Whims.
A/N: An idea I had after browsing through Wikipedia the other day. If I had the power to do it, I'd guarantee you that I would…just to know what the sensation is like.
"It's not really fair you know?" Lian said when Chris told her about an idea that had struck him.
"Oh believe me, I know that," he agreed. "People struggle and occasionally die in the attempt…where I can just fly to the top and have a look with virtually no effort."
"If that's what you want to do, who am I to stop you?" Lian shrugged. "I just think it's cheating."
"I just want to see the views from these places…that's all," Chris sighed. "I'm not about to claim some record or anything like that."
Damian Wayne had been listening to the conversation and glanced at some notes he and Tim kept. "According to this, you would actually be the first meta to reach the seven summits. None of the others have ever given it a thought…so it seems. If someone has, they haven't spoken of it."
"Seriously?" Chris asked. "I'll ask about it afterwards," he added when Damian confirmed that no meta known to date had accomplished what Chris was thinking of doing.
"So what order are you going to do them in?" Jai asked as he looked at a website about the seven summits challenge.
"McKinley, Aconcagua, Vinson Massif, Kosciuszko, Puncak Jaya, Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc, Elbrus, and last but not least, Everest," Chris rattled off. "Oh! And on my way back from Everest, I'll make a pit stop at the top of the true tallest mountain on Earth, when measured from its base."
"Which is?" Lian asked.
"Moana Kea in Hawai'i." Chris and Damian both answered her.
"So you're hitting everything," Jai stated. "To satisfy both lists and then some huh?"
"Lists?" Lian asked as Chris nodded.
"There's two lists as to what constitutes the seven summits," Chris replied. "The Bass and Messier lists vary on Kosciuszko or Puncak Jaya. One is the tallest in Australia, where the other is the tallest in Oceania."
"Why are you doing this again?" Lian asked, shaking her head.
Chris shrugged. "A whim I guess."
"Ha!" Iris barked when she entered the room. "I'm not the only one guilty of that."
"No, you're just more prone to it," Jai countered. Iris playfully smacked his head as she asked what the whim in question was. "Chris is gonna fly around the planet and do this," Jai said, pointing to the website he'd been looking at.
"Damn that lack of oxygen at altitude thing!" Iris stated. "I'd kill myself on most of those because of the lack of oxygen, if I did the speedster version of that trip."
"That won't be a problem for me," Chris admitted.
"Although," Iris muttered. She tore out of the room and was gone for a full ten minutes before returning. "Most of them are packed at the moment," she stated. "Well Kosciuszko's always packed, because it's really easy to reach the top."
"Did you just summit them all?" Chris asked.
"No. Lack of oxygen equals dead Irey, remember?" she replied. "I just went to the bases of all of them. Except Kosciuszko, because the summit's a day hike for just about anyone."
Chris shook his head at her. "Thanks for the head's up, but I'm not going until the middle of the week, when school lets out for the summer."
"Hell, since you'll be in the area, why not hit the eight thousanders while you're at it?" Jai suggested.
"Huh?" Lian asked, reading over Jai's shoulder.
"I suppose I could do that too."
"Eight thousanders?" Iris asked.
"The fourteen mountains on the planet all over eight thousand meters tall," Jai replied. "All of which are conveniently located in the greater Himalaya range."
Chris considered this for a moment. "I suppose I could," he repeated.
"Why not?" Damian suggested. "Before another meta gets the idea and beats you to it."
"Oh see? Now you guys are just egging him on," Lian snorted.
"I could hit the North Pole before McKinley and the South Pole after Vinson Massif, that way I knock out the three poles challenge too," Chris murmured. "Yeah, get them all out of the way."
"So what's the third pole?" Iris asked.
"Everest," Chris replied. "At least for the three poles adventure challenge."
"Some challenge," Lian snorted.
"Damian's right," Chris shrugged. "Knock them all out before anyone else gets the idea."
"You're still not claiming it officially," Lian warned.
"Nope, I just want to say that I've been to the top of them all," Chris admitted. "I want to know why people risk their lives to reach them. What's the thrill?"
