WHAT: Bitter doppel!Kara pokes some of Lena's sore spots, then just some good old emotional hurt/comfort with real!Kara WHERE: L-Corp WHEN: Today at lunch time WARNINGS: Anger?? Bitchiness?? Nothing extreme STATUS: Complete
For the past week, she had stewed in her apartment, filled with scattered beer bottles and takeout bags. She hadn’t left her apartment for more than a few seconds at a time to gather her orders. She lived on her couch, wallowing, feeling sorry for herself, angry.
The week prior, her whole world had collapsed. She’d been working at L-Corp as an assistant lab tech for over a year, gathering little bits and pieces of helpful information. It was a slow process, but passing intel about L-Corp’s confidential projects wasn’t a one-and-done type of deal. It was a multi-year plan, one she’d been confident she could see through until the end. The more she was trusted, the more she could pass onto her employers.
The ultimate goal? Getting into Lena Luthor’s locked lab.
That was no easy feat. The amount of locks and wards that kept it sealed off from the rest of the company were impressive and damn near uncrackable. The plan was to find the closest person to Lena and slip into their role. It would be seamless; Lena wouldn’t be able to spot the difference. The people who could were rarities.
Then, Lena disappeared, and without her there, trying to break in was a fruitless task. She went back to biding her time, maybe taking some bigger risks. No one was as eagle-eyed as Lena herself, and it was easy to stall projects and rip one or two off entirely. Not a single person suspected her. Why would they? She was a background player, near invisible. What reason would she have to cause sabotage?
Along came Kara Danvers. She slipped right into the company, stepping into Lena’s shoes in a way the head of the company appointed after her disappearance never had. She had her fingers in everything L-Corp did, and it was clear that she was important when their COO left and she completely took the reins.
Her ultimate target was obvious.
What she hadn’t expected was for there to be newfound magical wards in place when she approached the lab to brush up for her first attempt. The moment she attempted to breach, she was knocked on her ass, and within the hour, she was dismissed and escorted from the building. Her bosses hadn’t been happy and had cut her off, too.
Her life was in ruins because of Lena Luthor, and she burned with the desire for revenge.
That was how she ended up back at L-Corp at lunchtime, wearing Kara Danvers’ face. She breezed past Lena’s secretary with nothing more than a wave and a smile before opening the CEO’s office doors.
“Heya, boss.” She held up the box of pizza in her hand and smiled across the room at the woman who had been haunting her dreams all this last week. “I brought lunch.”
Huh.
Kara coming through her doors wasn’t an uncommon sight, no; cohabitation and working together didn’t often change their lunch plans. They did deviate sometimes. Lena would have an appointment or make plans with a friend. Same for Kara, who would stop at Darla to help with a grocery drop off and then stop to save kittens stuck in trees. Today had been a deviation, and she hadn’t expected the view of her right at this hour.
Lena wouldn’t complain. It was a perfect view.
“Boss seems so informal,” she joked, fingers tapping away at her keyboard a few more times before she exited the document she was in. “You’ve spoiled me with sweetheart, but - heya back.” Lena wore a bright smile, teeth blinding white against the frame of red lips. “No baby cuddles this time?”
Finn. The bonus of transforming was the influx of memories that came with it. She knew exactly what Lena meant without ever experiencing it herself. It was part of the gift, what made them so hard to pick out.
“Not today.” She slid the pizza onto a cleared off space on the desk and leaned across it to peck her cheek, shoving down the visceral emotions in favor of proceeding with the act. “I checked in with Adora earlier, and she said they were covered for a few days more. So, I figured it was about time you were reminded to eat.”
“I had a timer on that was about to go off in ten minutes so I could order something,” Lena emphasized, entirely capable of feeding herself – she’d insist on it! But she’d always appreciate Kara being attentive. “And it was going to be something boring, like a grilled chicken salad so I can appreciate the more appetizing, greasier selection. Let’s go sit over there?”
She gestured towards the chair and couch, that way they could be closer while they ate.
