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Chapter Thirty-Five: The Asset.

Time healed many wounds and Kara In-Ze, alias Karen Starr, wondered whether or not she would have been able to have this conversation a while back when the wounds of some of the things happened back on Krypton were fresh in her mind. The wounds continued to sting her and she really wished to have some form of clarity, but at the same time, she couldn't.

'Just go and talk to her, Kara,' she thought. 'There you go, having an argument with yourself about her. Whatever happened back there, is back there. She's here on Earth, and you made it here fine. And she did help you back in the Phantom Zone.'

The blonde inhaled a moment later and walked up towards Astra. Astra looked up towards the stars above her. She had just kept the eyes fixed on what was above her head.

"Each of them has their story. And all of them may someday burn out and die, just like Krypton did ages ago."

Karen stepped closer towards Astra. She did appreciate the serene beauty of the universe. Every single speck in the sky told their own story, and Astra could tell about many of them. She wanted to be an astronomer before she became a general, fitting given her name to be honest.

It would have been almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy in fact, and Karen wondered how things might have been.

"It's been a long time since we've had a chance to properly talk to each other," Astra said.

Karen's eyebrows shifted when she moved towards, the woman who gave birth to her. Given the fact they exchanged only a handful of conversations on Krypton, Karen did, and forever would acknowledge Alura as her mother, and Astra was more like a distant aunt. Still, maybe their relationship could be a lot different.

"Have we ever had a proper conversation with each other?"

Astra smiled, it would be a response like she would have given, had the situations been reversed. It was amazing how alike both of them were, and at the same time, how different they were.

"No, we haven't," Astra said. "I was tied up with my own exceptions, and I can't even begin to apologize. And I won't apologize for you for the past. All I can do is prove what I do in the future."

Bluntness was something Karen appreciated to be perfectly honest. The two shared a moment when the breezed went through. She didn't let Astra go too far from her.

"You don't trust me completely, do you?"

"I don't know," Karen said. "People change. You won't believe what I've been through to get here, to protect Kara and Kal and….to make sure everything is right."

The night was so peaceful, so beautiful, both women couldn't even begin to describe how amazing things were. Yet, there was some emotional distance with each other. Karen didn't know what to say. Astra sounded as sharp as ever.

"I've made some difficult choices, and by the sound of things you had to make some difficult choices yourself," Astra said. "One thing we know is true is how strong we are. We preserve during the darkest of times. I want you to know that, and understand that."

"Don't worry, I do."

Astra now knew where this conversation would go and braced herself. Time stood still as both of these women tried to figure out where they stood with each other. Astra made some mistakes which came back to haunt her in the worst possible way.

"I've made many difficult choices….."

"Yes, I believe we've established that."

Astra shook her head. She stood up firm and tall despite all of the regrets she had. "I may have made them, but I did them because of my need to preserve Krypton. Others might have blindly buried their head in the sand. I refused, however, to ignore what was in front of my nose. And for that, I had been sent to the Phantom Zone."

"The Council was scared," Karen said.

It was one way to put what the Council was. Astra would have had alternate terms to describe them and the way they acted.

"Yes, terror does lead to foolishness," Astra admitted. "And they were complete fools with how they allowed their terror to get the better of them. I didn't expect perfection, but I expected them to open their eyes. When a lot of smart people told them what was going on, it was their ignorance that killed them."

"Brainiac told them what they wanted to hear."

Astra hated these words coming from her daughter, no matter how true they were. That alien computer had gone rogue due to them taking Alura's original design beyond their specifications and a poor understanding. One misconfiguring could mean the end with a poorly configured AI.

"Now, I'm here, and I'll do anything to preserve what's left of Krypton," Astra said. "It wasn't how I imagined it, though."

Astra breathed in deeply and breathed out. She had been cut off from the rest of her army, who languished in the Phantom Zone. They might not have survived, though. Perhaps it was for the best.

"And that includes finding Kandor or whatever is left on it," Astra said. "Some of the strongest minds and best leaders were replicated inside that orb. It couldn't have perished with the rest of them."

Astra took a second to recall that, there was a duplicate of her sister in there as well, younger, but it was still her sister. Alura might not be the same Alura she left behind, but perhaps that would be for the best.

"We'll track it down."

Karen's strong words were appreciated by Astra. She knew her daughter was able to find it.

"Yes, we will, we have to," Lara said.

Astra turned to Lara, she always appreciated this particular woman, along with her strength and conviction. The two turned towards her other. Raya stood, with a firm nod. They might have had their differences in the past. It was time to put those aside for the preservation of Krypton.

"Between all of us, Tess, and Indy, we'll find it," Karen said. "If it's on Earth, we'll find it."

Astra had no question about it, the orb was in fact on Earth. The question was where on Earth was it? Renewed determination gave her a purpose to help rebuild the legacy of Krypton, which would be helpful to the future of Earth. Her plan wasn't extreme as before, with Lara having talked that particular ledge.

