Supergirl

by Jo Whittemore

  “Yeah, and James’s is uncontrollable,” said Mon-El, making a face. “He might save your tomato plant or turn it into an eight-foot, man-eating—”

  “Mon-El!” James said, giving him a look.

  “Mon-El?” Dr. Wanabi shook his head. “I thought you were Mike. What’s going on?”

  “Nothing!” said Mon-El. “We just wanted to know more about our powers. You know, where they came from, how long they’ll last, that sort of thing.”

  “That information was on the flyers I put under everyone’s doors.” Dr. Wanabi took a step back. “You’re not tenants, are you?”

  Mon-El grabbed his arm. “Listen, Dr. Wanabi, we can explain.”

  For the second time, Dr. Wanabi’s eyes widened. For the first time, Mon-El found himself looking directly into them instead of down at them.

  “What—” he began, but his question was drowned in the doctor’s screams.

  Instantly, Mon-El released him. “Hey, I’m sorry.” He held up his hands in submission—hands that were now wearing black gloves, connecting to arms that weren’t his own. “Whoa!” Mon-El turned toward James, who was gaping at him, slack-jawed.

  “You’re . . . you’re . . .”

  Mon-El darted for the nearest reflective surface: a china cabinet door. Instead of his own face, Mon-El saw Dr. Wanabi’s.

  “I look like you!” he turned and exclaimed to the doctor.

  But the doctor wasn’t there.

  “Where did Dr. Wanabi go?” asked Mon-El.

  James glanced around. “He’s not here.”

  Mon-El stared at him. “Thanks. I figured that out.”

  “No, I mean he’s not in any of these rooms.” James stared at the living room wall with an awestruck expression.

  “How can you tell?” Mon-El asked as his friend ventured further into the apartment. “Hey! Where are you going?”

  “He’s headed for the balcony!” James called. “I saw him through the wall.”

  “You what?” Mon-El gave chase and almost collided with James in the balcony doorway.

  They both watched as Dr. Wanabi was carried away by a woman wearing something that looked like a drone propeller on her back.

  “This is a really weird day,” said Mon-El.

  “Yep,” said James, closing the balcony door. “Let’s see if we can figure out what started it all.”

  6

  Nothing.

  Kara had found nothing in the archives that might have offended Mayor Lowell. As far as she could tell, CatCo magazine’s only fault was telling people that shirts with buckles would be the next big thing. All the models looked as if they were wearing Arkham Asylum straitjackets.

  She looked at the bank of wall clocks showing times around the world. In National City, it was well past time to go home for the day.

  Kara sighed and stretched. Gathering the stack of magazines she’d pulled, she returned them to the archives. On her way out of the office, she waved at a coworker who was running to the media room near Snapper’s desk. Then another reporter rushed past Kara. And another. All headed to the media room.

  “This can’t be good,” she muttered, following them.

  “. . . avoid all streets near Riverdale and Maple,” a news anchor on one of the stations was saying. “These lions are not domesticated.”

  “What’s happening?” asked Kara. She turned her attention to a different station that had an image of the National City Zoo and a chyron across the bottom: 2 lions, 3 tigers escape from cages. “Lions and tigers?”

  “But no bears,” someone added. “Oh my.”

  Everyone laughed except Kara.

  Because she was already headed for the roof, changing into Supergirl.

  “Kara?” Winn spoke in her ear over comms. “I know you’re at work, but there’s a situation—”

  “At Riverdale and Maple?” she asked, stepping outside. “The loose lions?”

  “Uh, yeah! And I don’t think you can distract these cats with a ball of string—unless it’s really big,” said Winn.

  “I’m on it.” Supergirl cocked her head and listened.

  Roars and screams were intermingled with the sounds of a woman’s shouting voice.

  “Sit! SIT!”

  Supergirl launched herself from the rooftop and zipped across town to the source of the commotion. People and cars were fleeing en masse from a lion and lioness prowling in front of a movie theater. The only person not running was a young woman in a hijab who was waving her arms at the lion and lioness.

