It had been about a month since Kara crashed into Earth. A month since she learned she missed seeing her baby cousin grow up. A month since she began her new life with the Danvers family. She was very grateful for the Danvers's kindness, but she could not help but feel like she was a burden to them. They were already a happy family, they did not need another child, especially one who just lost everything. Sometimes Kara would sit alone in her room and just cry because she did not want to worry her new family. They were too kind.
Then there was the Danvers's daughter, Alex. She tried to be kind, but Kara could tell that she did not want a sister. Kara's first day of school went horribly, she was known to the entire school as Alex Danvers's weird new sister. She could tell that Alex was embarrassed by her, she only sat with Kara at lunch so that she would not be alone. These new powers that she had were difficult to control as well, especially at school. It hurt her ears to be able to hear everything and her x-ray vision gave her a headache. The Danvers were doing their best to help her, Jerimiah even gave her lead-lined glasses and ear plugs.
Kara cared a great deal for the Danvers, but she wished that she could live with her parents again, she hated feeling that she was inconveniencing the nice family. She wanted to talk to someone about Krypton, but Kal-El was always busy and could not visit much and she did not want to cry in front of the Danvers. Living on Earth was becoming overwhelming for Kara, a lot of the time she just wanted to curl up on her bed and listen to the lullaby her mother would sing to her. Eliza Danvers learned that Kara loved to paint and bought her painting supplies. Kara used this to paint scenes of Krypton, her parents, Kal's parents and her friends. She kept the paintings in secret and would pull them out whenever she got sad. She was considering trying to move in with Kal-El instead and tell him that it was not working out with the Danvers.
Unknown to Kara, Alex was getting used to having a little sister. It was all very sudden for Alex and she was, at first, embarrassed by Kara's lack of control and knowledge of Earth's cultures. Kara had told them that she learned the language and cultures of Earth from her escape pod, but learning them from an AI was so much different from actually living them. Kara had much to learn and Alex was determined to teach her little sister. It was hard not to like Kara, Alex could tell the Kryptonian had a heart of gold, she could also tell she was very sad. Kara lost everything, it was hard for Alex to put herself in Kara's shoes. She did not know how Kara was able to function at all.
Alex saw how much Kara struggled to fit in at school, even with the glasses and earplug her father had given her. She heard all the things the other kids said behind her back and she was sure that Kara did too. She saw the look in Kara's eyes whenever they split ways after arriving at school. Kara did not want to go to school. Did she have school on Krypton? Alex wanted to ask, but she was worried that anything about Krypton was still a tender subject for Kara. She was afraid to ask, but she had so many questions. It's not every day that you meet someone from another planet, but someone from a dead planet is even rarer. She did not know how to act around Kara, she wanted to be a supportive sister, but she did not know how. She did not understand Kryptonian customs and she had never had a sister before.
A week into the school year and Kara had her worst day yet. The school bully, John Corbin, decided that his target of the year would be Kara. He did all the things your stereotypical bully would do. He took her lunch since Eliza Danvers refused to let either girl eat the lunch the school provided. When they got to lunch Kara was not there. Alex went looking for her and found her hiding in the bathroom. "Aren't you going to eat Kara?" Alex asked.
Kara blushed in embarrassment and quietly said, "John took my lunch. He said he would hit me if I didn't and your parents don't want anyone to know about my powers, so I had to." Alex felt furious at John, but controlled herself and offered to share her lunch with Kara and told her that the two of them would eat a snack when they got back. The rest of the day did not go great either. Kara was tripped, shoved, and her books got knocked out of her hand. Alex was especially concerned when she could not find Kara after the last bell. Eliza pulled up to the school to find a distressed Alex begging her to help find Kara. They looked all over the school and eventually found Kara in her locker. Kara was so dedicated to not using her powers that she had stayed in the locker despite her being able to get out easily. When they got home Eliza gave Alex and Kara ice cream while she called the school to complain. "Don't worry Kara. Mom will take care of you John problem." Alex assured her. The call did not help Kara's situation, teachers only encouraged Kara to ignore John and they gave him detention as punishment.
