Chapter Text
My name is Kara Zor-El, 24 years ago my planet Krypton was in serious peril. My cousin, Kal-El, was sent to a planet called Earth for his own safety and protection. You may know his story. The story you don't know is that I was sent to protect him.
In a docking area on the planet Krypton, members of the House of El are rushing to get to the pods. Jor-El sets a course for Earth, while his wife Lara Lor-Van is holding her infant son for the last time. Once the coordinates are sent, Jor-El caresses his son's head and places a lingering kiss on his temple. He gazes up at his wife with a sad knowing look. She leaves a lingering kiss on his temple as well before carefully placing him inside the pod. Feeling the ground beneath their feet shake, Jor-El does not hesitate to launch the pad into space. He's never to see his son again, but at least he'll die knowing he's safe and with company.
The couple turns behind them as Zor-El is entering the same coordinates for his own daughter, Kal-El's cousin Kara. Once done, he and his wife turn to face their daughter. "Your pod's coordinates are interlocked with Kal-El's. You will follow him to Earth." Zor-El explains and she nods in understanding. While she didn't fully understand everything that was going on, she knew enough. The only home she had ever known was dying, and her parents were sending her away alongside her baby cousin in order to keep them safe, and ensure the legacy of Krypton lived on.
"I'm not afraid father." Kara assures him as she gives him a hug.
"The trip is long, but you'll sleep most of the way and we'll be with you in your dreams. You'll journey to Earth to look after your baby cousin, Kal-El. Because of the Earth's yellow sun, you'll have great powers on this planet. You will do extraordinary things." Alura explains.
"I won't fail Kal-El, or you." Kara says through tears in her eyes.
"I love you Kara." Alura pulls her daughter into a hug, and Zor-El joins them. A moment later there is an explosion nearby, causing the family to pull apart. "You must go now, go." She helps Kara into the pod. The moment the pod door closes, Zor-El launches it. As it flies off into space, Kara looks back at her home, and watches as it explodes. More tears begin to fall as a shockwave from the explosion knocks her pod off course. As Kara's eyes grow heavy with sleep, the pod hurls itself straight into the Phantom Zone without Kara's knowledge.
24 YEARS LATER
At the sounds of alarms going off, Kara wakes from her sleep. She's caught off guard at first, unsure of where she is. When she gets her baring, she realizes she's in her pod descending into Earth's atmosphere. Flashes of Krypton's destruction, and her farewell to her parents enter her mind. As the pod gets closer to the ground, she braces herself for impact. Once her pod lands, she looks around and sees she's in an open field with no one in sight. Where is Kal-El? Kara thought to herself. He should be close by.
A moment later she hears a thud outside her pod. When she looks up she sees a man dressed in a blue and read suit grabbing the door of her pod and ripping it open. She looks up at the strange man, and notices her family crest on his chest. Impossible. She stands from the pod and looks up at the man. When she looks into his eyes, familiar blue stare back at her. "Kal-El?" She asks unsure.
Superman looks down at the girl with a surprised expression. It was strange enough that this girl arrived in a pod similar his own, but now she's calling him by his Kryptonian name. Something very few people knew. "How do you know that name?" He asks hesitantly.
"I don't understand. How did this happen? We both left the dock at the same time. You were a baby when we left." Kara explains. Still unsure of what is going on.
"Left where?" He asks.
"Krypton" Kara answers and Superman found himself speechless. Was she another Kryptonian? Were there more?
"Who are you? How do you know who I am?" He asks.
"Kara Zor-El, of the House of El. I am your cousin." Kara replies, leaving Superman in shock.
His entire life, he believed he was the last of Krypton, that he was alone. Yet, standing before him was a young girl claiming to be his relative. Could it be? Was this girl truly related to him? He's about to ask more questions when his super hearing picks up on aircraft and ground vehicles heading towards him. He listens closely to the radio transmissions, it's the military that's approaching their location, armed and ready to engage any possible threats. "Listen to me Kara, we have to get out of here. The military is on their way. I know someplace safe we can go, but you need to get back in your pod." Superman instructs. Kara turns towards the inside of her pod hesitantly. She had already been stuck in there for who knows how long, the last thing she wanted was to go back inside. "I'm sure that's the last thing you want to do, but it'll only be for a little while. I promise." Kara turns back towards her cousin and looks up into his eyes. They held nothing but the truth. She sat back down in her pod, while her cousin grabbed the door and placed it back on the pod. Once it's secure, he easily lifts it up and shoots up into the sky.
FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE
It doesn't take Superman long to reach the fortress. He needed someplace quiet and safe to figure out exactly what was going on, and this was his best option. The moment he's inside, he removes the door from the pod again. Kara slowly stands and looks around at her surroundings. She can't help but feel a familiarity with this place. When she looks up and sees statues of her aunt and uncle, she realizes why. "Aunt Lara, uncle Jor-El." She says with a smile, while stepping out of the pod. Before he can ask how she knows his parents, Kelex flies in.
