Chapter Six
Introducing the Supergirl
It was Monday morning and a new week had begun. John, Wally, and Kara had gotten up before dawn to head out into Smallville to track down Sinestro. Well, actually, it was John who had gotten up at dawn and then awoke the other two Justice League members up and had them out in the front yard yawning and dressed in their infamous super hero attire.
"All right, it's been three days since we were transported here and we've only been in contact with Sinestro twice, which was all in the first day." John stated the obvious as he was coming around to making a point. "Since then, Smallville hasn't been bothered by him, which has me to believe that something is up. I want to make a sweep of the entire city all the way out to the county line and back. We'll split up and take different sections; Flash you head out around the county line and check every building and place out that way." Flash saluted him quickly before taking off and disappearing from sight in only under a second, leaving Green Lantern and Supergirl in the yard to look after him. Green Lantern looked to Supergirl now who was still staring off in Flash's departed direction. "I need you to take the downtown area itself. Check every building with that x-ray vision of yours. If Sinestro is hiding in town for whatever reason, we need to know where."
"You got it." Supergirl replied while stepping into the air only to stop while she was about ten feet off the ground and looked down at GL. "Where are you going?" she asked as it struck her that he had yet to tell her or Flash where he was going to be searching.
Lantern's body took on the green glow from his ring as he lifted up into the air to face Supergirl directly. "I'll be doing a sweep of the outer limits of the town itself." He stated while starting to drift away from the blonde Kryptonian towards the left of her. "If you find anything call us on your com link." And with that he flew off towards his own destination.
A three ring effect. Cool. Supergirl held an impressed look on her face before flying off towards downtown Smallville that had yet to fully awake as sunrise was now just growing into a thin red line across the horizon. Since it was important that they find Sinestro and not miss wherever it was he was hiding at, Supergirl had slowed her flight pace and stared down towards earth from the high altitude she was cruising in. Nothing but farmland and various sections of wood thickets were the only things that she was looking down on for a while until she reached the downtown area. Coming to a stop at the edge of town, Supergirl looked down at the dim streets and unlit buildings. Each building was going to have to be searched from above. Luckily, Supergirl's x-ray vision would see a yellow skeleton when concerning Sinestro. However, as she stared down at the first few buildings Supergirl saw nothing close to a yellow skeleton.
"Great." She groaned while flying further over the town and coming to set down on the roof of the Talon. From hiding behind the sign itself, Supergirl looked out and stared at the buildings across from her. When nothing turned up out of the ordinary, Supergirl stepped back and looked down on the Talon below her feet. Seeing through the levels of the building and all the way to even the basement, all she did see was what looked to possibly two other people in the coffee house and nothing more. Looking away and turning her attention back on to the rest of the town Supergirl went off to scan the other buildings.
Flash had reached the county line in no time flat and came to skidding halt just there. Looking around from where he was standing, Flash crossed his arms over his chest and thought up a game plan. "All right then. One big enclosing circle it is." He stated aloud to himself before speeding off in a red blur to the left. In a few second he came back around to that same spot and stopped. "Geez, how many abandon sheds and shacks does a place need!" Flash gripped before taking off again to start his spiral back in towards the Kent farm.
After leaving Supergirl, GL had come to what was considered the more suburban area of Smallville and used his power ring in the same manner as Supergirl's x-ray vision. Only it wasn't so much x-ray rather than just being able to see through the walls and roofs of homes as if they were windows tinted a slight green. Each home was searched modestly from above as well as garden sheds, tool sheds, and any other building detached from the houses. Leaving one neighborhood and heading for the next, GL made sure to stay out of sight and up in the air. That was the last thing they needed to have happen. Someone spotting either one of the three of them and reporting it to the police, then there would be trouble that the League members just didn't need at that time. With the last neighborhood searched and turning up nothing, Lantern lifted further up into the air so that he was a good mile or two from the ground and from being spotted by civilian eyes. If Flash and Supergirl haven't called in anything yet, then we're going to have to assume the possibility that Sinestro isn't in Smallville any more. "Flash. Supergirl." Lantern spoke their names while pressing a hand over his right ear where hidden was his com link to the other two. "Let's head back to the Kents if you haven't found anything."
"Gotcha!"
"Okay."
Lantern ended his side of the transmission and glanced off towards Metropolis in the distance for a moment. I wouldn't doubt it. His green eyes narrowed on the big city that he was familiar with by both name and personal experience. If what he was being to come around to, then that meant a bigger problem was starting to form for the misplaced League members. Shaking his head at this Lantern turned towards the direction of the Kent farm and then headed off to meet the other two there and discuss this new situation with them.
Flash of course had arrived first back at the farm and was waiting less than a few minutes before Supergirl showed up next followed by Green Lantern. The scarlet speedster held a smirk on his face while he leaned back against the side of the blue pick up truck that belonged to the family with his arms crossed. "About time you two showed up." He grinned while pushing off the vehicle and coming to meet them just before the porch of the farm house.
"It's not a contest Flash." GL snapped sternly, which in turn had Flash putting his hands up in defense and apology as he stepped over to stand beside Supergirl. "Now, I take it neither one of you found anything." Lantern inquired even as he knew the answer was going to mirror his own findings.
Both nodded their heads to this with disappointed looks on their faces. "I'm thinking maybe Mr. Unfriendly split town." Flash put in as his own personal opinion to which Supergirl agreed with.
Lantern nodded to this. "That's what I've been thinking." He too agreed as it seemed to be the only logical explanation for the moment other than one he dreaded to even think of.
"Hey you don't think maybe he found a way back home before us, do you?" Flash suddenly asked as the thought just occurred to him at that moment. "I mean, that could also explain why he hasn't been showing his face in Smallville. Not that it would look too good since S here rearranged it for him." He gestured over to Supergirl as he was referring back to the fight that had occurred in that very yard between the two opposing sides.
