Chapter 18: Lena's memory

The last thing I had noticed was us driving off in Lena's car. Not long after, the sedative began working and everything surrounding me had started to darken.

I woke up in someone's arms, being carried onto an airplane. It was a small jet with a luxury interior. The seats were covered in a soft maroon material and they had tiny Luthorcorp logo's embroidered in them. 

"There you go" Lena spoke softly, placing me into a comfy window seat before plopping down in the one next to me. 

"Where's Mikaela?" 

"She's with us, but she's on a call right now." 

The situation had changed so quickly. Lauren was the bad guy all along, and for some reason it seemed like Lena was the one trying to help me. I had been trying to run from her the whole time, like an absolute idiot. 

"Lena, I know it's all happening so fast but I really need answers, and you probably do too."

"Keep your questions for after the flight. You look way too tired to tell my awfully long story to at this moment. My men are holding Lauren up don't worry, sleep and I'll be there when you wake up."

"Thanks Lena, but I just need to know one thing."

"Ask away, love."

I felt my cheeks turn red. "eh... you're not trying to continue the Cadmus experiment, are you?"

"Absolutely not, y/n. I would never put you trough that again. As I said, you are safe with me. Rest now and I'll tell you everything you need to know when we're home."

Soon the plane took off towards what I assumed to be National City and I felt myself dozing off. 

When I woke up I was in someone's house. I must've slept like a log. I didn't know how long I'd been out. The place was just as luxurious and cozy as the airplane. It reminded me a little the café I had visited with Lena and Kara, but instead of the stone tiles it had expensive looking hardwood flooring. 

"Finally" I was startled by Mikaela's voice. "I was starting to worry that you wouldn't wake up."

"Where are we?"

"Lena's house. National City."

"Any news from the Nightzone?"

"They're on her side y/n. I won't be going back. I don't blame them though, Lauren rebuilt their home and made it into something beautiful. They owe her. But I'm your friend, y/n. I can't let Lauren hurt you. Even though I admire her for what she has done for everyone. She has lost her mind and I won't blindly follow her."

"So what will you do Mikaela?"

"She got a job with me." Lena entered the room in her stunning dark suit. She didn't look like she had been on an extremely long flight at all. 

"Wait really? I mean, thank you Lena for helping us out... I just can't believe I've been such an idiot this entire time..."

"Y/n don't beat yourself up over it."

"I'll leave you two to it" Mikaela said. "You've got a lot to talk about, and I've got a new outfit to change into" She gestured towards her dragonfly attire before leaving trough the front door.

Lena took a seat next to me on the couch.

"If you would've just let me talk to you it would've made things a lot easier" 

"Well you were being a bit creepy and over the top though haha, I thought you were some evil super-villain"

"How so?" Lena laughed

"The creepy note when we broke into the forest base with 'Hey Cadmus Girl :)' on it."

" I put a smiley on it so you wouldn't be intimidated."

"Yes and lured me into a trap!"

"I wouldn't put it that way... maybe i was more like a surprise reveal. Your friend threw a banana at me when was explaining myself!"

"Yeah but you did this whole dramatic face reveal and afterwards you were all like ""

"I'm sorry, I guess I got that creepy vibe from my mother then... but on a serious note. How come you've changed your mind? You did everything to get away from me at first."

"Well I thought you were the one involved with Cadmus. The E-mails you sent trying to find me, the things in your desk, the way you approached everything... It all pointed to that conclusion until yesterday. I had started to doubt Lauren's intentions after meeting up with Lucy so I tried to find out more by searching her room. Then I found this." I handed Lena the crumpled letter I had found between the desk drawer.

Lena read it silently before speaking. "So that's why they wanted to continue..."

"I knew that if you two weren't working together, you wouldn't be involved in Cadmus. So you know more about the experiment?"

"Well. First of all, y/n,  I don't want you to freak out because a lot has happened and I've only recently recovered most of my memories. There is something you need to know before I tell you the whole story."

I nodded in response.

"Let me show you this, before I begin at the beginning."

Lena opened her wallet and took out a picture. It was me with Lena in front of a Christmas tree, and I was showing off my hand.. with a ring on it? The date confused me however. It was after I had been captured by Cadmus, but... before I had escaped. It was my handwriting, with "our engagement[3" written next to the date. 

"I recovered it recently while my men combed through the old Cadmus files again."

I was in shock.

"how? wait what?"

"The memories you lost weren't bad ones. It were those of me. Of us..." Lena looked down at her hands and spoke with a quivering voice. "My mother was livid when I refused to continue on with the experiment. This was the first one I'd carry out, and you were a perfect match for it. You were the seventh person she tested."

"I don't understand Lena. Your experiment?"

"You were my experiment. The first and last. I worked with my mother y/n. You were selected for my experiment because my mother found that you matched me, she handled the initial process. I didn't understand the cruelty in it, cause I let someone else carry it out for me. I was desensitised to the process until I had to face it myself. We would be tied together. You'd listen to me after it was completed, and I suppose thats why Lauren was a suitable alternative, you guys match in a way too."

"So.. that's how Lauren wanted to get me back. She'd remove my own free will..."

"We got to know each other during the 2nd half of the first phase and I knew that I'd have to take you out of there immediately. I didn't want to carry on after meeting you for the first time, so I took you out of there. My mother was furious."

"So how did we end up dating then?"

Lena blushed. "I used to check up on you every other day to see if there weren't any side effects from the initial phase. Luckily there weren't yet, but I still liked the excuse to visit you. One day you asked me if I'd stay for dinner. I wanted to joke with you and asked if it was a date. To my surprise you said it could be if I wanted it to be a date. I said yes of course."

"Damn who knew I had the courage to ask someone like you out" I muttered.

"Someone like me?" Lena asked perking up her eyebrow.

I felt heat rise up in my face. "eh.. I mean obviously you are gorgeous."

"No need to be embarrassed y/n, we were engaged" Lena giggled "So we probably were pretty close"

I couldn't even imagine me being engaged, let alone to the one and only Lena Luthor. 

"So how come you remember, but I don't?"

"The damage she did to you was way worse. She wiped complete chunks of time out of your memory. It was different for me. Lilian wanted me to know I lost my lover, but she didn't want me to know who you were. That way I'd always remember 'my mistake of putting my emotions before an important project.' Though by only leaving certain things out it allowed me to piece everything back together over time"

Lena's cheeks were stained with tears after her explanation, and even I felt a lump in my throat. It was devastating that I'd lost all those memories with someone I loved. Someone I was planning to spend my future with.

Yet I've always had that weird feeling around Lena even if I forgot her, and now I could finally be honest with myself.

"You know Lena... from the first time I saw you breaking into luthorcorp, I've had this restless feeling. Maybe I've lost my memory, but I don't think that I've lost those feelings I had for you."

"Really y/n?" She looked up at me with a genuine smile.

"Maybe we can start over. Make new memories."

"I would lo.." SPLAT

 a giant banana hit Lena square in the face.