Chapter Text
“Saying goodbye doesn’t mean anything. It’s the time we spent together that matters, not how we left it.”
― Trey Parker
Eliza was waiting up for Kara. All the house lights were on. Kara’s mind was blank as she tried to think of a way to make her let her go. This wasn’t going to be pleasant, her excuse to visit Alex wouldn’t be nearly enough.
Lena pulled up slowly, staying well back from Kara’s truck. All four of them were acutely alert, ramrod straight in their seats, listening to every sound of the woods, looking through every shadow, catching every scent, searching for something out of place. The engine was cut off, and Kara sat, motionless, as they continued to listen.
“He’s not here,” Kara breathed out.
“Let’s go,” Lena slid from the driver’s seat.
“Don’t worry, Kara,” Jack said in a low but cheerful voice, “we’ll take care of things here quickly.”
Kara felt moisture filling up her eyes as she looked at Jack. She barely knew him, and yet, somehow, not knowing when she would see him again after tonight was anguishing. Kara knew this was just a faint taste of the goodbyes she would have to survive in the next hour, and the thought made the tears begin to spill.
“Sam, Jack.” Lena’s voice was a command. They slithered soundlessly into the darkness, instantly disappearing. Lena opened Kara’s door and took her hand.
“When this is over, we’re gonna talk about your anger issues.” Kara tried to lightly tease as Lena moved to wipe away a stray tear.
“I apologize… I haven’t felt this sort of… worry and… fear, in a very, very long time. It’s all quite unnatural for me.”
“You’ll have to get used to it—I’ve got a lot of human friends and human family.”
Lena ducked her head, reaching into a pocket and procuring Kara’s forgotten glasses. She gently put them on Kara, adjusting them with a look of sorrow. The instant dulling of the world around her was almost a shock—a strange shock she hadn’t experienced with the lessening of her senses.
“Fifteen minutes,” Lena urged.
“I can do this.” Kara sniffled. Her tears had given her inspiration. She stopped on the porch and took hold of Lena’s face with her hands. She looked fiercely into those golden eyes.
“Zhao khuhp rrip.” she said in a low, intense voice. “I will always love you, no matter what happens now.”
“Nothing is going to happen to you, Kara,” Lena said just as fiercely.
“Just follow the plan, okay? Keep Eliza safe for me. She’s not going to like me very much after this, and I want to have the chance to apologize later.”
“Get inside, Kara. We have to hurry.” Lena’s voice was urgent.
“One more thing,” Kara whispered passionately. “Don’t listen to another word I say tonight!” Kara tilted her head down to kiss Lena’s surprised, frozen lips with so much force it knocked Lena back slightly. Then she turned and shoved the door open.
“Go away, Lena!” she yelled at her, running inside and slamming the door shut in her still-shocked face.
“Kara?” Eliza had been hovering in the living room, and she was already on her feet.
“Leave me alone!” she yelled at Eliza through her tears, which were flowing relentlessly now. She ran up the stairs to her room, throwing the door shut and locking it. Superspeeding around the room, she reached under her bed, retrieving her duffel bag. Then she lifted the mattress up with one hand, swiftly grabbing her envelope that contained her emergency funds.
Her duffel was already half full by the time Eliza started pounding on the door. “Kara, are you okay? What’s going on?” Her voice was frightened.
“I’m going home.” Kara shouted back, her voice breaking in the perfect spot.
“Did she hurt you?” her tone was unbearably worried.
“No!” Kara shrieked back. She turned to her dresser, and Lena was already there, silently yanking out armfuls of random clothes, which she proceeded to throw to Kara.
“Did she break up with you?” Eliza was perplexed.
“No!” Kara yelled back, slightly more breathless as she shoved everything into the bag.
“What happened, Kara?” Eliza shouted through the door, pounding again.
“I broke up with her!” Kara shouted back, jerking on the zipper of the bag. She almost tore it off, but Lena’s capable hands pushed Kara’s away and zipped it smoothly. She put the strap carefully over Kara’s arm.
“I’ll be in the truck—go!” Lena whispered and pushed Kara toward the door. She vanished out the window.
