Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 22: Family secrets

“Have I mentioned this is a bad idea?”

“Only about a dozen times since we woke up, Alex.” Kara answered, looking at the ocean, the cold, cold water and the high waves. Both girls had woken at 6 Am on a Saturday, left a note that they were going shell hunting for an art project Kara wanted to start and made the trek to the beach. A hundred yards into the water, Kara knew there was a ledge that dropped off around thirty feet. She knew the backpack was somewhere at the bottom, pressed against the ledge where she had tossed it.

The blonde took her shorts and shirt off, standing in only her blue swimsuit. Alex was shivering but started undressing as well.

“What do you think you are doing?” Kara asked her.

“Going for a swim with you. Maybe you haven’t noticed that when you have panic attacks you hyperventilate and pass out. That means Blondie needs oxygen. You have never practiced holding your breath. I can’t let you dive down yourself.”

The girl picked up her sister’s jacket and handed it back to her.

“You can’t go into the water. It is freezing. You won’t be able to move much less swim and dive. The temperature won’t bother me. I will be right back, under a minute.”

“You are going to drown. This is…”

“A bad idea. I have heard. Stay here and if I am not back soon then… call Dante or someone to check the ocean for me. I won’t be caught under but a current could move me if I am not touching bottom. I will be fine though.”

Alex sighed and her shoulders sagged. “You have to do this, don’t you? Why is it so important to talk to that jerk again?”

“He has information I need. I can handle him Alex. He is just a hologram of a dead man but he is also a hologram with information. Information I want and he will give to me.”

“Not if you drown getting it. Lets wait until the summer or until I can get a wetsuit. Maybe Dante can teach us to scuba dive and we can make it a summer project…”

“Stay here and be my lookout. Trust me Alex, I will make it. One minute and I will be back.” Kara told her, and then moved before Alex could say another word. She rushed into the water, feet in the shifting sands and head down, crashing through the waves until she had gone as far as possible without being able to catch air between wave breaks. Kara let herself float and then began to swim, not focusing on power but technique as she had been taught. Once she was in the deeper water, Kara found out how much different swimming in rough, cold water was, than the calmer water her and Dante usually practiced in. She had not swam in some weeks since learning to fight and had not learned to deal with currents.

The blonde strained to stay on a straight path, correcting her course many times. She knew if her muscles were able to tire she would have been swept out to sea or back to the shore right after she entered. Kara stopped finally, trying to peer through the water while floating up and down on the waves. Straining her vision to see clearly in the murky water, she was unable to hold her position and for the first time thought that Alex’s plan to come back in a few months might have some merit.

Before deciding to give up, Kara spotted the ledge and moved over it, fighting the waves. Taking a deep breath she dove.

The girl was surprised that despite the waves being up top, the currents still threw her around. She reached the sandy bottom and dug her feet in. Taking a quick look around, scanning the wall of the ledge, she thought she spied the bag to her left maybe thirty or forty feet away. Kara started to move towards the bag when the burning in her chest became unbearable. Not wanting to give in, the blonde eventually had no choice and shot to the surface. Once her head broke the surface she took a deep gulp of air until a wave crashed over her, sending salt water into her mouth, burning her throat. Spitting out the water she could, Kara took another breath, this not as deep due to the salt water burning her nose and throat, and dove again. Using her powerful legs, she shot straight down and rode the current towards the bag. Reaching the bottom, the girl planted her feet and walked the remaining ten feet towards the bag. Despite the darkness of the deeper water, Kara could make it out perfectly. The bag was still intact, having survived its trip here. She took the bag in a hand and shot to the surface.

On the surface Kara allowed the currents and waves to wash her to the shore, only using her feet and one arm to steer. A minute later she touched shallow ground and walked quickly from the water, landing on the beach and keeling over.

Alex saw her exit the water about a hundred feet from where she entered. Running to her sister, the older girl saw the blonde on her hands and knees, coughing up saltwater.

“You idiot! You said a minute! One minute! You were gone for five! Why the hell are you so stupid? This was a dumb idea! I told you it was a dumb idea! Why don’t you listen to me?”

“Yes, I am okay, thank you for asking.” Kara told her breathlessly, trying to stop the burning in her lungs and chest. Her nose was also running.

“You don’t look okay.” Alex told her, for once not impressed by Kara’s growing mastery of sarcasm.

“I will be as soon as I get the salt water out of my body. It was a more difficult task than I expected but I was successful.”

Congrats. Lets go back to where you were supposed to exit in sixty seconds. You need a towel and then need to get dressed. Mom and Dad are going to be pissed if they find you went swimming without Dante. You aren’t even supposed to be swimming. Blending in, remember?”

“That is why we are here at 6:00 AM. We should hurry. I need to find shells of some impressive sort so they will believe our story.”

