The girl stared ahead, her eyes blank. Alex watched her, trying to decide what she was thinking. Annoyed at meeting someone she couldn't read, Alex was blunt.
"What are you staring at?" She asked, a bit harshly.
"I... I'm hungry."
Instantly, Alex regretted her tone. "When did you last eat?"
"Thirty four years ago. Though my pod kept me in hypersuspension."
Again, Alex tried to wrap her head around this. Technically, the little girl she was speaking to was older than her- and she'd just slept for decades. She shook her head, trying to snap out of it.
"We can pick something up in our way out here, okay? Hurry up and get your things, I'll go grab the baby."
Kara nodded solemnly, though Alex's phrasing confused her. What did "pick something up" mean? She didn't question it, though. She didn't have the energy.
Eliza turned to her daughter as soon as she walked in the room. "How did the meeting go?"
"We have to go", Alex said, getting right to the point, "They aren't safe here."
"What do you mean?" Eliza asked, suddenly worried.
"The crash site is too close. She can't stay here, it would draw too much attention."
Eliza tried to argue, but she knew her daughter was right. "Where are they going to stay?"
Alex took a deep breath. "With me. And Maggie, I guess."
Eliza couldn't believe it. "How could you possibly be so naive, Alexandra?"
Alexandra? God, this was getting serious. "Naive? Explain."
"She's an alien, Alex!", Eliza practically yelled, "An alien with unpredictable abilities! You think you're just gonna keep her in your little apartment in the city, maybe send her to one of the private schools? Think again. And Maggie? Alex, a discussion about kids nearly destroyed your relationship! I thought the two of you agreed you weren't going to be having kids!"
"Yeah, well we didn't exactly plan for a pretty little blondie from another planet, now did we? Maggie is a reasonable person..." Alex started, but Eliza cut her off.
"I used to think you were, too, and look how that turned out. Alex, this can't work. It can't. She needs to be kept out here, be isolated from other people, at least for a little while..."
Alex cut her mother off. "Well, you know what, mom? Maybe you're right. But there's nothing we can do about it. I made a deal with the DEO. Either she lives with me, or she lives in a research facility. Pick one."
Eliza stood, her mouth poised to speak arguments she didn't have. Try as she may, she couldn't refute that. "Fine. Fine, Alexandra. Do whatever you want. You're the expert on children here..."
"I'm the expert on aliens!" Alex countered, raising her voice.
Eliza sat down, suddenly exhausted. "Whatever. Take care of that child, Alex. And if you ever hear her screaming like that again, for God's sake, don't leave her like we did. Wake her up."
Alex nodded. "Goodbye, Mom. Love you." She grabbed Kal-El from where her mother had put him, trying not to wake him up. Hopefully, alien babies liked car rides just as much as human ones.
"Love you too, Alex", said Eliza, as Alex walked out of the room.
Kara was, inexplicably, waiting for Alex outside, with all her things. Perhaps she was learning how Earth worked faster than Alex had thought she would. Because Alex hadn't driven her own car, the DEO had left a car for her to drive. She gestured to it, and, realizing Kara had no idea what to do, opened the door for her. She then showed her how to buckle her seatbelt, and put Kal-El into the car seat the DEO had provided. Remembering her promise, she pulled over at the first fast-food place she saw, a fried chicken restaurant. She usually didn't eat fast food, but she decided that she'd earned an exception, considering the circumstances. For a moment, she sat in the parking lot, staring at the wheel, wondering what to do next.
"So, um... what did you usually... usually eat on... on Krypton?" she asked tentatively, hoping asking about the young girl's home didn't bring back too many memories.
The girl turned white, but gave no other outward sign of internal pain. "Well, it depended. Each person had their own specially tailored nutrition plan, created to keep them physically in their best condition. We grew genetically modified fruits and vegetables, created to have as much nutritional value as possible. I don't really know much else, though- my parents cooked our meals, based on our nutrition plans. My father was... was horrible at cooking... my mother would always tease him about it..." the girl trailed off, sadness coloring her eyes. Alex turned away.
"I'm afraid we don't have that here. Do... are... are you allowed to eat meat?"
"Meat? I never have. We didn't eat animals on Krypton. I don't believe there's anything in the Book of Rao forbidding it, we just had no reason to..."
"Okay", Alex said, turning the car off. "You stay here with your cousin. I'm going to get us some food. Your cousin shouldn't be hungry yet, my mom fed him both breakfast and lunch. I'm going to lock the door, okay? Whatever you do, no matter what happens, do not open this door or get out of this car unless it's me, alright?" Alex spoke slowly and deliberately, making sure the alien understood. Kara nodded.
