Chapter 34Notes:Sup!
Chapter TextSarah woke up and nearly flinched straight out of bed. Bed. She sat straight up looking around. Quake, the scientist was dead, they weren't in the lab. She blinked as she realized that was sunlight coming through large open windows. The bed beneath her was soft. It sounded different, the faint sound of traffic, none of the awful beeping from the lab. She looked down, a shaky breath of relief leaving her. Wally and Xal were snuggled together under the covers, still sound asleep.
Slowly, and carefully, she slipped out of the bed. Her feet hit a soft, warm carpet. She couldn't remember the last thing she'd felt something that wasn't hard or cold under her feet. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she quickly grabbed the scalpel off of the nightstand. They never let them have anything dangerous. If she had the scalpel, she wasn't there. It was real and cold in her grip.
Her eyes looked around the room. It was pretty, the purple was nice, and everything was clean, but it wasn't…cold. She liked that it wasn't cold. Her footsteps were as soft as she could make them as she edged away from the bed, looking around.
Looking over the back of the back of the couch, her shoulders slumped. There were Fred and Dem-Van. Fred was sucking on her thumb, curled up under the fluffy green blanket. And Dem-Van actually didn't look more grey than blue for once. Something in her chest untwisted a little bit. And there, under the windows, throw pillow under her head, and a quilt thrown over her, was Quake. Not that she looked strong or anything sleeping on the floor with a kinda silly looking throw pillow under her head.
Sarah turned, curiously looking around. She hadn't been anywhere new in a long time. The tv was huge, bigger than she remembered her family's. And she was pretty sure that was a game system plugged in. Her parents hadn't let her have one so she wasn't sure which one it was.
Her eyes got very wide as she stared at the kitchen table. Because there were a lot of bags, and just heaps of stuff neatly piled on it. There were all kinds of bright colors and soft fabrics, and there, sticking out of one of the top bags was a stuffed horse. It was big, fluffy, and looked unbelievably soft. Sarah hadn't wanted to touch something so bad in her entire life.
"Horses huh?" A warm voice came from behind her.
Sarah, spun, scalpel raised, only, it was just Quake. The woman looked less dangerous than she had yesterday. Flannel pajamas and a tank top weren't really the same as the black thick fabric and gauntlets and the mask. It helped the woman hadn't come too close, well out of arm's range.
Sarah's tongue darted out wetting her lips, "I thought you were asleep?"
"I can feel vibrations, doesn't take much to wake me up." Quake shrugged, her face was soft in a way the scientists never were, and none of the pity from the people the night before.
Quake walked over, "Since you're the first riser, let's get you set up, ok?"
"Set up?" Sarah took a step backward and to the side so she wasn't between Quake and the table.
Quake just hummed easily, "Well, I don't know how long you're going to be here, but you kids are going to need more than the clothing on your backs to wear."
Sarah watched quietly as Quake started pulling things from various bags and making a pile.
"You said you liked unicorns yesterday, right?" Quake looked at her curiously.
She swallowed, "They're pretty."
"Cool, was hoping that wasn't my imagination." Quake turned and handed her a set of soft, pink pajama pants, with a white t-shirt that had a large rainbow and unicorn on it. Sitting on top of the shirt was a pink hair brush, a toothbrush with unicorns on the handle, and a bottle of strawberry-scented shampoo. "It's not a lot, but it'll do for today. Think you can take a shower on your own if I show you how to work it?"
Sarah blinked, unsure of what exactly to think or feel about that. "I can shower."
"Cool, come on, I'll show you how it works, and don't worry about running out of hot water." Quake led her into the bathroom, matter-of-factly pointing out how the dial worked, and showing her where the towels were before she left.
Sarah's motions were mechanical as she set her things down, and pulled off the white shirt and pants the scientists gave everyone who wasn't human. She stuck them in the trash can with feeling. And then got into the shower.
It was hot!
Sarah didn't know why, but she started crying because the water was hot. It was really hot, with steam and everything. And that…that made her cry.
Sarah wasn't sure how long she'd been in the shower, but when she poked her head out, the apartment smelled nice. She edged out of the bathroom and noticed Wally was sitting in a chair by the table and eating a sausage he had skewered on his fork. Quake was in the kitchen, something that smelled really good on the oven, Xal clinging to her back like a backpack or something.
Quake smiled, "And that's your cue, Xal." She unhooked Xal, helping them down. "Go, shower, food should be ready when you get out."
"Fine," There was a definite whine in their voice as Xal walked toward the bathroom, their own pile of yellow and blue clothing and things.
Quake smiled, "Oh good, that clothing fits you. How do you feel about oatmeal?"
"Um…ok…I think?" Sarah hadn't had that in a really long time.
Quake stepped toward her, snagging the stuffed horse with its grey fur and dropped it straight into Sarah's arms. "Come on, I've got juice and we can see what can be done about your hair."
Sarah looked at the floor but quietly followed along. She carefully took a seat at the table, automatically hugging the stuffed horse to her chest. "My hair is…"
"Pretty matted." Quake said easily, "Can I take a look?"
She nodded, staring at the whirls and patterns in the wood grain. Out of the corner of her eye, she was aware that Quake was near her. It was startling as the woman's fingers gently touched her hair, examining it.
"Well, I've got three options for you kid." Quake laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed gently before moving back toward the kitchen. "After breakfast, we can get some conditioner and it'll probably take a couple of hours, but we can try and work out the mats. Or we can cut it a bit shorter and then work out the mats, it won't take as long that way and we'll have better chances of getting them all out. Or, we can just cut most of your hair off, which it's going to really depend on how much you're willing to put up with me touching your head. If you think of something else we can try that too. But take whatever time you need to figure out what you want."
Wally lowered the sausage he'd been gnawing on. "I get to eat real meat! No kibble!"
"No kibble." Quake replied firmly from the kitchen.
Sarah smiled, Wally was a baby, but they'd been the worst to him, he looked the least human out of all of them. And she couldn't even remember seeing his tail wag before. Which it was right now. "That's good."
He nodded, excitedly, "We get to watch cartoons when Dem and Fred wake up too!"
"And after your bath," Quake put in, though her voice was kind, a fond curl of her lips.
Wally looked at Quake, "Are you really friends with Supergirl?"
"I am, and I'm sure you can meet her properly later today. You can give her back her cape when you do." Quake was stirring something, probably the oatmeal on the oven.
