AN:I bring you, that Supergirl *slight* AU story nobody asked for! (But I hope you will all really like and haven't clicked out of this story at the sight of 'AU')
(I seriously only tweaked one minor detail... which changed a few things)
Also, the title and summary are both works in progress and may be subject to change.
I ask that you be patient with the start, there's a reason why I wrote what I did ;)
Please enjoy!
My name is Kara Zor-El. 24 years ago my planet, Krypton, was in serious peril.
My cousin, Kal-El, was sent to a planet called Earth for his own safety and protection.
You may know his story.
The story you don't know is that I was sent to protect him.
Zor-El ran through the final inspections of the spaceship. Checking that the life support, warp drive and crystals were all in order.
Seeing his wife and child approach in a hurry, he calmed himself and stooped to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Your pod's coordinates are interlocked with Kal-El's. You will follow him to Earth."
"I'm not afraid, Father." Kara said, tone resolute.
Zor-El shared a glance with his wife, pride bright in his eyes as he smiled at her as if to say 'That's my girl' before he moved back towards the pod.
Alura gripped Kara's hand in both of hers, gaining her attention as she looked intently at her, wanting to burn every minute detail about her most prized treasure into her memory. Knowing that the end was near and time with her dearest one was running out.
"The trip is long but you'll sleep most of the way and we'll be with you in your dreams. You'll journey to Earth to look after your baby cousin, Kal-El. Because of the Earth's yellow sun, you'll have great powers on this planet. You will do extraordinary things."
"I won't fail Kal-El or you." Kara reassured her, even as moisture began to gather unshed at her eyes.
From her neck, Alura removed a chain with a simple pendant attached to it and placed it around Kara's own, one last thing to remember her by. She pulled her daughter close, placing a kiss upon her forehead, wanting to express all the things she would never have the time to say in the simple action.
"I love you, Kara." Words will never be enough. Be safe, my little angel eyes.
They were harshly reminded of their time running short as the ground beneath their feet shook and a tower of fire rose toward the sky in the distance.
"You must go, now." She said forcefully even as she still held her daughters hand.
Kara made it only one step towards the star ship before she lunged back into her mother's ready arms. The magnitude of their situation finally catching up with them as realisation dawned that this moment was the last they will ever have together. Alura's strong mask finally cracked as she held her daughter to her, selfishly wishing with all her heart that she would never have to let her go. A mother's love for her child was the strongest force in all the universe. She would do anything and everything in her power to ensure that she was safe. Even if it meant her life.
"Go!" she gasped, releasing her daughter, holding back a sob as though the action were a physical blow.
Alura and Zor-El watched as the ship flew into the stars, taking comfort in each other and in the knowledge that their daughter, the last child of Krypton, would live.
We love you, Kara. More than anything in the world.
Things didn't exactly go according to my mother's plan.
Krypton's destruction sent a shock wave that knocked my pod off course and into the Phantom Zone. A region in space where time doesn't pass.
I slept there for 24 years until somehow I got here.
When I arrived, I was still a 13-year-old girl.
But in that same time my cousin Kal-El had grown up and revealed himself to your world as Superman. The most powerful man in the universe.
My cousin wanted me to have the same safe human-type childhood he did.
So he placed me with my adoptive family, the Danvers. Scientists who once helped him understand his own super abilities.
Kara watched two humans approach them. Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers, Kal had told her as he lowered himself and gently wrapped her in his arms.
Eliza smiled warmly in welcome as Kara walked towards them.
"I know I'm not your mom sweetheart, but you're safe here."
She glanced at Jeremiah and he too, smiled in welcome at the young girl.
Movement high above the Danvers' shoulders caught Kara's eye.
A girl, perhaps a year or so older than her stood at a window, pushing aside the curtains to look out over at them.
They had a daughter, Alex. And despite being born on different planets, we both shared one thing. We knew our lives would never be the same again.
With the elder Danvers at work, Alex was left with babysitting duty. Not that she really minded. The alien, to say the least, was very interesting.
