1.2

Arrival 1.2​

Mr. Hebert bore more than a passing resemblance to his daughter. Tall, thin, and wide eyed, and filled with that same frantic energy that Taylor seemed to possess. Of course, that was probably a result of the unfortunate circumstances that the poor girl had found herself in. It was hard to blame the man when he practically burst into the hospital room, demanding to see his daughter.

I don't think he quite expected to see her sitting in a hospital bed, surrounded by three superheroes with a smile on her face. A smile that faltered a little when she saw her father. I made a note to keep an eye on the man.

"Taylor, you're… oh thank God you're okay." the man sighed. Glory Girl and Panacea skirted away from Taylor and let her father run up and wrap her up in a tight hug.

The girl didn't seem afraid of her father's physical presence at least. She seemed more surprised by it than anything else. That was… better, but only marginally. After a moment's embrace, her father pulled back and brushed a string of hair out of Taylors face with his thumb.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner, the principal called about what happened, but didn't tell me they had already taken you to the hospital until I got there." There was an angry tone in his voice, and I didn't blame him, though I was hardly surprised. Winslow didn't come across as a safe and sane establishment.

"It's okay dad." Taylor said; her voice had softened significantly from the giggling mess she had been minutes earlier when talking with the three of us.

Mr. Hebert shook his head, "No, no it's not. You were in trouble and I wasn't here to…" his jaw tightened and he shook his head, before changing the subject, "I brought you a change of clothes. And I managed to convince those idiots at your school to give you until the first half of next week off to recover. There's going to be an investigation into this, so if you know anything about who could've done this…"

Taylors face twisted into one of loathing and spite, "I know exactly who did it, and I know for a fact that nothing we do will get them in trouble for what they did."

Her father's face grew concerned, "Taylor, that's not true-"

"Yes it is!" Taylor yelled, "I've been dealing with them for two years. Every time I've talked to the staff it's been the same answer, 'we'll look into it Miss Hebert, don't you worry'. And then nothing happens and they come after me even fiercer than before, it's… it's not worth the trouble dad."

Poor girl looked like she was on the edge of tears.

I put a hand on Taylor's shoulder, unable to stand in the background any longer. She looked up at me with surprise. I smiled and said, "You have to keep trying, though. What they did today, if I hadn't been there Taylor, you could've been seriously injured or worse. The people that did that to you might not get the justice they deserve even if you cooperate and report them. But if you sit back and do nothing, then you're guaranteeing they won't. You need to draw a line somewhere, or else they'll keep doing this until you really do break."

Her expression grew more cynical, "That's easy to say when you're not the one that's been dealing with it."

"I've been where you are," I put a hand to my chest in a gesture of honesty, "I know how it feels to be alone. To be in a crowded hallway and feel like the only person in the world. But, you're not alone. You have your family, and you have your friends to stand by you."

Taylor frowned, "What friends?"

I shrugged, "I like to think I count."

"We've known each other for an hour, maybe two."

"I work fast," I smiled.

The girl looked unconvinced. Glory Girl poked her head into our conversation and added, "Frankly speaking, anyone that can get Amy talking for more than five minutes is a-okay in my book."

She turned to Mr. Hebert and handed him a business card, "This is the number to my mom's legal office. Technically I'm not supposed to give these out without permission, and she's a real estate lawyer. Buuuuut, she could probably refer you to someone with a bit more of a handle on these things. Cause, personally speaking, this whole situation smells like a load of bullshit."

Mr. Hebert looked at the card in his hands with wide eyes, an echo of Taylor's own stunned expression. The girl looked like she was about to burst into tears as she looked between Glory Girl, her father, and then me. I put on my comfort smile for her again, which seemed to ease her a little.

To be honest, I was doing even more for Taylor than I normally did for people I rescued. Her story of being alone and tormented by her peers resonated with me on a personal level, and I liked her giddiness when she started talking about something she was interested in. More than that, I think a small part of me was desperate. I was alone in a world I barely knew with no idea if my family or friends had even the slightest inkling of what had happened to me. Maybe I had latched onto Taylor because in some way, I needed her as much as she needed me; because it was pretty obvious that the girl hadn't experienced genuine human decency in a very long time.

"I…" Mr. Hebert choked on his own voice, "I don't know what to say, thank you Glory Girl, and...um, I'm sorry, I don't think we've actually been introduced?"

I offered him my hand and smiled, "Supergirl, sir. Costume is in the wash right now, I don't normally run around in nurses scrubs."

There was a moment of faint recognition in his eyes at my name and I felt more than a bit of dread. Please, please please, don't let this be one of those worlds where my own Earth existed as stories and comic books. Those were always such a pain to deal with; also seriously, why was it always comic books?