School finished for the year and Chris set off on his trip around the world. He told Lois where he was going and begged her not to tell Clark until he'd returned. "I don't want him or Connor for that matter, showing me up," he said. Lois rolled her eyes and wished him luck.
The North Pole was mostly loose ice pack below him as his GPS told him that he'd reached it. He took his camera out and got a few shots of the Pole, including one with the GPS to prove where he was. His next stop was the summit of Mount McKinley in Alaska. It was still early in the day and there were no climbers at the summit yet when he reached it. Again he took out the camera and got a couple of shots, and then he took out the GPS to show his location. Chris went down just a bit from the summit and picked a granite pebble up and stashed it in the pocket of the jacket he was wearing. He could see a group of climbers in the distance so he left before he was spotted by them.
It was nearing winter in the southern hemisphere as he flew over the Andes and located the second peak on his list in Argentina. There didn't appear to be any winter attempts nearing the summit of Aconcagua as he set down on the summit. Again he took out his camera and the handheld GPS unit. Chris was surprised by the striking brick red colour of the mountain as he went to collect a pebble for his collection. He'd decided before heading out that he's collect pebbles from each summit he reached on his trip. When he arrived at the southern most peak of his trip, it was pitch black out…almost. The eerie glow of the Aurora Australis flickered to the south as Chris touched down on the summit of Vinson Massif. He took several pictures of the southern lights as well as the picture of his GPS indicating where he was. He was about to give up trying to find his sample from the mountain until he found a small exposed patch of pale rock. Chris pried a small piece loose and added it to his growing collection.
At the South Pole, Chris looked up and his jaw dropped. The aurora was so bright that someone didn't really need artificial light to see where they were going. Chris took several pictures of the aurora and was about to leave before he remembered to get the shot with the GPS unit. Mount Kosciuszko in Australia was easy by any standard to reach. A World War II veteran from the ANZAC corps was there with his daughter when he landed nearby. The veteran and his daughter welcomed him with a G'day, and asked what had brought him to the highest peak in Australia. Chris told them about his trip and showed them the pictures he'd taken already. Like Lian, they admitted that he was cheating because of his Kryptonian abilities, but they wished him luck as he stooped down to pick up a pebble for his collection. Chris spied a slightly larger rock nearby and picked it up too. Patting down his jacket, he found the permanent marker stashed in one of the inner pockets and asked the veteran and his daughter if they'd sign the rock for him.
"You're bloody joking kid," the veteran laughed as he took the pen and rock from Chris.
"You're the first people I've seen on this trip," Chris told them as the veteran handed the pen and rock to his daughter.
"I figure with you it's the other way around, mate. People ask you for your autograph," the daughter admitted as she handed the signed rock over to him and returned his pen.
Chris admitted that was usually the case, but this was something that was special to him and he wanted something solid to remember it by. He asked them if he could take their picture and they gladly agreed. After several photos, Chris lifted off and bid them farewell. "Thanks again! I really appreciate that!" he called out before heading north and leaving Gary Jones and his daughter Julie to shake their heads in amazement atop Australia's tallest mountain.
Chris had read that of the seven summits on the Messier list, Puncak Jaya was by far the most technical and challenging to climb. He could see why when he was coming upon it. The pale grey rocks of the mountain were sharp and jagged from the base all the way to the summit. There were a few expeditions still gathering in the jungle far below, so he knew he would have the peak to himself for a while. Chris alighted at the peak and took his pictures for posterity. He took a few of the surrounding jungle peaking out of the clouds far below, before grabbing his pebble and heading west towards Africa. Kilimanjaro was practically on the equator, but Chris saw expanses of snow and ice covering the mountain in the distance and the sight amazed him. It was the rainy season and people avoided the climb because the copious amounts of rain made conditions treacherous. The rain was far below him and it was sunny out at the peak. He didn't need his GPS to prove that he'd reached the summit because of the broad sign that welcomed climbers to the top. He took his photos and collected a small basalt pebble for his collection.
