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REPORT FROM KRYPTONIAN LOW ORBIT SATELLITE 682 TO CENTRAL BRAIN

0211- Two objects left surface.

0212- Objects on closer inspection appear to be probes.

0213- Both objects are projected to leave galaxy within 022 days.

0214- Central Brain advised to send recovery drones.

0215- ALERT UNEXPECTED RADIATION LEVELS FROM RAO

END OF REPORT FROM SATELLITE 682 TO CENTRAL BRAIN.

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In the endless reaches of the universe, there once existed a planet known as Krypton, a planet that orbited a great red sun, designated LHS-2520 by earth astronomers. There, civilization was far advanced, and it brought forth a race of "supermen," whose mental and physical powers were developed to the absolute peak of human perfection. But there came a day when giant quakes caused by the solar flares of LHS-2520 threatened to destroy Krypton forever. One of the planet's leading scientists, sensing the approach of doom, placed his infant daughter in a small rocket ship and sent it hurtling in the direction of the Earth just as Krypton exploded.

Well…he wasn’t the only one. That scientist, Zor-El, had a brother, Jor-El, and he had the same exact idea. So, Jor-El put his kid in a rocket too. Both rockets flew towards the earth, but Zor-El’s rocket hit a nebula, while Jor-El’s didn’t. Jor-El’s son, Kal-El, landed in Kansas and was adopted by the Kent family on earth. He would grow up and become the earth superhero known as Superman. Around 30 earth years later, Zor-El’s daughter landed, having been caught in a nebula which caused her to age from infancy, to around 16 years old.

Little did she or the world know that she would end up saving the entire world.

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The orbiting watchtower of the Justice League is always in some sort of high alert. Extra terrestrial threats are quite common, so when something is entering the orbit of Earth the watchtower is the first line of defense. When the Kryptonian probe enters the detection range, it’s Red Tornado who sees it first. He quickly notifies the other members of the Justice League: Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, and Superman. Superman, upon seeing it as Kryptonian in origin, flies off to ensure it’s safe landing. At first it looks like it will hit Central City but quickly changes course landing in a field in a rural part of Arkansas.

Superman, high on alert but hopeful, lands and prepares for whatever the probe carried. He is shocked, but not fully surprised, to see a young barely clothed Kryptonian girl rise from the wreckage.

“Zodi toleran hithk?” the girl says to a confused Superman.

“Uhh…sorry, it’s been a minute since I’ve spoken Kryptonian” he laughs slightly, and the girl scrunches her face. Superman sighs but then sees the eyes of the girl light up, as she runs up to him pointing at his chest.

“El!” She exclaims, as she points at the crest of the house of El on his suit. He smiles “Yes, my name is Kal-El, son of Jor-El.” Her eyes light up at the mention of Jor-El. Superman then looks at the girl, smiling, but then immediately looks away realizing that she is wearing barely anything.

“Uh…let’s get you to the Hall of Justice, so we can hopefully translate what you’re saying and get you some clothes” he says taking her hand and starting to fly off. She is smiling and looking down at the ground and at him the whole time.

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Superman ensures no onlookers ogle the girl by flying much faster than usual. They reach the Hall of Justice in Metropolis in under twenty minutes. He hands her off to Black Canary and Wonder Woman to get her clothed, while he confers with Martian Manhunter and Red Tornado about setting up a translator using data from the Fortress of Solitude. It takes about half an hour, mostly due to the fact the mystery Kryptonian girl had to have the shower demonstrated to her by Black Canary. However, she arrives in the main hall dressed in jeans shorts and one of Batgirl’s old Taylor Swift shirts. Superman approaches her holding the translator and says:

“My name is Kal-El. What is yours?” He smiles as her eyes widen at hearing her native tongue. She replies, and the translator decodes it as: “Kara Zor-El.”

“So, we’re related?” Superman says smiling, “What a small world” he laughs.

“Are you the king of this world?” She asks, which causes some confusion on Superman’s face as he recalls previous questions of a similar nature when he fought General Zod years ago. He shakes his head in reply.

“No, Kara, there is no king of the whole planet. Instead, there are individual countries with their own governments. I, however, fight and defend the planet with my friends here.” He smiles. She smiles too.

“Can I join you?” The translator says, as she looks eagerly at Superman.

Superman’s face drops. “No, Kara.” he says to the disappointed looking teenager. “You are too young, and you need to learn about Earth and its people. In about two years, we will talk about you joining only after you are trained in the Fortress of Solitude. Basically, you’re going to live among the humans, and learn as I learned when I first landed here” He smiles.

“Why?” Kara says as her voice rises. Superman can sense how angry and confused she is, but he doesn’t waver in his decision. He sighs and tells Kara of his plans to find a family for her to live with. However, first she is to spend a few days with him and Lois Lane in their Metropolis home. He brings the translator along with a data crystal from the Fortress of Solitude, that Red Tornado says will allow her to quickly learn English in her sleep.

That night is spent with many firsts for Kara. She is told of Krypton’s destruction and cries into Superman for about an hour. She learns she does not like how showers feel. She also learns that she loves the earth food known as pizza. She learns Kal-El (who goes by Clark or Superman around the others) loves black olives and pineapple on his, but his wife Lois likes Italian sausage and peppers. She liked Lois’ choice better. Lois also gives her some old clothes and says that they’ll buy her a phone tomorrow. Kara is unsure what a phone is but Superman explains it as a communication device, and she agrees. That night, Superman gives her the data crystal, which does the trick and the next morning she hovers into the dining room and says loudly:

“I’m sooooo hungry”

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Kara practically inhaled the waffles put in front of her by her cousin and his wife. Their apartment was modestly sized, but she couldn’t imagine how she would fit in here, so she flat out asked them in between bites.

“So…uh” she said still chewing “am I staying here? Or?”

Superman looked at Lois and then sighed. “Kara, you need to live your own life, without risk, and without association to me…” he began and put a hand up right as Kara was about to interject, “That’s why I’ve been in contact with my mom, earth mom, who found some friends of the family to take you in. The Danvers. They live on the other side of the country in National City. We will fly there in a few days once I get everything settled” he finished and smiled.

“I GET TO FLY AGAIN?!?” Kara started to smile, until those hopes were dashed when Superman informed her, they would be flying in an airplane. Apparently, the risk of being seen while flying outweighed any speed benefit, which Kara thought was dumb since they flew to the Hall of Justice literally the day before. Still, she couldn’t really argue with her cousin, despite the fact she was technically older, whatever time shenanigans happened on the way to earth made him the elder of the family now.

“Oop, better skedaddle on to work” Superman smiled, or Clark…Kara wasn’t sure how to address him. He was Clark Kent, Superman, and Kal-El, and yet depending on what he was wearing, people called him differently. Would the same thing happen to her? She was Kara Zor-El, of the Kryptonian House of El, but from the sounds of it she would soon be a Danvers, but also one day she might be a hero too.

Lois, for her part, called him Clark no matter what he wore. Kara liked Lois, she was nice and smelled like something she called strawberries. She made a mental note to try strawberries, as the things she tried on earth so far were delicious. Superman kissed Lois on the cheek, dressed in a suit and tie and holding his laptop bag, he rushed out the door rather clumsily. Kara couldn’t help but laugh and Lois smiled at her.

“You know, I’ve been married to him for a few years now, and I still can’t believe he forces himself to be clumsy in order not to give away the fact he’s not human.” She laughed and looked at Kara. “Ok, Kara, I took today off work so that we can go shopping. You’re going to need clothes, shoes, makeup, and a phone at least. My sister Lucy is around your age, and she won’t go anywhere without her phone, so it’ll help you to blend in once you’re settled in with the Danvers.” Lois listed everything on her fingers and then clapped while smiling as she finished.

“You and Kal-El explained the phone thing last night, but what’s makeup?” Kara asked curiously. Lois sighed and laughed.

“Arguably the most amazing, stupid, and important aspect of being a girl on this planet” Lois laughed. She then went on to explain it was a decorative human invention that allowed for a multitude of things. Despite her initial statement, Lois explained that anyone could wear it, and said Kara didn’t need to wear it, but that in school it was necessary. This led Kara to ask about school, and other human things. These questions continued as they left the Kent Apartment, got into Lois’ car (yes Lois explained that too), and they drove to a mall. Apparently, it’s a place to buy wares and goods, akin to the Great Crystal Market of Argo City back on Krypton.

The Metropolis Galleria was apparently the third largest mall in the country. Lois talked about how apparently the biggest mall was in Fawcett City and the second largest was in Central City. Still, the mall was impressive and very very busy. Apparently, it was summer, so schools were not in session, which was a shock to Kara. On Krypton, education of children was a year-round experience. Still, Kara enjoyed the noises of children and teenagers roaming about the large expanse of stores. She and Lois went around to a few places to begin with, Kara let Lois pick out most things as she wasn’t sure what she really wanted or needed. However, every so often Lois would show something to Kara to get approval. Kara really liked blue, Lois smiled claiming that the color suited both her and Superman best. The young Kryptonian smiled at the compliment and at the thought of the two cousins being compared.

They approached a yellow store with children all around it, the sign on it said “Lego” and Lois smiled at Kara. “You can wait at that bench while I go in and deal with the torrent of kids. Clark really likes Lego and used to build them with his dad so every time I’m here with or without him, I buy him a little something.” Lois sighed lovingly at the thought of Superman building Legos at their kitchen table. Kara sat on the bench and watched as Lois entered the large store bustling with the screams of kids, she couldn’t help but laugh at how they startled Lois.

Kara sighed, alone with her thoughts on this alien world. Well…she guessed it’s now her home but accepting that wasn’t going to be easy. She missed her parents and what little she could remember of Krypton. Kal-El was a newborn when he was sent off, but she was a small child capable of keeping the memories alive even if there were so few. She sadly held back tears when suddenly a girl with dark hair in a tight ponytail sat right next to Kara, looked at her and whispered: “I’m so so sorry but I need you to play along to what I say” She looked desperate and scared so Kara quickly nodded, holding back all the questions that followed the girl’s statement.

They were then immediately approached by an older man, younger than Superman, but not by a lot. He smiled and looked at the girl, “who’s your friend?”. The girls smiled back, but Kara could tell by her pulse that the girl was terrified of this stranger. The mystery girl then replied “my girlfriend, who I’m having a mall date with, so can you PLEASE leave me alone” she emphasized. The man looked at Kara, who was at a loss for words and could only nod. The man then grabbed the black-haired girl by the wrist and said “How about we all go for a little walk” as the girl’s fear skyrocketed. Kara leapt into action immediately grabbing the hand of the man and twisting it. The man then screamed and through gritted teeth called her a bitch and ran off. Kara didn’t know what a bitch was, but she sure as hell was proud to have been called it in the moment.

She turned to the girl and smiled, “Are you alright?” she asked. The raven-haired girl smiled and thanked Kara, “I’m alright and thanks, that guy had been following me for like half an hour. Sorry, I said we were girlfriends I couldn’t think of anything else to get rid of him…not that it worked.” The girl played with her fingers, “I’m Lena by the way” she held out her hand for Kara which Kara poked, and Lena laughed. “I’m Kara” she smiled. As soon as they were introduced to each other, Lois appeared carrying a bag that had a huge box in it.

“Ok, this should tide Clark over until his birthday.” Lois said, looking up at Kara and Lean “who’s your friend, Kara?” she asked, and Kara introduced Lena. “Lena, this is my cousin’s wife, Lois.” She then turned to Lois, “I helped Lena get away from a grabby stranger.” Kara smiled as she regaled Lois, who congratulated Kara, and then offered to Lena to join them for lunch. Lena looked at her phone and then at Kara “I’m sorry, but my driver just arrived…” Lena bit her lip for a second “It was nice meeting you Kara, thank you again…I am in Metropolis every summer, so next year I hope I see you again” Lena smiled as she quickly ran off. Kara then turned to Lois who had a giant grin on her face.

“Kara, you’re blushing” Lois laughed as Kara adamantly denied it. They continued shopping for another half hour, getting a phone for Kara and then sitting down at the food court. Lois was astonished to see Kara return with a plate piled high with potstickers. Lois watched her scarf them down and exclaim “THESE ARE MY NEW FAVORITE FOOD”. As they left the food court, Kara looked at Lois sadly and said, “I really hope I get to see Lena again.” Lois said that she might and added that she hoped the same thing when she first met both Clark Kent and Superman. This was amusing and gave hope to Kara; she knew that she would see Lena again and hopefully get her number since that’s a thing humans do. Lois failed to mention that til after Lena left, and Kara loudly groaned at the missed opportunity.

