Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 11: The naming of powers and the Notebook.

Alex walked quietly into the dark it was ten PM she knew Kara was not sleeping. She knew the blonde’s breathing patterns when she was asleep and she knew when the girl was pretending to be asleep. Unfortunately Kara pretended to be asleep much more than she actually slept.

Kara was curled on her side, wearing the long sleeved wool pajamas Eliza had bought her, after drying off and taking a very quick shower to rinse the salt water off her skin and out of her hair. Though she tried to hide it, Alex saw the hitch in the girls breathing patterns. She doubted Kara would get much sleep tonight. Her parents and her saw Kara from the cliff as she waded out into the ocean. It was dark but they could make out her shape until she was far out in the waves. It wasn’t hard to figure out what Kara had done with the bag full of crystals.

Ignoring her own bed, Alex slowly pulled Kara’s covers back and slid in next to her. Her little sister faced the wall so she pressed herself against her back and wrapped an arm around her, trying to draw her close. The older girl half expected Kara to turn her away, but instead the blonde gently grabbed her hand and held her close.

“I used to think Kal was weird. The only child not born with any enhancements, grown inside his mother’s womb. I was wrong. It’s how everyone here is born. Everyone on this planet is born free. I’m a science experiment. I was grown in a lab and molded to be whatever my family wanted me to be. I was the same as the water we drank, the food we ate, everything we used, I was no different. Everything we made, even ourselves, were born from science. I am a science experiment, Alex.”

“No you aren’t. Science experiments don’t have the heart and soul that you do.”

“All these supposed powers. All these so called gifts. Do you have any idea how badly I wish I was you? I would love to be you, even if for one day. To be able to run and not worry about going too fast so people won’t know you are different. To be able to hold things and not have to concentrate on whether I will break them. To be able to hug as hard as I can without worrying about breaking bones? I still have to hold Clark like glass. Do you know what I would give to be normal? To be human?”

Alex said nothing, letting the girl talk. She knew Kara needed this.

“I am… I’m supposed to learn to control these beams out of my eyes? Why can’t they work on something to help me get rid of them? They want me to fly? I don’t want to fly. I don’t want to see through walls. I don’t want any of it. You have parents that love you, a mother that carried you and does not expect anything from you except love. My parents knew. They did not… didn’t trust me to know about my own future. I was given a mission and that was it. My mother knew where Aunt Astra was, what she turned into and never told me. I didn’t have a right to know anything. I was sent here as part of a deal, a deal to break the law I had been designed to enforce one day, in my own family. My own family knew. I started training to be Kal’s care taker shortly after her was born. They knew for over a year, maybe longer. No it had to be longer, because Jor El wanted Kal to be untouched, grown inside his mother. He wanted him to be free of outside influences. Why would he want that? Because the rest of us were tools to be used. How long do you think they knew Krypton was dying? Two years, ten? They never said a word about it, not to me.”

“I don’t know why Kara. I can’t answer that.” the big sister answered, snuggling even closer to the blonde.

“He knew the area I would land and the dialect. They could have taught me the language. They could have explained what foods were available, what powers I would have. Instead they told me nothing. I was a science experiment like everyone else on Krypton. Just a pawn on a chessboard.

“You aren’t a pawn, not anymore. You are my little sister now. What happened there doesn’t matter. Besides Kara, all of us are born with some disposition. My parents are biologists. I love biology. They didn’t force it on me, it was just the way I was made. Besides if we were pieces on a chest board we would be the queens. I call black.”

“Fine, I like white anyway. I want to learn one day how to play. But still, despite what your parents were, you were able to choose. I had no choice. I have never had a choice.”

“You have a choice now. Now you can be whatever you want to be.” Alex reminded her.

“No, I can’t.”

“Why do you say that? There are a whole bunch of things you can be here. You can be anyone you want, do anything you want.”

“You truly think so? I don’t. Those men and the Martian may mean well. I believe they do but we both know they cannot stop Aunt Astra and Non. One day I will have to. I will die trying. Aunt Astra and Non, they are not attacking anyone besides the men in the trucks carrying my pod. That means they are planning something. Who can stop them? Humans rely on bullets and missiles but they will not work. Someday I will be the only one that can stop them. I have to. All of the Rozz escapees want to kill me, they would tear me to pieces if they could and one day they will have the chance. I cannot stand by and let my family destroy another world. But I will not win. I cannot beat them, any of them. I am not a fighter. I wasn’t made that way in the lab.”

“I won’t let anyone tear you to pieces Kara. It isn’t going to happen.”

“Alex, you cannot be involved.”

“Watch me. One day I will learn to fight. I will be by your side. Maybe I can’t fly but I can watch your back. I told you we are a team. We stick together. Besides, isn’t a little part of you curious to know what it is like to fly?”

“No. It is just another reminder than I am a freak.”

“You are not. Stop saying that. Plus nobody really uses freak anymore. So you learn to fly and then you never have to do it again. It shouldn’t take you long. You have caught on to everything else quickly. You will get this too. Then I bet you are going to want to fly all over the place.”

