A/N: Okay so I took a lot of liberties with this story. I got inspired since I went to see Superman last night, and I was thinking what if Starfire had a similar upbringing? So I hope you enjoy, and I'll try to update once every other day, if anyone likes this, that is.

And yes, Superman is Kori's uncle in this. Kori's adoptive father is Gregg Lane, Lois Lane's brother. (I made it up.) I usually don't try to stray far from the canon, but this idea just sort of came to me and I decided to roll with it.

The little girl with fiery red hair sat in the back of her bus, her eyes closed tightly. They were making fun of her again. They always make fun of her. If not for her green scleras, then it was her orange skin, or her misshapen eyebrows.

A fat boy with curly brown hair was poking the back of her head and saying horrible things. About how she was a weirdo, a silent freak with no friends. It took all she had not to turn around and blast him. She could. She could easily kill him.

She was twelve years old, and she was strong enough to take on the whole freaking army.

Another boy began to join in the taunting, this one skinnier, but his maliciousness was no less than the chubby boy's. "Hey, Kori! How come you're so orange?" he asked.

Kori shook her head, keeping her eyes clenched shut. "Leave me alone," she whispered, her voice laced with emotion.

The skinny boy laughed and pinched her arm. She shrieked in pain and her hand snapped over the seat and her small fingers wrapped themselves around his wrist. She didn't care anymore. The boy screamed, yanking his now bruised wrist out of her grasp and climbing over the seat to get away from her. His chubby friend was also stammering fearfully as he slid out of the seat and back another two.

"What the hell, Lane?" a blonde girl cried.

Kori squeezed her eyes tighter. "I asked you to leave me alone," she muttered.

"What kind of freak are you?" the skinny boy called, cradling his wrist.

Kori shook her head again. "I said, leave me alone."

The chubby boy laughed. "What are you going to do? As soon as we got off the bus we're going straight to our moms, you're so gonna be expelled."

Kori was trembling angrily. She turned her head so that her forehead was resting against the cool window of the bus, and a single tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

.

Kori slammed the door as she walked into her parents large residence in the outskirts of Jump City. Her dad was a pretty important figure in the community, seeing as he was general chief of Jump, and her mom was a big-shot lawyer, so their house was considerably huge.

Her nanny, Margaret, looked up from her magazine at the table. "Hello, Kori!" she said happily. "There's cookies on the oven, they're still warm!"

Kori threw her bag down next to the table and slumped into a chair. "I don't want cookies," she muttered sadly. She rested her chin on her hands and stared up at Margaret, her totally emerald eyes filled with a fierce sadness. "Margaret, why am I such a freak?"

Margaret gasped and walked over to the girl, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Kori, sweetheart, you're no freak. You're unique."

Kori rolled her eyes. "That's what Dad says."

Margaret rubbed Kori's arm. "It's true!" she insisted. "How many girls out there have such gorgeous green eyes? Not to mention, a lot of women would kill to be so naturally tan!"

Kori stared up at her glumly. "Today two boys on the bus wouldn't stop making fun of me, and I grabbed one of their arms to make him stop pinching me. He has bruises now, and they say I'm going to be expelled."

Margaret sighed. "Your parents will see that doesn't happen, Kori. Don't you worry. And I bet now that they know how strong you are they won't come near you!"

Kori grimaced. "I just want to make friends, Margaret."

Margaret stood and kissed the top of her head. "You will someday, Kori. The right people for you just haven't shown up yet."

.

Tracey Lane slammed her hand down on the principles desk. "This is an outrage!" she cried. Kori sat glumly in an office chair in front of the desk, the skinny and chubby boy sitting smugly in their own, their parents standing behind them, rolling their eyes at Kori's mother.

Principle Threso folder her hands in front of her neatly. She looked solemnly up at Tracey. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Lane, but Colin has visible bruises on his wrists. Kori broke several school rules by harming him in this manner."

Tracey Lane crossed her arms. She wore a down-to-business style magenta pantsuit, and her matching heels clicked as she tapped her foot, exasperated. "My daughter was merely the victim in this situation! Colin is not entirely innocent in this. My daughter claims he and his large friend here were poking her and insulting her. When Colin pinched her, my daughter grabbed him in self-defense. Surely it is unjust to punish Kori and not them?"