Wally's tail somehow started wagging faster and he stuffed the sausage into his mouth.
"Try to chew so you don't choke." Quake chided, but it didn't make Sarah's shoulders tighten.
Sarah carefully set her scalpel on the table, looking around the apartment. "What are the rules?"
"Uh, we can go over them with everyone, but I'd prefer you guys not break things on purpose." Quake looked at her, "For now, no hurting each other, if you need help you can ask, if we have any issues come up we can add them. But as long as you all are safe and healthy even if one of us messes up it won't be the end of the world, ok?"
She nodded, she glanced at the door, "Can we leave?"
"Not by yourselves." Quake's face had a knowing look that had Sarah's cheeks flushing. "But once everyone is settled in and feeling up to it we could go to the park or out for pizza or something."
It was…weird. She wasn't sure how they could do that, she and Fred were the only ones who could be mistaken for human. But for now, she'd wait before checking on the locks on the doors. It wasn't even really that she wanted to leave, but she needed….she wanted to know if she could get the door open.
Sarah looked up as a bowl of food, warm steam rising from it, was set in front of her. There were berries and honey on top and everything. Her eyes widened, and then she looked up at Quake. "I can eat this?"
"Yeah, if you want seconds just say so. I made more than enough for everyone." Quake's attention flicked to the bathroom door where Xal was scooting out.
Xal had a bright smile, showing their pointy teeth. "Quake! Your shower is amazing! Do ya think I can have a shower like that when I'm big?"
"Yeah, I'm sure you can. And you can call me Daisy." She looked around at the three of them who were awake. "That goes for all of you, it's my name."
Wally swallowed, "But you said your name was Quake?"
"That's more of a title than a name." Quake, or Daisy replied. "You don't think Superman and Supergirl are called that all the time either do you?"
Xal snickered, as they trotted up to Daisy, clearly considering the best way to crawl onto the woman again. "So like the flower?"
Sarah picked up the spoon by her bowl and looked down at it, letting the words buzz over her head while the tones were happy. Hesitantly she scooped some up and took a bite. Her eyes closed in happiness. It was good.
////
Markus had a stocked-up kit, just for the kids, as he let M'gann lead his blindfolded person to Quake's apartment. "Are we sure leaving them with Quake was for the best?"
"Do you know someone else who could protect them if Cadmus managed to track them down, or who they'd talk to?" M'gann asked, "Besides, she won't hurt them."
He didn't disagree, Quake'd resembled nothing so much as a pissed-off bear guarding its young the night before. "I didn't mean to imply she'd harm them. But she had Supergirl remove grenades from her fridge. Is her home suitable for young children?"
"It's a shockingly unremarkable if large studio apartment." M'gann replied, "No exposed wires or open alcohol. Shocking, I'm aware."
That was rather comforting. Quake wasn't the kind of person who inspired a great deal of faith in her ability to have things like windows, and furniture. Although, "Dear gods, are you saying she's got all five of those children in a single apartment?"
"It's better than some of us could have provided." M'gann pointed out perfectly reasonable.
He sighed but settled as he heard M'gann knock on the door.
"Holy shit you actually blindfolded him," Quake's voice had a laugh in it.
M'gann pushed him firmly through the door. "As requested."
"Wasn't being entirely literal, but cool. You can take the blindfold off Doc."
Markus reached up pulling the blindfold off, and blinked as he adjusted to the light, and then he blinked a few more times. It was…not anything he could have imagined.
The apartment looked like some kind of brightly colored kid's sleepover. Little Fred was happily situated on the couch, her broken foot elevated on pillows, hair neatly braided into matching pigtail braids, and coloring very seriously on one of those plastic lap desk things, a stuffed bunny wedged under one arm.
Sitting at the kitchen table, sharp eyes looking toward him, but wearing bright cheerful colors, her hair now only coming down to her chin but clean and mat free, was Sarah. She had a giant stuffed horse on her lap, and her own coloring supplies in front of her.
From in front of the couch, Xal's head had popped up, as clean and colorful as the rest. Even their scales were clearly polished, a book in their hands. Behind Xal, on the couch was a conscious, clean, and wrapped in colorful blankets Dem-Van who was blinking curiously up at Markus and M'gann.
And standing there, having just opened the door was, Quake. She looked positively soft in flannel pajama pants and a tank, little Wally perched on one hip in bright blue pajamas of his own.
"Oh," Markus could barely believe the difference being clean, in real clothing, and having just…things with them would make after a night's sleep. But it was a radical difference.
Quake just laughed, "Come on, you can set your things down in the kitchen." She looked over one shoulder. "Xal, orange peels in the trash not under the couch."
Xal pouted, "It's like you have eyes everywhere." But the kid scrambled to their feet before carrying a paper towel with orange peel in it toward the kitchen.
"It's magic," Quake's voice was dry as she rolled her eyes. She looked back at Markus and M'gann. "You came before the Crocodile Hunter marathon on Animal Planet starts, so good timing there."
Markus chuckled, "I'll have to let my own hatchlings know about that. They'll be delighted." He set his case down on the counter and couldn't help staring at the fridge. There was a list of the order of showers. Apparently Dem-Van, Xal, and Sarah were assigned to nighttime shower slots, while Wally, and Fred were assigned morning slots. Just beside that was a 'Hate' list. And under each child's name was a list of ten foods that apparently they hated, ranked one through ten. There was also his list of dietary suggestions neatly taped on the freezer door.
He looked around the apartment again, as he opened up his case. The bones of the apartment were rather basic, and impersonal. Tasteful, but empty. But everywhere on top of it was an explosion. The bookshelf by one wall was full of kids' toys, books, and neatly folded throw blankets. It was a lot of chaos, but apparently, besides violence, Quake was horrifyingly effective at caring for kids. He was a father, and the concept of getting five traumatized kids clean, dressed, and entertained for half of a day, not to mention fed, sounded exhausting.
"Daisy! Can we have popcorn!" Fred was aiming her best puppy eyes at Quake.
Quake, or apparently Daisy, just huffed. "After the doctor leaves." She'd dropped into the singular armchair and picked up a brush and was apparently working on brushing out Wally's undercoat. Wally seemed perfectly content to let her, shifting so she could get at different parts of him, eyes half-lidded in comfort.
"Any notes?" M'gann asked, asking around the fact they were trying to figure out where the kids came from.
