"Breaking someone's trust is like crumpling up a perfect piece of paper. You can smooth it over but it's never going to be the same again."
————————————————————————
"Please state your name."
"Lena Keiran Luthor..."
In the conference room of The DEO, Lena sat at the end of the large table, with Supergirl, The Flash, J'onn, Alex sitting on one side of her, and Mon-El, Brainy and Imra sitting on the other side of her. All of them sternly looking at Lena.
"Where should I begin?"
"How long has this been going on?" Supergirl asked. "Three weeks," Lena answered.
"And what exactly have you been doing with Sam for weeks?" Supergirl asked.
"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," Lena explained.
"When I examined her, I found nothing out of the ordinary," Alex said.
"Then you weren't looking for the right thing," Lena said.
"So, what did you find?" Supergirl asked.
"After sequencing her DNA, and comparing Sam's blackouts to the Reign's attacks, I came to the conclusion that Sam and Reign were one and the same. Sam is Reign," Lena explained.
"So, for three weeks, you've been harboring and abetting a mass murderer," J'onn said.
"I helped a friend," Lena said.
"And you didn't think to bring this to our attention?" J'onn asked.
"The attention of a clandestine organization, that's never formally acknowledged it's 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," Lena argued.
"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," Lena said before sending an awful look towards them all.
"Weeks with Reign," Supergirl muttered and Lena looked her way, "Do you have any way of tracking the Worldkillers?"
"No," Lena answered.
"Anyone else?" Supergirl asked, looking towards the rest of the group.
"They've gone to ground. They're not coming up again until they have something big to do," Mon said.
"The future's fate is more precarious than ever," Imra added.
"Would you like to know our odds of defeating Pestilence at this juncture?" Brainy asked.
"No," Mon said.
"No," Imra said.
Brainy frowned to himself as Supergirl looked back at Lena, "How...How did you keep her contained?" She asked.
"Kryptonite," Flash muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Including Lena, who nervously looked between him and Supergirl, knowing he was right, "Lex kept a vault in the lab. When I took over L-Corp, I inherited all of its assets, for good or for ill," she softly said before looking straight at Supergirl, "I used Kryptonite."
———
Once her interrogation was over, Lena stepped onto the balcony of the facility, pulling out her phone and calling someone.
"Lena Luthor calling me,"
James.
"What's up?"
"I really needed to hear your voice," Lena said into the phone.
"Everything okay?"
"I owe you an apology," Lena said.
"What for?"
"For ghosting you. For keeping secrets. But it's time to be honest," Lena told him.
"About?"
"Sam Arias is Reign. Supergirl knows, and so do the appropriate authorities," Lena revealed.
"So, when you were telling me about your employee that couldn't accept her problem—"
"I was working to rid Sam of Reign, to free her," Lena cut him off.
"But she put Supergirl in a coma. How did you keep her under control?"
"The last of Lex's Kryptonite. And don't worry, Supergirl knows about that, too," Lena said.
"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-"
"Lena!"
"I've had enough of that today. I've, um...I've gotta go," Lena said.
"Lena..."
Lena hung up the phone and turned around to find Supergirl behind her, a stern and serious look on her. Lena sighed heavily before walking up to her, going down the stairs leading up to the balcony, "I've had your back so many times. 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," Lena told her.
"I need you to level with me," Supergirl said, crossing her arms, "Do you have any more Kryptonite?"
"No, it's all gone. I used the last of it to keep Sam sedated," Lena assured, but her words trailed off when she saw someone familiar walk into the facility, escorted by The Flash.
Iris.
The reporter and the Luthor caught eyes for a moment before Iris headed her way towards them with The Flash following. "Iris?"
"Lena," Iris sternly said, and by her tone, Lena knew that Iris was aware of everything.
"Why are you here?" Lena asked her.
"What do you think?" Iris asked.
"I mean...what are you doing here? How do you know what this place is?" Lena asked.
"I've been working here on the side since The DEO put together the SuperFlash arrangement. I know The Flash," Iris explained and Lena slowly nodded.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" She asked.
"The DEO is a secret government organization for a reason, Lena," Iris sternly told her, "But honestly, I could be asking you the same question — is this why Sam gave guardianship of Ruby over to me? Is this why you dropped her off at my apartment all those weeks ago, telling me you would explain everything? Which, by the way, you never did, but I wasn't pushing it because I trusted you."
Lena was about to further on explain herself when suddenly a dark red glow covered everyone in front of her. They all looked past her, finding the yellow sun was slowly being covered by...the moon.
Lena looked back as well, confusion falling onto her before she looked back at Supergirl to find her clutching onto her head painfully. "Supergirl?" Lena questioned as they all looked at her.
"SG-" Flash started but Supergirl dropped to the ground.
