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“You know; I really wouldn’t mind being her sidekick.” Says the girl next to him, indicating someone he isn’t quite paying attention to.His mind, instead, is focused on the building itself- the structure of this school, and how complicated everything is. It’s an intricate system, and a delicate balance to keep everything running like any other high school, yet still also imbue it with the ability to stay airborne.For, as is what could be considered his school’s own superpower, it’s currently in the sky, and provided there are no major threats posed to it, it will remain there until the end of days.Or at least until he graduates.(of course, he’ll graduate far before the end of days, his test scores prove that. He could, in fact, skip high school altogether, but he insisted on being here, learning alongside heroes…which will help his reputation far more than the alternative.Even though the alternative also attend, but only out of formality)(He fears they’ll find out who he is, and choose him to join them. Force him to, as they could, and use him in some scheme- which will probably be juvenile, and might be as inconsequential as manipulating the toilets or locker mechanisms, or could be something greater, like changing grades or locking the school down just for laughs, and to intimidate some professors they might not like. But it’s only the first day, and he’s probably just being paranoid)So his mind returns to the situation before him, and specifically to her, the young woman pointed out who’s currently demonstrating her powers. She’s tall and blonde, dazzling blue eyes and a cheerleader’s figure, wearing a red pleated skirt and a red jacket over a blue shirt with some kind of red logo on it. He can’t quite figure it out, not until she stands still, but he has a feeling that her clothes aren’t relevant. Not when she’ll probably be quite popular, in the years to come.“Kara Danvers.” Says another student, a boy to his left. “Adopted, apparently- but her birth parents were both heroes, and so’s her cousin, so no surprise that she ended up here. She’s the whole package, powerset-wise- strength, speed, flight, invulnerability, heat vision, X-ray vision… kind of unfair for the rest of us.”“Yeah, almost enough to put everyone else out of business.” The girl on his other side agrees. “Good thing there’s only one of her, right?”“And one of her cousin. But yeah.”“Still.”Kara, for her part, seems to not be bothered by any of the talk going on about her, as she demonstrates her abilities for the coach.“Hero, of course.” She ends up saying.As if he could give her any other choice. Or, judging by the elated look on her face, could want to- nobody would deny her anything, with an expression like that.
From where she’s standing, it looks like the sun is illuminating her, shining in on her and hitting at just the right angle to do so. In combination with her facial expression, her entire body appears to be lit up, and he swears she almost floats off of the platform, out of sheer happiness alone.Nobody would want to follow a performance like that, even if they were supposed to.(Even if he wasn’t technically paying attention to it, while it was going on.)But, just his luck…“Dox, get up here!”…the list is in alphabetical order. Or maybe the universe is just conspiring against him.Either way, given his skillset, he is- using the age-appropriate colloquialism- pretty screwed.~“…what kind of name is Querl?”Kara Danvers loves her family.Both of them, really- she wouldn’t be where she is now without her adoptive parents, and though it was a difficult start, she’s at least on track to a better relationship with Alex, her new sister.But the fact of the matter is, she’s only been with the Danvers family for almost two years, and so she still feels drawn to the superhero world. One where she can be Super without fear of people being put in danger because of her, or ending up in danger herself. One where she can emulate her cousin and prove herself to him, even if that’s impossible because- as nice as he is- he has impossible standards.She’d be honored to wear her family’s symbol, and go into battle against villains even her cousin has trouble with. At the same time, though, she wants to stand on her own and be her own person, her own hero- hopefully, even, with a codename that’s different from his.(She hopes the media, or whoever’s in charge of giving those things to superheroes, is at least that creative)And maybe she’ll even end up with… well, not a sidekick, exactly, but at least one person who has her back, and can help her out when she’s in trouble. Because she imagines being a superhero is lonely, even if Clark’s never admitted it, and though she’s experienced that before, she’d prefer not to do it again.Because “stronger together” is her family’s motto, and if she’s not upholding that, what kind of business does she have at this school anyway?(You’re here to learn, she imagines Alex saying, and then Eliza rephrasing in a gentler tone. She knows she has the abilities to go out and be a hero right now, even her cousin said so before pulling the cape out from under her feet. They’d all agreed that, before she could do anything in that realm, she’d have to go to school first, and at least train with others, learn to use her powers properly in a safer environment.They’re always protecting her, even with all her abilities. And as much as she wants to argue, telling them she’s capable of protecting herself, she can at least console herself with the fact that she won’t have to see them all the time anymore.At least, she thinks she won’t.)