Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 09: The Martian and the American Jedi

Jeremiah walked into his living room seeing the new normal in his house. Alex and Kara, laughing and rolling a ball between them while Kal chased it and Eliza typing away happily on her paper, detailing her latest research project, at her desk in the back of the living room. Despite the lack of excitement that was associated with the task her smile was obvious, listening to the two girls playing with the baby. Tomorrow the furniture for Kal’s room would be delivered and she would no doubt throw herself into the preparation of his nursery. Kara would no doubt use her horrible sleeping habits to stand protectively over him several times a night, until Alex or he dragged her back to bed.

Now he wondered if the new normal would be shattered.

“Dad! Come have a seat. Kal is pretty good at throwing the ball when he can catch it.” Alex told him excitedly.

“Yeah, he looks like a regular major leaguer already.” The man knew what he was about to do was probably not fair but the blonde had become too integral to his family to take a chance of her running. He wouldn’t lose her or the baby and she needed to understand this. Picking up the little boy, who actually clapped when he saw Jeremiah, his new favorite play partner, the man took a seat in the recliner, keeping both arms secure around him.

“Everybody, we need to have a family meeting.” He switched off the TV, while Eliza rose from her desk, noting her husband sounded a bit… worried. No, she knew his eyes. He was very worried.

Once he had everyone’s attention he began.

“Kara, you took an oath not long ago. You are a part of this family, you both are. You said you would not leave. If you had to leave, we all left. Remember?”

“Yes.” the blonde told him, beginning to get very nervous. She could hear his heart racing and it did not escape her attention that he had Kal wrapped in both arms on his lap. “Kal, come here.” she tried.

“He is fine where he is. I need you three to listen.”

Seeing he had their complete attention now and Kara didn’t look as if she would jump out the window in the next few minutes, he began.

“Kara, do you know the planet Mars? We looked at it the other night.”

“Yes” she replied.

“I have learned that three hundred years ago, there was life on the planet. Aliens to us, who were wiped out in a war with another species on the planet. I do not know all the details, but I was approached by a person working for a Martian.”

“A Martian? Like Marvin the Martian with his ray gun?” Alex asked. Seeing the look on her father’s face stopped anymore attempts at levity. “My bad, go on.”

“This man came to Earth three hundred years ago and is the last surviving Martian, he believes. He is a shapeshifter and has assumed human form and identity, currently as an Admiral in the Navy. I spoke to a man today who said he and his team work for this Martian and their job is to beat an organization called the DEO to crash sites or possible alien sightings and rescue those who mean us no harm, like you Kara. Once they do this, the Martian has safe areas set up around the world, hiding places, even communities, where these aliens live, safe from those looking for them.”

“Kara isn’t going anywhere. She is ours.” Alex told him immediately.

“I know that Alex. Can I finish talking and then we can all talk? Kara, are you doing okay?” he asked, noticing the blonde’s eyes were wide and darting around, the rest of her fidgeting.

“Yes. I swore an oath. I will not run.” she grudgingly admitted, though the thought had crossed her mind, a few ways she could get Kal from Jeremiah and leave before whoever this Martian was came after his family.

“Good. This man said his team found Kara’s pod after she crashed in Oregon. He said they took out, and no I did not want to know what he meant by took out, the DEO agents who arrived on scene. Apparently this DEO is in the business of killing aliens or… experimenting on them. They have all been racing to find you but the DEO has given up, he believes. Everybody with me so far?”

“How did he find us?” Eliza asked. “How can we trust him? Why did… was he waiting for you after work?” She was already mentally preparing what bags to pack in a hurry and how far they could get on the gas they had.

“He has been searching for a couple months, since you landed. He figured you would wind up on the East Coast eventually and he and four other men have been going from town to town, looking for you.”

“Why?” Kara asked quickly.

“Because he said he knew there was a baby and a young girl on her own who was probably very scared. He… the man who shot you, this man hurt him very badly and recovered something that he believes belongs to you. As far as how he found us, he heard a story in town about the young girl and baby that Alex has been seen with on the beach. He has been watching the house for a week. He ran your face against some sort of program that matched it to a girl escaping a grocery market. Kara, is this yours?”

