He woke up feeling like Thor had smashed his head with... myol… mioneer? With his hammer. He barely had the strength to sit up in his bed, his eyes crustier than SpongeBob's hamburgers.
"I need an aspirin," he said, making a couple appear in his open palm. He wasted little time throwing them into his mouth, only to realize there was no glass of water in sight. He must have been very drunk to forget something like that. He had gotten into the habit of leaving a glass of water years ago.
"I need water," he said as best as he could, receiving a conveniently sealed bottle of water. Of course, it was after a good couple of seconds trying to regain his balance after standing up that he realized he didn't need to suffer through this. "I don't get hungover," he said. "Aah, much better."
He might as well have skipped to his ensuite, taken a hot shower, brushed his teeth, and more or less gotten ready for the day. He walked out of his room in a pair of gray sweatpants and slippers, very aware of the changes his body had gone through—or more accurately, the changes he had inflicted upon it.
Last night, in an effort to look more attractive, he had reduced his body fat percentage a bit. He was pretty fit, but there was a little bit of stubborn fat refusing to be evicted. He had retouched his musculature a bit too. In a comic book world, being aesthetically pleasing was par for the course. He was okay with the changes; he had to admit that it elevated him from a solid seven to a strong eight. It was a little strange though. He was not a vain person, and perhaps more importantly, he had never felt the need to look more attractive than what he already was, so he was a little lost on the whys.
"Ah well, whatever."
He walked into the kitchen only to find Kara already there, helping herself to some kind of herbal concoction. He was willing to bet it wasn't terrestrial; it smelled pleasant though. She was dressed in jeans and a comfy-looking sweater, and she was also sporting a rather impish smile.
He played oblivious to the pair of eyes following his moves. After all, he was the one walking semi-undressed, and they felt more analytical than leering. He walked calmly to the coffee maker. He could, of course, create one with his powers, but the routine of making one himself had always felt oddly calming. It would give him time to try to remember whatever had happened last night as well.
"You look skinnier," Kara commented after taking a sip of her drink.
"I kind of am. Apparently, I made myself lose some fat last night," he shrugged, pouring his freshly brewed coffee.
"Did you now? I guess it would make sense," she nodded along.
He turned to look at her. "How so?" he asked. He didn't think he had given her the impression of someone body-conscious.
"Well, your... companion... looked like the kind of girl who'd care about that," she said, her smile widening a bit at his confused expression.
"Companion? Wow, it had been some time since I allowed myself to black out like that. Thinking back, I don't really remember getting back into the house either."
"You don't remember, do you? How ungentlemanly," she said.
"Okay, first of all, this is a no judgment zone," he said, gesturing at the kitchen. "And second, of course I rem—" he couldn't finish his 'incantation' because, faster than he could blink, a piece of toast was shoved into his mouth.
"Nope, no powers," she said, back in her seat. "And I am not judging. Believe it or not, sex was not a thing in Krypton. I have little to no frame of reference to judge you with," she said, letting her mug down and putting both hands on the counter. "Although, I did have quite the enlightening conversation this morning." She looked so innocent that he almost took it at face value.
"What did you do?" he asked calmly. Of course, he was internally panicking, but she didn't need to know that.
"That is quite the heart rate you've got going," she commented, buffing her nails.
"Oh, come on!" So unfair.
"Relax, it was funny. She thought I was your girlfriend. It surprised me a little, but well, she was pretty small. I denied it, of course, and we did have a nice conversation afterward. She left you a little note with contact info if you're interested."
He took a small sip of coffee before answering. "I'm not sure I want it. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure we had a nice enough time, but I don't really remember her. It would be kind of weird."
"Yeah, I figured. The problem is, while we were chatting, she asked me something funny. She asked if I had seen anything strange happening, like drinks or other small stuff, including prophylactics appearing out of nowhere. I thought you might be interested in the name of the girl that could potentially know you have superpowers."
That's not good. "Okay, I might need that piece of paper after all."
"And I might give it to you, for a price, that is," she said.
It was far too early for him to muster even the faintest will to argue, so he nodded. "Sure, what is it?"
"Just like that? Come on! I even made, like, a whole plan to get you to agree."
"I mean, for what? Dude, what do you want to ask for? Please don't tell me it's some kind of weird Kryptonian shit because I'll tell you right now, I am not into alien probes."
