Chapter 15

Kara Zor-El had enough adventures for a lifetime, but at the age of sixteen, she was tired. When she landed on earth, her cousin—the baby she was supposed to take care of—had rescued her and taken her to the Danvers.

She wanted to live with him, with the Kents. Martha and Jonathan Kent adored her, and Kara felt that she could adjust with them better. But when Clark dropped her off at the Danvers, she felt alone despite how loving the family had been. Eliza pampered her. Jeremiah was always ready with some advice. But it had taken a while for Alex to get used to her new sister. Kara kept her distance. She didn't want to get attached to this family, in case she had to leave them as well. But there was one person she really wanted to be close to – her cousin.

Clark visited her every week. At first it was a monthly visit, but seeing as how the teenager was going through a phase, Clark Kent felt responsible for it. He had been a stranger to her. He was not the baby cousin she loved and adored. It had taken him time to be the older cousin she could love and trust. Someone who would always support her.

Unfortunately, Clark couldn't visit her this week. And Kara felt that this would become a thing. He was slowly distancing himself from his whinny, sad, teen cousin. So when Eliza had told her to take some homemade pie for the Robinsons, Kara jumped at the opportunity. Old Mrs. Martha Robinson was caring and lovable. Her husband was often grumpy, but he always treated Kara kindly. The Robinsons reminded Kara of the Kents.

Kara took the pie for them and made her way towards their house. She heard loud noises coming from the roof. Kara looked up to see someone fixing the broken roof. The Robinsons' house was old and it didn't surprise Kara when the roof broke down during the rains. She had offered to help them fix it, but Mr. Robinson didn't want a little girl helping him. Kara didn't take offense; this was the way the old man was looking out for her. But whoever was fixing the roof, Kara noticed, was doing a good job. She couldn't see his face. He was a tall man with strong arms. Kara looked away and hurried in to see Mrs. Robinson.

"Oh there you are, my dear," Mrs. Robinson called out cheerfully.

"Hello, Mrs. Robinson, Eliza made an apple pie for you and Mr. Robinson. Should I keep it in the kitchen?"

"Please do, dear." The old woman led the way to the kitchen. "I was making some lemonade, would you like a glass?"

Kara smiled and nodded. Mrs. Robinson poured her a tall glass and started telling her about the stranger who was fixing the roof. "Can you believe he doesn't want any money for his hard work? I did offer him the outhouse. Looks like a traveler."

Once Kara was done with her lemonade, Mrs. Robinson asked, "Would you mind taking a glass for the young man outside, Kara? He's been working since morning. Came down once for breakfast, but ate very little. I don't want him fainting and collapsing through my roof."

"Of course." Kara took the glass outside along with the pitcher since Mrs. Robinson insisted he would like to drink more. She went out to see him still at work. "Excuse me?"

The man stopped working and stood up straight. He looked down to see who was calling him, and Kara's eyes widened when she saw it was the man who pushed her out of the car's way.

Mon-El got down the ladder and wiped the perspiration off his face using his t-shirt. When Kara's eyes fell on his midriff, she blushed and looked away. The man could easily have been in his mid-twenties. She had never seen him around here before.

"Yeah?" he asked, making his way towards her.

Kara handed him the glass of lemonade and said, "Mrs. Robinson asked me to give you this."

"Thanks. I could do with some drink." Mon-El took the glass from her and emptied it in one big gulp.

"Would you like some more?" Kara asked.

Giving her a small smile, Mon-El nodded, "Please."

She poured him some more lemonade and moved away quickly. She kept her distance from people these days. Two months ago, when hot laser beams shot out of her eyes, she had cried herself to sleep. She was angry. So very angry. And only Clark could console her. He held her close as she hugged him tight, afraid to open her eyes. And now, Kara felt that she would lose control anytime and harm someone.

"Thanks for pushing me out of the way," she muttered, deciding it was time to thank this stranger. Not that the car could have hurt her. But the man driving it sure would have gotten hurt and her secret would have come out. People already thought she was crazy, now they would have a reason to lock her up.

"That's okay," Mon-El said, finishing another glass. "You gotta be careful. There are people out there who love you. Imagine what they would have felt if something had happened to you."

"People who love me?" Kara scoffed. "I don't think anyone would care if I'm gone."

Mon-El stiffened hearing this. Who was this girl? Where was the Kara who had taught him to hope, to fight for the right, to survive. Where was that girl? Where was Supergirl?

"You know that's not true." Mon-El took the pitcher from her hands and set it aside. "Look, I know that life feels difficult right now. I have been there. There were times I wished I didn't exist. Maybe right now you feel there's no one who cares. But there will be someone. And you will mean the world to him. If you give up now, you give up on him."

"Are we talking about a soulmate?" She had a small smile on her face. It wasn't mocking, just amusing.

