The story of Kara Zor-El

by Miss. Styx

Kara Zor-El felt a lot of things. She was sent away from her home at 12 years old along with her baby cousin, she literally watched her planet die before being cast into a timeless prison, she came to earth two dozen years late, her mission no longer standing as her younger cousin was now "Superman" and she was still the small, weak 12 year old that left Krypton.

10. Chapter 10

Title: The story of Kara Zor-El

Chapter 10: Danvers

/.\

When I finish work, I stopped at my favourite pizza place and picked up 3 large pizzas, 2 regular cheese and the other was the meaty option. I personally enjoyed any pizza, but the person I was visiting liked these the most (from a quick talk with one of the staff who knew the woman that also, coincidentally, came here). I took to the roofs as I make my way to an apartment that I haven't visited since taking up this new job with L-Corp, I needed to make amends, and what better way than pizza and a honest talk. I decide, when I get close, to act like a civilized person and enter through the front door of the apartment building, easily finding my way up to my adoptive sister's apartment.

I thought it would be best to resolve things with Alex, I have treated her so awfully over my years on Earth, I knew a night of pizza and movies wouldn't fix the rift between us entirely, but I wanted to take Lena's advice. I wanted to let people in. Feeling a little grumble in my stomach as I walk up the stairs, I open the top box and take a slice of pizza. I was halfway through the slice when I get onto the level that Alex's apartment was on, stepping out of the stairwell, I walk down the corridor and towards the white door that was her own.

I hold the crust in my mouth as I wipe my hand on my trousers, bringing my grease-free hand up to knock on the door. I made sure I knocked loud enough for her to hear before going back to eating the crust of the pizza. The door opens up a moment later, showing a slightly surprised Alex in a pair of pyjama pants and a long sleeve t-shirt. She would have seen me through the hole in her door, so her reaction had dulled down.

"Hey…" I start, my gut knotting now from nerves, I hadn't thought about this thoroughly enough to think past knocking, not prepared to be faced with the person who had tried so hard to be there for me (after the first few years of mutual resent) when all I did was push her away. "I-I brought pizza." I say, stuttering slightly before clearing my throat. Alex seems to get the hint though, her eyes softening as she opens the door further to let me inside. I step into the apartment, Alex relieves me of the weightless pizza, holding it in her hands for a moment as I shut the door behind me and swallowing the last piece of crust.

"I wasn't expecting you." Alex says, slightly awkward, as she watches me for a moment. There was a flicker of distrust in her eyes before it was tamed, she turned and lead me further into her apartment, and probably towards the couch by the looks of it. I brush a strand of my hair out of my face, feeling nervous as I follow after her.

"Yeah… I didn't know I was coming until earlier. Sorry, I should have called." I say, kicking myself slightly and wincing at how pathetic I sounded in that moment. Alex places the boxes on the coffee table, a tiny smile tickling her lips before moving to take a seat on her couch. She opens the first box, showing off the lost slice from when I already started to have a nibble. Alex smirks slightly at the box before looking back up at me. She picks up a slice and leans back on the couch.

"You taking a seat? Or are you just going to stand there?" She teases, I notice my mistake and drop down on the couch beside her, maybe a little too heavily from the slight protest of the legs on the floor, and picking up another slice of the pizza. I nibble the end of the slice, slightly nervous from the other plans I made, which I admittedly didn't think further than the idea. I had to come out and say it now, or I would lose my nerve and chicken out. She deserved to hear this and I needed to get over myself and my bolstering ego.

"Sorry," I mutter slightly, my head tipping down slightly and my body losing its appetite quickly. I've never felt this bad before about anything, it made me envious of the days when I didn't care, but I knew that I had to make it past this before I could move on with my life, Alex deserves to hear this. Alex seems to understand that I wasn't sorry for standing for too long, and sits up on the edge of the couch like myself. I hear her sigh before I feel a hand on my shoulder, applying a comforting pressure.

"I know you never meant it personally… You were hurt and-"

"No." I say, cutting her off, tossing the slice down in the open box and wiping the grease off my hands on my trousers. She was taken back by my outburst, but let me carry on. "There is no excuse… I was an absolute dick to you, all you ever did was be there for me. And I threw it back in your face." I say, leaning my elbows on my knees as my hands clasped in front of me. I swallow the hard lump in my throat and will myself to do the right thing, even if my walls were protesting greatly.

"I am so, so, sorry." I tell her, turning my head to look in her direction. "I was acting like an ungrateful bitch and you were the-..." I take a deep breath and look away, my chest hitching slightly at the emotional toil this talk was getting me in. "You was the best sister anyone could have asked for… you still are." I admit, feeling the weight lift off my chest, only for another one to be applied. What if she didn't accept the apology?

Alex takes a moment to take this in, causing further turmoil inside of me, her own pizza slice was put down, but, instead of using her trousers like I did, she uses a napkin that was on the coffee table to wipe her hands. The crumpled napkin was put back on the table as Alex slides a little closer to me, an arm moving to slip around my back as she hugs me to her side.

"I'll always be your sister… I'll always be here for you, Kara." Alex ushers, her arm pulling me into her embrace. A wave of relief flows over me and I give in, burying myself into the older woman's side. I was so over acting like I didn't care because I could feel unusual emotions well up on the inside and if this is what having a sister felt like, I wasn't going to complain.

/.\

We easily polished off the pizzas, granted, I did eat most of them, but she had equivalent to the majority of one. We spoke like best friends that haven't seen each other in months, gossiping about the small things that have happened in our life and even the big things.