"Iugh no, don't be weird. Nothing too out there. It's just... you did tell me not to get used to having you fix my problems and all."
"Well yeah, you shouldn't ask me to fix everything, but I don't know, I meant it more for things that could benefit you in the long run. Fixing your little power control thing didn't cost me anything, but I bet learning to control them would have been good for you. It could have helped you get to know yourself better or whatever. If I hold your hand through every annoying yet fulfilling stage of your life, your growth as a person would stop. Stagnation is a subtle kind of death, Kara. I wouldn't willingly inflict it upon you," he explained.
"That's surprisingly thoughtful of you," she acknowledged.
"I have my moments," he nodded. "Now, can I have the number of the girl who might or might not know of my powers? I'm getting a little anxious. What if she decides to upload something on social media? I don't know if I can erase something like that. Actually, I probably can. Never mind."
"It does seem like something you should be able to do, and this," she said, waving the piece of paper, "is a fake. I didn't actually talk to them."
He shook his head patronizingly. "As I live and breathe, lying and scheming. Who would have thought? Shame on you, Supergirl. Shame. On. You. What would your fans say?" he paused. "Did you see them?"
"I did. I didn't get a close enough look, but I'm sure there were two. I have to say, they were really small, like my size small. Are you sure you did nothing, you know, illegal?"
"Positive," he said. "I'm sure Lucifer would not..." They shared a look. "Okay, so I might want to find out exactly who these girls are."
"Well, finding out should not be a problem."
He looked blankly at her. He might be panicking.
She rolled her eyes. "Come on, Zac, use that smooth brain of yours. You can use your powers to know, or you could ask Lucifer. Hell, JARVIS," she called out, "run a background search for the girls that spent the night here, would you?"
"Acknowledged," returned the dull voice of the forgotten AI.
"Good, good. God, I was feeling a little claustrophobic."
"You need to remember, with your powers, you are only as trapped as you allow yourself to be," she told him. "As for my favor, well, with my powers back, I'm having a little difficulty, er, shaving my, ah... my legs," she admitted sheepishly. "Razors don't work, and while I can do it with my heat vision, it's awkward, like I have to use mirrors, kind of awkward. So I thought I'd blackmail the all-powerful wizard god I'm living with," she said, cheeky brat.
"Hilarious," he deadpanned. He had been a little worried at the beginning. "And you didn't actually tell me how to use JARVIS. Anyways, Kara has the ability to control her hair at will, there we go. Smooth legs forever, you're welcome."
She was about to respond when JARVIS interrupted her.
"Master, Mistress, I have finished compiling the dossier for your overnight guests. Shall I proceed with the delivery?"
"Ooh, master! I like it," he said. It made him feel important.
Kara rolled her eyes. "Ignore him, JARVIS. From now on, I'll be referred to as Miss Kara. He'll be Mr. Zac."
"Acknowledged, new directives integrated."
"Good. Now go on, show us what poor homely girls Zac managed to lure here, please." His irritated noises went unnoticed.
"Didn't you see them already?"
"I wasn't really paying attention," she said, shrugging. "I was more surprised than anything."
"Very well," JARVIS said, stopping any other response before creating a 1:1 replica of what he assumed was one of the girls that had accompanied him home last night. "This is Miss Emily Johnson. She is 20 years old, hailing from London, England." He wasn't one to brag, but damn, drunk Zac had to have some type of game because that was one hell of a woman. Chestnut hair, bright green eyes—she had a face people would go to war for. People in this reality were insanely beautiful.
"Is there anything else you can tell me about her?" he asked.
"Of course, Miss Emily is currently employed by the American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She began her ballet training at the age of five and has since showcased remarkable dedication and passion for the art form. She has received extensive training from prestigious ballet academies, including the Royal Ballet School, where she graduated with honors. She has participated in numerous national and international ballet competitions. She was awarded the gold medal at the Youth America Grand Prix and also received the Outstanding Performance Award at the International Ballet Competition in Helsinki. Furthermore, she has been a featured soloist in productions such as 'Swan Lake' and 'Giselle' at the renowned Covent Garden."
"Ok, wow. I knew she was pretty, but come on! I'm a superhero, and my resume isn't that impressive!" Kara said. "What about the other one?"
