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Chapter Text

Lena is stunned momentarily. She shakes her head, trying to focus. It hurts. Everything hurts. She has to consciously remind herself to think, to remember. She looks up. Her eyes are blurry. She hears something just beyond the ringing in her ears. She blinks a few times, squeezing her eyes tight at the end of each one. 

Krypto. 

“Krypto,” Lena says groggily. “Krypto, go.” She gulps, but her mouth is dry. Lena tries to strengthen her voice into more of a command, but she isn’t very successful. “Run!” 

Krypto is barking incessantly. He’s a good ten feet ahead but doesn’t dare run back to his owner. 

Lena can feel the looming presence above her. She doesn’t have to look to know. “Krypto!” she loudly states with more authority than she feels. “Release! Find her! Run!” 

A shoe comes into her periphery. That annoying whistle fills her ears. That whistle that Lena spent hundreds of hours deconditioning Krypto from obeying. She keeps her eyes on her beloved pet. She smiles when Krypto looks at her with such emotion, almost like regret. The barks turn into whines as he backs away from the scene. Finally, finally, Krypto runs. 

“Foolish mutt. No matter. He won’t make it far.” 

Lena gasps as her head is yanked back by her hair. 

“Lena, Lena, Lena. How stupid could you be? Risking everything for a damn dog? You are a fool.” 

Her head is slammed into the ground viciously. Her ears ring even louder. Her vision goes fuzzy. Footsteps come closer and closer. She knows she is doomed. She did risk everything. She can barely keep her eyes open, but she still hears it. She hears it and can’t help but smile. 

“Boss, he- he got away.” 

Lena did it. Krypto got away. Anything that comes next will all be worth it. 

************************ 

“You shouldn’t be texting while riding your bike,” Supergirl lightly reprimands a teenager after saving him from riding right into traffic. 

“S-s- sorry!” 

With hands on her hips, she cocks her head to the side with an unimpressed look. “And you should be wearing a helmet. Get to school safe.” 

Supergirl flies off to do a quick patrol when she hears a kid crying out for help. She lands in an alleyway where several older kids have a younger girl and a dog cornered. She can hear the taunts thrown towards the little girl and low growl from the dog before landing in the middle of the scene. 

“What’s going on here?” 

“Supergirl?!” The kid being bullied side steps to be closer to the heroine while the dog does not break his position from growling at the bullies. 

“Are you alright?” she asks with authority in her voice. 

“Y-yeah,” the kid mumbles. 

Supergirl shifts her attention to the stunned bullies. “If I catch you picking on anyone else, I will be contact your parents. Shouldn’t you be off to school?” 

The three older kids all scurry out of the alleyway, afraid of what Supergirl might do. As soon as they turn the corner, Supergirl crouches down and softens her voice. “What’s your name?” 

“I- I’m Esme.” 

“Hi, Esme. I’m Supergirl. Who’s his handsome fella?” Supergirl turns to the pup that was guarding her. 

“I- I don’t know.” 

“He’s not yours?” 

“No. He came out of nowhere, and he- it’s like he knew I needed some help.” 

Kara notices the dog seems to be looking her over, probably trying to assess if she’s a threat or not. “Hey there. It’s okay. Are you lost? Where’s your owner?” 

The dog starts whimpering with his ears flattened. Esme approaches slowly to pet the puppy. “He needs to find his home.” 

“First,” Kara says as she stands up to full height, “we need to get you to school or to your parents. Then, I will help him.” 

“I don’t have any parents,” Esme whispers as she scooches closer to the dog. She even starts patting his head, getting him to wag his tail. 

“Oh,” Supergirl says, flustered. “I- I’m sorry for assuming. Where can I take you?” 

“School is fine. They will call my foster home if I don’t show up.” 

“You know. Since you have been so brave, how about I fly you to school?” 

Esme brightens up immediately at the prospect of having Supergirl fly her. “Yes! Thank you!” 

Kara is smiling her megawatt smile as she scoops up the young girl. She turns to Krypto before taking off. “I’ll be right back for you. Stay.” 

Esme squeals as she is flown across a few city blocks to be dropped off by the local heroine. All the other kids whispered exclamations at the sudden appearance. “Have a great day at school, Esme!” 