  Supergirl swooped down beside the young woman. “You should leave, miss. This could turn dangerous.”

  The young woman regarded her with wide eyes. “Supergirl!” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I am such a huge fan.”

  Supergirl smiled tightly. “Thanks. Now, you’d better let me handle these wild animals.”

  The young woman shook her head. “I freed them. I need to fix this.”

  It was Supergirl’s turn to be awestruck. “You’re the one who released these animals from the zoo?”

  The young woman nodded and wrung her hands together. “I was able to control my cat at home, so I wanted to try on something bigger.”

  Supergirl groaned. “You couldn’t do that while they were still in cages?” Nearby, the lion roared, and Supergirl felt the vibration in her chest. “It doesn’t matter. What’s your name?”

  “Reshma,” said the young woman.

  “OK, Reshma, you have to go so I can do my job.”

  Reshma fixed pleading eyes on Supergirl. “But I can make things better!”

  Supergirl gave Reshma an apologetic smile. “This isn’t up for debate.”

  She grabbed the young woman around the waist and flew her several blocks away to a cat café.

  “Get one of these critters to make you a cappuccino, and then we’ll talk,” said Supergirl.

  She took off again, her mind moving even faster than she was.

  How was she going to capture these big cats?

  If they’d been criminals, she would’ve knocked them out with a good right hook, but somehow punching a cat seemed wrong, no matter what size it was. Using her freeze breath and heat vision on them were out of the question, too. She just needed to contain them until the zoo officials could take them back. But National City didn’t exactly have lion-sized cat carriers.

  Or did it?

  Supergirl headed for the shipyard and found exactly what she was looking for: steel shipping containers. She dug her hands into the side of an empty one and squeezed until the metal conformed under her fingers. Then, with a grunt, she hoisted it above her head and lifted it in the sky.

  Thankfully, the lion and his mate had chosen to make the movie theater their new habitat, and Supergirl didn’t see any evidence that they’d nibbled on a pedestrian while she was away.

  She lowered the shipping container into an alley beside the movie theater and opened one of the doors.

  “Sorry about this,” she told the lion and lioness as she flew above them.

  They watched curiously—and then yowled, springing to their feet as the asphalt around them became riddled with searing hot divots from Supergirl’s heat vision. She herded the lion and lioness into the alley and the safety of the shipping container, closing the door behind them. She considered flying the container back to the zoo, but there were still tigers on the loose.

  Supergirl tore air holes into the top of the shipping container and caught the attention of a police officer who was cordoning off the area. “Don’t let anyone open this container unless they’re with the zoo!”

  He nodded, and Supergirl went in search of the tigers. The news reports had mentioned there were three, so she hoped they liked to be together.

  “If I were a tiger, where would I go?” she wondered aloud. It wouldn’t do to listen for them, since they didn’t roar as much as lions. She thought back to a field trip to the zoo she’d taken in junior high. The tigers there had splashed around in a giant pool. “The natu
ral springs!”

  The sun was setting, but Supergirl picked out the three tigers swimming and diving. It would be tough to corral them by hand, but she could always force them from the water a different way.

  Supergirl approached the spring’s shore, riddled with hastily abandoned beach towels and drink coolers. She puckered her lips and blew on the water, her freeze breath chilling the natural springs until ice began to form on the shoreline.

  “That should do it,” she said. And sure enough, a moment later, all three tigers swam for shore.

  She was about to steer them into a nearby public restroom when she heard footsteps approach from behind. The tigers heard them, too, and three pairs of ears perked up as the beasts paused and sniffed the air.

  “Stay back!” Supergirl shouted to a man in coveralls. “There are tigers nearby.”

  “I know,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m here to help you, Supergirl.”

  One of the smaller tigers trundled toward Supergirl and the man in coveralls.

  Supergirl placed herself between them. “Are you a tiger tamer?” she asked him.