Kara was a shy girl, closed off unless Eliza or Alex actively tried to draw her out of her shell. Over the two weeks Kara has been with the Danvers, Alex had shown that she was the best at doing so. Snacks, candies and chocolates were her weapons and all things sweet was her friend in her mission to introduce Kara to all things Earthly. Much to the consternation of Eliza and the undying amusement of Jeremiah.
Having the house to themselves, Alex took it as an opportunity to finally introduce Kara to another tradition. Movie night.
The girls were huddles on the couch, a throw blanket over their legs and surrounded by a vast array of snacks and Harry Potter in the DVD player.
The first few minutes of the movie Alex spent saying things like "No Kara, motorcycles can't actually fly" and "No Kara, cats aren't actually people in disguise, it's a movie! Here, eat some popcorn!"
The rest of the time, Alex found herself watching Kara nearly as much as she watched the movie. It was a novel experience to see the wonder filled the Kryptonian's eyes and her face flicker among various emotions, all because of something as simple as a movie she herself has watched many times.
Everything was fine, until it wasn't. The look in Kara's eyes turned into alarm as her attention snapped towards the ceiling. Alex frowned confusedly and looked herself but found nothing out of the ordinary that would cause the alien such distress. Her gaze was torn away from the ceiling when she heard the ragged gasps of breath the Kryptonian was taking. She found the girl clenching the sides of her head as she curled in on herself and seemingly tried to disappear into the couch, muttering something indecipherable.
"'s too loud. It's too loud. Please make it stop." Kara was whimpering, her hands shaking and white as she tried to push her ears into her skull and Alex immediately lunged for the remote, turning the television screen off. Then finally, she heard it too. A faint rumbling sound, slowly travelling across the ceiling with a quiet whirring. An airplane. Kara could hear an airplane from thousands of feet away over the sound of the movie. Super-hearing. Duh, Alex.
"Kara," she called, shuffling closer to the blonde and trying to get the girl to loosen up and un-curl with little success. Running out of ideas and worried the Kryptonian would soon have a full-blown panic attack, Alex threw her arms around the younger girl. Pulling her close and locking her hands around the ball of limbs that was Kara, Alex whispered without much thought what she hoped were soothing things into her blonde hair.
It's just an airplane Kara, you're safe here.
Everything's gonna be fine.
You're alright, Kara. I got you.
"Just focus on my voice, Kara. Focus on me. Forget the world for a little while. Right now, it's just the two of us, and everything's going to be okay. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." Alex muttered without much thought, doodling random shapes and squiggles on Kara's back while she gently ran a hand up and down her arm. She didn't stop when she felt Kara's breathing begin to calm. She didn't even pause when she felt the girl un-ravel herself and snake her arms around her waist.
In fact, she didn't know when she stopped. Only that when she opened her eyes, she found that the lights have been dimmed and the food was gone. The throw blanket that had fallen to the ground was now tucked around her. Them.
A glance to the corner of her eye confirmed that there was indeed a blonde head tucked into the crook of her neck. They had fallen asleep on the couch still holding each other.
Alex mentally shrugged. The alien was comfy, who knew?
That night, they stopped being the alien and the human. That night, the Danvers Sisters was born.
Things changed after that night. Jeremiah says that Harry Potter was the match that lit the flame and now, Alex and I get along like a house on fire. That may have something to do with the fact that I did set the house ever so slightly on fire, but that was a complete accident and Alex was ready with a fire extinguisher.
Nightmares were horrible. In fact, they sucked.
After months of night terrors and waking up screaming, it was a well affirmed fact in Kara's mind.
On those nights, Alex would wordlessly crawl onto her bed and gently pull away the blankets and pillows she had cocooned herself with and simply hold her as she whispered calm and loving things in her ear. Somewhere between all the days they spent huddled under tables, the movie nights and the times they spent outside looking up at the stars and sharing stories, they stopped thinking of themselves as adoptive or foster sisters. They were just 'The Danvers Sisters'.
This night, Kara wanted to do something for Alex for once. She had seen the look on the older girl's face when Kara's feet first left the ground. She could understand it, somewhat. After her first flight and many other practice rounds around the Danvers' property, she never really wanted to come back down to Earth.