Jeremiah pulled the necklace from his pocket and handed it to her. It didn’t escape his attention that his newest daughter’s hand was shaking.

“Where did he get this?” she asked quietly.

“He found it at the farm where you were shot at. I guess it is yours? I didn’t recognize the stone.”

“ It was my mother’s… It belonged to my mother. She gave it to me just before I was sent away.” she told him, staring at it through tear stained eyes. “I thought it was gone forever. It was all I had left of her and now I have it… again.”

“I spent the last hour talking to this man. He rode back from the lab with me and we talked in front of the motel room I dropped him off at. I believe we can trust him. It’s my gut feeling. He could have approached the house at any time. He could have talked to Eliza or Alex at any time. He said he came to me because he did not want to scare Kara. He seemed genuine but there is too much at stake. We need to decide as a family, whether we run or stay. He also told me that if we stayed but did not want to speak to the Martian, he would do his best to protect us from afar should the DEO ever track her down. He doesn’t think this is likely since he has some hacker working for him that is in the DEO’s database but does not want to take chances. So we put it to a vote. Alex, what do you think we should do?”

“Me? Uh… I don’t know. This is kind of a lot. Kara and Kal are just getting settled and this guy comes up and… he did give her back her mother’s necklace.” she admitted, watching the girl rubbing the stone, not crying loudly but tears still streaming down her face. “I go where Kara decides. If she wants to meet this person thats fine. If she wants to run I can be packed in two minutes. I’ve kept her backpack loaded with supplies and a couple other bags filled in the event something like this… if she were found.”

“Eliza?”

“Run. I don’t know how or where but we can’t take the chance of anyone getting their hands on her or Kal. I… I’ll kill whoever tries.”

Jeremiah was taken back by the conviction in her words. But watching her looking between the blonde on the floor and the baby on his lap, he believed her.

“Kara?”

“I will meet him. Alone. If you can all protect Kal, then he cannot harm me. As long as you are safe I can handle…”

“No. We stay or we go, but either way we do this together.” Jeremiah told her, expecting that from the girl.

“Yeah, you stay, I stay. We are a team. We won’t leave each other.” Alex agreed.

Kara took a deep breath and wiped her eyes. “Do you trust him? I trust you. If you trust him I will meet this… Martian. I have heard of shape shifters before but do not know much about the history of this Galaxy. I didn’t not even know what Earth looked like until I arrived here.”

“Kara, I do trust him. I do not totally trust anyone outside of this family but if what he is saying is true, the man could be a huge help. He offered to get you and Kal backgrounds, birth certificates, whatever we need. Also there is something else you should know. He says there are others on this planet now, people he believes are Kryptonians. People that have your abilities and more. People that have used that laser vision of yours purposely to harm others.”

“Damn it! That’s what this is about! If there are others they will want to test her to find out how to stop them.” Eliza objected.

“He also believes these Kryptonians are looking for Kara and are very violent. He swore they wouldn’t study her. Like I said, I believe him. If he wanted her, there have been other ways he could have approached this. Kara, you have heard what they both said but it is your call. Alex says she will do what you want and Eliza will also. She wants to run and she may be right, but… I think he is genuine.”

“Other Kryptonians? They are… violent? They cause harm?”

“Yes, that is what he told me. He said he has photos of them if you wouldn’t mind looking at it, see if you might know anyone.”

“There were 22 million Kryptonians on the planet when it exploded. I can look but… you won’t let me do this alone? You can stay near with Kal. That way if I am attacked…”

“Not happening.” Alex told her. “Say the word and we are all gone. Maybe we could move to New Zealand. They filmed Lord of the Rings in New Zealand… yeah, you would like that movie I think.”

Kara closed her eyes and rubbed her necklace gently. This was crazy. Another alien? Other Kryptonians? Alive and here? Hurting…

“Did he say if the other Kryptonians… did they kill anyone? You said harm but did they… kill them?”

“Yes, some have killed humans.” he told her, watching her gaze drop to the floor.

“I would… I think I have to meet this Martian. When can he be here?”

“In two hours, if I make a call. If not, he promised he would never approach again. We can leave and I don’t think he would stop us but I have no doubt he could track us easily. It is worth the risk if you say no.”

“I will meet this Martian. Call him please.”