“I can’t demonstrate my abilities, exactly.” Querl repeats, having probably said it before, but she was too lost in her own thoughts to hear him. “At least, not in a way that would destroy a car, or send me flying across this room, or other such things of that nature. My power is not destructive.”“So, what you’re saying is, your powers won’t help you fight.”“No.” Querl says. Kara can’t imagine how he’s so calm, standing up there- even she was a little bit nervous, especially with how she had to display her powers after a year of barely using them at all.She thinks of her sister, and how Alex requested training of her own after learning what Kara could do. Even though she’d obviously have a disadvantage, Alex didn’t think of it that way, and Kara couldn’t help but admire her.She has no idea what to think about this guy, not showing the coach anything even though she clearly heard him saying he has some kind of power. Although, she didn’t exactly hear what it was- she’ll have to ask him, wherever he ends up.“You realize that’ll make you a sidekick?”Querl sighs, muttering something under his breath that even Kara can’t hear.“It is a position I am willing to take.” He answers, and calmly walks off the stage before she can officially announce the word.Then, “Durgo, Luornu” is called, and he’s more or less forgotten about as he resumes his position in the crowd- though, Kara thinks, he isn’t one she’ll soon forget.However, upon further reflection, there are far weirder names one could end up with.~Power placement, as irrelevant as Querl thinks it is, goes by as he predicts. So many people on the platform, showing off their abilities, whether or not they’re anything impressive to the coach, and Querl remembers each of their names and powersets- though now only half of them will be relevant for him now that he’s made himself a sidekick.(Querl makes note of two people declared sidekicks specifically, one who can apparently convince people to do what she wants them to- though she can’t get the coach to make her a hero, as much as she tries- and one who can bring toys to life, who’s dismissed as having a “creepy” power. In both cases, the coach seems uncomfortable, almost shivering despite her previously unshakable exterior, as soon as she hears their last names, and he tries not to worry too much about his own, thanking his own forethought that he has another name other than his family’s title)(He’s certain that he’d never survive, if he entered the school with that name. Nobody would give him a chance to explain his purpose, or listen to him, and though he doesn’t mind being alone, he’d rather it be by his own choice rather than influenced by who he’s related to)The young man with the ability to make himself appear like a ball gets announced a sidekick as he’s literally kicked off the stage, as does the girl who says she can dream the future (who gets a sarcastic “You think you can be a hero? Dream on.” From Coach Haley before she, too, leaves in disappointment), but the girl with psychic abilities and the boy with similar abilities to Kara are heroes.Or will be, rather, as Querl himself- as well as the others- won’t even get the chance to prove themselves, though they have powers too.At least, Querl thinks as he’s scribbling down notes already, elbow pressed against the lunch table, until I can help it.He’s the last person who’d consider himself an artist, but after a few minutes he has a rough design, and some ideas for materials, before he feels movement behind him.He almost jumps, or pulls away from the table to move somewhere new- nobody’s going to see these before there’s at least a prototype ready- but he realizes soon enough that the people sitting at the lunch table beside his don’t want to interact with him at all. He hopes they keep any chatter to a minimum, as that’s the last thing he wants- and it’s very wishful thinking, in a school cafeteria.Not that he has much experience in that kind of situation, but he’s read enough that he expects that from this particular one.There are at least three people at his neighboring table, and they’re joined by two more before the lunch period is over. Querl attempts to keep to his own business, eating as much as he has to for the sake of his own production, while continuing to work on his design.He knows he won’t finish it before class starts, but with luck, he’ll be able to work on it during- if he sits in the back, and refrains from answering questions. He can take notes, and in between work on his new invention, nobody will notice.Sidekicks are supposed to be invisible, after all, or so he hears. Never in the spotlight, or recognized, and though he doesn’t think that applies to him, it’s a close enough skill that he considers it something he’s learned already. He equates it with survival for him, personally, and as much as people tell him it isn’t the best way to get through life, it’s the way he knows best.Speaking of what he knows well…“So, did you see that guy from power placement? The one who said he wouldn’t demonstrate his powers for the coach?”“Yes. He’s either really brave, or an idiot, and either way, I’m almost looking forward to seeing him in class, just to see which one.”It takes him too long to realize that he’s sitting back-to-back with Kara Danvers.