On the top of Mont Blanc, he met a small group of climbers as they were beginning to head back down to camp. He said he was in the area and wanted a look and the climbers didn't seem to object to the ease at which he'd reached the summit. He took pictures with them and collected his pebble from further down the flank before heading east again and on towards Elbrus. This time he met a pair of brothers from South Africa who were attempting to be the first siblings to complete the seven summits challenge. As they were doing both lists, Elbrus was their seventh peak. They said that they only had Everest to go to be done. Chris asked if they had a website or something where they were recording their attempt. Adam, the elder brother, gave Chris the address, which he scribbled down on a piece of paper he found in one of the pockets.
"So mate, Elbrus isn't exactly a tourist destination for anyone not into climbing," Adam said. "What brings you out here?"
"Same reason you and your brother are here," Chris admitted.
"Seriously?" Charlie, the younger brother grinned. "You could do the summits in a day couldn't you?"
Chris glanced at his watch. "I left home five hours ago," he said and then told them everywhere he'd been so far. He pulled out his camera to show the pictures he'd taken along the way. He also showed them the rock that Gary and Julie Jones had signed for him in Australia.
"Oh rock on!" Adam cheered, patting him on the back. "Yeah you're cheating…kind of, but that you want to do it. Good for you."
"You're serious?" Chris asked. "I figured hardcore mountaineers would sneer at me for doing it," he admitted.
"Some might," Charlie told him. "But that you actually want to see these things, for yourself, and you're doing it. I reckon that counts, even if it is unofficial."
"Thanks," Chris replied. "That means a lot."
"Any other of your superhero mates ever done the summits?" Adam asked.
"As far as my teammates and I can gather, I'm the first. Unless someone has done it and hasn't said anything about it," Chris admitted.
"Oh definitely good for you then," Charlie enthused. "We'll recognise your attempt even unofficially, yeah Adam?"
"Sure," Adam smiled. "We won't mention on our site that we saw you up here, if that's okay?"
"That is actually preferred," Chris grinned. "When I was up on Mont Blanc, I just said I was in the area and figured why not. I didn't tell anyone what I was really up to."
"Yeah Blanc is where you find your hard cores training," Adam admitted.
"Is there any way you can email us your pictures when you're done?" Charlie asked. "Just so we can see them. I promise we won't share them."
"I have a Titan's email account," Chris told them after considering the request for a couple seconds. "If you get an email from lor_...that would be me."
"Tell you what," Adam said. He asked for the paper with their website on it and wrote down an email address. "Email them there. Our Mum is maintaining the main site and will see anything coming in. But that's my private one, and I'm the only one who sees what's in it."
"That I will do," Chris said, tucking the paper away. He took pictures of the summit and his GPS reading, as well as a few with the brothers. He got his small pebble for his collection when Charlie produced a silver permanent marker.
"It's all basalt rock up here, but if you don't mind, can you sign one for us?" Charlie asked.
"If you guys sign one for me," he grinned, taking the pen and a rock Adam found. They exchanged autographed rocks and Chris wished them good luck on accomplishing their dream. "I'll tell Everest that you're coming," he called out as he flew towards the Himalayas.
"Thanks yeah!" Charlie called back as he and Adam waved to him. The brothers kept true to their word and never divulged having seen Chris on Elbrus or their treasure that he'd signed for them. A few days later when they returned to their hotel, Chris had emailed all of his pictures from his trip and the two celebrated his victory with shots of whiskey in their room.
Upon arriving in the area of the Himalayas, Chris went to the tops of the smaller eight thousander peaks first. It was late in the afternoon so no one was at the top of any of them, having already descended to their camps for the night. He took pictures, including a few high aerial views of the entire range from the stratosphere, before heading for the roof of the world. Chris alighted just short of the summit of Everest and after picking up his pebble, he hiked the rest of the way to the peak. The wind was howling and it was cold. He could feel how thin the air was against his skin as he took a long steady breath. From the top of the peak, Chris called out to the winds that Adam and Charlie were on their way. Chris got his pictures before stowing the camera away safely and just absorbed where he was. The realisation of what he'd done in the span of a day suddenly hit home and he wiped at his face as a few tears froze to his cheek. Chris Kent understood why so many people had dared to dream of standing where he was at that moment. He offered a silent prayer to any gods listening and thanked them for their beautiful and awe inspiring gifts of nature. He also wished the souls of those who didn't survive their dream, peace in the hereafter. That was when he began hearing the faint traces of a heartbeat.
