With my reduction in illegal extra-curricular activities I was able to use that time to both improve my corporation's income, and I completed a double major in computer science and business. Once I turned eighteen Glen and I arranged for me to buy him out of the corporation. He used his proceeds to start a tech hardware start up. I helped me with some of his research and development. For a consultation fee to Nova Industries. He was my boyfriend I couldn't say no. Once my second year of university was done and I was officially an adult we moved into the loft above the garage together. I'd love to say our relationship was perfect. It wasn't, no relationship is. He knew I had secrets I hadn't shared with him, I did it to keep him safe, but I couldn't really explain that to him clearly. I was also happily ignoring the fact over the last several years that I was going to have to vanish from the face the Earth.

It was the March of 2031 when I started feeling ill. Pain, tenderness, sudden feelings of weakness. It started slow. I found myself winded trying to do a normal morning run. As the months progressed towards my graduation the symptoms got progressively worse. I hid them from everyone, especially Bruce, Edna and Henry. I actively avoided Bruce Wayne. He would have clocked something was wrong in a heartbeat. Glen had been busy that year trying to launch a new product so he was travelling a lot and I was able to pass it off as exhaustion from trying to fit a computer science major into two years. Bless his heart, but he trusted me enough that he didn't question further.

Edna was distracted because Heather was suffering from stage four cancer. And Dad, well dad was dealing with mom. She had been in an accident the year before and had become addicted to painkillers. She had lost her job because of it. She had gotten clean but was still drinking more then she should. I tried to help with money as much as I could, mom had mortgaged the house to pay for her addiction. Dad had refused. I made sure there was a big fund for Martha and Sarah's post-secondary schooling. They were going to private schools up until the money troubles started, then dad had pulled them out. Heather was so sick she didn't know, and no one wanted to tell her. Dean and his wife and children had died in a car wreck. The last few years hadn't been kind to my family. My being sick would not help any of that. So, I kept it to myself. I just wanted to finish school and then I could deal with it.

I did manage to graduate. I was a pale shadow of my former self and the Shadow had been absent from Metropolis for several months. I tried to give myself as much time as possible, so I could be there for Heather's funeral. We knew it was coming, it was just a matter of when. My body took the choice away from me. Glen found me unconscious laying in the remnants of a shattered glass pitcher of orange juice. He managed to resuscitate me with CPR. He was on the phone with emergency services and I begged him to hang up.

"Tell them I'm fine. You cannot let them take me to the hospital. They can't help me."

Maybe it was desperation in my voice or his suspicions I wasn't a normal human, but he said, she's not as bad as we thought we'll get to emergency on our own. He kneeled beside me in his expensive suit ruining with the orange juice and not seeming to care. He looked helpless.

"What do I have to do to save you?"

"I'm dying because my cells are breaking down. I need to get to the Fortress. Jor-El can save me."

"Amber what are you talking about?"

"My cells are dying because I was infected with an alien virus. It changed my DNA its degrading and I need to get to the Fortress so they can it can be fixed. I know this makes no sense. I should have told you long ago. God, so long ago. I'm sorry but a hospital won't save me, I'm not human. I need… I need Kryptonian technology."

"This makes no sense Amber, of course your normal."

"I'm not. Please get my tablet."

I pointed at old tablet on our bookshelf.

"Why?"

"Please."

He stood up and went and picked up the tablet and brought it back to me. I opened it and tapped on the JL app.

"Mother I am in medical distress I need to be taken to the Fortress at once can anyone help?"

I closed my eyes and prayed the piece of crap tablet was still working. When I heard her voice I was relieved.

"Amber Kal-El, No one is close enough to assist. You need to get to the pad in Diana's basement in Metropolis I can get you access but you need to get there. I have sent the fastest route to the location. Can you get there?"

I looked up at Glen and offered him the tablet. He took it looked at the map. I don't remember much more until I woke up in his arms and I could see the ceiling of the Fortress. I could hear Jor-El telling Glen to put me into a pod.