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She expected they’d at least have some classes in common.After all, every student at this school was in training, in some fashion. They’d all been accepted here so they could learn how to be like their parents, their older siblings and aunts and uncles and cousins and any other relatives with superpowers that they might have. Whether hero or sidekick, there were surely skills all of them could learn.But nobody she talked to seemed to understand that, which was why, while she went to Mad Science class, her friends Winn and Lena were in their sidekick class. Sure, it was taught by Professor Grayson, the most famous sidekick she knew of- not to mention the leader of two different teams, in that identity and a different one- but that didn’t make up for anything.(And that was another matter entirely- both Professor Grayson and the superhero he’d been assigned to (as well as grew up with, according to rumors) had no powers, so neither of them had attended the school or been seen as proper superheroes for years. Yet they had impressed Principal Marsdin enough that she’d recognized them as the first of their kind, and hired Grayson himself as a teacher. It all seemed unfair to Kara, but she doubted anyone would listen to her yet.)So, suffice it to say that Kara didn’t see most of her friends for the rest of the day, and she certainly didn’t see the mysterious boy who didn’t want to demonstrate his powers. But she also didn’t forget him, and so decided to ask the one person who’d probably recognize that name.“Hey, Clark?” she asked. She’d been planning to fly to Metropolis that night with the makeshift costume she’d made for herself, just so she wouldn’t get caught, and ask him there, but she was happy to find that he was visiting her house that night, so she wouldn’t have to go to that effort.(And so she wouldn’t get caught. Which, going by the Principal’s warnings, seemed to come with a punishment as bad as that from the “Don’t use magic outside of Hogwarts” rule, but she wasn’t about to find out for herself)“What is it, Kara?” he said, casually lifting the couch while Alex vacuumed.“Well… today was my first day of school…”“Yeah, I know! You know, I went there when I was in high school. Thought I’d miss Ma and Pa like crazy, not to mention the friends I left behind at my old school, but it was so fun and interesting that I didn’t really care. How was it? Did you get Hero?”“Of course.” Kara answered. “Like it wasn’t obvious.”“Okay, we don’t need the sarcasm.” Clark said.“And it was really good!” Kara continued. “I know I was complaining about going to school without my sister, but it actually wasn’t too bad.”“Shut up, you know you didn’t miss me.”“I really did.” Kara said. She shook her head, pressing her hands against it before she removed them and stopped the shaking, looking at her cousin again. “But that’s not the point. I met someone today, in power placement, who…”“Who what?”“He wouldn’t reveal his powers.”Clark started laughing.“Ah, yeah, I know the type. Mysterious, usually don’t get involved in fights because they don’t have that kind of powerset. Sometimes people do it in protest, but they end up showing their true colors anyway eventually. But in any case, you don’t need to worry about this boy… does he have a name?”“Yeah, I was just gonna say- I don’t remember his first name. But his last name is Dox.”“As in, what you’re doing when you’re doxing someone?” Alex asked, with a snort. “Wow, how unfortunate.”But at the same time, Clark dropped the couch, staring at Kara, and Alex just barely pulled the vacuum out from under it.“Hey!” Alex said. “Was that really necessary?”Clark ignored her.“You said Dox.” He answered. “Did he have three circles on his forehead, in an upside down triangle kind of shape?”Alex leaned the vacuum on the couch, and sat down, crossing her arms, as Clark went closer to Kara, grabbing a piece of paper and pencil, and with the help of his super-speed, drew the image he was talking about.“No.” Kara answered.“Well, was he blue?”“What do you mean?”