Still slightly nervous, Alex walked in, hoping for a short line. Unfortunately, the fates weren't done playing with Alex Danvers, so of course the place was right in the middle of its lunch rush. Constantly watching out the window to make sure no one even got close to the car, Alex waited, thanking God when she finally got to the counter. She quickly ordered two basic meals, then walked back to the car as fast as she could. Thankfully, everything seemed fine from the outside.
And then she opened the door.
The entirety of the passenger side front seat was frozen solid. Sitting in the backseat, Kara rocked back and forth, her head in her hands. Kal-El continued sleeping peacefully, unaware of the chaos.
"Kara?" Alex asked tentatively. Kara just shook her head. Alex realized she was muttering in another language, probably Kryptonian. "Kara?" Alex asked a little more forcefully, putting her hand on Kara's shoulder. The girl shook her off, muttering louder now. Finally, Alex grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at her.
"Kara!" she yelled, gripping her shoulders, "What happened?"
Alex took one look at her, her blue eyes wide, before bursting into tears. "I froze it! I was scared because you were gone, and I started breathing heavy, and I froze the seat! Alex, what is happening to me? What is going on?"
"Hey, hey, Kara, Kara, calm down!" Alex said, smoothing her hair, "Its okay. It's going to be okay. Look, I don't know anything about you, or where you're from, or your biology. But you did say that your... your mother told you you'd have extraordinary powers. This must be one of them. Just breathe for a second, okay?"
Kara continued to cry, but her shaking had slowed slightly. "What if I freeze something else?"
"You won't. It's okay. Just breathe, Kara. It's okay." She grabbed Kara's hand.
Gripping Alex's hand, Kara drew one breath, then another. When it became apparent that she wasn't going to freeze anything else, Kara stared at Alex. Alex smiled.
"See? Nothing to be afraid of."
"Thank you", Kara whispered, hoping Alex would understand. She did. Smiling, she got back behind the wheel, and they continued to drive. All went well, the two of them making occasional conversation but mostly just sitting in silence, for about an hour.
And then, on an isolated road, with no scenery but a few abandoned warehouses, Alex realized the brakes didn't work anymore.
She didn't panic. She'd been trained for this sort of thing, after all- though those trainings had admittedly never thrown a little girl and a baby into the mix. Pumping the brake, she did everything she could to pull the car to the side of the road, but the steering wheel wasn't responsive. It occurred to her that her car had been tampered with. She cursed.
"We need to get out of the car!" she yelled to Kara, who stared with wide eyes. That girl certainly stared too much for her own good. "Kara, we're going to crash!"
Somehow, these words seemed to rouse Kara. Alex wondered if they made more sense to her. The girl began fiddling with the door, but didn't know how it worked. In a moment of panic, Kara Zor-El once again found herself punching at a wall from inside a confined space- but this time, the door popped off. Without taking the time to contemplate how she did it, Kara grabbed Alex and threw her out of the car. She turned to Kal-El, determined to find some way to get him out, but she just couldn't figure out the straps on his car seat.
The car was crashing, and it was going to take the two children with it.
"Kara!" Alex screamed, but even as she ran towards the car, she knew she wouldn't make it. She watched as the car drive itself into a brick wall, exploding.
For a second, she simply stood, mouth open, as she stared at the fiery mess. But soon, her horrified expression turned to one of shock as the car lifted. It seemed to hover for a second, and then someone or something threw it a good twenty feet. Standing there, in the flames, was Kara, perfectly fine. She held her cousin who, despite crying, also seemed to be perfectly fine. Kara looked back at her, her eyes wild.
Alex sank to her knees.
Hey, happy weekend! How'd you like this chapter? I certainly enjoyed writing it. Next chapter... Maggie! Yes, I kept Sanvers together. What can I say? I'm a romantic. Anyway, happy President's Day to Americans (or, as my seventeen-year-old cousin calls it, "free day off from school day"), happy weekend to everyone else. Question of the Day: Have you seen Black Panther? Do you plan to? What do you think? My Answer: Even though I'm a DC Comics gal through and through, I have to admit that Marvel wins at movies (we win at TV, though!). Black Panther looks incredible, and I plan to see it with a friend tomorrow. I've heard it's just as good as everyone thought it would be, and better. Can't wait!