Alex shook her head. “I thought we weren’t going to do this whole secret thing? From all of us I mean.”

Kara looked sharply at her. “We aren’t. If I hurt myself or want to, I write in the book. I stay around someone and do not complain that I am watched like I am suicidal. I do not sneak off on my own, which we both know I am capable of doing. I am following the plan we all agreed to. But this? This is our secret Alex. We have no secrets from each other, right? I love Jeremiah and Eliza but there are things we keep to ourselves. That is what sisters do, right?”

‘Yeah, I guess.” Alex admitted, taking the girl’s hand and trying to pull her down the beach. “Just please don’t let this make you worse.”

“How could I be worse, Alex?”

“That is what I am afraid of finding out.”

Thirty minutes later, after Kara had dug up a few impressive Keyhole Sand Dollars, the two girls arrived at what was now simply called The Cave. Kara’s retreat when she felt particularly dark or wanted to be alone, not that she was allowed to be alone any longer.

“Okay, the cave is flooded, just like I said it would be.” Alex pointed out. “It always floods every time the slightest rain shower falls. Where are we going to hide the pack now? You know Mom puts our clean clothes in our closet during the day. She has taken to this homemaking stuff way too well. The back shed is hardly used this time of year. We could hide it under some other stuff.”

Kara handed the soggy and weighted bag to Alex, who nearly dropped when she felt the weight.

“Relax. I got this. Just stay out here and don’t stand near the entrance. It’s going to become very humid.”

Alex scrambled away from the entrance and watched Kara walk inside. She knew the girl was wading in water and wondered what plan she had. Her question was answered when the cave entrance lit up and steam began exiting the ground.

Kara for her part, waded as far in as she could, until the hem of her shorts were just above water. Looking down at the water, she smiled and unleashed her heat vision, watching the water boil and evaporate around her. She continued to walk forward, the water turning to steam as she did. When she reached the main chamber her power flared and the water practically exploded if possible, the massive amount of steam resembling smoke. She stood in the middle of the no longer flooded room and waited for steam team to blow out the top hole of the chamber.

Walking out of the cave, she found Alex not happy, probably because she used a massive amount of heat vision. Alex’s look of anger was transformed after taking Kara in, to one of absolute delight. The blonde watched her sister double over in laughter.

“What is funny? I don’t get it. I dried the cave.”

“Your… your hair. Its so frizzed… oh my God, Mom is going to freak when she sees it. It looks like you got struck by lightning. You better run into the shower when we get home and try out some conditioner before she sees you. This is too good. Hold on.”

Alex took her phone out before Kara placed her hand over the camera lens.

“I am not wearing my glasses.”

“I’m not posting this anywhere. This is for me. Now move your hand.”

“No.”

Alex looked at her in challenge, the two girls engaging in a clash of wills. As always, Kara gave in first and dropped her hand. Alex snapped the photo and showed it to her.

The younger girl reached up to her hair and felt it was indeed standing straight up in areas as the picture showed. She couldn’t contain a laugh which Alex returned. Soon both girls were on the ground in tears. They waited another twenty minutes until Kara’s hair went almost back to normal and the floor of the cave was no longer as hot as molten lava.

The warmth was actually nice, considering the amount of time Alex had spent in the cold already today. Kara took the backpack from her and held out her hand. Alex slipped her the microscope slide, the one that held a bit of blood that Alex had procured from Eliza’s sample of Clark’s that the woman usually kept in a vault. She had left it out one day after running a test to determine if stool softeners may work for him and Alex had granted Kara’s request to take a bit and keep it clean and secure. At the time Alex wondered why and guessed she knew now.

Kara dumped the crystals unceremoniously on the ground and searched for the one with Jor El’s hologram. She slid the slide with Clark’s blood onto her finger and touched the crystal. As last time, the hologram came to life. Unlike last time, Kara was prepared.

The hologram looked at her, scanning her body.

“Kara Zor El.”

“Kara Danvers.” she corrected.

“So you have forsaken your heritage as a Kryptonian, as a member of your house and your honor, deciding to identify with humans?”

“Our house has no honor. We were criminals, we broke the law, we ignored the warning signs and you all lied to me. I owe you nothing.” the blonde told him defiantly. Alex watched from the back, keeping a close eye on Kara’s mental and emotional state. So far the girl appeared very calm.

“Then why have you summoned me from the crystal?”

“I need access to all of them. You are going to give me access.”

“Only my son shall have access to him. Where is he?”

“He is at home with his parents. He is so cute when he calls them Mommy and Daddy. He does not even remember our language any longer. You will give me access or else.”

“You would threaten your elder?”

