"She just went and punched him in the face! It was amazing!" Kara gushed. "She stood up for me!"

"That is excellent, Lady Kara." Her ship hummed pleasantly in Kryptonian. "Your parents would be most pleased that you have found such a stalwart protector."

"I don't think she liked me much at the very beginning, though." Kara gestured with her hands, uselessly. It was a very human thing to do and she was both annoyed at the superfluous movement and relieved that she was at least 'doing as the natives do'.

"What brought you to that conclusion?" The ship asked her.

"She didn't talk to me much… she just didn't seem to like me. And I heard her arguing with her parents once…" Kara explained. "I'm just glad she likes me now, she's just really amazing-"

"She's here." The ship informed, causing Kara to pause and listen carefully. Outside, she could hear the grass crunching as someone approached.

"Kara?" The whispered question had Kara opening the pod's top and scrambling out to meet Alex. The brunette's lip still looked swollen and the cut on Alex's lips was hard for Kara to look at. It looked like it hurt and the wound in turn made Kara's chest hurt seeing that Alex was injured.

"Hi!" Kara let the happiness of seeing the older girl overwhelm that uncomfortable feeling in her chest. She grinned at Alex, hold out her hands. Alex took Kara's fingers in her own, raising an eyebrow at the blonde.

"What are you doing out here? I heard you get up but when you didn't come to my room…"

"Oh. I needed to talk to the AI that accompanied me here to Earth.." Kara tugged Alex gently along, to the shed where her ship was hidden. "Come, meet Viox."

"Viox…?" Alex blinked at the soft glow of the spacepod that brought Kara to Earth.

"Alexandra Danvers, it is nice to meet you." Viox glowed softly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too." Alex's good manners kicked in. "Um. How are you?"

"Very pleased, presently, to have met your acquaintance." Viox seemed quite impressed with Alex's manners.

"Come, Alex!" Kara scrambled up into the ship and Alex hesitated briefly, before grinning and scrambling up to seat herself behind Kara, marvelling at the almost… fluid way the spacepod rippled, the seat lengthening so Alex could seat comfortably behind Kara. It was completely natural for Kara to lean against Alex, pressing her back against Alex's front and for Alex to encircle her arms around Kara's mid-rift. This kind of closeness was still new, but it was no longer awkward for Alex to touch Kara or for Kara to reach out for Alex. Not after the fight from the day and the hesitant, probing touches Alex had allowed from Kara.

"What is this-" The opening on the top of the spacepod seemed to… kind of GROW over and close up organically, like a living thing.

"Viox is an exceptional AI who was chosen to accompany me in my travel to Earth. He has kept me alive during my stay in the Phantom Zone-"

"Which was quite easy as long as she stayed asleep. My systems would have sustained her for hundreds of years. Leaving the Phantom Zone was the hard part." Viox said matter-of-factly.

"This is amazing!" Alex breathed, looking this way and that at the smooth white insides of Kara's spacepod that was now rippling at her comment.

"I am exceptional." The pod hummed proudly.

"But I thought you said Superman-Kal-El damaged you." Alex addressed Viox directly which made the AI's core programming trip over itself in an approximation of pleasure but also made his code crackle in discontent at the subject.

"Kal-El has spent too much time as Earth's champion and has turned into a brute." Viox sounded slightly miffed.

"Viox was quite upset that he had to spend time to repair himself." Kara patted the armrests of the seat soothingly. "It was quite traumatic for Viox."

"Nobody has ever treated me like that before." Viox didn't seem to be a Superman fan. If he had announced himself and allowed me to confirm his identity, I would have allowed him access. But no, Jor-El's son just ripped off my top-"

"Viox, Kal-El has already apologized." Kara sighed. This was a conversation they had had many times and Viox was, Kara learned, one who could hold a grudge for a long time.

"Kara…?"

"Oh!" Kara looked backwards at Alex. "Sorry! I was speaking in Kryptonian. I was just telling Viox he had to forgive Kal-El."

"I will do no such thing." Viox declared, affronted. The display in front rippled angrily. "He has yet to TRULY apologize to me and all he said was 'no harm no foul'. What does that even mean? Kal-El is extremely rude and I have every right to be-"

"I take it Viox is angry?" Alex looked around nervously as the ship's form rippled in sharp, geometric angles, the sides darkening to a muted hue.

"Oh, Viox! Could you give her knowledge of Kryptonian?" Kara suddenly clapped her hands excitedly, her heart leaping at the thought of someone being able to speak fluently. Of Alex being able to speak to her fluently. Kal-El never spoke Kryptonian as his Fortress of Solitude used the language of his adopted home, English. Kal-El had no need of Kryptonian, so he never wanted to learn or asked to be given his birth language.

