Chapter Two

Family

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"Clark!"

"Mom!"

The tall, black-Haired young man scooped up the woman and spun her round, giving her a gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek as she hugged him back with an intensity that would have caused any observer to conclude that his ribs were in danger of being broken. After a moment, he gently lowered her to the floor and she stepped back, holding him at arms length as she looked at him in the dawnlight.

"You're looking too thin, Clark. You need to eat more. It's been too long."

Clark grinned as he gave his mother a quick kiss on the cheek and followed her back into the farmhouse.

"It's good to see you agan." Martha continued. "How long will you be staying this time?"

"I've finally finished my kryptonian education, mom." Clark said with a smile as they walked through to the kitchen. "The Fortress still contains lots for me to learn, but I've learned all the basics and now the Fortress is mine."

Martha guided her son to a chair and pushed him into it, then switched on the kettle.

"It's good that you're back." Martha smiled. "You didn't call nearly enough the last four years."

"I was kind of busy." Clark protested with a laugh. "But mum, I know! I know where I came from, how you and dad found me. Who my birth-parents were."

Martha's expression froze slightly and Clark rose, wrapping her in his arms.

"I said my birth-parents, mom. You and dad were the ones who took me in, raised me, taught me. You accepted me even though how you found me showed that I wasn't human, despite my looks. You and dad are and always will be my true parents."

Martha smiled and leaned her head against her son's shoulder.

"Sorry for being so emotional, Clark."

Clark grinned. "During my education in the Fortress, I came across a piece of poetry that I think described best how you and dad saw me."

Martha looked up at him and Clark started to quote.

"Not flesh of my flesh nor bone of my bone

But still miraculously my own

Never forget for a single minute

You didn't grow under my heart, but in it."

Martha smiled, her eyes brimming with tears. "That's… that's it exactly, Clark. That's it exactly."

For a moment, neither moved, enjoying the presence of a loved one that had been away for too long, then the kettle whistled and Martha pushed Clark back to the chair.

"Black, no sugar?"

"Thanks mom." Clark grinned as Martha poured water into a cup emblazoned with 'To A Super Son'. A moment later, the cup was in front of him and Martha was sat across from him, a cup held in her hands.

"I heard about several of your escapades, Clark." She teased. "You made the news saving that cruise ship, and as for that plane that you caught…"

Clark blushed. "I was trying to keep a low profile."

"Oh, there weren't any photos," Martha quickly reassured him, "But you already have a nickname."

"Superman." Clark sighed before taking a sip of his coffee. "How they came up with that…"

"Apparently you have a nice S." Martha giggled.

"MOM!"

"What?" Martha asked innocently. "Several people you rescued said you wore the letter S on your chest."

Clark shook his head. "It's the crest of the House of El, mother. It just happens to look like an S."

"As I said." Martha giggled. "A nice S."

Clark gave her a gimlet stare and she put her cup down before her laughter caused her to drop it. "Oh, son, you are so easy to tease."

Clark shook his head and smiled.

"So." Martha continued. "Tell me about this Fortress of yours, what is it like?"

"Why tell when I can show it to you?" Clark asked with a smile. "I brought along a transport pod, I can simply fly you up there and you can see for yourself. It's amazing!"

"You can?" Martha gasped. "Well, we'll go after lunch. You need to eat, you're getting too skinny!"

Clark burst into laughter.

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"Is it safe?"

Clark nodded as he effortlessly placed the windowed container on the ground, opening it to reveal the padded interior with grab handles.

"It's safe, mom. You get in, I strap it to my back and fly to the Fortress. It's got full life-support capabilities and a communicator connected to the one in my ear, so we can talk on the way."

Martha frowned at the container, then sighed. "Alright. Help me in."

Clark helped his mother to get comfortable, then he closed the lid and lifted the container, strapping it to his back.

"Alright in there?"

"Doing fine." Martha said, looking round. "So, shall we….woah!"