  “No, but I can do this.” The man squatted and touched his palms to the grass. The earth began to shake and rumble as it separated beneath his hands.

  Supergirl leaped into the air and watched as the fissure widened and deepened. It curved around the tigers until they stood on a small plot of grass surrounded by a yawning chasm too wide for them to jump.

  The tigers sniffed the edges of their dirt island but made no motion to leave it.

  “Ta-da!” said the man, holding his arms open.

  Supergirl was about to compliment him when the earth shook for a second time and a geyser of water shot into the sky.

  She closed her eyes and fought the urge to scream as droplets rained down. “When you moved the earth, did you check for water lines?” she asked the man in coveralls.

  He sucked in his breath and let out a nervous chuckle. “Whoops.”

  These supercitizens had no idea what they were doing. The first thing Supergirl always did was think of what consequences her actions might have.

  Supergirl pointed toward the street. “Go.”

  “Sorry about this,” he said, backing away. “It’s my first day as a superhero.”

  She forced a smile. “Just go!”

  The man sprinted away, and Supergirl dove into the fissure to find the busted pipe. A quick blast from her heat vision sealed it, but even in those few minutes, dirt had made its way into the water supply.

  “Winn?” Supergirl spoke into the growing darkness.

  “What’s going on, Catwoman?” She heard him chuckle to himself.

  “I need you to contact the water plant,” she said. “I had to repair a busted pipe out by the natural springs. Nobody should drink the water.”

  On the other end of the line, Winn made a sputtering, spitting sound. “Thanks for the warning after I drink from the fountain. How goes the kitty corralling?”

  “I’m all done. The zoo just needs to pick them up.”

  “Great! I’ll start making some calls. In the meantime, Alex and J’onn want you at the DEO,” said Winn. “James and Mon-El are back from Shady Oaks, new and improved.”

  Supergirl frowned, unsure what that meant. “Give me a few minutes,” she said. “There’s something I have to take care of first.”

  “See you on the flip side.”

  Supergirl flew to the CatCo building and landed on the balcony of the twentieth floor. These supercitizens were getting out of control. They had no clue how to use their powers and were as much a danger to themselves as they were to everyone around them. It needed to stop.

  Still dressed as Supergirl, she strode up to Snapper’s desk, standing before him with her hands on her hips.

  Snapper barely glanced up from the news article he was editing. “Your superhero pose stinks. Or you do. Either way, step back from my desk.”

  “I need to get a video message to the people of National City, and I need to do it now,” said Supergirl.

  Her urgent tone did nothing to sway Snapper. “Post something on YouTube,” he said. “And make sure you include a cat. People won’t care unless it has a cat.” He snapped his fingers and wrinkled his nose. “That’s what that smell is.”

  “I can’t wait for it to go viral.” She paused and added, “This will be great exposure for CatCo! A Supergirl exclusive.”

  Snapper snorted. “Yeah, because CatCo’s really hurting for attention.” He grabbed his coffee mug and got out of his chair.

  “Please.” Supergirl stepped into his path. “There are supercitizens all over National City putting themselves and others in danger. I can’t do this without you.”

  Snapper regarded her for a moment. “I don’t work with the news crew,” he finally said. “But I know they wouldn’t say no to you. Be on the tenth floor in three minutes,” he continued. “I’ll let them know you’re coming.”

  “Thank you!” Supergirl reached out to touch his arm but pulled back at the stern look on Snapper’s face. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize to me,” he said. “Apologize to my reporter whose exclusive you just stole.”

  Snapper sat back down and picked up his phone. Supergirl hurried to the balcony, silently swearing. The reporter he was referring to was her alter ego, Kara. And he was right. She’d just stolen the exclusive from herself!

  Supergirl counted balconies as she passed them, stopping on the one for the tenth floor. A young guy with headphones around his neck was waiting for her.

  “It’s really you!” He gawked as she landed lightly in front of him.

  “I’m sorry this is so sudden,” she said with a wave. “Could I borrow your camera crew for a couple minutes?”

