Weaponizing One's Love

Chapter Four: Fear or Forgiveness

Yellow contrasted harshly with blue, with the war between colors highlighting the paleness of the Kryptonian caught on their battlefield. Red stained the tattered remains of her pink pajamas. And beneath the tatters were the bandages that did little to hide the damage the Luthor matriarch caused. Translucent green and red veins crisscrossed across her colorless skin. The only other sign of life aside from the painfully slow rising and falling of her chest. The Kryptonian's hands would twitch at her side every few seconds, grasping at empty air. Her head would jerk from side to side rapidly before stilling once more and relaxing. To the average person, it would seem she was having a nightmare, but to Lena, it was obvious she was replaying the events they'd been through just hours ago. A sharp jab to her leg pulled Lena away from Kara.

"Sorry," uttered Alex as she felt the ravenette shift away. "How are you feeling, Lena?"

"Well, considering your sister almost murdered me, I'm fine." There was a bitterness in Lena's voice that barely disguised the small tremor in it. "I'm lucky to be alive."

"You know Kara didn't mean to do what she did."

"I know," replied Lena. "Doesn't change what happened. Or that what she said hurt."

Alex said nothing as she began to stitch up the youngest Luthor's injury. The gash was approximately 3-4 inches long and only half an inch wide. Thankfully, when the bullet grazed her leg, the wound left behind barely penetrated the skin. Considering the little distance between her calf and the gun, Lena was lucky that the bullet only scraped her.

"How did you deal with it last time?"

"What?" questioned Alex as she met Lena's gaze.

"How did you forgive Kara?"

"It took time, but Kara and I worked through it together," Alex replied.

Lena glanced over at the sleeping Kryptonian. "Did you learn to trust her again?"

"Yes."

The youngest Luthor watched as the green and red veins pulsed in tune with Kara's steady heartbeat.

"For the next week, take it easy, Lena. And avoid getting your stitches wet for at least a day or two," said Alex as she tied off the thread. Standing up to toss away the used gloves, she noticed Lena looking at her sister, worry clouding her green eyes like a stormy horizon on the beach. She placed her hand on Lena's shoulder as she got up from the secondary gurney. "You know, you can sit next to her if you want. I'm sure Kara would appreciate your presence."

"Thank you."

Alex nodded. "I'll leave you two alone."

Lena's eyes followed Alex as she entered the elevator, watching as the doors closed between them before returning to the sleeping Kryptonian on the bed. Grabbing a nearby chair, she sat beside her, resting her arm on the bed as she gingerly laced her fingers with Kara's. As their palms touched, Lena noticed the lack of warmth. Usually, Kara's skin was almost scalding hot to the touch, like a clear-skied, perfectly sunny day at the beach. But now, an icy chill had replaced the familiar heat. It's as though death had decided to claim the Kryptonian's body as its vessel.

"Lena?"

The soft but weak voice broke the silence as the ravenette felt a gentle squeeze on her hand.

"A-are you okay?" asked Kara, opening her eyes as she tilted her head towards Lena.

Lena looked up and met the Kryptonian's gaze. The hand gripping hers tightened as if sensing her growing fear. Tiny lines of red, like twisted rivers of blood, flowed and pulsated toward her eyes. Brilliant crimson soon clashed against the sickening neon green of the Kryptonian's irises. And for a split second, the two colors, unlike each other, danced and swirled in her eyes. Heart pounding, unable to watch the whirlpool-like collision of the two variants, Lena pulled her hand out of the Kryptonian's weak grip and staggered away from the bed.