I sat on the bed in the girl's room and looked at Sarah who was laying in her bed watching TV. She was focused on the Choose the Voice reality show. She glanced over at me.

"Amber you should go on that show, you have a way better voice then any of them."

I nodded and glanced towards the bathroom where Martha was turning on the shower. Once I heard it going full and her singing. I reached for the remote and turned off the TV.

"Hey, I was watching that."

"I'm sorry Sarah, we have to talk."

"I know we're broke Amber."

"It's not about that Sarah."

She propped herself up on her elbow and her hair dangled down past her shoulders and neck. It was the same color as Emma's hair. She had blonde hair when she was younger. I rubbed the bridge of my nose. I had no idea how to say this and Martha's shower time was quickly running out.

"Sarah, mom is dead."

She blinked a few times.

"What?"

"Mom died of an overdose today."

"No!"

I moved over to her and wrapped my arms around her and she began to sob so badly I reached for the garbage pail in case she threw up. She didn't. I was in tears myself. I just held her tightly. Stroking her hair.

"I'm here for you. I will never leave you again. I'm not like mom, I'm not like dad, and I'm not like Edna and Heather. I will always be there for you. I might not always be perfect, but I will never abandon you Sarah."

She pushed me away and started pounding on my chest.

"It's your fault you threatened to take us away!"

She kept punching me over and over again until she exhausted herself and I wrapped my arms around her when she leaned against me.

"I wish I hadn't said those things to her Sarah. I wish I had just said I love you mom and walked out the door. But I did not kill her. It is not my fault. I am at fault for a lot of things in this world, but this is not one of them. I can wish all I want but I know I would have done the same thing."

I held her arms biceps in my arms holding her up and looking her in the eye.

"You and Martha are my only concern. I am sad I ended things with her in a fight. But I'm not sad I stood up for you. She was abusing you. I had to stop her. And the only way I had was to take custody of you and your sister."

She wiped her tears still sobbing and gasping for breath.

"You pushed her to it!"

"No, I think it was her client. She doesn't do needles and her phone was smashed. Someone killed her and made it look like an accident. But they were amateurs and left evidence."

"You're lying! You're always lying!"

"I'm not lying, I have lied to you, but never about the family, only about myself."

"I need to tell Martha. When she finishes her shower. Are you going to be alright until I finish and can come back?"

She did a couple of long sniffles while shuddering and nodded. She pulled the blanket over her head and I heard her continue to cry. I rubbed her back and waited for Martha to come out. She was ten, I had no idea how to approach the subject with her. I knew Sarah would take it hard. Martha I barely knew. She was five when I left. The years I missed are formative and I still didn't know much about her besides she was the autism spectrum. She didn't handle loud noises well which is why she put her hands over her ears when we argued. She was drying off her ears and was wearing a nightgown when she came out of the bathroom. She looked up at me.

"You are really tall Amber. Not as tall as Diana."

"Yes, compared to her I'm a dwarf. Can we talk?"

"What's wrong with Sarah?"

"I will explain, and I think we should give her some space. Let's go to my room."

I looked down at the bruises on Martha's arm and I closed my eyes. I kept telling myself I did the right thing when I'd confronted Emma before work. She followed me to my room and sat down on my bed. I paced, very unsure what to say. I kneeled so I wasn't towering over her and I put my hands on hers on her lap very gently.

"Martha, mom, we… mom…"

I had tears dripping down my cheeks. All I could see the innocence in Martha's pale grey eyes. Innocence I was about to shatter. She reached out and wiped away one of my tears.

"What's the matter Amber?"

"Mom…I found mom. And she wouldn't wake up."

"What do you mean?"

"Mom died today."

It took a few moments for my words to sink in, I saw the tears start to flow.

"Mom, wasn't always…mom is in a better place now."

"Is she in heaven?"

I nodded and I hugged her tightly. She leaned against me and had a very long cry. I rocked her like I used to do when she was young and after half an hour, she was asleep. I gently scooped her up and put her into her bed and pulled the blanket up. I gave her a kiss on her forehead. And whispered.