"Unfortunately, Lady Kara, I cannot." Viox apologized. "A Kryptonian brain is drastically different from a human. I do not have the capacity to map Alexandra's brain as I am a specialized spacecraft AI, my core programming focusing on the survival of my Kryptonian charge. Which means I do not have the language maps for other species."

"Oh." The disappointment in Kara's voice was palpable. "Oh."

"I am sorry, Lady Kara-"

"It's fine, I just-It's fine." Kara smiled a bit, startled when Alex's arms tightened around her stomach and pressed her back into Alex.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Alex leaned her cheek against Kara's head.

"It's nothing." Kara felt it like a physical blow and drew in a shuddering breath. Her tears didn't come as often, but they came now as she gulped in air, trying to control it, curling until she had her head tucked under Alex's chin and the older girl was rubbing a hand up and down her back soothingly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alex asked quietly.

"No." Kara shook her head. She had to get over this. Kara understood she was extremely lucky, extremely fortunate. She should be so grateful but sometimes the little things add up and the complete obliteration of her language stung so sharply, it felt like a physical wound. Kara cried quietly until she felt exhausted, the only thing Earth's yellow sun couldn't heal her of was heartbreak. So she closed her eyes, concentrating on the hand stroking up and down her back, her ear against Alex's chest and the steady beat of Alex's heart. Before long, that gentle bass had lulled her into sleep, her tears finally subsiding and her breath evening out.

"She is 'asleep'." Viox's hum was low and gentle.

"Yeah." Alex's hand stilled, then moved to protectively cradle Kara's head.

"She has been adjusting well?" Viox asked tentatively. "She has been reporting to me daily, but Lady Kara does not want me to worry about her so I believe she does not tell me everything."

"She reports to you?" Alex's brow furrowed. "Why?"

"Lady Kara is the last daughter of Krypton." Viox explained. "Therefore, she has the duty of compiling the history of the Kryptonian people. The history, now, must be compiled by the last Kryptonians."

"Does Superman-"

"Kalex, the AI residing at his 'Fortress of Solitude' does this for Jor-El's son." Viox interrupted brusquely at the mention of his not-so-favourite person. "Kal-El was a child when he came to Earth, he knew nothing of duty."

"So it's all on Kara."

"My Lady does very well." Viox said fondly.

"It's hard for her." Alex said sadly, running her fingers through Kara's blonde hair. "What did you two talk about? She was telling you something and sounded excited, but then she got really sad after. I heard my name mentioned."

"She wanted me to give you the Kryptonian language."

"Oh." Alex was going to shrug but stopped herself in case she woke Kara. "Sure. I'm game."

"It is not a game."

Alex tried not to smile at the way Viox and Kara both sometimes did not understand idioms.

"I'm not saying it's a game. 'I'm game' is like saying, I'm up for it."

"Up for… your human sayings make no sense." Viox sounded distinctly grumpy.

"Just do it. Do the mind thing and give me Kryptonian. Kara said it was sorta like programming or something." Alex said patiently.

"It's more like laying an imprint of the language on your main processor-your brain-but I do not have the map that would fit a human brain and I do not have the capacity to give it to you. All my functions are for Lady Kara." Viox explained, once again. "She was quite unhappy about that."

Alex glanced down at the sleeping teenager. "She's the last one, isn't she?"

"If you are referring to being the last Kryptonian woman of her family, yes. She is the last daughter of Krypton and of her proud lineage. Krypton's history will end with her or her cousin."

"That's sad."

"In a certain sense, yes. But sadder still, if Lady Kara had perished with Krypton." Viox, though he had no face and no eyes, seemed to be examining Alex and the young girl tried not to fidget lest she wake Kara. "And I would like to take this opportunity to thank you. I do believe that you make the biggest difference in her life on Earth, Alexandra Danvers."

"Just call me Alex." Alex corrected, blushing at the AI's words. " And how? How am I making a difference?"

"You have taken on the role of protector for Lady Kara. I am pleased that humans still recognize that my Lady does require this attention. And a person of her status should have a companion already." Viox's voice was musing. "Even if you do not understand the concept, you would indeed be a most suitable companion for my Lady. It is actually quite common for personal guards to develop this relationship with their charge, actually. Quite a few classical Kryptonian narratives revolve around epic relationships between a member of a Great House and their bodyguard/companion."

Alex's eyes narrowed. She didn't know where to start in correcting Viox's misconceptions so… she just didn't. "Companion as in the Kryptonian sense?"

"Yes. I see my Lady has spoken to you about Kryptonian society?"

"Yeah," Alex frowned again. "I feel like I'm missing something here."

"Companions were linked to the Great Houses of Krypton. As a companion, you have chosen to serve the Lady and do your best by her while her considerable influence will be of great benefit to you. She will seek you out for comfort and solace, protection and advice. She will lean on you and you are also encouraged to lean on her. After the proper time has passed and we contact her only living relation to consider this companionship, we shall hold the ceremony to officially commemorate this union."

