Still Defiant! SI-OC [Marvel/DC]

50:

Carol would have liked to say that she saw it coming, that she was completely prepared, and that it was no surprise at all that she was about to be run over.

She knew she'd be lying.

It's not like what was happening was faster than her senses, of course; it was simply that she hadn't been paying enough attention.

Sure, she could move and interact with the world at speeds several times faster than sound, but that didn't mean she did so all the time. There was a reason Carol had always felt so disconnected from humanity, aside from not being exactly the best at socializing.

Everyone was just so... slow. Yes, for the indestructible girl, there was no better word to describe it.

Ever since her "changes" began manifesting at an early age, and with them the birth of her super senses, Carol began to understand that she and the rest of the world simply operated at completely different speeds.

For that reason and a few others, Carol had been forced to dull her own senses, to slow them down, to impose limits on them. There was no other way. If Carol had tried to live with her senses functioning at full capacity all the time, she felt she would have probably gone insane long ago.

At first, it was complicated, but over time she managed to master it to the point where she could limit her ability to perceive the world around her to nearly the same level as ordinary people. Of course, this didn't mean it was comfortable; living while constantly holding herself back was exhausting. But she learned to endure it, and in a sense, she had turned it into a habit.

Since Daniel's arrival and everything that had happened afterward, that had begun to change, but not enough for her to abandon her usual routine. Whether at school, at home with her parents, or simply walking the streets pretending to be a normal girl, when Carol was just "Carol" and there was no need to be anything more, she stuck to what she was used to: locking herself inside and avoiding using her senses at full capacity unless it was absolutely necessary.

This seemed like a rather necessary moment.

It was almost instantaneous—liberating. Simply releasing her restraints and seeing the world as it was truly meant to be seen through her eyes always sparked a flicker of childlike joy in her. She regretted that she couldn't enjoy it too much at this moment.

'She saw me...' She had reacted too late, something ironic considering who she was and what she was capable of. Still, that didn't change the fact that she could see her reflection in the woman's eyes in the car, along with her expression of panic and fear. That made her frown.

The woman probably thought she was about to hit her. Not that she was wrong—if Carol were a normal person instead of who she was, she would undoubtedly be struck and probably killed.

It was fortunate that she wasn't a normal person. Almost casually, Carol took a few steps to the side, easily moving out of the car's path. Of course, she wasn't just going to stand there and wait to get hit. Getting run over wasn't exactly something she was interested in experiencing, even if she knew it wouldn't so much as tickle her.

But after doing that, Carol hesitated on her next action.

It couldn't be helped—the woman had seen her. If the woman hadn't seen her, Carol could have used her super speed, pulled her out of the car, and left without leaving a trace. But she had been seen, and because of that, Carol couldn't save her without risking exposing her secret.

Even moving from her original position was a risk, but a calculated one. She had only moved enough to avoid being hit. The car would still pass by her side, almost grazing her, and it could be said the woman had misjudged her position or that Carol had managed to jump aside just in time—nothing out of the ordinary.

Of course, all of this assumed the woman survived.

A thought that didn't sit well with Carol. For a moment, she wondered what Daniel would think of her when she told him how she let a civilian take a risk like this just to avoid exposing herself.

The image that came to her mind didn't please her.

Especially that possible look of disappointment in his eyes. Just imagining it made her heart feel tight. It was definitely not something she wanted to see, least of all coming from him.

Sure, there was a chance, however small, that the woman in the car could survive on her own. Even if she crashed into the bridge railing and was thrown out, there was still the river below to cushion her. Its waters were deep enough that the car wouldn't hit the bottom, and if the woman had a bit of luck and remained conscious after the impact, she might simply get out of the vehicle and try to swim to shore.

In that case, Carol would just be another witness, and she doubted Daniel would judge her for it. No, in fact, Daniel would probably agree—if there was no need to expose herself, then she shouldn't have to. He had told her so himself.

Daniel's expectations of her and how she used her abilities were never demanding in the first place. Daniel never tried to impose his sense of heroism on her or pushed her to perform more heroic acts beyond those she had already done. He was simply content to let her do whatever she wanted as long as she didn't harm or hurt others maliciously or without them deserving it.

It was something they had talked about in the early days after they met, and Carol had been fine with it—at least until a few days ago.

