Chapter 21: Introduction
A/N: Warning, the following chapter is dark and full of feels. If you don't like that, turn back now.
Somewhere in the Southwest United States…
Zod scowled at the pathetic machine these humans used as vehicles. The truck had broken down several hundred miles from their objective and refused to start. It was full of fuel, he made sure of that, but it refused to work.
True Faora and Zod could run to the location easily but he wished draw as little attention to them as possible. As such they were now stranded on the side of the road while Zod tried to figure out how to fix the machine.
The rumbled of an engine caught his attention and Zod turned to see a large motor home pull over next to them. A tanned man wearing a baseball cap stuck his head out of the window and looked at the two.
"Having a little car trouble?" he asked.
Zod wore a neutral expression on his face "You could say that," he said.
"Well if you folks need a lift I'd be happy to take you to the next rest stop, it's about 50 miles up," he said casually.
"I appreciate the gesture," Zod said and he grabbed both Packs from the trunk and he and Faora walked into the motor home. It was a decent size with a small kitchen in the middle, a bedroom at the back and a television area between the drivers cabin and the rest of the vehicle. Zod sighed inwardly. A man of his importance shouldn't be forced to live in such conditions but for now he would have to tire through it.
"Names Steven by the way," the man named Steven said extending a hand. Zod recognized the gesture and returned it hiding his disgust.
"I'm Frank and this is my sister Elizabeth," he lied, using the ID's of the campers he'd stolen the equipment from.
"A pleasure," he said "That over there is my daughter Jennifer," he pointed to a small 8-year-old girl with a ponytail sitting at the table. Zod just nodded and the man sat back in his driver seat. Zod sat on the small couch across from the television as the vehicle began to move. Faora sat at the table across from the little girl, trying to ignore her.
The ride was in silence for several minutes, neither party really willing to speak. Zod was plotting his next move and Faora was simply trying to tolerate the ride without destroying the vehicle.
"Why is your hair so short?" the little girl asked.
Faora turned to her with a look of annoyance "Excuse me?" she asked.
"Your hair," she restated "why is it so short,"
Faora raised a brow at the girl and decided to humor her "If it's too long it gets in the way,"
The girl nodded as if it made sense "well I think you look very pretty," she said innocently.
Faora was startled by her comment. No one ever called her pretty. Sure she had heard the way other men talked about her behind her back, but that was expected. No one had ever actually complimented her.
"T-thanks," she said unsure of what to say now.
Jennifer seemed to have no problem with that and continued "I like my hair long but don't like it when it's in the way. That's why I keep it in a pony tail, so I can keep it long and pretty," she said with a hint of pride.
Even cold-hearted Faora couldn't help but smile slightly at the innocence of the child "So where are you and your father going?' she asked carefully.
"Where going to an amusement park before I have to go back to mommy," the girl said sadly. Faora's eyes narrowed in disgust as she remembered how humans liked to separate and toss their children between them. It was disgusting and careless, the parents often never considering how this affected the child them self.
"So your mother... is she bad?" Faora asked quietly.
"She's not bad, I just wish she and daddy would get back together," she said sadly.
The girl suddenly perked up, "Want to meet my special friend?" she asked suddenly.
"I... guess," she said unsure.
The girl rummaged through a pack she had beside her and pulled out a small stuffed bear "This is teddy, he's my friend," she said. Faora rolled her eyes at the girls belief that a stuffed bear could be a friend. Still, there was something about her sincerity and belief that almost made her believe it was alive as well.
"Mommy says he's not real, but I don't listen, he protects me at night from the monsters," she said hugging it. Faora felt an odd feeling in her chest as she watched the child. It was a feeling she'd never felt before but it felt... good.
Faora and Jennifer continued to talk while Zod was lost in his mind and Steve focused on the road. Faora learned much about the girl and started bonding with her. She wished the girl would never lose her innocence, it was something that the world needed. But, their talk was interrupted as the motor home came o a stop.