Chris looked up and glanced around, straining to hear the sound again and hoping that it wasn't the altitude getting to him. He did hear it again and it sounded thready. He turned to the direction the sound was coming from and stared hard down below. That's when he saw signs of a bivouac and that someone was inside. He flew down to take a closer look and could hear the gasping breath of someone struggling to stay alive. Chris didn't pause to think as he stooped down to look inside, only to find a seriously wounded climber. "I can help you," he said as he carefully peeled back the shelter to get to the climber. He swore when he saw the poor shape the climber was in and realised that he'd been left for dead by other climbers. He understood the why, as it was virtually impossible to get a helicopter up that high and a rescue on foot would endanger everyone involved. He still didn't like it though. Carefully, Chris picked the climber up into his arms and headed towards the capitol of Nepal. He flew low and slow so as not to traumatise the climber anymore and so that he could breathe easier in the thicker atmosphere. Chris spotted a hospital and landed on the roof, where he saw some doctors taking a break.
"He needs help, he was hurt on Sagarmāthā," Chris said, using the local name for Everest. One of the doctors who had been stunned by his sudden arrival directed Chris to follow him with the climber. The doctor led them to the emergency centre of the hospital and had Chris lay the climber down on one of the beds. Doctors and nurses began to swarm when the doctor called out in Nepalese that they had a patient from the mountain. A nurse who spoke broken English came out from behind the curtain a little while later to thank Chris for saving the man's life.
"He English," she said, holding up the passport they'd found on him.
"Will he be okay?" Chris asked.
"He bad, but he live," she promised. "We good care…we take good care," she corrected.
Chris put his hands together in prayer and bowed before her as he thanked her and asked that she extend that thanks to the rest of the staff. She returned the gesture before heading off to start the paperwork on the climber. As Chris was leaving he was stopped by a police officer. Chris explained that he had been in the area when he heard the heartbeat of the climber on the mountain. The officer asked about how high up the climber had been when Chris had found him and Chris balked. He had no idea, as he was intent on saving the man's life. The officer borrowed one of the hospital computers and pulled up a picture of the most popular route up Everest. Chris recognised the area where he'd found the climber and pointed to it on the picture. The officer nodded and said that the area was known as the Death Zone.
"I gathered that from the number of bodies I saw up there," Chris stated.
"Thank you. We take good care of him and alert the mountain that he is rescued," the officer replied. He put his hands together and bowed before Chris, who returned the gesture.
"Thank you. And give my thanks to the hospital staff as well," Chris said before the officer told him he was free to leave.
Chris was in a somewhat sombre mood as he flew over the Pacific towards Hawai'i. It was very early in the morning when he got there and the telescopes atop Mauna Kea were busy. He refrained from taking any flash photos of the night sky above, unless he disturb the scientists inside. Chris sat down on a large basalt rock as he awaited the sunrise. Glancing at his watch, he saw that he'd been on his trip for almost fourteen hours. The sun rose two hours later while Chris had still been thinking about his trip. He waited until it was well and truly light before taking any pictures. An astronomer wandered out of the main telescope building on a break and spotted him. She wandered over to say hi and ask what he was doing.
"Finishing a road trip of sorts," Chris replied.
"Was that trip in Nepal?" she asked. He gaped at her. "There's an AP story breaking that a stranded climber was saved by Superman from certain death on Everest."
"Yeah that would be me," he sheepishly replied. "Wait Superman?" The astronomer chuckled.
"You're pretty tall, so I could see where people would confuse Superboy for Superman," she offered. Chris just laughed.
"I guess so," he admitted after a moment. "Did the story say if the climber survived?"
"He's pretty messed up from frostbite, but they believe he'll survive," she told him.
"That's good."
She took pity on him when she saw that he seemed upset about something. "Hey, I've climbed Everest before," she said. "I did it a few years ago on a whim. I know it's tough up there…you saved that man's life."
Chris debated for a moment before telling her what he'd been doing in the area. "At the top I realised why people want so bad to achieve the summit. It's amazing up there. And then I heard the climber and it kind of smacked me with the reality of what that dream can cost."