Principle Threso stood, straightening her jacket. "Mrs. Lane, I ask you to remember that this is not one of your criminal court cases, but an issue concerning your daughter's unacceptable behavior. You, as such a successful lawyer, ought to know most of all that regarding Colin and Tim, it is their word against your daughter's. However, there is strong evidence supporting Kori's attack on Colin."

Tracey shook her head. "Unbelievable," she muttered. "This is absolutely fucking unbelievable." She turned and grabbed Kori by the hand. "We're leaving. Now." She lead Kori out of the principles office and down the hall and outside. She pulled a key from her pocket and marched over to her car.

"Get in," she commanded, angrily. Kori complied and soon she and her mother were speeding down the road to their house. They reached home after twenty minutes of a pained silence, and Tracey didn't mutter a single word to her daughter as she slammed her car door and walked briskly into the house, her heels clicking angrily against the polished marble floors.

Kori sighed and made her way up to her room. She threw open her door and angrily slammed it behind her, breaking the hinges. She cried out furiously and flopped onto her bed, burying her head into her pillow and crying. It wasn't her fault. She was just different. Her eyebrows were smaller than they should be. They were basically dots instead of arches, like a normal persons. Her skin was a deep orange, and it looked like she had spent too long in a tanning bed. And her eyes. Oh, man, they were the worst. They were green. Not just the irises—the whole eye was literally green. Whilst a normal human would have white sclera's, hers were a lighter shade of green than her emerald irises. She was stronger than every other kid she knew, and she could do weird things. Really weird things. When she got angry, her eyes glowed this weird emerald color, and sometimes her hands would glow, too. They would be haloed in emerald balls and she could shoot green disks from them. Not that she did often, but it had happened accidentally a few times. And then on those rare days when she was truly happy, she would float. Yeah, float. As in, in the air. Flying.

Needless to say, she wasn't human at all.

Kori wiped her eyes and sat up, opening them. She glanced in the mirror and sighed as the unfortunately familiar glowing eyes stared back at her. She clenched her fists and the energy surged through her. She gasped, feeling stronger than she ever had. Her hands glowed emerald and she growled, throwing a disk at the wall opposite her.

"Why. Am. I. Such. A. Freak?" she cried, lobbing a disk at the wall after she enunciated every syllable. She lowered her head and began to cry bitterly. "Why can't I just be normal?" she moaned.

A knock came at her door, which caused it to fall over. "Wow."

Kori glanced up and saw her father, still dressed in his suit, staring at the smoking remnants of her wall. Gregg Lane smiled sadly when he saw his little daughter, staring up at him with glowing eyes and tears streaking down her face. He made his way to her and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Oh, Kori. What am I going to do with you?" he murmured, ruffling her hair affectionately.

Kori sniffled. "Dad, why am I such a freak?"

He shook his head. "You aren't a freak, Kor. You're unique, and fantastic, and wonderful, and amazing."

"Why am I like this?" Kori asked.

Her father sighed. "I suppose you deserve to know the truth. C'mon, Kor." He stood up and gestured for her to follow. He lead her down the hall and opened the door to the basement. He headed down the stairs and walked past the 170" flat screen and into the back room. Huge double doors took up the entire back wall. He walked up to them and pulled them open, and gestured for Kori to walk through.

She did so and gasped as she saw a small, circular ship laying on a huge metal table in the center of the room. "What is this?"

"This," Gregg Lane said, patting the vessel, "is where I found you. You were snuggled down in the cockpit of the thing, and you had crash-landed in some deserted farmland a couple hundred miles away from Jump."

Kori stared at the ship, her eyes emotional, a mix of awe and terror. "This- this isn't from Earth, is it?"

Her father shook his head. "No," he responded.

"So- so neither am I?"

Her father shook his head again. "No. You aren't."

She sighed, relieved. "So there's an explanation to why I'm so different."

Her father wrapped her in a hug and kissed her head. "You need to learn to control your powers, sweetie. You're more powerful than anyone in this town, and if you can't learn to control yourself when you get angry you might hurt someone."

She looked up at her father. "I don't want to go to a therapist," she stated.

Her father chuckled. "Who does? Besides, I don't think a therapist could really help with this. I know exactly where to take you."

Kori blinked. "Where?"

Her father grinned. "The Justice League."

.

Tracey shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. They make supersoldiers out of kids with special abilities at the Justice League. Kori can live a normal life here, with us."