“I will never fly. Unless you fall off a high building. I will catch you. Or if you are ever in one of those huge planes and it might crash. I will save you. You and your parents, I would do anything for. Clark, I love him. What am I supposed to tell him about his father one day? What kind of man should I say he was?”

“A dick.” Alex answered immediately. Kara began laughing, so hard she actually snorted.

“I cannot tell him that. I wish my mother… there are so many things I want to say and I miss her so badly. But many of the things I want to tell her are hurtful. She wanted me to live but she never asked me if I even wanted to. I have never had a choice in anything.”

“What if you did? What would you have done? If your mother told you that the planet was dying and she needed you to take Clark to safety but it was your choice, would you?” Alex asked.

Kara thought for a moment. “I suppose I would.”

“Being predisposed to law and science didn’t make you love him, or come to a whole different planet to save him. This so called predisposition had nothing to do with you putting him above yourself, feeding him out of your hand while you were hungry. Nothing I know about judges and scientists says anything about taking care of a baby, especially at your age. Kara, if I was in your position I would like to think I would have figured out a way but I’m not sure. I probably would have been a sobbing mess by the second day. That was all you. You have a soul and a big heart. You love and science experiments don’t.”

“Maybe. It doesn’t matter though because we both know how this will end one day.I will have to stop them from hurting people. I don’t know if I will ever be strong enough. The worst thing is I still love her. Even knowing that she killed those two men on Krypton and she has killed people here, I still love her. If I could, I would stop her but… am I wrong to love her?”

“No, it’s not wrong. I know she is hurting you so much because you love her so much. I’m not kidding though, whatever you have to do, I will be with you.”

“Why? Why have you been so kind to me?” Kara asked. She had asked Jeremiah and Eliza multiple times but never Alex.

“Because my life changed the moment I saw you and I don’t ever want to go back. I always wanted a sister and I knew you were her, the moment I laid eyes on you. I love you, Kara.”

Kara rolled over, keeping her eyes closed but pressing into Alex’s shoulder.

“I love you too, Alex. If nothing good ever comes from this life, you have made it better.”

Alex kissed the girl on her forehead. “Hey, maybe our weird SEAL team can actually pull this off. Then we won’t have to worry about a thing. We can decide what we want to do. I don’t have to go into biomedical research. Maybe we could become archeologists. We can raid tombs and stuff. I call Laura Croft’s outfit. You would probably be more comfortable dressing like Indiana Jones anyway. You are a great singer. Maybe you can be a professional singer and I can be your agent taking 50% of your pay. Or we can be astronauts. How ironic would that be? Maybe circus clowns? You would look cute with a big red nose. We have our whole lives ahead of us and that doesn’t necessarily mean fighting bad guys. Next week we start school. Aren’t you excited about that?”

“No, I am very afraid. I do not want to go.”

“Don’t, not do not. You had the Don’t thing down earlier, don’t backslide on me now. Why aren’t you excited? You catch on quick. You won’t have any problems with the classes. Is it because you still don’t want to leave Clark?”

“No, I trust Eliza. I just don’t want to go. All those people and I know they will talk about me, because I am new . Being around so many people and so many noises all day long. I am scared. I don’t want to admit but I am very afraid. I am so tired of being scared. I was never scared until my mother woke me up and placed me in that ship. Now it seems like I am always crying. When am I going to stop being scared?”

“You will one day, Kara. It won’t be easy. School isn’t easy for me and I have been here for five years. It took a while to get people to even talk to me and I still don’t have what I consider friends. I am more interested in things other kids don’t care about, but you have an advantage. You have me. We have each other, Screw the rest, right?”

“People could ignore you again because you have me around you.”

“Who cares? This is a small town. We won’t be here forever. We are going to go to college and have fresh starts in a big city. It’s no big deal. We can handle four years. Or five I guess. Maybe Mom and Dad will let us graduate early.”

“And Clark? How can I leave him behind?”

“Say bye Clark. Seriously you won’t leave him behind in the way you are thinking, but you don’t have to be around him constantly. Mom and Dad are going to be his parents. They are all he will know, even after you tell him about Krypton. He will go to school and be happy and so will we. We are just going to be far away from here. We can visit on Holidays! And you can Skype him. But we are going to have our own life. Right now, lets go to sleep.”

“Go back to your bed.”

“Nope. If you are worried about your eyes then turn back over but I am going to stay with you. Now roll over and close your eyes. Focus on my heartbeat and breathing. That is all that matters right now.”

Kara and Alex both woke the next morning, having slept all night long. Kara did not dream despite the event of the night before. Kal slept through the night the blonde supposed, since she didn’t hear him.

After breakfast, Alex was recruited by her mother to go grocery shopping while Kara watched Kal. When the two Danvers returned they were instantly worried. Kal was on the couch, chewing on a teething toy Eliza had bought him, drooling all over his face and clothes while Kara sat next to him, silently crying.

“Kara, what is wrong? Are you still upset about last night?” the mother asked her. Kara shook her head and pointed towards the TV.

Alex and Eliza noticed that Kara had placed a Blu Ray on. On screen was The Notebook.