"Sure! If that's what you wanna call it. Don't tell me you don't believe in that."

"I'm different. I don't think I can be with anyone. I want it though. To love someone. To be loved. To have a family. But all that feels like a dream."

"Close your eyes," Mon-El said softly. When she didn't listen, he chuckled and said, "Trust me, close your eyes."

This time Kara did as he said. She felt his presence behind her. Felt his hands on her stiff shoulders. "Relax. Now, I want you to find a place in your mind. A safe place. Can you tell me what you see?"

Kara nodded. "A beach."

"Are you alone?"

"Yes."

"What do you see?"

Kara crinkled lightly. "I like hearing the waves. We had beaches back at Kry—home, I mean, back at home."

"Do you find peace at the beach?"

She nodded quietly. Smiling, he continued, "Then I suggest you spend some time there. Alone. If you want to. But just know, you can find peace here as well."

Kara opened her eyes again and smiled. "Thank you. I feel better now."

"No problem. You take care." Waving to her, Mon-El was going to climb the ladder again.

"Wait! My name is Kara. What's yours?"

Mon-El had already climbed the ladder halfway. With a strange smile, he said, "It's Mike. Mike Matthews."

Kara smiled beautifully and waved to him. She took the empty glass and the pitcher and went back inside to return it to Mrs. Robinson. When she came back outside, Mon-El waved and went back to work.

Like he had said, she went to the beach. She sat down there and looked at the waves. This was peaceful. Not completely, but it made her feel much better. When Kara returned home later that evening, she was smiling by just thinking about what Mike had said. Whoever he was, he was already helping her so much.

As she walked into her home, she felt his presence even before she heard and saw him. Kara wondered if it was a Kryptonian thing, but Clark's presence was a strong feeling, yet so gentle. Kara smiled brightly as she ran in to see him seated in the living room, drinking some coffee as he talked to Eliza and Alex about something.

Like Kara had felt him, Clark felt her presence too. He kept his coffee cup on the side table and stood up with a big smile. "How's my favorite cousin doing?" he asked as Kara came to hug him.

"I'm your only cousin!" Kara hugged him tightly before Clark pulled back with a chuckle.

"Alex is your sister, so that makes her my cousin too, right?" Clark winked at Alex, who nodded in return.

This exchange made Kara uncomfortable as she moved away from her cousin, waiting for him to say something else. Noticing the change in her expression, Eliza quickly said, "Clark is staying for dinner, honey. Why don't you two talk for a while? I'm sure there's lot of catching up to do."

"Wanna take a walk on the beach?" Clark asked, pointing towards the door. Kara simply nodded and followed him out.

The walk to the beach was short, mostly because Clark and Kara didn't walk in their normal human speed. They used their usual Kryptonian pace, which was faster than any human. Clark immediately took off his shoes and socks and placed them away, before walking towards the water. When he turned to Kara and gestured for her to join him, she did the same.

"I didn't think you were coming over this week," Kara said, walking a little further so the water touched her knees. She was glad she wore shorts.

Clark ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "I had to go to Gotham to cover an event. I came back as soon as I could."

"You flew, didn't you?"

"Guilty!" Clark chuckled as he rolled up his pants and moved towards her. "Ma baked a cake for you guys. Eliza kept it for dinner."

"I'll thank aunt Martha once we go back to the house." Kara looked at the horizon, not willing to meet Clark's eyes after what she had just said.

He often asked her why she still referred to the Danvers' place as 'house' not 'home'. And she always told him that it was not her home. But today, Clark didn't bother. As Kara grew older, the guiltier he felt. Maybe she had been right, she would have been happy at Smallville with Ma and Pa. Instead he had sent her to a bunch of people who spent years researching about Superman. But he knew what's done is done. If he couldn't help her with everything, at least he could ease his guilt by making her happy.

"I was talking to Eliza before you arrived," Clark started. "Your summer vacation is coming up, and I thought maybe you could visit Smallville, spend few days with Ma and Pa, then join me."

"Summer at Smallville?" Kara asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Only a week," Clark added. "There's a big event happening in London, and they are sending me to cover it. I'll be there for a week or so… I asked Eliza if she would be okay if I took you along."

"London? Really?!"

"Yup! But after that, you have to come back to Midvale and spend the rest of your holidays with Eliza and Alex. If you're okay with that, I'll go book a ticket to London for you as well."

Kara let out a small sigh. She knew what Clark was doing. He wanted her to spend time with the Danvers. But she was going to see London and this was an opportunity she didn't want to miss.

"Okay," Kara spoke after a while. "Smallville and London. Then I don't mind spending the rest of my summer vacation with the Danvers."

"Good." Clark smiled before throwing his arm around her shoulder. Placing a gentle kiss over her head, he added, "You're gonna love London!"

A/N: Mon-El meets young Kara! What's going to happen next?

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