"Hello Kal-El." Kelex addresses him first before spotting Kara. "Oh, hello Lady Kara. I see you've finally landed on Earth safely. how may I assist you today?" He asks politely. Superman looks at him with a stunned expression. He wasn't sure how many more surprises he'd be able to handle today.
"You know her?" He asks Kelex.
"Of course I do. She is Lady Kara Zor-El, your cousin and heir to the honorable House of El." Kelex responds.
"Hello Kelex." Kara greets.
"Your room has already been prepared for you Lady Kara, shall I escort you." Kelex offers, but before Kara can answer. Superman interrupts.
"Wait. Stop. Just hang on." Superman had finally reached his limit. Every new piece of information he learned, came with more questions than answers. He needed to know what was going on, and he needed to know who this young girl was. "I know you've just arrived." He begins calmly. "But I have questions. If you could just tell me what's going on, start from the beginning, so I can get an understanding of what's happening." Nodding in understanding, Kara begins to explain everything.
"Months before we were sent to Earth, your father, Jor-EL, discovered our planet Krypton was dying. He undertook a geological survey to confirm his suspicions, and presented his data to the Kryptonian Science Council. Warning them that within a short period of time, Krypton would explode." Superman nods along, already knowing all this. "The council felt that Jor-El was acting irrationally, and chose to ignore his warnings. That didn't stop him though, he began working on designs for a fleet of ships that would affect a massive exodus from Krypton, but he ran out of time and only managed to build two ships. One for you and one for me." Superman leans in just slightly. "Jor-El had chose to send us to Earth, he said we would blend in with the humans of the planet, and that it's yellow sun would grant us abilities. Your pod was the first to launch, followed shortly by mine. This is when it gets a bit tricky." Kara closes her eyes and thinks back to that day. "I remember seeing Krypton explode, and there was an after shock, and then darkness. Then, suddenly alarms were going off inside my pod, and I I suddenly found myself on Earth." Kara explains, still not quite sure what happened. "What went wrong Kal? I was sent to Earth with you to watch over you, protect you. Yet here you stand already a grown man. What happened?"
"I think the after shock knocked you off course, causing a delay. I arrived here on Earth twenty-four years ago. In all that time, I believed I was the last of Krypton." Superman answers. Kara's eyes widen in surprise, and tears begin to form in her eyes.
"You were alone this entire time?" She asks, already feeling bad for not being there for him.
"Not necessarily. I was raised by good people, they helped me with my powers." Superman answers.
"What's to become of me now? I failed you. I failed my parents and yours." Kara asks as the tears fall freely.
"Whoa, hey." Superman kneels in front of Kara and pulls her into a comforting hug. "You didn't fail anyone. You just arrived here a bit late, that's not anyone's fault." Kara doesn't respond, she merely buries her face in his chest. "
"Perhaps Lady Kara can do with some rest." Kelex suggests.
"She's been resting for twenty-four years. I'm sure that's the last thing she wants." Superman retorts. He tries to think of what to do with her now. When he woke up this morning, the last thing he expected was to come across a long lost Kryptonian relative. He racks his brain for a minute before coming to a decision. "Alright." He pulls slightly away from Kara to address her. "I'm going to take you to my Earth mother. She's a kind woman, you'll like her. We'll get you changed, and get some food in you. I'm sure after all those years in space you're starving." She doesn't say anything, merely nods her head in agreement. "Alright, hang on." He picks her up and takes off towards his hometown.
SMALLVILLE, KANSAS
KENT FARM
In an instant, Superman lands on his front porch in his Smallville home. He gently places Kara down and knocks on the door. His mother wasn't expecting him, and he hadn't called ahead. While he knows he's welcome anytime, he didn't want to surprise anymore than he was about to. He can hear her shuffling inside, when she opens the door a smile immediately form on her face. "Clark." She says excited. She hadn't expected him to visit today, but despite the surprise. She throws her arms around him and hugs him tightly. "This is unexpected."
"Hey ma." Superman greets. She pulls away from him and that's when she notices Kara behind him.
"And whose this young lady?" Martha asks as she pulls away.
"This is Kara. She's Kryptonian, and my cousin." He answers, leaving his mother with a stunned expression.
"Oh." She looks down at Kara who offers her a small smile. "Why don't you two come inside, and I'll put on the tea kettle." Martha steps aside to let them both in. "You both hungry?"