Alex had quietly listened to everything, frowning throughout the whole explanation. She got it but she it was more that she disagreed with what Kryptonians would consider 'companionship' and marriage. "This really sounds like a marriage."

"Oh no, this is far from a marriage. Marriages are contracts to join two families together. The companion is something entirely for the individual. It may benefit the House of the individual to be linked via companionship to a Great House, but it is not a guarantee. Marriage is a duty to all under your House and would trump all. Companionship is-"

"Choice."

"Yes. Kara did say you were particularly smart." Viox sounded pleased again.

"I'm still a bit uncomfortable with this. Can we give me some time to think about it? And maybe not broach this topic with Superman." Alex used 'think about' instead of 'no way in hell' in case the AI went all Skynet on her.

"Superman." The disgust dripped off Viox's syllables. "Yes. We can do that. We do not even have to include him in the decision-making process as Lady Kara is technically of age if we include her years in the Phantom Zone."

"Great." Alex was relieved to have slipped out of Viox's plannings. It really actually sounded like a wedding was going to be performed. "But hey, the language thing… I know you can't just zap it into my brain-"

"I would never zap anything into your brain!" Viox sounded horrified. "That would be fatal!"

"No. No, it's another human saying." Alex chuckled lowly and they both fell silent when Kara shifted a bit in her sleep. When the blonde settled down, Alex continued speaking. "I'm saying I know you can't map it into my brain or whatever, but could you teach me?"

"I definitely could." The inside of the pod glowed a warm colour. "It would make Lady Kara very happy to know she can converse with someone besides me in her native language."

"Let's keep it a secret for now until I get good."

"Should we not tell her now? She would be happy now."

"But when we tell her later, when I can actually hold a conversation in Kryptonian, wouldn't that be even better?"

Viox seemed to consider this for a second. "Your reasoning is sound. We will need a ruse. I propose that we tell Lady Kara that I am seeking your assistance to clarify some intricate human idiosyncrasies-which we will do while I teach you as I do not like to lie to Lady Kara-and she will leave us to our own devices. I will also soundproof my exterior."

"What if she wants to join us?" Alex looked down at the snoozing Kara.

"Then you will just have to tell her we are speaking about a topic she dislikes. Ah. Sexual intercourse." Viox sounded amused. "She seems to dislike that topic at the moment and referred to 'human diseases' when I asked for further information."

"Oh god, Kara." Alex rolled her eyes.

"She will be very surprised that the yellow sun of Earth will most likely affect her differently than the red glow of Rao." Viox was still sounding quite amused at the whole situation.

"What do you mean?"

"Kryptonians do not have much of a sex drive. It could be because Rao and Krypton were both dying and that affected their physiology. Kryptonians did engage in relations in the traditional sense a very, very long time ago on Krypton. Modern Krypton has not had reports of sexual intercourse since the birthing pods were put in place. But Kryptonians who traveled outside of Rao's system were reported to have those urges. As sexual intercourse was not a topic of interest in Kryptonian society, only the fringe colonies of Krypton had researched on why sexual desire made itself known outside of Krypton's home galaxy. Unfortunately, all I have are conjectures as the research was not complete."

Alex snorted, just imagining how that information would be taken by Kara. The memory of the comical way Kara's face had twisted in horror when Alex mentioned even the word 'sex' was just too funny. Alex couldn't help laughing a bit more and her chortling woke Kara up.

"Wha-" Kara inhaled, eyes wide, fear chasing sleep away. She pushed away, then relaxed again when she realized it was Alex she was pillowed against. "Alex."

"Go back to sleep."

"How long did I sleep?"

"Not that long." Alex tenderly brushed a strand of hair away from Kara's face.

"Can we stay here a bit, Alex?" Kara leaned her head against Alex's chest, hearing the brunette's heart beating strong and true.

"Of course." Alex said immediately. Kara smiled up at Alex, then carefully snuggled into Alex, rubbing her cheek against the exposed skin of Alex's neck, relishing the warmth of it. It reminded her of the warmth of Rao on her skin.

"Viox, could you make this like my room back on Krypton?" Kara asked.

"Of course, my Lady." The insides of the pod warmed to a red colour, becoming opaque and then clearing so it seemed like… they were looking out into a cityscape, that was futuristic, smooth and heart-breakingly home.

"Krypton." Alex breathed out in wonder, looking all around.

"My view from my room." Kara looked out, eyes tracking a transport whizzing away somewhere far off into the distance, then closed her eyes wearily. At least she had this. And at least she had Alex. As if sensing that Kara was thinking about her, Alex tightened her hold briefly in a quick hug, then closed her eyes to the scene, too, letting sleep take her.