Lena's Penthouse
"So, I already organized your stuff, and I don't have any extra work to do. So what should we do now?" Lena asked, sounding out of breath. Kara sat down in front of her, panting as well, a tennis ball by her paws.
She had played with Kara for an hour, and she was already tired. God, she was so unathletic.
"I need to work out more," Lena breathed in deeply. She glanced down at Kara, who was now laying down and looking up at her. Lena looked towards her windows, where she could see that it was a sunny and lovely day.
"What about the park?" Kara stood up again, her tail wagging furiously. "Yeah, it would be nice to have a picnic outside. Get some fresh air."
Kara picked up the ball. "And play." The ball let out a squeak as Kara bit down on it.
Lena picked up her phone. 'I may as well call Shaun and tell him to pick us up in an hour and see what I have in the fridge for a picnic.' Lena tapped on Shaun's contact.
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Kara couldn't help but trail happily after Lena as the brunette walked along the large window panes of the living room, the tennis ball in her mouth. She could see that it was going to be a lovely Sunday. The sun was shining brightly with a couple of small clouds sprinkled throughout the blue sky.
'We're going to the park!... We're going to the park!' Kara chanted in her mind. 'Never thought I would be so excited to go to the park!'
"Good morning Shaun...Yes, I'm doing great this morning. How about you?...Wonderful. I was hoping you could drive us to National City Park...Oh, you're already here? Great. We'll be down in about twenty minutes...Thank you so much, Shaun." Lena hung up then glanced towards Kara, whose tail started to wag quickly.
"Well, we're going on a picnic, Kara. Let's get ready." Lena walked towards her kitchen to get lunch for Kara and herself. 'Yes!' Kara cheered, following Lena.
It would be great to have lunch in the park.
It took almost exactly ten minutes to get everything ready. Lena found a couple of sandwiches ready to go in the fridge, making her raise an eyebrow but she shrugged it off. She stored a good amount of Kara's kibble in a plastic container and made sure to take another plastic container to act as a water bowl. She filled three thermoses with cold water. She placed everything in her black backpack, which she left on the couch in the living room, then went towards her room's closet to get ready.
She changed out of her sweatpants and long sleeve and into her comfortable jeans and a short-sleeved blouse. She quickly put in her contacts and put on her shoes, grabbed her sunscreen from one of her drawers, before walking back towards the living room, where she found Kara sitting patiently in her dog bed by the couch.
Lena walked over to the piles of do toys she had sorted earlier. "Here, girl. What toy do you want to take?" Kara walked towards the piles of toys, nosing the rope toys, then the small frisbee, before settling on the toy the shape of a shark that has a water bottle inside.
Kara picked up the toy in her mouth, and then looked up at Lena, blue eyes shining.
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National City Park
The blue leash hung loosely as Kara walked alongside Lena on the path beside the lake, the same path they had walked the day before.
The car ride had gone smoothly, with Shaun ready with the SUV. It took awhile for them to find parking since it seems that the lovely day drew countless people to the park.
Lena shifted the bookbag, unused to carrying something on her back.
Shaun was following at a distance, respecting that Lena wanted to have a picnic with her dog, and was merely being cautious in Bailey's stead, who would get to the park in a couple of minutes.
Lena stopped suddenly when she realized that Kara had stopped walking beside her, and looked back towards the puppy.
Kara was looking towards the edge of the lake, where there were a couple of pigeons and squirrels and ducks sharing a large pile of bread. Kara's droopy ears had perked up the slightest amount. The puppy pulled on the leash to go towards the group of critters, making Lena sigh. Lena allowed Kara to walk towards the group, keeping a close eye on the golden.
Lena watched as Kara sniffed at a couple of the ducks and pigeons, all of whom froze up, minus one brown duck, who nosed Kara's snout. Lena couldn't help but notice that Kara didn't dare approach the squirrels, keeping her distance from the bushy-tailed animals.
Lena laughed out loud when the pigeons lunged at Kara, seemingly snapping out of their frozen state. The puppy let out a yelp before rushing to Lena, hiding behind the brunette's legs.
"Oh, honey." Lena looked down at the puppy who looked up at her. "They are more scared of you."
Kara huffed, before barking towards the pigeons, who cooed and flapped their wings in her direction.
"Come on, let's go find a place to sit down."
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A couple of minutes later, they made their way towards a large grassy field, where a lot of people were already settled. Little children were running around the grass, teenagers playing with frisbees, or playing soccer, or playing catch. Couples were also having picnics, and families all around. Lena could smell food in the air, seeing a couple of small grills in the distance. She looked down when she heard Kara sniffing, seeing the puppy's snout facing up, her pink nose twitching.
