Before long, Lena heard her friends calling her name. "I'm here." She shouted out and the other five halfbloods found her rather quickly. "Lena! Are you okay?" Kara asked quickly, hurrying over to her friend and checking her for any injuries, which there were none. Lena nodded without saying anything, though out of the corner of her eye she noticed Alex narrow her eyes, appraising her.
Kara continued to check Lena over but found no sign of injury. Lena figured she might bruise later from the fall she took, but since she never even drew her sword, there obviously would be no scars or anything.
"Are you sure?" Maggie asked.
"I'm fine." Lena snaps, her emotions still running high from all the goings on of the last 48 hours. She felt Kara tense up next to her as the rest of her friends stepped back slightly, a look of concern on all of their faces. The young halfblood looked down to see her hands glowing a pale yellow color. She sighed, trying to relax and the glow faded. "I'm sorry Maggie." She said. The senior nodded in understanding, though a little hesitantly. "I'm just stressed." She tried, though she thought saw the look of fear deep in their eyes. Maybe her father had been right.
"You'd be crazy to not be Lena." Kara piped up, grabbing Lena's hand that had been glowing not a minute ago. "You've been through a lot. Right, Alex?" She gritted out the last bit. Alex frowned but nodded.
"Yeah, it's been rough for you. Don't worry." She said curtly. Lena nodded stiffly, gripping Kara's hand a little tighter.
"What about the hellhounds?" Lena asked, changing the subject, away from herself. She had some thinking to do and she wasn't in the mood to do it that current moment.
"Some killed. Others fled for some reason." Winn said with a shrug. Lena nodded, wondering if Hyperion had anything to do with it. He had sent the alpha off after all. Perhaps they had all followed their leader back home.
"So, what's the plan now? I don't think the bus we arrived on is in any shape to keep going. And I don't know if they would even allow us back on." Lena said. Winn grabbed his phone, searching their location and for any possible transportation centers.
"There's a bus station a couple of miles from here. We could stop there and get a bus to San Fran." He said. Alex nodded.
"It's probably the best possibility we have. I guess we better get going." She said, grabbing Maggie's hand and dragging her off without waiting for the others." Mon-El and Winn scrambled to keep up after Mon-El whispered an apology to Lena. Kara frowned at her sister's back, helping Lena to her feet.
"Did I do something wrong?" Lena asked warily, wondering about Alex's strange behavior. Kara sighed.
"No. You did nothing wrong. Alex is just... being protective. I'll talk to her. Again." Kara said, her mind going back to her discussion with Alex earlier.
***
"Alex! She's not her family. This doesn't change anything." Kara argued after she had found Alex, having killed the hellhound pursuing her. "Lena is still the same girl we met at Demos. I don't know what you have against her, but this has to stop." She said angrily.
"Kara. I'm just trying to protect you. You may unconditionally trust anyone, but I'm more realistic here. She's a liability. Even if she's truthful now, what's to say that she doesn't join her family later? We know they're plotting to destroy Olympus now. Her loyalty is going to be split. And she'll have to choose a side. What assurances do we have that it'll be ours? Hyperion has been visiting her dreams for weeks if not months Kar! How do we know she's telling the truth?" Alex reasoned, trying to get her little sister to see reason.
"Because I know who she is! She wouldn't do that. I couldn't... I love her Alex." Kara whispered. "Please, just give her a chance. She's never done anything to suggest that she would betray us." She pled. Alex sighed, giving Kara a hesitant look.
"Fine. Just... be careful Kara. There's more than Lena isn't telling us." Alex replied. Kara shook her head at her older sister. She knew that Alex was just trying to look out for her, but Kara would believe in Lena to the end of the time. And she knew that Lena wouldn't let her down.
"Probably because she's afraid of this very reaction Alex! Why would she tell us anything if you're going to act hostile to her." Kara defended. Alex just shook her head.
"I'm looking out for all of Kara. Lena's father could be a problem. He's Kronos' right-hand man. Even if Lena truly isn't one of them, he could use you to get to her. Could probably use any of us. I'm just asking that you be careful." Alex implored.
"I can take care of myself Alex. One Titan doesn't scare me." She said, huffing before storming off to look for Lena. Alex stared at her back.