"Believe me when I tell you that I know what you mean," she offered, taking his hand in hers. "You reach the top and you feel like you can do anything. It's on the way down that you notice the bodies of those who didn't survive the trek. It's a pretty rude awakening."
"Thanks," Chris murmured to her and gave hand a gentle squeeze.
"Hey…from somebody who did it the hard way, I don't think anything less of how you did it," she said. "You understood the dream when you reached the top."
"That means a lot to me, thank you," Chris murmured.
"So Mauna Kea…?" the astronomer asked in an attempt to change the subject.
"It's the true tallest mountain on the planet when measured from its base on the sea floor," Chris replied shyly.
"I see," she chuckled. "And the view?"
"Just as humbling and awe inspiring as all the others," he replied honestly.
"Welcome to the top of the world, Kid," she said, patting his arm. "It was nice talking to you, but I have to go," she added shortly afterwards.
"You too, thanks," Chris replied before she headed back into one of the telescope buildings. Chris took a few final pictures from the top and flew off.
He knew from years of listening to Connor that the local volcano goddess didn't take too kindly to people absconding with her precious lava rocks, so he didn't collect one from Mauna Kea. Instead he went down to the beach and found a small piece of coral for his collection. When he got to Titans Tower in San Francisco Bay, he found that Lian was there, reading up on the morning news.
"Apparently you saved the life of one of the world's most respected mountaineers," she said when she looked up and saw him. "Or Superman did," she teased. "One of you S shield types was in Nepal at just the right time."
"As long as he makes it, I don't care who they say saved him," Chris replied.
He went to his quarters real quick to grab his laptop and bring it back down to the control room where Lian was. As they talked, Chris downloaded all the pictures he'd taken. He linked his laptop to the main screen to show Lian his pictures and she had to admit, some of them blew her away. "Is it just me, or do the Himalayas look unimpressive from that height?" she asked when she looked at the stratosphere aerial shots he'd taken.
"It's a weird sensation," he replied. "From that high up they look like ant hills. But stand on the top of any one of those peaks, and you can't begin to wrap your brain around just how big they are."
"So the eternal lesson astronauts preach about us mere mortals just being insignificant specks is true?" Lian teased.
"This mere mortal was humbled," Chris chuckled.
A few years later, rookie freelance journalist Chris Kent was sitting in a hotel restaurant in Johannesburg, South Africa, waiting to interview a pair of brothers who had just written their names into the history books. Chris had kept in touch with the brothers and had followed their adventures as they set out to accomplish their goal of becoming the first set of siblings to attain all of the Seven Summits from both lists. Adam and Charlie Pienaar were directed to the table Chris was at by the host. Chris got to his feet and shook hands with the brothers, congratulating them on their feat of conquering the tallest peaks on Earth, together. The brothers were local heroes, so when they saw the autographed rock from Elbrus that Chris produced, Adam quickly asked in Afrikaans that they be shown to a private dining suite. The host gladly led them to a smaller room off the main dining room and ensured their privacy.
"We have a story for you mate," Adam chuckled, once they were alone. "You kind of need to keep it secret until an official announcement is made though."
"I can keep that promise," Chris assured them. "I'm trusting you with my secret after all," he added with a chuckle.
"True," Charlie admitted. "Which we will also keep to ourselves."
"We kind of made history in more ways than one," Adam suggested vaguely.
"Oh yeah?" Chris replied. He held his hand up to indicate quiet and nodded towards the kitchen where their waiter was about to join them from. They thanked the waiter and asked to be left alone for the duration.
"There was another expedition on the mountain conducting research," Charlie said.
"Just as we were about to start heading down, there was an avalanche below us that caught three climbers up in it," Adam explained. He went on to say that since he and Charlie hadn't used their oxygen that they'd brought with them just in case, they decided to help with the search and rescue of the stranded climbers.
"We found two of them, shaken but okay, but we couldn't find the third one," Charlie added.
"So we're looking around and we're already joined by this joint British, US expedition, when he spots the boots," Adam said, jerking his head towards his brother. Chris knew that whatever they were going to say next was going to blow him away.
