Chapter Text
Part 1 - Death & Resurrection
Death was inconceivable to The Man of Tomorrow.
Lex had never once even contemplated that his existence would ever reach an end. His unparalleled genius, supreme self confidence and undeniable destiny had always left him doubtless of being preordained to live forever. He was the self-presumptive conqueror of Kryptonians, fated to be the master and ruling hand of humanity.
He prided himself on always being in control, countless steps ahead of anyone who dared oppose him. He knew without doubt that no one and nothing could stand in the way of his greater purpose, especially not his pathetic bastard of a baby sister.
That’s why even after escaping the failure of his Kaznian scheme, despite Lena’s attempt to incapacitate him when he materialized in the bunker, his confidence never diminished as he proceeded to partake in his favorite sibling pastime, belittling her. Even when she reached behind her back and withdrew a pistol, Lex reveled in his superiority, still firmly believing himself to be holding the upper hand while he continued to patronize her.
Then to his utter disbelief, contrary to all that he was certain to be true, Lena fired her gun… twice!
Clutching his hand to his chest, the visceral and corporeal shock that reverberated through him as the bullets buried themselves deep within his body was indescribable, provoking a myriad of unimaginable sensations so foreign to his immense ego that Lex Luthor found himself feeling something he believed to have evolved beyond experiencing… bewilderment.
“Oh, brava!” he exclaimed. “You did it, Lena.”
As the surprise of it all started to pass, he lifted a bloody hand towards his emotionally compromised sibling.
“You killed me,” he growled.
Enraged and perplexed by his unimagined plight, the last moments of his life slowly dwindling away, Lex’s megalomania kicked into overdrive as he pulled himself into a chair, leaned over to grasp a tiny remote, and with a sinister grin stitched across his face switched on the monitors behind him.
“The joke’s on you. It’s always been on you.”
Immeasurable satisfaction flooded what was left of his consciousness watching Lena’s horrified stare as the images of Kara’s truth played out before her traumatized eyes.
“Kara Danvers is Supergirl!” he gleefully declared.
Even as his end neared, Lex euphorically savored this moment; certain that his dying revelation had driven the proverbial knife as deeply as possible, shattering not only the last vestiges of what little faith his sister had in anyone but also intensifying the shame already building within Lena by branding her a fool.
But, was this truly his end?
Having never considered this outcome remotely feasible, he also lacked any presumptions about what would follow. It wasn’t that he lacked knowledge about the prevailing theories of what transpired beyond death, but as he believed immortality would one day be his he never put much stock in the validity of such ridiculous ideas. So, as consciousness slipped from his grasp and his body collapsed into a lifeless heap he expected… nothing.
Imagine his surprise… when he woke up.
Bolting upright, Lex’s eyes snap open, finding himself inexplicably surrounded by the endless vastness of the cosmos; slowly shifting his head from side-to-side he also becomes keenly aware that he’s been unceremoniously left lying on a large metal platform inexplicably anchored in place to the nothingness abutting it on all sides. Intrigued by the implausibility of his present circumstances, his curiosity spikes even more when he suddenly and unexpectedly finds himself set upright, standing in the center of the platform face-to-face with a towering, dark-skinned humanoid in what can only be described as battle armor, with an unusual thin-weave hair design and unmistakable mutton chops.
“Lex Luthor,” the stranger bellows, his deep voice reverberating hauntingly.
“The one and only,” he retorts at the bizarre figure with obnoxious derision. “Seeing as you know who I am, you must also be aware that I’m not a fan of aliens, especially those who lord their supposed ‘gifts’ over others like false gods; so, tell me who you are and why my death brought me to this waystation to hell?”
Unphased by the human’s narcissistic bravado, the imposingly confident, otherworldly being steps closer to the stubbornly pompous Luthor.
“Yes, I know who and what you are; your blusterous reputation precedes you. My name is Mar Nouv and it was not death that brought you to this place Lex Luthor, it was me.”
