Karen stood outside a grey door. It was difficult, but Karen needed to do this. She loved her extended family, especially Kara, but her parents. She missed her dad, a tear escaping her eye. Her dad betraying her. Her mom was alive; while technically being an enemy, Karen really wished she could bond with her mother.
Karen took a deep breath, and pressed a few numbers on the keypad, opening the door, allowing her to enter, and seeing her mother sitting in her cell behind the kryptonite bars, reading a book. Once Astra spotted her, she put the book on the bed, and stood up.
"Karen," said Astra. Karen heart almost shattered, she nervously took a step forward. She could do it. Yes, she could and would do it. Her mother might not have been her friend or ally, but she was her mother. She was a good person.
"Mama, I missed you," said Karen, forming a weak smile.
"Sweetheart, you are so strong. I've seen news, you talking to the Brave One with Kal's Reporter wife must have been difficult," said Astra.
"I … it was a bit overwhelming," said Karen. "Lois asked me questions while the camera was on me … but I had to do it, the good people made sure to remove a lot of power evil scientist lady had."
"Oh, Karen," said Astra, squeezing her right hand through the kryptonite bars, pointing her palm towards Karen, who also extended her hand, touching her mother's palm.
"Mommy, I miss you," said Karen, a tear escaped her eye.
"It's okay, everything will be alright, my dear baby. Lillian won't be able to hurt you anymore. What you did was very brave, and now not only Kara's video footage, but your interview further collaborated the video footage. Lillian is done, while she still is somewhere out there, this planet's defenders will actively search for her. Cadmus might have some resources, but their extensive connections are gone," said Astra. Mommy was proud of her. Karen smiled.
"Mama, I … I saw cousins Kara and Alex helping people so much. I … I even helped cousin Kara when she fought mind controlled Lena. Mama, mama, I admire my cousins so much! I wanted to tell you," said Karen, pausing.
"Yes, go on, my love," said Astra, forming a loving smile, still touching Karen's palm.
"Mama, I want to be a hero, just like Kara, Alex, and Maggie. I am a Kryptonian, I want to help people. I … I beat up some evil man who hurt a poor woman. I … I want to be just like Supergirl and her family. I want … I want to be a hero," said Karen finally. What if mama didn't approve? What if she wanted her to join her?
"Oh Karen," said Astra.
"Mama, it's okay, I don't have to be a hero. I just, I just cannot join you. I am sorry," said Karen quickly.
"Oh Karen, you don't need to worry. I am very proud of you. Just please be careful, don't engage opponents who are vastly more powerful than you. And stay out of Kryptonite matters. But, Karen, I am so proud of you. While our means clearly differ, I also wanted to protect Krypton. I don't regret my actions, except when Smart One ended being mind-controlled and fighting the Little One … I wouldn't forgive myself if Kara or Lena killed the other," said Astra, briefly pausing. "Karen, what I am trying to say … I am very proud of you for wanting to help and protect people. I joined Kryptonian military to protect our people, and our extended family tirelessly protects people. You will be a great hero, my dear daughter. Just … don't take unnecessary risks. You are a Kryptonian, stronger than most people."
"Mama, thank you, thank you!" Karen exclaimed. Her heart exploded into hearts and kittens. Her mother approved of her! "Mama, mama! I … I was thinking, I … mama, mama, I want to be the superhero … I want to be the superhero Astrogirl!"
Two women briefly stood in silence. Tears began to escape Astra's eyes, no, why was mama crying?
"Karen," said Astra.
"Mama, please don't cry," said Karen. Why was her mother not happy?
"Karen, my baby girl, I love you. Thank you for calling your alter ego after me," said Astra, smiling, as more tears escaped her eyes.
"I will be the bestest superhero!" Karen said quickly.
Astra smiled. "Karen, now that people know who you are as a Kryptonian, protect your human identity, my dear Karen Danvers. While I find it hilarious, humans on this planet find glasses strangely effective in terms of how disguises go. Ask your cousins about their experiences with having to live with a secret identity," said Astra, as Karen nodded quickly.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," said Karen. Her mother approved of her!