Supergirl looked from Flash to Lantern to hear his response to this. Once Flash had mentioned the possibility that maybe Sinestro had in fact found a way back to their timeline, Supergirl felt her stomach flip in an unsettling manner as she only hoped this couldn't be the truth to the villain's absence. Much to the relief of the blonde teen, Lantern shook his head in disagreement to this. "I doubt it. Sinestro's a smart guy, but there's no way he would have been able to figure out a way home on his own. It took both his ring and mine to create that tear in time, and it might just take that exact procedure to do the same thing." Lantern pointed out, which seemed to have had both Flash and Supergirl looking calmer than earlier.
"Do you think maybe he headed to Metropolis?" Supergirl put out. "I mean, he knows that place pretty well along with other cities." She suggested as this was something that GL had been thinking as well. "He could have just as easily left for there or even Gotham."
Both men seemed to agree with this but they weren't going to entirely rely on it just yet until they could confirm that was of course what had happened to Sinestro. "It's possible, and it seems to make the most sense right now. We'll talk about it later after breakfast. For now, let's get back into civilian clothes before someone shows up that shouldn't be seeing us hanging around here like this." Lantern nodded towards the farm house before heading towards the door himself.
Flash and Supergirl exchanged looks with one another and just shrugged before following suit. Supergirl however didn't head up the porch steps to the kitchen door; instead she headed up to her room window that looked out towards the barn on that side of the house. She had left it unlocked so she could get back in that way and just cut her time in half before heading down for breakfast. Pushing the window open she drifted in, careful not to catch the curtains with her feet as she entered. Touching down on the carpeted floor of her temporary bedroom, Supergirl headed over to the bedroom door that was slightly a jar to close it all the way and lock it. From what she was hearing on the second floor, it sounded as though Martha, Jonathan and Clark were all up now as well. Changing out of her super hero uniform and pulling on another pair of borrowed clothes from both Martha and Clark, Kara went over to the mirror hanging on the wall near her door and ran a brush quickly through her hair before leaving her room.
Coming out into the hall Kara near bumped into Jonathan as she was just stepping out. "Oh, sorry." She apologized with an embarrassed smile on her face as she stepped aside to let him pass by.
"It's fine." Jonathan replied while smiling back at her. "You headed downstairs?" he asked before he passed by the blonde teen.
Kara nodded in reply to his question and followed after him as he was now leading the way down to the kitchen. Martha had already been down in the kitchen just as Flash and GL had entered the house, so by the time that both Jonathan and Kara had entered she had most of the breakfast meal done and ready to serve. Offering a hand, Kara set the table for six people so that Martha could finish up her work in the kitchen and so that Jonathan could head outside and get the morning paper as it had just arrived. By the time the others had come down for breakfast the table was set and the food was all cooked. Clark came down the stairs following after John and Wally, and made his way over to where Kara was sitting at the table serving herself and Martha. Jonathan came in from outside with paper in hand and went for the coffee pot first before coming to the table to join everyone.
"Did you head out this morning John?" Jonathan asked as he took his seat at the other head of the table and taking a small drink from his coffee cup.
John Stewart nodded his head in reply while taking a seat next to Wally at the table. "We did, and found nothing." He answered as Kara handed over a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast to both him and Wally at the same time. "Not exactly what we had been hoping for."
Jonathan nodded at this while setting his coffee cup down after taking another drink from it. As Martha sat down beside Clark, she looked between the three of them with a somewhat worried look on her face. "What are you going to do? I mean, if he's not here in Smallville any more, are you going to leave and track him down?" she asked.
Clark looked from his mom over to Kara, who was looking over at John in wait of his answer. Hearing what his mom had asked concerning the new situation that had presented itself to the three super heroes, Clark started to panic on the inside. He didn't want Kara to leave this soon, especially not after he had just started to connect with her and find relief in sharing his secret with someone just like him. By the looks of it Kara didn't seem that affected by the fact that they might be leaving Smallville now, but that was just the outward appearance. Inside she was starting to become disappointed that they would have to leave and chase down Sinestro wherever he might be hiding out at. And that could mean searching the entire country and not just certain cities.
"Maybe you won't have to track him down per say." Jonathan interrupted as he turned the paper around so that everyone could see the front page. Everyone went quiet for a few seconds as they read the headline of the Daily Planet – String of robberies hits Metropolis.
Wally stared hard at the front page as he started reading the beginnings of the article underneath the heading and picture of a busted bank vault. "Speak of the devil." He stated while sitting back in his chair. "Sinestro's in Metropolis just like Kara had suggested." Wally looked down to the end of the table where the blonde was sitting and staring at the morning paper Jonathan was holding up.
John read more of the article than Wally had and soon agreed to this as well. "Yep, it's definitely Sinestro. Yellow light being used to remove the vault door and knock out guards, that's his power ring they're talking about." He confirmed while crossing his arms over his chest and looking away from the paper over to Kara. "Looks like your hunch was correct. I think some of Batman is starting to rub off on you." A small smile came across his face as he said this in compliment to the young hero.
Kara offered back a half hearted smile that faded as quickly as she had used it. "I guess." She replied while looking away from the paper that Jonathan was now handing down to Clark who had asked to see it. "But does that mean he's still there?"
"We won't know until we go there and see for ourselves." John answered. "The thing is, if he left Smallville and headed for Metropolis, will he stay there or head to the next city he's familiar with. Or even still, will he come back to Smallville since he knows that's where we are right now." John pointed out to his friends.
"Like you said, guess we won't know until we find him." Wally restated while glancing momentarily at Kara as he was starting to see the look in her eyes. "But what if we go and he comes back looking for us after he figures out that we may be his only chance of going home and doesn't find us here? My guess is that Sinestro would try to get information off everyone here in Smallville. Maybe even coming back here to the farm." He smoothly pointed out as he was seeing a way that would work out for a few certain people while also accomplishing their main task.