Who doesn't dream of flying?
Who doesn't want to defy gravity, feel weightless and free in the air while the wind passes through their hair?
Who doesn't want to fly high into the sky and watch all their troubles back on the ground just fade for a while?
On this night, as Eliza and Jeremiah moved back into the house, Kara crawled out of the window and walked to the edge of the roof. Alex not far behind.
"Wait. Kara!"
"It'll be fine." Kara reassured her.
"I don't think this is a good idea," Alex retorted, "you're not supposed to Kara."
"C'mon Alex," already floating teasingly in the air. "It'll be so much fun." Kara held out her hand, her face pleading at Alex.
Kara watched as Alex's eyes dart between her outstretched hand and her face and back again. She could almost imagine the cogs turning in the older girl's mind. No doubt weighing the pros and cons, probably calculating some inordinately complex mathematical problem and trying to un-ravel the meaning of life beyond procreating while she was at it. Then, Alex smirked and took her hand.
With a squeal of delight, they shot into the sky, leaving nothing but echoes of their laughter in their wake.
They flew high above the bay, Alex's arms firmly around the blonde's shoulder. The smile on the sisters' faces mirroring one another's.
"This is amazing!" Alex shouted above the wind, though there really wasn't any need what with Kara's acute hearing and her head being right next to Alex's.
"I know, right?" Kara could only agree.
Looking down, Alex called out daringly, "Let's see how close we can get."
The younger girl laughed as she swooped low, so close to the water their noses almost skimmed the surface.
Then, with a whoop of delight, they shot back into the night sky.
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A perk of being close and knowing each other so well was the ability to have entire conversations, arguments and hash out plans with a mere glance.
When the Danvers sisters snuck back into the house, the lights flicked on to reveal Jeremiah looming over them.
"You both are in so much trouble."
When the teens looked to one another, they both thought the same thing. We're dead.
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"Do you have any idea how luck you are? Kara, the rules about using your powers are for your protection." Jeremiah leaned his hands on the table, looking steadily at the seated pair.
"I'm so disappointed in you, Alex." Eliza said, shaking her head slightly.
"It wasn't her idea. I made her do it." Kara insisted in defence of her sister.
"That's not the point, Kara. You're new to Earth, you're still learning." Eliza turned her attention back to the older girl. "But you're her big sister now. It's your job to make sure she doesn't put herself in danger."
Any further conversation was cut off at the sound of knocking at the door, and Jeremiah moved to see who it was at that time of night.
"I'm sorry, mom." Alex tried.
When Jeremiah returned at a brisk walk, his tone was clipped and stiff, brooking no argument.
"Girls go upstairs. Now!"
Recognising the urgency, the girls hurried along without protest.
"Kara, don't you dare use your super-hearing." Eliza called after them as they began ascending the stairs. "Alex—"
"She won't, mom." Alex promised her before following Kara up the stairs.
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Kara was many things: a survivor, not just because she was one of the last living Kryptonians, but because she hasn't let the loss she experienced change her or rule her life; curious, always ready to learn and learn fast and maybe she was naïve for always believing that there is good in every person but one thing she wasn't was an idiot. Kara was a very intuitive person.
So when Jeremiah sent her and Alex to their room without finishing their discussion and Eliza strictly forbidding her from using her hearing, Kara knew that whatever was happening, it was nothing good. It was too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence that someone would be visiting the Danvers this late at night, especially on the night Kara flew further than she ever had outside the boundaries of the Danvers' property. No, there was nothing good about this at all.
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Morning came and the sisters headed downstairs for breakfast. It was a quiet affair, full of contemplative silence. Jeremiah explained that he would be away on a business trip for an indefinite time in which he would need to be on-site for his research and that he would need to move around multiple locations. His bags were already packed at the door way and when Kara snuck a look outside, she was a black nondescript car on the drive, a dark silhouette already in wait on the driver's seat.
If the goodbye hugs and kisses lasted longer than usual, Kara didn't mention it and neither did Alex or Eliza.
After that day, Kara never flew again.