“It’s so sad. She told him to read her story to her because she wouldn’t remember and he is talking to her and he is about to die and so is she and she barely remembers anything. But they loved each other and the mother kept his letters away and its horrible. Why couldn’t they just be happy? They should have lived forever together. They must have stayed together right? Ann just had to take Allie away because Noah didn’t have enough money. If she asked him to write their love story they must have stayed together. Thats why they are together now. Noah rebuilt the house for her! She came back but afterwards they stayed because Duke has to be him right?”

Alex panicked, having seen this movie over and over again. “Yeah Kara. They stayed together.”

“But they lost so much time because of her mother! Mothers ruin everything!”

Eliza flinched. “Not all moms ruin everything… right?”

“They do on Krypton and whatever time period this was filmed in. World War 2. Horrible. It was tragic and the war kept them apart and Fin died and they should have been happy the whole time. I can’t believe Ann stole his letters! How could she do this?”

The mother nodded, taking doomed love stories as well as horror and sci fi off the movie night list. “I’m sorry. Why don’t we find a comedy? Maybe…”

“No! I want to watch it again, please?”

“Well, looks like we figured out what kind of movies she likes.” Alex told her mother. “Lets try a comedy and then we can watch The Notebook again, okay? Mom, get out the ice cream.”

“I need to get some work done on my findings… fine. I suppose this once won’t hurt. What did you have in mind?”

“The Hangover?” Alex hoped.

“Try again.”

“Uh… , wow. I guess you want a comedy that won’t shock little sis here. I am out of ideas.”

“Can we watch the Notebook again? I don’t feel like laughing. I want Rao to curse Ann.” Kara begged.

“And that is the problem. She wants the sun god to curse a character in a movie. What about Sister Act? She will love the singing.” Eliza suggested.

“You want to explain nuns to her?” Alex countered.

Eliza admitted explaining nuns to a girl whose culture worshipped their sun would not be easy. “Mama Mia?”

“And we have a winner.” Alex agreed.

Two hours later both regretted the choice while Kara sang every song from the movie by heart. Her voice was beautiful but there were only so many times you could hear Super Trouper before you were ready to jump off the cliff. Still the genuine smile on the girl made it worth it. Clark certainly enjoyed the singing and when she danced with him in her arms Kara looked every bit of the 13 year old girl she was supposed to be.

The night turned tragic though. Jeremiah arrived and was literally pulled by Kara onto the couch. He begged off The Notebook and told her he would rather sleep on the roof again than watch Mama Mia. So Alex played Titanic. Jeremiah sat and watched, thinking this wasn’t too horrible. He worried about the sinking of the ship bothering her but Kara seemed fascinated, never taking her eyes off the screen while stealing Alex’s popcorn. The ending destroyed the blonde however.

“Rose, get off the board! Move over! There is room for both of you! Just move. It’s a big floating board!” Kara begged. “Why won’t she move over?!”

Then Jack died, frozen, sinking to the bottom of the sea.

“I told you he would die! All you had to do was move over! You laid there and let him die? Now look! She has this necklace ad she isn’t telling anyone. All this work to find the necklace and these men were nice enough to allow her on their boat and she will not tell them the truth? Look at her laughing. She let Jack see her… paint her… and now he froze to death because she wouldn’t move over. Rose is evil. But I really like her hair.”

“Okay, I guess I should get Clark to bed…” Jeremiah tried.

“And then come down and watch another movie with me?” the blonde begged, and Jeremiah decided he would have to develop an immunity to begging puppy dog eyes. “Alex said Dirty Dancing is a lot of fun.”

“Yeah Dad. Nobody puts baby in a corner, right?” Alex laughed.

“I’m kinda tired, Kara. We don’t want to watch them all in one night, do we? Aren’t you tired?” he hoped.

“No, I feel great. I haven’t done anything all day except watch movies. Why would Baby be put in a corner? Should we put Clark in a corner? Did the baby get in trouble?”

“I’m pretty tired from work. I think I will go to sleep.”

“But…”

“And watch another tomorrow night. I get to pick. Deal?”

“Will you pick the Notebook?” she hoped.

“No, probably the Bourne Identity or Mission Impossible so I can try and find my missing man card. Alex, you two… you three since Eliza is pretending to be working on her research paper, don’t stay up too late.”

Two days later and Kara watched six more movies, including action which was fun and Jeremiah seemed to enjoy more. Kara learned important information about human speech and interaction. Apparently there were certain swear words she was not allowed to say, many coming from John McClane who had a habit of being shot at while not wearing shoes. She had learned that violence should be avoided if at all possible unless you had no memory of who you were but were pretty sure you were an assassin with a brief case full of money. Being stuck in a very tall building with strange sounding men who shot people was also acceptable for using violence. According to Alex, John McClane did not play around. The blonde learned all about mean girls, and surfing then robbing banks with Keanu Reeves and the man from Dirty Dancing. She also learned much about dancing techniques on Earth thanks to Step It Up.

Now she would learn something new. A knock on the door and Kara saw Dante Youngblood standing on the other side.

Alex was less than excited. “You sure you don’t want me to go with you? I don’t really trust these guys completely.”

