the window, “You’ve allowed sin to take root and fester like a weed. And, worst of all, you have looked away. Apathy is the greatest sin of all. From now on it will be punished in kind. There will be no more mercy. There will only be justice. I’m here to help.” She turned and flew out the way she came in.James tried to reassure Lena that there were people working to stop Reign. He told her not to worry, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She wriggled out from under it.“James, I know why you were acting strange earlier on.” She backed up in a defensive motion with her arms crossed in front of her chest.“No, you don’t.”“Listen, there’s no reason to explain. We’re both adults. We’re just not a match.”James laughed off the explanation. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I wasn’t… No. No. I didn’t say that. It was… It was Kara.”“You’re acting awkward because you guys used to date?”“No. No, that’s not it, either. She’s just…”“Just what?”“She’s sick,” his voice went up an octave, “She’s sick. She has the flu. It’s just a really, really, really, really, really bad flu. It’s just… You know how people get when they get a flu, they get vulnerable.”“God, she won’t mind me knowing. I’m her best friend. You know, I should go over there.” Lena marched past James, out the door.“Yeah, that’s good. You’re a good friend. But -- ““But what?”“Soup,” he suggested, “Sick people love soup.”“Okay, I’ll get her some soup.”“Minestrone,” James recommended.“Yeah. Soup,” Lena answered, already leaving.“Tomato, chicken noodle,” James continued to offer, and then grabbed his phone to warn his friends. Lena knocked on the door to Kara’s loft. Kara opened it in a fuzzy bathrobe.“Kara, you haven’t been answering my calls, I’ve been worried.”“Yes, I’ve just been trying to sleep off this,” she coughed, ”Flu.”“Um, well,” Lena held up a plastic container with a big smile.“Chicken soup,” Kara accepted the vessel, “That’s very kind of you.”“You believe what’s been going on out here?” Lena pushed past her to enter the apartment, and dropped her purse onto an end table.“Yes, I, uh, have been keeping up with it,” she remarked in a somewhat peculiar tone, “I am a reporter at a national news organization.”“Yeah, I… I know. You work for me. That fever is really going to your head.”“You have no idea how much I am not feeling like myself.”“Listen,” Lena changed the subject, ”I know this is unimportant, given everything that’s going on right now, but… Yeah it turns out that you were right about the chemistry. Uh, James and I kissed.” Lena sat down on the couch.“Congratulations.”“Well, yeah. James is an amazing kisser, as I’m sure you know. It’s just, this morning he started acting really odd.”“Olsen can be enigmatic.”“Yeah, well, I know what it’s about. I mean, my brother is Lex, James is Superman’s best friend, and, you know, for a minute there I forgot my last name was Luthor. That’s a mistake I won’t be making again.”Kara sat down with her on the couch stiffly. “Oh, I’m sure that’s not the case,” she said while adjusting her posture, “Olsen likes you. A lot. I assure you if James is being awkward, it is not because of your last name.”“And here I was, coming to make you feel better…. I should go back to work,” Lena rose from her seat, “You should rest.”“Yes, boss.” Kara waved while Lena picked up her purse and let herself out of the door. Later that evening, Lena approached James’ office again. He was doing some paperwork at the coffee table.“Do you ever sleep,” she asked.“Yeah, well, Supergirl just woke up from a coma just in time to save a bunch of convicts who were about to be wrongfully executed by a murderous alien. So, would you rather I be sleeping or working?”“Working,” Lena replied while lowering herself to sit next to him on the sofa.“How is she,” James stammered, ”How is Kara?”“She’s still sick. But, you know, we talked, and despite her feverish delirium, she made me realize a few things…. I’m used to people reflexively hating me because I’m a Luthor, and I turned you being awkward about Kara into you being awkward about me, so I pushed you away. And I don’t want to do that anymore.”“Good. Because I really like you, Lena Luthor.”Lena giggled.“Come here,” James said as he leaned in for a kiss. Lena and James sat in the back of her town car while the driver weaved through the maze of streets of National City. James had asked that they cruise the waterfront area after dinner because he thought it would be more of a romantic setting than downtown. The other time they were down there on foot was amongst the warehouses. This time, James wanted to ride alongside the bay. They passed the new Revolution Records building."Looks like your friend's building is done. He should be here soon.""They," Lena corrected while ducking down to see out the window."Huh?""Jordan’s nonbinary. They/Them pronouns.""Oh, oh, oh, right. The queer one in Co-ex-ist," James over pronounced.Lena laughed, "They’re all queer in that group.""All of those guys," James asked incredulously."Yes, all of those screaming girls would be sad to know only a couple of them were into girls.""Which two?""Ren is bisexual, as well as Jordan."James digested that information. Lena decided to wade in further."You know that I am bisexual, right? Well, more pansexual, really."She braced for impact."N-n-no, I didn’t," James stuttered out."That doesn’t change anything with us, does it?"James' voice went up an octave when he answered, "No, why would it?"James had gone from feeling superior to Lena before he knew her, to feeling inferior when she took over CatCo, to feeling almost equal since they were dating, to then feeling out of his depth again. Like most men, this news made him insecure about his girl wanting to be with another girl, and at the same time hopeful for a threesome.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Jordan surveyed their new penthouse apartment on the thirty-third floor of the Revolution Records building. It was still a bit of a construction zone with a handful of people hammering, drilling, and painting throughout. But, the plumbing in the bathroom was functional. That and a bed was all they truly needed.Jordan was anxious to begin the next chapter of their life. They tossed a couple of suitcases into the back of their Admiral Blue Metallic Corvette, put the top down, and headed down the Five as the sun was rising. Near Wilderness Park, they veered off west to the 605 and merged onto the 405 to cut down toward Huntington Beach. Highway 1 took them along the coast. It was a longer route, but so much prettier than staying on the Five the whole way. They met up with the Five again near Capistrano, and arrived in National City at the end of the morning rush hour.The aforementioned bed, along with nightstands and dressers had been delivered. The rest of the furniture had been delayed, but that was fine because most of the space was still subfloor. Jordan would have to use care not to step on nails. They sifted through mail while dialing Lena’s number. It went to voicemail.“Hey, Kieran. It’s Jordan. I made it down to National City. Hope to see you soon. Call me.”
Jordan ended the call and looked at an invitation to the Parks Conservatory Gala. Lena walked past West Pender toward Vironique’s with James to grab some breakfast. They lost their appetites when they ran into Morgan Edge, exiting the restaurant. He picked up his car from the valet.“You know, Edge,” she informed him, “You act like a bully, but underneath it all, you are scared to death of a powerful woman you can’t control.”He told her she was not a powerful woman because she was wasting her time at CatCo. As it turned out, Morgan should have been terrified of a powerful woman who had gained control of his car. It accelerated as he pumped the brakes. The steering wheel moved on its own, directing the vehicle straight for the bay. Edge couldn’t even open the door. He thought quickly and crawled over the console to the back seat, removed it, and tunneled into the trunk. He pulled the emergency latch to open the trunk, and hurled his body out onto the pavement. Edge rolled several times as his car launched through the barrier and exploded into flames before plunging into the water. When he recovered, he half-marched, half-staggered into the CatCo office where Lena, James, Kara, and others were having their morning meeting.“How about this,” Edge announced, “Why don’t you try fifteen hundred words on how this deranged trust fund baby hacked into my car and tried to steer me off the edge of this damn city?”James stepped up amid Edge’s threats of retaliation to Lena and told him to leave. Lena reeled, pinching the bridge of her nose. She denied having anything to do with his car, but realized Edge was still going to come after her. Assistant Eve handed her a coffee in a to-go cup. Lena took a sip and walked out to the balcony. All of a sudden, she collapsed, foaming at the mouth.James ran down to the coffee cart on the street below. He caught sight of a man fleeing the scene and gave chase. He threw a tackle that football players would be jealous of, but the man was shot to death by a sniper before James could question him.Kara took Lena to the DEO, where her sister was able to deduce which poison had been put in her coffee. The team was able to save her life.Lena woke up on the couch in James’ office that evening, wondering what had happened. Her bare feet rested upon his lap. She felt like she had been hit by a truck. Kara came in and informed her she had been poisoned. James broke the news that Edge had hired someone to poison her, but that man had been killed with a disappearing bullet. The wheels started turning inside Lena’s head.She made a reconnaissance trip to L-Corp. Some old Luthor Corp files were in a safe in her office. One marked “Confidential” to her brother Lex on a “Dissolving Bullet” project caught her eye. Thunder Corp Labs had a prototype in the works called the “Evanesce Project” for ballistic dissolution. The tech specs and research findings occupied the rest of the pages of the file.Lena’s next stop was at the Thunder Corp Labs warehouse. It was there that she was greeted by her adoptive mother, Lillian.“You followed my breadcrumbs. More quickly, I expect, than your brother would have. I’m impressed.”Now, this was strange. Lillian always favored her son, heaping praise upon him while deriding the daughter that did not come from her womb, but from an affair her husband had. She asked Lena for a hug, but the young Luthor did not move toward her. Just as Morgan Edge had earlier, Lillian criticized Lena for taking over CatCo. She then approached her, took her hands, and offered to kill Morgan Edge. Lillian thought this would prove how much she loved her.Back at CatCo, Lena and Kara were approached by Alex and Sam. Sam had been suffering from memory loss and blackouts and went to Alex to run some tests. The tests were inconclusive. Sam seemed more afraid of what would happen to her daughter, Ruby than to herself. The other women assured her they would be there for her and Ruby.After Sam and Alex left, Lena went out to the balcony to get some air. It was just that morning that she had collapsed on that balcony after drinking arsenic-laced coffee. Kara approached the doorway and called to her. Lena confessed that she had gone to kill Morgan Edge when she confronted him about poisoning those children in the community swimming pool. As if that was not a big enough bomb to drop on her best friend, Lena then revealed that Lillian Luthor was in town, that she was behind the disintegrating bullet that killed the man who poisoned Lena’s coffee. She asked Kara to help her stop Lillian from killing Edge. Jordan tossed the keys to the Corvette to the valet, and pulled the invitation to the gala out of the breast pocket of their suit. Their faded blue locks were pulled back in a short ponytail. They smoothed their shirt and jacket, and found where to trade their invitation for a badge for entrance into the event. It was an odd feeling not to be flanked by security nor even their personal assistant, but it was freeing. There was no threat of being swarmed by screaming females. No one would ask for their autograph at this place. Jordan was sure they had made the correct choice to move to National City. They showed the badge to security and walked up the ramp. A waiter stopped near them with a tray of drinks, and Jordan plucked one off with a thank you.They stood next to a bistro table covered in a white cloth cinched by a green leaf wreath and watched the line of well-to-do entering the venue. They smiled when they spotted Lena Luthor approaching the security checkpoint. She wore her hair pulled back in a tight bun and an off the shoulder black dress that showcased ample cleavage.Security detained her from entering and made a call on the radio. Morgan Edge approached and said that Lena had not been invited.“Finally,” Jordan called out as they strode over, “I’ve been waiting for you, Lena.”She took Jordan’s offered arm and tried not to look surprised. Instead, she put on a smirk and a side-eye to Edge. “Sorry I am late, Darling. I had to recover from Edge poisoning my coffee.”“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Edge said as he sipped his drink. “Don’t tell me she’s your plus one, Jacobs. I thought you had better taste.”“Well, you thought wrong.”Lena glared at Jordan.“I mean, yes, she’s my plus one.”Lena took an electronic gadget out of her purse.“What is that? Some sort of weapon,” Edge asked, “A bomb?”“It looks like a recording device,” Jordan offered.The sky lit up as a cyclone of drones took to the air. The spectators were awestruck. The drones got into formation as some sort of spinning wheel or maybe a target.Lena told Edge, “My mother will kill you tonight unless you give me a confession.” She pressed the record button on the device.“I have nothing to confess to.”The drones took the shape of a ship on the water. One with a red light separated from the pack and seemed to head down to the party.“That drone is programmed to kill you. Admit you tried to kill me.”There was a beeping noise, and then lasers shot out of the drone. Jordan pulled Lena down under a nearby table. A security guard shot at the drone, and Edge used him as a shield. The man was shot and Edge ran away from the drone. Lena got out from under the table and gave chase. Jordan ran after her.Edge fell to the ground. Lena held out the recorder and once again asked for a confession. This time she got it. He admitted to trying to kill her, the lead poisoning scheme, and to trying to cover it all up. Lena smiled smugly and tugged his badge off the lanyard around his neck. She sent it sailing with a flick of her wrist just as another blast from the drone hit it.Instead of being grateful, Edge grabbed an ice pick and threatened Lena for the recording. Lillian Luthor stepped into view. A drone flew down behind her and transformed into a green suit around her body. Supergirl landed in the middle of the group just as Lillian powered up the suit and took aim. Lillian released a Kryptonite blade from her arm and struck Supergirl when she lunged for her. Supergirl collided with a light post, and the blast knocked Edge, Lena, and Jordan to the ground. The recording device skittered across the pavement. Lillian reared back to deliver another strike when some other superhero hit her with a blast from above. She propelled into the air and fought with the man, who turned out to be Mon-El. Supergirl recovered from the Kryptonite poisoning and joined them in the sky.Meanwhile, Edge snatched the recorder and made a dash for it, but Jordan tripped him. The recorder once again slid across the floor. Lena picked it up and kicked Edge in the face with a well-placed high-heeled shoe.Mon-El rode a drone and shot Lillian down. She crashed to the ground, and the suit fell off her. The NCPD escorted Morgan Edge out in handcuffs, while he vowed to crush Lena when he got back.“Well, you know where to find me,” she retorted, “My name’s on the building.”Kara, James, and Jordan approached to check on Lena. She told them the reason she wasn’t a killer was because she had friends. Then, she excused herself to see her mother who was lying on a gurney. Despite being defeated, Lillian had a smile on her face. Lena told her she had given her a wake-up call, that she needed her “Luthor Smarts” to do all the things she wanted to do. Lillian said that Lena should have let her kill Edge. Lena replied that there were other ways to do things. Lillian asked Lena to visit her in prison… if she was still there, and winked while wheeled away. Later that night, Jordan posted bail for Morgan Edge, and picked him up in his Corvette.
