Disclaimer: All characters are property of Time Warner
A/N: Hello everyone sorry for the long delay meant for this to go up almost a week ago. Things got in the way and caused me to rethink the way I wanted to end this particular branch in my story. Stay tuned true believers.
Love and Capes: A Hero's Tale.
School progressed slowly for Karen. She felt bogged down by all the extracurricular activities her teachers had her doing. Her PE teacher wanted her to try out for the volleyball team on top of her commitment too virtually every scholastic club on campus. She could just see the look on Clark's face when she showed him the consent form. Karen decided to use her one free afternoon to take Kim shopping, when the bell to end the sixth period rang the two girls rushed through their neighborhood to catch the two-thirty sky lift across Luthor bridge. The sky lift was the only form of public transportation from Historic Troy County to New Troy Island. The cars were normally loaded with tourists peering out the windows to take pictures of the city. This afternoon however the two girls had the car all to them selves. The trip across the river only took a few minutes. When the car came to a stop the two teenagers were bounding down the street. Nothing could hamper their excitement as they went from store to store. Karen's sensibilities were slightly different from Kim's. While Kim liked to stand out and wear clothing that looked as if it had come out of a Japanese animation catalogue, Karen just went with the flow and wore outfits that she saw in popular magazines. So when Karen started to walk into an Abercrombie store Kim gave her a look that could have killed.
"You are nuts if you think I'm going to go in there." Kim said crossing her arms.
"Oh come on why won't you just come in." Karen said pouting her lips.
"That look might work on your boy friend but it's not going to work on me." Kim stated turning to leave.
"Why won't you just come in with me?" Karen said walking up to her friend. "It's not like I am going to make you buy anything."
"That's not why I won't go in." She said looking back at Karen. "I just don't want to deal with the looks I'll get."
"Oh please I'm Supergirl for crying out loud do you think I would stand for that kind of thing." She said looking Kim right in the eyes.
"I know that." Kim said looking down at the ground when she lifted her head she had a smile on her face. "Just so long as you stay with me the whole time then I'll go in."
"Yes," Karen said given her friend a celebratory hug and leading her into the store. "There's this pair of boots I saw on there web site that I wanted to check out."
Kim smiled as she followed her friend inside. "You're the only person I know that actually buys their cloths and not just their printed tee's."
"I never could figure out why every one at school wears those shirts if they don't actually wear the designer stuff too." Karen said heading over to a small assortment of shoes. She picked up a pair of baby crocodile boots and tried them on. "what do you think of these?"
"They look nice, how much are they?" Kim asked lifting up the tag. "Two hundred dollars!"
"Are they really?" Karen wondered taking the price tag in her hand. "That's OK I need them to go with the sweater and jeans I bought last week." She said taking off the boots and stuffing the box under her arm. "Let's see I think that's all I wanted from here. There was this skirt I saw on Gucci's site so lets head over there." Karen said paying for the boots.
"How come you don't shop at the Gap or Old Navy?" Kim wondered as they walked down the street.
"I don't know these are the stores Lois and I always go to." She said shrugging her shoulders. They had walked nearly half a block before Karen stopped again. "Those look really nice." She said pointing at a set of handbags sitting in a window display.
"Are you nuts that's Louis Vatou." Kim said indicating the lettering over the door.
"So what I like the bag." Karen said opening the door.
"One of these days your parents are going to get the credit card bill and realize your spending every sent they have." Kim said throwing up her arms and following the Kryptonian inside.
"I don't think so anyway we own stock in Wayne Corporation." She said looking at a display of bags on the wall.
"You do?" Kim asked her jaw felt as if it was dragging the ground. "And I thought the richest person at our school was that Kane girl."
"I'm not sure how much Clark is worth exactly but I know Uncle Bruce said something once about us never having to worry about money." Karen said examining a pink bag.
"Uncle Bruce?" Kim asked completely confused.
"Yeah my mom's cousin Chloe is marrying Bruce Wayne." Karen said finally choosing the pink bag and walking to the counter.
"Are you kidding me your going to be related to The Bruce Wayne?" Kim said hopping up and down.
"Yeah didn't I tell you already? Clark's going to be his best man." Karen said adding the bag with her purse in it the clump of bags in her hand.
"Does that mean your mom is going to be the maid of honor?" Kim asked as they left the store.
"I could have sworn we had this conversation already. Chloe wants me to be one of her bride's maids." Karen said making a beeline to Gucci's store front.
"Cool am I invited? I don't think I've meet her before." The Japanese girl wondered hanging on Karen's arm.
"Yeah I guess so I'm allowed to bring two guests and my boyfriend is one of the groomsmen so I don't have to use one of my seats for him." Karen said holding the door to Gucci open for Kim.
"That's so cool, I'd love to meet Chloe sometime before the wedding." Kim said as the two girls started looking at skirts.
"Why don't you come with me this Saturday? My mom and I have to get fitted for our dresses so we're going to spend the weekend at Wayne manor." Karen said looking over a white skirt. "What do you think of this?" She said holding the skirt up covering her shorts.
"Isn't it kind of skimpy?" Kim asked looking at where the material came down on the thigh.