“I don’t want you around me when I am doing this. I can’t take the chance of hurting you, Alex. I love you.” Kara wrapped her in a hug and kissed Kal on the forehead then walked to the porch. Dante followed her to the cave she had resided in without a word, only his bag with him and no weapons that Kara saw. Once inside the Cherokee took a look around.

“So you were living here, huh?”

“Yes. It was hidden.”

“Good choice if you want to stay hidden. Not great for comfort or amenities.” the man took in the two small round indentions in the rock. “Interesting. Did you do this?”

“Yes. I had a nightmare.”

“That must have been a heck of a nightmare. Could you tell me about it?”

Kara shook her head. “I would rather not think about it.”

Dante nodded his head in understanding. “I have many nightmares I do not wish to think about either.”

Kara was surprised. “You have nightmares?”

“Yes. I have seen and done many things, a lot of them unpleasant. I want you to sit where you were sitting before, and look at those holes. Try to feel what you were feeling when you were angry the night you met J’onn and Connolly. This has happened three times. Twice when you were very frightened and once when you were very angry. It is hard to make yourself frightened when you are trying. Anger however, is a good motivator. Do you have anger in your heart Kara Zor El?”

“Yes.” the girl whispered.

“So do I. How we use that anger is what is important. I want you to think of something that makes you angry. I want you to concentrate on the power behind your eyes, building up, how it feels when it is preparing to be unleashed. Think of how it feels and when you are angry enough, let it go. Don’t hold back. I will put this suit on so you won’t burn me. I will be behind you. There is nothing to worry about. Jut focus on being angry and calling the power inside you.”

“So this will only happen when I am angry?”

“No, this is just the start. Eventually you will have to make peace with the anger in your heart or it will eat your soul.”

“What if I don’t have a soul?” the blonde asked without looking at him.

“I can see your soul. It burns very bright in your eyes and these beams have nothing to do with it. I heard about how angry and hurt you were when you found out about your family here. I see how much you love those around you, not just your cousin. A soulless person would not care. No, you have the soul of a warrior and a peace maker. Those types of souls are not usually found inside the same person. Once you make peace with yourself, once you realize you control your own destiny then you will have absolute control of these powers. Right now your emotions are controlling you.”

“I don’t want to do this.” Kara admitted.

“I know. I wish you didn’t have too. But it is necessary. While it may not seem like it, taking control of your powers is no different than taking control of your life. They are what you make them, a blessing or a curse. You are going to be a blessing.”

Kara nodded her head and tried. She did her best to make herself feel angry, but was unable. When she thought of all she had learned, all she could feel was sadness. After five minutes, she closed her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I can’t do it.”

“You do not want to do it. There is a difference. What are you angry about Kara? Forget about the beams for a moment. Since you have landed here on this planet you have had quite a lot happen to you. Some of it has frightened you, some of it has made you sad, feel hopeless, and some of it has made you very angry. Tell me what has made you angry.”

Kara took a deep breath and thought.

“I’m angry at my mother and father. They could have told me what was going to happen. They could have prepared me. I am angry at Kal… Clark’s father. I saw a hologram of him the other night and he said some… he told me that I was nothing more than a bodyguard for his son. That without his son our people will not live on. I felt like nothing. He made me feel worthless. I am angry that I was forced to run the moment I landed. I am angry that they didn’t pack food for me! I am mad at my mother for not telling me about Aunt Astra and I am mad that Aunt Astra killed those men. I hate Non. I wish he did not exist. I hate that she is looking for me. I hate that everybody is looking for me. I hate that I am not normal. I will never be normal. My mother knew this! I hate that there are other species who would kill me because of something I didn’t do. I hate that the Danvers are always in danger just because I am around them. I hate that Alex could be hurt because of me! I hate everything about this! I want to scream at my mother, hit her! I… I…”

Kara did scream. She felt the power build up, fill her head and her vision turn red, then a torrent of heat, blowing the rock apart in front of her. This time instead of panicking, she went with the feeling, letting it unleash and having no desire to stop. The walls around her turned incredibly hot, the temperature of the cave rising dangerously, but she did not stop. All she could think about was her anger.

“Now stop on your own. Do not close your eyes.” a muffled voice told her. “Bring that energy back into yourself. Calm yourself, take control of you anger and bring it back.”

Kara did keep her eyes open, nearly panicking when the flood would not stop but letting it run its course. She tried not to blink and thought of other things, happy things but they were ruined by the anger she felt.

“Calm yourself. Take control of your life. Only you can let them anger you. Do not give them that power, Kara.”

Listening to his calm voice, Kara’s mind began to wander off of her anger, listening to his words, controlling herself until the beams finally stopped. She took a deep breath to steady her rapidly beating heart.

“Good job. I am very happy. You stopped them on your own.”

“But it still happened. When I get angry or frightened it can still happen.”

“Yep. I didn’t say we would fix it today. But now you know how it feels when they are coming. You know what it takes right now to build up the power. Eventually you will be able to do this without being angry or frightened and I suspect you can control how hot they become.”

“You really think so?” the blonde asked, finally looking at the SEAL wrapped in a strange bodysuit, a hood pushed back and his face sweating.

“Yeah, I really do. Have faith in me Kara. We will get a handle on this.”