“Blue! Like, blue skin, literally. I’m sure you’d know it if you saw it.”“No, of course not. He looked normal. Human, like you and me- even though we aren’t.”“Oh. Well, that complicates things.” Clark said, leaning back on the couch as well, while it groaned under his weight. “Must be an image inducer.”“A what now?”“A device invented by Lexcorp. Sold by them for supposedly altruistic purposes, even though two years ago they also created a device that would expose aliens and distinguish them from humans. You don’t need to worry about them yet, they’re my business. Basically it affects perception, makes the brain think it’s seeing a human, even if the wearer is…”“Alien.” Kara finished. “This… Dox kid, he’s an alien. Is that why he wouldn’t say what he could do?”“Maybe.” Clark answered. “But what else did he say, during placement?”Kara suddenly looked uncomfortable, feeling her cousin’s eyes on her. Like one wrong word, and she’d end up a pile of dust on the rug- though, he wouldn’t do that, right?Definitely not. He’d never hurt her.This kid, on the other hand…“He mentioned his powers weren’t destructive, and that he couldn’t exactly demonstrate them.” She answered, in an automatically defensive tone.“Not without affecting the school.” Clark muttered.Or even trying to make it fall out of the sky, he thought. But I don’t want to scare her yet, so that story will have to wait.“Excuse me?”“Kara, he’s a technopath- his abilities involve telepathically communicating with and controlling technology.”“Oh, wow! That sounds really cool. Wonder why he didn’t show them off- maybe because he couldn’t do that to the car they give everyone?”“No, no, he could, and he could’ve dismantled the car and put it back together easily- it’s just that those powers, they’re hereditary in his family. If he’d used them, they would’ve given away who he really was.”“I don’t get it.”Now it was Clark’s turn to shake his head, forgetting that while his cousin did follow his career, some aspects of it weren’t nearly as public as others.“Right, of course not- sorry. You wouldn’t know his real name.”Kara stared at him, confused, as Clark got up from the couch.“Whose name?”“This way.” Clark answered instead. “Follow me- we’re going to my place. Alex, tell Eliza and Jeremiah not to wait for us, okay? This shouldn’t take long.”“Okay…”Guess I’m going to Metropolis after all, Kara thought. Fun.Somehow, though, she suspected this trip would be more for business than for pleasure.~“Wow, you looked like you were ahead of me for a while there.” Clark admitted, as both of them touched down on his balcony. “Keep that up, and you’ll be even faster than I am.”“Oh, I wish.” Kara admitted. “Are you sure I won’t get in trouble for this?”“Of course not! It’s like… learning to drive, you know? It has to be with adult supervision. I’m an adult, and I’m supervising you, so it’s okay.”“Good.” Kara said. “So, what exactly are we doing here?”“I’m glad you asked.” Clark answered. “Actually, we’re just here to get my key.”He pulled open the sliding door, being careful not to break it, and Kara stepped through after him, looking around at his apartment.“Your key?”“Yeah, for the Fortress of Solitude. I used to keep it under the doormat so to speak- covered in snow-, but, um…”Clark scratched the back of his neck, looking down at her shyly and reminding Kara of her second impression of him, once she’d seen him as Superman and he had freed her from her pod. She had stayed with the Kents for a few days before Clark found the Danvers, and during that time she got to see Clark Kent, farmboy, even more than Superman. It was odd, to be certain, especially since she’d never dreamed her uncle’s son would grow up with farmers, but then again she only knew him like this.Who knew what he would’ve become, who he would’ve become, if he had grown up as Kal-El?She certainly didn’t. And, similarly, she hoped she wouldn’t disappoint him, as his human link to Krypton, or the student currently representing their family name in the school he’d so loved.But she had a long road in front of her, and plenty of time to disappoint him in many ways.