'This could be an opportunity.' Carol wanted—no, needed—Daniel's opinion of her to improve. Her mother had been right: simply sitting around and waiting for things to happen was a waste of time. She needed to be more proactive, and this situation was a good opportunity to start doing so.

Though saying "start" wasn't entirely accurate. No, she had already started when she saved all those people during the attack on the East Coast. Her feats had been in the mouths of the whole world, and Daniel had specifically congratulated her when he learned how many lives she had saved. That was all that really mattered to her—the approval she saw in his eyes that day was enough to put Carol in a good mood for a long time, despite how dull her school days were.

Even so, there was something undeniable about it: it hadn't been her initiative. She hadn't acted of her own will but because Daniel had asked her to before the fight with Graviton began, and she might not have done it at all if her mother hadn't reminded her that she had to.

She needed to change that.

Saving this woman despite the risks and doing it of her own free will seemed like a good first step, no matter how small it was.

As Carol reflected on all of this, the world around her continued to move agonizingly slowly, the car still on its path toward the bridge railing, its position only centimeters closer than before.

The question now was, how should she save her?

Preventing the crash outright was still too risky, so she could only let it happen, which could still be dangerous for the woman. But Carol had already calculated the speed and the amount of force the impact would have. Her eyes, capable of seeing through the entire structure of the car, told her its frame could handle the initial hit against the railing without a problem, and though the woman would feel it, it wouldn't be enough to put her life in immediate danger.

The problem came with the fall into the river.

As an idea formed in her mind, Carol allowed her senses to dull just enough to see the car hit the railing and begin to fall off the bridge. Then she refocused, stretched out her hand, and, touching the rear bumper, let that same sensation she had felt when lifting that bridge in Washington D.C., spread through the entire vehicle for a brief moment, making the laws of physics cease to matter.

It was only a fraction of a second, but it was enough to make the car lose at least 30% of its speed, and with that, at least half of its kinetic energy.

'That should ensure her survival, right?' Carol hadn't done something like this before, so she wasn't entirely sure it would work as she intended. Even so, she decided to trust that it would be enough. Doing more would be too risky, and while taking some risk was fine, she wasn't trying to be reckless—she was trying to impress Daniel with her way of doing things.

The sound of water splashing reached her ears as the car finally struck the river's surface and began to sink beneath it. Carol smiled, seeing that her plan had succeeded; the impact had been reduced enough that the woman inside hadn't lost consciousness.

Everything had been done in a way that her involvement would remain perfectly hidden from the authorities and, most importantly, in a way that she could brag to Daniel. She could say that even when caught off guard, she had still managed to help and had been discreet and skillful enough to do so without being noticed.

Now, she just needed to wait for the woman to surface and start swimming toward the riverbank. Then, she'd call the police and an ambulance to take care of things, and she could claim her plan had been a success.

Except it wasn't.

Carol blinked in confusion when, after several seconds of waiting, she didn't see the woman swimming to the surface. She focused her gaze, letting her X-ray vision pierce deep into the water to see what was happening.

Inside the car, the woman, still conscious, was struggling—not just against the airbags pressing against her body but also against a door that refused to open. Her struggle grew increasingly desperate for a reason Carol hadn't considered: the impact had knocked all the air out of her lungs, and the sudden plunge into the water had caused that air to begin being replaced by water.

'Well… that wasn't part of the plan.' 

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You don't think much about death when you're young. After all, death seems like something distant and unreal until you feel it breathing down your neck.

Lena hadn't felt fear of death or thought much about it until her father died. It was then that she finally realized that death could, in fact, come at any moment, without warning.

But even knowing that, she hadn't expected her time to come so soon.

With her mind starting to blur, Lena fought with all her strength—strength that was steadily leaving her body, just like the air that had been in her lungs. If she had been able to react quickly enough, Lena would have closed her mouth and held her breath before falling into the river. The problem was, she hadn't.

And that mistake would be what killed her, along with the damned door that refused to open. Her mind, shocked and overwhelmed by the incident and the lack of air, was too rattled to think clearly. This caused her to waste precious time and effort trying to open the door. Only when her vision began to darken did she remember the window. Opening it fully was a challenge; trying to escape through it was nearly impossible due to the airbags making it hard to maneuver her body.

