Supergirl: The Last Daughter of Earth

Chapter 11

"Hello, Alex," said the hologram of Jeremiah with a smile. It was a wistful one, but sincere, and it had an odd mixture of sadness and happiness in his face, and tone. These were the messages her parents had actually left for her, so she knew these would be actual words that they had intended for her.

"Our brave, strong, wonderful little girl," said the hologram of Eliza. "Only you're not a little girl anymore, are you? You're an amazing young woman, with a very rich and full life ahead of you." Like the image of Jeremiah, she wore a wistful, but oddly sad and happy, smile. It was obvious from the way they looked, and the clothes they wore, these had been recorded only a couple of days before everything ended.

Alex had to catch herself for a moment. It sounded really odd hearing English, after so long speaking Kryptonian. She'd speak with Jessica in English a lot, and had even taught Kara some English so they could communicate with complete privacy, especially at school, if they didn't want anyone to know what they were talking about. They still had to be careful, even then, because the language was no language that had ever been spoken on Krypton before, of course. Even so, she didn't use it all the time, so hearing it at length was disconcerting.

Jeremiah's image chuckled, and shook his head, "No, you're not a little girl anymore, far from it. Anyway, sweetheart, there's some things we'd wanted to say to you, to tell you, but we know we're not going to get the chance to say them all before it's too late, so we thought we'd hit the highlights here. Also, we hope it'll help you stay strong in the face of the strange unknown that you're about to set foot in, and the road you'll travel the rest of your life." The emotions her parents had been feeling were evident on their faces, in their eyes, though they were trying to keep the messages as upbeat as possible.

Eliza folded her hands in front of her as she often did in life when she was trying to be reassuring and calming, and said, "We know you're sad, sweetie, and we know how upset you must be, and having just experienced everything that you have, things that no one should ever have to experience, we're sure you may be feeling a lot of things, confused, hurt, angry, so many things, but your father and I are hoping that you can put that all aside for a few minutes, and listen to us."

"As you know by now, Earth is doomed. There's no saving it, and there's no way to evacuate even part of the population, as much as we wish that weren't the case. By now, the Earth is gone, and you're on your way to your new home," Jeremiah picked up, his voice taking that patient, understanding tone it usually did when he was explaining things to her that weren't pleasant. "Your mother and I know that when you finally get there, it'll feel like anything but home. The word 'alien' won't be some abstract concept, you'll truly experience what it feels like to be surrounded by alien people, an alien culture, an alien language, an alien way of life, and probably everything else that you take for granted that will be radically different than what you've always had here."

"Knowing J'Onn, we know that kindness is not just a human concept," Eliza continued, her face wearing one of those optimistic and hopeful smiles she usually wore. "It's a universal concept, an idea inherent in some form to most life, we hope. It's our firm and fervent hope that you are able to find someone to help you, to teach you about life on your new planet that will maybe even be able to form a close bond and connection with you. We hope that you'll find someone that can be like family to you, instead of you simply being someone that's completely different to them. We hope and pray that you won't be isolated and alone. We hope for so much more for you."

Jeremiah cleared his throat, and took a long breath, that breath that usually preceded something that they'd rather not have to contend with, but it was for the greater good, that she knew so well. "The group of stars we're aiming for is fairly large, all stars within a relatively short distance from one another," he said, shifting his position, probably on the couch that he and her mother often sat on together. "According to J'Onn, they all have at least one habitable planet, all with civilizations more advanced than ours. We're aiming for a yellow star, where there's a planet a lot like Earth, for you to travel to. Its people are, according to the Martian Compendium of Known Worlds, similar to humans in a lot of ways, though their appearance is different. While their appearance will be a little strange, many things about them will be at least somewhat similar to us. It's that commonality that we're hopeful will be strong and central enough that they'll welcome you, rather than leaving you to be a complete outsider."

"We'd never send you there if we thought that they'd treat you in a negative way, sweetheart," the image of Eliza commented. "If the information J'Onn provided is currently accurate, you should have minimal difficulty fitting in there."

Jeremiah glanced at Eliza a moment, and then looked back towards her. "The ship is capable of liftoff and manual flight, if it should become necessary for you to go to another destination instead. The instructions are in the manual there in the side compartment to your left. We compiled it for you, to help you keep safe." There was a mildly amused look on his face as he mentioned the manual. She hated manuals and her dad had known it.