That night they had lasagna for dinner, which Kara ate four portions of. Superman excitedly began to build his lego set, which was a scene from some comic book character Superman loved called Spiderman. Kara thought it looked dumb, and Superman looked at his cousin like she insulted Krypton itself. As she went to sleep, Kara dreamed of walking through Argo City with Lena…she didn’t tell anyone her dream the next morning.

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A few days after the mall encounter, Kara was packing the suitcase Lois bought for her with the few possessions she had. Clothes, shoes, and a few books accompanied the two things Kara was sent to earth with: a data crystal containing a message from her parents and a red blanket with the house of El crest on it which was the same as Superman’s cape. She lovingly closed and zipped the suitcase and then grabbed her phone and hurried to the breakfast table where she scarfed down the French toast Superman had made. He laughed as she did so, and Lois looked at him “Did you eat this much growing up?” she asked. Superman chuckled “No no…” he paused for a second a smirked at his wife “I ate way more”. Lois rolled her eyes and laughed, imagining her husband as a teenager eating mountains of food in front of his adoptive parents on earth.

As soon as breakfast was done, the trio went down to the car and drove to the airport. Metropolis was on the east coast and National City was on the west. Lois explained that it would take about six hours by plane to get to the National City airport and that the Danvers would be picking them up upon arrival. Kara was still annoyed that they couldn’t fly to the west coast but was still excited to experience a part of her new world. Superman looked at her from the passenger seat and suddenly remembered something as he handed her a pair of glasses like his own.

“These are made of lead; they help suppress your vision powers,”

“I don’t need anything to help suppress them, I’ve been fine the past few days.”

“Kara…there are times where you can’t control them, and trust me, it’s embarrassing to see people in their underwear” Superman sighed as his wife chimed in:

“It’s also embarrassing if they’re not wearing any underwear, right Clark?” She smirked and he blushed.

“Lois! I apologized! I didn’t know your mother didn’t wear a bra half the time!” Lois erupted in laughter and Superman thrusted the glasses into Kara’s lap “Trust me, you need these.”

Kara took the glasses, put them on, and discovered that they fit perfectly. She immediately turned to her cousin, who anticipated the question.

“Batman made them. He’s surprisingly good at making superhero gear for teenagers, plus he never passes up on an excuse to hinder the powers of a Kryptonian.” He smiled.

They soon arrived at Metropolis International Airport which was even busier than the mall was. Kara was amazed to see so many people in one place, and had to be led by her cousin or Lois multiple times so that she didn’t get lost. Going through security was weird, but uneventful and they were soon at their gate and waiting for their flight. Lois had gotten Kara a music subscription that apparently was a MUST GET for Kara’s new phone. Lucy, Lois’ sister, had also sent over a playlist of must listen to songs, and Kara was happy to have something to listen to while reading one of the many books she bought at the mall. The first artist was someone named Phoebe Bridgers, who Kara immediately liked, and she made a mental note to listen to more songs by her.

After about an hour, the plane arrived, and they boarded. Despite being Superman, Clark Kent and Lois Lane preferred to fly economy class and save money. So, she ended up sitting between the two in the row. Kara yelped as the captain came on the intercom, unaware that it was going to happen. She covered her mouth and shrunk into herself as she saw the people in the row across from them looking puzzled. Lois politely smiled and apologized, explaining that Kara had never flown before, and that seemed to satisfy their curiosity. Superman beside her took the opportunity to get a little sleep so Kara knew this flight was mostly going to be her on her phone or talking to Lois.

The plane took off about ten minutes after the captain came on the intercom, and Kara thought to herself about how much more smooth flying on her own was than using this earth vessel. Still, it could’ve been worse, she told herself. After a little bit, the flight attendant began passing out drinks. Kara wasn’t paying attention, so Lois just ordered for her and when she finally realized what was happening, she was being handed her drink.

“What is it?” She asked Lois.

“Dr. Pepper” Lois laughed to a confused Kara

“How is a drink a doctor?” Kara asked which caused Lois to erupt in a loud laugh that she had to apologize to the other passengers for.

“Its just the name of the drink, try it” Lois gestured, and Kara tried it, her eyes widening.

“I LOVE THIS” Kara declared to a chuckling Lois.

The rest of the flight was uneventful due to Kara falling asleep an hour in. Lois awoke both her and her husband when they were about to land. They then got their bags, exited the plane, and walked to the baggage claim. Standing there were three people with a sign that said, “Welcome Kara”. A man, a woman, and another teenager stood smiling as they descended the escalator of National City Luthor Airport. As they got their bags, Kara was introduced to the trio that made up the Danvers family.

“Kara, this is Jeremiah, Eliza, and Alex Danvers” Superman introduced, and Eliza immediately pulled Kara in for a hug.

“For god’s sake Mom, you don’t want to come on too strong” Alex laughed and Jeremiah put a gentle hand on his wife’s shoulder as she released Kara.

“We’ve been made aware of your situation, and we think that National City and our home will be perfect for you. We have a big house, lots of backyard space, and you’ll have your own room for plenty of privacy.” Jeremiah smiled. “Since it’s June you wont enroll in school for a few months, which gives you plenty of time to get used to living here” he winked at that last part and Kara knew he meant earth and not just National City.

“Thank you, sir, I hope I won’t cause you any issues” Kara said smiling softly.

“None of that “sir” talk please. It’s Jeremiah.” The tall man laughed and Kara laughed softly along with him. “Now, I was told you like potstickers and pizza, and since we have your cousin and Lois here for another day, how about we all have a nice big dinner!” He said excitedly, as Alex took the car keys from his hand and gestured to Kara.

“Follow me so we can put your luggage in the car, new sis, and let’s leave the grown ups to talk about whatever boring stuff they want” Alex smirked as Kara followed.

“So, Kara, I was told you’ve only been here for a few days, so I figured I could answer any questions you might have” Alex pushed the door to the airport open and held it for her newly adopted sister. The warm summer air hit Kara as she stepped out and followed Alex to the large parking garage adjacent to the baggage claim.

“Uh…what’s your favorite musical artist? Because I was given a list by Lois’ younger sister but I also would value your recommendations since we will be living amongst each other” Kara asked as they approached a gold SUV with the bumper sticker: THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE with a flying saucer and alien. “ooo um…probably Clairo if I had to pick one. Here, let me play you a song of hers when I’m done putting this in” Alex smiled as they popped the trunk and threw in Kara’s lone suitcase. They then got into the front seats of the car, turned it on, and Alex put on a song titled “Sofia” and Kara smiled as Alex got really into the song. As it ended Lois, Jeremiah, and Eliza approached the car and got in. Apparently, Superman would not be joining them until dinner due to being called urgently to discuss something with Batman.

The drive from the airport to the Danvers took them through the downtown of National City. Kara noticed dozens and dozens of rainbows and other multi color banners all around. “Hey, what are all those rainbow banners for? Is the rainbow a powerful symbol or something of the city?” Alex giggled at the comment and told her new sister “Those are for pride month, its um to celebrate being yourself”. Alex then went on to talk about being gay herself and how some humans were not the kindest to those in relationships of the same sex. Alex also talked about wider identities and Kara listened intently, sympathizing with the idea of being forced to be something you are not something she was particularly not looking forward to. Although being a different gender than you were thought to be was quite different than being a different species from another world.

That night Superman returned, and they had a large and delicious dinner. Kara got shown to her new room that was on the second floor and had a balcony facing the backyard. Kara liked the room and liked the Danvers, but as she went to go to sleep in that foreign bed she clung to red blanket and allowed herself to cry tears for her parents and planet for the first time since landing.

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Kara spent the next two weeks acclimating to the Danvers’ house and National City. Her room, which had been a sparsely decorated guest room, was slowly but surely transformed into Kara’s own fortress of solitude. Albeit not as crystal-y as Superman’s, nor as cold…seriously who builds a fortress in the arctic. Her room consisted of a queen-sized bed with red and blue sheets and her House of El red blanket, a desk with a laptop that Jeremiah gave her, and a painting corner which included paints and an easel she had yet to use. Along her walls and ceiling were fairy lights and LED’s because the light attached to the fan made her eyes hurt, which is saying something since most things don’t annoy Kryptonian eyes. A bookshelf stood near her bed filled sparsely with books she’d brought from her cousin’s or that she got when Eliza took her shopping on her third day here. Alex had reluctantly parted with her Clairo poster when she realized her sister seemed more into the artist than she was. It and a poster of Superman that Lois had given her (because apparently, she got stuck with the extra stock from the Daily Planet) hung right above her bed. On the bedside table sat her phone, some earbuds, her wallet which was apparently a thing used to buy things, and a picture frame of Krypton that Clark had on file in the Fortress of Solitude. She was thankful to have it.

She awoke on a Saturday morning and hovered down the stairs, but immediately her feet fell to the floor as Eliza yelled while cooking: “NO FLYING IN THE HOUSE KARA”. Kara apologized meekly and rushed to the table where the rest of her family sat eating. Jeremiah was reading the National City Tribune on his tablet as Alex scarfed down both her waffles and the remaining ones on his plate. Eliza walked over with a plate of pancakes for Kara and smiled. Kara thanked her and then inhaled the stack so fast it prompted Jeremiah to look away from his device.

“Better make seconds, honey” He and Eliza laughed as Alex bolted up from her seat.

“Ok! Mom, Dad, I am not to be disturbed while I’m getting ready, ok?!?” they nodded as she continued, “Maggie literally last minute asked me to go with her today, AND I AM NOT MISSING OUT ON MY CHANCE TO ASK HER OUT” She exclaimed as she darted towards the stairs. Eliza called out and stopped her, “Alex, honey, don’t you think you should bring Kara along today? I bet it’d be nice to have her meet people you guys’ age.” Alex groaned at Eliza’s suggestion. “But…but…MOM” Alex began, “Kara is so…alien, no offense” she looked at Kara who was on her third stack of pancakes and not really listening. “Look, if I agree to take her, you have to give us more money…for lunch” she gestured at Kara. Their mother sighed and agreed to the teenager’s demand. Alex pumped her fist and then grabbed Kara’s arm. “Come on, lil sis, lets go get ready” she said as she pulled Kara away from pancake bliss and up the stairs.

As they entered Alex’s room, Kara asked her sister where it was, they were going. Alex, in the middle of doing her makeup, looked at Kara and smiled. “It’s the National City Pride Fest today! Maggie, Winn, you, and I are going to see the parade, eat some food, buy some pride shit. It’s fun! PLUS, I heard from Maggie that there’s this super super secret superhero guest as the grandmaster of the Parade, BUT THEY HAVENT ANNOUNCED WHO IT IS YET!” Alex’s excitement was contagious, and Kara smiled widely as Alex listed off superheros who could be attending. Wonder woman, Hawk Girl, The Flash, Starfire, and Batwoman were all listed. “To be honest, my guess is Batgirl, have it be this whole coming out thing. Or maybe Batman himself, since ya know, he’s always seemed to be bi. It’ll probably be Starfire though, since she lives in California ever since her and Nightwing broke up. That was rough, anyway…” Alex continued listing off potential candidates and superhero gossip. Kara hadn’t told her that she met half of those heroes on her first day on earth, as far as Alex knew Superman was the only one Kara knew.

Alex turned to her after about ten minutes of non-stop talking and looked her up and down. “Uh, Kara? Are you going to get changed?” Kara immediately looked at her sister in surprise and then sped into her room, causing clothes and makeup to toss around the area. About a minute after she left, Kara appeared back in her sister’s room fully ready to go. Her sister gave her a look and sighed, “I hate that you have super speed”. Kara raised her finger and opened her mouth to reply but Alex stopped her “I know, I know, its not superspeed it’s just faster than humans.” Kara sheepishly smiled at her sister, who took about another fifteen minutes to get ready.