Thankfully, if that was the case, Mr. Hebert didn't choose to comment on it. He managed a gracious nod, shook my hand and said, "Thank you, Supergirl, for helping my daughter. I know it doesn't mean much, but if you ever need anything from me - and I mean anything - I'll do whatever I can to make it happen."

I placed my other hand over his and said, "Mr. Hebert, helping your daughter was reward enough."

As kind as his offer was, I never did what I did for reward or praise. Those were nice for sure, and it was good to know people appreciated my efforts. But I had helped Taylor because she was in trouble and no one else was. No one I saved owed me anything on my Earth, and that wasn't going to change on Earth Bet.

Mr. Hebert's voice seemed to die in his throat, but he managed a shaky nod. I released his hands and stood up. Taylor was looking at me with an expression I could only describe as dumbfounded awe and joy. Glory Girl grinned and gave me a thumbs up, though her sister was leaning against the wall behind her with arms folded and staring at the floor. Her eyes were distant; she was obviously on another planet at the moment.

That was probably as good a cue as any for us to leave. Best to let father and daughter talk in private, and give Taylor time to rest. I straightened up and said as much while smoothing out my temporary outfit.

Taylor's face quickly turned into an expression of near-panic, "No wait! You don't have to go yet."

"You need time to rest, Taylor." I told her, "And I have my own business I need to take care of, unfortunately."

She bit her lower lip, "Okay, but… what if they do something like that to me again? What if there's trouble and I need your help?"

"She's a cape, not a babysitter." Panacea said with a surprising amount of venom. Glory Girl, Taylor, and I both looked at her with surprise. That didn't fit the girly cheerfully arguing the merits of norse mythology with Taylor ten minutes ago.

She seemed to realize what she said and hurriedly corrected it, "I mean, we have a lot on our plates, and I imagine Supergirl isn't any different. There are other people out there that will need help."

Taylor's face fell and she looked down at her hands, "Right, right… sorry."

I rubbed my chin, looking between her and Panacea and said, "Hold that thought for one second."

They had time to register what I said before I rushed out of the hospital room to the laundry hamper. It took only a second to find a nurse with my costume in hand heading towards Taylor's room. I stopped for a brief moment to thank her, grabbed my costume, and rushed back down the hall at super speed, changing as I went. This all took about five seconds, give or take.

Everyone jumped when I reappeared in the room in full costume. I brushed a few wrinkles out of my skirt and said, "Sorry about that, I needed to pick up my costume for this."

I reached into my belt and fished out one of the emergency sonic emitters. It was a little smaller than a pinky nail, and twice as thick as a quarter. Unlike my belt it's outer case was made of shiny chrome steel that shimmered in the light; my family crest was emblazoned on one size, but it was otherwise without marking. I walked over to Taylor, and offered it to her.

"What…?" she started to say.

"If you're ever in trouble, squeeze the symbol here and the opposite side once to turn it on, squeeze it twice to turn it off." I explained, "It will emit a sound that only I can hear. If you're in trouble and do that, no matter where I am, I'll know you need help and get to you as fast as I can."

"Holy crap, she's a thinker, a tinker, and a mover at least," I heard Glory Girl whisper, probably thinking it was quiet enough for me not to hear it. Panacea didn't respond beyond a grunt.

Taylor stared at the tiny sonic emitter, and then at me, "And you're just… giving this to me?"

I shrugged, "Not everyone is safe once they've been saved. Sometimes they have stalkers, abusive family members, or a serious bullying problem that might not be dealt with. So if you ever need me, now you know how to contact me."

She wrapped her fist tightly around the emitter with a death grip, and managed a smile, "I think a phone number or something would've been fine too. But thank you."

I gave her one final friendly pat on the shoulder, "You look like a good kid, Taylor. Don't let those jerks at your school tear you down."

"Y-yeah…" She nodded frantically, "I mean yes, of course!"

I said my goodbyes, wished her the best of luck, and left with Glory Girl and Panacea on my tail. In my heart of hearts, I truly hoped she got justice for her treatment. Maybe the crimes against her weren't the worst, not by a longshot, but that didn't invalidate what had been done to her either. Though for both our sakes, I hoped she never had to use that sonic emitter. More than anything, I wanted to be right in my belief that the courts and authorities would handle this with the dignity and respect that such institutions were supposed to present. People weren't perfect, but just because we were on a different Earth didn't mean human decency went out the window.

Glory Girl shook me from my thoughts when we reached the hospital lobby, walking up alongside me with her hands folded behind her head and a curious eye on me. "So… where in the heck did you come from?"

