Archive of Our Own ^beta

It was all too much for her. She had somehow saved her family from utter annihilation by Molecule Man. All of them had been grateful except... her mother. She forbid her from being a superhero, saying she could not do it ever again. Surely she could disobey her and break out of her house if she wanted. But, she had already put them through so much. She didn't want them to worry about her anymore. Having her family stick together was much more important than any of her superhero antics. Even so, what her mother said cut to her core.

Days and weeks had passed. She locked herself in her room and was spiraling. She thought that looking at her phone would give her solace. It was no use. She saw stories about brutal Israel bombardment of Gaza, and conflict across in the world, whether in Lebanon, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Yemen, or Myanmar. International leaders had told the Israelis to stop. There had been resolutions through the U.N. General Assembly and the Security Council calling for a ceasefire and an end to the horrific bloodshed. It was all for nothing. Arms continued flowing to this rogue state, despite all the clear evidence to the contrary, showing that even U.S. law was being violated.

The current U.S. government claimed it was negotiating a peace agreement, while declaring that weapons of destruction were needed so the country could "defend" itself. Those weapons were, instead, used to commit a genocide. Tens of thousands of Palestinians had been killed all to "defend" a state founded on dispossession. The U.S. was orchestrating the genocide. It wasn't a mere bystander. Of course, learning all of this did not help Lunella's state of mind. If humans couldn't stop this carnage without superpowers, what hope did she have to help anyone with her gadgetry? She didn't have any super-abilities. Her intelligence and her skills were her form of Black girl magic.

It wasn't only what was happening in Palestine, Lebanon, or the West Bank, where hundreds of thousands had been murdered, but the thousands more in North Africa, Russia, Mexico, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Nigeria, Iraq, Somalia, Chad, Syria, and elsewhere. Even with her gadgetry, she couldn't stop those wars. Perhaps if she was in a better state of mind, she would feel more optimistic. Since she was losing herself, she felt completely hopeless.

Although her mother had insisted that she not don a superhero costume again, which seemed harsh to her, she deeply cared about her. She knew full well that Lunella could care for herself and was a self-confident girl. She worried that if Lunella hadn't told her about this, what other secrets she was hiding? Were there times she could have helped, but Lunella hadn't let her in? Why did she feel she couldn't trust her own mother? Why was everyone else so accepting of this?

The last thing she would want was for Lunella to get hurt, to experience something so horrible as that person she had called Molecule Man. She didn't want Lunella to become Moon Girl again for one reason: she did not want any  irreparable damage, for her to have something scar her so deeply that it was hard to forget. Something she always remembered. She was unaware that her daughter had almost died in the depths of space, as Lunella hadn't told her about it. Questions swirled in Adira's mind. What if Lunella had been killed? What if she had died that day? She would never forgive herself. She knew that her daughter might resent her, but she saw it as the only way to protect her.

With Lunella not coming out of her room for so long, Adira was getting worried. She had been through some rough times in her life. She didn't want the same thing to happen to her daughter. That morning, she kicked hard on the door to Lunella's room. The door was soon busted down. She had used so much force that the door was completely knocked off its hinges and hit the floor with a thud. She couldn't let her wallow away. Whether this was the right strategy or not, she wasn't sure (it probably wasn't), but she felt it was the only thing she could do. She had to intervene.

A loud sound caused Lunella, a short, slender, brown-skinned girl, to awake with a start. As she began to pull the covers over her head, she saw something she never expected: her bedroom door on the ground. Why was it there? What was going on? Her mother was standing in her doorway, clearly determined. She knew that her mother wouldn't back down. That wasn't who she was.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" She thought she had told her mom that she wanted to be alone. Clearly, she hadn't listened to her, which perturbed her a bit.

Adira sighed. She still felt this course of action was the right one. No one was there to tell her otherwise.

"Lu, you can't stay here forever. You need to get out of this room." To make her point even more, she pulled off the sheet, revealing Lu, who was wearing her night clothes. They were completely different than what she would wear during the daytime. Some people didn't have that luxury, but she did.

