Family Name 3

“Ms. Luther a Mr. Winn Scott is here to see you.”Jess Lena’s assistant’s voice said coming over the speaker in Lena’s office. Lena quickly organized her desk putting away any important paperwork. Not that it would make a difference if Winn saw anything confidential. L-Corp was centuries behind The House of El it seemed and nothing they had was worth being stolen by Winn. If anything Lena suspected that Winn was likely going to be surprising her with whatever technology he brought with him to help her. Standing from her chair Lena smoothed down her skirt and adjusted her shirt. A quick check of her appearance in the mirror showed everything to be in place.

“Please send him in.”Lena replied through the intercom. When the door opened she was very surprised by the man who walked through the door. She had been told Winn was a member of the Super Friends but he didn’t look like the others. He looked to be in his early twenties with a very thin almost frail body, had thick rimmed glasses and his hair was as unkempt as his t-shirt and jeans. The only thing that could even link him to the superhero group was the Supergirl logo that was featured on his t-shirt. He definitely didn’t fit the description of hero in her mind.

“It’s nice to meet you Miss Luther.”Winn held out his hand for Lena.

Lena quickly pulled herself together and shook the hand. She was once again surprised by how weak Winn’s grip was.”It’s nice to meet you as well Mr. Scott but please call me Lena.

“You can call me Winn. I hate being called Mr. Scott.”Winn said.

“Winn it is. I’m not sure exactly what you are going to do but I set up a desk for you over there to work from.”Lena pointed to the desk she had moved to her office early that morning.

“If it’s cool with you do mind if I use the couch?”Winn asked.

“Of course. Do you need me to get you a lap top to work from?”Lena had expected Winn to bring his own but it appeared he hadn’t.

“Nope I’m all set.”Winn pulled a silver box out of his pocket and sat on the couch.

Lena watch in awe as the box turned into a very futurist computer.”What is that?”

“It’s a computer Kara designed after I complained about having to lug around three laptops just to do my regular work.”Winn told her.

“Kara made that because you complained?”Lena asked.

“Kara is very caring. After I joined the Super Friends she found out that I’m a big gamer and for my birthday she remodeled one of the rooms in the tower and put in a state of the art arcade. She even made a game with me as the main character that solves puzzles and mysteries.”Winn had cried when Kara had shown him the arcade. It was the first birthday present he had ever received.

“That is very nice of her.”Lena knew that Kara was kind but didn’t expect her to go to such extremes.

“Kara is the best.”Winn said.

“What’s your role in the Super Friends?”Lena had researched Winn the night before but had come up with nothing about him related to the Super Friends.

“Honestly I don’t really have a role. I just help with whatever computer related tasks they need.”Winn told her.

“So you are an expert on computers?”Lena figured he had to be if he worked for the Super Friends.

Winn shook his head.”No I just took some IT classes in college and Kara has taught a bunch of stuff but I’m no expert.”

“Then how did you get a role on the team?”Lena didn’t understand if Winn wasn’t an expert why Kara would hire him.

“I was homeless and heard that there was a bar that would give you free food and drink no questions asked. After confirming that to be true I became a regular at Amnesty. I used to spend all my time there and even slept on the booths once and while. I didn’t know it at the time but Kara told the employees to allow me to stay as long as I wanted and not bother me if I was sleeping. This went on for about two months when one day Kara asked if she could join me for dinner. I was hesitant at first because you know she’s freakin Kara Zor-El but she was very kind to me and spoke to me like I was an equal.”Winn had remembered how scared he was that Kara was going to kick him out when she sat down with him.

“I would have been intimidated as well.”Lena had been intimated the night before in Kara’s office.

“Anyway from then on Kara would join me for meals or just to hang out. At one point she asked me what I wanted to do with my life and I told her I wanted to help people and make the world better. She asked me if I would like a job working for her. I thought she would hire me to work at the bar or be a janitor but she offered me a job as a member of the Super Friends. She said that I could do any job I wanted and she would support me. I said that I would like to work with computers so she paid for me to go to college and gave me a rent free apartment in her building and an allowance every week to cover anything I wanted. Once I finished college she had me working with team giving me lessons on anything I asked her about.”Winn would be forever grateful that Kara gave him a chance. He had never understood why she had but was very thankful.

“That’s incredible.”Lena was very impressed with the lengths that Kara went to help a person in need.

