Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 08: Ghosts, Demons and Dora the Explorer

The blonde sat on the sofa, Kal sleeping beside her, wondering what she ever did to deserve this destiny. She appreciated all the Danvers had done for her, she owed them her life for all intents and purposes. If not for Alex and her parents, Kara knew she would be hiding in the wild, struggling to feed and care for Kal, sleeping under trees and in caves. Regardless, those circumstances may have been preferable when compared with the humiliation she was forced to endure now.

“Whats up Kara? Enjoying the show?” Alex asked, hopping down next to the alien. Kara gave her a sharp look indicating she was not amused.

“Don’t be upset. Kal likes them. They are really going to help you out. If you are tired of Dora the Explorer you can watch Sesame Street. I know Kal loves Big Bird and I think you have a secret little crush on Kermit.”

“ Those of my house who are in Rao’s light would cry if they could see me now. I am shaming my ancestors by watching this nonsense. Are these the tools I will have to teach my cousin?.” she asked her only friend.

“Thats the spirit.” Alex encouraged. “Keep working on shapes and colors. We can work on the alphabet later. Mom is going through some of the preschool learners I picked up this morning. Are you hungry?”

“No.” Kara lied, watching Swiper attempt to take another’s possessions. Normally Kara would be appalled but by his appearance it was obvious he was not indigenous to this planet like her, so he had to do what needed to be done for survival. This Dora was obviously his enemy.

“Yes you are. You are always hungry. C’mon, I bet we can talk Mom into making a pie, maybe something you haven’t had before?”

Pie. That was a word Alex had used often but Kara had yet to see an example. Pie would be a welcome change and give her a reason to stay away from these awful shows, with the strange creatures, the caricatures of humans and the obnoxious colors.

“Pie?”

“Yep, yummy pie. You will like it, I promise. C’mon, Kal can continue his nap. He will be fine out of your sight for five minutes.”

Kara looked carefully at her charge. She realized she may be a bit obsessive in keeping him near at all times but they did not understand, they did not have her mission. Kara’s path, her responsibility given to her by her parents was to protect Kal at all costs. His life mattered in her mind much more than hers. She had no illusions about why she was alive. Her parents sent her to care and protect the last son of the House of El. The entire year prior to their departure had been about preparing Kara to be his mother. They knew then, they knew as far back as a year and said nothing. They built the ship for two, not a task that could be done in secret quickly, and made her his primary caregiver yet never said anything about why. Why hadn’t her mother told her? Instead she woke the girl up in the middle of a quake, gave her the final instructions and rocketed them off. Why could Kara be trusted with Kal’s safety but not with the knowledge of what was happening to Krypton or the plans her parent’s had for her? Why had they packed food for him and only crystals for her? Because she needed those crystals to teach him. While the blonde was not sure how to access the knowledge inside, Kara knew the crystals on Krypton held much knowledge and power. Her life was not hers. She stayed alive to protect Kal, she stayed hidden to protect Kal. Her job, her destiny was to be his bodyguard, mother and teacher.

“Earth to Kara? You with me?”

Kara shook her head and followed Alex to the kitchen. Eliza was there of course, a large smile gracing her face. It warmed her heart to see the relationship Alex had with her mother and father. They seemed more open with each other. There were no formalities in their conversations. Alex at times called her mother, Mom, Momma, it was never the same. She also expressed dissatisfaction and was not reprimanded for it. She had lied to her parents for Kara and had not been punished. Alex and her father seemed in sync with one another, joking often, laughing often. They had also been extremely kind to Kara and Eliza seemed to not mind changing diapers. The parents looked as if they enjoyed having the two around and were not worried.

Kara knew better though. Jeremiah and Eliza were very smart and they had to know the trouble Kara and Kal could bring to their lives. So why were they doing it? Just to make Alex happy? Why had Jeremiah slept on the roof with her? Was it because Alex loved her and they pitied her? Kara did not want to be pitied.

After discovering the wonder that was Chocolate Pecan Pie and working on the basic reading material, Kara found herself in the living room surrounded by Alex and her parents, Kal fast asleep on her lap.

“Why?” she asked, not sure why she said it then. It seemed important and she was in no way equipped to understand such a complex question but it had come out none the less.

“Why?” Eliza asked. “Why what, Kara? Is it something you are reading? It’s the U and Q right? That can be confusing. Let me see.”

Kara held back the book. “Why put you… your… family… in danger… for us?”

None of the three answered right away, all looking at each other. Alex thought of what to say but couldn’t find the words. Eliza wiped her eye, seeing the girl’s confused, vulnerable face.

Jeremiah rose from his chair and knelt by her.

“We can’t replace what you lost.” he told her, pointing at her head and her heart. “But we want you both with us.” he finished, pointing to the three of them. “We want you.”

Kara nodded, not understanding why but grateful. She was not of this house, had no blood connection yet they treated her as if she were. Perhaps they didn’t understand the danger she was. But they did. They knew about her eyes, they had to guess people would be looking for her, for both of them. Kara was no fool. She remembered the flying machines approaching her pod. Since the Danvers had not heard of visitors from another planet landing she suspected those men were not the welcoming party.