“I am threatening a dead man’s hologram but if you were alive, yes I would threaten you. You will give me access or I will destroy these crystals forever. Perhaps I will keep using Clark’s blood to access them. I will never tell him about Krypton. When he asks, should he gain powers, I will tell him his father was an evil man who we escaped from. I will tell him he was lucky to have never known you and my parents saved the both of us. Perhaps I will tell him he was an orphan and I found him. Maybe the Danvers found us and I have no memory of where we came from. Shall I go on? Our House is gifted at lies. If you are truly Jor El’s consciousness then you have his hubris as well. What is it going to be? Give me what I want, or any knowledge you ever existed done away with.”

“You have become mentally and emotionally unstable.”

“I have become what you made me. What will it be Jor El? Give me access to the crystals or ensure your son never has knowledge of you?”

The hologram’s face morphed into one of displeasure as opposed to a neutral expression it normally wore.

“You will do as you are told.”

“Wrong answer. It will be fun making up stories to tell Clark about you. The wonderful thing is I won’t even have to make much up.”

Kara moved to grab the crystal from the ground when his voice stopped her. A light enveloped her.

“You now have access. There is no reason for you to steal my son’s blood any longer.”

“I am glad to see you can make good decisions. Jor El was nothing if not pragmatic. it seems to have followed his artificial conscience. I have questions you are going to answer. Failure to answer means your immediate destruction. False answers will result in the same. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“First question. Why was Krypton destroyed?”

“The planet’s core became unstable.”

“Why did it become unstable?”

“The planet used up the stores of energy we had recovered from the ground, what humans would call fossil fuels, natural gas, oil and such. The technology we had to use Rao’s massive energy was not strong enough to power our entire planet for any length of time. Krypton needed a new power source before our defenses failed, or cities died, our technology rose against us in a quest for survival. We found it under us, in our planet’s core. The core of Krypton was radioactive, and we were able to harness the power, similar to the manner humans have begun harnessing the power of uranium. We made a mistake however, a miscalculation. We believed the process to be safe, the core to continue to recharge due to the natural magnetic fields and gravity of the planet. The core could not recharge quickly enough and the it began losing stability. By the time we realized it was becoming unstable, it was too late to stop the chain reaction. Jor El and I discovered this two years before your birth. It was estimated that we had perhaps a decade, no more than two decades before the planet’s core exploded. It lasted 15 years.”

Kara felt herself becoming sick, listening to the robotic retelling of her planet’s destruction.

“You say you discovered this method of powering the planet?”

“Our House, my father, your father, Lara and I, discovered the technique for powering Krypton. Your father and I were not even of age to sit in on Council meetings. We were young and foolish and our father was too ambitious.”

“So our House is responsible for the destruction of our planet. Did anyone else know? Did the Council know?”

“No. At the time of our discovery it became obvious that we could do nothing to stop it. Instead we focused on saving our culture. The Council was told the quakes and boiling seas were the result of a shifting of magnetic poles and provided falsified data to back this. They asked no questions and we assured them that in two decades the planet would once again regain its beauty and stability.”

“All of Krypton, everyone, not one person had an idea that we were all doomed. That we were going to die. You kept that from them? What gave you the right?”

“If I had told the populace wide spread panic would have ensued. That would have done our planet no good. Instead your parents and I focused on preserving our culture and race.”

“Through Kal El?” Kara asked once again.

“Yes.”

“But you do not expect him to mate with a human. I do not sleep more than three hours a night. I have a lot of time to think. It makes no sense that you would believe he is the last hope for our race to continue. You want him to have a child? No, I know that isn’t it. You wanted him born of the womb but not because you did not want him to have predispositions. What was the real reason? Something is different about him. What did you do? Why is he the future of our planet? The truth, now.”

“Kal El had to be born naturally. If his DNA had been overseen by the birthing council, our plan would have been discovered. He was not under their authority, nor had he ever been while in Lara’s womb. I was able to alter his genetic makeup slightly right before his birth in the womb. I encoded his DNA with the future of all Kryptonians who had not been born yet. These crystals will tell him how to extract the genetic material. Other crystals when accessed shall be able to rebuild a small piece of our heritage, a fortress where our secrets can be kept, technology that was only developed by our planet. A birthing matrix is stored in these crystals.”

“Oh Rao. Please tell me you didn’t. You put the Codex… you planted it inside him. The genetic material of all Krypton. You did that?!”

“Yes. There are many areas of Earth that cannot be inhabited by humans. Our people may slowly rise in these areas, our technology can be protected by those of us alive, given powers by the Yellow Sun. We would be unstoppable and able to continue to develop space exploration technology until an uninhabited planet that could sustain life could be found. Then we would leave Earth and start a new Krypton.”

“You expect him to extract the codex from himself and use the growth matrix to start over. You lost your mind didn’t you?”

“I am concerned that you are not emotionally stable. I was very sane. I had the future of our planet to ensure. That is your duty as well.”