When I woke up, I was back on Krypton. I know I've never been, but it felt like I'd lived there my whole life. What followed was what seemed like decades of schooling and life. It was easy to forget I was a human from Earth. My real life seemed like a dream and this seemed like reality. I lived a whole other life on an alien planet.

When the lid of the regeneration chamber slid open and I opened my eyes I was blinded. The memories of my Kryptonian life faded like a dream and I looked around for Glen. It seemed like I'd laid down for a nap. I looked down and I was naked. Of course, I was, the chamber had to repair me cell by cell. There was a Solar Regeneration Suit waiting for me I put the plate to my chest and the suit formed around me. Jor-El flickered into existence.

"Your cellular repair is complete, as is your training in the Kryptonian ways."

"How long?"

The fortress spoke.

"Amber Kal-El you have been in the chamber for 37.4 earth months. The current solar date is July 1st, 2034"

"I've been in there for three years?"

"That is correct Amber Kal-El. You will need to absorb solar energy before you will be able to leave the Fortress."

I looked at my hands and closed and opened my fists and stretched. I walked around the fortress getting used to the feel of being on my real feet again. Then I walked outside into the arctic snow and soaked in the sun for hours. When night fell, I went back inside.

I found food that was in stasis. It wasn't great. In fact it was terrible but I couldn't exactly dial out for pizza. Was still a level above hospital food. I made a mental note to replace it. I explored the Fortress room by room while eating a 1980's style MRE (That's meal, ready-to-eat for you non-military types). There was a massive hanger. Like ship sized. A fusion type reactor. Room upon room of trophies. A room dedicated to Batman. Another dedicated to Diana. Although to be honest the later was almost like a shrine. Sort of creepy, but I'm not a guy so I really could not judge. Some of the doors I couldn't get immediate access to and I just let them be. I assumed Kal-El had sealed them for good reason and I didn't want to let something loose I couldn't put back in its cage. Once I grew bored of that, I found Kal-El's living space and crawled into the bed and fell asleep. That was my routine for several days until I was well enough to fly.

I found the belongings Glen had brought with us neatly locked away in a storage unit. My phone and tablet had long ago run out of all charge and unless Glen had been paying my bills for me probably not active. I put my clothes into my purse/bag then went to where I could speak to Jor-El.

"Jor-El?"

His hologram flickered into existence.

"Yes daughter?"

"I'm ready to go home. That's it right? Our deal is concluded?"

"Yes, you have complied with your end of the agreement. I had hoped that after you had experienced your training you would wish to stay here and fulfill Kal-El's destiny."

"Sorry Jor-El, I miss my family and my boyfriend. If you need me, you can call on me, but I will not take on Kal-El's mantel. I am not a symbol of hope. I have a flawed human mind and I am not who you need."

"I understand."

With that I picked up my bag and zipped it up and walked out. I leapt into the air and flew directly to the Kent Farm. I changed in my now very dusty nook and secreted the solar regeneration suit in the hideaway. I walked down the stairs. The barn was bereft of anything of value. The horse stalls were empty. When I walked out the small door and closed it behind me. Edna's truck was parked where it usually was. The license plate number had changed. There were no chickens, no pigs and the fields were growing wild. I frowned. It wasn't what I expect in July.

I walked to the door and opened it. Let me tell you I was incredibly disturbed by what I saw next. My mother, on her knees in front of a guy whose butt was in plain view and he wasn't my father.

"Mom, what the fuck?"

I put my hand over my eyes and ran out. My mother rushed out a few minutes later in a t-shirt and her underware and the man rushed over to a car I hadn't noticed and sped off. Emma was looking awful. She was thin. She was pale. She was drunk.

"Amber?"

"Yes, I'm not going to say anything to dad. Just put some clothes on."

"You…you're not dead?"

"No, I'm not. Put some pants on, Jesus."

