He set her down in the kitchen, which took a couple minutes since he had to gently peel her arms away from his neck. A pair of pliers would have been easier to remove.
"I'm sorry, Kara," he said with amusement. "but you DID want to see what I could do."
She shot him an annoyed sidelong glance, and then sat down in one of the chairs he pulled out for her.
"...As for what else I can do..." he said, searching the refrigerator. He straightened. "Ah! This'll do."
He pulled out a flat food in a metal dish out of the device.
"Feel this pie." he said, placing it on the table.
Kara looked at it. What a HORRIBLE looking food! Hesitantly, she reached out and felt it anyway. Cold...Interesting texture, though.
"Now watch my eyes, and then feel it again when I say so."
She nodded. Looking intently at the pie, Kal's eyes turned completely red for a couple of seconds,
then went back to normal. A strange, but...appealing...odor filled the air.
"Okay, feel it carefully now." Kal said.
She reached out, and then yanked her finger away... OW!
"How did you do that?" she asked. "It looks like you heated the pie...by staring at it?!"
Kal nodded. "It's what I call 'heat vision'.
It's one of MANY abilities that I have...and that you WILL have in a couple years."
She looked stunned. "How is this possible?"
"It's in our genetics. Our cells absorb the rays of the yellow sun of this system and give us these and many other powers. We are basically living solar batteries. It started with me many years ago. I started seeing through solid walls first, and then my speed increased tremendously...Then the greatest thing happened...I found I could fly through the air like a bird!"
Kal got a sharp object and cut two pieces out of the pie, and then went and got plates. He put a piece on the plate and handed it to her. She looked at it in revulsion, as if it were nibbling on her fingers.
Kal handed her a fork, which she examined curiously. Showing her how to hold it, he dug into his piece.
"It isn't going to BITE you." He said with a smile. "This is what we call 'cherry pie'.
Kara took the fork, and used it to work a small piece loose.
Hesitating, she brought it to her mouth, braced herself, and then popped it in.
Not...unpalatable, Kara thought as she chewed.
Kal watched with amusement as she dug in with more enthusiasm...
It took about another hour, but he gradually introduced her to a number of the more basic earth foods.
She was not too fond of the nuts, as she thought they had too bland a flavor. Vegetables were fairly well received, and in particular, she favored tomatoes. There was nothing on Krypton that looked or tasted like tomatoes, so she considered it a treat, of sorts. Bread was considered strange and bland until Kal showed her how humans livened up the taste by putting edibles between two thin slices of it.
When she asked Kal why these foods were so unprocessed and presented in such a primitive fashion,
he reminded her that earth society was not as advanced as Krypton's in many ways, but that there were advantages to NOT living in a totally climate-controlled environment. Kryptonians, he said, had long separated themselves from the 'good earth' of their planet. That had accelerated their cultural and emotional isolation.
It was her next question, however, that nearly knocked him out of his chair.
"How long have you ruled over these people?"
"Why...do you assume that I rule over this planet & her people?" Kal asked.
"Ours is the grander society and the greater technology. You have the powers of a god, and are dressed like one. Why would they not serve their betters?" Kara asked.
Hoo boy, Kal thought, her adjusting is going to be harder than I thought.
He paused and was about to respond when a flicker of movement caught his eye.
Bruce.
This is going to be interesting, he thought.
She nearly jumped a foot in the air when the grave voice spoke.
She spun to face the Bat-Man, who was standing quietly by the wall, staring at her with those unnerving white eyes. He still frightened her.
And much to the surprise of both her AND Kal, he spoke in Kryptonese.
"Their BETTERS...fought well over a thousand years of warfare. Their BETTERS lived...no…EXISTED in their towers, in isolation from each other. Their BETTERS refused to ask for help from ANYONE, DESTROYED their OWN PLANET, and, in the process, your OWN mother and father as well!"
Kara looked as if he'd just slapped her across the face.
Undaunted, The Dark Knight continued, but his voice softened a bit.
"Technologically, Kara, YES, we may still be primitive, but I want to ask something...
Whose planet has fared better? Which world's people learned the art of cooperation…of negotiation? Which people can still live their lives, move forward and make a difference in their world and their universe?"
He stopped and looked at Clark. He hesitated, and then spoke again.
"I have worked with your cousin for the past 15 years. He and I don't always see eye to eye on methods and techniques, but each of us has studied and respected the other. I have noted many unique things about him since we first met, one of which is: with all the god-like powers at his disposal, it is his PRIMITIVE, human qualities that he has used the best, and that have made the BIGGEST difference in this world."
