47. Jack ‘N’ the Bots

Kara and the fam were sitting down to breakfast the next morning when she asked her girls, “So how did you guys like hanging out with Ruby last night?”  After Maggie had put an end to the video games, the girls had gone and hid out in their bedroom.

Jessie responded enthusiastically, “She’s awesome mom!  She’s so nice, and she likes Star Wars, and the Hunger Games, and she can dance, well, not quite as good as us but we’re, like, really good, and she’s really pretty, and-”

“You think she’s really pretty?” Kara repeated.

“Yeah, don’t you?” Jessie asked innocently.

Kara didn’t know if this was a big deal or not.  Her daughter had never described a peer as pretty before, but it could be nothing.  “Of course,” she answered, choosing not to make a fuss. Alex caught her eye though, and she was relieved to know that at least her wife was thinking along the same lines.  Was Jessie crossing into crush territory, or was she just really enjoying having a potential friend?

“What do you think, Jamie?” Alex asked.  “Is Ruby pretty?”

Jamie cheerfully nodded her head.  “Definitely,” she mumbled around a mouthful of toast.

It was probably nothing if Jamie agreed.  Kara relaxed a little.

“I’m sure you’ll have plenty of chances to get to know her better in the months to come,” Lena spoke up.  “Sam is going to be helping me a lot.”

“That’s cool,” Jessie said, licking crumbs off her fingers.  “I want to teach her to play chess.”

“Sounds like a great idea,” Kara told her cheerfully.  She was really praying to Rao that the kids could all get along.  It was about time Jessie had a friend, although it was too soon to call them that yet.  More like acquaintances still, but maybe without the influence of the other kids at the twins’ school, Ruby would be more inclined to make friends.

“Never mind that,” Alex piped up.  “What do you think about getting to meet Winn’s girlfriend later on?”

“She’d better be nice!” Jessie announced.  

“Yeah!” agreed Jamie.  “Is she nice, Mom?”

“We’ll see,” Alex replied.  She refused to tell her children of Lyra’s criminal activity.  She wanted to see how the woman interacted with the kids without them being biased against her already.  Really, she was just trying to give Winn the benefit of the doubt, but she didn’t trust Lyra yet. They would see how things went during training.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Lena was more tired than she cared to admit today.  She assumed it was because of the pregnancy. She just wanted to go home and curl up with Maggie.  Or Alex. Not Kara. Kara was driving her crazy with over attentiveness. In fact, Supergirl had just been ‘checking on her’ a few minutes ago.  She wondered if it was just her, or if she was doing this to Maggie and Alex too. She texted them.

Lena:  Has Kara been a little...clingy with you guys since we got pregnant?

Maggie:  Are you kidding?  She’s been up my ass!

Alex:  Yeah, same here.  She’s stopped by my lab four times today already.

Lena:  I’m getting a little fed up with it.  I love her, but this is too much.

Alex:  You should talk to her.

Lena:  I have, she just ignores me.

Maggie:  Sounds like we need to call an intervention.

Lena:  Yes, let's.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

That evening, Lena’s office door opened, and thinking it was her intern, she said, “Hector, can you cancel dinner? This is gonna take me till at least eight o'clock, and I fully intend on crashing afterwards.”  She didn’t want to meet with any boring old business men tonight. Her meeting could wait.

“That's disappointing,” she heard.

She looked up at the unexpected response and saw Jack standing there.  “You don't have an appointment,” she told him.

“No,” he said unworried.  “But I was hoping to get one.”

“How did you get past Hector?” she wanted to know.

He shrugged.  “No one's above a snack break.”

She rolled her eyes.  Useless interns.

“So, I know you're free for dinner,” he said, “Good news; but you have no interest in dinner, bad news.  It's been an emotional roller coaster since I walked in here.”

“Oh, yeah, you seem wrecked,” she replied sarcastically.

“Oh, completely,” he said calmly.  “But I'm hoping I don't have enough data.  For instance, would you be willing to go to dinner if I was a factor?”

“No,” she answered simply.

“Are you mad at me?” he asked, sitting across the desk from her.  “Is it because I cracked the nano code alone? Seems petty for you.”

“Just stop, Jacky.  You know I wish you all the success.”

“But?”

“I'm still not going for dinner with you.”

“Do you have fun here?” he wondered.

She cocked her head to the side.  “I feel good about the work we do.”

“You had fun with me,” he reminded her.  “I mean, ruining your eyesight staring into a microscope.  Throwing said microscope at my head when I was insufferable.”

Lena chuckled.

“I don't like how things ended with us,” he lamented.

“You could have made it easier on me,” she replied simply.  “It's not like I wanted to go.”