Maggie arrived outside the Danvers house around half an hour later with Winn sitting in the front seat. Alex walked outside, looked at Winn and pointed at the back seat “Winn, I’m not having this argument again. I always get shotgun, so move it!” Winn quickly vacated the seat for Alex, who looked back to Kara. Kara stood at the front door, unsure of how to act around Alex’s friends. Alex’s eyes went wide as she looked at Maggie and Winn. “Crap…uh Kara’s coming with us, hope that’s ok.” Maggie looked annoyed at the sudden inclusion of Alex’s surprise adopted sister “Fine. Guess I can finally get to meet your sister.” Alex waved and Kara rushed into the back seat of the small car with Winn. He smiled and stuck out his hand, “I’m Winn, nice to meet you.” Kara eagerly smiled and shook it, having learned since meeting Lena at the mall what handshakes were. “HI! I’m Kara!” she said as Winn winced in pain at her grip. “Hell of a handshake you got there…jeez” he said rubbing his hand and Kara apologized.

“So, Kara…” Maggie began to ask as they drove towards downtown National City, “where you originally from?” Alex looked nervous, but the Danvers had prepared Kara extensively for questions of her identity. “I’m originally from Maine” Kara stated just like she had practiced. “Oh really? My Aunt’s from Maine! Where in Maine?!?” Winn asked, throwing Kara an accidental curveball of a question. Alex nervously looked at her sister in the rearview as Kara answered vaguely “the coast”. However, that answer seemed to satisfy Winn’s curiosity as he began talking about some science thing happening with coastal wildlife in Maine. Alex and Kara both sighed as he changed topics, and Alex silently said a prayer thankful for Winn’s nerdy interests.

As they drove, Kara learned that Maggie and Alex were going to be seniors in high school next fall, and that Winn and Kara would be juniors. Kara had been given a small crash course on the topic of school by Jeremiah, but still the event of going to a place and being alone without her new family for hours was a terrifying and looming idea. When they finally reached downtown, the coastal city’s streets were decorated even more than they were when Kara first arrived. Hundreds of banners and flags in different pride colors were hung all around. Maggie and Alex were very happy to see the lesbian pride flag as they drove, which was enough context for Kara to conclude Maggie was queer like her sister. As they pulled into a parking spot, Maggie turned to the back seat and said “OK! Pride Flag time!” She suddenly materialized a dozen little pride flags and handed them to her passengers. “Rainbow for Winn, Lesbian for Alex” she said as she handed them to their respective recipients. “Kara?” she asked as she held the flags out to her. “Uhh…I’m not sure” she admitted as Maggie looked at her, and then without input Maggie handed her a bisexual flag. “My gaydar says you’re bi, so take it, and if I’m wrong, I’ll get you ice cream, ok?” Kara smiled wide and nodded to an equally wide smiling Maggie and they exited the car.

As they approached Luthor Avenue, one of the largest streets in the city, Kara was enamored by the mass of people in bright colors. If she didn’t have super hearing, she bet she would have a hard time hearing her friends’ conversation with all the noise. Still, Kara followed Maggie and Alex, who were laughing and holding hands as they led the other two through the dense gathering of people along Luthor Avenue. They eventually found a clear spot near the road and sat waiting for the parade. As soon as it did, the excitement and noise of the crowd quadrupled, and Kara felt slightly overwhelmed. Still, she didn’t want to take away from Alex’s fun day, so she silently suffered as her alien ears made the parade feel like hell for her. Dozens of beautiful floats from organizations and companies passed by, and then suddenly a large announcer on the central float of the parade announced: “NATIONAL CITY, HERE IS THIS YEAR’S PRIDE GRANDMASTER: BLACK CANARY!” and the crowd went wild at the reveal. Kara overheard Maggie whisper to Alex that she thought it would be Starfire for sure and Alex nodded. Kara looked at Black Canary’s float as it passed by and swore, she saw her wink at Kara. However, no one else seemed to notice.

The float that followed Black Canary’s was not as warmly received, apparently it was a float for Luthor Corp., a business based in both National City and Metropolis. Apparently, according to what Kara could overhear, Lex Luthor, the CEO had stepped down in favor of his mother after he tried and failed to take over the country with a mind control device. He apparently was only stopped by Superman, but evaded prison due to his lawyers. Ever since no one has seen him since he announced his departure as CEO in a quick press conference.

As the parade finished, Kara and her friends got lunch at some of the food trucks set up nearby. Kara had yet to find a human food she didn’t love, and loaded nachos were no different. She devoured them, much to Maggie’s apparent disgust and Winn’s shock. Alex explained that Kara had fast metabolism, and that Kara wasn’t allowed to eat enough in Maine. That explanation apparently worked, and no one questioned or complained when Kara got another plate of nachos. After eating they decided to look at the vendors selling a variety of queer goods. Winn needed Kara’s help finding the right bracelet to buy and dragged her away from her sister and Maggie.

“Sorry,” Winn explained, “it’s just that those two have been into each other for three years and have yet to make any sort of moves, so I figure alone time at pride might do the trick.” Winn laughed and about an hour and a half later, Alex and Maggie rejoined them. Maggie had a bunch of lipstick marks on her face, but Kara only found out later that they were left there by Alex.

As they drove home at sunset, Kara reveled in the experience. She still didn’t fit quite in on earth, but she had fun and seemed to get along with Alex and her friends. Maggie and Alex held hands on the drive home and it reminded Kara of Lena. She wondered if she would ever see Lena again and if Lena would let her hold her hand, although Kara would have to work on her grip strength. Kara shook the thought away and internally questioned why in the world she was thinking about someone she met once and would probably never see again. When they were dropped off, Alex kissed Maggie, and they were greeted by their parents at the door who cheered for their eldest when Alex regaled them with her pride experience. Kara went to bed that night happy but awoke in a cold sweat after having a nightmare about Krypton. She had those more often than she admitted to Jeremiah and Eliza when asked. She didn’t like lying to her adoptive family, but she felt like she had to blend in and adapt to life on earth, at least on the outside. On the inside she carried the guilt of surviving and the anxieties that her new life kept bringing her.

Chapter Text

[Excerpt from Cat Grant’s Exposé on Lex Luthor and the Luthor Family for the National City Tribune]

Luthor Corporation was founded in 1896 as Luthor Engineering by Leopold Luthor. It soon became one of the most profitable engineering firms in the state of California. Based out of National City, they rose to prominence after the Great Gateway City Earthquake in 1906 and were vital in the rebuilding of the city. After this, Luthor Corporation diversified doing engineering and construction for massive projects, as well as suppling arms to allied forces in the First World War.

This trend of engineering, construction, and weapons continued until the 1970s, when the young new CEO of the company: Lionel Luthor, added information technologies to the corporation. This was praised as great forethought, as Luthor Corp was able to compete with growing Asian tech companies in the 80s and 90s, growing Luthor Corp into a multinational corporate empire. Lionel also moved the company’s headquarters from National City to Metropolis, to more directly threaten his corporate rival Wayne Enterprises, founded by Gotham native Thomas Wayne. The HQ in Metropolis, Luthor Tower, became the tallest building in the city surpassing the former record holder of The Daily Planet building.

Lionel added new offices in Keystone City, Frankfurt, Seoul, and Dublin to oversee what he called the Luthor Empire. He was very charitable and loved by National City, that in 1997, National City dedicated the National City Luthor Airport (formerly National City Airport), Luthor Avenue (formerly Roosevelt Avenue), and Luthor Park (formerly Pioneer Park) in his honor. He also financed and built four artistic institutions around the country: Luthor Symphony Hall (National City), Luthor Theatre (Metropolis), The Lionel Luthor Museum of Art (National City), and The Art Institute of Central City.

In 2007, Lionel announced his candidacy for president of the United States, but during the campaign it was revealed he had a mistress in Ireland who was pregnant, and the ensuing scandal caused him to drop out. After this he and his wife separated. As part of an alleged agreement with her he resigned as Luthor Corp CEO in favor of his 19-year-old son Alexander (Lex for short). Four years later it was revealed his mistress in Ireland had died and he gained custody of his then four-year-old daughter, Lena Luthor. Lionel Luthor died suddenly in 2019.

Alexander Luthor became CEO during the 2007-2008 financial crisis and proved himself to be a better leader than his father. He not only weathered the crisis better than most organizations, but he also led to an expansion of the company when Luthor Corp acquired Stagg Enterprises. Throughout the 2010s, Lex Luthor continued his company’s expansion and his father’s charity work. He diversified his company into one of the largest on the planet and became the world’s richest man. He also revitalized Central Park in Gotham City, putting a large 30 ft tall statue of Harvey Dent in the center of it after Dent’s horrible death. He also built the Luthor Botanical Garden and expanded the Metropolis Zoo. A large statue of him was also built in Luthor Park in National City next to a similar statue of his father.

However, throughout his tenure it was revealed that he was embezzling funds to fund his own private war against Superman. The public learned about Lex Luthor’s actions after a failed hostile takeover of the United States. During which time, Lex Luthor used a mind control device to attempt to make him a dictator for life. He was stopped by Superman and subsequently put on trial. Due to alleged corruption and interference, the trial was ruled a mistrial and Luthor was set free. He subsequently resigned from Luthor Corp in favor of his mother and Lionel’s widow, Lillian.

Lillian soon moved Luthor Corp back to National City, saying that Metropolis was Lionel’s dream and home, and that Lex tainted it. She remains very private, residing with Lena Luthor in Luthor Manor just outside National City.

[End of Excerpt from Cat Grant’s Exposé on Lex Luthor and the Luthor Family for the National City Tribune]

Chapter Text

Lena was not the best at human interaction, which became evident to her in the second grade when her teacher told her parents that “she’s just not good at making friends”. That meeting resulted in a smack to the face from her stepmother and a stern talking to by her father about the importance of diplomacy in business. She was not even eight years old and yet she was deemed, socially at least, a failure by her parents. Despite her incredible academic achievements, the Luthor family would brandish Lena Luthor as the bastard child who was socially inept. So, while Lex was celebrated as the greatest thing on God’s green earth, Lena was told to stay home from galas, parties, etc. Only a year ago, during the fallout of her brother’s failed takeover of the country and world, was she paraded out as the “good and quiet Luthor”.

Suddenly, she was thrust into a spotlight, especially after the trial, because the media labelled her the “next Lex” due to her quiet and reserved nature. Lillian had tried everything to stop the press from running one headline that read: “Lena Luthor: A Quiet Sociopath” but she couldn’t. Soon enough the world saw Lena as a mini version of all the things they hated about Lex Luthor. This didn’t help Lena make friends at the private academy outside of National City. Instead, she was a social outcast and the only person who talked to her was fellow outcast Sam Arias. Sam had gotten pregnant during the last school year and by the summer was set to give birth to a baby girl. Lena wished she could be with her friend in National City, but Lillian forbade her from leaving Metropolis while she facilitated the Luthor Corp headquarters move.

So that is how Lena, bored out of her mind, came to the Metropolis Galleria and met a beautiful blonde girl with piercing blue eyes. See what happened was Lena was mindlessly walking, a paparazzi dude or whatever you call them decided to try and harass her, and she ran to the first fellow teenage girl she could find. She had wished Sam were there, because Sam’s threatening aura would’ve immediately scared the guy off, but instead she found an insanely strong blonde.

It was only after their brief encounter, while Lena was being driven home by her driver, that she realized she didn’t get Kara’s number. Kara, who didn’t seem to know how to even shake hands, let alone know who Lena was, could’ve been the long-distance friend that would’ve made the upcoming school year bearable. Of course, like always, Lena had to find someway to fuck over her life.

Meeting and subsequently missing her shot with the mysterious Kara wasn’t the only eventful part of her summer. Her mother made sure to drop a bombshell a few weeks before leaving Metropolis.

“Oh, by the way dear, you won’t be going back to Saint Mary’s Academy in the fall.” Lillian said coldly as they were being driven to the Luthor Theatre in Metropolis.

“Why? Did I fail out? I’m sure I passed all my classes, mother.” Lena asked, hating herself for having to call Lillian “mother”.

“No no, you scored higher than anyone else, like a true Luthor…” Lillian smirked at Lena’s accomplishments. The only time her adoptive mother was ever happy was when Lena was the best of the best, especially after Lex became America’s #1 villain. “…instead, we have decided it’s more financially and socially viable for you to attend public school.”