Lu could not say anything before her mom told her to get dressed. She added, "you need to pick up some groceries." Begrudgingly, she agreed to go, under the proviso that they would talk about her being Moon Girl again after she returned. She had to try. After her mom left the room, she took off the covering on her hair. This protected it at night as she slept. She grabbed her usual street clothes, quickly putting them on.

As she walked to the nearby grocery store, she thought about everything. Before she even entered the store, she saw a familiar face. She tried to walk away, wanting to escape from her best friend. The girl grabbed her. She couldn't get away from her. "Lu, what's wrong?" It was her friend Casey. Lu began to cry. She couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I'm sorry, Case...after my mother said I can't be Moon Girl again, I'm totally losing it...and looking at what’s happening in the world...all the suffering, death, oppression...I feel totally helpless, especially after people elected that fascist president in November. What has this world come to?"

Case guessed this might happen. Lu had briefly told her what happened not long after that fateful night. Despite her many attempts to call and text in the days that followed, she hadn't responded. In fact, she had closed herself off from everyone, whether her family, friends, or even those at school. Her mom had said that Lu was down with a bad cold. It seemed to be a justified excuse. The school administrators accepted it. Who were they to question students who called out sick? The last thing they wanted was for a virus to spread, especially after all that happened with that damn so-called "invisible virus."

"Lu, it's totally okay. We can only do so much individually. We can't be expected to solve all the problems of the world all on our own. In a group we can make a difference and a change, but we can't end all suffering, end all oppression and death, by ourselves. Fascism can't be defeated by one person alone. But... we can do it if we all work together."

Lu understood what Casey was saying. She had a valid point. However, she still felt uneasy, regardless. Was Casey saying she had to become Moon Girl again? It was the only thing, she believed, that gave her life any value. There was nothing else. She could do something for someone else and feel good about it. That was a positive thing, right?

Surely she could sign one of the many online petitions circulating around, give money to a candidate she supported, or go to a rally for an important cause. However, those actions were nothing, compared what a superhero did every day. Even if she could have voted, at her age, in a local or national election, her impact wouldn't be any different. She understood that voting was important, but it was only one tool to make a change in world, only one way to stop oppression from taking root. After all, the jerks had clearly suppressed the vote, to the tune of millions of votes, helped by compliant judges, allowing the orange menace to win.

"Thanks for saying that. I'm so glad you talked with me, Case. I feel so much better now." They continued chatting with one another as she picked up some groceries for their family meal that night. After about twenty minutes of this and Case helping her bag up the groceries, they parted ways. Lu could tell the sky was getting dark and that it was about to rain. She didn't have a rain coat.

As she ran back home, she somehow avoided most of the rain. She came inside and saw something odd. There were unfamiliar shoes by the door. They looked like custom-made shoes, like what someone would wear on a stage. She could hear a girl's laughter. As she walked into the kitchen, she saw her: an 11-year-old Black girl with dark brown curly afro. Her thick hair was lush and beautiful. She was really taken by her.

"Lunella!" the girl chirped happily. Lu knew exactly who this girl was. She remembered how musical she was from... before. She noticed that her friend, a White girl, Alex "Switch" Stein, wasn't with her, like in the past. Staring at her through her large round, and violet, glasses, she looked at the girl closely. It was almost like she was analyzing a scientific specimen. "Karma, is that you?" she asked.

The girl grinned. Her ears perked up. "Yeah, it is. I just wanted to stop by...your mom invited me for dinner." Lu didn't want anything like this to happen. Why had her mom invited her? What was her mom doing? She hadn't talked much with her since they met all that time ago in Hansberry Heights. Even so, they had texted a little bit back and forth. Case had hinted that this girl had some feelings for her, some emotional connection. She'd dismissed it as total hogwash at the time. She told Case that she had it totally wrong. Now that she thought about it, maybe Case had been right. Clearly, this girl was there for her.

