Five years ago...
It happened too quickly. The many thoughts running through the ten year-old's mind, the panic building inside of her, the shaking of her hands which threw everything off track. Her first instinct was to leave the room, but that became almost impossible as large flames engulfed her bedroom. She decided to hide under her desk in the corner of the room instead. Luckily, her desk was on the other side of the room where the flames weren't. It was also near an open window, allowing her to breathe in fresh air. It also caused the flames to get worse and completely surround her bedroom, then leaving through the now burnt-down door.
The small girl was unsure what caused the single flame to grow out of control. One candle was lit in her bedroom. A candle. A candle that had a great amount of distance from everything else on her nightstand beside her bed. It could have been that it was on her nightstand in the first place. The sheets of her bed were close by, but there was no way it would have made contact with her bed unless it was somehow knocked over. It also could have been that the candle's flame touched something on her nightstand that it shouldn't have. Something that was very flammable. Other than that, the fire should have never started. The fire...
The crackling of the fire snapped her out of her thoughts, now not really starting to care what the cause of the fire was. She was too scared to think. She was too scared that something might happen to her or her adoptive parents downstairs now that the fire had most likely got to them at this point. She was surprised herself that she hadn't passed out already from smoke inhalation and that the fire wasn't as quick to progress to the other side of the room compared to its movement out of the room. Although the fire was mostly on the other side of the bedroom, the smoke fully devoured it, which made it a little harder to breathe. As the smoke came closer to her, she put up her hands in front of her face to shield herself from it and closed her eyes.
A few minutes had gone by and the fire still hasn't spread to where the girl was hiding. With her hands still covering her face, she moved her fingers apart to take a peak at the fire in front of her, only to notice that the smoke had stopped right where her hands were. She slowly pulled her hands away from her face and widened her eyes. The fire wasn't even close to her.
"What's happening?" she whispered, her voice shaking. "Where are the…"
The sound of sirens roaring had cut her off and answered her second question. After minutes of waiting, the fire department and ambulances finally arrived at the house. Curiously, she got out from under her desk and walked over to the window, which had a view of the front of the house. She watched as the firemen hurried into the burning house. She figured that they were going to get her parents out of the house because they were on the first floor, then herself. She didn't really mind it that much. The fire wasn't even touching her anyways and she wasn't sure why. She sighed at the thought as she peered at both of her parents being taken out by a fireman, then being put on to stretchers before that same fireman went back inside.
Within seconds, she heard foot steps coming up the stairs, her eyes moving from the window to the door that was no longer existing. The girl carefully moved away from the window. The fireman got to her bedroom and met eyes with the small, brunette girl. He took a few steps, close enough so he can reach his hand to grab hers. She glanced at the man's hand and took it. The man nodded to himself before he led her down the stairs, which were somehow still in tact, and towards the back door in the kitchen, since the kitchen hasn't been touched yet by the fire.
The brunette sighed as they left the house, glad that herself and the fireman got out okay, and walked back to the front of the house where it was safe. A female paramedic spotted the young girl the moment she got to the front yard and grabbed her hand to bring her towards the ambulance, wanting the young girl to be taken to the hospital along with her fairly injured parents. Nodding, she got into the ambulance and sat down in one of the few seats, the paramedic following behind and sitting down next to her.
With that, the ambulance's back doors closed and drove off. The paramedic looked over at the girl next to her and frowned.
"What's your name, sweetheart?" the paramedic asked.
"Aidan, Aidan Celler."
"Do you know what caused the fire?"
Aidan thought for a moment before shaking her head.
"Are you okay? Physically? Emotionally? Mentally?"
"I'm fine," Aidan told the paramedic, looking down at her hands on her lap. "I'm not hurt. I don't feel any pain. I'm okay…"
She trailed off and focused on her hands, feeling a strange surge of energy in them. She turned her hands over, revealing her palms, and widened her eyes. Both of her hands were covered in small, dark scars and ash. Aidan shook her head in disbelief, not really knowing what happened to them.