“Thanks, Supergirl!” 

After a quick departure, Kara returns to the alleyway, looking for the pup. He hadn’t moved, and his tail starts wagging tenfold at the blonde’s return. 

“Hey there, pup. Can I check your collar? It looks like you’ve been out on the street for more than a few nights.” Kara approaches cautiously. She knows Esme was just petting him, but she doesn’t want to spook him. He actually pushes his head into Kara’s open hand, and she takes that as a good sign. She spends a few seconds just petting him before reaching for the collar. There’s a plaque embedded into the woven fabric that reads ‘Krypto,’ but there is no contact information.  

“Krypto,” Kara whispers. The dog immediately responds with a little bark. “I like that name. You’re such a good boy.” 

Kara uses her x-ray vision. There’s no microchip, but she notices that the nameplate must be made from metal that includes lead, which is odd. 

“Alright,” Kara sighs. “Let’s bring you to the vet and see-” 

The moment Kara says the word ‘vet,’ Krypto starts whining and shaking profusely. Kara frowns at the reaction. “Do you not like the vet?” 

Krypto panics slightly and backs away from the Superhero, low to the ground and tail between his legs. 

Kara holds out both hands. “Alright, alright. I won’t take you there. Come on. Come here, boy. How about I get you cleaned up, and we will see if I can find who’s missing you.” 

Kara questions what she sees. Krypto seems to be looking at her like he can understand her. He’s hesitant but wants to trust her. He crawls forward again, but very slowly. Kara keeps talking like he can understand. “I promise, Krypto. I’ll bring you home, get you bathed, and then we can find your owner.” 

Krypto perks up again at the word ‘owner.’ He sits right by Kara and whines with his tail wagging. Kara takes the sign and scoops him up into her arms. “Alright, first, I have to stop at the store to pick up some doggy shampoo and food for you. Then, to my home.” 

Krypto licks Kara’s face, causing her to laugh ecstatically before taking off again. By the time she gets them to her loft, one arm is carrying about five bags of dog supplies with Krypto in her other. The poor pet shop worker was in shock at the surprise visit, and Kara can’t really blame her. 

“Can you stay right here while I get the bath ready? No offense, but you are stinky, and I don’t want you rubbing it onto anything.” 

Krypto simply sits with his tail wagging. Kara tilts her head in surprise, again, thinking that he must have had extensive obedience training. She uses a touch of superspeed to change her clothes and get everything set up in the bathroom. She has an anti-slip mat stuck to the bottom of the tub with warm water running. A line of anti-flea shampoo and conditioner is placed on the edge. She has a cup ready to help rinse him between washings, and a giant pile of towels on the sink to dry him. 

When she goes to collect Krypto, he’s still seated in the same place she left him. “Such a good boy, Krypto. Your bath is all ready. Let’s get you cleaned up, and then you can have some treats!” 

Krypto barks and wags his tail furiously. Kara scoops him up again, and while she takes him into the bathroom, she tries to take off his collar. Somehow, it’s really stuck on him, and she has to use a touch of her superstrength to pull it off. The moment she does, she drops it quickly. A sickly green glow comes out from behind the name plaque.  

“Wh- what?” Kara kicks it across her bathroom floor before looking at the dog in her arms. “What are you doing with Kryptonite in your collar?” 

Kara runs her fingers along the fur where it was sitting. She spots a raw spot that is slowly healing. She barely believes her eyes. Krypto suddenly feels a little bit more solid in her arms. It’s like he was weakened by the exposure. “Krypto?” 

Krypto barks, and it shatters Kara’s mirror above the sink. Her jaw drops. Krypto whines and looks apologetic, like he didn’t know the strength of his bark. It’s a few minutes of silence in that bathroom with Kara just looking shellshocked at this furry puppy in her arms. 

“Where did you come from?” she mumbles to herself. “As much as I want to test this, you still smell. Let’s give you a bath while I think this through.” 

Krypto doesn’t fuss at all with Kara scrubbing him and rinsing him repeatedly. It takes a few times of draining and refilling the tub before she finds the white fur underneath. He seems to love the attention and petting.  

