I just wanted to thank those of you reading and following this story. It means a lot. I would love if you guys posted some reviews, I'd like to hear what you think. This is my first-time kind of getting into fanfiction and writing in general. Thanks!
The first time it happened I thought I was dead, I thought he had killed me. When I was little on G'mai, my mother taught me about religion, about light and dark, paradise and hell. She said the light-all that was good and perfect- came from the sun. Our energy, our life, and our love all came from the big star. All that was dark-that was bad and scary- came from our moons. "See," she would point out, after the sun went down for the two hours it did a day, "the moons bring darkness to our world. But don't worry my little one, for the moons may outnumber the sun, but they are smaller, and no matter how hard they try, the sun will always rise again." So, when my world went black, when I couldn't hear anything, when I tried to scream and run but I couldn't feel my body or my lungs pushing out air, I thought I had died and gone to hell. I don't even remember why I was being punished; I may have refused to eat my vegetables at dinner- I may have refused to execute a man on trial. When I was brought out of it, I had scratches all over my face, and there were dents in the floor. They told me I had been out for five minutes, and in that time, I had tried to scream and run, but because I couldn't feel my body I just moaned and hurt myself and hit the floor. It was the first and only time I have felt pain, the only time I have ever bled. I am indestructible, it turns out, to everything but my own hands. The next time I was punished, I forced myself to try to lie still and wait for it to be over.
Kara took a last look in the mirror before leaving her room and going downstairs for dinner. Tony had some of the best chefs cooking for them, and each night she ate as though it was her last meal. Every night, it seemed, the food got better and better. She couldn't keep up with Steve or Thor, though. They put food down like they hadn't eaten in twenty years. She had a running joke going with them that they were holding a secret competition to see who could eat more. Clint talked about his kids and passed around pictures and Kara said they were adorable. Pepper ask Natasha if she ever went out with the guy she set her up with. Nat waved off the question with an excuse of being too busy. The conversation went on through dinner. Kara noticed toward the end, Thor excused himself. After dinner, Kara offered to help clean up, but Tony and Pepper wouldn't let her, so she said her goodnights.
Kara wasn't tired, and she didn't feel like spending another night locked up in her room. She took the elevator to the top of the tower and stepped out on to the roof. To her surprise Thor was there, sitting on the railing with his legs hanging off the edge.
"Be careful," Kara yelled out to him with a laugh, "you don't want to fall off."
Thor's head spun around, "Oh, you startled me. Please, join me." He motioned next to him.
Kara walked over and hopped up onto the study railing and sat, letting her legs dangle over as well, taking in the forty-story drop. Thor seemed like he had been lost in his thoughts before Kara came up. Even now, he looked up into the night sky, deep in thought.
"I love looking up at the stars," Kara started, looking at Thor, "I spent a good chunk of my childhood living amongst them. So many planets didn't want us there. Before we were able to settle here, we spent a lot of time in our ship, going from planet to planet. Most of the time, living among the stars seemed like the safest place."
"I too feel comfortable gazing into the stars," Thor looked into Kara's eyes with intensity, "Back on my home, you can look into the night sky and see to each of the nine realms."
"It sounds like a nice view."
"Spectacular."
Thor returned his gaze to the sky and they sat there in silence. After a while, he asked, "why did you and your family come to earth?"
Kara shrugged, "I think just because we knew we would blend in. It's been difficult to try to pass as human, but I've been able to watch them and try to act like them, be one of them. All I've really wanted was to be accepted by them."
"Did you helping us in the battle reveal yourself to those of earth?" Thor asked.
"I'm not really sure actually. We will see when I go back to school tomorrow. If they scream and run away, I'll know my cover's been blown." Kara laughed, but knew the threat of having been revealed was real. She was thankful that the media wasn't on scene covering the battle, out of the sheer destruction and danger that was there. That didn't mean that there weren't civilians there who could recognize her or even have gotten pictures on their phones. She added, "I think I scare them."