"Where here," Steve announced.
Zod stood and grabbed the packs and motioned for Faora to follow. Faora reluctantly followed when Jennifer called her "Wait!' she called.
Faora turned to the girl "I want you to have this," she said and pulled the small bow that held her hair in a pony tail "So you can let your hair get prettier without bothering you," she said with a big smile.
Faora smiled back and walked out the door holding the bow delicately as if it were a flower. Zod followed behind her when there was the sound of a loud rip. The armor in one of the packs tore through the fabric and crashed to the ground.
"What in the..." Steve said when he was interrupted by a blow to his face. His neck snapped and he fell over dead on the ground.
"Daddy!" Jennifer screamed and rushed to her motionless father.
She looked at Zod with tears in her eyes "Why!?" she cried with tears in her eyes.
"Stay here," Zod ordered Faora.
"General," she started and he turned to her. she stopped and stepped back. Zod was her officer there was nothing she could do.
Zod walked into the motor home and closed the door behind him. The vehicle rocked back slightly before stopping and Zod walked out dusting his hands.
"Loot it," he ordered "I am going to go find us a new mode of transport," he said and walked off.
Faora nodded reluctantly and walked in. The bedroom at the back was closed off and she had a feeling she wouldn't want to go in there. she quickly and solemnly searched through the area. She stopped as she came to the teddy bear. She'd dropped it when she came to her father leaving it alone.
Faora cradled it gently and tied the bow to the bears ear before placing it carefully in the pack. She flung it over her shoulder and walked out towards the general who had... procured a new vehicle.
"Was there anything of value?" he asked her.
Faora only shook her head. Zod accepted this and started the vehicle with Faora getting in on the other side. they drove off, seemingly at peace, but in her mind Faora felt sick...
Autobot HQ...
The entire base was dead silent no one said a word at Jack's revelation. It seemed like everyone had not expected that, not expected him to have family. Then again he didn't either.
"Y-your sister?" June whispered, "You have a sister?" she looked about ready to faint.
Jack only gave a small smile as he helped Kara down the ramp. Her movements were still a little erratic and jerky, obviously adjusting from her time in the pod.
Several of the other boys seemed to suddenly notice that Kara was only wearing his cape, clutching it tightly. Every male, organic or not immediately averted their gaze from his sister, something he was grateful for. Last thing he wanted was for anyone to start ogling his sister.
"Dusk?" Amber whispered, "Why don't you go get Kara a set of clothes…you two are similar in height. Well, she's shorter, but I think it'll fit better than mine, Dr. Williams or 'Lita's," she said quietly.
Dusk nodded and jumped to the floor below. Her wings flared to slow herself and she landed lightly. She approached the two as quietly as possible, clearly taking great pains to not make too much noise.
"Come with me Kara," she said softly. So soft Jack was amazed any of the humans could have heard it, though for him and Kara they heard it loud and clear. Jack was just grateful that Dusk was being so considerate of Kara's condition.
"My name is Dusk…I'm a friend," she explained. Kara turned her gaze up at Dusk and looked from her to Jack and back to her.
"We're going to get you some clothes…so that Kal will be able to have his cape back, ok?" Dusk asked. Jack was honestly amazed at how well she handled the situation.
Kara gave a slow nod and stepped forward. Dusk placed a comforting arm around her shoulders and lead her to her room. The two slowly walked out of the room and Jack turned to the others once they were gone. Every single person in the room had a very questioning look on their face.
Jack cleared his throat "I guess I have some more explaining to do?" he asked. Everyone just nodded. He sighed, this was going to be fun.
He sighed "Okay, first before anyone asks why I didn't mention that I had a sister, I didn't know myself up until I was about to get her out of the pod. My father told me," he said.
"But I thought you said you were an only child?" June asked weakly still getting over the shock. One super powered teen had proven difficult to take care of and the woman would be damned before she let this girl live alone.
"Turns out I was the only son. Kara was born artificially but without any genetic tweaking," he explained.