Meanwhile, Kara’s mind is racing as she is doing this. She half thinks someone stuck Kryptonite on a dog knowing that she would never resist a puppy in need. She is quick to dismiss that thought since it was such a small amount and didn’t even expose her until she took it off Krypto. She thinks about how Krypto also had a reaction to the Kryptonite. She couldn’t believe the possibility that a dog could be Kryptonian. They had nothing like Earth’s dogs on Krypton. So, he couldn’t be Kryptonian, but yet, he broke the mirror with a single bark. 

“There’s a clean boy. Look at you.” Kara scoops him up in a towel. “Such a good boy. I’m going to figure this out. I promise.” 

As soon as Kara puts Krypto down, he runs to the open window and sits underneath it with his ears perked up. Kara watches this behavior carefully, and it seems as if Krypto is listening for something. Kara grabs her phone and fires off a few texts. 

“When’s the last time you ate, boy? Let’s get you some food.” Kara sets up the food and water bowl near her kitchen island. Krypto comes over the moment his nose catches the scent of the dog food. It doesn’t take long for him to gobble it all up. Strangely, he goes right back to the window to listen again, but this time, it seems like he moved a bit faster than a typical dog would be able to. Kara wonders if he has the same powers as her or if they are limited. 

Kara wanders back to the collar on the ground. None of this makes sense to her. Her phone dings with a text notification that Alex is on her way with a lead lined box. Kara made her swear not to announce anything to the DEO. She didn’t want Krypto to be poked and prodded in a sterile environment. Based on his reaction to the word ‘vet’ and the collar, she is willing to bet that Krypto has not had an easy life so far. He couldn’t have been on the streets the entire time, not with that collar. She can’t help but wonder where he came from and who’s had him.

Chapter Text

“Holy shit. I almost didn’t believe you.” 

Kara scoffs. “Did you really think I would lie about a dog who seems to have been poisoned by Kryptonite to suppress some sort of Kryptonian powers?” 

After briefly stopping in her tracks, she returns to her task to lock up the Kryptonite into the lead line box. “How do you know he has powers, though?” 

“Check out my bathroom mirror.” 

Alex’s boots thud a few extra times. “Holy shit.” 

“Yeah, that was from one bark. I think he was using superspeed earlier.” 

Alex comes back out and stares at the dog, scrutinizing him for any outward sign that he was superpowered. “How did you come across him?” 

“I was out on patrol. A little girl was being bullied, and there he was, protecting her. I came back for him.” 

“Why didn’t you take him to the ve-” 

“Alex!” Kara interrupts. Krypto just turns to look at the blonde’s outburst. “Sorry. Sorry. He doesn’t like the v word.” 

Krypto simply goes back to listening by the window, while Alex gives her sister an exasperated look.  

“I didn’t take him there because he did not react well. He literally cowered and shook at the word. So I brought him home. I had to use a bit of strength to get his collar off, and that’s when I noticed the Kryptonite.” 

“Do you think someone was trying to use him to get to you? His collar might have a GPS, which now shows that Supergirl brought a stray to Kara Danvers’ apartment.” Alex looks serious in her accusation. 

“I looked at the inside of the collar after getting him clean. It had a GPS, but the sensor was degraded. Besides, his super bark and his slight speed makes me think that whoever had him had a way to track him if he got away. Otherwise, why hope that I would stumble across him?” 

Alex thinks it over for a second. “Then, why not a microchip? If they were only interested in the dog, wouldn’t they want to be able to be called if he escaped?” 

Kara thinks in silence for a few moments. “Maybe to disguise it? Maybe whoever had him didn’t want anyone knowing or anyway to track it back to them. In the collar, it’s hidden. No one would scan it looking for the owner.” 

“I suppose that’s possible…” Alex mutters. “And super strength to get it off?” 

Kara nods. 

“So… no fear of him being able to pull it off himself.” Alex pauses. “What are you going to do with him?” 

“Keep him for now. We need to figure out who had him before.” 

“Kara,” Alex scolds. “Whoever had him has access to Kryptonite.” 

“Exactly, Alex.” Kara paces her loft. Krypto turns to her as he hears her distress. “Whoever had him is a threat. We need to find them before they use Kryptonite for something other than a collar. Not to mention any other superpowered pets they may have.” 

Alex’s eyes bulge at the thought. “Wait… Did you have dogs on Krypton?” 