An eyebrow raised, and she slipped her hands underneath the cardboard pizza box to relocate it where Lena was pointing. “Feeling needy today, huh?” It was light snark, easy to interpret as playfulness. Something small and just slightly out of character.
Weird thing to say, Lena thought. It gave her pause.
“Well — I haven’t seen you all morning, so.” Her brows furrowed, and the explanation came with a smile that didn’t show teeth this time. It felt unsure, but she went on. “I mean, I saw you first thing in the morning, but you know what I mean.”
God, she felt like she was fumbling a bit. Kara was always privy to her moments of insecurity, though she hoped they could just brush this one off and settle down for lunch. She took a seat on the couch, patting the spot next to her. “Come here.”
With the pizza on the coffee table, she obeyed and sat down, crossing her legs and reaching out to open the box. “We really should have actual dishware in here. Might come in handy more often than the liquor glasses.” Her eyes flitted briefly over to the drinks cart, outfitted with at least four different, expensive bottles of alcohol.
She grabbed a couple of napkins and pulled out a couple of square pieces of pizza, passing it off to Lena. “I guess this will have to do.”
“Kara,” Lena began, a bit taken back by that. “It’s pizza. We don’t need dishes for pizza.” She didn’t mind getting a little messy for lunch, they literally lived on the top floor of this building if something got on their clothes because, gasp, they ate with their hands, like a savage. “Are you… okay? Did something happen?”
Kara in a bad mood was usually huffy and ranty in the most adorable way, with pacing or hands on the hips. Not… snippy like this..
“What, I can’t make a suggestion now?” She rolled her eyes and reached for a slice of pizza for herself. Quietly, she reveled in Lena’s obvious discomfort. These little, pointed barbs weren’t much, but they came with this smug sense of satisfaction as she slowly inflamed the situation. “Don’t take everything so personally, Lena. You’re overthinking.”
“You’re literally the one thinking we need dishes for something you eat out of a box with your hands,” Lena scoffed in retaliation, trying to keep the heat out of her words. Kara might just be having a bad day–she understood that, had plenty of those herself, and it was always Kara who had been patient despite her moods. The least she could do is extend that same courtesy. “I’m just–making sure you’re okay, darling. That’s it.”
The words came out softer, a metaphorical way of putting up white flags. The pizza in her hand remained uneaten.
“Oh, don’t get all wounded puppy on me,” she scoffed. Having shoveled down her first piece of pizza, she reached for another. She’d bought it, and she was going to enjoy it while she was here. “A girl can’t even make an innocent suggestion without you interrogating it! I don’t know how Alex could stand it.”
Those words were the equivalent to a harsh slap in the face. Lena was stunned. That was–what? Did Kara really…?”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with you,” she began curtly, dropping the pizza back into the box and then slamming the box shut. Some napkins were grabbed so she could clean off the bits of crumbs and grease, but her fingers looked unsteady. “But I think you should finish this upstairs and then we can talk, alright?”
There it was – a soft spot. Something Kara struggled with just as much Lena. She let out a laugh and remained firmly seated, wiping her hands on the napkin that had held her pizza before crossing her arms over her chest.
“Oh, relax,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, smiling bright and almost painfully wide as she looked up at the other woman. “It’s just a joke, Lena! Don’t be so sensitive.”
“There is something definitely wrong with you,” Lena snapped, standing up on her feet. That was a low blow. Kara didn’t do low blows. “Were you–exposed to something, recently? Where have you been? Because this behavior isn’t you.”
The laughing, the smile. It was so infuriatingly condescending, and the words had needled a bruise that was still tender. They always talked about Alex fondly and with understanding; Kara would never weaponize her like that.
The way she was smiling was sick, void of any of Kara’s usual kindness and compassion. “But how can you be sure?” She got to her feet, too, moving to the desk to perch on the edge, lips pursed as she shrugged. “You had no idea I was Supergirl for three years. Not exactly the most observant genius around, are ya?”
“Get out.”