She walked back inside, and upstairs. The house was a mess. I found empty baggies on the ground. The kind you'd get drugs in. Half-finished bottles of alcohol. Clothes everywhere. She came back down the stairs with her arms wrapped around herself and she looked at me like she was looking at a ghost.

"Where's dad? Where's Grandma? Where are my sisters? Where is Jonathon?"

"Dead! Not that you'd care disappearing off the face of the Earth for three years you ungrateful child. I didn't even get paid for that client, you stupid…"

I heard the old hardwood floor of the house creak and looked it was Sarah, she was in a wheelchair. She looked as shocked to see me as Emma. I saw another face peaking from the top of the stairs, and it was Martha.

"You were doing that for money with them in the house? What were you thinking?"

She slapped me across the face hard.

"Don't judge me, you abandoned us."

Martha had put her hands over her ears and ran upstairs. Sarah was just staring at me. She went to slap me again and I grabbed her hand and pushed her onto the couch.

"Don't you're just going to hurt your hand."

"You don't belong here, leave!"

"I will, then I'm going to call CPS you have drugs out in the open, you're having sex with strange men right there in the open. You are using again, and you shouldn't be anywhere near those kids. Johnathon's only what? Four now?"

Emma was crying into her hands right now. Sarah rolled closer.

"He's dead Amber, like we thought you were. You sure look good for someone who was in a plane crash."

I blinked. Plane crash. I should have probably started with Glen. Emma threw some pills in her mouth then emptied a bottle of vodka chasing them and threw it at me. I caught it easily and put it down on the dining room table. Emma fell asleep a few minutes after.

"Sarah please tell me what happened while I was gone, this makes no sense."

"You died in a plane crash, dad died of a heart attack, Grandma died of cancer, Grandma died of a broken heart. Mom was drinking and driving with us in the car, Jonathan died, I got a spinal injury and Martha was fine, but she's always been fucked up in the head. Oh and Mom is addicted to drugs and is an alcoholic. She lost our house she is a crack whore and I'm done talking to you!"

She spun around in her wheelchair and rolled back into her room. Martha was nowhere to be seen and my mother was snoring on the couch. I went to the house phone and picked it up. No dial tone. I checked the refrigerator, and it was bare, not even milk. I grabbed the keys for the truck and went up to the hay loft and pulled my emergency money out. I had stashed ten thousand up there just in case. I pulled out one bundle of twenties. It was two thousand dollars, it should be enough to get a phone, and sort out food.

I started up the old truck. It was low on fuel, so I drove to a gas station and filled it up, then drove into Smallville proper. It was noonish. I parked the truck by the lone cell phone store in town and walked inside. Checked my driver's license to make sure it was still good, expired next year. Whew bullet dodged there. The person working there was someone I went to middle school with. He dropped the box he was holding when I walked in.

"Hey, Keith I need a new phone. Can you help me out?"

"Sure, sure. It's Amber right?"

"That is right."

"What are you looking for?"

"I have no idea what is available, lets put the cap at a thousand hmm?"

"Okay that's a lot of choices, we have this one, it's the latest, good mid-range phone. You want it in pink?"

"Sure whatever, I'll need a sim card and to sign up for a plan. Here's my license."

He typed some info into his computer, and I paid him in cash. It took about half an hour and a phone call, but I was holding a brand-new pink phone. When I left the Sheriff was looking at the truck and looking around. He saw me and walked straight towards me.

"Amber? Praise the lord. Everyone thought you were dead!"

"I uh, was stuck on an island. Got rescued took a while but I'm home."

"So, you've heard the news?"

"Yes, I also heard some disturbing things about mom."

"Ya, that is true she has been in a bit of spiral since your father died and the accident. Losing a spouse and then a kid, it has an impact on you."

"Is there a problem with the truck Sheriff?"

"No, I just thought your mom might be around and have been driving under the influence."

"I guess that's a thing with her now. No, she's passed out."