Kara could also smell the food.
Lena grimaced as she spotted a couple aggressively making out on a blanket. "Seriously? In front of children?"
Shaking her head, she walked along the edge of the grassy field, before deciding that it was better to sit under a tree.
Her pale skin would thank her for it.
It took a couple of seconds of arranging the blanket, making sure she wouldn't be sitting on dirt. She took off the backpack, placing it on the edge of the blanket.
Lena let out a relieved sigh as she sat down, resting her back against the tree. Kara sat down in front of her, pawing at the bookbag.
With a chuckle, Lena opened the bookbag, and took out Kara's shark toy, tossing it onto the grass next to the blanket. Kara yipped before leaping towards the toy, starting to bite at it, making the plastic bottle inside apparent.
Lena breathed in deeply, the fresh air feeling wonderful.
This is exactly what she needed.
She couldn't remember the last time she had visited a park. Even during her days in Metropolis, she was always working in a lab, and once she became CEO, taking any time to herself had taken a backseat to improving L-Corp.
Lena heard her phone ping, making her reach for it in her pocket, noticing that she had received an email from 'N. C. Puppy School '.
'Oh that's right, we have a class on Friday.' Lena tapped on the email, curious about what the class entailed. Kara was her first dog, so she never went through training a puppy.
Lena could remember distinctly in her early days in the Luthor manor, begging for a puppy or a kitten to look after, once her teddy bear had gone missing. Lionel had seemed to consider it, before Lillian shut the idea down really quickly. It was lonely after Lex for school, the large hallways terrifying to a six year old. As she got older, she would still occasionally ask for a pet, before figuring out that Lillian would never let her have one.
Lena glanced at the puppy playing on the grass for a few blissful seconds. Smiling, Lena tapped on the email. She was happy to make up for a bit of her childhood.
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It felt amazing to lay in the bright sunlight, playing with the dog toy. Kara bit down on the shark toy, hearing the bottle inside crinkle, and enjoying the way it gave under her teeth. Kara gnawed on the toy, turning so that she was on her back. She closed her eyes, loving the feeling of the sun on her belly.
It was soothing.
After a few minutes, she rolled back onto her stomach, allowing her back to soak up the sun. It was peaceful for the next couple of minutes, with Kara chewing at the toy absentmindedly.
"They really let a Luthor get a dog?! Seriously?!"
Kara looked up from her toy to see a man walking towards Lena who was still sitting on the blanket and who was now on her phone.
An alarm sounded off in Kara's head, making her abandon her toy to stand in front of the sitting brunette, who was now looking up.
"Hey!" Kara let out the loudest bark she could at the approaching man, surprising herself when it echoed quite loudly. She didn't like that he was closing in on Lena, nor did she like the scent he was emitting.
Pure unadulterated anger.
"You are nothing but a monster in disguise, you fu-" Kara lunged at the man's shoe when the man got too close for her comfort, causing the man to let out a yelp and to take a couple of steps back.
"BACK OFF!" Kara's bark sounded even louder.
"You even have a puppy guard dog?! Are you abusing it !? You bi-" Kara couldn't help but bite down on the man's shoe when he stepped closer to Lena again, and pull hard, ripping the shoe and making the man stumble backwards. The growl that escaped her throat surprised her when it actually made her whole body vibrate. She felt the fur on her back start to rise as the man started to walk again towards Lena, who had now stood up when Kara glanced back at her.
"Sir, I have done nothing of the so-" Kara let out a growl as she caught the scent of metal. Her blue eyes looked up towards the man, eyeing frantically as to where the knife could be. The man was clothed in a suit and tie, although he looked ragged. The putrid underlying scent of alcohol made her nose twitch.
"Oh shut up you wh-" Kara snarled when the man dared to get closer.
When Kara saw the man get ready to lunge, reaching into his suit jacket, she lunged first, clamping her jaw on the man's left leg, biting down hard and piercing skin. She wasn't sure if she could stop him, but her instincts screamed to protect Lena.
Turns out her biting did hurt, if the man's yell was any indication.
Kara let go once the man was tackled by Bailey and Shaun a few seconds later. Kara backed up against Lena's legs, growling lowly in the back of her throat. She kept her blue eyes on the man. 'I dare you. Attack again and it'll be worse.' Kara thought as she watched Bailey put the man in cuffs and haul the man away, the man cursing Lena.