Getting into the car, Edge said, "I'd thank you, Jacobs, but you owe me.""No need to thank me," came the reply. The next day, Lena met Sam and Alex at Kara’s loft. Alex relayed the message that the rest of Sam’s tests came back clear. Kara and Lena sat on either side of Sam on the couch, happy about the good news. But Sam was still worried because they didn’t learn the reason for her blackouts. Alex assured her that they would figure it out. Lena reminded her to enjoy some time with her daughter. A few days later, Sam entered her office to find the former occupant there. Lena leaned over the front of her old desk in a black, fur-lined peacoat. Her hair was pulled back in a tight bun. Sam ended her phone call. She explained that she would have to replace a few people at TYK Labs. Lena offered to do it. Lillian and Edge had both taunted her about spending more time at CatCo than L Corp, and that got under Lena’s skin. However, Sam took offense and thought it was because Lena lost confidence in her due to her blackouts. Lena assured her that Sam had nothing to prove when it came to hard work, and ordered her to take the day off.“Sam, this has nothing to do with the way things have been running, believe me.”Sam shook her head.Lena continued, “With everything that you’re dealing with in your life right now, I just wanna give you as little stress as possible.”“Lena, I can’t take time off right now.”“Yeah, you can. There is nothing here I can’t handle, so go. Be with your daughter.”Sam had no choice but to listen to her boss and friend. Jordan heard the crew pounding in the penthouse suite adjacent to theirs as they entered the elevator. They pressed the button for the third floor for the Revolution Records offices and studios. Jordan was anxious for the studios to be finished. They were on a bit of a roll at the studios in L.A. and wanted to continue working on their new solo album while the creative juices were still flowing. It was a bit of a risk to change studios midstream, but they needed to be near Lena. The events at the gala the other night solidified that. Jordan wanted her as their plus one for real.The furniture movers were setting up desks, tables, and chairs as Jordan walked by. They pushed the heavy door open to Studio A. The “off” buttons on every channel of the sound board glowed red. Jordan flipped on the light switch. This was the largest of the three studios, with enough room to record a six-piece band on the other side of the glass. The only instrument that had arrived so far was an upright piano. Jordan walked over to it and sat down on its bench. They tapped the keys tentatively and recalled finding a baby grand piano at the Luthor mansion when Lena had brought them home during winter break.Jordan had started playing Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on it, in the style Tori Amos had used when she covered the song.They sang, “Load up on guns, bring your friends. It’s fun to lose and to pretend. She’s over-bored and self-assured. Oh no, I know a dirty word. Hello, hello, hello, how low --”“What do you think you’re doing,” Lillian roared as she entered the room. “That is a Steinway. And it is not to be used for th-that!”“Mother, it’s a piano. It should be played. Not just be a piece of furniture.”“Maybe it’s the choice of music,” Jordan offered, “How about this?” They started playing the triplets of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”. The Luthors looked on in shock. Lena yelled frantically for Ruby inside the skating rink. She found the twelve-year-old sitting on a bench in her olive green winter coat.“Honey, are you okay?”“I’m fine.”“Sweetheart, what happened?”“I turned around, and she was gone.”Lena sat Ruby down at a table. “Honey, I’m so sorry. Your mom’s just… She’s going through a lot. It’s gonna be okay.”“This is not okay,” Ruby said while wiping her eyes. “She was so excited to hang out today. And then she just disappeared. It’s like, a few months ago, she was planning on going on this big trip, and something wonderful was gonna happen. And when she got back, she acted like she hadn’t been anywhere.”“She didn’t remember,” Lena asked.Ruby sniffled, “There’s something wrong. I don’t know what, but there’s something. It’s like, sometimes, she’s a completely different person.”Lena considered this for a moment and said, ”Ruby, I know it’s scary, okay? But something you’ve got to know about me is that when there’s a problem, I always find an answer. Okay?”Ruby nodded with tears in her eyes. Lena gave her an encouraging smile, and then texted her mother to say she had picked her daughter up at the skating rink. She brought Ruby to her penthouse suite at the hotel, gave her something to eat, and got her settled in for a nap.That evening, Lena was sitting behind her old L Corp desk when Sam walked into the office. She was frantic, berating herself for abandoning her child. Lena assured Sam that Ruby was safe.“Do you remember,” Lena started to ask her.“No. I don’t. Same as always.”Sam’s contriteness soon turned to anger when Lena relayed that Ruby knew something was wrong with her. Sam thought her daughter hadn’t a clue and that Lena had informed her that her mother was sick.“You had no right to tell her anything. Just because you’re my boss does not mean you can make decisions for my family.”“No, it wasn’t like that,” Lena stammered, “It was --”“No one makes those decisions but me.”“Sam,” Lena said with more confidence, “Your blackouts are coinciding with something. I just need to ask you a few --”“Silence,” Sam commanded as her eyes flashed red.Lena was taken aback. “Sam?”Sam crumpled into a chair. She had blacked out again. She didn’t remember using the threatening tone with Lena. Lena knelt down in front of her chair.“Sam, honey, it’s okay, all right? I know what’s wrong with you. I’m gonna make you better.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Things were shaping up nicely at the Revolution Records building. The studios and offices had been built and furnished. Employees were getting settled at desks. The restaurant was churning to life on the first floor, along with the retail store. Jordan’s penthouse apartment was complete. There were just the thirty or so floors in between that had yet to be rented out as living and office space. Jordan wanted to show it off. They dialed Lena’s number.“Hi Jordan, how’s it going?”“Very well, Lena. I’d like to give you a tour and visit when you have time.”“I do want to see the place, but I’ve got a lot going on right now.“Ah --”“Hey, you know what?”“What?”“How about giving CatCo a tour? I could have my top reporter over for an interview with a photographer. Do a cover story.”“Umm…”“Jordan, your gorgeous face on the cover would sell a lot of copies. And everyone could see how impressive your new headquarters are. It’s a win-win.”“Well, I do need to get the word out about the rental space, and the restaurant and store opening…”“So, what do you say? Can CatCo get the exclusive?”“Okay, as long as it stays about the building and not about my past. No focusing on coXst and rehab and all that. Just Revolution.”“You’ve got it. I’ll have Kara Danvers set up an interview with you.”“Your friend? Okay, I guess that’s safe.”“Great.” Lena walked into James’ office at CatCo after the morning meeting had just begun. He was addressing each reporter on their respective subjects. Hayashi was working on a story about the Vipers reaching the playoffs for the first time in several years. Mackenzie was covering the red carpet looks at this year’s award season. Franklin was looking for an angle on the “Worldkillers”, Purity and Reign.Lena interrupted, “Kara, I got you an exclusive with Jordan Jacobs.”Kara squealed and then cleared her throat. “Uh, I would, umm, enjoy interviewing them.”“Right. I’d like it to be the next cover story.”James raised his eyebrows. “Okay. Take Dardine with you to get some shots.”After the room cleared. Kara approached Lena.“Oh R- my God, Lena. I love coXst.”“I know. That’s why I want you to do this. Showcase the new building and all they’re doing there.”“Absolutely.” Kara ran out excitedly to talk to Dardine about the photo shoot.Lena wrapped her arms about James’ midsection.“The cover, huh,” he asked.“Subscriptions are down, James. Jordan’s face on the cover with an exclusive interview will sell.”“I think the Worldkillers are a bigger priority.”Lena got lost in thought for a minute. “We’ll work on that, too.” The next day, Jordan took the elevator down to the lobby to meet Kara for their interview. The blonde lit up as they formally met for the first time, Jordan taking her hand in theirs.“Let me show you around and then we can sit and chat a bit.”People were stocking shelves in the store when they approached. Jordan informed Kara that the RPM store would sell not only records, but also band merchandise such as shirts, posters, and stickers. There would be all sorts of pop culture items such as figurines, lunch boxes, keychains, and books. Kara picked up a few things to get a closer look. Dardine snapped a few photos.Across the way, was the Chord Barre and Grille. Kara asked about the food, noting that she would appreciate pizza and potstickers. Jordan thought that was an interesting combination, and handed her a menu to peruse. It was mostly drinks, appetizers, and sandwiches listed on the laminated card. There was a large bar in the shape of a guitar; some small, round bistro tables, and a stage at the back of the room.“My hope is that this will become a cool gathering spot to showcase local acts,” they put forward.“Any chance of you jumping onstage to perform,” Kara asked.“That’s a possibility,” Jordan replied with a charismatic grin.They walked to the back of the building to the elevators. Jordan pointed out the circular shape of the building and that there were thirty-three floors.“Not quite the skyscraper that other reporters said it was,” Jordan notified.“How high does a building need to be to be called a skyscraper,” Kara asked.“Since the late nineteenth century, a building would have to be at least forty to fifty stories high.”As they rode the elevator up, Jordan pointed out the window to the garden below. “That is a little green space that the neighborhood can use to plant various things. Like a p-patch. I saw a lot of those when I was up in the Pacific Northwest, and liked the idea of that.”“Oh, when you were in rehab for your heroin addiction,” Kara asked rhetorically.Jordan stiffened. They thought back to their last performance with coXst and how it precipitated their rehab stay. At the end of a concert at the Moda Center, the lights were still dimmed while almost nineteen thousand fans stomped for an encore. Ren, Pat, Arun, and Rayshon were changing clothes and drying off their sweat. Jwe was about to do the same when Jordan woke up from their stupor. They grabbed an acoustic guitar and walked out to center stage to thunderous applause. A spotlight shined on them. Jordan adjusted the microphone stand and began to play in B minor the chords to “Hurt” by Nine Inch Nails.Jordan sang, “I… hurt myself today to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain. The only thing that’s real…. The needle tears a hole…. The old familiar sting. Try to kill it all away. But I remember everything….”They were Trent Reznor’s words, but they definitely could have come from Jordan’s pen. The crowd that had been cheering went silent and then shifted uncomfortably. The other coXst guys were at the wings of the stage, looking on incredulously.Jordan reached the end of the song with, “If I could start again… a million miles away… I would keep myself… I would find a way.” They took a breath and announced, “This is my last show with coXst. Thanks, everybody.”They checked into rehab that night.The elevator doors opened to the roof, the next place Jordan wanted to show off. They didn’t seem to notice at first. Kara and Dardine stepped out and looked back inside at Jordan. The doors started to close again, and Kara placed her hand in the way to stop them. She looked at Jordan quixotically.“Oh, uh, thanks. I got a little lost in thought on the ride up,” they chuckled. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this view of the bay.”“Yes, it’s beautiful from above,” Kara remarked.“Speaking of above, if you look down at this building from above, it resembles a record on a turntable,” they smiled.“Oh yeah, I saw that when I flew over -- in ah, in ah, helicopter the other day.”Whoops, Jwe thought.Jordan showed how the water tower in the middle represented the center spindle, and would collect the occasional rainfall for use in the plumbing system. Then, they indicated how the greenhouse was shaped as the tone arm. Finally, they proudly proclaimed the use of solar panels to facilitate power to the building. Dardine snapped a bunch of pictures while Kara jotted down some notes before the three of them got back into the elevator.“Is it true that most of the building is up for lease?”“Yes, there are a few floors of office space for lease above the two floors that hold the Revolution offices and studios. And about 75% of the building is low-income apartments.”“Oh, I read that it was half office space and half condos.”“That was the original plan. But when I heard that so many people had been displaced after that missile attack, I knew I had to change that.”Jordan escorted them through the offices on floor two, and then up a stairway to more offices and the studios on floor three.“And this is my new favorite place,” Jordan announced while pushing the door to Studio A open.Kara kept it open with no effort to follow them inside, but Dardine grunted when it was his turn to hold the door.“Oh? Why is that?”“Recording and mixing has always been my favorite part of the process. It’s where I get to be creative.”“What about performing onstage for thousands of people?”“Honestly, I hated it.”“How can you say that? All those coXst fans all over the world bought tickets to see you perform.”Jordan sighed, “I’d really rather focus on making records instead of talking about touring with coXst, if you don’t mind, Kara.”“But the reason you have the money to build this new headquarters for your record company is from doing all those coXst concerts,” Kara pointed out.“The reason I have money is because I wrote the songs. I wrote every hit on the Puppet Show and Obscurity albums,” Jordan retorted, “Now all they do is release Greatest Hits and Christmas albums because they have no original songs.”Kara took a beat and then asked, “Do you stay in touch with Ren, Pat, Rayshon, and Arun?”“No.”“What do you think of the new guy, Nick?”“I have no opinion.”“Would you ever do a reunion show?”“Kara, do you have any non-coXst questions?”“Well, it’s just that’s what you are famous for.”“And I have been running a record company. I have produced records for other artists. I’m working on my third solo album --”“Even though the second one flopped?”Jordan’s face flushed. “It certainly didn’t sell as much as my first solo album, but I am still proud of the work I did on it.”“Will it sound like the last one, or will you go back to your original sound?”“Original sound? You think that boy band pop crap was original?”“You just said you wrote all that “pop crap”.”“I did. Yes, it bought me buildings and cars. But, I’m not proud of it. It’s not original. My original sound was influenced by the singer-songwriters and punk rock ethos of the 1970’s. The stuff my parents grew up with and played for me.”“What do your parents think of what you’re doing?”Jordan closed their eyes. How did this reporter keep finding all of their buttons to push? Jordan’s parents made a deal with a male alien to live symbiotically with their daughter and then disapproved of how masculine she became. They hadn’t spoken in years.“They weren’t pleased that I moved to California to be in a boy band,” Jordan finally answered.“Is that why you’re ashamed of it?”“It’s got nothing to do with what my parents think.”“Are you sure about that?”What Jordan was sure about at that moment was that this wasn’t going to be the fluff story that they thought they’d get from Lena’s friend. That, and that they needed a drink. They opened a cabinet and pulled out a prescription bottle. A couple of pills were washed down with a swig of whiskey.“Well, thanks for coming to check out the building, Kara. Let me walk you back to the lobby.”