Right, now that Taylor was dealt with, it was time for the fun questions. I had hoped I could avoid that particular train altogether, but that had been wishful thinking from the start. Well, at the very least I had some experience about convincing cover stories to conceal my actual identity.

"I was in the neighborhood, thought I'd help out the best way I could," I explained, which was the truth.

The blonde and her sister stopped and looked at me expectantly. Glory Girl said, "Yeah, but I meant where did you actually come from? I like to think I know a thing or two about capes; the message boards would've gone insane with a cape like you running around."

Message boards?

I shelved that thought for later and said, "Is this really the best place to talk about this?" gesturing at the hospital lobby. It had thankfully thinned out since I arrived with Taylor, but the few patients and staff that remained were not so subtly watching the three of us with obvious curiosity.

Panacea noticed this too and tugged on her sisters sleeve, "This really isn't the time, Vicky."

Glory Girl looked around and shrugged, "Fair enough." she looked back at me, "We were gonna catch lunch after this. If ya tag along and answer my question, I'll buy." she sang.

Food sounded good; yes yes, I didn't need to eat, but that didn't mean I had acquired a sudden revulsion to all things edible as a result. A nice meal with girls that I at least had a passing acquaintance with wouldn't be the end of the world. And it would give me some time to work out the details of my story to tell. The one thing I knew for sure was that I had to keep my extra-dimensional origins a secret for now.

"Alright, deal." I said, "But I'm holding you to that last bit. I'm broke."

We walked outside, and Glory Girl wrapped an arm around Panacea's waist, "Alright, I know this great place down by the Boardwalk, you'll love it. Should be a quick fli…."

Her words trailed off as I slowly lifted into the air, my cape floating behind me. I couldn't resist a small smile at her surprised expression. "Well? Lead the way, please."

-S-​

The Boardwalk was a total tourist trap set up in such a way that no one could see the graveyard of ships north of it. Only the no doubt reassuring sight of the Protectorate Headquarters and the ocean beyond it were visible from the Boardwalk. It was built along a surprisingly clean beach, with a casual paradise aesthetic. Wooden walkways, seafoam green buildings, etc. It all looked very safe and picturesque.

If you ignored the obvious and heavily armed guards that were stationed at every other store. Perhaps the tourists were able to overlook it, but I usually preferred to eat my lunch without armed security looking over my shoulder. As a result, I felt a bit on edge even while Glory Girl and Panacea seemed oblivious to the facade.

Or maybe they had lived with it for so long it seemed normal to them. I wasn't sure which was worse, honestly.

Glory Girl kept her word about lunch, and had taken us to a nice (and criminally overpriced) seafood restaurant with an open deck for us to eat on. With the promise from Glory Girl that we could get anything we wanted on the menu, I was currently nibbling on a grilled halibut that made my body shiver with delight. One thing Earth 100% had over Krytpon, was that they were much better cooks than we ever were. I am not ashamed to admit that.

The girls ate a bit lighter, clearly impatient to wait for me to finish before they (and by they, I mean Glory Girl) could start drilling me with questions. I was in no rush though, as I focused on my meal while keeping my ears open. Thankfully for the moment, Brockton Bay sounded peaceful, so I was able to relax.

That didn't last long. Glory Girl looked about ready to explode with questions, bouncing her leg up and down while pretending to be interested in her glazed salmon fillet. I decided to take pity on the girl, set my silverware down, and wiped my mouth with a napkin. A quick look around showed that a lot of the clientele were making no attempt to hide their interest in the three of us.

Me primarily, as I was the only one still in costume. Panacea had shed her robe and put it in her bag by her feet. Glory Girl was wearing a pretty long sleeved red shirt with jeans and a comfy looking pair of boots. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail and her grey hoodie was slung over the back of her chair. It was a little big for her, so I was willing to bet it was probably a boyfriend's. And then there was me, still dressed in full costume with my cape hanging over the edge of my chair and my skirt unfortunately scorched. We were quite a sight.

Yet the ogling still wasn't as bad as that time when I stopped for donuts with Swamp Thing. Leaf bikinis did not make for a suitable costume replacement. Oh the papers had had fun with that one.

I shook away that memory and smiled at Glory Girl, "So, I think I promised you some answers?"

She grinned, "Yeah you did. So spill girl. What brings you to Brockton Bay? You don't have the accent, and you're way too nice. Why are you here, of all places?"

I leaned back in my chair and folded my hands in my laps, "I was passing by. If I'm completely honest, my memory is a little… fuzzy. Inconsistent memory loss of some kind. I woke up a few cities over, did some flying around and was passing through Brockton Bay when I heard Taylor calling for help. I think I might stick around for a bit and help clean up if I can."