"I go towards the boots and am about call out that I found the third climber, when I see that they're really old and attached to a mummified corpse," Charlie was grinning as he spoke. Chris guessed the rest.
"You found Irvine?" he grinned.
"He found bloody Irvine," Adam confirmed.
"And he had the camera," Charlie added.
"No way," Chris was doing his best not to shout his excitement. He knew the story of the ill fated first attempt at the summit. What the brothers had found could rewrite history.
"The expedition that joined us in the search and rescue were up there to look for him in the first place," Charlie added.
"They made us swear to keep it secret until they made the official announcement," Adam added. Chris got out his smart phone and checked but there was no official announcement. "Yeah we keep looking out for it too," Adam added.
"I have to ask," Chris gushed. "What if they can develop the pictures?"
Adam half winced, half groaned while Charlie answered the question. "We have talked about this for years," he said. "And we kind of hope that Mallory and Irvine didn't make it to the top."
"You want it to be Hillary and Norgay?" Chris asked.
"We were under British rule for a long time, and so were New Zealand and Nepal," Adam stated. "I reckon that it would be a victory for us colonies if that camera shows that they didn't make the top," he added.
"Even though New Zealand is a sports rival, you want it to be Hillary and Norgay?"
Charlie dug out his wallet and pulled out a worn New Zealand five dollar bill. "I don't have this because I'm too bloody lazy to exchange it back to Rand," he said, handing the note over to Chris to inspect. One side of the bank note had a picture of a young Sir Edmund Hillary with New Zealand's tallest peak, Aoraki, also known as Mt Cook in the background.
"I really don't want to be the devil's advocate here, but what if there's a picture of Mallory and Irvine at the summit?" Chris asked, as he handed the bank note back to Charlie.
"It's still a victory for the colonies," Charlie shrugged. "Hillary and Norgay made the summit and lived to tell the tale." Chris let out a sigh of relief and said that he felt the same way. "Hell, Sir Ed said it wouldn't matter either way. He and Tenzing were the first to make it back alive," Charlie added.
Chris raised his glass in a toast. "To Sir Ed and Tenzing," he proposed. "And everyone else who has dared to dream it," he added as they clinked glasses.
"Cheers," Adam smirked while Charlie laughed.
"You sound like you know a lot about the history behind the story," Charlie said after a moment. "Did you think of looking while you were up there? It would have been easy enough, yeah for you?"
Chris shook his head no. "I thought about when I was planning my trip and believe me the temptation was there…but it isn't a triumph I'm entitled to."
"How do you figure?" Adam asked, perplexed by Chris' answer.
Chris scratched at the back of his neck as he considered his answer. "I guess like the trip itself, it wouldn't count as much because of who and what I am. That was humanity's triumph to be had…not someone from off world who just happens to live on the planet."
"I never thought of it like that," Adam admitted.
Charlie agreed. "What he said. Although! In hindsight, thanks yeah for deciding against it," he added with a laugh.
"Not a problem. I'm kind of glad it was you two. Now, for the official reason I'm here," Chris chuckled as he changed subjects to the interview he'd been hired to do.
The Pienaar brothers eventually got back to the avalanche that led to Charlie's discovery and mentioned that while they had found two of the victims alive, the third unfortunately was never located. Chris told them that he understood the feeling and told them about the climber he'd saved when he had been there several years earlier. Adam expressed the same sombre feelings Chris had felt back then and Chris told them about the conversation he'd had with the astronomer on Mauna Kea. They thought about what the astronomer had told Chris and figured that she had a point. A week passed and Chris was still in South Africa when the official announcement of Charlie's discovery was made. This time Chris met them at their home and celebrated with them as the world speculated on whether or not the nearly century old film could be salvaged. He fired off a part two for his story back to his editor in New York, this time with the firsthand accounts of Adam and Charlie on what they felt and thought about the momentous discovery, and what it may mean for the history books.
A/N pt 2: As a New Zealander, I do hope that the camera believed to be with the body of Andrew Irvine is found one day. And while I kind of hope that it proves once and for all that he and George Mallory did not reach the summit first, I will accept it if it indeed shows that they did. After all, Sir Ed and Tenzing are the still the first to reach the summit and live to tell the tale.