“Yes, well, thanks for your time, Jordan.”Dardine took a couple of pictures of Jordan in the lobby before he and Kara left. Jordan let out a long breath. That really could not have gone any worse, they thought. Jwe responded that maybe he should have done the interview. He did have more experience with that sort of thing.The combination of pills and whiskey made Jordan woozy. They went up to the penthouse instead of back to the office. They unceremoniously flopped onto the bed and passed out.Jwe stood up and ran a hand through the hair. Adjusting the clothing, he searched the room for a tool to bring to the penthouse next door that was still under construction. His eyes landed on a pipe wrench left behind by the crew. He grabbed it, along with the key to the deadbolt lock and marched over. The place looked like it had gotten no closer to being finished than the day they had moved to National City. Plastic sheeting and sawdust was everywhere. Nails protruded from the subfloor. Studs had yet to be covered by drywall. In front of one load-bearing post, sat Morgan Edge, slumped over in tattered clothing. His hands were chained at the wrists around the back of the post. Jwe grasped a lock of his salt and pepper hair to pull his head up.“Wake up you waste of skin,” Jwe ordered contemptuously. He doused the man’s swollen face with cold water.“Let me go, you bastard,” Edge spat.“Why? So you can try to kill Lena again?”“I was already arrested and put in jail for that.”“We both know you won’t serve any real time for that. You’ll pay someone off.”“Innocent until proven guilty.”“You confessed.”“I was coerced.”“You’re just proving my point.”Jwe smacked the side of Edge’s face with the pipe wrench. “Don’t Meet Your Heroes,” Lena read the headline of the cover story and looked up over it at James and Kara. “Really, Kara?”“I’m sorry, Lena, but Jordan Jacobs is kind of an ass.”James laughed. Lena leveled a stare at him. He excused himself from the room.“Kara, you always see the good in people. You couldn’t see that in Jordan?”“I pointed out all of the good things they’re doing with the building: low-income housing and green energy. But, as a person…”“That’s funny because when I met you, you reminded me a lot of them. Talented. Thoughtful. Adorkable.”Kara scrunched her face. “Jordan Jacobs and I are nothing alike. Did you know they bailed Morgan Edge out of jail?”“What? No!”“That’s what my source at the NCPD said.”“Well, then your source is wrong.”“So, are you not going to publish my story?”“No, I am not going to play gatekeeper but I would like you to meet with them again. Give Jordan another chance. Maybe they were having a bad day.”“I suppose that’s fair.”“Hey, I’ll ask them to meet us for karaoke tonight. That would be fun, right? Maybe they’ll sing?” Jordan stood in a dark alley next to a dumpster and thought that they were in the wrong spot. A door opened and a couple of people stepped out for a smoke. The sound of laughter, music, and off-key singing spilled out with them. It must have been the place, Al’s Dive Bar. Jordan entered and let their eyes adjust to the low-lighting. Lena spotted them and waved. She got up from her chair and grabbed Jordan in a big hug. When the song ended, Lena introduced her old friend to her new ones.“Jordan, you remember Kara. This is her sister, Alex. That’s Winn, J’onn, J’onn’s father, and this is James.”Jordan gave a small wave to everyone around the table. Alex and Winn had big, inviting smiles. Kara, J’onn, and J’onn’s father grimaced a little. James put a possessive arm around Lena’s shoulder. Winn started to fanboy a little bit, but then got distracted by the next karaoke singer. Kara asked Jordan to go sit in a booth in the back corner with her.“Did Lena show you the story?”“She did.”“I should apologize. You asked that I focus on Revolution Records and not coXst, but I kept pushing you. I should have respected your boundaries.”Jordan was taken aback. “You were being a good reporter. Trying to get to the bottom of the story.”“It’s just that I’m a big coXst fan. And when you said you hated performing with them, I was personally offended.”“I have nothing against you or any coXst fans. It just was a very difficult part of my life. I -- can this be off the record?”“Of course.”“Well, you know about the heroin addiction. I had a really hard time performing like that in front of all those people. So, I’d nod off, to escape. It wasn’t what I wanted to be doing with my life. And I really want to put it in my past and move forward. Can you understand that?”“Yes, I can understand wanting to forget a painful part of your life.”“Thank you. And I’m sorry for being a bit of an ass to you.”“I’ll re-write the story.”“No, don’t. It was well written and truthful.”“Really?”“Yes. What do you say we sing “Say Goodbye” together?”“Oh no way! That would be awesome!”Kara submitted their song selection. Jordan followed, slowing at the group’s table to give Lena a thumbs up. Lena smiled. Kara handed Jordan a microphone for their duet.Kara began, ”I remember when we first met. Our love was something we couldn’t forget. But now the magic’s gone. And it’s time to move on.”Mon-El entered the bar in a tight blue shirt. He looked over to see Kara singing on stage. They smiled at each other.Jordan sang the second verse, “I know we tried to make it work. But we just couldn’t make it last. Our hearts were once in sync. But now they’re out of tune and flat.”Together, Kara and Jordan sang the chorus, “It’s hard to say goodbye. When we’ve shared so much time. But our love has run its course. And it’s time to end this rhyme.”There was much hooting and hollering for the duo, especially from their table. Lena may have surprised everyone by placing two fingers in her mouth to let out a loud whistle. Kara was one of the few people present who realized she was singing the song with the person who wrote and had a hit record with it.Jordan took the bridge, “I’ll always cherish the memories we made. The love we shared will never fade. But now it’s time for us to move on. And find the strength to carry on.”They both sang the chorus again. Then, Kara sang the outro, “I hope you find the love you’re searching for. And you find the happiness that you deserve. It’s time for us to say goodbye. But I’ll always cherish the love we shared.”Jordan placed the microphone back on its stand and followed Kara back to their table. James grabbed the mic from her and marched up to the stage.He began singing, “What went wrong? Baby, seemed like we were going to take this further and further. Same old song. And the juice we got from the squeeze wasn’t worth it.”Winn yelled, “Take your shirt off!”The girls laughed and smiled. The guys were impressed. Jordan felt like James was just trying to one-up them in front of Lena. It seemed like it worked too, until Lena looked at a message on her phone. She apologized to everyone but said she had to go back to the office to handle an emergency. James hugged her and she said she’d call him later. Jordan walked her to the door.“I’m glad you and Kara are getting along now. I hope you’ll stay and have fun.”“Yeah, I’ll stay for a little bit…. So, uh, you and James?”“It’s very new. But, it’s nice.”“Nice?”“Jordan?”“Yeah?”“Nevermind. I have to go.”“No. What is it?”“Did you bail Morgan Edge out of jail?”“What? No. Why would I do that?”“Okay. It was just a rumor.”Lena kissed Jordan’s cheek and dashed out the door. When they got back to the table, Kara’s sister, Alex was on stage.Alex sang, “No one can move me the way that you do. Nothing erases the feeling between me and you.”Jordan recognized it as the Cyndi Lauper tune, “I Drove All Night”. J’onn placed a drink in front of them. They thanked him and took a sip.“Mmm, this is good. What is it?”“I thought you’d like it,” J’onn answered, “Back on Mars, we called that a Jovian Julep. When beings from Jupiter visited and inhabited a Martian body, they enjoyed that concoction. Got them really drunk.”Jwe looked around the room which seemed to tilt a bit and realized this was an alien bar. Folks from other planets, even other solar systems surrounded the tables. They way out numbered the humans. Daxamites, Kryptonians, Martians, Titanians, Ikthanols, Roltikkons, Starhavenites, Infernians, and more. They wondered if Lena knew this. They drank more of the minty alien bourbon. J’onn winked and then headed to the stage to take the microphone from Alex.J’onn sang, “I get so emotional, baby. Ain’t it shocking what love can do?”Jordan hadn’t expected the stoic man to sing a Whitney Houston song. The rest of their group clapped and raised their drinks to him, so Jordan did as well. J’onn called to his father to join him. M’yrnn surprisingly did take the stage after his son, to sing “Suspicious Minds”.James left the table to have a beer with Mon-El. Kara and Winn went to pick out more songs to sing. Jordan sat with Alex.“You know, I’m not really a fan of coXst,” she revealed, “But I liked your solo album.”“Thanks. The first solo album, right?”“No, that was still kinda too poppy for me. I liked your other one.”“Really?”“Yeah, that’s much more my sound. Kinda grungy. Punk.”They smiled widely at each other.“That song you did? Did you know it was written for Roy Orbison, but that Cyndi Lauper recorded it first?”“No, I had no idea.”It could have been the alcohol, but Alex kept getting closer and closer to Jordan. They touched each other occasionally while talking.Alex really missed Maggie. She wondered if she had given up something good for a chance at something better that might not come to her. Breaking off her engagement may have been a huge mistake. It left her more than lonely. Hooking up with a rock star wouldn’t bring her the family she wanted to create, but maybe she could feel a little less lonely for a little while.Jordan was a bit crushed that Lena was with someone else. Again. It was like when they went to Metropolis to find that she had fallen for Jack. Lena had said being with James was nice. Lena didn’t do well with nice. Maybe this wouldn’t last. It was new. Maybe it would be over before it began. Despite being disheartened to find out that Lena was dating James, Jordan didn’t want to squander this time by getting drunk themself. In quite the reversal, Jwe passed out at some point and Jordan had complete control. The attention from Alex was intriguing, and a bit of an ego boost.At the end of the night, they were all saying their goodbyes. Alex stumbled a bit, and Kara caught a hold of her.“Did you ride your bike here?”“Yeah, but I don’t think I should ride it home.”“No, I don’t think so either.”“I can give you a ride home, Alex,” Jordan interjected.Kara began to protest, but Alex accepted the offer. They took her arm and led her outside to their car. Jordan opened the passenger side door and helped to seat Alex inside. She directed them to her apartment. At the front entrance, Alex fumbled with the keys, but eventually was able to open the door.“Thanks for bringing me home.”“Happy to -- “Before either of them could second guess it, Alex pressed her lips against Jordan’s. They held each other tightly and kissed fervently. Alex clumsily guided Jordan over to the bed across the room. They grasped at each other’s clothing, trying to remove it all. Alex clawed at Jordan’s binder to no avail. There was no graceful way to pull that article off, so Jordan excused themself to the bathroom. By the time they returned, Alex was already lying on her bed, partially covered by the blanket. When Jordan got closer, they realized Alex had passed out. They tucked her in and placed a kiss on her forehead. They pulled their clothes back on and left the apartment.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As Jordan entered the penthouse, they heard banging noises at the one next door. The crew couldn’t be working that late. They badged the door and it unlocked electronically, but wouldn’t open. There was another lock that required a key. Jordan didn’t remember having that installed. They did remember seeing a key near the car key when they were leaving for karaoke earlier, but didn’t know what it was for. They went to retrieve it, and it unlatched the door. Jordan pushed it open and looked around. What was supposed to be a suite for visiting artists to stay in while recording an album looked like it was being demolished instead of built. Jordan heard a groan. They followed the sound to find Morgan Edge on the ground. His skin was covered in bruises and dried blood. One eye was swollen shut. A broken chair was on its side near him. Jordan quickly left and locked the door again. They breathed heavily while calling Lena on their phone.“Jordan?”“Hi Lena, sorry if I’m waking you.”“I wasn’t asleep. I’m still at the office.”“Oh wow, uh, is there any way you could come to my place before you go home?”“It’s kind of late.”“I wouldn’t ask if… I need your help, Lena. I don’t know what to do.”Lena was at the Revolution Records building less than a half hour later. Jordan unlocked the doors to let her inside. They took the elevator up to the 33rd floor.“Thanks for coming so quickly.”“It sounded like an emergency.”“It is. I don’t know what to do. But I’ve got to do it fast.”“What is it?”“I’ll show you.”Jordan unlocked the deadbolt to the guest suite and pushed open the door to allow Lena in. Her heels clacked on the plywood. She gasped when she saw Morgan Edge slumped over. She shot an alarmed look back at Jordan.“Is he dead?”“No, just unconscious.”“What did you do?”“I don’t know.”“What do you mean you don’t know?”“I have to tell you something I’ve never told anyone. Come with me.”Jordan led Lena up to the roof. Jordan paced in the breeze a bit, and then realized time was of the essence.“I almost told you this so many times. Remember when I said my parents took extreme measures to keep me alive when I was a kid?”“Yes.”“I had a brain tumor. I was in the ICU at Mass General. They had transferred me from Children’s Hospital. The doctors told my parents it was inoperable. They were approached by a man who was also in the ICU. He said that he was an alien and that he was able to take over that part of my brain where the tumor was so that I could live longer. They were so desperate that they agreed to let him do it.”“What do you mean, “take over”? What exactly did they agree to?”“They moved me into the room where this man, Bill, was in a coma. You see, the alien was inside Bill. Bill was dying, and he needed a new body to stay alive himself. His name is Jwe and he’s from Jupiter.”“You’re telling me there’s an alien from Jupiter in your brain?”“Attached to it, yes.”“And he cured your cancer?”“He was able to take over the part where the tumor was so that it stopped growing.”“If he was able to do that, why couldn’t he keep Bill alive?”“He had for a long while. But then several of Bill’s organs began to fail at once.”“It’s a symbiotic thing. One can’t survive without the other.”Lena looked like she was solving complex equations in her head.Jordan continued, “I wanted to tell you before, but I was afraid. The Luthors don’t like aliens.”Lena felt attacked, getting lumped in with her family. “What does this have to do with Edge? Are you saying the alien did that?”“Jwe, yes, I think so. When I was passed out.”“Great, another friend who blacks out and has an alien take over to hurt people,” Lena muttered.“What?”“Nothing,” Lena said as she walked a few steps away to make a phone call.“So is this Jwe causing you to pass out,” Lena asked when she stepped back.“No, I am.”“You’re not doing heroin again, are you?”“No! But… I’ve been kind of self-medicating with painkillers and alcohol.”“Well, I’ve been known to use Scotch for that so I shouldn’t talk, but if Jwe does stuff like this when you’re passed out -- ““It’s not as bad as dancing around with a boy band,” Jordan joked.“Seriously, Jordan, if you were addicted to heroin, you can get addicted to painkillers.”“I know I have to stop. But… I need help.”“I’ll help you. We’ll take care of Edge. And then, you’ll come back to the lab with me.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Where are we? What happened, Jwe asked loudly.Ugh. The quiet was so calming for once. We’re in Lena’s lab, Jordan shot back. Jordan held their head and sat up on the cot. It was a narrow hospital bed on a platform. A few monitors beeped some information obtained from their connection to Jordan’s body.Lena’s lab? Why? Are we sick? Jwe did an inventory. You’re in withdrawal.
Yeah, we’re detoxing.

Good. Whatever you took even knocked me out this time.

That was a gift from J’onn. He called the drink a Jovian Juice or something. No, Julep. Jovian Julep. It actually didn’t affect me.

The Martian.

Martian? Did you know him from before?

No, I didn’t make it to Mars, remember?

Yeah, I know the story.

So, all these machines? What will they tell Lena? She won’t discover me, will she?

She knows.

Oh no!

I told her.