"You have amnesia?" Glory Girl turned and asked Panacea, "Do you think she might be a case 53?"

I cocked my head to the side, "A what?"

"Capes that wake up with their powers and no memory of how they got them;" Panacea explained, "usually branded with a stylized Omega symbol branded on them somewhere. They can look pretty weird sometimes. There's a kid in Boston made entirely of metal and no idea why."

Great Rao, that sounded awful! I was lucky to have Kal to support me on Earth when I got my powers, and the memory of my home to remind me of who I was. I couldn't imagine what my life would've been like if I had landed on Earth with no memory of my past or idea of why I had powers.

Panacea looked at me and then her sister, biting her lower lip as she did, "I'm pretty sure she's not a Case 53 though, Vicky."

"She coulda been a dude before she got her powers." Glory Girl offered.

I shuddered and waved my hands frantically back and forth, "No, no no. My memory is fuzzy in certain areas, but I know who I am, and can remember my home and family just fine. I'm just missing more recent memories."

Glory Girl looked both disappointed and relieved at the same time, "Ah. Well at least you've got family to go back to then, right?"

I sank into my seat and didn't meet her eyes. It wasn't her fault of course, she didn't know that I was technically an orphan. People made that mistake all the time, typically assuming Kal was my father, so I rarely held it against them. That didn't mean that thinking about what I lost didn't darken my mood a little. Which must have been obvious to Glory Girl, as she winced and started apologizing.

"Sorry, I…"

"It was a few years ago." I sighed and shrugged, "Besides, you didn't know. But, I am alone here. No home, and more than a bit lost. I'm mostly just trying to figure things out right now."

Glory Girl suddenly perked up, an obvious idea in mind, "If you don't have anywhere to stay, we've got a guest room at home. I'm sure mom would be fine with letting you stick around for a bit."

"Oh no, that's not necessary Glory Girl," I protested, "You've already spent so much money on me with this lunch; I don't want to be a bother."

"It's no big deal," she waved away my concern, "Besides, we have room to spare, and it's always safer for heroes to stick together than go it alone. It would be awful if something happened to you out there."

She seemed genuinely concerned, which made me pause and lean back in my chair while rubbing my chin. On the one hand, if I wanted to clean up Brockton Bay, staying with other heroes would be the safest option. They could defend themselves and knew the risks inherent in crime fighting. Plus it would be a chance to learn more about the city itself, who its power players were, and who was standing against them.

On the other hand, I didn't really need a home. Even ignoring the fact that I didn't need food or water to survive, the crystal in my belt was more than capable of providing a home for me. Yes, I called it an emergency shelter, but that was downselling the truth. After I arrived on Earth, Kal had spent months studying Kryptonian technology and hand crafting me a home near identical to his Fortress of Solitude. If for whatever reason I felt unwanted or uncomfortable in the human world, that crystal was to make a home for me where I could retire safely away from humanity. I had been touched by the thoughtfulness and effort of the gift, even if by the time I received it, I had already made my share of friends and started to slowly settle into my new home. So the crystal had sat in my belt, waiting for the day when I might need it.

Being stranded on an alternate Earth certainly fit the bill, but I couldn't exactly tell all that to Glory Girl. As Kal himself had said, a Fortress of Solitude did not' remain so for long if everyone knew about it.

I sighed and shook my head. As I was about to speak though, my thoughts were interrupted by gunshots. Loud and clear, even for those in the cafe to hear, maybe a mile away from the Boardwalk, two at most. I quickly pinpointed the source of the noise, a van filled with four men currently fleeing from a warehouse with two cop cars following behind it and on a course for the more populated areas of the city.

"We'll talk later, duty calls," I said to Glory Girl, and took off into the air while she sputtered and shoved her chair out of the way.

I had already left her far behind by the time she took off the ground and was soaring over the chase in progress. The sirens blared as the cops started pulling up on the van, only for the rear doors to burst open. Two men hung out the back, submachine guns in hand and opened fire on the windshield of the nearest cop car. That wasn't going to fly.

I zipped down as fast as I safely could in the city. While Barry Allen might be able to zoom around his city at the speed of sound, Kal and I had to be more careful. Without the speedforce, we risked causing serious damage when we broke the sound barrier in city limits. Everything up to that point though was fair game.

The world slowed as I put myself between the car and the stream of bullets, curving my body in so they wouldn't bounce off and hit an innocent bystander. Hot lead harmlessly bounced off my stomach and chest onto the street rapidly passing by below. The crooks in the back of the van had no time to react before I flew up to them and ripped their guns from their hands.

