The countdown to vacation and sanity hath begun. And I mean the REAL vacation. This year, we've made the decision that we're going to spend the money and head back up to the Blue Ridge again because the need to recharge is so huge. It's been two years and I'm NEVER going without at least one season up there again. I get absolutely too miserable without it.

That said, we'll be gone the 27th of October through the 2nd of November. Now, there's not going to be posting that week, as we'll be getting home the day before it's due and we plan to actually head out and do things so we can clear our heads and be filled up with all of those wonderful plots that Mountain-Time always gives us.

We'll be looking everything over and might even take two weeks, just so it's fair to both sets of readers. I hate to leave one or the other hanging, so I'll let you know what we decide. ;)

I'll keep you all posted.

Tim was glad to be back in Gotham City again, but he found it quiet—too quiet. With Red Hood apparently gone and Black Mask in jail, the average level of violence and mayhem had dropped. Not for long, of course. But right now, the relative peace made him uneasy. Someone somewhere was plotting the next big thing.

He spent hours on patrol, monitoring his city, only to return to Titans headquarters and pore over the databases from there. That was what he was in the middle of doing when Steph and Cassie descended on him.

Steph propped her hip against his desk and leaned over so she blocked his view of the screens. "Hey Robin, two hot blondes have been calling your name for the last five minutes. What gives?"

Tim looked up at her sternly. There was only a year or so between them, but sometimes he felt impossibly old and serious compared to Steph. "I've got work to do," he told her.

"There's always work to do, Tim," Steph said. "That's how this business works. But it's quiet right now. Let's steal a little time to ourselves, hmm? I think, after the last month or so, we're kinda allowed a little real-life downtime. I only mean a couple of hours, nothing drastic."

"It's only quiet because they're planning something else," he insisted.

Cassie cut in then, frowning a little. "Come on. None of us can do this 24/7. Remember when I couldn't get that through my head? You can take a break. Really, you need to take a break. I promise Gotham won't implode if you do. Nightwing's still out there backing up patrols right now and you know Dinah is, too."

He scowled, and Steph added, "Seriously, I'd be worried about you growing into that chair if you didn't spend so much time patrolling. When was the last time you slept more than two hours?"

"Or ate something that wasn't a protein bar?" Cassie put in, crossing her arms to stare at him.

The Amazonian Disapproval Glare didn't work. Tim had more important things in mind at the moment. With the entire Bat-family off-balance after Red Hood's war, Tim had to push himself as hard as he could. Bruce was as broken as he'd been after Jason Todd's death, and this time Tim wasn't sure he could put him back together.

"Enough of this. His girlfriend can't make him see sense, the Amazon can't make him see sense," Steph sighed. "That's it. Cassie, let's call in the big guns."

"I'm on it," Cassie said with utter seriousness, pulling out her phone and sending a text.

Tim scowled more intensely. Whatever nonsense they had planned, he wasn't going to get into it. Gotham was too important, the mission was too important, he had no time for frivolity … and then he heard a heavier step walking into the room, and Jason Kent picked him bodily up out of the chair and set him down, staring eye to eye. "This is an intervention, Tim," he said.

"I don't need an intervention," Tim growled back, automatically trying to shrug free of Jason's grip and failing utterly.

Cassie took one arm and Steph took the other. For the first time Tim saw the worry in their expressions. Jason looked at him with honest blue eyes full of concern. "Tim, you're not Bruce. You shouldn't have to be Bruce. That's why there's a whole network of Bats. And even with that, things still happen. Everything that goes wrong in Gotham isn't your fault. You guys wouldn't be a team if you were meant to handle it on your own."

"And that's a Super telling you that you have a guilt complex," Steph added.

Jason smiled, sadly. "You can't fix all of it, either. You have to be a person first, before you can be a hero. Even Dick would tell you that. And people our age go on double dates and eat pizza and watch movies. Also something Dick would tell you."

"Sometimes we all need to remember why we do this," Cassie said.