Kara sat on the couch, noticing that while Jeremiah had let Kal go, they all stayed close to him. They were afraid she would take him and run, even though that would be best for their family. Alex sat near her, holding her hand, hoping Kara didn’t decide to squeeze to hard.

One hour and forty two minutes had passed when there was a knock on the door. Kara used her special vision, straining to see through the wooden structure and beyond. She saw two men and neither were armed. Standing up, she began turning in circles, seeing everything as far as she could. Not seeing any other sentient life forms, she nodded to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah opened the door and saw Connolly along with a tall white man, dark hair streaked with grey and wearing a button downed white shirt and simple black pants. A tie and jacket would have completed the look and he wondered how long it took him to decide on what clothing to wear to make himself as non threatening as possible. Alex held Kal and Kara gently forced the girl behind her, annoying Alex but she had no chance with Kara’s strength to resist.

“Good to see you again so soon, Jeremiah. This is Admiral Robert Greer, also known as J’onn J’onzz. I guess you would be Eliza there in the back. No offense ma’am, but that gun is so old it will more likely kill you than anyone you are aiming at.”

The family turned around and saw Eliza in the back and Jeremiah wondered where the hell she got a rifle from.

“Family heirloom passed down from my grandfather. It has been in the attic for many years but all the same I will take my chances if you attack my family.”

“Kara, are they unarmed?” the father asked.

“Yes.”

“Do they look like the type of men who need guns to harm people?” Eliza argued. Jeremiah admitted she had a point.

“Ma’am if I wanted to attack you or your family I could have handled your husband already and snuck up on you before you had a chance to find that gun. We mean no harm.” Connolly tried. “But I am serious, when I say firing that rifle could be very dangerous to you. Plus it has quite a bit of kick and you wouldn’t be able to control it. The odds are just as good of you hitting the girls or baby, than hitting us. I don’t think you want that. Pretty please, put the gun down?”

Eliza took a deep breath and lowered the rifle but kept it in her hands.

“Thank you. By the way the safety is still on. It’s a pleasure to meet you all. My name is Jason Connolly and as I said,this is my boss the Martian, J’onn.”

“Are you an alien too?” Alex asked him, holding Kal tightly despite him wanting to squirm out.

“No ma’am, I’m an American Jedi. May we have a seat?”

“First of all, now that we are inside, may I take my true form? I didn’t want to surprise anyone. I am quite tall and quite green.” J’onn asked, speaking for the first time to all but looking at Kara. The blonde nodded and in a flash of light, the true appearance of the Martian was seen.

“Okay, I don’t know if I trust them, but I admit that was cool.” Alex whispered to Kara, who silently agreed.

The two men moved towards the couch, while Kara remained standing with Alex and Kal behind her. Jeremiah took his recliner but Eliza stood behind the couch, in front of the door.

Kara walked slowly to the Martian, taking him in. She had seen shape shifters before but never of this species. He was fascinating.

“I know what it is to lose a world. My people are gone and my family are dead as well. I understand your name is Kara? How is your English? I am afraid I don’t know any other besides the dialects of this Earth and Mars.”

“My English is… passable?”

“Good. Were you or the child harmed on your journey? I understand it was very difficult. I had a difficult time when I arrived on this Earth. You are very brave and resourceful to not only hide and make it across the country but to take care of a baby. Is he your brother?”

“Cousin and no, we are both fine. I do not want to leave here but I will if it is safer for them…”

“You are going nowhere. You are ours.” Eliza told her, leaving no room for further debate.

J’onn looked up at the woman, appreciating her dedication. The girl definitely got lucky finding these people. Or perhaps they found her. “I am glad to hear that. I think this family is safe. They will be safe, provided you hide your abilities. Have you gotten control over your strength and senses?”

“My strength when I concentrate and my senses if I can focus on one sound or smell. It is not easy but I am getting better.”

“And the laser vision?” he continued.

“It has only happened twice, once when I encountered a bear and once after a nightmare in a cave. I have not had it happen since but I am very afraid of it.” she admitted.

“That is because you cannot control it. While it is important to stay hidden, appear human, not using your power is crucial. However you will have to learn to use this vision safely, perhaps practicing in this cave you speak of. Once you control it, your body will no longer fear it. Right now I suspect that when you are truly frightened, it is a natural defense mechanism, out of instinct. With control, this should go away. I can tell by your eyes you do not sleep well. Do you have nightmares every night?”