There was no rationally entertaining this. Lena, for the moment, was done. She didn’t know what the hell had gotten into Kara to start dishing out these deeply personal stings – knowing it would hurt her – but she had to put a stop to it.
Her heels click-clacked against the hard floors as she went to jerk the door open, holding it wide for her. She kept her face stone-cold, but her jaw was absolutely ticking. “I mean it, Kara. Get out. We’ll talk later.”
She’d have liked to keep poking at Lena; there was no mistaking that those barbs of hers had caused some sting. It was enough, for now. She had planted seeds, and there was no doubt in her mind, filled with Kara’s memories, that Lena would find a way to blow herself up. And, well, she had nothing but time on her hands to fan those flames now.
She would be back.
“Sure, we’ll talk later,” she agreed, breezing past Lena with a smirk. She pecked her cheek again and disappeared out the doors.
The doors had only just closed behind her when there was a soft thump on the balcony outside. Kara opened up the door, already reaching for her glasses in her boot as she stepped inside. “Lena!” she called out. She slid her glasses on, her supersuit dematerializing as she reached to pull her phone out of her pocket.
“You have to see these pictures of Finn. I just got them from Catra! They’re the cutest, cuddliest little baby,” she enthused, already opening her text thread to show her girlfriend pictures of their surrogate nibling. She was saving all the Finn pictures in a special folder, determined to have them easily accessible – both for bragging rights and to show her sister if she ever reappeared.
She hadn’t really taken in the state of Lena’s office until she reached the desk and realized, contrary to her expectations, Lena wasn’t there. Her eyes landed on her at the door after a quick scan, and she frowned to see her standing there.
“Oh, sorry. Did someone just leave?” She paused for just a second, taking in the look on her face. “Sweetheart, are you okay?”
“Oh, so it’s sweetheart now?” Lena spat out, literally the first thing that came out of her mouth – her defenses were up, she was livid, her heart was racing, jack-hammering into her ribcage. The whiplash was too much. She had just closed the door. She had just taken a breath. Her eyes watered, but she was telling herself she had too much dignity to let any fall. “Kara, that was you, you left.”
She gestured to the door as if it was obvious, and then gestured towards the couch as if that was obvious, the pizza box still sitting there. “I don’t know what the hell kind of game you’re playing with me right now, but I need you out. Get out. We’ll talk when I get home.”
Kara’s eyes went wide behind her glasses, and her phone dropped on the desk as she started to cross the room to reach Lena. She clocked the pizza box with a confused furrow of her eyebrows but otherwise focused more on Lena than anything else. She quickly realized Lena’s very heart rate betrayed how upset she was, and the tears were easy to spot; they brought out the blue in her eyes in a heartbreaking way.
“Hey, hey, easy. Don’t cry,” she soothed her softly, reaching out to gently stroke down one of Lena’s arms. It was a risk with how aggravated she was, but one Kara felt comfortable taking. “Honey, I’ve been on Darla with the girls. I promise, whatever happened here, it wasn’t me. Can you tell me what happened?”
Lena ripped herself away from her hands. “If I’m telling you to get out,” she snapped, voice firm and in control despite everything, “it’s because I need the space. Don’t touch me.” Her feet carried her towards the other end of the office, the farthest point away from Kara, because otherwise she felt like she wouldn’t be able to breathe properly unless she had a decent enough space around her.
“You were here, you brought me lunch,” she explained, going through the motions of retelling the events so she could analyze it herself – every interaction, smile, barbed word. “You said they didn’t need you today, you kissed my cheek, you complained about my office not having dishes for pizza, you talked about Alex.”
It was Kara for all intents and purposes, from head to toe, her voice, memories. She wasn’t some sophisticated virtual reality replication. Lena would have known – wouldn’t she?
But, then again, she hadn’t known Kara was Supergirl for their entire friendship all because of glasses, so. What did she know?
Kara didn’t flinch when Lena pulled herself away. She was a little taken aback by how violently she did so, but she let her take the space she needed. She didn’t understand what had happened, though she could come up with a few hypotheses based on past experiences – Bizarro, Red Daughter, a shapeshifter, another universe’s version of her. All were possibilities here in Vallo.
