L-Gym

Chapter 7 - Luthor + Press Conference = Assassin

Lena didn't make it home that evening or for the next three nights. Saturday spilled into Sunday and then Monday into Tuesday. Though Kal-El had survived the fight somewhat worse for wear, he had survived. Much of the same could be said for Metropolis. Unfortunately, over a hundred of its citizens weren't as lucky.

Supergirl's arrival had turned the tides on the fight, possibly saving Superman's life. Together, they managed to fight off the attacker who fled leaving them to decide between pursuit and saving the lives of an unknown number of people trapped in the rubble. Perhaps that was part of Luthor's plan, playing on the sympathies, or god complexes as he'd have said, of the Supers to keep them busy and cover his retreat. Whether by chance or design, Lex Luthor escaped, and the two heroes remained behind to save the city and its inhabitants.

On Monday morning, Alex called Lena in sick for work though no one cared much. The entire nation's focus was on Metropolis and what had unfolded. The attention of Luthor Corp staff was doubly fixed on that city across the country yet now tied to them through tragedy. So, when Lena finally arrived home just after 2 AM on Wednesday, grabbing a few hours of sleep, a shower, and half of the produce section before stumbling into work, no one asked questions about her absence. Even security barely looked up from their phones, the news stream of Metropolis capturing every available channel, as Lena trudged past them to the elevators.

"Hey, you're back!" Winn said as he surged out of his chair, his eyes widening as he took in Lena's appearance. "Are you sure you should be back? You look like crap."

"And you wonder why you're still single," Lena quipped as she dropped into her chair and booted up her system, her eyes blurry with exhaustion.

"Sorry. No offense, but are you still contagious?"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye before entering the password into her system. "I would have been contagious even before I got sick. You're a scientist. You should know that."

"Yeah, but you didn't look sick before so... Hey, were you watching the news while you were home? I texted you a bunch of times, but I never heard back."

"I got your texts, but I was in no place to answer." She sighed. "Metropolis was... That was devastating."

"It must have been terrifying for the people there."

Lena paused, staring at the screen of her computer. "It was, but they're resilient people. They really pulled together to help each other."

"Yeah, I saw some footage of people pulling others out of ruined buildings." Winn was quiet for a few moments. "So, do you think it was really who they said it was behind the attack?"

"Yes," Lena answered unquestionably.

"Oh." Winn nodded. "They say he and Superman were kind of friends at one point."

"Kind of."

"So, do you think—"

"Winn, can we drop the chit chat for now? I'm really not in the mood."

"Oh, sure." He squared up his chair to his desk and began to type. "I hope you feel better."

Lena didn't answer. She tried her best to put the events of the last few days out of her mind and focus on the work. With images in her mind of crushed bodies pulled out from under rubble, of children crying in the streets for their mothers, it was likely it would take years to put that all aside if it ever happened.

After work, she flew straight to the DEO, only pausing to make a quick phone call to her cousin. When all seemed as well with him as things could be given the circumstances, she took off and landed in the central control room a few minutes later. Alex was waiting there for her and looking just as haggard as Lena did, perhaps even more so.