“I'm not here to make it harder.  I just miss you. May I please have dinner with you?  Simple as that.”

“Just dinner?”

“It's entirely your prerogative.”

“I told you yesterday, I’m getting married and having a baby.  There’s no going back for me.”

“I understand.  I’ll admit, that did come as quite a bit of a shock to me, and I didn’t react well.  I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

She nodded.  “Of course. It couldn’t have been easy on you.  I should have told you when we were alone.”

“Water under the bridge.  I’ll see you at eight.” He got up and sauntered out of her office, leaving her wondering what she just got herself into.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

“Winn!” Jamie and Jessie ran to their favorite uncle, as usual.  They were at the DEO for their afternoon defense training with Kara and Alex.

“Hey, girls!” he hugged them each.  “Hey, Supergirl. Alex. Girls, this is my girlfriend Lyra,” he put his arm around her.  “Lyra, this is Jessie and Jamie. Just remember Jamie is the one with glasses.”

“For now,” Jessie grumbled.  “Are you an alien?” she asked directly.

“Yes, I am,” Lyra answered.  “Does that scare you?”

Jessie laughed.  “No way. We’re Supergirl’s kids.  We’re aliens too.”

“Well, half-aliens,” Jamie amended.

“Cool!” Lyra grinned.  She held out her hand for a high five, and first Jessie slapped her hand, and then Jamie slapped her hand.  “Whoa!” she said, shaking her wrist out. “That kid has some strength!”

“Just keep it under wraps that Supergirl has kids, OK?  We don’t really want that getting out,” Winn told her.

Lyra mimed zipping her lips.

“You’re really pretty,” Jessie told her.

There was that pretty thing again.  Kara filed it away for future contemplation.

“Aww, thanks, kiddo,” Lyra cooed.

“What planet are you from?” Jamie asked.

“It’s called Starhaven,” she answered.

“Cool!” the twins replied.

Lyra grinned.

Supergirl chuckled.  “Alright, shall we get to training?”

“I’m ready!” Lyra said happily.

“Yeah!” the twins cheered.

Winn had already done Lyra’s strength test, and she came pretty close to being as strong as Mon-El, so he, Supergirl and Jamie would be the ones to spar with her.  

“Wait,” Lyra interjected.  “So they’re twins, but one has powers, and the other doesn’t?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Winn answered.

Lyra frowned.  “That’s a cruel trick of nature, isn’t it?”

“That’s what I said!” Jessie complained.

Lyra was strong, but her fighting was unrefined.  She was used to being the strongest person in the room and using that to her advantage.  But the Danvers were trained fighters, and she found herself on her back much more often than she liked, even against Jamie.  In fact, Alex, being the expert fighter that she was, was able to overcome Lyra’s brute strength tactics by using her strength against her.  Just like she had taught Kara when she first became Supergirl. It was all coming around full circle.

Another thing about Lyra was her wit.  She loved a bit of trash talk, and she managed to keep it clean enough for the kids that Alex and the twins found it hilarious.  Kara was on the fence about it, though she was caught laughing a few times. Mon-El didn’t like it because he wasn’t very good at trash talk, and she seemed to like to pick on him the most.

When they were done training for the evening, Jessie snuggled up to her mother and said to her, “You know, I don’t think I ever really realized how amazing you are until today.  I mean, you took down a superpowered alien all by yourself, and you don’t have any powers. You’re just a regular human. That was so cool. I know I said I wanted to be a cop, but I changed my mind.  I want to work at the DEO with you, Mom. I want to be a badass like you.”

Alex teared up and squeezed her child tightly.  “That really means a lot to me, thank you. I told you you didn't need to have powers to be cool.  I don’t know if I could handle you working for the DEO, though. I’d be having a heart attack every second you were in the field.  Can’t you just be, like, a painter or something?”

“You don't have to worry about me, Mom.  I’m gonna get strong, like you, and I’m gonna be the best fighter you’ll ever know.”

Alex hugged her again,  “This isn’t about being the best fighter.  It’s just about keeping you safe.”

“I’m safe,” Jessie assured.  “I have the strongest alien and the strongest human on earth for parents.  I don’t think I have anything to be afraid of.”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” Alex kissed her daughter on the head.

When the girls all came out of the locker room, Winn was there with J’onn and Mon-El to greet them.  “How’d it go?” they asked.

“Great!” said Supergirl.  “Lyra’s really strong, and she’s a pretty decent fighter.  We just need to work on a little bit of finesse, and we’ll be golden.”

“Excellent,” said J’onn.  “Good work, people. We’ll have a team of Supers before we know it.”

Winn squeezed his girlfriend,  “Aww, I’m so proud of you, sweetie!”

“Thanks!” Lyra grinned, nuzzling Winn’s nose.

