Giant

Chapter 2: Kettering

I wish that I had known in
That first minute we met
The unpayable debt
That I owed you.

Hovering, Kara flopped down on the water tower, her body achy from the robbery she stopped. She didn't know how to fight, but she could overpower anyone. The problem came with guns. The little ones left a bruise. A shotgun, she learned, that could knock the wind right out of her at close range, though they were getting easier to handle, like a muscle that needed flexed. Just a few days ago, she found herself able to deflect armor piercing rounds, which was cool, to say the least.

Another sweatshirt ruined, though.

The sneaking around, the lying to her mother and sister. It was a lot, it weighed her down, but Kara felt the most like herself than she'd ever been before. Operating under a mask, she was the most Kara that ever existed.

With a groan, she sat up, the cold of the winter weather soaked tower easing her bruises. It was still early, and soon she would take a warm shower and sleep. She planned on sleeping all day the following day. That was how a weekend should work.

Back in the distance, Kara thought she heard something, something familiar, but she yawned and stretched out her arm. It took a few seconds for her brain to catch up.

"Lena," she swallowed, the chill coming from fear, not from the cold.

Faster than lightning, she was off, frantically searching until she saw the car, swerving down the interstate, speeding and veering. From her vantage point, she x-rayed the car and saw cut wires, saw the driver stamping his foot on brakes that wouldn't work.

Kara slammed herself down in front of the speeding car, rooting both of her hands in the bumper. The wheels kept turning, kept churning. Her ears picked up Lena's heartbeat and Kara smashed the hood, punching a hole in the engine so it stopped. It took a few more feet for the car to skid to a stop, and quickly, Kara pulled up her hood and made sure her mask was in place before walking around the side.

The car door was ripped off. Kara hadn't meant to do that, but it happened. She let it drop after looking at it, slightly confused at why.

"You okay?" she barked, trying to disguise her voice. The hand that came out trembled. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're safe now."

"Tha- Thank. Thank you," Lena managed, surveying the damage as the driver pulled himself out. "Who are you?"

"Just a good samaritan."

For a moment, the way the eyes stared at her, she was certain Lena knew. Green eyes bore into her own, searching for words, not believing it. Kara looked away and finally took a few steps before disappearing with a flash, leaving Lena suddenly confused in her wake.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After the accident, Lionel upped security. He didn't have concrete answers for his daughter, but she knew it had something to do with all of his meetings in DC and the new defense contracts. He doted on her more than usual, offering to cut her hours at work so she could have an easy summer, the guilt wearing him down. He was proud when Lena declined, happy to work, even if it was mailroom and assistant work. Her brother did it before, and he would take over the company. She did it so she could feel like a Luthor, because she was a Luthor, and she got power from the name by giving it power.

She didn't tell anyone about the weird, mask wearing thing that saved her, except for Kara, who listened intently and fretted over if she was alright or not.

"You aren't even pretending to study," Lena half-heartedly complained as she looked over top of her book at the girl in her yard.

"I'm not taking college classes," Kara grunted, smiling as she looked at the girl on the chair, carefully concentrating on her balance as she did a handstand in the grass.