Kara unlocked the door and pushed past Eliza’s frail human body gently, adjusting her bag easily as she ran down the stairs.
“What happened?” Eliza inquired again, franticly. She was right behind Kara. “I thought you liked her.”
Eliza caught her elbow in the kitchen; Kara had to force herself to stop moving in order to not rip Eliza arm out of socket. She was bewildered and her grip was firm.
She gently turned Kara to look at her, and Kara could see in her face that she had no intention of letting her leave. Kara could think of only one way to escape, and it involved hurting Eliza so much that Kara hated herself for even considering it. But she had no time, and she had to keep Eliza safe. Kara glared at Eliza, the same height as her, fresh tears in her eyes for what she was about to say.
“I do like her—that’s the problem. I can’t do this anymore! I can’t put down any more roots here! This town is too much like Krypton—no bright yellow Sun, it’s cold and damp and fauna everywhere—I don’t want to be stuck in this stupid, boring town where you met Jeremiah! I hate it here—I miss the Sun; I can’t stay here another minute! This will never be home—never be Krypton!”
Eliza’s hand dropped from her arm like Kara had electrocuted her. She turned away from Eliza’s shocked, wounded face and headed for the door.
“Sweetheart, you can’t leave now. It’s nighttime.” Eliza whispered behind her, pulling at straws like it was a life raft. The motherly endearment twisted like a knife in Kara’s gut. She couldn’t turn around.
“I don’t need as much sleep like you humans do. I’ll never be human.” The truth of her own words rang out, emotions swelling in her stomach. The only person that seemed to make Kara feel normal these days was Lena.
“Just wait another week,” Eliza pled, still shell-shocked. “We can talk about this—Alex will be here to visit.”
That completely derailed Kara. “What?”
Eliza continued eagerly, almost babbling with relief as Kara hesitated.
“She called while you were out. Several professors have been caught in something shady, so they’re dismissing school for three weeks while they work on hiring new staff.
Kara shook her head, trying to reassemble her now-confused thoughts. Every passing second put Eliza in more danger.
She turned, turning the knob. Eliza was too close, one hand extended toward her, her face dazed. Kara couldn’t waste any more time arguing with her. She was going to have to hurt her further.
“Just let me go, Eliza.” Her jaw was a hard line as she met Eliza’s glassy eyes. Kara said the words as angrily as she could. “You’re not my mom, Alex is not my sister, and this is not my family.” The lies tasted bitter in her mouth, twisting her gut further.
Kara’s cruel words, her lies, did their job—Eliza stayed frozen on the doorstep, stunned, while Kara ran into the night. She resisted the urge to use superspeed, but still reached the truck in a frantic run. She threw her bag in the bed and wrenched the door open. The key was waiting in the ignition.
“I’ll call you tomorrow!” Kara called out, wishing more than anything that she could explain everything to Eliza right then, knowing she would never be able to. Kara gunned the engine and peeled out.
Lena reached for her hand.
“Pull over,” she said as the house, and Eliza, disappeared behind them.
“I can drive,” Kara said through the tears pouring down her cheeks. Lena’s pale hands unexpectedly gripped Kara’s waist, and her foot pushed Kara’s off the gas pedal. Lena pulled her across her lap, wrenching Kara’s hands free of the wheel, and suddenly Lena was in the driver’s seat. The truck didn’t swerve an inch, and Kara was too emotionally exhausted to fight the extrication.
“You wouldn’t be able to find the house,” Lena tried to explain away, as if she didn’t know Kara had a photographic memory. Lights suddenly flared behind them. Kara glanced out the back window.
“It’s just Sam,” Lena reassured her. She took Kara’s hand again. Her mind was filled with the image of Eliza in the doorway, an image she would never forget. Not for centuries to come.
“The tracker?”
“He heard the end of your performance,” Lena responded grimly.
“Eliza?” Kara questioned with dread.
“The tracker followed us. He’s running behind us now.” Kara sighed with relief which earned a slight glare from Lena.
“Can we outrun him?”
“No.” but Lena sped up as she spoke. The truck’s engine whined in protest.
Kara was staring back at Sam’s headlights when the truck shuddered, and a dark shadow sprung up outside the window.
