#lena hyena | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thornedrose44 · 6 months

Note

Hi! You're one of my favorite supercorp writers and I want you to know I am practically vibrating at the thought of a jumanji au. Sign me the fuck up! But also, the seemingly immortal life of Lena Luthor has me incredibly curious. I would be thrilled to see more on either (or both if you're feeling generous) hope you're having a lovely day!

That's very sweet, thank you.

I've covered The (Seemingly) Immortal Life of Lena Luthor in this post.

For the Jumanji one, I know the general consensus would be that Kara goes into the jungle because it is reminscent of the Phantom Zone and her coming back all physically capable... however... In my (completely irrelevant) opinion what makes the original Jumanji film so good and takes it to a higher level (other than the excellent cast) is the father/son relationship which is the heart of it all. And the problem with Kara being Alan is that the only relationship I can give that much depth to is Kara and Alex, and I can't do the two sisters hating each other and then separating, so... Lena's relationship with Lillian takes centre stage and Lena is destined for the jungle.

I wrote a plan for this fic years ago and the intention would be like twenty chapters long, and I've written nearly all of the first chapter but lost all steam.

Anyway heres like the majority of the first chapter:

Chapter 1: And So It Begins...

"Do we have to do this every day, Mike? Aren't you bored yet?" Lena asked with a heavy sigh, pulling her bag up so it was more secure on her back in the vain hope that it might stay there just this once.

"Bored?" Mike repeated with a harsh laugh, that his mindless entourage mimicked like a pack of insipid hyenas. "Putting you in your place is the highlight of my day and more importantly a god damn civil service. Someone needs to give the Luthors their just desserts." Mike called out, stepping into Lena's space and towering over her to keep her cornered outside the school.

Lena's head merely dropped and she felt a weary acceptance wash over her. She'd given up fighting back months ago, instead she let herself be shoved into the brick wall, making her head bang and leaving her feeling dazed for the next couple of hours whilst her bag was forcibly wrenched off her back and violently opened. Her papers and school books clattering heavily to the ground and the wind scattering the loose pages across the dark asphalt.

Grubby hands reached out, ripping pages from the book she was reading. Feet crunched and kicked pens and pencils, snapping them cleanly in half.

"No, please…" Lena begged before she could stop herself as Mike dug through her bag and pulled out the small portable chess set that she'd hidden at the bottom in the hope that it would go unnoticed.

The second Lena made her plea, Mike's entire expression brightened upon having finally found something that provoked a reaction after months of sullen quiet during his torment.

Mike sneered at her, "I think I'll keep a hold of this."

Lena's eyes stung with tears that she tried desperately to keep from falling. She couldn't help thinking it would be better for him to destroy it, to throw it underfoot and stamp on it. At least that way, Lena could scoop up the pieces and try to repair it in secret in the garage as she had taken to doing with all her belongings after Mike had gotten his hands on them.

"No!" Lena yelled in anguish, jumping forward and making to snatch the chess set back from Mike who held it aloft and out of reach, giving a back hand across her face when she took to thwacking him with clenched fists in the futile hope of making him give up his prize.

Mike's blow knocked her to the ground, splitting her lip and grazing her knees and palms. Lena glowered up at him, the fight going out of her as Mike's pack crowded round to push her back down if she tried to go after Mike again.

Mike bent forward, leaning down into Lena's face, the chess set behind his back securely out of reach. He sneered down at her as he muttered darkly, "Stay away from my girlfriend, Luthor."

Mike stood back up, kicking an errant science book off to the side and ruining the pages. He clapped his hands together, readying his pathetic gang to move out.

Even at the young, tumultuous age of thirteen Lena had a stubborn streak that would normally take decades to cultivate to such a degree. Many people who knew the Luthors would say this particular trait was genetic and that it had distilled strongest into the youngest Luthor. People who knew Lena, however, would know Lena worked hard at being stubborn all on her own, and reaped the benefits.

"Last time I checked she wasn't your girlfriend." Lena snarled back to Mike's turned back because… well, she just couldn't help herself... especially when it came to Kara Danvers.

Mike's head spun round, his gaze sharp and predatory, his pride wounded by the comment which had drawn a couple of quick, unguarded chuckles from his followers.

"You're going to pay for that." Mike revealed through gritted teeth.

Lena fleetingly thought to herself, it was definitely worth it.

"Lena, are you okay?"

"No worse than usual." Lena replied with a small shrug, trying to sound older and more confident than her years and diminutive posture, as she perched on the stool next to John's workstation in the Luthor Corp labs.

"Oh, Lena…" John sighed sadly, shifting from his stool to go and grab the nearby first aid kit, returning with it and quickly opening it to pull out the disinfectant wipes which he tenderly used to clean away the blood from her split lip. "Let me guess, fell down in the playground again?" His tone knowing, though there was the barest hint of hope that she would share the truth this time.

