Chapter 53

Galatea PoV

“Help!”

“Someone, anyone!”

“I don’t want to die…”

“Ahhhh!”

Humans…are weak.

It was almost laughable how easy it was for them to just die. Even just falling at a wrong angle could end up fatal. A small cut could end up infected and kill them. They even indulge in vices that further weaken their organs.

Beast Boy once showed me one of those…game things. In it he needed to constantly care for a digital creature. Treating it’s every need or else it would quickly die.

That’s exactly what it was like to watch over humans. They were fragile. Pathetic. Pitiable. And the worst part was…

They were completely fine with it.

They were content with their current level of power. They were more than happy to rely on the hope that someone stronger would just come along and save them. There was nothing else to strive for in their little lives than simply living them.

I didn’t hate them.

No, hate implied I felt strongly about the way they lived. That’s not how I felt at all. How could I hate ants that tried to scrounge food for their queen? Or the bees that sought nutrients from flowers?

It was just how they were. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Except for one.

Lawrence. He persevered. He strove for more. Where others were content, he wasn’t satisfied. While born with an ability that made him stronger than others of his race, he still wanted more power.

Even now, after he has made leaps and bounds in progress, he wanted more. His desire never even seemed to diminish with every step he took. If anything, it only grew further and further.

In that sense, he was just like me.

Which is what made it so hard to believe that he was really human.

When I was born an enormous amount of information was fed into my head. Teaching me various things about humanity in general. At the time I had found it quite fascinating and even impressive. Like what they had done was some sort of huge achievement.

And then I met the humans at Cadmus.

Despite everything they had shown me, the greatest minds that humanity had to offer, they were nothing in comparison. Petty. Weak. Socially awkward. Rude. Prideful.

They were even arrogant enough to believe my strength was theirs…

That’s when the doubts started to form. Were these really the greatest minds humanity had to offer? Was I, a kryptonian, created with the sole purpose to serve them? Was that what my existence meant?

There was one scientist that was different from the rest, but he was quickly replaced. Leaving me with the first gift that humanity had to offer. A name.

Galatea.

Just as I was starting to accept my situation, I meant him.

You said you had a purpose?

He reminded me of my purpose. It was why I had been created.

So, uh…what’s your name?

My name…no one had cared to use it. They hadn’t respected me in the slightest.

What has Cadmus done for you?

They gave me life, a suit, and food. Plus a name, albeit on accident. Should I feel indebted to them because they gave me life? I believe so. Which is why they all continue to breathe. But that is the extent I’m willing to give them.

They treat you like garbage. Commanding you this way and that like you’re not a kryptonian. Like you’re not stronger and better than them.

He was right. His words were a guiding light. Leading me to a conclusion that in hindsight had been all but spelled out for me. Yet I still couldn’t see it for what it was until it was said.

I was smarter. I was stronger. I. Was. Better.

A superior being in every sense of the word.

In that moment I realized where I stood amongst humans. I was not below them, serving their every need. Nor was I at their side, to be treated like an equal.

I was above them.

Some humans believe in the existence of deities. God like beings who decided their fate on whims. Ones that held astronomical amounts of power within their hands.

I was not a god, but I was definitely the closest thing there was to one.

Humans also believed that some humans were better than others. Leading them to make a hierarchy amongst themselves. Owning others as if they were property instead of people.

I thought to do much the same when I claimed my first human, Law, as my own. In order for there to be no misunderstandings, I even categorized it into a hierarchy that he’d understand. That between a superhero and a sidekick. One on top, and the other on bottom.

From the beginning I knew my human was different from the others. He was much more amusing for one. The others had such strange beliefs. Morals that didn’t seem to make any real sense. Beliefs that not only didn’t benefit them, but actively seemed to drive them into suffering.

Well…it was still preferable to normal humans, I guess.

My Law was different though. He did things that benefited himself. Unlike the others, he was the one I could truly understand. I could understand because he was so similar to me.

Cadmus did not know anything about what kryptonians had been like, but if I had to guess, they must have been like us. Powerful. Superior. Intelligent. Free of weakness.

The entertainment I got from my Law eventually started to give way for something…different. Even now I’m not quite sure what. Some sort of bond or interest. One that transcended anything a human could have, I’m sure.

He was there for me. He helped me. He entertained me. He fed me. He clothed me. He sparred with me. He even healed me.

My human was quite talented in many aspects. I found myself continuously watching him through the walls of Tower whenever I had nothing else to do.

Whenever he was sleeping, eating, exercising, washing, experimenting, reading, cleaning, cooking, or fornicating with Starfire. It didn’t matter what he did. All of it proved entertaining to watch.

Because it was MY human. MY Law.

…In my weaker moments, I had found even myself capable of fearing death. Of being unable to even know if I could live up to my purpose in life. And with the weakness that plagued me, even those that I had thought to be on the same footing as ants could take my life.

But no longer. After the work my Law had performed, I had regained my strength once more. The peak of my strength that I had back in Cadmus.

It wasn’t exactly the same. After being too used to being so weak I had to gradually regain my strength over the weeks. And after the surgery my body was now weak in that area.