"My gift is fear. His is encouragement. He helps inspire the people of this world through his actions and words where he can. He inspires them…and the JLA as well…to do better…to push harder to create a more equitable world. His greatest gift is the ability to fire the imagination, and encourage each person to help play their part to make that better world."
Kara somehow found her voice and her courage and spoke.
"Wh-What about you? Does he have an effect on you?" she inquired.
He paused again, surprised at her forthrightness, and nodded, almost embarrassed.
"He does. My world is dark in many ways…and I can get wrapped up in things a bit too much at times. Clark is always willing to deflate my ego when necessary…"
Clark felt his jaw drop but was too thunderstruck to pick it up.
Moments later, he finally found his voice. "Br...Batman...When? How…?"
"When did I learn your language? Do you really need to ask that?"
Bruce favored Clark with the slightest of smiles.
He turned back to Kara and continued.
"It's NOT powers that makes a 'GRANDER' society, NOR is it technology. The human parts…the heart and soul of each individual is the ONLY thing that can do that. Anything else is a fabrication."
Bruce turned around and headed for the door, noiselessly. At the frame, he paused, turned back and said, "We have a saying here...'What gaineth a man to win the world entire, but to lose his soul in the process?' Your ADVANCED culture left us some of their technology, but seemingly lost their souls in their journey. When a threat arose that would affect ALL of them... did they join together? No. If ANYTHING, they went in the opposite direction, each becoming their own little world. Science and technology has got to be guided by wisdom and compassion, or they otherwise invariably lead to ruin." He paused for a moment.
"Hrm. At least they saved the two of you, so ALL of them weren't THAT lost."
He looked at Clark and spoke in English. "Clark, the Watchtower scans are positive...She is genuine.
Body density match to yours is in the 99.98 range. Congratulations."
He paused, and then spoke in Kryptonese. "Incidentally, Kara, welcome to earth."
With that, he was gone. Kal looked at Kara, who was silent and staring at the folded vestment on the table, lost in thought.
Kal was cleaning up when Kara spoke again.
"What is your world like? Can I see it?"
Kal shot her a grin. "Even Batman couldn't dampen your enthusiasm, huh?"
She spoke quietly. "He made...much sense, and gave me much to think about."
Kal hesitated for a moment, and then looked at her and said, "I don't view myself as a god or better than anyone else because that's how I was raised. A farmer and his wife found my capsule after it crash-landed on earth. I was raised as a human initially, with the belief that if I have these powers, they are there to help me make a difference in this world. I wouldn't be comfortable being treated as a god."
He hesitated.
"Besides...I once DID try to control the world."
Kara was suddenly all ears.
Kal continued, somewhat uncomfortably. "This villain, named Dominus, manipulated my dreams and preyed on my fears of not being able to protect everyone. I got to the point where I had robots patrolling all over the earth. It took someone I loved DEARLY to break through to me again."
He stared at Kara soberly.
"Ruling this planet was not as glorious as it may first appear..."
Kal cleared his throat and changed the subject.
"If you're up to another adventure, we can go see the world."
She stood up. "Yes, please!"
Kal smiled. "All right...the transporters are this way!"
It was two minutes before the nausea passed.
Kal looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Kara. If you are not used to it, the transporter does tend to induce some nausea. I think it was made worse by the food you ate. We should've given you far less to begin with...maybe stuck with liquids. Are you alright now?"
She took one last, deep breath. Her stomach FINALLY calmed down. She nodded.
"We're going to fly. Let me know if the nausea comes back."
Kara nodded again.
Kal scooped her into his arms and slowly took off into the sunny sky.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and watched.
"This is the Amazon Rain Forest. This is thought of as the 'lungs' of our world, as most of the carbon dioxide from our exhalations is taken in by these trees."
"Can we...see them from the ground?" Kal smiled, and swooped down to the ground.
Kara walked up to a tree and gingerly felt the bark, and then squatted and examined a nearby fern, getting her hands wet. She then hesitated for a full minute, seeming to wrestle with herself, and then slowly reached out with a grimace...
And dug her hands into the soil.
Kal was stunned but kept silent. The grimace faded, and was slowly replaced with facination, as she felt the coolness and consistancy of the soil. She closed her eyes to focus more on it. She then spoke enthusiastically. "I read information on the trees and plants of Krypton in my studies. They spoke of vast gardens that the Fourth Age grew...but I never thought I would experience them personally."
She opened her eyes and looked at the area surrounding her.
"Tell me, Kal...do these come in small sizes?" Kara indicated the fern, and then the tree.
