Chapter 2

The streets of Metropolis buzzed with busy commuters, blaring car horns, and construction crews rebuilding from the Doomsday and General Zod aftermaths. Kyla had stayed away from majorly populated areas to avoid being detected, so there were less opportunities for people to be nosy and discover her secret. On the other hand, she needed to see how the public saw Superman. She needed to see how Superman saw them.

The family seal was plastered everywhere. The "S," encapsulated in a diamond on a black background, flew on flags, banners, posters, and lied on any reachable flat surface. Just weeks ago, this same society was ready to hang him, but their unity in mourning his death took away the sting of her grief.

For the past two weeks, she'd been hesitant to visit the world's final resting place for him. Somehow seeing it would set it in stone and make it final, and she wasn't sure if she was ready to finally accept it. Having only known him just short of two years, Kyla felt a lifelong connection to him.

She looked out over Superman Memorial Park, located in the center of the city and glimpsed a solemn gathering of onlookers. Along the cityscape, Metropolis looked as though its resurrection was well underway. Clark loved this city, but she couldn't understand why. Maybe one day she could rationalize his thinking but only living in his shoes could open that window. Kyla wasn't sure she was ready or willing to be Superman 2.0.

A flat, black granite structure, stretching out fifty yards in all directions, emblazened the large, silver shield symbol. Flowers and trinkets lied in heaps around it, and written below in faded white paint were the words "If you seek his monument, look around you." A pain in Kyla's chest throbbed as she choked back a whimper. It was one of the most spectacular tributes she'd ever seen, and it pained her to know that Clark would never get to see it.

It broke her heart sometimes to sit and watch the news with him when a political pundit or some anti-Superman nut spat vitriol about him. The look on his face saddened her. His head would drop in defeat, a sigh would escape his lips, or he would cast a stoic stare back at the screen. She couldn't imagine being in his shoes doing the amazing things he did only to get mocked and slighted for it.

"I wish you were here, Clark," she whispered.

Kyla knelt down and ran her hand across the silver plated shield of the House of El. People strolled around the symbol and watched in silence. An occasional sniffle or sob could be heard over the lingering crowd. As she stood, she took in the faces of each person gazing upon the memorial. Women blotted tears from the corners of their eyes. Men stared with indeterminable reservation. Children ran and played in the grass, aloof to the price that was paid so they could do that very thing. She hoped they were grateful as Kyla was. Had Clark not defeated the creature, it was almost certain the earth would've fallen to its wrath.

Feeling thirsty, she made her way into an internet cafe where she grabbed a large soda and snack to refuel her. She sat down at an empty computer and surfed the net as she nursed the carbonated beverage. Kyla sifted through news sites, celebrity gossip, and political propaganda blurbs when she saw a familiar face. Nearly spitting the drink all over the keyboard, she sat up straight and clicked on the article blaring across the screen.

"Bruce Wayne to fund new memorial projects for Superman in Metropolis and Gotham City."

His professional demeanor, tailored blue suit, and playboy smirk glared back at her. He had been that man in the cemetery. Bruce Wayne...CEO of Wayne Industries.

"Wow, Clark, you had friends in high places," she mumbled.

After spending a solid hour researching Wayne, she could find no connection to the woman standing with him in the cemetery. The only women she could connect Wayne to were his fly-by-night girlfriends or playthings. She never suspected the woman to be romantically linked to him, but she couldn't assume anything at this point. Kyla needed to pay Bruce Wayne a visit, but first she had to prepare. It was unlikely he would take an appointment with someone claiming to be Clark's friend. Surely Wayne had plenty of gatekeepers to prevent nutjobs from gaining an audience with him. She would have to surprise him, but she'd have to have proof first. To him, she could just be another one of the meta-humans walking around. Just another threat. She would have to convince him she was one of the people he was looking for. One to fight alongside with, not against.

Kyla hadn't visited her spaceship's crash site in over twenty years. It lie deep in the uninhabited woods on the Canadian-United States border. The Kryptonian ship, buried fifty feet below the surface, would have answers to her questions. She'd long forgotten the contents of the information diaries stored in the ship's database. The last time she'd listened to them, she'd been eleven years old. So the ship wouldn't be found by wandering hunters, Kyla buried it deep in the permafrost.

She plunged her fist into the cold surface, and the earth gave way with each punch. Within moments, the surface of her Kryptonian spacecraft peeked through the dirt. After digging it up, a monstrous hole surrounded the small aircraft. Kyla presented the Kryptonian key of her mother's house, and a small door opened. The smell of earth and mold filled her nostrils as she crawled in.