"Have you seen how short my uniform is and I go flying in that." Karen said looking at the skirt. "Why don't I try it on?" Karen carried the skirt over to the dressing room and took of her shorts slipping on the skirt. Kim was right it only came down three inches from the crotch. However, she could still wear it she just had to be careful. Other than that though the skirt felt wonderful it was light and moved freely. She took off the skirt and pulled her shorts back on. She carried the skirt out to the counter and paid for it.
"OK now we go to stores that I want to shop at." Kim said once they had left Gucci. "I guarantee you that I wont spent fifty dollars on a skirt either."
"Very funny." Karen said rolling her eyes.
The two girls walked down the street until they reached a Japanese boutique. When they walked in the door Karen for a second thought they had walked into an armory. The store had large cases with sets of samurai swords in the front with a wall you had to pass to see the rest of the store's inventory. Karen's friend walked in and rushed to the back of the shop where they displayed all of their clothing. The store imported everything straight from Japan and from what Karen could tell it had to be the only store in which Kim shopped.
"What this style called?" Karen asked looking at the eclectic assortment of fashions.
"Well there's a mix of j-pop fashion and j-rock here." Kim said looking at an outfit that did anything but match.
"Sure, it just seems so hodgepodge." She said indicating the models.
"You could say that." Kim said trying on several outfits. A few minutes later the two of them left heading back to the bridge. "You mind stopping by my house so we can ask my parents about this weekend?"
"I have to get home and help Mom with dinner. How about I have Clark talk to your dad?" Karen said stepping onto a sky lift car.
"That works." Kim said before breaking out in a fit of giggles.
"What's up with you?" Karen wondered giving her friend an accosted look.
"It's just that for a girl as rich as you are, you have to be the most down to earth person I have ever met." She said plopping down in a seat.
"You're a strange girl you know that." Karen said sitting down next to her. The two girls sat alone too tired to speak. They went their separate ways after getting off the lift and Karen jogged home. She could smell dinner cooking when she walked in the door. "Hey mom how was your day?" She said walking into the kitchen.
"Oh you know how it is Hun." She said adding sage to the pot in front of her.
Karen felt sad for her she seemed to get less and less excited about going in to work these days. "Did you go in today?"
"I did but I took an early lunch. Just e-mailed my story to Perry an hour ago." She said walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a wheel of parmesan.
"So what are we having tonight?" Karen asked looking in the pot.
"Gnoocis." Lois said slicing off a piece of the cheese and placing it in a sauce pan. "Watch the pasta for me I need to have your father pick something up from the store." She said walking over to the wall-mounted telephone.
"Could you please not call him my father." Karen said stirring the pasta.
"Why?" Lois asked hanging up the phone.
"He is my cousin you know." She said slowly stirring the melted cheese.
"I understand, say no more." Lois said hugging her adopted daughter. "I however have no such reservations."
"Your the only mother I've ever really known." Kara said returning the hug.
Lois smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "You're a sweetheart you know that."
"Yeah I try." Kara said giving her mother a wry smile.
Lois bit her lower lip to suppress a laugh and lightly punched her on the arm. "All right lets drain this pasta so we can let it simmer with the cheese sauce." Lois said while Karen picked the straining basket out of the boiling water giving it a good shake before dumping the pasta in the sauce pan. She went to dump the water in the sink but found that one of the gnoocis sitting at the bottom of the pot she rolled up her sleeve and plunged her hand into the boiling water. Lois let out a shriek as Karen pulled the pasta out and tossed it into the sauce with the others.
"I still haven't gotten used to things like that." She said rubbing Karen's back.
"That's OK mom." Karen said pouring out the water. "Oh I almost forgot, is it OK if Kim comes with us this weekend?"
"I'll have to speak with her parents but it shouldn't be a problem." She said stirring the gnoocis. "Chloe is beside herself trying to find anyone to be her bride's maids." Lois leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "To be honest she never really had a lot of friends."
"So she only needs enough bride's maids to match the number of groomsman right?" Karen wondered as she began to set the table.
"That's true but she has this crazy idea that every wedding needs at least four bride's maids." Her mother replied carrying out a now full bowl of gnoocis.
"Well Kim and Laurie could always fill in for her." Kara said folding all of the napkins.
"I suppose so, but having Laurie in the wedding means that we would have to invite her parents." She said sitting down at her normal setting. "Some things just cant be helped can they."
"I guess not." Kara said smiling and sitting in the chair caddy cornered to her mother. "Why does uncle Jeremy dislike Clark so much?" She wondered.
"It's not Clark so much as your grandfather. Jeremy tried to convince Jonathan that living on a farm was beneath him. He thought that Jonathan should have stayed in Metropolis and become a politician. When he found out how Jonathan died he became convinced that Jonathan would still be alive if he had stayed. Clark hasn't even talked to him since he moved to Metropolis. I doubt we would get an invitation to Laurie's wedding even seeing how close the two of you are." Lois shook her head spooned pasta on her plate. "Would you go get Jason for me. He should be in his room."
"Yeah no problem." Karen said getting up from the table and running to the basement bedroom. a few seconds later she came back into the dinning room in a blur. "He's on his way up."
"Thanks honey." Lois said popping a gnoocis in her mouth. "Clark should have been home by now."
"He must have run into trouble." Kara said dishing out some pasta for herself. "You know us Kryptonians we're magnets for trouble."
Lois broke out into a fit of laughter. "You're right." She said eating another shell. "When you're right, you're right." She looked out the window as it began to rain. "By the way I got the credit card bill today."