New to town with a brand-new name, in the shining city, chasing fortune and fame, Lena Luthor tried her best to smile and wave to the cameras. Holding her head painfully high as she did her best to look pretty, the one good Luthor had her mind set on one goal and one goal only: clearing her family name. She was just as ambitious as the rest of her family, but while their dreams had led them to destruction, she was dead set on hers leading them to salvation. She had not been in National City for long, but already every eye was turned on her. Not that she was surprised, of course. She was a Luthor, after all. And a Luthor was always the talk of every town (even if that talk was usually more negative than positive). So Lena was quite used to all the stares and whispers.

Oh well. No matter. She refused to let any of them get under her skin. And the few that did manage to slither into her mind were promptly discarded or, at the very least, ignored. It wasn't about anything or anyone except herself and her ambitions. Even if the rest of the world doubted her, she knew her intentions were pure. As such, that devotion became her foundation, both internally and externally. She knew how to stand proud and tall in the face of adversity. Those skills were being put to good use now that she was playing the New Girl in Town, taking over her evil brother's company and trying to start anew. It was why she had chosen National City, of all places. It was her hope that here, she could begin again. This was a new town and a new name, a clean slate and a fresh start.

And the camera flashes made it look like a dream. Whether they sensationalized her as a Lady Lex Luthor ("Lexy Luthor" was probably the name she hated most), or some tragic victim and martyr struggling to escape a bad family situation in search of a better life, it was always something. Something for the hungry masses to gobble up and spit back out as they wished. They didn't seem to understand how uncomfortable their speculation made her feel. But then again, when had it ever been about what Lena felt? Her emotions had always been immaterial. Even now, although her goal of clearing her family name seemed noble, there was a level of pragmaticism about it. How could she expect to go through life safely unless she did her best to clean up the family mess? If she could achieve that goal, it would make things much easier on her.

And she'd had it figured out since she was in school. Even as a youngster at some fancy, private, boarding institution, she had been driven and cunning enough to know what she wanted and what she needed to do in order to get it. That much had never changed for her. Everybody loved pretty, everybody loved cool. So overnight, she became a tragic queen. Playing the role of a hardworking CEO and combining it with a tragic but earnest and hopeful mask, Lena started the first chapter of her story in National City. It was the same way her brother or mother might've acted if they had been in her place. All the Luthors knew how to win over a crowd. It was genetic. And in fact, Lena could even see it in her mind's eye: the day her father first created his company. Back then, it had been called LuthorCorp. And when it took its first breath of life, another name went up in lights like diamonds in the sky. Now LuthorCorp was seeing a rebirth. A new town, a new name: L-Corp.

And they'd tell her now, she was the lucky one.

"You're lucky you're so rich! I wish I had that much money!"

"You're lucky you have a company! You'll never have to worry about going out of a job!"

"You're lucky you have so much power and prestige! You can get, or do, just about anything you want!"

"You're lucky you're not in jail like the rest of your family. I don't know what your secret is, but it won't work forever…"

"It's just dumb luck you haven't been arrested yet!"

"It's just dumb luck you're still seen as innocent."

"I bet the family name and money bought you a Get Out of Jail Free card, huh?"

"How long before your luck runs out, hmmm?"

But was she really the lucky one?

Now it's big black cars, and Riviera views. And the people in the foyer do not truly know you. And your secrets end up splashed on the news front page… Lena tossed the newspaper aside. Another day, another name, another speculation, another story. Truth and lies combined to create tales of intrigue that were half-baked, poorly-written and mostly sensationalized. Even the few grains of truth in the stories earned Lena's ire, to say nothing of all the made up portions.

And they tell you that you're lucky. But you're so confused. 'Cause you don't feel pretty. You just feel used. Lena really would never know how or why people could care so much about her personal life. Even if they distrusted her that much that they had nothing better to do other than suspect her for every little thing that went wrong in the city (including inclement weather), it still seemed excessive. And yet the press still had the gall to act as if she were lucky and spoiled. They took one look at her company, her suits and dresses, her money, and they would laugh. They would insist she was like a spoiled little princess, rich and rotten. What worries did someone like her possess when she could pay away her cares? That's what they seemed to think. Were they unable to remember their constant assaults against her? True, nothing physical ever happened, but it would be false to say that life was easy as a Luthor. It boggled the mind, to say the least.

Then all the young thieves would line up to take her place. From all over the world, friends and foes came to meet the only Luthor that was still alive and out of jail. Businesses sometimes came in order to broker peace with her in hopes that they could use her reputation and resources to their own benefit. Other times, they came to slander her, seeing her as competition that needed to be knocked out of the game at once. And old Luthor friends would sometimes visit in hopes of doing the same, wishing to seduce her back to the dark side. Or they would simply attempt to assassinate her. Lena actually had since started betting with herself on what each new visit would bring. It always ended in a death-threat, but the question was of whether or not the conversation would start out that way, or if the speaker would attempt to win her over first.

Either way, National City received a lot of attention with a new Luthor in town. Heroes, villains, businesses and politicians all wanted a piece of the action. Another name goes up in lights. You wonder if you'll make it out alive… And they'd tell her now, she was the lucky one. But was that really true? The only thing that ever made Lena feel even remotely lucky was when Supergirl came in for the inevitable first confrontation between the second Luthor and Super. Although it began terse and tense, it ended far better. Lena's earnestness and honesty managed to sway the Girl of Steel and the two entered an alliance. Then it went up from there.