Lu sat down at the table. Her mom and Karma continued chattering away. The other family members weren't there, this time, because they'd gone to an event somewhere in town for roller skating derby. Adira wasn't as interested. So, she decided to stay home instead. "Your mom was telling me about Moon Girl," she started to say, with Lu fearing the worst. Karma's clarification put her at ease.

"She said that Moon Girl isn't doing superhero stuff anymore." The girl looked at her, almost with melancholic look on her face. She didn't really want to admit it. She was glad that only Lu and her mom were there. Even so, she was still nervous. Karma kept talking before Lu could think of anything else. "I thought she was really cute. I'm really sad I can't see her around anymore." This broke right through Lu's funk and reached right into her heart. She couldn't believe what she was saying. Karma found her cute? Not even Case had told her that, nor had anyone else. This was the first time she'd heard it from someone, including from a girl.

She struggled to stop her blushing, trying to hold herself back the best she could. After breathing deeply, she somehow held her composure. "Sure, you could say that about her. I suppose you could say she's cool too," Lu said, trying to redirect the conversation. Karma grinned, her mood lifting. What she added next would only throw Lu even further off her kilter.

"Moon Girl is great and all... but... Lunella, I have to say, I think you're really cute as well. I really like your sense of style, how you tie up your hair in large bushy, pom-poms, one on each side... your casualness. I saw it that day... in Chief Crowley's Duet Diner. I....couldn't take my eyes off you. I was transfixed."

Lu didn't know what to say. This woman was head over heels in love with her, right? That's what it sounded like. How can you respond to someone like that? What's the right thing to say? She began to laugh and wiped her face. She decided to be honest with her new friend. "Thanks for saying that, Karma. I've been feeling down lately. You are really cheering me up. I'm glad you came here today."

Karma smiled back as she began eating the mac & cheese and collard greens that Adira had cooked. Her eyes light up, as she savored the taste. As she made sounds showing how much she enjoyed every bite, they began talking about her life in Hansberry Heights, how she'd helped save a records store, and how some woman had closed down the community center, despite their best efforts. The latter story made Lu a bit nervous, heightening her anxieties about the fact that she couldn't make changes on her own. Had she been through the same thing? How did she get through it? Those questions bounced around Lu's mind.

"Sure, Cece won, but I won't stop fighting for anything to make my community a better place. I'm sure you do the same, Lunella." Although Karma didn't intend it, talking about this made her a bit uneasy, especially since she had abandoned being Moon Girl. She wanted to be done with it. How could she help the LES without it? She didn't know names of any organizations or anything like that. She was probably too young…

After finishing her plate, Karma got up out of her hair. She washed her plate in the sink. Adira insisted she didn't have to, as a guest. She shook her head. "I just want to be helpful," then followed this up, after putting her plate inside the dishwasher. "I'll be in the roller rink." As she left the room, Lu's mom came closer to her. She had a suspicious smile on her face. She wasn't sure what she was so happy about. Was her mom about to give her some helpful advice?

"Go get her, Lu. You might not have another chance at this." Lu looked at like she was out of her mind. Was her mom telling her accept this girl's flirting or something? She didn't even know… her thoughts were cut off when the suggestion from Adira's mouth caught her off guard. "You should go as Moon Girl." She wasn't expecting that, not at all. She wanted to make sure it was okay.

"Mom, are you sure?...after you said I couldn't…" Adira shook her head. "This girl is waiting for you. She likes you. That is obvious. If you don't go to her... you'll probably regret it."

Lu was a little nervous. Could she really do this? Could she really lie to her? Would that be the right thing to do? "I don't know Mom...I'm not even sure if I like her…" Adira laughed and shook her head.

"Sweetie, I see how you act around her. You think she's cute too, right? I can't blame you." She didn't want to push her daughter too much though. That wouldn't be right. Not at all. Even so, she wanted to encourage her the best she could. Times were different now, and the country was in a very dark place, but romance remained eternal.