Thor looked at her, "Who? The humans?"
"I mean, Tony and Bruce and all of them. I think they are afraid of me." Kara looked down at her feet swinging.
Thor put his hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him, "Well, I am not afraid of you." He smiled, then continued, "The people of earth have always feared that which they do not know and that which they cannot control. You and I, we are both of these things."
"Then maybe we should stick together." Kara added, smiling.
Thor nodded deeply, "Yes, yes we should. Do not worry," he added with a grin and a wink, "I have your back, Kara."
They sat in silence one more. Kara smiled at Thor's words. She hadn't thought much of him when they had first met. She had thought him arrogant and a bit vapid. However, on this night, she felt different. She saw him as sweet and sincere, and perhaps trusting to a fault. She could feel the distance she had always put between herself and others closing, ever so slightly, that night. She wondered, if this man-this god- could he be her first friend. She also thought about what he said, that he wasn't afraid of her. She hoped he would be the person to help her truly become an avenger; perhaps Thor could be the one to help the others trust her and see her as one of their own.
"So," Thor started again, pulling Kara out of her thoughts, "you will be going back to university tomorrow?"
"Yeah," Kara cleared her throat, "yeah I'll be leaving in the morning. Tony said there wasn't much else to do. And I have skipped quite a few lectures."
"I am leaving tomorrow as well. Back to Asgard."
"You aren't staying on earth?" Kara asked, surprised, "what if it needs saving again?"
"The world will always need someone to save it." Thor responded, "that's why I feel good about leaving it to you."
"I'm not a god, what will I be able to do?" Kara shook her head, her brows furrowed.
"You are more amazing than you realize, Kara. And when it comes time, you will be able to do great things. I know it."
The next morning, as she said her goodbyes to the avengers, Kara felt heavy. She had enjoyed the feeling of being part of a team, even just for a few days. It was nice to be around people who wanted to get to know her. She had been alone for so many years in New York, and she was reluctant to go back to normal life- back to being alone.
"Do you think I can come back sometime? Help save the world with you guys again or something?" she asked the group before she left.
"If there is ever another alien invasion, you will be the first person I call." Tony said with a smirk.
"Or anything, seriously Tony, anything you need help with. Just call." Kara smiled sincerely.
"Alright kid, you got it." He added as she walked out the door, "I'm sure we'll be in touch."
Kara knew eyes would be on her, even outside of Stark Tower. Whether it was a hacked traffic camera or a Hawkeye atop a skyscraper, she knew that Tony would be watching. More than that, she knew S.H.I.E.L.D. would be watching. As suspicious of her as Tony was, S.H.I.E.L.D. was ten times more so. Kara left Stark Tower and knew what she had to do.
Three nights passed since leaving the avengers. Kara left her apartment, took a bus, a subway, then a taxi outside the city. She ran miles to the shore of the Hudson river she had not been to in three years. It was the middle of the night before she reached it, and, sure she wasn't followed or watched, she dove into the river. Down, down she swam until she reached the bottom of the river. It took mere moments to clear away the mud and sentiment that had buried her spaceship in the three years since it had been placed there. She lifted the hatch that let her into the loading bay. She pressed a button, after closing and locking the hatch, that drained all the water from the room. The next door then slid open, revealing the room-sized interior of her space craft. She left no moment to soak in the familiar setting or reminisce about the times spent flying it. She went straight to communications desk and sat down, pressing a button that made the ship whirl to life. All the controls lit up and she tested the comms to make sure they still functioned. She pressed a few more buttons, then leaned into the sound receiver: "S'kara reporting to Titan, day of mission: 1339. Father, I have made contact with the avengers. I have assisted them and spent time among them. Many of them have yet to trust or accept me. I have made one contact, Thor the God of Thunder, who trusts me completely. I will update as my mission progresses. I repeat, tell Thanos: after all these years, I have finally made contact with the avengers."