“That’s how all the Super Friends came together. Kara basically adopted all of us. Even Alex begged to join. Her parents weren’t really happy about the decision as they wanted her to follow in their footsteps but she wanted to make a difference and Kara was more than happy to give her the opportunity.”Winn figured that’s why Kara wanted to help Lena. She was in the same positions as the rest of the Super Friends had been at one time.

“It seems Kara really is a savior isn’t she?”Lena wasn’t sure what to think about what Winn had just told her. She had always thought of Kara has a champion of the people but hadn’t really thought of the individuals she helped. It was somewhat humbling that Kara thought she was worthy enough to give a chance to.

“She really is.”Winn agreed.

“What kind of capabilities does that computer have?”Lena asked.

“It can basically do anything. It’s linked up to a secure server and can access any data base on earth. I’m not completely sure but it may be able to access other planets as well. Kara was kind of vague when I asked her about it.”Winn told her.

“Seriously?”Lena wasn’t sure she believed that.

Winn nodded."This is low tech compared to what Kara set up in the Tower. I wouldn’t be surprised if her home was more advanced than that.”

“Have you ever been in her home?”Lena wondered if she could get an invitation to visit the Tower. She was very curious to see what kind of technology they had there.

“No one but Alex has ever been in her home. She is a very private person.”After getting to know Kara better Winn had understood why he hadn’t been invited.

“I’ve come to realize that as there is no information about her origin and no one knows what planet she is from.”Lena instantly noticed the way Winn looked away from her.”You know where she is from don’t you?”

“I do but I can’t tell you that.”Winn wasn’t a good liar but he would never reveal Kara’s secrets.

“She must trust you a lot to tell you that.”Lena had been sure that even Kara’s adopted family didn’t know where she was from.

“She really does.”Winn was proud of the fact that he was a part of Kara’s inner circle.

Lena hoped that one day she would be trusted as much as Winn. To do that she needed to get rid of the left over people from Lex and Lionel’s scheme.”When I spoke to Kara she mentioned that you had a legal way to access all the employee emails. I thought we could start there and see if we can find any mention of what Lex and Lionel were doing. I figured if they were working at the company at the time they would have sent an email about it at one point.”

“That’s a good idea.”Winn put a metal disk on his temple and focused on the computer.

“What are you doing?”Lena asked.

Winn turned his attention to Lena.”The computer works though mental commands. So I just have to think about what I want it to do and it does it.”

“Wait what?”Lena was sure she didn’t hear Winn correctly.”It’s works through brain waves.”

Winn nodded.”It’s modeled after Kara’s people’s technology. They controlled most things this way.”

“Amazing.”Lena couldn’t begin to imagine all the applications such a thing could be used for.

“Anyway I’ll start looking through the emails. I don’t know how long it will take though.”Winn told her.

“Thank you for taking the time to do this.”Lena knew she wouldn’t be able to do this on her own.

“It’s no problem.”Winn waved off her thanks.

“Let me know if you need anything.”Lena said as she made her way back to her desk. Winn had given her a lot to think about. Especially what other technology Kara had access to. It seemed the stuff at the bar was low tech compared to the other things that Kara had. If Winn was right and the computer he had was nothing like the stuff they had the Tower than Lena wasn’t sure what kind of help she could be to any project Kara wanted to work on with her. Lena and L-Corp really had nothing to offer Kara. They were the only ones benefiting from the deal. It made Lena wonder again why Kara was giving her this chance. If what Kara said was true and Lena believed her then Lena hadn’t even done a proper job at getting rid of the people that were responsible for enslaving aliens. It showed how incompetent Lena was at being in charge of the company and made her worry about how she was going to lead going forward. Her office door opening pulled Lena out of her spiraling thoughts.

“Hey guys. How’s it going?”Sam asked as she entered the room. She had wanted to be there when Winn showed up but had been held up.

“Hello Sam.”Lena greeted.”Let me introduce you to Winn.”

Sam quickly schooled her face when looking at Winn. She had same thought as when Lena had first seen him. He definitely didn’t look like he belonged in the Super Friends.”Hi I’m Sam the CFO of L-Corp.”

“I’m Winn part of the Super Friends.”Winn said.

“It’s nice to meet you Winn and thank you for coming to help us.”Sam wondered what role Winn had in the Super Friends and was going to ask Lena about it later.

“It’s no problem.”Winn once again waved off the thanks and went back to his work.

“What brings you by?”Lena asked Sam.

Sam taking the hint that Winn was done talking took a seat in one of the chairs across from Lena’s desk.” I wanted to check in and see if there is anything I could do to help.”