Daisy's eyes flicked back to M'gann, "I'll email you, also, tomorrow's Friday and I've called out from work for the next week, but I have a…thing on Monday night that can't be postponed."
"Babysitting?" M'gann sounded exhausted. "Fine."
Markus looked at the kids, "Dem-Van, feeling up to letting me take a look at you?"
The air…changed, the kids looking uneasy suddenly, shrinking slightly.
"Why don't you run that scanner thing on me first? I probably have a vitamin deficiency or something." Daisy cut in, her voice very carefully casual. The tension easing out of the kids some.
Markus was not a pediatrician and appreciated the help. Adults were so much easier to treat, and for most kids, he could just hand them a lollipop and they would let him give them their shots. Usually, their parents handled keeping them amicable otherwise. And, he could admit he was curious what the scans would pick up on a being like Quake.
"Is there a way to show the kids what the scan is showing you?" Daisy asked, gently setting a slightly more brushed Wally on the chair as she stood up.
He paused, "Yes, I can project that, your walls are fortunately open for that."
"Yeah, the change from living out of a car to an apartment has kinda left the place pretty empty." Daisy shrugged as she walked over, ignoring the blatant concern on all of the kids' faces. And the fact Wally had half launched himself off of the chair and was clinging to her leg like a monkey.
Markus pulled out his scanner, carefully adjusting it to project. "Well, it has its advantages to be rather minimalist at times." He was curious about what he'd see. Thanks to the scans last night he could tell the children had mostly been nutritionally deprived, some minor bruising and injuries. If he had to guess Fred's foot was from trying to escape or just attacking someone.
Most of the damage to the children wasn't what had been done to them, but rather what had been taken from them. Dem-Van was so weak because he'd been bled and had most of his glands drained. All of them had extensive needle-track injuries and malnutrition. But the Cadmus scientists seemed to have predominately taken samples. Not that that wouldn't have been horrifically painful and wasn't ethically horrifying. But in small part he was relieved. Every adult in the room knew it could have been so much worse.
Markus held up the scanner, "If it's alright with you?"
"Go for it," Daisy replied offering her shoulder, even if her eyes were tight.
He gently touched the device to her, it was a fairly basic model, barely a century ahead of Earth technology. It only showed damage, not the cause or how to fix it. It's why he'd needed more equipment to find out which vitamins and shots or recommendations to make for the children. And to have the likely supplements they would need. It was mostly luck he'd been able to stimulate Dem-Van's body into producing enough blood to keep his systems from shutting down last night. As it was, the boy was going to be bedridden for days because of it.
The scanner ran, it let out a miserable sounding whirring sound. Blast, he was going to have to replace it, and replacing technology on Earth was miserable and expensive. And you never got exactly what you wanted without paying through the nose. He tapped it slightly, and then it lit up, its results projected at the empty white wall.
Markus hissed. It was horrific.
"Why are my bones black with like white stripes?" Daisy asked curiously.
He swallowed, ignoring the curious looks from the kids, and the horrified silence of M'gann. "The black is where your bones have been damaged or broken."
Daisy whistled, "Well, that explains why the arm and leg bones are just all black."
The large areas of highlighted severe soft tissue damage were alarming. The colors there ranged from yellow to red. There was a lot of red so dark it was nearly black. The way her blood was lit up like it was full of foreign toxins, it was…there wasn't a singular inch of her that was not giving him anxiety.
"So, let me guess, I need vitamin D?" Daisy asked curiously.
He set the scanner down and turned and started rummaging for vials. "Everything, you're low on everything."
"Huh, gonna be honest, this is kind of the best I've felt in years." Daisy leaned down, scooping up Wally, "See? You were mostly out of it last night, but it doesn't hurt at all. And then you can see what your insides look like? Cool right?" She was pointing to the still projected image of her body.
Wally pointed, "What's the big red Y?"
"That's where the bad doctors look at what's inside of a person." She said as if she wasn't describing being dissected while alive!
Sarah had drifted over, nearly touching Daisy. "They hurt you too?"
"Not the same scientists as you, but yeah." She was looking at the kid. "I told you yeah? If Dr. Markus is a bad doctor I'll take care of it, and I know what a bad doctor does."
Markus walked over, a syringe of every vitamin needed for a functioning human neatly measured into it. "You need one of these every day for a month, and I'm leaving you a list of over-the-counter vitamins to start taking. You also need to increase your protein consumption." He unceremoniously stabbed the needle into her shoulder. Of course, he wasn't an idiot and had met her eyes before doing so. No need to get his neck snapped for surprising her. It'd ache a bit, but he was not asking Quake to take off her pants so he could get it in her thigh.
She shot him an irritated look but didn't fight or so much as flinch. Not that he'd stabbed anywhere painful, and he'd gone for the arm that was loose. "Really?"
"Distracted patients can't tense," Markus looked at Wally. "Do you want to see your scan, young man?"
Chapter 35Notes:Tea and Great British Bake Off while the dog sleeps on my feet is my happy place.
Chapter TextKara set the two boxed air mattresses on the floor before clapping her hands. "Right, that's the last of it."
"Thank you," Daisy sounded relieved and tired. "I know it's a lot, and you just started your new job."
"Hey, I'm happy to help," Kara assured her, and she was. She couldn't help how overwhelmingly sweet it was to see Daisy around the kids. To see how much she cared. And, she'd maybe had a bit too much fun finding different colors of play dough, not that she'd put any of today's trip on Daisy's credit card even if Daisy hadn't realized that yet.
Daisy just smiled, "It'll be nice not to sleep on the floor."
"You could have asked for me to fly the couch down," Kara pouted, she hadn't really thought of where everyone would sleep in Daisy's apartment. She probably should have.
Daisy rolled her eyes, "I've slept on way worse. It was fine. But, air mattresses." She frowned slightly, running a hand through her hair. "Every kid is supposed to have their own bed, it's not good for them to be sharing, but I don't have space without getting cots."
"Why?" Kara looked at her curiously.
Daisy paused, "Because it's the rules, they…oh. I guess CPS isn't going to be doing a wellness check are they?"
"Foster kids can't share beds?" Kara asked curiously, she remembered nights when curling up with Alex was the only reason she could sleep. And nights when Alex had climbed in with her and quietly shared stories under the blankets.
Daisy laughed, "God no. I mean get why, but yeah." She looked at the kids softening, "You know Wally is a big fan?"
"Do we know anything about their parents?" Kara asked, her voice low. She could guess a couple of them might still be able to hear.
Daisy gave a long sigh, "From their accents, I'd say they're west coast except for Dem-Van, he's got a bit of the New York, or Metropolis 'ah' with his 'r's."
"So like you?" Kara asked while catching Daisy's hand and threading their fingers together.
Daisy smiled, leaning against her. "Yeah, like me. Though I've mostly lost that accent, spent a lot of time on the west coast."
"True," But Kara fully intended to remember that Daisy could probably do the thickest Metropolis accent if she wanted to. "Anything else useful for finding them?"
Daisy shrugged, "With them not talking, it'll take a while. At least as long as M'gann doesn't meld with any of them. And I agree with her, it'd be fucked up to do that to any of them."
"Is there anything else I can do to help?" Kara asked, she wanted to make this better. Because as much as it was wonderful proof of every good thing she'd ever thought of Daisy, it was also tragic. These children deserved their families.
"Watch them so I can get a shower?" Daisy asked.
Kara nodded, "I can do that."
Kara probably should have thought through insisting Daisy go use the shower upstairs since the one in Daisy's own apartment was full of towels hung to dry out, rubber ducks, and just generally the apartment was crowded. Kara had assumed, Daisy could use the brief chance at a break. She still was pretty sure that was right. However, facing five sets of eyes laser-focused on her the second Daisy left, she might have underestimated how this was going to go. "Um, hi?"
"Are you really Supergirl?" Fred, who'd been mostly unconscious last night asked, her foot in a brand new, bright pink cast.
She smiled, "I am."
"But you're…normal?" Fred said, her face scrunched up in confusion.
Kara had never actually been called normal by someone who knew she was Supergirl before. "I guess I am normal for a Kryptonian? Sort of? Life on Earth is very different than Krypton."
Xal nodded solemnly, "We lived in the trees on Tsauron! And here we're just in an apartment and the image inducer means only two of us can go anywhere outside."
"Shut up," Sarah hissed, turning on Xal, glaring sharply.
Xal shrunk, "Sorry."
"You don't have to be sorry, Tsauron is beautiful. I was lucky to spend a few days there with my father when I was around your age." Kara wondered if separating the kids just a bit would let one of them tell someone about their parents? She'd mention it to Daisy. It could be a horrible idea too.
Sarah glared at her, "You can't trick us into telling you anything."
"I wasn't trying to trick you," Kara wasn't sure what to do with the kids who seemed more and more hostile by the second.
"Yes, you are!" Sarah was on her feet, and furious.
Kara shook her head, "I'm not trying to trick you, I would like to know how to find your families for you. I know Daisy does too."
"Supergirl is a hero, Sawah." Wally pulled at Sarah's hand. "We should open the play dough."
Sarah's jaw tightened but gave a sharp nod. "Ok."
Kara almost sighed in relief, she was stopped by Fred bursting into tears.
"I want my mommy…. and uncles… and to go home!" Fred was wailing as great hiccuping sobs rocked her.
Kara was crouched in front of where the little girl was seated on the couch, between two beats of a heart. "It's going to be ok sweety, you're safe and we'll get you back to your family. I promise you're safe now."
"NO!" Sarah stomped, her skin flushing purple rather than pink.
Fred was hiccuping, and Kara moved, so that she was sitting on the couch next to the girl, and carefully hugged her with all the care possible. It was a relief that Fred didn't try to pull away, just slumping into her.
Kara looked at Sarah, confused at how this was all spiraling so far out of control so fast, and why they were so terrified of anyone knowing how to find their parents. "Why is it wrong to miss your parents?"
"They'll kill them!" Sarah shouted, all of the kids shrinking back. "Strike told, and they brought his parents in and his hatchmates, and they died! They all died!" The girl choked on her own shouts. "Tal escaped! They didn't know she could change shapes and she got out! But they brought her back! They brought her back and she wouldn't eat! Or…or anything because they killed her family when they found her again!"
Kara wasn't sure she'd ever felt this much molten fury burning through her before. Not even under the influence of RedK. It felt like her rage at what had been done to Astra, but missing so much of the grief of that. It left so very little except for anger. Her eyes burned with power, desperate to escape.
She swallowed it back, not daring to say anything to that till she felt the burning in her eyes abate. And then she spoke very slowly. "We'll talk to Daisy. But we'll make sure you're safe. I promise, on the honor of my house, in the name of Rao, we'll keep you, andyour families safe."
Kara had never been so relieved to see Daisy in her life. "Hey!" She couldn't exactly move as she was now in a blanket and pillow nest trying to keep ice cream from getting spilled everywhere.
"You gave them ice cream?" Daisy raised a brow, looking amused and kind of exasperated. "Right before bedtime?"
She didn't want to mention in front of the very awake kids that she hadn't known what else to do after the crying started. "I mean, is there ever a bad time for ice cream?"
Fortunately, Daisy couldn't reply as she oofed, from Xal hurtling into her like a green blur, before scaling up Daisy like a tree.
"You were gone for forever," Xal mumbled into Daisy's neck as soon as they'd managed to settle comfortably curled around her. It was adorable and honestly would have tipped Daisy straight over if she was human. Xal was nearly four feet, thinner than was healthy or not, they were too big to be carted around like a toddler.
Daisy didn't mind, and just kinda got all soft every time Xal or Wally scaled her like a tree. "I'm not sure I want to even know what you all got into while I was gone." She glanced at the air mattress boxes. "So, who wants to help set up the beds for tonight?"
"Yes!" Wally shoved the last of his ice cream into his mouth.
Kara reached over and wiped his muzzle off with the hand towel she'd grabbed at first sight of how messy of an eater he was and snagged his bowl before he could spill even more. He was clearly the youngest of the brood.
She more gently, and without the use of super speed, picked up the other bowls.
"I've got a job for you," Daisy swooped down to where Dem-Van was curled under several blankets. "Think you can pick out some music for everyone?"
Kara moved when she realized Sarah was going to try and open the air mattress boxes with a scalpel! "Wait!"
Kara groaned, dropping down beside Daisy on her air mattress which was shoved against the wall. "The ice cream was a bad idea."
"I think they're all out?" Daisy said weakly, casting a quick look at various lumps. Dem-Van was still on the couch, but Fred and Sarah now had air mattresses. Only Xal and Wally were still sharing, and that was mostly because Wally had nearly cried at the thought of sleeping alone and Xal preferred living beings over their new heating pad.
Kara groaned, "How do they have so much energy, they're sick?"
"Malnourished, not sick," Daisy's eyes were half closed. "Thanks for getting more groceries, they're going to eat us both out of house and home."
She liked how that sounded, 'us'. Kara leaned slightly more solidly against Daisy. "The ice cream was because they told me why they're scared for us to find their parents."
"Just threats or did Cadmus actually kill some of them?" Daisy asked, her face grim as she looked at her.
Kara swallowed the lump in her throat at what Daisy had clearly realized from the start. "There were two other kids. One told Cadmus where their parents were, and the other escaped and went home."
"They saw?" Daisy asked, resigned.
She nodded, "At least Sarah, I think most of them though."
"So we need a security system they believe in before they're going to tell us anything." Daisy hummed, "I can work on it with them tomorrow. How's the water filtration system going?"
Kara couldn't help how she looked at Daisy for that question, it was so unbearably minor and unimportant how her job was going. But Daisy cared. "Dr. Xie doesn't trust me enough to do more than read over blueprints and leave notes still." She reached out, taking Daisy's hand, entwining their fingers. "How are you managing?"
Daisy gave a sigh, looking away, her eyes falling on the sleeping lump of Fred. "I haven't had to help manage kids since I was sixteen. The group homes, the orphanage, the foster homes, they all expected the older kids to help. Most of them wanted us to do most of the work." Her tone was slightly bitter. "They deserve better."
"So did you, and we'll do better for them," Kara squeezed their hands together.
Daisy returned the gesture, squeezing back just as tight. "Yeah, we will." She was quiet for a minute before continuing. "I let Markus run his scanner on me, the kids were more awake this afternoon, so less cooperative. Apparently, I'm borderline malnourished and need an aggressive supplement plan and to eat significantly more protein." Her nose scrunched, "Also he thinks I need to see a dentist, apparently I've got a cavity."
"You're malnourished?" Kara's x-ray vision kicked in without thinking as she checked Daisy. It was silly, it wasn't like vitamin deficiencies were visible that way or any way she could see.
She got a huff in reply, "I'm fine, and I'll follow his orders."
Kara stared at the side of Daisy's face, she was taking that to mean Daisy was going to do what the doctor had said because if she didn't, the kids wouldn't. "You're ridiculous," Kara let go of her hand and pulled her into a hug. She sighed happily, her eyes closing as she hugged Daisy close. Diving had been the best thing she could have done.
////
Kara woke with a start, at the feeling of someone shaking her shoulder. She blinked blurrily, "Daisy?"
"No alarm clock!" Daisy half-tripped climbing over her and off of the air mattress.
She sat straight up in alarm. Any positive feelings from sleeping with Daisy's arms wrapped around her waist vanished as panic set in. "What time is it?!"
"Seven-thirty," Daisy replied while heading straight for the kitchen.
Kara shot to her feet, half flying, half jumping, "I'm going to be late!"
"You have super speed, and can fly, you're not going to be late." Daisy looked at her, "Go get ready, stop by down here before you leave."
She looked at Daisy curiously but nodded. "Ok, ten minutes!" And then headed to her room as fast as she could without accidentally creating a sonic boom. Shower, get dressed and grab her things. She could do that. Super speed.
Kara was in and out of the shower as fast as the water could fall and she could move, before drying herself at speed and screeching to a stop before her wardrobe. Which was depressing, she really did need to start replacing the things she'd burnt to a crisp during those awful days under the influence of RedK. She'd hated her things so much while under the influence of it, but now, she kind of missed her sweaters…sometimes. Most of her dresses were gone. She did miss dresses, maybe slightly more professional ones?
Not that that mattered at the moment. She grabbed a dark navy button-up, beige slacks, and a neat brown belt. It'd do for today. Maybe she should try some fashionably cut blazers? Kara twisted her hair up into one of her easier updos. It was important she did fancier things with her hair while at L-corp. Make sure nobody heard alien, saw her, and thought anything close to Kryptonian. So more involved hair, and probably more pinks and beiges. And no red and blue at the same time. Alex was really going to kill her if she ever went anywhere with red and blue on her person while dressed as 'Kara'.
Thinking of it, she was going to have to text Alex about doing sister night at Alex's place next week. Because she had no idea how to explain the stack of weapons in her apartment and it wasn't like those could go anywhere else till the kids were all back to their homes. At least with her new job, she had an excuse to be a bit hair-brained for a bit. As long as there weren't too many Super emergencies she hopefully wouldn't lose this new job. She really liked it.
Kara dashed in front of the mirror, double-checked she looked acceptable, and then was out the window heading down to Daisy's, grabbing her purse and keys on the way out.
She shut the window behind her as she flew into Daisy's apartment. Kara couldn't help smiling at the chaos of the place. Dem-Van was sprawled on the couch, still plainly sound asleep. Sarah was missing, but from the sound of running water, she was in the shower. Wally was in a blanket burrito making soft, sleepy, growling noises as he mouthed absently at his stuffed dinosaur. Fred was still out like a light, probably, she was a shapeless lump of blankets on her air mattress. And last, but not least, Xal was sitting at a chair by the table eating from a bowl of berries.
Daisy opened the fridge grabbing some Tupperware out at the sight of Kara. "I packed you lunch for work. I'm turning into a housewife, but ya know, already making so much food."
"Thank you, and I don't think housewives are supposed to have as many guns as you do." Kara was only partially joking. But also the idea of Daisy being a stay-at-home child manager for more than a couple of weeks was a bit ridiculous. The woman would climb the walls from sheer boredom.
It suddenly hit her that Daisy had made her lunch. As in Daisy had had time to think of her despite everything else happening. Kara zipped to her side and kissed her soundly, before pulling back. "Thank you."
Xal made a faint 'urgh' sound, "You two are gross." Xal's head tipped, "Why is your mate living upstairs if you live here?"
Daisy opened and shut her mouth. Kara felt her whole face flush.
"You're bad at hiding it." Xal rolled their eyes while stuffing some blackberries into their mouth.
Daisy managed a weak, "Um…we're not mates." She shot a panicked look at Kara, looking very apologetic, before looking back to Xal. "We're dating, she's my girlfriend."