“I’m dangerous. For you.”

“You are family now. We asked and you accepted. There is nothing more to talk about. Dangerous to you, dangerous to us.” the man told her, wrapping his finger around her smaller one. “How are the books? Would you like to watch more Dora the Explorer?”

“Please no.” Kara whimpered.

“I suppose we are taking Dora off the lesson plans.” Eliza concluded with a small laugh, drying her eyes. It seemed Alex and her were not the only ones enraptured by the blonde and the baby. She already had Jeremiah wrapped literally around her finger.

The weeks flew by, Jeremiah eventually returning to work and Eliza setting up shop from the house, while giving hints to Alex about improving Kara’s language skills. Eliza had always been proud of her daughter but had never been more so. The bond between her and Kara grew everyday and having a baby around the house was a joy for Eliza as well. Kal had begun running and his vocabulary was ever expanding. The only problem Eliza saw was Kara’s reluctance to leave Kal anywhere without her. Alex would beg the girl to go to the beach and while it took an hour to convince her to wear a swimsuit, no amount of discussion could convince Kara to leave Kal with Eliza. This caused the woman quite a bit of worry for the coming months. Soon Alex would be going back to school, only six weeks away. What would Kara do during the day? If she wanted a life, experiences, some amount of normalcy, then she would need to go to school as well. The girl couldn’t resign herself to being a single mother at her age. But what grade would she even enter? Her language skills had improved. As Alex had told them both when they first learned about the girl and baby, Kara had a photographic memory. Once she learned something that was it. She devoured books like she devoured food.

The concerns over Kara’s powers were also there. The girl had shown great skill in dealing with her strength. She walked normally, never taking any short cuts Eliza knew she could. But the laser vision had not repeated and they all knew if she could not learn how to use it then she would never have control over keeping it in check. In this case avoiding the issue would not help. But neither parent had a idea on how to teach a girl to control lasers coming out of her eyes, especially when the girl was frightened of it.

Kara was the perfect guest, she loved to wash dishes and clean even though she wasn’t asked. She also was Kal’s primary caregiver. As much as Eliza loved having a baby in the house, Kara still was the one who bathed him most of the time, fed him, woke up with him at night and sang to him with her beautiful voice, soft, slow songs that Eliza could not understand. Alex was also allowed but Kara seemed to feel guilty when the girl took over.

The problem was Eliza wanted Kara to feel as if she and Kal were a part of the family, not just a guest. Kara had an issue letting her guard down. Though the surprisingly bubbly girl laughed and smiled often, the mother would still catch the sorrowful look on her face when she thought no one could see her.

The blonde also did not sleep well. Jeremiah had placed her bed facing the window, an awkward area but should Kara have a nightmare her laser heat vision that Alex had witnessed would only break the glass and flame out harmlessly over the ocean. The parents thought this may give her peace of mind but learned it was not only fear of hurting others or burning down the house that kept her awake. Whatever had happened to the girl before she arrived had left scars inside her. After the demonstration with the rock, no one had asked Kara again about her planet. One day, Eiiza knew this would have to change. Somehow the girl would have to talk about it or it would eat her up inside as it was already doing.

“Eliza… would you watch Kal while I go with Alex?” the girl asked quietly. Eliza was shocked. Kara had never asked her for much of anything much less watching her nephew or cousin.

“Of course, I would love to. You won’t mind?”

“No. Alex wants to go to the beach. If you need me or he asks for me I can hear you. Thank you.”

Alex hurried back down, mouthed a thank you to her mother and tried to pull Kara outside before the girl changed her mind. Ten minutes later it was just the two of them walking on the sand. The hour was still early and the birds that so enraptured the alien were flying about with no humans to frighten them away.

“Okay so what are we going to work on today? What do we do on the waves on the long boards?”

“Hang ten?” Kara guessed.

“It’s surfing but the judges will accept that answer. What are those birds called?”

“Seagulls.” Kara had that answer down.

“Good job. Ready to swim? Or bob up and down while I swim?”

Kara looked up at the house on top of the nearby cliff.

“Kara relax, Mom is watching him. You have us now. You don’t have to be with him every second. I heard her and Dad talking and I think she is going to be writing her latest research thesis from home. He is bringing her some equipment…”

“Work from home? Why?”

“Because we can’t just send Kal to a daycare. Who is going to watch him when we go to school?”

“ School? You think I am leaving him to go to school? I have to protect him. That means I have to be with him. I am not going to school!

“Okay, so we just went all space talk there. I thought we were past that. I promise as soon as you learn English I will learn Space talk and then maybe we can both learn Spanish or something together. But right now, lets back up in English. What did you just say?”

Kara took a deep breath and chose her words carefully.

“I cannot go to school Alex. I cannot leave him. I have to be with him at all times.”

“Why don’t you trust Mom?” Alex asked, exasperated. They had this argument constantly.

“I do trust Eliza. I trust your mother and father or I would no… not be with you. But he is my responsibility. The only reason I am not dead is because I was chosen to keep him alive. If something happens to him there is no reason for me to live. Do you understand? My life is about keeping him safe. Thats all I have.”