  “Of course!” He motioned for her to follow. “The studio’s this way.”

  They entered an enormous room bedecked with dozens of lights on the ceiling, a green screen behind a news desk, and four different cameras aimed at the news anchors.

  When they saw Supergirl, both news anchors stood, and the camera crew applauded.

  Supergirl grinned and waved away their appreciation. “Thank you for letting me come. I’m sorry if I’m interrupting an important broadcast.”

  She approached the news desk and shook hands with the anchors and the news director.

  “We were just about to cover some interesting stories from today, including one where you stepped in and captured some zoo cats.” The female news anchor pointed at Supergirl.

  “Actually, that’s why I was hoping to be on your show,” said Supergirl. “The supercitizens are getting out of control.”

  The news anchors looked at each other.

  “Out of control?” the male anchor repeated.

  It pained Supergirl to give up the information, but at least the exclusive would stay within CatCo. And it was still technically her story; she was just telling it while wearing a flame-retardant suit and cape.

  “I can explain on camera,” she told him. “But I just want to deliver a message. With no follow-up questions. This won’t be an interview.”

  “Of course,” said the news director. “Tom, give her your seat.”

  The male news anchor did as he was told, looking a bit put out, and Supergirl took his place with an apologetic smile.

  “Barbara will do the lead-in for the message,” said the news director, nodding to the female anchor. “Supergirl, you’ll look into this camera right here.” He pointed to one directly in front of her. “And let us know when you’re ready to go.”

  Supergirl nodded and took a few steadying breaths, collecting her thoughts. “Ready.”

  The cameraman pointed at Barbara, and the female news anchor smiled broadly. “Ladies and gentlemen, we are live with a surprise guest to our news program.” She gestured to Supergirl. “The one and only Supergirl, with a message for the people of National City.”

  Supergirl smiled at the news anchor. “Thank you, Barbara.” She faced the camera
and dropped her smile. “Strange things have been happening in National City today, as many of you know. Ordinary citizens have been developing superpowers and testing them.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Barbara scribbling furiously on a notepad.

  “Unfortunately,” Supergirl continued, “these supercitizens, as they’re being called, don’t really know what they’re getting into. Many are overwhelmed by their powers and haven’t mastered them. This is how the big cats escaped from the zoo and why there was a busted water pipe at the natural springs.”

  Barbara started to speak but caught herself.

  “I’ve spoken with a couple supercitizens,” said Supergirl, “but for the ones I haven’t talked to, please hear me.” Her brow furrowed. “Don’t risk your lives or the lives of others playing with your powers. They may not be permanent, but the damage you could cause will be. Barbara?” Supergirl looked to her left, and the camera panned to the startled female news anchor, her pen poised over her notepad.

  “Thank—thank you, Supergirl,” Barbara said, speaking into the camera. “You’d mentioned this wasn’t an interview, but I’d still like to ask a few questions.” She swiveled in her seat, but the chair beside her was empty, and Supergirl was already halfway to the exit.

  Feeling pretty pleased, Supergirl sprang from the tenth-floor balcony and took off into the night sky.

  “Winn, I’m on my way!” she said.

  “Uh, OK,” he said in a tense voice. “But you should stop and pick up a bag of Chocos for J’onn,” he replied.

  “Chocos cookies?” Supergirl asked with a frown. “Why?”

  “He just saw your live broadcast,” said Winn. “And he’s pretty mad.”

  7

  There were times when Alex envied her little sister and all the attention she got.

  This particular moment was not one of them.

  As soon as Winn pulled up the video of Supergirl addressing the supercitizens, J’onn crushed his coffee mug, spilling coffee and broken glass all over Winn’s desk.

  Winn yelped as scalding coffee trickled into his lap, and scrambled out of his chair.

  “Dude! What gives?” He scowled at J’onn, who scowled right back. Winn swallowed hard. “I mean . . . is everything OK? Boss?”