"Oh, is that a human thing?" Xal looked at them curiously.
Daisy shoved the Tupperware into Kara's hands. "Yes, yes it is. I'll be right back."
Kara was beaming, and flushed, as she let Daisy politely shove her out the door. She turned as the door shut, the two of them in the hall, without little children's eyes on them.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to say," Daisy winced.
Kara hugged Daisy and squeezed her. "You're doing amazing with them, and I know we haven't even gone on a date yet, but it sounded nice."
Daisy hugged her back, but then pulled back, "Go, you can't be late on your first week."
"You're the best, text me if you need me to pick anything up for you on the way home." Kara waited for agreement on Daisy's face, and then she took off. She really couldn't be late to L-corp. But she was still smiling as she reached L-corp.
Kara's brow was furrowed as she looked at the design. She turned around the blueprints for the mesh material that Dr. Whistler was designing. The material was fascinating, and its ability to be manufactured would make it easy to reproduce. But while its magnetic properties could remove lead from the water, it didn't remove much else besides metals.
Tapping her finger she considered it, the best thing for water filtration was sand. The different composites of grained sands were being tested. But to keep the device small, they weren't able to really filter it. If they could run a charge through the sand that was an option…
Kara looked up at Dr. Whistler where he was running numbers on adjusting his mesh. "Where's the list of types of sand mixtures used?"
"It's under subsection three," Dr. Whistler looked at her, "Your alien super-genius not for paperwork?"
Kara forced herself to smile, "Thank you, and just learning L-corp's systems." She understood why Alex and Daisy hadn't wanted her to be openly alien. The way people at L-corp looked at her was different. It made her uncomfortable, how hostile everyone was, it was horribly similar to when she'd been the weird new kid in high school. But she'd work through it. She'd gotten through it once, she could do it again. "Do you know if quartz sand composites have been tested yet?"
Chapter 36Notes:Sup! The flu sucks.
Chapter TextDaisy had forgotten how nice living in a city, and being able to order shit to be delivered same day to a location was. Five pairs of children's jeans were carefully ordered after wrangling the kids into letting her measure their waist and leg lengths. Would the pants fit great? Probably not. But they'd fit well enough that they could get out of the apartment for a few hours before they started crawling up the walls. Not till tomorrow, unless Kara was willing to watch Fred and Dem-Van while she took the others out.
But, more important than the jeans, was the bag with five kids' watches. "Awesome."
"What's that?" Xal poked their head between Daisy's arm and side, looking curiously into the bag. It was funny, the kid was a bit too tall for that to be totally comfortable.
She easily adjusted so her arm was hooked around Xal's shoulders, the kid not having to stoop as she answered. "Safety measures."
"They're watches?" Xal said slowly, and the other kids were mostly all paying attention. Well except Wally who was taking a nap.
Daisy smiled at Xal, she wasn't sure exactly what she'd done to earn the unshakable trust they all seemed to have in her. But then, she wasn't human, had pulled them out of the lab and killed the people hurting them. It wasn't completely weird they'd cling a bit. "Security measures so you'll be safe once you're not with me anymore." She squeezed Xal tightly as they stiffened at the mention of not staying with her for forever.
"Watches will help?" Dem-Van said slowly, his blue face scrunched in confusion from where he was bundled up on the couch, hands curled around a hot mug of hot water and lemon. Apparently, it was really good for his species.
Daisy huffed, pulling Xal back into the room and away from the door, holding her bag of watches. "The watches themselves? Not really. These ones are pretty cool though, they have some nifty features. But, it's what I'm going to put into them that's going to help keep you safe."
"What're you putting in them?" Sarah asked leaning over the back of the couch.
"GPS tags." Daisy set the bag on the coffee table, before heading to the kitchen and pulling one of her neatly locked boxes of tech off of a shelf that was a bit stupid high for her to reach. "It'll make it so if anything happens, you just have to hit a button on your watch, and I'll know exactly where you are." She looked at Sarah, "And then I'll take care of it."
Sarah's eyes narrowed, "You'll kill the people coming for us?"
"That's…" Daisy grimaced, she was a terrible role model. The kids really should be with someone who didn't commit multiple felonies a week. "Yeah, I'd find you and I'd do whatever needed to happen to keep you, and your families safe."
"How does it work?" Dem-Van asked, and he really did look better today. His blue just healthier, and his eyes more aware of things, and he'd only fallen asleep twice since breakfast.
Daisy smiled, "I'll show you." She walked over, sitting in the middle of the couch, and opened up the box pulling out the right toolkit, and grabbing a watch. Once she'd shown them how the GPS was installed into the watches, she was going to have to show them how she'd be able to track them using a computer, or smartphone, but it'd be easier to show on a laptop.
////
Kara flew into the DEO, "Lucy!"
"Supergirl, good job with the car chase earlier." Lucy looked up from where she'd been talking with J'onn.
J'onn didn't smile exactly, but his approval was there all the same.
"Anything I should know about here?" Kara wasn't sure how to act normal exactly, but she always checked in with the DEO after work. Also, apparently just being around Daisy meant she was getting better at it.
Lucy folded the paperwork she'd had in her hands closed and under one arm. "Not today, with prisoner transfers on hold till I've reviewed the hires under my predecessor's tenure."
Kara frowned slightly, she knew J'onn had lied, but the way everything he'd ever done was being picked apart by an auditing team in the DEO was unfair. He'd been a great director. But, J'onn was there and hadn't said anything against the process. If it wasn't for the kids she'd ask Daisy about it. Or Alex, she could ask Alex. "Is Alex in her lab then?"
"More panels on our sleeping visitor," Lucy waved towards the wing where the Kryptonian was being kept. "Not that we'll get anything useful from him without Kryptonite and I haven't signed off on that."
Kara smiled faintly at Lucy for that, for protecting the Kryptonian in her custody. "Thank you, I'm sure he'll cooperate once he wakes up."
"Hmm, maybe." Lucy rolled her eyes, "We'll call if something comes up."
Kara barely resisted hugging Lucy and zipped down the halls toward her sister. Her cape snapped slightly as she halted in the doorway to the lab. "Alex!"
"Oh good, I could use a second pair of hands." Alex looked up from her microscope and gestured to a tray that was just out of her reach.
Kara smiled, it was good to have her sister back. She picked up the tray and passed it to her sister. "Did you actually manage to get a sample from the Kryptonian?"