“Do not tell me my duty or you will cease to exist. Did you even love him or was he just a tool for you to smuggle the Codex off the planet?”

“I needed a naturally born child. The child needed to be cared for. Because of your parents, Lara was unable to accompany him. Now the duty of our race’s future depends on you.”

Kara nearly vomited, but held it down. She had wanted information and she was getting it. It made her sick but she would remain strong, at least while Alex was watching. Alex uncharacteristically had not said a word and Kara deeply regretted her being here, hearing all the sordid secrets of her house.

“How do I extract the Codex from him? How do I get it out of him?”

“You cannot. The Codex has bonded with his cells. When he is of age, you will understand how to develop a method of extraction for individual genetic material, but the Codex will always remain in him. This is why it is imperative that he remain alive above all else.”

“Unlike you, I love him for who he is. I will protect him because I love him. But he will never know what you have done to him. He will never extract any genetic material to form any Kryptonian. Krypton is dead and it will stay that way. Our family destroyed it once. I will not allow our family to destroy another world for our sake. Any planet we find capable of sustaining life will have life already there. We had a planet, we had a chance. The House of El killed that chance.”

“I cannot force you to do anything, Kara Zor…”

“My name is Kara Danvers and you will address me as such. You and your information belong to me now. You will do as I command.”

“What shall I do since you have no intention of saving our race?” Jor El asked.

“I will find a suitable place to hide our technology some day. I will destroy any birthing matrixes that come from the crystals but the rest shall remain. It will be used for the betterment of this planet. My sister Alex is a scientist and she appreciates life. The two of us will have the knowledge of Krypton at our disposal. I will defeat Non and Astra. Because of our family this planet is in danger and I will do what you could not do for Krypton. I will access you as I need you. Should I ever decide to bring Clark here you will not mention the Codex being bonded to his cells.

“You are a disappointment Kara Danvers. You do not deserve to carry the name of our house.”

“I am glad to be a disappointment to you. I will carry the symbol of our house one day. I will use it as a target to draw my enemies out of hiding. Perhaps I can bring some honor to it. How can our people rest? What prayers can I say to allow our race to go into Rao’s light and find peace?”

“Prayers are nothing more than words. Religion is a tool for population behavior control. Raoism is taught to our young to ensure discipline and loyalty to the planet. Rao’s light is a fable constructed by the Council of Order to prevent panic due to inevitable death and give comfort to the loved ones still living.”

“That is not true! Rao is our God and…”

“Rao is what humans call a Red Dwarf Supergiant star. That is all it is, in the same manner Earth’s sun is just a dwarf star. You wanted the truth Kara Danvers. As you have ordered, I will not lie. There is no god, no Rao’s light, there is only our race, a race you have determined to end.”

Kara began shaking, her fists clenched and her face red.

“You know nothing. You are burning in some sort of hell somewhere. There has to be some justice in this universe for mass murderers like you.” she hissed.

“Your father is as responsible as I am. Your mother participated in our cover up. Are they in this hell you believe in?”

Kara dropped her head then raised it back up, looking at the hologram without blinking.

“Yes they are.”

The girl grabbed the crystal and squeezed, the light turning off immediately.

Kara stood in silence, staring at the place Jor El had just been in. Alex stood behind her, not sure at this moment what to do.

“Kara?”

“Who was it?” the blonde asked, turning to Alex with a smile. A smile that was so joyful and natural it frightened Alex how easily she could pull it off.

“Who… who was what?”

“The woman? You said you saw a woman on television that reminded you of feelings you had before you met me. Who was the woman?”

“Oh! Uh… are you okay?”

“Of course I am. Our plan worked, I didn’t drown, I am happy we have succeeded. Stop trying to change the subject. Who was she?”

“Uh… Lara… Croft?”

“Angelina Jolie? Good choice. I read a poll of one hundred heterosexual woman who when asked what celebrity female they would have sexual relations with, over 73% chose Angelina Jolie. Jennifer Aniston was second. Brad Pitt mates with very attractive women. Before we leave, I want to find a large boulder and place it over the hole in the roof. I also need some sort of natural camouflage to hide the bag under. Do you think we should roll a boulder in front of the entrance? Not only for security but to also minimize the flooding.”

“I… I… Kara…”

“Not now Alex. I want to take care of this and watch Netflix a bit more before you get to learn to knife fight and I am stuck either catching bullets, frying pizzas or flying into walls. So what do you think? Boulder for the entrance?”

Alex shook her head. “Kara, I am so sorry. What you learned…”

Kara put her hand on Alex’s cheek gently.

“You are my blood. Those crystals are just a means to an end. We keep them safe, we keep them hidden and we use them one day to better the planet and the human race. Or perhaps we rid this world of them forever. No matter what, they do not matter to us. Boulder in front or no?”