“You what? And now we’re her lab rat? We have to get out of here,” Jwe yelled out loud.“What did you do to Morgan Edge?”“You found him?”“Yeah. What were you thinking?”“I was thinking that he wouldn’t get any jail time and that he would keep trying to kill Lena. I thought you’d be happy that I did something about it.”“Oh yeah? Is that why you did it when I was passed out? You bailed him out of jail!”“He was going to get out anyway. I had to get him first. And you not knowing was to protect you.”“Or so that I wouldn’t stop you from murdering him.”“I didn’t murder him. If I wanted to kill him, I would have. I was punishing him.”Lena approached, having heard the last part of the conversation. “What were you going to do when you were done punishing him,” Lena asked.“I wanted him to beg me to end his life. To end the torture,” Jwe responded.“And then you’d kill him?”“No, I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.”Jordan jumped back in, “So what? Torture him indefinitely?”“Possibly.”“Really? How would that go? Someone would discover him.”“I couldn’t let him get away with it.”“Why,” Lena asked.“He tried to kill you. More than once.”“And why does that mean anything to you?”“Oh, right. The elitist, emotionally-neutral being from the Jupiter hive-mind couldn’t care.”“Stop,” Jordan yelled and clutched their head.Lena flinched.“Can’t you give me anything for this pain, Lena?”“Jordan, you know I can’t.”“Ice?”“Yes, I can get you an ice pack.”When Lena returned, Jordan was seemingly in an argument with themself. Lena interrupted by offering the ice pack. “Do you constantly argue with each other?”“Yes, it’s not usually out loud. Sorry.”“How do you function with all that -- ““Noise? Alcohol. Drugs. You know, the first real quiet I’ve had was when Jwe passed out last night.”“And I got to enjoy performing with coXst when you passed out,” Jwe informed.Jordan held the ice to their head. Lena tried to make Jordan comfortable on the bed, arranging the wires, blankets, and pillows. “Thanks, Dr. Kieran.”“Try to get some rest. As you know, the next day or so could get intense. I’ll be back later.”“You’re just going to leave us here in your lab,” Jwe questioned.Lena stepped back and pressed a finger to her tablet to bring a force field up around the bed.“What’s that?”“It’s for safety.”“Yours or ours?”“Yes.” Lena backed away.Jordan was already starting to drift off.“Where are you going,” Jwe demanded.“What? Do you think you’re the only alien inside a friend that I have in my labs?” Lena paced in front of Samantha’s hospital bed in a tailored, gray herringbone dress with her arms folded just under her chest. Sam stirred, and a look of concern came over Lena’s face. She told her to relax, but Sam pushed herself up with her elbows.“How long have I been sleeping,” Sam asked, “Where’s Ruby?”“She’s with her nanny. She’s safe.”“Tell me. What’s wrong with me?”“When you black out, your body seems to be changing on a cellular level.”“Changing? To what?”“To her. Reign.”“I’m not an alien. I don’t have special powers. I bleed. I get sick. My adoption papers say I’m from Scranton. Look, I know you mean well, but I don’t have the patience for this, I have to go see my daughter.” Sam swung her legs over the hospital bed and tugged at the light blue scrubs she was wearing.“Wait,” Lena said, “I thought this might be hard for you to accept, so I also compiled a timeline of the blackouts so you could remember.” Lena picked up a tablet. She used it as a remote control for a monitor attached to the wall. It showed a video clip from Channel 3 News of the Christmas Eve attack on Edge’s office by Reign. The next video was of the aftermath of Reign murdering a gang on the waterfront. Another shot was of Reign beating up Supergirl.Sam shook her head in disbelief. “This was a mistake. I need to go see my daughter.” Sam got out of the bed and walked away from Lena, but a force field prevented her from leaving. “Lena, are you kidding me? Let me out.”“I can’t,” Lena replied with tears in her eyes, “You asked me to help you.” The next day, Lena approached again. Samantha Arias stood in her cell. “Have you thought about what I told you,” Lena asked.“How could you possibly think I could kill people?”“I don’t think you could.”“So, you think I have a split personality?”“Essentially, yes. Reign is a completely separate entity. When she takes over, you lose all awareness, all control. Your DNA rewrites itself. Please, Sam, understand that I would not tell you this if I wasn’t sure.”“So this is what I get for asking for your help?”“What’s that supposed to mean?”“You ask an oncologist, they’ll say cancer. You ask a surgeon, they’ll cut you open. You ask a Luthor, they’ll tell you you’re a supervillain.”Saved by the bell. Lena’s phone chimed an alert that Jordan’s heart rate had spiked. Jordan felt as if they were floating, weightless in a spaceship. Suddenly, the ship was pelted by asteroids. It shook violently and crashed to the earth. Jordan was sweating and shaking. They saw Lena approach. She soothed them and held them in her arms. Jordan cupped her cheek with their hand and brought their lips together. Lena was so soft, warm, and welcoming. The kiss became deeper and Jordan ventured their tongue inside her mouth. When they parted, Jordan professed their love for Lena.Lena’s features grew dark and angry. “Love? You’re an alien. You can’t love,” she spat, “And I could never love you!”Jordan began sweating and shaking again, clutching a bucket below their chin. They vomited what little food was in their stomach and a lot of bile. Lena applied a cold cloth to their face. At first, Jordan recoiled, but then took the cloth from her to wipe their face. “The nausea isn’t as bad as Jwe’s nightmare hallucinations,” Jordan informed her.“Oh, what did you see?”“I couldn’t really make sense of it. Spaceships and such.”“Do you have his memories?”“Sort of.”“Do you know what it’s like on Jupiter? I didn’t think there were any life forms there. There’s no solid ground. He said something about a hive-mind.”“Yeah, I guess each family unit was like a hive-mind floating around in icy hydrogen. You want to talk to him about it?”“No, no, no. If he’s quiet, I should let you enjoy that.”“Yes, thanks.”“Try to get more rest.”“Whatcha got going on in your other lab, Dr. Kieran?”“I’ll tell you when you’re a little stronger.”“Do I need to tell you to be careful?”“I have taken precautions.”“Yeah, that doesn’t sound ominous.”Lena raked her fingers through Jordan’s damp hair and tried to give them a reassuring smile.She needed a break from being a ping-pong ball between the two laboratories. She took the elevator up to her office. James was waiting there for her.“James, I really wish you had called first.”“I’ve been trying to call you for days. I thought I should just visit you in person.”“I’m in the middle of an emergency. Or emergencies.”“What’s wrong?”“I’m trying to fix some problems that people came to me with, but they’re not happy with my solutions.”“My roommate in college was a great guy, but he started taking something -- I don’t know what it was -- and it changed him. He’d come back to the dorm late at night and start tearing the room apart. I tried to tell him he had a problem, but he never wanted to hear it. So I just kept cleaning up after him.”“Did he ever acknowledge what was wrong with him?”“See, that’s the thing. No matter how bad you wanna help somebody, all you can really do is hold up a mirror.”Lena gave that some thought, and then went back down to see Sam.“I just wanna go home, Lena, please? Please let me out of here.”“I wanna get you home to your daughter as much as you do. Believe me. I am just trying to protect you. Both of you.”Sam sat on a chair in her light blue scrubs. On the desk behind her were monitors showing her brain scans and a photograph of her with her daughter in a gold frame. She was worn out. “I told you this before, if I had hurt people, I would remember.”“You’re right. You would remember. On some deep level, you would feel what you had done. When you look at this, do you remember what it was like?" The screen showing her brain scan changed to that news reel Lena had shown Samantha previously. "Attacking Morgan Edge? What I wouldn’t have given to have seen that one up close. No? No recollection?” Lena changed the picture on the monitor. Sam closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. “Supergirl? I mean, that’s a difficult one to forget. Having your fist connect with something so solid, so powerful.”“This is insane,” Samantha sighed in exasperation and began to pace.“How did it feel to obliterate? You tore those men apart. You ripped the limbs from their bodies and dragged them across the beach!”“Why are you doing this? Why? I just want to go home to my daughter,” Sam yelled.“Like I’d let someone like you near Ruby.”“How dare you!”“What did it feel like? Living in that house, day in, day out, pretending to be her mother? Watching her sleep, so vulnerable. Knowing that any minute you could rip her apart with your bare hands. You're not a mother, you’re a monster. And I will make sure you never see Ruby again.”“Enough,” Sam roared. She slammed her fists into the invisible wall between them. Lena’s breath caught. She glared at Lena with bright red eyes, Reign’s heat vision charged up. Several blasts shot out around the cell. Lena recorded the whole exchange on video and played it back when Sam came to. Sam couldn’t bear to watch and broke down.“I needed you to see it for yourself,” Lena said from a safe distance away.“All those people,” Sam cried.Lena lowered the force field and stepped into the cell to comfort her friend. “It’s not your fault. You weren’t in control. When you transformed, I was finally able to get some data on Reign’s DNA, okay? We have knowledge now, and knowledge is power. We’re gonna get you through this.” When Lena got back up to her office, James was there again, this time with food. She asked him to sit with her to eat on the couch. She was touched by his thoughtfulness. “Listen James, there’s something between us, something good. But in my life, in my work, there are people who count on my discretion. So, I won’t always be able to share everything with you.” Like aliens in my friends’ bodies, she thought to herself.James answered, “If you think a secret needs to be kept, then it needs to be kept.” James knew about having to keep secrets, such as superheroes aliases.Lena appreciated how supportive James was being. She was not used to that. She was more accustomed to people questioning her motives and criticizing her choices. Yes, this was nice. The next day, Lena sat next to Samantha’s hospital bed in an emerald dress that was a shade darker than her eyes. Sam sat up in the bed, hugging her bent knees. She didn’t look at Lena, just stared straight ahead as they talked.“So you think there’s an enzyme in my body that triggers a change,” Sam stated for clarification.“Yes. And if we can isolate it, we can eliminate it.”“And no more Reign.”“But in order to find it, I need to study you while you’re her.”“And the only definite way to turn me into her is to electrocute me.”“The pain response brings her out.”“How much is it gonna hurt?”“A lot.”“Okay.”Lena attached the leads to Sam’s temples. Sam straightened her body, pressed it back down into the bed, and braced for the pain. Lena stepped back and raised the force field to contain Reign when the alien took over Sam’s body. A few taps at Lena’s keyboard sent electric shock waves. Sam gasped as her eyes flew open. Her irises turned red and she screamed in agony. After a few moments, she sat up, fighting for air. She ripped the leads from the sides of her head. Lena tried to calm her.“She said she was gonna kill Ruby!”“No. She can’t kill her. Ruby’s safe.”“Did you find the trigger?”“No.”“Then Ruby is not safe. We need to stop Reign.”“That is what we are doing, Sam.”“I can’t go back in there. We have to find another way,” Sam exclaimed while holding her head in her hands.“There is no other way,” Lena assured her, “I know how hard this is --”“No! No, you don’t. It’s like facing your shadow. Everything dark you’ve ever feared about yourself.”If there was anybody who understood that, it was Lena Luthor. “If you don’t do this, Reign will take control of your body.”“Okay. Give me a minute.” Lena went to the other laboratory to check on Jordan and bring them some food. “Got your appetite back?”“A little.” Jordan nibbled at the veggie tray.“How are you feeling?”“A bit shaky, but this should help. What about you? Are you eating? Sleeping?”“Not much. No. I’ve been in the other lab when I haven’t been here with you.”Jordan felt a pang of guilt. “I’m doing better. You don’t have to worry about me.”“I’m glad you’re better.”“You said you’d tell me what you had going on in your other lab when I was stronger.”“I know I did, but…”“But, you’re not… Because I kept my secret from you too long? Or because now that you know, you don’t trust me?”“Neither of those things. It’s just that… it’s not my secret to tell.”“What can you tell me?”“That there is another alien inside a human…. Have you heard of Reign?”“The one that beat the pulp out of Supergirl?”“That’s the one.”“You don’t have them in your lab, do you?”“Not exactly…. I have the human she uses. I’ve learned that there’s an enzyme in her body that triggers Reign to manifest. I need to isolate and eliminate it.”Jwe was alarmed. Was Lena going to isolate and eliminate him as well?“Are you able to do that,” Jordan asked.“Not yet. But I will. I have to.”“Is there someone who can help you?”“Reign is the most wanted criminal in the world. If I ask for help before I can turn her off, they would treat the human like the criminal. They would lock her up or dissect her. I am the only one who knows how to do this. And I will do it.”“How can I help?”“By staying clean and strong… and keeping your alien in check.”“Jwe isn’t Reign.”“Let’s keep it that way.”“Wait - what if Jwe can actually help? He’s an alien. He could help get another alien. Jwe?”Jwe was not sure what he could do about Reign, but if he could be of help, then maybe Lena would not be so anxious to eliminate him. “I could try communicating telepathically,” Jwe tentatively offered.“You are able to do that?”“Well, usually the other person has to open the lines of communication first, but I can try.”Lena considered this. “I could tell Sam to reach out to you and then maybe you could protect her from Reign in the shadow forest place. Let’s go.”Neither Jordan nor Jwe understood that, but they followed Lena into the other lab. They saw a setup similar to their own, with the hospital bed and monitors in a contained unit. Lena went over to the desk to look at something on her computer before approaching Sam. Jordan saw that Sam was sitting up in the bed in a meditative pose. It didn’t seem like she noticed they had entered the space.“They’re coming,” Sam announced, clearly not referring to those present.Supergirl and three others suddenly appeared in the room. “Lena, Lena, the Worldkillers are coming,” Supergirl warned, “We have to get you somewhere safe.” Then, Supergirl noticed her surroundings in horror. She felt the force field around Sam’s hospital bed. “What is this?!”“I was gonna tell you,” Lena began.“Tell me what?”“About me,” Sam said as she rose from the bed and removed the leads from her temples.Supergirl looked incredulous. “Sam?”Lena tapped on her tablet. Sam faltered. And then there was an explosion in the hall. The lead double doors blew into the lab, folded in half like playing cards in a magic trick. The blast knocked everyone to the floor. Supergirl was able to remain standing to witness Purity and Pestilence marching through the now open doorway. Smoke billowed behind them. They wore suits that bore the same insignia that Reign had. Purity leapt on top of Sam’s containment area and let out a piercing scream that plowed into all present. Not even Supergirl could withstand that assault. But J’onn regained his footing. Pestilence ran to Sam and detached all the medical monitoring wires from her body. Reign took over and blasted J’onn with heat vision. His body catapulted on top of Lena’s desk. Lena attempted to get out from under her desk. Jordan moved toward her to help her rise. Supergirl was able to get back up on her own and stood alongside the people who had come to the lab with her. Facing them were the Worldkillers.Sam stood in the middle, holding their hands with her eyes shut. When she opened them, they were red. “Finally,” she proclaimed as she transformed into Reign. The three Worldkillers rose into the air and rocketed out of the building.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Jordan sat in an uncomfortable chair on the other side of Alex Danvers’ desk. This was certainly not how either of them thought they would meet again. Alex leveled a steely gaze at Jordan. She looked so much harder than she had at Al’s Dive Bar, certainly more than when Jordan had pulled her blanket over her in her bed.“You ghosted me after we… you know…”“Alex, I didn’t ghost you.”“It’s been two weeks.”“I’ve been in Lena’s lab.”“Oh I know. And what were you doing in that lab?”“The one you all found us in or the other one?”“The one -- what other one?”“The one I was in. Same sort of set up, with the bed, monitors, force field --”“Wait. Lena was holding you in one lab and Sam in another?”“Yes. And nothing happened that night.”“Which night?”“After karaoke. Nothing happened. You and I didn’t -- ““When I woke up, you were gone.”“Yeah, you passed out. I tucked you in and left.”Alex blushed momentarily but then regained her composure. “And you went to L-Corp?”“Well, I went home first. Then, I called Lena over and she took me back to the lab.”“You left my bed and then called Lena?”“It wasn’t like that, Alex. I realized I had a problem and needed help. I had become addicted to painkillers. Lena kept me at her lab to detox.”“I got drunk and passed out and you decided you had to detox?”“Something like that. It was one of the few nights that I’ve enjoyed and didn’t feel like I had to take something to make myself pass out. I resolved not to do that anymore that night.”“How was it that you were inside the lab that held Sam? Why was Lena keeping her there?”“It was a similar situation. We were both friends of Lena’s who asked for her help with a problem.”“Do you know the circumstances of Sam’s problem?”“I think we all know now that Reign was taking over Sam’s body.” Jordan considered telling Alex that they knew what it was like to share a body with an alien, but Jwe argued against it.“Were you working on this with Lena?”“No, I had just followed Lena from my room to Sam’s when that all happened. So how are you involved in all this, Alex? Is this an F.B.I. matter?”“It most certainly is. The Worldkillers are currently the biggest threat to our security. I, myself, was infected with the Pestilence virus.”“Oh no, are you okay?”“I am now, but it was horrible.”“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were sick.”“As it turns out, you may have been safer in Lena’s lab.”“Well, except for the Worldkillers throwing us around.”“You’re lucky you weren’t hurt. Go home, Jordan. Stay safe.”“I hope you stay safe too, Alex. I think I may wait for Lena to be done here.”“She’s going to be here awhile.” Alex walked down to the conference room and joined J’onn, Supergirl, Lena, Mon-El, Brainy, and Imra around the long, black, oval table. Their interrogation of Lena was recorded.Supergirl asked, “What exactly have you been doing with Sam for weeks?”