The water invaded her nostrils. Even for a Kryptonian, it was hard to hold her breath for so long. Her smooth fingers dug into the murky mud at the bottom of the lake. Letting out a cry of despair, bubbles swarmed from her mouth to the surface. Kara tore and scraped at the Earth desperately trying to uncover the crashed vessel. For a moment, her vision allowed a glimpse at her baby cousin, trapped inside. She pushed off with her bare feet, sending ripples across the deep lake. The frigid air above cut into her very core.

"No!" She coughed up water and screamed.

Kara's light hair clung to her fair skin, just as the dark navy suit clung tightly to her form, but provided no comfort. No comfort could be provided to a 14 year old child who was far from home. She clutched her slender frame and sobbed. Krypton was gone. She watched it happen. Images of her father, Zor-El danced within the tears forming in her eyes.

"Kal!" the girl bit her quivering lip.

Her face distorted from the fear and the cold.

"Kal-El!" Her vocal chords created a sonic boom that shook the trees that dotted the shoreline and she gasped, shocked at the mysterious strength she could feel inside herself.

Kara Zor-El had dismissed this strength and attributed it to adrenaline, which did indeed flow through her. Diving back into the depths of the lake, the moonlight distorted and dissipated the deeper she pushed herself. Each stroke bringing her closer to him. Closer to her cousin, trapped in an interstellar pod at the base of the lake. Once more, her fingers dug into the ground, but this time, she just kept pushing. Instead of scraping and clawing, she let the mud surround her. Kara slipped under the base of the lake, into the darkness.

Suddenly, the rocket was hurled from the water, the liquid flying into the air with tremendous force as the Kryptonian infant laid in his vehicle, that tumbled and cracked apart as it hit the land. Shattered fragments of metal scattered over the mossy, damp bank of the lake. Then, following the vehicle, soared Kara, who tumbled into the dirt and rolled. Her flesh was bruised and her head pulsed in pain. Water dripped slowly from her mouth as she lay, collapsed. A moment later, her throat spasmed and her suffocating body convulsed. Kara vomited a mixture of mud and water and her chest heaved. Her legs kicked weakly before her eyes rolled back and she fell unconscious.

The small baby Kryptonian a few meters away stirred. His pink lips parted and his eyes peeled open. The cold night air stung and he winced. The child shivered and rolled back and forth in the broken vehicle. Smoke billowed from the alien vessel, which was easily spotted by a man and his wife, who were driving along a nearby road.

"John! What do you suppose that is?"

"Oh no, could be a forest fire- Looks like it started around the lake!"

The Kents drove down the road towards the wreckage… The wheels of fate were put in motion, as Kal-El would soon be discovered… but not yet revealed to the world.