She liked to think none of them would go out of their way to hurt Lena, though. And judging by how she was reacting to her right now, some cruelty had factored into whatever encounter Kara had involuntarily stumbled into.
“Lena, I don’t know what to tell you. I was with Catra and Adora up until about three minutes ago. I promise you, sweetheart.” She raised her hands, feeling completely helpless in this situation.
Lena had to think.
And breathe.
And rationalize. Her arms folded in that familiar, annoyed stance, jaw ticking as she watched Kara. She was simmering. She was hurt, but she was trying to battle that hurt by figuring out what the hell happened and – “Fine,” she replied curtly. “We’ll check the security cameras.”
“Yes, please,” Kara agreed, already moving toward Lena’s desk. “Show me.” They could pull up the feeds from each of their computers, and surely that would prove there was some kind of mistake here. She didn’t doubt Lena, but there had to be another explanation for what she’d seen.
When it came to perusing footage, it wasn’t her computer she preferred to use but the tablet next to it – she worked from it a lot when she was in her laboratory, and she carried it everywhere. Lena snatched it up from the spot on her desk, tapping (or more like she was stabbing the screen with her fingernails, clearly in a mood) it to pull up the cameras. “I’ll run a face scan to see if I get a match of it elsewhere in the building,” she said. “But here’s you.”
Lena handed it over. There were cameras in her office, obviously – she had a few important things locked away aside from the laptop holding sensitive information.
Kara accepted the tablet, watching for a moment as someone wearing her face brought in a box of pizza. “What the…” she muttered. There was no denying that whoever this was, they looked like her. Of course it wasn’t, she hadn’t seen Lena since they parted ways to their separate offices for the day, but this wasn’t going to prove her case.
“Okay, hold on.” She scrolled forward to about thirty seconds before she’d flown in on the balcony. She watched as Lena pointed this not-Kara to the door and walked over to open it herself, then scrolled the feed of cameras below, pulling up the footage from the camera pointing more directly out at the balcony – a necessity around here; she wasn’t the only being who could fly.
With a little maneuvering, she pulled them up side by side. “Look,” she told Lena, stepping closer to her girlfriend so she could see the deeds playing simultaneously. Sure enough, she managed to find a moment where not-Kara’s foot remained inside the office door just as Kara herself was seconds away from landing on the balcony.
“I’m fast, but I can’t be in two places at once. I don’t know what this is, but I promise you–” She turned to meet Lena’s eyes, earnestly hoping that Lena would see what she was seeing. “Whoever this is, she’s not me, sweetheart.”
Lena knew she was right. Deep down, everything about the interaction felt off until it started to distinctly feel wrong. But it looked like Kara, sounded like Kara, felt like Kara – being in tune with her magic helped her pick up on those unseen differences, a handy thing to have in Vallo.
Except she hadn’t noticed anything off in that department, either.
“I know,” she told her, arms dropping to smooth her hands over her buttoned up shirt as if there were any wrinkles on it – and there were none, Lena Luthor didn’t work in wrinkled clothing. “I know. Whoever they were, they knew personal details, they knew me, they knew you.”
“Then we’ll find them, and we’ll figure out what’s going on,” Kara said firmly. She believed Lena without question. Even before seeing it for herself, she’d believed her. They’d had their troubles in the past, but they’d made progress since then. They didn’t lie to each other. They didn’t hold back, even when sometimes it felt like that would be the better choice.
Kara set the tablet gently back in its place on Lena’s desk. There was sure to be more footage to examine, to see what this not-Kara’s journey had been in and out of L-Corp, but they would worry about that in a few minutes. Right now, she was more worried about comforting the woman she loved.
“Can I touch you now?” she asked softly.