Alex stepped in front of Kara.

“What do you mean the only reason you are not dead is because you have to take care of him? You think he is the only thing that gives you a right to be alive? What happened Kara? What happened on Krypton?”

“I do not want to talk.”

“I do not want to talk about it and no you don’t want to but you need to. I want to understand why you think his life is more important than your own. You are a person, Kara. I love Kal but you make it seem like you are some kind of bodyguard and that is all you are. It isn’t. I need to know what happened that makes you think this is true. You are alive and have every right to be.”

The blonde looked over Alex’s shoulder, up at the sky, to the ground, anywhere but her eyes.

“Look at me, Kara.”

“I thought you wanted to swim? Lets swim. I will swallow some of this horrible water so you can laugh at me.” Kara told her with a wink and ran into the surf.

Alex sighed. At least the blonde was getting used to wearing a swimsuit now. Still, she worried. Something was deeply wrong with Kara and it wasn’t just the death of her parents. She knew her best friend, her only friend was troubled. Alex knew what she had gone through, not the details but the gist of her travels to Midvale. Alex knew Kara’s parents were dead and guessed the entire planet of Krypton was gone. She had an idea that life on a planet that was going to die would be rough and leaving everyone and everything she had ever known to die was something Alex could not imagine. She also heard the girl mumble at night and cry in her sleep at times, having woken her from some pretty intense nightmares before Kara blew eyeball sized holes in through the roof.

Kara seemed to think her only reason for living was being a bodyguard for Kal. Alex did not know a lot about psychology but it was obvious her friend had very little self worth and she had no idea how to fix that. Deciding to drop it for now she ran into the surf to make sure the blonde did not drown. Kara was doing what she usually did when Alex asked about her past, ignoring it, laughing and playing, not fooling her at all with that bright smile and her squinting eyes. After the water she had no doubt the girl would want to search for seashells, acting as if she had discovered an ancient relic whenever she saw one. Soon after the usual beach crowd would arrive, Kara would beg to go back, desperately hoping no one saw her in a bathing suit.

This was not over though. The girl had relaxed somewhat over the past weeks and focused on learning the language, learning everything Alex would show her about this new world. She played with Kal and fed him, held him while he slept, ate everything in sight and laughed a lot but Alex knew she was hiding. Her eyes hid a lot behind them.

Later that evening, Jeremiah was once again star gazing in the front of the house. Kara had been watching him from inside, using her X ray vision that no longer made her dizzy, and gathered the courage to approach him. Alex has showering and Eliza insisted on feeding Kal so she was left with nothing to do. It was either stare at the walls, or walk outside. She had read enough for the day and had no desire to watch Swiper continue his quest for survival while Dora defeated him at every turn.

Jeremiah heard her when the door closed and greeted her with a smile.

“I love looking at the stars. I have since I was younger than you. Knowing that there is life out there makes me love star gazing even more. Would you like to look?”

Kara nodded her head, taking in the stars, following the constellations she had worked out in her head. She was surprised by how powerful the telescope was, able to see distant points of light, that only Kara’s vision could see she suspected without the scope. She knew her eyesight was better than humans just as she knew her hearing was more sensitive, all her sense were heightened here.

Taking a look, she slowly began to move the lens on the tri pod. It took a while since she had never actively looked before, but instinctively the girl knew. She locked the tripod lens in place gently and stepped back. Jeremiah noted she was looking at him so he stepped out and saw a small cluster of stars their light barely seen and he doubted if the night had not been so clear it would never be picked up.

“My galaxy. I cannot see the planets but the star in the center is Rao. It is my sun, our… god. It is where my parents and Kal El’s parents are.”

“Your planet revolves around the star? Row?”

“Rao.”

“But it isn’t there. I wouldn’t be able to see it anymore than someone on Krypton could see the Earth around the massive sun. That star is a Red Dwarf Supergiant.”

“Yes. Mother said the Earth’s sun would give me great powers. She did not tell me… what power. I have found out and I do not want it.” Kara told him, then walked inside. The sight of Rao, so far away, so small it was barely noticeable left her feeling cold, more alone than took her back to her first days on this strange world. Once she was inside she walked to the study and grabbed blank sheets of paper and a writing utensil called a pen. It was primitive like many of Earth’s tools but she had grasped the concept in her spelling lessons. The blonde broke three pens and one wood tool called a pencil but eventually managed to wield the delicate objects. Jeremiah was waiting for her in the living room and sat down in front of the coffee table.

Kara knelt on the floor opposite the small table and began drawing, something she was always fond of, something that helped her relax. She drew the planets in her galaxy, the stars and constellations, including Kara, the Goddess of beauty and the one she was named after. She showed Jeremiah the rotations, the seasons, the hot and cold seasons, the stormy seasons and the dark seasons. He asked questions and she provided answers as best she could, including the calendar and the days of which she had lived. Mathematics was the language of the Universe and one Kara had instilled in her from the time she could walk and talk. It was second nature to Kryptonians. No matter the different cultures and languages mathematics was unchanging.