Or not. Think positive, Kara. You’ve already gotten off to a good start, you just have to forget about that weird kid. Or at least don’t talk to him around Clark…
“Here it is!” Clark said, in triumph, raising his prize- a giant golden key, with the El family symbol on it.Kara clapped for him.“What happened the last time it was under the doormat?”“Bad things. A cyborg who stole my name the first time, a guy with a fifth-dimensional hat and magic gloves accompanied by an aggressively British vigilante the second… I don’t want to talk about it.”“Huh.” Kara answered. “So, how far away is this fortress, again?”“When you can fly super-fast, does it really matter?”Kara smiled at her cousin, as he held the key over his shoulder, before the two of them took off together.“You do have a point there.”~“So, are you going to open the door, or should I?”Clark shrugged, and hoisted the key off of him, inserting it into the large, heavy door.“Of course.” Kara muttered. “You’re the one with the key. I’m an idiot.”“No you’re not.” Clark said. “Next time, I’ll let you open the door, okay?”“Sure.”The door slowly started to slide open, shaking the ledge they were on, but Kara kept herself steady as she and Clark walked in.“Whoa.” Kara said, turning around in a circle once she got to the middle of the room, looking up at the ceiling. “Look at all of this. I mean- wow, that’s your parents, in statue form, and over there’s a baby Sun-Eater, and there’s the pod you came to Earth in… how do you not get homesick?”Clark smiled sadly down at her.“I guess because I never knew that home.” He said. “But thanks to you, I can- although I bet you’re feeling homesick yourself, right about now.”Kara nodded, suddenly feeling heavier, perhaps physically sick looking at everything. Her heart ached, seeing everything that reminded her of home, yet being unable to return there.Clark noticed, putting his arm around her shoulder- and guiding her to what looked like an icy computer console.“Kelex?” he called, and a robot flew over to the two of them.“Yes, Kal-El?”“Can you bring up the file on Brainiac, and display it here?” Clark asked, gesturing to the screen.“Certainly.”“Wait, Brainiac?” Kara asked. “I mean, I know he was bad- I read about him trying to take Kandor, our own grandfather was part of the reason why he didn’t- but that was over 200 years ago. What does he have to do with this kid?”“You’ll see.” Clark said, before Kelex came back, and presented its projection.“Brainiac- one of the first villains I ever faced, even before I knew he was partially responsible for the death of Krypton.” Clark continued. “Not to be taken lightly by any means. One of the few villains I know I’m never going to redeem… and, his real name?”“Vril Dox.” Kara read. “So, you’re saying…”“Your friend, going by the ages listed here, is Querl Dox.” Clark finished. “Or Brainiac 5.”“So, why’s he lying to everyone?” Kara answered. “Why’s he hiding his face?”“He’s a Brainiac, he probably thinks he has no choice.” Clark said. “But, the important part- keep an eye on him, okay? Never know what he could get up to.”“Yes. Right, of course.” Kara said, without question. Even though plenty of them were already invading her mind as she spoke.“Good. But just… other than that, stay away from him until you know what he’s doing. And be careful, Kara.”“I can handle myself just fine, even with a Brainiac descendant in my class.” Kara said. “You don’t need to worry about me.”“I don’t?” Clark asked, in mock surprise. “Then what was I doing while you sped ahead of me on the way here?”“Being jealous.”“Maybe.” He admitted. “But as much as I’d love to dwell on that, or everything else I have here, we did promise your parents and Alex that we’d be back before dinner. So, we should honor that.”Kara nodded, smiling.“Alright- but only if I can race you.”Clark laughed, as they both took up lift-off positions.“Oh, you’re on.”
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The sun was shining when Querl arrived home.It wasn’t surprising- his aunts’ house had always seemed open, curtains almost nonexistent, walls painted white and sunshiny yellow and light blue, pale floors, windows everywhere and furniture sparse.(though he realized as he grew older that the lack of furniture was due to his aunts not being able to afford it, and not for the purpose of aesthetics- but he still enjoyed how the house made him feel nonetheless, and held nothing against his aunts for having less)There were still areas where it looked crowded- the couch, for example, or Kaja and Ginger’s room. But whatever their home looked like, he would have still felt the same about it.Even as their cat ran up to him, and nuzzled against Querl’s leg- a sensation he still wasn’t used to, as he looked down at it with slight perturbation. But he pet it nonetheless, letting his bookbag slide from his shoulder, and with it any thoughts about what he’d been through that day, who he’d met especially.