SUP Chapter 39: Family Justice!

Few cards to play?

This likely tied to the big shot’s reluctance to see Superman die, coaxing and tricking Ian to solve the issue to prevent his death.

As Ian pondered this, the world’s colors surged back, sounds flooding his ears. Kara “came alive,” exhaling the breath held during the pause.

“So~”

Kara, oblivious to the freeze, picked up where her thoughts left off, eyeing her dinner, now swept clean by Ian, with slight resentment.

“You awakened powers, and your dad told you his secret?” Kara, unaware of her earlier headache or the world’s pause, was purely curious why Ian sought her.

“Well… it’s a long story,” Ian said, snapping out of his riddler-big-shot musings, scratching his head to organize his words.

“Let’s go up then. I’ve got more food at home,” Kara said, seeing Ian’s still-hungry look, feeling a cousinly duty to care.

Hiss.

Becoming someone’s elder felt weird.

“Okay, cousin, one sec,” Ian said, darting to the stairwell to grab a plastic bag full of smashed hard drives.

“What’s that? Trash you picked up?” Kara asked, puzzled.

“Just a few hours’ worth of wear and tear,” Ian said, still uneasy about the hard drives. He turned to Kara with a pleading tone.

“Can you torch these?”

His words stunned Kara.

“Torch?”

She initially thought it was a generational gap from leaving school, but recalling Ian’s doctor’s note, she suspected the issue wasn’t her.

“I don’t breathe fire,” Kara sighed helplessly.

“But I’ve got a stove you can use,” she offered, a normal solution for needing fire.

She headed toward the elevator.

“You gotta practice, cousin. Fire’s way cooler than water,” Ian followed, his comments shaking Supergirl’s confidence.

“I don’t breathe water either… Wait, can Clark do that now? How?” Kara turned, shocked, staring at the boy.

No wonder she was the carefree Supergirl.

Ian had led her straight into a ditch.

“Keep training? Daily workouts—50 million push-ups, 50 million sit-ups, 50 million weighted squats. I believe you could be a Gourd Doll… or breathe fire and water,” Ian said, fibbing a bit, but he saw it as a kind lie for family.

Believe in Kryptonian “willpower”! Kara might not have the Codex, but she didn’t need to be invincible.

Ian genuinely believed she’d one day breathe fire or water!

At least one!

“Training works?” Kara doubted but, seeing Ian’s earnestness, considered it seriously.

Ding~

Kara pressed the elevator button, and Ian followed. Before she could select her floor, he hit the button for her.

“I just moved! Is your dad spying on me?” Kara raised her hands, shocked, staring at Ian.

“Isn’t it possible the apartment manager has your info?” Ian stayed calm, hands spread, slightly puzzled.

He thought his cousin was overreacting.

“Uh…”

Kara’s expression turned awkward. “This building’s management is strict. They don’t share resident info.”

“Unless you bribed them,” she added, eyeing Ian’s empty pockets, doubting he had bribe money.

“No bribe needed. The manager’s just a young girl,” Ian said, leaving Kara confused, frowning as she pondered the connection.

“Most girls are kind. Smile at them, and they’re happy to help—cousin, didn’t your dad teach you to watch out for that?”

“My dad taught me how to use that trick,” Ian said, smiling genuinely, not faking, proud of his father’s life lessons.

“?????”

Kara was floored.

What kind of bizarre education did Clark’s family have?

“You didn’t scam some innocent girl for travel money to National City, did you?” Kara asked, eyeing his empty pockets and the distance from Metropolis.

Ian’s wild words sparked deep suspicion.

“Of course not! I’d never!” Ian frowned, offended, as if he’d stoop to such petty soft rice.

“Good,” Kara sighed, relieved.

No innocent girls scammed by a smooth talker.

“So, you flew here?” Kara, unaware of Ian’s “adopted” status, grew curious about his power level.

“I took a bus,” Ian said, shaking his head, bummed he couldn’t fly. Unlocking Homelander’s class might fix that regret.

“Bus? Hitchhiked?”

Kara guessed, thinking it risky for a kid, but not for one who could take a bullet to the head.

“I planned to, but ran into a highway robber,” Ian said, just as the elevator stopped.

Ding~

The doors opened.

Kara led Ian to her apartment.

“Sounds like you played hero,” Supergirl said, sensing family vibes in Ian.

“Hero? Maybe,” Ian said vaguely, piquing Kara’s curiosity.

“You beat the robber, saved someone, and they drove you to National City?” Kara worried he’d killed the robber.

But her concern was unnecessary.

“Nope,” Ian shook his head.

He stuck to his ordinary NPC rule: avoid meddling in Metropolis’s daily chaos.

“I just stole the robber’s car parked roadside,” Ian said honestly, a hint of nostalgia for the driving experience.

“?????”

Kara, pulling out her keys, froze, stunned.

An outcome she’d never imagined.

She thought herself worldly.

But now?

Kara felt too young.

“The car?” she asked, swallowing hard.

“Sold it to a tattooed guy on the street,” Ian replied.

“The money? Even selling to a gang, you’d have a few hundred bucks,” Kara, recently car shopping, knew values and widened her eyes.

Ian’s eyes widened more.

“No way, cousin, what do you take me for? A thief? I mailed the money to the robber—his ID and address were in the car!”

“I’m a law-abiding American!”

Ian couldn’t believe she’d think so low of him. He understood rebellious teens with dyed hair, not all are delinquents; some just think it’s cool. Like how he drove off the robber’s car but wasn’t robbing!

Flawless logic!

“…”

Kara fell into a long silence.

“Ian, my nephew I just met…” Kara took deep breaths, forcing a smile like a proper elder.

“Ever heard of Arkham Asylum?” she asked gently, offering heartfelt advice.

[NEXT CHAPTER]