Alex meant well, but her words did not make Kara feel any better. She wasted Eliza's and Alex's time trying to find her and now with Eliza having to call the school. Kara did not want to be a burden to them anymore, she decided she was going to move in with Kal-El, or Clark whatever his name was now. That night she packed a small bag of her things from Krypton and wrote a note to the Danvers.
Danvers family,
I apologize that my cousin decided to leave me with you. You are all very kind and do not deserve to be forced to deal with me. I am moving in with Kal-El. Don't worry about me I will be fine. Again, I apologize for all the trouble I have caused.
Kara Zor-El
Kara took her bag and left the house. On the roof she looked in the direction she saw Kal fly off the day he left her there. She knew he lived in a city called Metropolis, so she launched herself into the air and went in the direction she assumed Metropolis to be in. Looking behind her she said one last quiet goodbye to the Danvers family.
The next morning Alex woke up and got dressed for the day. She walked downstairs prepared to see Kara already up. She loved to watch the sun rise in the morning, Alex had always wanted to ask why, but was too afraid. Arriving in the kitchen she found that Kara was not there. Confused she looked into the living room to see if her sister was keeping up with the Superman news as she enjoyed doing. Alex loved to see the pride in Kara's eyes every time Superman made the news for saving the day. She could tell Kara cared a lot for her cousin. It made her wonder how close their parents were, probably very close. She did know that both Kara's dad and Superman's were leading scientists on Krypton, so she assumed they worked together a lot. Kara was not watching the news either, Alex was now starting to get really worried. Maybe Kara had just slept in by accident or maybe she was sick. Could Kryptonians get sick on Earth? Alex walked up the stairs and went to Kara's door. She knocked and waited for an answer, but one never came. That's when she noticed the door was slightly ajar. Alex did not want to intrude on Kara's privacy, but normally when Kara was in the room the door was completely shut.
Looking around Kara's room Alex saw that she was not there either. The bed was completely made and it looked like it was not slept in. Alex was now feeling alarmed. She saw a piece of paper sitting on Kara's bed and picked it up. After reading it she ran to her parent's room screaming "Mom! Dad! Kara's gone"
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Jerimiah asked sleepiness still present in his voice.
"I mean she left for Metropolis." Alex said giving her parents the note, "She doesn't know how to get to Metropolis, she's going to get lost. Now wide awake and alarmed, Eliza went to call Superman to let him know and Jerimiah got ready to go out and look for Kara. Alex felt as if Kara leaving was her fault. She saw that something was wrong, she saw that Kara's smile and sunny attitude were faked. If only she had done something about it.
Kara was flying over a vast forest. It felt like she had been flying for days, but it had only been a few hours. She never saw this much nature on Krypton, maybe that's why it got destroyed, there was no trees or plants, no home for the animals. It took Kara only another hour for her to realize that she was lost, hopelessly lost. How did she think she could do this? She had no clue where Metropolis was and even if she did find it she did not know how she would be able to tell.
Kara felt horrible about leaving the Danvers now. They would call Kal and realize that she never made it to Metropolis. Then they would feel obligated to help her cousin in his search for her. She was causing the Danvers and her cousin unnecessary stress. She never got to a point where she felt comfortable asking the Danvers for things that she needed, she did not know them. Unfortunately, they were still strangers in Kara's mind and her mother always told her to be respectful of strangers. Always try to get help from family first, and for Kara the only family she had right now was Kal-El. She knew that he left her with the Danvers so that she could have a normal life, but that was impossible. Kara lost her whole planet and now had crazy superpowers, there was no such thing as a "normal" life for her anymore.
Tears started to form in Kara's eyes, she wished she knew how to get to Metropolis, or even back to the Danvers's home in Midvale. She did not know where she was, she was lost on a planet she had been living on for only a month now. She slowly lowered herself into the woods below her. She was immediately stuck with fear of all the noises she heard. She had left her glasses and ear plugs in her bedroom, so she was getting an overload of senses. The stress she felt was overwhelming. All Kara could do was sit at the base of a tree and cry, hoping that someone would hear her and rescue her. Kara bitterly scolded herself for not asking for help, the motto of the House of El was "stronger together", but the House of El no longer existed, her family was lost with the rest of Krypton.