"I wish we could spend more time, unrestricted. I wish we were back on Krypton, living a happy life where everyone would be alive. But," said Astra, sighing. "It's okay, we will make it work. Don't worry about me, my love. Enjoy your life, be happy, and stay true to what you believe."
"Mommy," said Karen, smiling. She spotted Hank standing several meters away from the cell, looking at the two of them. He tried to hide it, but the man was smiling. "Uncle Hank!"
"Hey Karen," said Hank, taking a few steps towards them. "I overheard a part of your conversation. Astra, both of us know that you are still counted as an enemy combatant. You cannot leave these premises. Having sad that, I can look into you having more access to spend time with your daughter. Under supervision, of course, and taking some precautions. I can transfer you to a more spacious area in the DEO without Kryptonite. Your new cell will have red lamps negating your powers, but it should be more comfortable, and would allow you to spend more time with your daughter."
"Thank you," said Astra, nodding.
"You are welcome. Now, if you excuse me, I have to talk to Alex about some DEO matters. I almost forgot. Karen, Kara asked if you could spend the afternoon with her at CatCo," said Hank.
"Martian, can you give my daughter special glasses that would help her keep her secret identity?" Astra asked.
"Of course, Karen taking an interview earlier made her famous; I will see what I can do," said Hank, walking away.
Karen kept standing in front of her mother's cell, still touching the palm of her hand. She would make her mama proud; she would be a great superhero! Karen kept smiling, looking at her mother. Yes, she would make her mama Astra proud.
Kara and Lena sat on Lena's couch. She asked Hank to tell Karen to meet her at CatCo in several hours, but for now, Kara wanted to spend some time with her girlfriend. Lena, her Lena, she was framed! But Kara put the fear of Rao into Lillian and Cadmus.
Kara held Lena's hand, biting her lip, and gazing at her girlfriend. Lena, beautiful and smart Lena. She loved her so, so much.
The door opened; Sam entered and walked towards them. "Kara, Lena, hey. How are you doing, Lena?" Sam asked, grabbing a chair, and putting it next to the couch, sitting on it.
"It wasn't the worst thing that happened to me," said Lena. Aww, poor Lena, Kara made a mental note to shower Lena with gentle kisses in the evening when the two would be in bed.
"Lena, I was worried. Kara, she was so bossy, radiating power. I've never seen Kara being so protective," said Sam.
"I had to save Lena! Lillian framed her! How dare she!" Kara quickly said.
"It's alright darling, my knight in shining armor saved me," said Lena, smiling lovingly at Kara, licking her lip. "Supergirl, so strong, defending the beautiful damsel in distress."
"Okay, I think I am going to go, sorry Lena," said Sam, standing up. Lena made a funny face, chuckling.
"Please stay, I will behave, I will just reward my hero tonight," said Lena, as Kara blushed. She would gladly receive Lena's rewards, but she still wanted to show Lena how much she loved her.
"Seeing you joke makes me happy. Kara, I am glad I could help you," said Sam.
"We need to have a game night," said Kara. "We haven't had one in a while. Maybe a dinner? Sam, you are welcome to join too."
"Thank you, Kara," said Sam, recollecting to Lena how driven Kara was in trying to prove Lena's innocence.
Several hours later, Kara was back at CatCo. She saw Alex visit her as Powergirl, bringing Karen with her. Alex then waved at Kara and flew away. "Karen," said Kara, looking at her cousin, who was wearing small glasses on her face. Karen was wearing a cardigan and a long red skirt.
"Mama asked me to wear glasses, Kara," said Karen shily. Kara took several steps towards her, and hugged Karen. She hugged her back.
"Nobody would hurt you ever again," said Kara.
"Thanks, Kara. You are a great sister," said Karen, hugging Kara tightly. The two women stood embraced in a hug for several minutes.
"Kara, oh hey Karen," said James, approaching them.
"James," said Kara.
"Kara, Karen, look. I was wrong to prejudge Karen before. I was wrong. I … I saw the interview; I saw the footage. Karen, poor girl, you have been through so much. Lillian will face justice someday," said James.
"Thank you, James. I realize my cousin went through a lot; I think she needs therapy. I need to look into finding a good therapist, who I can trust enough for Karen to open up and talk about her Kryptonian experiences," said Kara. If she couldn't find a trusted therapist, she would ask the DEO one; unfortunately, he wasn't skilled enough with kids, but he was a good enough backup option.