She immediately recognized Jack’s scent and sighed in further relief.
“It’s okay, Kara,” Lena promised. “Everyone is going to be safe.” They raced through the quiet town toward the north highway.
“I didn’t realize this place reminded you of Krypton so much,” Lena said conversationally, and Kara knew she was trying to distract her. “It seemed like you liked it here, were adjusting fairly well—especially recently. Maybe I was just flattering myself that I was making life more interesting for you.”
“I wasn’t being nice,” Kara confessed, ignoring Lena’s attempt at diversion, looking down at her hands. “That was the same thing I said when I ran away a few months after the Danvers took me in—about them not being my family. But now… that’s simply not true.”
“Don’t worry. She’ll forgive you.” Lena smiled a little, though it didn’t touch her eyes.
Kara stared at her desperately, and then Lena saw the naked panic in her eyes.
“Kara, it’s going to be all right.”
“But it won’t be all right when I’m not with you,” Kara whispered. Currently, Lena was the last thing she had to lose.
“We’ll be together again in a few days,” Lena said, tightening her arm around Kara. “Don’t forget that this was your idea.”
“It was the best idea—of course it was mine.” Lena’s answering smile was bleak and disappeared immediately.
“Why did this happen?” Kara questioned, her voice catching. “Why me?” Lena stared blankly at the road ahead, a thousand emotions seeming to pass through her eyes.
“It’s my fault—I was a fool to expose you like that.” There was an innate sense of self-loathing that colored her tone.
“That’s not what I meant,” Kara insisted. “I was there, big deal. It didn’t bother the other two. Why did this Ben decide to kill me? There are people all over the place, why me?”
Lena hesitated, thinking before she answered.
“I got a good look at his mind tonight,” she began in a low voice. “I’m not sure if there’s anything I could have done to avoid this, once he saw you. It is partially your fault.” Lena’s voice was wry, “If you didn’t smell so appallingly luscious, he might not have bothered. But when I defended you… well, that made it a lot worse. He’s not used to being thwarted, no matter how insignificant the object. He thinks of himself as a hunter and nothing else. His existence is consumed with tracking, and a challenge is all he asks of life. Suddenly, we’ve presented him with a beautiful challenge—a large clan of strong fighters all bent on protecting the one ‘vulnerable’ element. You wouldn’t believe how euphoric he is now. It’s his favorite game, and we’ve just made it his most exciting game ever.” Lena’s tone was full of abhorrent disgust.
She paused for a moment.
“But if I had stood by, he would have tried to kill you right then. If that happened, you would have been revealed and we would have had to kill Otis and Eve,” Lena spoke with hopeless frustration.
“I thought… I didn’t smell the same to the others… as I do to you,” she voiced her silent question hesitantly.
“You don’t. But that doesn’t mean that you aren’t still a temptation to every one of them. If you had appealed to the tracker—or any of them—the same way you appeal to me, it would have meant a fight right there.” Lena was shaking her head, appalled by the idea alone. “I don’t think I have any choice but to kill him now,” Kara could tell that wasn’t what Lena wanted, that Lena hated the idea of taking any life, even if it was as twisted as Ben’s.
“Lionel won’t like it,” Kara tried to hedge without directly pulling Lena’s feelings to the surface.
Kara could hear the tires crossing the bridge, and a quick glance through the dark confirmed the river. She knew they were getting close. She had to ask Lena now, in case she ever needed to.
“How can you kill a vampire?”
Lena glanced at her with unreadable eyes and her voice was suddenly harsh, the undercurrent of self-loathing still present.
“The only way to be sure is to tear him to shreds, and then burn the pieces.”
“And the other two will fight with him?”
“The woman will. I’m not sure about Otis. They don’t have a strong bond—he’s only with them for convenience. He was embarrassed by Ben in the meadow…”
“But Ben and the woman—they’ll try to kill you?” Kara’s voice was raw and fretted with worry.
“Kara, don’t you dare waste time worrying about me. I can carry my own. Your only concern is to please, please, try not to be reckless.”
“He’s still following.” He may not have a heartbeat, but Kara could hear his footfalls in the distance. He wasn’t nearly as silent as Lena.
