"Allura!" My father yelled, "Allura, bring her here, now!"

My mother picked me up, bundled in my favorite blanket, and carried me to where my father waited with an odd ship. "This ship will follow the path set by Jal's; soon she should be with Kal on Earth. She can help them find homes. Kara will help them make it."

He settled me in a small little seat, "Don't worry Kara, you'll be there soon."

The world around us shook, beginning to disintegrate. My mother kissed my forehead, "We love you Kara, remember that, sweetie. Say hi to Kal for us."

They closed the cockpit, and ran back. I watched through the glass as my father pressed buttons on his control panel, and my ship began to rattle as the engines grew to power. He pressed one last button, and I found myself pressed against my seat as my ship shot away; away from the only home I had ever known.

I woke up, eyes focused on the hospital ceiling.

Clark had convinced the staff that the iris change was only a small side effect of the blood, and that nothing was up. We failed to mention that I could now lift 700lbs hospital beds like bags of flour.

It was still dark outside, and Clark and my mother—no, could I still call her that?—were fast asleep in the chairs. Thankfully, the staff had agreed that since I was doing well, I no longer needed the heart monitors full time, only if problems arose. I stood up and walked to the bathroom, eager to test what I could do.

In the mirror, my blue eyes stared at me again. After the doctors had left, Clark had suggested that they only changed when I utilized my kryptonian powers. He was still convinced that they were only temporary, caused by his blood in my veins. After my dream though, I wasn't so sure.

I splashed a bit of water on my face, dried it with a paper towel, and stepped back from the sink. How did Clark do it? Just think about flying? Well, I thought, just think about flying then.

I closed my eyes and focused on the idea of floating off the ground. I opened my eyes, and found that I was still standing in front of the mirror.

Ok, think harder.

I pressed my eyes shut and thought, with all my power, about lifting off the ground. When I opened my eyes a moment later, I was still standing on the ground. I huffed, and closed my eyes one more time.

What does flying feel like?

I thought of when I fell out of the building. All I remembered was rushing wind and paralyzing fear.

But that's not flying, is it? Flying means you're going up.

So I focused on that. I imagined wind wrapping around me, playing with my hair as it lifted with me, both of us free from the pull of gravity. It was an exhilarating idea, leaving a weightless feeling in the pit of my stomach.

My head bumped something hard. I opened my eyes to find myself floating at the ceiling. The shock of seeing myself four feet off the ground took its toll though, and I landed hard on the floor a moment later.

Outside the bathroom, I heard someone jump, and then footsteps leading to my door.

"Kara?" My mom asked, "Are you ok?"

I held my head, trying to count to three and let the pain melt away.

"Yea," I mumbled, "I just…tripped."

"Do you need any help?"

"No, no," I pulled myself up with the sink, "I've got it. I'll be out in a sec,"

Even I wouldn't have been satisfied with that answer if it had been one of my friends, but my mom accepted it and walked back to where she and Clark had been sleeping. I let out a breath, then looked in the mirror.

Bright green eyes stared back.

Clark had been right, it did only happen when I used my abilities. But I was starting to feel more and more like this wasn't a temporary thing. I righted myself and opened the door; my mother jumped a bit when she saw my eyes.

"You weren't joking," she murmured, "That's bright green."

"Yea," I agreed, staring at the 'sleeping' Clark. He appeared relaxed enough to be asleep, but I could see the slightest stiffness in his neck, holding his head in place so that he was holding it just above the pillow. His eyes were always steel-gray, and Superman had never been reported to have bright green eyes; so why me?

"Let's just hope they don't stay that way."

The only perks being in the hospital brought was that I was allowed a few extra days in Metropolis for psychological recovery before I was thrown back into school. I still got to visit all my favorite places, and I even got to keep my room at Clark's while my parents had their usual hotel room.

Even though I loved my parents, I couldn't be happier to have a reason to part from them each night. It was only then that I could practice.

I picked up my bed with one hand, finally able to really search for a necklace I had lost a few visits back. It came tumbling out of the mattress as Clark walked in with a cup of warm milk. He took in the image of me holding up a bed with surprising grace. The handle on the cup only cracked a little bit from his tense hold.

"You've really got to stop doing that," he said, placing the milk on the bedside table as I put the bed back into place, "I don't want you to get hurt if they suddenly dissipate while you're using them."

"About that," I said, sitting on the bed, "Did my parents ever talk to you about what happened to me before I came home from the orphanage?"