"Could you drive over to the Sheriff's office with me? I need to discuss some things, just things you might need to know?"

"Sure."

I followed the Sheriff to the office and parked the truck and went inside. He sat down at his desk after hanging his hat up and I sat across from him.

"What's up Sheriff?"

"It's the land taxes at the farm. They're in arrears."

"How much?"

"Six thousand and change. I've been asked to look at kicking your mom and sisters out. Mayor is not happy with your mom's behavior and bringing the element she does to town. So, he's looking for excuses. I figure if you can pay them off, he can't use that against your family. I know your family had a rough time, so I've been dragging my feet. I know you had that company, and you were making good money, I just thought I should tell you."

"I can pay them today. I'll take care of it."

"Good, good. Thanks for coming Sarah."

I nodded and drove straight back to the farm and went to city hall and paid off the entire tax bill. Only had a three-grand left after that. I decided to check my account. I had over eight million dollars in it before I disappeared and it said, eight hundred dollars. You can imagine how pissed I was. I didn't have time to sort it out before close of business in Metropolis but you better bet, I was going to go have a conversation with them. I hit the steering wheel a few times and dialed Glen's number, got his voice mail.

"Glen its Amber. I'm back, I was just wondering, where did all my money go? Love you, call me back as soon as you get this!"

I hung up and stared out the window for several minutes, then I called the shop. There was a message saying the number was disconnected. I called my loft; Number disconnected. I called April; Number disconnected. I called Jacob; Number disconnected. I looked at my phone and called one last number Alexander Luthor.

"Luthorcorp, Alexander Luthor's office how may I assist you?"

I didn't recognize her voice.

"Hi, my name is Amber Morris I'd like to speak to Mr. Luthor?"

"Is he expecting your call Ms. Morris."

"No, but I'm his son's fiancée."

"I'm sorry I have no idea who you are."

"Just tr-"

She hung up on me. If I wasn't so broke, I might have crushed my phone. I tried to call Caitlin and her number was disconnected as well. All I could think was does no one keep their god damned cell phone numbers? I gave up and went grocery shopping then drove home. Then I cleaned the house up. It was like a drug den. Emma was still passed out on the couch. I took a break from cleaning when it was time for supper. I went out and was thankful the barbecue had gas. I had to clean it off, it hadn't been used in years. I was in the middle of cooking when I caught Martha peeking through the curtains at me. I waved and she vanished behind them again. I carried them inside and put them on the table. Martha walked up to the table. I smiled at her.

"Hi Martha, no need to be shy its just your sister."

She narrowed her eyes at me and poked me.

"You're not a ghost."

"No, I'm back. Are you hungry?"

My sisters looked a bit like my mom, overly skinny and underfed. I'd do my best to fix that.

"Yes."

"Dig in, you want anything to drink?"

"Do we have any orange pop?"

"We do in fact have orange pop, I remembered you like it so I bought some when I was shopping, and it should be cold."

She gave a small cheer and started putting together a hamburger. I got her pop out of the fridge and put it on the table. I also put out a grape pop, Sarah's favorite. I went and knocked on Sarah's door.

"Sarah, hon? Supper's ready."

Her door opened and she looked up at me.

"You know food won't make this okay right?"

"Yes but will mean you don't starve."

"What's the point, we're going to be homeless in a week anyway."

"No, we're not. I paid the taxes today."

Sarah grumbled to herself and rolled down the hallway to her spot at the table. She looked at the grape pop and me.

"I'm not twelve anymore."

"Sorry, I'll put that away for you."

She grabbed it away from me.

"Never mind I'll drink it."

"Okay."

I sat down and put together my own hamburger and took a bite. I hadn't lost my touch, it was amazing. Martha was on her second and Sarah was trying to look grouchy, but I could tell she was also happy to be eating.

"Is mom always like this?"

Martha nodded. Sarah shook her head.

"Sometimes she's worse."

"What do you mean worse?"