After my adoptive father left on his business trip, I started my freshman year in high school with Alex, who at age 15 was already in her junior year.
The year was also full of spotty phone calls and the occasional video call from Jeremiah. Mostly to ask about how our schooling was going, whether I was adjusting well and if I was making friends (god forbid if I had started dating) and keeping up with my lessons.
The rest of the year was spent in mourning when we found out Jeremiah died in a plane crash. There was a distinct lack of information much to mine and Alex's consternation.
The next year passed by in a blur. If I thought Alex was laser-focused before, now she was plasma-cutter-focused. Passing through multiple AP classes in her senior year with what could only be called 'ease'.
She was going to be great one day. I just knew it.
Her future was going to be anything but dull. Alexandra Danvers was going to take the world by storm.
With so much going on, it was easy to miss, but when I did finally notice, it was beyond creepy.
Someone was watching me.
With the end to another school day, Kara walked out the double doors and into the throng of students. A quick pan of her head informed her that Alex stood by the hand rail, chatting to a group of her friends. She made to approach but then decided to simply wait beside the doors and away from the tide of people exiting when she saw Alex smiling at one of her fellow seniors and tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Kara couldn't help but grin. Go Alex she mentally cheered before she turned away, watching the bobbing and weaving of heads as teenagers moved in their everyday chaotic dance.
As she began the second pass in her people-watching, something caught her eye. There was an elderly wiry and balding man across the street a ways away from her wearing a dark overcoat and underneath, he wore a strange skin-tight suit that could be mistaken for a wetsuit. The man simply stood there, arms to his side, back ramrod straight. People moved around him like water would to a rock in a river. The most unnerving thing of all and what made Kara's nerves prickle was that he was staring straight at her. For a moment, she could have sworn his eyes glowed.
So focused was she on the strange man that when something made contact with her shoulder, she jolted harshly and let out an ungainly screech that made more than a few heads turn her way looking at her oddly. Seeing the source of contact to be a hand, she traced it and found its owner to be none other than Alex Danvers herself wearing a bemused grin. "Hey space girl, where's your head at?" she laughed before stopping when Kara didn't answer.
The blonde darted her head back to the man but found that he had disappeared. She searched the crowd, looking along the sidewalk for a hint of the stranger with no luck. Alex frowned, concern creeping to the forefront of her mind as she tried to catch her sister's attention once more.
"Kara, what's going on? Everything okay?"
The blonde looked oddly at her, as if coming out of a daze and noticing her there for the first time.
"I… thought I saw someone watching me from across the street… their eyes were glowing." She added as an afterthought. Alex blinked owlishly at her for a moment before searching the street herself, scanning for creepy stalkers with glowy-glowy eyes without much success.
"Maybe you saw Georgina Browley? I heard her eyes glow red whenever she devours the souls of her victims and crushes their hopes and dreams." Alex tried, waving her hands nonsensically in the air as she spoke.
At that, Kara snorted as she continued to scour the area. "I heard she rips the hearts of freshmen out and eats them to remain eternally youthful."
"Exactly." Alex said jabbing the Kryptonian in the side before walking off, ignoring the 'ow' she heard. "Let's go Kara! If we miss the bus and have to walk home again you're carrying my stuff."
"Oh come on! It wasn't my fault Lydia's hair caught fire in chemistry!" she called out to her sister as she jogged to catch up.
All thoughts of the creepy man forgotten for the time being.
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The activity of running, jogging or exercise in general was pointless to Kara —what with her alien physiology and all— so Kara walked instead. It was nice to just be away from the Danvers' house, absolutely lovely people as they were, sometimes the girl just wanted time to herself to enjoy the crisp air coming from over the sea and the bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds floating by. Kara liked the Earth's sky; blue made the world around her look so much brighter than if the sky were red like Krypton's. Not that she liked one over the other, the planets were so different and unique that it would be like comparing cats and dogs. Kara liked them both. Cats and dogs, Earth and Krypton. And, you know, one planet is more exploded than the other an errant thought whispered in the back of her mind, one which she quickly banished.