Grumbling and rousing, she decide to change into her Moon Girl outfit, putting on her black spandex suit. It stood out, as did her cyan yellow vest. Her chest was emblazoned with a small crescent moon. She affixed her glasses, which had certain settings which displayed her emotions, allowing her to make clear what she was going through. She also placed her iconic helmet onto her head. She followed this by lacing yellow laces on her large black skating boots, pads for her elbows and knees, and red gloves. She glided through the house to the roller rink. Karma was waiting.

"Where's Lunella?...I thought she'd be here." the girl asked. This question made Lu squirm. How could she answer it? Could she even trust this girl to be honest? "Uh...she's...uh…" she began to say, her words escaping her. Karma smiled back. She shook her head, even though she looked forlorn. Having fun with Moon Girl was fine too... right? She wished Lu was here.

"I was only going to ask her to dance with me, I mean...skate with me, I guess…" Lu didn't know what to tell her. She decided to make an offer anyway. "Why don't you skate with me instead?" Karma thought about it. She wanted to spend this time with Lu, but why not with Moon Girl? She was cool. She was everyone's friend. At least that's what Lu had told her that all that time ago. She wouldn't lie, right?

"Okay, Moon Girl." Underneath her helmet, Lu smiled, with her expression visible on the outside of her helmet in an electronic form. It was so configured that all her expressions were displayed this way. She tried her best to hold it together. Taking a deep breath, she said, "it will only be a second. I just have to put on a vinyl record... I help out around here and all..."

Of course, it wasn't that easy. It never was with these kinds of things, not at all. The cords had been tangled a bit underneath the table. She sighed. She had to fix the mess or the vinyl player and speakers wouldn't work. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, she finally fixed it. She felt something snag her hair, as she came out from under the table. It hurt so, so much. She took off her helmet. Her hair was finally free. Her head felt a little better. She only realized her error when it was too late. Karma looked at her with abject shock. She hadn't expected this.

"Lunella...are you...Moon Girl?" Lu held her face in shame. She couldn't even face Karma directly. She looked another way, not wanting their eyes to meet. "I...mmmm...sorry, Karma...if anyone finds out I'm a superhero...then my family..." she started to say, as she began crying. Her friend came close and hugged her tightly. "It's okay, Lunella...I just wish you had told me…" Lu hugged her back as tears streamed down her face. She was so choked up that she couldn't say anything. Karma continued to hug her, feeling her friend's warmth, as they remained close together.

As Lu left her embrace, she wanted to look down, but Karma held her face close. Lu had to say something now. "I wanted to tell you...but I was so scared what you might think of me...when my mom found out...she said I couldn't do this anymore." The other girl shrugged at first, then came close to her friend. She could see that this was affecting her deeply, and mentally. She couldn't imagine how physically taxing it was. How could anyone even do it? This made her want to get even closer to her. "Then why are you wearing the Moon Girl outfit? You could have come out here in what you usually wear..."

Chuckling sheepishly she said under her breath, "well...my mom said I should because well...you like me." Karma laughed. Was Lu just realizing it now? "Of course I like you, silly. Who wouldn’t like a nerd like you? You should do what you find comfortable, not what other people tell you to…" Lu agreed. She still didn't know how she felt about Karma, but something about her drew her in. Something made her feel safe and respected.

"You are right, Karma. Let me just put the stylus on the vinyl record, then we can danc—I mean skate out there." In no time at all, she did exactly that. Everything was in place. The music began playing. She had originally thought she'd put on the Duke’s greatest hits album, but Charlie Parker was a much better choice. Although she liked his greatest hits better, she still enjoyed listening to the Duke all the time, of course. As the album began to play, it filled the roller rink with sounds of the alto sax, trumpet, piano, bass, and drums.