It took a moment, but – “Yeah,” Lena exhaled, tight muscles becoming a little more lax now that she had an idea of what was happening. It was a real shit idea, to be honest; she had questions and was minutes away from conducting a very thorough investigation. Maybe she’d even set a chair on fire. It didn’t hurt to take a moment. “Yeah. Yes. I could use an actual-Kara hug, at least.”
Kara didn’t waste time, turning to wrap Lena up in her arms and hug her close. The worry began to ebb now that the mystery had begun to unfold. She didn’t like the larger picture – that there was someone out there acting like her, looking like her – and the trouble that could spell down the line. But she could set that all aside in favor of taking care of Lena.
“I love you,” she murmured, stroking down Lena’s back and kissing her temple. “Whatever that fake me said, don’t listen to it, okay?”
She could have turned on the audio on the office’s security feed, but her goal was simply to prove it hadn’t been her. She wanted to address whatever had gotten Lena upset, especially when it had apparently struck such a chord, but making sure there was no more confusion had taken priority.
That embrace did it. Lena felt like she was physically melting against Kara, letting out a final breath that was just a heavy, tired sigh. Her arms opened up to take her in, winding around her waist. It’d take a moment for her to scrub the words from her brain, and while the feel of her girlfriend against her was, in fact, very comforting –
Hooking her chin over her shoulder, Lena’s eyes zoned in on that poor, unsuspecting box of pizza, mumbled a Latin phrase under her breath, and it went up in flames.
That poor pizza. It wasn’t at fault for a Kara doppelganger coming in and hurting Lena’s feelings. But she understood setting it on fire for catharsis, and she let it burn for a few minutes, still holding Lena to her, until she put it out with a puff of freeze breath.
“Why don’t we go upstairs and eat, maybe do some investigating? Checking in with the DOA might not hurt.” She didn’t know for a fact if there was some sort of epidemic of jerk shapeshifters out there, but the Defense Department tended to have their finger on the pulse of these things. It was a safe bet to give Sara or Shiro a call.
“Not pizza,” Lena stated, because she supposed she could eat something through the displeasure of that ridiculous encounter. Pulling away, she reached for her tablet and began scrolling through it and accessing some security features. “Until this is resolved—I’m turning your biometrics off. You literally have full access to this building, and if this thing has copied your face and memories, your DNA is also a safe bet.”
It was a practical maneuver. Until this was solved, she’d assign Kara a specific access code that was new for the day.
Kara grimaced. “Well, that’s not a pleasant thought,” she commented, slipping her arm around Lena to lead her over to the private elevator that would take them back up to the penthouse. “Let’s just hope whatever it is doesn’t access any new memories I make, too.”
If this person had her face, her memories, her image – yeah, it was completely possible it had her DNA or could snag her new memories at any given time. Maybe it was like a White Martian, able to mimic its target completely as long as they were still in the vicinity. It was really all guesswork until they poked through the security feeds further.
Lena could already see that no attempts of accessing restricted parts of the building had been made – she had records of every time certain doors slid open and who opened them. Cameras. Alarms (and even talismans) at this rate in place. Her laboratory had experimental weapons, suits, specimens. A security breach had her paranoid.
But seeing that everything seemed to be okay, she could breathe.
“That would be a problem,” she said, chewing her lip as the rest of her body was on autopilot as they accessed the penthouse floor – she hadn’t even looked up from her tablet but she knew where to go, up until her legs hit their sofa. “So far no one’s gotten anywhere they shouldn’t be. If she – they, whoever – wanted to physically hurt me, they could have. They didn’t. So I don’t think they’re violent, but they definitely wanted to make it personal.”
As soon as they stepped out into the penthouse living room, Kara let Lena wander off to fend for herself. She’d seen her function on autopilot around here dozens of times, gracefully not tripping over her own feet even with her face buried in a book or her tablet. Meanwhile, Kara made her way to the refrigerator, pulling out a few microwave dinners (which was progress over the constant takeout!) and peeling open the boxes to feed the two of them something.
“Have you had trouble with anyone lately?” she questioned, reaching into the refrigerator next for a few fizzy sodas. She scanned her memory for a moment. “I think we had two people finish out a two-weeks notice as of Friday and three dismissals, right?”
