Chapter 29: The New Normal
“I’m sorry,” said Kara contritely. Emily squeezed her shoulder.
“It’s OK, really,” said Mr. Douglas’s image on the TV; he held his hands up in placation. They were talking over the teleconferencing system in Emily’s room, and Kara would have thought it was very cool if it hadn’t felt like a trip to the Principal’s office. “Nothing bad happened, fortunately.”
“I wouldn’t have said anything bad…”
“I know, but you’d be surprised at how quickly things can get out of hand at a press conference. Let me show you an example. Supergirl, how did you like your first Thanksgiving?”
“It’s not my first Thanksgiving. I’ve had Thanksgiving plenty of times back home in… oh.” She flushed. “You asked us not to talk about where I came from, didn’t you?”
“That’s right. We’re not ready to tell everyone about that yet.” He spread his hands. “Do you understand? You’d have been stuck just like that in mid-answer, and then they’d wonder why.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
“It’s OK. Just, next time, wave, smile, and fly home. We’ll arrange opportunities for the press to talk to you under more controlled conditions, so they’ll get their chance.”
Kara nodded and looked down.
“Please don’t take it too hard. It’s our fault for not letting you know. The reason I called you this way is so you would know I’m not mad at you; neither is the President. Try to relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend, all right?” Kara nodded. “OK, now I have to get back to my own family. Dr. Jordan, Miss Kent, goodbye.”
“Goodbye, Mr. Douglas.” The screen went black.
“I hate it when I mess up,” said Kara. She looked up at Emily. “Mom always says that the people have a right to know. Superman talks to reporters when he does rescues, too.”
Emily hugged her. “Honey, your dad is an adult. Plus, he’s a reporter himself so he knows how to talk to the press without saying things he shouldn’t. After all, he hasn’t told them about who he really is, has he?”
Kara frowned. “I guess not. Maybe people don’t have a right to know
everything.” Something about this still bothered her.
“I’m sure that’s what your mother meant; you can ask her when you go home. Now come on, it’s late.”
“I’m sorry about that too. I didn’t realize my phone was on Central time when I looked at it.”
“I know, honey. We’ll have plenty of time for a movie tomorrow.”
• • •
“Mr. President, Mr. Lamb is here and would like fifteen minutes of your time.”
“Did he say what it was about?”
“No Sir, but he did say it was some information you wanted ASAP.”
The President sighed and turned back to his family, who were sitting patiently, the movie they had been watching paused. “I’m sorry, guys; I need to take this.”
His wife shrugged. “It’s OK, Roger. It comes with the job.”
“Try to hurry up, Dad. It was just getting to a good part!”
“I’ll do my best, Becca.” He rose and followed the aide out. Pete Lamb was waiting in one of the guest bedrooms in the residence.
“Pete, don’t you ever take time off? It’s Saturday night on a long weekend. I’m sure Dennis would like to see a little more of you.”
He held his hands up. “Sir, I’m all for that. But you said you wanted to hear this as soon as we got it from the analysts.” He pulled a red manila envelope from his briefcase. “It’s the scenario analysis on public knowledge of alternate realities.”
The President half smiled. “Well, I guess this one’s my fault then. You said fifteen minutes, so I take it you have a summary? That envelope’s pretty thick.”
“Yes, Mr. President. First, on public reaction: the main issue is the one we discussed. If fictional characters can enter our world from other realities, then besides benevolent ones like Supergirl or Superman, malevolent ones might come here too. Characters like Darkseid or General Zod from the Superman family of universes if that’s all that’s out there, or worse characters from other stories if they exist too. There are some horrible things in fiction we wouldn’t want a visit from.
“The psychologists and sociologists think it’s likely this topic will come up once Miss Kent’s origins are revealed, but as long as no one in a position of authority says it’s dangerous they think the public will be unconcerned. Since this is the first documented case of someone fictional traveling here from another reality, they don’t foresee any kind of panic.”
“Just because it’s the first documented case doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened before. If Sir Lancelot showed up in the Middle Ages, I doubt we’d have heard about it.”
“True enough, Sir, but the experts feel most people won’t take this seriously. They’re not concerned, with one caveat.”
“What’s that?”
“They feel that if the public learns Amelia Earhart is a fictional character in Miss Kent’s reality, they’re likely to worry more about the possibilities we’ve been discussing. It’s also frightening in its own right: it shows our world is just as fictional as hers. The experts feel people won’t take that well.”
