Lunella, Karma, Superheroes, and Love in New York City

Lunella doesn't know how everyone does it. Everything is too much. She has decided to not be Moon Girl again. All the death and suffering in the world is making her feel completely helpless. Her mom, despite her not wanting Lunella to be Moon Girl because she is worried about her safety, is concerned with how her daughter is acting. One day, she pushes Lu to leave her room, and the house, entirely. When she arrives at the local grocery store, she talks to her good friend Casey, somewhat putting her at ease (but also not). Afterward, she has a surprise waiting her at home: a familiar 11-year-old girl who she once met in Hansberry Heights. This girl smashes apart Lu's self-imposed daze, as her deep-seated fears and insecurities are washed away, and replaced with a new feeling...

It was all too much for her. She had somehow saved her family from utter annihilation by a villain who called himself the Molecule Man. All of them had been grateful for what she did except... her mother. She put down the law, as to say. She forbid her from being a superhero, declaring she could never do it again. Surely she could disobey her and break out of her house if she wanted. However, she felt that she had already put them all 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 had told her 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 some solace. It was no use. She saw stories about the death, suffering, and war on her phone. Scrolling through social media could be harmful to one's health. There had even been court cases about it. While she did not know about these court cases, she realized this herself. Even so, the nature of each social media platform was addictive. Awful, revolting content got more likes and shares than those with genuine perspectives. To make matters worse, content moderators had been removed, making these platforms a bit of a Wild West, to say the least. 

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 own special form of Black girl magic. Even with her gadgetry, she couldn't stop those armed conflicts. This included the brutal Israeli bombardment of Gaza, despite a supposed "ceasefire," and conflict across in the world, whether in Lebanon, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Yemen, or Myanmar, and most recently across the West Asia with the beginning of unprovoked, illegal, and reckless attacks on Iran, which quickly became a regional war. 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.

The Security Council had even disgraced itself with the infamous resolution 2803 supporting and normalizing imposition of U.S./Israeli colonial rule in Gaza, embracing the creation of a so-called "Board of Peace," that was nothing more than another way to put down the Palestinian people. Arms continued flowing to this rogue state, despite all the evidence to the contrary, even indicating that U.S. law was being violated. In the past, the U.S. government had claimed it was negotiating a peace agreement, but now they didn't even care about that. To make matters worse, people in the U.S. across the political spectrum, especially those who were politicians and pundits, believed that Israel "needed" weapons of destruction so the country could "defend" itself. Those weapons were, instead, used to commit, perpetrate, and worsen a genocide.

Over 84,000 Palestinians, and probably many more, if not as high as 186,000, if not more, had been killed to "defend" a state founded on dispossession. The U.S. was orchestrating the genocide. It wasn't a mere bystander. 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, Iran, and elsewhere.

Lunella wasn't someone like Rambo, a macho man who people held up as some symbol, someone who was absurdly depicted as ending the war in Vietnam. 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 ever again, which seemed harsh, she deeply cared about her. She knew full well that Lunella could care for herself and was self-confident. She worried that if Lunella hadn't told her about this, what other secrets was she 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 all this?

The last thing she wanted was for Lunella to get hurt, to experience something so awful akin to what that the Molecule Man had done. 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. For there to be something she always remembered. She was unaware that her daughter had almost died in the depths of space. Lunella hadn't told her about that yet. 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.

Despite all that, she never knew it would come to this. She was getting worried. Lunella had not come out of her room for such a long time. 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 decided that she would push her out of this situation. She kicked hard on the outside door to Lunella's room. The door was soon busted down. She used so much force that the door was knocked off its hinges and hit the floor with a huge thud. She couldn't let her wallow away. Whether this was the right strategy or not, she wasn't sure (it probably wasn't). Even so, she felt it was the only thing she could do. She had to intervene.

The loud sound caused Lunella, a short, slender, and 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 was on the ground. Why was it there? What in the world was going on? Her mother was standing in her doorway. She was clearly determined. She knew that her mother wouldn't back down. That wasn't who she was. She had hoped to get through this on her own.

"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. Why hadn't she just stayed away? She didn't need her mom to be there.

Adira sighed. Even though she was being very forceful, 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 pronto." To make her point even stronger, she pulled off the bedsheet, revealing Lu, who was wearing her typical night clothes, consisting of a puffy shirt and pants with crescent moon shapes all over it. She'd bought Lu the clothes as a present. What she was wearing was totally different from what she would wear during the daytime. Some people didn't have that luxury, but she did.

As her mom told her to get dressed, Lu didn't say anything. She felt this was a forgone conclusion. Her mom insisted that she needed 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 her hair. This protected it at night as she slept. She grabbed her usual street clothes and quickly put them on.