"ALL LUTHOR'S ARE MONSTERS, MURDERERS! YOU DESERVE TO DIE!"
Kara let out a huff as she felt her body calm down the further away the man got. She caught a glimpse of metal in the grass and padded over to it. It was a switchblade knife, and it was the metal she had caught the scent of.
She picked it up at the hilt with her mouth.
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"Ms Luthor, are you alright?!" Shaun made his way to the brunette, frantically looking for any sign of injury.
Lena let out a sigh. "I'm alright, Shaun." Lena held head high, calming her racing heart.
"I'm so sorry we took so long." Shaun gave Lena a guilty filled look. "We were scoping out some other people before we heard Kara bark."
Lena and Shaun glanced down when they saw Kara sit down in front of them. They both noticed that Kara had something in her mouth.
"What do you have there?" Shaun kneeled down, holding out his hand. Kara gently lowered the knife in his hand, making Shaun's face turn grim.
Lena grit her teeth at the sight of the weapon. She was used to threats, and insults, the loathing. It has been a while since someone has tried to kill her head on. A month to be exact.
"Thankfully Kara was with you." Shaun commented as Kara stood up and padded over to Lena's legs, looking up at the brunette with worried blue eyes.
"Thankfully." Lena rubbed Kara's head, noticing something on the dog's teeth. Furrowing her eyebrow, Lena kneeled down, prying Kara's mouth open, spotting dark leather lodged in between dog teeth.
"First my Louboutins, then the man's shoe...Looks like you didn't swallow any of it either." Lena carefully removed the leather from Kara's teeth, dropping it onto the grass. Once she was done, Kara licked her chops.
"Would you like me to remain closer, Ms Luthor? It seems the altercation has alerted some people that you are here." Shaun said, glancing around the field. A few people were looking their way. Lena could feel several glares sent her way.
"No, it's quite alright." Lena pat Kara head gently, her heart full of affection for the protective puppy. "Do they have me in their sights?"
"Yes. They were surprised when they saw Kara attack the man first after he lunged, and they didn't want to cause a panic nor scare her."
Lena remained quiet before saying, "Remain the same distance near me. I will move to another field."
"Very well, Ms. Luthor....Bailey says the man soiled himself when he saw the van." Shaun held a hand near the earpiece in his right ear.
"Tell Bailey to stop scaring the man." Lena sighed.
"Too late, Ms. Luthor. Bailey showed him what's in the back of the van."
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It took about half an hour to find another field that had enough shade for Lena to sit down against a tree and feel comfortable. Thankfully the field was noticeably emptier, with only a few adults enjoying a BBQ near the other end of the field.
All the while, Kara couldn't help but be angry at what she had heard while Shaun and Lena were packing up the blanket. The amount of people whispering about Lena, the amount of hate, it was all so pointless to Kara.
'Why? Why harbor such anger towards someone you never met? Towards someone who just shares a last name?!' Kara quietly fumed, laying down next to Lena on the blanket, and allowing the brunette to stoke her back. 'All of it is undeserved, Lena. You've been nothing but kind.'
"It's been an interesting day so far, huh?" Lena muttered out loud. "Looks like they're having fun." Kara raised her head to see Lena eyeing the adults on the other end of the field. Even at a distance, Kara could see cans of beer being handed out.
"Are you hungry?" Kara perked her head up at that, making Lena chuckle. Lena opened the backpack and pulled out the container with Kara's kibble, opening it and placing it down on the grass.
Kara quickly got to work eating. A few seconds later, a container filled with water was placed next to her.
Kara glanced up a couple of seconds later, noticing that Lena was now eating a sandwich. Kara licked up chops absentmindedly. 'What I would give to eat a sandwich.'
They enjoyed the rest of the day at the park after eating lunch.
They walked around the park, walking through a couple of small hidden gardens, with Lena taking a couple of breaks to cool down, and to give water to Kara. Kara would end up playing with a couple of kids before they were pulled away by their parents. When Lena bought an ice cream cone, the ice cream vendor was kind enough to give Kara frozen yogurt, which Kara thought to be delicious.
It was lovely to spend time outdoors. Thankfully, no one else threatened Lena.
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Lena's Penthouse
Kara was on the verge of falling asleep in her dog bed, hours later, when she heard a whimper. 'What was that?' Kara picked her head up and looked towards Lena's bed,
Her ears picked up a sniffle. 'Lena?' Kara stood up on all fours, and then placed her front paws on the edge of Lena's bed, standing on her hind legs. "Lena?" Kara let out a small yip.
