"Hi Diz." The adult Kara greeted, confused about why he was in her apartment sitting at the kitchen table with her daughter.
"Hi."
"Where's Kara?"
"At the gym."
"Then why are you here?"
"Alex is helping me with calculus." He said. "I can go if you want."
"No it's fine." Kara said. "I was just surprised to see you. Why calculus?" She asked feeling like she was missing something.
"It's the deal I made with Wildcat." He explained.
"What deal?"
"I could live with him and work in the gym, but only if I went to school and graduated. I thought it was ain't no problem, but none of this is sticking."
"That's because you only do it in thirty minute chunks." The teenage Alex said. "You have to study harder. Also it should have been is no problem or isn't a problem. The whole double negative thing changes the meaning to it is a problem, which it is, but I don't think you meant that."
"I'm here for calculus man not English." Diz pointed out wondering how he had gone from someone who was feared by most to being talked down to by someone younger than himself. "And I ain't got time for more study. I need to pick up Kara."
"If you need to study I can pick Kara up." The adult Kara said before looking at her daughter and asking. "Assuming you are okay with that?"
"That's fine." The teenage Alex said.
"It should me. I mean you don't drive. She needs to feel safe. She won't on those streets." Diz said.
"She'll be safe with me." Kara promised him. "You study. I'll get Kara."
-00-
As the teenage Kara hit the punchbag she started to relive the attack and a feeling of helplessness washed over her. Hating the feeling she focused on the punchbag and pictured it as a masked clad man and started hitting it harder and harder. With every punch her swing got wilder until eventually Wildcat had seen enough.
"Kara, that's enough." Wildcat said from the teenager's side. "I am pretty sure the punchbag has given up."
Panting the teenager stepped back from the punchbag and forced her mind back to the present.
"You good?" Wildcat asked standing in front of her. When she nodded in response he stared at her. "You sure?"
"I'm fine." The teenager said.
"Okay, hands out." He said as he started to take her gloves off. "How are you getting home?"
"I'm taking her." The adult Kara said walking up to them.
"Aunt Kara? What are you doing here?" The teenager asked confused.
"Picking you up. I was going to walk home with you."
"Actually Diz-"
"Is at my place being taught calculus by Alex. He looked like he needed extra study time so here I am."
"You didn't have to."
"I wanted to. It's been a while since we hung out." The older Kara said. "Why don't you shower and change? I'll wait here."
-00-
"Did mom send you?" The teenager asked as they started to walk back.
"No. But she is worried about you." Kara said."I mean you did punch MJ."
"It was an accident."
"And that punchbag?"
"It had an annoying smirk?"
"Your mom does that too." Kara said.
"Does what?"
"Takes out her anger, fears and frustration on punchbags."
"Fears? It's hard to picture mom being afraid of anything."
"She talks the talk, but she doesn't always walk the walk. Being a parent is terrifying." The older Kara said.
"You don't seem the type to get scared either. I mean you have all these powers, you are kinda invulnerable." Kara said before jumping when she heard a car door shut. Seeing her aunt look at her she mumbled an apology for being so skittish.
"Can you keep a secret?" The older Kara asked.
"Sure."
"I mean it. I don't want you telling Alex. My Alex."
"Okay."
"I had a panic attack a few weeks ago." Kara confessed.
"You?"
"Having powers doesn't mean I am all powerful. Sometimes I feel just as powerless as everyone else. Sometimes the toughest battles you have to fight aren't physical."
"Are you saying I'm crazy?"
"No." The older Kara said. "I'm saying not every problem can be solved with a punch. The key is to understand what is making you afraid."
"Are you okay now?" The teenager asked.
"Getting there." The older Kara said before the two walked on in silence.
"I wasn't lying." The teen eventually said out of nowhere.
"When?" The adult Kara asked confused.
"When I told you Diz and I were just friends. At the time we were. But after that things changed."
"I gathered from what happened in the infirmary." Her aunt said causing her niece to redden again.