“You don’t have to be a psychologist to see that. I try not to think about it myself.”
“They’ve interviewed Miss Kent’s English classmates, and none of them recalled what she said about it. They feel the information is securely contained.”
“I hope they’re right.”
“Which leads to the final point: the analysts believe the alternate reality scenario for Supergirl will be everywhere soon. Enough people are aware of the link between Milford and Metropolis that they expect the discussion to cross over into public awareness within a week or so. There’s already been speculation about it on several blogs. So it’s going to come out whether we go public with Miss Kent’s story or not.”
The President frowned. “In that case, given that they don’t think there’ll be a panic, we should get out ahead of this. Let’s schedule a press conference here this week.” He rubbed his brow. “Better make it late afternoon so we don’t have to pull her out of school. Actually, make it after Dr. Jordan gets off work and give them time to get here by chopper. I’d like Kara’s family here to back her up. I’m starting to get concerned about the amount of pressure she’s under. How are they doing?”
“Reports are they’re back to relaxing. Luckily she hasn’t been needed again this weekend.”
“Good. She’s still just a kid, and the last thing we need is a frightened or upset child with superpowers.”
“No argument here, Mr. President.”
• • •
The three of them flew back to Dover by helicopter Sunday afternoon, wanting time to relax at home before returning to work and school on Monday. They found Fred Douglas waiting for them.
“Good afternoon Dr. Jordan, Miss Jordan, Miss Kent. I hope you had a pleasant vacation?”
Emily nodded. “Yes, Mr. Douglas, we did; thank you. I think Camp David was a little fancy for us but we managed to relax. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving?”
Douglas shrugged. “No rest for the wicked, I’m afraid. I did manage to spend Thanksgiving Day with my family. We’ve been busy working on the housing issue, which is why I’ve come to meet you.”
“Oh?”
“We’ve located a potential property. It’s a defunct bed and breakfast on the edge of town, a converted farmhouse. The building has lots of rooms and the property is large and isolated from the neighbors. We’ve been waiting for you to return and have a look at it before making a final decision.” He paused. “If you like we can swing by on the way back.”
Emily felt uneasy at the pace of things but didn’t want to drag her feet for no reason. “Thank you, Mr. Douglas, that sounds fine.”
On the way back to Milford they stayed on the highway a bit longer, then veered off onto a road on the west side of town. After a minute more of driving they pulled up in front of a large farmhouse with a ‘For Sale’ sign.
Emily followed Mr. Douglas up the front steps, with Caitlin and Kara on either side of her and Jarrod following. Douglas had a key.
They spent about twenty minutes looking through the place. The house had character, though the conversion to a B&B lent it a slightly impersonal feeling in places. The kitchen was missing the stove and refrigerator.
Emily felt it was rather too grand for herself and two girls. Also, she knew she could never afford a place like this and would have to move again when Kara went home. She knew room was needed for the security staff, and that they’d probably need other staff for maintaining the place, but still she felt uneasy.
“I’d like to think about this a bit, Mr. Douglas. Is that OK?”
“Perfectly all right. To be honest the property has been on the market for a year, so we don’t have to jump. We did promise your landlady you’d be out before Christmas, though.”
Emily nodded and they left, the three of them feeling somewhat somber. A few minutes later they were nearing home.
The satellite trucks and camera crews were still there and they had to make their way through the police barrier to get to their street. Emily saw some of her neighbors waiting at the same checkpoint to get to their own homes. They had to be cleared through whenever they returned.
Guilt flooded through her: here she was worrying over moving out of a tiny cottage neither she nor Caitlin were particularly attached to, while she put her neighbors through hell. She whispered in Caitlin’s ear, and Caitlin nodded.
Emily turned to their liaison. “Mr. Douglas, that property will be fine. We can move whenever you like.”
• • •
On the way to her locker Kara felt like Moses parting the Red Sea. The students moved aside silently to let her pass. Their eyes never left her; their faces were filled with awe. Kara was reminded again of Kevin’s movie: the other kids were looking at her the same way the people in the film looked at Superman.
She was coming from the Principal’s office, where they’d checked in early. Ms. Frye had tried to back out on her agreement with Mr. Douglas; over the long weekend she’d received complaints from some of the parents about having armed bodyguards in the school. She’d been mollified somewhat when she’d met the agents in question, Robin Gilbert and Christie Howell.
