"Okay, sweetheart. Why don't we just start with the basics, okay? We won't question you about any of the stuff we found in the ship. My boss will be here soon, we can do that then. Can you just tell us your story? Please?" Alex laid her palms flat on the table, her eyes locked on Kara's. Eliza held Kal-El, whom Kara had reluctantly surrendered. Kara glanced in her direction. Eliza gave the slightest encouraging nod. Suddenly, Kara was exhausted again. She was sure of only two things: Kal-El was the only thing that mattered anymore, and... and she trusted these Danvers. Taking a deep breath, she began to speak.
"My name is Kara Zor-El. I'm from a planet called Krypton." Letting her eyes glaze over, the Kryptonian girl told all that she knew, all that she remembered.
Eliza Danvers stared, mouth open. She'd quite possibly just heard the most impossible story that had ever been told, but the proof it had happened sat right in front of her. Suddenly, she felt a strong desire to hug the small girl. Before she could, however, there was a knock on the door. Alex got up, mumbling that it was probably Henshaw.
Sure enough, she was back a minute later, Henshaw lumbering behind her. He scanned the room and, upon seeing Kara, seemed to study her. He seemed almost shocked, but that didn't make any sense- he'd seen plenty of aliens before, some of whom looked much more intimidating than Kara.
"This is our alien?" he asked. Alex nodded. Kara, with a new stroke of boldness, stuck out her hand, something she knew that people in Earth did.
"Kara Zor-El", she said, shaking his hand, "Hello."
Henshaw smiled a half-smile. "Hank Henshaw. Director of the Department of Extra-Normal Operations. We've got some questions for you, Kara Zor-El."
Swallowing, Kara maintained her eye contact with him. "Perhaps I can answer them."
At hearing her name, Henshaw again seemed to stiffen. Kara wasn't sure what to make of that. "I'm sure you can. Why don't we sit down?"
Kara was already sitting, of course, but readjusted her position to a more professional-seeming one. She wasn't sure how this was going to go, but she certainly wasn't going to do it vulnerable.
"Eliza?" Kara asked, her eyes searching Eliza out, "Would you please lay Kal-El down for a nap? He usually takes a nap midway through the day."
Eliza nodded, realizing Kara wanted someone watching over her cousin. Alex stayed and silently watched the exchange between Henshaw and the child, who seemed impressively aware of exactly what was going on.
"Where are you from, Kara Zor-El?" Henshaw switched on a tape recorder, planning to use the interview for later reference. Kara swallowed.
"Krypton. It's about two thousand light years from here."
Henshaw's eyebrows rose. "An impressive journey. Can you tell me more about the technology that brought you here?"
"I can't explain it in Earth terms, you don't have words for it. Our technology is... was... so far ahead of what you have here that I find it hard to believe any of you are still breathing."
Alex laughed at that, but Henshaw only gave his infuriating half-smile. "Our technology isn't too lacking", he said, "After all, it did locate your pod. As well as the large ship that came behind it."
At this, Kara paused. "Large ship?"
Henshaw stared at her. "Yes, the large ship that came behind your pod."
Kara's brow furrowed. "There was no large ship that came behind my pod."
"Oh, yes there was", Henshaw said gravely, "I even have photographs."
He passed the photos to her. Upon seeing them, Kara went deathly pale. Alex put a hand on her shoulder.
"Do you know that ship?" Henshaw asked.
"Fort Rozz", Kara whispered, her voice shaking slightly.
"Excuse me?"
"Fort Rozz", Kara said, louder, "A Kryptonian prison. The worst of the worst from all of the known inhabited galaxies were sent here. My... my mother... was a judge. Anyone on that fort was caught either hurting a lot of people or attempting to."
"And now they've come here", Alex said, a wave of nausea passing over her.
"Yes", Kara said, the last of her color draining from her face.
"How many?" Henshaw asked, somehow still thinking practically.