"You are safe, and you are loved, and I will never hit you, and I will never abandon you."

Sarah was still awake she was watching me in the darkness.

"You can't promise that. You could get hit by a bus tomorrow."

I looked at her for a long while before moving over to her bed.

"The bus would not survive that collision I'm too stubborn."

She laughed. It was a nice sound to hear tonight. Considering the day, we had.

"I need to tell you something else. Something you cannot tell anyone else. It is a secret you need to take to your grave. I need you to know in case something does happen to me, so you aren't left wondering, not like Clark's loved ones were."

"I am not a normal human."

She blinked at me I motioned for her to lean close and I scooped her up and carried her to my room.

"No shit, you're stronger than a horse."

"Yes, but no."

I pulled off my nightgown and turned around and pulled the solar regeneration suit out of my bag and put the ball on my chest I turned around and showed her the crest.

"I'm Superman's granddaughter."

Her eyes went wide.

"So, Great Uncle Clark was…"

I nodded.

"I'm sorry I lied to you for so long. But Mom, if she knew she would have had to report it and after I came back, she would have done it just for the reward."

"So where were you really?"

"I was learning about Clark's home world."

"He was an alien?"

I nodded.

"So, you're an alien?"

"No, I was born on earth. I'm part human, or I was. That was part of why I was away. Their DNA, Clark's DNA it doesn't mix with human DNA very well. I was dying and I needed to be stabilized. Jor-El, that's my great grandfather, had to purge my human parts."

"So, when you said the bus would lose, you weren't joking."

I nodded.

"So why haven't I heard of you."

"Oh, you have, just not like this."

I closed my eyes and let out of enough energy turn my hair to plasma and my eyes to small suns.

"You're her, you're Novastorm!"

"Shh. She's a wanted Metahuman criminal."

I tapped the symbol and the suit collapsed into a ball and I put it in my bag. I drew the plasma into my solar core and then pulled my nightgown back on. And sat on the bed beside her.

"So, who is Diana then?"

"I cannot say, as Grandma once told me, it is not my secret to share. Just know that if there is someone stronger then me on this planet, it's her."

"So, when she was holding you back today when that desk clerk bitch was calling you lesbos she was really holding you back."

"Yes, I was about to beat Amanda into paste."

Sarah smiled.

"I hate her and her church. You weren't here, they protested Grandma Heather's and Grandma Edna's funerals. Why don't you go blow down their church?"

"The same reason I'm not solving our money problems with a life of crime. It would be wrong."

Sarah looked more serious and nodded.

"Really, why are you telling me this?"

"The truth?"

"Yes."

"I wanted you to know what is going to take to stop me from keeping my promise that I will not abandon you."

"Superman died, you can too."

"Yes, he did, but saved the world. That is the kind of thing that it would take to stop me from coming home. I wanted you to be able to tell Martha what happened to me, so she knows I did not abandon you. I would sacrifice myself for either of you in a heartbeat. Which is why you can never tell anyone except Martha and only if I die. People could use the two of you against me and force me to do things I wouldn't want to do. So, this is the first and last time we discuss my heritage. I'm done with this superhero stuff. I have been since before I left. I'm going to be the best mother I can be to our family. I know I will never replace Emma. But I will do my best to make sure the two of you have everything you need."

Sarah nodded then she looked at me again.

"Amber, you have always been my lighthouse. Even when you weren't with us when things were darkest, I would think of you, and it would inspire me to be better. Amber, the world needs that, it needs you."

"The world isn't my responsibility Sarah; You and Martha are."

"The world is everyone's responsibility. I love you, but you're being a coward. Take me back to my bed please."

I scooped her up and carried her to her bed. I put her down gently. Martha was still sleeping.

"Call me on your cellphone if you need anything."

I turned off the light in the room and went back towards my room, but I couldn't sleep so I leaned on the railing looking out over Smallville. I could hear so many cries for help in the night. I tried to block them out, but I knew each one was a person in need of hope. Hope I wasn't able to give them, because I couldn't give myself hope.

