#lena captured

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Astracorp AU - S2 Finale Thoughts

Lena has a soft spot for Rhea's story-- a revenant of a dying people, having lost their home planet, trying to find a new place to settle and begin rebuilding. I imagine Astra and Kara are both distracted by something other problem happening, but idk what.

Rhea and Lena meeting and working together would play out largely as it did in canon, but with maybe a Rhea manipulating Lena into keeping their collaboration secret from everyone. She slowly isolates Lena, with Astra and Kara being so distracted that they don't really notice. At least until they trace a mysterious signal back to where Lena and Rhea are doing their testing on the transmat portal.

To say Lena is confused during the eventual confrontation in the lab is an understatement. She has no idea who Rhea is in relation to Krypton, and honestly neither does Kara, but Astra does. Her rage flashes in a second, but Rhea's too quick. By the time Astra surges forward, even with her superspeed, Rhea transports back to her stateship with Lena and Mon-el in tow.

Lena awakens horrified to find herself a captive of Rhea as National City burns. Astra and Kara work together (with Lillian's help, which-- Astra vs Lillian is a can of worms all its own) to get onto the daxamite ship. Despite her relative impotence being about the same as it was on the show, I imagine that this Lena would be fucking *pissed*. This time, she has no doubt that she'll be rescued-- her lover is kryptonian, as is her best friend. They *will* come for her.

So I think she'll be far less docile, and actually aggressive in her resistance. Refusing to get dressed, 'fuck you', physically fighting back when they try to force her. Not necessarily in a particularly graceful or proficient way, just like a "kick you in the nuts way". Until Rhea loses patience and just drugs her.

Wait-- is it actually show canon that daxamite royalty used to drug their people into docility? Or is it fanon? I legitimately cannot remember. We'll just pretend its canon until confirmed.

Anyway, Lena gets herself drugged into compliance, and by the time Astra and Kara get to her, she's plenty loopy. Conscious and aware, but barely able to stand on her own without two guards holding her up on either side.

That's how Lena is dragged into the throne room as proof of life-- propped up and dragged between two massive armed guard, wrists in manacles. Rhea runs her fingers through Lena's hair, her touch gently until her hand suddenly tightens and twists in Lena's locks. Lena responds with a grunt of protest as Rhea wrenches her head back, lifting her features so Astra and Kara can confirm for themselves that she yet lives.

Despite her incapacitation, Lena manages to snarl her displeasure, even when Rhea thrusts her away by the chin.

"It's such a shame it's come to this," Rhea says. "I've so reveled our time together."

"Release her now," Astra demands.

Rhea smirks. "On the contrary." She smiles lasciviously. "I think I'll keep her."

Astra charges her, but Rhea pulls out a chunk of kryptonite. It could be silver, which would cause Astra to turn on Kara a la canon, but after some research I think amber kryptonite may also work? Which steals a kryptonian's power and gives it to whoever is holding the kryptonite.

If we go with the silver kryptonite, it would largely play out like canon, super v super style. But the amber kryptonite.... ooooooooh... Astra is de-powered and weakened, even sickly, leaving Kara with a difficult choice-- save Lena, or get Astra out of there.

She chooses Astra, because she deduces correctly that Lena has a better chance of survival if left in Rhea's hands, whereas leaving Astra there would be an instant death sentence. Not that Astra would care. She'll rant and rave against the choice, maybe even pull out the dreaded D-word ("I have never been disappointed in you, until now").

Back on the daxamite ship, we may get more of how canon played out, with the wedding to Mon-el and all, but in between those scenes, I think Rhea and Lena's interactions would be a little different solely because Rhea can now act on the jealousy she feels knowing that Lena is in love with her enemy. Do with that what you will.

In the end, Astra and Kara do get Kara back, probably with continued assistance from Lillian. But on her way out, Lena will most definitely steal the amber kryptonite, and return Astra's powers to her. Lena would stay focused on repelling the invasion, and won't actually process what happened until after the lead dispersal device succeeds in driving them away.