Kara stared him right in the face. She needed him to understand the significance of this situation. "That ship had ten thousand passengers. Plus guards."
"Ok", Henshaw said, though this was definitely not okay, "Here's What we'll do. We recovered the files off of Fort Rozz before the army seized it, and we still have your pod. We can get information from them both, but it's in Kryptonian. Can you get us a Kryptonian to English alphabet?"
"The Kryptonian and English alphabets are astronomically different, but... I'll try. I can try", Kara said apprehensively.
"Great", Henshaw said, "Until then, let's deal with the biggest elephant in the room." He pointed at Kara. "You."
"Me?" Kara said, her eyes widening, "What about me?"
"You can't stay here", Henshaw said bluntly. Alex started to interject, but Henshaw cut her off. "You know I'm right, Danvers. Her pod practically crashed right in the front yard. And if her mother was he judge who put all those aliens in that prison... let's just say they'd probably be more than happy to get their hands on her. Not to mention the hellstorm that would happen if any human found out her identity. We're lucky, she looks human, which is pretty much a miracle, but we still don't know what she can do."
They both looked at Kara, seemingly expecting a rundown of her biology. Kara was nearly as clueless in that department as them, though. "I really don't know much. I know that because of the yellow sun here, I'll have some extraordinary abilities, but I don't know what they are yet. I'm pretty sure I can see through walls. And I know I can shoot lasers out of my eyes. Nothing else has happened, though."
"You were flying", Alex interjected. Kara's mouth dropped open. "Last night, in your sleep. You were screaming and thrashing around- while flying."
"Well then", Kara said, whispering, "I guess I can fly." She looked down, staring at her hands.
Henshaw nodded. "You see why he can't stay here? She has these amazing abilities that she has no control over. Nothing screams covert like a flying kid. She'll have to stay at the DEO-"
"No", Alex said, cutting him off, "the DEO is no place for a child. She's a refuge, sir, not a threat. You can't keep her locked up."
"Agent Danvers, you have to understand. She's an alien species that we know nothing about. We're going to have to run some tests on her..."
"She can come in for them! Please, sir, she's thirteen years old! She needs a home!"
Henshaw looked at Alex. He'd never seen her this worked up. Sighing, he offered a compromise. "Fine. She can stay with you- with you, Alex, not in this house. It's still too close to the landing site. You live close enough to the DEO that you can bring her in for testing if needed. That's my offer. Take it or leave it."
Alex seemed to be considering. "I don't know, sir... I live with my fiancé, sir, and she doesn't particularly like kids..."
"Agent Danvers, those are the only two options. Surely your fiancé would be willing to compromise for a little while? This doesn't have to be permanent."
Alex stared down at the little girl. She was trying to look like she didn't care, but Alex could tell the thought of living in a research facility, being a test subject, terrified her. "I'll take her", she said firmly, "And you'll leave her alone for at least three months. After that, any testing she undergoes will be done with both her consent and mine."
Again, Henshaw half-smiled. "You drive a hard bargain, Agent Danvers, but I'll accept your terms. Kara, I'll be needing that Kryptonian alphabet as soon as possible. Alex, she can stay here a few more minutes, but then you need to get her out of here. The DEO will work on getting papers for her. I'll be seeing you tomorrow."
"Thank you, sir", Alex said. Henshaw nodded, and walked out the front door.
Though neither of the women in the kitchen saw it, as he walked out of the house, his eyes glowed red.
Heyyyy! Sorry for updating a bit later than usual. I'm so sad there's no new Supergirl tonight! Also, I've been trying to figure out how to add lines across the page into my writing, to divide different sections... if you know how to do that, please let me know. Question of The Day: Do you watch Black Lightning? I recently started watching it, and I LOVE IT! Only other show I've ever watched that comes close to Supergirl in terms of how much I like it. Definitely happy that I can still get new episodes of at least one good show! As always, thanks for reading.