Kara shakes her head. “No. Nothing like dogs.” 

“We should tell J’onn,” Alex says with determination in her voice. 

“No.” Kara states firmly. “First, the DEO is not a nice environment. Who knows what he’s been through so far. Second, he will want to contain or perform tests on him. I’m not letting that happen. He’s been nothing but obedient and kind. He’s not a threat.” 

“Kara… This is serious.” 

“You don’t think I know that? But that doesn’t mean that he should be treated like- like a-” 

“Like a science experiment? Because most likely that is exactly what he is.” 

Kara glares at her sister. She opens her mouth with her finger pointed and ready to rip her a new one. 

Krypto suddenly erupts in barking. He whines and runs in circles. With a touch of superspeed, he’s a blur. He tries jumping a few times, but after a second or two of airtime, he lands heavily on the floor. 

“Krypto? Krypto, what is it?” Kara kneels down to try to hold him steady. 

Krypto barks and whines. He pulls on Kara’s cardigan towards the door, urging her to follow. 

“Has he done this before?” Alex steps closer. 

“No. Not at all.” Kara’s crinkle is out in full. “He wants me to follow.” 

Alex crosses her arms. “Kara, you can’t. It might be a trap.” 

Krypto whines and scratches at the door. His eyes pleading with Kara to follow. 

“I have to, Alex. He’s only protected and listened to me. I don’t think he would lead me into a trap. Something must be wrong.” Kara superspeeds to her bedroom to change into her supersuit. “Come on, boy. Show me.” 

Krypto manages to jump up to Kara’s chest, surprising her into catching him. She only hesitates a moment before rushing to take off. She manages to hear Alex calling after her, “I’m going to track your location! Comm me for backup!” 

“Alright, Krypto. What are you hearing?” Kara watches Krypto’s snout and ears carefully, allowing him to guide her. She tunes her hearing into anything that may be alerting him. 

She hears it. 

Kara tucks Krypto under one arm and throws out her fist. When she takes off in haste midair, Krypto barks determinedly. His ears flatten to his head and his nose points in the direction of where the noise is coming from. 

************************ 

Lena has no clue how long it’s been. She has an estimate, but she has no idea if she is anywhere near the real answer. After passing out in hallway, she woke up in a windowless room tied to a bed. Panic had set in, and she thrashed against the bindings, but it wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t until he walked into the room that she remembered the events that led up to her capture. She smirked in defiance. She had won. She beat him, and Krypto had escaped. 

He hadn’t even said a word when he undid her bindings. He just let her go and simply walked out of the room with a heavy slam and loud thunk of a heavy-duty lock. Lena had been confused at first. She spent the first hour or so of the time looking for a weapon or a way to escape before anyone could return. All they left her with was a bucket and the bed. The bed was on a metal frame that was crudely welded together to prevent her from breaking off a piece. They didn’t even give her a pillow or banket. Just a mattress on the metal frame. 

It took a few hours for her to realize what they were doing. She would hear footsteps periodically, but no one unlocked the door. No one stopped, even when she was banging and hollering against the door. When she started to drift in her thoughts, she realized it.  

They were going to keep her in solitary confinement. 

Oh, how Lena wishes that is all that they did. 

Lena tries to focus her thoughts. It helps her cope with her current situation. She tries to remember how many days she thinks she spent in that room. It had to be at least 40. She focuses on how many meals were passed through a slot in the door. They didn’t seem to follow a schedule. They were trying to throw her off from being able to count and keep track. She tries to remember how many mental games of chess she played against herself. She left her white queen on H4. Five moves to checkmate. 

The pain interrupts her thoughts. Oh, the pain. 

Lena can’t hear anything outside of the blood rushing in her ears. Every muscle is on fire as the tension is far beyond anything she would consciously put herself through. It feels like lightning is running down her veins. 

She breathes heavily and spit flies as she is allowed to rest for a few precious moments. Her throat is scratchy, and it’s hard to take in enough air. She is heaving when they start again. Her back arches clean off the table as all of her muscles convulse. All rational thought grinds to a halt once again. She can see the black encroaching her vision. When they turn it off, she just manages to thank a God she doesn’t believe in that she’s close to passing out. At least they stop when she’s unconscious. 