Kara nodded her head.

“So do I.” J’onn admitted. “They may never go away but they do fade in severity with time. Can you tell me what happened to Krypton? If you would rather not talk about it, I understand.”

Kara looked at Jeremiah who nodded and began the story Kara had told him, knowing the girl did not want to rehash the tale herself. After five minutes, J’onn understood. It was obvious the girl did not have the abilities on Krypton that she had here and solar energy was the cause. This did not help him, as he suspected the Kryptonians store this energy. They would be as strong at night as during the day.

“Kara, words cannot express how sorry I am for your loss.”

“I am sorry for yours.” she told him, then looked at Connolly. “Thank you for returning my mother’s necklace.”

“You are very welcome.” he told her, having stayed quiet. He never had any family growing up after the age of five. Hearing her tale about losing her’s was gut wrenching.

“Kara, did Jeremiah tell you about other Kryptonians on this planet?”

“Yes. They harmed people. They have killed people?”

“Yes they have. I am sorry to tell you this. Would you mind if I showed you some photos? There have been quite a few aliens, not just of your planet, recently that arrived in a large structure, not long before your ship crashed. They have all been quite violent.”

“I will help any way that I can. I just do not… if you have to study me please leave Kal alone. He has no powers.” Kara begged.

“I will never study you, no matter what, nor will I allow others. You have my word and when I give my word, it is sacred to me.”

The Martian took his phone from his pocket and opened the photos. The first one chilled Kara to her bones.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Rozz” she whispered and everyone heard the tremble, even in the silent admission.

“Rozz? Do you know what its purpose was?”

Kara nodded, beginning to shake. “You are scaring her.” Eliza objected.

“No, he needs to know. Rozz was once a military space station… what humans would call a fort or garrison. It was Krypton’s first defense in times of war. It was eventually replaced by small weapons that orbited our planet that were not as easy a target. It was converted into a prison and placed in an area near Krypton called the… I am not sure how to say it here. A ghost or phantom zone? It was an area where time stood still. No one aged, no one… my mother. She was a judge and when a person committed a crime against Krypton, whether they were of our planet or not, they were sent there. My mother sent many people there. If they are here and free…” Kara looked at Kal. “He will be in danger if they know who he is. Our house was hated by criminals.”

“You won’t be in danger?” J’onn asked.

“They will kill me.” Kara admitted. Jeremiah and Eliza’s hearts began beating faster. Not only was she a target of this DEO but also violent aliens who want to kill her and most likely make her suffer first.

“Okay. How would they have escaped this Phantom Zone and made it to Earth?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “I do not know. The only ship that had these coordinates… was mine.”

Connolly caught the idea that was forming in her head. “Could you and Kal have been stuck in this Phantom Zone, Kara?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea. The… we would have no sense of time. I remember waking up and drifting then falling back into stasis. I didn’t wake again until my ship was activated again. It is possible. Are they all… escaped? Do they know where I am? If so Eliza, Alex, Jeremiah, they are all in danger.”

“You are as well.” Connolly pointed out. “But no, they do not know where you are. Only two people seemed interested in your pod. They attacked the DEO truck transporting it to their headquarters. Would you take a look at some photos? See if you recognize them or know why they might be interested in this pod enough to kill?”

Kara nodded and J’onn showed her the next photo. They were a variety of images taken by the transport trucks, citizens cell phones and satellite images Vivian could find.

Kara froze at the first one and actually moved back. The look on her face frightened everyone.

“Kara?” Alex tried, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“That is Aunt Astra. She is my mother’s twin sister. Why would she be… no! Why would she be there?! Did she kill those men?”

“Yes, she did. I am sorry to show you this Kara.” J’onn told her. He hadn’t thought she would really know, but seeing a vivid reminder of her family and an identical twin of her mother made the Martian regret showing the photos to her.

“She was in prison. That is why she disappeared.” Kara whispered, realization dawning on her.”She was… mother sentenced her… but why?”

“I am sorry. We believe she is looking for you or Kal…”

“She is looking for me. She hated Kal El’s mother and father. She loved me. I loved her.”