After leaving the house, she began walking to the nearby grocery store. She thought about everything. Before she could even enter the store, she saw a familiar face. She tried to walk away. She wanted to escape from her best friend. She felt she didn't have the right to face her. The girl grabbed her. She wouldn't let get away. "Lu, what's wrong?" her friend Casey asked. Lu suddenly 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 on top of all that, when I looked up about what's going on in the world...all that suffering, death, and oppression...I feel totally helpless, especially after people elected that fascist jerkwad over a year ago. What has this world come to?"

Case guessed this might occur. Lu had briefly told her what happened not long after that fateful night. Despite Case's many attempts to call and text her in the days that followed, she hadn't responded to even one call or one text message. In fact, she had closed herself off from everyone, whether her family, friends, and 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. 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. That's what those No Kings protests are all about anyway, although that's only one way to stand up and fight back."

She understood what Casey was saying. She had a valid point. At the same time, she still felt uneasy about all of it. Was Casey basically telling her that she had to become Moon Girl again? Maybe that was the only thing that gave her life any value. Maybe there was nothing else. If she was Moon Girl, she could do something for someone else and feel good about it afterward. 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 could do every single 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, especially with the recent racist Supreme Court decision which eviscerated the last part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. At the same time, voting 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, and would do this even more, especially in the Southern U.S., where right-wing governments wanted to disenfranchise Black folks.

"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 her 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. So she had to get back quickly.

As she ran back home, she somehow avoided most of the rain. As came inside and entered her home, she saw something odd. There were unfamiliar shoes by the door. They looked like they were custom-made, 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 a 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 named Alex "Switch" Stein, wasn't with her, like she had been 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, genuinely curious, and hoping this wasn't a dream.

The girl grinned. She was glad that she had remembered. Her ears perked up. "Yeah, it is. I just wanted to stop by...your mom invited me over for dinner." Lu didn't want anything like this to happen. Why had her mom invited her anyway? What was her mom doing? She hadn't talked much with her since they met all that time ago in Hansberry Heights. Her mom insisted on having Karma's number in case anything happened to her. Lu was fine with that, as she understood that her mother meant well, while others may have seen it as an invasion of privacy. Even so, Lu and Karma had texted a little bit back and forth. Case had hinted that this girl had some feelings for her, some sort of 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 after all. 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 in that kind of thing, at least this time. So, she decided to stay at home instead. "Your mom was telling me about Moon Girl," she started to say, with Lu fearing the worst. Karma's clarification put her mind at ease.

"She said that Moon Girl isn't doing superhero stuff anymore." The girl looked at her, almost with melancholic expression on her face. She really didn't want to admit it. She was glad that only Lu and her mom were there. Despite that, 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 this girl was saying about her, specifically her superhero persona. Karma found her cute? Not even Case had ever 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 away from Moon Girl and onto something else. Karma grinned, with her mood lifting. What she added next would only throw Lu even further off her kilter.

"Moon Girl is great and all... but... you know... 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-I-I-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 even 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 really feeling down lately. You are cheering me up. I'm so glad you came here today."

Karma smiled back as she began eating the mac & cheese and collard greens that Adira had cooked. Her eyes lit 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. It heightened her existing anxiety 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 to make my community a better place. I'm sure you would do the same, Lunella." Although Karma didn't intend it, talking about this made her somewhat 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 to do any of that, right?

After finishing her plate, Karma got up out of her chair. 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 another suggestion from Adira caught her off guard. She never would have expected her mom would say this to her. "You should go as Moon Girl." Lu was flabbergasted. Even so, she wanted to make sure it was okay.

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

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. That wouldn't be right. Not at all. At the same time, she wanted to encourage her the best she could. Times were different now. The country was in a very dark place. There was no doubt that it was awful fo many people. Through all that, romance remained eternal.

Grumbling and rousing, she decided to change into her Moon Girl outfit, beginning by 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 iconic helmet onto her head. It had built-in glasses, which had certain settings that displayed her emotions, allowing her to make clear to anyone watching, including friends, what she was going through and how she felt. She followed this up by tying up yellow laces on her large black skating boots, placed pads for her elbows and knees, and put red gloves on her hands. She glided through the house and 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? For now, she just wanted to be Moon Girl. "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? While she thought that, she wished Lu was there.

"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. Why not with Moon Girl? She was cool too. She was everyone's friend. At least that's what Lu had told her that all that time ago. She wouldn't lie about that, 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 herself together. Taking a deep breath, she added, "just wait a second. I uh...have to put on a vinyl record... Since I help out around here and all..."

Of course, it wasn't that easy. It never was with these kinds of things, even if it is all organized neatly. 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 the problem. She felt something snag her hair, as she came out from under the table. It hurt so much. She took off her helmet, which unsnagged her hair. It felt so much better now. Her hair was finally free. She only realized her error when it was too late. Karma looked at her with abject shock. She hadn't expected it. She never thought that her good friend might be a superhero.

"Lunella...are you...Moon Girl by chance?" Lu nodded her head in shame. She couldn't face Karma directly. So, she looked another way. She didn't want their eyes to meet. She'd feel so guilty about it. "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 in response. Karma continued to hug her, feeling her friend's warmth, and they remained close together.

As Lu left her embrace, she wanted to look down and away, but Karma held her face close. Lu had to say something now. "I wanted to tell you...but I was s-s-s-so scared what you might think of me...when my mom found out...she said I couldn't do this anymore...," she said as her voice trailed off. 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 that now? Was she dense or something? "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. While she still didn't know how she felt about Karma, she kept being drawn to her. Karma made her feel safe, protected, and respected.

"You are right, Karma. Let me just move the stylus on the vinyl record, then we can danc—I mean skate out there." In no time at all, she did exactly that, since she'd fixed the issue with the cords before. 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 anything from her. It wouldn't be right. She had to be honest, as hard as it would to do so. As she moved toward Karma, the girl grabbed her hand, and pulled her ever closer. They skated around, with their hands clasped together as they laughed, in a beautiful movement. Adira quickly peaked in and saw them having such a great time together. 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 never knew she was there.

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...too 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 being 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 skating together, they were lucky that no one else came in. If Case had been there, she probably would have been jealous of what they were doing. Devil was asleep, so he wasn't there either. Lu tried to spend time with him, although not as much as she had done before.

"Yeah, Karma, that's true," she said as she playfully gave her a kiss on the 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 that. That was fine. She didn't want to hurt Lu. She never would. After all, she knew that revealing her secret identity to her was a lot. It was 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," she said. She followed up her words by saying, "I don't know in the world how we are gonna 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? She couldn't be happier.

"Okay, we'll take it slow." Lu grabbed her helmet and carefully put the vinyl disc back in its paper sleeve. It has to be done carefully so it isn't cracked. 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. He liked that a lot, more than anything. Suddenly she backed up, causing him to look at her strangely. What was she trying to do? Lu tried to cover 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 that only Lu and Case understood. Karma wasn't sure what they were talking about. She'd have to ask Lu about it some time. For now, it was fine.

"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. Her friend had been waiting at the phone. It was almost like she was waiting for her call, like she was that wife of that Mormon missionary in Orgazmo. That happened to be one of her favorite films, something that Lu could never understand. "Are you doing okay? I was super 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. She was so glad to have Case as her friend. She was someone who could ground her when times got tough.

"I'm fine, Case...I made a big life decision, please don't be mad," she began. She breathed deeply. It would be really hard to tell her. She then turned on the video-call feature. "So...uh...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 that girl from Hansberry Heights! The go-getter...the one I see on 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. She couldn't deny that. However, she was still happy for Lu. She needed more girls she could confide in. That was good, right?

"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 with her request. 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. Case wanted to make sure that Lu didn't hear any of this. "So, as you probably know, Lu is going through a lot right now...I want you and her to be happy...I don't want her to get 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 can have my number. You could contact me whenever you want about anything." 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 sure what was going on in Lu's head. She wasn't fully sure what Lu saw in her, at least at this point. Despite that, 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 her hair carefully. It's like taming a beast sometimes, you know." 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 Lu, it was almost like she was following a musical beat. She handed the phone back to Lu.

"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, since she was clearly blushing. Her face had turned 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 fast motion. Her face was still flushed. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Karma continued to hold her hand firmly. "We can do this, Lu." As they moved closer and closer, they could see Adira sketching out something. It seemed like the poster had some political message, although they couldn't tell what it was, at least not from that distance.

"Mom, I have...something to tell you..." she started to say. Adira looked up from her sketching. She stared intensely 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 ever done in her life. This was never easy. "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 cursed out their own 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 remain supportive. What she thought in that instant came out of her mouth almost immediately. "Does this make you bisexual or something?" She paused. "I know that's a word people are using these days..." Lu was totally embarrassed. "I-I-I... don't know, Mom. I'm still... figuring that out." Her mom hugged her. Lu hugged her back. They remained in a close embrace, that is until Adira put her arm around Karma too. "You're family too, sweetie. Just treat my baby right." Karma replied instantly, seeing that Lu's mom deeply cared about her despite what she had heard from Lu about banning her from being Moon Girl. She wanted to remain in her good graces. That mattered. "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. She had already sort of done that. Whatever remained ahead for them, whether it was Karma telling her friends about her new girlfriend or something else entirely, they would work side-by-side, supporting each other along the way. They'd make their own black girl magic, together.