I.
September 17, 2017
It was happening again.
She had refused to believe it at first. It was a joke, right? How could she, along with all of these other people she knew, be placed into other people's bodies? Who would want to do such a thing and what exactly were they hoping to achieve? Kara had had so many questions during her first, uh, visit, but so little time to find answers. The world needed saving and bad guys didn't wait for anyone, and she had only been around for a few days before she was thrown into the fray once again.
But now, well, here she was. She had some time for introspection, a few moments to allow herself to dissect this new normal, what it meant for her, and what it meant for the person whose life and body she was suddenly commanding. She had her own world-protecting responsibilities as Kara Zor-El, but Nora Saylor had obligations, as well. A brief discussion between the two of them moments earlier revealed that she had a very important week ahead of her at work, and Kara had agreed to do her best to stay out of her way and let her be. As disruptive and confusing as this was for Kara, she could only imagine what it was like for Nora, and she hoped for a quiet week ahead for them both.
Kara's entire existence on this earth (well, on her Earth), had been marred with so many stops and starts. She struggled to fit in, to find a home, to make friends, and just when she began to make progress, she wound up uprooted and kicked back to square one all over again. It was tiring, and it made it impossible to establish any sort of routine or a sense of home or belonging. And now this? Waking up in a strange city, in a strange body, once a month for the indefinite future...it was a lot to take in. Whoever or whatever it was that had plucked her from her own world and placed her into this one had a reason for doing so, even if that reason was unbeknownst to her. If anything, it compelled her to do better this time. To be better, to try harder. She was lucky to get a second chance when so many other people who were far more deserving didn't. And now that she was on her fourth or fifth or sixth chance, well, she was determined to get it right this time around, even if it was under the strangest of circumstances.
II.
October 19, 2017
aliens named kara, read the Google search box. She had felt ridiculous typing it in to begin with, so much so that she had logged out of all of her accounts and then opened a new browser window in incognito mode before she dared to even start the search. And the results...well, they were pretty clear. One click led to another, and soon enough, she was reading everything she could about Kara Zor-El, a character that she was barely familiar with, and only recently thanks to the wonders of Netflix. It didn't take long for her to start to feel overwhelmed to the point of having to take a break. Origin stories started to blur together, the names of allies and villains were conflated in her head, and she knew that she had to stop, if only for now.
She had just been clued in to the full details of the shifts that morning, though she had some idea of what was going on thanks to her roommate. Given its newness, Nora had yet to really absorb or process any of the information. And how could she? The notion that another person occupied her body, and the bodies of other people, one week out of the month was completely absurd. Impossible. Laughable. No one would believe her unless they dealt with it firsthand themselves, and could she blame them? The mere suggestion of such a thing to any of the other medical or mental health professionals in her life would have ended her career before it even started. She would be placed on another mandatory sabbatical, though this time permanent, and likely at the wards over at McLean. There was no way that she could talk about this with anyone and walk away from it unscathed.
Nora let herself sit with the information for a few moments before returning to her laptop screen. Folding her legs neatly underneath her as she repositioned herself on the couch, she pulled up an ongoing conversation with her cousin Lainey, and moments later, they had lunch plans. She shut the lid on her laptop rather harshly and let it rest on the coffee table as she pulled herself from the couch and willed herself to get ready to see her cousin. She had so many questions to ask, after all, though she knew that many of them would likely have to go unanswered, if only for now.
III.
October 29, 2017
She poked her toes above the surface of the water and smiled to herself. The long bath was the second of her week, the first having been at the hotel when she should have been attending various conference events but decided to absolve herself of all responsibilities for the day. The second one came after a long standoff with Nora's cousin, who had been in fine form earlier that evening as her other self.
Kara leaned back and let her head rest against the rolled up towel behind her. She had found a small stash of bath bombs in Nora's bathroom and had decided to indulge after a hard-fought few days. The warm water was comforting, the blackcurrant scent relaxing, and she hoped that it would give her some clarity before she crossed off the last item on her to do list. Just a few more minutes. That was all she needed.
It wasn't long before she was bundled up in a comfortable pair of Nora's pajamas. Her wet hair was still wrapped in a towel as she sat down at the small desk and opened up the laptop. The shifts, she had been told, usually lasted a week, and by Kara's math, this was her last night in Boston until next time. She had found a sticky note on Nora's desk the other night asking her to leave notes or clues, anything that might help her piece together her lost week. Kara was more than happy to comply; it must have been terrifying for Nora to wake up each month only to realize that she had no recollection of the entire week prior, and though she didn't know her very well at all, she was willing to do what she could to try to relieve any of her anxieties. A few clicks later, a new app appeared and a green light signaled that she was on camera. She took a deep breath and hit record.
"Hi, Nora. I'm Kara Zor-El."