The hours dragged on, both of them so engrossed in their work, neither had noticed Eliza and Alex watching, not saying a word but mesmerized by the writing, the equations and drawings. The two had left to bathe Kal and neither Jeremiah or Kara stopped working. At midnight, they had both sat back, Alex and Eliza watching them closely, a sleeping Kal in Alex’s arms.

“I believe she is thirteen and has a birthday in seven months. I think as best I can estimate, the date would be sometime near Alex’s birthday. There seem to be discrepancies, almost as if she lost time on the journey here but I don’t understand all the formulas. These sheets,” he told the two, “are a map. A map of how she got here. The wormholes, the dark matter, I can’t explain it because I suspect not even the most brilliant physicist knows for certain about some of these irregularities and we would have no way of building anything that could possible travel at light speed and breach the massive densities and areas of nothingness that it would take for a ship to reach here, but somehow she did it, they did it.”

“She can have my birthday. We will share.” Alex told them. “If she doesn’t know her’s for certain then we will have one together.”

“I am sleepy. Do you understand?” Kara asked, hoping he did. She had done the best she could. Her early forms covered the basics of the universe and later forms gave her a clear understanding of how the trip had been completed.

“Yes, thank you, Kara. Can we talk more about Krypton tomorrow?”

Kara nodded her head, and followed Alex to her room. Kara did not dream that night, at least that Alex noticed and Kal did not wake up once during the night. They all slept well but the next morning Alex noted that Kara was not even attempting to appear cheerful. She played with Kal after feeding him breakfast but skipped breakfast herself. Being Saturday, Jeremiah had hoped to spend the day with Kara learning more, but he picked up on the girl’s mood and decided not to broach the subject. Instead the new family of five hung around the house, relaxing and as the morning drew on Kara seemed to be coming back to her old self. Encouraged by this, Alex suggested watching movies. Kara had mostly watched TV shows up until that point and Eliza stressed to Alex that Kara most likely did not need to watch some shows in her ongoing social development, mostly ones involving real housewives or Kardashians, favorites of Alex’s and Eliza’s guilty pleasures as well.

After Eliza helped Jeremiah start the grill and began making potato salad, she was alarmed by a scream, followed by a crying Kal. The scream was loud enough that Jeremiah heard it outside and rushed into the living room the same time as Eliza.

Alex looked as pale as a ghost, Kal was sitting on the floor next to blocks that had been knocked over and Kara was in the back corner of the room, trying to melt into the wall. Both parents looked at Alex who kept opening and closing her mouth.

“Kara?” Jeremiah tried.

“ This is a true story? This is what the dead do on this planet? What is wrong with humans?! Why do your dead walk the planet? Have they no light to enter? They can appear in the dark with no warning? They are hideous! How do you sleep at night?” she yelled, eyes on the television and not bothering to even try using English. Eliza stepped forward and saw Alex had been playing a Blu Ray of the Conjuring.

“Really Alex?”

“I thought she would get a kick out of it!”

Jeremiah slowly approached the girl but she paid no mind, her eyes not leaving the television. Once he got close, she moved in a blur, picking up a crying Kal El and darting outside. All three ran after her. Luckily she had not run far, just the backyard.

“Kara listen to me. It’s not real, I promise. It is just a story.”

“It said real story! True event. Alex said real!” the girl exclaimed, regaining her grasp of the English language.

“Its a lie. It isn’t true. There are no such things as ghosts.” Alex promised.

“Demons! The woman was hanging by her neck but no one could see her. The creature was stuck in the corner of the bedroom. The girl… the girl… s he was dragged out by her feet, screaming! Can that happen? People are dragged out of bed screaming?!”

“Okay kid, lets stick to one language. It isn’t true, there aren’t any ghosts or demons. Its just a movie for people to watch, have fun with, you see? It’s not real.”

“People have fun watching this?!”

“Some do… you obviously don’t. I’m sorry, my bad. We won’t watch anymore horror movies. I promise. I will get rid of it. At least I didn’t show you the Ring. You would never sit near a television again if you saw that monster crawling out of one.”

“What monster? A monster can crawl out of a television?”

“Kawa? Play with blocks?”

“ Not near the television! “

“Kara! I promise you it’s not inside and we can watch something else.” Alex told her, gently taking her hand and trying to pull the girl inside. Kara eventually let her, picking up Kal first and keeping him close.

Jeremiah and Eliza didn’t need to say anything. Alex mouthed sorry to them and they all returned to their prior activities, while Kara let Kal back on the floor but never took her eyes off the television except to check the corners of the room.

By lunch she had relaxed enough and her appetite returned, enjoying a food she had actually eaten before, steak. She remembered the chewy meat she had stolen from the campground and what she learned were potatoes were mixed up into a salad of a sort and tasted much better. The steak was much more tender as well and Kara discovered the joy of steak sauce.

That night Kara felt comfortable enough to watch a movie with the family. Eliza had objected to the choice of Star Wars but Jeremiah thought it might be a good idea, and get Kara to open up more about traveling through the stars. Eliza argued that Darth Vader would frighten her, but after giving the girl several assurances that the story was not real and there would be no demons or ghosts, the blonde gave in.