“Maybe??” Lena sighed, setting the tablet down on the coffee table the moment she dropped onto the couch. Leaning forward, she propped her elbows on top of her knees and scrubbed her hands over her face – not smudging any of that makeup, mind you, they were high-quality imbued with some magic oomph that kept it all nice and fresh throughout the day. “I don’t handle day-to-day hiring unless I’m looking for something specific.”
L-Corp in Vallo wasn’t as high-volume as it was back home – a lot of the floors were converted into business offices, and she had standard laboratories rented out to people. They did focus on philanthropic efforts, and obviously sponsored projects for advancement and research.
They dealt with a lot of people. Not all interactions were good interactions, but Lena couldn’t think of anything specific right now that might be the catalyst for what just happened.
“Well, we’ll look into it further,” Kara assured her, carrying the drinks over to the couch. She put one in Lena’s hand, bending down to kiss her forehead, and sets hers on the coffee table before returning to the kitchen to retrieve their meals. “But for now, I think we need to err on the side of caution that whoever this is will come back, so.”
She took a seat on the couch, handing Lena’s meal to her on a plate. “What do you think of outfitting me with a tracker? Something you can look at if you’re concerned so you know where I am, and you’ll know if it isn’t me standing in front of you?”
“Feels very stalkerish of me,” Lena snarked, taking her meal to set down on the coffee table. It was appreciated, and she’d eat – despite not being the biggest fan of frozen dinners, but they were admittedly convenient – in a bit. Now that she had a moment to thaw out, she leaned back and cozied up to Kara. “But considering the circumstances, yes, I’d like that. I think I have something in one of my safes that I can work with.”
“Good, then that’s settled,” Kara decided. She didn’t comment on Lena’s decision not to eat – she was aware the frozen dinners weren’t a big hit, but until they got a little more settled with cooking, it was a good fill-in. She had lived off takeout for years, and she was ready for something different. “Stalk me all you want.”
Don’t have to tell Lena Luthor twice. She didn’t suspect this person would try to come back for round two – they wanted her to feel those jabs, they had to know the gig would be up once the real Kara came back. Having the reassurance of where Kara was while all this was happening was good to have, however. If this person was replicating her DNA, then –
That went for powers too.
“I’m sorry for snapping,” she said after a few moments, sounding utterly exhausted right now. Perhaps what she needed besides food was an IV drip of B-12 into her veins, or a literal syringe of caffeine to be shot into her butt (for maximum efficiency). “I’m not… overly sensitive, am I?”
She looked at Kara like she was half-joking but also half-not, so.
Kara’s plate joined Lena’s on the table and she shifted so she could wrap an arm around her and curl in close. “You’re not overly sensitive,” she assured her. “You’re sensitive, yes, but it’s one of the best things about you. It makes you sweet, and compassionate, and someone who wants to do their very best to help the world and everyone in it. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Lena had a big heart, and yes, she could be a little touchy, but Kara truly didn’t think that was a bad thing. No one liked to be criticized, to have their flaws pointed out to them. That wasn’t a unique trait to Lena Luthor in the slightest.
“And don’t apologize, either. You had someone wearing my face playing with you. I can’t blame you for lashing out when you thought it was me.”
There was part of Lena that might have craved a bit of love-bombing and Kara delivered without fail. She had a closed-lip smile that was genuine, cheek dimpling, and she cupped her cheek to tenderly pull her into a kiss. Kara always saw the best in (most) people, and she felt that she was undeserving of any acknowledgement when it came to hers considering all she had done, all she had been complicit with in the past, but –
When Kara spoke like that, how could she not believe it?
“We’re going to eat,” she whispered against her mouth after breaking the kiss. It’s a shame she wore her expensive makeup today – she liked it when she left a smear of red across Kara’s, like the stain marked her as hers. “Then I am going to take my time to kiss you a little more – and then we’re going to find this person. No one steals my favorite face and thinks they can get away with it.”