Clark had his doubts about the Failsafe Test Batman and Manhunter wanted to do with the team. Messing with the mind wasn't always the best idea. But, he trusted them. He made Batman promise to call him if they needed him, leaving with an uneasy feeling in his chest.
The only reason he didn't stay was Madine. He had the day off, and had worked up the courage to talk honestly with his daughter. Conner knew that, and when he bid goodbye, his son gave him a smile and a thumbs up, which made the angst feeling he had quell a little.
He got home to the amazing smell of lunch almost ready. Madine, apparently, was making pasta. He smiled.
"Want help?" He asked.
She smiled at him, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. And not for the first time, which only made Clark's heart squeeze in a painful way.
"I'm almost done. Is Conner okay?"
"Yeah. I left before they started, but he was fine. I made Bruce promise to call if he needed me."
She nodded and turned back to the oven, where she was mixing the sauce.
"I'll change and help you with the table, at least." He said. "Be right back."
She hummed and he went to his room, in a human pace, to give himself time to think through his words. He had said Madine he wanted to talk to her, before going with Conner to the Cave. While she didn't look nervous or even worried, he was a wreck. He had no idea how this would turn out, and he really wasn't liking the way his daughter was so... guarded with him. They always had the best of relationships, and not being able to see his daughter be free with him hurt him. He just hoped their conversation fixed that.
Back to the kitchen, he helped Madine set up the table and put the dishes she used to make dinner in the machine, cleaning up a bit. Soon, the pasta was done and served, and they sat in the kitchen counter to eat.
Just the two of them, like it used to be a little over three months ago. Clark sighed, noticing that Madine was eating quietly, without even looking at him. He steeled himself and decided to start things.
"So, honey, how was your day?"
She looked briefly at him, but answered anyway.
"It was nice, I guess."
Apparently she was not willing to use too many words today. Clark didn't let that deter him.
"What did you do?"
"I cleaned up my room, finished a history assignment, and I'll probably clean the rest of the house after lunch. Eunice and Loremae are wanting to go to the movies later, so there's that."
Clark hummed. No mention of their conversation, and Madine knew. He just had to talk, then.
"Well, sounds nice. But I need to talk to you before all that."
"Okay, no worries."
He sighed. He was tired of talking to her scalp, since she wouldn't look at him. He extended his right hand to hold her chin, making her look at him. She looked surprised with the gesture, but wasn't showing any other emotion that he could see.
"Honey... Why won't you look at me?"
"I am looking at you, dad." She said, but he could hear her heart increasing its beating, suddenly. She was trying to distract him.
"I don't mean just now. You haven't really looked at me while talking or talked freely with me in the last weeks. Why?"
He knew why. He just needed her to be honest.
She looked at him for a while, and then sighed.
"I... I'm feeling a little bit down lately."
"I noticed," he said. "why? Talk to me, sweetie."
She messed a little with her food before saying the words he was waiting for.
"Ever since I left the Cave that day... It's just... I feel like you don't want me to show myself in front of the others."
He took a deep breath, but she wasn't finished.
"And, I don't know... I know I said I wanted to be a hero in my own way, without a cape and a name, but that was a long time ago. This last year, especially after Conner appeared, I just... I feel like I should be doing more. And... I want to."
She looked at him, and her eyes were screaming for him to understand.
"I realized I want to be a hero too, dad. With a cape and a name. Even if it's just covert like the Team." She sighed. "And... It just feels like your answer is always no."
"It's a big change for the girl who always said she wanted to be a doctor."
She grimaced.
"I still want to be a doctor. But..." she sighed again, looking at him with the next words. "But I want to be Supergirl, too."
There it was.
Clark sighed, holding Madine's hand in his. Looking at her with all the love he felt for her, praying he could say the right words.
"Honey, you know why I don't introduce you to the world."
"I know."
"And the League... Well, maybe you're right. Maybe not every member, but I think I can introduce you to some of them."
She looked at him, with hope in her eyes.