Robin and Christie specialized in guarding children. Both were twenty-five, but they were petite and could pass as thirteen-year-olds. You would never guess they were both adults who carried a firearm and were third-degree black belts in Tae Kwon Do.
In the school uniform they blended in just fine, notwithstanding the earpiece each wore. They joked about their apparent age, telling stories about being handed the kid’s menu at restaurants and getting carded constantly. Kara liked them immediately.
Christie, being the shorter of the pair, was assigned to Kara and followed a few steps behind her as she made her way to her locker. Robin was guarding Caitlin. Kara stowed her backpack and withdrew the books she’d need until the next locker break. Christie waited patiently.
The trip to homeroom was more of the same. Kara hoped that in time the others would treat her as just another kid again. She didn’t know if that hope was realistic.
“Hello, Kara,” said Mr. Kroum compassionately. “It’s good to see you back.”
“Thank you, Mr. Kroum.”
Every person in the room was staring at her as if waiting for her to do something. It was incredibly embarrassing and her ears were red. She was sorely tempted to fly around the room shouting “Ooga booga!” just to see how they’d react.
Mr. Kroum smiled and nodded, then turned to Christie. “And you are…?”
“Christie Howell, United States Secret Service. I’ll just sit in the back, Sir, if that’s all right? I’ll try to make myself invisible.”
Mr. Kroum appeared slightly flustered, but nodded again. Christie nodded in return, then went to the back of the room. The students’ eyes were diverted from Kara for a few seconds, long enough for her to find her seat.
“Hey,” whispered Bailey as Kara slid into the seat next to her, “are you OK?”
“Yeah,” Kara whispered back. “I guess. This is really weird.”
The students were staring again, and continued to do so until Mr. Kroum started class.
• • •
The looks were bad enough but the comments were worse. Though no one said anything to her face she could hear what they said anyway. Kara didn’t understand; didn’t they all know she had super-hearing?
Most of it was innocuous, curiosity and wonder, but some of it was mean. The worst so far was, “I don’t know why she still bothers pretending to be human now that everyone knows. The glasses are just pathetic. What a freak.”
Kara almost took them off.
A close second was, “Of all the names for her secret identity why pick Kent? How dumb can you be?” It would have made her laugh if she were in a mood to do so.
She still had her friends, and she was very happy to see them at lunch after almost a week, but everyone else left them alone. She’d had at least a passing acquaintance with more kids than the three she knew best, but now they avoided her.
Christie didn’t sit at their table, but at one next to it where she could see the whole cafeteria. She had that table all to herself as she munched an apple.
Like Bailey and Megan, the first thing Kevin asked her was if she was OK. He seemed to be treating her a little differently; she had the feeling he’d moved in the opposite direction from everyone else, focusing less on the Supergirl part of her and more on her as a person. She liked that.
“Things were pretty crazy here after you went to save Emily. Ms. Noether screamed, I heard.”
“Oh,” said Kara. “I didn’t mean to…”
“Ahh, she was OK. It was weird, everyone thought you were Supergirl but seeing you zoom off like that still took ’em by surprise. The whole school was talking about it and most of the teachers gave up trying to get anything done last period. The next day, the one you missed, Ms. Frye had an assembly.
“She said if you came back you’d be the first celebrity to ever attend here but that you’d be treated like every other kid — well, except for the bodyguard.” They all turned to look at Christie, who winked and continued placidly working on her apple.
“So why do you need a bodyguard anyway?” asked Megan.
“If someone tries to attack me the people around me could get hurt if she wasn’t here. Also, I guess…”
“What?”
Kara lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned in over the table. “The people who kidnapped me used Kryptonite. They might try to use it again.”
She bit her lip. “Would you guys mind if we talked about something else? I mean, I’m getting used to having powers and maybe being from another planet and everything, but I’m still mostly just me.” She looked around at them. “It’s been hard lately to feel like just me.”
Her friends tried their best to help get her mind off her situation, but there was no escaping that a Secret Service agent followed her everywhere, and that at the end of the day she and Caitlin climbed into a black, bulletproof SUV to the accompaniment of shouted questions from the press, while her classmates’ parents looked on in annoyance.
• • •