"But that's enough of all that. That's not what you were hoping to hear, we're sure," Eliza smiled gently again. The emotion was stronger on her face than it was just moments before. "The computer on board has all the information you need on the operation of the ship and stuff, so that's not the important part of this conversation."

She paused, and took Jeremiah's hand in hers, and it was obvious she was squeezing it tightly, and her eyes grew shiny. "You are the absolute most important, most vital, most central part of us, our feelings, and our very existence, Alex," the image of her mother said with that quiet passion she often had about emotional things. "Everything good about us, everything good we know and cherish is made solid and real by you, our daughter. We've never wanted anything for you but the very best, and for you to know that you were loved more than anything in the universe, and that we would do anything to make you as happy and content as we possibly could. Everything that makes us, and the human race, the exceptional species it is lives inside you. Maybe that's a little biased, but parents are allowed to be biased towards their children like that."

Her father shook his head, and got that sad look that he tried so hard to hide, but Alex could always see right through it, and him. "I guess it's pretty obvious that we don't really know how to say everything we could possibly hope to say to you in a few minutes. We're not even sure what we should say, what would be something that you'd need to know and hear, and what's just two scientists rambling on about things. As much as we love you, as much as you mean to us, you'd think we'd be better prepared to tell you all that. I guess it's easier to tell you how much we love you when we're not staring certain destruction in the face; the words come easier when you think you have all the time in the world. You just never expect 'all the time in the world' to be so limited, as in immediately limited."

Eliza went into the arms of her husband, both looking towards the camera that had recorded their message, and explained, "We love you beyond words, Alex. We saved you not only because of how much you mean to us, and how much we love you, but also because you're so strong, so resilient, and a true survivor. We know you can make it in whatever situation or on whichever world you find yourself."

The holographic message continued for several minutes, with Alex sitting in a chair that resembled a bean bag chair on Earth, letting her emotions run freely for the first time since she arrived on Krypton, and feeling an odd sort of comfort, seeing them and hearing their voices once more.

X

Alex had stayed in the lab, interacting with the holograms of her parents for several hours that first night, amazed at how much like her parents the holograms were, and how much more like them they were becoming. The second night, she'd asked Kara to join her in interacting with them. Kara had enthusiastically accepted the invitation, and the girls had spent a long time in the lab with the representations.

A week after, Alex was studying some of the notes she'd taken for a very important test that was coming up. She'd been trying to cram and force as much of it into her mind as she could. The math and science was far beyond anything she'd even heard of, let alone studied, on Earth. Even so, her time on Krypton, and Kara, Zor El, and Alura's assistance had helped her greatly come more on par with the typical level of education for someone her age. Over the past couple of years, such things had become infinitely easier once she started grasping some of the basic concepts.

She was to the point where she felt it best if she set it aside for a while, and just relax a little. She was starting to get a headache, and from the way it felt, it seemed like it was going to be particularly bad if she kept pushing herself. She'd been wondering about what Kara had been doing, since the younger girl said she didn't want to distract her from her studying a few hours before.

She didn't have to wonder long, because moments after that thought echoed in her mind Kara came bursting into the room, a veritable ball of excitement. "Aunt Astra's here!" she exclaimed, as she grabbed Alex's arm. "Come on, let's go see her!" Kara started tugging on her, trying to get her to stand and follow her.

Not long after she'd arrived, she'd met Alura's twin sister, Astra. She was a general in Krypton's military forces, and a high ranking member of the Military Guild. In many ways, she was like Alura, but she had her differences as well. She was kind hearted like her sister, and she was especially fond of Kara, since she didn't have any children of her own. It was obvious from the first time she met her that she had doted on Kara all her life, and the two had a special and strong connection.

A major difference between Astra and Alura was that Alex loved Alura's husband, Kara's father, Zor El. He was a wonderful man and father, and he and Alura treated her as if she were really their child. Astra's husband, however, was a very different story. Non, Astra's husband, was a subordinate of Astra's in the military, and he was a special kind of asshole, Alex thought. He was rude, abrasive, arrogant, self important, and just generally the sort that oozed bad news.

