Skyler looked up at the big brick elementary. He was a little nervous. He had heard many times that first grade was not like kindergarten. There was no naptime and most importantly there was a lot less playtime. He squeezed Kara's hand and she squeezed back.

"It's going to be fine, kiddo. I always dreaded first days of school myself. They were--well, they were a little different."

He looked up at her expectantly, hoping to hear a story of Krypton. She was the only one who could tell them.

She laughed. "I'll tell you about it after school, okay?"

Skyler nodded and looked at his baby sister, Noel, in Kara's other arm.

"Man, you sure inherited those Kent genes. You don't have to say a word. You can just look and make a person feel guilty. I know your parents don't like me to fly with you guys, but Noel enjoys it, don't you, Noel?" she cooed. "Your daddy flies too slow when he drops you off at Grandma's."

Noel giggled and grabbed onto a piece of Kara's long blonde hair.

Skyler didn't answer, but he knew his parents were bound to find out even though they were on the other side of the world, covering a story in France. They hadn't wanted to leave them with Kara, who was still on the wild side to be a math professor, but everyone else was busy. His parents had left Kara a list of rules to follow and she was breaking most of them. One being don't fly with the children.

"Hey, Skyler, does your Uncle Jimmy ever talk about me?"

Skyler looked up at her. He knew this was dangerous territory even at 6. Aunt Kara liked Uncle Jimmy, but Jimmy was scared of Kara.

"I don't know," Skyler said, playing dumb.

They entered the school and everything was strangely silent.

Kara furrowed her eyebrows. "I know we're not early. Just a couple of minutes later and we would have been late. School starts at 8:30, right?"

Skyler nodded, as he led her to the first grade hall. He knew which classroom was Mrs. Duncan's, his first grade teacher, but when they went in there, no one was there. For a few seconds, they were quiet, taking it in.

Kara put her hand protectively on Skyler's shoulder. "I don't like this. Let's go."

Before they could leave the classroom, a portal began to open up. Kara's eyes widened with terror and she shouted, "Run, Skyler! Take Noel with you!"

That alone was enough to scare him even without the portal. He had never seen Kara so afraid. She always enjoyed an opportunity to beat up bad guys and smiled at a challenge. He took off at super speed. He could have ran faster with a normal baby. He would have hardly noticed there was one in his arms, but because she was his baby sister, it felt like a 6 year old struggling to run with his baby sister.

The portal was blocking the door to the outside. He tried to run another way but the man and woman grabbed him and Noel before they could escape. They were dressed strangely and said something in a language Skyler didn't understand. They were too strong to fight and they took them through the portal.

Then they were gone and he was in a weird-looking house. He looked outside, the sun wasn't yellow but red, an unsettling red. Noel began to cry, so he picked her up off the floor. She probably felt like he did that they were a million miles away from home, maybe more.

He looked around the room. A middle-aged couple was casting glances at them, as they talked to Kara in that strange language. He ran to Kara. Kara took Noel and Skyler threw his arms around her legs, a familiar person in familiar clothes. Skyler noticed there was a dark-haired baby sleeping in a crib. He looked familiar too in a funny sort of way.

"Are you hurt?" Kara asked him.

"I'm fine," he whispered shyly, as the dark-haired man and blonde-haired were still looking at him as if they couldn't believe their eyes.

"I want Mommy and Daddy! I want to go home," Skyler said.

Kara hugged him tighter. "I know and we'll figure out a way."

She spoke to the couple, gesturing toward Skyler as she talked. The blonde lady squatted down to his eye level with a sympathetic look and reached out to hug him. Skyler hid behind Kara. He was sure these people were bad because they were dressed like the portal people had been.

"It's okay, Skyler. You don't have to be afraid. These people are your grandparents. You remember your dad telling you the story of how he had to leave his parents and planet when he was a baby and come to Earth, where Grandma and Grandpa Kent became his parents?"

Skyler nodded.

"They're your dad's first parents."

Skyler was puzzled. He didn't know how that was possible and the grownups didn't bother to explain, not that he would have been able to understand his grandparents with their strange language.

The dark-haired grandfather spun around, causing the cape he wore to swirl much like his dad's cape did. He returned with some sort of bracelet and he offered it to Skyler with a smile. He motioned for him to put it on. Skyler was still distrustful but Kara nodded reassuringly, so he did.

