Welcome to the 2022 April A to Z Challenge! Each day (minus Sundays) in the month of April will feature a short work of fiction based on a random word beginning with the corresponding letter of the day. Those random words will be provided by various friends and family members throughout the month. Today’s word, sensational, was provided by my friend, Mark. Each story is loosely connected to the one before but will make more sense if you read them all in order. To go back to the beginning to see where this madness began, click here…

Wonder Girl supported Superboy in midair as they made the flight from San Francisco back to the Kent Farm in Smallville, Kansas. Conner was able to fly under his own power, but with his concussion, Cassie thought it best to give him a hand, just in case he needed it.

“It was good of Diana to come to the tower to check in on everyone,” said Superboy, breaking a silence that had carried them across three states.

“Yeah,” agreed Cassie, “She’s pretty sensational.”

“I hope that’s not sarcasm I’m detecting.”

“Not at all,” said Wonder Girl. “I just miss her. For the longest time, it felt like I had a big sister. Well, two big sisters if I include Donna. Recently, though… I don’t know. They both just seem so distant.”

“We could have stayed a little longer if you wanted to spend time with her,” said Superboy, feeling more like a burden now than he had only a few seconds ago.

“It’s okay,” she said, “Diana was busy anyway. And we need to get you home so you can get some real rest.”

Another silence settled over them as they crossed the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. It would be only a few more minutes before they were approaching Smallville.

“Do you ever miss me?” Conner asked, his heart suddenly full of nostalgia and longing for a simpler time when he and Cassie were deeply in love.

Cassie closed her eyes, holding back tears. “All the time,” she quietly said.

Superboy sighed. Before the incident involving a Superboy and Lex Luthor from alternate realities, things had been great between the two of them. Conner had been killed by the other Superboy and Cassie was forced to get on with her life. She and Tim even dated briefly, mostly leaning on each other while grieving for Conner.

Conner was miraculously returned to life a thousand years in the future by the Legion of Super-Heroes, then returned to his own time period to resume his life. For Conner, seemingly no time had passed. For Cassie, it had been over a year. To say they were both confused about how to feel moving forward would have been an understatement.

“I know we agreed to take things slow when I came back. I didn’t think that really meant we would just avoid each other,” said Conner, turning them slightly south as they slowed in their approach to the farm.

“What do you want me to say, Conner?”

The two of them landed gently in the Kents’ front yard. Conner turned to look at Cassie. “I don’t want you to say anything. I just want you to know that I’ll never stop loving you.” He gently put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down to kiss her forehead before slowly walking through the Kents’ front door.

Cassie launched herself into the sky, allowing her tears to finally fall. As she flew at top speed toward the western horizon, she whispered aloud, “I love you, too,” knowing that Superboy’s ears would hear her.

These characters are not my own. Superboy, Wonder Girl, and all related characters are the property of DC Comics. This is a work of fan fiction and is just for fun. Please don’t sue me.

Feature Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash