Chapter 52: A Day in the Life

Kara took one last look back at her parents and Laura. Her little sister, wearing her Alice in Wonderland costume, waved enthusiastically from the window of their car as their mother pulled away from the curb. The car accelerated rapidly into traffic and was quickly lost to sight.

Kara turned, hoisted her backpack, took a deep breath, then walked through the gate into the Larson schoolyard. Other kids were heading for the door too, and she was relieved to see she wasn’t the only one in costume. She gathered her Hogwarts robes so they wouldn’t drag in the dirt as she walked up the front steps and through the door.

It struck her that if she had her powers she could have really come in character by flying in on a broom.

As she walked down the hall towards home room, Kara had the odd feeling that she was invisible, like a ghost. She’d gotten so used to the other kids staring at her in Milford, to everyone knowing who she was, that being just another kid again seemed weird.

She turned into homeroom half expecting to see Mr. Kroum and Bailey, but of course Ms. Mendez was sitting behind the desk.

“Kara!” she called out, smiling.

The chatter of the other students stopped.

“Hi, Ms. Mendez.”

Ms. Mendez surprised Kara by getting up and coming over. “Welcome back! May I give you a hug?” Kara nodded, and her teacher proceeded to do just that. “I’m so happy to see you’re safe! I saw the news over the weekend.”

She held Kara at arm’s length. “I see you’re ready for Halloween. So who are you?”

“Hermione Granger.”

“I didn’t think she wore glasses — it has been a while since I read the books…”

Kara blushed lightly. “Hermione doesn’t wear glasses, Ms. Mendez. But I need to and just started.”

“Oh, of course; I remember Jordy. Well, your costume is very nice. Are you sure you’re ready for school?”

Kara nodded. “I think so.”

The moment she went to take her seat she was surrounded and barraged with questions, just as she had been in Milford. The other kids were especially interested after the news had spread that the kidnapper was Tempus, a.k.a. John Doe, the man who had taken over the country in 1997. They asked her all sorts of questions about him, but Kara shrugged, saying she’d been unconscious during the kidnapping and had only seen Tempus for a few minutes at the very end.

She couldn’t give very many details, but it was enough to keep the kids fascinated until the bell rang.

• • •


Emily looked up from Jordy’s laptop to the clock on the mantel. It was getting close to one in the afternoon; no wonder she was hungry. She turned to Caitlin, who was sitting next to her on the sofa. “It’s getting late — do you want some lunch?”

Caitlin looked up from the tablet she’d been using, and blinked. “Oh. Oh, definitely.” She stretched and yawned.

The two of them were home alone, the Kents having gone off to work and school. Emily was continuing the research she’d begun over the weekend, looking into hospitals, places to live, schools, and commuting options.

Caitlin was doing research of her own. She knew that when she went back to school it would seem strange if she didn’t know what the other kids were talking about. Emily realized she’d be in the same situation with her coworkers, so Caitlin had been passing information along as she found it.

Jordy had lent Caitlin his American History textbook, saying he didn’t need it that day. She’d skimmed it cover to cover; it felt like cramming for a test where she hadn’t attended class.

Metropolis and Gotham City had been part of the United States since the founding of the colonies, but the differences in U.S. history seemed inconsequential until the end of World War II, when the Wayne family name began to figure prominently. The League of Nations had become the Congress of Nations instead of the United Nations.

Even then, things seemed mostly the same in the U.S. through the sixties: the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, civil rights, assassinations and the Vietnam war. It wasn’t until the seventies that things started to differ markedly. After the funding cuts following the Apollo program and the moon landings, the U.S. had decided to pool its resources for manned spaceflight with other countries under the auspices of the Congress of Nations. Caitlin didn’t remember everyone who’d been president back then, but none of the names after the early seventies sounded familiar. Emily didn’t recognize them either.

She’d gone from Jordy’s history book to Wikipedia and the Internet in general, trying to learn about the kind of pop culture you wouldn’t find in a textbook. She found that things were mostly the same, but there were celebrities, movies, bands, TV shows, brands and so on she’d never heard of. It wasn’t as bad as she’d thought originally: many of the ones she hadn’t heard of, Emily had.

The two of them realized that no one was expected to know everything that was going on, and there was enough overlap between the two Earths — maybe 90% — that they’d be able to get by socially.

The differences worked both ways. The most obvious example was Superman: there had been no fictional character, no comics, no movies, no mention at all until he’d burst onto the scene in 1993, rescuing a sabotaged space shuttle. Similarly with Batman, who’d also shown up in the nineties.

It wasn’t just Superman and Batman. Caitlin couldn’t remember exactly, but thought there were names back home that were not known here. Even though every beloved favorite she thought to search for, she found.

That was a relief, but it was also more than a little creepy. This world was so like their own, but a little… off. Her head was swimming by the time Emily called a stop for lunch.

They were just sitting down to cold cut sandwiches when the doorbell rang. They looked at each other, confused. Lois and Clark hadn’t said anything about visitors today. Emily got up and peeked cautiously through the peephole.

There was no one there.

She hesitated, then opened the door. There was a package on the stoop. It looked to be from Amazon.com.

“Just a delivery,” she called to Caitlin, and leaned down to pull the package inside the door. It was quite heavy.

She froze when she noticed it was addressed to Emily Jordan, c/o Kent, at 348 Hyperion Avenue.

“What is it?” asked Caitlin.

“It’s addressed to me, and I know I didn’t order anything. How could I have? Caitlin, come with me.”

She backed away from the door carefully, leaving it ajar, and went straight to the cordless phone in the kitchen. She looked at the list of numbers by the base and dialed. She fidgeted nervously as she listened to it ring.

