Next of Kin - SuperCorp

Next of Kin Chapter 1 - Front Page News

Wearing a blue button-down shirt and tan sweater with her khaki slacks, Kara leaned back at her desk, smiling as she read the article she had written. Pen swirling along her lips, she barely stayed on the floor. Front page, she was front page material! This was career altering, life altering, and it was all her. Snapper had fought her tooth and nail on the story, snidely calling her Ponytail and reminding her how little confidence he had in her. She snapped her fingers at that memory. She didn't need his confidence. She had her own.

Excitedly she twirled in her chair, making three complete rotations before stopping and grabbing her cellphone. This called for a celebration. Celebrations needed friends and family. The phone rang three times before Alex picked up.

"Hey Kara, what's up?"

"Alex! Did you see my story?"

"Your story? No sweetie, I haven't had time to—"

"Front page, Alex, I made the front page!" That was followed by another chair rotation. "We have to celebrate."

"Uh, yes we do. I tell you what. As soon as Maggie—"

"Oh, is Maggie there?"

"Kara, breathe!" Alex took a breath of her own, glad she wasn't dealing with her little sister in person at the moment. This was the kind of enthusiasm that could be bone breaking. "Okay, you do remember where I am right now, don't you?"

"Ummm ... oh!" Palm slapping her forehead, Kara squeezed her eyes closed. "Acapulco. Oh, I forgot, Alex. You're going to Acapulco."

"Right, so in a few minutes, Maggie and I will be getting on a plane and flying someplace warm and sunny. We'll be gone for a week, but as soon as we get back, we'll be happy to celebrate with you."

"What are we celebrating?" Maggie asked as she walked up to her girlfriend, only having heard the very end of the conversation.

"Kara got a story published," Alex explained.

"Tell her it was front page!" Kara exclaimed yet again.

"It was front page," Alex added with much less enthusiasm.

"Awesome. Congrats, Little Danvers."

"Kara, Maggie says—"

"I heard her. Thanks, Maggie. So, Alex, maybe I could fly down and see you guys, and we could celebrate. You know ..." Kara cupped her hand over her phone as she looked around to make sure she wasn't being observed, then whispered, "... fly down."

"No," Alex said succinctly.

"No?"

"No, Kara, you are not joining Maggie and me on vacation." When Maggie made an odd face, Alex just shook her head assuredly. "Sweetie, I'm excited for you too, but Maggie and I have never had a vacation together. I barely take vacation. We have a hot tub in our room and don't plan on wearing bathing suits. You understand?"

"But Alex, don't you need ... oh!" With a nervous smile, Kara asked, "So when will you two be back?"

"In a week. You think you can keep the city safe and manage to not explode with excitement while we're gone?"

Kara considered that. "The city, no problem. No promises on the exploding though."

"Look just—"

A voice came over the loudspeaker and Maggie and Alex both looked toward the gate.

"We gotta go," Maggie said.