"I know why I do it," Tim snarled. "I'm not like the two of you—I don't have powers and feel the need to use them for good. I'm not like Steph or Helena, I don't have a family history to atone for. I'm not like Dick or Jay, either, I didn't lose everything and turn to crime-fighting so no one else would have to go through that. You forget, guys, I'm in this because he needs me!"

"Yeah, and he needs you in top form," Jason replied. "Which you won't be in if you work yourself to death like this. Tim, you're going out in plainclothes tonight, we're going to have pizza, we're going to watch a movie. If you don't like it you can sulk all night, but we're kids. We need to have some fun once in a while."

"Besides, Babs is on surveillance tonight," Steph said.

For a moment, Tim swayed. Most of him wanted to stay in and work, because that was his calling, that was what he was best at. But there were times when he yearned to be ordinary again. The prep school boy who'd been genius enough to figure out Batman's identity was in his past now; Red Robin was his present and future.

But … he wasn't just Robin. "All right, I'll go," he said, and part of him was relieved. If he became as obsessed and driven as Bruce was, then who was going to be Robin for him and drag him out into the light? Who, if not his best friends.

Cassie and Jason high-fived each other, and Steph kissed his cheek. "All right then, pizza and a movie it is," Jason proclaimed. "Just no action movies. They're too ridiculous."

That got a laugh from Tim. When their whole lives were one long action film, of course they couldn't bear to watch movies that got the details wrong. "We'll find something," he said, already feeling better.

…

Lana had just finished reading an email from Kay when her phone rang. It wasn't the usual ring, either. Lana tended not to use individual ring tones for contacts, but a certain someone had a habit of 'borrowing' her phone as often as she borrowed clothes, so the redhead knew who was calling even without hearing the intro to a cover of Fleetwood Mac's Gypsy. "Hello, Kala," she answered, laughing.

The young woman she thought of as her oldest daughter—lack of blood relation notwithstanding—replied brightly, "Hi, Lana! Guess what? We just got back from the tour."

"That's wonderful! A whole day early, too. Congratulations, Kala." She leaned back in her desk chair, smiling. While she loved the fact that Kala was pursuing her dream with all the determination she'd inherited from both Lois and Clark, Lana also simply missed her. Having her back in Metropolis was going to be a delight.

"Yes, we tanked up on gas station coffee and drove through the night to save on hotel fees. And thanks, I'm so glad to be back. Much as I love the road, it's good be home again. Speaking of which, are you home?"

Lana's eyebrows went up slightly at that. Prepare for the invasion of the starving teenager, she thought. "Why yes, actually, I am. Why do you ask?"

A pause, and then Kala began, "Well, Mom and Dad aren't home…"

The wheedling tone was so much like eight-year-old Kala that Lana laughed aloud. "Let me guess. Lois and Clark aren't home, there aren't any convenient leftovers at their house, you haven't eaten anything but fast food and snacks throughout the tour, and you're craving some homemade food."

"Busted," Kala admitted.

Lana could just see the expression on her face, Lois' expressive eyes and Clark's sheepish grin. "Come on over. I'll make you lunch."

"Um, I kinda have the band with me. And Dustin too." Oh yes, she knew that tone. Luckily Lana was prepared to entertain. A few years of being swarmed by Jason and Kala had taught her to keep quick, filling meals on hand at all times.

"Bring them all. Where are you?"

A long pause, with some chuckling in the background, and then Kala said, "In the elevator."

That earned her the richest laugh yet. Who couldn't love this silly child? "You can have chips and dip while I make spaghetti. Meat sauce or white sauce, Kala?"

"Oh God, if it's you making it, I'll break my vegetarian vows. Meat sauce. And maybe meatballs too? Pretty please with sugar on top?" Kala was practically drooling into the phone.

Shaking her head, Lana wondered how the girl who could fly to any restaurant in the world wound up in love with her grandmother's spaghetti sauce recipe. "If you're lucky," she teased. "Still have your key?"

"Um, no, it's in my bag in the van. But I'll be at the door in like two minutes."

"I'll see you there," Lana said, and took a moment to pour chips into a bowl and put out a couple kinds of salsa. Teenagers couldn't be expected to wait while a meal cooked; she'd learned long ago to offer appetizers to keep Kala and Jason from ransacking her pantry. Just as she set that down, the doorbell rang.