Lena’s mouth dropped as she imagined herself in public school. She had only ever known private school with its uniforms, church services, and high standards both academic and social. Now suddenly in her junior year of high school she was being thrown to the wolves. She looked at her mother concernedly and began, “But mother, how am I to deal with the vitriol associated with my name?” Lillian didn’t even look at her daughter as she answered, “it will make you a tougher Luthor, a better Luthor. No more discussion, my decision is final.”

Lena did not enjoy the musical at the theatre that evening, despite it being the hit funk opera about a historical founding father Benjamin Franklin. Instead, she spent the whole show dreading public school and all the scorn she might receive. She was quiet and reserved, way too intelligent, and most importantly, she was a Luthor. She was bound to be an outcast at whichever National City high school she attended just like she was at Saint Mary’s. That night she didn’t want to bother Sam with her problems, as she was expected to give birth within the next few weeks and Lena didn’t want to shock her. So instead, she decided to cry herself to sleep, which was a common occurrence since arriving in the US. However, her dreams were far from terrible, instead she dreamt she was back in Dublin with her mother and a blonde-haired girl around her own age who smiled so brightly. When she awoke the next morning, she cursed once again at her forgetfulness regarding Kara’s number. She also wondered if Kara dreamt about her too, or was their encounter only special for her? “Of course it was,” she told herself, who in their right mind wouldn’t immediately realize she was a Luthor, but also who could ever love her despite her name? A few days later Lillian and Lena Luthor left Metropolis and returned to National City.

Chapter Text

The Luthor Manor was located outside of National City, built in 1916, it was a marvel of Beaux-Arts architecture. Lionel Luthor, for his part, barely maintained the mansion and preferred to live in his luxurious penthouses in Metropolis or London. When he married Lillian, the manor became her pet project, and she restored and modernized the aging structure. She insisted that Alexander live and be educated in National City, and by extension Lena was grandfathered into that insistence. Since she was born after her brother’s ascension to the CEO position, she never lived with him. In fact, she barely considered him part of her family, especially now after all he had done. So, after Lionel’s death, Lillian and Lena occupied the large estate and kept to their own wings unless one required the other.

Lena rarely had company come to the mansion except for Sam, but she wasn’t likely to come the week before school due to her giving birth to her daughter. Ruby was adorable and Sam could not stop sending her friend picture after picture. Those were the bright moments in an otherwise dreadful week. Lena was anxious, I mean yes, she had an anxiety disorder, but she was ANXIOUS. She was sure that she would be both bored and hated at public school due to her last name and superior intellect. On top of that, Saint Mary’s (her old private school) was located about 20-30 minutes from the Luthor Manor, but National City Central High School was in the downtown…an hour away from the manor.

Exactly why the Manor somehow was zoned for a school downtown was due to some idiot in the 1980s deciding that the old four high schools of National City should be consolidated into two new huge campuses: Central and Eastern High School. Therefore, any student on the western coastal part of the city or the northern part (where Luthor Manor was) was placed in Central High. The south and east were consolidated into Eastern High. Looking into that idiotic decision was how Lena spent the last few days because she became hyperfixated on the stupid zoning laws of her home. However, the rabbit hole of zoning laws and history led to her looking into one of her favorite hyperfixations: The National City Metro. She loved trains, and the National City Metro was one of her favorites due to its combination of light rail, subway, and elevated rail. She rarely got to ride it, however, due to her mother insisting that she be driven around in their bulletproof Mercedes. She fell asleep at her desk that night looking at the rolling stock of the metro.

When she woke up, she realized that it was Sunday, and thus her usual school year routine would begin. She took a shower and got dressed in a modest green dress before walking down the stairs. Waiting for her was her driver, Frank, who smiled and led her to the car. They quietly drove the hour to downtown that would soon become her new daily normal and arrived at the large National City Cathedral. Ever since she became a teenager, she would attend mass at this cathedral, like the mass her mother took her to back in Dublin. She walked in, quietly greeted the welcomers at the door, and sat at a pew in the back. As she went up to receive the eucharist she said a silent prayer for her mother, father, and that she makes friends at school this year. The last part was a long shot, she knew, but it was worth a shot. She said quiet goodbyes as service ended and as she walked down the street to where Frank was waiting, she saw across the street a cheerful blonde girl. She could swear it was Kara, but with glasses, and she was accompanied by what could only be assumed to be her mother and sister. Lena shook her head and kept walking; quite sure she was just seeing a blonde girl who her brain wanted her to believe was Kara.

That night, as she had done every Sunday night before a school year, she organized her school supplies. This year she wouldn’t have to wear a uniform, so she decided on black jeans, a shirt with her favorite band: The Cranberries, and converse. She knew her mother expected her to wear designer fashions, but Lena concluded that she should do everything in her power to not stand out on the first day. She pensively paced around her room, occasionally stuffing pencils and pens into her messenger bag that would act as her backpack this year. She told herself that she would be fine, no one would recognize her, and if anyone asked about the last name she could lie…no she had a terrible poker face…BUT she could say she was adopted…but everyone knew that already. She huffed, and resigned herself to whatever fate would come. Overthinking, she told herself, will only make her more anxious. That night she overthought everything and played every possible scenario in her head until she finally fell asleep.

However there was one thing she didn’t account for: Kara Danvers.

Chapter Text

[Encrypted Messages from Hall of Justice servers to an unidentified recipient]

L,

The “pod” or whatever you want to call it was en route to Star Labs in Central City under direct orders from Martian Manhunter. However, we were able to quickly send out a message under the guise of The Flash (thank fuck he never learned how to email properly) and rerouted it to my personal facility in Gotham. From there we will send it to the black site where it will be yours to study how you wish. I trust payment will be in the usual form.

Love,

Selena xoxo

[The reply]

Selena,

Excellent work, as for payment, the money has been wired to your accounts per your instructions. I knew hiring the best espionage artist was the right call, or do you prefer the term thief? Either way, I’m sure the Kryptonian ship will bring me closer to realizing my goals.

Best,

L.L

[End of Correspondence]

Chapter Text

Kara Danvers was very very excited about the morning. It was her first day at an earth school and her first opportunity to make friends with people other than Winn and Maggie. She shot out of bed, immediately got in the shower and hit play on her phone. She washed her hair while singing along to a song from, her now FAVORITE movie (it changes every week) Tangled! She, unlike Rapunzel, knew that her life (on earth) was truly beginning today, and her smile didn’t waver for a second.

Alex Danvers was not very very excited about the morning. She awoke to the singing of her newly adoptive sister in the shower. Where Kara got the energy, enthusiasm, and optimism is beyond her, but what she did know is that she needed to teach Kara not to mess with her all-important sleep. Alex trotted into the bathroom, ignoring the confused greeting from Kara, and flushed the toilet causing Kara to wince from the scorching water her sister had caused. Alex smirked, Kara narrowed her eyes in annoyance, and suddenly Alex’s pajamas were soaked thanks to the stupid detachable shower head.

Eliza Danvers had been up since dawn, Jeremiah had left for work, and so it was just her in the kitchen making breakfast. To say Eliza was nervous for Kara’s first day was an understatement. In fact, she was so fucking scared that Kara would fly, use her heat vision, or her super strength and end up in a black van and shipped off to a government black site. So instead of worry worry, Eliza made pancakes.

Alex and Kara bickered for a bit in the bathroom before laughing, despite the annoyance they caused each other, they had truly grown into sisters these past few months. Kara zoomed by Alex after her shower, put on the CUTEST clothes (It was a white and red ringer t-shirt, some jean shorts, and blue converse) and then she headed down the stairs and began scarfing down the pancakes Eliza put in front of her. Alex appeared fifteen minutes later wearing a red flannel, Fall Out Boy tour T-shirt, torn black jeans, and checkerboard vans. She sat next to Kara and began eating her breakfast.

According to Alex the school bus was an unpleasant experience, so she decided for the both of them that Maggie would pick them up. Winn was already in the car when Maggie arrived, this time in the back seat to avoid the usual bickering that Alex and he engaged in. As they drove towards downtown, Kara could see all the young kids walking to their respective schools and for a second, she was reminded of a memory of her mom holding her on Krypton while kids went to school. She missed her Kryptonian mom greatly, but the memories of her face were fading the more time she spent on earth.

National City Central High School was a large building and according to Alex, she would be lucky if she had Winn in one of her classes due to the large student population. She sighed, resigning herself to the idea of having to befriend new people in almost every class. Alex walked with her to the front office to grab her schedule since she was a summer enrollment. The woman at the front desk was nice and quickly printed out for her. The days were split between A and B days, so she would have the same classes every other day.  

She groaned once she got a look at her schedule. Jeremiah and Eliza (with Clark’s advice) enrolled her in all basic classes so her Kryptonian knowledge would not be shown off. She also was strictly told that in her Physical Education class she had to restrain herself and she hated having to hide who she was all the time. She could at least smile at the fact they didn’t stop her from taking art, something she had grown to love doing over the summer with the Danvers.

The first half of the day before lunch was boring, her first class was too easy but her second class was too hard! Geometry was something basic that she learned most of it in her stasis pod. English was not as easy for Kara, and in her opinion it had too many rules. She was lucky to share a lunch period with Alex, Maggie, and Winn, and she quickly got food and found them sitting discussing some new student or something.

“I’m telling you, Mike saw her in his AP English class! It’s really her!” Maggie was declaring as Kara walked up and sat next to Alex. Alex swallowing a bite of her burger looked at Maggie skeptically,

“If THE Lena Luthor was in public school, I’m pretty sure it would’ve been all over Chirp!” Alex and Maggie huffed, and Kara looked confused to Winn who took it upon himself to whisper her the explanation while the other two argued.

“Ok, Kara, Chirp is a social media platform. Everyone of us uses it, here let me install it on your phone” He takes Kara’s phone and quickly helps her login to the site. “It was developed by Tim Drake, a member of the Wayne family. Anyway, Lena Luthor is the teenage stepsister of Lex Luthor, you know, the guy who tried to takeover the world and was stopped by Superman!” Winn beamed as he described Superman and Kara bit her lip, not wanting to let it slip she knew the Man of Steel. Kara looked at her sister, who had cooled down and was now holding Maggie’s hand.

“So…whats so bad about Lena Luthor?” Kara asked curiously and her sister sighed, “She’s anti-social, according to most people, and is probably more psychopathic than Lex since she wasn’t seen at Luthor functions until after his arrest.”

“She was probably kept locked up in her room.” Maggie said, following up Alex’s explanation, resulting in some laughs from Alex and Winn. Kara didn’t share the humorous sentiment and instead felt a pang in her chest at how isolating that sounded. As the lunch bell interrupted them, she decided to keep her sympathies to herself. She was excited for the rest of her day, especially art class, which ended up being really really fun. Spanish was just like English for Kara, so she resigned herself to asking Alex for help with both. At the end of the day, she met up with Alex and the gang and they drove off. The conversation was the same as lunch, but this time about how Alex had a class with Lena Luthor.

“I CAN’T BELIEVE I HAVE AP FRENCH WITH HER!” Alex exclaimed to her girlfriend, sister, and Winn who all, but Kara offered sympathetic looks and words.

“SHE LITERALLY IGNORED THE TEACHER AND EVERYONE!!! SHE SCOFFED WHEN A FEW GIRLS TRIED TO TALK TO HER AND BOLTED THE MINUTE THE BELL RANG! I MEAN WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS!?!!” Alex screamed as they were stuck in traffic and Kara felt bad for her sister but also assumed that the Luthor girl had her reasons. The name was the same as the girl she met in Metropolis, but Kara squashed any fluttering feelings of optimism that they could be the same person. That night at dinner, Jeremiah and Eliza were regaled with the same French class observations Alex had of Lena Luthor. Jeremiah seemed to agree with Alex, noting her snooty behavior. Eliza was more neutral, but surprised a Luthor wasn’t in private school. Kara was curious but didn’t ask what private school even was.

That night, Kara looked Lena Luthor up on Chirp but apparently pictures of the younger of the Luthor siblings were rare, so she only got blurry paparazzi photos. She had black hair and was pretty, but no other defining features were obvious. Kara sighed, conflicted due to her desire to know this Lena for herself, but also scared of the character described by Alex. What if she was rude, mean, or worse…what if this Luthor girl figured out who she was…what if she tried to hurt her. Kara shook those thoughts away and softly went to sleep.