He nodded. "This is only the tiniest SLIVER of the diversity of plants that live here. A lot of people actually grow small versions of the ancient Gardens of Krypton, for decoration, shade and food. The 'tomatoes' you tasted before came from a plant. The cherries for the pie came off a special tree. The bread came from ANOTHER plant called 'wheat'."
Kara stood up. Quietly taking in the towering trees above her, she began to walk, observing everything she could. She stopped short and closed her eyes again. A slight smile crossed her face, as she stood in one of the warm sunbeams making its' way to the surface.
Kal watched her with amusement.
She might adjust to her new home easier than I expected, he thought...
She was stunned by the sheer amount of water, as most of the seas on Krypton had dried up in her time, and were only known as they were then in study crystal holograms. She felt Kal's body rotate, and they descended.
He landed on a sandy boundary in contact with the water.
"This is a place called the Bahamas. This is a popular beach site for humans on vacation."
Kara looked puzzled. "Vacation?"
"People have daily tasks here which can be stressful. A vacation is a chance to get away from their tasks and to relax for a certain period of time. They can return to work relaxed and refreshed."
She nodded. That is what those beings at the far end of the beach and the water were doing. Relaxing. She felt an urge to touch the water, which was stopping just short of her feet.
N-No! There are too many people around. I must not lose myself as I did in the...forest. Though, she thought, the sensations there were not unpleasant... Kal resolved the problem for her. He reached down, cupped his hands, and gathered a bit of both sand & water and offered it to her.
She refused to touch it.
Kal looked at her with sadness and spoke. "Kara, to be blunt, you are going to live on this planet for the foreseeable future. I realize this is somewhat uncomfortable to you considering how you were trained on Krypton, but you are going to have to start adapting here & now, to start blending in with the people of this world, or you will ultimately be FAR MORE uncomfortable than you are right now."
"But...what would they think...what would father and mother think of me behaving like this?"
"If, like my father, Jor-El, they sent you to safety, they did so out of an emotion called LOVE...for you. They may not have been able to identify it as we can, but it was there nonetheless. They would, out of this love, want you to live the life you have been given." Tears started to burn in her eyes at this, Embarrassed, she turned away from Kal and looked out to sea.
Kal's hands gently turned her back to look at him. "What is it?"
"Your words..." she whispered, staring at his belt and reaching for a control that was no longer working.
"Those...were the last words mother spoke...'We want you to be able to live the life you have been given.'
When the tears came again, she didn't have the strength to resist.
Kal stood there and held her as she cried herself dry...
It was three minutes before she finished, and pulled back, frustration and embarrassment writ large on her face. "Why is it SO hard? I never had this problem before. I could control myself well..." She looked down at the beach, squatted down and picked up one of the rocks there, examining it in her hands.
She couldn't decide whether to study it or throw it.
Kal thought for a minute and said, "You grew up around mostly emotionless people. That would make it easier to control your emotions than on a planet..."
Kara finished his thought for him, "Full of emotional people..."
She sighed in anger, and clenched her hands...
KKKrracckk!
She looked down at the hand that HAD held the rock. Fragments now.
"K-Kal? That rock was...defective, correct?"
Kal shook his head, a somber look on his face. "I'm glad we got this out of the way NOW. This is an example of your tremendous strength. You, like I, have GOT to be VERY gentle in how we physically contact others at ALL times down here.
Krypton had gravity about 16 times that of earth. That led to our ancestors' bodies developing very dense muscles, bones & skin. This enabled our people to just survive on Krypton, but here..."
Kal led her over to a huge rock outcropping facing the sea. He reached out with both hands...
And effortlessly hoisted it into the air.
He put it back down and said, "You try it."
Her eyes widened like saucers. "I can't lift that, Kal!"
Kara...Try, for me."
She gulped, frightened. She took a few deep breaths to steady her nerves…
Then reached out and grabbed a hold of the boulder...
It went right into the air with no effort.
Shaking slightly, Kara set the boulder back down. She took a couple deep breaths and calmed herself somewhat. She paused and thought for a moment.
Squatted down on to the sand.
Then leaped up.
And up.
And up further.
She looked at the beach far below, and at Kal rocketing up to her...as she started to fall.
He caught her and lowered her back to the beach.
Next to two footprints a foot deep.
Kal looked at her and smiled.
"Yep, that also means we can leap about an eighth of a mile straight up."
"Are our lungs as strong?"
Kal nodded.
She turned toward a palm tree and took a deep breath.
Then blew out through pursed lips.
The palm tree nearly bent over double, as if it was in the gale-force winds of a hurricane.
She stood there stunned and pale.
"Wow..."
Kal cleared his throat and spoke. "These powers, once you are all charged up, are a BIG responsibility.