Only then will she pull into herself, rebuffing all attempts from Astra and Kara to reconnect. Her guilt is all-encompassing, let alone the trauma of being used as a political prisoner. She tries to deal with it all on her own, but without the support of those who love her, or a fucking therapist, Lena does not handle it well.

Astra and Kara are left standing helplessly on the outside, watching as the woman they love (romantically and platonically, respectively) slowly spirals into darkness.

[inkedberries]

i've been thinking about an 86 au set (vaguely) in the late 18th century. Giad and the Republic of San Magnolia are at war and Shin is a Giad soldier that was captured by San Magnolia. They try to pry information out of the infamous Undertaker that would get them an advantage over Giad but he manages to escape before they decide to just kill him off.

Lena is the only daughter of a highly decorated Alban commanding officer. Upon her father's death, she uses the fortune he left her to establish a shelter which house children orphaned by the war. To her mother's dismay, Lena breaks off the engagement her mother has set for her and moves to care for her children away from the city's prying eyes.

Shin and Lena cross paths while Lena is foraging for berries, nuts and shrooms with her children when one of them spots Shin near a riverbank, barely alive and wounded. Lena decides to bring him back to her shelter to care for him.

then romance ensues

[perioddramasource]

ROMOLA GARAI as Cassandra in I Capture the Castle (2013)

[daily-tma]

Daily TMA 145 (TMAGP) - Vintage Lena

[waytooinvested]

Sometimes I see a Kara/Lena gif and I get so caught up in the overwhelming Supercorp-i-ness of it that I forget for a moment that I live in a world where they are not canon, and expect them to kiss... And then the gif loops.

[yuechicake]

and i know that it sounds crazy/ i just wanna see you, oh, i gotta ask/ do you got plans tonight?

(commissioned from solla)

[evilhorse]

I would have been here sooner, but I needed to stop at home for a spare cape.

(Superman #12)

[katiemcgrathultimate]

Katie McGrath | Lena Luthor Supergirl 2.22 - "Nevertheless, She Persisted"

(Screen Captures)

[polarisbear]

i feel ill. bro who is not built to feel emotions about minecraft

[missluthorwillseeyounow]

Did a recolor of this old drawing. Which one do you think is better?

‘Caption this’ challenge. Because I exhausted all creativity just making this.

(Probably takes place during Lena’s ‘villain’ era.)

[aidenwaites]

I watched Annihilation finally!! And honestly for the most part really liked it!!

[olenaart]

'Healing Hands: A Vintage Fresco.' This is modern fresco features stylized handprints and intricate spiral patterns against a textured, crackled background. https://lena-owens.pixels.com/featured/healing-hands-a-vintage-fresco-olena-art.html The earthy, warm tones and rustic feel give a primitive or tribal aesthetic. Creating this piece allowed me to explore the unique process of painting on freshly lime-washed walls, capturing the essence of ancient fresco styles. Stay tuned for more details on this vintage, symbolic artwork, available in prints only! #Art #Fresco #HealingHands @FineArtAmerica @fineArtamerica2 @Shoppixels @Shoppixels #VintageArt #Fresco #AncientSymbols #HandprintArt #SpiralPatterns #RusticArt #TribalAesthetic #EarthTones #VintageFresco #AncientArt #PrimitiveArt #HandprintFresco #SpiralArt #VintageHandprints #RusticFresco

[natalievoncatte]

Alex had been watching the man across the room for a while. If she’d been into men, he might have been her type- a little lanky and bearded, kind of a hipster air, one of those people who was born on the east coast and came west to fit in.

As she approached the bar she said, “You must be Alex.”

“Must I?”

He offered a genial hand to shake. “Jack Spheer. Lena invited me.”

Alex gave him a shake. “Oh, I know who you are. Lena and Kara both mentioned you a few times. Lena’s ex, right?”