"She's awake."

She self-consciously rubbed her wrist which had some bruises on it. Now that I took the time to look Martha had a few herself.

"She's been hurting you?"

"We were being loud when she had a client."

I wanted to cry and scream at the same time. I wanted to beat my mother senseless, or just shake her and ask her why she thinks it's alright to hurt her kids.

"Hopefully things will change now that I'm back."

"Why? You're just going to leave, go back to Metropolis and your boyfriend and your high society life."

"No. I'm staying here. I'm going to make sure there's food on the table and a roof over your heads. And if mom keeps hitting you we will not stay here. It is not a healthy place for you."

"You're not our mother. You can't just waltz back in here and feed us and become our mom. You're not even our real sister."

That last one hurt. I ate my second burger quietly. Martha was giving Sarah a dirty look for the rest of the meal. She came over and hugged me tightly.

"You're my real sister."

I hugged her back and kissed her forehead. I looked at Sarah who was still scowling at me she eventually finished her food took another can of grape pop and wheeled her way back to her room. Martha sat on her chair watching me while I cleaned up the leftovers and washed the dishes. The dish washer was broken. I sat back down.

"When is your bedtime Martha?"

"I don't have one."

I glanced at our mother who was still passed out and back to her.

"Do you want to do something?"

"Yes! Can be play a game?"

"Of course. Go grab one."

We played connect four and battleship, then a game of go fish. Eventually she fell asleep against me while I read her a book. She seemed to be craving something parental from someone. I went back downstairs when I heard knocking at the door. Mother was still passed out. It was a man who was intoxicated and already had his belt undone. He looked surprised to see me but wasn't about to let an opportunity slip by apparently.

"Oh, this whorehouse got an upgrade didn't it."

"Go away."

I started to close the door and he tried to stop me, and I heard the old thing creaking.

"Now darling, I'm a paying customer. Don't be like that."

He was eyeing me up and down. I probably should have been more diplomatic but let's just say it was not a good day for me and I needed something to take my frustrations out on. So, I grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"Get in your car and get off our property or I will rip your balls off and feed them to you with barbecue sauce."

I threw him about five feet, and he landed on the gravel driveway.

"Oh, you like it rough."

He came running at me. I punched him. He went down, he was unconscious. I recognized him. He was a married farmer I had seen a few times. I went inside and got a glass of ice water out of the fridge and poured it on his head. He sat bolt upright and started rubbing his jaw after a few minutes. He looked up at me and I smiled sweetly at him.

"Mr. Trenton, go home before I call your wife and tell her you've been visiting a prostitute and not using protection, I have a feeling that will not be a good scene for you."

He stumbled backwards till holding his jaw. I slammed the door and went inside and called the Sheriff's office and suggested they look for Mr. Trenton and that was drinking and driving. I managed to get to sleep after that.

The next three months were rough. I had not heard back from Glen and I hadn't been able to reach Jacob of April. Alexander Luthor was refusing to take my calls and I was missing eight million dollars and four times that in assets. Glen had used the power of attorney I had signed for him to drain my accounts. I literally had no money, and he was nowhere to be found. He had not logged on to social media in six months. I could not reach him, and his voicemail was now full form me calling. He hadn't been seen at any social functions. It's like he'd taken everything I owned and disappeared from the face of the planet. I had ended up having to get a job to pay for food. No one would hire me. I had not been working for three years, even with my impressive resume for a company that seemed to no longer exist. Emma was alternating between begging me to stay and abusing me and the girls. I had used some of my meager income to get a lawyer to draw up custody papers for me so I could at least get the girls away from her. She hadn't stopped abusing them and she wasn't stopping with the drugs, or the sex work. I felt I had no choice. I had saved up enough for an apartment in Smallville and already put the deposit in. I had been trying to avoid confronting mom, but at this point I felt I had no choice. I kept hoping she'd suddenly wake up as her old self, high powered go getter attorney.