Alex hugged Kara, rubbing her back. “Yeah we should probably close this thing up if we are going to stash space crystals here. Lets get to work. I bet Mom will have breakfast ready when we get back. Your hair is already back to normal. Now I suppose you can use that eyesight of yours to find two suitable big rocks and make sure we are alone.”

The Baltic Sea USS Dallas (SSN 700)

“Lt Commander Jason Connolly. I heard you and your team were decommissioned.” Captain Rickover said curiously, taking in the newcomers on his sub. The order had came from on high that his LA Class sub would be surfacing in the swimming pool of NATO to pick up a team, boating in. He had expected Delta Force hacks working for the CIA. To find a team of Seals made the orders easier to swallow.

“Captain, a pleasure to see you again. I apologize for the delineation of your planned cruise. We no longer work for the Navy as you have correctly heard. We are working for a Federal task force which I am not allowed to identify.”

“Why am I not surprised?” he laughed. “Shame about Greer. He was a good man. I am glad your team is together for the most part… where is the giant psycho?”

“Not a great swimmer so we left him behind on babysitting duty. Captain have you received the coordinates of our target zone?”

“Yes I have. We will be there in three hours. So far we know of a Russian diesel operating in the waters and Japan of all places has one of their new Iod battery powered diesels. Loud as hell and a waste of money or poor crew. We are silent and invisible. Ivan doesn’t have a whiff of us. The Dry Deck is in place. I am guessing since you guys are here this is a dive scenario?”

“Yes sir. Two nights ago a large object crashed into this area at a high rate of speed. We need to find out what that object is. I am not at liberty to say why we are interested or what will happen once we find it. I do not expect trouble but I always plan for it.”

“You think this is a weapon of some sort? A missile?”

“That is what we are here to find out. Once we are off, there is absolutely nothing you can do for us. If I give the order to leave, please Captain, take this boat and the 129 men on it and leave quickly. Do not try and wait for us. If I say leave, leave.”

“I is the depth of the target?”

“Only one hundred feet. If you could get us above fifty we can exit for a quick look. We will need a decompression chamber prepped on return. If… samples are needed we will try to be as quiet as possible but a hammer may be needed. We have a lead container if radioactive containment is needed. Should we be heard…”

“Anyone wants to play with us, they are more than welcome. We aren’t at war. We can lose them as quickly as they pick us up. Don’t worry about us Lt. Do what you need to do.”

“Thank you sir.”

The Captain walked off, leaving Connolly with Webb, Gavin and Dante.

“I always get a kick out of listening to how polite you can be around officers. Its like you actually belong in the Navy for a few minutes.” Ty told him.

“I am nice to people I can count on to watch our backs. He’s a good guy and he has a good crew. Business as usual guys, we don’t know what is down there, only that it is big and came from space. Gear ready, Dive suits, rad meters, weapons hot. Any sign of harmful radiation and we back off. If we find a contact, check the damage, check for signs of life and then back off. We can circle this thing as much as we need and take as many shots as we need.”

“Uh, yeah but we were all coming to Midvale Saturday, right? Mrs Dcotor D said she was going to fry chicken.” Ty reminded him. “Girls birthday party and such. Cake, Kool Aid, you know what I mean?”

The three men looked at Connolly.

“Guys, are you seriously saying we are going to stop an op so we can get to North Carolina for a birthday party in a few days?”

None of them said a word, just stared at him.

“Fine, if it takes longer you guys can go. I will stay if recovery is needed. Just make sure we are all alive to worry about it.”

“How are they doing?” Webb asked. Tasked with training and retraining the DEO agents he had spent the least amount of time with the family but still kept up with news with interest. He had a daughter himself.

“Alex is doing good. Kara… I don’t know.” the man admitted.

“How the hell do you not know? Your the wife of their shrink.” Webb countered.

‘I am not a damn wife or married or anything else. Jessica doesn’t talk about therapy. I’ve been working with Alex while Dante has been working with Kara and… Alex said Kara is getting better. She doesn’t think she is hurting herself anymore. But Kara still has moods, days she refuses to get out of bed or eat. Other days she is really happy. Alex is keeping something back though. Those two have a secret but it isn’t our business to get involved in that. That is between them and Jess.”

“No more panic attacks?” Ty asked. Connolly looked at Dante who sighed.

“There have been two storms the past three weeks. Kara has stayed on the porch with Jeremiah trying to meditate through them. Trying to… she hasn’t been successful. The last panic attack was the worst he had ever seen her have. She clawed at her face. almost got her eyes… it was bad.”

“The flying?” Webb asked after a few moments of silence.

Connolly laughed. “Like a missile. Goes forward in a straight line and blows up whatever she hits.”

