#casey mae

It was only her quick reflexes, the same ones Kara and Alex have been helping her hone, that kept her from falling out of the tree along with the branch. She was able to tighten her grip on the branch above her, and using every scrap of upper-body strength she had, she was able to pull herself up onto it. That meant she wasn’t going to fall out of the tree, and ironically also brought her right up to the cat she’d intended to rescue.

Unfortunately, there were now no other branches beneath her that were close enough for her to climb down to, meaning that she was stuck.

Yeah. Definitely a mistake.

Miserably, Casey pulled her phone out of her pocket. She looked through her contacts, briefly debating who to call, before finally deciding on Kara. It would be embarrassing for anyone to see her like this, but she trusted Kara not to tease her about it, and she also trusted her not to tell anyone else. It was the best option Casey had.

can u help? she texted. stuck in a tree. can send address if you need it.

A moment later, Kara flew down in front of her, apparently not needing the address at all. “How did you end up stuck in a tree?”

“I was trying to rescue a cat,” Casey replied, looking down and trying valiantly not to blush. “Then the branch broke.”

For a moment, Casey thought she saw a flicker of a smile on Kara’s face, but it was gone when she looked again. “Alright, you grab the cat and I’ll grab you, how’s that?”

Casey reached out for the cat, who only hesitated a moment before jumping into her arms. “Okay.”

“Hey,” Kara added, “this may not have worked out the way you wanted it to, but you tried to help, and I’m proud of you for that.”

Casey tried not to blush again, but for different reasons this time. “Can you just get me out of this tree?”

Kara bursts through the ceiling and takes out everyone in the room in a rage-fueled whirlwind, scooping up Casey and flying away with her before anyone else even knows what’s happened. Casey sobs something unintelligible against her shoulder, and Kara is almost positive she hears the word “mom,” but she’s not sure. She thinks of Casey as her daughter, after all, but Casey has never called her Mom. Kara doesn’t mind. She’s sure that Casey’s feelings towards her must be similar to her feelings towards Eliza; a mother figure, but not quite a mother, because she already has one of those. Kara is perfectly content with that.

But if Casey did call her Mom, it’s not like Kara would protest.

When they’ve gotten a safe distance away, Kara lands on a rooftop, gently setting Casey down. “Sweetheart? Are you okay?”

Casey reaches forward, gripping Kara’s cape tightly with one hand. The other, Kara sees, looks mangled, and if she squints a little, she can see that a lot of the bones seem to be broken. Rage threatens to choke her, but Kara manages to shove it down. That’s not what Casey needs right now.

“Casey? Honey, can you talk to me?”

“I didn’t tell them anything,” Casey finally says, her voice so hoarse it’s barely there. “I didn’t answer their questions.”

“Honey, that’s not what I’m worried about. Are you okay? I can see that your hand is hurt. Did they hurt you anywhere else?”

Casey shakes her head, still clinging to Kara’s cape. “Can we go home?”

“I think you need to go to a hospital,” Kara says. “But then we can go home, I promise.”

Casey nods, and she doesn’t fight when Kara scoops her up and cradles her in her arms to fly off again. She’s shaking, just a little, and Kara wrestles down the urge to go back to that Cadmus facility and wreak vengeance. That’s not what Casey needs right now, and Kara needs to focus on what Casey needs.

“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” she promises as she takes off. “I’ve got you, and I’m never going to let you go.”

Casey just clings to Kara’s cape and lets her carry her off into the night.

“I’m Kieran, this is Astra,” the boy says. “Our parents are Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor. I work with my mom as a superhero.”

“And I’m a psychologist,” Astra adds. “Or, that’s what I’m majoring in, at least.”

“Nice to meet you, Kieran and Astra,” Maya says. She points to the girl next to them. “Your turn.”

“Hi,” the girl says with a little wave. “I’m Connie, my parents are also Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor, and I’m actually a clone created from their mixed DNA, so I have limited Kryptonian powers.”

“Connie, you said your name was?” another girl asks, a redhead with glasses. “That’s weird, there’s a Connor in my universe who’s a half-Kryptonian clone of Superman.” Maya gives her a look, and the girl quickly adds, “I’m Carrie, my parents are technically a couple of neglectful assholes but I’ve basically been adopted by Kara Danvers and Kate Kane by this point, and I’m working with Kate as her sidekick Robin.”

“I’m sort of sensing a theme here,” Maya says. “Raise your hand if Kara Danvers-slash-Zor-El is your mother.”

Every hand goes up, although one of them is a little tentative. “I mean,” that boy says, “she’s technically my cousin, but she’s raised me since I was a baby, so I guess she sort of counts as my mom.”

“She’s your cousin?” Maya asks. She frowns a little. “Is your name Clark, by any chance?”