"That, Miss Kara, would be Miss Sophia Chen." Was it racist to think she looked like a hot ninja assassin? Because she totally did. She was a little shorter than Emily. "She is 21 years old and originally from Shanghai, China. Much like Miss Emily, she is currently employed by the ABT. She has trained at prestigious institutions like the Beijing Dance Academy and the Paris Opera Ballet School. She was the recipient of the Prix de Lausanne, one of the most esteemed ballet competitions in the world. Her performances in productions such as 'The Nutcracker' and 'Romeo and Juliet' have received critical acclaim."
"Ok, ok, I get it!"
"Come on now, I want to hear this. Such talented young women," he praised.
"Ugh!" she said, raising her hands in exasperation.
"I think I deserve a high five," he proposed.
She looked carefully at him, then at both holograms, then back at him. "You kind of do. I can only imagine the chain of bad decisions that led them to you," she said, smiling innocently while offering her hand.
"That's not nice," he said, still high-fiving her, although reluctantly. "I'm good-looking, I'm a catch, you don't know," he defended.
"Oh, I'm not saying you are not, but look at them!" she said, pointing.
"I know! Isn't that great?" She gave up and decided to keep eating her breakfast.
"Just so you know, I'm going to be judging whatever 'homely looking' boys or girls you bring home."
"Yeah, no."
"Of course, I am. I kinda have to now."
"Not that. I'm not bringing any."
"...why?"
"I might be okay with you people sucking on each other's bodies, but I am a Kryptonian. We don't do that," she shrugged.
"Not true. I looked around the internet last night, you know, after your curfew," she made a face at him, "and according to the newspapers I found, your cousin was involved with Wonder Woman."
She scrunched her nose. "Please don't call it that. And Kal was an outlier. He was raised on Earth after all, I wasn't."
"Come on! Everybody needs a little romance in their lives."
"And I might have it. Kryptonians were not against that. I just won't be having sex. I don't see the big deal."
"What type of Disney-level bullshit is that? You've been here long enough to know that shit doesn't work. I mean, look at them," he said, pointing at the still-present holograms. "Don't you wanna, you know?" He gestured vaguely.
"Well, I'm sixteen, so for now? I don't particularly care. Now, can we please change the subject?"
"Oh boy, just you wait. Hormones make stupids out of all of us, but you are right. Let's talk about something else." He'd still judge her cuddle buddies if it came to that; she didn't need to know that yet. "Got anything on your mind?"
"I do actually have something I need advice on," she said.
She wasn't making eye contact and looked a little insecure about whatever it was. So he did the gentlemanly thing and sat himself in the kitchen aisle, gesturing for her to follow while he ate his scrambled eggs.
"Go on, I'm listening," he told her.
"Remember when I told you my cousin was dead?"
"I do, yes," he said, carefully chewing his toast to give her time to formulate her words.
"Well, the one from this Earth is," she said cautiously.
"Hmm," he said, signaling he was listening. He couldn't help but think that perhaps she'd ask him something wacky, like kidnapping a Superman from another reality. He was not opposed to the idea actually; he wasn't a fan of the repercussions, though.
"There is... Rao, this sounds weird. There is another Kal living on the planet."
"Another? Like a clone?" he asked.
She scrunched up her nose. "No, not a clone," she said in distaste. "As far as I know, he is from a parallel reality. The problem is, I know he exists. He knows I exist, but... I... he's ignoring me? More like we are kind of ignoring each other? I... well, I want to talk to him but I dunno. Feels weird, I guess. What I'm trying to say is, should I go talk to him? I know he is not my Kal, but... I don't know, he is still my cousin, right? Still family."
That was actually a hard topic to jump into, especially for him, seeing as his own family drama was an ongoing thing. He wanted to help her, though, so he dug deep into his memories, to a time when he had wanted to mend fences and rebuild his home, so to speak. Before anything, he had to make sure of something. "Are you sure you want my help? Between us, this kind of thing is not my forte," he said, pausing to use a napkin to wipe his mouth. "I am here if you want me, though," he reaffirmed.
"I... yeah. It's... hard bringing up the subject with my foster parents. They are... not perfect, but they are trying, even beyond their jobs as my liaisons with the DEO. I can see it, feel it even. But yeah, broaching the subject would feel awkward."
