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The first week the alien spent in her house, Alex got fed up pretty fast.
Her parents had said that this new girl was still learning and needed time and space to adjust, but it was already 10:04pm. This girl had been in the bathroom for 47 minutes . Enough was enough.
“Kara!” Alex shouted, pounding on the door of her bathroom. The bathroom she never had to share with anyone because it was hers. Until this freak came along. “Kara, open up! It’s been almost an hour, it’s my turn!”
Alex heard a quiet voice saying something in a language she couldn’t understand before suddenly switching into English. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m coming out in a moment!”
“You’re coming out now!” Alex reached for the door handle. She knew Kara still hadn’t figured out how to lock it.
The sight that greeted Alex when she finally burst into the bathroom cooled her anger almost immediately, replaced by confusion. The blonde immigrant was sitting on the floor next to the shower, all of the cabinets and drawers opened with their contents strewn across the bath mats and covering the limited counter space. She appeared to be very invested in reading the tiny print on the label of a shampoo bottle. Kara’s head turned red, wide confused eyes refocusing on the bewildered face in front of her.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m sorry- I was just-” Though the pod trip had taught her a few human languages on the trip to Earth, they still didn’t fall naturally from Kara’s tongue. “I was trying to wash myself before bed time. But I didn’t know- I still don’t know the customs here. I looked for something to show me -- But each of these items” She gestured to the mess of hair products, shaving cream, lotions, and other assorted objects on the floor “have told me something different,” She looked down at the bottle in her hands, squinting as she read. “What does ‘lather, rinse, repeat’ mean?””
“You don’t know how to brush your teeth? That’s where we humans usually start,” Alex could not believe she had to teach a 13 year old girl how to brush her teeth. She reached over Kara’s head and grabbed the toothbrush -- still dry and untouched, Alex noticed now -- and dangled it in front of her. “This is called a toothbrush.” Alex said sarcastically.
Kara didn’t catch it. “Oh. Toothbrush,” She tested the word, standing and grabbing the brush out of the older girl’s hand. “How does one use it?”
Alex sighed. It was going to be a long night.
--
“Why did you paint the sun red?”
Kara jumped, startled by the sudden question behind her. She turned in her chair to see Alex, laying on her bed across the room but gazing over at the canvas Kara had been so attentively working on.
“It’s not the sun. It’s my sun. The sun we had on Krypton.” Kara answered quietly. Only three months had passed since the girl had crashed on this rough planet, and it was still hard to talk about her home. She found that sketching and drawing her memories eased the ache, just slightly. And she found it fun.
“Krypton’s sun is red?” Alex sat up and set her book on the bed beside her, brow furrowed as she tried to imagine it.
Kara was shocked at the other girl’s interest. In the weeks since she had arrived, she and her new roommate had fallen into a steady pattern of silence and respect. Kara, still lonely, still mourning, often wished she could make a friend in Alex, but she knew she was an intruder and a burden in Alex’s life. The only time Kara had tried to reach out, that one night she had taken Alex flying, had ended with both of them in big trouble. Not to mention the time she’s broken the brunette’s arm. Alex had since kept to herself and Kara followed her lead.
“ Rao . It’s called Rao,” She spoke after a moment of thought.
“ Rao,” Alex repeated. “It’s pretty.”
“It was.” Kara confirmed affectionately, turning back to her work.
“Was?” Alex persisted. “Did something happen to it?”
Kara turned back around to face her. “Um, actually, I don’t know. I assume it’s still there...”
Alex’s face furrowed again, lost in thought, but her eyes remained sharp. “Well, you did leave thirteen years ago…and it would be light-years away, now, which I still don’t understand how you made it here,”
Kara just shrugged.
“I bet your dad could find Rao in his telescope, if he knew where to look,”
“Really?” Alex’s voice went up in surprise. “You think so?”
“I could show him,” Kara smiled.
“Unless it’s not where you think it is,” Alex’s face is back to plotting, her scientific leanings making her look much like her father’s daughter. “Was Krypton on a predictable orbit? If it was Helio-centric, than Rao would probably still be there, but if it was terra-centric, maybe the destruction of the planet,” --Kara winced, but it went initially unnoticed -- “the effective gravitational center of the system would throw the sun’s orbit off course. Or even if it wasn’t, perhaps the compressive explosion would be enough to change the dynamics of the system...” She trailed off, but suddenly her eyes snapped back to Kara’s. “I’m sorry, maybe that was insensitive.”