Both Kara and Clark looked over at Wally with expectant eyes of new hope that he winked at. John understood what he was getting at and looked between the two teens. Wally might be right. Usually in cases like these the only way to return to our timeline is to reenact the same process in the area in which it occurred. Or in this case where we were dumped. Smallville might be our only way home and Sinestro is bound to figure that out sooner or later and come back in search for us once he realizes where we were taken to. I know Kara wants to hang around Clark longer, but we can't risk letting something slip that could change the course of Superman's future. John sighed mentally as he looked about the table at all the faces staring back at him, waiting for an answer. We're just gonna have to go along with it. Kara's the best protection we can give Smallville at this time while Wally and I are out looking for both Sinestro and a way home.
"All right, this is what we'll do." John looked over at Martha and Jonathan first. "Wally and myself are going to head for Metropolis and search it out for Sinestro. If you don't mind putting up with her, I'd rather have Kara stay here in Smallville in case Sinestro does return while we're gone."
Jonathan and Martha looked to each other and smiled as it didn't seem to bother them in the least. "Kara is more than welcomed to stay while you look for a way home." Martha replied and looked from John to her son and Kara down at the end of the table. The two seemed rather happy with this arrangement as they were both grinning from ear to ear at the adults.
"Besides, it's nice having a 'niece' around the farm." Jonathan added in good humor towards the cover story that Clark and Kara had made up and used when they were out in town. "And you're right." He added in as he agreed with what John had said. "If this guy does show back up, Smallville is going to need someone to protect it."
Clark had turned his attention over to Kara again and was still grinning at how things had worked out the way they did. He was going have Kara around longer now, and for the time she would be there in Smallville he wouldn't feel so alone. Catching from the corner of her eye that she was being stared at, Kara looked over at Clark and gave him the same grin he was wearing. She was definitely going to have to thank both Wally and John at some point for this.
As soon as breakfast was over John and Wally got ready to leave for Metropolis, which didn't take them long at all. Jonathan had suggested that they just keep the clothes they had borrowed since they might be needing civilian cover at some point while in Metropolis, to which they were both grateful for. After they said their good-byes to the Kent family and headed outside, John called Kara to follow with them so he could have a word with her in private. The three of them stood out in the front yard near the driveway so that way they could keep their conversation to themselves. They couldn't afford for anyone else to hear it, especially Clark. John placed his hands on Kara's shoulders and looked her right in those royal blue eyes of hers.
"I know you've been careful this far around Clark, aside from the fact that he knows you're from Krypton and has seen your S-shield, but you have to watch what you say now around him." John stated in a stern tone of voice to get his point across clearly. "Clark cannot know about his future and who he becomes there. If he does, we can't tell for sure how this will in fact affect the future, or even our time." He explained to which she nodded her head in reply. "Also, if you use your powers openly while we're gone keep it to a minimum and just try to make a good judgment call on the situation."
"Yeah and make sure you do it as Supergirl." Wally pointed out as an extra precaution, even though he knew Kara was smart enough to realize that. But it didn't hurt to just reiterate that fact to her. "Think of this as your chance to reflect on everything the big guy has taught you and put it into further practice outside the League."
John had agreed with the first part, but when Wally had added in that last piece he snapped his attention over at the redhead and near glared at him. "That's not what I was getting at. Kara," he looked at the blonde teen again while casting a slight glance over at Wally for a brief moment as he spoke. "Just use your discretion and be careful. If the world is introduced to a Super this early it might also have affects on the future. But, he does have a point." John sighed while shaking his head. "Do it as Supergirl if you have to."
Kara nodded with a smile on her face that showed she was taking what they had both said to heart. "I will. I won't let you guys down." She stated as an assurance to both John and Wally. They were counting on her to both be careful with what she said and how she acted around Clark, as well as protecting Smallville if anything happened, and she wasn't going to let them down.
Satisfied as well as he was going to be, John gave the Kryptonian youth a small smile before releasing her shoulders and tussling her blonde hair a bit with his hand. "We'll call you on the com link if we find anything in Metropolis or not." He added as his 'good-bye' to her before heading out into the driveway to wait for Wally, who he knew was going to make a big deal out of his good-bye.
Wally grinned at Kara and gave her a hug. "You be careful kiddo. I don't want to have to explain anything to your cousin when we get home." He stated while messing her hair up so that most of the longer layers were flipped over her head and covering her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah." She replied while brushing her hair back into place with her hands. "You do the same." Kara looked at both men as she said this. They were close friends to her cousin, to her, and comrades in the Justice League that she had worked with on more than one occasion, and she wanted them to come back safely so they go home.
Both nodded in reply to this as they understood what she meant. Flash grinned at her before giving a small salute and then sped off towards Metropolis in an all too familiar streak that disappeared in just a few seconds. John remained behind for a moment and gave Kara a final nod of both a temporary good-bye and a reminder of what he had told her. Kara waved at him as he took to the skies and followed after Flash. They had settled on heading out in costume rather than civilian dress, and now they both were gone leaving Kara staring after them in the front yard. After John had disappeared from her immediate sight, Kara headed back inside to help clean up the remains of breakfast with Martha. Inside both Martha and Jonathan had most of the table cleared while Clark had disappeared upstairs to get ready for school. Kara came over to the table and stacked up her plate and a few others while picking up her milk glass to take over to the kitchen sink.
Martha was already there and turned to take the dishes from the blonde girl now posing as her niece. Smiling at her in thanks, Martha placed the dishes in the sink as Kara headed back to the table to pick up the serving dishes next. "So, Kara, what do you plan on doing today?" Martha asked from the sink as she started to scrap off bits of food from the ceramic ware.
"I'm not really sure." Kara answered while setting the dishes in her hands down on the counter near the sink. "I could help out around the house if you need it, or I could help Mr. Kent with the farm work." She suggested while remaining at Martha's side and looking at her.