Suddenly, Kara received a text from Lena that said, “I’m going to dinner with Jack.  Be home late.” It set her heart cold. She did not want her fiancee near that man. She sent her wife home with the kids, grabbed Mon-El, and headed to Lena’s favorite restaurant.  

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Contrary to what her wife directed her, Alex did not go directly home with the kids when Kara and Mon-El left.  “Hey, Lyra, do you two want to come over for dinner with us?” So far, Lyra was good with the twins, and the twins were good with her, but Alex wanted to see more.  Her kids were definitely good at reading people, and she trusted that even more now after what happened with her father. She wanted to see more.

“Yeah, that would be lovely,” Lyra answered.

An hour later, Alex almost regretted the invitation.  She was neck deep in so much nerdy shit, she almost couldn’t breathe.  Lyra was apparently Winn in a woman’s body, and they and the twins were going on and on and on about things Alex couldn’t even begin to care about.  Not the least of which was their never ending discussion about Star Wars. If her kids hadn’t been so happy, she might have tried putting an end to the night, but she couldn’t begrudge her kids something that they clearly were loving so much.  She just engrossed herself in cooking dinner and letting the Nerd King hold his court at her kitchen table. If only she could drink! It would make the night a whole lot more bearable!

By the end of dinner, it was time for the girls to get ready for bed, so Alex forced her friends out with promises of more time together in the future.  She sighed with relief when they were gone.

“Well?” Alex said to her kids.  “You like her, huh?”

“Yes!” said Jessie.

“Totally!” said Jamie.

Alex grinned.  “Alright, I guess we can keep her.  Now go to bed.”

“Goodnight, Mom.  Thanks for letting Uncle Winn and Lyra come over.”

“You’re welcome, girls.  Goodnight.”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Knowing Lena would be upset at them for spying, Kara and Mon-El hid at a corner table in the back of the restaurant, so they could use their super hearing.

“How did you figure it out?” Lena asked him.  “I want to know.”

“Is that the only reason you came?” he asked in return.

“No,” she answered.

Jack cleared his throat, “Uh, okay, so, a few months after you left, I stayed up all night, and the sun came up, and there was a flock of starlings going by.  And they were all moving in perfect sync. Like when one turned, all the others turned.

And I thought, ‘I've made a terrible mistake.  I should have gone with her. I'm no good without her.’  And then I realized I had been modeling the nano swarm on the wrong kind of animal.  See, bees need a base, a queen, to revolve around.  We'd been trying to make a nanobot into a queen by programming a protective algorithm, but-"

“Oh, my God.  Murmuration,” Lena interrupted.

“Yeah.”

“The nano swarm, it migrates.”

“Yes.”

“It's linked AI sentience.”

“And it's all controlled through the Spheerical lab mainframe.  And I would never have gotten there if I hadn't been thinking about you.”

Kara shattered her water glass and ended up having to duck down so Jack and Lena didn’t see her.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be here,” Mon-El said warily, but Kara waved him off.

“Hush!  Look! He’s going to the men’s room.  You go in there and distract him, while I try to get Lena to come with us!”

“But-”

“Go!” she hissed.

Reluctantly, Mon-El slunk off to the restroom to do what he was told.

Kara hurried over to her fiancée and whispered in her ear, “Lena, we have to get out of here.  That man is not safe. I couldn’t bear it if something bad happened to you!”

Lena was furious.  She grabbed Kara by the ear and spoke softly but concisely.  “Get out of here right now. What in the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I’m just trying to look out for you!  You’re not safe!”

“I assure you, I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself!  I do not need a babysitter. Now. Get. Out.”

“Miss Danvers,” Jack greeted her warily.  “Is everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine,” Lena answered him.  “Miss Danvers was just leaving,” she said, letting go of Kara’s ear.

Mon-El waved at her from the front entrance.  “Come on!” he mouthed to her.

“I- I’m sorry.  I’ll go,” Kara reluctantly pulled herself away and exited the premises.

Once they were outside, Mon-El held up a plastic card, “I stole Jack's security badge.  You know, for journalism.”

Kara gasped.  “What did you do?”

“Use me for good,” Mon-El said in a silly voice.  “Please.”

“This is an exception,” Kara sighed.

“Yes! Shenanigans!” Mon-El cheered.

“Shut up!”  Kara flew them to Spheerical Industries. “Be very quiet.”

Mon-El pulled out a flashlight.

“Put that away!” Kara growled.

“What? I'm helping,” Mon-El whined.

“I'm a woman with X-ray vision!”

“That's a fair point.”  He turned off the light.

They found Jack’s office and swiped the access card across the panel on the wall.  The door clicked open, allowing them entrance. “That was easy.”