"Wait you weren't?" Amber asked. Jacks face turned a bright red and he ignored the question.
"Anyway," he continued "She was supposed to arrive on Earth before me to... take care of me as a child but something went wrong. Apparently her ships phantom drive sent her here instead," Jack finished his explanation.
"So exactly how old is she?" Miko asked.
"16, same age as me," Jack answered.
"Great," June muttered "As if one 16 year old was bad enough," everyone laughed at her complaints.
"Well hey at least we got another super powered teen to help us take it to the cons," Smokescreen said excitedly.
Jack shot the rookie a glare and he drooped "My sister has barely adjusted to Earth's atmosphere, it'll be days maybe weeks before she learns to control her powers," he said his voice a calm anger.
"Kal," Optimus said "you know that we would never force you or your sister to fight our war without consulting with you," he said.
Jack calmed down "I know Optimus I just... you didn't see her when she first got out of her pod, she was so weak and scared..." he cut himself off.
"Anyway,"" he said shaking himself of his sadness "It will take some time for her to control her senses or powers, so can I ask you all to be careful around her?" he asked.
"Of course we can," Sean said.
"Though quick question," Miko said "How much does she know about us?" she asked.
"I only explained the bare minimum to her, like where we are, what happened with me and the Autobots themselves," he said.
"So she doesn't know us by name?" Amber asked.
"Uh, no," Jack admitted "I wanted to get her into some clothes and figured it would be better to introduce you all," he said.
Jack nodded his thanks and heard footsteps coming from the hallway. He turned and smiled as he saw Dusk and Kara walking into the area. He was happy to see her smiling and walking less erratically. She seemed to be recovering quickly from her time in cryo sleep.
Dusk tossed his cape in his face as she walked by him "Hey," he said indignantly. Dusk smirked as she walked up the platform to her brother who explained a bit about Kara to her. Jack had a feeling Kara told her everything she needed to know though. He reattached his cape in a quick flowing movement before turning to Kara.
His cape reattached he turned to Kara with a smile "Feeling better?" he asked quietly.
She nodded slowly "Yes," she answered.
"I would like to introduce you to everyone else," Jack said, "but only if you're up to it, if you're tired or anything…" he said.
Kara shook her head "I slept long enough... don't need more," she said. Her speech was still broken and Jack had a feeling it would take some time for her to adjust.
Jack nodded and slowly led her up the stairs to the platform. Her movements may have become smoother but they still had a jerkiness to them and she was still a little unsteady. Jack simply took lead holding one of her hands as he led her up one step at a time.
Everyone was keeping relatively quiet because of Jacks request and he gave them all a thankful look. They were trying their hardest to make Kara's integration as easy as possible and for that he was thankful.
The pair reached the platform and Kara became more reluctant. Jack quickly realized it was because she was shy and nervous. Of course she was, these were alien people to her, she only really knew Dusk the rest she would have to get to know.
"Kara," he said softly "I'd like you to meet my friends," he motioned to the group that was assembled in front of them.
Oddly enough the first person to approach and greet her was not Amber or Miko but Sean "Hello Kara, my name is Sean," he said and held out his hand to shake.
Kara looked from his hand to him to his hand again in confusion "Your supposed to shake it," Jack whispered.
She looked at him in confusion "Why?" she asked.
Jack shrugged "I'm not sure myself, but it's a human gesture," he explained.
Kara nodded and lightly took his hand and shook it "Nice… to meet you," she said quietly. Sean smiled and took a step back allowing the others to greet her as well.
Ben was next "Names Ben," he said "part time engineering teacher, assistant to the bots, and Dusks boyfriend," he explained.
Kara looked at him confused "Boy… friend?" she asked "what's a… boyfriend?"