Lu made her way out to the rink, still dressed almost completely in her Moon Girl suit, but without her helmet. She was a little nervous about this. After everything, she couldn't hide something like this from her. It wouldn't be right. As she moved toward Karma, the girl grabbed her hand, pulling her ever closer. They skated around, their hands clasped as they laughed together, in a beautiful movement. Adira peaked in, seeing them together, and saw them having such a good time. She was glad that someone was cheering up her girl. She didn't like seeing her so down. She smiled and left without making another sound.

They continued skating with one another. Lu whispered in Karma's ear. "You can call me Lu. Everyone else does...Lunella is just a little...formal, that's all." The other girl grinned back at her. As she got closer to Lu, her face began to get warm. Perhaps she was just happy around her. It didn't mean anything about her, right? "Okay, Lu. As I've said, you'll get love back after you put out love!" While they had a good time together, they were lucky that no one else came in. If Case had been there, she probably would have been jealous. Devil was asleep so he wasn't there either. Lu tried to spend time with him, although not as much as she did before.

"Yeah, Karma, that's true," she said as she playfully gave her a kiss on her cheek. The other girl wasn't taken aback. She was surprised at how bold she was being! She teased her about it, while giggling. "So, you like me too?" Lu let go of her hand put both her hands on the wooden railing around the rink. She didn't want to disappoint Karma or anything. "I don't know, to be honest...I've never felt this way about another girl before...I just feel this connection to you...and..."

Karma was okay with all of that. That was fine. She didn't want to hurt Lu. After all, she knew that revealing her secret identity had to be a lot... Such a huge burden. She wanted to be supportive. "It's okay, Lu...why don't we figure it out together?" she asked. Lu chuckled and shook her head. Was this what she thought it was? "Are you asking me out...Miss Grant?" she said in a joking way, like Karma was some sort of débutante at her ball.

"Yeah, Lu, I am. Is that okay?" Lu smiled and came in to hug her now-girlfriend. "That's fine," following it up by saying, "I don't know how we are going to break this to my family... and my friends." Karma did her best to keep her composure. She held herself in. Internally, she was erupting with joy. She couldn't believe this was happening. She had finally… gotten the girl, right?

"Okay, we'll take it slow." Lu grabbed her helmet and carefully put the vinyl disc back in its paper sleeve. Karma took off her skating shoes and put in her regular shoes. Lu led her down to the underground lair. The girl was amazed. Devil was a little sleepy but heard someone come in. He recognized Lu. The other person with her was new. He hadn't seen her before. Karma was a little frightened. She looked up and saw this huge, twenty-foot-tall T-Rex, with huge hind-legs, and two small forearms, staring at her with its yellow eyes. Her fears subsided when Lu explained who he was. "This is Devil. He's my friend. A dinosaur from.... another dimension."

Devil made happy sounds, putting out his tongue and rubbing against her, even though he was a little tired. She could tell he was really sweet. She petted his lighter-colored underbelly. Suddenly she backed up, causing him to look at her funny. What was she trying to do? Lu tried to cover her face with her hand. Breathing deeply, she decided to tell him. "Devil, meet my...girlfriend, Karma Grant." She extended her hand. Devil's little arm extended. They shook hands. He made sounds which only Lu and Case understood. Karma wasn't sure what they were talking about. She'd have to ask Lu about it some time.

"It's okay, Devil. I'll tell Case...I'm sure she will be thrilled." Guessing that her friend was at home, she decided to call her up. Her friend had been waiting at the phone. It was almost like she was waiting for her call. "Are you doing okay? I'm really really worried about you." Lu tried to tamp down her friend's worries. She didn't want to make her even more concerned. Even so, she loved how supportive Case was being.

"I'm fine, Case...I just made a big decision, please don't be mad," she began, then turned on the video-call feature. "I decided to start dating... this girl... Karma Grant... you know her... from that time..." Case started thinking back. Suddenly it came to her. She remembered. "Oh, the girl from Hansberry Heights! That go-getter...the one I see across social media a lot." Lu handed her the phone. "Hi, I'm Karma. Nice to meet you." While she was happy for Lu, on a certain level, Case did feel a little jealous. On the hand, she was glad for Lu. She needed more girls she could confide in.