A prickling feeling at the back of her neck broke her out of her reverie. Maintaining her current speed, she sharpened her senses, particularly her hearing, and found that someone was a stone's throw away behind her. That itself wasn't odd, her normal route brought her near a lot of local hotspots and more populated residential areas. She kept her cool and continued walking but found that she couldn't bring herself to appreciate her surroundings anymore. She was just too on-edge for some reason and for the life of her she couldn't figure out what it was.
When Kara found the answer to her conundrum, she almost wish she hadn't. Scratch that. I really wish I didn't know.
It was him! The creepy man at the school with the weird clothing. Kara was on her return route back to the Danvers house and had already taken a few extra turns and chosen the most roundabout ways, but the footsteps that shadowed her own never disappeared or went off a different way.
When Kara walked past a car parked on the curb, she snuck a look behind her using the side-mirror and was met with a very unpleasant sight. An elderly balding man with an angular face, dark eyes and brows forever set in a frown was only a few metres behind her and not even making an effort to remain undetected. As she turned away from the mirror, she saw a glow emanating from the man's face in the corner of her eye.
Kara's breath hitched; her mind fighting panic as she considered her options. She was nearing the end of the residential are and there was only one road to and from the Danvers' residence. She knew without a doubt that she couldn't lead this man back to Alex and Eliza. Her instincts told her that he could be dangerous and they rarely led her astray. Mind set on a course of action, Kara made a right turn, maintaining her walking speed until there was a solid slat fence obscuring her from the man's view before she broke into a run, lithely jumping over the property's hedge and duck low out of sight, peeking through the gaps in the leaves to watch the entrance to the alley.
She waited. The sound of blood rushing in her veins and her own heartbeat too loud in her ears. She waited, but it was beginning to get dark out and a car was pulling up the drive of the random house she was hiding by, no doubt Eliza would start getting worried and Alex would get grumpy if she thinks Kara got lost again and would have to find her and lead her back home.
Gathering her nerve, Kara straightened from her crouched position and walking back up the alley, swivelling her head like a searchlight, looking for a hint of the man. She couldn't decide whether to be relieved or scared when she didn't find a single trace of him.
Kara made it back home in record time, barely remembering to keep her run to that of a human's speed.
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It's Saturday. Another end of a school/work week and a day to re-stock for the next.
Eliza had made a list and was checking it twice as she methodically dropped things into the trolley. Alex was in her own little world, reading a National Geographic as she sat precariously at the front of the trolley, trusting Kara to safely navigate the trolley through the throng of people without pitching her off.
It was while she swerved around a group of shoppers and checking all sides so as not to collide with anything that she felt that prickling feeling she was becoming all too familiar with that associated with being watched. Her head snapped down the aisle she was passing, and there she saw him again.
Creepy old guy, weird clothes, following her. Check, check and check.
The glowing eyes seemed to be a no-show, perhaps there were too many people around to notice.
Kara lost sight of him again when she pushed the trolley past a shelf. Rolling to a stop along the next aisle she waited for a beat but the man didn't show again. Parking the trolley to the side, she left and tore down the aisle, determined confront the man in public where he surely wouldn't be able to do anything.
Once again finding no trace of the man and growing frustrated of the never-ending Houdini act he kept pulling, Kara didn't notice Alex calling out her name until she poked her in the side. "Kara what's going on? We've been looking all over for you! What did mom say about running off randomly like that?" she chastised.
Kara bit her lip, indecision clear on her face, if she told Alex about what was happening it solidified the fact that she was being stalked, but she remembered the first time she mentioned anything to Alex and how easily she blew it off. Would Alex really believe her now?
Making up her mind, she looked her sister straight in the eye, her face barely concealing her panic as she pled for belief. "Remember at school when I told you there was someone watching me from across the street with the glowing eyes?"
Alex nodded, they nearly missed the bus again that day, "When I was out walking I saw him again and he was following me around and I swear his eyes glow again before I hid somewhere and he disappeared, and then I ran home." Alex nodded again, her brows furrowing in worry, she remembered that too. Kara had come home later than usual and basically burned a track along the drive with how fast she was running and her mom had spent a good ten minutes talking about the consequences of someone seeing her. She was timing it.