“When I first suspected that Sam was more than she knew, I took her to a secret lab in L-Corp, where I conducted a series of tests. With her consent.”Alex interrupted, “When I examined her I found nothing out of the ordinary.”“Then you weren’t looking for the right things,” Lena replied.“So what did you find?”“After sequencing her DNA, and comparing Sam’s blackouts to Reign’s attacks, I came to the conclusion that Sam and Reign were one and the same. Sam is Reign.”It was J’onn’s turn. “So for three weeks, you’ve been harboring and abetting a mass-murderer.”“I helped a friend.”“And you didn’t think to bring this to our attention?”Lena shot back, “The attention of a clandestine organization that’s never formally acknowledged its existence to me? No. I’m not your employee. I’ve not signed a contract, nor sworn an oath. I conducted an L-Corp experiment, using L-Corp technology, on L-Corp property.”“What did you discover,” Supergirl asked.“I was hoping to isolate the spark that turned Sam into Reign, but I didn’t get a chance to finish.”“Weeks with Reign,” Supergirl said, “Do you have any way of tracking the Worldkillers?”“No.”“They have gone to ground,” Mon-El stated, “They’re not coming up again until they have something big to do.”“The future’s fate is more precarious than ever,” added Imra.“Would you like to know our odds of defeating Pestilence at this juncture,” Brainy asked.Mon-El and Imra said, “No” in tandem.Supergirl turned back to Lena. “How did you keep her contained?”Lena swallowed hard before answering. She knew what she was about to say would change her relationship with Kara’s friends if she hadn’t already caused irreparable harm.She looked at no one while she said, “Lex kept a vault in the lab. When I took over L-Corp, I inherited all of its assets, for good or for ill.”Lena paused to look directly at Supergirl when she informed them that she used kryptonite. Supergirl visibly winced.They took a break, and Lena used the opportunity to call James.“Lena Luthor calling me. What’s up?”“I really needed to hear your voice.”“Everything okay?”“I owe you an apology.”“For what?”“For ghosting you. For keeping secrets. But it’s time to be honest.”“About?”“Sam Arias is Reign. Jordan Jacobs has a symbiotic organism from Jupiter that takes over when they blackout due to their drug addiction. They’ve been in my labs the past few weeks. Supergirl knows about Sam.”“Reign put Supergirl in a coma. How did you keep her under control?”“The last of Lex’s Kryptonite…. Supergirl knows about that, too.”“And you’re telling me this now why?”“Because I gambled everything. My reputation, Supergirl’s trust in me, my relationship with you, on fixing Sam. And I failed. I really needed to hear your voice today, and I didn’t want you to look at me like I was a Luthor.”Supergirl called her back from the break.Lena finished her phone call, “I’ve had enough of that today. I’ve got to go.” She hung up on James and turned to face Supergirl.“I’ve had your back so many times,” Supergirl declared, “When the rest of the world was ready to pass you off as the new Lex Luthor.”“My friend came to me. She was alone and afraid. I had to do something.”“I need you to level with me,” Supergirl said while crossing her arms under her chest, “Do you have any more Kryptonite?”“No, it’s all gone. I used the last of it to keep Sam sedated.”Supergirl wasn’t listening. She looked past Lena, up at the solar eclipse, and then collapsed. Alex rushed over.“What happened,” Alex asked when Supergirl came to.“I saw Sam.”The three women marched back into the main area in the DEO building. Jordan looked up from the bench they were sitting on to see them and followed. J’onn asked Winn how long they had.“Two hours until totality.”“Then what?”“The temperature will drop fifty degrees or more,” Lena supplied.Alex addressed Supergirl, “You said you dreamed of Sam.”“It’s the same dream I’ve been having for the last year. I’m in the Kryptonian valley, Juru. Normally, I see the Worldkillers. But today, I saw Sam.”“Well it’s not a dream,” Lena supplied, “The valley’s real. When I was working with Sam, she told me of this place. It’s an alternate dimension that she would go to when Reign would take over…. If we could go in there, maybe we could wake Sam up.”Jordan tried to follow this whole conversation, but was completely lost. J’onn noticed them hovering and motioned for them to come with him to another area.Lena went with Supergirl and Alex to talk with Brainy about how Supergirl could enter this alternate dimension where Supergirl had seen Sam.“I’m coming with you,” Lena informed Supergirl.“Not a chance,” she responded, “It might not even be possible.”“Oh no, it’s possible,” Brainy interjected.“Listen,” Lena said, “I spent the last month working with Sam and Reign every day. I know what makes them tick. I know their DNA sequence better than my own phone number. What’s more, I know Sam, and you don’t. If anyone can get through to her, it’s me. I get that you may not trust me right now, but trust that I want to get Sam back.”“Sam’s my friend, too,” Alex remarked, “And with the sun darkening, your powers are gonna weaken. You might not have any powers in that valley-mind-realm thing. You’re gonna need somebody to watch your back.”“Well,” Supergirl conceded, “I guess we’re all in this together.” A stack of papers fell onto the table in front of Jordan with a smack.“I trust you know what an NDA is,” J’onn said smugly.“Non-disclosure agreement. Sure. But, I really have no idea what is happening here to tell anyone.”“You are inside the Department of Extra-normal Operations. You cannot tell anyone about anything you’ve witnessed.”“That sounds like you are going to let me leave here.”“We have no reason to keep you. You didn’t aid and abet a murderer. You don’t pose a threat, do you?”A vision of the badly-beaten Morgan Edge flashed in Jordan’s mind. Lena thought Jordan needed to stay sober so that Jwe wouldn’t take over and cause anyone else harm. While Jordan was lost in thought, Jwe spoke.“You know that Jovians are pacifists, Martian.”J’onn nodded, “I know that too well.”“I suspect you are referring to when the Green Martians appealed to Jupiter to intervene during your civil war.”“Were you there then?”“I was. And that is how I came to Earth.”J’onn looked confused and indicated that Jwe should continue his story.“There was a group of us that wanted to fight the White Martian genocide of the Green Martians. But our leaders proclaimed that we must remain neutral. What was it that Elie Wiesel said about neutrality?”“Neutrality helps the oppressor,” J’onn supplied, “Never the victim.”“Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere,” Jwe finished the quote. “So our group arranged to travel to Mars and join symbiotically with some Green Martians, and take up the fight. While traversing the asteroid belt between our planets, we got knocked off course and captured by Earth’s gravitational pull. The ship crashed near Grand Teton. Without bodies to attach to, most of us perished. I was lucky that some hikers found us before the elements killed me.”“That’s quite a tale.”“You question its validity?”“No. It’s just that I hadn’t heard of anyone from Jupiter wanting to help us.”“That is because we failed. I’m sorry.”J’onn held out his hand and Jwe shook it.“I am Jwe.”“Good to meet you, Jwe.” Alex pulled Lena aside. “Can I ask you something?”“You want to know why I didn’t come to you when I found what Sam really was.”“I’m the one who did the first tests on her. And I’m the one that told her to come to her friends about her illness. So why not just tell me the truth?”“Same reason you didn’t tell me you were really DEO.”“You knew.”“My mother’s DEO enemy number one. Of course I knew. But it was your secret to keep. Just like Sam’s true nature is hers. It wasn’t my place to say anything.”“Fair enough. Just tell me one thing. Is Ruby safe?”“Yes.” Lena took her place in a chair alongside Alex and Supergirl while Brainy explained the process. Their minds were going to be beamed into the dark valley. Alex asked if it was going to hurt. Brainy replied affirmatively in a very Brainy way, citing percentages. In an instant, the three women lost consciousness and woke with a gasp on the ground of the dark valley. Alex sharpened some sticks to use as weapons. She poked Lena with one to see if it would work. Lena expressed the sudden pain. Supergirl tried one out on herself, and found that she bled. They came upon Grace, the body Pestilence was inhabiting. She was dead. Pestilence had full control.Jordan decided to stay at the DEO. They watched the women’s unconscious bodies with trepidation. How could Lena agree to do something so dangerous? They understood that Supergirl and Alex put themselves in danger often, but was not pleased about that either. They had to be there when they returned. Jordan’s sobriety was in danger if they left the building. Brainy announced that there was less than an hour until the total solar eclipse. Mon-El and J’onn left the room, but Jordan was rooted to that spot.Next, Supergirl, Alex, and Lena found Julia. Hers was the body Purity was occupying. Lena spotted some lettering carved into a tree that read: My name is Sam. My daughter is Ruby. That led to Lena finding Sam nearby. She raced toward her.“I killed them,” Sam uttered.Alex and Supergirl joined them.“You’re here,” Sam said in surprise.“Of course we’re here,” Lena replied, “You think I’d forget about you?”“Lena. Alex. Supergirl. I killed you, too. I’m sorry.”“Sam. No,” Supergirl answered.“Reign didn’t kill us,” Alex offered, “We’re here to help you.”“We’re gonna get you out of here,” Lena asserted.“The people I killed are coming,” Sam informed them.Supergirl said, “Reign killed. Not you.”“We’re gonna make sure Reign never hurts anyone again,” Lena insisted.“But Sam,” Supergirl interjected, “You have to wake up. You have to go back to your body and send us a message, tell us where the Worldkillers are.”Jordan noticed Supergirl start to convulse. They looked at Alex and Lena, who lay still. Brainy said the total eclipse was ten minutes away and that Supergirl couldn’t take much more. If Supergirl couldn’t take the strain, how would her human companions fare? Mon-El directed Brainy to keep her in.Inside the dark valley, Lena tried to get through to Sam. “Come on. Stay with us. Remember who you are. Hey, you are Sam Arias, okay? You’re the woman I would trust with anything.”They all reminded Sam she needed to fight to get back to Ruby. Sam’s eyes glowed red. Reign was back in her body. She grabbed Lena by the throat and held her aloft.“I’ll break her neck,” she declared.“Let her go,” Supergirl yelled, “Take me! Take me instead, please!”“You are nothing. You’ve always been nothing. Only one of equal strength can defeat me. You are driftwood in the face of a hurricane.”An alarm sounded, bringing Jordan’s attention to a red dot on a map on an overhead monitor. Imra announced that they had a location. Mon-El told Brainy to bring the trio out of their unconscious state. Jordan held their breath, worried they wouldn't wake up. But they did. Jordan heaved a sigh of relief. Winn pulled Alex aside before Jordan could greet her, so Jordan went to Lena to give her a hug. The room shook.Brainy announced that the thrusters were damaged. Thrusters? Jwe supplied that they were on a spaceship. Somehow that fact had escaped Jordan. They were on a spaceship?! Lena took over what seemed to be the captain's chair or some sort of navigation controls while Brainy went to some console."Pull up 6,000 feet and vent the engines, " she commanded with a quirk to her left eyebrow.Was there anything that woman couldn't do? She piloted the ship back to the DEO building that Jordan hadn’t known they left once the heroes were back on board. They were battle-worn, but lived to tell the tale. Reign and Sam were also still alive, but the other Worldkillers were not. The solar eclipse ended.As Lena and Jordan got ready to leave the DEO building, Supergirl asked to speak with Lena. She stopped just short of apologizing, but admitted she overreacted and asked for a clean slate. They shook hands on it.Jordan took the opportunity to check on Alex.“You look really happy for someone who just took a beating.”“I survived. And I have a cool new toy.”Alex demonstrated how her gun stuck to her magnetic glove. Jordan was more of a pacifist than Jwe and grimaced a bit at that.“Anyway, I’m glad that you’re okay.”“Thanks. So… since you aren’t ghosting me, do you want to have dinner with me?”“I would love to. I haven’t eaten all day.”“Me either.”“I need to go home to shower and change. Would you like to meet me at the Chord? I know the owner. We could get a nice table.”“I’ll meet you there.” Lena changed out her borrowed DEO activewear outfit and back into the short dress she had worn before her stint on the spaceship. She pulled her hair out of the tightly braided ponytail and let it hang straight and loose when she arrived back at L-Corp. James was leaning over the railing of the balcony outside her office. Lena pushed the door open and walked out to meet him.“Surprised you’d want to see me.”“You know, for quite some time I’ve been looking for any reason I could to distrust you. It’s not your fault, it’s just Lex baggage or whatever. But for the last two years, you have done nothing but prove me wrong.”“Until now.”“No, no. The way I see it, your friend came to you with something unbearable. And you tried your best to help her carry it. You did everything in your power to help her, regardless of what that might look like to other people, when they found out. And that’s beautiful. That’s somebody I want to know.”“Really?”“Yeah. But you have a decision to make about me…. I’m Guardian.”“Why are you telling me this?”“Because I did something I’m not proud of. I broke into your lab. To determine if you had more Kryptonite.”“Why would you do that?”“For Supergirl, she asked me to.”“She did?”“She did, but I’m the one who said yes. So, this is on me…. But when I got in, I couldn’t go into your vault. I didn’t want to. I didn’t need to. I trust you. I really hope that you can trust me.”“Yes.”Lena hugged James, placing her head on his shoulder. Without changing position, she stated, “There’s something else you need to know.”James pulled back to look at her and replied, “Hit me.”“That wasn’t Lex’s Kryptonite. I figured out how to make it.”Maybe that should have alarmed James, but it didn’t seem to. He accompanied Lena back to her suite at the hotel, barely able to keep his hands off her in the car. Once inside the room, James placed a big, dark hand at the base of her skull and pulled her close. Their lips met hungrily. They undressed each other as quickly as possible, and tumbled into bed. Lena felt James inside of her and squeezed her eyes shut as she came close to orgasm. She opened her eyes to look up at him, and for a split second, saw Jordan’s face. She closed her eyes again as she kissed James deeply.Jordan sat across the table from Alex in the Chord Barre and Grille. They split tater tot nachos and the steak special. Alex shared some of her adventures in the DEO while sipping a beer. Jordan stuck to ice water. They joked and laughed until late in the evening. Jordan walked Alex to the door.“I had a really nice time. Thank you.”“I enjoyed it, too. Maybe we could see a movie or something?”“Yeah. This weekend?”“It’s a date.”They smiled and gave each other a soft kiss on the lips.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Lena and James basked in the morning sunlight - or was it the afterglow? They slowly got dressed. James zipped up the back of her black dress with red and white flower petals, and hugged her from behind, before even buttoning up his shirt.“I like waking up next to you,” Lena said, while turning around to kiss him. She helped him with his tie.“Ever think about getting your own place,” he asked. “I mean you’re kinda slumming it here at the Baldwin.”“When I first moved to National City, I didn’t know if I was gonna stay. Lex was in prison, the company was in shambles. I didn’t know if I was gonna put down roots, settle down, in case the city rejected me.”“Well, it’s been two years. I think it’s safe to say you can sign your own lease.”“Even with Supergirl thinking the worst of me?”“What does she know?”“Asking you to spy on me?”“What do I know?”They chuckled and kissed.“I’m really glad I can tell you my secrets now,” Lena confessed.“Of course you can. Me, too.”And then the tall window in front of them shattered. Reign hovered outside. She flew in and demanded to know where the child was. James pulled out his Guardian shield, but Reign easily knocked him aside. Lena sprayed an aerosol of bright green Kryptonite into her face. Reign groaned in pain and flew back out the broken window.Supergirl, Alex, J’onn, and Winn arrived shortly after the attack. Lena informed them that Reign was looking for Sam’s daughter. She assured the group that Ruby was safe and would not be found. She also told them that Reign might look for Ruby at her grandmother’s house. J’onn and Supergirl decided to check on the older woman. Alex convinced Lena to tell her how to get to Ruby to check on her. She reluctantly divulged that she was in Lex’s cloaked mansion and gave Alex the code.That afternoon, Lena went to the Revolution Records building. Jordan stood in the empty penthouse, surveying the crew working to finish the apartment.“Well, you are looking much healthier,” she greeted Jordan, “What happened to the blue hair, though?”“Oh,” they said while tousling their mop, “It was going a little green, so I dyed it black. You liked the blue better?”“Actually, I liked when it was red. But, I don’t care what color it is. I just like that your eyes are clear and there’s color in your cheeks. You were almost ashen.”“Thanks for getting me through that, Lena.”“Of course. And it seems that this place is getting cleaned up, too. Will you be renting it out?”“The penthouse is for visiting bands to stay in while they record down in the studio.”“Oh. Hmmm.”“What?”“Oh James was just remarking that I should move out of the Baldwin and actually lease my own place. And now that the windows are shattered -- ““Shattered? What happened?”“Reign stopped by, looking for Sam’s daughter.”“And then?”“Left after I sprayed her with Kryptonite.”“Damn.”“Pardon the interruption, but I need your decision on this, JJ,” the interior designer said, as she spread a book out in front of them.“Charlene, I’d like you to meet Lena Luthor.” Jordan waited for them to regard each other before continuing. “Lena will make all of the design decisions in this penthouse. She’ll be leasing it.”Lena was startled for a second. She had never designed her own place. She even let a designer do whatever they wanted with her office at L-Corp. The result was a very sterile and harsh environment. Maybe it was time for a lush, comfortable, somewhat permanent place to live. She excitedly looked over the options with Charlene and Jordan. She went for a modular green heirloom velvet couch for the living room with a square coffee table made of cherry wood and precious metals. The armchair was made of vegan leather. A small, oval, black marble dining table would go in front of the balcony, near the kitchen. For the bedroom, Lena chose a California King platform 6-piece set with red velvet accents.