"Something like that…" Lena grunted despondently, keeping her eyes on the spotless tiles, whilst she fiddled with the nearby pieces of wiring laid out nearby.

"Careful with that." John admonished, and Lena's hands dropped forlornly to her sides. "Your mother should be here any minute, I was just about to show her my latest idea." Lena huffed a breath to acknowledge his words but didn't say anything in response. "I'm hoping to get her buy in for it, I think it might be rather revolutionary." John revealed, nudging Lena with his elbow and trying to inspire a smile or a bit of cheeriness.

John Jones had worked for Luthor Corp for as long as Lena had been alive. He had stuck by the company through her father's embezzling and crooked deals and he had stayed even after her brother was convicted for four life sentences. He had seen three Luthor Corp CEOs (Lionel, Lex and Lillian) and he always nudged Lena good naturedly to say he was pretty sure the fourth one would be his favourite.

It was John's love of science and the freedom Luthor Corp gave him to experiment and tweak with his various bits of machinery that had kept him around (that and his fondness for the young girl who would sit by him and ask advanced questions regarding his work, absorbing his words like a sponge).

"Suit yourself…" John muttered, patting the young girl on the back as he went to return the first aid kit to its designated spot, leaving Lena to wallow in her pity party.

Mike had always been a douche (at least in Lena's humble opinion). He was tall and athletic for his age (fourteen, he was in the grade above Lena) without trading any of his boyish charm that made teachers and adults alike turn a blind eye to his more cruel indulgences. He'd always looked down on Lena, the quiet, pale girl with a nose always in a book, her fingers never too far from a chess piece and her tongue always ready with a quick and cutting remark that had put the boy in his place more times than he cared to (or could) count.

For most of her life, his disdain for her had only been notable in how he ignored her and scoffed at her every other word. What had kept him in check for all that time and now, during normal school hours, was Kara Danvers.

Kara had been Lena's best friend since the first day of kindergarten. The little blonde girl had plonked herself down next to Lena during playtime and stared at her, mouth agape without uttering a word. Newly adopted Kara Danvers was a bit of an oddity at the school, the loss of her parents rendering her mute. She hadn't spoken to anyone since the Danvers had taken her in.

Little Lena hadn't questioned Kara's sudden appearance next to her, she merely nodded and smiled at her before returning to her book. Time passed and Kara slowly shuffled closer, Lena not reacting like the other kids did with taunts and jibes, just letting the other little girl get closer and closer, peering over her shoulder to read her book. Without missing a beat, Lena started to read out loud to her. She read to her during every break and playtime without complaint whilst Kara listened to her and stared at her in wonder.

One playtime, Kara came over with a book tucked under her arm and she held it out shyly for Lena. Lena accepted it and read it to Kara like she had all the others. From then on, Kara would bring a different book each day and Lena would read it. The two of them in their own little world separate to the other children.

Eventually, Kara murmured a quiet 'thank you' (ironically this rendered Lena speechless and unable to respond). By the end of the year, Kara had switched from mute to a rambling, unstoppable chatterbox but only to Lena, who happily listened to the babbling and openly encouraged it.

The two were inseparable from that year onwards, growing up with one another and becoming closer and closer as they did so.

Lena remained shy and timid, hiding herself away with all the scandals her father and brother destroyed their family name with, and learning to protect herself with cutting remarks. Her and Kara switched roles as time went on. Lena, once the darling child of the town's most prominent employer and family, became the social outcast and the child of disreputable scoundrels.

Whereas Kara, once awkward and mute with a propensity for panic attacks, blossomed as she grew older. Her straw hair turning golden, shooting up in height and strength, her smile becoming well-known for being dazzling and heartwarming to all passerbys.

Mike had made his infatuation blatantly obvious over the last couple of years. Kara put up with his attempts to charm her with good humour but she always politely declined his suggestions to go and see a movie together, regularly claiming that she already had plans with Lena. That's what really made Mike set his sights on Lena as his target, thinking he could make Lena put some distance between herself and her best friend if it meant stopping the bullying. Lex's sentencing gave Mike the cover he needed to get the support of the other kids to target her and make the adults turn a blind eye.

The one thing Mike was smart enough to never do was to go after Lena in front of either Kara or Alex (who had more or less taken Lena on as her other little sister), knowing the hell that they would unleash on him in response. He also knew Lena would never tell anyone, the embarrassment of not being able to defend herself was what stopped her from trying to fight back and was what prevented her from asking for help.

Lena shook her head trying to clear the haze clouding her mind as she thought through what had gotten her into her current sorry state. Whilst her mind had wondered, so also had her fingers which had reached out to fiddle, yet again, with the wiring laid out on the top, her forefinger wrapping a green piece of wire around it.