All three Danvers froze hearing this. Kara had family still alive? Family she loved?

“Kara, if you want… we will understand…” Jeremiah started. “I want you to stay with us.”

“I won’t understand. She is obviously a criminal. You aren’t going near her.” Alex told her in no uncertain terms.

“Alex…” Eliza stopped her train of thought. “We can’t make this decision for her.”

“No! If she was there, if my mother… she did something horrible. She killed these men? You are sure?” the blonde asked.

J’onn nodded. “I am afraid so. She was not alone. Do you recognize this man?” he showed her the picture of Non and Kara immediately spoke in Kryptonese angrily then remembered to speak English.

“He is Non, Aunt Astra’s husband. She was selected to mate with him. She is his superior in the Army, or was since there is no army now. But he is dishonorable. He was sentenced to the… what did you say? Phantom Zone, right before she disappeared. He is a horrible man. But divorce was not permitted and she was told by the high council and her house… oh no. What has happened? Is she looking for me? She will find me and take me. If she is with Non… Non hates my House and despises Kal El. I want nothing to do with them!” she told the room, standing up from her spot on the couch next to J’onn and pacing. Tears of anger were now streaming down her very red face.

J’onn tried to calm her down. “She does not know where you are and it does not appear she is looking any longer. If you wish to stay here…”

“If she finds me she will kill them all!” Kara shouted, pointing at the Danvers who sat silently, looking at the outrage on Kara’s face, the unbridled anger. They had seen her sad, but none had seen her angry.

“Then we make sure she doesn’t find you.” Jeremiah told her calmly.

“And if she does? She is a killer! She killed those men and if she was in the… Rozz, she must have been sent there for a reason. My mother would never send her there unless… Oh Rao, what did you do, Aunt Astra?”

“We can help you stay hidden.” J’onn assured her.

“Really? Can you stop her? Can you stop me? I am a child! She is… she was a general! She is a warrior and I am nothing! You can’t stop me! How am I supposed to protect them from her? From her and Non? What chance do I have? I hate this! I should have died! I should have died with the rest of my people and his mother should be here! I just want this nightmare to end!”

Kara ran, the family and Martian running after her, outside the house. Kal was crying in Jeremiah’s arms, if not from the volume of Kara’s voice, from his innate sense when she was troubled. Luckily she did not run far, only to the edge of the cliff. The girl dropped to her knees and screamed, looking at the sky, a sky lit up by twin beams of white hot light.

Despite Eliza trying to get to the girl first, Alex beat her, grabbing Kara from behind, sweat breaking out instantly due to the heat of her vision but she held on. Eventually Kara stopped, closing her eyes and collapsing to the ground on her hands as well as her knees, Alex with her. Alex didn’t say a word, just holding her from behind when Jeremiah and Eliza ran up behind her.

“Oh Kara.” Eliza whispered, just now seeing how truly broken the girl was. She knew she was fragile, having just lost her world, but she never understood the depth of emotions inside the girl until this moment, watching her finally lay face first on the ground, wailing.

Alex lay beside her whispering.

“We are together now. You have me, you have all of us. You are safe and we will be safe.”

“I love her Alex and she will… how did this happen? Why?” Kara mumbled, turning her face from the ground and looking at Alex.

“I don’t know, but I know you won’t ever get the chance to ask her. We will stay hidden. Nobody would think to look for you here. You are going to live, whether you like it or not. I need you and Kal needs you. Lets go inside, please?”

“My eyes.”

“I think you have probably burned out whatever is there. You are okay. I will never be afraid of you.”

“You should be.”

“So I’m not that smart. Doesn’t change anything. We are a team. You aren’t alone, I won’t leave you alone, I swear. I take my oaths seriously too.”

Kara crawled to her feet, feeling very weak despite her superhuman strength. Alex kept an arm around her while they walked back to the house where J’onn and the human waited for her. She walked inside without another word, sitting on the couch. Satisfied she wouldn’t run, Jeremiah gave a squirming Kal El to her. The boy wrapped his arms around her neck and seemed to try and melt into his cousin.

“So what do I do now? She has to be stopped.” Kara admitted, not sure if she was talking to the Martian or herself.

“She will be, by us.” Connolly told her.

“How?”