Jordan was pleased that everything wasn’t going to be glass and white. They were happy to see Lena so excited. Most of all, Jordan was ecstatic that they would have Lena living right next door to them. They backed out of the apartment with a wave, and made their way back to the office thirty floors below. Sherry notified them that Alex had called to say she had to go out of town for a few days unexpectedly and would have to reschedule their next date. That was disappointing because Jordan was enjoying getting to know Alex, even if they were discovering that their interests were very different. Jordan asked Sherry to have the realtor draw up a lease agreement for the penthouse. That night, Lena was working late at L-Corp. She had so much to catch up on. Without Sam, she had to change her focus back from CatCo. She had lost track of time when James entered her office solemnly to let her know that Reign had killed Sam’s adoptive mother. He added that Reign was more dangerous than ever, since absorbing the other Worldkillers’ powers. Lena rose from her desk with a gasp to pace the floor.“Lena, you are going to have to tell Supergirl that you know how to make Kryptonite.”“Oh, no, no,” she laughed nervously, “James, you know I can’t do that.”“Lena, you have to! Reign is out there killing innocent people. You are the only one with the means to stop her.”“You know what happened when I told Supergirl I had Kryptonite! Years of goodwill vanished in an instant! I became the enemy!”“That’s not true.”“You’re not being realistic, James,” Lena pleaded, “Okay, we both know that Supergirl sees Kryptonite as a personal assault. She sees it as a hostile attack on her very nature, and she will do everything in her power to stop me from making it, even if I’m using it for good. I just can’t allow that to happen.”“You’re right. Supergirl has seen Kryptonite in a certain way, but that’s only because your brother tried to use it to kill Superman. But this is different. The world’s biggest enemy happens to have the same weakness as Supergirl. So if you come to her as an ally with this to try to help her catch Reign, believe me, she will be grateful.”Lena had a difficult time believing James. She knew how Supergirl reacted when she thought Lena had been using an old supply of Lex’s Kryptonite. She would be so much angrier to know that Lena could make Kryptonite. No one wanted Reign out of Sam’s body more than she did. But she would replace Reign as enemy number one if Supergirl knew she made the Kryptonite. She wished she could ask Sam what to do. But that wish gave her the answer. If she was ever to get Sam back, she had to tell Supergirl. She placed Kryptonite in a lead case and hand delivered it to the DEO.“Lena,” Supergirl greeted her with surprise.“Supergirl, I have something for you. Don’t be alarmed. It’s in a lead-lined case.”“Is that Kryptonite?”“To help you fight Reign.”Supergirl scoffed, “Oh you have gall, lying to my face.”Lena placed the case on the floor gently. “I did not lie. This isn’t Lex’s. It’s mine. I figured out how to make it, and I did. And I supercharged it just for Reign.”“You what?! You are going to turn that formula over to Alex,” Supergirl demanded, “You are going to take any Kryptonian elements from your lab and bring them to the DEO, and you are never going to make Kryptonite ever again.”“I knew this was how you’d react. But James Olsen convinced me we were on the same side. He thought you’d actually be grateful.”“You think I should be grateful that you learned how to make the one substance on this planet that can kill me?”“Thousands of things can kill me, Supergirl. And everyone else on this planet. There’s one element that can kill a Kryptonian, and you can’t tolerate its existence. You really do have a God complex.”“Do you know what it’s like to walk into a room and have your skin feel like it’s going to be seared off your bones?”“It sounds like exactly what you need to subdue Reign,” Lena replied sarcastically.“I need to be the only person in control of Kryptonite on this planet,” Supergirl reiterated, as she picked up the case and walked away. She stopped and turned around to say, “You know, even if I did trust you, even if we were on the same side, this substance is so lethal to me that I can’t risk encountering it by mistake.”“Trust is hard for me too, Supergirl. But since we seem to need each other, we’re just gonna have to figure it out.” Lena exited the elevator on the 33rd floor of the Revolution Records building in the middle of a rant while walking into Jordan’s penthouse suite.“Oh, I have gall? I have gall? She has the unmitigated gall to call me a liar!”“Good evening, Lena. Unruly board member?”“What? Oh. Hi, Jordan. I just -- she’s unbelievable!”“Who?”“Who? Supergirl! Telling me I can’t make Kryptonite. I made the Kryptonite and brought it to the DEO for them to use on Reign. James said she’d be grateful. Grateful. She spoke to me like I was a child she was placing in time-out. To think I came to National City because of her!”“That’s why you moved to National City? For Supergirl?”“Yes, after my brother was arrested for turning the sun red, I had to redeem the Luthor name. I couldn’t do that in Metropolis. I’m just the sister of an egomaniacal lunatic in Metropolis. But in National City, I made a fresh start. I was the Luthor who shared her home with a Kryptonian. We would work together to do good in this world, instead of tearing it apart. And, and, and now, she’s tearing me down for trying to help her.”“Try getting the shovel talk from her.”“Why would she give you the shovel talk?”“She’s apparently very protective of Alex.”“Yes, she and Alex are protective of each other. Wait. You’re dating Alex? Since when?”“Since karaoke night. After you left, we got to talking and stuff.”“And stuff?”“Well, almost stuff. We’ve gone out a couple of times. And then Supergirl swooped down and held me up against a wall, telling me she’d do worse than that if I hurt Alex.”“She’s out of control!”“I assured her I had no intention of hurting Alex and she backed off. But, I’m kinda worried because after that, Alex called to say she was going on assignment out of town and canceled our next date.”“Oh, I know where Alex is. It was important.”“She told you where she was going?”“Well, technically I told her where she was going. She went to see Sam’s daughter, Ruby. I told Alex where I hid her from Reign.”“Huh.”“Don’t worry. They’re where Reign can’t find them. Anyway, I want to go see how my place is coming along. Have you taken a look?”“Yeah, it’s getting there. Go see.”Lena was not inside her new penthouse for long when she got a call to go back to her lab. She hollered into Jordan’s apartment that she had to leave, that they had Reign.“Is everyone okay,” Jordan yelled back.“Yeah!” Mon-El placed the Kryptonite bracelet around Reign’s wrist as she lay back in the hospital bed that Lena had kept her in for weeks. Supergirl and Lena looked on from a distance.“I owe you an apology,” Supergirl began, “For being so hard on you. Without your Kryptonite, we wouldn’t have stopped her. You just have to understand when it’s Kryptonite, to me that’s more than a gun or any of the other dangers you were talking about. It’s personal.”“It’s personal to me, too. It was a way to help my friend.”“I do trust you, Lena.”“Good,” Lena turned back towards Mon-El, “If you’ll both excuse me, I’m gonna go work on a cure. Lena later texted Jordan that she was picking up ice cream to bring over to Ruby. They asked if she would see Alex. Lena said that Jordan should meet her there. When they arrived, Kara held the elevator doors open for them. The three rode up to Alex’s apartment. Kara and Lena hugged. Jordan gave Kara a shy wave.“You are a sight for sore eyes,” Lena told Kara, “I’ve been missing you for weeks.”“I’m so sorry I haven’t been in touch.”“Oh, don’t apologize about anything.”“What are you two doing here?”“Visiting Alex,” Jordan began.“And Ruby,” Lena finished, lifting the shopping bag from National City Creamery. “Did you hear what happened?”“Yeah, I did. What an awful day.”“That’s an understatement.”Kara turned toward Lena. “Alex tells me that you’re helping Supergirl fight Reign. I’m sure she’s so grateful for your help.”Jordan braced for impact, and heard Jwe chuckle.“Well,” Lena answered,”Frankly, I am only working with Supergirl to save Sam because I have no other choice.”“What do you mean?”Lena looked at Jordan and then back at Kara. “What was that old line you used? Never meet your idols?”Oof, Jwe thought. And Jordan felt it.“Oh, yes.”“Supergirl’s not all truth and justice like she pretends to be. You know, she had James break into L-Corp and search my private vault?”Yeah, she knows, thought Jwe.“I’m sure she had a really good reason,” Kara claimed.“Of course, James didn’t do it.”“Really?”“Well, no. We’ve been dating each other for months. He knows me, and he trusts me, and I trust him. Supergirl went behind my back, and used my personal relationships against me. That’s something my mother would do. She crossed a line. I can never trust her again.”Oh, Lena knows, too, Jwe thought.Knows what, Jordan asked him silently.Kara is Supergirl, Jwe thought condescendingly.What?! Jordan stared at Kara. Kara shifted uncomfortably. The elevator doors opened and Lena stepped out first.“Hope you brought your appetite. I bought all the flavors.”“All the ice creams,” Jordan echoed.“You know me,” Kara replied.They walked down the hallway to Alex’s apartment and Lena rapped on the door. Alex opened it with her eyes wide. Lena held up the creamery bag and moved past her to Ruby.“Who wants ice cream?”Alex and Kara hugged in the doorway, and then Alex and Jordan did. Jordan also gave Alex a kiss. Lena and Kara bristled a bit. Ruby was sullen. She had just seen Reign in her mother’s form on the attack. Kara and Lena tried to cheer her up.“I was worried when I got your message,” Jordan told Alex.“Everything’s going to be okay,” Alex replied more to Ruby than Jordan.“Lena sort of filled me in, but didn’t tell me much.”“Well you were in the lab, you saw.”“Reign. Yeah.”“I had to protect Ruby.”“I’m glad neither of you were hurt.”They all dished up some ice cream. There was enough for them to each have their own flavor. Normally, Kara could have eaten a few pints herself but she was as solemn as Ruby was. Lena spoke to Supergirl while looking through a microscope, “It’s usually used for overwriting genes in crops, but Reign’s cells are closer to plant cells than you’d think.”“Part of how Kryptonians process sunlight. How does it work?”“You take particles of heavy metal, coat them in DNA, deliver the payload, and then overwrite Reign’s DNA with Sam’s.”Except that it didn’t work. It was rejected as Supergirl, Lena, Mon-El, and Winn looked on. Reign threatened to rip out Lena’s spine and crack the Earth in half. Lena was visibly shaken and put up the shield around Reign’s area. Supergirl tried using her x-ray vision to see through to Reign, but got a jolt when she did.“The wavelength interference of the force field hurts any Kryptonian that looks at it,” Lena supplied, “And the shock seems to keep her in check.”“Lena, I thought we talked about this,” said Supergirl, “You said if you developed any weapons that could hurt Kryptonians, you would put them on my radar.”“This isn’t a weapon.”“It might as well be.”“I told you about the Kryptonite. And I will tell you if I make it again because I agreed to that. With regards to other things I work on, this may come as a shock to you, but I don’t think about you while I’m doing it.” Lena returned to the lab later that day, as Winn and Mon-El were leaving. Supergirl stayed behind.“I’m no closer to finding a cure for Sam than I was this morning,” she informed the hero.“I don’t like this tension between us, Lena. And I know it’s my fault. I know James told you what I asked him to do, and look, I feel terrible about it. I made a huge mistake, and I’m sorry.”“It’s easy to admit your mistake when you’ve been exposed.”“That’s fair. I just don’t want one mistake to ruin our friendship.”“It won’t. We don’t have a friendship, Supergirl. All this time we’ve been working together, it’s been about work. We have a mission to complete. And I am not about to let any tension between you and I get in the way of that. Are you?” Lena turned her back on Supergirl and walked away.“Of course not. I just hope when we solve this, we can work to rebuild our trust.”“Why is it so important to you that we’re friends,” Lena asked over her shoulder, “I have friends, Supergirl. Friends that don’t scheme behind my back or lie.” She turned to face her again. “Given my family history, they know how painful that would be. They also know I would never enter into a friendship with anyone who’s already breached that trust.”“Understood.”They turned away from each other. Both were somewhat shaken by the exchange but unwilling to let the other know. Lena made it sound as if she had never wanted a friendship with Supergirl and was unfazed by the lack of one. She was hurt and certainly not going to clue the hero in that her reason for moving to this city was to work with her. Maybe Luthors could not get along with Supers. Lex had gone off the deep end seeking revenge on Superman. Lena would not let herself get as obsessed with Supergirl.

