DC Universe Superboy/Supergirl - 3.4 - Family Matters

Emerging from the car are my uncle Fred, aunt Sylvia, and their daughter Alex. Kara and I make our way up the driveway to meet them. Uncle Fred notices us coming, and waves.

 

"So, you must be Chris and Kara!! It's nice to finally meet you!" He cheers with a bright smile, as he makes his way towards us.

 

"Nice to meet you too, Uncle Fred! Dads told us a lot about you." Kara replies with a smirk, acknowledging his presence.

 

"All good things, I hope." His heartbeat slightly rises with his response.

 

"Of course! This is your brother we're talking about, after all." I respond, my voice somewhat hesitant. Really hope I guessed right there. I know dad has mentioned them before, but I honestly don't recall which of them he's related to fully... Judging by uncle Fred's laugh in response, I'm right. "And you must be our cousin, Alex." I mention after a moment of silence, looking over at my cousin. I didn't expect this, coming to Earth. Having this family, that I wasn't born into. Sure, we have Clark, but this is slightly different. The first cousin of ours, that is 100% human. I'll be honest, I'm not exactly sure what to do here. Alex has short, brown hair, that reaches just above her shoulders. Her heartbeat, is surprisingly calm. She's not nervous at all. She has perfect posture too, though I guess that shouldn't come as much of a surprise. If memory serves me right, she served in the military. She reaches her hand out, as if to shake my hand.

 

"Yeah, that's right. It's a pleasure to meet you, Chris." She replies, going for more of a formal tone.

 

"A handshake? What is this, a business meeting? C'mon, we're family. Get in here!" I blurt out, wrapping my arms around her to give a nice, welcoming hug.

 

"Force of habit, sorry. Comes with the job and all." She apologizes, managing a smile, while returning the hug.

 

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, we should probably get inside, you're all probably starving after such a long drive! Which is good, cause dads holing up in the kitchen, preparing all sorts of yummy food." I reply with a smile, before leading them into the house.

 

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"So, Kara, your dad tells me you're quite the star student." My aunt Sylvia mentions, after finishing her friend chicken.

 

"I'm not sure I'd go that far, but I'm trying my hardest."

 

"Y'know, you're being way too modest Kara. Any university would be lucky to have you! Especially with your SAT scores." I say, after taking a sip of lemonade.

 

"But I could've done better. I know I could've done better, and that's the frustrating part."

 

"Kara, you're putting too much pressure on yourself. You've got a lot on your plate; with school, work, friends and uh everything else going on... Sometimes it's tough to keep up that balancing act. Just know that no matter what, I'm proud of you." Dad replies. For a second, I was worried he'd slip up and accidentally reveal everything, but I should know better by now. If anyone was going to slip up, it would be me.

 

"Thanks dad."

 

"Any idea on what you'll major in?" Alex asks Kara.

 

"I'm thinking maybe history, since it's always interested me. Still trying to figure out what exactly I would like to do with that though."

 

"History, huh? Following in her mother's footsteps... Admirable." Aunt Sylvia acknowledges, before drinking her lemonade.

 

"What about you Chris? Any post-secondary plans?" Uncle Frank asks, after a moment of silence.

 

I've spent so much time recently caught up fighting supervillains, and hanging out with Alicia, that I haven't had time to sit down, and truly think about my future. "I hadn't really thought about it that much. Guess I'll take a gap year or something to figure things out?"

 

"Why not? This is something you should be thinking about. This is your future we're talking about here! Not having a plan is-- " She says, slamming the bottom of her fist against the table.

 

"Sylvia, don't rush the boy!" My uncle Fred interrupts, before continuing. "These days, university is not the end all be all to success, and that's okay. If he needs a year off, to 'figure things out', so be it. Everyone has their own path. This is him taking his." With that, my aunt backs off.

 

"Right, of course." She mutters under her breath with a nod.

 

After everyone finishes eating, we continue making small talk for a few more hours, with Alex telling us a couple of stories from her time in Vlatava. Goes to show once again that you don't necessarily need superpowers to do some good in the world.