“Thanks Dante. I… I read about the SEALs. You are specially trained soldiers. You can sky dive, swim and fight on land.”

“Yes.”

“You have fought a lot of battles, haven’t you?”

Dante smiled at the little girl who had very keen observational skills. “Yes, I have.”

“I need you to teach me something else.”

Dante cringed, expecting her to ask to learn to fight. “Kara you don’t need to learn to fight like we do.”

“I don’t want to. I want to learn how to swim. I don’t know how. You swim, you scuba dive as part of your training. You must all be good, right? I’m kind of getting used to wearing a swimsuit. But I want to swim like Alex. You are supposed to be the best warriors in the water, correct? Or is Wikipedia wrong?”

“I think Wikipedia got it right this time.” he laughed. “When would you like to do this?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “The temperature of water does not seem to bother me. I recognize it is cold at times but it doesn’t matter to me. Does temperature bother you?”

“No, I wouldn’t be very good at what I do if it did. Next Saturday, after our practice session we will begin your swimming lessons. I will have you swimming like a SEAL in no time. You are going to talk to J’onn tomorrow. Before you learn to fly, he is going to want to talk about some things that may… help you. He has had much pain in his long life and is very good at teaching others how to deal with it. You may talk about some things that make you angry. Remember how you controlled the beams today. Control your anger and when you feel them threatening to break free remember how you stopped them.”

“Okay. Thank you Dante.”

“Always Kara. I need to get out of here because it is hot as hell. Besides I bet your sister is waiting up top for you.”

“No, I told her to stay at the house. I didn’t want her to be anywhere she could accidentally get hurt.”

“Listen. Look.”

Kara did both. She heard Dante’s heartbeat, the leaves up top ruffling in the breeze, the birds flying overhead and the flapping of their wings. Then she heard another heartbeat, a shuffling of feet on the ground. Looking through the rock and soil she saw Alex appearing to be very bored. The blonde dropped her head.

“That is dedication. Get used to it. She will never leave you alone. One thing I have learned as a SEAL is having people who will never leave you no matter what, is a gift not many people have. Lets go. I bet she is bored.”

Alex was of course waiting up top for the girl.

“I thought we decided you were not going to come here?”

“You decided. I’m the big sister, I make the rules. How did it go? Considering the ground started getting hot up here I am guessing good? Or bad?”

“She did great. She won’t have any accidents. If she would it would have happened by now. We have a long way to go still. By the way, Connolly said to give one of you this card. We won’t be meeting at the safe house. We found a nice big hanger where we can keep our vehicles, equipment and chopper. J’onn can meet you there and then he and Kara can work on flying. Ten AM. Breakfast will be served. Have a great day ladies. I think I will check out the local wildlife before I leave.”

While Dante searched the area for possible sniper vantage points in the event the Danvers were ever under attack, Alex and Kara walked back hand in hand to the house.

“Want to go to the beach?” the older girl suggested. Kara shrugged.

“I am… I’m kind of tired. It wasn’t easy. It was almost too easy making them but not as easy making them stop. I didn’t have to close my eyes though.”

Alex wasn’t crazy about that. “If it is making you tired maybe he needs to slow down.”

“You worry too much. It was fine. The sooner I can get this under control the sooner I can forget about them.”

“Don’t act like you don’t like the X ray vision.” Alex chided her. “I know a paranoid little blondie like you loves seeing whatever is around.”

“It does make me feel safer.” Kara admitted. “The hearing and smell though, I could do without. Wait, did you say X ray vision? I don’t emit X rays do I? They could be harmful to your…”

“Our family and no you aren’t. I just thought it would be a cool name for it. I’m calling your eye beams heat vision because that sounds a lot cooler than laser vision or oh crap vision. Get the hell away vision was a strong contender but I like the simplicity of heat vision.”

“Don’t get used to it. As soon as this heat vision comes under control I am never using it again.”

“Of course not… unless you can control the temperature.”

Kara looked at her sharply, wondering how far into the cave she had been if she heard Dante talking about that.

“Don’t look at me like that. I may have snuck a head in the entrance. It was hot and I wanted to make sure you were alright. Plus sound carries in that tunnel. Think about it though, Kara. We are watching a movie, we want a pizza. Do we wait ten minutes for the oven to preheat and another 18 to bake or do we just give it a quick zap? Instant pizza.”

Kara shook her head. “These powers scare me, Alex. They should scare you.”

“I already told you I’m not that smart when it comes to certain things, mostly where you are involved. So we are going to a secret hanger with alien hunting Navy Seals and a real live Martian tomorrow. Thats going to be cool, right?”

“No… yes? I don’t know anymore.” the girl admitted.

“Look, lets go grab little Clark and work on our sand castle skills. We don’t have many more weekends. After school starts the weather is warm for a while but in less than two months the ocean just becomes something we see from the cliff to remind us that it isn’t summer.”

The three kids did work that afternoon on the beach, perfecting sandcastles only for Clark to knock them down. Kara slept on her own that night, having disturbing dreams of which she could make no sense but they did not wake her. At 9:00 AM, the family of five were off, pulling in early by fifteen minutes to the abandoned hanger.