"Unfortunately not, but, we found some microbes inside an astroid we had in storage from a few years ago." Alex pulled back, snapping her gloves off. She paused, her face rather consternated. "Work was…interesting for you?"
Kara nudged her sister gently, "I'm the weird new kid at school again. But I have an idea about changing the sand composite to one made from quartz. If I can recreate the Kryptonian method of using crystalline structures to hold an electric charge it could make a difference to the project."
"I could come visit, with my gun." Alex wasn't joking as she offered.
Kara wrapped an arm around her sister and kissed her sister's temple. "Please don't."
"Luthor doesn't scare me." Alex was still pleased at the affection, she wasn't good at hiding that.
Kara just hummed happily, "I know, you should probably be scared of her lawyers. I had to sign so much paperwork."
"Absolutely terrible, the evil company that makes weapons and is connected to anti-alien terrorists has extensive privacy paperwork. Shocking," Alex was being sarcastic.
"Don't be rude, and they're shifting their focus from weapons manufacturing to other projects." Kara defended with a roll of her eyes. "I'm making portable water filters."
Alex gave her a look that was exasperated, but enough to know she wouldn't be arguing the point. "Are your coworkers treating you alright?"
Kara frowned, "It's different, them knowing I'm an alien." She shook off the thought, "But Tuesday, sister's night?"
"Plans with the girlfriend, tonight?" Alex kicked at the floor, wheeling her rolly stool so that she was facing Kara.
She flushed, it wasn't exactly the date she'd been hoping for, but the warmth she got from watching Daisy with the kids? Kara suddenly understood why Daisy just, didn't mind being ditched for Super things. It wasn't a hardship at all. "I was thinking, The Sound of Music? She's been on a musical kick recently."
"You've only known her recently." Alex grumbled.
Kara ignored the commentary. "I wonder if she likes Fred Astaire movies?"
Kara could smell the chicken nuggets in the oven as she swooped into Daisy's apartment. And it was noticeably happier. Or…not happier, but softer. The kids were less on guard. There was music playing, all upbeat pop tones that Fred was happily humming along to while coloring what looked like bugs in princess dresses, on the floor. Xal and Sarah were curled up in the armchair together, one of the books Kara had picked up for them opened up across their laps. And then, on the couch, was Daisy. She was typing on her laptop, Wally on her lap chewing on a rubber dinosaur's tail as he watched what she was doing, Dem-Van leaning against Daisy holding her Quake mask that had a different LED expression lit up on it. It was…remarkable really.
Smiling she shut the door behind her. "Are you giving the mask LED whiskers?"
"To make it less scary," Dem-Van smiled up at her and it lit his face in a way she hadn't seen before. Every time she saw him it was like more life had been poured back into him.
Kara stared at the lit up pink LED lights on the mask. The lower face mask was lit up like a cat emoji, the eye mask was lit up, and instead of half circles for eyes, there were hearts. It was…ridiculous and if Daisy actually punched a person with her mask lit up like that it'd be worse. Kara wasn't sure why exactly, but it'd be so much worse. "The heart eyes might be a bit too much?"
"Circles?" Dem-Van looked at the mask, face squished in deep thought.
Daisy hummed, typing on her laptop, adjusting the code, and then the lights flickered to circles instead of hearts. She glanced up at Kara and winked, amused curl to her lips.
It really didn't help…much. But at least it helped some? And oh Rao, Daisy really would just go out with a silly cat emoji expression on her mask if it made the kids happy. It was sweet, but was going to give criminals the weirdest night terrors.
"I like it," Dem-Van nodded seriously. "Add it to the list."
Daisy hummed, seriously. "Got it, want to show Kara all the different faces we've programmed into it already?"
Oh no, Kara set her things down by the door and walked over. She settled on Daisy's other side. "How many faces have you made today?"
"Five!" Wally happily declared, his big brown puppy eyes looking up at her happily.
She was smiling as she looked at them. "Are they all different colors?" Kara looked at Daisy, "Your LED mask has different colors?"
"Most of them!" Wally said happily.
Daisy smiled, "It's got four different colors."
"Just the smiling face is weird. Nobody just smiles." Dem-Van said decisively, and he neatly clicked a switch of some kind on the inside seam of the mask. The pink cat face changed to red lights in what was clearly a 'mad face'. Red half circles for eyes, tilted slightly and an upside down curve for the mouth.
Kara bit the inside of her cheek to keep from snorting. "A mad face?"
"Angry." Dem-Van easily corrected as he held the mask, to make sure Kara could see it. "Just smiling all the time is weird." He clicked to a face that was purple lights, with circle eyes, and the lower face mask was just a black and purple checkerboard.
"What's this one supposed to be?" Kara asked, as she settled in for a brief window of comfort before chaos descended again.
Xal spoke up from the armchair, clearly paying attention to them. "That one's just fun, Fred liked it."
"It's colorful, an' purple is Daisy's favorite color." Fred defended.
Daisy cut in, clearly sensing an argument about to break out. "It'll be a change of pace."
"We got watches!" Wally shoved a furry wrist into Kara's face.
Daisy explained before Kara could ask. "They've got GPS installed in them so they can alert me to their location at any time and I can get to them. Now that you're here, I was hoping I could go grab some burner phones to set up for them. Then maybe someone will agree to telling us who a parent is?" She looked pointedly at the kids.
Kara accepted she was going to be praying for the apartment not to burn down. The kids turned to chaos the second Daisy was out of their sight. "Of course, do you have time for dinner?"
"Yeah, it's chicken nuggets for everyone, but there's salad in the fridge for everyone except for Wally. Wally gets the pediasure shake with his nuggets. And the fruit plate with yogurt and celery sticks for Xal." Daisy listed off like that wasn't a lot of work she'd been managing just with meals. Because that'd be three meals a day with different nutritional needs for all of the kids.
Kara pushed down her unease at being left with the kids again. "We'll be fine till you can get back."
"Great," Daisy set her laptop aside and passed a wiggly Wally over to Kara. "I shouldn't be gone long." She had a knowing look on her face, "I'll be fast."
She was really hoping so, "We'll be fine." Hopefully.
Kara picked up the heating pad that was scrunched in one corner. "Xal, do you want this? Or should I put it on the bed?"
"Don't want it." Xal said from where they were still glomped onto Sarah.