It would be a week before we could go back home, two weeks before the body was released. I had to pay for her coffin and burial with my non-existent credit. The interest would make things tough. I wore one of my old black dresses. It was tight, but it would do. Sarah wore a black blouse and a black skirt. We found a black dress Sarah had when she was Martha's age. I sat outside the graveyard with the truck idling looking at the assembled people. Snow flurries were starting to drift down outside. I left my sunglasses on. We got out and I helped Sarah into her wheelchair and to the grave side. Martha walked with us.

The priest went through the motions. I looked at those that had come to pay their respects. There were a lot of federal employees. A federal judge. I saw Agent Candace Brown. Bruce was there leaning on his cane he'd glance at me every so often and to Sarah and Martha. I hugged them both while the priest spoke. Martha dropped a flower into the grave for us and we each threw a shovel full of dirt into the hole. The priest had arm twisted me into making a speech. I had been dreading it for the last week. I walked to the grave side and took off my sunglasses.

"Emma Morris was more than a mother to me; Sshe was an unbreakable pillar when I needed one most. Which is why it pains me to say, we, each one of us failed her when she needed us most. She pushed us away because she felt she did not deserve us. She was so fueled by self-loathing she could not see what we could see, one mistake does not make you a monster. My last conversation was a blow out argument over my sisters, I told her I was taking them away from her because she was going to pull them into the black hole she was being pulled towards. I remember every single word we exchanged, every single punch and slap she leveled against me. I failed her; I failed my sisters. When she raised her hand to slap them or grab their arm or push Sarah out of her wheelchair I should have grabbed her arm and pulled her towards me and hugged her and said I love you mom you are worth saving. I was too lost in my own… shit… to offer that hand to pull her out of the pit she'd fallen into. My very wise sister Sarah reminded me of a lesson I taught her when she was young: We are, each one of us, responsible to be symbols of hope to those around us, we are the hand reaching down from above to offer succor, warmth and hope. We must lift those around us up so they can stand in the light with us. Especially those who have fallen into a darkness they cannot find their way through. Please use my mother's passing as a reminder that we have the responsibility to be the light in the darkness."

I had tears running down my face. I went back to join my sisters. I was not sure if the eulogy would go over well. There were a lot of tears. I put my hand on Sarah and Martha's shoulders. Sarah put her hand over mine and squeezed it. We endured the procession of people telling us how sorry they were for their loss. Bruce held back until they were gone and walked over to us his face was creased with sorrow. I tried not to be angry at him he had lost his daughter, but I was furious that he hadn't done more for her. I assume I looked something akin to a momma bear standing between him and my sisters.

"Sarah, Martha, Amber, you are welcome to come live with me at Wayne Manor."

I glanced down at Sarah, and to Martha they were not happy to see him.

"I think we will be better off without you Bruce. You can't fix this with money or a shiny new dress. You should have been here three years ago when our father died, or a year ago when our mother was still someone who could be saved by being there for her. Before Sarah was stuck in a wheelchair. Unlike you we are going to move on from this and we are going to be there for each other like family should be."

I glanced back down at my sisters to make sure they were still with me on this, it seemed they were based on the looks on their faces.

"Thank you for coming and giving us your condolences. Now please leave."

His lips opened and closed he then tipped his hat and walked back towards his waiting limo. I hugged my sisters close. I kneeled down in the wet grass of the graveyard and formed us into a huddle.

"That is the easy part over with. Now to the hard part, going on living. Let us promise each other here and now that we will be the three musketeers. All for one, one for all."

Sarah wiped away her tears and smiled.

"All for one, one for all."

Martha looked at us both and squeezed our shoulders.

"All for one, one for all."

I kissed them both and scooped Sarah up in my arms and collapsed the wheelchair with my foot and held it in my outstretched hand.

"Sorry no more off-roading for you today, Sarah."

Martha opened the car door and got into her booster seat and I sat Sarah down and put the wheelchair in the bed of the truck.

"Let's go home."