“This is a nice office,” Mon-El whispered.

“Shh!”  Kara sat down at the computer and it asked for a password.  “Okay. Um,” she types something in, and it opens right up.

“How did you do that?” Mon-El demanded.

She batted her eyelashes at him.  “Password was ‘starling.’”

“That romantic bastard.”

“Okay.  Here we go.  Human trials.”  She clicked open the folder.  “It's empty. The whistleblower was right.”

“No, what about this one?”  He pointed to a folder labeled ‘Self Trials,’ and she clicked on it.  A video popped up of Jack sitting at his office desk. “Biomax version 38.  Human trial one. Begin.” Jack injected himself with the nanobots.

“Oh, my God,” Kara cried out.

In the video, Jack screams out in pain as the nanobots take over his system.

“The human trials aren't missing,” she said.  “There weren't any human trials. Jack knew the nano swarm was dangerous from the beginning.  That's why Derrick and Joe had to die. Jack's the killer. Thumb drive.”

“Oh, yes.  Good idea.”  He fitted the drive into the slot on the side of the computer.  “Got it.”

“Come on, come on, come on,” she begged the information to load faster.

Mon-El turned to face the window.  “What is that noise?”

Kara tuned into what he was hearing.  It was the same crackling and hissing noise she heard right before the two whistleblowers got killed.  “Run!”

They high-tailed it out of there and headed straight back to Lena’s where they showed Jack’s ‘Self Trial’ video to Alex and Maggie.

“She’s out with him right now!” Kara said, in a panic.  “I tried to get her to leave with me, but she refused. I don’t know what to do to get her to listen to me!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Maggie.  “Kara, you need to calm down right now.  Lena’s a big girl. She can handle herself.  I’m sure Jack’s not going to hurt her. Just chill out and wait for her to come home.  You’ll see.”

“Yeah, Kara, give the woman a little credit, will you?” Alex added.  “Or are you just jealous that she’s getting attention from someone other than you?”

Kara scoffed at the accusation.  “I’m not jealous! People have died!”

“Yes,” Maggie agreed, “But you do have a problem with jealousy, which is surprising, considering you’re the one that comes from the polyamorous background.”

“I do not have a problem with jealousy!” Kara hissed.

“Someone’s in denial,” Alex huffed.  “Remember when Maggie went out with her ex Emily a couple of weeks ago?  Jealous. Or Valentine’s Day? Majorly jealous! So jealous you bit me before it was even your rut .  Or, hell, remember in 10th grade when you thought Josh Crabtree was hitting on me at Homecoming?  And you ‘accidentally’ broke three of his toes by stepping on his foot?”

“Jesus, Kara,” Maggie chuckled.  “You’re bad.”

“I am not!” Kara was livid now.  “This is not a joke!”

“Yes, we know that,” Alex replied, “But you’re being crazy right now.  Jack hasn’t shown Lena any ill will. He’s just an old friend that wanted to catch up.  He is not going to hurt her.”

“Mon-El, you’re with me on this, right?”

Silence was her answer.

“Mon-El?”  She looked behind her where she thought he was standing, but he wasn’t there.  She looked around with her X-ray vision and found him in the kitchen raiding the fridge.  “Mon-El!”

“What?  I didn’t want to be in the middle of your domestic dispute,” he hollered loud enough for the others to hear him too.

Maggie snickered.  “He’s getting smarter, I’ll give him that.”

“Gee thanks,” he grumbled, coming out with a sandwich.  “If you don’t mind, I’m gonna let you guys handle this. I’m clearly in the way.  I’m gonna go hang out with my girlfriend. See you later.” And with that, he let himself out the door.

“But, no!” Kara called after him, but it was too late.  He was already gone. She went in the kitchen to make sure he hadn’t made a mess.  He hadn’t, but she needed to do something with her bottled up energy, so she wiped the counters down anyway.  

Alex and Maggie trailed behind her, wondering what she was going to do next.  They didn’t have to wait long to find out because the next thing they knew, Lena was home.

“Where is she?” Lena hissed.

Maggie stepped in front of her.  “Hold on, babe. Before you go flying off the handle at her, there’s something you need to see.”

Kara showed her the video of Jack injecting himself with the nanobots.

“Where did you get this?” she asked with angry tears in her eyes.

Kara avoided her gaze.

“Kara!”

The Kryptonian adjusted her glasses and crossed her arms across her chest.  She still wouldn't meet Lena’s eyes when she answered, “Mon-El and I broke into his office after we left the restaurant.”

Lena’s jaw clenched shut, and she blinked her tears away.  “I have to go talk to him.”

“I’m going with you,” Kara insisted.

“No!” Lena snapped.