They start it again. The pain and the darkness go hand-in-hand. It’s almost like an out of body experience before she is brutally thrust back into her body. They cut it off sooner than normal. She has a moment of dread. They must have figured out she was close to passing out. She can’t stop the whimpers at the realization. 

It’s several minutes before Lena realizes that they haven’t turned it back on. There’s no way they are done. They never finish before she is swallowed into the abyss. She tries to turn her head to look through the window, but she can’t. Her head is strapped to the table. She tries looking at the corners of her eyes. She strains to try to see. Her heart is beating too loud and too fast to hear anything else. Her breath is ragged, and she lets her eyes slip shut. No sense in worrying, and she might as well spend the time enjoying a rest that doesn’t involve being forced into severe pain and then unconsciousness. 

As she tries to fall into some sort of sleep, she scrunches her nose. Her heart isn’t beating as loudly, but she still hears a lot of thudding followed by some smashing and glass breaking. She swears she even hears a bark. It has her lips pull into the tiniest smile. Still worth it all to make sure Krypto was safe. 

The noise gets closer and closer. As it does, it gets louder and louder. She hears yelling and shouting, which makes her keep her eyes wide open now. She doubts any of this can be good for her, even if the quiet voice in her head tries to convince her it’s a rescue. She has to tell herself that no one knows she is even here. No one except the people doing this to her. Whatever is going on must be part of a ruse, a way to break her. 

Lena smiles to herself. That’s exactly what this is. They want to move onto more psychological torture. They want her to think that she’s being rescued only to find out she wasn’t. She figured out their game, which means it won’t work this time. The back-alley electroshock treatment may have messed with her thoughts, but she’s still a genius. They are using such a cliché that they don’t even realize how obvious of a stunt it is. 

Lena just relaxes her body and closes her eyes once again. She goes back to her mental game to take her mind off the pain that still lingers in her limbs and joints. She pushes out all the noise. She perfectly envisions the board as she left it last. It takes her a few moments to remember her strategy.  

Lena doesn’t even open her eyes when the door bursts open with a loud bang. When there is nothing but silence, she manages to whisper out with her raspy voice, “What is it? You’re interrupting my chess game.” 

Chapter Text

The silence that follows nearly tempts Lena into looking. She juts her chin up as much as she can with the straps and keeps her eyes firmly closed. She will not let them win this round. This is not a rescue. She won’t be made into a fool. 

“Oh, Rao.” 

Lena can’t stop her eyebrows from scrunching. It’s been a long time since she has heard a woman’s voice. And it sounds so- so empathetic. 

“Wh- what were they-.” The voice trembles – genuinely trembles – “I’m going to get you out of here.” 

“You can’t fool me,” Lena states firmly, her eyes still shut. 

“Wha-” 

It’s not until Lena hears that bark that her eyes shoot open against her will. “It- it can’t be…” 

“Krypto! Wait!” 

“Don’t hurt him!” Lena shouts. She starts thrashing at her bindings at the sight of a hand reaching towards Krypto. 

This makes the person pause, letting Krypto launch himself towards Lena. She lets out a faint whoosh of air as the pup lands mostly on the table, but still partially on Lena’s stomach. Lena can feel fresh, warm tears track down her temples. “Krypto, you need to get out of here. Why did you come back?” 

“Come on, boy. Off of her. She needs to breathe,” the supposed rescuer says softly. Krypto sits down to take his front paws off Lena. He’s whining and licking any skin he can reach.  

Lena can’t help but smile sadly at him, but she immediately tenses as she feels hands at her feet. Her eyes dart to the offender, and it’s the first time that she’s registered who is in the room with her. Green eyes flit down to the emblem on the woman’s chest and back up to her face repeatedly. 

“I’m so sorry. I’ll be gentle, but these are on so tight that it might hurt still.” 

“It- it can’t be- you can’t be,” Lena mutters with wide eyes. “This- this is a trick.” 

“What’s your name?” 

“You know my name. Don’t pretend. You can’t be her. He just paid you to dress up like her and stage a fake rescue. I know that this isn’t real.” Lena’s voice gets firmer and colder as she goes. 