“I haven’t got that part planned yet kid, but don’t worry. I will figure out a way. It’s what I get paid for.” he assured her. “Your only job is to live life. Stay low and we will always be near. We will keep tabs on this DEO and your… have a good thing here. People that want you and I can already tell they love you. Want to know how I know that? Because you just shot a couple of beams of pure energy into the sky and they ran after you instead of from you. That’s more than a lot of people have. You aren’t going to die and you should not have died. You are special. Screw whatever you think of your family. Trust me, I know. People like us, we make our own destiny, regardless of where we came from. The whys don’t matter. All that matters is you are here because some force in this universe knew what it was doing and got it right for once.”

“I do not believe that.”

“Yeah? I’m an adult and I know adults pretty well. If his mother came with him, she probably would have tried to welcome humans, worked out something with them, asked for help. They both would have been taken. You knew to run on instinct. You saved him, not his mother or anyone else. Can I show you something?”

Kara nodded her head. Connolly pulled up his shirt to his neck and everyone but J’onn in the room gasped. He put his shirt back down.

“Those scars? They are reminders, reminders of every fight I have been in and survived. Your scars, you have them too, but they are inside. Instead of thinking they are something to be ashamed of, think of them as what they really are. Proof that you are still here and you deserve to be. I swear to you, Hank Henshaw will never get his hands on you or your family. I will kill him first. If you stay low, your aunt won’t find you. All five of you will be safe.” Connolly dropped his shirt. “You are going to live. Your parents wanted you to live and your aunt probably does too but this husband of hers, Kara I have a feeling he would try and kill you and I am betting your cousin as well. It’s important to not only stay low but to be happy. If you aren’t, you will truly have lived for nothing. Don’t let this define you.”

Kara nodded her head but knew it wouldn’t be that easy. Why hadn’t she paid attention on Krypton? Why didn’t she ask her mother why her and Astra had grown apart or why Astra stopped coming as often until she disappeared. She was told not to ask and that was it. On Krypton, you did as you were told.

“I will have documents made for both children. They are in the works now. It is completely off the books but will be actual documents, not fake. She and her little brother, and yes I realize he is her cousin but that is too much to explain, will be children you have adopted. They will legally have your names. Kara is not an common name, but Kal is not. He is going to be called Clark…”

‘Because J’onn still thinks we live in the fifties.” Connolly added until the Martian looked at him.

“Regardless, the story is that friends of yours, Kara and Clark’s parents died in a fire. You and Eliza have adopted the two. You will have the documents tomorrow, including adoption papers. It would be too difficult for Kara at her age to learn a different name but I would suggest start calling Kal by Clark. He is young enough that he may never remember his true name until such a time as he can be told the truth. If Kara can determine certain stars it may be possible…”

“She is thirteen. We have already done this. She is a mathematical genius. Since time stopped in this area she could have possibly been stuck in, nothing should change. Alex offered to share a birthday with her.” Jeremiah told the Martian.

“Very well. I have to get back to my Carrier. Connolly will have a forwarding base moved within an hour of here. That way his team can respond quickly if needed but also won’t draw attention to this town. They may be away on missions but you will be informed and one man will likely stay back. You will meet the rest of his team tomorrow and be given directions to their safe house, should you need to flee. The men will have the documents. One of them, Dante Youngblood, will assist Kara with learning to control her powers, perhaps in this cave you mentioned. It has to be out of sight.”

“How will he help her? What does he know about… her powers?” Eliza asked.

“He doesn’t, but he is very good at controlling himself mentally. Out of all the team he is the least reckless and most calm. Calmness will be key for her. Kara, have you learned to control your ability to fly?”

All four looked at him.

“I cannot fly.” the blonde told him.

“Yes you can, you just don’t know how. We need to work on this. You need to master these powers in secret so you don’t accidentally use them in public. I can work with you on this. I can fly but we will have to travel to a hangar, somewhere with high ceilings so you can remain undercover.”

“I do not want to fly. I do not want any of this.” she pleaded.

“I know Kara, but you must learn how to control it. Then you never have to use any of them again. You cannot be at school and accidentally begin floating. Mr. and Mrs. Danvers, I have had funds set up for refugees…”

“We can handle it. We are her family now, both of them belong with us.” Eliza told him. “We will take care of everything. His nursery is being set up tomorrow.”