(though to be more accurate, he let one of his thought tracks focus on that, with the rest of his mind devoted on greeting his aunts’ pet)“Querl!” Ginger said, coming into the room while he was sitting on the floor, watching the cat gravitate toward his keychain, and his attention immediately diverted to her. She wasn’t as tall as her wife, but she had tightly-curled hair that made it seem like she was, with dark skin and bright eyes that seemed to sparkle.“Aunt Ginger!” he answered, rising to hug her. “Still wearing the image inducer?”“I just got home from work, so yes.” She said. “But now that you’re here…”She deactivated it, and her hair remained the same- except now her skin was green, the two circular emblems on her forehead similar to Kaja’s and Querl’s, but more separated.“I know it’s a Lexcorp invention, so it either has a tracker on it that lets Lex know where we are at all times, or it’s rigged to explode if he decides Superman needs some innocent alien civilians to save-““Or both.”“Or both, or it could always be neither- unlikely, given its creator… but this has helped me get a job, and it’s why we’re allowed to live here. So I don’t think I can complain just yet.”“You won’t be the only one complaining if the first of those occurrences happens.” Querl said. “And you will almost certainly not be around to complain about the second of them.”“I know.” Ginger answered. “And I’m sure you can tell me the odds of each of them, right?”“Of course. They’re-““Querl! I didn’t realize you’d gotten home yet!”Querl smiled, hugging his other aunt. His mother’s sister had since taken off her image inducer, revealing a woman who looked very similar to his mother- both with long hair, green skin (as everyone in Querl’s family aside from his sister shared) and the same inverted triangle of circular symbols on their faces, distinguishing them as members of the Brainiac clan. But Kaja’s hair had been dyed orange-red in addition to its natural blonde, and while his mother favored either suits or low-cut dresses, Kaja was either in her work uniform or more casual outfits that made the distinction quite clear.“Afternoon, Aunt Kaja.” He said. “I just got home from school.”“That you did! First day of high school, right?”“Yes.” Querl said.“I know you were suggested to skip a grade, so I’m sorry about that.” She answered, looking genuinely regretful.“Yes, I was supposed to skip all of high school- but, well, college is expensive, so I understand.” Querl said. “And at least, going to this particular school, I can become acquainted with my peers and remain inconspicuous at the same time.”
At least nobody knows who I am. Yet.
But that could always change.
“Inconspicuous?”Querl let out a sigh.“Nobody knows what my superpower is, for the time being.” He answered. “I didn’t want them to know who I was related to.”Kaja gave him a knowing smile.“I understand.” She said. “Growing up with my sister… it was impossible to get out from under her shadow. It was almost-“She made a sort of strangled sound, hands against her throat, and Querl nodded, doing his best to keep from laughing.“That’s exactly it.” He said. “However, I am not the only one with a legacy to live up to.”“Oh?”Querl nodded absently, thinking of Kara. How, even before he heard her last name, he knew who she was related to, and what she could’ve heard about him. How she probably considered him her mortal enemy already, and it was a good thing that they were in separate tracks, otherwise they’d be crossing paths more. Which was most likely the last thing she wanted.And, to be fair, he didn’t want it very much either, but for a different reason.“Well, I’m sure Ginger will want to know all about your first day too, over dinner.” Kaja said. “Are you joining us? Or is your mom enforcing your curfew again?”“She has not sent any text messages yet, so I assume she is letting me stay.” Querl answered.“Great, you can help me.”Querl followed Kaja to the kitchen, as he watched her take out ingredients.“You know, you can always stay with us for good.” She said. “We do have a couch open, and you keep a lot of your stuff over here anyway.”“Yes, but… I do not want to make my mother even angrier with you than she already is.” Querl answered. “I have to lie about my purpose here, just to convince her that I should be at your house in the first place.”“But you came here right after school.”“I did- and whenever she requests my presence, I will come home.”Kaja frowned.“Okay.” She said. “But once you graduate, she won’t have any hold on you anymore, right? You can do whatever you want. And that includes not going back to her house.”“I am completely aware of that.” Querl said. “And this is not the first time you’ve offered. I’m just… I don’t want anything happening to you, because of my actions.”“Well, Ginger hasn’t died, my cat hasn’t run away, and my house hasn’t burned down- and of course you’re okay- so I think we’re good for now.” Kaja answered.“Yes, for now.”Kaja placed a hand on his shoulder.