“Actually, I’m with Kara on this, babe, you should let her go with you,” said Maggie.  “Actually, I think I might go with you too.”

“Seriously?”

Kara put her hands out placatingly, “Lena, he's killed two people.  I know how you feel about him, but you will be the third if you confront him.  Please, let us go with you. We’ll stay out of sight, so you can talk to him, but I want to be there just in case he tries to hurt you.”

Maggie and Alex both nodded their agreement.

“Fine,” Lena huffed.  “Stay out of sight unless I call for you.”

“Thank you,” Kara sighed with relief.

Kara, Lena and Maggie left the penthouse and headed to Spheerical Industries to track down Jack.  Using her X-ray vision, Kara found him in the basement and directed Lena and Maggie there, while she watched from outside, ready to strike at the first sign of trouble.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Maggie hid behind some crates while Lena confronted her ex.

“Jack?” Lena called.

“Hey,” Jack greeted her, then upon seeing her face asked,  “Uh, what's wrong?”

“You lied to me,” she accused.

“Everything I said earlier was the truth.”  

“I'm not talking about us, Jack.  Biomax.”

“What about it?”

“I saw the video, Jack.  You shot those things into yourself.  Faked the human trials. You killed people.”

“Killed people? I don't know what you're talking about.” he denied.

“You knew-  We knew three years ago that the nano swarms had a side effect.  The rats' brain chemistry was forever altered. They had no control.  We could make them do whatever we wanted. You did this to yourself!”

“Lena, I don't know what you're talking about,” Jack persisted.

“Oh, my God,” Lena gasped.  “You're telling the truth.”

Suddenly Jack’s face went blank.

“Ms. Luthor,” a voice said.  Lena turned to see Beth Breen, Jack’s CFO.  

Lena waved a hand in front of Jack’s face, but got no response.

“He can't hear you.  No one can,” Beth said.

“So who killed all those people?” Lena demanded.

“Jack did,” Beth answered with a smirk.  “I mean, he didn't choose to, and he doesn't remember, but he did.”  She pointed to a large glowing earpiece in her ear.

Lena shook her head, “You've been controlling him this whole time.”

“The poor, sweet boy actually wanted to scrap the whole thing just because of a pesky little side effect that removes free will,” Beth explained.  “Not financially responsible. Luckily, I was there to step in. You know, it's true what they say. Behind every great man is a strong woman.”

“Oh, I wouldn't know,” Lena spat.  “I've never stood behind a man.”

“You just clean up after your brother.  Idiot. You walked away from the breakthrough of the century.”

“It doesn't work,” Lena pointed out.

“See, I think it works beautifully,” Beth preened.  “I have a brilliant figurehead that will do everything I say.  The entire world will welcome the nano swarm into every hospital, army base, and eventually, home.”

Lena shook her head.  “God, you are repulsive.”

“I'm a realist,” Beth replied.  

Lena suddenly chuckled to herself.

“What's funny?” Beth asked.

Lena shrugged.  “Now you're going to try to kill me.  That's the only reason you're telling me all of this.”

“Again, not very financially responsible.  I already control Jack. Why would I kill you when I can control you, and, by extension, L-Corp? Think of that merger.”

While Beth was still talking, Jack, with consciousness still absent, walked over and picked up the nanobot injector sitting on the counter next to them.  Then he turned and started to walk towards Lena.

“OK, Jacky, put it down, all right? Jack, listen, I know you're in there somewhere, okay? You listen to me, all right?”  It didn’t matter what she said, he just kept coming.

Maggie appeared out of nowhere.  “Stand down!” she shouted, pointing her gun at him.

“Maggie, no, don’t shoot him.  He’s being mind controlled by her!” she pointed to Beth.

The detective re-aimed her pistol at the strange woman.

Suddenly the sound of glass breaking filled the air, and then Supergirl swooped in and lifted Lena off the ground, getting her out of the way of Jack’s nanobot injector.  “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.”

Now the nanobots were starting to swarm, and there were three times as many as Kara had ever seen before.  “We’ve gotta get out of here.”

“No,” Lena disagreed.  “I've got a better idea.  You keep them occupied.”

Kara flew up in front of the nanobot swarm and lead them off in the opposite direction.

Lena headed for the computer, but Beth cut her off, kicking her in the stomach.  “Did I mention that I'm a black belt?”

“Fuck!” Maggie screamed.

Lena threw up on Beth’s shoes, and then backhanded her.  “Did I mention I was a Luthor?” She punched Beth so hard it knocked the woman to the ground and sent the mind-controlling earpiece flying.

“Damn, babe!” Maggie whistled.  “That was awesome. Are you OK?”  

“I’m fine,” Lena answered, swiping her mouth with the back of her hand.  “Just get her.”