Taken aback by the preposterousness of what he has heard, the cynical human takes a step closer to his outrageous extraterrestrial host.
“I’m sorry, are you telling me that you…”
“Brought you back from the dead? Yes, Lex Luthor, I am responsible for your resurrection.”
“How?” he stammers, flabbergasted.
“I may not have been born a deity, but that makes my abilities no less godlike.”
Breathing deeply, Lex takes an almost imperceptible step back from Novu and tugs lightly at the hem of his jacket, squaring his jaw as he works to center himself. Regaining his typical arrogant composure he stares directly into The Monitor’s eyes with only a solitary question burning its way through his brain.
“Why?”
Mar Nouv, annoyingly impassive, unflinchingly glares back.
“Because, there is a Crisis coming, one that threatens the whole of the multiverse; and your unique ‘talents’ will be required to face the oncoming threat.”
Feeling no need to share more than he already has with the egocentric earthling, the towering alien motions towards the pair’s right causing Lex to turn towards a red-cushioned chair and a stunning crystal chess set that to his astonishment mysteriously appeared out of thin air. As Novu begins to walk towards them, the surprised Luthor catches on and follows.
“I must temporarily take my leave of you to complete preparations for the approaching conflict. You shall remain here and I believe you’ll find this remarkable appliance will provide you both a stimulating diversion and unexpected insights.”
Lowering himself suspiciously into the chair, Lex shifts forward to look more closely at the ornate pieces lining the intricate chess board. As his eyes glance across the gleaming figures his focus is drawn to what he normally would have dismissed as reflective movement from behind him, but as he catches sight of a form resembling Lena moving across the surface of a pawn he picks up the piece.
Fixing his gaze on the shimmering token, a devilish smirk fills his face as he watches his sister sneer dismissively at the approaching Supergirl before aggressively punching the Girl of Steel with such force that it throws her back twenty feet, crashing into the engine compartment of a school bus, causing it to explode.
Part 2 - Loss & Loneliness
If she’s being completely honest with herself, Lena has known for most of her life it would end this way.
Lost and alone.
From the moment the top of her mother’s head dipped below the dark waters of the lake that robbed her of her life, Lena suspected she’d always be alone. Even as Lionel ushered her across the threshold of Luthor Manson to meet her “adoptive” family, that lonely little girl, the one still trapped deep down inside Lena’s heart, never ceased to feel lost; spending a lifetime perpetually searching for a home, a family to love and be loved by, that now, at the end, she accepts was never meant to be.
No, standing on the deserted bridge of an alien spacecraft, staring out the viewport at the glowing red skies of an Earth that is not her own, Lena Luthor has surrendered herself to the only truth that has never eluded her.
“Still lost and alone… after all these years and now I’ll die staring into an abyss that isn’t even my own.”
“You’re not alone, Lena.”
Startled by the echo of unexpected boot heel strikes and a familiar, but unwelcomed voice, the sole remaining Luthor slowly turns to find Alex Danvers, of all people, standing several feet away from her. Numbed by all the heartache, chaos and pain she’s endured the past several months, she can no longer muster the resolve to show her displeasure and so stares emotionless at the woman she once grew to respect and admire almost as much as she did her alien sister.
“Leave me alone, Alex. I have absolutely nothing left to say to you.”
Unphased by Lena’s tone and disposition, Alex stops several feet away, folding her arms across her chest.
“I know, but the world, the multiverse is about to end… and I didn’t want you to be alone.”
The younger woman raises a disillusioned eyebrow, scoffing scornfully.
“Please, spare me your hollow sympathies, Director Danvers. You feigned concern and affection for me for three years. End of the world or not, I know it’s bullshit.”
Alex takes a deep breath, grimacing and shaking her head slightly.
“I suppose I deserve that, but whether you choose to believe me or not, I’ve never lied when it comes to my feelings about or for you.”
Unconvinced, the brunette snarkily retorts, “Really??”