Chapter Text

Kara’s A Day

1^st Period – Geometry

2^nd Period – English

3^rd Period – Art

4^th Period – Spanish

Kara’s B Day

1^st Period – Physics

2^nd Period – US History

3^rd Period – Physical Education

4^th Period – Home Economics

Lena’s A Day

1^st Period – AP Psychology

2^nd Period – AP English

3^rd Period – AP Calculus

4^th Period – AP French

Lena’s B Day

1^st Period – Office Aide (in Lieu of Phys Ed Class)

2^nd Period – AP US History

3^rd Period – AP Chemistry

4^th Period – Home Economics

Chapter Text

Lena woke up and immediately closed her eyes and willed the day to pass over her. The day didn’t much to her chagrin. So, she got up, showered, and put on the outfit she had laid out the night before. She waited until Lillian left for work before walking to the central wing of the manor for breakfast. If Lillian had seen her outfit, she would’ve been told to change into something more “Luthor-like”. Why did Lex have to try and take over the country? Why couldn’t he just be a success and let Lena fade into obscurity, rather than having her thrust into the spotlight to atone for his sins.

When she entered the dining room she was presented with two waffles with syrup and butter. The kitchen staff usually gave her rice cakes or avocado toast, as Lillian demanded, but whenever Lena dined alone, they gave her food she’d actually enjoy. About twenty minutes later her driver let her know that it was time to leave and so she got her phone and messenger bag and headed to the fancy car waiting for her in the circular driveway of the manor.

The drive was relatively peaceful, but that peace ended the moment they arrived at National City Central. Apparently, the press got word that the Luthor heir was attending public school and were ready to ambush her. Lena sighed as she was guided from the car to the doors of the school by Frank and once inside she was greeted by the principal. Mr. Henshaw was a tall and imposing man, who looked down at the source of the commotion outside his school and grumbled, “Miss Luthor, please refrain from turning my school into a media circus.” He huffed and walked away, leaving Lena stunned that she was already getting blamed for something just because people hated her last name. She sighed as she walked to the office to pick up her schedule and prayed that the one class Lillian let her select, Home Economics, would be today. She did not have her prayers answered, as it would be her last class of the next day. She breathed deeply, sighing out the air from her lungs and decided to just get through the day as fast as she could.

Throughout the day Lena was trying her best not to have a panic attack with all the people approaching her. In her first period these rich, snooty girls asked if she had ever heard of some fashion brand, but Lena just ignored them. In her English class, some jock named Mike tried to get her number to which she visibly gagged…that resulted in some whispers and looks of disdain from the same rich girls from her first class. At lunch, those same girls “tripped” and suddenly Lena’s jeans were soaked in milk…just fucking great. She spent most of lunch and her calculus class in the bathroom, trying not to cry on her first day of school. Finally, her last class of the day was French. She quietly sat down but found that her seat was surrounded by the same girls she had shared most of her classes with, who tried to ask her what her deal was, or why she was acting like a psycho freak. Due to this she couldn’t hear the teacher and apparently had missed being called on like three times. As soon as the bell rang, she grabbed her bag and ran towards the door. Sliding into the car, Frank pulled off and started driving back to the Luthor manor. Lena didn’t say a word and as soon as they returned home, she went straight to her room and fell asleep.

Chapter Text

Lillian woke her up the next morning and laid out an outfit to wear. She apparently had seen one of the pictures taken by the press the previous day and was furious that she was wearing “something so homeless looking”. She hated the outfit Lillian picked out for her, but she decided not to fight with her adoptive mother and add to the stress she would likely have by the end of the day. Lillian had picked out a white cardigan, a white button up under it, and a black pleated skirt and tights. She was allowed to wear her converse, which she was thankful for.

Her first period of the day was as an office aide, which her mother forced the school to allow her to be. This was because she didn’t want her daughter running on a field or outside where the press was surely waiting. So, she just got to silently help file paperwork, something she had done for her parents since she was adopted. Her other classes, despite being her best subjects of history and science, were lackluster due to her classmates being the same group of girls…ugh. They spent the day harassing her and saying her clothes were “so last season” when she knew that they couldn’t afford even the socks that Lillian had given her this morning. She spent lunch in the bathroom, not even daring to attempt eating in the cafeteria. It was calm and peaceful, and Lena decided she would eat lunch by herself from now on. By the time her last class rolled around, she was exhausted and totally demoralized at this whole public-school thing. Even though she was excited about Home Ec, she thought for sure the same group of girls would be there and make her life hell.

As she walked into the classroom, she noticed on the whiteboard the names of the students in pairs. She quickly glanced at it and saw she had been partnered up for the year to someone named Klara or Cara Danvers or something…ugh she hated when teachers did that. She turned to find her seat, and that’s when she was greeted by a blonde-haired girl with piercing blue eyes. They locked their eyes as Lena approached, and both their jaws dropped. The blonde broke the silence first:

“Lena?!?” She exclaimed as she jumped up from her chair and hugged the stunned brunette.

“K-Kara?!?” was all Lena could reply with, was it really the Kara she met in Metropolis and could not stop thinking about all summer?!? Lena quickly regained her composure, looked at the girl and suddenly blurted out: “you wear glasses?!?”

Kara laughed and nodded and Lena began to blush as she looked back at the whiteboard, and as clear as day the name Kara Danvers was written. She turned back to her friend who was beaming the brightest smile at her. Lena sat down and tried to slow her heartbeat down because a person who she never thought she’d see again was in her class. Kara looked at her, smiled, and said:

“Try breathing in your nose and out your mouth. That’s how my sister calms her heartrate down”

Surprisingly, Lena listened to her friend, and it helped immensely. Lena now hoped Kara wouldn’t say anything helpful about reducing the copious amounts of blush that was on her face. Kara didn’t and instead told her about how she got adopted and was living in National City. She was in the middle of talking about going to National City Pride over the summer when the teacher walked in.

“Hello, Class” said the woman who flinged her bag on the desk and winced as she sipped the coffee in her hand. “You may know me as the former star reporter for the National City Tribune, but I also used to run a cooking blog back in college. Now, you might be asking why the illustrious reporter Cat Grant, who wrote the big exposé on Alexander “Lex” Luthor, is teaching your class…and let me tell you its because of MISOGYNY!!!” She yelled dramatically as both Kara and Lena flinched at the sudden volume level. Cat continued, “apparently if you insinuate that the current president of The United States had direct links to Lex Luthor and was the reason that no further cases have been brought against him, you’re suddenly “jealous” of a woman in power, and rumored to be going through menopause…IM 35 SNAPPER CARR!!!” She sighed and put her coffee down, “also the teacher’s lounge coffee is crap.” She breathed in and out and smiled “anyway students, lets learn about how to be good housewives for when the stupid assholes like Snapper Fucking Carr decide you’d be better off not working in journalism, SHALL WE”.

Lena and Kara, along with the rest of the class, struggled to keep up with the disjointed teaching style of Cat Grant. One minute she’s explaining how to make French toast, and the next she’s making threatening comments about President Teschmacher. Despite the teaching style, Lena considered this class to be the best of her entire schedule, mostly due to Kara. Kara and Lena proceeded to laugh and talk about their summer amid Cat Grant’s rants for the entire day. When the bell finally ends the day, Lena can’t help but feel her heart sink a little. However, that lasts only for a second as Kara soon puts her phone into Lena’s hand.

“Sorry I didn’t get your number when we met.” Kara smiles as Lena frantically enters her phone number and texts her own phone to save Kara’s number on her end. Lena offers to walk to Kara’s locker, and Kara laughs saying, “I WAS JUST ABOUT TO ASK.” They ended up walking to Kara’s and as they began to say goodbye, Lena couldn’t help but hug her friend. Kara smelled like cherries, and Lena chastised her mind for even noting what her friend smelled like. Kara pulled away and smiled at Lena, she broke the slightly awkward silence by saying, “you smell like lavender, I love lavender.” Lena was sure she could die happy right there as Kara’s smile caused her heart to pick up even faster than before. Their smiling was broken by a voice yelling “Come on Kara! Maggie will leave if we linger any longer.” Kara suddenly and quickly hugged Lena again and said she’d text her. She quickly ran to who Lena assumed had yelled and Lena knew they had shared a class. She was likely Kara’s adoptive sister Alex, who Kara couldn’t stop talking about during class.

As she began to walk to her locker, Lena pulled out her phone, texting Frank to not pick her up. Lena had such a good day; she was going to take the subway home and make this good day a great day by feeding one of her special interests. She walked out of the school and towards the nearby National City Central High Station, pulled out her metro card, and tried to not happy stim when she went through the turnstiles. Going down to the underground portion, she noted that she would take the Blue Line from Central High Station to Shoreside Station, where she would transfer to the Red Line which goes to Northpoint, which is fifteen minutes from Luthor Manor.

She waited happily for the train to arrive, bouncing on the balls of her feet with headphones in her ears. As the train approached, she recognized it as the rolling stock for the red, blue, and purple lines: the CRRC HR4000. The Green line used a light rail train instead of the rapid transit of the other three lines. She entered the train car, managing to snag a seat and began looking around and bustling with joy. She was sure that she looked a little crazy, but she didn’t care. This was truly one of the best days of her life, mostly due to having seen Kara an hour earlier. As the train flew through the Arts District and Sandbeach stations, she eagerly awaited the announcement for her stop at Shoreside. As it came, she grabbed her messenger bag and quickly joined the others who were transferring and waited a few minutes for the Red Line train to arrive. As soon as it departed the station’s tunnel, the open coastal scenery greeted her. This section from Shoreside to Northpoint was above ground and was always stunning the few times she had been allowed or decided to ride the metro. As they passed the stations, Lena couldn’t help but think of Kara’s smile. As the train crossed a high steel bridge above the busy Interstate below, her thoughts of Kara suddenly halted as a crunching or crashing sound was heard. Suddenly the train car began to sway, rubble and metal from the train bridge began slamming into the interstate below. The train began braking, but suddenly the train began to plummet, Lena gasped, closed her eyes and prayed for a miracle.

As she opened her eyes she saw that miracle, a blonde-haired blue-eyed girl, with what looked like a white shirt and blue shorts began lifting the train back on the tracks. Flowing behind her was a red cloth, adorned with a symbol Lena had seen before. Stopping her train of thought, someone yelled “ITS SUPER…GIRL?” The blonde waved as they said it. Ensuring no other help was needed, she slowly opened the train doors, stepping inside Lena’s section.

“Have no fear citizens, this is just a slight delay to your commute.” The blonde turned to Lena and began speaking as if directly at her.

“I hope this hasn't put you off trains. Statistically speaking, they’re still one of the safest ways to travel” The girl smiled, saluted the passengers, and flew off. It took a second for the train announcement to say: “The National City Metro apologizes for the delay, but thanks to that super girl, we will be on our way.”

As the train began moving towards its last few stations, Lena couldn’t help but thank God for that stunning and brave super girl.

Chapter Text

[Text Message between Batman and Superman]

Bruce: *attached image of flying girl in red cape* Thought you’d like to know your cousin isn’t keen on playing human.

Clark: Oh, for Pete’s sake! This is exactly why I turn Lois down every time kids get brought up!

Bruce: Are you sure it’s not because you’re scared of commitment? I mean it took you like three years of knowing Lois to even ask her out, let alone tell her you’re Superman and marry her.

Clark: That is not it at all!! You know there are people out there who can hurt Kara, and she’s not fully ready to be a superhero like us!

Bruce: Uh huh…sounds to me like you’re just scared she’ll be a better Superperson than you.

Clark: BRUCE!

Bruce: Fine, Fine, I’ll stop teasing. But seriously take it from me, you can’t control kids. Gotta let em “spread their wings”.

Clark: Fine. I’ll make some calls and fly to National City first thing tomorrow and talk with her about it, make sure she’s doing it safely…wait no I have that charity fun run with Barry…ok first thing Thursday!

Bruce: Attaboy.

Chapter Text

Kara couldn’t believe her eyes when the face that greeted her in shock was Lena’s. Lena went to her school. Lena was in her class. LENA WAS HER PARTNER IN SAID CLASS.