There was an awkward silence at her question as everyone tried to figure out how to answer her question "A boyfriend is kinda like… a test run before two people get married," Ben explained "To see if they are… compatible before committing,"
"Like an… experiment," she said. Her eyes almost seemed to light up at the word and Jack wondered if his sister was a bit of a scientist. He'd have to ask her later, there was a lot for them to talk about, Jack had only given her a brief over view of his life not the whole story. Basically, the two knew almost nothing about each other, that'd have to change.
"I guess you could call it that yeah," Ben said, happy the girl was starting to come out of her shell.
Next was Raf who quickly greeted her and returned to his work, and then Ultimus. That, was an interesting meet up to say the least. He approached the two and Kara looked back between Jack and his counterpart.
"Who…" she started.
"I'm Ultimus, your brothers counterpart in this universe," he explained.
Kara nodded as she remembered her brothers explanation of how they weren't in their own universe "Ah," she said and saw that he like Dusk was also had a sparking heart. It was simply much more stable.
"Your heart looks… like Dusks," she commented.
Ultimus raised a brow "Oh?" he asked.
"It sparks," she explained.
"Well Dusk is my sister so I guess there would be some similarities," he said.
That said Ultimus fell back to his original position by said sister. Now came for the next ones, Amber and Miko, the ones Jack feared. Those two were so wild he was afraid that they would bombard her with questions. The two approached simultaneously.
"Hi," they greeted in sync "I'm Amber," Amber said.
"And I'm Miko," Miko said.
"It's nice to meet you," Amber said softly "It's also nice to see Dusk picked out a nice outfit for you too," she said.
Kara looked down at the outfit that she was wearing. The shirt was a little long and loose, likely due to Dusks difference in height and build, and the pant cuffs were folded a little so she wouldn't step on them. She wore a pair of plain white sneakers to complete the outfit.
"Hey!" Dusk protested quietly "Are you saying I have bad taste?"
"Let's see…" Amber said "you wouldn't let me pick out your swimsuit for the pool party a few months ago…when it looked fabulous on you…" she complained.
"It was pink, it was lacy, and I was not going to wear it," Dusk growled darkly.
"I'm surprise you haven't pranked me for that yet…" Amber said warily.
Dusk let out an evil laugh "That's because you haven't found it yet," she replied nonchalantly. Ambers eyes widened and Jack felt pity for her. She wouldn't be getting a lick of sleep tonight.
Kara turned to her brother with a questioning look. Jack had a feeling this would become common place, he was her best link to human society so he'd be answering a lot of questions "What's a prank?" she asked worriedly "It sounds… bad," she said.
Dusks face immediately turned regretful at Kara's words and she tried to clear up the misconception "No no sweetie, a prank is just a harmless joke for the enjoyment of the prankster. People don't get hurt in pranks," she explained.
Jack's Arcee started glaring daggers at Dusk but the girl either didn't notice or ignored her glare "A… joke?" Kara said and became thoughtful for several seconds, clearly searching her mind for what the word meant. Her eyes widened as she made the connection and she did something Jack or no one else had yet to see her do.
She laughed at the realization for a handful of seconds before quickly calming herself. She noticed everyone looking at her in shock and seemed to shrink even smaller her face turning bright red.
"Did I do something… wrong?" she asked her voice becoming worried.
Jack felt his hear lurch at her question and moved to comfort her quickly "No Kara, you didn't do anything wrong, we were just happy to hear you laugh," he said quickly.
"If you don't mind us asking, what was it you were laughing at?" Miko asked.
Kara looked down at her feet scuffing the ground with her shoes "I was remembering when I would… prank… mom and dad back home," she said quietly. Everyone looked shocked by this Jack probably most of all.
"You… pranked… our parents?" he asked in disbelief.
"It was… funny," she said "dad would get… flustered when I did it. I stopped when things got more… serious," she said her face becoming sad. Jack had a feeling he knew what she meant by more serious. But then the image of Jor-El, the wise and calm man he knew acting flustered entered his mind and Jack chuckled.
Apparently Arcee thought the same thing and chuckled too, the others looking at them like they were crazy. Jack ignored the looks and quickly regained his composure before turning to Kara.