"You're not coming with us Alex." Eliza Danvers told her oldest daughter. Alex was frustrated she was just as worried about Kara as her parents were, especially after Clark told them that Kara never arrived in Metropolis.
"Why not?" she argued back, "You could use more help and you can't ask the cops."
"Alex, listen to your mother." Jerimiah Danvers interrupted the argument, "You're fourteen Alex it's safer for you here."
"Plus if Kara returns she won't be coming back to an empty house." Clark, in full Superman costume, said to try and convince Alex to stay. Alex was not convinced, but she listened to the adults. If they were not going to let her help, she was going to have to sneak out after they left.
Alex listened to the plan, Superman would look from the skies and her parents would drive all over Midvale and start heading out to Metropolis. Once the three adults left, she made her own plan. She was going to check the woods that were east of where the house was. Kara would be going off the direction that she saw Superman fly after he dropped her off, so it made the most sense. Alex hopped onto her bicycle and rode into the woods.
Keeping an ear and eye out for any signs of Kara, Alex never wished for Kara's powers more than she did then. Just as she was about to give up, Alex heard the faint sound of someone crying in the distance. Excitedly, she walked her bike in the direction of the sound. She eventually came upon her sister curled up at the base of a tree, crying her eyes out.
"Don't worry your big sister is here." Kara heard a familiar voice say as she felt arms wrap around her body. She looked up to see Alex hugging her.
"I'm sorry about worrying everyone." Kara said quietly, her voice full of the shame she felt.
"Kara there is no need to apologize for anything. If anyone should be apologizing it should be me. I've been a horrible sister and I want to make it up to you. What do I need to do for you to stay?" Kara burst into tears once again. She never had a sibling on Krypton, but she did not expect for Alex Danvers to feel anything towards her except embarrassment.
"I always wanted a sibling, on Krypton. My parents were too busy for another child. You wanted to be my sister is good enough for me." Kara told Alex.
The two sat together trying to calm each other down before returning home. Alex got an idea and asked, "Is there anything your parents would do to help you calm down?" Kara nodded and then began to sing in what Alex assumed to be the Kryptonian language.
Quietly make your way into bed
Slowly lay down your weary head
Go to sleep, go to sleep
In your dreams you can leap
Go anywhere you want to
See anyone old or new
Sleep tight my little child
I hope your dreams are adventurous and wild
Every day you make me smile
We shall meet again in a short while
Alex was shocked at how well Kara could sing. She had no idea what was being said, but she already felt relaxed. "Kara you need to teach me that song. I want to sing it for you when you have a bad day." Alex said, "I actually want to know a lot more about Krypton. If you are OK with telling me, of course." Kara beamed and nodded vigorously. She really wanted to be able to talk about Krypton and now she had someone who really wanted to listen, someone who asked for it.
Eliza, Jerimiah and Clark reentered the Danvers home unsuccessful in their hunt for the day. Kara seemed to have vanished into thin air. They all wanted to continue searching, but they would be not help to Kara if they were so exhausted they could barely stand. Clark and Jerimiah sat down on the couch in the living room while Eliza went to check on Alex.
Eliza came tiptoeing back down the stairs and motioned for the two men to follow her back up. She slowly opened the door to Alex's room and reveal Alex and Kara fast asleep on Alex's bed. Surrounding them were Kara's paintings of Krypton, her friends and family. On the bed with them was some writing that Clark recognized as Kryptonian. He smiled when he realized that it was the lullaby that their ancestor had written and had been passed down through the generations. He knew that, by tradition, they were only allowed to teach the song to family.
Clark laughed quietly and whispered, "Looks like the House of El just gained a new member." Eliza and Jerimiah smiled, Kara finally felt at home on Earth.
Thank you for reading! I really enjoyed the new episode yesterday and I had this idea floating in my head for a while so I thought I might as well put it somewhere. The only thing I own in the lullaby, which I wrote specifically for this story.