“Oh Rao” Kara said under breath after they exchanged greetings. Lena was, well, Kara couldn’t really put her thoughts together. Lena was Lena, a beautiful girl who occupied every wandering thought Kara had these past few months. She was cool and mysterious and wait…WAIT…WAS THIS THE SAME LENA ALEX HAD BEEN RANTING ABOUT THE DAY BEFORE?!? Kara quickly glanced at the whiteboard, where sure enough, Lena Luthor’s name was next to her own. Lena, the girl she couldn’t stop thinking about was also related to her cousin’s enemy?!? Kara brushed those thoughts away, she couldn’t judge Lena based on Lex, just like anyone couldn’t judge her based on Kal-El.

For most of the day’s class, which was supposed to be how to make French toast but had turned into an anti-presidential rant from Ms. Grant, Kara and Lena talked about their summers. Kara told her how her family had died (a lie that her and the Danvers’ concocted) and how she was now living with Jeremiah, Eliza, and Alex. She talked about adjusting to the Danvers’ house, to which Lena also talked about adjusting to public school. Apparently, Lena had gone to private school, which Kara knew nothing about, but was sure to google it later. Kara did most of the talking, noticing that Lena preferred to listen about Kara’s summer and first two days of school, rather than regale Kara with her own. Kara didn’t press her friend about it, and in fact was happy that Lena seemed so invested in her. To be honest, Kara kept talking so that she wouldn’t get too distracted by the verdant green eyes that kept contact with hers.

As the bell rang, Kara and Lena didn’t break off to go to their lockers, opting instead to go to Kara’s. Kara was happy to spend time with Lena, and after securing her number, made sure Lena knew how many gifs of foxes and red pandas she would receive. Lena laughed at that remark and her face got red, but like the same red Kara had noticed Alex’s face got when talking with Maggie. She made a note to ask Alex about the reaction that made one’s face red later. It was Alex’s voice that drew Kara away from Lena, much to Kara’s internal annoyance. When they hugged goodbye Kara noted Lena smelled like lavender, a scent she had grown to love these past few months. In fact, Lena was probably in the top 5 people Kara had hugged since landing on earth, and the lavender helped.

As she and Alex walked out of the school, Alex turned to her and asked: “was that Lena Luthor?”

Kara nodded “YEAH! Apparently, the Lena I met in Metropolis, when I bought stuff with Lois, was the SAME LENA! Isn’t that crazy?!?”

“Kara…” Alex began but was cut off by Kara.

“Also, Lena’s favorite breakfast food is waffles, just like mine! Well, she did have one exception, apparently there are these Irish scones she loves and- “

“Kara…I don’t think you should be friends with her.” Alex cut off her sister’s ramble about Lena looking serious. “Her family tried to take over the world and hurt your cousin. She’s just like Lex; I get a weird vibe from her.” Alex put her hand on Kara shoulder, as Kara brushed it off and shook her head.

“She’s my friend, Alex. She was one of the first people I met on this planet. I trust her.” Kara said, defying her protective sister. Alex sighed as they reached Maggie’s car, “Kara, look we will talk about this later, ok?” Kara huffed as she entered the backseat, pulling out her phone and sending Lena her first message, which was a gif of a red panda waving. Lena replied immediately with a picture of her waiting for the subway, followed by a paragraph explaining how excited she was to be riding the subway. Kara did not understand why Lena was so excited to use a mode of transportation, especially when Kara would just as soon fly anywhere, but was happy to see Lena happy. Earthlings sure are weird, Kara thought and smiled while continuing to text Lena all the way home.

As soon as she got home, Eliza asked how her day was, Kara smiled wide saying it was really good, but decided against telling her adoptive parents about Lena til dinner. As she climbed the stairs, Lena sent a message about how her train was now above ground and she could see the ocean. Kara smiled and mentioned how the Danvers’ house was a few streets away from the coast, and may have casually invited Lena to come over at any point.

“Hmmm…” Kara wondered aloud, “if Lena’s near the coast, she might be nearby? Maybe I could try…” she muttered, deciding to try and pinpoint Lena’s heart rate, which she had done in class earlier to help calm Lena down. Kara closed her eyes, breathed in slowly, and like a sudden drum in her head, she could hear her friend’s heart. Kara smiled as she listened, looking out her window at the sky above.

CRASHHHHHHH

Kara was shaken out of her daydream by a loud sound and the rapid increase of Lena’s heart rate. Something was wrong. She was in danger. Kara could help her. Save Lena. Save Lena. Save Lena.

She quickly grabbed her blanket from Krypton and wrapped it around her like Kal-El’s cape. If she was going to fly, she thought she might as well look the part of a hero. She put a foot on her windowsill and repeated the words in her head to save Lena. She breathed in deeply, and suddenly flew off, flying faster than she had in years towards the sound of Lena’s heartbeat.

Arriving at the scene she saw the train dangling off a broken rail bridge, about to fall onto the interstate below. She quickly spotted Lena and zoomed to grab the train. She thought she heard one passenger call her Supergirl, which she thought had a nice ring to it, so she waved through the window. As she put her hands on the metal she made eye contact with the panicked girl, shooting her a smile, she then lifted the train car as the others began to rise with it. She carefully, but quickly, flew it to the other side of the bridge. She then opened the doors to the metro car Lena was in. Breathing for a second, Kara wondered what to say to the astonished passengers, finally settling on something, she said:

“Have no fear citizens, this is just a slight delay to your commute.” She turned to Lena as she said this, smiling a little wider at seeing her friend safe. Hoping to not ruin the thing she was just happily telling Kara about over text, she added:

“I hope this hasn't put you off trains. Statistically speaking, they’re still one of the safest ways to travel.” Kara then saluted Lena and the passengers and quickly flew off, knowing that if anyone filmed that on their phone, both the Danvers’ and Kal-El would yell at her for being so reckless. However, as she landed back in her bedroom, Kara reflected on how scared Lena looked until she arrived. Kara did the right thing; she was sure of it. Now all she had to do was explain that to everyone else.

Chapter Text

Kara had just landed in her room before Alex burst in the door to see her sister, wearing the outfit in which she had worn to school that day with the exception of the red house of El cape. Alex slowly closed the door behind her, looked at Kara, and in a hushed and angry whisper chastised her sister.

“What in the hell were you thinking?!?” Alex began, as Kara shrugged and feigned ignorance.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, don’t fucking play dumb with me Kara, look! It’s all-over fucking Chirp! They’re even calling you Supergirl, because apparently you didn’t think how the fuck it would look when a flying girl saves people with SUPERMAN’S FUCKING SYMBOL ON YOUR BACK!”

“I’m sorry, ok!” Kara’s shoulders fell as she sat on the bed, “I had no choice, I had to save that train.” Kara looked at her sister who sighed,

“Look…it’s not me you have to convince. Mom and Dad are gonna see it on the news if they haven’t already. Also, who knows how Clark is going to react. I’m just worried about you, we all are. You need to think about the consequences before you run off and play hero.”

Kara knew Alex was right, but also knew she didn’t have time to weigh the consequences in her mind. If she hadn’t reacted when she did, Lena might’ve gotten hurt or worse. However, Kara decided to just roll with the assumption that she did this on her own accord and not to save Lena Luthor. Alex hugged Kara as they sat in silence, however it did not last long as their quiet embrace was disrupted by a loud shout from downstairs.

“KARA ZOR-EL DANVERS” Kara’s eyes popped open and looked at Alex.

“Welp, guess Mom found out.” Alex shrugged, standing up and opening Kara’s door. Alex wished her good luck and quickly fled to her own room before Eliza appeared in the doorway.

“You better have a good explanation for why I just saw on the news a girl who looks kind of like you save a dangling train.” Eliza folded her arms and scowled at Kara. She had never been angry or raised her voice at her adoptive daughter the entire time she had been staying with them. The closest thing to her current anger was when Kara accidentally used her heat vision to try and boil some water, only piercing the pot and burning a hole through the stove and oven.

“I…I…” Kara began, trying to think of a reason for saving the train that didn’t involve Lena’s name. Eliza, noticing the panic and fear in her face, softened her stern expression and moved to sit on Kara’s bed next to her.

“Look, sweetie, I get it. You felt cooped up here and wanted to be free like your cousin. You wanted to be strong and powerful and do some good. However, you can’t save everyone. You need to let the grown-up heroes do that, ok?” Kara wanted to correct her, she didn’t try to save everyone, she was trying to save Lena. In fact, Kara knew if she had to pick between saving a hundred people or Lena, she’d pick Lena. Lena looked at her, not as a weird new kid at school or a charity case, but as a person. She was probably the one big bright spot that she could think about to distract her from dreams about Krypton. She didn’t do what she did to be a superhero, she did it to be Lena’s hero.

Kara sighed and apologized to Eliza, who was quick to stop her. “Oh Kara, its not me you have to apologize to. Your father and I, we want you to be safe, but the one who’s going to need an apology is your cousin. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say once he hears about this he’ll be here as soon as he can to talk about it with you.”

Kara gulped at the thought of Kal-El coming to National City just to scold her. However, Eliza was right about Jeremiah not being mad but being worried. That night at dinner, both her adoptive mother and father echoed the sentiment that they understood why she did it (or what they thought was why) and were just hopeful she’d be more careful in the future. However, the topic of conversation soon turned to Lena, as Alex spilled the beans that Kara had befriended the Luthor heir. Jeremiah took Alex’s side and warned Kara to be wary of her due to the Luthor opinion on Kryptonians, but Eliza didn’t say anything.

It wasn’t until Kara was getting ready for bed that Eliza came in and asked how Kara felt about Lena. “Well…” Kara began, not really knowing where to start. “…she’s really smart and nerdy, like she’s in all advanced classes. She’s got black hair and these piercing green eyes. She also has a love of trains. In fact, she was excited to ride the train this afternoon, oh shoot!” Kara continued, building up a lie that she didn’t know Lena was on the train she saved. “I should ask her if she was on that train and if she’s ok!” Kara quickly asked Lena her question, and Lena responded, saying she was in fact on that train and that Supergirl had saved her. Kara then turned to her mother to relay Lena’s message.

“Welp turns out she wasn’t on that train” Kara lied straight to Eliza’s face, who commented about how Lena was lucky, and then turned to Kara.

“Lena sounds like a nice girl. I’m glad you made a friend on your own.” Eliza hugged Kara goodnight and left Kara to finish preparing for bed.

The next day was mostly uneventful at school, save for lunch, which was buzzing with people talking about the sudden new superhero: Supergirl. As she approached her usual table of Maggie, Winn, and Alex who were joined by another kid named Jimmy Olsen. Winn and Jimmy were deep in conversation about the new hero as Kara sat down next to Winn.

“Look it doesn’t make sense to call them “Supergirl” when we don’t know for sure if she’s associated with Superman!” Jimmy began and Winn scoffed.

“Look, I get your dad is buddy buddy with Superman, but YOU SAW THE SYMBOL ON THE CAPE, RIGHT?!?” Winn pulled out his phone and showed a blurry picture of Supergirl lifting the train, obviously taken by one of the cars on the interstate below.

“Yes yes, the blurry yellow symbol on the cape that supposedly is the Superman symbol. Until we get a clear image of her, I’m not buying that she’s related. I think we should call her Power Girl or something. Why should National City be forced to have its hero be a female knockoff of Metropolis’?”

Winn looked absolutely hurt by that comment as he rebutted, “Firstly Jimmy, I get you were raised in Metropolis for like the first twelve years of your life, but National City is practically Metropolis’ sister city! We have Luthor Corp, Luthor Airport, a Luthor freaking art museum for Pete’s sake! We are always seen as the west coast version of Metropolis, so why shouldn’t we have the blonde haired, west coast babe version of Superman?!?”

They continued this debate for the entirety of lunch and Kara was not only bored, but a little disgusted by the end of it. Firstly, she wasn’t her cousin, so the name Supergirl wouldn’t have been her first choice. Secondly, she wasn’t National City’s anything, she just happened to save other people that day besides Lena. However, she did kind of act “Superman-like” but that was more a spur of the moment thing than anything else. Lastly, why in Rao’s name was the big sticking point for both Winn and Jimmy her looks? They made many remarks on how hot or sexy she was, and how if she got a new costume, it should highlight her thighs or breasts. It was gross, and she hoped someone would say something, but Alex and Maggie were in their own little world, and Kara couldn’t risk her friends guessing she was Supergirl if she became very vocally critical. Especially since the outfit she wore the previous day just happened to be the one Supergirl wore.