If you use them well, it will make your life and the lives of others a good deal easier. If misused..."
Kal trailed off, looking out to sea.
"I used to read illustrated stories as a child here, Tales of heroes and villains. We call them comic books. One of the heroes had a simple mantra that impressed me, a simple truth that guided his life since he got his powers, 'With great power comes great responsibility.'
I've ALWAYS tried to keep that in mind."
Kal thought for a moment, and then looked at her and spoke. "On a different note, you have spent the first part of your life training and honing your logical faculties and hiding your emotions. Now it's time to balance them out by exploring the intuitive and emotional side of yourself and see what wisdom that brings you.
You have the chance that only the two of us, out of all of Krypton, got...
To reach past the fear of the 'other', and the fear of emotionalism which helped kill our homeworld, and allow yourself to grow into the best you are able to."
"Kal, I feel a ...coldness...in my chest when you say that... What does it mean?"
"Fear. Fear of the future, fear of the unknown."
"It..is NORMAL...to feel this?"
"Occasionally, yes. It can either immobilize you so you can't act, or it can be an incentive for great personal growth."
Kal was about to speak again when a round, red, flat disc landed in the sand by Kara's feet.
Two young men in swimsuits ran up, apologizing.
"Geez, Superman, We're sorry, man..."
"We didn't mean to..."
Kal put on his biggest smile.
"Guys, it's no problem. Don't worry about it. You didn't interrupt anything. We were just talking."
Kara reached down and gently picked up the disc, curious. "Kal, what is this?"
"It's a flying disc. It's used for exercise and entertainment." He thought for a minute, and then turned to the men. "Gentlemen, I'd appreciate if you would play a short game with us. The young lady is a relative of mine and is new to the planet."
The men looked at each other and answered in unison.
"Hell, yeah. For you, Superman, no problem!"
"Kara, remember...GENTLY." She looked somber and nodded.
It took all of two minutes for Kara to understand how to throw the disc.
She threw it too weakly a few times, missed catching it once and caught it with her stomach, and then got down how to catch it with her hands. Kal got a glimpse of her during the game and was satisfied.
She was smiling.
When the game was over, one of the guys asked Superman what her name was. He translated to her and she shyly replied, "Kara." Kal spoke to them briefly in the earth tongue and they nodded. They reached out their hands to her one at a time and introduced themselves.
"I'm John."
"I'm Mike."
She looked baffled for a second until Kal explained, "This is a form of greeting here. Reach out with your right hand, clasp theirs VERY GENTLY!, and move your hand up and down." He spoke to the men again, and the one called John reached out to Kal and shook his right hand. Mike followed suit a couple seconds later.
Kal looked at Kara, who nodded. The hands reached out again, and this time, each in turn was shaken, VERY gingerly. Kal looked at her and spoke, "Now try to match what I say as closely as you can." She nodded.
"Nice. To. Meet. You. Both."
"Niic Tooo Met Yuu Buth."
"Try it once more, Kara, you almost got it."
"Nice. To. Meet. You. Both."
"Niice. Too. Meet. Yuu. Both."
They both lit up with radiant smiles. Kara felt her face getting warmer than usual. Kal spoke with a proud smile. "Congratulations, Kara. That's your first greeting in English!"
After the men left, Kal looked at her and spoke.
"Well, what did you think of the experience?" She paused, gathering her thoughts. "It was...entertaining. They were quite...handsome."
Kal's face split wide with that wonderful boyish grin again, and Kara blushed, embarrassed.
"It was also...quite hot." she said, wiping her hand against her sweaty face.
Kal smiled. "Now you see the advantage behind their mode of dress. I'm getting a bit warm, too. Let's fly. That'll cool us down."
Kara nodded.
He scooped her up and took off into the air.
"The wind is quite cooling." Kara said, and then her attention shifted further down the beach.
"Kal, why are they lying on the beach like that?"
"Kara, that is called 'sunbathing' down here. They enjoy soaking up the sun, as we do, but where we gain abilities, they just get fashionably darker skin."
"Why?"
"Their skin produces a substance to protect itself that also darkens the skin's surface."
"Why is it...fashionable?"
"People think that they look better and healthier with darker skin."
"Are they?"
"Do they look better? That's up to your personal preference. Are they healthier? Not necessarily. The skin's darkening is a protection against the sunlight, but if they stay out for too long...Their skin burns painfully, gets very sensitive and peels off their body in sheets. We call it sunburn." Kara grimaced.
She looked back down at the beach. It must be...nice...to rest like that.
She sighed.
This 'experiment' is going to be a challenge to see through to completion...