“This isn’t out of a James Bond movie at all.” Jeremiah whispered.

“I will be fine. You can all go. I should be done in two hours I think.” Kara offered.

“There is no way in hell we are leaving you here by yourself. We won’t listen or watch if you don’t want us to see you fly but we aren’t leaving you.” the father told her quickly.

Resigned, Kara realized she no choice. The family, including Clark in his stroller, moved into the massive compile though a small front door. Judging by the sound, it was unlocked right before Eliza’s hand touched the knob, letting them all know this place was being watched very carefully.

Inside was a small desk where a thin teenage girl, definitely goth, with multiple piercings adorning her face, purple hair and black lipstick, sat with her feet kicked up in front of laptop.

“Welcome Danvers, party of five. I’m Vivian, the eyes and ears of those idiots inside.”

“Hi…” Jeremiah began uncertainly. “I have heard of you. I thought you would be… more of the military sort?”

Vivian shrugged her shoulders. “I got caught hacking into NORAD. They couldn’t prove it but the NSA still would have thrown me underground. It was that or work for these guys. At least here I get the chance to watch first hand if any of them get killed.”

“Why… did you hack into NORAD?” Eliza asked.

“Why did you take in an Alien girl and baby? We all get our kicks in different ways. They are waiting for you. Big Green is anyway. The others are doing… something. Either training or drinking beer. Good luck kid. Think happy thoughts and maybe you can fly like Peter Pan too.”

“Who is Peter Pan?” Kara asked Alex quietly.

“Doesn’t matter. Lets just keep moving and get away from Marilyn Manson’s groupie.” Alex muttered.

Everyone walked in to find J’onn standing in his Martian form, smiling at the Danvers. They thought he was smiling.

“Welcome. Thank you for coming. It is good to see all of you again. This is going to take a couple hours, I thought Kara and I could get to know one another first and then help her control…”

“You mean use.” Eliza corrected. She had noticed how drained her newest child looked yesterday when she returned from the cave.

“I mean control. If you and Jeremiah would like to go to your lab or shopping…” J’onn stopped talking when Jeremiah and Elia crossed their arms.

“Or we have a break room in the back. There is food and drinks, so make yourselves comfortable. Kara would you like to come with me?”

Kara nodded her head. Jeremiah laid a hand on her shoulder before she walked off. “You know how we have been talking about not using your speed and strength to help you blend in?”

“Yes.”

“If you are worried or scared, feel free to use both and mess him up. Scream and we will be there, okay?”

“Yes.” she told him, with a quiet laugh. The blonde followed J’onn into a room at the far end of the hanger. Inside was a table and two chairs.

“I haven’t had a lot of time to decorate the room. It is really just for us to talk. No one can hear us and nothing is being recorded. You may feel free to look around of course.”

“I believe you.” Kara told him.

“So this has been a very stressful time for you. That may be an understatement. Dante said you did well yesterday. He also said you have a lot of anger naturally. I would imagine you are feeling a lot of grief as well?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “I’m tired of crying all the time and of the nightmares. I have weird dreams sometimes I can’t really remember in the morning. I miss my mother and father but I am also very angry. I shouldn’t be. I don’t want to be but I am.”

“Why do you think you shouldn’t be?”

“Because I love them.”

“It is okay to be angry at someone and still love them. We are going to get into the reasons for your anger later on. It will do you some good to talk about them. I won’t ever tell you what you are feeling is wrong. I have quite a bit of anger in myself as well. Today lets talk about some happier things. How have you been adjusting to this planet?”

“I would have… not been in my… I would have lost my mind if not for Alex and her parents.”

“You did get very lucky. Or maybe it was fate. Do you believe in fate? Have you learned that concept?”

“Yes I know of it. I don’t know if I believe it. It is impossible to prove or disprove.” the blonde admitted.

“I am not sure either. Tell me, what do you like about this planet?”

Kara brightened up at this question. “I like the plants, the trees, the ocean. They are all so beautiful. I love birds and other animals that aren’t frightening. I love the food here. The food is amazing. Pizza and these items called Pot Stickers. Chinese food is good but those Pot Stickers are… I don’t have a word to describe them. I like Sticky Buns. The kind Eliza makes are much better than the pre packaged ones. Pie, especially the chocolate one with pecans in it. The movies are much better here. I love playing on the beach. Dante said he would teach me to swim. Do you want to know what my favorite movies are?”

“Yes,” J’onn answered, happy with the girl’s enthusiasm. “Tell me everything. Whatever you want and when you are done I will tell you what took me by surprise when I first landed.”

“How long do we have? You are going to want to train me soon, right?”

“Train you for what? We are just going to practice flying inside, not very high, so you know how it feels and can avoid it in the future. Dante talked to you about needing to learn to use these powers so you can control them and hide them, correct?”

“Yes, but you are going to need me to stop Aunt Astra and Non one day.”

“No,” J’onn told her quickly. “That is our job.”

Kara looked at J’onn and could tell he was being honest. “I told you I had never heard of Mars and it was true. I also told you I had heard of shape shifters and that was true. Shape shifters are very powerful but they have one weakness. They can be burned. Do you know what Alex calls the beams that come out of my eyes? Heat vision. How can you stop them when they possess the one weapon that can kill you?”

