Chapter Text
Giehrim. Kara had once tried to translate that word for Eliza, but she found herself struggling. The word was used like destiny, or luck, or fate. But the root word giehr simply meant… transport. A completely mundane acknowledgment of the mechanics of the universe, of cause and effect, without the lofty sense of destiny that those on Earth clung to.
Earth was nothing like Krypton.
“To think that I was sincere with you yesterday,” Lena said coldly, causing Kara’s chest to squeeze uncomfortably. Kara had no choice but to use Myriad now, but she knew what it looked like for Lena. “I guess you’re used to being two-faced,” Lena said, before turning on her heel and opening a portal. Kara’s eyes lingered as she watched Lena leave.
It wasn’t that the universe had decided that Kara and Lena could never be on the same side. It was more like… the tug of gravity.
Planets and stars ticked along in the heavens, as the invisible gears of fundamental forces caused them to dance, and there was beauty in that. But every movement was calculable, a simple matter of understanding what mass was in motion, of plugging in gravitational constants. With sufficient data came the ability for precise prediction. Beauty, but no mystery.
And she and Lena would always be at odds, because that was their giehrim.
Lex didn’t startle as Lena yanked a LuthorCorp server from its rack, turning to smash it on the ground. Another temper tantrum - how typical, he thought to himself. Time for damage control.
“Non Nocere is dead,” Lena said. “It doesn’t work. It never could…”
Something bubbled in Lex’s chest as Lena ranted. You’re right, he thought smugly. Humanity can’t be fixed. His sister was finally reaching the conclusion he long knew - that humanity needed to be controlled. Who better than a Luthor?
“-I was delusional to think that I could save people, or fix it-”
After all, that had been Lena’s first instinct when he had died - run off and try to brainwash the world. Lex couldn’t have been more proud. She had been confused for a while after that, but it seemed she was finally accepting the truth that lay in front of her. She’s ready, he thought.
“-Humanity will always try to protect itself, evolve-”
Though frankly, it didn’t matter whether or not Lena was ready. His backdoor I Love Lexi program was already implemented - if she disagreed, he would simply hijack Non Nocere anyway.
He hadn’t lied when he had the truthseeker on his arm. He missed her. He missed having a number one supporter. He missed the adoring eyes of the 10-year-old sister who thought he could do no wrong. And he was so close to having her back - the world was just lonely otherwise.
On the other hand, Lena was… capricious. Emotional. There was always the chance that she would seek some foolish nobility if he pushed too hard, too fast. There was a chance that this moment - her recognizing the failure of humankind - would be pushed aside into some nonsense hope for the future. I can’t trust a tantrum, he mulled.
Lex sighed, reconsidering his plan. Perhaps she wasn’t ready. Perhaps it didn’t matter. Once he activated I Love Lexi, she would be forced to adore him. He would have the world under his spell - he’d have everything. It wouldn’t take long after to capture and kill the kryptonians, and then the world would finally know peace.
Then it would be on to the universe. Status quo only had to last a little longer. “Humans always adapt,” Lex said solemnly. “But so do you, Lena.”
Lena bit at her lip, turning angrily to her side.
“You hit a roadblock. How many times has that happened before in the lab, sis? Isn’t that what science is all about?”
“You saw how helpless Steve was,” Lena said, “Because of me-”
“Because of you,” Lex said, “Steve was able to know peace. For the first time in years. This isn’t the time to quit - you found the spark, you just need to sustain it.”
Lena bit back a frustrated sob.
“Sis,” Lex said, placing his hands on Lena’s shoulders, causing her to look back up at him. “I believe in you.”
Lena’s eyes darted between his as she took a moment to think. Lex could see the gears churning in her mind, how his ‘belief’ in her turned into belief of her own. So easy to manipulate, Lex thought, as she sighed. “Maybe if the ‘do no harm’ directive had a carveout for self defense,” Lena murmured, “Or helping others…”
Attagirl, Lex thought, nodding as he turned to leave. Betrayal was on the horizon, and he had work to do.
