Chapter Text
Lena groaned slightly, straightening out her back after staring at her computer screen for what seemed like hours. Glancing outside, she was slightly surprised to see it was dark. It appears she really had been looking at her computer for hours. But, she was almost done with her work for the day, so she’d stay here until she finished it.
She had just turned her attention back to the screen when there was a soft thud as something impacted with the ground of her balcony, followed by the sound of the glass door sliding open.
“Supergirl, please leave before I call security,” Lena said without turning, keeping her eyes focused on her screen.
“Um, I’m not Supergirl,” said a masculie voice. “Please don’t call security.”
Lena whirled around, suddenly on guard as she came to face the stranger who had intruded into her office. He had pale skin and dark windswept hair, wearing well made clothes and glasses which obscured his eyes. He had his hands held up in front of him, an imploring look upon his face.
Lena stood from her desk.
“Who are you?” she asked cautiously. Someone who can appear on the balcony of one of the highest levels of a skyscraper is likely to be powerful enough to kill her in seconds if she wasn’t careful.
“I’m Conner,” he introduced himself with the flash of a grin before his face became serious. “Look, I need your help. I’ve been teleported here - either from the future, or an alternate reality - or maybe a combination of both? I’m not sure. But I need to get back home, and I have to keep my presence here as down-low as possible.”
“Why have you asked for my help? Why not Supergirl and her friends?” Lena asked.
“I- listen, I’m not sure how similar things are here, but given how I still can’t determine if this is a time travel or universe hopping thing, I’m betting the details basically match up. Supergirl works for the DEO right?”
Lena nods, not looking away from the young man. There was something about his face that was familiar, although she couldn’t quite place it. Yet.
Conner diverts his eyes for a moment. “If I go to Supergirl, then she’s sure to take me to the DEO. I-I can’t do that.” He looks back to Lena. “At the very least, they’ll want to record everything, with paperwork and stuff.”
“Right, and you want to avoid that.”
Conner nods his head. “Yeah, at least until I’ve figured out if-”
“This is an alternate universe or not,” finished Lena.
“Yeah. If it’s an alternate universe, then it doesn’t matter. If this is the past? Of my universe? The less impact I make, the better.”
“I’ve heard of some dealings with time travel. There isn’t usually this kind of secrecy.”
Conner frowns slightly. “Yeah, well, those people are idiots. And have clearly never watched Back to the Future.”
“This still doesn’t tell me why you’ve come to me.”
“I - well - I kinda know you? Sorta. Depends on how you view it. But I know that you’re a brilliant scientist, and are likely my best bet at getting back home safely.”
Lena leveled her gaze at Conner. “Just because I’m a brilliant scientist doesn’t mean that I’ll help you.”
Conner stared back, unflinching. “I also know that you’re kind. And you go out of your way to help others.” He paused. “I was kinda hoping maybe you’d show me some of that kindness?”
Lena blinked, suddenly feeling off balance. She asked the only thing she could think of. “How’d you get on my balcony?”
“Oh,” he said with a shrug. “I flew. I’m a Kryptonian.”
Lena stared for a moment, trying to process things. This man - this boy, really, he looked barely 20 years old - had come to her for help. He was a Kryptonian, coming to her, a Luthor , for help. He said that he sort of knew her, and appeared to trust her? Lena decided that, no matter what he thought, there was no way that he was still in his original universe. She swallowed.
“I can run some tests, compare some of your cells to cells from this universe to determine if you did, indeed, ‘universe hop’.”
He smiled, his whole body seeming to relax. “So you’ll help me?”
Lena hesitated a moment. “Yes, I’ll help you.”
“Great! Hey, I don’t suppose you have any place I could stay?”
Conner whistles as he follows Lena into her penthouse, glancing around. “This is a nice place. Very sleek. Polished. Sharp, even.” He spins on the spot, hands in his pockets. “Do you have a spare room? Or am I taking the couch?”
“I have a spare room, but it’s not made up yet,” Lena replies, as she sets her work things down on the kitchen bench.
“That’s fine, where’s the linen cupboard?”
“Uh, just down the hallway, before the bed-” Lena stops as Conner suddenly whooshes away.
A moment later he’s back, hands still in his pockets.
“Done!” He smiles, then frowns, “although, I just realised I don’t have anything to sleep in, or a toothbrush or anything.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have anything. I suppose we’ll have to go out and buy some things tomorrow.”
Conner shrugs. “That’s alright. I’m sure my Kryptonian teeth will survive one night without me brushing them.”
There is a moment of silence, Lena unsure what to say. “Do you want anything? A nightcap perhaps? Or-?”
“A nightcap would be fabulous! Brandy, if you’ve got it.”
Lena turns to the cupboard reaching for glasses, then pauses, squinting at Connor. “How old are you, exactly?”
Conner put a hand to his chest, an exaggerated look of offence on his face. “Why, have you never heard it’s rude to ask someone their age?”
Lena raised an eyebrow.
“I’m 23, so a perfectly legal age to be drinking alcohol. Not that it’ll do anything to me anyways.”
Lena looked up from where she had started to pour the brandy. “Why do you want any then?”
“I like the taste!”
Lena refrained from pouring a second glass. “I’m not sure I should waste this expensive bottle on you for that.”
“Aw, come on! You’re the one who offered the nightcap.”
“And you are the one who asked for brandy,” Lena countered, before pouring him the drink.
After handing the drink to Conner and taking her own, Lena led them over to the couch. Once they had settled, she took a sip then turned to look at the Kryptonian.
“Do you know how you got here?”
Conner shrugged, taking his own sip of brandy. “I don’t remember much. I’d been out on a recon mission, and I was chasing some goons in a sewer of all places. They had some alien tech hidden down there. I guess I fell for a trap, or triggered some tech accidentally, cause there was a sudden flash of bright light and a rushing of energy, and boom! Here I am.”
“What kind of alien tech?’
“Various. Lots of aliens have left stuff on Earth for a while now, and it’s all gotten mixed up, and mixed together. Whatever sent me here could literally be from anywhere.”
“Would you recognise the device if you saw it again?”
Conner shook his head. “The place was full of stuff, I’m not sure which piece could’ve done it, or if I even saw the thing.”
Lena remained silent for a moment, thinking. “Where did you appear when you got here? The same place?”
“Yeah, although the sewer is more of a water way here.”
“Could you take me there? Maybe there’s something there that can help us.”
“Sure, although I didn’t see any physical evidence.” Conner sat for a moment with his drink. “Although we should be careful. If there is energy reading there, chances are the DEO detected something when I came through.”
Lena nodded. “You’re probably right. Give me the address, and I’ll see if the DEO’s detected anything. If they haven’t, we’ll go there tomorrow.”
“After getting me some clothes?”
Lena smiled slightly, “after getting you some clothes.”
“Thank Rao, I don’t think I could stand to wear these for much longer - they still smell like sewer water!”