It was pretty obvious from the beginning, the first time she'd met the man that Kara's family didn't really care much for the man. Astra loved him, though, she figured, although Astra's demonstrations of love were vastly different than Alura's for Zor El, at least they were to Alex. Further complicating things was the fact that Non absolutely hated Kara's family. Oh, he was polite enough, if you really stretched the definition of polite, but the seething contempt and disdain was evident in his tone, and it dripped from every word that fell from his mouth. Alex had never met someone so condescending, and such a toxic person in her life.

Thankfully, Non had only been present a few times when Astra had come to visit. When Alex had first met Astra, she'd been alone, and she had been sworn to secrecy by Kara's family about Alex, and the truth of her situation. She was even sworn to never tell Non about her true situation, and to Alex's perception, she didn't seem particularly broken up about that. It almost seemed like she wasn't very fond of him, either, and she was married to the man.

For his part, Non liked her even less than he liked Kara and the rest of her family, but Astra was another matter entirely. Like her sister, and her family, Astra was very fond of Alex, and treated her as if she were true family, as well. It took a few times around her for each of them to warm up to the other, but it hadn't taken very long, and she doted on Alex as much as she did Kara. Alex wasn't sure how she'd gotten lucky enough to be taken in by a family that was so generous, kind and giving, but she wasn't going to complain.

Alex was shaken from her reverie as Kara continued to drag her back down the hallway towards the gathering room. Sure enough, there on the couch sat Astra, dressed in dark blue, much like Alura usually wore, but where Alura tended to wear dresses more often than not, Astra's clothing was a top and pants. Though it didn't have any sort of insignia, or other military paraphernalia on it, Alex figured it was some sort of fatigue uniform, or something similar.

Astra saw the girls coming into the room, and her face lit up. A broad smile came to her lips as she stood, and held out her arms for her nieces to come into. "There's my Little Ones," she said, laughing, as the two girls practically tackled her and the trio fell back to the couch. Zor El and Alura laughed with them, and watched for a moment, considering this was the expected outcome whenever Astra would come by the house.

The three of them spent several moments hugging, tickling and laughing before Astra sat up, and pushed her dark hair with the gray streak back out of her face. "Okay, okay, I give up. I concede the battle!" she exclaimed, laughing still. She never seemed to tire of the behavior the girls showed when she came to visit. If anything, Alex thought it seemed like it lifted some sort of weight from her when she could laugh with them.

"We're not so little, you know, Aunt Astra," Kara said with mock severity when they all let go of one another. "Alex is sixteen, I'm fifteen, and we're pretty near as big as we're going to get." She was trying very hard not to laugh as she pretended to be indignant, and Alex was pretty much doing the same. It didn't matter how old they were, Astra always called them her Little Ones. It was a playful ritual they all went through, with Astra impugning the girls' near adult status, and them responding in a mock petulant manner. Alex thought it was amazing how something like that was so similar to a lot of such relationships back on Earth.

"I know!" laughed Astra as she gave each girl a tight hug. "Soon, you'll both be bigger than Alura or me. Or at least you may be the same size. You're both growing so fast. It seems like you grow inches in between each visit." They had both undergone growth spurts, it seemed like, and they would manifest themselves on each of Astra's visits, she thought.

Alex glanced around, and then back to Astra. "It's wonderful to see you, Aunt Astra," she said with a sincere tone and smile. "I see you didn't…or did you…come with Non?" She asked because she wanted to make sure the smug, arrogant little shit didn't strut his ass out of one of the other rooms with that perpetual sneer he seemed to wear, especially when in the presence of Kara's family.

Everyone in the room, even Astra, tensed a bit when Alex asked. It was more than obvious the sort of effect even the mention of his name had on those in the room, even Astra, though she tried to hide it pretty well. She couldn't help wondering why Astra even married him, let alone stayed with him for so long afterwards, given how even she seemed less than thrilled with him most of the time. They were just so different in temperament, and in general personality, no one would think they'd be able to avoid killing each other if left in the same room together for five minutes.

Astra shook her head, and a slight frown came to her face. "No, he didn't come with me," she said, looking at all of them in turn. "It's never been a secret that he doesn't particularly care much for any of you, or that none of you are really fond of him, either," she said quietly. "I don't know what it is that he has against any of you so strongly, but whatever it is, I told him that if he can't behave civilly in my sister and brother in law's home, then he isn't welcome here by me, or any of you. So, wisely, he opts not to come with me when I come by."