He favored her with a dashing smile and saluted her with his drink. “Guilty.”

Alex turned and looked at Lena, seated across the bar at a table by herself, looking exhausted and overstimulated as she turned a drink between her hands and glanced furtively at Kara and Nia, who were animatedly playing Mortal Kombat on one of the barcade’s old game cabinets.

“Did she invite you?”

“Oh yes,” he said. “Can I swear you to secrecy?”

“Sure, why not.”

“She told me she feels a bit fifth-wheelish at these gatherings of yours.”

“That’s silly,” said Alex. “She’s sort of become the heart of our little band. She’s everybody’s little sister.”

“Nah, that’s Nia.”

Jack looked over at Lena and Kara. Nia lost the match and threw up her hands, and Brainy sauntered over. Nia put her arm about his waist and they fell into each other. Kara’s laugh looked a little strained, a little pained, as she turned to let the couple have their moment.

Kara was in fact staring at Lena now, leaning against a column and nursing a beer that lacked the potency to get her drunk unless she spiked it with the alien liquor in a flask in her purse, but Alex was sure she hadn’t touched it.

The only singles in the group tonight were Lena and Kara, and Alex remembered how Kara’s expression darkened when Lena mentioned he’d be joining them tonight to close out this new place they’d all be eager to visit.

“So are you two…” Alex said.

“No,” Jack laughed. Used to be, back in Metropolis. It ran its course.”

Alex turned and signaled the bartender to bring her and Jack another round.

“So you’re not thinking about making a move?”

Jack swirled his new drink and looked over at Lena, then down at the booze spinning in his hand.

“Thinking about it? Who wouldn’t. She’s gorgeous, you know. Obviously she has those model looks but it’s more than that, it’s deeper. She has the most soulful eyes of any woman I’ve ever met. You’d drown in them and never regret it. She’s a genius, she’s kind and driven. I’ve never met someone who’s so enthusiastic about kindness for the sake of kindness. She throws herself into goodness with such desperation.”

“Wow,” said Alex. “You have a way with words. You really must have deep feelings for her.”

“I do. I won’t say I love her as a sister, that’d be lie. I love her as someone who wants her highest happiness.”

“A girl would be lucky to have someone who sees her like that.”

“You would know,” said Jack. “Your Kelly introduced herself a while ago and had the same sort of high praise for you. By talking to your partner, you’d think you were Supergirl.”

Alex snorted. She glanced over at Lena and saw her still moping prettily, sighing into her drink with her cheek resting against her palm.

“She looks down,” said Alex.

“Unrequited love. Or so she thinks.”

Alex blinked. “What?”

“Don’t you see it?”

“I can’t say I do.”

“She’s in love. I know because she never really looked at me like that.”

“Like wha-“ Alex began.

Lena was looking at Kara, and suddenly Alex saw it. Lena practically radiated yearning, those big soulful eyes of hers so sad that Alex thought sappy music might start playing from nowhere. There was a deep need in that look. Every time Lena looked at Kara, she seemed afraid it was her last chance and she might never see her again.

“I dare say she’s quite in love with your sister.”

Now that Alex saw it she couldn’t unsee it. More than that, pieces began snapping together in her brain- how Lena had gone to absurd lengths to capture the attention of this klutzy, ditzy reporter that had come tumbling into her organized, minimalist, breakfast in California and dinner in Tokyo lifestyle, bringing friendship and a found family and all her bizarre quirks.

The billion dollar CatCo acquisition. The flowers. The look of pure relief in Lena’s eyes when Kara let her back into her life, let her come home.

“Jesus, you’re right.”

Alex took a long drink, then went completely still.

“Or so she thinks,” he’d said.

“Shit, they look like they’re in middle school. Every time Kara looks, Lena looks away.”

“And vice-versa,” said Jack.

Alex sighed. “Great. Just great.”

She suddenly realized that Kara was looking at them, now, and her eyes were wide, a look of unbridled shock on her face.