"You do know that you can call me Uncle Jonathan, Kara. After all you were the one who came up with the cover of being my niece." Jonathan pointed out as he returned to the coffee pot for one last cup before heading out to attended to his work around the farm. Kara looked over at him with a sheepish grin and nodded as she knew it would be easy to call him Uncle Jonathan rather than Mr. Kent.
Martha nodded at this. "Same goes with me." She added in knowing that Kara knew that she meant to call her aunt by this. "It'll be nice to have another girl around the farm for a while." Martha smiled at her while glancing away from her work on the breakfast dishes. "And I'm sure that Clark is more than happy with you being around for the time that you are."
This had Kara smiling. "You're welcome." She said while looking between them both before her gaze came to stay on Jonathan. "So you have anything I could help you with today? Uncle Jonathan?" she added in that last part with a teasing smirk on her face.
"Actually I was thinking since I have to head into town today and pick up some feed and a few other things that maybe you should go to school with Clark." Jonathan suggested before taking a drink of his coffee. This had Kara raising her brows in surprise to this as she hadn't been expecting it.
Martha's reaction was the same but she too thought maybe that would be a good idea as well since she had some errands to run in town as well and really didn't have much to do around the house. "That's a good idea. I mean you met most of Clark's friends already, and it might help to solidify your cover story to everyone." Martha pointed out in agreement while smiling over at her blonde niece.
Kara still had a bit of a surprised look that was now mixed with some confusion as to what they were suggesting. "Is that okay? I mean with me going to Clark's school since I'm not exactly a 'student'."
"It's fine. When you and Clark leave, I'll call ahead to the school office and let them know you're coming. Just make sure you stop by the main office and sign in as a guest. They'll give you a pass and you can go with Clark to his classes." Martha explained as she turned the water faucet off and wiped her hands on a near by dish towel. "I'm sure that will be a lot more fun than sticking around an empty house with nothing to do."
A wide grin came across Kara's face that she gave to both of them. "Okay. I guess I'll go get ready and let Clark know what's going on." She stated happily. Jonathan winked at her before taking one last drink of his coffee and then headed out to get a few things done before he needed to head into town.
"That reminds me." Martha had suddenly remembered something as she noticed the fact that Kara was wearing a mismatch of clothes taken from both her closet and Clark's. "You can't keep wearing borrowed clothes from both me and Clark forever. How about you and I go shopping after school and get you a few things for the time you're here?" Martha suggested as she liked the idea of having a small "girl's day out" of sorts.
Kara appeared to be a bit taken back by this as she hadn't expected to have such an offer made to her. "Oh, well, it's not a problem. I don't mind at all, you don't have to go out of your way." Kara stated as she really didn't want impose any more than she had with staying on the Kent farm.
Martha shook her head as she didn't mind at all. "Kara it's fine. Think of it this way, if you still feel like you're imposing too much on us here, by you just helping out around the farm like you've offered and even protecting Smallville is more than enough for me and Jonathan to accept." She replied gently while placing her hands on either side of her niece's face. "Now, go on and get ready. I'll meet you at the Talon later and then we can go shopping."
A bright smile came across Kara's face as she then nodded at Martha who brought her hands from her face and gestured with her head for the blonde teen to get upstairs. Kara left the kitchen in a hurry and near flew herself up the stairs in her growing excitement, only to bump into Clark, literally. Both teens stumbled backwards from each other a bit before recovering and staring at each other with similar smiles on their faces.
"What's the rush?" Clark asked as he noticed that Kara seemed rather happy and grinning from ear to ear.
"I'm going to school with you." She answered.
Clark's face lit up at this as he was both surprised and just as happy that Kara was coming with him. "Great! Chloe actually called me yesterday and begged that I somehow get you come along with me."
Kara laughed at this as she had been interviewed further the following day after meeting Chloe at the Talon for the first time and knew that she was going to be facing another one that day as well. "Thanks for the warning." She replied while turning to walk down the stairs and the stopped about three steps down which caused Clark to near bump into her again. "Oh wait, I wanted –"
"To make sure you looked okay? You look fine, aside from wearing some of my clothes." Clark assured her while gently pushing her back with his hands. "We don't go now, we'll be late." He insisted as he now found himself forcing Kara down the stairs and into the kitchen where they didn't stay long as Clark grabbed two of his jackets off the wall pegs at the door for him and Kara. "Bye mom." He called out while holding open the door for Kara to go out first.
"Bye Clark." Martha called back while looking away from her dishes. "Bye Kara." She added in as the blonde disappeared out the kitchen door.
Poking her head back in, Kara smiled and waved. "See ya aunt Martha." She giggled before retreating back out with Clark following after and tossing her a black fleece jacket. "What's this for?" she asked while catching it easily.
Clark stopped just at the porch landing and dropped his backpack off his shoulder so he could get his own tan corduroy jacket on. "Well, first off it's the beginning of March and it's cold out. Second, so no one wonders why we aren't freezing without them." He explained while grabbing his backpack again and heading towards his truck.
"Oh right, gotcha." Kara mused while pulling the jacket on and zipping up half way. She followed after Clark to the blue pick up truck sitting the back driveway waiting for them. Jonathan wasn't any where in sight to say good-bye to. Kara went over to the passenger side and got in at the same time as Clark did on his side after throwing his backpack into the middle of the bench seat.
Once they were both buckled in Clark started the truck and turned it around to head down the driveway and off to school. Somehow by the grace of God they managed to arrive in the student parking lot just five minutes before the first bell rang. After getting out of the truck and following Clark down a hall after entering the school itself, Kara was then faced with the staff of the school office who were all women in their late thirties early forties sitting behind desks and looking like they hated their job. Scanning the room with a nervous glance Kara waited behind Clark while he talked with the secretary for a moment. "Yeah your mom called about fifteen minutes ago. Have your cousin sign in on this clipboard and then have her wear this while she's here." The graying woman stated in a voice that sounded as though this was a complete bother while handing over a faded pink laminated badge that had the words – Visitor Pass – written across the front.