Kara didn't comment, though Alex thought it seemed like she wanted to. Kara wasn't the type to speak ill of anyone, even someone she personally couldn't stand. In a way, Alex admired that trait in her, and in other ways, she couldn't fathom her extremely optimistic view. It just seemed natural to Alex that if you feel a certain way, you should give voice to those feelings. In either event, Kara's huge heart was a very large part of why Alex was able to survive, instead of giving in to crushing despair long ago. In a very real sense, while all of the family had contributed to welcoming her, and giving her a home, it was Kara that actually saved her, even though she apparently never realized that fact herself.

The conversation went on for quite a while, just little pieces of news and that sort of thing, silly things they all laughed about, and the other stuff any typical family might talk about. It was when the tone of the conversation had gotten more serious that had Alex concerned.

They'd been talking about something to do with the Supreme Council's decision about demanding the alien embassies withdraw their officials and operatives and leave Krypton had gone other than many hoped, including Non. He, and like minded people, most of who were in the Military Guild, saw this as inviting incursion, and possibly invasion, from nearby alien worlds. They cited the allowance of a handful of more representatives in the alien embassies permitted to come on world as a "fatal mistake," since they would consider this allowance a weakness and inevitably attack Krypton.

"He's always been a little overenthusiastic about the Military Guild's responsibility for safeguarding the planet from alien activity," Astra was saying with a slight frown on her face. "But the things he's been talking about lately…Alura, they border on insurrection and borderline terrorism. He's behaving more and more like one of the extremist fanatics all the time. Honestly…he's started to worry me, he's sounding dangerous, and I don't like being put in this position, as his commanding officer, and as his wife."

"Krypton has a long standing intolerance of, and fear of, aliens in general," Zor El said as he leaned back next to Alura, and readjusted his position to something more comfortable. "It's been that way for centuries. However, in the past couple of centuries, the Council has been opening their xenophobic policies up some. It's only been maybe seventy five years since they started permitting aliens from establishing embassies here to deal with issues involving us all again. That kind of fear never seems to die."

Astra nodded, and took a sip of the tea that Alura had made them and they were all sipping. "That's exactly my point, Zor. There have been no incursions, no invasions, no attacks, and not even the slightest indication that any non Kryptonian force has even come near the system, let alone approached the planet," she said in obvious consternation. "Yet, Zod and his ilk are hammering away at anyone that will listen about the mistake in allowing aliens more access to Krypton, and that an invasion is not only an imminent threat, but that it's a fact. They're so certain that life as we know it will be ended on Krypton, due to some imagined war with another world, or other worlds."

"Ah, General Dru Zod, of the noble House of Zod," said Alura somewhat sourly as she put her tea on the table in front of them. The expression on her face was the very definition of distasteful. "His House has given Krypton some of its greatest protectors and military leaders, but Dru Zod is about as noble as a sewer rodent's droppings. He's been preaching this 'we must attack them, and keep Krypton safe, before they attack us' nonsense for years. There's absolutely no evidence, or even basis, for such an insane claim. It doesn't surprise me in the least that Non's in his camp. They're so much alike, it's scary."

Astra nodded softly, and finished her tea. She glanced across the room where Alex and Kara were busily talking with Jessica about something in hushed tones, and then leaned in and spoke quietly, "What's truly worrying me is that for the past few months, Non has been insisting that there are aliens on Krypton that we don't know about living among us, pretending to be Kryptonian. I've heard him speaking with Zod about it on four different occasions now, and frankly, it's got me worried."

Everyone's eyes moved to where Alex and Kara sat, engaged in their own conversation with the orb, Jessica. They lingered on the girls for a moment, and then Alura glanced at Zor El, and then back to Astra. "Do you think he means Alex?" she asked, as the cold tingling sensation raced down her spine. The last thing in the world they needed was for someone to suspect Alex, and lead a witch hunt to expose her.

Astra pulled her eyes away from the girls and her face displayed a deeper frown. Her voice was barely a whisper, "I can't say for sure, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least. He's always been contemptuous of her for whatever reason, simply because he just doesn't like her, I think. But he's been making it a point to mention something about this ridiculous theory of his where he knows I can hear it, and that can't be anything good."