“Who’s he? Which of those guys out there did this to you?” The voice turns oddly hard, as if she actually cares to catch the person responsible. 

Lena’s eyes narrow as the imposter moves to her wrists. Slowly, the bands restraining her are popping free with only a little bit of discomfort. Her eyes don’t leave the mystery woman, even as she moves to break the lock on the forehead strap. Krypto’s little yip breaks Lena’s attention away. With her now free hands, she reaches up to pet him, and Krypto immediately moves to press and rub his body into her. 

“Krypto, you were free. Wait- where’s… where’s your collar?” Lena sits up as her fingers move to confirm what her eyes see. Krypto is out of his dampening collar. 

“I hear them starting to come to. I’m sorry for the rush, but we need to leave. Now.” 

Lena’s sharp eyes land on the woman again. She’s still suspicious, but this entire situation doesn’t make any sense. Even if they found Krypto, they would never let him out without his collar on. The risk is too high. “Who are you?” 

The blonde’s mouth drops a bit, and it makes her hesitate. “Do you not kn-” Blue eyes flicker all over the woman, taking in all the damage to her body. “I’m Supergirl. And we really need to leave. I’m going to have to carry you.” 

The reaction is visceral. Lena tenses and curls up on herself. Her hands pull Krypto in tighter, and her breathing becomes more erratic. It’s impossible to not notice. 

“I’m sorry. If I had any other way... but there’s too many of them for me to fight and keep you safe. I promise that I will put you down in just a few minutes. We just need to get away from here.” 

Krypto whines in her arms, pulling Lena’s attention again. It’s like they can have an entire conversation with each other, and all Lena can see is that Krypto wants her to listen. He’s never led Lena into a trap, even with the extreme conditioning. So, she takes a deep breath before nodding her head minutely. 

Supergirl doesn’t hesitate, but she does take it slow in scooping up both Lena and Krypto. It’s almost comical when she stands to her full height. Lena is in a bridal carry with the dog in her own arms. As soon as she feels Supergirl start to fly, her eyes slam shut. As promised though, it’s just a few minutes before she can feel that she’s being lowered back to the ground. 

Krypto jumps out of Lena’s arms as he runs around the two of them with happy barks and playful wags of his tail. He uses a touch of superspeed that causes a strong gust of wind from his tail. Lena can’t help the muted chuckle that escapes her lips. She crouches down to scratch behind Krypto’s ears and kisses his head repeatedly. 

“You’re such a good boy, Krypto,” Lena whispers. 

“He really is,” a soft response comes from behind her. 

Lena doesn’t turn or look at her. She stays squatted down, petting Krypto. “Is- is this- is this real? Am I really free?” 

Supergirl shuffles her feet. Whatever happened to this woman, it must’ve been bad for her to question her own rescue. “You’re free.” 

Hot, wet tears stream down Lena’s face. She cuddles Krypto closer as he whines and licks her face in an attempt to comfort his owner. She knows she must look ridiculous. She’s collapsed onto the ground, barefoot in navy blue scrubs. She feels disgusting, covered in sweat and grime. Her muscles are starting to ache again now that the adrenaline is wearing off. She doesn’t even realize she is sobbing out loud until it starts to die down. She’s exhausted. 

“Is there anyone I can call?” 

Lena doesn’t have the energy to answer. She shakes her head in response. 

“I know this must be a lot, but I have questions for you. We don’t need to talk about it right now, but I will need a way to get in touch with you after you have a chance to recover.” 

Lena just nods her head. 

“I can either drop you off wherever you want to go, or we can wait here for about an hour for an agent to come pick us up.” 

Lena’s movements momentarily freeze before resuming her patting and petting of Krypto. “I- I don’t have anywhere to go.” 

The blonde hesitates. She has so many questions, but it’s not the time. “Until I know more about… well, everything… you should probably stay in a safe house anyways.” 

“He’ll be coming for me,” she whispers. 

Supergirl responds softly, “Who?” 

Lena hesitates. She knows now that this can’t be a ruse. No one- no one could imitate Supergirl’s powers. They may have successfully made Krypto, but no way they could do that to a human. At the same time, she wants to keep her cards close to her chest. She doesn’t know what to expect. This is Supergirl after all. “Lex. Lex Luthor.” 