 That night, Kara expected Kal-El to appear, but he didn’t. As she went to sleep that night, she hoped that maybe he had seen the news, but didn’t care enough to scold her. The next morning as Eliza was handing Kara her laundry from the previous night to look through, she noticed what she wore when she saved Lena was missing.

“Hey mom, where are the clothes I wore on Tuesday?” She innocuously asked as Eliza scrunched her eyebrows together.

“We can’t have you parading in the same outfit Supergirl wore, can we? I put it in your closet last night.” Kara nodded, agreeing that some glasses probably wouldn’t be enough to hide her identity if she wore the outfit again, especially around Lena.

The rest of the day was filled with continued gossip on Supergirl. Kara overheard the boys on the football team talking amongst themselves about what would happen if the white shirt Supergirl wore got wet and what kind of underwear a superhero wears…gross. The popular girls were instead talking about how they could design a much cuter costume with designer brands, and that the red cape was “so 1900s.” At lunch, Winn and Jimmy were talking about the physics of flying, and how it affected what they called “the jiggle physics.” Alex and Maggie were practically eating each other’s faces, and so Kara decided to ignore both parties and listen in for Lena’s heartbeat. Kara knew they had the same lunch period that day, so all it would take was a few seconds to drown the noise out and focus. She couldn’t hear it very well in the cafeteria, so she put her tray down near Winn and began walking through the main hall of the school. After a few minutes of listening, she found her in the girls’ bathroom nearby.

Opening the door, she heard the girl’s heartrate speed up in fear. This made Kara’s heart feel heavy.

“Is anyone in here?” Kara asked, trying to play off the fact she already knew Lena was the only person in the room.

“K-Kara?” Lena said quietly, peeking behind the stall door she was slowly opening. Kara smiled wide as soon as she met Lena’s eyes.

“Lena?!? Oh Rao, why are you in here?” Kara asked, walking over to her friend.

“I um…eat lunch in here. On the first day these girls poured milk on me, and rather than make a fuss or fight back…I just came in here. It’s quite peaceful, once you get used to the smell.”

Lena smiled slightly as Kara laughed at her friend’s joke. Kara then smiled and offered to join her friends and sister, adding that she’d protect her. Kara was certain she saw Lena’s face go pink again.

“Why does your face do that sometimes?” Kara asked.

“Do what?” Lena was puzzled and immediately grabbed her face, ensuring that nothing was amiss. Kara thought this action was adorable.

“Your face goes pink sometimes.”

“Oh? OH!” Lena’s face went red this time, kind of like cherries, and looked down at her feet. “Its um…a blush. How do you not know what a blush is, Kara?” Lena looked back at her friend who just smiled back at her.

“I was raised in Maine, not that many people blush there.” Kara replied, reusing the lie that she was originally from Maine, although Kara didn’t know if people from there blushed or not. Lena stared at Kara, confused for a moment, before shaking off the confusion.

“Didn’t know that about Maine.” Lena said to a smiling Kara, who was sure the lie had worked.

The bell interrupted them, and Kara waited for Lena to grab her things, which surprised Lena.

“What are you doing, Kara?”

“Waiting for you” Kara smiled.

“Why?”

“Well, we have our next class together, so I figured we could walk to it together.” Kara smiled and Lena nearly fainted on the spot. Kara didn’t know why her friend was suddenly very red and why her heartrate sped up, but figured it was just a human quirk. Internally, Lena was screaming, and deciding to be brave linked her hand with Kara’s, who just smiled back unaffected. Kara liked holding Lena’s hand, and in fact was thrilled to be touching Lena, but was now very curious as to why this action caused even more weird biological responses from Lena.

Home Economics that day was very boring, as Cat Grant spent the entire class showing a presentation to the students about how President Teschmacher was channeling funds for cancer aid in Tehrac and Kaznia to secret offshore accounts controlled by none other than Lex Luthor. Multiple times during the lecture Ms. Grant kept asking Lena if any of this sounded accurate to what she knew about her brother, which caused Lena to get nervous from the attention and stammer out “I don’t know” each time. Kara felt her nerves pick up and offered her hand to Lena after the first time she was called upon by Ms. Grant. Kara could tell from her heartbeat and breathing that Lena must’ve appreciated the gesture.

On the drive home, Kara was pleased with how the last part of her school day went. She got to see Lena and held her hand, which was very nice. She had asked Alex about the meaning of holding hands, to which Alex explained it could be done for friends or in the case of her and Maggie showing romantic feelings. Kara didn’t know why but the implication that Lena and she were possibly romantically linked by onlookers caused her heart to race. Perhaps that’s why Lena’s heart was beating so fast, Kara thought. As they approached the driveway, Kara could see a man waiting with her mother and she knew instantly who was at their house. She got out of the car slowly as the man turned, revealing her cousin. He smiled at Alex and her friends, but as soon as Maggie’s car drove off, his face became serious. It occurred to her that the friendly persona of Clark Kent was gone, and she was now facing Kal-El.

“Hello Kara, lets have a talk inside.”

Chapter Text

Kara sat down next to Alex as her adoptive parents and cousin joined them. The living room was silent for a moment as Kara avoided direct eye contact with anyone, hoping in vain that Kal-El was just here for a friendly visit. He silently removed his classes and looked at Kara with a very stern face. His voice was soft yet angry at first as he began to berate Kara.

“What were you thinking, Kara? I mean, I understand feeling cooped up, and sure I may have flown off once or twice growing up, BUT I DIDN’T FLY IN THE MIDDLE OF RUSH HOUR DURING AN ERA WHERE EVERYONE HAS A CAMERA!” Her cousin’s rage was coming through his now raised voice along with the red glowing eyes of Kal-El holding back his heat vision, Kara knew she had messed up. She tried not to cry as she sunk in her chair as Kal-El continued.

“Kara…I’m not mad,” he said causing his red eyes to turn back to normal. “I’m just disappointed. I thought I was clear about the dangers for us on this planet. If Lex, or God knows who else were to grab you, they’d run tests, hurt you, or worse!” He sighed and was silent for a moment, as if considering his next choice of words.

“You’re not going to school tomorrow, Kara.” He said softly, it was like the cousin she had spent time with in Metropolis was back. Kara, for her part, was not the first to react to Kal-El’s sudden announcement that she was being kept from school instead that was Alex. She immediately jumped up and declared,

“Wait why does Kara get to skip school, Mom, Dad, are you ok with this?!?” The Danvers’ nodded to Alex’s question and she sulked back down next to Kara, placing a hand in hers. Alex narrowed her eyes at Kal-El.

“Ok Superman…” Alex only called her cousin by his superhero name when she was being sarcastic, which caused Kara to smirk and push down a growing giggle. “…why doesn’t my sister have to go to school? I thought the point was for her to be a normal teenager.” Kal-El laughed at the protection Alex showed for Kara and answered,

“Kara’s stunt the other day caused the world to notice her, in one way or another. I’m taking her for the weekend…” He saw Kara’s eyes light up and knew exactly what she was thinking. “…no, Kara, not to Metropolis. Instead, you and I will fly tonight to The Fortress of Solitude. For the next three days, give or take, I will train you on how to properly be a hero. That way, if you want, you can be “Supergirl” full time, ok?”

Kara was confused because she apparently wasn’t in trouble but also was going with Kal-El to the Fortress of Solitude, which is the last bastion of Kryptonian architecture probably anywhere. Well, except maybe Stavia-45, but no one really talks about Stavia-45 since it was abandoned by Kryptonian scientists after the ooze they were studying gained sentience and annoyed the scientists so much that they decided it was better to abandon the planet rather than hear it talk about it’s opinions on Daxamite Ska music.

Still, Kara was confused as to why she was being rewarded, rather than punished. To be honest she’d probably prefer punishment…maybe this was secretly a punishment! Kal-El must’ve known why she did what she did and now she was going to be imprisoned in the Fortress for daring to use her powers to selfishly save her friend. Best friend? Maybe? She made a mental note to ask Lena if they were best friends yet. Golly she hoped they were best friends.

Kara shook her head violently to physically get back on the train of thought of why she was being taken, but apparently that shocked Eliza, who immediately got everyone off the topic of Kara and onto a topic she knew would distract Kara and her cousin: dinner.

They ordered pizza, and as Eliza had learned, they ordered extra for the two Kryptonians. Kara still couldn’t believe Kal-El liked pineapple and black olives on his pizza but was equally shocked that Alex liked anchovies and pineapple.

“You two disturb me…” Kara pointed at her cousin and sister. “Fruit does not belong on pizza, and I will die on this hill!” Jeremiah and Eliza laughed as their adoptive daughter started on her second pizza of the night, which was pepperoni and ham. As Kara began to devour it, her phone dinged causing Alex to groan and roll her eyes.

“Ugh I really wish you’d stop talking to her, Kara, you can’t trust her.”

“Trust who?” Kal-El asked curiously.

“Lena Luthor, Kara’s new girlfriend.” Alex laughed and poked Kara’s cheek, which had grown red at Alex’s comment.

“Luthor? As in…” Kal-El began, as Alex quickly interrupted him.

“Lex’s sister”

“I see…I agree with your sister, Kara. You can’t trust a Luthor, and I have the Kryptonite scars to prove it.” Kara didn’t want to argue so she just huffed.

“She’s not like Lex, she’s my friend and I trust her, ok?”

“Still I-“ her cousin began but was cut off by Eliza.

“I think it’s lovely that Kara has made a friend of her own, don’t you agree Clark? Alex?” The pair decided not to argue with her as she smiled at Kara. Although Kara was sure Clark had said under his breath that he still didn’t like the idea of her talking to a Luthor.

Kara looked down at her phone once the discussion on Lena had moved on to the topic of why Clark and Lois still didn’t have kids. Lena had sent a gif of an anime girl peeking behind a corner, which made Kara smile because it was almost as shy as Lena is in class if they’re not talking about random stuff. Kara sent back a gif of two bears high fiving, to which Lena sent a laugh emoji. Finally, after a barrage of gifs and emojis between the two, Kara got up the nerve to ask Lena:

Kara: Lena…are we best friends?

Lena: Uh…d-do you want to be?

Kara: *sent gif of excited puppy* YES, wbu?

Lena: *sent gif of nodding anime girl*

Kara couldn’t help but blush and giggle at Lena’s cute response. Kara looked up for a second to see her entire family plus Kal-El not talking and looking at her. Alex smirked and raised her eyebrow at her sister.

“Wanna share what’s so funny with the group?”

“N-no”

“Why?” Alex grinned, “is it because your girlfriend sent something cute?”

“Sh-Shes not my girlfriend Alex. I don’t even know if I like, well, anyone.” Kara showed the phone to Alex as she continued. “I just asked Lena if we were best friends, and she said yes!” Kara was practically beaming as she said this and Alex decided to lay off calling Lena her girlfriend for the night, mostly so that she didn’t accidentally give Kara the idea of seriously dating Lena, especially if their friendship was growing as fast as it seemed.

That night Kal-El and Kara flew off to the Fortress of Solitude. She got goodbye hugs from Alex and her adoptive parents, who told her to be good for her cousin. This slightly annoyed her since she was technically older…stupid space travel. Eliza then handed Superman a bag, which made Kara curious, but she didn’t ask. She didn’t understand exactly what training would entail but she figured it would be intense. As they approached, Kara could see the beauty of the crystalline structure shimmering amidst the arctic snow. It reminded her of one of the few memories she had of just her and her father in the great Cathedral of Reason in Argo City. As they stepped in front of the mighty door decorated in the seal of the House of El, she felt a connection to her people again. She began to whisper a prayer to herself as they entered.

“More Kryptonian?” Kal-El asked inquisitively. “Sorry I still haven’t learned it enough to converse with you.”

“It’s ok, you haven’t exactly had a chance to learn it, what with all the superhero-ing.” She smiled at her cousin as they made their way to the main hall of the Fortress.

“So,” Kal-El began pulling clothes out of the bag Eliza had handed him. “These are the clothes you made your superhero debut in. A little short, don’t you think?” He raised his eyebrow and Kara playfully hit his arm.

“Says the guy who wears bright red underwear outside of his suit.” Kara laughed as Kal-El explained that it was a Kryptonian fashion choice, but Kara kept giggling.

“Anyway,” Her cousin said handing her the clothes, “we need to reinforce the material of it if we’re going to have you fight in it. Come with me, and once we get your suit figured out, the real training will begin. I think we will start with the gun turrets and then move on to the speed test.” Kal-El smiled and led Kara to a small sewing machine attached to a large crystal computer.