"It's not just one Titan you have to be scared of Kara." She said to herself, following her sister's lead.
***
Kara and Lena lagged behind the others, Kara wanting to keep her distance from Alex for the time being. Lena was her priority for now. She knew her crush was hurting. And conflicted. And she wanted to do anything she could to help her. "Do you want to talk about it?" Kara asked softly. Lena just shrugged.
"I don't know. What is there to say?" Lena questioned. Kara just shrugged in response as well.
"A lot. How are you feeling about all of this?" Kara questioned. Lena sighed.
"Confused mostly. A little angry and betrayed. What am I even supposed to feel? The Titans aren't good... beings Kara. They'll do anything do get what they want. And the blood of Titan runs in my veins. He said I'm one of them, and he's right." She said, a tone of defeat prominent in her voice. Kara stopped, turning to Lena and forcing the demititan to look at her.
"You may have his blood, but you don't have to be like them, Lena. You're you. There's nothing they can do to change that. You're your own person. You get to choose what side you're on and what you believe in." Kara tried to encourage her friend. Lena smiled at Kara, nodding.
"Yeah." She said before she continued walking. Kara followed after Lena, reaching down to grab Lena's hand. The halfblood looked up at Kara, giving her a lopsided smile, tightening her grip on Kara's hand. The two had been dancing around their feelings for each other for so long that Lena just wanted to give in to it now and kiss Kara. But now wasn't the right time, for either of them.
"I guess I just... I expected something like this before I knew I was a halfblood." Lena said sadly. "I was always to follow in Lillian and Lionel's footsteps into the Luthor family business. Probably would be working in R&D or something, while Lex ran the company. It was just the expectations that came with the Luthor name. I can't help but just feel like that's what this is too." Lena confided in Kara after a moment of silence. "I thought that after this happened to me, I could escape all of that. Make my own life. I guess I was wrong." She said bitterly. Kara threw Lena a sympathetic smile.
"I can't say I exactly know what that's like, but I still think the same. You don't have to be like anyone else. You just have to be yourself." Kara said thoughtfully before continuing. "And I know who you are. You're kind, caring, strong... " Kara trailed off for a second, inhaling slightly. "You're so beautiful." Lena's breath hitched. "You're nothing like the Titans. You're everything that they're not." Lena's heart warmed at Kara's words.
"You know, no one has ever believed in me like you have," Lena said, playing with Kara's fingers. Before deciding to lean up and kiss Kara on the cheek. The blonde blushed, shyly looking away. "Thank you, Kara," Lena whispered, before stepping out of Kara's space, the two continuing to walk behind the others in silence. "You know, I used to feel similar to how you are," Kara said, breaking the silence. Lena looked at her friend curiously.
"Really?" She asked. And Kara nodded.
"Zeus wasn't supposed to have kids. None of the Big Three were. We're too powerful. Too out of control." Kara said with a shrug. "After he saved me, which was also basically claiming me too, I grew up with the Danvers, but everyone at Demos treated me like an outcast. Like I was just a ticking time bomb." Kara said sadly, remembering her teenage years. "Everyone knew I was what would be a considered an illegitimate child in the mortal world. No one ever talked about it. It's like they pretended I wasn't there." Lena listened to Kara, her heart clenching a little bit.
"I don't know how. You're one of the most amazing people I've ever met." Lena said with a small smile. Kara blushed a little bit.
"I... I'm glad you think so. Because it wasn't always like that. Sure Alex accepted me as her sister, eventually loved me like she does now. But besides her, I didn't have any friends until Mon-El came to Demos too. He's a couple years younger than me, so got here a few years after I did, at around the same age I was. We instantly clicked. Maybe bonding over our families being lost." Kara said with a shrug. "But he was just as alone as I was. And he was the first one I had met that didn't treat me like I was something different."
"That... sounds horrible." Lena finally said. Kara just shrugged.
"When you don't know anything else, it's just normal." The blonde said. "But it's better now. I've still got Mon-El and Alex, but now also Winn, James, Maggie, Lucy, Clark. And you." The way Kara said 'you' made Lena shiver a little bit. Though Lena was happy that Kara was willing to finally open up to her, even if it took her developing problems of her own to do so.