He shrugged. "Works for me," he said. "I think..." he paused, gathering his thoughts. "I think the first thing you have to do here is, as cliché as it might sound, ask yourself why do you want to talk to him? And I mean ask yourself. Truly. Honestly. Why is it that you want to talk to your cousin? Why now? To what end? You can tell me if you want, no judgment zone and all," he told her, trying to inject a little levity into the situation.
"I..." she gave a false start, sighing she continued, "I've been thinking about it lately. About him, about... about Family." He could see her out of the corner of his eye, looking at her hands. "It just keeps going and going and going. I'm not completely sure if humanity's sense of family translates completely to the Kryptonians. Back home, family is everything, your house is everything. You live to perpetuate what your forefathers created and embodied, you wear your house with pride, knowing that your lineage stood the test of time and remains steadfastly for what they believed in, like this," she said, gesturing to the 'S' below her shirt, "or at least, that's how it was taught. When Kal died, I swore I'd carry our House's ideals. That I'd let everyone know that House El meant Hope, even if most people would only see an 'S'. Even if all they saw was a blur of colors. Even if... even if I was the only one remaining... But I'm not the only one, am I?" She asked, not really needing an answer. "He lives. Yet somehow I'm still alone." She sighed heavily. "Not that you are not company enough or anything," she added nervously. "Am I not making much sense?"
"You are making enough, don't worry," he reassured. There were many things he wanted to say—reassurances, promises, a whole bunch of platitudes ready to roll out of his tongue. He opted to drag her seat closer to himself and give her a tight side hug. There would be time for him to show her that she wasn't alone, that there are and will be people more than willing to stand by her side. For now, he would listen. "Please, I'm more than company enough, thank you very much."
"Whatever you say, Zac. Whatever you say," she smiled. "But yeah, I... I want to know why. Why is he not here? Why am I doing this alone? What is more important than family? Rao, I must sound so ungrateful. You've been nothing but good to me, and here I am, whining like a child."
"Well, you are a child, aren't you?" She swatted his shoulder as best as she could given their position. "Okay, it didn't come out right. What I meant is, it's quite natural to want to have your family close, isn't it? Especially in your case. Having someone who has experience as a hero, someone who could bail you out of trouble, someone who you know you can trust completely and who has nothing but your best interests in mind," he explained. "Sounds reasonable enough if you ask me." He stood up and banished whatever was left of his breakfast. He wasn't washing dishes today. He turned to her. "Your cousin dropped the ball on this one. Don't get me wrong, he could have the best excuse in the world and be appropriately appalled at his behavior once we confront him, but I'm still gonna smack him in the face."
"What?"
"No need to thank me. It's the least I can do."
"Who is thanking you, you doofus? He's Superman, the strongest hero on the planet."
"And he'll be as strong as a baby platypus if I want him to be," he said, completely unrepentant.
"That's not... I... that wasn't... gah!" She threw her hand up.
"Kryptonian prodigy, ladies and gentlemen," he joked. "Hey, so, wanna go right now? I kind of want to watch some TV first. Let him have breakfast in peace and all."
"You want to go today? Wait, you want to go?" she asked.
"Oh, I don't 'want' to go. I'm going. And I mean, why not? Better get your answer soonish. We're having a movie marathon today."
"But what if-"
"Ap ap ap," he said, "whatever problems could come out of me being there can be fixed, by me obviously, but fixed. I'm not about to let you go in blind. For all we know, this other Kal of yours is a serial killer."
"...fair enough. I don't think he is, obviously, but the idea is sound," she conceded. "So, what will we be watching in this marathon of yours? Actually, why are we watching whatever we are watching?"
"You up for it then? Cool," he said, not really answering.
"Might as well," she said. "I managed to wrangle out a little 'me' time from the DEO, so I should be able to stay until reasonably late. Now, stop avoiding the question. What are we watching, and why?"
"We'll be watching some of my reality's movies. There is a lot of overlap between my reality and this one, but there is also a lot that didn't make it here. Don't really know why. Best bet is that superpowers changed things enough to make some of the artists back home choose other careers or whatever. But yeah, we are going to watch superhero movies."
"Superhero movies? But you said there were no superheroes there."
"There aren't. These movies are fiction. Should give me an idea of what to do with my powers though."
"Or you could literally watch the news. There is enough superhero activity there to get inspired."