"I saw him again. Just a second ago when we were passing the canned stuff aisle. He was walking along here but when we got to the next aisle he didn't show again." Kara finally exhaled, tension loosening from her shoulders as if a great burden had been weighing them down, and it seems there had been. Alex scrutinised her sister for only a moment longer before nodding again. "Okay." She said simply.
Kara's head snapped back to her. "Okay?" she asked cautiously to which Alex merely bobbed her head, "Okay, I believe you and I think we should go find mom and tell her. She'll know what to do." Kara smiled in relief and all but glomped her older sister.
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Understandably, they didn't call the authorities. Too much scrutiny would be put on Kara and they were anything but a normal family. Add to the fact that they had no solid proof that would be taken seriously by the police since glowing eyes was probably right up there with green aliens coming down in UFOs and probing people. Kara gave Alex a weird look when she mentioned it.
When they were at school Alex sat with Kara during their breaks and checked up on her in-between classes. While Kara was only in her sophomore year and Alex was already a senior, she found herself sharing with the younger girl her AP textbooks, and within a few weeks, Kara tearing through complex mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology problems without much trouble much to Alex's delight and the consternation of her fellow seniors who were all a year older than her and two years older than Kara. Go Kara!
Rather than walking, Kara spent time just relaxing and hanging out with Alex, whether it was, reading books, watching TV shows and movies, the older girl making sure to stay away from any of the Star Wars or Treks lest she wanted a running commentary of the inaccuracies of space travel or the depiction of aliens. The sisters had fallen back into the habit of star-gazing at night and even sharing a room again.
After over a month of constant vigilance and keeping an eye out for each other and for the mystery stalker, the Danvers household began relaxing once again when there wasn't even a hint of the man's presence at any time of the day.
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Kara had returned to sleeping in her own room for a while now. Her nights were very rarely plagued by nightmares these days.
On one such peaceful and dreamless nights, Kara was torn from sleep by strange noises. Not quite fully awake yet she noticed it sounded weird hissing and faint crackling sounds, and it was coming from outside. When she opened her eyes she saw that there were lights dancing behind the curtains, she threw off her blankets and ran to the window to see something right out of one of the many horror movies Alex had showed her.
Burning on the ground was the letter 'S'. The flames were starting to spread and Kara watched as the smoke rose in large dark plumes when she saw him. Except he wasn't standing near the fire, looking up at her. He was floating high in the air, eyes violently aglow as he seemed to look right through her, his mouth frozen in a snarl like he wanted nothing more than to set her on fire and watch her burn. His mouth moved, forming shapes of words before he pointedly looked down and Kara followed his line of sight back to the burning 'S'. Then, the sound reached her sensitive ears, the man's voice, low and gravelly with just the right amount of threatening and terrifying.
"I found you."
His eyes flared and from them burst forth twin beams of pure and concentrated heat, burning a fiery slash across the 'S'. But Kara no longer saw it as a mere letter, but the House of El's coat of arms. It was a clear threat. A promise of pain and suffering. Of death.
Kara didn't bother to see if the man was still there. She knew he was gone. The young Kryptonian ran downstairs and to the backyard, yelling in warning to Alex and Eliza all the while. The last time Kara used her super-breath to put out a fire it ended up only growing larger, not wanting to accidentally burn the house down Kara put her super-speed to use, running around the fringes of the fire and creating a small vortex, smothering the flames.
By the time Alex and Eliza emerged from the house Kara had put the worst of the fire out and was now cooling down hotspots.
When the youngest Danvers turned towards them they saw clean lines where her tears had cleaned away the soot and they drew her into their arms, letting the girl cry and the tension leave her until she slumped, mind and body completely exhausted.
They moved back inside and Kara recounted everything that she saw.
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"You know, mom's thinking of bringing your cousin in." Alex plopped down on the seat in front of Kara, resting her back against the side of the bus and stretching her legs over the rest of her seat as she looked back at her sister who only stared despondently out of the window. "Kara" she singsonged, mentally high-fiving herself when her little sister's face twitched into a treacherous smile. "Please don't ever sing again." The blonde finally looked at her, eyes pleading. The two shared a quiet laugh, the entire morning at home and the bus ride to school had felt too quiet and almost suffocating when Kara hadn't muttered even a sound.