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Was this going to be a thing now? The DEO asked Lena to come in to help on a different case, to investigate a bomb being developed by a cult. She had only wanted to focus on getting rid of Reign, but had hit a wall. Maybe working on this other situation would be the distraction she needed. She met Winn at the DEO building for research. Winn called Mon-El and Supergirl to share their discovery. Lena leaned over a laptop.“I just finished analyzing that residue you found,” she informed them, “What killed the girl wasn’t a bomb at all. It was caused by a heavy metal reaction. A heavy metal not found on earth.”Supergirl recognized the compound as one sketched in a book obtained by the cult. The Rock of Yuda Kal. Yuda Kal was the deity worshiped by the first people of Krypton, before Rao. She was a fertility goddess. A statue of her was found in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, made of Kryptonian rock.“This is the exact inverse of what I need to cure Sam,” Lena exclaimed. This was proving to be more than a distraction that would help her arrive at a solution. It was the solution.“They weren’t using the rock to make a bomb,” Supergirl realized, “They’re making a new Worldkiller.” Alex’s name popped up on the screen of Jordan’s phone. They couldn’t help but smile.“Alex!”“Do you like arcades?”“Pinball, video games, and stuff?”“Yes. Too childish for a record exec?”“Childish is my middle name. Jordan Childish Jacobs. I love a good game of air hockey.”“J’onn, Myr’nn, and I are taking Ruby to the Fun Centre. Would you like to come?”Jordan greeted the foursome with a wave and a hug for Alex. Ruby broke away and headed inside. Jordan took Alex’s hand and walked after her. J’onn and his father lingered outside in the sun. They found Ruby sitting at a table near the snack bar. She was looking around and fiddling with her fingers. Alex suggested Ruby take Jordan on in Dance Dance Revolution. Ruby wasn’t interested. She wanted her Mom back. She wanted to go home.Alex implored her, “Please, let me help you.”“You forced me to come here. I told you I didn’t want to,” Ruby replied.Jordan stood nearby, shifting their weight back and forth between their feet. They thought this would be a fun, if awkward date. The emphasis now was on the awkward part. Jordan went over to the desk to get a card loaded with points for the games. They played that game where you shoot a coin down and try to make the machine push some prizes over the ledge as it moves back to front. Jordan strained to hear the nearby conversation over all the game noises.“Sometimes,” Alex imparted to Ruby, “When we’re in pain, it can feel like we’re sinking. Like quicksand. And experts in this kind of thing say that when we’re in pain, the best thing to do is surround ourselves with loved ones who can bring us back to life. So, I’m just trying to help you.”“You’re not helping. I hate it here. Just take me home.”There was a commotion and shouting in the next room. Jordan, Alex, and Ruby ran over to find J’onn pulling his father from a broken video game. It looked as if Myr’nn was suffering from an attack of PTSD. All of those sounds and lights could definitely bring that on. They took him outside. Alex, J’onn, and Jordan stood near the doorway, saying what a bad idea this had been. Suddenly, they realized Ruby and Myr’nn were missing. In a panic, they ran back inside to find them smiling and playing foosball together. Jordan placed an arm around Alex’s waist.“Air hockey,” she asked in invitation.Jordan should have realized how cutthroat Alex would play. She slammed that disc around, trying to get it to fall into Jordan’s slot. However, Jordan guarded the space well, and the disc crashed into the sides of the table. They reached in to gently nudge the disc back onto Alex’s end and she rammed it up the middle and into the goal. Alex celebrated her win loudly while Jordan pretended to act defeated. They met back up with the rest of their party.“Why isn’t your hair blue anymore,” Ruby asked Jordan.“Oh I will probably dye it blue again at some point. But I wanted to give my hair a break from the bleach. You have to bleach it first, before you put the blue in.”“I wanted to dye the ends of my hair blue,” the young girl said.“Do you still have some blue dye and bleach, Jordan,” Alex inquired.“I think I do.”J’onn took Myr’nn home and the other three went back to Jordan’s penthouse. They got supplies out of the bathroom. Alex placed rubber bands in Ruby’s hair to mark the stopping points while Jordan stirred the bleach. Alex painted it onto the ends of Ruby’s hair.“I’m sorry I was so rude to you before, Alex,” Ruby apologized.Alex responded, “No, I’m sorry that I kept pushing you to feel better before you were ready. But I’m really happy that you taught Myr’nn how to play foosball.”“How long has he been sick?”“Not very long. A few months. But he’s very old, like hundreds of years old.”“Do you think J’onn ever worries that what happened to his father will happen to him?”“I don’t know. Are you worried that what happened to your Mom will happen to you?”Ruby nodded sadly.“I wish that I could tell you that you never have to worry about that. But the truth is, I don’t know.”“Well I know,” Jwe interjected, “What happened to your mother has nothing to do with you. It can’t be passed on to you. And Lena is going to get your mother back.”“Jordan, I promised Ruby I would tell her the truth about things. But you’re right, some of the smartest people on the planet love Sam, and they are working night and day to find a cure.”“We need to wash that bleach out and put on the blue dye,” Jordan said.As Alex painted Ruby’s hair again, she promised her that she would fight to protect her as long as she lived. Jordan told Alex that if she ever decided to change careers, she would make a good hairdresser. James entered the DEO and announced that he was going to reveal himself as Guardian in a press conference.“James,” Lena called to him, “If you’re doing this, I’m coming with you. I wanna stand beside you.”“I really appreciate that. But you should continue working. Sam’s life depends on it.”“I know this is scary, but maybe this is a good thing, you know, you coming out.”“It’s a little more complicated than that.”“Why?”James sighed and pulled Lena into a conference room to talk a little more privately. “For one, I’m a black man,” he said while taking a seat.“But everyone knows that Guardian’s a hero.”“Yeah, but not everyone knows that Guardian is black… You know how old I was the first time cops put cuffs on me?” James took a beat and raised his brow. “Seven. I was seven years old.”James told Lena a story about a family vacation. He and his cousins played hide-and-go-seek. Four big cops pulled the kids out of their hiding places and placed handcuffs on all of them. It wasn’t until his mother yelled at the police that they believed the children weren’t criminals. James’ eyes filled with tears over the memory. Lena told him that was horrible. She was sorry that had happened to him.“When I became Guardian,” James continued, “I put that mask on…. It was strangely liberating. It was the first time in my life that I had the opportunity to be judged on my actions and my heart, not how I look.”“You shouldn’t have to wear a mask to be seen as how you really are, James. It shouldn’t be that way.”“But it is,” he said while wiping tears from his face.Lena asked him if he was ready to be out in the open. James felt backed into a corner by the cult. They threatened to expose him. He felt the need to reveal his identity on his own terms. Lena kissed James tenderly and pressed her forehead against his. Winn was working with Lena in her lab when Supergirl strode in, asking if they had started testing the Rock of Yuda Kal she had brought them. The cult leader had used it to transform into a Worldkiller, but Supergirl and Mon-El were able to stop her. Lena informed Supergirl that the rock was drained of all its power. Winn claimed that they had been able to capture its radiation signal, however and were able to locate another rock about five light years away. Jordan dialed Alex’s number to ask her if she’d like to go out for ice cream. She thought that was a great idea and asked if she could bring Ruby along. Jordan understood that Alex was babysitting the girl until her mother was back, but they were becoming attached at the hip. Ruby was a good kid, but Jordan wanted some alone, adult time with Alex. Jordan didn’t have younger siblings, had spent most of their childhood in and out of hospitals, and didn’t really know how to relate to kids.“Of course Ruby is invited,” Jordan tried to sound enthusiastic.“I know where there is a wicked ice cream truck. They have all the toppings.”“Great. I’ll pick you both up.”The girls enjoyed the ride in the Corvette with the top down. Alex provided directions. Within minutes, they were parked and walking toward the window to order their ice cream. Ruby and Alex both got a scoop of vanilla in a cup. Ruby’s had mini M&M’s on top, while Alex topped hers with hot fudge. Jordan got a scoop of chocolate with sprinkles. They strolled down the sidewalk, passing balloons and kites for sale. Ruby talked about being an astronaut. Jwe thought about how he never wanted to be in a spacecraft again. They stopped at a booth of hats and sunglasses. They tried some on and posed, laughing at each other. A group of teenagers approached them.“OhmygodyoulookjustlikeJordanfromcoXst! My friend says it’s you. Are you Jordan? Can we get a picture? Will you sign my arm?”Jordan obliged and turned back to Alex to mouth the word, “Sorry.” Alex sent Ruby to go buy some sodas.Suddenly, shots rang out and everyone ducked or ran away screaming. What looked like some high tech grenade rolled near Alex. She quickly grabbed it and disposed of it in a cement container. Alex yelled for everyone to stay back while it detonated. After that, it seemed as if the coast was clear. Alex and Jordan ran over to where Ruby had ducked down beside a coffee and pastry cart. They hugged and checked to see that each other were unharmed.“Lucky us for having a secret agent escort, huh,” Jordan remarked to Ruby.“Look,” Alex said to Jordan, ”I’m going to take Ruby to my office and check this out. I’ll call you later?”“Oh, yeah, sure.”Jordan and Alex kissed each other’s cheeks before parting ways. Jordan looked at their phone. Among the missed calls and messages, there was one from Lena asking if they could come to the lab. Jordan hopped into their car and went over to L-Corp.Lena’s fingers flew over her keyboard. Her back was to the area containing Reign. The force field was up. Jordan entered the lab behind some officers in riot gear, probably from the DEO. They were carrying large cases, and dropped them next to a table. Lena straightened in her seat.“Could you please not blow up my lab,” she demanded.Reign could be heard saying, “So it’s explosives they’re carrying.”Lena got up and turned around to see if the force field had come down. It hadn’t. She couldn’t see Reign, but she could hear her.“Your wall doesn’t work anymore. Neither does your Kryptonite. I’m getting stronger.”Lena looked at her touchpad in confusion. The force field came down. Reign could be seen lounging on a chair, looking relaxed and confident. Jordan’s jaw dropped in the middle of saying hello to Lena.“Good morning, Sunshine. You’re very chatty today,” Lena addressed Reign.“How much longer do you think you can hold me?”“Long enough.”“Long enough for Supergirl to return? That’s right, I see you, Lena Kieran Luthor. And you, Jovian.”Jordan gulped. Lena was composed in her tight ponytail and short-sleeved, knee-length dress. Jordan’s suit was sans tie and a bit rumpled by their tumble in the park.“I see your fear.” Reign looked from Jordan back to Lena as she walked closer. “I see your anger. Your distrust…. Supergirl is your Hail Mary. You need her right now, and she needs you, but when this is all done, will you still need each other?”Lena tilted her head to answer, “Supergirl and I may not see eye-to-eye, but there’s one thing we can agree upon. And that’s that you need to be stopped. So, enjoy your moment in the sun, Reign. ‘Cause we are going to save Sam, and end you.”Lena turned her back on Reign, full of determination. She walked toward Jordan and embraced them. “Thanks for coming,” she whispered.Reign continued, “The only way to end me is to kill me. And Sam. And I don’t think you have the stomach for that.” She turned and walked to the other side of her cell, pleased with herself.Lena and Jordan spoke in hushed tones.“Where is Supergirl,” Jordan asked.“Supergirl and Mon-El went to get a rock that will help me destroy Reign.”“How long will that take?”“I don’t know.” Lena got lost in thought. “Supergirl and Mon-El have been together quite a bit lately.”“That’s bad?”“Kara was devastated when he left. He had to leave because I repurposed a device that made the atmosphere unsafe for him. And Supergirl used it.”“To stop the Daxamite invasion?”“Right. But then he returned and was able to stay. And I keep seeing him with Supergirl. Not Kara.”Oh, she doesn’t know, Jwe thought.“Have you talked to Kara about it?”“I told her that I saw Mon-El with Supergirl, and she said she knew.”“That’s it? She knew?”“Yes. I dropped it. But it bothers me.”“Another reason for you to be mad at Supergirl?”“Yes, how could you do that to a friend?”“Maybe it’s just work. Not romantic.”“Maybe.”“Speaking of romance, how are things with James?”“Good. Really good,” she smiled, “I’ve never been with someone so supportive of me.”“You deserve that,” Jordan said. And they meant it. They still wished they were doing the supporting, though.“What about you and… Alex?”“It’s good…. It’s just not really progressing.”“Alex doesn’t really seem like your type.” Lena wanted Jordan to be happy, but she didn’t like seeing them with Alex for some reason.“No? I love strong women. And she's a badass.”“Yeah,” Lena supplied weakly.“It’s just… I totally get that she’s looking after Ruby. And Ruby’s a good kid. But we’re not getting much alone time.”“Ah.” Lena wondered just how much alone time they had gotten.“Anyway,” Jordan changed the subject, “Why have you summoned me to your lab?”“Well, two things. First, I won’t be able to move into the penthouse right away. I feel like I need to stay here to keep an eye on Reign.”“I know you do, but I don’t like you being here with her getting stronger. It’s dangerous.”“That’s the second part. Before, Jwe said he might be able to communicate with Sam telepathically. Can we try that?”Jordan let Jwe take over the conversation. “I can try, but as I said before, the other person usually needs to initiate the connection. It keeps me from intruding into people’s thoughts.”“And Sam doesn’t know to do that.”“I wonder if I could get Reign to engage with me, and then somehow find Sam in there.”I do NOT want Reign in our head, Jordan thought.“Kryptonians can’t communicate telepathically, can they,” Lena asked with much trepidation.“Well, anyone can. It just takes training and practice. It’s easier with someone receptive to it. It’s second nature to me because that’s the only way we could communicate on Jupiter.”Can you hear me, Lena thought.Yes, Jwe and Jordan echoed in response.This could come in handy, Lena thought.How do we get Sam to do it, though, Jordan and Jwe asked silently. Lena looked out the window of her office the next morning without seeing anything. She heard James’ voice behind her.“Slept here again, huh?”“I don’t really have much choice,” she answered as she turned and slipped into his embrace. Breaking the hug, she continued, “Reign’s becoming immune to my Kryptonite. If Supergirl doesn’t get back here soon, she’ll become stronger and break out, and then God knows what will happen.”She took a breath and looked down at her tablet that showed the force field energy low and the Kryptonite level at 67%.Lena continued, “I can still flood her system with Kryptonite. It should work. She could OD. She could die.”“And lose Sam,” James filled in.“It’s Sam or the world.”“There’s still a chance that Supergirl can come back in time.”“And if she doesn’t?” Lena swallowed hard before continuing, “James, I don’t know what to do.”“What would Sam want you to do?”“She’d choose Ruby over anything. Even her own life. She’d want me to protect her daughter.”“It’s a difficult choice, but it sounds like you have the answer.” Lena returned to the lab and Reign’s taunts. She kept her back to the containment unit and pretended not to hear, but Reign’s words landed on her hard.“You think I haven’t noticed that kill switch. The one that will end me before I end you. You’re strong, ruthless. You are so much darker than you realize. You’re just like me.”Despite the tear falling from her eye, Lena retorted, “You wish.”“I don’t have to wish. I’m standing right here. I can see it with my own eyes. The same eyes that will set fire to you and your world if you don’t press that button and end me.”Lena picked up her tablet that controlled the amount of Kryptonite she could force upon Reign as she stood to face her. Her thumb hovered over the screen. Reign threw an elbow against the force field. Lena increased the Kryptonite, but it had little effect. Reign didn’t even flinch.Reign punched the force field, causing Lena and some surrounding equipment to collapse to the floor. Supergirl and Mon-El appeared. Mon-El gripped the bag holding the rock. Reign ripped the port from her chest that supplied the Kryptonite intravenously, and lunged for Supergirl. She hit her so hard that Supergirl smacked against the closed elevator doors, denting the metal. Reign let out the scream she inherited from Purity, knocking out all of the DEO agents in their riot gear. Mon-El handed the rock off to Lena and joined the fray.Lena worked quickly on the rock, as her lab was destroyed around her. While the aliens threw punches, Lena turned the rock from solid to liquid. She loaded it into a serum injector and slid it across the floor. Mon-El picked it up and jabbed it into Reign’s neck as Supergirl held her. The site of injection looked like it was on fire. Reign gasped and groaned as they all looked on. It was as if Reign was a shell cracking apart to let Sam emerge from the inside. Then, Reign’s body floated up like a phoenix and burst in an explosion of sparks. Sam’s body laid on the floor, covered by Supergirl’s cape protectively.“Do you have some aspirin,” Sam asked with her eyes closed.Lena, Mon-El, and Supergirl laughed in relief. Alex brought Ruby into the room at the DEO where Lena and Supergirl stood by Sam’s bed. Sam struggled to sit up to see her daughter. Ruby ran to her with her arms outstretched. Lena allowed them some room. Sam noticed the blue ends of her hair. She pulled the girl close and kissed her head. She mouthed, “Thank you” to Alex for taking care of her daughter. Alex stepped closer to the bed and took Sam’s hand. Lena and Supergirl moved toward the door.“You really went to great lengths to save Sam and her family,” Supergirl said to Lena.“Well, you’re the one who went to outer space.”“I have to ask you something. You were able to synthesize Kryptonite. Can you make more of the black rock?”“Possibly. Why?”“It’s called Harun-El. The meteoroid we found it on is inhabited. It’s a precious resource there, but they sacrificed some to help us.”“I’ll get to work on it immediately.”“Thank you.”