We have nothing left, Kara thought, as she crumbled on the couch.
The DEO was destroyed. Leviathan had kryptonite. There was no trace of Rama Khan to be found. Without Lena to build me a suit…
Kara buried her head in her hands, allowing frustrated tears to fall from her cheeks, fighting the panic that was bubbling within her. If there was no way to stop Leviathan, if there was no way to know what Lena and Lex were up to - where did that leave the world?
Kara fought her panicked breathing as she tried to figure out what was next. But the fact was, it was very simple. Without kryptonite shielding, she would die. And without her, the world would have little in the way capable of stopping Leviathan.
Giehrim ticked on, and maybe her planet would always be doomed.
It was a quiet morning in the lab - a cheerful one, even. The generator hummed behind her, newly improved after her pet project to build back her confidence. Feeling refreshed and optimistic again, Lena turned her mind back to Non Nocere, ideas fluttering as quickly as the dancing lights of the server and router racks.
I need to allow for uncertainty, Lena thought, mulling over her code. If humans feel that there are no available options where they can do no harm, they need the flexibility to choose something. Even if they may be wrong…
A chime to her side jolted her out of her daydreaming. Lena glanced up at the monitor, her brow quickly furrowing in confusion at the words that appeared there:
INITIALIZING I LOVE LEXI SEQUENCE
“Lex?” Lena said, surprise and worry highlighting her features as she input an override-
PERMISSION DENIED
Lex, what did you do?, Lena thought frantically, attempting to access her other servers.
“Hello, sis,” came a voice behind her. Lena pivoted around, seeing her brother - or a prerecorded video of him - on a larger monitor. “I hope you’re enjoying my surprise. I’ve decided it’s time to activate Non Nocere. For the betterment of humanity - under the Luthor name.”
“Betterment of humanity,” Lena echoed, watching the screen. Fuck-
“I suggest allowing the process to complete,” Lex’s recording continued cheerfully. “Shutting down the system could prove… explosive for your health. Or a kryptonian’s health, for that matter.”
He got a hold of kryptonite, Lena realized, with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
“Let me be clear. Should Non Nocere be interrupted, your lab will explode. You might be thinking something foolish like ‘ Oh Lex, my life is worth the sacrifice’, so you should also know that the explosion will bring down the entirety of LuthorCorp, killing every employee inside.”
“You bastard,” Lena growled.
“Welcome to the new world order,” Lex said with a wink, before the message went dead.
Lena’s chest was heaving with stress as she stared ahead, numbed. I’ve become a Luthor, she thought to herself, sickening realization washing over her. Lex is going to brainwash the world, because of me.
Lena turned back to her computer screen, watching process after process kick off, code compiling and servers reimaging. Ten minutes, she estimated. I have ten minutes to stop this.
Stopping a computer was simple, really. The lab had a physical override, cutting off all sources of power - including LuthorCorp’s power generators. But the lab would explode. A kryptonite bomb, from the sound of it, that even Supergirl wouldn’t be able to survive.
With a trembling hand, Lena pulled her phone out of her pocket, selecting a name she hadn’t called in months. After a moment, a tentative voice answered. “Hello?”
“Kara,” Lena said, her voice shaking. “I need you to evacuate LuthorCorp.”
“What’s going on, Lena?”
“Please,” Lena said. “You have ten minutes to get everyone outside. And don’t go to the basement lab.”
“Lena-”
Lena ended the call, leaving unspoken the goodbye and I love you that part of her wanted to speak. She walked a few paces to a nearby wall, and pulled down a fire alarm, causing a loud siren to sound.
She turned back to her computer, sitting silently as her eyes watched the clock, her fingers nowhere near the keyboard. Because while she could probably, eventually, find an error in Lex’s code that could stop the program, that would take time. Time she didn’t have. He’s been preparing this for months, she realized. If there was a weakness in his system, it’d take days or weeks to find.