Goddamn Kara and her goddam bullshit super hearing.

Kara had locked eyes with Jack, and he looked back just as intently.

Then it happened.

Alex knew a bro nod when she saw one. Kara nodded back, pulled the flask from her pocket and took a nip for courage, grimacing as it went down, then turned, head down, and headed straight for Lena.

“Go get her, Supergirl,” Jack said softly.

“I’ll drink to that,” Alex said, offering Jack a toast.

[adeadlysong]

Maria stared at Lena with pleading eyes. "please ask for more time. Pleaseeeeeeee...." Oh come on, we haven't even gotten tot he good stuff yet! If they leave now, we'll lose the opportunity for Lord Sukumara to confess his feelings to her at some point!

DeRosa groaned softly as he looked up at Lena.

"Ah. You. Hi." He cleared his throat after realizing how hoarse he soudned, tilting his neck from side to side before answering. "Yes, I'm aware that i'm away from Luxendarc. I'm still in Melodia, right?"

"Yes."Maria answered, before handing DeRosa a glass of water. "But why the heck were you in the clutches of evil dragon people?'

"There was this kid that scouted me out and brought me all the way here!" DeRosa shook his head, a groan leaving him. "She said that there was this lady named DeRogna who was impressed by my research prowess and said she needed help on a research project about dragons."

Luciano frowned. "Did you just say a research project on dragons...?"

"Yeah!" DeRosa looked toward him, nodding. "Look, I don't know if you heard, but I'm kind-of at risk for losing my job at Al-Khampis right now. Any excuse to find new work that suited my skills was welcomed, so I figured I'd go meet DeRogna and see exactly what she wanted." He then frowned, shaking his head. "Turns out that was a total scam - she and her mooks immediately overpowered me and captured me. Don't know how long I've been held captive, either - I didn't have a way to count the time because of all the drugs they pumped into me."

"They've drugged you before?" Loreley noted, frowning, before handing DeRosa a glass of water. "Did you try to escape...?"

"Of course. Wasn't successful." DeRosa swallowed the contents of the glass, to his relief. "I have no idea whether that one kid was working with them or absolutely oblivious that her mission to escort me here was a lie."

"What happened to the child?" Rafaele frowned.

"Can't tell. That was when I got stuck fighting for my own life before getting captured. However," DeRosa's nose wrinkled as he looked between everyone, "She had pretty powerful illusion magic. Carried a teddy bear that she called her 'friend.' Kept muttering things about contracts under her breath, too. She seemed...familiar, from the training game I went through before..." A little chuckle left him as he eyed Loreley. "I'd like to hope you're not an illusion, beautiful. That would be a shame."

"Ah." Loreley glanced toward him, then Rafaele. "I think I get what you mean by him being a flirt, now."

[ Lena Patches Up Sukumara ]

[damienns]

My GIF Making process: Screen capturing using MPV player, Organizing files, 3 Sharpening settings, Basic Coloring PSD + Actions set

This is a very long post so heads up.

I’ll try to be as thorough and true as much as possible to the way I make my gifs (I already use Photoshop Actions which I’ve long since set up but now for this tutorial I’m reviewing them to show you the exact steps I’ve learned to create my gifs 😃) and present them to you in a semi-coherent way. Also, please bear with me since English is my second language.

First things first. Below are the things and tools we need to do this:

Downloaded 4K or 1080p quality videos (let’s all assume we know where to get these—especially for high definition movies and tv series—so this post doesn’t get removed, okay? 😛)

Adobe Photoshop CC or the CS versions can work as well, but full disclosure I haven’t created gifs using the CS versions since 2020. I’m currently using Adobe Photoshop 2024.

mpv player. Use mpv player to get those frames/screenshots or any other video player that has a screen grabber feature. I’ve used adapter for the longest time but I’ve switched to mpv because the press to screenshot feature while the video is playing has been a game changer not to mention ultimate time saver for me. For adapter you need to play it in another video player (like VLC player), to get the start and end timestamps of the scene you want to gif which takes me ages before I can even open Photoshop.