“She needs someway to manage aerodynamics. The other Kryptonians fly rough, all power and stops and starts. Kara can fly more eloquently, she could be more graceful and more effective at flying than the Roz prisoners but she has to learn how the wind and air currents work around her.” Dante continued. “She will improve. She just needs practice. Its not like we are in a hurry. No sign of Astra or Non, right? They aren’t near her. Unless someone really screws up, like Kara deciding to go flying around the Empire State Building in daylight, I think we are safe.”

“We thought the same thing about Henshaw. So she still has panic attacks, you don’t think she is hurting herself but she has bouts of severe depression and doesn’t want to get out of bed or eat. I got all that?” Webb asked.

“Yep.”

“Tell your girlfriend, good job. Sounds like she is knocking it out of the park.”

“Screw you Webb. Not like you could do better. She isn’t pulling out her hair, burning herself to death, planning suicide missions or trying to kill herself any other way. She is also sleeping better and having fewer nightmares. Jess is making progress. Now if everybody is on the same page lets do a gear check before we hit the water.”

Four hours later the four divers slipped out of the submarine through the darkness of the water, using infrared on their masks, not wanting to give any light or hint from below the surface that they were there, even to possible submarine hunting drones passing overhead. The infrared was not needed. The target was not one target but a target area, and emitting a green eery glow.

“We got meteors, guys. Big green meteors. Webb, what kind of radiation are you picking up? There has to be some.”

“I’m showing nothing familiar. Whatever it is, it is not registering on our spectrum. The signatures almost resemble the ones I picked up after Kara’s pod crashed but I would need a sample taken to the top to be certain.”

“You think this could be a meteor from the galaxy Krypton was floating around in?” Connolly asked.

“For all we know these could be pieces of Krypton. Whatever they are, they are big and there is a lot of them. I’m going to collect samples.”

“Yeah but samples of what?” Ty asked, swimming closer. “They seem to be a mixture of metal, rock and crystals. All kinds of green stuff.”

“We won’t be able to take the smoothed out metal. It is most likely rock surface smoothed out from entry. Chip away a crystal, Dante. Ty help me get a rock sample. Jack we are going to need the sealed lead containers. We can’t expose the sub to this radiation until we know if it is safe or not.”

Midvale

The school year was coming to a close, and Alex was ready for it to be over. The science fair was all that remained, her project on researching and recording the kinetic energy of the enzymatic reaction of a protein. Her nearest competitor was a girl three counties away who was rumored to attempt to separate the colors of grape soda to reveal the mixtures natural color. Alex was fairly confident she had this.

But her and Kara needed warm beach days. The two had not been back to the cave since it was sealed up but the older sisters relief soon gave way to concern. Kara would wake up with dry blood on her face or arms and not try to hide it at times. This occurred once every couple of weeks and she denied knowledge of the act but no one quite believed her. While she had not snuck off or shied away from anyone there were days the girl refused to get out of bed. Twice storms had rocked the coastal town and twice Kara had attempted to stand in the idle of the yard, Jeremiah holding her from behind while she mumbled, tried to calm herself, did anything possible and still broke down in screams, only passing out once but the other time shaking the rest of the night, unable to sleep.

The majority of days were good however. Kara laughed, played with Clark, the two girls goofed off and spent more time outside as the temperature turned warmer. She sang and danced around the house, laughed a lot, star gazed with Jeremiah, took long hikes with Eliza and ate constantly. Kara began opening up more with Jessica about her life on Krypton and training continued to go well for the most part.

Except yesterday, which led to Kara’s current mood. Refusing to acknowledge Alex or get out of bed, the older sister resorted to brining Clark into the room and allowing him to stick fingers into Kara’s ears and nose. The girl still was unmoved, leading a now grumpy Clark to give up and walk out.

“Seriously, get up. You are not staying in bed all day. School remember?”

“I knocked over three trees yesterday.” Kara finally mumbled.

“You didn’t knock down more though. Thats a win. It could have been worse.”

“I can’t control my turns. How am I ever going to battle Roz prisoners if I can’t fly? Aunt Astra and Non flew into trucks and knocked them off the road. I can’t fly in anything other than a straight line. I can’t fly up or down quickly. I get lost in the air. I suck.”

Alex let out a deep breath. “Okay, so you suck right now. Nobody said you had to be an expert. You are getting really good at controlling your heat vision temp.”

“Yes, because heating up a frozen meal in seconds will help me in the future.”

“Screw the future! We said we wanted to be prepared in a worst case scenario. Nobody said anything about planning a mission, remember? We let the DEO handle this and we live life unless we have to go after them. You don’t have to be battle ready today. We do have to be at school today though.”

“I don’t feel good.”

“You literally can’t get sick.”

“Thanks for reminding me. Now I really don’t feel good.”