If she had been a woman less generously endowed with curves, it surely would have been easier. Lena never thought the day would come when she'd think something like that, but it had. She wondered if being close to death tended to bring useless and absurd thoughts to the surface. She wished her brain would stop being so irrational and think of ways for both of them to get out of this alive.

But she didn't. Lena hadn't even managed to get half of her body through the window when her remaining strength finally decided to give out, the lack of oxygen causing her body to instinctively try to inhale, completely against her will. But what entered her lungs wasn't air, it was water. She tried to avoid it, of course, but she knew it was useless.

Dying by drowning hadn't been the kind of death she would have preferred or wished for, and because of that, she could only feel extreme regret and resentment about her situation.

It was unacceptable. She hadn't accomplished anything. She hadn't even been able to try. It was unfair—completely unfair! And yet, it was reality, and there didn't seem to be anything she could do now to change it.

As her last moments in this world approached, Lena could only begin cursing her brother and wishing him a fate even worse than hers, because in her heart, all of this was his fault.

Of course, that was when a pair of hands grabbed her by the sides and began pulling her effortlessly toward the surface. And so, the last thing her eyes caught before succumbing to unconsciousness was a pair of light blue irises.

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Pulling the woman out of the river was a simple task for Carol, as was starting to resuscitate her. Even though she wasn't a paramedic and had no intention of pursuing a similar career, she still knew enough about the human body to understand what needed to be done in cases like this.

Carol stepped back as the woman's body began to convulse, one cough after another following, water being spat onto the ground until air finally returned to lungs now free of liquid.

Meeting her grateful gaze did nothing to comfort Carol, as her perfect plan had been ruined, and while not everything had gone wrong, it certainly hadn't gone as she wanted.

"I-I thought that—" the woman tried to say something, but Carol really wasn't in the mood to talk to her, so she cut her off.

"Focus on breathing. You swallowed too much water and need to regain as much oxygen as you can," she said. Thankfully, her words were heeded, and the woman concentrated on breathing, inhaling air as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

Seeing weakness... had always been strange for Carol, though less so these days. Now, she understood it. She knew what it was and could truly empathize with those who experienced it. Perhaps that's why she stayed by the woman's side as she recovered, even though she could have just stepped away and kept her distance.

"I-I thought I hit you," the words pulled her from her thoughts, making Carol freeze for a moment. Carefully, she looked at the woman, who was now also looking at her with a bit of uncertainty. Had she... recognized her? Even if she'd only seen her for an instant? That was problematic, but only slightly.

"You almost did, but I moved out of the way in time." The excuse she'd already prepared—there was no way to contradict it. Perhaps it was the one thing that had gone as it should.

"And yet you still saved me," she said, as though she could barely believe it.

"Would you rather I hadn't?"

Her question silenced the woman for a moment before she audibly sighed.

"No, I… I'm grateful. Thank you for helping me," her voice was somewhat weak and, in a way, fragile. Carol wasn't very good at reading people, so she couldn't discern exactly why, and it wasn't as if she cared. This would probably be the first and last time they spoke, and she was fine with that.

Soon, the sound of sirens in the distance began to grow closer, much to Carol's relief. If there was one good thing about living in a town like Smallville, it was that, unlike in big cities, people didn't have to wait too long for help to arrive.

Her parents should also be arriving soon since she had sent them a message first. She thought it would be better for them to hear about the situation directly from her rather than from a police call. At least that would make things a bit less tense. Even so, Pa Kent would probably scold her for "putting herself at risk." His paranoia had eased somewhat thanks to her mother, but he was still in a constant state of alert. This incident would certainly worry him, but Carol trusted she could calm him down once she explained there was no real risk of her secret being exposed.

At least, she hoped so.

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It's night when a figure soaring through the skies approaches Smallville.

Daniel lands silently on the grounds of his farm, and with just a few steps, he quickly reaches his backyard, heading toward the door and easily entering the place he had started to think of as his home.

The familiar and cozy atmosphere eases some of the tension he had accumulated throughout the day, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

Without turning on a single light in the house, he walks until he reaches the living room, then simply throws himself onto the couch and stares at an empty corner, determined not to think about anything for at least the next thirty minutes.

A goal interrupted by the arrival of a presence he knows quite well.

Although, in fact, Daniel was already expecting her to come, she always does. At this point, her not doing so would probably have made him uncomfortable or even worried; it couldn't be helped, now she was a constant in his life, and thinking about not having her near had become strange in a way.