"I'll just take these off your hands, boys." and shoved them both back into the open van and slammed the doors shut.

The van started to swerve as my appearance had startled the driver; that was an easy problem to fix. I looped up through the air and under the vehicle, so close to the ground the asphalt threatened to scrape at my nose. I braced my hands against the undercarriage to get a good grip, and heaved. I heard startled yells in both english, japanese and chinese as we took up off the ground.

I could feel the van shake as they began to panic and look for an escape option. As we rose into the air, slowing to a crawl as we did, I spotted an empty parking lot in front of an abandoned office, one of many in the city no doubt. The perfect place to set these boys down.

"Alright!" I called out so they could hear me through the van's now rapidly revving engine, "Thank you for flying with Supergirl Airlines, please remain seated until the vehicle has come to a complete halt!"

They responded with a colorful cacophony of curses, including some new ones in mandarin I had never heard before. I ignored them and descended to the parking lot. The moment my feet touched the ground, the engine stopped revving. There was a loud banng as the vans weight shifted and doors were flung open and men started jumping out as fast as they could.

The sudden shift in balance made me take one step forward to catch it, the van leaning forward as four men fell out of the vehicle and scrambled away from me with looks of terror on their faces. I rolled my eyes and gently set the van down in the parking lot and dusted my hands off. Then I turned after the fleeing men.

They were fleeing in pairs, one to the north of the city, the other to the south. Some crooks never learned.

I zipped forward, faster than a speeding bullet, and appeared before the northern pair with my arms folded and a disappointed look on my face, "You know, committing a felony is bad enough. Running after you've committed it just makes things worse; if I were you, I'd give it a rest and quit while you're ahead."

Both men, notably of asian descent, seemed to think better of fighting the girl that had just casually lifted a van into the air like it was a plaything, and raised their arms in surrender. I took them back to the van and secured them to the door handle with a pair of zip ties they helpfully had waiting for me in the back of their van.

Then I zipped after the southern pair, in the same pose as before. I didn't get to say a word before one of them pulled a black hilted switchblade from his pocket and stabbed at my neck with it. That went as well as you'd expect.

The blade bent in on itself and the man's hand bounced away; I brushed at my neck and sighed, "Maybe some prison time might do some good for your critical thinking skills, friend."

I grabbed both men and returned to the van to tie them up. I was pleasantly surprised to see the police officers had caught up with me. They were scratching their heads at the van and two captured crooks, obviously trying to make sense of what just happened.

"Afternoon officers," I made my presence known with a friendly greeting.

The two officers whirled around, hands on their sidearms. They seemed relieved when they saw me with the two criminals in hand. I descended from the sky with both men offered to the officers.

"Sorry for the sudden interruption, but I was in the neighborhood and thought I might lend a hand." I explained.

One of the two officers nodded at me, "You have our thanks, Miss. You saved our lives back there."

They cuffed both men while another pair of officers undid the zipties I had used to secure the other two crooks. One of the men kicked at the officers shin and scrambled away in a final last ditch escape. I sighed, looked ahead of him, and shot a short blast of heat vision. Nothing that would cause damage to the parking lot, but it was bright and showy enough to send up some sparks and make the man halt in his tracks.

Everyone stopped and looked at me, especially the crook. I looked at him, and jerked my head towards the officer he had kicked. With slow reluctance, the man stood up and walked up to the officer, hands extended in surrender.

"Holy crap, you work fast." I heard from above, and looked up.

Glory Girl floated a good ten feet above us with a bewildered expression. I met it with a smile, "Like I said, I can handle myself."

A/N: So explanation for why I did not post last week. I had some premade chapters prepared for the rewrite, all ready to go and such. The day before I was to post the next chapter though, I decided to clean up my google drive, as it was a bit messy. Now for context, my job requires a lot of program testing that pushes files from one folder to another, leads to a lot of 'test done, trash the files'. Well apparently this process has become automatic because I caught up the folder for Dreams during my cleanup (Along with several other story folders) and dumped it and cleaned out the trash can.

I did not realize this for several hours. I am an oblivious idiot.

So yeah, I had to rewrite today's chapter, which I think is actually for the best. The original chapter was longer and flowed far more irregularly with the entirety of New Wave being introduced with some awkward power testing. I hadn't been super happy with it before, so I was happy to cut it and replace it with more of a slow burn. Gonna be honest though, I wasn't sure if I'd finish the chapter in time this week as the Presidential Election was exhausting to sit through. I do not need that kind of stress in my life!

Anyway, I hope the wait was worth it. Please leave thoughts, comments or criticisms down below and I'll see you guys next week! Bye!