"Can you understand now?" he asked.

Skyler nodded.

"Lara, why don't you take the kids to another room to play, while I talk with Kara?"

"Of course, Jor-El," she said.

Lara took Noel and gestured for Skyler to follow. She pushed the crib into the other room as well. There was another crib in there and Lara put Noel in it.

"This must be so strange to you. We haven't even been formally introduced. I'm your grandmother. You can call me Naola."

"What?"

"It's what Kryptonian children call their grandmother. What do you them on Earth?"

"Different things. I call mine Grandma."

"You can call me that or Lara. Whatever you're comfortable with."

"I'll call you N--nerla."

"Naola," she laughed. "Now what's your name?"

"Skyler."

"Sky-El?"

"Skyler. Skyler Jonathan Kent," he said, telling her his full name.

"That's a mouthful. An Earth name, no doubt and your sister?"

"Noel."

"No-El? Isn't that a boy's name?"

Skyler shook his head. "It's a girl's name. Her whole name is Noel Marie Kent."

"Well, Skyler, Noel, welcome to Krypton."

"I want to go back to Earth."

"And we want you to go back, but it's going to take some time and thinking."

"Is that your baby?" he asked, pointing to the sleeping baby.

"Yes, that's Kal-El."

Skyler walked over and peered into the crib. "Is that my daddy?"

Lara walked over to look at her sleeping son too. "Yes."

On Earth, Daddy's name is Clark Joseph Kent."

"That's a nice name." She stroked her son's dark locks. "Did you hear that, Kal-El? You better get used to being called Clark."

His dad gave a sort of answering smile but kept on sleeping.

"This was supposed to be my first day of school in the first grade," Skyler told her.

"I'm sorry, dear. Were you looking forward to it?"

"A little bit. I'm still working on reading. I want to be able to read a book all by myself."

"On Krypton, we give the children a helmet and the information goes right into their head. Kara always hated it because it gave her headaches."

"Is it easier?"

"A lot, but it's a fairly new way to learn. My grandmother, your great-great grandmother, learned solely by using books. Kal-El is already using a helmet to teach him to read."

"No way," Skyler said, looking a little jealous that his dad got to use the easy way of learning.

"It'll be stored in his brain until he's the right age to start reading. Right now he still has to learn to speak the language."

"Could I use the helmet?" he asked hopefully.

She smiled. "Not unless you want to learn to read Kryptonese and that will hardly help you at your Earth school, will it?"

"I have to learn to read English."

"I thought so, but don't you worry, you'll be doing it in no time. I can tell you're a smart kid."

Skyler blushed with pleasure.

"You want to play something?"

Skyler nodded eagerly.

"I'm afraid I don't know what Earth children play and all the toys I have are baby toys, but I think throwing a sphere is common to most ages and cultures."

She picked up a white ball out of the sleeping Kal-El's crib and let go of it. It stayed floating in midair. Skyler backed away a little unsure of it.

"It won't hurt you," Lara said. "You can touch it."

He did and it began glowing, He let go of it and it stopped. Lara was enjoying watching her grandson play with what to her was a simple ball. Maybe the baby toys were plenty to keep him occupied. He gently took a hold of it and threw it in Lara's direction but it stopped before it got to her and with the same gentle toss he had given it, it came back to him on its own. Skyler was never going to get tired of this.

Noel began to cry and Lara picked her up. "What the matter, sweetie? Are you sleepy?"

Skyler figured it had more to with the fact that she was missing out on the ball. Noel was only 8 months old, but she already wanted to have whatever her brother had. Lara walked the room with her until Noel had settled against Lara's shoulder and went to sleep. She had gotten up extra early. Skyler noticed that Lara and Noel had the same shade of blonde hair except that Noel's was curly. Lara sat down and it wasn't long before she was sleeping too. Skyler was the only one awake. He walked over and stroked his naola's blonde hair that fell below her waist. He had never seen hair so long and silky except in stories of Rapunzel. He'd wanted to do it before but hadn't had the nerve. He decided he wanted to listen in on what was happening in the other room. Kara and his Kryptonian grandfather were still talking.

"I'm sorry, Kara, but there's nothing we can do. They'll have to perish with the rest of Krypton."