"I'm okay…"
Present
It had been a long week for Kara. Not only did she deal with Max Lord's Supergirl clone, she also wrote a letter to her boss's son and got into what felt like a one-day relationship, having to break it off because of the clone. She didn't really mind breaking it off so quickly, not wanting her Supergirl life to somehow make his life a complete mess. She also didn't want to put him in danger knowing that any alien she has ever encountered always end up going after the people she cares about. Kara couldn't take such a risk, a risk that could potentially get her fired from her job and expose her real self to no other than Cat Grant. Cat Grant was already suspicious about her being Supergirl before. There was no way she could let that happen again.
Along with that mess, she fought and defeated her clone that was created by Max Lord. He just happened to be the man who both her and her sister despised. He took seven innocent women who were all in comas and killed them trying to create the Supergirl clone. He also put several lives in danger when the clone grew out of control and got in the way of the whole relationship thing with Cat Grant's son. Who wouldn't hate him?
That week was said and done, and Kara was ready to see what new obstacles lie ahead of her. With Cat Grant's latte in her hand, she hurried to get to Catco before her boss did. The line at Noonan's was a lot longer than it usually is in the late morning, which caused Kara to be in such rush. She already knew that despite that she'll most likely arrive at work on time, she was going to have to handle the outcome of last week's situation. She wasn't at all prepared for what could possibly happen. The chance of being fired was pretty high at this point, but she hoped anyways that her job would still be hers by the end of the day.
As she approached Catco, she could feel the latte slowly get colder and she knew that Cat hated her lattes cold. Looking around her to make sure that no one's eyes were on her, she slightly lowered her glasses and used her heat vision to heat up the latte before entering the building. Kara adjusted her glasses as she got on the elevator and reached to press the correct floor number she had to go to. She soon noticed that the button she was about to press was already highlighted and pulled her hand back, chuckling awkwardly at the situation.
Once she arrive at the right floor, she exited the elevator and pushed by each person that had crowded in the small lobby of that floor. As much as she didn't want to bump into anyone, she really had no choice if she wanted to get to Cat Grant's office on time. Luckily, she didn't, making her way to her boss's office. She was surprised to see that Cat wasn't present in her office. She must have been late too, or Kara actually made it to work on time.
Hearing the office door open, Kara jumped and turned around, Cat Grant now standing in front of her with her hands on her hips. She hesitantly held out her boss's latte for her to take. "Here's your latte, Ms. Grant."
Cat took the latte and glanced at it before meeting eyes with her assistant. "You're late."
Kara looked at her in disbelief. "Y-you just came in now. So how am I-"
"I got here about…" Cat paused, "…a half an hour ago, Keira."
"Right," the Kryptonian nodded. "I just… there was a long line at Noonan's. I had to wait for some time and I-"
"Sh," Cat hissed, interrupting her assistant. "No excuses, Keira. You were late to work." She took a step closer to Kara. "I suggest that you don't do it again. Understood?"
"Yes, Ms. Grant." Kara smiled slightly at her boss and headed to the two glass office doors. She reached her hand out to open it, but a sudden voice calling her name stopped her. She turned back around, again facing Cat Grant, her hands over-lapping each other in front of her body. "Yes, Ms. Grant?"
"I didn't say you could leave."
"Oh. Right," Kara muttered. "Sorry."
Cat frowned, a little disappointed in her assistant, and cleared her throat. "I need today's layouts by the end of the day."
Kara nodded, "yes, of course."
Silence.
"Anything else you need, Ms. Grant?"
She shook her head and waved her hand, telling Kara to leave the office.
With a small nod, Kara left Cat's office and officially started her day at work. She set her bag down on her desk and took a small breath. She knew she was so close to being fired just for arriving late to work. Cat would do something like that, right? She probably has in the past, but maybe she changed after hiring Kara. Although after everything that happened the week before, she wasn't sure anymore of what Cat thinks of her. What Cat would do if she makes a mistake like this again. Kara sighed as she sat down at her desk and put her head in her hands. Cat wouldn't do that, wouldn't fire her, even if she did something worse than arrive late to work. The only time Cat had threatened to take her job was when she found out that Kara was Supergirl. Or when she thought Kara was Supergirl.
Hearing foot steps come towards her, she picked her head up, her eyes meeting with Winn's. Winn frowned slightly, noticing that Kara didn't seem okay.
"Is everything okay, Kara?"