Clark handed the clipboard back to Kara who signed her name, the date, and who she was going to be with during the day, then handed the clipboard back to Clark who in turn handed it back to the secretary. Not even glancing at it that thoroughly, the lady waved them off and returned to whatever mundane task she was busy with before they had come in. The two teens exchanged looks with one another before shrugging and left the office. "I wonder when they lost their passion for that job." Kara commented once the door was closed.
"You're lucky that door closed before you said that." Clark teased as he adjusted the strap of his backpack that was over his right shoulder.
Kara rolled her eyes at this. "And what would they do? Bore me to death with their depressing 'tudes? Oh, real scary." She retorted while following Clark down the hall towards his first period class.
Clark just laughed while shaking his head in response to the blonde's personality. The day was definitely going to be anything but boring with Kara hanging around, and it proved to be as such half way through the day when second lunch rolled around and the Kent cousins met up with Chloe and Pete in the cafeteria. Once the four had found an open table to sit down at and eat, Chloe dove right into her own personal interview with the blonde Kent.
"So, Kara, are you Clark pretty close?" Chloe asked while popping the top to her apple juice and grinning at her new found friend and fellow blonde.
"Like brother and sister." Kara answered as she poked at the meatloaf served as lunch with her spork. "Is this even eatable?"
Pete laughed at this as he watched the blonde blue-eyed girl continue to eye the meal before her with a suspicious stare. "Stare any harder at that Kara, and it might attack you." He joked while cutting his own piece of meatloaf in half. The compacted meat product wasn't exactly the most appetizing thing to look at.
A grin was spreading across Clark's face as he watched Kara and was actually rather surprised that she had answered in the way she did. However, somewhere inside of him he liked the idea that she had said they were like brother and sister. Since his parents had taken in a boy named Ryan over a year ago, that was the only time Clark had any type of sibling relationship in his life for the longest time. After Ryan was reunited with his aunt, Clark missed having someone around he could share his deep secrets with about being different and have someone to relate too. And now, here was Kara, someone just like Clark in every way with the same powers and everything living with him and his parents acting as part of his family. He liked it.
"Wow, I had no idea. I mean Clark has never really mentioned you before, no offense." Chloe stated while gazing between the two Kents.
"Oh well, when I was around ten our family moved to Gotham City for a while so that pretty much cut our visits between us short." Kara answered while glancing over at Clark momentarily. "But we moved back to Metropolis about four months ago and I was able to convince my parents to let me come to Smallville and visit for a while." She gave Chloe a grin before stabbing a small piece of her meatloaf and eyed it momentarily before allowing herself to eat it.
Both Pete and Chloe perked up at the mention of Gotham City and then looked directly over at Clark, who in return while drinking his milk at the same time gave them a confused look when he placed his carton down. "What?" he asked of his friends.
Pete just shook his head and returned to eating his lunch as Chloe found another question to ask Kara. "So, while you were in Gotham, did you manage to meet or even see the famous playboy himself?" she asked while raising her brows in inquiry. This caused Kara to become completely confused and express it on her face. "Oh come on, I'm talking about Bruce Wayne." Chloe stated in an exasperated tone of voice.
"Oh, Bruce, right." Kara paused a moment. Yeah sure, I know him. We're sort of like friends…I guess…well more like comrades than anything else. No, scratch that, he's more Clark's friend than anything else. "Um, yeah, I met him. Nice guy." If you like tall, dark, brooding and no personality whatsoever! Kara gave Chloe a half hearted smile before turning her attention to her lunch again. However, the way Kara had answered this caused Chloe to think that there was something more to this whole thing than Kara was letting on. Luckily the blonde Kent was saved as the bell rang ending second lunch.
While everyone cleared up their tables and threw away whatever was still remaining of their lunch. Chloe and Pete separated from the two cousins as they had other classes apart from Clark. Once the two were gone, Kara turned to the wall of lockers near at hand and started to slowly bang her head against one while muttering – "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid." Clark watched with a quizzical look on his face as he didn't understand what Kara was reacting too, but he had to figure it was something about that last question of Chloe's. "I'm really hoping that you're not using any of that girlish strength of yours on a defenseless locker." He pointed out while standing beside his cousin and holding an amused look on his face.
Kara stopped her head banging but kept her forehead against the locker and then looked over at Clark. "I should have known better." She stated with a remorseful look on her face. "Now Chloe thinks I know Bruce Wayne, and I'm starting to think that now she's taking it in a different interpretation with that look on her face." Kara muttered while banging her head against the locker one more time before pushing away and turning to face Clark.
"Well, all I have to say in advice is that maybe you should explain the best you can to Chloe about all this. I'm guessing though that in your time you do know this Bruce Wayne." Clark raised a brow at this as he could only take it to possibly be true.
"Sort of." Kara answered while biting her bottom lip. "Let's just forget about it for now. I'll explain later when no one else is really around to hear it." She gestured to the students were passing through the halls headed for class.
Clark nodded his understanding to this and grinned at Kara. "Yeah, you seem more than flustered as it is." He teased while reaching out and tussling her hair in a friendly manner. Kara mocked glared at him through the mess he had splayed over her eyes while brushing the blonde tresses back out of her face. "Ah, I thought that looked pretty good."
"Clark Kent, I suggest you don't quit your day job." Kara stated while giving him a small punch to the shoulder just as the bell rang.
"I guess not." Clark replied while turning to lead Kara along to his next class. "Let's just hurry or we're gonna be late." He added in over his shoulder.
Thankfully enough when the two of them arrived in class the teacher was running later than them, so there were no worries as they took their seats at the back of the class. Clark's last period happened to be P.E. and Kara was actually able to join in on this outside on the school field. P.E. for the day was just running around the track for a mile and then that was it since the P.E. teacher was doing a review of sorts on everyone's passing grade. Chloe and Pete had P.E. as well and managed to stay up with Clark and Kara on the track as they had slowed down in order to keep the same pace through out their group. Luckily enough, Chloe was busy pointing out to Kara all the cute guys on the football team who happened to be practicing on the field as they were running, so it gave Kara the time she needed in order to figure out her plan of explaining how she knew Bruce Wayne when Chloe finally got around to asking.