Clark frowned and sat down on the bed next to me. "If I recall correctly, you were found at the scene of a meteor strike. It would have happened around the time you were five or so. The meteor hit some low income housing on the outskirts of Gotham, and when the police arrived, you were in the wreckage. You were in the hospital recovering for weeks. When they finally managed to get a statement out of you, it simply said that your name was Kara and you knew your family to be dead. After that, you went to the orphanage, and a few months later, Aunt Edna and Uncle Fred adopted you. I only know because I overheard them talking with my parents the first time we came to visit you," he grinned, looking at my face.

I played with my necklace, staring at the green pendant. The green from my unconsciousness flashed before my eyes, and I let my head drop.

"I don't think that was it, Clark," I ran my thumb over my pendant, then looked up at the opposite wall. "When I was unconscious, I didn't see black, or white for that matter. I saw green—bright, unavoidable green that made me feel sick. Other colors showed up while I was in it, but they were always covered with green." I looked up at Clark, "Clark, I—I don't know what to think. I'm incredibly confused," I shook my head, "But I need definite answers, and I need to know how to use these powers while I have them. We can make some excuse for me to come for the weekends, you can teach me."

Clark frowned. "Kara, I don't know if it would be smart, especially if we don't know how long you'll have Kryptonian traits. It would be smarter to wait."

"Wait? Clark, these could last for a week, or they could last for a year! I'm not going to waste using them. At the very least, I could help you—I could use them while I have them to fight crime. Please Clark—let me try!"

Clark looked at me for a long moment. Then he took my hand in his, and looked me sadly in the eye. "No Kara, I can't do that, not in good conscience. I'm sorry."

Then he stood up and walked away, letting the loneliness fill me once again.

Weeks passed.

We were clear into October when she came.

I had been practicing my skills in secret, carefully making sure that no one could find me. I wanted to be ready; I planned on showing Clark that I would be able to fight, and that I could hold my own.

I had also started to design a costume. If growing up in Gotham had taught me anything, it was that superheroes needed costumes. I had people like Batman and Robin to look up to—and the short-lived Batgirl. I was terribly sad about that one: she had given me so much hope for when it came to the male-dominated Gotham hero crowd. She had served only one year before she disappeared into the night she came from.

Last time I was in Metropolis, I had purchased a particularly cute Super-shield tee, although I hardly ever wore it. Now, it finally had a use.

It was a white athletic themed t-shirt, white thick blue stripes on the sleeves, and the shield blazing brightly across the chest. I decided on an old pair of skinny jeans, a red jacket and red boots to go with it. I loved my get-up, and I could even fight in it (although, in retrospect, I probably should have considered that detail first). I practiced in an old warehouse that nobody used anymore. There had been an incident or something with the Batman a few weeks before, so there were still some marks on the walls and ground from the fight.

It inspired me every time I looked at it.

But surprisingly, I met her at school first.

It was early morning, and Megan and Courtney hadn't shown up yet. I was reclined on a tree, reading a book like I normally did, although nowadays, I just stared at the pages while my mind raced with thoughts about what I would do to train tonight. I had just decided that I would try bench-pressing the biggest piece of concrete I had accidentally thrown myself into the other night, when I realized there was someone standing in front of me.

I looked up to find a girl with thick blond hair and mischievous blue eyes, much like mine. She stood with a bag slung over her shoulder and one hand propped on her hip.

"You're Kara," she didn't ask, she knew.

"And you are?"

"Call me Cassie, I know Barbara."

Those three words stopped my thoughts in my tracks. I tapped the ground next to me, and Cassie sat down immediately, relaxing right into the spot next to me.

"How…?" I asked, but she picked it up for me.

"I met her when she was in Greece; she's traveling with my Aunt, so I traveled with them for a few weeks before I decided to split on my own. Babs suggested that I try a year or two in high school for the real American teenager experience—and she said that you would be able to help me adjust if I needed it."

"So you actually listened to her?"

"My Aunt provided me with the address I needed to be considered, and I've got a sort of…sponsor, if you will. He owed my Aunt a favor, so he agreed to be my temporary guardian." Her grin seemed absolutely devilish.

"Who?" I couldn't imagine who would owe Babs' tutor a favor.

"Bruce Wayne,"

I felt like a weight lifted from my body, and I felt myself smile. "Cassie, I do believe we can be great friends."

It was only when we were about to leave for the day that I realized she already knew Dick. I walked up to the town car with her, talking about the music differences between Europe and America, when I realized it was the same I had often walked Babs up to.

"Miss Kent," Alfred smiled as I approached, "How good to see you again! All is well, I hope?"

"Yea, I've been pretty good, how about you?"