Kara sighed. "I'm not sure anymore. I'm just stressed out, you know?" She shifted in her chair. "Do you think Ms. Grant is going to fire me for what happened last week and then being late this morning?"
"No," he paused, "maybe if you do something a lot worse than that, I don't… I don't think…"
"Winn, you didn't have to answer that. I was sort of asking myself that. I just wanted to hear your opinion, or… or something," Kara stated.
Winn scratched the back of his neck. "Oh. Well, my opinion on that question is that it seems unlikely. Unrealistic." Kara tilted her head to the side. "N-not that being fired is unrealistic. I mean, Ms. Grant wouldn't randomly give up her assistant for that small of a mistake. I think that you're probably the best assistant she's ever had."
"Thanks for the positivity, Winn. I'll keep that in mind."
"No problem," he smiled at Kara before nodding to himself and walking away from her desk. Forgetting something, he stopped and turned back around. "I also wanted to ask if you were free tonight? M-maybe we can do more superheroing?"
Kara furrowed her eye brows. It sort of sounded like he was asking her out. That could be what she needed to get everything off her mind and get the stress off her shoulders. Like usual, Kara reacted as if she was lightly rejecting him. "Winn," she warned.
Winn widened his eyes. "Shoot. Sorry. I'll just get back to work." With that, he turned and started to head back to his desk, slapping himself internally for asking in the first place.
As Kara watched him leave her desk, she began to chuckle. "Winn, I was kidding." Winn stopped in his tracks and turned back around to face Kara. "I would love to hang out tonight. I have to check in with the DEO beforehand though to see if anything is going on."
"I hate when you do that," Winn muttered, glaring at his co-worker.
Kara shrugged. "Come on, I was only joking around…" She trailed off, hearing something through her ear piece. The voice sounded like Alex's, calling from the DEO.
Winn frowned, noticing Kara's eyes move from his eyes and down to her desk. "Kara? Is everything okay?"
"No. I just… I have to take this." She stood up from her desk. "I might have to raincheck the offer, Winn. I'll definitely be free tomorrow though."
He opened his mouth to say something, but Kara had already left towards an empty hallway. Sighing, he went back to his desk and continued what he was working on before he went over to talk to Kara.
In the hallway, Kara ran to a dead end and in seconds changed out of her Kara Danvers outfit and into her Supergirl one. The top of her costume was always under her clothes, unless she wasn't wearing some kind of long-sleeved shirt. Although, the cape, skirt, and boots were all hidden in the abandoned hallway of the floor and that made it easier for her to quickly change into her costume when she's needed during work.
Once she had changed, she flew out of the open window that was a few feet away from the dead end and put her finger tips on her ear piece. "What is it, Alex? Another alien attack?"
Alex, who was back at the DEO headquarters, talked to her sister through her ear piece. The challenge Kara was about to take was another alien attack. The alien was unknown to the DEO at the moment since it was in it's human form. He also shows to have some kind of weak power, at least that's what Alex was told.
To Kara's question, she nodded, although her sister couldn't see the nod. "Yes. In his human form, he looks no older than fifteen."
"Location?" Kara asked as she flew around the city.
Alex looked at the map on the large screen that tracked the alien and frowned. "Right outside of National City High School."
It was after school had dismissed. Kids from ages fourteen to eighteen ran out of the building to either get to a bus or their car if they can drive. All of those kids were excited that school finally let out for the day, ready to relax at home or do homework for some and study too. Unlike the other students, Aidan took her time leaving the building, looking up at the sky above her, watching the clouds move by slowly as she walked down the steps and to the sidewalk. Everyday she had to walk home, her home being too close to the school to have a bus. Both of her adoptive parents were at work and that she didn't really mind, wanting the house to herself for a few hours.
As she was walking home, she heard foot steps behind her, causing her to stop and look over her shoulder. Aidan frowned, only seeing a male figure running towards her from far away. "How was I able to hear that?" She sighed and shook her head before turning around completely, the teen coming closer to her by the second. When he reached her, she gave him a small smile. "Hey, Felix," she muttered, slightly uninterested at the moment. She wasn't planning on anyone stopping her from getting home. She was tired and wanted to go home to rest, then eventually get homework done.
"Hi, Aidan," Felix said back, moving a little closer to her. At the movement, Aidan took a step back.