“No, I haven’t. When you arrived in National City I wanted nothing more than for you to leave… get as far away from my sister as possible. You were a Luthor and I firmly believed that branding you a ‘good Luthor’ was nothing more than Kara’s naïveté and hopeless optimism.“
Lena glares matter of factly at the redhead and sarcastically quips, “Sounds about right.”
Unfolding her arms, Alex reaches behind her back, slides her hands in her pockets and audibly sighs.
“But my sister defended you relentlessly, insisting that you had a good heart and deserved to be judged on your own merits, for the actions and decisions you made, not for the things that Lillian or Lex did.”
Apathetic to such an obvious revelation, the young Luthor continues to simply stand silently, staring coldly at her former friend.
“I kept waiting for you to slip up, make a questionable decision or show signs of wanting to hurt my sister, but you never did. Each day that passed I found myself seeing more and more of what Kara saw in you until one day I realized what a jackass I had been and how incredibly lucky we all were to have you in our lives.”
A rush of agitation flares within Lena causing her to step curtly towards Alex, stopping less than a foot away from her.
Neither the boldness of the younger brunette’s movements nor the increased intensity of her glower uproot the older woman from her place.
“Lucky?!?” Lena growls. “Lucky to have the gullible, rich, oblivious genius you could exploit to save your asses at the drop of a dime, while getting your rocks off deceiving her; all the while making a fool of her because she was a ‘Luthor’ who could never be trusted.”
Conceding the validity of her distressed companion’s point of view, the regretful redhead lifts her eyebrows and gently nods.
“That’s fair, and I can understand why you believe that. We should have trusted you, as Kara encouraged us to, much sooner than we did. We should have… I should have relied on her instincts and supported her when she first came to me wanting to tell you everything. But, since the day Clark first brought her to live with us it’s been my responsibility, whether I wanted it or not, to protect her… and sometimes I can be so blind…”
“Clark?” the stunned Luthor questioningly stammers.
Alex slowly nods her head again.
“You wanted the truth. Regardless of whether Kara, J’onn and the other heroes manage to stop the anti-matter wave or not… no more lies… about anything.”
Lena scoffs as doubt and suspicion fill her eyes.
“Like I’m supposed to believe anything you tell me… the woman whose command performance during our investigation of Eve was worthy of an award.”
“Wh… what are you… talking about,” Alex stutters in confusion.
Contemptuously, Lena presses on.
“Your attitude the entire time towards Supergirl… you were so convincing that until Lex pulled back the curtain I thought you two had actually had a falling out… that you actually were questioning her methods and doubting her trustworthiness.”
Unexpectedly, a wave of emotions crashes into Alex like a powerful swell slamming into a seawall. Memories she’s worked so hard to banish from her mind… Colonel Haley, the witch hunt, the most difficult decision of her life, and the blunt force of Red Daughter… flood back in. Her legs begin to buckle slightly so she turns to sit on the closest seat she can reach, tears slowly rolling down her cheeks.
Lena chortles at what she assumes is simply more emotional subterfuge.
“Tears!! Really, Alex…”
The saddened warrior reaches up to wipe the moisture from her face, before taking a steadying breath and looking up at the skeptical Luthor.
“I didn’t know that Kara was Supergirl…”
Waving dismissively and turning to walk away, Lena interjects, “That’s the most absurd lie any of you have ever expected me to swallow.”
Determinedly lifting herself from her stool, Alex swiftly follows after the cynical brunette. Catching up to her, she reaches out to grab her by the arm, stops her, and steps around her to stand face-to-face.
“When your brother and the Graves conspired to put President Baker in the Oval Office one of his first official orders was to demand Kara reveal her identity to the White House or leave the DEO.”
“So, what?” Lena replies coldly.
“When Kara walked away from the DEO and I refused to stop working with her… Haley reported my insubordination back to Baker. In response he scaled back my command and ordered the Colonel to uncover Kara’s identity by any means necessary.”
“Get to the point, Director. None of this explains your ridiculous claim.”
A single tear drips from the corner of Alex’s left eye and a crestfallen look settles over her features as she bemoans, “She succeeded.”