“Winn’s covering the emails right now and I was going to go over the patents that were linked to the aliens that were kidnapped to see if anyone who is credited with the inventions still work here.”Lena figured that would be a good place to look.

“That’s a good idea. I thought I would look through the accounts and see who placed orders for certain supplies linked to those projects. We didn’t really focus on any other departments except for the ones that worked directly with the aliens so I wanted to branch out and see if we can link anyone else.”Sam told her.

“I hadn’t even thought about that.”Lena hadn’t seen any mention of other departments being involved in the events in the reports she received from the investigators. That was just more proof that Kara was right and there was a large cover up going on in the company.

“I hadn’t either because like you I trusted the investigators but when I went home last night I got to thinking about what Kara said about the investigators helping the people involved and it made me think if the investigators are corrupt any one else could be as well. I mean how stupid are the pair of us that we didn’t think twice when the reports came back saying that they found no one else involved in what Lex and Lionel were doing. It would be almost impossible for everyone in the company to be innocent.”Sam was very embarrassed that she and Lena were so naive.

“I know. I am kicking myself for being so trusting. After speaking to Kara I have been going over a lot of things that have happened since the arrests and it makes me sick to my stomach thinking of everything I have overlooked. I mean if I can’t even see something so obvious what right do I have to be CEO?”Lena had been seriously considering stepping down.

“You can’t give up. Think about what would happen if you stepped down? Everything would go to Lillian and do you honestly think she would prevent what happened with Lex and Lionel from happening again?”Sam sure as hell didn’t.

“She would probably make that her first move if she took charge.”Lena’s step mother would happily exploit aliens. She had no respect for them.

“That’s what you need to remind yourself of every time you think of stepping down. You’ve always wanted to make a difference in the world and this is your chance. I mean even Supergirl believes in you. What better endorsement can you get than that?”Sam asked.

“Not to interrupt but she does believe in you. She said last night that you were trustworthy and she had faith that you would right the wrongs that your family did.”Winn told her.

“See right there is proof. Supergirl has got your back. If she thinks you can do it then you can definitely do it.”Sam told her.

“It’s hard to argue against that.”Lena was flattered that Kara had so much faith in her. It made her feel special that she had the backing of such a powerful being and having that backing gave her the strength she needed to push forward because Sam was right if Supergirl thought she would be good at her job than Lena knew she could be as well.

“You really can’t.”Sam was happy it seemed that Lena was seeing that she could do the job.

“To prove that faith was put in the right person I need to rid the company of the filth that was left over from Lionel and Lex’s leadership. That means I need to get to work and so do you.”Lena told her.

“I’m honestly dreading seeing the results of this investigation.”Sam said.

“I am to but it needs to be done.”Lena wasn’t looking forward to seeing how many of her employees were untrustworthy.

“It’s just to bad we can’t trust anyone else to help us with this.”Sam knew that the only ones who could be trusted to do the job was her, Lena and anyone Kara lent them.

“I don’t think I would even if I had the choice.”Lena wasn’t going to let anyone sabotage the investigation. Too much was riding on it being done properly.

Sam stood from her seat.“I’m going to be working out of my office but let me know if you need my help on anything.”

“I will.”Lena knew that she would most likely be reaching out to Sam before the day was done.

“It was nice to meet you Winn.”Sam said.

Winn looked up from the screen and smiled.”Nice to meet you too.”

“Maybe we can all meet up for lunch.”Lena suggested.

“Have Jess set it up with my assistant.”Sam told her.

“I will.”Lena figured lunch was a good time to check in with everyone to see what they had found. Watching Sam walk out of the room Lena held back a sigh. Yesterday when they were making their plan to talk to Kara they had only hoped that Kara would be nice enough to help them get some aliens to work with them. Lena never expected it would lead to her spear heading an investigation that would likely result in her firing a large amount of her employees. Not that her company really couldn’t afford to do that. The only reason Lena even agreed to do it was because it was not only the right thing to do but Kara had offered to work on a project with her. Having Kara’s name attached to L-Corp would bring them a lot of respect. Respect being something that the Luthers did not have. It brought Lena great pleasure knowing that the very thing her family hated was the only way to save their family legacy. Once everything was said and done Lena was going to make sure her father and brother knew that Supergirl was the one to save the company. Lena wasn’t usually petty but after all they had done she felt that she was justified in kicking the pair while they were down.