"What do you want?" she asked curiously, crossing her arms over her chest.
Felix frowned and moved another step closer. "I wanted to hang out sometime. You sort of ignore me around school, so I thought I would get your attention when you're alone. I guess I was right. Do you walk home every day?"
Aidan looked down at the ground then back at Felix. "Look, I'm not really interested and I don't have the time, so I'll be leaving now." With that, she turned her back to him and started walking again. He shook his head in disbelief and ran up to her again until he was in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. Aidan widened her eyes. "What the hell is your problem? I said no," she hissed.
"I know, Pyrrha," Felix smirked.
Aidan opened her mouth slightly, shocked at what he called her. "I'm sorry?"
"Pyrrha," he repeated. "You have a tattoo on your left shoulder blade. It says Pyrrha. Well, of course not in english."
"What are you talking about? How do you know about that?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself self-consciously.
Felix looked around nervously, trying to think of an answer. Aidan gave him an annoyed look and tapped her foot on the ground impatiently, placing her hands on her hips. "I don't…"
Aidan glared at him. "You're making a fool of yourself, you perve." Again, she passed by him, shaking her head. "Such a-" She had cut herself off when she felt a hand on her arm. She glanced over her shoulder at him. "What?" What once was Felix's hand then became some kind of animal like claw. Aidan widened her eyes. "What are you?" she asked, fear in her voice.
Out of anger, he dug his claws into her skin, causing her arm to bleed. "I know who you really are, Pyrrha," he growled and looked down at her arms. "You're bleeding?"
"Well, of course I am, you idiot. I'm human!" Aidan pulled her arm out of his grip and ran down the sidewalk as fast as she could, keeping her eyes on her arm as well as in front of her. Seeing that the scratch marks were gradually healing themselves, she shook her head. "Maybe I'm not human," she muttered, her eyes now glancing over her shoulder at the teen running after her. Hoping to get him off her tail, she cut into an alley that was by a few buildings and kept running until she hit a dead end. "Seriously?!" She groaned and turned around, gasping quietly. Felix, or whoever he was, was now in front of her and blocking her way out.
"Seems you're stuck," he chuckled, walking closer to her. As he took steps forward, she took steps back. "Where were we? Hmm?" Felix thought for a second. "Oh, right. Pyrrha."
"I'm not who you think I am. Unlike you, I'm human. Got it?" Aidan told him. "Now, stay away from me."
"You really think you're human?" He sped up to her and shoved her against a building wall on the side of the dead end, his arm pushed along her neck.
Aidan looked at him with fearful eyes, feeling her hands grow warm and eventually hot to the touch. "Leave me alone," she muttered, keeping her hands by her side.
Felix shook his head. "I want answers. I want to know your relationship with Supergirl." His hands again became claws, his grip on her tightening.
She bit the inside of her lip and completely ignored what he had told her. "I said, leave me alone!"
Aidan pulled her hands close to her body and allowed flames to envelop them. The flames grew larger by the second and suddenly acted as a force that smashed Felix against the wall of another building across from her. When she knew he was knocked out by the impact, the flames that wrapped around her hands dimmed down and vanished completely. Feeling her energy completely depleted, she carefully sat down on the ground and rested her back against the wall. She then looked at the palms of her hands.
Dark scars and ash.
She shook her head and pulled her hands close to her. "What did I do?" she whispered.
The alley was engulfed in silence, silence that Aidan was glad was there. It was what she needed at the moment, so she could comprehend her thoughts. Her thoughts that kept asking her who she really is, what she really is. It conflicted her. It stressed her out. It made her think things that she knew would never cross her mind. Now she wasn't sure what to do. There was an unconscious teen not far from her. Even though he threatened her, he is still a person no matter if he's human or not. Although, Aidan was just trying to protect herself and that was all that mattered at the time. At the same time, she didn't mean to cause that much damage. She didn't mean for it to be out of control. She had no control-
Her thoughts very immediately interrupted by a gust of wind and the silence in the alley was broken. Aidan's eyes wandered around the alley she was in, finally meeting a pair of light blue eyes. Right then, she knew exactly who was in front of her. "Supergirl…" she whispered weakly, still feeling faint after what she had just did a few moments ago.