J’onn had no answer for that and it was a question he had thought of in length. If this girl had picked up on that, the older Kryptonians certainly would if they knew what he could do.

“I will find a way. I haven’t lived over three hundred years without being smart. You are not going after them. Not ever Kara. Alex will go with you and you know she will be harmed trying to help you. You have to protect her from that. Now lets talk about your favorite movies.”

So Kara and J’onn did talk, or Kara talked and J’onn listened. He did not bring up the loss of her planet, her parents death, her anger, her fear. Today he wanted to concentrate on things that made her happy. She needed to be happy before any real work could be done. The little alien girl had focused too much on grief and anger. It sounded like the Danvers were helping pull her out of despair. Once they had spent a few weeks, talking about the things that brought her joy, the two could begin talking about deeper issues. Right now the last thing she needed to be reminded of was all that she had lost. She brooded enough on her own about that already.

J’onn listened to her talk for the next thirty minutes about how happy she was to see Clark laying outside, something he never would have been able to do on Krypton. She talked about the adventures Alex had taken her on, trying to swim in the ocean, the horrible taste of salt water and the sand castles they had unsuccessfully built. She talked about watching Jeremiah and Eliza playing with Clark, how the baby followed Jeremiah everywhere. Though she didn’t say it, J’onn had a feeling that the parents taking the weight of mothering the child was good for Kara. She seemed lighter and he could catch a glimpse of the sunny girl she most likely was before her world ended. He desperately hoped that girl would come back and perhaps she was.

Once Kara had talked nearly non stop for over an hour, J’onn asked if she would like to try flying. Kara’s sunny countenance darkened a bit but she nodded with grim determination. The Martian was relieved that she was not excited about these powers. It meant she would not be reckless with them. Had it been just her, it may have been a different story but he knew how serious Kara was about keeping her baby cousin safe and hidden as well as keeping the Danvers safe.

The two walked out into the main hanger, where Jeremiah was pacing and checking his watch and Eliza was rolling a ball with Clark on the floor. Alex stood with her arms crossed.

“You said an hour.” the girl reminded the Martian. “What took you so long?”

“It is my fault. I was telling him about the fun we have had. I am sorry I kept you waiting.” Kara told her immediately.

“You didn’t keep us waiting little sis. I just wanted to make sure he wasn’t doing something like some Martian hypnotism or some crap.”

J’onn laughed internally but kept a stoic face. “I swear on my honor, no Martian hypnotism. Don’t you trust me Alex? Your father does…”

“Just make sure if she wants to talk to you longer you step out and let us know please. Not being an expert on Martians I was kind of worried about hypnotism myself. She won’t be turned into a weapon J’onn.” the father told him.

“That is not my intent, I swear to you. I do not want her to ever have to fight. Now Kara was about to show us how to fly. Show us, Kara.”

Kara looked at the green man questioningly. “I don’t know how to fly. You were supposed to tell me, remember?”

“It’s easier than you think. As a matter of fact, all you have to do is think about it. It will come to you as naturally as running or even walking.”

Kara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Everyone waited, even Clark had stopped playing with the ball.

After a minute, Kara opened her eyes again. “Sorry. Guess you were wrong. I can’t fly. We should probably go home, right?” she asked Eliza.

“I think that is a good idea sweetie. Thanks for talking to her J’onn…”

“She does not want to fly. But she can if she really wants to. You weren’t trying, were you Kara?”

“I thought about it. It didn’t happen. What do you want me to do?”

“Look at the top of the ceiling. See that chain? There is a tag on the chain. If you can’t fly do you think you are strong enough to jump and grab the tag?”

The blonde shrugged her shoulders. “Probably… What… I smell pizza?”

“Yes, Ty just brought quite a few pizzas I asked him to get. Since it is nearly noon, and we didn’t have breakfast prepared I thought you all would join us. But first I need that tag.”

“Why? The pizza is over there. Behind that door! I can smell it!”

“No tag, no pizza.”

“You think you can bribe me with food? Jeremiah can we go have pizza after this?”

“Absolutely.” he told her. “I won’t even make you grab a tag one hundred foot high either.” he added, giving J’onn another look indicating displeasure. J’onn took a look in his head and was pleased by what he saw. The love was obvious but the protectiveness this man had over his children was fierce.

“Of course you can. Then you would have to wait for it to be ready or you could just get the tag and have some pizza in seconds.”

“Fine. I will get your tag then we are all going to take all your pizzas.” Kara looked up at the very high ceiling. She just needed to jump. She knew she was good at it, had jumped very high and across long distances while on the run. This was high but doable.

Bending her knees she jumped, the ceiling coming quickly. She saw the tag and grabbed it.

“Got it! Pizza is ours! Oh crap.”

Everyone on the ground looked in wonder as Kara realized she was standing on nothing but air.

“Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“How do I get down?” she asked shakily. Alex turned and kicked J’onn who had been gazing approvingly at the ceiling.

“She asked a question, flying dude. Get her down!”

“Alex, I really want to come down. I really… I’m afraid to move right now… whoa!” Kara looked at the Martian who was now eye level with her.