As usual, the dogs alerted her to the presence of guests. Dusty the beagle bayed, but only once. Narcissa the Doberman made no sound, but when Lana went to the door she found the larger dog standing in front of it, staring , her nub of a tail wagging. "Back up," Lana said crisply, and Dusty bounded excitedly up the hallway, while Narcissa took two steps back and sat down at Lana's side.

She'd no sooner unlocked and opened the door before Kala swept through it and practically dove into her arms. Lana squeezed her tightly; Kala was the one all the parents worried about, but they loved her all the more for her fiery personality. "Welcome home, sweetheart," Lana said, and kissed Kala's hair—which was blue-streaked this week.

"Missed you," Kala said, not pulling away from the hug.

Finally, it became too rude to keep the rest waiting in the hall, and Lana drew away with a smile. "Am I still your favorite evil stepmother?"

"Lana, if you feed us, you can be the evil queen, too," Kala teased. "C'mere, guys, meet my stepmom. It's a long story."

Of course Sebast already knew her and crowded in for a hug, and she'd met Morgan so he shook her hand. Dustin got a kiss on the cheek, too; Lana secretly hoped he and Kala would eventually work things out and settle down together. They were very much in love, and even better, they cared deeply for each other.

Meanwhile Kala was pointing out the two new members of the band. "This is our bassist, Robb, and our drummer, Ned. Guys, this is Lana, she's made of awesome. Oh, and one more thing," Kala paused, stepping in front of the two newcomers before they could get past the foyer. "Lana here is from Smallville, like Dustin. Remember, he's the progressive younger generation. So she's classic Midwestern American, never goes out of style, just like her clothes. What that means for you, guys, is no swearing in the house. I mean it. Also have some freakin' table manners or I'll slug you."

The two new band members started to laugh at that, but Sebast cut in. "She's not kidding. She'll wipe the floor with you if you disrespect the family. And I'll hold her jacket while she does it."

"Charming," Lana remarked, cutting them off. "A speech your mother would be proud of, Kala. Yes, gentlemen, it's a pleasure to meet you. Don't let Kala intimidate you. I've lived in Gotham, Paris, and Milan." She noted without surprise that one boy's head was shaved except for a topknot dyed electric blue, and the other had a safety pin through his ear in lieu of an earring. All the boys were wearing more eyeliner than she normally did, and Kala had obviously changed hurriedly from concert wear, as her own makeup was worthy of the stage.

"But you always come home to Smallville," Dustin pointed out.

"Don't we all?" Lana asked him, and Dustin hugged her.

She let the kids hover around her breakfast nook, where the chips and dip had been set out, and told Sebast, "You know where everything is, so I'm putting you in charge of drinks. Kala, get the meatballs out of the fridge, would you?"

"I drive all night to come see you, and you put me to work?" Kala pleaded, with sad eyes worthy of the beagle currently weaving between everyone's legs in hopes of a treat or some attention. Narcissa was more reserved, sitting just out of the way and watching the newcomers.

"That's what kids are for, Kala." Lana smirked to her; the two of them had always gotten along well. Except for the times Kala decided to dye Kristin's hair or paint her nails or buy her band t-shirts to sleep in, but even those had been quickly forgiven. As much as she tried to be fierce and intimidating, Kala had a lot of her father's sweetness in her, and Lana had always held a soft spot for that.

"You see what kinda trauma Kala had to go through," Sebast said, getting down the glasses. "I mean really, parents who expect you to work and do chores and entertain company? The horror. If she wasn't nineteen we'd call DCS right now."

"Hush, you," Lana warned. "I'm feeding you, remember?"

"Yes, ma'am. A pleasure to serve, ma'am," Sebast said quickly, and all of the kids laughed.

Spaghetti and meatballs was easy to put together, and quick, too. Lana let the kids' conversation drift over her as she and Kala arranged the meal. Apparently the multi-band tour had been good to them all, as they talked like old friends.