“Yes. He won’t attack the house, though. Not tonight.” Lena turned off onto the barely visible drive, with Sam following behind. They drove right up to the house. The lights inside were bright, but they did little to alleviate the blackness of the encroaching forest. Jack had her door open before the truck was stopped; Kara allowed him to pull her from the seat and speed through the door.
They burst into the large white room, Lena and Sam at their sides. All of them were there; they were already on their feet at the sound of their approach. Otis stood in their midst. Kara could hear the low growl rumble deep in Jack’s throat as she moved next to Lena.
“He’s tracking us,” Lena announced, glaring balefully at Otis as icy disdain leeched into her voice again. Her jaw was a sharp line, her teeth clearly grinding together in her anger. It wasn’t possible for Lena Luthor, but Kara could have sworn that Lena was several shades more pale than usual.
Otis’ face wasn’t nearly as grave, but his demeanor was that of dissent. “I was afraid of that.”
Sam made her way to William’s side, whispering in his ear quickly the nature of their plan. A moment later they had ascended the stairs in a blur of movement, disappearing from the room. Andrea watched them, her eyes flickering for a moment, her mouth set in a severe line. Kara was certain now that Andrea’s palpable anger wasn’t directed toward her any longer.
“What will he do?” Lionel questioned Otis’, and Kara immediately knew where the cold-business-like tone that Lena often used, had come from; even if they were hundred years apart in age and unrelated by nothing more than vampire venom, Lena was his daughter without doubt.
“I’m sorry,” Otis began, and Kara could hear Lena’s low growl of annoyance. “I was afraid, when your girl there defended her, that it would set him off.”
“Can you stop him?”
Otis shook his head. “Nothing stops Ben Lockwood once he gets started.”
“Well stop him,” Jack promised, his hand briefly resting on Lena’s tense shoulder; there was no doubt what he meant.
“You can’t bring him down. I’ve never seen anything like him in my three hundred years. He’s absolutely lethal. That’s why I joined his coven.”
His coven, Kara thought, of course. The show of leadership in the clearly was merely that, a show.
Otis was shaking his head again. He glanced at Kara, perplexed, and back to Lionel. “Are you sure it’s worth it?”
Lena’s enraged, threatening growl filled the room and Otis cringed back. Lena had never seemed less human than in the moment, full of primal and animalistic behavior. Lionel looked gravely at Otis. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to make a choice.”
Otis understood. He deliberated for a moment, his eyes took in every face, and finally swept the bright room.
“I’m intrigued by the life you’ve created here. But I won’t get in the middle of this. I bear none of you any enmity, but I won’t go up against Ben. I think I will head north—to that clan in Denali.” He hesitated, his eyes flickering to Kara’s eyes before setting on Lena’s furious gold. “Don’t underestimate Benjamin. He’s got a brilliant mind and unparalleled senses. He’s every bit as comfortable in the human world as you seem to be, and he won’t come at you head on… I’m sorry for what’s been unleashed here. Truly sorry.” He bowed his head, but Kara still noticed the puzzled look directed toward her.
“Go in peace,” Came Lionel’s formal response as his arms crossed.
Otis took another long look around himself, and then hurried out the door.
The silence lasted less than a second.
“How close?” Lionel looked at Lena, his brow furrowed.
Lillian was already moving, her hand touching an inconspicuous keypad on the wall, and with a groan, huge metal shutters began sealing up the glass wall. Kara inhaled sharply, a feeling of claustrophobia settling in her ribcage.
“About three miles out past the river; he’s circling around to meet up with the woman.” Kara fought the feeling of the walls closing in around her, focusing solely on the tenor of Lena’s voice.
“What’s the plan?”
“We’ll lead him off, and then William and Sam will run her south.”
“And then?”
Lena’s tone was deadly. “As soon as Kara is clear, we hunt him.”
“I guess there’s no other choice,” Lionel agreed, his face grim and an air of resolved regret about him.
Lena turned to Andrea, her face momentarily pleading before it smoothed into indifference. “Go upstairs and trade clothes.” Andrea’s face morphed into disbelief before settling on contrite as she nodded solemnly.