But that didn’t truly matter.

Not only had I already regained my previous power, but I was growing.

My Law had been right. The artificial sunlight I had been used to wasn’t nearly as beneficial as the sun itself. It was the difference between night and day. Since the first day I had met Superman, I had found him…lacking.

Which means there is only one who could possibly stand even a chance against me. My counterpart. The one who I’m destined since birth to destroy.

Supergirl.

I needed to know. Was I stronger than her? Was I faster? Smarter? Better?

There were only two goals I had in life. The first I’ve had since my birth. I was created from Supergirl, to be the superior version of her. I needed to crush her in order to prove that I was superior.

And for that…I needed to wait until she showed herself.

I wasn’t a fool. Superman had been evasive on the subject. Only promising a meeting after I’ve joined the Titans for an unspecified amount of time. My Law’s connection to Supergirl had been vague at best, which meant it was very likely he wasn’t able to say much on the subject.

Superman was keeping her from me.

And that was currently fine with me. After all, my strength only grew with each passing day. Previously I had been forced to accept it due to my begrudging weakness that only seemed to continue to plummet.

But now?

I had been purged of such weaknesses. The only one I had remaining was already being worked on by my Law. Which meant it was only a matter of time before that too was resolved.

When there was nothing left to do…well, I guess my patience would start to run out. And when my patience runs out…

Supergirl’s time runs out as well.

*~o~*

Kara Zor-El, Aka Supergirl PoV

I woke up in a cold sweat.

Panic set in as I failed to recognize everything around me immediately. Wondering where I am and where my parents were…until I finally remembered.

I was no longer on Krypton anymore.

My world had been completely flipped on its head. Krypton no longer existed, and I was one of the only survivors from the planet. My parents had put me on a rocket bound for the same planet as Kal-El.

After they got onto their rocket, we would have all landed on Earth and my parents would have raised Kal-El as one of their own, while I discovered things on the new world.

But…they never got to their rocket.

The fact that they just stood there and watch me blast off…I wonder if they even had another rocket in the first place, or if that was just a lie to placate me. I don’t know if I want the answer to that.

Earth…was such a strange place, as well as very…primitive. They couldn’t even control the weather completely. Instead relying on indoor heating and cooling systems instead.

It was so foreign from what I had once known. And the only familiar person from Krypton had already landed and aged into someone that was older than me!

Something had to have interfered on the pathing my rocket took towards earth. A slight deviation or miscalculation. Whatever it was, I had no way of knowing due to being put into cryo sleep for the entire trip.

Older Kal was…both a good thing, and a bad.

It was nice to have someone to rely on that was familiar. He understood…to an extent. I didn’t have to tackle everything completely alone.

But…at the same time, he wasn’t the same Kal-El I had known. At least, he didn’t feel the same. The one I had held in my hands. The one who reached out and grasped my fingers with a giggle.

He seemed more human than kryptonian. Which meant I was the only real Kryptonian on Earth. The only one who had real memories of Krypton. Of how things should be.

After I landed on earth, Kal was so supportive. He was one of the first that I had met, after the other strange humans attempted to capture me. For a bit I stayed with his…adoptive parents. That was, until my powers started to manifest on this world, like his own.

Powers that were so very hard to control.

Which lead him to recommend the island of Themyscira. Which had been…an experience. The Amazons were quite the kind and understanding people. Always willing to lend a shoulder or ear. Not to mention they seemed to take my uncontrollable strength with amusement rather than fear.

But…they were also very primitive.

Much more primitive than normal humans, which was saying quite a lot. They didn’t even have indoor heating and cooling systems. Not to mention their strange rituals and…uh…constant…dalliances…

Which were hard to ignore with my own enhanced hearing. It made conversations awkward with those who I had already met, and meeting new people much worse when I recognized them from the moans they had made.

It…was not a fun experience.

Though they did help me train in controlling my new found abilities, which was nice. I might have even considered to stay if they weren’t so…inclusive and hateful.

To hate people you haven’t even met before…was there anything more ignorant? Even my cousin wasn’t safe from this discrimination, and he’s even helped saved their lives.

Though the biggest problem I had with the amazons was…their smell. They bathed semi-regularly, which wasn’t enough at all. They constantly smelled of sweat and just stunk in general. A fact that my newly enhanced sense of smell picked up on quite well, and considering it was the last thing I finally learned to control…

It hadn’t been the best of times.

So, when Kal asked me to leave my island…I was more than happy to.

He gave me a choice. To either try to live amongst humans or…to be like him. A sort of hero that used his powers to help others.

He cared about humans so much but…I didn’t. All life was sacred of course, but humans weren’t my people. My place would always be on Krypton with other Kryptonians.

So I wanted to try to live amongst humans.

I thought that my cousin would be saddened or disappointed by my choice, but instead he was just…happy. For me.

For a brief moment it felt like I had family again.

Who knows, maybe…maybe I could finally find my place in human society? Find some sort of purpose for me to be here. And maybe understand humans just a little better.

I could only hope.