In the beginning, Lana had had her doubts about Kala's plans to pursue a music career. Clark had badly wanted his daughter to go to college like her brother, and Lana had been inclined to feel the same. Kala had talked her around to it eventually, however, and it seemed to have been a good choice. Even if nothing came of it in the end, Kala had followed her dreams, and Lana could respect that. She'd done much the same thing, setting out to become a fashion designer, and it had paid off for her.

She and Kala worked together in familiar comfort, Kala trotting out to the terrace to pluck some fresh basil leaves for the sauce. When she came back in, Lana asked her, "So what's the plan now?"

"Get an album together," Kala replied. "Also the boys are going to try to rent a house in the suburbs, and we're all going to get part-time jobs, and we'll take as many gigs as we can find, paying or not. The important thing now is exposure."

"I thought you already had enough songs for an album," Lana said, remembering all the time Kala and Sebast had spent poring over lyrics.

"Yeah, we do, but now that we have a full band, we've got to actually practice them until they're perfect, and then we have to produce an actual album. That takes studio time, and it's expensive. Cheaper here than in L.A., but that's like saying foie gras is cheaper in France."

Lana smiled. Kala sometimes seemed like the impulsive one, but she had definite plans. "So you're looking to rent a house, hmm? Need any help with that?"

"If you know a good realtor, that'd be awesome," Kala replied. "We should be able to swing the security deposit and stuff. Besides, Mom and Dad would squawk if you financed us."

"It's only money," Lana teased, but she understood. Clark and Lois didn't want either of their kids overindulged. The money Lana had set aside in their trust funds was a resource that could serve them all their lives, if they tended it carefully. Learning to handle that money helped both of them be more responsible adults, just as not having access to the principal kept them from being tempted to blow it all.

"We're good," Kala assured her with an infectious grin.

Lana reached out and rumpled her hair at that. Such easy confidence was a joy to see in Kala especially, given how her sixteenth year had gone. Now if only things between her and Dustin would work out, then Lana could stop worrying.

"So where is everyone staying tonight?" she asked.

"We'll get a hotel room for the guys, and Morgan, Sebast, and I are staying at home," Kala replied.

That made Lana grin. She was never happier than when she could help someone else. "Well then, I'll save you some trouble. We have a guest bedroom and a sleeper sofa here. Gentlemen, just let me call my husband and let him know, but I'm certain he'll agree to it."

"Aw, Mrs. White, you don't have to," Dustin began.

Lana cut him off, pointing the wooden spoon she'd stirred the sauce with toward him. "I could never show my face in Smallville again if I didn't offer you three boys a place to stay, so don't argue with me."

"I'm starting to want to see this town," Robb said.

"Me, too," Ned added. "Sounds interesting."

Kala laughed at that, her eyes sparkling. "Wait 'til you meet my dad, then."

…

After a thoroughly enjoyable lunch and a much-needed nap (on Lana's sleeper sofa, because she was too Midwestern to let him or Dustin sleep in the master bed with Kala), Sebast called his parents' house to let them know he was in town. "The van's parked somewhere good and cheap, can you pick me up from the Whites' place?" he asked.

His father muttered about it, but said he'd take care of it if Sebast took the subway out of the most congested part of town. Twenty minutes later he was standing at the agreed-up corner, suitcase in hand, feeling like a hitchhiker. Hopefully it would be Mami who came to pick him up. Papi would have too much to complain about, starting with Sebast's hair—longer than it had been when he'd left—and his eyeliner, which was smudged as hell. Sooner or later he'd get around to Sebast's fashion sense—"Why you dress like an undertaker, mijo?"—and his favorite topic of all: "When you gonna make an honest woman of that Kala, ay?"

On the one hand, his parents' persistent denial of his gayness made his life easier. He didn't get the lectures and the freakin' Santeria intervention his one cousin had gotten. But it irritated the hell out of him, the way they ignored what was obvious to anyone with three functioning brain cells. He'd once made Kala snort soda out of her nose by saying that his father would still ask when he was going to marry her even if he had photographic evidence of that one time backstage with both of the male ballet dancers in their grade.