“What’s with the sewing machine?” Kara asked, “Can’t you just print it out on the Kryptonian computer?”

“I could…” Kal-El said sitting down at the sewing machine. “…but this was Ma’s sewing machine that she gave to me when I first moved to Metropolis from Smallville. It was so I could fix my shirts, which kept getting ripped…mostly by me because I had to quickly tear them off to save people.” Kal-El laughed as he remembered his early days of being Superman.

“Soon you’ll be a great hero, maybe even better than me, Kara.” He smiled as he began working on her costume. Kara felt her stomach plunge with those words, she knew she really only revealed her powers to save Lena, but she couldn’t find the words to explain that to Kal-El without possibly angering him with the Luthor name. Kal-El soon finished his sewing work, and then went to the nearby computer, input some code, and then he presented the clothes to Kara. Her white shirt, with the added House of El symbol, was now able to withstand the heat of a nuclear bomb. Her jeans shorts, similarly, able to withstand some of the strongest forces of the planet. Her red converse, now able to take the forces of jumping into flight and landing from it. Finally, a new addition being a red cape with their house symbol on it. Thankfully Eliza hadn’t taken her blanket when she collected the clothes she wore when she saved Lena. Altogether, the ensemble was different than Kal-El’s, less Kryptonian and more human, but also younger and more of Kara’s own style.

Chapter Text

[Excerpt from a very patriotic video about Superman’s Accomplishments in the Hall of Justice Museum]

Welcome to the Hall of Justice, Headquarters of The Justice League! This short video will tell you about our founder and leader: Superman.

Superman, the Man of Steel, and the last son of Krypton. All these things describe a figure who stands for truth and justice, as well as for the good of his adoptive homeworld. It all began with a planet far away. Our earth scientists call it LHS-2520, but Superman calls it both Krypton and home. Sadly, it was destroyed, but it had survivors. We know of two, the first is the guardian of freedom: Superman, the second is the vile General Zod.

When Superman landed, he was just a baby and was raised by humans, although we don’t know who. Anyway, those brave American heroes took that boy and raised him to honor freedom, God, and country. It took time for the young son of Krypton to hone his abilities, but he finally did. On a spring day, many years ago, he stopped a helicopter from crashing off the helipad of the Daily Planet. He saved, now Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Lois Lane. It would be Lois Lane who would publish the first interview with the Man of Steel.

Superman continued to do great feats of heroism, stopping crime, and saving the occasional cat from a tree. However, his greatest threats would soon challenge the peace that Superman brought to our amazing country. The first of these was the aforementioned General Zod, a fellow Kryptonian who threatened to destroy the world. The two fought for hours in a small field in Kansas, until finally Superman defeated Zod with the help of a Kryptonite bomb developed for use, if Superman ever went rogue, by Luthor Corp. This sparked a brief friendship between Superman and Lex Luthor, CEO of Luthor Corp. However, Luthor quickly soured the friendship by trying to kill Superman on numerous occasions. Including the most famous incident, when Luthor tried to take over the world with mind control and ended up disappearing.

To combat the rising need for superheroes to fight villains, Superman alongside Batman, Wonder Woman, and others, created The Justice League. This museum offers many great behind-the-scenes looks at the day to day lives of your favorite heroes! See Wonder Woman’s collection of poetry or see if you can beat Flash’s record of eating ice cream really fast! Meet the museum’s mascot: Krypto! And see the many suits that Batman wore when fighting his rogue’s gallery!

As you venture through the exhibits, kids, please note that the fight for justice is never finished, and we all need to do our part!

Chapter Text

It was Friday night and Kara didn’t go to school, not that Lena would’ve seen her anyway. Still, Lena had ensured her best friend was ok and didn’t need to be brought soup, flowers, or flowers made of soup. Kara just said she had a cold and should be back on Monday. It took everything in Lena’s power not to just find out where Danvers’ house was and show up with something, but Kara made it clear she was fine. So, to not dwell on the thoughts of Kara, Lena decided to call Sam and update her on how public school was going.

“Yello?” Sam quickly answered the phone.

“Sam, hi, um sorry for not calling you sooner…um I was curious how you were doing and if you wanted to hear about my week at public school.”

“Lena, you know I always am willing to listen to you, and since you asked, I am doing amazingly. Ruby just stopped crying, so I am taking a much-needed bath. So, lay it on me.” Sam giggled and Lena could hear a splash of water as Sam adjusted themselves.

Lena then went on a ramble about their first five days of school. She described in detail her encounters with the “rich bitches”, her lunches in the bathroom, and her severe lack of friends. She was just about to get to the part where she met Kara, when Sam asked:

“Wait did you make no friends this entire week?!?”

“No, no, I did…you just interrupted me.”

“Sorry, go on Lena, tell me how you made a new best friend.” Sam playfully acted sad, but Lena knew that Sam was beaming on her end of the phone. The fact Lena made a friend at all was a cause for celebration in Sam’s eyes. She just got done explaining how she met Kara when Sam interrupted again.

“Wait it’s the same Kara you met in Metropolis?”

“Yes, Sam, I just said that”

“Lena, honey, that’s like destiny isn’t it?”

“I’m not sure I follow…”

“Lena, you would not shut up about her all summer! You were a literal gay disaster. Now she’s the main friend you’ve made at school! Please tell me she’s queer?”

“I…I haven’t really asked, nor am I sure that your assessment of me being a lesbian is entirely accurate.”

“Lena, honey, you practically drooled on the floor whenever Andrea or Veronica walked into class last year. That’s the most lesbian thing ever, besides as your bisexual bestie, I declare you gay.”

“You can’t just declare someone gay, Sam.”

“Can and did. You’re gay”

“Ugh, can I please continue telling you about my week?”

Lena then told Sam about her week, how she hadn’t seen Kara on Wednesday, how she hated most of her classes, and how Kara found her in the bathroom on Thursday. Sam once again interrupted when Lena told her about how Kara commented on her blush.

“SHE ASKED WHY YOUR FACE DOES WHAT?!?”

“Yeah, she wanted to know why my face blushed, apparently people from Maine don’t blush.”

“Lena, baby, SHE WAS FLIRTING WITH YOU!” Sam yelled as Lena winced, moving the phone further from her ear.

“She wasn’t flirting, besides if she was, she would’ve commented when I held her hand.”

“YOU DID WHAT?!?”

“I held her hand!”

“WHY?!?”

“I…I don’t know, maybe I am a gay disaster.” Lena blushed as Sam laughed for five straight minutes. Sam then asked if anything else happened that week, and Lena almost slapped herself at forgetting to mention almost dying.

“Oh yeah my train almost derailed and crashed, but it was saved by Supergirl.”

Sam was quiet for a few minutes, and then right on cue she loudly yelled into the phone:

“YOU SAW AND WERE SAVED BY A SUPERHERO AND DID NOT THINK TO START WITH THAT?!? Quick, what’s she like, is it true she’s like super toned but also super lean? Does she have blonde hair or was it highlights? Was that a blanket or a cape because literally Andrea could not stop rambling about that at lunch and I was eavesdropping and now I’m curious. Also, I started sitting with Jack at lunch, and he said that Supergirl is totally an AMAB kryptonian, who decided to show up in order to challenge cisgender binaries. Lena? Lena? You still there?”

Lena was shocked by the amount of excited questions Sam asked. She sighed and then began to answer her friend to the best of her abilities.

“So, she is muscular, but not like Superman muscular. If that makes sense. To be honest she’s kind of built like Kara, but like if Kara suddenly had the strength of a linebacker-train hybrid.” She heard Sam sigh at the mention of Kara, but Lena ignored it and continued.

“As for your question on the cape, I didn’t pay enough attention. Finally, to answer Jack, I don’t know or care if Supergirl is trans or not, and really it doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah…guess you’re right. Given the outfit though, if she is trans, it’s one hell of a tuck job.” Sam laughed and Lena groaned.

“Can we stop speculating about Supergirl, please? I overhear enough of that at school.” Lena secretly wanted to go back to talking about Kara, who was much more interesting and cuter than Supergirl.

“You think Kara is cute?” Sam said, and Lena immediately realized she spoke that thought out loud.

“Uh…I think I hear my mother calling, talk to you later Sam. Tell Ruby I love her.” Lena quickly hung up the call but could hear Sam laughing as she did. The blush rising to her cheeks, along with added feelings she had when she was in Kara’s presence made Lena’s scientific mind go into overdrive. She sighed and concluded, given the evidence, she was in fact a gay disaster.

Chapter Text

[Live TV feed and Transcript from National City’s Prime Talk Show: YOUR PAL JIMMY]

Announcer: Live from National City, it’s YOUR PAL JIMMY

James “Jimmy” Olsen walks out in front of the studio audience who are applauding him. He waves and sits while the intro music fades out.

James: “Good Morning, National City. Happy Sunday. I’m James Olsen, but you can call me Jimmy. For years I was a photographer, than reporter, and finally editor of The Daily Planet in Metropolis. I helped transform it into a modern news organization, I shot Pulitzer prize winning pictures and made a best pal. You all know him, and here he is on his first visit to this show since we moved to National City, it’s my best pal: SUPERMAN!

The crowd erupts in applause as Superman walks onto the stage, hugs James who fakes back pain from the hug, and sits.

Superman: “Thanks for having me Jimmy, It’s always a pleasure to see you, and it’s always a pleasure to be in National City.”

At the mention of the city, the crowd goes wild, as they die down James addresses Superman.

James: “Now Superman, when you called me yesterday and wanted to come on my show, I was thrilled, but also a little confused. You are the Man of Steel, leader of the Justice League, and a symbol of hope. Why on earth would you need to come on TV? Especially when if you had something to say you could do it, I don’t know, from the lawn of the White House? I’m sure President Teschmacher would love to have you, especially since you were such a frequent visitor during the previous administration.”

Superman: “Well Jimmy, you know I don’t talk about my politics. However, if President Teschmacher wants me to visit the White House, she has my number. Still, I wanted to come on because what I have to talk about is something that’s both dear to my heart, and to National City’s.”

The crowd roars once again at the mention of their city. As they die down, whispers are heard saying things like “this is about Supergirl” and “OH SUPERGIRL IS HIS WIFE”.

Superman, laughing: “No, no. Supergirl is not my wife, and whoever said that just made Lois Lane very mad.”

The crowd laughs and one voice says “sorry”.

Superman: “But you are correct, National City, that I am here to introduce your new defender. I give you, my cousin, Supergirl!”

Supergirl walks out to thunderous applause and whistles. She is wearing an updated version of the costume she wore when she saved the train. It’s a white ringer T-shirt with red on the sleeves and the collar, a blue skirt with shorts attached, red knee-high socks, and red converse. Flowing behind her was a red cape, with a golden house of El symbol, that matched the conventional house of El logo on her shirt and shoes.

Supergirl: “Hello everyone, I’m Supergirl”

The crowd goes absolutely insane and Supergirl is gestured to sit between Superman and James.

James: “Now Supergirl, would it be alright if we all got to know you a little bit?”

Supergirl: “Uh sure, um what would you like to know?”

James: “I have a few questions, and then we will open it up to the audience and Chirp questions for the remaining hour, ok?”

Supergirl nods and they begin.

James: “Ok, Supergirl, where are you from?”

Supergirl: “Krypton, same as Superman.”

James: “What’s your favorite thing about Earth?”

Supergirl: “That’s a hard one…either pizza, potstickers, or puppies.”

James, Superman, and the crowd laugh and seem to like that answer. James asks a few more, and then it’s the audience’s turn.

Audience Member: “Supergirl, what’s your natural hair color?”

Supergirl: “Blonde. Always has been.”

Audience Member: “Supergirl, what’s your favorite thing to do when not saving the city?”

Supergirl: “I love Disney movies, so probably that. Oh! Bored Games are fun too!”

Audience Member: “Supergirl, do you have a boyfriend?”

Supergirl stops and blushes at that question, which causes some oooo’s from the audience.

Supergirl: “Not at the moment, but you never know when you’re going to find love. On Krypton love wasn’t like it is on Earth, so I guess I’m eager to try falling for someone.”

The rest of the time is spent on questions, and Supergirl answers them, obviously charming the crowd.

[Live Feed and Transcript End]