Kara watched, fascinated by the different species portrayed, created by human imagination and no species she was familiar with but enjoyed it all the same. The speeders reminded her of her father’s vehicle on Krypton. Darth Vader’s appearance did not bother her, she actually found the suit quite interesting and the lightsaber.

Everyone noticed her tense when the Wookie made an appearance.

“I killed one.” she mumbled quietly, as if confessing to a crime.

“You killed a Wookie? O your old planet? They had Wookies on your old planet?” Alex asked, getting excited, oblivious to Kara’s guilty face.

“No, here. You call them… bears? Kal and I were camping and… we had a… tent? I opened it in the morning and the bear was there. He growled and stood up on his legs and I was scared. I didn’t mean to, I swear on the honor of my House. I did not mean to kill him.”

“Oh my God, you poor girl.” Eliza whispered. “How… oh…”

“My eyes. It was the first time. It only happened once more after a nightmare that Alex saw. I have many nightmare… nightmares.”

“It wasn’t your fault Kara. That bear would have killed you and Kal. You had to do it to protect him.” Alex told her gently, bringing her in for a hug. They all watched her carefully but she did not cry. Instead she seemed rather resigned and asked to continue the movie. She only watched for ten more minutes until the Deathstar destroyed the planet. Kara moved quickly, running outside and falling to her knees, vomiting the food she had eaten. The three ran after her, Kal El stumbling behind them. Alex knelt next to her, scared to death. She didn’t think it was possible for Kara to vomit and obviously what had happened on screen effected her. She knew Kara’s planet was gone but she had imagined it dead, scoured of all life, not broken up, despite what the blonde had done with the rock.

“Please never let Kal see that movie.” she whispered, shaking, then began hyperventilating.

“I think it is safe to say movie night has been a disaster.” Eliza whispered, kneeling next to the girl and rubbing her shaking back. Jeremiah picked up Kal who was desperately trying to get to his sick cousin.

“Let’s get you a shower and to bed sweetie.” Eliza suggested.

Alex slept with Kal once again, who calmed down after an hour, holding Kara tightly to make sure she was okay. He didn’t know why but even at his age, he knew his cousin was extremely upset and did not like seeing her so.

In the morning, Alex was surprised that once again, Kara had not woken up during the night and thought this was a good sign. She had no idea that Kara had not slept at all that night, instead lying in bed and staring out the windows at the distant stars, wondering not for the first time why her parents and Rao had chosen to place this on her. There had to have been others more capable of taking care of Kal. Why did she get to live? Because of who her parents were, was the most obvious answer. Jor El could not have built their ship without help. He needed her father. Kara wondered if her survival was the only reason Zor decided to help Jor El. She had done nothing to deserve life except been born to the second in line for Head of the House. She heard Alex drag out of bed, a grumpy Kal following her. Kara knew she should change his diaper but did not have the energy to get out of bed, instead thankful that Alex was doing it.

After an hour, the blonde made her decision. She got quietly out of bed and dressed for the day in one of the many sets of clothes Eliza had provided her with. Walking downstairs she saw the family was still sitting in the kitchen, Alex feeding Kal, which had been her job and she immediately felt guilty about that on top of everything else.

She sat down, looking at the table top and ignoring the still warm food on the stove.

“Are you okay, Kara?” Jeremiah asked.

Kara took a deep breath.

“It was not always like… Krypton. I heard stories that the planet was beautiful once. It was beautiful but it was poisoned. I do not know why, or how it happened. The truth may be in the crystals but I do not know how to access them.

The oceans of Krypton were dangerous. Our water made in labs. The… rain… would burn. The oceans would boil. There were no creatures, birds, or bears, nothing left alive. My mother told me stories that once different species lived but they were gone. The creatures that were rumored to still exist were… monsters? Yes, monsters. I do not now if it is true. I… all of us, stayed inside our family compound. My family was one of the ruling houses on the planet and my uncle, Kal’s father was the head. My father was second in line. My father and Kal’s were scientists like you. They knew what would happen.

The ground shook constantly. It never seemed to stop. It shook so much we all were used to it. I was supposed to begin my training. I wanted to be a… judge, like my mother. I was to be given a match, a mate who I would bond with in my 19th year and take my place by my mother’s side. If my mate was a lesser house, he would join ours. There were no higher houses than ours, only equals. If the house was equal I would join his and represent his house in our court. Before I started my specialty forms, I was taken out and became the primary caregiver of Kal almost a week after he was born. I was trained to be… his guardian.

The shaking became worse. The rains fell harder and the oceans boiled more often. The winds howled. I lay down one night and was woken shortly after by my Mother. She took me to a hangar that had been used in the days space travel was permitted for… personal? Yes, personal was a ship there and Kal was already inside. My mother told me the planet was dying, that it would be gone soon, in hours. It would… explode. I was told by my mother that my duty was to protect Kal El. I would be sent to this planet and would have powers. She did not tell me what kind of powers, only that the yellow sun would make me strong. My mission… I swore an oath to protect him. I swore I would not fail her. I begged her to come with me. The ship was too small. There was only room for myself and Kal. I am not sure why they did not build a ship larger and I will never know.