Gregg sighed. "Trace, she needs to learn to control herself. You know, Clark is there. He can help her," he added, his tone hushed.

"Is Lois positive Clark will help her? That he'll show her how to control them, rather than how to use them?"

Gregg nodded. "Of course, hon. Lois wouldn't lie to us, she loves Kori, as does Clark."

Tracey put her hands over her face and groaned. "She's only twelve, Gregg. At least wait a year or two."

Gregg sighed. "I don't think we have a year or two, Trace. Have you seen her room? She was so angry about her expulsion she blasted a hole in her wall, and got the door hung off its hinges." He wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulders and looked over at his daughter, who was sound asleep on the couch, since her room was such a mess.

Tracey nodded suddenly. "Fine. But I just want Clark to be her mentor, okay? I don't want the Batman or anyone else to take over."

Gregg chuckled. "I'll take her to Metropolis personally and make sure Clark knows that."

Tracey sighed. "I wish I could go," she murmured sadly. "I have a huge case and I can't afford to fly cross country. When are you leaving?"

"Saturday," Gregg said.

"You're leaving in four days?" Tracey gasped. "That's so soon!"

"Kori understands why she has to do this," Gregg told her. "She doesn't want to hurt anyone."

Tracey walked over to her slumbering daughter and looked down at her sadly. Kori's fiery red hair was spilled around her small head. Her red, dotted eyebrows stuck out against her orange skin. "She wouldn't," Tracey said.

Gregg came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Not on purpose, of course. But if she can't control herself when it comes to her powers, then she could hurt someone accidentally. She can't have that on her conscious, and neither can we."

Tracey leaned down and softly kissed her daughter's forehead. "I'm going to take a bath," she muttered, walking away.

Gregg watched his wife's retreating back, then looked back down at his daughter. "You're going to be a hero one day, Kor," he whispered before leaning down and kissing her head, too. "Just you wait. You're going to save countless lives."

.

The next morning, Kori woke up groggily to the smell of pancakes and bacon. She sat up and saw her mother standing by the stove. "Mom?" she called.

Her mother turned and smiled. "Morning, sleepy head."

"Why are you home?" Kori asked.

Her mom sighed. "I took the day off, to spend it with you."

Kori smiled and ran to her mother's side, hugging her. "Thanks," she whispered.

Her mom patted her back. "Of course, sweetie. After breakfast there's some things I need to tell you."

Kori sat at the table, sucking the grease from the bacon off of her fingers. Her mom had gone up to her room to grab something. Kori could hear her footsteps as she re-entered the kitchen. She held a small, metal box in her hand and sat down next to Kori.

"Sweetheart, when your father and I found you in that little ship, this was next to you." She opened the box, revealing a small locket. Kori wiped her hands on her pajamas and then looked at her mom, who nodded.

Kori took a deep breath and reached for the locket. She picked it up, and held it in her palm. On the top, carved in beautiful lettering was a single word: Koriand'r.

"What's Koriand'r mean?" Kori asked.

"We think it's your name," Tracey said. "Which is why you're called Kori."

Kori took a deep breath and stroked the top of the locket. To her surprise, it clicked, and opened a little.

Her mother gasped. "It's never opened before," she said. She nodded encouragingly at Kori. "Go ahead."

Kori gently pried it open and gasped as a shimmering palace appeared before her eyes. It was like the locket was projecting the image. The palace was set a top a large mountain. It was pure white, and the skies surrounding it were a hazy pink. Little streaks of light zipped around the palace, all different shades. A blue streak zoomed by, followed by a violet streak.

"It's-it's beautiful," Kori whispered.

"I think you're looking at your home, Kori," her mother responded, her voice hushed.

Kori grinned and tears formed in her eyes. She slowly began to float as she held the locket, staring at the image it portrayed. It was glorious.

.

Saturday morning, Gregg was loading Kori into a police helicopter he borrowed for the day. They were at the police station, and Gregg was talking to his deputy, Michael Colin. "Listen, Michael. Kori, she's special. You're the only one who knows the truth about where we found her, other than my sister. You need to keep this between us, alright? If anyone asks, Kori's going to spend a few months with her aunt in New York to finish off the school year in a private school over there."

Michael nodded, patting his long-time friend reassuringly on the back. "Don't worry, Gregg. Your secret's safe with me. Besides, maybe Kori will come back one day and end up a superhero."