***
Once the group had reached the bus station, Lena got them all tickets straight to San Francisco. They all hoped this bus ride went better than the last, and luckily, they didn't run into any problems. Lena resumed her nap on Kara's shoulder, with the blonde gazing lovingly at the young halfblood next to her. Alex and Maggie were sitting across from them. Alex had a concerned look on her face as she watched Kara. She knew her sister didn't love easily. Not like she quite obviously loved Lena. Not in that way. But she was also wary of the newly revealed demititan. She didn't believe Lena held them any ill will, but she wasn't the type of person to let a potential risk go unnoticed.
The bus ride was fairly uneventful and before they knew it, they had arrived in San Francisco. Kara nudged Lena. "Hey, wake up. We're here." She whispered. Lena groggily lifted her head from Kara's shoulder, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Did I sleep the entire way?" She asked, grabbing her bag and standing up, albeit a little wobbly on her feet from sitting for so long. Kara stood up to steady her.
"Yeah," Kara said with a shrug as people started to file off the bus. Lena blinked, still coming out of her sleep state.
"Sorry, must not have been good company." She said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "You're a comfy pillow though." She added. Kara laughed.
"I'm glad you think so. But don't worry about it. You've been through a lot. You deserve the sleep." She reassured her friend. "You look really peaceful when you sleep you know?" Kara let slip, not intending to actually voice that though. She instantly shut her mouth, pursing her lips together awkwardly. Lena was quick to soothe Kara's fears of making things awkward, grabbing her hand and dragging her towards the front of the bus.
"I wouldn't know, but thanks. I guess?" She teased and Kara instantly relaxed and allowed herself to be dragged off the bus by Lena. The others had already gotten off and were waiting for the two girls to join them. Mon-El noticed their interlocked hands, giving Kara a suggestive look. Kara just rolled her eyes at him but said nothing. Though noticeably, she didn't let go of Lena's hand.
"Night is coming," Alex said, looking into the sky, the orange tint of dusk lighting up the sky above them. "We should probably get to Mount Tam quickly." She urged. She wanted to be done with this quest as soon as possible and out of harm's way. They were truly in the lion's den now. Lena nodded in agreement.
"The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go home." She reasoned. She looked to the West, seeing the mountain and the stone fortress that sat atop it. She had no idea what the humans saw but it was enough to keep them away from the mountain. It had an ominous aura to it, like something evil was lurking just inside. Which Lena supposed was for a good reason. The Titans weren't exactly benevolent beings. But Lena had been questioning if they were really evil either. It's not like she could ask her friends. They would all say the same thing. But Hyperion was right about one thing. They were her family, whether she liked it or not.
***
Kronos and his brothers sat, once again, at the stone table. "You'd better have good news Hyperion. They're almost on our doorstep." Krios growled. Hyperion snarled at his brother.
"My affairs with my daughter are none of your concern, Krios." Hyperion hissed. Out of the five brothers, Hyperion and Krios were always at each other's throats for they had the biggest tempers. Only Kronos could get them to stop, as he was the most powerful of the five.
"Why you would ever have a child with a human is completely beyond me Hyperion. You have Theia. You could have had another fully Titan child. Helios, Selene and Eos were strong Titans." Krios said. Hyperion almost rolled his eyes.
"But they are bound by the celestial laws. Subject to the binding power of the Fates. They are as limited as we are. But my youngest daughter is not. Her humanity puts her out of reach of those chains. She is free to carry out our will without limitation. And she is strong. With enough training, she'll be more than a match for any of the halfbloods and even some of the gods." Hyperion argued.
"Hyperion is right. Lena is the weapon I foresaw." Koios interjected. "His daughter with the power of humanity is the weapon the prophecy spoke of. Zeus thinks that he can harness her power to circumvent it, but he is wrong. His own prejudices will be what pushes her to us. He is sewing his own downfall." He said, Iapetus nodding in agreement. Krios scoffed.
"I'll believe it when I see it Koios. Humans are fickle things, rarely do what you expect. You may think she will join us, but I am not so easily convinced." The Titan of the South said.
"She will join us," Hyperion said confidently. "She has no other choice."