“It’s okay,” Kara forgave a bit too easily. “My planet may have be gone,” She swallowed hard, the words so difficult they almost didn’t make it out, “But….it’s...nice, you know, to have someone to talk to about it. To show a real interest in it,”
Alex smiled softly.
Kara returned to her painting with a matching smile.
“Oh,” The alien broke the silence once more. “By the way, we orbited Rao. In case that helps.”
--
It took Kara a few more weeks before she was ready to go to a mall. Jeremiah was afraid that the sights, sounds, colors, and crowds would overwhelm the sensitive girl, but when Alex complained that she’d worn a hole in her favorite jeans, it was time for her to try it out. Up until that point, all of Kara’s human clothes had been provided by Eliza guessing her size and style, so the mother gave her trusted older daughter a stern look, a small wad of cash, and instructions to take care of Kara and buy her new clothes if she wanted.
To Alex’s immense surprise, Kara loved the mall. Alex, who always dressed in dark tee shirts, jeans, and sneakers, had one destination in mind, the department store on the other side. But walking down the halls of lit storefronts and bright adverts turned Kara’s head as she studied each and every flashy display.
“Krypton’s clothing was much plainer than this,” Kara explained her excitement, attempting (and failing) to whisper in Alex’s ear.
“I bet I would have loved it then,” Alex smirked before grabbing the blonde’s hand and pulling her away before she could discover that this particular Forever 21 had two floors.
The two got closer and closer to being friends each day. Sure, Kara could be kind of a total weirdo, but she was sweet. Innocent. Endearing. And the more her mom got on her case about caring for and helping the girl adjust to Earth, the more Alex realized just how much help Kara needed. So they could be friends, at least. Even if she still spent too long in the bathroom.
After much tugging and prodding, Alex finally steered Kara into the department store and into the Juniors section. She grabbed the jeans she’d come for, told Kara she’d be back in a moment, and then went to try them on. When she returned successful from the dressing room, the alien was…nowhere to be found.
Swearing under her breathe and considering how next time she’s bring a leash, she tore off in search of Kara. Luckily, she hadn’t made it far.
“Kara, I told you to wait in the girl’s section,” Alex complained, walking up to Kara who was entranced by a rack a sweaters in the women's section on the other side of the floor.
“I’m sorry,” Kara sounded sincere, as she always did, but did not look up from the pastel displays. She was holding an armful of the sweaters, one in almost every color.
“Oh, no you don’t, Grandma,” Alex teased as she caught Kara’s hand as the younger girl went to grab a soft yellow sweater. It was the wrong move -- Alex’s arm could no more stop a truck -- but Kara was learning to react appropriately to human touch as if she had human strength, and it was enough to stay her hand. “What are you doing? These sweaters are for little old ladies, and you’re already holding-” it took Alex a second to count, “four of them.”
“But Alex, look!” Kara held up the articles as if that alone would explain. “Look at all the colors, and how soft! We never had anything like this back on-”
“At home, got it,” Alex finished pointedly, giving Kara a look and jerking her chin in the direction of a few women within earshot three racks over.
“Oh! Sorry,” Kara flushed, but didn’t put any of the clothing back. “Anyway, I want to have some.”
“Kara, you can’t buy a bunch of old lady cardigans,”
“Cardigans, is that what they are called?” Too quick for Alex’s hand this time, she swiped the yellow one.
“Yes, and this brand is typically worn by women who are 65.”
“But I like them,” That was another thing Alex was learning about Kara -- the girl’s innocence lent her killer puppy dog eyes.
Alex sighed and pulled the cash her mother had given her from her back pocket. “Fine. But I think we can only afford three different colors.”
“Okay!” Kara agreed triumphantly.
Alex sighed again as they checked out -- trust the alien to only wear pastels.
--
When Kara’s entire planet was blown out of the sky, all she could do was cry. By the time she crash landed on Earth, her tears became silent, muffled by shock and fear and awe of a new planet, but it took months before nightfall did not mean the fall of at least a few tears.
Mourning has never looked good on anyone, but it’s especially ugly on a face of a thirteen year old girl.
And it’s no prettier on the face of fifteen year old girl, either, Kara learns.
When Jeremiah didn’t return from that final business trip, Kara didn’t cry. She watched as her new foster mother and new friend broke down, but she simply added Jeremiah’s name to her dying mourning prayers to Rao. What right had she to cry, in the face of his mourning family, when she had barely known the man for nine months? Instead, upon hearing the news, she just began to hum quietly, leaving the mother and daughter to be together.
That first night, Alex cried herself to sleep in her mom’s arm.