Anyway! Please stop reading this post for a moment and head over to this amazing tutorial by kylos. She perfectly tells you how to install and use mpv player, both for Mac and Windows users.

One thing I have to share though, I had a tough time when I updated my MacOS to Sonoma since MPV is suddenly either duplicating frames or when I delete the duplicates the player seems to be skipping frames :/ I searched and found a solution here, though it didn’t work for me lol. My workaround for this in the meantime is decreasing the speed down to 0.70 then start screenshotting—it’s not the same pre Sonoma update but it works so I’ll have to accept it rather than have jumpy looking gifs.

Now, after this part of kylos’ tutorial:

you can continue reading the following sections of my gif tutorial below.

I want to share this little tip (sorry, this will only cater to Mac users) that I hope will be helpful for organizing the screenshots that MPV saved to the folder you have selected. Because believe me you don’t want to go through 1k+ of screenshots to select just 42-50 frames for your gif.

The Control + Command + N shortcut

This shortcut allows you to create a new folder from files you have pre-selected. As you can see below I have already created a couple of folders, and inside each folder I have selected screenshots that I want to include in one single gif. It's up to you how you want to divide yours, assuming you intend to create and post a Tumblr gifset rather than just one gif.

Another tip is making use of tags. Most of, if not all the time, I make supercorp gifs so I tag blue for Kara and red (or green) for Lena—just being ridiculously on brand and all that.

Before we finally open Photoshop, there's one more thing I want to say—I know, please bear with me for the third? fourth? time 😅

It's helpful to organize everything into their respective folders so you know the total number of items/frames you have. This way, you can add or delete excess or unnecessary shots before uploading them in Photoshop.

For example below there are 80 screenshots of Kara inside this folder and for a 1:1 (540 x 540 px) Tumblr gif, Photoshop can just work around with 42-50 max number of frames with color adjustments applied before it exceeds the 10 MB file size limit of Tumblr.

Sometimes I skip this step because it can be exhausting (haha) and include everything so I can decide visually which frames to keep later on. You'll understand what I mean later on. But it's important to keep the Tumblr 10 MB file size limit in mind. Fewer frames, or just the right amount of frames, is better.

So, with the screenshot organization out of the way, let's finally head over to Photoshop.

Giffing in Photoshop, yay!

Let’s begin by navigating to File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack…

The Load Layers window will appear. Click the Browse button next.

Find your chosen screenshots folder, press Command + A to select all files from that folder then click Open. Then click OK.

After importing and stacking your files, Photoshop should display the following view:

By the way, I'll be providing the clip I've used in this tutorial so if want to use them to follow along be my guest :)

If you haven't already opened your Timeline panel, navigate to Windows > Timeline.

Now, let's focus on the Timeline panel for the next couple of steps.

Click Create Video Timeline, then you’ll have this:

Now click the menu icon on the top right corner then go to Convert Frames > Make Frames from Clips

Still working on the Timeline panel, click the bottom left icon this time—the icon with the three tiny boxes—to Convert to Frame Animation

Select Make Frames From Layers from the top right corner menu button.

So now you have this:

Go and click the top right menu icon again to Select All Frames

Then click the small dropdown icon to set another value for Frame Delay. Select Other…

The best for me and for most is 0.05 but you can always play around and see what you think works for you.

Click the top right menu icon again to Reverse Frames.

I think Photoshop has long since fixed this issue but usually the first animation frame is empty so I just delete it but now going through all these steps there seems to be none of that but anyways, the delete icon is the last one among the line of feature buttons at the bottom part of the Timeline panel.

