Broken And Beautiful ~ A Supercorp AU Fanfic

Chapter One: Bottom Of The River

Lena sat in her dimly lit corner office, staring out at the snowy Metropolis night. The whole city seemed to be blanketed with the joy and magic, only Christmas Eve could bring. Lena sat back in her chair and rubbed her temples. Her breath was labored and her head pounded in her skull.

The other attorneys cleared out before five, but they had family and friends to celebrate with. No one waited at home for Lena. Her mother and father died when she was child, and she was estranged from her brother and stepmother.

When Lena's girlfriend of two years called the day before Thanksgiving to dump the overworked attorney, Lena knew this holiday season would be the worst of her adult life.

Her heart was freshly broken and instead of joy and wonder, Lena only felt profound sorrow and loss. When she wasn't working, she was sobbing uncontrollably. Lena's emotional status, as of late, was very simply, broken.

Lena readily admitted to herself that her life was at an all time low, but at least she had her work.

She looked at the clock and rubbed her eyes.

"10:30 pm on Christmas Eve and you're still at work Lena. You really are a mess," she mumbled to herself. Lena knew she didn't need to mumble or whisper. Who would hear her? Even the cleaning people had the night off.

Lena looked over at the picture of her ex that laid face down on the desk. She picked it up and looked at the woman who ripped her heart out. She began to weep.

"When am I going to run out of tears? Come on Lena, get a fucking grip. It's done. She doesn't love you. She has moved on and you need to get it through your thick skull. She's spending Christmas Eve with her new girlfriend and you are sitting in your office like a sad sack talking to yourself at 10:30 pm because you have nowhere else to go. Jesus. I need to leave. This is just pathetic."

Lena tossed the picture frame into her empty trashcan, but changed her mind at the last moment. She grabbed the frame and tossed it into her briefcase.

"What the hell is wrong with me?"

Lena gathered her things and locked up her office. She was thirsty, starving and had to pee but all of that could wait. She just needed to go home and forget the day. She needed to go home and forget the last month. A tall glass of whiskey, a marathon of something romantic and heartbreaking and another tall glass of whiskey were all she wanted for Christmas.

Lena walked down the dimly lit hallway towards the elevator bank. A security guard was usually posted on her floor, but it looked like even he had better plans for the evening. It suddenly hit Lena how alone she felt and her eyes welled up with tears once more. She took a deep cleansing breath and clenched her jaw.

"Not here damnit. Wait until you get home."

Lena hit the down arrow for the elevator and exhaled sharply.

"Forty minutes and then I'm home, in my pjs and drinking my sorrows away. Shit. That sounds super healthy Lena. Note to self, seek help after the New Year."

The elevator doors opened and Lena hit 'G' for the garage. Her driver usually picked her up in front of the building, but tonight she would wait inside, away from the snow.

The elevator began its descent from the 40th floor. Just as the car passed the 25th floor, Lena heard a loud boom, and the elevator came to a crashing halt. Lena was knocked down to the ground, along with her purse and her brief case. The lights in the elevator dimmed and an emergency message began to blare loudly. Lena thought she was already at her lowest point when she stepped onto the elevator. She was sorely mistaken.

"Please remain calm. Please remain in the elevator car. Help is on the way. Please remain calm. Please remain in the elevator car. Help is on the way." The message played at an almost deafening volume and repeated every fifteen seconds.

Lena balled up on the floor of the elevator feeling completely defeated. This was her very last straw. Lena had no more strength left to fight the absurd downturn her life had taken. She cradled her face in her hands and wept, taking heaving breathes and quickly regretting that she had no tissue. Her two-thousand dollar suit was now scuffed and dirty but she didn't care. Now her outsides matched her insides.

Lena laid there for a moment, wondering if she could just close her eyes and fall asleep, but the flickering lights and repeating message screaming in her ears wouldn't allow he a respite from the devastation that seemed to plague her at every turn.

She sat up and dug through her purse. She found her cell phone and pulled it out.

"I'm not helpless. I can dial a damn number."

Lena looked at her phone. No bars. No signal.

"Shit! I forgot. This stupid building." Lena tossed her cell phone onto her bag and growled.

She looked around the elevator and found a call button. She shook her head trying, in vain, to get a grip on her panic. She wiped away her tears and took in a deep breath. She stretched out her right forefinger and pressed the call button, hoping someone would come soon and rescue her from the agony of the worst Christmas Eve in history.

"Bottom Of The River", By Delta Rae

https://open.spotify.com/track/2LzyUfJdRp3uqTrITBJXEY?si=FDONWvlQTb-grKIgZWYMmA