“I do and I don’t feel like going to school alone. We are on the home stretch. Soon it will be nothing but sandcastles on the beach. Birthdays this weekend, gifts, food, you are going to eat a lot…”

“It isn’t my birthday this weekend. It is yours. You should be celebrating, your parents should be focused on you, not us. They have done enough for me.”

Alex sighed and sat on the edge of Kara’s bed, running her fingers through her hair.

“No matter how many times you say it I will always correct you. They are our parents. This is our birthday. Get in the spirit or else.”

“Or else what?” Kara asked, one eye finally opening.

“Or else I will tell Ginger Ronnie that you will sit with him at lunch, like he has asked you too four times.”

“You will not.” Kara told her quietly but with conviction.

“Watch me Blondie. Don’t act like you don’t think the gleam off his braces is pretty. I bet he would love to come to our party.”

“Don’t even think about it Alex.”

“Oh I am thinking and if I am in school alone, who knows what trouble I could get up to. I heard Lonnie has been asking about you.”

“Fine! I will go to school.” the girl told her sister, not at all happy about this development. One thing Kara had learned quickly was that if she did not want to go to school, Eliza did not make her. Alex was another story. Apparently school was not as much fun without Kara there to entertain her.

Kara played with Clark a bit and ate breakfast, not her usia amount but her usual really was no longer defined. Her appetite depended on her mood and her mood depended on any number of things. She stayed polite and helpful but some days not even Clark could get a smile out of her. At other times she would sit on the roof and stare at the ocean as much as possible.

Other days she was seemingly happy, her and Alex giggling often, playing with the boy or running through the woods or on the beach. The girls sang and tried to teach each other to dance, played video games, watched Netflix and Blu rays. On those days Kara seemed like any other happy 13 year old girl.

Then there was the book. She followed the plan as agreed. Every time she wanted to harm herself she wrote her trigger down. Every time she did it secretly, which was not often any longer, she wrote it down. For a few days afterward Eliza, Alex or Jeremiah were always with her. Eliza stayed in the bathroom while she showered and only once had Kara came close to losing her temper over it. Instead she did not argue, but she also did not talk until the next day.

Jessica had spoken to the family about this in one of their meetings and listened to Jeremiah and Eliza’s concerns in their one on one sessions. Kara had severe depression which was to be expected in one who had lost so much and basically had her entire world view torn apart. Neither girl ever told Dr. Ryan about the crystals or what had happened to them. The therapist knew that something had shifted and that Kara would discuss it when ready. As far as her moods, the parents would just have to ride it out, be ready to talk when she wants it but above all do not push her to cheer up. She will simply act cheerful and begin to hide her true emotions as much as she hid her self harm.

The girls still trained with Dante, Ty or Connolly and this also effected Kara’s mood. If she had accomplished something such as controlling the temperature of her heat vision she was ecstatic for a few days. If she had a bad day like the recent session where she attempted to fly around trees and caused three of them to fall over, three very large trees, Kara could be extremely down.

On the way to school, Alex brought up something that had been on her mind.

“Hey dork?”

“Yes nerd?”

“Before we moved here, I used to play soccer. It was little kids soccer but I kind of enjoyed it.”

“Thats nice. Before I moved here I camped a lot, stole raw potatoes, ran fro security guards after being caught shoplifting, killed grizzly bears and got shot in the back.”

Alex stopped walking and glared at her then smiled. Kara’s mastery of sarcasm had risen to epic levels and a playfully sarcastic Kara was a happy Kara.

“Yeah, anyway, about me, there is a soccer league this summer. I think with all the training we have been doing my footwork has gotten a lot better. I was thinking about signing up. What do you think?”

Kara was surprised. Alex usually hated all things sports. It was good that she was opening up to new possibilities. Perhaps her focus wouldn’t be solely on Kara and Kara would not feel like she was holding Alex back.

“I think you would be the best out there. From what I understand Soccer is a sport in which success is based on footwork and speed and you have both.”

“So we can play? You are cool with it?”

“No, we cannot play. You can play and I will be our biggest cheerleader. You know why I can’t play Alex.”

“You blend in fine Kara. Its not like…”

“It would not be fair and you know it. Even at slower speeds my reflexes are superior to humans because of this yellow sun that has blessed with me with so much joy. There are things you are going to have to do in life for the both of us Alex. I can never compete in a team sport. I can watch you though and that is just as good. You are going to sign up and do great for both of us.”

“Seriously? I don’t want to play if you…”

“Yes you do. I want you to play. Alex, you are going to have to do somethings for the both of us. I need you to play and you need to. Sign up, please. I’ll even make a sign for me and Clark to hold in the stands. That is custom right?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Hey, just so you know, I get what you are saying about me doing things for the both of us.”

“I am glad…”

“But if I ever get laid its just for me. You are on your own.”