"There is one more person I'd like you to meet before we get to the bots'" he said.
Kara looked at him questioningly "Who?" she asked.
"That would be me," June answered softly as she approached her son and his sister.
"Kara, this is June Darby, my adopted mother," he explained carefully. He was terrified of how she'd react to this, whether it would be violent, neutral or grateful.
Kara looked at the woman wide eyed before slowly speaking "You… raised my brother?" she asked. The base was so silent a pin could be heard dropping in the next state over.
"I did," June said with a nod. What happened next no one expected.
Kara suddenly embraced June in a hug causing June to gasp in surprise "Thank you," she said "for taking care of my brother when I…" Kara stopped as a small sob escaped her lips.
Jack was shocked by this sudden turn of events. He'd expected Kara to be suspicious of June possibly even hostile towards her. This was not what he'd expected and he was glad his assumption was wrong.
"I-it was my pleasure," June said carefully "Your brother was a bit of a handful," she started.
"Hey," Jack retorted.
Everyone smiled and June pulled away from Kara "But it was worth it in the end," she finished.
"Thank you… so much," Kara said wiping away the tears. She turned to Jack "Is that… everyone?" she asked.
"All the humans," he answered "there's still the Autobots but if you need a moment…" Jack stopped as Kara put her hands on her hips.
"Kal," she started "I am not a child… I can handle this," she said sternly. Jack rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Sorry, just used to people being more delicate then me," he admitted though he knew he had his moments when he was fragile as glass. His nightmares were evidence of that.
Jack then proceeded to introduce Kara to the Autobots, each one being a unique confrontation in themselves. Bulkhead and both Wheeljacks had been big and bombastic meetings and Jack had a feeling she'd be spending little time with them. Smokescreen stayed very polite and tried to act as nice as possible.
Bumblebee was interesting. He beeped a greeting to Kara before Jack could explain his name and what happened next stunned everyone.
"It's nice to meet you too… Bumblebee," she said slightly stumbling over the pronunciation of his name. Everyone looked at her in utter shock at her statement even Bumblebee.
The bot let out a few more buzzes and beeps "Of course I can understand you, why would I not?" she asked confused.
"No one else except the bots and Raf could understand Bee when they first met him," Dusk explained "And we're not sure why Raf could," she admitted.
Kara looked at them in bewilderment "You are… joking?" she asked. Everyone shook their heads in answer.
Kara smiled at this and Bee beeped a something at her. Kara just laughed at his statement "what did he say?" Jack asked.
She shook her head "I will not tell," she said mysteriously. Jack turned to Raf who shook his head. Sighing he continued the introductions.
Ultra Magnus's greeting was short and simple with the SIC giving a simple command to not cause any trouble around base. Jolt and Ratchet both greeted her, with Ratchet being his usual gruff self and Jolt constantly apologizing to her about his attitude. This universes Arcee simply said it was nice to meet her and then came the meeting he feared.
Jacks Arcee approached the two "I'm the other Arcee from your brothers dimension," she explained "He's my partner and it's good to see that you're adjusting to this well,"
Ultimus snorted "Partners," he whispered to Dusk jokingly. This earned him an elbow in the ribs and a confused look from Kara. A human might not have heard his sarcasm but Kara's hearing was still picking up noises that humans wouldn't.
"Why do you say 'partners' like a joke," she asked and another awkward silence consumed the base. Ultimus looked like he was trying to disappear while Jack looked like he was trying to make his head explode with his mind. Given enough effort that might have been the case had it not been for Arcee's interruption.
"Jack and I," she explained referring to her brother by his human name "are… in a relationship," she said.
Kara looked from her brother to Arcee to Jack again with a shocked look on her face. Her face softened "Ok," she said plainly.
Jacks head shot up, that was not the reaction he was expecting. He gave her a questioning look and she elaborated "I see nothing wrong with this, it is your lives, your freedom to choose… I would be… going against my own… morals if I wasn't ok with it," she explained.