Her good mood didn't last long before Kara retreated back in on herself. "I don't want Kal to get hurt." The burning symbol was still fresh in her mind, a promise of pain for the last children of the House of El. Who was that man? Is he of Krypton too? Are Kal and I not the last of our people? Why would he do this?
Alex only sighed, when her sister's mind was set on something she was all but an immovable object and the same went for her protective streak. "Kara, your cousin's all grown up and deals with this kind of stuff on a near day-to-day basis. A guy flying around with what may be Kryptonian powers should—"
"Alex!" Kara was now sat bolt upright and the older girl whirled around to see what the fuss was about, praying that the flying-stalker hadn't once again made an appearance, but all she saw was that they had arrived at school.
Alex pointedly raised a brow at the blonde. "It's our school."
Kara's shoulders dropped and she cocked her head towards her with the sassiest 'no… really?' look she had ever seen. I should never have shown her Mean Girls.
"Look at the school. Closely." Alex frowned, "I am looking at the school closely." She said, gesticulating vigorously in its general direction as they slowly piled out of the bus. "I don't— oh"
"Yeah. That." Kara pursed her lips as they ascended the school's front steps. Instead of students having to pull the doors open to enter the school, they could simply walk straight in. The doors were crumpled. Crushed all the way to its hinges. The doorway too seemed to have suffered some damage. But oddity didn't seem to be the cause of the commotion they could hear all the way from outside.
Carefully manoeuvring their way through the jungle of people clustered in the door way, holding hands so as not to be separated, Kara and Alex entered the hall way and stood stock-still, their mouths agape in horror.
Along the walls of lockers and the sides of the buildings were severe burn and slash marks. The faces of the lockers were blackened with soot and buckled inwards the closer it was to the point of damage as the metal softened then cooled down again. Some had fused completely shut, no doubt anything inside would be unsalvageable.
It was like a bored student had taken a hot iron poker and sliced the walls, ceilings, lockers and floors and doodled all over like one would on a book in a never-ending lecture.
Kara moved towards one wall of lockers, examining the buckled-in face. Whatever had sliced through its surface did it within fractions of a second but left behind so much residual heat that the metal melted around the edges and dribbled down in globules before solidifying again. Like heat-vision.
The Kryptonian backed away from the lockers, she circled on the spot in the middle of the hall, finally taking in all the damage.
He had done this. He knew who she was, what she was. He knew where she lived, where she went to school, who were the people closest to her; and he had the power to take it all away from her. The burning symbol in her backyard was a warning, the school was a demonstration. It wasn't luck that no one got hurt. It was only a matter of time.
Kara looked to Alex whose back was turned to her. I've already lost my family before. I don't think I can live through it again.
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Dinner was a quiet affair. Eliza had tried to relieve the tension by cooking the girls' favourites and talking about her day in the lab to little success. In the end, the table was cleared and the leftovers were stored in the fridge. Eliza was worried about Kara, to say the least. Not only did she not have her appetite but it was clear that a lot going on in the youngest Danvers' mind, mostly unpleasant thoughts if the slew of emotions flickering on her face was an indication.
Instead of the usual call of 'goodnight', Kara hugged Eliza who returned the gesture without question, trying to give what comfort she could to the young girl. In the dark hallway upstairs, Kara gave Alex a hug as well before they retreated into their respective rooms. A frown marred the older girl's face as the hug seemed to linger and tighten when she started to loosen her hold.
"Kara, are you okay?" she asked backing away and then frowning when the girl nodded but pointedly kept her face to the ground and hidden from view. "Kara, hey." She whispered, stooping low to try to see her sister's face and her eyes widened when she saw the moisture glistening on the blonde's cheeks even in the dim lighting. Her little sister was crying.
"Kara, hey. Hey, do you want to sleep in my room tonight?" she murmured as she pulled the girl back in for a hug, rubbing soothing circles in her back.
