Chapter 12: Measure Twice, Fly Once

Kara slipped into her seat in homeroom. Bailey started to greet her, “Hi Kara— Whoa… you got glasses?”

They’d been on their way out of Walmart, passing the Optical department, when Emily had paused. She’d leaned down and asked in a whisper whether her father did anything besides wearing glasses. Kara had thought a moment, then whispered that Superman wore his hair slicked back.

Emily had nodded, and frowned in thought for a minute. Then she’d taken Kara by the hand and told her to pick out a set of frames she liked. Kara had no objection, since her father and brother were doing the same thing.

Kara’s first choice had been wire-rimmed, but after checking those in the mirror she’d realized they didn’t change her face that much. After trying several more pairs she’d found one she liked that also made her look different. Caitlin had approved her choice.

They’d bought the frames without lenses; Emily had “explained” that Kara’s ophthalmologist needed to have them specially made. The frames had been expensive, unfortunately, since they weren’t covered by insurance. Emily had told Kara on the way home that she’d get a set of non-prescription lenses made through connections at the hospital.

Two days later, on Friday, Kara was wearing glasses to school, and recited the story they’d concocted. “I told Emily I was having problems seeing things. She said I had to get glasses.”

“Huh. I guess that’s why you’ve been staring off into space?”

Kara made a noise that could be interpreted as agreement.

“Well they’re definitely cute, but couldn’t you get contacts?”

Kara shook her head. “Those wouldn’t work for me.” She tried to look properly disappointed.

“That’s too bad, but they are pretty, so it’s OK. You look good.” Bailey smiled in commiseration.

Kara smiled back. “Thanks, Bailey.”

She repeated the story for Megan later on. Kevin, for some reason, was still eating lunch with them. He nodded when she told her story, but seemed to look her over carefully. It made Kara uncomfortable.

Fortunately, there had been no life-threatening developments in Milford recently — the week had turned quiet. None of the things she could hear on radio or TV seemed like something she should be helping with.

There was flooding around the world, but she didn’t have any idea what she could do, other than rescue people caught in the floods, and she’d have to spend all her time hovering there looking for victims to do that. There were no survivors being found in Turkey at this point. She still felt bad about that, but understood and shared Emily’s concerns. She had to wait.

• • •


Kara stood in the middle of the living room while Emily fiddled with her uniform. The shades were all down, but that wasn’t unusual for them as it helped keep the house warm.

They’d bought as much as they could at Walmart, but Emily hadn’t been able to find a cape — hardly a surprise. She’d had to drive to Jo-Ann’s in Dover to get the fabric, and order the shield for the cape online. She’d also ordered a shield for the front; the printed Superman T looked kind of cheesy. She’d been able to return it in exchange for a nicer top, to which she’d sew the shield when it arrived. Sewing was a skill she’d had to pick up given her limited budget.

She’d decided to go with red ballet flats instead of boots; they were elastic and had a rubber sole. She thought the short sleeves and bare shins, and the shoes, made Kara look more like a kid, more vulnerable, less threatening. Emily thought that was a good thing.

She did worry that the flats might fall off, but she’d bought them snug, and some super-speed tests showed that they stayed on.

Though the outfit was put together from odds and ends and didn’t have the shields yet, Emily and Caitlin felt a little in awe. The uniform looked homemade, but this was not a little girl dressed up as Supergirl; this was Supergirl.

“Take your glasses off,” suggested Emily. Kara put them on the coffee table. “That’s good… that helps already. The more people get used to you with glasses, the fuzzier they’ll be on what you looked like without them, as long as you don’t take them off in public. Hmm…” She walked around Kara. “Your dad slicks back his hair. Maybe you could do something different with it when you’re Supergirl?”

Kara wrinkled her nose. “Like what? What if I wore it that way when I wasn’t Supergirl?”

“You may have to reserve a hairstyle just for Supergirl. Preferably one that looks really different from what you normally do. Do you ever wear it back?”

“When I’m doing gymnastics I put it in a bun. I wear a headband sometimes, too.”

Emily reached out and gathered Kara’s hair, pulling it back. “Yeah. Caitlin, what do you think?”

Caitlin nodded. “She looks really different with her hair back like that.”

“But…” objected Kara.

“Think of it like the glasses. Believe me, the more you change your appearance, the more likely you can pull this off.” Kara started to object again, and Emily held up a hand. “Think about it, OK?”

Kara nodded, dejected. “Maybe a headband?” she conceded.

“I’ll loan you one of mine till you can get your own,” said Caitlin, and went to fetch it.

“One more thing. Does your dad act differently when he’s Superman? Does he try to project a different personality?”

“I never really saw Superman up close.”

Caitlin returned with a black Alice band, and Kara pulled her hair back with it. “I forgot I still had that,” said Caitlin. “It’s not a good color for me. You can keep it.”