"Can I talk to you, privately, Karma?" Case asked. The girl nodded politely. Lu began to follow, but Case shook her finger. Lu decided to comply. She didn't want to anger her best friend. She knew what it was like to be on her bad side. After Karma walked far enough away, the conversation continued. "Lu is going through a lot right now...I want you and her to be happy...but I don't want her to be hurt." Karma shook her head. She didn't want to presume anything about the friendship between Case and Lu. She could tell that they were close. She didn't mind that. After all, she had a close female friend too.

"She won't be. I know she is Moon Girl after all. I won't tell anyone she's a superhero. I promise. Not a soul will know. If it helps, you could have my number. You can contact me whenever you want." Case put her head in her hands. Why had Lu told this girl? Did she really trust her that much? Maybe she did? She wasn't fully sure what Lu saw in her, at least not yet. She wanted to respect her friend's decisions, although she wasn't above telling her when she was wrong. "Okay, Karma. You know, I really like how you style your afro...can you teach me to do that sometime?"

The girl laughed. "Yeah, sure. A girl has gotta care for their hair carefully. It's like taming a beast sometimes." Case smiled uneasily. She remembered back to when Lu's hair became its own being and separated from her after she didn't care for it in the right way. As Karma began skipping toward to Lu, almost like she was following a musical beat, she handed the phone back.

"Case, what were you both talking about?" Her friend moved her head from side to side. "That's a secret...my lips are sealed." Lu kept pushing her. "Case, please, can you tell me?" She clearly indicated that she wouldn't. Lu decided to drop it. She waved her hand and her friend waved back. As the call ended, Lu firmly grabbed Karma's hand. "We have one person left to tell, for now. My mom..." Her girlfriend understood. They continued to hold hands until they reached Lu's room. "Can you please turn around? This is kind of embarrassing." She did so. Lu changed into her usual clothes and stuffed her Moon Girl outfit into the bottom drawer of her dresser, hiding it under her sleeping clothes.

"You can turn around now, Karma." She did so. Lu's face was hot, after she was clearly blushing, turning a light brownish color. She chuckled. "You look so cute, Lu. I'm so glad..." she started to say before Lu grabbed her hand. She opened the door and started walking toward the kitchen in one motion. Her face was still flushed. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Karma held her hand firmly. "We can do this, Lu." As they moved closer and closer, they could see Adira sketching out something. It seemed like it had some political message, although they couldn't tell what it was, from that distance.

"Mom, I have...something to tell you..." she started to say, with Adira looking up from her sketching and staring at her daughter. Karma continued holding her hand, giving her the confidence she needed. She took a deep breath. This was one of the hardest things she had done in her life. "I'm...dating Karma Grant...I just thought you should know." Adira smiled. She didn't clap or anything, because knew this was difficult. It wasn't easy to do this with your parents. Some people even got backlash for it, leading to parental anger. Some even cursed out their children and demeaned them like they were nothing. Adira was, in contrast to those terrible parents, very supportive.

"Thanks for telling me sweetie," she said, as she began wracking her brain. She didn't want to say the wrong thing. Even if you mess up, the best thing to do is to be supportive. "Does this make you bisexual or something?...I know that's a word people are using these days..." Lu remained just as embarrassed. "I-I-I... don't know, Mom. I'm still... figuring it out." Her mom hugged her. In response, Lu hugged her back. They remained in a close embrace, until Adira put her arm around Karma too. "You're family too, sweetie. Just treat my baby right." Karma replied almost immediately. "I will ma'am, I promise."

They remained in this embrace. Lu and Karma silently pledged to help one another, even when times got tough, especially if Adira lifted her prohibition on Lu being Moon Girl. Whatever remained ahead for them, whether it was Karma telling her friends about her new girlfriend or something else, they would work side-by-side, supporting each other along the way. They'd make their own black girl magic, together.