Lena trembled quietly, praying that the rest of the building above her was evacuating with the fire alarm, that maybe Supergirl was on site to pull out people from the higher stories. The thought of killing the innocents above horrified her. But Lex was wrong. She’d trade the lives of thousands for the minds of billions. But with every moment that passed, hopefully the number would get smaller. I won’t be the Luthor that destroys the world, she thought. I won’t be the Luthor to kill a super.
Just a few more minutes, and she would walk over to the LuthorCorp lab server array, pulling down the latch that would kill Non Nocere for good.
And take her with it.
“I saw an explosion. A green explosion,” Nia had said worriedly. “My dream was vivid. It was kryptonite.”
Kara surged forward, scanning the building, listening to the sirens blare and watching as people fled down the firewalls, before she broke through the 12th story window. One by one, she greeted those who needed help the most - who did not have the ability, or the time, to race down the stairs - carrying each person to safety down the road, before turning back and entering the building again.
“There was a metal number pad on the wall, with a switch next to it. The switch flip caused the explosion,” Nia had said.
Kara swallowed harshly as she evacuated the building as fast as she could, targeting each heartbeat except the one she wanted most to pull out - the one beating steadily in the basement lab.
She wished J’onn were there to help - but with Nia’s vision that Brainy was in trouble, it made all the more sense for J’onn to go with Nia. After all, Kara could always fly away from an explosion.
And yet the universe ticked, and the giehrim along with it. Every star in the sky would someday go out. Every planet - whether by fire or ice - would someday die. Every choice she made was part of the dance. She knew that better than anyone.
Kara finally deposited the last person - except for the heartbeat she was told to stay away from - on the street, and there was no question in her mind what she would do next. Kara flew to the base of the building, to the side of the lab that was farther away from Lena, and burned away at the reinforced steel of the basement lab.
With shaking hands, Lena entered the code into the number pad, eyes darting between the time on the wall and the code running on the screens in front of her. There’s no more time, Lena thought to herself, praying that Kara made it out safe, along with everyone else.
Her hand reached for the switch, but she was distracted by clangs behind her, turning to notice the metal exterior walls of her lab melting away. No, Lena thought, feeling a knot in her stomach as her fears flared. Kara, please don’t-
Seconds past as the section of wall fell away, as Lena closed her eyes with the dust swirling around her. Turning back, she found Kara suddenly in front of her, the kryptonian looking over the panel on the wall in concern. “Kara,” Lena said, “You can’t-”
“What’s going on, Lena?” Kara said.
“There’s no time,” Lena begged, “You need to leave.”
“Kryptonite?” Kara said.
Lena swallowed harshly. “Please-”
Lena felt herself pulled into warm arms, gasping as the ground fell away from her feet, closing her eyes in a panic as she found herself flying through the LuthorCorp walls and into the blue skies.
Superspeed was a gift, and Kara landed almost immediately. Lena took a gasp of breath from her panic, opening her eyes to find herself on her own balcony at home as Kara set her down. “Let me do this,” Lena begged. “Please, this is my fault!”
Kara placed a hand to Lena’s cheek, causing Lena to freeze. The blonde tilted her head forward, pressing her forehead against Lena’s, and closing her eyes. “Khuhtiv giehrim osh zhehdiv giehrim,” she whispered.
“Kara, don’t-”
With a snap of fabric and a flash of red, Kara was gone.
Anyone who knew Kara’s heart would know - this was the only choice she could ever make.
A destiny she didn’t want, but circumstance was what it was… and maybe part of it felt like relief. The universe had already set all of this in motion. She just didn’t know what the ending would be until now.
When Kara left behind a sobbing Lena - briefly soaring through the skies, before finding her way back into the lab - she filtered away the sounds around her. She pushed away the sound of Lena’s words begging her to come back, the chatter of the chaos in the streets, the chirping of birds and the overhead passing of planes.
When she found her hand on the switch in the LuthorCorp lab, she closed her eyes, tuning into the single heartbeat of the one she didn’t want to leave behind.
In one smooth motion, she threw the switch down, and was lost in a torrent of green.