“I know my sister.” She said. “I know how bad she is, and frankly I don’t even know why she had a child. But I’m glad she did, because that kid turned out so well, and I love him like he was my own. And knowing her also comes with a level of cautiousness, about what she’s planning, but whatever happens…”“What?”“Know that we’ll always be your family.” She said.“I’ve known that for years.”“Perfect.” Kaja answered. “Now, help me open this? And then preheat the oven, you’re good at that.”“Of course, Aunt Kaja.”~“What do either of you know… about Superman?”Kaja and Ginger blinked, as Querl questioned them over dinner. Ginger only stared at him, while he talked, and Kaja dropped her fork, one hand slowly going up to her face.“What do you want to know?” Kaja asked. “I mean, origin story, family, friends, notable villains? Especially, um…”“I’m aware of his history with your great-grandfather, and my great-great-grandfather.” Querl said. “However, I was more inquiring about his family.”“Any particular reason?” Ginger asked.“Of course there’s a reason.” Kaja said. “Was it something you learned at school?”“No, no… to be honest, we did not learn much at all today. And I didn’t learn as much as I could’ve, considering I was put in the sidekick class-““You were?”“That’s what he was talking about earlier.” Ginger answered, and Querl nodded.“Which we support, by the way. We’re still so proud of you.”She reached out to hold Querl’s hand, and he didn’t doubt her once.(although, of course he never had doubted her- unlike with certain other people in his life. But it still warmed his heart to hear it from her, as well as from his aunt)“Thank you.”“But I’m sure you could learn plenty, you’ve only just started-““I know, Aunt Ginger. However, I was trying to say that it had nothing to do with my education. I met someone.”“Met someone, huh?” Kaja asked, smiling. “Did Superman make a guest appearance? He does that all the time, I heard he dropped by this school near Philadelphia last year around Christmas…”“No, no, he did not appear.” Querl said. “But… someone else did. Kara. Kara… Zor-El.”“Really?” Ginger answered.“You know her?”“No. I’ve never heard of her.”“Then why did you sound surprised to hear her name?”“I just figured I should be surprised?” she said. “But actually, you really didn’t give me anything to work with. Give us, rather- sorry, babe.”Kaja’s hand covered Ginger’s, and she smiled at her wife.“No hard feelings.” She said. “So, what were you going to say?”“Well, how does she feel about you? How did she react when she heard your name? Does she consider the two of you mortal enemies already?”My mother would never be this curious about my life, Querl thought, and not for the first time he wished that he didn’t have to return home. That he didn’t need to face reality, when this warmth he felt all around him- from the food, from the house, from his company- was the perfect fantasy.
Thank you so much. Both of you- and your cat.
“Oh no, what happened?” Kaja asked. “You’re, um-““Crying, yes. I apologize.” Querl said. “However, it was not that bad, I hardly think she noticed me. I sat behind her, at lunch, and she mentioned me- she said that I was either ‘really brave’ or ‘an idiot’.”“We know it’s not the second one.” Ginger said, squeezing his hand as she noticed more tears forming in his eyes. “Maybe she just didn’t think you were listening? And she didn’t see you?”“Perhaps.” Querl answered. “And possibly she was not committed to either of those thoughts- she was still trying to decide which was more accurate.”“But she doesn’t know you.” Kaja said, holding his other hand. “Which means…”“I can still convince her I’m not an idiot.” Querl answered, smiling at both of them. He felt even warmer, confidence building in him, collecting as he thought of ways he could talk to her the next day. “Yes… thank you. Hopefully it is not too late to do so.”“I’m sure it isn’t.” Ginger said. “And at least she only said that, and it doesn’t sound like she hates you.”“No, certainly not.” Querl said. “In that case, I look forward to seeing her again. Perhaps I will even ask her if I can eat lunch at her table. From my observation of the “teen movie” genre, I’ve seen that such an action is often the beginning of friendships. And even, in some cases-“Querl was interrupted as his phone buzzed in his pocket, and instantly his leg went cold, followed by the rest of him as he pulled the phone out and saw the text message on it.Come home, Querl, said the text. I am waiting.Yes, Mother, Querl texted back.I know what happened at your school, she answered. Stay away from Kara Zor-El.He didn’t question how she knew. Of course he didn’t.But at the same time, he still wanted to test how far her knowledge went, so…I will, he texted.(Lied.)“I have to go.”, he said, getting up from the table abruptly, refusing to look at his aunts. “Sorry.”They got up alongside him, giving him brief hugs, before he gathered his belongings and left their house without looking back.