“Look at the floor. Think about moving towards it slowly. This time really think and don’t just say you are. I’m not carrying you down.”

“Get me down!” Kara whispered. “I don’t want them to see me like this. It is not good that they have seen my eyes… please J’onn. I don’t want them to be scared of me!”

“I can read minds, Kara. I promise you they are not scared of you. Jeremiah is ready to catch you if you fall.” he told her quietly.

“You read minds! Can you read mine?” she asked, continuing to whisper.

“No, yours is closed off to me. I suspect its a Kryptonian thing. I can read theirs though. I had to when I met them, to ensure you were safe.”

“They aren’t the ones whose eyes explode! Get me down! I’m a freak already, this is making it worse. You can keep your pizza!”

“Close your eyes and imagine yourself slowly lowering to the ground. If you relax, I promise you it will work.” he told her patiently. “Also I would appreciate it if we could keep the mind reading thing between us, okay? Its not something I really tell people about.”

Kara nodded her head and closed her eyes. She thought of going to the ground. The feeling of weightlessness would have been cool in other circumstances but right now she was the very big center of attention and the girl did not want this.

She thought she was dropping slowly but afraid to open her eyes and find out. She did open her eyes when her feet touched the ground and Eliza had her arms around her.

“Are you okay? You didn’t hit your head, did you?”

“She did fine.” J’onn assured them.

“J’onn can read minds! He told me he didn’t want anyone to know but I think its rude to read people’s minds without asking them. He has read all of yours before! Don’t think around him.”

J’onn dropped his head. So much for alien bonding. Kara had made her loyalties known.

“Dang,” Ty yelled, walking in. “Somebody finally called out the Martian Manhunter for eavesdropping. Bout time. Good job Kara. You guys want some pizza?”

“No, I think we are good. Kara, do you want to come back next Sunday?” the father asked, Clark in his arms trying to get to his freaked out cousin.

“Yes. I just don’t want to… fly again. I liked talking to you J’onn.”

‘Perhaps we can fly not quite so high. Just to work on levitating.” the Martian suggested.

Jeremiah took offense. “Look I really appreciate everything you have done for them, for all of us, but you have said it yourself, she doesn’t need to show her powers. She knows what it is like to fly. As long as she doesn’t play basketball or volleyball we should be good. I can understand getting control of the…”

“Heat vision.” Alex declared.

“… heat vision, but flying? I’m having a hard time believing you aren’t training her to be a weapon if she needs to fly. She has never had a problem with it before. Why exactly is it so important for her to practice this every week?”

J’onn dropped his head. “May I have a moment with the two of you, without the children?”

Jeremiah and Eliza silently agreed and followed J’onn into the room he and Kara had previously been in. He grabbed a sheet of paper from the printer outside of it and a pen.

“Please have a seat. We need to talk. In a way she can’t hear.”

J’onn began writing.

/You both knew the risks, the danger they place your family in, right?/

Both of them nodded. “We have accepted that. If you expect us to change our minds you can go to…”

J’onn lifted a finger to his mouth, hoping Jeremiah stayed quiet. When it appeared the man would not speak more J’onn wrote once again.

/If Kara and Alex are alone and are found by her relatives or somehow the DEO gets by us, wouldn’t you feel better knowing Kara could fly away with Alex? I would. I know she doesn’t want to learn about her powers. I wish she didn’t have to learn about her powers. In this situation, it is best that she learn everything she can so if the worst ever does happen, she has every advantage to protect your family and herself. Clark will gain powers as he ages. If she can’t control hers how will she help him control his? This has to happen. She is smart enough and scared enough not to use them all on her own. But she needs to know how if the worst happens and we aren’t there. Don’t you both agree?/

Jeremiah and Eliza looked at each other and then back at the Martian.

“If I ever suspect you are training her to be some government weapon you are going to need a lot more Navy Seals to protect you.” he told J’onn.

“I understand and you have my word that is not what I am doing.”

“Good. Don’t ever read our minds again either. Its not polite.” Eliza added and stood up to leave. The two parents found Kara with a pizza box in hand and gooey cheese leading from her mouth to the slice in her hand. Alex had one.

“She managed to down three and a half while you three were having your grown up conversation. We done here?” Alex asked.

Jeremiah nodded. “Yes we are. We will be back next Sunday. Thank you J’onn.”

Kara moved to follow after finishing the slice in her hand and grabbing another on the way out. Alex noticed.

“What?” Kara asked through a full mouth. “Flying makes me hungry. Swimming makes you hungry. Don’t judge me.”

Her big sister shook her head and smiled. “Why do I have the feeling you are going to eat like this for the rest of your life and never gain an ounce of fat? Yeah you are cursed alright. Think you can handle that strength of yours okay today, after the excitement?”

“Yes.” she answered immediately, swallowing the last slice.

“Great.” Eliza smiled. “Then it is time to teach you a time honored American Sunday tradition. It may not be as cool as flying but I think you will like bowling.”

“Like the Dude in the Big Lebowski?” she asked excitedly. Jeremiah looked at his oldest daughter.

“Are there any movies she hasn’t seen?”