Weird, but she wasn't going to poke that, "I'm just going to place it by the bed if you change your mind." She carefully folded it and set it on the bedside table near the side Xal had mostly claimed. Though to be fair, Xal mostly just glomped onto whomever was warmest and closest to them.
Kara zipped to the kitchen at the sound of the timer. Not having to use oven mitts made it quick to pull out the two cookie sheets of chicken nuggets. Grabbing the large metal bowl with a towel around and over it, she uncovered it, and added them to the bowl, before covering it again. Because the amount of nuggets being made was…concerning. But, she could bake chicken nuggets.
She opened up the freezer and pulled out the third bag of nuggets. And spread them out over the cookie trays before putting the trays back in. Kara reset the timer. She scanned the kitchen, right not missing anything. But that was everything. She was succeeding. There was a faint popping sound from behind her.
"Um…Ms. Supergirl?" Fred's voice asked, pitched up.
Kara spun around, "Oh gosh!" She moved as fast as she could safely to where Fred had exploded two markers. "It's fine." She gently caught Fred's little hands before she could touch anything with her tiny ink-covered hands.
Fred's eyes were watering, "I didn't mean to!"
"I know sweety, but it's really easy to do." Kara smiled at her, she could handle an ink spill. "I used to only use pencils because I broke so many pens. We just have to clean this up and try not to get it everywhere, ok?"
Fred sniffled, "Please, I didn't mean to."
"I know, I'm going to pick you up and carry you over to the sink so we can wash your hands. Is that ok?" Kara wished she could explain it didn't matter that the girl had broken something. But she remembered being a terrified thirteen-year-old putting a third hole in a wall in a single week. Or that awful first month after her laser vision came in. That had been terrifying and mortifying.
Fred nodded, eyes on the floor.
Kara scooped up the little girl, and it was weird how just…limp Fred went. But, she could worry about that later. Right now she could fix the mess, and hopefully, that'd let Fred perk up again. Kara was ignoring how every kid in the apartment was pretending they weren't watching, but watching with laser focus out of the corners of their eyes. Except for Sarah…Sarah was just blatantly watching her with hawklike focus.
"When I was new to Earth I broke a lot of stuff. I blew up a popcorn maker once, it was so loud and I thought it was attacking so I zapped it." Kara babbled as she turned on the water and helped Fred wash her hands. Dish soap would hopefully get the ink off better than hand soap? Eliza had done that, so hopefully it was right. "Sarah, could you grab Fred another shirt?"
There was a shuffling sound.
Kara assumed that was a 'yes'. She smiled, carefully helping Fred till the water ran clear. Turning off the water, she smiled in relief to see Sarah, holding a blue t-shirt, and standing at the edge of the boundary into the kitchen. "Thank you, Sarah." She carefully dried off her own and Fred's hands, before accepting the shirt. "Can you go and change your shirt, please?"
Fred just nodded, taking the shirt and limping toward the bathroom.
It made Kara twitch, and want to carry the kid so she didn't have to walk with her broken foot. But, according to the doctor, it was ok as long as she didn't go long distances without crutches. Something was so very wrong about how the kids were acting. When in doubt, smile and hope whatever the issue was would improve by ignoring it.
Kara grabbed a dish towel, wet it, and zipped to the floor where Fred had been working on her drawing and cleaned it up. Fortunately, pergo floors, it made just wiping up the splattered ink easy. The drawing was probably a lost cause, but it was easy to pick up the pieces of broken gel markers.
She looked up as Fred poked out of the bathroom, new shirt on. "Do you want to keep your drawing?" Kara dropped the broken pens into the trash.
Fred's eyes barely flicked to the drawing before shaking her head.
Right, Daisy would know what was wrong. Until Daisy got back, Kara set aside the drawing. "Do you want me to put on Animal Planet?"
"Ok," Fred mumbled.
And the fact none of the other kids was talking was distinctly uneasy. "Hopefully there's something fun on." She walked over and picked Fred up, who was still acting almost doll like. She set the girl on the couch, gently pressed her stuffed bunny into her arms, snagged the pink throw blanket, and passed it to the kid. "Right, let's see what's on."
"No ones in trouble?" Sarah asked, her expression suspicious as she hovered.
Kara wasn't stupid, she was confused by how they were reacting, but she knew they were scared, of her, over two gel pens. "Of course not, even if it wasn't an accident it was just a pen."
Kara felt exhausted, Daisy hadn't even been gone for a whole hour, and she felt more tired from forty minutes with the kids than she did from an entire shift of work and several Supergirl rescues. But, the kids were all crammed onto the couch, under blankets silently watching Dr. Dee: Alaska Vet.
She looked over to the hallway at the sound of Daisy's distinctive heartbeat. Thank Rao. Kara opened the door before Daisy got to it. "Hi!"
"Um…what happened?" Daisy asked, eyes widening in confusion.
Kara could feel the sudden burning of the kids' attentions on her. "Nothing, just good to see you back."
"Right…." Daisy blatantly didn't believe her, eyebrows raised. She held up the bags. "In other news, I got electronics." She glanced at the TV as she walked into the apartment, "Animal Planet, again?"
Kara followed Daisy into the kitchen. "It's only the best channel ever."
"Is there something wrong with cartoons?" Daisy set the bags down and started unloading packaged phones. And a lot of watches.
Kara was thrilled to actually know the answer to that one. "Not all of us were born on Earth, and Earth's animal diversity is amazing! Most planets don't have as many animals as there are here."
"We mostly had insects on Tsauron," Xal piped up from the couch.
Daisy looked slightly thoughtful, "Huh, that makes sense." She took in the kids, "I'm going to guess we're having dinner on the couch tonight then?" And it was like…just Daisy being back in the room and tension was vanishing.
"Can we?" Fred actually met their eyes as she looked up at them.
Daisy turned grabbing plates, "Sure, you just have to help clean up if you spill."
Kara wouldn't have chosen to have chicken nuggets and salad for dinner. But it'd been fun, and she enjoyed watching Animal Planet and eating finger food while sitting on the floor, next to Daisy. She let out an oomph, as Xal slumped across her back.
"You're really warm," Xal mumbled as they curled around her.
She felt kind of like melting, and it just felt like it mattered. "I'm two degrees warmer than the average human."
"It's nice, better than a dumb heating pad." Xal settled comfortably.
Daisy looked up from the last burner phone she'd been doing…something to. "So, who wants to test out the new phones?"