"I just didn't want you to think that I'd lied to you." The teen said.
"I didn't think that." Her aunt assured her. "But if you tell me you are fine with everything that has happened, then I will think you are lying."
"Okay." The teen said. "But can you not ask me how I am? I don't want to lie, but I don't want to talk about it either."
"Okay." Her aunt said. "But when you are ready to talk, I'm always here."
-00-
"See, we made it back in one piece." Kara said as she and her niece entered the apartment before turning to her niece and saying. "Diz didn't think I was qualified to pick you up."
"The doughnut stand was an obstacle though." The teenage Kara said.
"You were just as guilty." The older Kara pointed out before looking at the other two and asking. "How's the studying?"
"It sucks." Diz said. "When would I ever need this?"
"If you understand variable systems you can control them." The teenage Alex said.
"You can't control people." Diz countered.
"Well, people are buggy." The teenage Alex said before pointing at Diz and saying. "Case in point. If you quit complaining so much you would learn more."
As Diz stared at the teenage Alex in disbelief the teenage Kara approached and asked. "What are you up to?"
"Limits of integration." Her cousin said.
"I'm stuck on that as well." The teenage Kara said sitting next to Diz and taking out her books.
"I'm going to leave you to study. I'll be over the street if you need me." The adult Kara said.
-00-
"Hi." Kara called entering her sister's house.
"Hi. Everything okay?" Alex asked.
"There is a calculus study group at mine, so I thought I'd hang here."
"Don't you need more than two for a group?"
"There are more than two."
"MJ's back from practice?"
"No."
"Martin?" Alex guessed.
"No. Diz."
"Diz? Diz is at your apartment with my daughter?"
"And Alex. They really are studying."
"Diz?" Alex asked, unable to get past that point.
"He has some deal with Wildcat about graduating from High School." Kara replied. "I know you are worried about Diz, but he's not who you should be worrying about."
"Kara?" Alex guessed.
"Diz was going to cut his study short so he could pick up Kara. When I said I'd do it he was worried that Kara wouldn't feel safe walking the streets with me. And you know that thing you do when you are really angry or really scared?"
"Going to have to narrow it down." Alex said.
"With the punch bag. As in killing it?"
"Yeah."
"Kara was doing her best impression of you at the gym."
"Did she say anything?"
"Not really, but she was really jumpy the whole walk back."
"I wish I knew how to help her." Alex said. "Right now she won't even talk to me about it."
"Could that be because you use every conversation to criticise Diz, as in the boy who saved her."
"Whose side are you on?" Alex asked.
"In this case I am Switzerland." Kara said. "But seeing Diz is at my apartment and is bound to be getting hungry, why don't we get some pizza then go over there and you can ask about missing metas."
-00-
"Hi guys." Kara called entering the apartment carrying several large boxes of pizza. "We thought you might be hungry."
"And bored." Diz complained before looking up and seeing how many boxes Kara was holding. "You having a party?" He asked.
"Just hungry." The adult Kara shrugged as her sister followed her into the apartment.
"Hi mom." The teenage Kara greeted, looking like she thought a grenade was about to explode.
"Hi." Alex smiled. Hearing her sister cough she looked at Diz and said.
"Hello."
"Hi." He replied.
"See that wasn't so hard was it?" The adult Kara staged whispered to her sister who rolled her eyes. "Pizza is over here when you are ready." Kara said to the teens who all came over and grabbed a slice. As they sat down the adult Alex looked at Diz.
"You told me that some guys scanned the former gang members with a device and sent metas in one direction and non-metas in another." Alex said. "Do you know what happened with the metas?"
"No. I did't know many metas. Not that I knew of anyway. Most people ain't open about being a freak."
"Being a meta doesn't make you a freak." The teenage Kara said.
"Don't make me normal either." He pointed out.
"What about rumours?" The older Kara asked.
"I don't see anyone from Los Zetas anymore." He reminded her.
"If you do hear anything please tell me." The adult Kara said.