"Yeah, we could use something to eat." Superman answers as he enters his childhood home. As Martha enters the kitchen to prepare tea and sandwiches, Superman grabbed hold of Kara's hand and lead her to his old childhood room. As he looked around for clothes that might fit, Kara scanned the room. It was nothing extravagant, but she could tell this room belonged to her cousin. As she's looking around, she spots a photo of a young Kal with what she presumes is his adoptive parents. She still couldn't believe he had been on Earth all this time while she was floating in space. She begins to wonder how it must have been for him growing up here. Not knowing who he was, or that she was out there. "Here." Her thoughts are interrupted by her cousin. "They may be a bit too big for you, but we can figure something out later." He hands her a pair of folded clothes. I'm gonna go change myself, I'll meet you downstairs." Kara nods her head in acknowledgement. Superman lingers a moment longer before leaving his room. He quickly changes out of his suit and joins his mother downstairs.
The tea kettle was already boiling, and she had already set out three tea cups with tea bags in them. While waiting for the water to finish boiling, she had started making sandwiches. When he arrived in the kitchen, she offered him a small smile. "I hope this cousin of yours likes sandwiches." She comments as she spreads mayonnaise on the bread.
"Guess we'll find out." Clark replies.
As Martha finishes one sandwich and begins another, she can't help but glance over at her son. She could see he was confused and unsure of what he should do next. She could only imagine what he was feeling. When his powers began to surface, he knew right away he was different. And while he had a good happy childhood, she could tell he felt alone. There was no one else on the planet that was like him. As time passed, he eventually moved past the loneliness. He built a life for himself in Metropolis, found himself a lovely girlfriend, and found his calling in helping others. And now, not only does he discover he's not alone, but that he has a relative. If only she could read his mind, maybe then she'd know how to help him.
Just has she finishes making the second sandwich, the tea kettle begins to whistle. She turns off the stove and begins pouring the tea. As she pours the last glass, she hears Kara coming down the stairs. Clark goes into the hallway to greet her, while Martha sets the plates and teacups on the table. When Kara enters the kitchen, she offers her a soft smile in greeting. Kara returns her smile with a polite one. "I wasn't really expecting any company, so I just made sandwiches and tea." She says as Clark pulls out the chair for her to sit in.
Kara looks down at the sandwich, unsure of what it is, or how she's supposed to eat it. Sensing her hesitance, Clark sits beside her and grabs hold of his sandwich. She watches as her cousin simply picks it up and eats it with his hands. Mimicking him, she picks it up and takes a small bite. She chews on it a bit longer than Clarke does, unuse to the taste. She eventually swallows it and looks up to find an expectant look on Martha's face. "How was it?"
"I've never tasted anything like it." Kara answers, and Martha can't help but notice her eyes. They were similar to her son's.
"I see the resemblance now." Clark looks up at his mother with a questioning expression. "You both have the same eyes." She clarifies. The rest of the meal continues in silence. Eventually the sun begins to set, and the days events begin to catch up to Kara. She starts yawning and Clark takes her up to his old room to rest. When he comes back down, his mother is waiting for him in the living room.
He joins her on the couch and begins to explain everything from the beginning. When he finishes he leans back into the couch, and rubs both his eyes. The days events still baring down on him. "So what now?" Martha suddenly asks. Clark looks up at the ceiling as if it holds all the answers.
"I don't know. You know how it was for me growing up. It took me a long time to be at peace with the fact that I was it. I was the only one like me. I made the decision to use my powers to help people, I settled down, found someone who loves all of me, and now...not only do I discover that I'm not alone, I discover I have a living relative. All in one day." Clark grows quiet for a while before a thought enters his mind. "Maybe I can leave her with the Danvers. Their scientists. They have a daughter close to her age, and when Kara's powers begin to surface they can help her control them. Like they helped me. They can give her the same human-type life I had."
"Clark, you had that because you were a baby when we found you. Kara is a young girl who witnessed the destruction of her planet. For her it happened just yesterday, not twenty-fours years ago. You are the only family she has left." Clark lets out a heavy sigh. "Have you talked to Lois yet?"
"I haven't looked at my phone since all this happened." Clark answers.
"Then the first thing you need to do is talk to her and tell her what happened. Then you need to get in touch with your boss and take a few days off. You need to think this whole thing through." Martha explains.
"I don't know ma. Between my work as a reporter and Superman. I'm not sure I'll have enough time to take care of a kid." Clark tells his mother honestly.
"You wouldn't be doing this alone son. You'd have me, Lois, and your friends." Martha says hinting towards Batman and Wonderwoman. "All I'm saying." Martha takes hold of his hand. "Is think this through, don't make any big decisions. I know Kara's arrival was unexpected, but it could be a blessing in disguise."
"I'll think about it. You mind if I stay here while I do?" He asks.
"Of course not. Stay as long as you need." Martha answers as she stands from the couch. She places a kiss on his forehead and bids him goodnight. She heads up the stairs towards her room, leaving Clark in the living room with his thoughts.