"Mrs Luthor, thank you for coming down." John's excited voice boomed out across the laboratory.

Immediately, Lena jerked in surprise, her limbs moving instinctively back to her sides resulting in her pulling the green wire free from its housing with a clear 'snap'.

"Crap." Lena muttered under her breath twisting round on her stool, intent on trying to quickly repair what had been broken without anyone noticing.

"It's always a pleasure, John." Her mother replied politely, though there was that rare hint of warmth that revealed a particular fondness for her employee. "What is it that's got you so desperate to get me down here?"

"It's easier if I show you," John replied with a light chuckle, "it's right over here. Lena's keeping watch over it for me."

Lena knew she had mere seconds. There were two potential connection points for the green wire that she had pulled free. She had a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right. Lena muttered a minor prayer and clicked the wire into the position on the left and spun back around in time for her mother to come into view, John by her side.

"Lena, darling, what happened?" Lillian immediately asked, her powerful stride switching to what could only be considered an undignified jog the second she saw the split lip and the bruise already forming under her daughter's right eye.

Lena's jaw tensed and she focused on keeping a firm mask in place that gave nothing away. Lillian was at her side, and Lena watched with mild frustration as her mother reached out a comforting hand but stopped short. Her hand falling instead back to her side. Lena pushed down the familiar pang of pain at that.

Lillian hadn't hugged or touched her since the revelations of her favourite child's crimes.

Lena knew she didn't match up.

That she would never reach the impressive heights Lex had reached in either of her parents' eyes but it still hurt knowing she just wasn't good enough.

"Lena?" Lillian prompted, her voice turning stern and demanding as Lena worked herself into a sullen silence. "Have you been getting into fights?" Lillian demanded, causing Lena's fists to clench by her sides whilst John squirmed uncomfortably in the background. "Did you hurt someone?"

Lena's simmering anger boiled over at that.

Lillian always assumed Lena was in the wrong. The first day Lena brought home a ripped up book, courtesy of Mike's bullying, and tried to hide it behind her back, Lillian presumed she had done the damage during a temper tantrum (something Lena wouldn't willingly admit had become a regular occurrence following the damage caused by her family).

Lena was sick of being the one to blame. Of not being good enough.

"No! Do you even bloody hear yourself?" Lena yelled with a dismissive snarl, jumping to her feet and pushing roughly past her mother (Lena refused to acknowledge how that passing blow was the first physical contact they'd shared in the last six months).

"Lena!" Lillian rebuked as Lena snatched her back-pack up and hurried out of the room, pausing to turn sharply back around. "Get back here now!"

"So you can what? Pretend to be my mother for five minutes?" Lena scoffed, her mother had barely been there over the last year and whenever she did make an effort, Lena pushed back which meant Lillian pushed back harder. Every attempt to bridge the distance between them ended in them inevitably moving further apart.

Lillian's lips pursed together tightly and Lena knew she was about to be ordered back to her side, and Lena… couldn't bear the idea of sitting awkwardly in Lillian's company, trying to desperately avoid telling Lillian the truth.

That she was weak.

That she wasn't anywhere near as strong, or likeable or perfect as Lex.

She couldn't bear to not be enough yet again.

So Lena decided to make Lillian feel it instead. She decided to make it hurt.

"Pretend to actually love me?" Lena shot back before Lillian had a chance to speak.

Lillian's expression morphed instantly, the sternness vanishing to be replaced by dull shock. Lena knew she was crossing a line with her next words, but they were already on the tip of her tongue and she'd never had particularly good impulse control.

"As if you know how to love anything." Lena spat out, the words tasting as venomous as she knew they were. Lillian's face fell incrementally, and Lena hated how it didn't satisfy the hollow ache in her chest that had been there, steadily expanding over the last couple of years. "Everyone knows you don't have a heart."

Lena spun on her heel and sprinted away, unable to bring herself to watch the impact of her words.

xxx

Midvale was a relatively small town considering it was a home to a nationwide technology company. The majority of the town worked at either Luthor Corp head office or in the Research and Development department. Those not working at Luthor Corp worked to keep the town going and provide the everyday necessities.

It was a beautiful town overall. The prosperity provided by Luthor Corp kept everyone in good wealth and health. It was the kind of town where you felt comfortable letting your children disappear on their bikes for endless hours in the summer. Midvale was surrounded by trees on all sides, with a river winding around it and through it in many places, making it more or less a fairytale location.

Lena loved her hometown.

Though she now received slightly suspicious glares from her neighbours when she used to receive warm smiles, there was never any overt hostility (Mike and his posse being the exception). For the most part people would still yell a happy greeting when they saw her and ask how she was doing, however those conversations were nowhere near as long or as sincere as they would be if she was either Kara or Mike.