It was the first time since Krypton that Kara spent a night alone. Once again, Kara hummed her sad tune.
Alex did not leave her bed the next day, so Kara sat out in the living room in an attempt to give Alex some privacy. Not for the first time, she cursed her alien powers that made it hard to afford the lost daughter even that much.
When night came, Kara knocked softly on the door to Alex’s -- their , she reminded herself -- room. No response, so she pushed the door open gently.
Both sides of the bedroom looked identical to how they had been left the moment before the news struck. Alex’s books lay strew by her bedside, her backpack almost overflowing where it hung on the back of a small desk chair. Kara’s side still barren in comparison.
Alex hadn’t changed either. As she walked in the room, leaving the lights off as she found them, Kara noticed Alex’s prone form lying facing the wall and curled up in what Kara recognized as one of Jeremiah's old sweaters.
It was all to easy to recognize the same overwhelming grief in her friend that she still felt herself. For one small second, Kara felt a twinge of bitterness -- What is a father to an entire world? -- but that was just the problem, she quickly corrected herself. Jeremiah had been Alex’s world.
Kara took loud, deliberate steps towards her own bed to announce her arrival, to give Alex the chance to move or send her away. Alex did neither. Kara’s heart broke a little bit more.
“Alex?” She couldn’t stop herself from mumbling. Once again, no response. Kara changed quietly into her sleep clothes and pulled her covers back. She began to hum quietly under her breath.
“Kara?” A broken voice suddenly surprised her. She whipped around.
“Yes, Alex?”
“What is that you’ve been humming?” Kara couldn’t help the sad but fond smile. Always the scientist.
“It’s a song from Krypton. One my mother taught me when I was very little.”
“Are there words?”
“Yes.”
“Could you sing it for me?” Alex still was not moving, voice empty. But Kara thought maybe just talking was a good thing for her. She began her song once more, a relief to let her mother tongue flow unobstructed.
“Erosh bem ukiem, erosh bem ukiem,” Kara crooned slow and true. She drew her closer to Alex’s side of the room. “Roa chad divi, Roa throniv ukiem,” As she began the next few lines, she sat on her friend’s bed and lay a comforting hand on her arm. “Pai et shahrrehth tim mishidh uldif...”
Kara repeated the first melody, a meditation. Alex surprised her by taking her hand.
“What does it mean?” Alex asked, looking up at Kara through bloodshot eyes.
“It’s a mourner’s song. It sings goodbye to a loved one, entrusts them to the light of Rao, and prays for the hope of paradise.” Kara explained gently. “On Krypton, only the closest female relative could perform official funeral rites, so there were many simple songs like this for the rest of the family to pray for those who had passed after the ceremonies.”
“Will you…” Alex closed her eyes again, more tears coming unbidden. “Will you stay here? Sing me to sleep?” Her voice almost cracked.
“Of course,” Kara’s voice definitely cracked.
And the next morning, if the two girls who had both lost their worlds awoke in the same bed, well, no one had to be the wiser.
--
Alex was channel surfing lazily when she heard the front door open.
“Mom?” She croaked, lifting her heavy head off the couch and looking up pathetically from arm rest. Alex had caught the bug that had been going around her grade. Fever, congestion, nausea, aches, it was all coming down on her.
“No, it’s just me,” Kara responding, shutting the door and setting her bag by the stairs. Of course, perfect-alien-DNA Kara had never so much as coughed.
“Oh, hey.” Alex laid her head back down.
“How are you feeling?” The blonde came to sit on the recliner next to the couch.
“You know, I’ve felt better.”
Kara snorted softly, but remained intent. “Have you eaten anything today? Can I bring you another pillow? Or blankets? Do you need medicine? Er, well, humans can only have a certain amount every few hours, so when was the last time you took some?”
Too much noise, too soon. Alex shoved her eyes closed tighter in an attempt to fight the oncoming migraine. “Where are all these questions coming from?”
“Eliza warned me that she wouldn’t be home to take care of you until at least 5 or 6, and asked me if I could keep an eye on you,”
“I’m not an invalid,” Alex grumped.
“Oh, is that why you haven’t moved from this couch since I left for school this morning?” Kara teased gently.
“If I could manage it, there would be a pillow in your face.” The girls laughed.
Silence fell, and it made Alex proud at how very at ease it felt. Once a nuisance, in a matter of months Kara had wormed her way into Alex’s life.
“Seriously, is there anything I can grab for you? Crackers? Soup? Rice?” She reached out hesitantly to stroke Alex’s hair. The comforting touch felt so nice Alex almost just closed her eyes and leaned into it.