Maggie walked casually over and handcuffed the CFO, reading her her rights.

Meanwhile, Supergirl was still being chased by the nano swarm.  She tried using her freeze breath like she did last time, but there were just too many of them, and they escaped her reach, catching her and holding her up against the wall.

“Supergirl!” Lena cried out.  “Jack, make it stop!” When he did nothing, she ran over and stomped on the mind-control earpiece that had fallen out of Beth’s possession.

Jack seemed to come back to himself, but the nanobots were now at war with his system.  “Lena!” He screamed in pain. “No! No! No! Lena!”

“Jack!”  She ran to him.

“Lena, help!” he gasped, still writhing in agony.  “The mainframe.”

“I think I can override it!” Lena told them.

Kara struggled to free herself from the nano swarm, but it was no use.  She was very close to being smothered to death. “Lena, hurry!”

“I'm almost there, okay?” she assured.

“You'll kill him,” Beth warned her.  “The override destroys the nanobots. They've merged with him.  You kill them, you kill him.”

Lena punched her in the face again.  Jack was still screaming, and Supergirl was covered in nanobots.  “I'm sorry, Jacky,” Lena whimpered.

“Do it,” he begged.  “Please.” He continued to scream in pain.

Lena didn’t want to kill him, but she realized that he was already dead, thanks to Beth.  She had to do what she had to do. The nano swarm was going to kill Kara in any second. Jack couldn’t be saved, but Kara still could be.  She hacked into the computer and disabled the nanobots. As soon as she did, the bots released Supergirl and swarmed out of Jack, then buzzed in the air for a moment before they all dropped lifelessly to the ground.  

“Jack.”  Lena ran to her old friend as he also fell onto the ground.  He was still groaning in pain, so she held his hand. She knew there was nothing she could do to save him.  A part of her could hear Maggie on the phone with the police department, but mostly, all she could focus on was Jack.  He didn’t seem to be able to see her anymore, and she helplessly watched as his organs failed and he finally passed away.  She cried into his chest, apologizing over and over again for not being able to save him.

Supergirl stood supportively beside her, shedding tears of her own.  “I’m so sorry, Lena. I didn’t know it was Beth. All I wanted to do was to keep you from getting hurt, but I couldn't even do that this time.  I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, Kara,” Lena sniffled.  “You were just doing your job. I didn’t want to see it.  I didn’t want to see that something was really wrong. It’s my own fault for not listening to you.  I might have been able to find a way to save him if I had listened to you in the first place.” She sobbed into Supergirl’s shoulder.

“Shh! Sweetheart, none of this is your fault.  You couldn’t have predicted this. None of us could.  It’s just going to be one of those things we have to live with because of what other people have done.  It’s not your fault, and I don’t want you blaming yourself. You hear me?”

“I’ll try,” Lena replied weakly.

“I mean it,” Kara squeezed her a little hard to emphasize her point.

At that time, police officers started to arrive, and the pair let go of one another.

Maggie came over and wrapped Lena in her arms.  “Come here, my love.” Lena obeyed and sobbed into her partner’s arms.  “I know, baby. I know.” She rocked Lena gently side to side while the paramedics came and looked at Jack.  “You want to make your statement now, or later?” she asked, once the CEO had calmed down a bit.

“Now,” Lena answered.  “I don’t want to drag this out.”

“OK,” Maggie grabbed a female officer that she liked to take Lena’s statement about what happened, and she stayed with Lena the whole time.  She would have to fill out her own paperwork when this was all over since she was witness to Beth’s little admission of guilt, but she didn’t want to leave Lena’s side.  In fact, she wasn’t sure she could if she wanted to because Lena had a vice grip on her hand. When they were finished making their report, Maggie stroked Lena’s face with her thumbs, “Why don’t you let Supergirl take you home, baby?”

“No, I want to stay with you,” Lena whimpered.

“Honey, I have to go to the police station,” Maggie informed her.

“I know.  I want to go with you.”

Maggie smirked.  “Are you afraid Beth is going to escape?  I assure you, I won’t let that happen.”

“No,” Lena pouted a little.  “I just want to be with you.”

“Lena I love you so much, but I won’t be able to pay much attention to you there, sweetheart.  I’m gonna be pretty busy for a couple hours. Don’t you just want to go home and snuggle with Alex and Kara?”

Lena started crying again, shaking her head no.

“Why not?”

“I need you.”

“OK,” Maggie relented.  “OK. Come with me. You can wait for me at my desk.”

“Thanks,” Lena sniffled.