Luckily, it wasn't his father who pulled up to the curb. Unluckily, Mikey was driving the sedan, with Mami riding shotgun. Zynthiana Vélez had a suspiciously wide-eyed look to her, and Sebast hesitated before throwing his bag in the back. "Oh, shit, you're old enough to drive now?" he said.

"Yeah, got my learner's permit," Mikey said. "Get in, bro, we'll take the long way home."

"Bitch, please, I been on the road for six months. Take me to home food and a bed or I'll cut you."

"You watch your mouth, Sebastiáno!" his mother scolded.

He sighed. "Mami, why you let him drive?"

"He's got to practice," she replied. "You don' want him to run into a bus or something, do you?"

"Like anybody can miss a damn bus. It's not like a scooter, Mami. Why I gotta be the guinea pig anyway?" Still, he got in the car, shut the door, and buckled up.

"I missed you too," Mikey laughed, and pulled back out into traffic with only the briefest of glances into his blind spot. Luckily the oncoming sedan was going slowly and braked to let him in, though the driver honked.

"Madre de Dios!" Zynthiana and Sebast yelped in unison. Mikey, of course, rapped out the rhythm to 'Shave and a Haircut, Two Bits' on his horn, and Zynthiana promptly slapped him on the ear. "Michael Antonio, don't you ever do that again! You can get a ticket in Puerto Rico for that!" The notes had a much different meaning on the island, a very insulting one.

"Mami, we're not in Puerto Rico!" Mikey protested, and she smacked him again for talking back.

Sebast couldn't help it. He started laughing. Five minutes back with his family, and everything was perfectly normal and right with the world. "I never thought I'd say this, but I missed you loco people."

"Watch who you're calling loco, mano," Mikey said. "I'm not the one wearing last night's eyeliner."

At that Zynthiana turned around for a better look, and frowned. "I swear I don't know why she lets herself be seen in public with you." She didn't have to say who 'she' was; as far as the Vélez family was concerned, Sebast and Kala had been a couple for five years, whether they knew it or not.

"Because I let her borrow my eyeliner if she breaks hers?" Mikey, who knew better, laughed so hard he almost missed a red light, and threw all of them forward against their seat belts. "Oh, God, we're all gonna die," Sebast groaned.

…

Later that evening, Cassie dropped by the Lane-Kent penthouse. Jason was already there; he'd texted her that Kala was home a day earlier than expected, and of course he'd rushed through his homework to see her. Cassie had smiled to read that text. Jason's adoration of his twin sister was profound, something that might've made other girls jealous. Cassie sometimes wished she'd grown up with a sister, but that was it. She had two pretty awesome sisters of her own, now.

Jason had let her know that Kala was alone, the rest of her band settled in at their own homes or in temporary lodging for the night, so Cassie made her landing on the balcony and knocked on the French doors. She saw Jason coming to open them, but Kala beat him to it. It wasn't as if the two girls had never met before, Kala ducking in to help out from time to time, but this was the first time Cassie had ever seen her in civvies and minus her domino. "Hey there," Jason's twin said brightly, and before she even crossed the threshold added, "So I hear you're dating my brother."

"Yeah, I am," Cassie replied, just as lightly. She'd been forewarned about Kala's tendency to chase off her brother's girlfriends, and took a moment to study the other girl. They'd never met out of uniform before, and Cassie had only ever seen her in a mask. As she walked in, she noted the iridescent violet lipstick, the artsy eyeliner, and the crushed velvet dress paired with spiky heels. Kala looked almost dressed for a date, but as a Goth singer, this was probably her 'normal' look. The photos Cassie had seen of her shows had been much more involved.

The frank appraisal got a mischievous grin from Kala, one brow quirking up. Arms crossed, responding in kind, she drawled, "Well, just so you know, there are some ground rules. One, if you turn out to be a spy for Luthor, then I'm kicking your ass."

And her brother played directly into her hands. "Kala!" Jason groaned. "Give me a break on this one, please? There's no point in you acting like a pitbull this time. We both know who she is. Diana knows her, for crying out loud. Lay off. " He shot Cassie an apologetic look, but she waved him off.

"If I ever hire on with someone like Lex Luthor, you have my permission and encouragement to kick my ass," she replied, laughing.