“I did not mean to imply that you couldn’t. I just want you to know I am always here for anything you may need. Always.”

“Thank you J’onn.” Jeremiah told him. “There is one thing we will need, that we cannot get for her. She needs someone… to talk to.”

“She has me.” Alex spoke up immediately.

“I know but there are other things, perhaps someone who can understand what she has gone through? Help her deal with the emotions in a way that those like us who have never experienced what she went through could help her with?” Jeremiah did not have to specify what he wanted. Even if J’onn was not reading his mind he knew what the girl was suffering and would suffer from. Anxiety, depression, survivors syndrome, inferiority, and post traumatic stress syndrome. He had dealt with it all himself. Many times over the past three hundred years, the Martian did not feel he had the right to be alive.

Taking a deep breath, he committed himself. He knew no one else who had gone through something similar other than himself.

“Every Sunday I will make the trip to the safe house. Bring her there. If I keep showing up here it could draw attention. I am an Admiral after all. While I am not watched there is no love lost between myself and Henshaw. I will speak to her as often as I can. The times I cannot be there, Mr. Connolly will contact you with a phone he will be bringing tomorrow. This will be the only phone you will ever use to contact his team and the phone he will contact you on. I will do the best I can. Afterwards, perhaps the two of us can find a place to get a handle on this flying.”

“I cannot fly.” Kara told him again, frightened of the prospect.

“Kara,” Connolly spoke up, “Were there times when you were running that jumping over large streams of water and fallen trees seemed a bit to easy, even for you?”

Kara said nothing.

“I picked up your trail through some areas. I lost your footprints at times. You may not realize it but you were flying very close to the ground but flying all the same. Your… these other Kryptonians, they can fly, fast and far. There is no reason to think you can’t either. Better to find out in a controlled environment than accidentally right?”

Kara nodded, hating the prospect of having to use these gifts that she considered a curse but understanding the need.

“Thank you J’onn, Mr. Connolly.” Kara told him and meant it.

“Connolly works fine. Everybody else calls me that. And you are welcome. This is what we do, but I think my team has kind of already fallen in love with you. You got grit and guts, kid. You are going to be fine. Just try, try and find happiness, try and forget what happened or may have happened. At least don’t let it consume is a new planet and a new life and you have a great family looking out for you. It may not seem like it now, but it is going to be okay.”

Kara noticed something in his eyes, a look, sad but also remembering the past.

“You lost your family, did you… didn’t you?”

“Yeah, but in my case it was a blessing. Family is who you make it. Blood has nothing to do with it. We should get going. Probably time for the kids to get to bed. I will bring my team tomorrow at 9 AM?”

“That will be fine Jason. Thank you for your help, both of you.” the father told him and offered his hand.

J’onn took his offered hand. “You are very welcome, Jeremiah Danvers. Good evening to you.” all.”

Kara followed Alex upstairs, waited for the brunette to shower and then both bathed Kal, neither saying much of anything about the strange night they had all had. Alex was coming to grips with everything, including a very tall, very green Martian in her living room and the news of Kara’s aunt being here on Earth, possibly looking for her blonde best friend and married to a homicidal, super powered psychopath who most likely wanted to kill Kara and Kal. Kara herself had too many thoughts running through her mind, too many emotions to deal with. She was angry, sad, relieved that Astra was alive but horrified by what that must was also scared, very scared. Non had always frightened her the few times she had been in his presence. It was obvious by his countenance that he despised the House of El and while he smiled and showed all the proper protocol in social gatherings he looked at her with what she now knew was murder in his eyes. She often had dreams on Krypton in which he was chasing her. He had been a curse Rao had placed on Aunt Astra that had followed her to this new world and likely destroyed her life before Krypton was gone. She could also hear Eliza and Jeremiah talking downstairs, Eliza thinking they should still take Kara and run, or at least entertaining the possibility. Jeremiah agreed that while it may be a good idea to have their own plans in place, he believed he could trust the also agreed that Kara needed help. Did they think she was crazy?