Gregg stared lovingly at the helicopter, where his twelve year old daughter sat, waiting for him. "She already is, Mike."

Michael chuckled. "Alright, we'll see you later, Gregg. Safe travels! And wish Kori the best of luck from me."

Gregg nodded. "I'll see you," he called as he walked to the helicopter. "Ready?" he asked, glancing over at Kori, who was nervously fingering her locket, which she had worn around her neck since her mother had shown it to her. She nodded eagerly.

He chuckled and began toggling the various switches on the dash of the copter, until the blades were spinning and they were lifting off the ground.

A few hours later, they landed on the helipad on top of the Metropolis police station. Gregg cut off the engine and jumped from the machine. He strode over to Kori's side and gingerly helped her step out. "You okay?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Two officers walked up onto the roof then, followed by none other than Superman himself. The officers smiled at Gregg. "Chief Lane," one of them said, extending his hand.

Gregg grasped it in his own and shook it firmly. "Gentleman."

Superman smiled. "Hey, Chief," he said cheerfully, extending his hand to Gregg.

Gregg nodded. "Superman."

Superman glanced back at the officers. "Mind giving us some privacy?"

The officer who had greeted Gregg nodded. "Of course." He and the other officer turned and walked back through the exit, leaving Superman, Gregg and Kori left on the roof.

Superman grinned at Kori, and knelt in front of her. "Hey, Kori!"

"Uncle Clark!" she exclaimed, rushing into him for a hug. Superman laughed and stood, spinning Kori in a circle. She squeezed him tighter and he almost winced.

"Wow," he murmured as he set her down, glancing up at Gregg, who shrugged.

"Any idea where she's from?" Gregg asked.

Superman shook his head. "When we get her up to headquarters I plan on having the Lanterns run a diagnostics on her and try and find her home planet. In the meantime, I'll work with her to make sure she can control her powers." He knelt and put his hands on Kori's shoulders. "What do you know about the Justice League?" he asked.

Kori shrugged. "You and Batman are in it."

Superman chuckled softly. "Right. So not much." He glanced up at Gregg. "What are the extent of her powers?"

Gregg sighed. "It seems to me they're controlled by emotions. When she's angry, her eyes glow and so do her fists, and she can shoot these bright green disks from her fists. And she can sometimes float, when she's content."

Superman raised an eyebrow at Kori. "Have you ever tried to fly?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I usually just try to land after I float," she admitted.

Superman nodded. "We'll work on that in headquarters. We should get going, in any case."

"How you getting her up there?" Gregg asked.

"I'll fly her over to Gotham, Batman's got a ship he's taking up. He understands the situation, and he's glad to help." Superman stood. "Does she have a bag or anything?"

Gregg nodded. "It's in the copter. Can you fly her and the bag?"

Superman chuckled. "I can fly a two ton semi truck, Gregg. I think I can manage a little girl and her clothes." He made for the helicopter, giving Gregg and Kori some privacy. Gregg opened his arms and Kori rushed into them, hugging her father tightly around his waist.

"I'll miss you, Dad," she whispered.

Her father stroked her hair. "I'll miss you, too, Kor. But it's only for a few months, then you can come back to Jump with your mother and me."

Kori nodded. "I'll be counting."

Her father kissed her head. "So will I, Kor."

Superman cleared his throat. He had her black duffel bag slung over his shoulder. "You ready, Kori?" Kori nodded, and Superman stooped down and lifted her into his arms, bridal style. "Now remember, keep your mouth shut at all time while flying."

Gregg smiled softly and waved at Kori. "Good luck, Kor. I love you."

"I love you, too, Dad," Kori said. Superman held her tighter and then smiled reassuringly at Gregg before shooting off into the air.

.

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Hi! So there's the first chapter. I hope you liked it, it was kind of fun to write. I'm actually working on the next chapter now, so it might be posted today or tomorrow, it depends on how much I get done before band and then how tired I am when I get home.

Anyway, please review. It's somewhat discouraging when people don't review, it makes me all self-conscious about the story and it generally doesn't help the writing process.

REVIEWS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED. Tell me what you liked, what I could work on, if there's any grammar/spelling mistakes or if there's anything that you'd like to see in coming chapters.

Again, I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you are interested enough to follow the story for the next update! Have a great Tuesday!

-Al