Lena was stomping home after her not-quite a fight with her mother. The clouds were turning a dark grey, looking ominous and heavy with rainfall. It was the frustration of thinking her day was literally about to take a cinematic turn and start raining on her that made Lena rationalise another poor decision, because… by this point… what else could really go wrong?

There was a construction site on the corner of the street and Lena needed to be on the road running parallel to the one she was on. Not keen to walk to the end of the street and turn there, Lena decided to cut the corner and head through the cleared area. The construction crew had already headed home for the day so Lena didn't fear getting caught.

Not much noticeable progress had been made so far on the new restaurant that was going to occupy this prime piece of real estate. The derelict store that had previously been there had been knocked down and the foundations for the new build were being laid leaving Lena a clear cut-through.

She was halfway through the site when she heard it.

Ba-dum…

The drum beats reverberated impossibly around the open space, thrumming through Lena's mind and calling out to something deep and primal within her. Immediately her feet stopped moving and she turned slowly around seeking out the source of the drum beats. Off the path to her right was a significant hole and Lena found herself inextricably moving towards it, sliding down the dusty sides into the basin.

Ba-dum… Ba-dum… Ba-dum…

The drumbeats were closer together, their intensity increasing with every step taken by Lena. Lena's fingers were digging into the dirt before she'd fully realised what she was doing. With little effort large clumps of earth fell away in-sync with the pounding rhythm of the drums.

A dark, varnished wooden box slowly became visible and Lena felt a shudder of excitement flood through her as it came into view.

Ba-dumBa-dumBa-dum

The intensity reached a new fever pitch as Lena reached out to grab the box. The second her fingers curled around the box's sides, the drums cut out leaving a deafening silence.

Lena's heart was racing and adrenaline was coursing through her system. A sudden squeak from the direction of the chain link fence surrounding the site had Lena bolting from the area as fast as her legs could carry her.

The box tucked safely under her arm.

xxx

Lena carefully applied the heated glue to the book’s spine, steady fingers ensuring her Physics textbook cover was in the perfect position before pressing down firmly. The Physics textbook was the last item to undergo her meticulous repairs on her workbench in the garage. Her calculator's screen was cracked but she had managed to get it working again with only minimal finagling of the electronics.

She had finished just in time as she heard the front door of the Luthor mansion closed with an echoing boom, the heavy door always loud regardless of the force used, announcing the arrival of her mother. Lena immediately swept her repaired belongings into her back-pack and pulled a heavy cloth over her workbench, hiding away all evidence of her embarrassing repairs. She hurried to the garage door that led into the house, yanking it open and rushing through it only to collide with her mother’s looming form.

“Lena.” Lillian greeted, taking a hasty step backwards, out of her daughter’s space; the surprise at Lena’s sudden appearance disappearing behind a more familiar scowl.

“Mother.” Lena shot back coldly, blocking the garage door with her body which only made Lillian’s piercing gaze narrow all the more.

“What were you doing in there?”

“Nothing.” Lena replied far too quickly to pull off the casualness wished to convey.

“Nothing?” Lillian repeated unconvinced, “Lena-”

“Just homework!” Lena snapped loudly, heart pumping frantically in her chest at the mere thought of having to admit to the shame of repairing her belongings after her daily bullying - she didn’t know if her dwindling self-confidence could take another reminder of how she was so much less than her brother.

Lillian’s jaw clenched and Lena could see her mother weighing up whether to push the issue or not. After the longest handful of seconds in Lena’s life, her mother finally sighed and shook her head wearily, clearly deciding Lena’s lies weren’t worth her time, a thought which greatly undercut Lena’s relief.

“Fine.” Lillian muttered in beleaguered acceptance, before gesturing with an elegant wave of her hand towards the depths of the house. “Dinner is ready; Pauline finished preparing it and left it on the table before heading home.”

“Okay.” Lena breathed, eyes downcast towards the floor waiting impatiently to be dismissed.

“I have to attend a gala tonight,” Lillian revealed softly - Lena would almost have described it as apologetic if she didn’t know her mother better, “so I won’t be joining you.”

“What a surprise…” Lena grumbled, derisively rolling her eyes.

Lillian tapped the sharp point of her heel frustratedly at Lena’s tone, “We need to have a serious conversation about your attitude.”

“Uh huh…” Lena hummed sarcastically, lifting her chin to defiantly stare her mother down, “that would require you to deign to spend more than five minutes in my presence.”

Lillian sighed heavily, rubbing her temple with long, somewhat shaky fingers, “Lena, it’s… I…”

“Whatever.” Lena scoffed, turning on her heel and marching away from her mother for the second time that day.

#supercorp

19 notes · View notes