——— ~ ❉᯽❉ ~ ———
...When Supergirl's eyes fluttered open again, she wasn't in the DEO anymore. She was laying on the ground of what seemed to be a dark forest. A forest she recognized. She gasped, breathing heavily and eyed her surroundings.
She heard scufflings and people whispering near her, so she slowly turned her head to see Sam and Julia quickly walking through the dark forest, hand in hand. But her vision slowly blurred back out into darkness.
——— ~ ❉᯽❉ ~ ———
When she opened her eyes again, a gasp left her lips, finding herself back in the DEO, in the arms of a worried Flash staring down at her, along with Alex, Iris and Lena. Supergirl shook in her husband's arms, slightly frightened to what she just witnessed.
The Flash helped her sit up, rubbing her back to calm her down while everyone else looked at her concerned. "Hey," he whispered and she looked up at him, "What happened?"
"I saw Sam," Supergirl said before looking back at everyone else's shocked expressions.
———
Lena, Alex and Iris followed Supergirl and The Flash amongst the facility once they made sure Supergirl was able to walk around, "That eclipse was like someone grabbed on the moon and pulled. The Earth and the Moon turn on an axis, and no amount of technology can change that," Lena said.
"That's because this isn't technology. This is older than science," Supergirl told her.
"Please don't say magic," Lena muttered annoyed as the group stepped down some steps.
"Dark magic," Supergirl corrected, "Reign, Purity, Pestilence, they were all created by Kryptonian witches to do one thing. Kill the world. And now that they're together, they're doing that."
"How do you know that?" Lena asked.
"There's no apocalypse in the Book of Rao, but there are parables about witches joining hands to create a blessed darkness. So, whatever ritual the Worldkillers are doing, it's creating the eclipse," Supergirl explained and The Flash frowned.
"Have I mentioned I sometimes find your culture...terrifying?" He asked.
"Just once or twice," she sarcastically said.
"The world can't live without sunlight," Lena cut in.
"Nothing can, including Supergirl," Alex added which caused The Flash to express an uncomfortable expression.
The group approached the circular table where J'onn and Winn were, "How long have we got?" J'onn asked.
"Two hours until totality," Winn said as the group scattered around the table.
"Then what?" Supergirl asked.
"Temperature drops degrees, maybe more," Lena explained.
"You said you dreamed of Sam," Alex said to Supergirl.
"But people don't dream during a seizure," J'onn said.
"It's the same dream I've been having for the last year," Supergirl said before The Flash looked down at her confused, seeing as he hadn't known anything about these dreams, "I'm in the Kryptonian valley, Juru. Normally, I see the Worldkillers, but today, I saw Sam."
"You dreamt of Julia Freeman, too. She turned out to be real," Alex added.
"Well, it's not a dream," Lena said and everyone looked at her confused, "The valley's real."
"What?" Iris asked.
"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," Lena explained.
"But how would Supergirl see it?" Alex asked.
"On Mars, my people would share memories, emotions, experiences...sometimes, you would experience a particularly strong mind wholly by accident," J'onn explained.
"So, Supergirl just picked up an alternate dimension," Winn said.
"It's possible," Lena cut in, "And if we could go in there, maybe we could wake Sam up and she could send us a message to say where the Worldkillers are."
"There's still one big hole in this plan. How do we send Supergirl back to this valley?" J'onn asked and Supergirl looked at him.
"We fight fantasy with sci-fi," she said.
———
"Let me get this straight. You want me to broadcast your consciousness into a magical dark valley dimension using the 31st century technology, which allowed me to access your mind when Reign punched you into a coma. Technology specifically designed to enter human consciousness, not alternate realms. And you want me to do this all before the solar eclipse achieves totality, which will happen in less than two hours..."
In the med bay, Supergirl, The Flash, Iris, Alex and Lena all faced Brainy, conflicted expression on them as Brainy stared at them. "Yes," Supergirl slowly said.
"Okay, no problem. Sounds fun. To the Legion Cruiser," Brainy said before he walked out of the med bay.
"Let's do this," Supergirl said, the group following after him.
"I'm coming with you," Lena said.
"Not a chance," Supergirl quickly said as Lena turned around to face her, the group stopping in place, "It might not even be possible."
"Oh, no, it's possible," Brainy said and Supergirl shot him an annoyed look.
"Listen, I spent the last month working with Sam and Reign, everyday. 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," Lena said which Supergirl glanced over at Iris and Alex for a moment before looking back at Lena, "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 said and the two looked back at her and Iris, "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 backs."
"Well...I guess we're all in this together," Supergirl said.
"Strength in numbers," Lena said before she and Brainy began to walk off together.
"I need 15 minutes to prepare."
"You sure about this?" Alex asked once it was just her, Supergirl, Iris and The Flash.