Together, they told Supergirl to go home, and they left for the police precinct.  Maggie set Lena up at her desk with a blanket and some coffee and sat there and filled out her report for the evening.  Then, she had the pleasure of booking Beth Breen for her crimes. She thoroughly enjoyed the double shiners the woman had gotten from Lena.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As Kara strolled into Snapper’s office, he snipped, “Isn't there a Pinterest Anonymous support group meeting you're missing right now?”

What?  He wasn’t even facing her!  “How did you know it was me?” she demanded.

“I can smell desperation a mile away,” he grumbled, turning to look at her finally.

“I heard Supergirl saved you,” she mentioned.

“Yeah.  She was there,” he admitted.

“Did you say thank you?” she asked, knowing he didn’t.

“Once,” he answered.  “To a divorce lawyer. It was uncomfortable for everyone involved.”

She rolled her eyes and threw a folder down in front of him.

“What's this, more alternative facts?”

“It's all my research on Spheerical,” she told him.  “I thought I'd help your story.”

“What's in it for you, Ponytail?”

She sighed.  “I know we've had our differences, but I've learned a lot from you.  And the biggest thing I have learned is that it's not the reporter that matters, it's the truth that matters.  And CatCo will get the truth to more people. Also, I wanted the truth to get out so badly that I disobeyed you.  I broke the rules. You were right. I got lucky when I posted my blog on Cadmus without your permission. I let you down, and I apologize.”

Snapper clicked his tongue at her.  “Finally.”

“So, anyway, this is all the information I found on Spheerical, including an interview with a whistleblower named Joe Watkins…”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

While Lena was sitting alone at Maggie’s desk, the chief of police came over to talk to her.  “Lena,” he greeted. “I heard what happened. I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you, Chief Williams,” Lena answered softly.  “How have you been?”

“Better than you,” he admitted.  “Can I get you anything? More coffee?”

Lena looked down at her empty cup and nodded.  “That would be lovely, thank you.”

He took her cup and disappeared somewhere, coming back with fresh coffee.  “There you go. Anything else?”

“No, thank you,” she murmured.

“I had a partner die on me once,” he told her.  “A police partner, not a romantic partner, by the way.  Anyway, I know how you feel. If you need anything, just holler.”

“Thanks, Chief,” she sniffled.  “That means a lot.”

Around three A.M., Maggie finished with all her work, and the pair could finally go home.

“Beth is in jail, as promised,” Maggie told her.

“Good,” Lena said through clenched teeth.

“How are you holding up?” Maggie wanted to know.

Lena took a deep breath before answering, “When Lex was arrested, my mother was there.  My mother saw her son dragged, bleeding and raving from her house. And when I got there, Lillian was tidying his room like he'd been away on a business trip.  That's how I feel. Cold and calm. Until I think about Beth dying in jail, and then I feel warm for a minute.”

“You're in shock, Lena,” Maggie brushed her fingers through the CEO’s hair.

“I don't know.  Loss does strange things to my family, and I've lost a lot of people.”

“Well, you're not gonna lose me,” the detective promised.

“I think when I feel things again, I'm gonna be very, very afraid of the person I might be.”

“You don't have to be afraid.  I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

“I will always be yours.  You will always be my zing.  And I will always protect you.  I promise. I know you’re hurting right now, but I also know that you are a good person, and you always will be.  Nothing’s going to change that. You’re going to heal, my love, and your gonna have a baby or two in the not too distant future, and you’re gonna be the greatest mother that ever lived.”

A lone tear escaped Lena’s eye, but no more would fall.  “I hope you’re right.”

“I know I am,” Maggie assured.  “Let’s go home, sweetheart.”

“OK,”  Lena followed her out to the car and clung to Maggie’s hand as they drove.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The next morning Lena was sullen.  After the poor CEO got done puking her guts out, Kara tried cuddling her, but it didn't seem to help much.  On the plus side, Lena wasn’t pushing Kara away like she had been the last few days.

When the girls got up, they immediately noticed that something was wrong, running up and putting their arms around her, they asked, “What’s the matter, Lena?”

Lena’s lip trembled, so Kara answered for her.  “Lena’s friend Jack died last night.”

The twins gasped.

“The one that was here the other night?” Jessie asked.

Kara nodded, and the girls clung to Lena.  “I’m sorry, Lena!” the kept repeating, while kissing her on the cheeks.

“OK, girls, leave her alone for now,” Kara said after a while.  She shooed them into the kitchen where the three of them could make breakfast and let Lena be alone for a few minutes.

A short while later, Kara could hear Alex and Maggie talking in the bedroom.  Maggie was telling Alex about what happened after they left the apartment the night before.  When they were done talking, they came out to the living room and sat down on either side of Lena on the couch.

Lena curled into herself and started crying.