She had a dissatisfied look on her face likely from her word choice. The flow of her words was rapidly becoming smoother but it seemed that her vocabulary was limiting her ideas. Jack had a feeling his sister was smarter and more clever than her first impression left on.
Arcee smiled at Kara "Thanks for being so much more accepting then… others," she said with a glare directed at Ultimus. Jack had mentioned his counterparts anger at their relationship and her opinion of the Prime was less than stellar.
"Indeed," Optimus said as he approached with Elita "Your wisdom exceeds your age Kara-El," he said.
Kara just stared at the Prime her head craned back. Optimus had always been tall but this one was huge standing nearly as tall as Draconus, whom Kara had not seen yet. So of course she was dumfounded by his size.
"W-who are you?" she asked finding her voice.
"I am Optimus Prime and this is my mate Elita-1," he said motioning to her "I am the leader of the Autobots and the father of Ultimus," he explained.
Kara looked from Ultimus to Optimus and back again, a process that she'd repeated several times that day "I can… honestly say I was not expecting that," she admitted and looked to Elita "And you are his… mother?" she asked.
Elita nodded "I am," she said.
"Well… that was unexpected," Kara said and turned to Jack, "Is that… everyone?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's everyone at base," he said.
A door suddenly slammed open "PRIME!" Agent Fowler screamed.
Kara immediately fell to her knees and grasped her ears in pain as the agent stormed in "Agent Fowler, please calm yourself," Optimus said quietly.
"I aint calming nothing!" he yelled "You were supposed to get rid of the cons so that our boys could study the ship given how it wasn't Cybertronian and now you've stolen it and brought it here!" he yelled pointing at Kara's ship.
Jack looked up from his sister whom was still in pain from Fowler's yelling and looked at the agent, his eyes red with anger. Everyone immediately stood out of his way, they'd learned by now that Jack's anger nearly rivaled Dusks when she hit her berserker rage, the ability she'd demonstrated against Jack in their initial encounter.
"And another thi-" Fowler never finished his sentence as Jack appeared in front of him with his hand clamped over Fowlers mouth.
"Quiet," he ordered. Fowler looked at the boy in shock. He'd never actually met Jack, but Optimus had reported who he was to Fowler and his superiors. Now he got some face to face time with Jack in an angry mood.
"That ship does not belong to neither the government or the Autobots, it belongs to my long lost sister, who is currently writhing in pain on the floor because you never learned to speak quietly," the whole time he spoke his voice never rose or fell frightening everyone.
Jack removed his hand "Now try again and speak quietly," he ordered.
Fowler looked at the boy who stood taller than he did before speaking "I think I'll return to my office and let my superiors know that the ship already has an owner," he said quickly.
"You go do that," Jack said and the Agent scurried off quietly closing the door behind him.
"Remind me not to tick you off… again," Ultimus said to Jack.
Jack just shrugged and made his way to Kara as quickly as he could. He kneeled next to her prone form. Dusk nodded understanding what he wanted and backed away.
"Hey," Jack said softly.
Kara just lay there muttering in Kryptonian. The way her words were coming out… Jack couldn't understand them but he felt what they meant, felt her pain and her fear.
Kara looked up at her brother weakly "T-too loud… it hurts… make it stop… please, it's too big…" she whimpered and shook violently.
An idea occurred to Jack "Then… make it small," he whispered "Kara, I want you to focus on my voice, pretend… pretend it's an island," he said his voice still soft and caring.
Kara slowly stopped shaking "Can you see it?" he murmured.
"I-I… I see it," Kara started, her voice still shaky.
"Swim towards it," he urged "Come to it,"
Kara suddenly stopped shaking and lowered her hands and opened her eyes. She blinked looking around as if seeing the world for the first time. Her eyes focused on Jack.
"It…it stopped…" she whispered as her brother helped her up, "And…you all look…normal. I can't see inside of you," she said happily.