"Therapist? Kara, my sister has recently moved to the National City. She is a practicing therapist. She has experience with both kids and adults," said James. His sister? That was good, but Kara needed to meet with James' sister and talk to her.
"When can I make an appointment?" Kara asked.
"Actually, Kelly should be available at four," said James, grabbing his phone, and texting. Kara looked at the clock on the wall. Three thirty-five. Perfect.
"Thank you so much, James," said Kara, approaching and hugging him.
"Of course, Kara. Now, if you could excuse me, I have a date with Lucy at a fancy restaurant at five," said James, walking away. Having Kelly Olsen provide therapy for Karen would be great; if James recommended his sister, he surely trusted her. Good, Kelly Olsen would be a perfect person she could trust with Karen; her cousin could talk about Krypton's experiences, while Kara would know that her secret would be safe. Kara still needed first to talk to Kelly, but she was happy.
Kara stood with Karen in the lobby of a tall building, outside of the Office of Kelly Olsen. Kara hoped this would her cousin; she was so, so young, and yet she experienced traumatic experiences. She would make Lillian face justice, but for now Kara was much more concerned with Karen's wellbeing.
"Karen Danvers," said a woman exiting the office. That must have been Kelly.
"Hi, my name is Kara Danvers. James must have texted you about my cousin Karen," said Kara, looking at Kelly. Kelly looked at Kara, then at Karen, then back at Kara.
"Welcome, how can I help you? Come in," said Kelly. Kara and Karen entered her office. It wasn't very large; Kara spotted a desk on the far side of the room, with an armchair standing in front of the desk. As Kara and Karen entered, Kelly closed the door.
"Hi. My cousin needs therapy; she had a traumatic childhood, but I found her several months ago," said Kara, taking Karen's head, as she shily hugged Kara's leg.
"Well, I hope I would be able to help you, Karen," said Kelly, looking down at Karen. "Feel free to sit down on the armchair. I will ask you a few questions, and then let you talk. Feel free to talk about anything."
Kelly walked towards her desk. Kara and Karen walked to the armchair; Karen sat on it, while Kara stood next to her, still holding Karen's hand. Kelly seemed nice. Kara spotted a Supergirl poster on one of the walls.
"A fan of Supergirl?" Kara asked.
"Yea, for as much as how Jimmy always being buddy-buddy with Superman, I really admired Supergirl. She is so strong, saving others. If you want, I could schedule a meeting to talk with you alone, as well, Kara Danvers," said Kelly, sitting on her chair, and opening a notebook.
"Maybe next time. Before we begin, how much do I need to pay for this?" Kara asked. She forgot to ask James about therapy pricing.
"I normally charge … I will make an exception here; you don't have to pay me for this. I am glad to provide a public service to help Supergirl's cousin," said Kelly.
"Supergirl's cousin?" Kara blushed, shaking her head. "No, you must be mistaking. Wait, did James tell you?"
Kelly chuckled. "I've seen plenty of news. Jimmy hasn't told me anything. I have seen the report you made to prove Miss Luthor's innocence. I grew up with a brother who was Superman's pal. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me; I am just glad I could help people who do so much for the National City," said Kelly, then looking at Karen, and asking a few questions. After Karen answered, she spoke about her experiences.
Later in the evening, Karen was eagerly eating the three large pizzas that Ruby has ordered. She felt more peaceful; while it was difficult for her to talk about her experiences with a stranger, as the session went through, she opened up, and spoke more and more. Her cousin Kara really cared for her; while at first, she was shy, talking to this Kelly Olsen helped.
"Karen, okay so, I hacked to L Corp's database –"
"Carter!" Ruby said, then giggled.
"What I am trying to say … I found some schematics Kara Danvers developed with Lena Luthor, and used that to create this," said Carter, standing up, and carrying a box to them.