Yay, now we can have our first proper GIF preview of a thirsty Lena 😜

Press spacebar to watch your gif play for the very first time! After an hour and half of selecting and cutting off screenshots! 😛 Play it some more. No really, I’m serious. I do this so even as early (lol) as this part in the gif making process, I can see which frames I can/should delete to be within the 10 MB file size limit. You can also do it at the end of course 🙂

Now, let’s go to the next important steps of this tutorial post which I’ve numbered below.

Crop and resize to meet Tumblr's required dimensions. The width value should be either 540px, 268px, or 177px.

Convert the gif to a Smart Object for sharpening.

Apply lighting and basic color adjustments before the heavy coloring. I will be sharing the base adjustments layers I use for my gifs 😃.

1. Crop and Resize

Click on the Crop tool (shortcut: the C key)

I like my GIFs big so I always set this to 1:1 ratio if the scene allows it. Press the Enter key after selecting the area of the frame that you want to keep.

Side note: If you find that after cropping, you want to adjust the image to the left or another direction, simply unselect the Delete Cropped Pixels option. This way, you will still have the whole frame area available to crop again as needed and as you prefer.

Now we need to resize our gif and the shortcut for that is Command + Opt + I. Type in 540 as the width measurement, then the height will automatically change to follow the ratio you’ve set while cropping.

540 x 540 px for 1:1

540 x 405 px for 4:3

540 x 304 px for 16:9

For the Resample value I prefer Bilinear—but you can always select the other options to see what you like best.

Click OK. Then Command + 0 and Command + - to properly view the those 540 pixels.

Now we get to the exciting part :) the sharpen settings!

2. Sharpen

First we need to have all these layers “compressed” intro a single smart object from which we can apply filters to.

Select this little button on the the bottom left corner of the Timeline panel.

Select > All Layers

Then go to Filter > Convert for Smart Filters

Just click OK when a pop-up shows up.

Now you should have this view on the Layers panel:

Now I have 3 sharpen settings to share but I’ll have download links to the Action packs at the end of this long ass tutorial so if you want to skip ahead, feel free to do so.

Sharpen v1

Go to Filter > Sharpen > Smart Sharpen…

Below are my settings. I don’t adjust anything under Shadows/Highlights.

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.4

Click OK then do another Smart Sharpen but this time with the below adjustments.

Amount: 12

Radius: 10.0

As you can see Lena’s beautiful eyes are “popping out” now with these filters applied. Click OK.

Now we need to Convert to Frame Animation. Follow the steps below.

Click on the menu icon at the top right corner of the Timeline panel, then click Convert Frames > Flatten Frames into Clips

Then Convert Frames > Convert to Frame Animation

One more click to Make Frames From Layers

Delete the first frame then Select All then Set Frame Delay to 0.05

and there you have it! Play your GIF and make sure it’s just around 42-50 frames. This is the time to select and delete.

To preview and save your GIF go to File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)…

Below are my Export settings. Make sure to have the file size around 9.2 MB to 9.4 MB max and not exactly 10 MB.

This time I got away with 55 frames but this is because I haven’t applied lighting and color adjustments yet and not to mention the smart sharpen settings aren't to heavy so let’s take that into consideration.

Sharpen v1 preview:

Sharpen v2

Go back to this part of the tutorial and apply the v2 settings.

Smart Sharpen 1:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.3

Smart Sharpen 2:

Amount: 20

Radius: 0.5

We’re adding a new type of Filter which is Reduce Noise (Filter > Noise > Reduce Noise...) with the below settings.

Then one last Smart Sharpen:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.3

Your Layers panel should look like this:

Then do the Convert to Frames Animation section again and see below preview.

Sharpen v2 preview:

Sharpen v3:

Smart Sharpen 1:

Amount: 500

Radius: 0.4

Smart Sharpen 2:

Amount: 12

Radius: 10.0

Reduce Noise:

Strength: 5

Preserve Details: 50%

Reduce Color Noise: 0%

Sharpen Details: 50%

Sharpen v3 preview:

And here they are next to each other with coloring applied:

v1

v2

v3

Congratulations, you've made it to the end of the post 😂

As promised, here is the download link to all the files I used in this tutorial which include:

supercorp 2.05 Crossfire clip

3 PSD files with sharpen settings and basic coloring PSD

Actions set

As always, if you're feeling generous here's my Ko-fi link :) Thank you guys and I hope this tutorial will help you and make you love gif making.