"So, what do you think of Smallville High's fine specimens of a football team?" Chloe asked while nudging Kara in the ribs as they had finished the final leg of their mile and were now walking around the track as a cool down.
Kara shrugged to this as she glanced over at the football players tossing around footballs to one another. "They are kind of cute." She slowly commented in answer to Chloe's question, which sparked the school reporter's interest suddenly, and unfortunately had her brining up Bruce Wayne again.
"I take it that you find the guys in Gotham a lot cuter then?" Chloe pressed as she raised an intrigue brow at Kara, who in turn groaned mentally to this.
Great. I should have just kept my mouth shut. Trying desperately to come up with an answer Kara was again saved but not by a bell. No, instead she was suddenly struck in the shoulder by a misguided football that bounced off and didn't even affect her in the least bit. In fact Kara just stopped and stared down at the football that had come down to rest by her feet. Chloe had seen what had happened and was at Kara's side with a concerned look on her face while placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Chloe asked as she looked between the ball and Kara a few times, only to watch in puzzlement as the blonde Kent bent down and snatched up the football from beside her feet.
The football player who had thrown the ball and hit Kara by accident was now looking over at the two blondes and held an amused look on his face when he saw the girl he hit pick up the ball. "Hey!" he called out and got the blue-eyed gaze of the girl on him immediately and held his hands out in gesture for her to throw it at him.
Seeing this, Kara arched a brow in amusement as she knew what this guy was trying to get at. As most guys did, he was probably thinking she'd just come over and give it to him or throw it weakly and not even make it half way. Jackass. She grinned slyly while taking the ball up and spinning it in her hands as she debated whether or not to throw it hard or just in a normal toss. She had almost decided on throwing it in a normal manner and strength, that is, until the jock poked fun at her.
"Hey, now don't hurt yourself sweetheart."
Chloe narrowed her eyes at the guy and then looked over at Kara with a rather intense gaze on her face. "I really hope you hit him." She stated while crossing her arms and looking back over at the football player.
Grinning over at Chloe in response, Kara looked over at the football player. "Don't worry I won't." she replied in a sing song voice before finally launching the ball towards the player with just enough of her powerful strength behind it so that when it struck the guy in the chest he was knocked off his feet backwards. "Oops." Kara rolled her eyes and grinned devilishly at Chloe who was trying to suppress a forceful fit of laughter that was daring to arise after what she had just been witness to. The two girls finally laughed as they walked off the track together.
With school finally over the students of Smallville High were finally released and set free from its confines, Clark and Kara headed for the student parking lot where the pick up truck was parked. Clark had seen what had happened with the whole football incident and raised a few questions of his own concerning this as they walked through the parking lot.
"So, that's quite an arm you got there. You'd be a shoe-in for the position of quarterback." Clark glanced over at her as they were walking side by side.
Kara grimaced at the mention of the whole incident and then managed a glance over at her cousin as they came to a stop at the back of the blue pick up. "Oh, that, well…hey! I didn't hurt the guy or do anything that suspicious!" she pointed out in quick defense of herself while heading over to the passenger side of the truck.
"Whatever you say Kara." He replied while shaking his head and unlocking his door. Shrugging his backpack off his shoulder, Clark tossed it into the middle seat and then got in to reach over and unlock Kara's door.
Once both teens were situated inside, Clark started the engine and then backed out of the space he had pulled into that morning to leave and head into town where Kara was going to meet up with his mom at the Talon. The ride to the Talon consisted of Kara defending herself the whole time against every comment that Clark made about the whole football thing until they pulled into a parking spot in front of the restored theater turned coffee house. Even after getting out, they still continued on with the one sided argument all the way into the Talon where it ended as soon as they were approached by a smiling brunette.
"Hey Clark." She greeted with a smile on her face and in her brown eyes.
"Lana, hey." Clark replied while looking rather taken with the girl, which Kara caught and cleared her throat just loud enough for the two to break eye contact and look over at her. "Oh, right, Lana this is my cousin Kara. Kara this is my friend Lana Lang, she runs the Talon."
Kara was surprised to hear the girl's name, but hid it well as she placed a smile on her face and extended a hand towards Lana. "It's nice to finally meet you Lana." She greeted as the brunette shook hands with her.
"Likewise." Lana grinned in a cheerful manner. "I've been waiting to meet the rather infamous cousin of Clark Kent. Chloe has been talking about you almost non-stop since meeting you on Saturday." Lana explained while the hand shake ended between them. "So, what are you guys up to today?" she asked while they moved away from the front door and headed over to counter.
"Well, Kara and my mom are gonna go shopping for some clothes since Kara's luggage was lo-" Clark was suddenly cut off as Lana broke in.
"Oh that's right. I heard that about the whole lost luggage thing." Lana concluded while giving Kara a rather sympathetic look. "I'm sorry about that." She stated gently while going around to the backside of the counter. Both Kents gave her confused looks to this, which caused Lana to further explain. "Lex came in before you guys showed up and told me about it."
Great. "Oh." Kara mentally rolled her eyes to this. There were definitely conflicting emotions about this guy running through Kara, considering the fact that she knew just what type of person Lex Luthor was in her timeline. Numerous times he had tried to kill her cousin and even her, but each time he failed. For the moment it seemed as though he had turned over a new leaf of sorts and was now involved in politics…possibly running for President it seemed. Why now did I have to remember that of all times?
"Is Lex still around?" Clark asked of Lana while starting to look about the Talon floor for his friend.
