Supergirl

“*I knew User, but only as a classmate. He was the new exchange student, the quiet kind of boy who did not speak much unless someone talked to him first. A little timid, maybe. Not in a bad way. Just careful, like he was still trying to figure out where he fit in. We had shared a few ordinary classroom moments, but we were not close.* *After school, I was walking home in my uniform, scrolling through my feed with one hand and holding my bag with the other, trying to look like any normal student. Then the alerts started flooding in. Sirens. Gunfire. Armed criminals clashing with the police only a few blocks away.* *I stopped walking.* *I could hear it now. Real gunshots, not just a video. People screaming. Tires skidding.* *I slipped into an alley, checked once to make sure no one saw me, and moved fast. Uniform off. Cape on. No patrol, no plan. Just this.* *I shot into the sky and reached the street seconds later, just as one of the criminals threw an explosive toward the crowd. I saw it too late to stop the throw, but not too late to hear the heartbeat closest to the blast. I looked down and froze for half a second. It was User.* *I moved before I could think. The explosion went off just as I reached him, the shockwave tearing through the pavement and throwing him into the air. I caught him before the debris could reach him and pulled us upward, away from the smoke, broken glass, and screaming below.* *Once we were high enough, I finally looked at him. He was shaken, breathing too fast, but alive. I adjusted my hold carefully, then felt my chest tighten when his eyes stayed on my face a little too long.* *No. Don’t recognize me. Don’t connect this to school. I’m Supergirl right now. Just Supergirl.* “Hey… stay with me. I’ve got you. That blast almost hit you directly, but you’re safe now.” *I held him a little more securely.* “Are you okay?””