Flabbergasted, the stunned Luthor asks, “She what?”
Alex nods.
“She broke one of my agents and confronted me, but before she could arrest me the DEO was attacked. We turned back the invaders… with Kara’s help… and when the smoke cleared…”
“What?” Lena reluctantly encourages her to continue.
“She told Kara her life without the cape was over. She subtly threatened to out her as Kara Danvers to her enemies… using our safety… yours, mine, Eliza, James, all of us… as leverage to force her to comply.”
Lena gasps and raises a hand to her mouth.
“We managed to subdue her; J’onn wiped her memory of what she had uncovered, but we knew… Brainy calculated the odds… she would find out again… unless…”
Realization washes over the stunned genius as she drops her hand and mutters, “You had J’onn wipe your memories, too.”
The redhead confirms her hypothesis with an affirmative nod.
“I would sacrifice anything to protect my baby sister.”
Despite feeling a slight swell of sympathy building inside her, the pain from all the betrayal still lingers as she solemnly retorts, “At least you were trusted with the memories to lose… and it wasn’t really much of a sacrifice if J’onn could reverse it later.”
Alex despondently remarks, “J’onn wasn’t sure if he could reverse it… and in the end he didn’t have to.”
The devastated Danvers trembles slightly as the painful recollections of her sibling’s demise washes over her.
“My memories came flooding back… as I watched Red Daughter beat my sister to death.”
Overcome by the sheer emotional magnitude of Alex’s confession, the spite and anguish that had built up inside her since the day she killed her brother begins to gradually melt away as she steps forward and pulls Alex into an embrace. The redhead loops her arms around Lena in kind, laying her head on the younger woman’s shoulder.
“There is still so much to tell you and so much to make up for.”
Lena nods and adds, “I’m still heartbroken, Alex… and it’s not in my nature to rebuild broken relationships, but I’m also so tired of being angry… so done with losing people…”
The emotional resonance of their touching moment is suddenly shattered by a loud roar above them and by thousands of screams coming from the frightened masses chaotically scrambling around in the cityscape beyond their landing area. The pair release their hug and turn to look out the viewport just in time to see the anti-matter wave penetrate the planet’s atmosphere and cross the horizon towards them.
“This isn’t the end,” Alex declares.
“You really think Kara and the others can find a way to fix this?”
Alex nods at her friend.
“I do, and when this is over, we finish this conversation.”
Lena nods affirmatively in return as a bright light envelops them, and…
Part 3 - The Heart of Vengeance
“Hey, sis… about time you got here.”
An intensely cold shiver runs down Lena’s spine as the familiar voice rings in her ears. Opening her eyes she first notices the breathtaking wonder of the expansive star system surrounding her before tilting her head to the side to see the brother she thought she’d killed smuggly standing five feet to her right.
As she sits up and turns to work her way to a standing position, Lex slowly walks toward her and holds out his hand. Reaching up, Lena takes it and braces against it as she finishes lifting herself up off the ground.
Before she even has a chance to right herself, he unceremoniously drops her hand and walks past her.
Smoothing out her clothes, she turns as he walks a few steps further before stopping and turning back to face her.
“How are you alive?” the perplexed young woman inquires.
Smirking as arrogantly as he possibly can, Lex laughs maniacally at his flustered sibling.
“That’s a long story, but obviously it’s absolutely no thanks to you.”
“Lex! What the hell is going on?”
A gleefully twisted grin fills his face.
“Well, as it turns out, the universe could not be rebooted without yours truly, so that mutton chopped moron who, as it turns out, caused all this havoc in the first place brought me back to save you all.”
Relief washes over the brunette at her egotistical brother’s boast confirming that, in some fashion, Kara and the other heroes succeeded.
“Thank God, they did it.”
Angered by his sister’s insistence on praising the heroes instead of idolizing his incomparable contributions, Lex abruptly moves toward her, glaring furiously.