She sagged in relief when the call was answered. “Hi Clark, it’s Emily… Well, there was a package left at the door, addressed to me… I don’t know. The doorbell just rang. There was no one there, and we didn’t hear a truck…” She frowned. “Clark? Hello?”

There was a whooshing sound, and Superman materialized next to her. “I’ll take a look at it. You and Caitlin stay behind me.” Emily blinked in confusion, staring dumbly at the phone in her hand for a moment before hanging up and following his instructions.

Superman peered into the package, examining its contents closely. He straightened up and smiled. “It’s OK.” He walked over and picked up the package, closing the door at the same time. He brought it over and set it on the coffee table.

“What is it?” asked Emily.

Superman grinned. “Why don’t you open it? It is addressed to you.”

Emily looked at him curiously, before starting to tug at the sealing tape on the seams. It was obstinate.

“Allow me,” said Superman. Using his finger, he unsealed the box for Emily, then stepped back.

Inside was an eight inch stack of papers.

Emily lifted the top sheet off the pile. It was a medical license, stating that Emily Anne Jordan, M.D., was licensed to practice in the state of Delaware. She laid that one to the side, and found a diploma from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, also in her name.

She and Caitlin gaped as they dug further. Undergraduate diploma, birth certificates for both of them, elementary and middle school transcripts for Caitlin, immunization records, Social Security cards.

Passports. A Delaware driver’s license, showing an unfamiliar address in Wilmington. A credit report in Emily’s name, showing the same address.

Three years’ worth of tax returns, with her signature on them.

“How…” began Emily before trailing off. “I don’t believe it… We only got here three days ago, and it was the weekend…”

“I guess they pulled out all the stops when I called in that favor,” said Superman. “If you ladies don’t mind, I left Lois sitting alone at lunch and I really ought to get back.” He grinned. “Have fun; we’ll see you tonight.” With that, he was gone again.

Next was a statement from Citizens Bank of Wilmington for a checking account. It listed the same address as the driver’s license, and showed a balance of thirty-one thousand, four hundred ninety-one dollars and twenty-seven cents. There was a checkbook and ATM card that went with it. There was even a post-it note on the ATM card giving the PIN.

Emily and Caitlin started crying, and embraced. It wasn’t extravagant, but it was enough money to get them started in Metropolis. After a few minutes, they dried their tears and continued.

There was a newspaper clipping from a Wilmington community paper:

A local family was left homeless last Tuesday when their rented house burned to the ground. The family, who wished to remain anonymous, lost nearly all their possessions in the blaze, but fortunately there were no injuries. Firefighters are investigating the cause; a problem in the electrical system of the home is suspected.

The street name given matched the address in Wilmington.

There was a credit card and an accompanying statement, also showing the same address. Emily peered, fascinated, at credit card transactions she knew she hadn’t made. She was glad to see the current balance on the card was zero.

There was a form from the Postal Service, noting that mail sent to the Wilmington address would be forwarded to 348 Hyperion Avenue in Metropolis.

There were court records, showing Emily as Caitlin’s legal guardian.

“Why didn’t they just make you my birth mom? I was kinda hoping they would.”

Emily gave her little sister a one-armed hug and kissed the top of her head. “I would have loved that too, honey, but it wouldn’t stand up to a DNA test. This is safer.”

“This is so cool! It’s like a James Bond movie! These guys thought of everything,” marveled Caitlin.

There was paperwork from Caitlin’s “old” school in Wilmington detailing a home study program for her to follow until she could be registered at her new school.

Caitlin frowned. “Everything…” she grumbled.

She and Emily kept going through the papers, assimilating the backstory of their new lives.

• • •


“How was school, sweetheart?” Mom turned her head back to look at Kara briefly before pulling out abruptly into traffic. Today it was her turn to take Laura — and now Kara — home, and she was in a hurry to get back to work.

Kara hastily finished buckling her seatbelt, deliberating as she did so. She had to be careful what she said since Laura was sitting next to her, hanging on every word. “It went pretty well. The kids were all really curious about the kidnapping; I almost didn’t have time to finish lunch.”

“Did that bother you?”

“Actually, I kind of liked it. I got to talk to a lot of kids. I… I met a girl who wants to get together later this week. Her name is Danielle Jackson. She likes some of the same things I do. Can she come to our house?”

“Of course she can, honey! That’s wonderful!” Mom changed lanes abruptly, cutting off someone pulling out of a parking space. They leaned on their horn, but Mom ignored it. “What else happened?”

“I’m thinking about signing up for the math team after all, so I got an information packet from Ms. Germain. Also, I guess I wasn’t as behind in school as I thought. I, um, already knew most of the stuff.”

Mom understood why. “That’s great! So, all in all, a good day?”

Kara tilted her head. “There was one weird thing…”

“What was that?”

“Paige McArthur talked to me in the girl’s room…”

Mom frowned. “What did she say?”

“That’s what was weird. She was all worried, just like Jessica was on the phone, and she sounded like she really meant it. She cried and she hugged me, and she said she was so glad I was all right. She acted like she’d been my friend all along.” Kara shook her head. “I don’t understand. How can she call me a geektard loser and then turn around and act like we’re friends?”

Mom blew her breath out. “Some girls are like that, honey, especially in middle school.” She had a faraway look in her eyes.

“First I thought she was my friend, and then she was really mean. Now she’s acting like my friend again. What should I do?”

Mom looked at Kara in the rear view mirror. “If she’s friendly to you, try to be friendly to her. But be careful trusting her with your feelings. I wouldn’t trust her any further than I could throw her.”

Suddenly Mom got a strange expression on her face. She and Kara looked at each other in the mirror, and both started snickering.

“What’s so funny?” demanded Laura. “I don’t get it.”

• • •