“Well, your dad probably didn’t want you to recognize him,” continued Emily. “Have you seen Superman on TV?”

Kara thought it over. “Yes… he seems very… serious all the time, though he does smile. My dad is very relaxed and smiles and laughs a lot.”

Kara assumed a stiff posture, her arms folded. “Superman stands like this.” She put a stern expression on her face.

Caitlin broke out into a goofy smile. “What?” asked Kara.

“You look so adorable when you do that!”

Kara looked to Emily, who shrugged. “That look doesn’t really work on someone your age, honey.” She put a hand to her jaw; Kara’s hairstyle gave her an idea. “Hmm… OK, let’s try this. Pretend you’re a princess.”

Kara thought for a moment, then tried to assume a regal expression.

Caitlin struggled to keep a straight face, which was probably worse than smiling. Emily admitted, “Maybe not that either…”

Kara’s ears burned and she looked down.

Emily gave her a hug. “Don’t feel bad, sweetie. We’re just trying out different ideas. OK?” Kara nodded as Emily released her. Emily shot Caitlin a look, and she looked away sheepishly.

Emily turned back to Kara. “How about… Hmm… Have you ever been to a wedding?”

“I was the flower girl for my Aunt Lucy and Uncle Ron when I was six,” replied Kara, brightening. She smiled happily at the memory.

“Try to remember what that was like. Be formal and polite.” Kara complied, clasping her hands in front of her and taking on a solemn expression.

Emily and Caitlin walked around her. Emily nodded. “Yes… That’s good. That helps.” She leaned down to face Kara and put her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “I want you to understand, I still think going public is dangerous. We’re making this costume so we’ll be ready: so that if you absolutely have to do something ‘super,’ people won’t associate Supergirl with Kara Kent. Given your name that may be too much to hope for. I’d be much happier if you’d wait until your parents can help you with this.”

She stood up. “OK, do you think you can change your clothes really fast? I want to compare how you look.”

Kara cheeks colored. “Yeah, but…”

“Caitlin and I can turn our backs, but I don’t think we’d be able to see anyway if you do it fast enough.”

Kara considered that, but said, “Could you please turn around?” They complied, and there was a whooshing sound. “OK.”

They turned back, and Kara was standing there in her own clothes, wearing her glasses. Her hair hung in its usual loose style, framing her face.

“OK, now your costume,” said Emily. The sisters turned their backs, then turned again to face Kara.

Supergirl floated in the air, her hair pulled back, looking… superheroic, at least as much as a child her age could. “Wow,” mouthed Caitlin.

Emily nodded. “Everyone always jokes about Clark Kent and Superman and how anyone could tell they were the same person, but people aren’t nearly as observant as they think they are. There are a lot of blonde, blue-eyed eleven-year-old girls in the world, and as long as you don’t do anything to connect Supergirl to Milford, this might actually work. For a while.”

• • •


Kara’s resolve was tested Saturday, when the mid-Atlantic and Northeast were socked with a vicious, unseasonal snowstorm.

Kara was at Megan’s house; they’d planned to hang out all day with Bailey. But in mid-afternoon the first flakes started coming down. A short while later, to everyone’s astonishment, it started to snow in earnest. Mrs. Tong thought Kara and Bailey should go home and insisted on driving them.

By the time Kara was dropped off it was snowing heavily. By evening it was a full-fledged blizzard. The Jordans couldn’t see anything out the window of the cottage.

Kara could, but there wasn’t much to report: people were staying in their houses. Kara winced as she heard a minor car accident, but most people seemed to have the sense to stay off the roads.

Later that evening the power went out, and Kara followed Emily’s directions to find the flashlight. She turned it on but the light was dim: the batteries needed replacing.

Emily sighed. “I think I have some candles somewhere. Let me look.” She rummaged in a drawer. “Where are they?…” The flashlight was nearly out when she found a couple of candles and candlesticks.

She found the matches, too, and tried lighting one; it fizzled. She tried another and it fizzled too. “Augh! These matches must be damp!” At that point the flashlight failed, and they sat in darkness.

Kara offered, “I could try…”

Emily hesitated. “Can you really light a candle without setting fire to anything else?”

“I don’t know,” admitted Kara.

Emily tried a couple more matches by feel, then sighed. “Please try to be careful.”

Kara considered the problem. She wanted the heat to only hit the wick, but wasn’t sure how to do that. Maybe…

She lowered her glasses and looked at the wick closely; her vision zoomed in until it filled her field of view. While she was staring at it that way, she turned on her heat vision.

The Jordans stared as the room was briefly illuminated by red hairline beams emanating from Kara’s eyes; the candle lit immediately. Emily used it to light the other candle and placed them in the candlesticks. Their flickering light danced on the walls.

Emily had a hand-cranked emergency radio that Kara kept powered easily; they listened to the news. Apparently the power was out in many areas due to downed lines. There had already been a fatal traffic accident in Connecticut.

Kara looked to Emily beseechingly. Emily sighed, and gently pulled her foster daughter over to sit next to her. “Kara, this isn’t the kind of thing you should be helping with. It’s a huge inconvenience for a lot of people, but people’s lives are not hanging in the balance.”

“But someone died in an accident…”

“What could you have done about that?”

Kara thought, then wilted. “Nothing. I couldn’t have been there to keep them from having the accident.”

“You see?”

“But Superman — Dad — helps out with weather disasters all the time!”

“Kara, your father can afford to help out even when it’s not a life-or-death situation. You can’t.” She paused. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Sweetheart, there are people dying and having accidents all the time, all over the world. Most of the time you won’t even hear about it until it’s too late to do anything. Even if you do, you can’t prevent all of them; you can’t be everywhere.”

Kara started to object, but Emily held up a hand. “Let me finish. There’s also the fact that you’re eleven, Kryptonian or not, and you really shouldn’t be visiting disaster sites. Could you help someone who had burns all over their body? I threw up the first time I had to do that. Could you deal with dead bodies?”

Kara paled and closed her eyes. Emily hugged her close. “I know you want to help, and I admire you so much for that. I think you are going to grow up to be a great superhero like your dad. But I think you need to wait till you do grow up. I don’t want you to do anything unless it would make a big, big difference: unless it would save many lives. If possible, I want you to stay hidden while you do it. And you’re to help only if it’s not going to hurt you or risk your safety. Your parents will be angry with me otherwise. Do you understand?” Emily felt queasy at the thought of making Superman angry with her.

Kara sighed and nodded. She pitied anyone who made her mom angry.

• • •


H. G. Wells had pored over the little scrap of paper for a long time. He fiddled with his glasses as he examined it; Lois and Clark looked on anxiously.

Lois couldn’t wait any longer. “Do you know what it means, Mr. Wells?”

Wells frowned. “I can’t be sure… three time coordinates…” He looked up. “It would seem to have something to do with alternate realities… but I’ve only heard that discussed in theory on my visits to Utopia.”

Lois blurted out, “But you and I have been…” She trailed off. “Oh wait…”

Wells raised an eyebrow. “So you and my older self have been to such a reality. Interesting.” He leaned forward. “Did I seem familiar with the idea when we had that adventure?”

“No… you had to figure out what… uh, what our adversary had done.”

Wells sighed and sat back. “Then I’m afraid I cannot help you.”

Lois started to bristle, and Wells held up placating hands. “Now, now, Lois, please calm yourself. I cannot help you. My older self, however, can.”

“Wait… what?”

“If my older self did not understand travel between alternate realities when you met him, I cannot study that now without causing a paradox.”

“Does that mean we have to wait years to get Kara back?!”

Clark put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “I don’t think so, honey.”

Wells nodded. “Correct. I will have to wait years, but you won’t. I will keep a copy of this information; once I reach the age where we’ve had our adventure and it’s safe, I will research the matter and come to find you. Adventures, actually, since you say you’ve met my older self twice. What date did you depart from?”

“October 27, 2011,” said Clark.

“What time? And where from?”

“Early evening, here in England. Um, maybe seven o’clock? I could go look at the time machine; it’ll have the precise time we left.”

“That’s close enough.” Wells wrote it into his notebook, along with the coordinates from the paper. “Then I shall meet you in your home in Metropolis on October 27, 2011, at eleven o’clock, if that is satisfactory? That should give you time to put your other children to bed.”

Clark said, “Earlier would be fine, Mr. Wells. Jordan and Laura are staying in a safe place. Once we found out Kara had been targeted we sent them into hiding.”

“Then, eight o’clock? Given the time difference between England and America that should still be well after you left, and should give you ample time to return home.” Clark nodded, and Wells wrote the details in his notebook.

“Couldn’t you come immediately after Kara was kidnapped and save us some time?”

Wells shook his head again. “I’m sorry, Lois, but that too would cause a paradox. I did not know of this crisis until you visited me tonight, and you did not leave to visit me until the date Clark mentioned. I cannot appear before that date.”

Lois massaged her temples. “If you say so…” She paused. “Wait a minute, that’s another question I have. Why didn’t you show up right after she was kidnapped anyway, if Tempus is trying to destroy Utopia?”

Wells frowned. “That is a concern. The only possible reason is that, as the sequence of events now stands, Utopia is not yet destroyed. The kidnapping itself is not the cause. Something else must happen first, and from your point of view it has not yet happened. That is why you had to seek me out.”

They all looked at one another. Clark said firmly, “In that case, we’ll just have to get Kara back before it does happen.”

Wells closed his notebook, tucked it into his vest pocket, and rose; they all followed suit. “To that end I shall see you in a few hours… and in many years.”

• • •