I saw my mother and father and then I was gone. I told myself once they saved the planet I would be brought back, somehow. But then I heard the explosion. The rocks hit my ship but I had no control. I was just a passenger. I knew Krypton was gone. It explosion… exploded. I felt something hard strike the ship and… I do not know what happened next. The ship was designed to place us in a type of stasis, I suppose. I fell asleep. I have no idea how long I slept. I woke up twice and the ship was not moving. It was drifting. Before I could find out why, I fell back asleep. I did not wake again until I saw Earth. We flew over the blue ocean and landed, crashed, surrounded by trees. I heard flying machines approaching and I took Kal and the bag in storage and ran. From what I understand of the star charts here, I ran East. I kept running. I stole food when I had to, I stole clothes, I was attacked by a man with a sound weapon, I know now it was a gun and that is why there are holes in the back of my clothes I wore here.

I do not know how many days and nights I ran. I entered a shopping mart, a large one, like those in the television and stole food and supplies for Kal. I was chased but escaped. When I ran out of land, I was very tired. That is when I found the cave and Alex found me.”

No one said a word, taking in the girl who obviously hadn’t slept the night before. This was the most Kara had ever talked about her former planet and how she had gotten here. All three knew she must have had a difficult time, a horrible time, but hearing it from her resigned voice hurt and made it seem more real.

“Thats why.” Alex realized. “Thats why you think the only reason you deserve to live is to protect him.”

Kara nodded her head. “I swore an oath. I was chosen because of who my father was. Everyone else died. If I fail, then I lived while others died for nothing. He is everything. He is what is important.”

“That is not true.” Eliza told her immediately. “You deserve to live, your parents wanted you to live Kara. You deserve to live and not just for him, but for yourself.”

“I have shamed my House, my parents. I have stolen. I have killed…”

“You have done what was necessary.” Jeremiah assured her. “Look at me.”

Kara hesitantly met his eyes. “You deserve to have a life, both of you do and we are going to give that to you. We can’t replace what you have lost but you are one of us now. We will protect the both of you. I know you are smart Kara, probably smarter than anyone in this room. You navigated star charts and explained theoretical physics to me with a pen, things that our brightest minds would take decades to discover but you are also 13 year old girl and you deserve to have a childhood. Your parents would want that. I would want that for Alex if something like that happened here. You are with us now. You belong to this house. You are not just a caretaker and bodyguard.”

“What am I then?” she asked the man.

“You are special. You are brave and resourceful and loving and you both are a part of us now. Do you understand? We are a family. We will all help take care of Kal and each other.”

“I left my ship behind. The men in the flying machines must have discovered it. They will be looking for me. If they find me, you could all be in danger because I have spent time with you.”

“Let me worry about that. I have been working on a cover story. As long as no one sees you use your powers and you have obviously gotten very good at hiding them, and go to school, do things normal girls your age do, no one will know you are not from this planet. This can work and if they discover you we hide. We all hide. We are a family now. You cannot leave us and we will not leave you.”

Kara took a moment to let that sink in.

“Trust, Kara.” Alex reminded her.

“Yes.”

“Swear Kara. I swear we will not leave you. Do you swear the same? I know what oaths mean to you.” Jeremiah pushed.

“I swear. I will stay with you. But if I am discovered, I will protect you.” she told the three.

“And I swear if you are discovered we will protect you both. You have to let us help. You need to go to school, learn about this planet. I realize you know everything there is to know about math but you are going to have to pretend you do not. You need to study biology, learn about how organisms function here. You need to learn literature, history, so that you can fit in. If someone asks you about World War 2 one day, you cannot say that you know nothing about it. There are things you need to learn. You and Alex need each other. You are going to have to let us help take care of Kal so you can blend in. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Kara told him.

“Are you going to trust that we will not let him be harmed while you are away?”

“Yes.” the girl grudgingly admitted.

“Good, you can start right now.” the man told her. “I want to spend some time playing with the little guy today. You two need some beach time. Just don’t let her drown, Alex.”

“I’ll take care of her. I promise.”

“I have no doubt about that. You always do.” Eliza told her daughter. Despite the recognitions and awards that Alex had received since entering school, the strong, kind personality the girl had developed, Eliza did not believe she had ever been prouder of Alex’s strong love and compassion for the lost girl. She did it on her own, with no encouragement. She was able to convince a scared alien who did not speak English and trusted no one to trust her. The bond between the two was amazing.

The next week went by with no trauma except for Kara accidentally finding the Shining and reading halfway through before anyone noticed. The blonde was not a fan of the horror genre. She had loosened up more and seemed to enjoy playing with Kal, rather than focusing only on his wellbeing and safety. It was obvious Kara did not only feel a duty towards the small child but genuine love.

While the Danvers household was evolving from what they had considered normal in the past, Jason Connolly was visiting his fifteenth small town on the North Carolina coast. He had been at this for what seemed like forever, only leaving when his team had been called to a possible alien landing or sighting. His team had stayed back all three times watching the DEO fight what were obviously hostile aliens who had been murdering local citizens. He had no desire to risk his team. Henshaw could take the risks and he would learn more details about violent species by watching. His job was to protect innocents so J’onn could hide them and protect citizens if called for. If the DEO wanted to battle to perform the second function he would let them. As soon as the missions were over, he and his team moved back to the East Coast and split up.