“What?” The boy looks confused. “No, it’s Kal-El.”

“You’re Kal-El?” Kieran demands. “Like, Uncle Clark?”

“Why do you keep calling me Clark?” Kal-El asks. “And why would you call me uncle? We’re basically the same age.”

“Well, in my universe, and I assume in Kieran and Astra’s as well, you’re older than Kara, and you use the human alias Clark Kent,” Maya explains.

“Ieiu’s pod must not have gotten trapped in the Phantom Zone in his universe,” Astra murmurs.

Kal-El frowns. “No, my pod was trapped in the Phantom Zone. I was there for thirteen years before I landed on Earth.”

Maya nods. “That explains a lot.”

“So are you still called Superman in your universe?” another one of the boys asked. At Maya’s look, he adds, “I’m Russell, my parents are Kara Danvers and William Dey, and I’m a photojournalist-in-training.”

“Right now, I’m going by Superboy,” Kal-El replies. “Maybe I’ll switch to Superman when I get older. I like the sound of it, actually.”

“Who still needs to introduce themselves?” Maya asks, trying to drag the conversation back on track. She points to four girls and a boy. “You five are the only ones left, right? Which one of you wants to go first?”

“I’ll go,” one of the girls says. She’s got the slightest hint of a Russian accent. “My name is Lissa, my mothers are Kara Zor-El and Kira Volkova, and they adopted me when I was little from an orphanage on Argo.”

“Kira Volkova?” Russell repeats. He looks around at the others. “Am I the only one who doesn’t know who that is?”

“Kira is Kara’s clone,” Lissa explains. “She was used as a weapon by the Kaznians first, and then she was rescued by the DEO. Kira Volkova is the name she chose.”

“Wait, in your universe, Mom is dating her own clone?” Connie asks. She makes a face. “That’s weird.”

“It’s not weird,” Lissa retorts, her accent strengthening. Her eyes start to glow a little bit too, which apparently means she’s got all the same powers as any other Kryptonian, and also means Connie should duck. “My mothers love each other.”

“Whoa, okay, no fighting,” Maya cuts in. “Connie, don’t call anyone else’s parents weird. Lissa, try not to attack anyone with your heat vision.”

Both girls back down, although Lissa doesn’t look particularly pleased about it. Maya makes a mental note to keep an eye on her and turns to the last four.

“You,” she says, pointing to one of the girls. “Your turn.”

“I’m Martha,” the girl says. “My parents are Kara Danvers and Kate Kane, and right now I’m working with Ima to help with her real estate business.”

“Ima?” Kieran asks.

“It’s Hebrew for Mom. It’s what I call Kate.”

“Cool, got it.”

Maya gestures at the next girl, trying to keep things moving. “Your turn.”

“I’m Lily,” the girl says. “And my parents… Okay, it’s a little complicated. My biological parents are Kara Zor-El and Querl Dox, but then Dad moved back to the thirty-first century and Mom stayed in the twenty-first, so they broke up and split custody of me, and now Dad is dating Lyle and Mom is dating Kate, so I guess they’re sort of my step-parents. And, like I said, I spend half my time in the thirty-first century with Dad, and the other half in the twenty-first century with Mom.”

“How do you not break the timeline?” Astra asks.

Lily shrugs. “I’m really, really careful.”

“Is it my turn now?” the final girl asks. “I’m Casey, Kara is my adoptive mom, and I’m working as her sidekick.” She turns to the boy. “Your turn, I think.”

“Cool,” the boy says, nodding. “I’m Mike, my parents are Kara Zor-El and Mon-El, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life.”

“Mood,” Carrie mutters.

“Is that everyone?” Maya asks, scanning the crowd and making sure to commit everyone’s names to memory.

“I think so,” Mike says. “Pretty sure I was the last one, right?”

“Right,” Casey agrees. “So now what?”

All eyes turn to Maya, which she should have expected, given that she’s the oldest and she’s somewhat set herself up in a leadership position. “Well…” she begins, not quite sure where to go from there.

“Now,” says a deep voice, “you are going to save the world.”

Everyone turns towards the voice, which is apparently coming from the tall, dark-skinned man in armor standing behind them. Maya looks him over and sighs.

“The Monitor, I assume?”

The man inclines his head. “The very same.”

“Oh, great,” Kieran groans. “Ieiu has told me about this guy.”

Maya steps forward, and all eyes fall on her again. She walks up to the Monitor until she’s between him and the others. With a small army of alternate universe half-siblings (and full-sibling, in Lily’s case) at her back, she’s pretty sure she can handle whatever the Monitor decides to throw at her.

“Just tell us where to go,” she says. “We’re ready.”