My Name is Kal-El
Prologue: Walking Away from it All
Clark Kent's apartment, Metropolis, Delaware
Alone I sit in the darkness of my apartment.
CNN Breaking News…The USA threatened North Korea with military action…. Will Superman step in?
Lights out, blinds close, door locked and my comlink resting on the end table in front of me.
MSNBC News Break… Can Superman break the tension between North Korea and the US?…
Yet I can't block out the hurricane of noises still suffocating me…
Superman, its J'onzz we have a situation in…
I slump lower into my seat resting my head on the back of my couch as the world's collective voice crying out for me…
Kal-El, my son… Join me in the fortress. There is much we need to discuses…
My body tightens as I hear my biological father's voice reach out to me.
BANG, BANG!
My eyes dart to the front door.
"Damn it Smallville get your ass in gear," I hear Lois shouting at me from outside my door. "Shit's about to go down in…"
Honestly I don't know how long she's been standing there yelling at me. I close my eyes as Pa taught me.
"Jor-El?" I whisper.
But Jor doesn't reply. The fortress has never talked to me like this before. A new lesson I needed to learn? A warning? I need to investigate this…
"Don't you dare ignore me Smallville…"
Slowly I drown out the sound of Lois's voice as I try to focus on the emptiness of my mental island.
"Bruce, yeah it's Lois. YOU TELL SMALLVILLE TO GET HIS ASS TO…"
Finally quiet, a rarity for me with the super hearing and all. The quiet was calming in a world that was becoming too much. Too much death, violence, hate… Honestly why did Jor-El send me here? Was earth truly the best place to send me? I'm only allowed to walk freely because they have found a way to contain or kill me.
My mind wonders into silence as I know it won't last. Faintly in the distance I hear J'onzz calling my comlink again, something about intervening… I stare at my comlink for a moment before picking it up.
"Superman here," I reply.
J'onzz hesitates for a moment before replying, "Are you…"
Am I ok? No… I'm tired
"I'm heading to White House now J'onzz," I interrupted. "Tell them to have camera's ready…"
The White House, Washington DC
I turn off my comlink before J'onzz can answer back. Swiftly I feel myself dematerialized in my apartment and rematerialized in the rose garden of the White House. A hundred cameras flash in unison as they all shout questions at me. I look over at the president with a fake smile on my face.
"Thank you for coming Superman I…." he begins to speak as I walk away from him.
The reporters gasp as I walk away from his extended hand. Walking up to the podium I lift my hands silencing the crowd. What do I say? How do I intervene?
We have something to discuss Kal-El…
My real father's words ring in my ears.
"My home planet of Krypton was destroyed by leaders who thought that war was the first and only option," I begin to speak. "I don't think I ever told you all that before. This is the only home I have ever known and I see the same thing happening here…"
A calmness swept over me as the words flowed from my mouth.
"…but unlike my birth planet, they didn't have a Superman to step in and stop them from going over the brink," I continue. "My father thought your planet was better than ours. That humanities boundless ability to learn and grow would make this a good place for me. You have managed to survived thousands of year without a Superman to stop you from blowing yourselves to bits… and it's time for you to be the people my father thought you could be…"
Slowly I take a step back from the podium. As I move away from the podium the crowd erupts. I turn away from the crowd unlatching the cape from my shoulders. Gradually I let my cape tumble to the ground. My eyes look up to the sun.
"Time for humanity to step up and be better than my people," I say before I take off to the skies.
Hitting the air I hear the crowds voices grow fainter and fainter. A weight felt lifted off my shoulders but had I don't the right thing? As I fly to the fortress I wonder whether anyone was going try and call me. I pray to Rao hoping that they would give me my space.
"I'm coming father…" I whisper. "I'm coming…"
PS: This story was inspired by the current run of Superman and recent events in the world. Superman is an immigrant and a refugee. Right now that Superman the modern world needs. Sometimes getting back to basic isn't about being stuck in the past but using a story of two Jewish immigrants who created a hero that come from afar, taken in a loved but those who should fear him and became a symbol of good for all.
Bonus: Preview Chapter 1:The Aftermath
The Themysciran Embassy, London, England
I sigh as I slump back into my seat.
"What have you done Kal?" I whisper to myself.
My head begins to ache as my phone was being lit ablaze by ever new organization known to man.
"Why didn't he come to you or me before doing this?" I think to myself as I start to rub the sides of my head.
"He's tired…" I hear Bruce's gravelly voice behind me.
I hear Bruce enter my office. Leaning to the side I see Bruce in his plain clothes standing in the doorway.
I sigh, "Has the President stood down his tone yet?"
"Well Clark's little stunt might has scared the living hell into him," Bruce snorts as he finally steps into my office. "Well he just scared the entire planet into 'playing nice'. So it isn't all bad…"
Bruce voice strains as he speaks. He was shaken by Kal's actions as well.
"Do you think he opened up to anyone Bruce, Lois?" I ask as I feel Bruce's hand touch my shoulder for a moment.
"How loud was she shouting?" Bruce snorts.
"Very…" I pause.
Bruce takes a seat on the edge of my desk in front of me. He folds his arms across his chest.
"… Are you going to try and talk to him?" I ask.
"J'onzz thinks that would be a bad idea," Bruce answers. "Well at least me going…"
I look up at Bruce puzzled.
"He trusts you more than he trusts me…."
I sigh. He was right about that.