"Well, I must say my day was considerably brightened upon receiving my first letter from Miss Gordon. We have an agreement that I not tell Master Richard." He explained when my shock apparently bled through, "As I'm sure you've heard, there was a disagreement between the young Masters and dear Barbara, but I have no quarrel with her, and thankfully, she knows that,"

"Who knows what?" Dick seemed incredibly bored as he walked up to the car; he looked me up and down with an apathetic look before he threw his bag in the car.

"Oh nothing, Master Richard," Alfred smiled, attracting Dick's sharp, interrogating stare. Taking his audience into account, however, he har-umphed and climbed into the car.

"You should have seen it when he realized I saw her in Greece," Cassie whispered, "I just about knocked him out when he wouldn't quit with the questions. Anyway, see you tomorrow?"

"Sure," I smiled, "I'm happy you're here Cassie,"

"So am I," she grinned.

She surprised me though—I didn't realize just how happy I would be until later on, at the warehouse.

I had finished bench-pressing the block a while ago, and then proceeded to break it into even smaller chunks with just one punch. It was clear that I was improving, but there was only one thing I couldn't get past.

"So," a voice asked, completely at ease, "Are you gonna actually fly at some point?"

I whirled around to see Cassie, of all people, leaned against the windowsill of one of the ceiling windows, chomping on an apple. She was wearing a black shirt with a slightly altered Wonder Woman logo, and red sweat pants with white stripes down the sides. Like her apparent idol, she had a lasso on her hip, and cuffs on her wrists.

"Cassie?" I was completely shocked.

"The only and only," she bowed, "But in this costume I prefer Wonder Girl."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," she smiled, "I thought you would be used to it by now,"

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, "I really should start. What are you doing here?"

"Watching you, duh," she finished the last bite of her apple and tossed it out the window behind her, "Babs said you might not be in a good state, and asked me to keep an eye on you, although," she surveyed my makeshift costume, "given the logo you wear, and the clear power you possess, I'm not sure you need a babysitter."

"I don't!" I wanted to be angry, but I figured I could have very well worried Babs; I really hadn't been myself lately.

"Clearly," she said, dropping to take a seat, "So, are you gonna fly anytime soon?"

I felt the tension mount in my stomach.

I had started to fly in the hospital, yes, but each time since, when I tried to go above ten feet, my fear kicked in, and I ended up falling. I could hover just above the ground, and push myself forward at full speed, but I didn't dare go higher. I just couldn't get over my phobia.

"I have a bit of a problem with that," I muttered.

"Can you fly?"

"I—yes," I really didn't want to explain it.

"Ok then, fly up here, to me," she patted the spot next to her.

"It—it's more than that," I tried, "I…it's a long story."

"Ok," she said, "Come up here and tell me about it."

"I…" I could do that, I could fly up—I just couldn't look down. I closed my eyes and willed myself upward, toward Cassie. It felt so natural to fly—like it was a part of who I was. I heard a whistle, and looked up to see Cassie smiling.

"See?" she said, "No problem at all,"

I smiled, and landed easily on the sill next to her. But when I turned to sit down, I looked over the edge, and saw the ground several yards below. I let out a yell and stumbled backward, trying to escape the yawning void below me. "Woah!" Cassie yelled, grabbing my hand and pulling me in so that I leaned where she had. I kept my eyes glued shut, not willing to look either way.

"What was that about?" Cassie sounded somewhere between angry and deeply concerned. I slid down until I was sitting and pulled my legs to my chest.

"I-I-I'm af-fraid of he-ei-eights," I stuttered through my shuddering breaths, not willing to look up.

"How on Gaea does that make any sense? You're Supergirl—that's kinda one of your things,"

"I know, and I can't explain it, I've just always had a problem with heights—I can't look down on anything over ten feet tall. Everything falls to crap and I can't control myself. How on Earth am I supposed to be Supergirl if I can't fly?"

Cassie rubbed my shoulders, trying to calm me down. "Hey, hey," she said, surprisingly gentle, "It's ok, I'll help you. We'll figure this out, don't worry,"

"You're gonna help me?"

"Of course, I always help my friends,"

I finally opened my eyes to look at her, if only because I was surprised by her sentiment. "You've only known me for one day,"

"Honey," she said, turning to sit by me, "Where I come from, every woman you meet is your sister. I know it doesn't always work that way here, but what can I say?" she grinned, "Old habits die hard,"

I felt myself smile. So this was Babs' ultimate souvenir—a new friend to fill the gap. I wiped my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Good," Cassie smiled, "Now, let's get you flying,"