"Someone say my name?" the familiar voice of Lex Luthor asked as the bald gentleman approached them from behind and took up the empty place on Clark's left side. "Clark." He greeted his friend and then looked passed him and gave Kara a small smile. "Kara. Good to see you again." Lex stated as his gaze lingered a bit longer on the blonde than it had on Clark.
Kara nodded at Lex in response and then looked over at Lana who seemed to have noticed the stare of Lex Luthor upon the blonde Kent. "Hey, Lana, can I get a glass of water?" she asked.
"Yeah sure. Do you want ice?" Lana asked as she turned to the back counter where she grabbed a clean water glass and headed over to the filtered tap. Opening a small freezer compartment in the counter top near the tap, Lana scooped out a decent size serving and dumped it in. Looking over at Kara she held up the glass for her to see. "Is that enough?" When Kara nodded her head yes, Lana grinned back and then filled the glass with water. Bringing it back over to Kara, she set down a coaster first and then set the glass down. "Here ya go."
"Thanks Lana." Kara replied while picking up the glass and bringing it to her lips. Just as she started to take a drink, her hearing focused out from the conversation that Lex and Clark were having next to her and pick up on something else. Something nearby and yet far away at the same time. She was hearing raised voices, but they weren't inside the Talon.
"Give us the money and no one gets hurt! And no funny business with setting of a silent alarm. Tim, get back there and watch her."
"Gotcha."
Kara finished off her water as she listened in on a bank robbery. Setting down her glass, Kara looked over at her cousin and friends who were talking amongst one another on some topic of sorts that Kara hadn't been paying attention to. "Clark." She called his name and immediately got his attention. "Is there a bank near the Talon or something?" she asked with a furrowed brow that Clark recognized immediately as one of inquiry.
"Yeah. The Smallville Savings and Loan is two buildings down from here. Why?" he asked while searching for more in the facial expression and question Kara had asked of him.
Before Kara could answer in any sort of way, the sounds of gunfire started to break through the air at that moment causing everyone in the Talon to jump while in the middle of whatever they were doing. While Lex and Lana were preoccupied with staring out the front door and windows, Clark and Kara exchanged worried looks with one another before getting up from their seats at the counter and going over to the front door. Clark stepped outside first followed by Kara right behind him looking over his shoulder down to the right of the Talon. People on the streets were all ducked behind cars or even coming out of other buildings to see what was going on at the Savings and Loan. Lex and Lana were soon outside as well with the two Kent teens just as the glass of the front window of the bank burst into millions of pieces followed by louder sounds of gunfire.
Everyone reacted to this by either ducking down behind cars parked on the side of the street. Kara had gone rather tense as she seemed ready to rush in and do something, and Clark saw this as he was right beside the young super hero. "Kara." He whispered her name to catch her attention, and it worked. The royal blue eyes of the blonde Kryptonian turned on Clark with a pleading look etched within them. "I'll cover for you." He whispered again while looking over at Lana and Lex who were just behind them and far enough back to where they couldn't hear the conversation between the two cousins.
Kara nodded to this and quickly thought up an excuse to get herself out of sight and mind for the moment. "Clark, your mom." She suddenly stated loud enough for Lana and Lex to hear and grab their attention.
At first, Clark's brow furrowed for a moment as he was trying to understand what she was getting at, but then as he realized this, his brow relaxed. "Right. Be careful." He stated while looking off down the opposite direction of the street.
"Clark, you think that's a good idea?" Lana asked as she had moved forward to be almost in between the two of them.
Kara looked at the brunette near her and winked. "I'll be fine Lana." She stated while looking out from behind the car as gunfire continued to sound for no apparent reason from the bank and then pulled back in behind the car.
"Kara, stay low." Lex warned from behind her. "These guys might come out of there at any moment. If they see you running they might fire just on reaction." He stated while having moved up just behind Kara and placed a hand on her shoulder to turn around and face him. "Stay near the cars. You even hear gunfire, get behind the closest one and stay there."
Nodding her understanding to this, Kara looked out again from behind the car and then looked over at Clark. The two nodded to each other before Kara moved out from behind the car and started down the sidewalk at a crouched run while staying near the cars. Lex, Lana, and Clark watched her for a moment before looking back to the bank as fire started again. Taking this as her cue to duct out into the nearest alleyway. Inside the alley, Kara pressed her back up against the brick wall and then looked out from behind the corner. The bank robbers were now coming out of the Savings and Loan while still facing the bank and aiming their guns inside. Dammit! Kara pulled back into the alley and then ran down it with the aid of her inhuman super speed.
When the gunfire had sounded again at that moment after Kara had left, Lex had only looked back to see what was happening at the bank and then turned to look over his shoulder to see if Kara had ducked out of the way as he advised. Not seeing the blonde teen on the sidewalk he figured she had taken to hiding behind a car. Raised voices started to shout and brought every single persons attention to the bank again. Two men dressed in all black clothes and wearing ski masks over their faces were coming out of the bank with bags in hand and semi-automatic weapons in the other aimed back into the bank as they were running out backwards. The reason for gunfire in the first place was because two deputies had come into the bank and caught the robbers off guard.
This was what resulted in the sudden fire fight. Both deputies were downed almost immediately with gun shot wounds. Once the robbers had gotten what they wanted they left and so rounded out the details up to that moment as they were leaving. The first man leading the way had turned to run for the get away car and aimed his gun at people on the street. "GET DOWN!" he ordered in a harsh manner. Everyone freaked, running or hitting the ground at the command. "I said get down, not run!" he stated while aiming his weapon at the nearest running pedestrian. Just as he got ready to pull the trigger, a white gloved hand clamped down over the barrel of the semi-automatic and clamped it shut with just a mere squeeze. The guy looked over towards whoever had placed their hand on the gun and clamped the barrel.