Everyone looked at Jack and Kara in amazement. He'd managed to help hone her powers in seconds just by talking to her.
"Where'd you learn to do that, Kal?" Amber asked in quiet amazement.
Jack looked at his mother and smiled "From a very good teacher," he said. He could almost sense the pride and happiness radiating from his mother.
He placed a hand on Kara's shoulder and she turned to him "Come on," he said "I want to show you something," he said and slowly lead her to the base doors.
He wrapped a gentle arm around her waist "Hang on," he said gently and took off the ground with a gentle whoosh. Kal and Kara gently through out of the base and he heard his sister gasp as she saw the sky's of Earth for the first time.
It was almost time for sunset but the sun still hung high in the air. The sky was a bright vibrant blue with the occasional wisp of a cloud decorating the sky like delicate brush strokes. Jack flew higher and landed on a mesa overlooking the base. The two touched down gently and Jack let her go.
Kara looked up at the sky in amazement "The sky… it's blue!" she exclaimed, her voice being the loudest he'd heard. With her hearing under control Kara wouldn't have to keep it down so low.
She looked briefly at the sun before taking her eyes off it "And the sun… its yellow!" she said amazed a large smile on its face.
Jack was happy to see her happy but slightly confused as well "Didn't you know it would be yellow and blue when you volunteered?" he asked, when another question hit him "Wasn't Krypton's sky blue?"
Kara nodded still looking at the sky "I did, but this… seeing a reading on it and actually seeing it is so… different," she looked at her brother "Krypton had red skies, and a red sun. Everything was red," she said.
She looked back up and raised up her arms "But here… it's so clear so clean and so… young!"
A sad look suddenly set on her face and Jack knew what she was thinking "But you miss the red skies and sun, don't you?" he asked.
Kara turned to her brother and embraced him sobbing quietly "Hey, hey it's okay, it's okay," he crooned gently rubbing her back, a gesture he'd learned from his own parents.
"I-it just hit me," she sobbed "They're gone… they're all gone," she murmured "I-I'll never see the skies again. Never see the fields the mountains… My… Our home," she said and Jack felt the tears streak off her face "Never… never see mom or dad," her knees gave out and Jack slowly sat down with her in his lap still hugging him.
He wanted to comfort Kara, he really did, but he wasn't sure if he could. Sure he understood her loss but he spent his whole life on Earth never saw Krypton or knew their parents. He felt a twinge of jealousy at that thought.
Kara had known his parents and his home, something he never would. Jack shook himself, jealousy wasn't necessary, Krypton may have been where he was born and Kara's parents may have been his as well, but Earth, Earth was his home. June, and Robert were his parents, and in a way, despite all his hardships, Jack was lucky to have them.
Kara did not, and it was up to him to comfort her "Kara," he whispered and his sister looked up at him tears still in her eyes "our world maybe gone, but our home isn't. I know Earth can never replace Krypton, but it's been my home my whole life, and given time it will be yours as well. It's a chance for a new start, new friendships a new life," he said. Kara sniffed and wiped at her tears but remained silent.
Jack looked down at her "And you still have me, and my adopted mother. As far as she and I are concerned, you are family," he smiled "and Family always sticks together," he said. Kara stopped crying though her eyes were still teary.
"T-thank you Kal," she said. She got off his lap and sat beside him resting her head on his shoulder and the two watched the sunset. Brilliant colors of reds and purples arched across the sky painting a beautiful mural for the two.
"I-it's beautiful," she whispered.
Jack smiled as he remembered his countless times watching the sunset with Arcee, the woman he loved his girlfriend "Yeah, it is…"
A/N: Oh god the feels! This is the fluffiest, darkest feelsiest chapter I have EVER WRITTEN. And I loved every second of it. Apologies for the late update, Elhini and I were both VERY busy over the weekend so had limited time to work on it. Regardless I loved this chapter and hope you guys do to. Remember to review with critique and PM us for plot ideas or questions. Or I'll send Zod after you… Bye!