Chapter 12

After I brought her back from our leisurely trip above the clouds together ... we sat down and talked about all the powers that were coming to her. How to adapt them for a girl ... wondering if she’ll be as strong as me? She should have an easier time learning, since we’ve been through this together. She asked me to take another flight, real soon, just so she could watch me.

All I did was to find a place, deep inside, to feel happiness. I took off, again. The song, from Peter Pan came to mind, “We can fly – We can fly – We can fly!” I sang as I did. How exhilarating this is!

After a while, my mind was practically keeping me up by itself. I put my hands out in front of me, pointing myself towards Smallville and within just a few seconds—I was flying over downtown! I quickly turned around and headed back to the house before somebody saw me.

Pilots often say that landing is more difficult than taking off, but I pointed my feet and I went down, landing softly on my feet. Kara was applauding for me, as I jumped and flew into my room. We didn’t need to be up so early, so we got back in bed, her in front. This time, we cuddled closely!

The weeks until our shared birthday flew by!

Then, during the week, starting the tenth of June, things began to happen. She could suddenly run fast and learned to use X-Ray & Heat-Vision, Super Breath and Hearing, along with Telescopic and Microscopic Vision. The invulnerability and flight came later, near the end of summer. Mom and Dad were pleased, because they had Super-Kids to take care of things, when not flying about.

All our spare time was teaching one another improvements to our powers. We also developed a derivation of Super-Breath, not only putting our fires, but we taught ourselves to freeze something, with our breath. That was so cool!

Using her stopwatch, we timed one another holding our breaths; we gave up after ninety minutes. We raced around the perimeter of our property, to see who was faster, but every race, ended in a tie. We didn’t know how high we could fly. It didn’t matter. Mom and Dad grounded us for a week, after hearing that some people in Smallville, reported they saw, twin UFOs!

Summer was over—school was about to start. We now raced to school, stopping at the city limits and then walking the rest of the way. Carrying our backpacks never got us tired, or cranky.

We became nicer to everyone, especially our best friends. We promised Mom and Dad, that nobody would be told what happened to Kara and Kal!

With the two of us, together, we dug up the vessel. Using both of our Heat-Visions, we destroyed it, melting it to a lump and then re-buried it. There wasn’t enough earth to refill the hole now, so I took the blanket, got some soil and emptied it a few times, until the hole was filled.

I noticed the blanket, a beautiful piece of artistry that our mother created as a little girl, working alongside her mother. It was not soiled; despite all I had put it through.

The two of us, using super skills, tried to wash it, and blow warm air on it, to clean it off. It seemed not to react to any of our attempts to do anything.

Maybe, with the time it had been covering our space ship, it picked up Kryptonian properties from the vessel? Using a corner of it, I tried to get it hot, with my heat-vision. It seems to have many of the characteristics of our own Invulnerability. We just kept it in the barn, not knowing what else to do with it.

The first day of 7^th grade for me, 6^th for my sister, was uneventful. The Luthor’s were gone; ‘Good riddance’ was Kara’s reaction.

She had sprouted during our summer training of one another, causing her cuteness to evolve into something ... much lovelier, on the way to stunning, would be the more correct adjective. While only twelve, she now seemed so very sure of herself.

Having superpowers can do that to you!

The boys of her class certainly noticed. They swarmed around her like a bear to honey. Her blonde hair, although having been cut, she keeps it in a ponytail, at least at school.

Lana noticed she had fewer boys around her.

Nevertheless, LL had her eyes on me, the second she saw me. She walked up to me saying, “Kara certainly seems ‘comfortable in own skin’ these days. What are they feeding her at the farm?”

“The same thing I eat,” I answered, “Only—she seems to eat a lot, despite her girlish figure.”

That was not a lie, either. Every meal we sat down to, both of us seem to gorge ourselves, but never seem to put on any pounds. Perhaps, we have a Super-Metabolism, as well.

At Kansas’s schools, the teachers, you have when you begin, may choose to stay as your teacher(s) as you progress through elementary school.

So, Audra ... Mrs. Lindsey walked up, running her hand through my hair saying, “You certainly are turning into quite the handsome young man, Kal. With my husband George, having left me for a younger woman, this past summer, I may need your help to box up some things. Would you be able to help me this coming weekend? I can pay you, or maybe treat you ... to a meal of some kind?”

“That sounds like something I could do? I would need to ask my parents first. I’ll get back to you tomorrow,” I promised.

“Tomorrow would be nice,” she said, heading for the classroom, with her arms full.

“Ma’am, could I help you with that?” I caught up to her asking.

“Thank you,” she replied, “You certainly are quite the gentleman.”

“That’s how I was raised, to be kind and generous to all persons, especially pretty ladies,” I added.

Her face lit up, with my casual flirting. She handed me her armload of materials. We got to her classroom; she got out a key, to open it. It was musty and all askew. I put the materials on her desk. Facing the blackboard, she organized her materials, while I flitted from desk to desk, aligning them in perfect rows.

“Kal,” she asked turning around, “Would you...”

“I figured that you might ask me, so I organized them, the way our previous classrooms were,” I said.

“Would you mind, taking this cleaning rag and cleaning all you can, before the first bell?”

“Sure thing, beautiful ... Ms. Lindsey,” I said, “I’m sorry, ma’am. That’s a term of endearment I use on my sister and mother. It’s not appropriate for a student to say that to his teacher, forgive me please?”