"And about Supergirl..." he sighed. "I'm scared, Madine."
Her eyes turned worried.
"I'm scared that you get hurt. I'm scared that my enemies take advantage of you to get to me. I'm scared that maybe it's too much for you. But most of all..." he steeled himself, he had promised to be honest with her.
She was just looking at him, waiting.
"Most of all, I'm scared because you're growing up too fast." He smiled, then. A sad smile. "Soon you'll be your own, making your own decisions, and for your whole life I did that. It may sound crazy but... That's how I'm feeling right now."
"Dad..."
"I had a little chat with Bruce about that." He laughed. "He told me it's a natural thing, that I had to let you go and so on. I want to see when it's Dick leaving the nest, let's see if he's going to be like that."
Both laughed, knowing their favorite Bat had a lot of problems with letting things go.
"Anyway... I don't know how I feel with you being part of the Team, yet, sweetie. But... We can make some compromise about Supergirl? If you promise you'll let me train you, and talk to me in every step of the way. Just so your old man can have a little peace of mind?"
She looked at him, and then smiled. A big, happy smile he hadn't seen in her in a while, which made his heart flutter.
"Yes!" She hugged him, then, tight and he returned the hug immediately. How he missed that. "Thank you, dad!"
"Ow sweetie. I'm sorry it took me so long. It's just... I can't lose you, Madine." He confessed.
She looked at him, then.
"If I lost you, I'd go mad." He sighed. "You're my whole world."
She smiled, and hugged him again.
"You won't lose me, dad. I promise I'll try to do everything you say, and I'll play through your rules, so to speak."
He knew even like that, she could get hurt, but decided against to point that out.
"Okay, sweetie. Then we have a deal."
She set him free, then, looking at him with hope in her eyes, excitement bubbling through her.
"And what's the deal, exactly?"
He took a deep breath, getting courage from the fact that she looked like herself again. Especially with him.
"You going to help me, here in Metropolis. You've never worked like a hero before, so I would like for you to work with me before going to work with them."
"Okay. I can deal with that." She smiled. "And?"
"You'll be Supergirl in Metropolis. And... we'll see from that."
She smiled and clapped, happy her wish was being granted. "Thanks, dad."
"You're welcome, sweetie. I know you'll make me proud."
"I will." She promised.
They hugged again, and Clark felt like a heavy weight was being pulled out of his shoulders. They chatted happily about other stuff then, and finished lunch. He washed the dishes and Madine helped, and since it was Saturday and he didn't have anything from work to do, he helped her clean the apartment. After that, he had to help a few people around the globe, and Madine told him she was going to go out with her friends.
It was better, to fly without that huge cloud above them. He was starting to feel like himself again.
Later, close to dinner time, he received a call that made his fears reappear. Now, for his other child. For Batman had called, his voice urgent, saying that Conner needed him.
The Test had gone south. Terribly. He didn't explain what it was until Clark got to the Cave, where the Team had just been forcibly awoken. He went to Conner, who was panting, and didn't exactly looked at him. Batman and Manhunter explained what M'gann had done - taken control of the exercise, making all of them think it was real, putting them in forced mental comas when they 'died' in the simulation - and Clark got scared for Conner. What had they seen or felt? It was clear they needed time to get over this, and he said so.
Conner was trembling, slightly. It made him worry.
"We can't do anything now, I'm afraid." Said Manhunter. "Anything but let them rest. Process this."
"Go home, Team." Said Batman. "Take two days off. When you come back, we'll talk about it and do anything that's needed."
It was implied to the mentors in the room: the team was going to need a little counseling sessions with Canary to overcome this. He nodded to Bruce when they locked eyes, and ushered Conner away, after he tried to talk to M'gann and she wouldn't look at him.
"Come, son. You can talk to her later," he whispered, and Conner went with him. Maybe a little too exhausted because of the exercise.
They went to the zeta tubes, and Clark took his son home. It was time to take care of him, now.