Lena then turned her head, eerily calm. “Kara?”
Kara nodded, squeezing Lena’s hand before she was up the stairs with Andrea in the next breath.
“What are we doing?” Kara asked breathlessly, walking into a dark room off the second-story hall.
“Trying to confuse the smell. It won’t work for long, but it might help get you out.” Kara averted her gaze quickly, her eyesight piercing through the darkness easily as she began to strip.
“I don’t think I’ll fit…” Kara hesitated, knowing she was taller, had more muscle, and broader shoulders than Andrea. Even as she spoke it into existence, she was quickly shedding out of her shirt and shimming out of her jeans.
Something was pressed into her hands, assumingly a shirt. In her haste, she nearly ripped the too-tight shirt in half. Then she was yanking on slacks that hugged her hips and thighs tightly, stopping an inch too short on her ankles.
Andrea was in her clothes in an instant, looking slightly comical in the too large clothes, and rolling the hem of Kara’s pants up. In another half of a heartbeat, Kara, Andrea, and Sam—with a leather bag in hand—were at the landing of the stairs.
It appeared that everything had been settled downstairs in their absence. Lena and Jack were ready to leave, Jack carrying a heavy-looking backpack over his shoulder. Lionel was handing Lillian something small. He turned and handed Sam the same thing—it was a small silver cell phone—something Kara knew wasn’t any cell phone on the market, and far more advanced than the rudimentary phones of humans. She’d have to ask Lena about that later.
“Lillian and Andrea will be taking your truck, Kara,” he explained as he passed by. Kara simply nodded, glancing warily at Andrea as she began muttering in Spanish again. “Sam, William—take the Mercedes. You’ll need the dark tint further south.”
They nodded as well.
“We’re taking the Jeep.”
Kara was surprised to see that Lionel intended to go with Lena. Then she realized, with a stab of worry, that they made up a hunting party.
“Sam,” Lionel turned, “will they take the bait?” The room seemed to wait with bated breath as Sam closed her eyes, becoming impossibly still.
When her eyes finally opened, “He’ll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that.” Her voice was as certain as the hard line of her jaw.
“Let’s go.” Lionel began to walk toward the kitchen, but Lena was at her side at once. She caught Kara with an iron grip that didn’t quite compare with Kryptonian strength, but was full of desperation as Lena crushed Kara against her. Lena seemed not to care, or maybe she was unaware, of her watching family as she pulled Kara’s chin down to plant her icy lips into a hard kiss against Kara’s. Lena held her face for a moment, her honey eyes burning into an ocean of blue. Then her eyes faded to green, going blank, curiously dead, as she turned away.
Then they were gone.
They stood there, the Luthors looking away from Kara as tears streaked noiselessly down her face.
The silent moment dragged on, and then Lillian’s phone vibrated in her hand. It flashed to her ear.
“Now,” she announced, and Andrea stalked out the front door with an air of rage as Lillian stopped to touch Kara’s cheek as she passed. “Be safe.” Her whisper lingered behind them as they slipped out the door. It was deftly followed by the thunderous sound of Kara’s truck coming to life, before fading into the distance.
Willam and Sam waited. Sam’s phone was at her ear before it buzzed. “Lena says the woman is on Andrea’s trail. I’ll get the car.” She vanished in the shadows the way Lena had gone.
She and William looked at each other. He stood across the length of the entry way from Kara… being careful.
“You’re wrong, you know,” he said quietly, the Americanized school accent replaced by a strange mix of English and Southern American. Despite their situation, Kara couldn’t help but wonder at what time period William had come from to provide such clashing accents into one smooth drift.
“What?” Kara hated the brittle tone of her voice.
“I can feel what you’re feeling now—and you are worth it.”
“I’m not,” Kara mumbled, feeling the weight of her two worlds settling heavily on her shoulders. “If anything happens to them, it will be for nothing.”
“You’re wrong,” he repeated, smiling kindly at Kara. She heard the rustle of movement, then Sam stepped through the front door.
“Are you ready?” Kara gave a solemn nod before trailing behind the vampire, taking off in a blur of motion bracketed by William and Sam, leaving the bright lights behind them.