P.S. In the next post I'll be sharing more references I found helpful especially with coloring. I just have to search and gather them all.

-Jill

[fazedlight]

Sand

This isn’t real, she thought, as she dug her toes into the cozy sun-warmed sand.

She kissed me this morning.

Kara gazed ahead, watching as the beach waves crashed on shore, warm and sunny against the backdrop of her planet’s destruction. Out across the waters, she could see the great horror of her past: Krypton as it died, damned in fire, debris floating across the expanse of space.

This isn’t real, Kara thought, listening to the grainy sound of sand as she moved her feet to pull her legs to her chest, placing her chin on her knees in quiet contemplation. She wondered if she would see the Danvers home if she turned around, or if that would be another expanse of sand and ocean and Krypton’s death.

She kissed me this morning.

Kara smiled at the thought. Lena had been working in the Tower lab; Kara had brought her doughnuts and espresso. Just like any other morning, they had cozied up on the couch together, laughing and talking.

But unlike any other morning, an odd sort of silence eventually fell between them. Flickering gazes, shy blushes, a tension that they couldn’t tell was real.

And then Lena leaned forward, and kissed her.

She kissed me this morning, Kara thought, eyes glancing ahead to Krypton, I’m sure of it. I think I’m sure of it. I’m…

Kara sighed, lying down on the beach, stretching as she stared up into the blue skies mixing with the fires on the horizon. She kissed me, Kara tried to convince herself, and then the Tower alarm went off right after, and Alex said I needed to get downtown to fight a threat. But she kissed me. I know she did…

“Would you like some company?” came a familiar voice.

Kara grinned. “I’d love that.”

She didn’t watch as her best friend took a seat on the sands beside her. Lena sighed, looking out on the horizon at the destruction ahead, seeming both curious and understanding. “This isn’t your world, Kara,” she said.

“I know.”

“You’re trapped in a black mercy.”

“I know.”

Lena reached down to brush some sand off her feet, frowning in curiosity. “I thought the plant shows you paradise. This doesn’t look like paradise to me.”

Kara hummed. “Maybe it doesn’t know what to do if reality is paradise enough.”

For a moment, Lena stayed quiet, mulling what to say in response. “If you know this place isn’t real, then why haven’t you woken up yet?”

“Because I’m not sure if reality is real.”

“What do you mean?”

Kara could feel the patter of her heart in her chest. “Did anything unusual happen this morning?” she asked.

There was a shy laugh in response. “It was real, Kara,” Lena murmured, “And if you wake up, I’d like to do it again.”

She kissed me this morning.

Kara smiled, breathing in the smell of sea salt in the breeze, eyes still trained on the bizarre images in the sky. “Okay,” she said.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Lena reaching for her ear, no doubt tapping at a device Brainy had provided. Watching as the figure faded away, Kara closed her eyes, feeling as the world began to morph around her, as though she were weightless and falling and flying all at once.

She finally opened her eyes, noting several figures hovering over her as her eyes adjusted to the harsh Tower light. “Welcome back, Kara,” Brainy said, as she felt the black mercy slither off her chest, “You gave us quite the scare.”

The crew began to shuffle around again. Brainy headed back toward a different monitor, Alex gave her sister’s arm a welcoming squeeze before chasing after J’onn, Nia carried the container with the captured black mercy into a back room.

Lena watched Kara intently.

“Was it real?” Kara whispered.

Lena smiled, and leaned forward - pressing her lips to Kara’s.

She kissed me this morning, Kara thought, and now I can kiss her back.

----------

For @ekingston's flash fiction challenge Prompts: fluff & hallucination & post-apocalyptic & sand