Clark smoothly ascended into the air, then accelerated northwards, being careful not to accelerate too quickly. Within moments, his speed stabilised as the earth unrolled far underneath them.

"Is… is it always this beautiful?" Martha asked, looking down over her son's shoulder. Clark nodded.

"Everything seems so small from up here." Martha marvelled. "How fast are we going?"

"Just below the speed of sound." Clark said, glancing round to ensure that no aircraft were nearby. "I can go faster, lots faster, but the turbulence would be… a bit of a problem."

"How fast can you go?"

"I've managed to fly at mach four, almost mach five at the same height as most fast planes." Clark said as he adjusted course slightly. "That would be about… four and a half thousand kilometers per hour."

A low whistle of amazement was his only answer and Clark smiled.

"It's quite tiring to fly at that speed, though. Smashing through the sound barrier like that… it creates something called the Prandtl-Glauer singularity, it's a… a compressed sphere of vapour created and trapped in the shockwave created by flying so fast. Going that fast does, however, let me get from Chicago to LA in less than an hour."

"And how long will it take to get to the Fortress?" Martha asked after a couple of moments.

"At this speed, a couple of hours or more." Clark admitted. "I'm going to get more altitude, it'll let me fly faster without worrying about turbulence. You may want to get a nap."

"Maybe later." Martha smiled. "For now, I think I'll enjoy the view. This is amazing!"

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"There it is."

Martha looked ahead, eyes squinting as she fought to see their destination against the snowy background. For a few seconds, it didn't register, then her eyes widened in shock.

"What is… that?"

"The Kryptonians called it a Class Six Embassy." Clark explaned as he angled down towards the giant structure. "It was the largest of the Embassy modules once deployed from its dimensional storage pocket."

Martha remained silent, her gaze transfixed by the kilometer-wide crystalline structure with its pentagonal roof and angled sides emblazoned with the crest of the House of El. As they approached, she saw that the corners were doorways.

"Is that…"

"All the sides, the top and the base are pentagonal and slightly convex." Clark said as he flew bare meters above the snow, the Fortress now looming ahead of them. "It's the best compromise between strength, internal volume and defensive potential. Almost half of the Fortress is currently underground, its hydrogen and oxygen tanks are both full and readyfor use."

"Amazing…" Martha breathed as a doorway opened ahead of them and they flew through into a wide hallway. Clark landed and unstrapped the pod, lowering it onto the floor and opening it so that she could step out.

"Welcome to the Fortress, mom." Clark smiled as Martha craned her head, trying to take in as much of the room as possible. "Fortress, this is my mother, Martha Kent. Please add her to the list of registered users, full access."

"Welcome Martha Kent." A feminine voice said. "You are recognised. Welcome to Embassy Six-El-Nine, known as the Fortress."

"Thank you." Martha managed, holding tightly to her son's arm. "Clark…?"

"Let me give you the tour." Clark said, scooping her up into his arm and gliding towards the inner door. "The Fortress is a self-contained environmental spheroid with several fully-automated machine shops and an extensive library…"

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"So, are there any other Embassies stored here?" Martha asked, taking an appreciative sip of the coffee that Clark had handed her. Clark shook his head.

"No. It is impossible to store a dimensionally-stored object inside another dimensional pocket. The result is an explosive destabilisation of both dimensional pockets and the destruction of the stored items. In addition, the energy needed to create said dimensional pocket and store the object in a way that allows for retreival is… heh... astronomical. The Fortress is one of only twelve Class-six Embassies that Krypton had available."

Martha nodded, taking another sip and motioning for him to continue.

"The Fortress contains several vehicles , but since most vehicles used dimensional power-cores as opposed to superconductive capacitors, it doesn't have any of the larger vehicles available. It does have the plans for them, as well as the dimansional cores, so I can build them if needed."