"And if Brainiac's still out there, I'll personally finish him off," Astra said.

"I don't doubt it for a second," Lara concluded.

Astra made a promise, and she was going to keep it, even after all sanity had left the building.

Lex Luthor thought both the power and knowledge, the two things he craved the most, would have been at the tip of his fingers. He could feel it to be honest, and it had been yanked away from him once again.

The last few days slipped away from him. The further they slipped, the harder Lex grabbed onto those memories. He would not fold from them, not if he could help it. Lex leaned back in the cell and drew in a deep breath before letting out of his body.

The good news was he no longer had to deal with Hugo Strange and is crazy theories about what made Lex tick. As if he could figure out how Lex Luthor's mind work.

'Pure lunacy,' Lex thought.

Sunshine always had rain clouds and Lex recalled one particular storm cloud brewing, namely the very obvious fact he didn't know where he was. Lex always hated the unknown. He had been allowed minimal movement. The wall released a discharge of energy which discouraged Lex from poking around.

The only good thing was the wall was pretty much transparent and Lex could see from the outside. The bad thing was he could see his father on the other side. Talk about taking the bad with the good. Lex craned his neck to try and get a closer look.

Lionel Luthor barely even noticed the world around him ever since the day from the first meteor shower. Lex couldn't get free to take a look at his medical records. His father started to mutter nonsense numbers underneath his breath. Lex deduced they were coordinates of some sort at least that was the only thing which made sense to him.

For the past few hours, Lionel's constant muttering was the only thing which Lex heard from his cell. It was very disconcerting to hear it. Lex grimaced and put his hand on the wall.

'There are no structural weaknesses, I'm trapped in here like a mouse in a cage. How infuriating is this?'

Lionel started to babble from the other end of the hallway. He started to speak numbers, most of them binary now Lex thought about it. They weren't coordinates, they were binary, comparing zeros and ones.

Lex realized they all spelled out one word.

'Doomsday?'

Lex recalculated the pattern in his mind to make sure it was right. Lionel was saying that one particular world, Doomsday. He tapped a finger on the edge of the wall to try and get his father's attention.

It was like Lionel didn't even recognize Lex being there.

"DOOMSDAY!"

Lionel blurted out this one word and shivered. He started to say the word in binary, and every three minutes, he blurted it out in English. Lex listened to anyone, the guards down the hallway. Not that any of them would dare touch him.

"If any of you are out here, I need to speak with you at once," Lex said. "This arrangement isn't working out!"

Lex's words had fallen on deaf ears and why wouldn't they fall on deaf ears? Lex wanted to scream in pure frustration at these words coming from him.

'I will find a way to get out here, and restore everything,' Lex thought. 'I will reclaim my former glory, this isn't over, not yet by a longshot.'

Someone needed to save the world from the threats, from the unknown. Lex vowed to be the person who did this.

X-X-X

Tess sat back in her office chair and observed Lex. Lex seemed pretty lucid, even though the scans of his brain patterns had been returned erratic when she received them. Tess wasn't about to let him off of the hook that easy.

The doctors made sure to slip Lex the medication to keep him somewhat under when he was asleep, but it was only enough to make sure Lex remained calm. Tess only restricted this facility to a number one people. Despite the restrictions, she knew there was no such thing as foolproof security.

Those who assume security has been and would be foolproof often proved themselves to be a fool.

"Lionel's the more interesting one," Tess said.

"Yes, he's more erratic than Lex, which say something."

Indy understood the binary. There were coordinates, hidden in there, just like Lex muttered earlier. These coordinates led to the field where the ship containing Kal-El landed all these years ago. Something else landed in that field as they found out, unfortunately.

"I hoped would be able to take down Doomsday," Tess said. "Clark's suffered at his hand."

"That was another time, though," Indy said.

Tess remembered how Doomsday had been buried underneath Earth, and he was thought to be lost forever. He returned and caused havoc, taking out the entire Justice League in the process. Then, he and Superman went to a fight to the finish, where Doomsday was put down, but at a great cost.

They would have liked to avoid that particular battle as it caused a lot of fallout, which ended in Lex's run as President and the world almost ending in nuclear annihilation to wipe out the alien threats. Hopefully with Lex locked up, at least this part of the future was averted.

"Sending him to the Phantom Zone would be the safest bet," Tess said. "And it would also be the trickiest to pull off."

The best thing would be to find Doomsday in the guise he was in before he had turned full monster and sent him into the Phantom Zone there.

"You'll find a way."

Indy spoke a calm tone and Tess answered with a nod. She continued the observation of Lex, hoping she would find a way. With the help of Lara, Raya, Karen, Clark, and now Astra, they might be able to put something together.