"Yeah, but throwing popcorn at the TV because a fight against a supervillain was not entertaining enough is in very bad taste."
"Fair enough."
"Also, I might get somewhat famous from here on out."
"Famous?" she asked. "Why would you become famous? Why would you even want that?"
"For monetary purposes, mainly," he explained. "I want to be able to buy stuff, you know, without creating it. Besides, I kind of want to see what it's like to be famous, even if I end up dropping it."
"You could always become a superhero. Not to brag, but I'm fairly famous myself."
"Yeah, but you don't get paid for it," he argued.
"Point. How are you going to do it?"
"That's easy. I already have to 'perform' at the Lux three times a week—uncle Lucy called in a favor, don't ask—might as well take advantage and play popular songs from my side. I'm sure I could make some money out of it."
"Sounds, I don't know, cheap? No offense," she said.
"None taken. I think so too," he said.
He had come up with the idea in the shower. After his previous night's performance (the one he could remember), he reverted his violin skills back to normal. He couldn't bring himself to keep them at the elevated level. He loved the violin and classical music. Making himself better at it felt wrong, shameful even. He did not like the feeling. It was actually the first rule he had come up with himself. He would not use his powers to make things he loved doing easier. He had no such problems with pop music.
"Why do it then? I'm sure you could come up with something better to make yourself famous."
"I think I could too. There are a good couple of reasons, though. The one that comes to mind is managing my ego. I'd like to think I'm not vain enough to get lost in this fame thing, but you never know. I could become a total diva prancing around and shit. I think that using other people's material could be a good way to remind myself that even if I get famous, it's not because of me, you feel me?"
"I understand," she nodded. "You are a weird guy, you know that?"
"Says the super alien," he needled. "But enough of me. Are we going or what?"
After a small pause, she spoke. "You know what? Fine, let's get this over with."
"Atta girl! Come on, the guy's a superhero. How bad could it go?"
"Are you seriously tempting fate like that? You should know better," he rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, give me your hand. I'll teleport us," he said, offering his hand to her.
"Are you going dressed like that?" she said, bringing to his attention that he hadn't taken the time to put on a shirt yet.
"Oh, right. Hmmm, business casual," he said, changing his sweatpants for dress pants, his slippers for dress shoes, and finally adding a nice button-up shirt. "Is this okay? I don't really know where we are going. He doesn't live in the Arctic, does he?"
"I'm not sure," she said. "He could. We didn't get to talk that much."
"I'm impervious."
"Impervious to what?" she asked.
"Everything, I suppose. Don't sweat it. Ready?" He offered his hand again. He thought he heard something about unfair powers, but he was sure he was imagining it.
She took a couple of deep breaths before taking his hand. "I am. Let's go."
"Take us to Kal-El." Of course, he thought more about getting somewhere close to him, not right up in his face, but that was implied.
They appeared in what looked to be a farm. He could even see a barn a couple of meters ahead of them. The doors looked weird, covered in vines, and weird plants littered the ground.
"This it?" he asked.
"I think so. My Kal was raised on a farm. It would surprise me if he lived in one now," she paused for a bit. "I can hear his heartbeat. It's a little irregular."
He was about to speak when he heard the revving of an engine. Looking toward the source, he saw a truck heading straight at the barn. Both of them watched in wonder as the woman driving fearlessly crashed through the barn doors with a cry that sounded suspiciously like "Get away from my son."
He turned to Kara. "You should probably get on that," he said, pointing at the barn.
She must have been really out of it not to stop the woman from crashing. Shaking herself, Kara took his hand and, in a show of speed, moved them both inside. They made it just in time to see a redhead woman punching the one driving the truck right in the mouth. She had good form too.
He took a look around. There was a little kid on the ground, clearly unconscious, and three adults—two guys and a woman—wrapped in vines with a weird-looking flower growing in front of their chests.
"Lois Lane? Poison Ivy?" he heard Kara mutter.
"Supergirl?" the, now that he looked closer, green-skinned woman asked.
"Kara?" the woman he assumed to be Lois asked. "Jon!" She exclaimed, clambering towards who he assumed was her son.
"Anyone mind telling me what the hell is going on?" he asked.
He already knew that whatever came out of this was not going to be fun. Oh well, he could do with some morning entertainment.
A/N: I don't own anything besides myself and my OCs.