"So…" I start, smirking at her. We were sat on opposite sides of the couch, facing each other as we spoke like teenagers. "What's the deal with this Maggie girl?" I ask, quirking my brows slightly in a 'hint-hint' kind of gesture, making it seem like a non-verbal innuendo. At that, Alex tosses a pillow at me, that was easily caught as I continue to look at her suggestively. She sighs heavily and leans back against the arm of the couch. We easily slip into being sisters, our personalities adding up to make us the perfect companions of each other.

"I honestly don't know right now." She starts, kicking her feet out from under her as she stretches her legs so they're almost touching my own crossed ones. "We've been dating for a while, and it's good, it's so good." a smile played at her lips as she thought of the positive side of it. "But, she said that she wouldn't want kids in the future…" She continues, her face drooping slightly at the said memory. "We had a huge fight about it and she walked out on me… the last time I saw her was when she came over when you were last here." Alex looked genuinely troubled by this, striking me off guard to see someone as strong as Alex has these emotions towards someone. A protective jolt rears up inside of me.

I furrow my brow slightly, thinking a little about the situation. "She hasn't seen you since? She seemed pretty intent on getting her stuff." I question, getting a shake of Alex's head and a huff for an answer. "Maybe you should try speaking to her. If it was so great, you should fight for it. Speak to her like a civilised person and see if it is worth the heartache to continue seeing her. If not, then tell her to fuck off, you don't need someone like that in your life." I tell her, giving her my honest opinion about the smaller woman. "I haven't known her long so I won't judge your decision, do what you think is right."

Alex seems to absorb my information, sitting quietly for a moment as she just thinks about what she will do next. After a little while, she just sighs, looking up at me. "Yeah, I'll speak to her tomorrow." She smiles for a moment, absorbing everything, before lunging back up into a sitting position, holding a pillow in her lap as she looks at me with a huge grin, there was a gleam in her eyes that made me want to run, she was planning something.

"What about you? Find someone interesting?" She says, giving me a scandalous wink. At the words, my mind instantly goes to Lena, making me smile gently before clamping my bottom lip between my teeth to try and stop Alex from seeing it, looking down on the couch. But it was too late, she already saw it.

"Oh God!" She exclaims, throwing her arms up and slapping her hands to her face, excitement bubbling up in her. "Can I help my baby sister score?" she asks, making my face flush red as I throw the pillow that she launched earlier at me, it hit her square in the face as I use my hands to hide my face. Oh Rao, I want to curl up in a ball and die. First Astra, now Alex (though she doesn't know it is Lena).

"Who is it? Or do I have to guess?" Alex continues, her enthusiasm bubbling up and making me want to run away, when she gets like this, things get dangerous. She will probably go on a covert mission just to set me up with whoever she thinks I have an interest in.

"I'm not saying anything about this." I groan, turning my head to the side so I can slam it into the back of the couch that was on my left. The cool leather helping my bright red face calm down a little.

"Looks like I'm guessing." Alex says teasingly, making me groan again, the sound being muffled by the seat. "Right." Alex says, the sofa shifting as Alex adjusts herself on it. "Is it that bar owner? Y'know the one you used to work for?" She asks, making me lift my face off the back of the couch and give her a grossed out look.

"No!" I yell, "She was hot and we had a one night stand but that was it!" I say defensively, quickly slapping my hand to my mouth to try and stop more embarrassing things from coming out of my mouth. Alex starts laughing scandalously.

"So it's someone you know now, who isn't your old boss…" She continues, getting way too overexcited, in my opinion, but that was because I was the one getting teased. I then realise the lack of people that I actually know that Alex knows of, making it all the more easier to figure out who the mystery woman is. Alex's face lights up, her clever mind probably making a huge connection which was way too obvious in the first place.

"You have a crush on Lena Luthor?" She asks, but she pretty much knew the answer. Rather than judge me for who I liked, a huge grin encases her face as she realised that she was correct by my sudden silence and the unhealthy redness to my face. Alex laughs again, tossing the pillow at me. "Y'know, I think she's gay."

And with that, I launched the pillow back with more force, knocking her head back and making her laugh harder at my embarrassment. Rao, I wish I something would just swallow me whole right now, it was prefered like 5 minutes earlier but now would also be great.

"If that wasn't clear, I'm giving you official sisterly approval, you better charm her socks off." Alex continues, a more serious note to her previous teasing, I groan and hide my face in my hands. She could be so insufferable sometimes, but by Rao, I love her.

/.\

That night, when I got back from my sister's apartment, I activated the box my mother gave me. I played the prayer feature, and for the first time in years, I held the candle and kneeled down, uttering words gently in Kryptonese along with my mother, who actually recorded herself praying for this part of the program. I feel warmth bubble up inside of me from the relief, I could finally get over another hurdle, all because I was slowly forgiving myself, letting people in and not pushing them away. I smile as the recording stopped, a whole unseen weight was lifted and I felt like I could breathe easier because of it. No path was easy, but I have never felt so good during my time on Earth, and I was starting to feel accepted. Not from other people, but from myself. And this acceptance made me smile a little brighter, have an extra bounce in my step and made me fly higher, it made me happy for the first time in years. And when I crawled in bed that night, the nightmare wasn't so painful as all the other times, because I knew my aunt was in the room next door and that she cared about me like I was the light of her life. I never deserved this happiness previously, but maybe forgiveness was the first step in earning it.