“Kara, last week, I saw you accidentally set fire to the toaster. You have no business being anywhere near the kitchen,”
“Right…” Alex didn’t have to twist up to know Kara’s face was reddening. “Still, if I can get you anything?” Her comforting hand getting surer in it’s little pats.
“No, I’m not hungry. Or cold, or ready for another dose of ibuprofen. All I need’s more sleep,”
“Oh, sorry!” Kara pulled her hand back. “I can just leave you to get some rest…”
“Wait,” In a move quicker than she had been able to manage in hours, Alex’s eyes shot open and she brought her fevered hand out from under her covers and grabbed Kara’s as she moved to get up. “Actually, I’d like the company. Nothing’s good on TV and I’m going stir-crazy.”
It had been a long time since Kara had had to ask for a translation of English words or worry about her Kryptonese accent, but every now and again Alex forgot that certain American idioms were senseless to the non-native speaker.
"Stir-...what?" Alex took a second to reflect on how similar Kara looked to a golden retriever with her head cocked just so before answering her question.
“Sorry, I just mean that I’ve been bored, dozing off in front of all these soap operas,” Alex explained. “If you don’t have too much homework or anything, maybe we could watch a movie?”
Kara’s whole face lit up. Definitely a big puppy. “Sure! Let me just go change, then we can pick something out!” She scampered away back towards the stairs.
“Just promise me one thing,” Kara stopped short to turn back to listen to Alex’s weak call. “Don’t even try to make popcorn.”
--
The first time it happened, Kara was sure it was a mistake.
She hadn't meant to overhear, but sometimes when she was excited her focus dropped, and she could hear far too much. Alex’s voice, familiar and expected, came clear through the buzz.
“...All you had to know was that the mitochondrial DNA would have been from the mother, so the only answer it could have been was C.” Kara heard Alex explain to her friend, almost the entire school between them.
“Oh. I guess I'm screwed,” Logan, one of Alex’s better friends, sighed in defeat. “How are you so freaky good at this biology stuff, Danvers?”
“Interest.” Kara could only imagine the grin she knew went along with that tone. It made her smile, too.
“Whatever. You coming to the party tonight?”
“No, actually, I’m going to the movies with my-” Alex took a sharp breath, right where the word “foster” should have been , “-sister.”
Kara’s heart jumps, but surely, it was just a mistake.
The second time it happened, two weeks later, Kara was sure it was just for convenience.
She and Alex had been sent to the store up the block on a mission to pick up the last few ingredients for dinner that night. The whole way there they had been debating the depiction of space in the latest Star Wars episode (“As a former resident of space, I think I speak with some authority when I say it was reasonable!” “Oh, please, you're only saying that because you have a crush on Hayden Christensen.”). Needless to say, it got heated.
But when they got to the store, they still argued just as passionately, if quieter. So passionately that neither noticed before Kara turned a sharp corner and knocked over an entire display of Lucky Charms.
“Shoot!” Kara immediately dropped to gather the fallen boxes, while Alex just laughed. The loud clap of the impact had caused a store manager to come running, worry turning to disappointment and disbelief at the mess before him.
“Oh come on,” he murmured, too quiet for anyone but Kara to hear, but moved to help her pick it all up. When the display was back in place, and Kara offered an embarrassed but sincere apology, the manager replied in a dead tone, “It’s fine, kid,” Turning a judgement eye to the clearly older of the girls, the manager continued “Keep a better eye on your sister next time,” before stalking off down the aisle.
“I will!” Alex agreed in a mock serious tone, equal parts amused by his lack of humor and sarcastic towards the stranger’s command.
When Alex turned back to Kara, eyes still twinkling with laughter and affection, Kara realized Alex had tacitly confirmed his assumption. But only because the manager had given her no chance to correct him on the true status of their relationship. Surely, it was just convenience.
But the third time it happened, it could be nothing but deliberate.
Kara might have been on this planet for nearly one full year, but that didn’t mean she had much acceptance. She had a small circle of friends, and she had Alex, but other kids were not as understanding when she had to ask who Spongebob Squarepants was, when she talked too enthusiastically about the stars, when she batted the softball a little too far out of the park, when she zoned out for minutes at a time because certain stimuli could still suddenly run her senses out of control. In short, Kara was an outsider. It got her teased.
And even without her kind heart, her fear of revealing too much (more) of her strength kept Kara from being able to do anything about it.
