That night, Kara took a high-speed flight home by herself. When she arrived, her family was already asleep.
Kara quietly opened the window and slipped back into her room. The first floor of the small house held the living room, kitchen, and other facilities. Upstairs were the bedrooms: her adoptive parents' main room, Kara's room, and finally, Clark's small room.
After changing into her pajamas, Kara quietly went downstairs to open the refrigerator. The family owned a few cows, which had originally been intended to provide milk for Clark, but now their milk had become a staple drink for the whole household.
Pouring herself a glass, Kara took a swig. Her ears twitched as she heard the faint sound of footsteps on the stairs.
Turning around, Kara saw her adoptive mother, Martha, appear at the bottom of the staircase.
With two super-sensitive children in the house, both Martha and Jonathan had developed a habit of walking lightly at night to avoid waking them.
Martha hadn't gone to bed yet. She'd stayed up worrying because Kara hadn't returned home, only relaxing now that she saw her standing there.
"Why are you home so late?" Martha asked in a hushed voice.
Kara glanced upstairs and replied, "Clark's already asleep. It's fine."
Martha was mindful of not waking Clark, who was still learning to control his powers and often struggled to filter out noises.
Clark had started to improve when he was awake and focused, which had helped him seem more normal at school, but the process was still slow and frustrating for him.
"I went to see a movie with Jennifer and Dani," Kara explained casually, brushing off the question. "I didn't realize how late it was. Sorry."
Martha, ever doting, didn't push further. She was soft-spoken with her children, rarely raising her voice. Jonathan, on the other hand, had a more authoritative demeanor. Though he was a caring father, his inexperience sometimes made him seem overly strict.
Jonathan was proud of Kara, trusting her implicitly. He was oblivious to her other side—the strong, ruthless persona she sometimes embodied. If he ever learned that criminals in the underworld were interested in Kara's abilities, his head might explode.
After chatting briefly with her adoptive mother, Kara refilled her glass of milk and returned to her room upstairs.
To anyone else, it might seem like nothing had happened that day. No one would guess she had just killed someone for the first time. Everything seemed calm and ordinary.
But the peace didn't last long.
The next morning, as Kara got ready for the day, she noticed a police car parked alongside the school bus.
She was taken in for questioning regarding a murder.
Jonathan and Martha were worried sick, and Clark wanted to accompany her. Kara, however, insisted he stay home and continue his usual routine.
At the station, Kara saw the two drunk men from the night before, along with Jennifer and Dani, all being questioned.
The body of the drunk man from the alley had been discovered by a garbage collector that morning, sending shockwaves through the small town. It was a quiet place where the worst incidents were usually bar fights. A murder was completely unheard of.
Inside the interrogation room, Kara was calm. A police officer began recording her statement, asking about the events of the previous night.
Kara recounted her evening truthfully up until the encounter in the alley, leaving no discrepancies with other witnesses' statements. The officer seemed satisfied until they reached the crucial part of the incident.
Dani's statement claimed she had left early and didn't know what happened next.
Jennifer's statement said she saw Kara leading one of the drunks away but didn't know what happened afterward.
As for the two drunk men, they claimed they were interrupted by a masked figure resembling Batman, who had killed their companion.
Kara stuck to the story she'd planned: she admitted to trying to scare the drunks away, only to encounter a man dressed like Batman in the alley.
"I was threatened and intimidated by him, so I left. I didn't dare to go back," she said with a convincing mixture of fear and innocence. "What happened after that?"
Her tone was casual, but she subtly guided the officer's thoughts.
The officer responded without hesitation, "He was killed by a weapon—something powerful and terrifying. It's like a laser or a flame gun."
The officer seemed uneasy, as the murder weapon was completely untraceable. Kara's heat vision had obliterated all evidence.
Feigning curiosity, Kara asked, "A laser gun? Like the ones in movies? Can those actually exist?" She added a hint of admiration. "I'd love to see one someday."
She was careful to steer suspicion toward the fictional Batman.
The officer warned her, "That man's dangerous. You're lucky you didn't get hurt."
Under Kara's careful manipulation, all the evidence pointed to the non-existent vigilante. With no hard evidence against her and corroborating statements from the drunk men, the police had no reason to doubt her.
Despite her outward calm, Kara was nervous. The plan had worked, but it felt too easy.
Why had the drunk men been so cooperative?
Reflecting, Kara realized something: "It's not just fear. It's like I've awakened a new ability—something like hypnosis or mind control."
Her thoughts drifted to Clark. It was well-documented that Superman could subtly influence perceptions, making it difficult for people to recognize him in disguise. Perhaps she'd inherited this ability too.
"Alright, you're free to go. Your parents are waiting outside," the officer said, interrupting her thoughts.
Kara turned to glance through the one-way glass. Despite the room's soundproofing, she could see her adoptive parents waiting anxiously.
Kara smiled reassuringly at them, but Jonathan's expression remained grim. While she could fool everyone else, she couldn't fool her family.