Kyla wiped the dust and shooed away various insects skittering across the control panel. She hoped the ship still had enough power, and, to her delight, it came to life when she ran her fingertips across the digital screen.
"Kyla Shor-Ryo, daughter of the Houses of Ryo and Alor. You have been granted access," the computer chirped.

"Kelex, please run ship diagnostics."

"All functions normal, Kyla."

She felt odd being addressed by her Kryptonian name. Renner had been her name of choice for the past three decades, as she wanted nothing to do with her birth father. But after talking to Clark, she entertained the possibility his absence being involuntary and her anger misplaced.

"Kelex, please run all audio files recorded by Jacinda Mok-Alor."

"Accessing File 1 of 23."

Her mother's voice spoke to her with such clarity that it felt like she was in the room with Kyla. Jacinda spoke of Kyla's birth, the circumstances leading up to it, and other personal information she'd obsessed about for the past three decades. As Kelex played each file, Kyla took notes of any details that seemed of importance, but most of the recordings were of her mother's sentimentalness or mindless blabbing. As she waited for the last file to play, only silence played through the speakers.

"Kelex, please play file 23."

"I am sorry, Kyla. You do not have proper credentials for access. Please provide passcode."

She scratched her chin. What in the world could be the password, and why had her mother protected it? Kyla rattled off random words that she felt appropriate, but each time Kelex responded with a denial. She skimmed over her notes and looked for key phrases or words, but nothing stuck out to her. After she replayed the previous 22 files, she sighed in frustration.

"Why is it so hard just to get some redemption?" she asked.

"File 23, access granted."

Kyla stared dumbfounded as her mother's voice played over the speakers. Redemption? How odd she would pick that word, she thought.

"My dearest Kyla. I struggled with whether I should create this message for you, and that is why I have protected it. I'm afraid I haven't been honest with you. I'm certain you've listened to my messages a thousand times about your father and how you came to be, but you must do away with that information. Kyla, I'm sorry. Your father and I have a grand love affair before he met his wife. You were a product of that short, glorious era. Yes, I've told you this before, but what I didn't tell you was, that your birth was considered treason in the Kryptonian culture. The council decided a millennium ago that Kryptonian children should be artificially bred specially for tasks, duties, jobs, and lifestyles. We were sucking the life from the planet with overpopulation and natural resource harvesting, so any children were...were...farmed for families approved by the council. Due to so much gene manipulation, the generations afterwards were incapable of producing live fetuses. So even if they broke Kryptonian law, no one had the capability of conceiving a child...that is, until you. My beautiful, black haired princess. Oh, I will miss those blue eyes of yours. You look so much like your father."

Jacinda paused, and Kyla heard a faint sniffle and whimper in the background.

"Because you were considered an illegal product, I didn't want to lose you. I didn't want them to take you away from me and destroy you, as were the rumors of what happened to any natural born children. I couldn't let that happen, so I kept you a secret...which means, Kyla, that your father had no idea that you existed. I'm so very sorry for lying to you, but I figured you might be able to get over it if you knew no one was waiting for you back here. Please do not attempt to come back. Live on earth with people who will love you and accept you with consequence."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. For nearly 30 years Kyla had hated her father for his abandonment for which he wasn't guilty. Clark had been right.

"So, I did not send you off because you were unwanted by a mother and father, I sent you away so you could live. There was no future for you here on Krypton. I'm positive your father would've loved you, but I chose to keep you from him to protect all of us. I must admit though, I second guess myself everyday for that decision. I got to have you for two years before it got too dangerous to keep you hidden. Please know, Kyla dear, I absolutely had your best interests at heart. For any grief my lies have caused you, I will never forgive myself."

Kyla heard more sniffling and stifled breaths as Jacinda tried to subdue the breakdown about to happen.

"There is something else, my little one. I'm not sure if I should tell you, as I don't want to add fuel to the fire I've unleashed. Your father and his wife have also given birth to a child… a son. They, too, have kept him secret. You have a brother named Kal-El, my precious Kyla, and I'm so sorry to say you will never meet him. I learned this secret in a dishonest way, but I feel I am justified to tell you. You deserve to know."

The dam breaks lose, and Jacinda loses control of her composure. Her sobs echo throughout the chamber, and Kyla can't help but cry along with her. She didn't know how to process the information she just received, and every emotion granted to humans poured out with her tears. Clark's Kryptonian name was Kal-El. He was her brother. A pain she hoped to never experience singed her chest, and she gasped for air. The sobs rocked her, and she quickly ran out of breath.