"Good answer. I'll call that one a pass. See, Jase, I'm being lenient this time." Kala smirked. "Two, don't be a fangirl. There's really nothing that makes dinner more awkward than that. Dad might be Superman, but Can-Head here is Super-dork, and I have photographic evidence. Like about nineteen years-worth. Not all things he knows about either."

Cassie couldn't help laughing as Jason spluttered a protest. "Trust me, I worked with him for a long time before we started dating. Your brother's pretty awesome, but we're too good friends for me to fangirl over him."

"Yeah, okay. That's a pass on round two then. For the record, I think he's actually pretty awesome, too. I just don't tell him much because it would kill his need to be humble," Kala admitted. And then her smile grew positively wicked. "Last rule: we're twins, so we share everything. Got it?"

And that must be Test Number Three, from her boyfriend's reaction. Jason groaned loudly, and grabbed Kala around the neck, trying to give her a noogie. Kala shrieked and slapped at him, kicking his shins as he moved to scoop his sister up. "Ow! Ow, you big dork! Stop it, Dopey!"

Cassie just laughed at them both, until Kala managed to wrench herself around to grab Jason and throw him to the floor. From another room came a stern, "No powers in the house!" in a voice Cassie knew well—one for whom being a fangirl was completely justified.

That was enough to stop the twins in mid-tussle. "Sorry, Daddy," Kala called back contritely, and Jason gave her the stink-eye as he got up.

"Cassie, I'm sorry. She does that all the time."

Kala was running a hand through her hair, giving him an arch look right back. "No one said you had to pick me up like a caveman, Lizardboy!"

"Hey, no big deal," Cassie replied with a shrug. "Themyscira and all, it's not a shock. Besides, sharing is caring, right?"

Jason just stared at her, dumbfounded, while Kala smirked. "Well you know with Amazons, it's practically part of the image."

The blonde couldn't resist teasing back. Now that there was a chance to actually talk to her, Jason's sister was actually pretty hilarious. "Can't let our brand down."

"Don't egg her on," Jason said, looking perplexed.

"What makes you think she's egging me on?" Kala retorted. "Maybe you stole one of my girlfriends back in high school, so now I'll steal one of yours."

Cassie cut in with, "Nah, I wouldn't let her steal me, rock star or not. We'd just work out a timeshare. After all, twins share everything." She figured wit and sass would serve her better than politeness with Kala.

By then Jason looked thoroughly confused. His twin, however, tipped her head back and laughed. "You are officially Kala-approved," she said, offering a hand for a high-five. "You're actually as cool out of uniform as you are in. Maybe Dopey managed to get something right this time." Cassie slapped her palm, grinning.

Parental approval was important, but a twin sister could really make her life hell if they didn't get along.

…

Kala woke up early the next morning, as usual, and slipped out of bed. She pulled on pajama bottoms underneath her nightgown and headed into the hall toward the living room. The apartment was still dark, and out of habit she tuned in to listen. Jason's heartbeat, slow and sleepy, came from his room across the hall. In the master bedroom, Mom's was equally soothing, the intrepid reporter still fast asleep. Two quicker beats came up the hall toward her as Chewie and Bagel approached, tails wagging rapidly. They weren't whining, though, so they'd already been out.

That meant the only other morning person in the household was awake, which didn't surprise Kala much. She snagged a muffin out of the kitchen and went out to the balcony, checking carefully with telescopic vision. The sky was beginning to lighten, the stars fading, and Kala's internal clock told her the sun would be up in mere minutes. Already the eastern horizon glowed.

She wouldn't miss this moment for the world. No one else was awake and looking in this direction, so Kala took off, soaring high above the city. As always, the pure joy of flight thrilled her. The only thing that came close was singing on stage, her voice the power cable connecting her to the immense generator that was the audience.

Five miles above Metropolis and out of the way of commercial airline flight paths, Kala came to a hover beside her father, who hung in the air with his cape rippling behind him. As always, pride filled up her chest just knowing he was her dad. She'd never forget how she had first felt when she realized where the other half of her heritage came from. Her Dad the hero. He looked over at her then and smiled. "Good morning."

