iSuperwoman
Chapter Nine: One Year Later
Sun. December 30th, 2012: We're sitting in the cool metal chairs, watching the people clad in black walk up one by one to place a rose on the coffin. Finally, Spencer and I stand, walk up to the token casket, place our red roses atop its cool black surface, and walk away. The world has accepted the fact that Supergirl has died. I, Carly Shay, accept that fact even now as I proceed to lie to the world around me. Rain pours down as Spencer, Mom, and I depart from the funeral service. With no body, the service would serve as closure for everyone but us. Green Arrow stood amongst the people we fooled, trying to get her own closure.
On the ride home, I get a call from Arrow, telling us she'll meet us back at our apartment, out of costume. "Mom," I say, my voice trembling and cracking. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," my mother replied. "I understand...your father would understand, too." At the thought of Dad, I drop my head for a second, then feel Spencer's arm touch my shoulder. Mom takes my hand in an attempt to comfort me. As important as this day is, the day I watched my father die would always matter so much more; with all my powers, all that I'm capable of, I couldn't save him. The sight of the missiles colliding with his submarine still burned in my mind. Staring at the floor of the limo, I struggled to hold back my tears.
Finally, we make it back to Bushwell, where Sam is waiting for us, just like she promised. I hug her, crying into her shoulder like a child. She holds me, whispers everything's going to be okay, and reassures me that she understands what I had to do.
Sitting down on my couch, I go over what's happened this year; when Supergirl was born, when my weakness was found in the form of Kryptonite, when friends turned to enemies; Nevel's true nature coming into light, all that I'd lost, how the people slowly changed their minds about Supergirl; turning her into a menance instead of a hero, and all that I'd gained; Sam became Supergirl's greatest ally, Spencer found a girl who loved him, even after they parted ways, Mom was able to come back for a time and I managed to make a full confession to her, and in the end, I found a way to set myself free.
"My name isn't Papperman," Nevel had declared, brandishing a Kryptonite rod before Supergirl's face. "It's Luthor!" I don't know where Nevel is now, but I do know we're no longer on the same side.
I no longer suffered from Brainiac's telepathic dreams, though I knew our confrontations weren't over. For now, though, it was all over. In a sense, I took comfort in that thought.
"What happened?" Sam asked, sitting down next to her friend. "I mean, with Supergirl?"
"I couldn't do it anymore," Carly choked out, her voice barely above a whisper. "...I was fighting Zod. You know, the man who tried to ruin Jor-El..." Her memories sharp and blazing in her mind, the brunette recalled every detail of the battle;
Her body floating in the air, roughly one mile above the city, Carly studied her opponent through her torn domino mask. Standing staunch, the Kryptonian war criminal blocked the light of the yellow sun. "You have your mother's eyes," Zod declared, gazing at Supergirl. Clenching her fist, the young woman gritted her teeth, trying to control her emotions through her breath. "Did I strike a nerve?" Throwing herself forward, Supergirl thrust her fist into her opponent's stomach, then left cheek. Zod then grabbed the girl's arms and threw her downward towards the ocean. Suddenly, two skyscrapers cleared out before the battle burst into a sea of flames, spitting out hundreds of Kryptonite shards directly at the war criminal's body. Feeling the radioactive rock piercing his back, the Kryptonian was forced forward, his blood pouring into the air as he fell.
"My father told me that I'd come across evil," Carly declared as she and Zod free fell. "And, no matter the cost, they would fall." In a flash of light, the memory ended, and the faint blur of Carly's safe collision with the waters passed by like a weak dream. Zod, however, met his fate at the hands of the young hero.
Sam knew I took the easy way out. Right now, though, I don't think she blames me. Nothing would change the fact that Tareen had seen me use my powers, though there was nothing she could do now that the world declared Supergirl dead. That didn't take away the fact that I lost a friend, though. I still had Sam, Wendy, and Freddie and my family, though. Sam didn't seem to mind the fact that we spent her eighteenth birthday in costume and fighting Plastique, who thought Supergirl responsible for her daughter's arrest. Freddie's seventeenth birthday was quiet; just the three of us and his mother. Times like that meant the most to me; to all of us, I think. Even though he didn't know, I always felt Freddie understood my Kryptonian side just as well as Sam, Spencer, and Mom did.
"What now?" Sam asked, her voice serious as she placed her hands on her friend's shoulders.
"...I don't know," Carly answered. "Whatever comes, I guess."