For the past 33 years, her own flesh and blood had been on the same planet with her, and neither one of them knew it. Now, he was dead. Kyla's face burned with red hot fury as an ire for her mother burned in her heart. Why hadn't she chanced it? Then she remembered that Krypton had exploded not long after Clark was sent away. If she'd stayed, she'd be dead… just like her mother and father. Granted, she thought death felt better than how she felt at this moment.

"I'd rather be dead than be alone and suffer with all the consequences of my mother's lies."

Kyla wiped her eyes with her forearm and sat back in the chair. Her backpack crinkled and whined in protest, and then she recalled the box Martha had given her. She swung the backpack around and brought the crumpled box out of the bag.

Then she remembered today was her birthday. Kyla couldn't help but stare at the navy blue paper and black bow. She wanted to rip it apart or throw it a thousand miles, as the pain attached to it was too great. Clark's face was the only thing that motivated her to open it. Should she open it? What if the gift made her hurt worse than she already did? Should she just store it away for another day?

Pushing aside her anxiety and grief, she untied the bow and tore off the paper with gentle ease. When she lifted the top off, a handwritten note sat atop gift tissue. She unfolded it and recognized Clark's scribble:

Ky,

I've been waiting a couple of weeks to give this to you. Other than keeping my identity a secret, keeping this a secret has proved to be harder. I'm sorry I wasn't around for more birthdays, but I'm more than grateful to be around for this one. I'm so thankful to have you in my life, and I hope to share many more decades and flights with you.

I made this for you, and one day I hope you'll wear it. Knowing you, you'll probably throw it back in my face and laugh at me. That's okay. You'll eventually come around. Although, we will have to have a conversation once you open this.

Love, Clark.

Another sob crawled up her throat, but she managed to tackle it just in time before it burst through her lips. After she placed the note to the side, she carefully pulled away the tissue to find a black garment folded up. She hadn't figured Clark for the sewing or crocheting type, but he managed to surprised her all the time. Kyla pulled out the cloth to discover it was two pieces. One felt like a mixture of silk and cotton, and the other was a firmer texture closer to rubber.

As she unfolded it further, an image emblazoned across the chest revealed itself. In a silver diamond with gray inlay, the symbol of the House of El stared back at her. She cupped her mouth with her hand and gasped. Clark had made her an outfit like his except with her favorite colors instead of his red and blue. Below the uniform was a pair of black boots with a silver stripe up both sides.

Just when Kyla thought she couldn't cry anymore, more tears flowed down her face. This had been the best and worst birthday of her life, and she didn't know how to feel about it. Anger, despair, hope, joy, and regret all walked across the stage of her mind, auditioning for the lead role of dominant emotion.

Why had he put his crest on it? She didn't understand, but she thought it better to read his note again. When she got to the last line, it read differently to her. Clark's secret stood beyond a veil, and she could only assume… he knew. Somehow he'd found out Kyla was his relative and planned to tell her on her birthday. He'd tried so hard to make her day special, and even beyond the grave he managed to accomplish it.

She put the outfit back in the box and put it back in her backpack. It would see the light of day again but not today. After requests for more information, Kelex read her file after file of Kryptonian history from beginning to the era before their destruction. Having gotten to know Clark, some of the things Kelex read to her only confirmed what Clark told her. When Kelex spoke of the Growth Codex, her ears pricked up. Once, Clark had told her before his father...now her father...sent him to earth, he infused the Codex with Clark's DNA. General Zod made every effort to extract it, but only came away with a little.

Kryptonian culture used the Codex to create life in the Genesis Chambers, pods that created fetuses for harvesting. It served as the blueprint for the Kryptonian genome, and the generations used it to determine gender, duty, and lifestyle before it took its first breath. The history books said it was the skull of the first Kryptonian whoever existed. Krypton at its purest. Advanced technology was used to pull from the Codex and manipulate it to create life. Kelex read off the scientific formula for it, but it went right over Kyla's head. Science had never been her strong subject.

After she could hear all that she could stand hearing, she powered down the ship and exited. She'd taken a small novel of notes and stuffed them in her backpack. When she took a long look at her ship, it pained her to have to bury it again. Another finality she didn't want to accept.

Kyla patted down the last patch of dirt, took a deep breath, and blew a layer of ice over the surface to recreate the permafrost look. She hoped she would never have to come back there again. Now that she had what she thought was enough proof, she decided it was time to pay Bruce Wayne a visit.