"Kara?" Lena's voice cracked the slightest amount as she sat up, looking down towards the puppy.
Kara couldn't help but whine when she saw Lena's bloodshot eyes. 'Oh Lena.' Kara couldn't help but feel the urge to comfort the brunette, to hug her. Determined, Kara bit into the bed and used her hind legs to make her way onto Lena's bed again.
"Kara, no. Don-" Kara yelped when Lena leaned over and picked her up, then placed her down on her lap. Kara sat up in Lena's lap and looked up at Lena's face, affection blooming in her chest.
Lena let out a shaky sigh. "Sorry I woke you up. I just- God, what am I doing? Talking to a dog?" Lena gently ran a hand up and down Kara's back. "Who am I kidding? Who else could I talk to?"
Kara leaned up and licked Lena's cheek, hoping it brought some comfort. What she would give to hug Lena in her normal form. 'Please don't cry, Lena.' Kara stood up on her hind legs, and very carefully balanced on Lena's lap, placed her head on Lena's right shoulder, doing her best to hug the brunette.
Lena let out a soft chuckle at the gesture, hugging the puppy close to her. "I'm so thankful I have you...I was so scared when he got close to you." Lena continued to rub up and down Kara's back, rustling the blonde fur.
They were in that position until Lena laid back down, with Kara resting on her chest.
"I'm not my brother and I won't be." Lena muttered. "But it hurts, being treated like a monster just because we share a last name." Lena let out a sniffle. "I just want to help people, and I know my device will help. The detection device will work, I know it will." Lena closed her eyes.
Kara kept herself awake until she was sure Lena had fallen asleep. And after listening for a few minutes, Kara let herself go to sleep.
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DEO
Alex chugged the cold coffee in her hand, then picked up the tablet close to her face, surprised by what she was seeing.
"So, this is-"
"This is-"
"This is amazing!" Winn exclaimed.
"No, it's dangerous, Winn." Alex retorted, voice grim, swiping the tablet to the next page. "We don't know the long term effects. We don't know if it'll change Agent Dom's brain activity. We don't know if it's permanent! We don't know if it's possible to change him back! We don't even know the alien's species or much of anything!"
Winn remained silent before muttering. "At least Agent Dom turned into his favorite animal."
Alex sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Agent Dom is in control now, but maybe he ends up with more rhino instincts than human ones. He could hurt somebody."
"Alex, you really should pick up your phone." Alex turned around quickly once she heard her mother's voice, who was standing in the doorway of the lab.
"Mom, what are y-"
"You called me to tell me that Kara is missing, and you thought that I wasn't going to drive here to see what was going on?" Eliza shot her daughter an incredulous look.
"Right," Alex grumbled.
"Show me what we have." Alex walked over to her mom, and handed over the tablet to Eliza who immediately started reading the findigings on the document.
"We captured the new alien we had been tracking for weeks, one that has the ability to change into animals, we're not too sure if it has any sort of limit. Once it changes into its normal form, it drops this goop full of animal DNA, once touched, can change a human into the animal the goop had. I'll have Winn send you the reports for the other two uh goops." Alex paced throughout the lab room as she spoke. "We had an agent accidentally touch it yesterday and turn into a baby Rhino, and we aren't sure if we can change him back."
"Have you taken scans of his brain activity yet?" Eliza asked.
"No, not yet, we wanted to check his DNA first to see if it had fully changed, and it has changed completely." Winn spoke up, making Eliza nod as she continued to read the findings.
"I see. Has he shown any aggression so far?" Eliza turned to the next page.
"As of today, no." Alex stopped pacing, rubbing her eyes. "He has rubbed his nose, snout, against the wall and has stared sadly at the cameras in the corner for the last couple of hours. We will do the brain scans today."
"Alright. I'll help with whatever you need." Eliza handed the tablet back to Winn.
A knock caught Alex's attention towards the door again, this time with Agent Leon in the doorway.
"Apologies for the interruption, Agent Danvers. The NCPD Detective has been making a fuss as of late, and has asked to see you. Says she had vital information." Alex inwardly grimaced at the look her mother sent her way.
"Very well. Thank you, Agent Leon." With a nod, Agent Leon continued on his way.
"Winn, Mom, set up the brain scans for Agent Dom, I'll send a couple of Agents to aid you two. I'll be back in a bit."
Alex walked out the lab and headed towards the containment cells, rubbing her tired eyes and fighting down a yawn.
She needed more coffee. So much coffee.