Connolly really had no idea if the girl was here. She could be anywhere, and even J’onn was beginning to lose hope. Still the man could not get rid of the feeling that she was near. His plan was simple. While his men looked for clues in the wild or smaller towns of anything unusual he traveled from town to town.

Normally in a small town, residents were very closed off to outsiders. However if you dressed as a local, put on a John Deer cap or better, one from a feedstore and drove a moving truck, waitresses and locals in the diners would ignore you or chat you up. He wasn’t above using his looks to get what he wanted and he was skilled at flirting. Now he was spending the next few days in Midvale, North Carolina, a beautiful area, surrounded by oceans and wild forests, caves and very few people. A perfect place to hide. The waitress who had asked him six times in twenty minutes if she could refill his coffee, made one more check. Connolly took her in, perhaps 21 or 22, cute and bored, as a lot of girls were her age in small towns. They were drawn to outsiders who did not look like serial killers.

“You sure I can’t offer you some pie?”

The man almost spit out his coffee before getting rid of those thoughts.

“No… uh yeah, I guess. I could use some company though. Eating alone is just not the same. How about I move to the bar and you can tell me all about this little town?”

He had noticed that the bar and diner were mostly empty so it seemed a good spot as any.

“Of course. Let me grab you a slice and heat it up. I’ll meet you there.”

A short time later, Connolly had discovered that Emily had been the Homecoming Queen three years ago and was only still here because she was still working on her modeling portfolio to take with her to New York City. Midvale according to her was the most boring, dreadful place on Earth. He couldn’t help but think that if she spent a few months in a Middle Eastern dessert looking for terrorist cells who were not there because of bad intelligence she may appreciate her surroundings more.

“I don’t know, I think its pretty nice here. I mean every small town has a little excitement. C’mon there has to be something going on, some crazy guy claiming to see forest monsters or sea monsters, some local scandal. Something, right? It was that way where I grew up.”

“Only scandal around here isn’t even much of a scandal. Just some scientists and their nerd daughter took in a couple strays. Word has it some young girl is staying with them this summer. She keeps to herself but supposedly she has a baby. When I say young, I mean young. But its probably nothing. Just a bunch of small town gossip. I haven’t seen her or no new baby in town.”

Connolly immediately picked up on this. Scientists, reclusive girl with a baby, he forced himself to calm down. It was most likely nothing. Still it was better than the only other lead he had, some hunter claiming to see a werewolf moving to quick to make out fifty miles away. Turned out to be a wolf pack in new hunting grounds.

“Yeah, I see what you mean. A teen mom is a dime a dozen nowadays. She could be just passing through or a family friend I guess.”

“Oh no, I heard this girl has been down on the beach with the Danvers kid and the baby. Supposedly she is barely a teen. I can’t imagine what a girl that young is like to have a baby already. Becca said she couldn’t be more than thirteen or fourteen years old. I doubt its even her kid. Like you said, probably some passerby or family friend down for a visit. The Danvers are nice enough people. I can’t see them getting involved with a girl who got knocked up that young if it is her kid.”

“The Danvers. They are scientists you said? I think I heard of them. I don’t know the lady but I seem to have heard the man’s name once. Damn it, I can’t think of it right now.”

“Jeremiah?” the waitress offered.

“Yes! Jeremiah Danvers. I think a friend of mine over in Bixby is friends with him.”

“Oh yeah, you are from Bixby?”

“Nah, I kinda travel all over, moving furniture for people moving. I make a lot of friends that way, know people all over the place.”

“That must be so exciting.”

“At this moment, yes it is. Jeremiah Danvers… yeah I think he mentioned going fishing or hunting with the guy.”

“Dr. Danvers hunts? I doubt it, he is a biologist, all life matters, that kind of stuff. I’m not sure about fishing. He lives right on the beach. Him and his wife must be doing all right for themselves, cause their house is gorgeous. Its on this cliff overlooking the ocean… I’m going to get me a house like that one day when I make it big. Maybe you can come visit me sometimes?”

“I do believe that is possible. Why don’t you give me a call sometime?” Connolly offered, handing her a card with a fake number on it.

“I just may do that. Maybe I’ll see you around more before you leave town?”

If you have more information I need, but I doubt it. “I bet we just might meet up. Take care of yourself Emma.”

“Emily.”

“Okay.” Connolly was already moving, trying to stay calm. He was close, he knew it and if what he suspected was true the girl was not starving in the wild or crying over a dead baby. Could she have gotten that lucky?

A quick call to Vivian and he had Jeremiah Danvers address. Instead of knocking on the front door he did what he always did in recon. If the girl’s eyesight was exceptional she would see him from a mile away watching. Instead he informed J’onn of a possible lead and that he would be going dark for a few days. Packing minimal supplies he carefully made his way through the forest and lay down next to a tree, completely camouflaged in a woodlands sniper suit. Instead of a rifle he had high powered binoculars, with dulled lenses not to catch the glare of the sun and watched the Danvers home from the back. He was about three hundred yards away and wished he could see the front but the ocean kind of made that difficult.