 

"I've got something to give you Chris, after they leave." Dad mutters under his breath.

 

So, at 9:30pm, after they've left, I follow my dad into his office.

 

"You said you had something to give me?"

 

"Yeah, that's right. I know, it's a little early to be getting you any gifts, with no holidays or birthday coming up soon. But, I figured, given recent events, it was necessary." He says, before grabbing a box from underneath his desk, and placing ontop.

 

I look at it, curious at what it could be. It's just an ordinary box . No special inscriptions, or anything. I go to shake it, but it doesn't make much of a sound. I'm almost half tempted to just cheat and use my x-ray vision, but my dad just laughs.

 

"What are you waiting for? Open it up already!" He insists.

 

With that, I open the box. Inside, is a new costume. Pulling the costume out, I place my other hand on the new suit. It still has that unique fresh costume smell.. The smell that Clark told me about, when me and Kara started the hero gig. I always thought he was kidding, until now. The fabric feels very similar to my old one, but that's where the similarities end. The House of El crest, now resembles my cousins more than it used to, with the s not being as thick as it once was. A brighter blue replaces the darker hue used on my old costume. There are two red bands, one wrapping around each wrist. Instead of the gold, the new suit has a vibrant red belt. Then, to top it all off, there are red chevrons on both of the knees. I'm still unsure what exactly that means, as they just look like incomplete triangles to me. But that's beside the point.

 

"Dad, this is awesome!!" I say with the biggest grin, before continuing. "Looks like Martha Kent's still got it.

 

"Actually, this was me. I mean sure, I asked her for some advice, since she's done this a long time. Other than that, though? It was all me."

 

"Wait what? My dad, at the sewing machine? I never thought I'd see the day. Consider me impressed. Thanks dad!"

 

"Oh, it was nothing, really!" He replies, trying to be modest, before continuing his train of thought. "You're welcome, Chris. Figured you could use a new one, since your old one got ripped up and all."

 

"Careful now, anymore of that, and you'll run Martha Kent outta business." I say with a laugh. "I'm going to test it out, if that's okay?"

 

"Of course! Just be careful, alright?"

 

"Always! I'll be back soon, promise!" I say, before putting the costume on at super speed, and leaving the office, heading towards the back door. Once outside, I take a quick glance, while listening to make sure no neighbours are around to spot me. Coast is clear . With that, I lift myself up off the grass, and into the air.

 

The costume's not tearing up at the seams, which is a good start. I fly around the city, continuing to test out the new suit. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but there's something about this new suit that is way more comfortable than my previous one. It could be the fact it's not filled with kryptonite bullet holes, or torn to shreds by a Kanima. That probably helps at least a little bit, right? Maybe it's something else entirely. I guess at the end of the day, the reason doesn't really matter. On another note, is it bad that I kind of want something to happen? Like a robbery, or maybe a fire? At this point I'd even take a mugging. I could really use it right about now, especially to distract myself from the interrogation I got from my Aunt Sylvia.

 

As I float in the air, above the city, I listen to everything going on in the city, at once. My ears start blaring, and I'm remembering just how overwhelming it is, trying to listen to everything at once. My hands instinctively go to my ears, trying to cover them, even though I know it won't do anything. Like always, there's a mix of emotions throughout the city. From a couple welcoming their newborn daughter into the world, to the laughter as children play. There's also sadness, with the passing of a loved one, or anger from someone not getting the promotion they rightfully deserve. One by one, I'm able to tune these everyday moments, some beautiful, others devastating, out, as I focus my hearing. I'm just looking for someone, anyone at all, calling out for help. Sure enough, about a minute later, I find that sound.

 

"I sure hope one of you Kryptonians can hear me, because I could use your help. I know where the Elite's going to strike next." A young woman's voice calls out. Focusing on her voice, I'm able to pinpoint her location.

 

I'm not sure how she got this info, but at this point, we're pretty desperate for a lead. So, I'll take what I can get. Hopefully, this isn't a trap.

 

I'm on my way.

Done