"How is this placed powered?" Martha asked. "If it needs dimensional power cores…"

"It uses a Hyper Tap." Clark grinned. "At the center of the Embassy is the Power Core. The Core taps into the trans-dimensional quantum-state known as T-space and uses the reality differential between T-space and realspace to generate the power that the Embassy needs."

Martha blinked.

"I barely understand it myself." Clark shrugged. "The important thing is that it works. By Kryptonian standards, it's old, proven technology. The Fortress can create a power surplass equivalent to seven nuclear power stations even when at full internal usage. The only downside is that having too many Hyper Taps in close proximity causes them all to destabilise and deactivate. At most, we can only have maybe fourteen Hyper Taps on Earth before they become too numerous to remain stable. That's one of the reasons why Krypton went for the Graviton plants, and thus why Krypton is no more."

For seversal moments, the room was silent, then Clark shook himself.

"Anyway, the Fortress is pretty much self-sufficient. I've brought in plenty of plants for the hydroponics areas, so food isn't a problem, especially with the remotes. I've also flown a couple of satellites into orbit, so I have full access to the internet, phones, even all the tv and radio channels, although I've sold some of the valuable metals stockpiled here and taken out full subscriptions to all the main networks. I didn't need to given the decryption capabilities here, but…"

Clark shrugged and Martha laughed in understanding.

"I raised you honest, Clark. Good to know you can't be tempted by free tv."

Clark grinned back at her.

"So, you're using this place as a base for all your missions?"

"I am." Clark confirmed. "With the Fortress scanning for emergencies that the local people cannot deal with, it allows me to go to where I am most needed."

"You've been doing a lot of good out there." Martha smiled. "You're becoming rather famous."

Clark sighed. "I don't do it for the fame, mom. I don't want the fame. Goodness knows that I try to keep a low profile…"

"In your shiny blue and red outfit with the wonderful S." Martha interjected mischievously.

"It's a Kryptonian Steller Defence Corps ceremonial uniform." Clark half-protested. "I wear it to honour my birthplanet, as the last son of Krypton, if I don't remember them, who will?"

Martha nodded understandingly. "I'm sure your parents would be proud of you."

"I hope Dad is, and that you are." Clark said and Martha smiled as the simple declaration showed the depths of his love.

"I meant your birth-parents, but thank you." Martha said, blinking away the tears that threatened to leak out. "You know I'd be proud of you whatever you did and I'm sure that wherever John is, he's looking down at us both and smiling."

"Thanks mom." Clark whispered, catching her free hand in his. "I…"

An insistent beeping noise sounded and Clark frowned, his gaze darting to a small display near the door.

"What is it?"

"A plane, incoming." Clark said with a frown, standing up.

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"What is this place?"

Martha's question seemed to echo through the cavernous, cathedral-like room as she followed her son to a raised dias set in the middle. Arranged round the bowl-shaped room were dozens of crystalline consoles, many of them glowing faintly and projecting holographic displays for the people who should have been sat there, but weren't.

"This is Central Control." Clark said, stepping onto the dias and pausing to offer his mother a hand up. "From here, the most secure and well-fortified room in the Fortress, I can control everything. Computer, display incoming craft and scan occupants."

Martha gasped as an image rippled into view just above head-height, an image surrounded by several labels written in Kryptonian runes. A moment later, the image changed, becoming a wireframe schematic with various systems flashing in sequence.

"A Blackbird SR-77… I thought that it had never got past the prototype stage…" Clark mused. "Four life-signs… all X-gene positive?"

"What does that mean?" Martha asked, worry evident in her voice.

"What it means is that we have a quartet of mutants visiting us." Clark smiled. "The plane is unarmed, so they're probably not hostile, I'll turn on the landing lights and see what they want. I'll wear a com-link and set it up so that you can watch from here."

"Forget it." Martha snapped. "I'm going with you. You are not meeting them alone!"

Clark managed not to sigh and simply nodded. He knew that there was no way that he was going to win this arguament.

Not even Superman could win every battle.