He first saw the baby, playing with who he assumed was Jeremiah Danvers in the back. He saw a flash of the blonde but never could get a clear shot of her face. He only moved two or three times every twenty four hours, always at night, took care of business, ate an energy bar, drank a bottle of water and was back in place within minutes. Ty may have been his primary sniper but he was no stranger to the skill himself. Patience was everything, even it it took days with no movement.

On the fourth day all five were outside, the daughter Alex had set up some horse shoe game with bags and the alien girl looked towards the woods. He was relieved. She hadn’t noticed him and he caught her face, snapping a pic and sending it to Vivian immediately through a wireless signal.

At night, he backed out, having everything he needed. A conference call with his team and J’onn and all agreed it had to be her. Jack offered to approach the family but Connolly nixed that idea. Any approach to the house and he had no doubt the girl would be gone. She was in a good situation right now and needed to stay there. He had a better idea.

So it was that two days later Jeremiah Danvers was walking out of the lab, prepared for the thirty minute drive home. School started in two weeks and that meant school shopping for two this year in the morning. Normally he was not a fan of shopping but seeing Alex in her new outfits was always a joy. This year he was doubly excited. He and Eliza had never been able to have another child after Alex. They both had wanted a large family but accepted that it wasn’t to be. Alex was their pride and joy and she was everything Jeremiah could want, hard headed, adventurous, loving and brilliant. Now they had been blessed with a suddenly much larger family and despite the stress, he and Eliza were very happy. He still wasn’t sure how he planned to pull off getting Kara enrolled in school but had a few ideas and was good friends with the principle. A story about Kara’s parents dying in a fire that took her birth certificate shouldn’t be to hard to pass off. He hoped they would not ask for guardianship papers and just take his word that they were her foster parents now but doubted it. Like everything else this summer, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.

Another bridge to cross was waiting for him by his car. Jeremiah slowed, seeing the young blonde haired man in the faded jeans and brown leather jacket covering his white leather boots appeared scruffed and well used, not common foot wear for this area.

“Can I help you?”

“Jason Connolly and I think I can help you. Mind if I take a ride with you?”

Jeremiah reached inside his jacket for his phone. He had an emergency text ready to send with a push of a key that would alert Eliza to take the kids and run, drive as far away as possible until he contacted her again.

“So you do have an emergency alert. Good, you are a smart guy. Don’t bother pressing it, your cell phone is blocked. I’m not here to harm you, I am here to help you. Considering what you probably know about the girl and the baby living with you, you are going to need help. Lets take a ride. You can even drive. Again, I mean you know harm.”

“I’m just supposed to take your word for that?”

“If I wanted to harm you I could have killed you six times already standing here. I’ve been watching your house for near a week now and could have attacked at any time. I could have approached your wife or daughter. I haven’t done any of those things. I am here to help you, to offer help against people that would do exactly that to get their hands on that little girl and her baby brother. I know if I approached your house she would run. I’ve tracked her clear across the country and I don’t want to see her eating raw potatoes and getting shot at by redneck farmers. I know things you need to know. I know who would be interested in finding her, not just humans but those like her, probably from the same planet she is from.”

“They are all dead.” Jeremiah told him before he could stop himself.

“Yeah, I doubt any kid that steals baby food and not food for herself is associated with the Kryptonians looking for her. They are a might bit violent and if they find her, they will either take her or kill her. If Hank Henshaw finds her he will use your family to force her to do what he wants. Its the kind of bastard he is.”

“Who is Hank Henshaw?”

“A guy I wish my boss would let me kill but that fact that you don’t know is more reason why you need my help. I won’t try to take her from you but we both know to hide her you are going to have to get her in school, need papers for her, need a background for her. I wasn’t in Midvale two days before I heard about the strange new, very young teen mom who is friends with your daughter. If I were in your position I would be cautious around me too, but we all need to talk if we are going to keep her and that baby safe.”

“She will run. She will take off the minute she sees you.”

“I know. Thats why she isn’t going to see me. She is going to meet with a Martian. Another alien, not like her but not human. He helps refugees of a sort hide from the Hank Henshaws of the world. You are going to have to convince her to talk to him. She is going to have doubts so give her this.”

Connolly held out Alura’s necklace to Jeremiah. The man took it with a steady hand, trying to stay strong and not let his fear for Kara control him.

“What is this?”

“It’s hers. She lost it when a redneck shot her at his farm. Now I got dropped off here so why don’t you give me a ride back to Midvale and I will tell you everything you want to know. I will tell you what you need to know to keep your family safe. All five of you.”

Jeremiah took the man in. He was obviously not the laid back man he tried to portray and talked about killing this Henshaw guy very casually. He could have approached the house at any time but hadn’t.

“If I even suspect that you are lying to me I will drive my car of a bridge and kill us both.”

Connolly nodded.

“I believe you. Thats why we are going to get along so well. Think we could stop by a drive thru? I am starving.”