Maybe she was. Maybe… Kara did not know any longer. She did know that she had entered Alex’s family’s life and now they were determined to throw away their safe existence over her and Kal. She was afraid this would happen and this was the reason she left instead of following Alex back home the night Alex had come to her in the cave. Was she like Non? Would she ruin these nice people’s lives ? They had shown her kindness. Would she bring them hurt in return?

Ideas floated in her mind, plans to leave Kal here and turn herself into Astra, pray her Aunt had some love left and wasn’t the killer she appeared to be, pray that she would keep her safe from Non. She could tell her aunt that Kal died and she buried him. This DEO would not to think to look for a baby with no power. She would be the one they came after.

But Kara also knew this wouldn’t work. If anyone still came for them, she was the only one capable of protecting the Danvers. She had no illusions about being in Astra or Non’s league as far as fighting. Kara wasn’t a fighter. But perhaps she could hold them off long enough for the Danvers to escape.

“Stop it.”

“Stop what?” Kara asked her friend.

“Whatever plans you have for becoming a martyr. Stop it. I can almost hear your mind at work. You made an oath and so did I. We don’t leave each other. We will stay low. Nobody will suspect you aren’t from here. You can learn control and maybe get a good nights sleep without waking up every five minutes.”

“That was not what I was thinking of.” Kara lied.

“Yeah, whatever. You know what tomorrow is?”

“Wednesday?”

“Yeah, but it is also the day you officially become my little sister. I’m your big sister now and you have to do everything I say.”

“I didn’t before?” the blonde asked jokingly.

“Not always. But when it comes to your safety, I look after you now. We are better, stronger together, right?”

“I can protect you. I will. I will learn to protect you all.” Kara promised.

“We are going to protect each other. Lets get Munchkin out of the bath. He is turning into prune. You shower and you are going to get a goods night sleep for a change. Forget about everything you learned tonight. You heard the scarred Jedi. They can handle it and you can be happy and forget all about it.”

Kara shook her head. “How can I ever forget what I learned?”

“By focusing on us. You are going to be fine. All of four years we will be going to college and then we will be adults and we will figure out Kal but we are going to do it together. We made an oath. You are my sister now. Like it or not we are bound. So any ideas you have about sacrificing yourself are going to stop, because if you leave I will follow, no matter what. You don’t want me in danger, right?”

Kara watched her smirking new sister, so proud of her effective manipulation.

“I am not going anywhere.”

“I’m. We really have to work on you not sounding like a dictionary. More movies are needed.”

Kara took a shower and dressed in her very comfortable pajamas. Once out the door, Eliza was waiting for her.

“I won’t ask if you are okay. I know you aren’t. But I am here for you. If you ever need to talk or anything. I just want you to know that. I will never be able to replace what you lost but you belong with us now. We are always here for each other. Do you understand?”

“Yes. No. I do not… you place everyone in danger. Yourself, your husband and daughter. Why?”

“Because the first time I saw your muddy face I fell in love with you both. I just knew it was meant to be, for better or worse, you and Kal… Clark I guess, are a part of us.”

“Would you have shot those men?”

“If I thought they would try to hurt any of us, yes. I may have missed, the gun may have blown up in my face but I would have tried. There is nothing I will not do to protect my family. That includes the two of you. Try to get some sleep tonight honey. You need it. I know it will be hard, but go to bed thinking of happy things. Maybe it will help. Good night Kara.”

Eliza kissed the girl on her forehead and went to her bedroom. Kara walked to her bed by the window and found Alex and Kal in it.

“What are you doing?”

“He wants you. He is worried about you. I am too. I also think the reason you can’t sleep is because you have been sleeping on your back. That wasn’t how you slept on Krypton, was it?”

“No,” the blonde admitted. “I slept on my side.”

“Then lay down on your side and I will too. Kal can sleep between us and I can wake you if you start to have any bad dreams. You won’t though, not tonight. Your eyes are not going to explode and you are going to relax. I promise. Get in bed.”

Kara reluctantly got into bed and turned on her side, away from Alex. She felt Kal pressed into her back, lightly breathing, fast asleep and Alex was shuffling a bit then her breathing evened out. Despite what she had learned tonight or perhaps because of it, Kara felt exhausted. Laying on her side for the first time in months, she drifted off to sleep.

For the first time since her arrival on Earth she did not dream and she did not wake. The girl slept the entire night.