Not that he wanted it to be this way. He would've preferred otherwise, but at this point, it was unlikely to change. The girl was too stubborn, and Daniel simply didn't have the same resolve as before to keep trying to push her away.

So, he just let it be. A problem is only a problem if you consider it one. Daniel didn't need more of those right now; he already had enough on his plate. That's why, when she entered and, without saying a word, curled up beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, he didn't even flinch.

Her displays of affection had become more frequent lately. He didn't know why or what had caused the change, and though he probably should figure it out, he decided that today wouldn't be the day.

"You seem tense. Has something happened?" His words break the warm silence that had begun to form around them. It was unavoidable; even if Daniel truly wanted to rest a little, that didn't mean he would forget his responsibilities.

Carol was one of those responsibilities, and he had instantly noticed the tension in her when he arrived.

It was so easy, like reading an open book. He wondered if she knew, how open she became around him. Maybe it was unconscious, or perhaps she did it deliberately. Whatever the answer, it really didn't seem to matter much at this point.

Carol hesitates to speak, her hands intertwining and rubbing together with some nervousness before she finally begins recounting the events of this afternoon.

"If you're worried I'll scold you for not paying attention, then forget it. Even I get distracted sometimes."

"Still, I let her see me. If I had noticed earlier, I could have avoided the entire accident from the beginning."

"And yet, you still managed to make things turn out well in the end, didn't you? In my opinion, that's enough." No plan survives contact with the enemy. That was a phrase Daniel had heard a lot in his previous life, and one he actually agreed with.

In the end, the only thing that mattered was whether you achieved what you set out to do despite the difficulties along the way.

"So, I did well?" Carol asks, her voice somewhat low and hesitant.

Daniel looks at her, inspecting the emotions on her face for a moment. So that's what this was all about. Again, so easy to see through. Letting a small, silent huff escape his lips, he smiles and raises his hand, placing it on her head and beginning to stroke her silky dark hair.

The gesture causes her to close her eyes and lean a little closer to him, her cheeks tinged with an intense red.

"Yes... You did very well."

Daniel wisely chooses to ignore how Carol's body trembles at his words, instead deciding to focus on something else.

This incident, for some reason, stirs something within him—a faint sense of familiarity, a feeling he has experienced several times before. He replays Carol's account in his mind over and over, hoping it might awaken a memory, but it doesn't. At least, not entirely.

"What did you say the name of the woman you saved was?"

At his question, Carol, who was enjoying the moment, responds distractedly.

"I didn't say. I didn't think it was important, but if you want to know, she introduced herself as Lena, Lena Luthor."

Hmmm.

The gentle caresses on Carol's head pause for a moment, prompting her to let out a small whimper of protest. Even so, Daniel cannot give her much attention, as his mind is currently occupied with processing old memories resurfacing once more.

'I guess I should have seen this coming.' 

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Note:

Chapter 50! It's been a long journey, and I couldn't be happier! I would have liked something more explosive or impactful, but I eventually realized that in the grand scheme of things, this is just another chapter among the many still to come. The big events will have their moment later. I know you're all looking forward to them, and I'm eager to write them, but we still need to walk the path leading to them so that everything makes sense.

Regarding the chapter itself, this is more of an experiment on my part, trying to delve a bit deeper into Carol's thoughts, how she sees and interacts with the world, and how her "upbringing" has influenced the way she uses her powers. On the other hand, I also wanted to familiarize myself a bit with Lena's character and lay some groundwork for her.

This version of Lena is largely inspired by Lena Luthor from the "Supergirl" series, although there are clearly several changes—some bigger than others—since, at least as far as I know, the character doesn't have as many strong appearances in other media as other characters. So, I have to work with what I have (I'm also taking a bit of inspiration from some comics, though not too much.)

Lastly, if you notice the narration feels a bit different from how I usually write, it's because I was also experimenting with a slightly different writing style. It was interesting to try, though I wouldn't say it was entirely comfortable. I'm not sure if I'll continue with something similar or go back to my usual style, but I certainly learned a few things.

Could it be said I leveled up? 20+ EXP for me, haha.

Remember that You can already find the next chapter of this story on Patreon ( patreon.com/EmmaCruzader ) All the support received is appreciated ;D

P.S. This chapter doesn't have a title since none seemed quite fitting.