"What is this?" Karen asked, opening the box, and seeing a super suit that had red boots, black tights, red trunk, black torso and arms, red sleeves, a blue S on her chest, and a blue cape. A superhero costume! For her! Yes, yes! "I am going to try this on, one sec,"
Karen grabbed the box and carried it to the bathroom. Several minutes later she existed. She briefly spined. Yes, she had a proper super suit! She looked at with happiness, seeing her red sleeves that ended below her elbows. She spined again. That was amazing!
"Our new superhero!" Ruby exclaimed with happiness.
"I think mom is still at work, you could meet her at CatCo, if you wanted to introduce yourself as a superhero," said Carter. That was a good idea, but her stomach growled.
"Sure, but I am so hungry!" Karen said, running back to the pizzas, and resuming eating it. She ate the pizza and laughed with her friends for the next thirty minutes.
Kara, dressed in her civilian clothes, stood in Cat's office. Cat gave Kara even more authority at CatCo. It was a pity that Cat was leaving CatCo this summer; Kara had no doubt that Cat would easily win the presidency in November. She would miss her boss and mentor.
As they were talking, Kara noticed that Karen landed on the balcony. This time she was wearing a colorful suit, with black, red, and blue colors. She smiled proudly, seeing an S on Karen's chest. Her baby cousin now had her own costume! She couldn't wait to tell this to Lena and Alex.
"Greetings. That is a great suit," said Cat. Yes, it was.
"Thanks," said Karen, blushing. "Your son designed it,"
"My son, huh," said Cat. "So, tell me, young lady. What do we call you?"
"Astrogirl," said Karen proudly. Astra. Kara's heart filled with joy, if Karen called herself after her mother, the two were on good terms. Kara hoped that one day, she could spend a normal day with Astra, outside of the DEO. Kara smiled, as Cat began asking Karen questions.
Lillian stood in an abandoned facility; she saw a squad of Cadmus agents stand at each of the walls of the building. Kryptonian would pay for her humiliation, but Lillian couldn't lose track of her mission. Yes, she wanted revenge, but getting rid of aliens took priority.
She saw General Lane enter. "Hello Lillian," said General Lane, approaching her.
"Came to arrest me, and take over Cadmus operations?" Lillian asked. General Lane couldn't have been a fool to enter her base alone.
"No. In fact, quite the opposite. Look, Lillian, the Kryptonian might have exposed what Cadmus has done, but … your head is in the right place. While Cadmus lost public support, temporarily, and I cannot publicly endorse what you are doing, in private, you have my full support. The aliens, Kryptonians especially, are a menace. We have to deal with them, permanently if needed," said General Lane.
"That's good to hear. I still have my men, but I am running a bit low on supplies," said Lillian. She hoped that this fool would provide her with some DEO state of the art technology.
"Consider it being taken care of. I might not be able to boss either Director Danvers or her second in command Martian, but I still have access to the DEO. I can deliver you specific tech from there," said General Lane.
"Supplies would be greatly appreciated. Speaking of the DEO, I have that covered already," said Lillian, smirking. "I need to stage a fake attack on Jeremiah Danvers. I am sure that the Kryptonians and their allies lower their guard when dealing with family, especially someone who would try to escape from us."
"Using him against the DEO, especially Director Danvers … that's cold, Lillian. You are a powerful woman, something I admire," said General Lane. Eww, he was a useful tool, but Lillian didn't like the man.
"Besides being the perfect person to infiltrate the DEO, I also want to punish Alex Danvers specifically. That woman, she dared not wanting to work with me! Lena is smart, but Alex … she would have been a perfect daughter of mine. A pity. She didn't want to work with me, and for her rejection, I will destroy her emotionally," said Lillian, grinning. "Now, as Jeremiah prepares to infiltrate the DEO, I am pleased to inform you that our project of removing aliens from the National City is almost ready. Soon we will kick so many aliens away from our planet. Once that's done, I will use Medusa for revenge against all aliens remaining on this planet, before killing Supergirl."
"Your daughter will stop you," said General Lane. That fool, he doubted her!
"Already taken care of. I plan to reverse engineer Myriad; when I unleash Medusa, it will be the perfect time to turn Lena into my perfect minion. She will helplessly watch as I drive a Kryptonian sword through her loved Kryptonian," said Lillian, grinning. Yes, she would break Lena's spirit, and make her join her. And her Kryptonian pet would be dead.