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Jordan went over the last-minute prep for the opening party with Sherry. The soft opening of the Revolution store and Chord Barre & Grille saw customers trickling in. This was to be the big blowout with a live band: local favorite, Igneous Box. Jordan was producing their new record and this would be the first time they played their new songs for an audience. Chef joined them to go over the menu. The focus was on finger food and drinks. The specials were: Love Me (Chicken) Tenders, Cheeseburger Sliders in Paradise, Blind Melon Balls, March of the Pigs in Blankets, Rascal Flatbreads with Bruschetta, and Phish Tacos. The drink menu didn’t really deviate from the norm, featuring: Gin and Juice, Tequila Sunrise, 1 Beer - 1 Bourbon - 1 Scotch, Highball to Hell, and Jumpin’ Jack Splash. Jordan was actually excited about the festivities. They were proud of the dream coming to fruition and looking forward to showing it off, especially to Lena and her friends. Jordan hadn’t spent much time with Alex leading up to the shindig and wanted to spin her around the dance floor. They even planned to jump onstage with the band for a song or two. The Chord started to fill up with people after 6 p.m. The tacos were the biggest hit, and the drinks began to flow. Jordan was still up in their penthouse, putting a little makeup on and getting dressed. It was a similar thrill and nervousness to when Jordan played little clubs back in Gotham. That was the happiest time in their life. When they were done dressing in their black and blue suit, they took the elevator down to the studio where the band was getting ready. Soundcheck had been a little rough, but hopefully they had gotten the kinks worked out.The crowd spilled out into the lobby and over into the store by 8 p.m. Security had to start doing a bit of line control. The security lead met Jordan and the band by the elevators at the back of the building. They followed him to the kitchen and waited there until there was a clear path to the stage. There was a charge in the air as the band took their places behind their instruments. The roar of the crowd muted slightly before Jordan jumped up to the microphone. When the screaming subsided, Jordan thanked everyone for coming and introduced Igneous Box. The band launched into one of their best known songs, We Won’t Be Denied.“It’s a twisted game,” the lead vocalist roared, ”Where the rich get richer and the poor take the blame!”Jordan moved through the gathering to the table reserved for Alex and everyone. She jumped up with a big smile to give them a hug.“I love this band,” she exclaimed near their ear.Winn reached out for a handshake and Jordan grabbed his hand in both of theirs. “This is awesome,” he shouted.Kara was next. Jordan thanked her for coming. She leaned in for a hug and whispered a request in their ear to talk privately later. Pulling back, she loudly declared what a great turnout this was. Jordan nodded at her and looked at the table. James sat with his arms outstretched and draped over the backs of the chairs to his left and right. Lena rose from one of those chairs to greet Jordan with a tight hug.“What a triumph,” she proclaimed, before sitting back down with James.Winn, Kara, Alex, and Jordan waded back up near the stage to dance in the sea of people. The guitars crunched atop the heavy beat of the drums. The crowd chanted along with the lyrics.“Inequality runs rampant,” the singer continued, “It’s time to ignite. A revolution of compassion, for what’s right. No more exploitation. No more divide. This is our anthem, and we won’t be denied!”At the song’s end, the bass player talked about the new record they were working on just a few floors above in the studio with Jordan. She asked Jordan to help them with a new song. They draped their jacket over Alex’s shoulders and hopped up onto the stage. A stage hand held a guitar up for Jordan. They ducked their head under the strap. Jordan stepped on a pedal and ran a pick over the strings. They nodded, and the band erupted into Cosmic. Jordan played a chugging rhythm on the guitar while the singer wailed.“Join me now, all you interstellar souls. Let’s rock this planet, make the cosmos explode. In a universe so vast, we’re all unique. No need to blend in. Let your true colors streak.”James ordered more drinks for the table from a waiter. He tried to get Lena to chime in with her selection, but she was transfixed. She was back in the subway in the bowels of Boston, watching her busker. Their fingers sliding over the frets on the neck of the guitar. Their eyes darting to the side, lips pulled into a sneer. Lena stealthily slipped a twenty into the guitar case. James nudged her shoulder to bring her back into the present.“Got any single malt tonight,” Lena asked the waiter.“That’s not on the menu,” James said, pointing at the card.“Stashed in the back for you, Ms. Luthor,” the waiter replied.Jordan took a verse, “Yeah, I’m out of this world. A misfit with a freak flag, I proudly unfurl. A rebel weathering the storm. I don’t fit in, I can’t conform. Breaking down walls. Just an alien, answering your cosmic calls.”When that song finished, Jordan gave Kara a look, and they walked out back to the p-patch. The cool air soothed their skin. The earth’s atmosphere felt a little too hot to both of them, but they had mostly acclimated.“I wanted to ask you a favor,” Kara started.“Shoot.”“Will you look after Alex… and Lena for me?”Jordan looked at the blonde with a confused expression, taking in her blue eyes that began to water.“I am going away for a little while.”“Where? How long is a little while?”“It’s an assignment. I can’t really say.”“CatCo or DEO ?”Kara blinked a couple of times. “Alex told you?”“No. Not Alex. But don’t worry. I signed all that non-disclosure paperwork when I was at the DEO.” Jordan winked. Kara narrowed her eyes at them. “Then you know about Krypton?”“A little. That you and your cousin got out as it was exploding.”“Some others got out, too. I just found them. Including my mother. I have to go spend some time with her.”“Oh. Of course.”“I hate to leave Alex. And I know you guys are kinda new. But if you could take care of her.”“I’ll do my best.”“And Lena has James. But you’ve been friends for a long time.”“We have. I’m sure she’ll miss you, though. And you and I are just starting to get to know each other, but I think I’ll miss you, too.”“Thanks, Jordan.”“Be careful out there, Kara.”They walked back into Chord. The music was still blaring. Everyone was still dancing. Kara and Jordan rejoined Alex and Winn. Lena watched them walk back onto the dance floor, intrigued to see them moving cooperatively to the staccato beat. Her mind placed herself between them, their bodies pressed together. In reality, Lena was way too self-conscious to dance in front of people. In the fantasy, she shifted fluidly with Jordan at her back and Kara in front. It was warm inside the bar, and Lena got warmer. She felt an ache deep inside. Jordan was aroused also. They moved closer to Alex, placing a hand on her hip. They put their lips close to her ear and asked if she would stay at the penthouse tonight. The song ended, and Alex turned around.“Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t. I’m going over to watch Singing in the Rain with Sam and Ruby.”Jordan tried to hide their disappointment as the quartet went back to the table and Alex and Kara said their goodbyes. Winn sat down next to James and the two laughed together about something. Jordan sat next to Lena and angled in to chat with her.“So Kara’s going away for a bit?”“Yeah, we had a going away party for her at CatCo yesterday. Is that what you were talking about with her?”“Yes, she asked me to watch out for Alex… and you.”“She asked you to do that,” Lena asked in surprise.“Yeah. How are you doing with her leaving?”“I’m sad. I haven’t seen that much of her lately, and now I won’t see her at all for a while. I’m thinking that what I said to you about Mon-El being with Supergirl was correct, and Kara is having a harder time with it than she has been pretending. I wish there was something I could do.”“Maybe she just needs some time away to think things through.”“I know she does. But I feel a little guilty about not being there for her.”“Oh, honey, how many friends can you take care of at once? You helped get me clean and saved Sam’s life. You can’t beat yourself up for not being there for Kara while she was dealing with her ex being back in town. Are you staying here tonight?”“Yes, James is staying over.”“Okay, well I’m going to head up and take a bath. I am covered in sweat.”“We’ll ride up with you.”They said goodnight to Winn and got into the elevator. James held Lena from behind with his eyes closed. Lena looked at Jordan watching the numbered floors light up above the doorway. When they got to 33, Jordan held the doors open so that Lena and James could exit first. They wished each other goodnight, and used their card keys to get into their respective penthouses.Jordan ran the water in the tub and stripped off their clothes. They dipped a toe in to check the temperature, and added some lavender-scented bath salts. They eased their body into the water and sighed. They probably should have taken a cold shower to ease their discomfort, but they really wanted a soak. They opted for another way to find release, picturing the earlier dance with Alex, and used a finger to ring the devil’s doorbell. The picture progressed to when Alex told Jordan she was leaving to go to Sam’s, so it didn’t work. Jordan became frustrated. They thought of Lena and James next door and submerged their head underwater to erase that image.Lena thought back to her earlier fantasy and again became turned on. She clutched James’ body and kissed him hard on the lips. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He walked her over to the bed and placed her down upon it. Lena tried to get him to be a little more rough with her, but he was very gentle. He kissed her deeply, but gingerly. He kept stopping to check in on her. Consent was important, but this disrupted the activity. They were both finally able to orgasm, but it was a bit brief.

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Lena got a call from Sam in the morning, asking if she would meet her at Alex’s workplace. Sam had started feeling ill toward the end of the movie late the night before. Ruby was very worried. Alex suggested that she just needed some sleep, but decided to stay over to keep an eye on her. When Sam wasn’t feeling any better in the morning, they decided to run some tests and get Lena’s help. Alex gave Sam an eye exam, while Lena studied a blood sample under a microscope. Ruby stood next to her mother, looking forlorn while Sam described how it felt like her insides were wilting away. Lena joined the three to announce what she had found.“Sam, your blood cells have mutated. Before, they presented as human. But now, they are transforming back to their natural state, which is Kryptonian.”“Like Supergirl,” Ruby asked, “Isn’t that good?”“I don’t feel stronger,” Sam supplied, “I’ve never felt weaker.”“That’s because your blood cells are oxygen-deprived,” Lena informed her.“If she’s Kryptonian, like Supergirl, can’t you fix her with the sun,” Ruby hypothesized.“She’s right. We’ll supercharge you with yellow sun lamps,” Alex proclaimed.After a while under the sun lamps, Lena and Alex tested Sam by engaging a refractive scatterfield around the bed. Lena had used it on Reign previously. It physically hurt her and Supergirl when they tried to look through it. This time, Sam was able to see through it as if it was not there. If her cells truly were Kryptonian, she wouldn’t have been able to do that. The sun lamps did not seem to be having any effect. Lena decided to go back to her own lab to test Sam’s blood samples with the Harun-El she was making.She borrowed Eve Teschmacher from CatCo to assist her in the lab at L-Corp. She had reworked the Harun-El to jump start Sam’s blood cells, but the procedure had failed. Lena wondered aloud if she could adjust the ratio of the solution.Alex called to tell her that the witches of Argo City had descended upon the DEO, searching for the blood of Purity and Pestilence. They murdered the agent that was protecting the vials. Alex was able to expel them from the building with Supergirl’s help. But Sam’s health was worsening.Examining the blood sample Lena took while Reign still inhabited Sam’s body, Lena had an aha moment. She hurried back to the DEO to see Sam. Lena practically carried her down to the main room to meet with Alex, Alura, Supergirl, Mon-El, and Winn. Alex told Sam she should have stayed in bed. Lena related to them all that Sam was sick because she and Reign were still connected symbiotically. She shuddered at the phrase Jordan had used to describe the bond between Jwe and themself. Sam got weaker as Reign became stronger. Jwe was stronger and able to control Jordan’s body when Jordan blacked out. As Jordan had gotten sober, Jwe had taken a backseat. The key was to make Sam stronger. Alura suggested something called The Fountains of Lillith to accomplish this task.Lena prepared Sam to make the journey back to the dark valley, then called Alex, Alura, and Supergirl into the room. Alex suggested that Ruby wait outside. The girl wanted to stay. Her mother warned her that it would look scary, but that she could handle it. The two agreed that Sam was a “Badass”. Alex and Ruby held each other closely as they all watched Sam. Lena apprehensively used her tablet to shoot electricity through the leads attached to Sam’s temples. Sam screamed in pain.An earthquake in Southern California was not necessarily unheard of, but the building surprisingly began to shake. Lena grabbed the edge of Sam’s bed. Alex let go of Ruby and told her to stay with Lena. Supergirl, Alura, and Alex left the med bay to investigate. Jordan ordered their staff under desks and inside door frames when the shaking began. The news on the television showed scenes of tornadoes and tsunamis across the globe. The quake in National City registered as an 8.0 magnitude. Jordan was relieved that the building was just made according to current earthquake specifications, but knew that damage was inevitable. Cracks opened up in the sidewalks below. People screamed and ran for cover. Overpasses came crumbling down. Superheroes sprang into action. Jordan could see them through the window. Supergirl used her freeze breath on the growing waves on the waterfront. She and Alura turned it into a huge glacier. That spaceship that Jordan had been inside briefly at the DEO appeared and blasted the glacier into bits. Ruby pressed down on the legs of her motionless mother. Lena tried to reassure her that Sam was okay.The earthquake suddenly ended. Ruby placed her head next to Sam’s on the pillow and closed her eyes. James visited Lena. They stood in the doorway, watching over Sam and Ruby. They decided to let Ruby be alone with her mother and stepped out for some coffee. When Lena returned to the room, she found Alex perched by the bed.“Her vitals are weak, but they’re steady,” Alex reported to Lena.“You know, you’re really wonderful with Ruby.”“Well, Ruby is really wonderful. She makes it easy. She’s so smart.”“Sam is really wonderful as well,” Lena said knowingly.“Yes, she is. I just know she’s strong enough to make it to that fountain.”“People like us do what it takes to get what we want,” Lena referred to defeating Reign and to interpersonal relationships. “You’ll make a natural mother.” Lena knew all about those that did and didn’t have what it took to be a good mother. Lillian and she didn’t have it, but Alex and Sam did.“I don’t know if I can make that a reality,” Alex said wistfully. “Did Jordan ever talk to you about wanting to be a parent?”“No,” Lena chuckled, “Jordan doesn’t have a positive view on families and passing on their DNA, just as I don’t.”“So what do I do? Try to be a parent on my own? How?”“I have no doubt you’ll figure it out.”Sam let out a gasp and floated up above her bed as Lena, Alex, and Ruby looked on in shock. Then, with superspeed, Sam removed the wires and IV from her body and ran out of the med bay. Ruby, Lena, and Alex turned to look at the door Sam ran through with their eyes wide and mouths agape. Jordan found Sherry with the First Aid kit, checking on all of their coworkers (also known as the Revolutionaries). They caught her eye and she gave a thumbs up. It seemed that everyone was all right. Just to be sure, Jwe listened intently to the building’s inhabitants.Help, I’m stuck in here, he heard.Where are you stuck, he asked in return.I’m in the elevator, was the reply.Jordan moved swiftly to the back of the office. When they pressed the call button for the elevator, it lit up for a second and then went dark again. The doors didn’t open. They looked around to see if anyone was nearby. Everyone’s attention was elsewhere. Jwe waved a hand. The doors parted. The elevator cables were exposed. They looked down into the shaft and thought they could make out the top of the car.We’ll jump down on top of it. There must be a hatch we can open, Jwe thought.Or… you can close the doors and open them down on the first floor, Jordan answered as they headed for the stairs.Jwe waved an arm behind them and the doors to the elevator closed. He did the same when they reached the back of the first floor. Ashton was sitting on the bottom of the car with his back against the wall. His gray trousered legs were spread in a “V’, his tie was loosened, and the first two buttons of his shirt were undone.“JJ,” he said as he lifted his head.Jordan grabbed his arm and helped him up, asking if he was okay.“Yeah, yeah. It was just a couple of floors. I should have taken the stairs.”“Maybe. Let’s get you some water from the Chord.” Jordan walked Ashton to the front of the building.“How did you know I was in there? I yelled a few times, but I didn’t think anyone heard me. And then there was this voice in my head, asking me where I was stuck. It was the strangest thing.”“You’re just lucky I called the elevator to go up to see if there was damage to my apartment,” Jordan lied.After getting Ashton a drink, Jordan went back to the Info Desk in the lobby. They asked Sarah if they were okay and if they would have the Maintenance Team look at the elevator. Then, they took out their phone to text Lena and Alex, to see if they made it through the quake well.Lena and Alex were together, walking down a corridor in the DEO when their phones both beeped with the text. Lena stopped to answer when Ruby ran up to them and gave Alex a big hug. Sam sauntered up behind her daughter looking stronger than ever.“I came to say thank you to both of you,” Sam announced.“For what,” Lena said, still typing on her phone, “You’re the one who saved the day. You beat Reign.”“With a lot of help from Supergirl.”“You made me feel safe,” Ruby told Lena and Alex, “When everything was horrible. You made me have faith that my mom would get better. And I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.”Alex replied, “Well, I mean, you’re a pretty great roomie.”Sam offered, “Well, I can loan her out to you from time to time, Aunt Alex.”The three of them discussed slumber parties while Lena continued to text Jordan, telling them all about the origin of the earthquake and how Sam had gone to the dark valley to fight Reign and won.