Supergirl smiled slightly at the young brunette and went over to her, kneeling down in front of her. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Aidan kept her gaze on Supergirl, mesmerized by her, this being the first time she'd seen her in person. "I… I just…" Her eyes moved from Supergirl's to Felix, who was still out cold, and shook her head. "The alien… he threatened me, said that he needed answers. I didn't really understand." She swallowed. "I think he was an alien. I'm not sure."
Supergirl chuckled. "I wasn't asking about him, I was asking about you. I need to know if you're okay."
At that moment, Aidan wasn't sure if she could trust Supergirl with what she had kept secret for five years. She knew that she was different, and maybe Supergirl could relate to that. She also wasn't sure if she would get herself into trouble. If she had a time to show who she really is, this would be it, in front of someone who could help her. Yet, she couldn't find the courage to.
Aidan's eyes left Supergirl's and moved to her own hands that were placed gently on her lap. She clenched her hands into fists and shook her head. "I can't… I need to go." She was about to stand up, but Supergirl placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Let me help you," she offered and stood up first before holding out her hand to the teen.
Aidan smiled and took Supergirl's hand. Feeling her hand heat up like it had before, she pulled her hand back and decided to stand up without Supergirl's help. Although, standing up too fast, she caught a dizzy spell and grabbed on to Supergirl's arms to steady her. "Sorry," she muttered.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Supergirl asked, sounding concerned.
"I guess. I'm just a little dizzy. I must have hit my head or something," Aidan told her, letting go of her arms. "You can go if you want and take the alien with you, so he doesn't hurt anyone else."
The blonde nodded. "Yes, of course."
"I'm going to go. My parents are probably worried." She thought for a second. "Yet, they don't really worry much."
Supergirl frowned, but shook it off. "Well, if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
Aidan smiled and subconsciously wrapped her arms around the taller woman. "Thank you."
Supergirl smiled and hugged her back. "You're welcome…" She pulled away from the hug. "Sorry, I never got your name."
"It's Aidan," she told her, pulling away as well. "I'm really glad that I finally got to meet you. I've always wanted to." Supergirl chuckled at that. "But I really should go."
Smiling slightly, Aidan turned and headed out of the alley, hoping that the decision she made wouldn't mess up her future.
Kara stood alone in the alley, waiting for the DEO to pick up the alien, so she could leave and go back to work at Catco. Despite everything being over, she was still playing what happened over and over again in her head. It was like she completely missed out on something, that there was something going on that she didn't pick up on. Why the alien attacked Aidan in the first place. Why Aidan was nervous around her. Even though she was attacked, she seemed out of it too, mentally out of it. Kara didn't really understand why. She figured that Aidan was hiding something from her and that she had to keep it hidden for her own good.
Why would Aidan want to do something like that?
If Kara was her, she would seek help about it. Her and Aidan aren't the same. She's probably scared that people would judge her and use what she's hiding against her. Or she's scared of hurting the people she cares about, just like Kara was when she first came to earth. Maybe her and Aidan aren't very different after all. It really depends on what she's hiding.
Sighing, she watched as a black DEO car and alien containment truck drove into the alley to pick up the alien. Alex was in the DEO car , coming out of it and closing the door before walking over to her sister.
"Hey. How did it go? Did anyone get hurt?" Alex asked.
Kara shrugged. "I think he was after a specific person. This girl. Her name is Aidan. She is about the same age as the alien's human form. I think they go to the same school."
"Well, not anymore." Alex looked over her shoulder three DEO agents picking up the alien and hand-cuffing him.
"You don't understand, Alex. There's something about her. I just don't know what is it," Kara told her sister.
"How about we discuss this later, okay? I need to get back to the DEO and you need to get back to Catco before Cat finds out that you left."
Kara nodded. "Yeah, sure. And you're right. I really do need to get back to work. I'm not going to risk getting fired."
Alex chuckled and watched her sister fly up into the air, then moving her eyes back to the DEO agents who were still getting the alien into the truck. She instructed the DEO agents to hurry up, wanting to get the alien locked up before he wakes up. At the order, the agents finally get the alien in the back of the truck and close the two back doors. As the truck drove off, Alex sighed and shook her head, becoming more curious by the minute at what her sister wanted to talk to her about.