#so I had this idea of an Old Guard meets Highwomen Supercorp AU

[grimmsen10]

Lena Luthor died on a Tuesday.

In all respects it was a day like any other. The frosted glass alarm clock on her bedside table trilled at precisely 5:01 AM as programmed. Lena abhorred waking at such an awful early hour and so the extra minute of sleep felt to her like a small rebellion each morning. By 5:46 AM, she had showered and completed her daily ablutions, a series of tasks perfected for expediency in the years since taking over L. Corp.

By 6:54 AM, she was stepping into the lobby of L. Corp. It would take her exactly six minutes to cross the expansive entryway, ride the elevator up to the top floor, stride past her assistant, and be seated behind her high glass-topped desk to begin her workday by precisely 7:00 AM. Lena was a bit obsessive about timekeeping and maintaining an accurate schedule. After all, she had not taken her family’s company from the brink of ruin, through a rebranding and cross-country move, managing to rebuild as the world’s foremost developer of humanitarian technology by running behind on tasks.

When her assistant Jess, one of the few people Lena knew not the least bit intimidated by her, brought in her morning coffee (black, one sugar), Lena allowed herself an allotted moment to breathe in the heady aroma. After this quick moment of respite, she got to work reviewing documents for her 9:00 AM meeting with Wayne Technology to discuss funding for a new project.

Lena had spent the better part of years perfecting plans for a prototype solar ranch that, if she could get approval to implement in the six-hundred acres of desert outside of National City, could power nearly two-thirds of the continental United States. Project Helios had been Lena’s pet project when she had just been a scientist down in the labs still believing her family was working for good. That had been before her brother Lex’s illegal weapons development and involvement in testing for chemical warfare had been brought to light.

The ensuing scandal five years ago had dragged a then twenty-year-old Lena into the glaring spotlight. She had previously managed to avoid the consequences of the Luthor name by keeping to herself and pursuing her own clean energy and medical research. Then suddenly she was being told that Luthor Corp was her responsibility as Lex was going to prison to serve multiple life sentences and their mother, Lillian, had quickly fallen off the grid.

Her first order of business had been to move Luthor Corp headquarters from Metropolis to National City and rename it L. Corp – getting as much literal and metaphorical distance from her brother’s dealings as she could. Of course, many on the board, already unhappy with such a young female CEO now in charge were vehemently opposed to all her changes. It had been like beating her head against a wall those first couple of years. Now, here she was, about to embark on an historic partnership that could begin to move the needle, finally, in the right direction on global warming. In Lena’s mind, the last five years of political battle would be more than worth it as soon as the contract was formally signed, and she could move forward with earnest.

Jess notified her at exactly 8:05 AM that her car had arrived to take her the thirty-five minutes across the city to Wayne Tech headquarters. She quickly gathered her paperwork and was walking out her office door five minutes later.

At exactly 8:16 AM, on an average Tuesday morning in the bustling technology center of National City, Lena exited the L. Corp building, greeting her driver politely as he held the door open to her waiting town car. Somewhere in the forty-six second walk from lobby to curb, a sniper atop the Lord Industries building directly opposite lined up a shot and pulled the trigger. 

Lena Luthor died at exactly 8:17 AM on that average Tuesday morning.

The funeral was held, to surprisingly little fanfare early the following Saturday. A private service was planned by Jessica Huang, longtime assistant and as close to a friend as Lena had after Lex’s destruction of the family name. In attendance were a few of the scientists Lena had worked with in the labs, her close personal staff, and a crew for the local news, reporting on the assassination of “the only good” Luthor. Her body then lay in wait for a private burial to be held Sunday morning. Jess had hoped that by postponing the internment for another day, perhaps Lena’s mother might make an appearance. After all, Lena had once admitted after a particularly stressful day early on to a hope that Lillian would return, and even somehow be proud of her. 

Lillian did not attend.                                                                 

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At exactly 11:42 PM on Saturday night, Lena Luthor awoke with a splitting headache to what sounded like bickering somewhere nearby. Wherever she was, it was dark and while surprisingly lush, clearly confined. When her eyes refused to adjust wholly to the blackness around her, she reached out, her hand impacting something silken covered, but solid above her. The arguing quieted at the noise and before she could gather any of her bearings, the lid of her casket was lifted. 

For a moment she was blinded until her pupils began to adjust, revealing startling blue eyes set in a face haloed by golden waves like an angel to Lena’s addled brain. 

The angel smiled, then spoke softly. “Hi! I bet you have a few questions, huh?”

From behind her angel, Lena heard a snort followed by a mumbled, “Gee Kara, ya think?”