now i am [karamel]

ten

kara

It was a week after the panic attack. Even though it was tempting, I decided I should do something more productive than sitting around in the house with Mon-El all day.

I remember how I used to think Mom was a flawless hero before I discovered that she banished countless people to Fort Rozz. I wanted to be just like her, to help the people of Krypton.

"And you will," she would say after I voiced my dream.

"How do you know?" I would ask.

"Because you have the heart of a hero," she would reply, and I would beam proudly.

Without my powers, I couldn't be Supergirl. But I could still drench my desperate thirst to serve justice.

"You're hired," Caleb, the guy who oversees all the judges, said.

"What? Already? Don't you need, like, validation or something?"

"You're the daughter of Alura Zor-El! I'm sure you're destined for great things, especially in this aspect."

"Well... thanks, I guess."

"No need for that. You start tomorrow, be there or be square."

I smiled. He kind of reminded me of Miss Grant.

I took a deep breath. The robes were uncomfortably heavy.

You can do this, I assured myself for the thousandth time. I scanned the crowd until a familiar set of grey eyes locked onto mine. In an instant, thousands of unspoken words were exchanged between us.

Don't worry, his warm smile said. You'll do just fine.

A hush fell over the expectant crowd when two guards escorted a young boy into the room. He was no older than sixteen.

On Krypton, the system's different. There are no lawyers, attorneys, or jury. Only the accused can argue for themself and most of the time, they lose the case and get sent to Fort Rozz.

"What is your name?" I said, focusing mainly on sticking to the script and hiding the tremor from my voice.

"Jamie, Your Honor." Surprisingly, he didn't sound scared. He sounded like he had accepted his fate.

"And what is your crime?"

"Theft, Your Honor."

"Elaborate."

"I come from a poor family, Miss. My brother's children had nothing to eat... so I went to the market and stole some bread. It was wrong, and I am now happy to pay my debt."

He seemed so willing. Like he'd already lost the will to keep fighting for himself and for his family.

"What shall the sentence be, Your Honor?" Caleb's voice rang loud and clear from where he was standing beside me.

I lowered my eyes. Sentencing a boy to alien prison just because he was born into a poor family? This wasn't justice. I would've done the exact same thing.

"Three months," I decided.

Pause.

"Thank you," Jamie's eyes were wet. I noticed a man weeping in the audience who looked a bit like Jamie— his brother. I felt sorry for him. If I were him, I'd be overwhelmed with guilt.

The audience murmured amongst themselves. They apparently thought three months was much less than enough.

That was it. Don't these people have a heart?

"Everyone, imagine if you were Jamie," I addressed the audience, anger pounding through my veins. Caleb cast a wary sideways glance at me.

"Jamie was just trying to provide for his family! He did nothing but his duties as a brother, as an uncle. Just put yourself in his shoes and see what you would've done in the exact same situat—"

I was elbowed off the podium by Caleb, and would've fallen on the ground if it wasn't for all my training back on Earth. Mon-El immediately stood, glaring at Caleb, warning him wordlessly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming today, this case is officially closed," he said before pulling me aside roughly. Mon-El tried to get to me, but he was blocked by the steady flow of people leaving.