The alien was just leaving the park when she began to hear the steps padding in behind her and the whispers. In the fading light of the late spring day, Kara took special care to tuck her sketchbook into her satchel and picked up the pace. She was only a handful of blocks from home, and if she could escape a confrontation, that would be enough.
No such luck.
“Hey, Space-O!” There are three of them about twenty paces behind her, she could tell from the three separate heartbeats, three independent sets of footsteps, and three different voices chuckling when the leader of the pack decided to call out.
When Kara didn’t turn, another voice called out. “Hey, dorkus, he was talking to you!” More snickers. And then they were running. The first boy circled around and planted himself in her path, forcing her to stop short. Kara recognized a burly boy named Jake from her 6th period math class.
“Hello, Jake,” She looked him in the eye, flashed a genuine smile, and squared her shoulders. He wouldn’t be getting to her today.
“ Hey-wo, Jake ,” He mimicked in a high pitched mockery and reached out to give her a little trying shove. Kara barely remembered to move with his grubby hand, or the effect would have been something like smacking a concrete wall. She tried to step around him, but he matched her step.
“Please don’t,” Kara protested calmly.
“Or what?” The boy to her left shoved at her arm from the side. She was probably a second too late reacting, but also wasn’t quite sorry that his hand might bruise later. “You’ll doodle us to death?”
While Kara’s head was turned to face him, the girl on her right reached down to rifle in the bag at her side. Kara whipped around, hands flying to redo the latch, but found her sketchbook missing. “Hey, what are you doing?” The girl, tall and raven haired who Kara thought was named Alice, dangled her book a few feet from her face with a wicked smile. “Give that back, it’s mine!” Kara tries to lunge for it -- not too fast, not too fast -- and ended up moving too slow, stumbling off the sidewalk into the grass. The girl side stepped her and opened the sketch book to the whole group’s prying eyes and malicious laughter.
“Let’s see what stupid stuff the dorkus draws,” The willowy girl sneered.
“Hey, seriously, that’s private!” Kara saw red, but this time, she moved too fast, and in reclaiming her sketchbook, she managed to send them both sprawling in the grass.
“Ow! Freak!’ The girl scrambled to get up, dusting dirt off her sides. Kara didn’t move to get up. She was frozen, a familiar feeling of fear and tension creeping through her bones as she looked down at her sketchbook, held so firmly in her hands that her knuckles turned white. Calm down, calm down, she commanded herself. Stop gripping the book so tight. Loosen up. If you don’t want to hurt these humans, you need to relax. Kara was only vaguely aware of the boys, who loomed over her and jeered all the move viciously for shoving their friend over.
“Hey!” Out of the haze, Kara heard a sudden, familiar shout along with a new set of quickened foot falls. “Get away from her!” It caught her attention, and she managed to open her eyes to see Alex tearing down the road, face rash with fury. The bullies took a step away from her, but they didn’t scatter until it was clear the brunette was not slowing down.
Too late.
Alex grabbed the leader of the group, Jake, by the back of his tee shirt before he could get away. The only two only broke a few feet before stumbling to stick with their comrade.
Alex turned Jake around so she could look him in the eye, her grip on his clothing not lessening.
“Uhhh...Alex, hey!” Jake sputtered nervously. He knew who Alex Danvers was.
“What do you think you are doing to my sister?”
Kara didn’t hear the rest of it. She looked up, stunned, to watch her hero, her best friend, her sister , shove Jake to the ground after he made some lame excuse, but that didn’t matter. She made no move to get up, overwhelmed with the revelation.
“Kara, are you okay?” When the gang had run sufficiently far, Alex knelt down to get on her level, face now calm and concerned. Kara knew there were tears in her eyes and dirt on her knees, but that didn’t matter either. She smiled wide and, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, rushed to sit up and throw her arms around Alex.
It took her a short moment, but Alex reciprocated, glad to see the blonde unharmed.
“ Te ie !” Kara cried, Kryptonese breaking through.
“What does that mean?” Alex pulled back to ask, as she always did.
“My sister,” Kara translated emphatically, grinning. “ Ie is my word for sister. You-” She breathed deep, giddy at the thought of a real family. “You called me your sister!”
Alex smiled wide “You are, aren’t you?”
“Yes!” Kara once more wrapped her arms around Alex. “I’ve never had a sister before,”
“Neither have I,” Alex admitted, settling into the hug, just as delighted but a bit teasing.
“I’m glad it’s you.” Kara squeezed just a touch, careful that it wouldn’t crush her sister.
Alex squeezed extra hard so she knew Kara would feel it. “I’m glad it’s you, too.”