"No, but Lena's right. She's been working with Sam for weeks. And having her with us will have us a chance to verify her story," Supergirl said and they all nodded.
"I won't go into the realm unless you want me to, but I'll stay with you, by your side," Flash told her and she gave him a smile.
"Me, too," Iris added.
CatCo Worldwide Media
Supergirl flew across the city and landed on James's office balcony, walking into the office right as he walked in as well. "What's so important that you'd risk flying under a dying sun?" He asked.
"Lena has Kryptonite," Supergirl softly said.
"Yeah, I know," James said and Supergirl slowly nodded as she walked over in front of his desk, "She called me about an hour ago. She told me everything about Sam and Reign," but Supergirl still looked very upset, "Kara, she also told me that the Kryptonite was Lex's and she used it all, so-"
"Lex has been imprisoned for years, but she held onto it, anyway. Kryptonite, James. Lex could have only had it for one reason," Supergirl told him.
"To kill Clark," James said and Supergirl nodded, looking down at his desk, the thought of her cousin dead hurt her to her core, "Look, I know how hard this must be for you-" But Supergirl shot him an annoyed look, "Okay...I know how bad Kryptonite is, and I've seen firsthand what it can do to you. And I can't even begin to imagine what kind of pain that must feel like. But we have to get one thing clear, though. Lena is not Lex, and it took me a long time to figure that out, but you're the one who made me see that."
"The Lena I've known up till now has only been an ally. I want to believe her, but she lied about Sam. She lied to Iris about Ruby. She lied to everyone. I have to know she's telling the truth," Supergirl told him.
"What do you want me to do?" James asked.
"Not you. Guardian. I need you to find out if there really isn't any Kryptonite left," Supergirl said.
"Kara...you're asking me to betray somebody that I really care about," James softly told her.
"I care about her, too. So, let's put this to bed. Once and for all," Supergirl said and James frowned.
The Legion's Ship
As Mon-El, Brainy and Imra set up the beds for Supergirl, Alex and Lena, Alex suddenly stepped away from Iris and The Flash, walking over to Lena, who was now dressed in a black DEO uniform with her long black hair in braids. "Can I ask you something?" She asked as the two stepped off to the side.
"You want to know why I didn't come to you when I found out what Sam really was," Lena said before the two stopped in place.
"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?" Alex asked.
"Same reason you and Iris didn't tell me you were really DEO," Lena said.
"You knew," Alex concluded.
"My mother's DEO enemy number one. Of course I knew. About you, of course. Not Iris. But it was your secret to keep. Just like Sam's true nature is hers. It wasn't my place to say anything," Lena explained.
"Fair enough. Just tell me on thing — Is Ruby safe?" Alex asked.
"Yes," Lena said before she glanced across the room to meet Iris's eyes. The two nodded at each other before Supergirl walked in.
"How's it coming?" She asked.
"The eclipse is diminishing your strength severely. I can send you into this dark valley, but adding the weight of two more minds to yours will weaken you further. Your biology is impressive, but even you weren't built to be an inter-dimensional portal," Brainy explained and Supergirl nodded before she glanced to Mon-El.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" She asked.
"Yeah," Mon muttered before he followed her off to the side so The Flash, Iris nor Alex could hear, "What's up?"
"If this thing goes sideways, I need you to promise me something. Pull Alex and Lena out, but leave me in until I finish the mission," Supergirl whispered.
"You heard Brainy. This could hurt you. This could kill you," Mon whispered back.
"This is our only chance to save now or the future. This is all we've got," Supergirl told him.
"But...Barry and Iris will try to pull you out if something goes wrong. You know that," Mon whispered to her, trying to be as quiet as possible so Lena couldn't hear him reveal the Flash's identity.
"Then you stop them," Supergirl told him, "You're stronger than them. Whatever happens, you have to keep me under," but Mon stared at her hesitantly, "Promise me."
"I promise," he muttered and she nodded before she walked past him.
Once Supergirl, Alex and Lena were set up in the beds with AI crowns attached to their foreheads, Brainy walked around in front of them with Iris, The Flash, Mon-El, J'onn, Imra and Winn watching behind him, "Once I induce transmission, your minds will be immediately beamed into this dark valley," he shortly explained.
"Is it gonna hurt?" Alex asked.
"The chances are better than fifty percent," Brainy said.
"That's comforting," Flash sarcastically muttered.
"Really? I didn't think so," Brainy said and The Flash and Supergirl looked at each other annoyed, "Would you like me to count to three?"
"Will it help?" Lena asked.
"No, not at all," Brainy said.
"Let's just get it over with," Supergirl said before she looked at The Flash once more, giving him a look, a knowing look.
'Me, too' he mouthed.
Brainy then placed his hands together, and as soon as he did, the three immediately passed out.