Eager to prove herself as a good woman, Lena jumped at every chance she could to work alongside the Girl of Steel. Their alliance finally bloomed into a friendship. The warmth and sincerity was no longer just formal. It was real and it was wonderful. It was the first time in her life where Lena ever felt truly lucky. Somehow, she'd finally done something right and she had won the heart of the very same girl who had already won hers. Perhaps Lena would never admit it, but her destiny had been intertwined with Supergirl's from the very beginning.

All the way just after Lex Luthor had finally been arrested, Supergirl made her first appearance onto the scene. National City was where she had set up base. Seeing that, Lena jumped at the chance to move in with her, actively choosing the LuthorCorp base in National City to set up her new headquarters. It had not merely been chance that Lena chose the National City LuthorCorp tower. She had wanted to live there from the start, the second she realized Supergirl lived in National City too.

"A Luthor and a Super living together in the same city? What an opportunity that would be! What a symbolic gesture!" she had said, and she didn't look back even once as she made the move to National City. And from that first day, she'd kept as close an eye on Supergirl as the rest of the city kept on her. But while they watched her with distrust and distaste, Lena had watched Supergirl with the exact opposite. It was an awe that turned into infatuation that turned into attraction. To have Supergirl as a friend meant so much to Lena on so many levels.

But then a few years later, things took a turn for the worst (again). Lena suddenly found herself alone again, all the way back at square one for the millionth time in her miserable, unlucky little life. Learning that Kara Danvers and Supergirl were the same person had been a devastating blow to her and every day was like a battle trying to keep it together and keep it inside, rather than letting all that anger out the way she wanted. But because she could not afford to lose her head just yet, she pulled out all the stops on her skills of bottling up her emotions and never once did anyone suspect a thing from her. Instead, she still played the role of the dutiful friend and Token Good Luthor. But she was as far away from that mental space as it was possible to get.

But they still told the legend of how she first appeared. Now the city loved her, praising her right alongside Supergirl and the other "Super-friends", as they were called. Now when voices spoke Lena's name, they were full of adoration and admiration. And her name was seldom spoken without Supergirl's somewhere close by. It seemed that the city was finally ready to accept them as a dynamic duo, a dream team! It was just unfortunate that Lena, herself, no longer wanted any it. But wasn't that the luck of a Luthor? She finally had everything she could've ever wanted, and now she wanted nothing more than to get rid of all of it.

Now, not a day passed where she didn't wish she had just taken her money and her dignity and gotten the Hell out. But now it was too late. She was locked into the life she'd chosen with no way out. All she could do was what she always had in all of her days before: smile and wave to the flashing cameras, try her best to look pretty and convincing. Just like before, just like all those years ago, she was doing her best to sway the press once again. The only difference was that this time, she was also tricking her "friends" and she wanted nothing more for this entire nightmare to have never happened. She was still convincing the press she was good, but she wanted none of it anymore.

They didn't seem to understand how uncomfortable their adoration made her feel. They were sensationalizing her again, and it was still as embarrassing for her as ever. She was still nothing more than a consumable good in the public eye, even if she was now lauded as a hero rather than a villain. But then again, when had it ever been about what Lena felt? Her emotions had always been immaterial. Even now, although her goal of being good (even if it was just an act) seemed noble, there was a level of pragmaticism about it. How could she expect to go through life safely unless she did her best to behave? If she could achieve that goal, it would make things much easier on her. She knew how to stand proud and tall in the face of adversity. Those skills were being put to good use now that she was playing the New Hero and trying to start anew. Again. And she'd had it figured out since she was in school. Everybody loved pretty, everybody loved cool. So overnight, she became a brand-new queen.

But every time Lena would go home, she would be alone once more. Only her thoughts could keep her company, and they were always filled with anger, hurt and envy. They would tell her now, she was the lucky one. She'd done everything she'd ever set out to do. She was a hero. But this wish had been fulfilled in the worst way possible, the price so steep that it honestly wasn't worth it anymore. Lena could only find herself envying the masses once again. Even if they cheered her name now rather than spat it, nothing else had changed. They were still so blind and stupid, and Lena envied them for it. She wanted to go back. She wanted to be just like them. Normal.

But even worse than her "anger" at the citizens of National City was her anger at Supergirl. Of course Lena was still beyond furious that such a big secret had been kept from her for so long, but a tiny piece of her understood why. She tried to deny that piece of herself, but it was persistent. Underneath all of Lena's anger, hurt and envy was understanding. She knew exactly what the secret had been kept from her, and that made her all the angrier. It would've been one thing to hate Kara unconditionally, plain and simple, but to be cursed with empathy and intelligence meant that Lena had understanding, and with understanding, it was hard to hate anyone so completely. This left Lena alone in limbo.

"Yes, now my my name is up in lights," she said, staring out the window of her apartment. "But I you got it right…" and who was she talking about? The ignorant citizens? Or the girl who still thought she and Lena were friends? The girl who could still sleep soundly at night? The girl who still had everything going her way? Who did Lena envy more? The normal people who never once had to worry about the things she battled with every single day of her life? Or the one whom she used to love who remained so blissfully ignorant to the pain she had caused? And maybe Lena was crazy enough to envy her old self, the one who never knew Supergirl. Or maybe she even envied her brother and mother, because at least the suffering was over for them. At least they knew where they stood. But did Lena? No. She was hopelessly and helplessly lost. Again.

Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one.

And yeah, they'll tell me now I'm the lucky one.

But can you tell me now, you're the lucky one?

And can you tell me how I'm the lucky one?

AN: This song really fits so well for the two main Supers and Luthors that I had to do a second chapter just to show it. It really is such a lovely and bittersweet song, huh?