"It will be," Kala said, still nibbling her muffin as she returned the smile. Any moment now, the sun would rise. Actually the earth would turn enough that the first rays of sunlight spilled across them; Kala had been in a position to see that quite clearly, something few people other than astronauts ever got to see.

"Just the pajamas?" he asked with a dubious look.

"One, no one's supposed to know that the Blur can fly," Kala told him, grinning. "Two, if anyone's looking they'll think you're holding me up somehow."

He nodded. "Just be careful." That was something they all had to be, all the time. To Kala it was natural to float in midair, but anyone else seeing her could've caused havoc with her father's secret identity. Soon enough they'd be out of range of anyone's eyesight.

The horizon brightened, the sky turning pink and orange and then fiery red. The first slice of impossibly-brilliant gold peeked over the edge, and Kala narrowed her eyes to slits against it. That gorgeous light smacked into her like the waves at the private beach in the Bahamas, only this was a wave that moved through her instead of moving her. Kala tipped her head back and sighed, echoing her father.

For long moments they hovered in the sweet radiance, and then Kal-El shook himself slightly. "Ready?" he asked.

"Always," Kala laughed, and they both rocketed upward. She was allowed to fly pretty much anywhere she wanted unaccompanied, but this she could only do with Dad by her side.

Ten miles, taking a deep breath while passing through the troposphere, and then into the bitter cold of the stratosphere. Here the sunlight was more intense and less filtered, and it gave Kala a fresh burst of energy. She rose higher, thirty miles above the city below, and broke into the mesosphere, which made the sub-freezing stratosphere seem positively balmy.

That was Kala's limit; she'd gone into the ionosphere only once, and then at dire need. The solar radiation she'd absorbed from it had repaired the damage kryptonite had done to her, rectified four days of total sun deprivation, and still left her with an excess charge that took a week to dissipate. No, fifty miles above the earth was just fine for Kala.

From up here, the planet's curvature was clearly visible, and everything below looked so much smaller. Roads, buildings, and boundaries disappeared; at this hour most of the world beneath her feet was a complicated tracery of lights. And to the east, the sun burned in all its magnificence. Kala threw her head back, her eyes tightly shut, her arms outspread, letting that purer radiance soak into her. Perfect.

Eventually, though, she could hold her breath no longer, and dropped back to breathable atmosphere. Kala hovered in the rising sunlight, comfortable and happy here as she was in few other places. A few minutes later, her father dropped down to her level. They remained in comfortable silence for a long while, until Kala sighed heavily. The last thing she wanted to do was put a damper on this rare moment, but he ought to know and she badly needed the reassurance. "The nightmares are back, Dad."

Kal-El sighed too, reaching out to place a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Stress, you think?" he asked. They never talked about what she dreamed about—drowning, sometimes, and sometimes the evil green light of kryptonite radiation, and once in a while the voice of General Zod—but he knew she dreamed things that haunted her. And she had always been unwilling to tell him, her expression utterly miserable when she did. Only with Jason did she discuss the content of those dreams, and some not even with him.

Leaning into the touch, not realizing how badly she had needed it, Kala replied slowly. "Stress and … generally feeling like I'm not getting anything useful done. I mean, we have a viable band now, and everything looks good on that front. We're getting closer and closer. But the touring…. It's hard, Daddy. I got a rewards points membership with Hilton so I could stay in Hampton Inns because they're usually pretty good, and now I've memorized the room layout. I got up from a nap at Lana's and was confused because the sink was behind the bathroom door instead of outside it."

"Traveling that much is stressful, but I thought you enjoyed it." Kala loved her father for his patience, for the way he made her feel like he'd take all day to get to the bottom of this with her if that was what she needed.