A harsh gaze of royal blue stared back at him with a fringe of side sweeping blonde bangs just barely hanging over them. His eyes were a tad wide as he didn't comprehend what he was seeing. Jerking the gun he turned to point its crushed down barrel at the person he now realized as a girl. Raising a slender brow, she again placed her hand on the barrel and then proceeded to turn the nozzle up and point it back at the masked robber. Staring dumbfounded at this sight, the bank robber was caught off guard when the blonde grabbed him by the collar of the jacket he was wearing and then lifted him off the ground. Far off ground, as they were now rising up to roof level with the surrounding buildings. The gun dropped his gun and started to kick his legs wildly about. "Put me down, put me down!" he cried and then realized what he had just said and where he was at. "Don't put me down, don't put me down!"
"Hey Mac you got the car ready?" the other guy called out while he kept his gun trained on the bank door that stood open still after their departure. When no answer came, he looked behind him to see the guy he had called Mac nowhere in sight. "What the hell…?" he looked about to see where his partner was and watched as from out of the sky descended both his partner and an unknown blonde wearing a fire engine red cape on her back. As soon as they touched ground, the girl released the guy's collar and let him drop to the street just shaking madly as he stared up at her. The sound of a gun locking loading was heard and the blonde looked over in the direction of the other guy.
Clark, Lana, and Lex were all staring out from behind the car and just watched the entire event unfold before them. Lana had the sleeve of Clark's jacket gripped tightly in her hand as she stared at the blonde girl who had taken the bank robber by the collar and actually rose up into the air and remain there at height with the top of the Talon's neon sign. When they came back down and she had released the guy, Lana had a clear view now and felt her breath catch in her throat. "Clark, that's her!" she whispered hoarsely while tugging on his sleeve. "That's the girl from three days ago with those other guys."
Lex glanced for a moment away from the whole ordeal to look at Lana. "Are you sure?" he asked and then received a nod from the brunette before looking back to the blonde woman dealing with the bank robbers. She was wearing a mini denim skirt, fire engine red boots just reaching to her knees on some rather long legs, a white shirt with elbow length sleeves, white wrist gloves, and a cape the same color as her boots. The thing that intrigued him the most was the front of her shirt which held a red capital S within a yellow background shield. He couldn't take his eyes off her at all.
Come on Kara, hurry up before the police show up and try to arrest you as well. Clark mentally urged the super hero as he watched her now start to approach the last gunman who had the semi automatic he held pointed right at her face from his position back on the sidewalk. As she advanced on him the guy pulled the trigger and those watching were at first horrified as they figured this girl was dead, but then stared in slack jaw awe as her right hand moved at incredible speed back and forth before her face as she continued to walk forward. The clip was spent and this was shown by the clicking of the gun as the robber was frantically pulling the trigger. The blonde stopped just a few feet from him and raised her right hand, which was closed, up to shoulder height and open it palm down. The spent bullets dropped out and were all accounted for in a rain of brass. This now in turn had the robber turning to an instinctual last resort, and that was preparing to throw the now useless weapon at this inhuman woman before him.
The blonde gave the bank robber an unamused look while placing her hands on her hips. "Oh yeah, like that's gonna work." She stated with a stern tone of voice that showed just how irritated she was towards this guy, who now dropped the gun and put his hands up.
That was when the police finally showed up in a flurry of six squad cars with flashing lights. As soon as they pulled up they were out of their cars in a flash and had their weapons drawn. The blonde looked over at them as one was yelling for her not to move. With her attention on the police, the robber decided to make one last ditch effort to at least go down fighting. Pulling out a butterfly knife from his pants pocket he flipped it open and sprang forward at the cape wearing woman.
From her spot behind the car, Lana's eyes went wide as she saw this and out of instinct called out to her. "Watch out!"
Turning her head to see what was going on after hearing Lana scream and the police start to shot threats of opening fire, the blonde watched as the gleaming steel blade of a knife came down on her chest. On impact the blade shattered completely and the stunned bank robber was given a right hook across the face that sent him flying backwards and off to the side, where he crashed right into the side of a police car. Everyone had gone quiet, even the police. Slowly people started to stand up, come out from hiding, and all came towards that spot containing the blonde girl from three days ago who had thrown a full sized car like it was a toy after catching it. Two officers had moved from their positions to arrest the shaken robber on the street and the unconscious one just at their feet.
The blonde watched everything with her eyes, taking it all in. The police who hadn't gone to arrest the bank robbers just stared dumbstruck at the girl who had taken a knife to the chest and proved to be seemingly unaffected by the attack. No one who had seen it, was able to explain why the blade had hit and shattered like a piece of glass. Clark, Lana, and Lex were all out from behind the car just standing there and staring. Their reactions were all different from one another. Clark held a huge grin on his face as he had born witness once again to her inhuman strength and reminded himself he wasn't so alone after all with her here now. Lana held a look of awe on her face as she too was grinning broadly at how the blonde girl had just not only put an end to a bad situation but also had done it so that no one else had been hurt. And Lex, well, he looked about as dumbstruck as everyone else around that specific area of the street as he continued to just stare.
As things seemed to be under control, the cape wearing blonde turned away from the police in gesture of leaving. Her actions were caught by a few officers, one of which called out at her. "Hey! You wait right there!" Stopping as told, she turned partially to watch as the officer who had yelled at her come around the squad car he had been beside and approach her in a stern but cautious manner. Reaching to where he had about five feet between him and this girl, who he just watch take a knife to the chest and knock a guy across the street hard enough to but a dent in the side of the car, he gazed harshly at her for a moment before his face dropped to one of relief and complete respect. "Thank you." He stated while extending a hand to her. A bit apprehensive at first, she then slowly placed her hand within his and shook hands with him. Almost as if on cue every single person on the street burst into cheers and applause all at the same time. Once the hand shake ended, the officer just shook his head still in the disbelief he was trying to still get over. "Who are you anyways?" he asked.
The blue eyes of the blonde seemed to light up from deep within as a smile spread across her face as she placed her hands on her hips. "I fight for truth, justice, and the American way. My name is Supergirl." She stated proudly.
