Chapter 49

                                    

                                          
"You know why you're not welcome here." The lizard man hisses. 
                          
The entire bar has stopped and is watching this happen. Lena's posture straightens and she stares impassively up at the tall man. 
                          
"I would guess it's Lex. But he's dead. And as you can see, I am not him." Lena replies calmly. 
                          
Lena can feel Kara practically vibrating with the urge to butt in and push the humanoid lizard away from her. Lena subtly reaches out and squeezes her hand before letting go, trying to communicate to Kara that she should Lena deal with it. If Kara jumps in and defends her immediately, they'll see Lena as weak, as someone who needs someone else to step in to protect them. 
                          
Yes, the lizard guy is much too close for her liking. So close that she can smell his awful breath. But she needs to do this. 
                          
"You may not be Lex, but you are a Luthor. Leave now." He growls out. 
                          
Lena shifts her weight to one leg and raises one unimpressed eyebrow in her signature move. "So you're telling me that because of where I come from, I'm not welcome here. That sounds exactly like what Lex and my mother believe."
                          
"Don't turn this around on me, Luthor! You could've stopped him if you were truly as good as you clearly believe you are."
                          
Lena's chin juts out and her lip twitching into a brief scowl is the only indication that she really wants to punch him. 
                          
"You don't know me. You don't know what I've been through, you don't know what I've done." She says, her voice sharp and deadly. The lizard man nearly flinches at the tone. "And if it matters so much to you, then yes I'll tell you that I tried to stop him. Because I did. I begged him to stop, to see reason. He was too far gone. I tried to sabotage his devices, and my own brother punched me in the face when he found out."
                          
"Leave," the lizard man demands again. 
                          
"No," Lena says sternly. "I lost my brother while he was still alive. Hearing that he was killed was a relief. A relief. He was dead long before he was killed. And now, I am trying to bring my Kingdom to the new age of acceptance, which you would know if you read any newspaper reporting on my Kingdom. So don't you compare me to my brother."
                          
The lizard man wavers. "Trust is earned, Luthor. And you haven't earned ours."
                          
"I can understand that." Lena says, her voice a lot calmer. "But I'll never be able to earn your trust if you never give me the chance to."
                          
Some other alien stalks over, seeming furious that the humanoid lizard is hesitating. He has a spiky Mohawk that looks like it's made up of porcupine-like quills. His eyes are a glowing purple, which Lena guesses is a sign of anger in his species. 
                          
"He killed my sister!" The man shouts, pointing at her. 
                          
"And I'm sorry for that, but I'm not him. Yelling at me, that does nothing. It won't bring your sister back." Lena says. 
                          
He doesn't seem convinced like the lizard man was and takes a threatening step forward. Lena can practically feel the others bristle by her side. To her surprise, it's Maggie who jumps in first. She pushes him squarely in the chest, causing him to stumble back a couple of steps in surprise. 
                          
"She's with us. Back off." Maggie says, Alex by her side. 
                          
"Sir Alex?" The guy asks in disbelief. "Why are you defending her?"
                          
"She's here to help. Lena came here for peace between our Kingdoms and to assist in taking down Cadmus. Plus, Kara trusts her. I trust Kara." Alex explains, her arms crossed defensively.