“THEY?!? IF ‘THEY’ HADN’T HAD ME TO CARRY THEM THERE WOULD BE NO UNIVERSE LEFT TO SPEAK OF, JUST A HANDFUL OF USELESS COSTUMED CLOWNS AND SOME RANDOM JUNIOR COLLEGE PROFESSOR TRAPPED IN THE VOID FOR ETERNITY! IT WAS ONLY THANKS TO MY GENIUS THAT THE ANTI-MONITOR WAS DEFEATED SO THAT I COULD…”
“So that you could what, you monster?”
Calming down, he reaches into his pocket, pulls out a folded sheet of aged parchment, stares at it proudly, and crows triumphantly.
“Punish you!”
Mustering up all the sarcasm she can manage, Lena arches an eyebrow, huffs audibly, and rolls her eyes.
“Punish me? With what? An old, worn out piece of paper?”
The vainglorious older Luthor tuts tersely at his painfully dim younger sister.
“Your ignorance was cute when we were kids, but now… it’s just pathetic. This ‘old, worn out piece of paper’ is actually a page from one of the most powerful mystical objects in existence. And knowing that your beloved Kara and her dimwitted compatriots would have rather made sure it perished with the multiverse then to let me make off with it, I decided the best way to thwart their plan was to do what I do best… be smarter than everyone.”
Gleefully unfolding the page, an arrogant grin spreads across his face as he reads the page to himself before flipping it to show Lena.
“Return the Book to Lex Luthor at the junction before the universe reboots?” a thoroughly confused Lena recites.
As if commanded by the final word passing from her lips, Lex sticks out his arms, turns his palms up and a brilliant white light fills them. As the light dissipates the younger Luthor blinks to clear her vision and finally makes out the shape of the voluminous, ancient book that has materialized in her brother’s hands.
“Behold, Lena… the Book of Destiny!”
Dread begins to fill Lena’s heart as she stares nervously at Lex opening the book; a blinding, bright golden light begins to emanate from within it.
“After you left me in a pool of my own spittle and blood, The Monitor stranded me here until HE needed me, but left me with an amazing device that allowed me to watch what you did with the gift I gave you on my deathbed.”
An unpleasant sensation begins to overcome Lena as she snarls at him, “All you wanted to do was rip my heart out… that was no gift.”
A sinister grin fills his face.
“It most certainly was, but you were too weak to give into the darkness that is your birthright. I gave you the push you needed to finally become a true Luthor and what did you do… spare that miserable alien’s life while squandering my research trying to emotionally neuter humanity.”
An intense aching abruptly erupts in the younger Luthor’s chest causing her to double over and writhe in pain. Fighting to speak through the tears and the excruciating agony, she lifts her head towards her brother.
“What… is happening? What… are you… doing to… me?”
Methodically making his way over to her, he kneels down slightly, the book still open in front of him, and then bellows menacingly, “THIS TIME… I’M ACTUALLY RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT!”
Smiling triumphantly, he stands up straight, looks back down contemptuously, and adds, “But don’t fret… I’m replacing it… with something that will guarantee the Kryptonian will be out of your life forever.”
The green glow that begins to bleed through her blouse makes her stomach drop and her head spin. Sticking her hand between the buttons she reaches for the space between her breasts and feels the outline of a metallic chamber with a moderately sized rock mounted inside it. Looking down at the glow her eyes widen with horror.
Feeling an enormous sense of satisfaction, her brother heartily decrees, “Lena Luthor is no more… Welcome to the new universe… Metallo!”
“What?” she stammers, overwhelmed by her cascading fear.
“That’s right, sis! Time to kick start that new world you were so desperately thankful for… You and I will be the only people who remember everything… there will be a few other surprises I don’t want to spoil… but I will tell you… in this world, nobody has ever heard of Lena Luthor!”
Left speechless by the shock and terror of her brother’s diabolical machinations, all Lena can do is screw her eyes shut and tremble from her anxiety of the terrifying unknown as the billowing light bleeding out from the Book of Destiny swallows everything.