Epilogue:

Following the destruction of Brainiac's carrier ship, there had been a lot of confusion from the people of Earth about sudden atmospheric events and reports of small meteorite strikes around the globe. Of course, the truth was largely covered up and swept under the rug so as not to alarm the public. By now, everybody knew about the Justice League and was aware that there were threats from outer space. What people weren't aware of was the extent of the threat and given the recent events, it was probably for the best that they didn't know. As far as the Justice League was concerned, dealing with the paranoia of government officials from around the world was more than enough trouble anyway.

As midday sunlight filled the bright blue skies, Clark flew into the airspace of New York at Mach 2 speed. He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that he couldn't really write a news report on the battle with Brainiac as it was still classified and perhaps a little self serving too. He glided down from the skies and headed toward the roof of a tall skyscraper but he took some time to look around too. It had been a week since the alien attack on New York and by now things seemed to be getting back to some sense of normalcy in the city. The drones that had been destroyed were cleared out and confiscated by the feds, and citizen began to rebuild from the damage and get back on with their daily lives. That was always an encouraging sign and Clark smiled quietly to himself, enjoying the relative peace that had been restored this Saturday morning.

He touched down gently on the skyscraper rooftop and admired the panoramic view of the city. This had been the spot he had originally chased Karen down to when they first met and it seemed fitting that it would serve as their meeting spot once more. He scanned the skies for a few moments before he caught sight of her returning from her own patrol. He waited as Power Girl leveled off and landed softly on the rooftop nearby. She gave a smile and swept back her own red cape as she walked forward to greet him. "Fancy meeting you here Superman."

"Oh I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by," he said returning the smile, "A friend of mine named Karen Starr invited me. Maybe you know her?"

She chuckled gently and came to join him as they stood looking out over the city. "Thanks for coming. It's good to see you again."

"I see the city is doing better," Clark noted, "How about you?"

Karen gave a wistful smile and looked out toward the skyline, "I wasn't sure for a while... but all things considered, I think I'll be okay. I was a little worried Helena might get upset with my decision to sacrifice the Caduceus Driver, but she was surprisingly understanding. Part of me thinks she doesn't mind staying here longer and she wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to this earth just yet."

"Or you?" Clark teased her gently.

Karen gave a wry smirk and shook her head to herself before changing the topic, "How are things going with the League? I imagine I caused a bit of a stir and that they're still pretty busy cleaning up this mess now."

"We're busy... but I'm willing to take some time out for other people who have priority in my life right now," Clark answered.

"Now I know you can't be talking about me," Karen joked in a self deprecating way, "What about Kara? Is she all right?"

Clark nodded, "She's doing better. She's going to be staying with me in Metropolis for a while so she finish sorting things out and getting used to having a family around who is there for her."

"I guess that means that you'll probably have your hands full and you won't be able to cruise by New York," Karen sighed in resignation, "I mean... now that you've got Kara around to bond with, you don't really need me hanging around to get in the way and make things even weirder."

"You wouldn't be in the way," Clark answered trying to sound encouraging, "And it wouldn't be weird either... even if you're both kind of the same person... but from alternate dimensions and... okay, maybe that is kinda weird, but I don't care. I'm still willing to make it work."

Karen raised a questioning eyebrow and snorted in amusement before looking out over the city again, "You know... there was something else I was thinking about earlier. You don't think that we've really seen the last of Brainiac, do you?"

"I'd like to think so. His ship was destroyed and I doubt anything could have survived that explosion," Clark shrugged, "The odds of such a thing are pretty slim, don't you think?"

"You could say the same thing about us," Karen countered, "The fact we survived our fates on Krypton and made it on our respective Earths... or that we're even here together on this same world."

Clark remained silent and conceded the point. He hoped she was wrong about Brainiac. In lieu of having any concrete evidence that he was gone, the best they could do was to simply remain vigilant. After a time, Clark furrowed his brow, "You know Karen... there is one other thing I've been thinking about since our battle with Brainiac. Maybe it's something I have regrets about."

She looked to him curiously as he continued, "Brainiac said he had some information about Krypton in his databanks. He offered it to me hoping I would drop my guard in our fight. I almost let him get me because of it. Maybe he was lying, but I just think it's a shame that his ship was destroyed and that data may have been lost. I would have liked to finally get a hold of something to learn a little more about where I came from and who I am, you know?"

Karen stood quietly for a minute before clearing her throat, "Actually, that's also part of the reason why I asked you to come today."

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted to surprise you with some spoils from the battle," she explained, "Back on the ship when you started brawling with Brainiac and kicking his ass all over the place, I... might have recovered some files from his database and made copies of it before I got Kara. I figured since you grew up kinda differently here and never got a chance to learn anything about Krypton, you might be interested in it."

Clark's eyes went wide and he stood speechless. He finally choked out a few astonished words, "You... you really managed to save some of the records? And you have them?"

"Well, yes. But not on me at the exact moment," she said gesturing to her outfit dramatically, "I mean, where would I even carry them? And no, don't you dare be a smartass and even try to answer that question."

Clark broke out into a bright smile and nodded quietly, "Thank you Karen. I appreciate the gesture. That really means a lot to me."

"I have the records back at my home," Karen explained, "I can give them to you there and maybe you can even look them over a little bit too. You're not in a big rush, are you?"

"Well... I did sorta make plans with Kara later today," Clark admitted sheepishly, "She wanted to go sightseeing around Metropolis followed by a big music concert so I agreed to it."

"Oh. I see," Karen sighed with a slight hint disappointment in her voice, "That's okay... really. If you're short on time, then I understand."

"Ah well... I was actually thinking I'd stick around here just a little while longer," Clark said thoughtfully, "If I really rush home, then that buys me about a half hour more here."

"Hmm" Karen nodded, "You could review a lot of records in that time."

"Yeah, but I think the records can wait for today," he said stepping closer to her.

Karen caught on and met him with a suggestive look, "Oh? And how exactly did you plan to spend your time here then?"

"I was hoping you could help me figure that part out. I'm sure we could think of something," he smiled as he gathered her up in his arms and gave her a long tender kiss. When they finally parted and reluctantly let go of each other, Clark took her hand and began to gently ascend upward, "Come on. Let's go home."

Home. That word meant a lot of different things to both of them, even moreso now. With the salvaged records of Krypton, Clark had gained some access to his original home; a home he never knew. And as for Karen, she might have sacrificed her chance to return to her original home, but she had gained a new one here in this world. Here she realized she had the makings of new friends, new family, and a new lease on life altogether. As she took Clark's hand and ascended upwards to join him in the clear blue skies above, she didn't feel any fear or regret. They were headed off into the sunlit skies and toward a brighter new beginning.

The End

A/N:
Thanks again to anyone and everyone who has taken the time to read and leave comments on this fic. Hopefully you enjoyed the story. I admit the idea of shipping Clark and Karen might be a bit weird and unconventional by normal standards but I guess I can't help it. I wanted to see if there was a way to make that relationship work in a semi-believable way and I hope I succeeded. Plus I guess I just enjoy a good writing challenge.

If you did enjoy the story, please feel free to let me know and don't be afraid to leave any other comments or questions. I always love to hear the opinions of readers and have open dialogues with others. Thanks again everyone!