"No, I'm alright." Kara managed to croak out.
Alex barely managed to hold in a scoff, instead she kept talking gently. "It's alright to be scared Kara, but everything's going to be alright. Mom's calling your cousin as soon as he finishes his latest hero thing. We're going to be alright, okay?" she pulled back slightly, holding the girl by her shoulders until she met her eyes. "Kara, we're going to be alright. We're the Danvers Sisters, yeah? We watch each other's back and no one messes with us. I won't let anything happen to you."
If anything, it looked like more tears wanted to escape Kara's eyes but she took a few deep breaths in and mustered her strongest smile, while small, it conveyed the girl's true strength. "Yeah." She nodded, "We look out for each other." I won't let anything happen to you, too.
Alex stared at Kara for a good long while, as if sensing the lingering sadness within the girl but also the calm and surety. Surety of what though, she didn't know.
"Kara if you get night-terrors again I will bust into your room to get to you, or you can bust into mine and throw me off my bed just to wake me up for all I care, I will be grumpy at you either way but just know that if you need anything, I'm here for you, alright?"
The girl simply nodded again, the smile growing infinitesimally bigger before she gave her sister another quick hug and a murmur of "I love you" before retreating into her room and closing the door behind her. Leaving Alex in the hallway to stare where she had stood for a while.
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Morning came, but ten minutes after Alex went downstairs to eat breakfast and prepare for school and Kara still hadn't appeared, the teen all but burned a line on the ground with how fast she tore back up the stairs and into her sister's room. She found it devoid of any life.
The bed was made, the shelves, and desk were all clean and orderly but there was no sign of the blonde anywhere. She noticed that Kara's bag was gone but all her school supplies were on the desk. Her heart sunk to her feet when she checked the wardrobe and the drawers, her suspicions and fears confirmed when she saw that there was a number of clothing missing. Mainly the nondescript hoodies, shirts, pants and under garb.
When the older girl heard her name called, she turned and found Eliza by the bed holding a piece of paper and squinting at it as if it were written in an entirely different dialect.
It was in Kara's hand writing. The words so surreal it might as well have been a different dialect.
The man is after me and has shown repeatedly that he knows who I am, what he is capable of and what he will do. I don't want either of you or Kal to get hurt because of me so I'm taking myself out of the equation.
I am so, so sorry for leaving like this but it is the only way. I know you wouldn't have let me go. You can be angry, you can be sad or hate me. Please just know that I am and will forever be thankful for everything you have done for me. You took me into your family as one of your own and for that, I could never hope to repay you. I only want you to be safe, please do not go looking for me.
May we meet again,
I love you with all my heart.
Kara.
I ran away from the Danvers to keep them safe. I stayed on the move, never staying in one place too long. I ended up travelling the world. Learning, always learning.
Everywhere I went I met new people, learned new things, languages, skills, and everywhere I went, I saw strife. People were always getting hurt, dying. I helped where and when I can and then I left without a trace, no one would miss the girl with many names but no true identity.
I travelled the world for the better part of nine years, but the world is round, and I eventually ended up right where I began.
National City.
AN: This is probably the longest thing I've ever written and I plan on doing quite a bit with it. Many thanks to the lovely SpencerFan who helped me hash things out when I decided to undergo this challenge.
So lovely readers, with what I am planning on doing I have to say that feedback would be the best thing ever, so if you would please be so kind as to spare a few moments to write a couple of lines whether it be a critique or general comments I take everything under consideration.
And one last thing, would you rather see brief snippets of Kara's time in places she went and what happened or go Arrow/Flash/The 100/Supergirl style (basically anything that uses flashbacks) and recount her travels in a series of relevant flashbacks so that we get right on to events that happened in the show?
PS- To any and all Georgina Browleys out there in the world who may have read this story, I think you are a very wonderful person and don't let people tell you otherwise.
PPS- To the beautiful person I know that I swear is a witch, stay beautiful and do not go to the Dark Side and eat people's hearts to remain eternally youthful. That is very un-hygienic and mean.
And also it's cannibalism and probably murder...