Kara did not know much about Gotham.
She only knew that Arkham Asylum had a huge reputation, that it housed all kinds of mentally unstable superhumans. It was both a prison and a hospital, and in her eyes, someone with Ian's mental state ought to spend a few days there.
"Hm? Aunt Kara has business ties with Gotham's madhouse too?" Ian frowned. He suspected Kara wanted to use him to pad her performance numbers, then collect some kickback from Batman over in Gotham.
"I just want you to act a little more normal!" Kara slapped a hand against her forehead again, her face full of speechless frustration.
"I am normal, and I obey the law. I'd bet at least eighty percent of America respects the law less than I do."
Ian sounded supremely confident.
He knew he was telling the truth.
"No. You stole a criminal's car, then sold that car through illegal channels to gang members. You do realize that's also a crime, right?"
Kara's voice shot up almost an octave. Ian's confidence left her utterly incredulous. Honestly, even if she had a hundred years, she did not think she could come up with a sequence of actions like that.
Several laws broken in a row,
and nobody benefited from any of it.
What was even the point of doing that?
"I didn't steal the car. I just drove off in the mugger's car. How can that not count as emergency self-preservation?" Ian blinked innocently like some spotless white lotus.
"That is still a crime!"
Kara sighed weakly.
"Oh, so that counts as a crime? Huh. Well, I'm still just a kid. What do I know?"
Ian scratched his head even though it did not itch, then flashed the bright smile of a sunny teenage boy.
The expression made Kara want to hit him.
"The way you're acting, you obviously knew it was wrong already!"
She could be naive sometimes, but she could still tell that Ian was very obviously not being honest.
Faced with his aunt's merciless callout,
Ian simply spread his hands, the smile on his face somehow getting even brighter.
"Relax. A jury would never see it that way. Besides... I've got a doctor's note."
As he spoke, Ian pulled out the crumpled diagnosis slip again and waved it around.
That thing was a genuine trump card.
The confident boy believed there was no psychiatric institution in Metropolis that could hold him.
"You... you..."
Kara's face turned red.
For a long time, she could not think of a response.
Damn it.
Why was Clark raising children like this?
Could it be
that she had never really understood Clark's true personality at all? Ian had left Kara speechless several times in a row, to the point that she had started doubting Clark's personal integrity.
For a child to turn out like this,
there was no way Clark bore zero responsibility. Kara did not believe that for a second.
"Just come inside..."
Kara no longer wanted to argue about it. She felt that if she wanted to avoid developing Kryptonian high blood pressure, she needed to pretend she had never heard this story from her newly acquired nephew.
Click.
Kara unlocked her front door and stepped inside first. Warm white lights came on. Ian followed her in, and the place smelled faintly of lavender detergent.
It was a typical single-apartment layout. As an assistant secretary, Kara did not make much money, so being able to afford a place like this already counted as a pretty decent financial situation.
The countertop of the open kitchen was spotless. Beside the stainless-steel kettle sat two upside-down mugs. Two pothos plants rested on the windowsill, their leaves swaying gently in the breeze coming in from the balcony.
The whole living room was not large, but it had been tidied with care. A gray blanket was folded neatly on the beige fabric sofa, and several simple landscape paintings hung on the wall. On the TV stand sat a small photo frame showing Kara in casual clothes, flashing a peace sign in front of some Earth tourist spot.
The sofa itself was a little messy, and the coffee table held a remote and several fashion magazines.
Of course,
one blink earlier, Ian had clearly seen a bra and a pair of women's panties on the coffee table. But after the next blink, they were gone, and all that remained was his young aunt giving him an awkward smile.
...
Ian felt brutally insulted by his own relative. A Kryptonian had used super speed to bully his intelligence, then stood there acting as though he would not have noticed anything.
"So Aunt Kara likes pink little lions?"
Ian's eyes processed things much faster than a normal person's, so even though Kara was lightning quick, he could still clearly remember everything he had seen in that one frame of a blink.
"I have no idea what you're talking about!"
Kara overcompensated immediately.
She tried to frown as if she were confused, but under Ian's silent stare, her eyes were visibly guilty, so in the end she could only turn toward the window instead.
"Disney merchandise really sells well. That actually inspires me. Once my novel blows up, I should sell merchandise too."
Ian fell into thought as if he had just discovered a new path to wealth.
"You write novels too?"
Kara looked at him in surprise.
She genuinely had never seen a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old kid with dreams of being a writer who was actually doing something about it. No matter how good or bad his writing was, Kara felt that was a hobby worth encouraging.
"Yes. I write about my Superman father."
Ian answered honestly.
It was the truth, just not all of it.
"Your father lets you write stories about him?" Kara clearly found that hard to believe. She knew perfectly well how thoroughly Clark kept his Superman life and ordinary life separated.
"It was a kind of self-therapy my psychiatrist recommended. I think my father's pretty supportive of my writing. Every time he sees my manuscript, his face gets all red with emotion."
Ian had just made excellent use of selective phrasing.
And the simple-hearted Kara did not doubt him in the slightest.
"Well, then it sounds like your writing must be pretty good."
She had actually become curious about Ian's novel.
"Yep. When it comes out, please buy a few copies too, Aunt Kara. I already submitted it to a publisher while I was on my way here today. I'm not even slightly worried about whether it'll get published and become a huge hit."
Ian spoke with absolute confidence.
"No problem."
Kara agreed without a second thought.
More than that,
"I actually think that if your story isn't finished yet, you could even add me into it. Just don't write what my real identity actually is."
"You can just write about interactions between Supergirl and Superman."
She was practically volunteering herself now, hoping to make a guest appearance in Ian's story.
Honestly,
she really was a good aunt.
She was willing to contribute herself to support Ian's writing career.
Ian admired her eye for talent. Still, after thinking for a moment, he decided to reject her generous offer.
"That wouldn't be a good idea."
Ian let out a slightly regretful sigh.
"Hm? Is it because you think Supergirl isn't as famous as your father and wouldn't help bring in readers?" Kara threw herself onto the sofa, her tone full of dissatisfaction.
"No."
Ian shook his head.
"It's just that my story has a pretty specific style, so... if I added Aunt Kara, it might violate some ethical boundaries. I'm worried it wouldn't pass review, and that would slow down how fast I can make money."
He gave the answer with complete sincerity.
He really did sound like he regretted it.
"????"
Kara froze at first.
Then the whole of her seemed to suffer a direct critical hit. Her eyes widened so much they looked ready to pop out.
No.
Super brain.
You cannot start running now. You are not allowed to think about anything.
The brave Supergirl, at this moment, not only did not dare speak, she did not even dare think.
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]