“Oh, honey,” Alex whispered, pulling Lena into her arms.  Her heart ached at her partner’s pain, and she and Maggie couldn’t help shedding a few tears themselves.  “I’m so sorry, Lena. I’m so sorry.” She kissed Lena’s head and swiped at her tears.

“Don’t leave me, Alex,” Lena whimpered.

“I won’t,” the agent promised.  “I won’t leave you, my love. I’m here.”  She rocked back and forth, making little shushing noises.  “I’m here, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere. I love you so, so much.  I could never leave you. We’re getting married, remember? We’re going to be together forever and ever, all four of us, plus however many kids we end up with.  Right? It’s gonna be so good. You’ll see. Things will get better. I know you don’t want to hear that now, but it’s true.”

Lena sniffled in Alex’s arms.  “Thank you.”

Maggie stroked her back from the other side, just letting her presence be known.  “We’re here, whatever you need, honey. OK? Just say the word, and we’re there. We love you, OK?”

“I love you too,” she sighed.  She let Alex hold her until the Kryptonians called them for breakfast.  Not that Lena could eat anything even if she wanted to - she was too sick from grief and morning sickness - but she would join them, at least.  She didn’t want to be alone for long. She wanted the reassurance of her family around her. She needed the people who wouldn’t reject her. She was upset that Jack had died, but he had rejected her when she told him she needed to get away from Metropolis.  In reality, she had already done her grieving. Now, she just needed time to put him in the past where he belonged. “Kara?” she breathed.

“Yes, my love?”

“Do you think we could name the baby Jack?  Or Jacky, if it’s a girl? It’ll probably be called Jacky, either way, honestly.  That’s what I always called him.”

Kara’s face softened.  “Of course, you can Lena.  I think that would be a very nice thing to do.”

Jessie gasped.  “We just named one of the babies!  Yay!” She shook her fists with glee.

Jamie tried not to smile.  She didn’t want to get into trouble, but she wanted to cheer too.

This made Lena smile genuinely.  “Yes, we did. Now, we just have to know if I’m having one or two.”

“Please have two!” Jessie begged.  “Please! I want another set of twins!”

“Gee thanks!” Lena huffed.  “You’ll probably get your wish, but there’s no guarantee which of us will fulfill it.”

Jamie exploded, “I can’t help it!  I’m happy!”

Maggie raised her eyebrow.  “Guess who’s doing the dishes all by herself today?”

“What?  Oh, no!” Jamie pouted in her seat.

Alex snickered.  “That’s what you get.”

“Who wants to play hookie today and stress bake with me?” Lena asked.

Kara lit up like a kid on Christmas.  “Oh, yeah! I’ll help!”

“Can we mom?” Jessie begged, putting on her cutest face.

Alex pursed her lips in thought.  “OK, but Jamie still has to do the dishes.”

“Yes!” both the twins cheered.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

“Ms. Tessmacher!” Snapper hollered.  “Where's my Danish?”

Kara snuck a homemade Danish under his nose.  “Danish, fresh from the oven. The trick is, uh, sea salt, actually, because, uh-”

“Sea salt can incorporate better with the dough,” Snapper finished for her.

“I didn't know you like to bake,” she grinned.  

“There's a lot about me you don't know, Danvers,” he groused.  “I got you something, too.” He handed her a fresh copy of the newspaper.

She’d read his copy before it went to editorial.  “Thank you for not dragging Jack through the mud.”

He tisked at her.  “Look at the byline.”

She gasped.  “You put my name in the byline too?”

“Your interview with that whistleblower was instrumental in our scoop of every other major news organization out there.  You, uh, you did good, Danvers.” He paused before saying, “Thanks.”

Kara cleared her throat awkwardly.  “You're welcome.”

“Um, I'm gonna get a jump start on tomorrow's cover,” he told her.

She nodded, “Right, uh, yeah, I'll get out of here.”

“Oh, so now that you share a byline with me, you're too good to work late?” he groused.

“But I thought-

“I just said you did a good job, Danvers.  You didn't give up, even when that whistleblower got killed.  You weren't afraid to pursue the truth, no matter what the risk.  And we need more reporters like that. More reporters like you, who care about the truth.”

“So I have my job back?” she asked, afraid to be hopeful.

“Unless you're thinking of starting a food truck.”  He took a bite of the Danish that she’d made him and immediately turned his nose up,  “Don't start a food truck,” he mumbled without swallowing.

Kara chuckled.  “I'll go get us coffee.”

XXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day of work was even more exhausting than the last, but Lena managed to pull herself along.  When she was about to leave for the day, someone came to her office door

“Lena Luthor?”

“I'm not seeing anyone right now,” she told the woman.

“I heard about your colleague, Mr. Spheer.  I'm so sorry.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Rhea.  I have a business proposition for you.”