With the sunlight bright on her face, she could continue. "I do, but it's a lot of work, too. People don't realize that. And … it's not just the tour. I feel like things are coming apart again. Jase and Elise are in college, and all the capes know him and love him. Plus Jason is dating a demigoddess now, and I just broke up with the biggest mistake of my romantic career a couple months ago. I have Dustin, and he's a total catch, but really I'm just a singer who moonlights a little bit. A singer for a garage band. Compared to Jason, Hero to the People and all. Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing with my life is right. I want it, I really want it, but…"

A long pause then, and Kala knew he was thinking. Kal-El rarely answered a serious question quickly, and he pondered this one for long enough that she began to worry about the answer. "You know I wanted you to go to college," he said quietly. "But this is your dream, Kal. This is what you wanted since you were seven years old. It's not going to fall into your lap, you'll definitely have to work at it. But I honestly believe you have the talent and the determination to succeed. And if, after another year, you decide you don't want it, you can go to college like you told me."

"Yeah," Kala sighed. "I know part of it is getting a job, which makes me hate myself a little. But I already went there, remember? I do not want to work retail right now, with the holiday season coming up soon. I don't really want to work food service, either, it's more hell than retail. I know it sounds really petty, but sometimes it's too hard to live a life that mundane. Then again, what are you going to do without a college education? So, yeah, walking in circles. Not sure what I'm going to do in that corner."

"What about Dustin?" Kal-El asked.

She chuckled. "Yeah, him too. Dad, you know I love him. I love Dustin so much. I mean, he's basically the perfect guy. Who else would get on a plane and join up with the tour just because he heard I was stressed and depressed? With no expectation of us going out, either. But I'm so afraid I'm going to lose him. He's going to try staying in the suburbs, but … Smallville will always be home to him. Remember the last time he stayed, that one summer? He was so unhappy. And Smallville is never going to be more than a short-term safe haven to me. I just can't live in that world all the time. We both know that."

Kala loved Smallville, and not just because some of her favorite people lived there. There was a sweetness and simplicity there that recharged her batteries. However, she knew she couldn't live there. Every visit resulted in months of gossip, and Kala was too much an iconoclast to ever settle down and fit in. She would chafe at the restraints and want to change things, which ironically would ruin everything she liked about Smallville if she succeeded, and frustrate her endlessly if she failed.

"I'd love to see you and Dustin happy together for a long time," Kal-El told her, squeezing her shoulder slightly.

Kala let herself drift sideways until she was pressed up against him, his arm around her shoulders. "Me too. I just … I don't think it's gonna be easy for me. Not like Jase. He's always known what he wants and how to get it. He knows who he is and who he wants to be."

"Jason doesn't know that well," her father corrected. "That's one of those things you've always thought about him, honey, and you've always had a hard time seeing clearly. The one thing he wanted most walked away from him. And he's had to make a lot of little changes while you were gone."

The one thing was Elise, of course. Kala sighed again. "Yeah, I know It sucks and I hate it that Elise had to go, but she had good reasons."

"She did. Elise has her own life. Who knows where it will lead her? My point is, Jason's trying to find himself, too. You're not alone in this, I promise. Kala, you're only turning twenty in a month. You have time, still. Be easier on yourself." Kal-El turned and kissed her hair. "I didn't know quite who I was at twenty, you know. Neither did your mother. It takes time, sweetheart. It takes time for anyone."

Kala let the sunlight and her father's hug warm the lingering chill of her last nightmare, which had been this morning. The sea again, the cold unforgiving sea with her hands bound and Luthor's laughter ringing in her ears. The thought made her lip curl stubbornly; she would not let fear rule her. Although there was one thing left that she did fear….

"Daddy?" she said hesitantly, unaware how much she sounded like her six-year-old self.

"Yes, munchkin?" he asked, and Kala chuckled at the old nickname.

She got serious again, though, to ask her question. "Even if I'm not able to be out there with you and Jase or going to a fancy university like Lizardboy, is it okay? Are you still proud of me, even if I'm just a dive-bar singer right now?" Kala ignored the urge to allow her eyes to mist over. Even if she wasn't what her Dad had planned these days, she still needed to hear it.

Kal-El looked at her steadily, and then kissed her forehead. "You are precious and wonderful to me, Kala. You're brave, you're smart, you're always funny, and you've got the guts to chase your dreams. Of course I'm proud of you."

That eased the worst of her worries, and she snuggled into his side lovingly. "Thank you, Daddy. I needed that."