Kara’s mouth opened and her face turned complexity red. She wanted to yell but was unable to make a sound. Getting the reaction she wanted, Alex doubled over in laughter. Kara’s red face slowly went away into her retribution face. Alex took off before the smaller girl could grab her and begin the tickling she hated. This close to school, Kara could not use her real speed and was at a great disadvantage.

Once inside the building, Alex moved towards the table that had been set up in the hall and signed her name for soccer tryouts.

Kara’s happiness that was slowly overcoming the dark mood she woke in was shattered however. Across the hall, to far for Alex to hear and quiet enough that only those closest could hear, Becky stood with three girls, watching her older sister. Though they spoke quietly, Kara heard everything.

Alex noted something was off but Kara quickly painted on her smile and moved off towards their first class, happily listening to Alex talk about her previous soccer experience while the blonde waited for her chance.

Her chance occurred in second period. Alex thankfully just thought Kara was being spacey. She didn’t suspect that Kara was using her vision to see the other side of the school, through eight classrooms and her vision was focused on one girl who had just went to the restroom alone.

“Miss Lane, may I go to the restroom?”

“Of course Kara.” the teacher poked at Alex who was surprised as well. The faculty knew Kara hardly ever asked to leave class and if she did it was important that she left immediately. In that case Alex always went with her.

“Kara?”

“I just need to go to the restroom. Not sweating, not nervous, I will be right back, please stay. People already think I cant go to the bathroom myself.” Kara whispered. Alex nodded at her hesitantly, trying to relax. Before she could think much about the situation Kara was gone.

The blonde was not nervous, nor did she feel any anxiety. Instead she was very focused.

Becky was coming out of her stall when Kara walked in. The blonde girl closed the bathroom door and placed a broom in the handle, jamming the entrance to block visitors. Becky noticed this and became very nervous.

“Hello Becky.”

Kara walked up to the girl, took her glasses off and placed them in her pocket.

“Something to say freak? Shouldn’t you be in class with your babysitter?”

Becky tried to move around the girl but a small hand on her shoulder stopped her. Becky remembered the strength the girl showed the first day of school. She couldn’t move.

“Let me go.” the older girl hissed.

“I heard you and your friends in the hallway this morning. I want to know something. Truthfully, do you really believe I set a fire and killed my parents?”

“Yes I do.” Becky hissed.

“So your first instinct is to constantly ridicule the psychotic girl who killed her parents. The girl who is weird, the girl who is obviously stronger than she looks? Your bright idea is to give me reason to hate you?”

“Wh… what?”

“I am trying to understand you. Because if I went to school with a girl who I thought killed her parents I would be very afraid of her. Do you know the ironic thing about the two of us? You have talked about me and Alex all year. Your friends are beginning to talk about you behind your back. They say you have an unnatural obsession with us. Because of how many lies you have told about me, no one will believe anything you say now.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I heard you tell your friends to make sure Alex was hurt at tryouts. That isn’t going to happen. Do you know why?”

“You couldn’t have heard that!”

“You would be surprised what I can do. Of course no one will believe you, because everyone knows you are a liar, especially when it comes to me and Alex. So consider this your warning. If anything happens to Alex on that field or any other time I am coming for you. The psycho girl you think killed her parents? Me? I will be coming for you. Not your friends but you. I will deal with them later but you are first, get it?”

“You are…”

“Don’t. You are not qualified to say what I am. Talk to your friends Becky. Make sure they understand not to touch Alex. You won’t say anything about this. If you do they won’t believe you, just think you are more of a freak with an obsession over two nerds. You have had a change of heart. You don’t want her hurt. She isn’t worth the time. Understand?”

“You…”

Kara gently pushed the girl against a wall with one hand.

“Understand?”

“Yes! I will tell them right after this period I swear. Just please leave me alone. Stay away from me!”

“I will. So long as Alex is unharmed and left alone, you won’t need to see me. I would suggest you stop talking about us. Your friends really are laughing at you behind your back. Talk to them Becky, make them believe, make sure they do not hurt her or I am coming for you.”

Kara took her hand off the trembling girl’s shoulder and walked out. Halfway to class Alex met her in the hallway.

“Are you okay? What took so long?”

“I am fine. I guess breakfast didn’t agree with me. Lets get back to class. I really wish you hadn’t followed me.”

“I have to watch out for you. I’m always going to take care of you, Kara.”

Kara stopped and hugged a surprised Alex.

“I am grateful. I love you. Lets get through today. Perhaps we can practice some soccer this afternoon before your tryout tomorrow. I have a feeling you are going to do great.”

“You think so? I don’t really have many admirers at tryouts. I…”

“I bet you will find you have more friends than you think out there. I am sure everyone will play fair.”

Or else, was Kara’s thought before the two headed back to class.