The awkward shuffling behind her comes to a sudden halt. “Are you sure?” 

Her voice sounds hard. She responds quietly, “Yes.” 

“I- I don’t think I asked for your name.” 

Lena’s eyes dart up, staring off into the horizon. This is the moment. The moment that she needs to hide the truth. Sure, Supergirl rescued her, but she wouldn’t believe her if she told her. Lena takes a sharp breath before responding, “Kieran.” 

Supergirl keeps a few feet of distance, moving slowly in order to avoid spooking the woman. Lena can see such sympathy and sorrow in those blue eyes. “Kieran, I’m going to keep you safe. If Lex is really after you- I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I will keep you safe.” 

“There is nowhere on this Earth that is safe from Lex Luthor. He will find me. Maybe not right away, but he has eyes everywhere.” 

“We have safe houses-” 

“You work with- or for, depending on the perspective- a cladestine government agency known as the Department of Extra-normal Operations. Hank Henshaw is the current director with as many as three hundre-” 

“How do you know that?” Supergirl interrupts. 

Lena levels her with a hard stare. “Lex has people everywhere. Nowhere is safe. I guarantee he has a list of your so-called safe houses.” 

The heroine stares at Lena for an inordinate amount of time. Lena is sure to keep her guard up, lest she catch on that she’s not being one hundred percent honest with her. 

“There’s one place that Lex wouldn’t dare to attack, much less know about,” Supergirl whispers. 

Lena arches her brow in challenge. 

“My apartment.” 

The air suddenly stiffens between them. Lena’s face turns into one full of skepticism. She responds slowly, not believing what she just heard. “You want to take me back to your apartment? Supergirl’s apartment?” 

“It’s the safest place on Earth for you.” 

Lena’s mind races. She has to know. Supergirl must know that she is Lex’s little sister. Why else would she offer to reveal her home to a complete stranger? It must be a way to keep tabs on her. But Lena can’t deny that the superhero is right. It would be the safest place for her. Lex is egomaniacal, but even he knows better than to attack Supergirl head on. His attempts at Superman have proven that he’s not actually ready to take down a Kryptonian. She would be the safest in Supergirl’s immediate vicinity, but it’s still a risk. There’s only one thing that would make her feel more comfortable with it. 

“Where is Krypto staying?” 

Supergirl’s smile gives Lena a bit of relief. “He’s also staying at my place. I just got him a bunch of stuff.” 

“You haven’t taken him into the DEO?” Lena questions with hardness in her voice. 

“They don’t even know about him. Only one agent knows about his existence, and I trust her with my life.” 

Lena studies her, looking for any sign of deception. She also looks over Krypto. He looks like he’s been cared for. The lack of collar once again speaks volumes. There is no way the DEO would let him out without a power dampener either. Lena takes a deep, centering breath. “Alright.” 

Krypto barks happily. Lena smiles down at him. “You’re in agreement. That’s a good sign. Good boy, Krypto.” 

“Can he?” Supergirl asks in wonder. “Can he actually understand?” 

Lena looks confused. “Of course. Compared to other dogs, he’s got super-intelligence. Did- you didn’t just follow him blindly, did you?” 

Supergirl looks almost ashamed as she just shrugs one shoulder in response. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Lena mutters. “If Lex had been there- you had to have known that whoever had Krypto has Kryptonite! And you just blundered in there without knowing?!” 

“Krypto was distressed after listening through my open window. When I took him out in flight, I heard y- I heard.” 

Lena gulps and adverts her eyes. She’s sure she sounded pathetic. 

After a few moments of loaded silence, Supergirl continues, “I couldn’t have waited. But we should get moving again. Some are panicking and running. Others are trying to organize a search in case we didn’t make it far.” 

Lena just nods silently, stewing in her embarrassment of succumbing to torture. She slowly stands with Krypto in her arms. She stays put as Supergirl comes behind her to scoop her in the bridal carry once more. Goosebumps break out as the woman says softly, “It’ll be about a twenty-minute flight. I could go faster, but it would be more uncomfortable for you. If you get cold or need me to stop or slow down, you only have to whisper. I’ll hear you.” 

Once Supergirl gets a nod in response, she pushes off the ground slowly to float before taking off towards National City.