Finding Bloom before he completely evolved into Doomsday would be a lot easier. The problem was, Tess had a burning suspicion about who picked him up, and Tess knew how awful it would be if they cooperated Doomsday for their own purposes.

'Never easy, even with foresight.'

Patricia knew this would be the moment where she would step fully into helping Clark, and she was ready to live up to her father's legacy. The last time the two talked, Virgil Swann mentioned if he didn't get to see Clark ascend to his full power, he wanted Patricia to ensure he got everything he needed.

It was a hell of a burden to hold, to be honest, but Patricia wasn't too sad about it. She looked up and saw Clark, with Chloe in tow dropping down on the ground. Both of them approached Patricia with smiles on their faces.

"You found it?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" Patricia asked. "I have some friends, one of them out in Gotham City was able to track it down. It was….buried somewhere inside of Lionel Luthor's personal items. When I told Tess, she knew where it was right away, although another item she wanted was missing."

Clark had been taken aback. The fact Lionel Luthor held something vital made Clark wonder what was going on.

"Do you have any idea what he else he had there?"

Patricia looked towards Clark and shook her head. "I don't know, but I'm going to guess it wasn't anything good."

Clark had a strong suspicion, but he didn't want to discuss mere suspicions.

"So, your father's diary?" Clark asked.

"I have it right here….you don't mind if I make a copy to keep around for myself, do you?"

Clark shook his head and smiled before gripping her hand gently. "Of course, I don't mind, it's your father's diary, you should do with it as you see fit."

Patricia smiled, leaning in close to Clark and catching him with a kiss on the cheek. She was going to go further but stopped. Chloe appeared to have noticed it and grabbed Patricia around the waist to stop her. The redhead gasped when the younger, but very assertive, girl gripped her. She leaned towards Patricia with a smile coming on through.

"Hey, you either go big, or you go home, take your pick."

Chloe nudged Patricia so she fell into Clark's arms. Patricia's heart raced and butterflies flapped in her stomach.

"You tracked down a valuable item. I think that deserves a thank you."

Clark gave Patricia a kiss at Chloe's very obvious urging. The Redhead found it very hard to keep her head above water. It was almost like pleasure just entered her body and had been released from it. Patricia reached up, grabbing Clark and dragging him deeper into the kiss. Their tongues intertwined together, never once backing off from their position.

The two broke apart to leave a light trail of salvia. Patricia smiled and only could say one thing.

"Wow."

"He's just getting better," Chloe said. "That's only because we've trained him right."

Clark gave her a sidelong look, and Chloe just smiled before leaning in and kissing Clark briefly before pulling away.

Patricia performed some deep breathing exercises to keep her mind in order.

'Business before pleasure, never forget that, ever.'

She walked inside of the labs. It was a quiet day. Doctor Danvers had her day off pretty much. Patricia walked up to locate the journal, and also she noticed something in the sleeve. A DVD fell out onto the desk.

"That's new," Patricia said. "I'm surprised Lionel didn't…..find it."

"Maybe it wasn't in there before?" Chloe asked.

Patricia was curious about the DVD, was it her father's final recorded message before death or something else entirely? They would find out in a couple of minutes when Patricia put the DVD in the player.

The face of Virgil Swann, who looked older than Clark had ever seen him before, but also tranquil, appear on the scene.

"If you're seeing this, Kal-El, then I know my journal has been left in the right hands," Swann said. "I would like to extend my formal apology to you. When I started the group to prepare for the arrival of the Star Child, when I started Veritas, I had no idea their greed would get the better of them. And now, only a couple of us have survived due to all of this."

Swann looked over towards anyone watching it with a serious look on his face.

"Power can corrupt even the noblest of souls. There is an item which can be used for the salvation of both Earth or Krypton, or it could damage the legacies of both. It's an orb, I have not been able to determine what is inside. My studies indicate whatever is inside it may either bring forth your destruction, or summon a harbinger for your destruction, or both."

Virgil Swann never once blinked when looking at Clark.

"But, the orb may not be the real threat. A second party crashed in that field that day. We thought he might have been you, the Traveler, the Star Child, but unfortunately, he is not. The studies in the limited time we had access to him before we sent him off indicated he had the potential to be your most dangerous threat, your dark duplicate…the thing which could snuff out your light. I hoped by sending him away, we would squash those dark instincts, and prevent them from rising to the forefront."

Clark was curious about this, and he was certain a greater explanation was in his journal.

"We'll see whether or not nurture can triumph over nature," Swann said. "Be strong, and hold your friends and family close to you. You will be the hero the world needs in the darkest time, but there will always be those who will question their motives. They may do so out of fear of the unknown, or because they have a good reason. Regardless, stand strong, and if my daughter is here, I hope she will help you on your way and fulfill my final request."

Patricia nodded firmly and talked to the image of her father. "Don't worry, I will."

The DVD projection went dead and Patricia turned towards him. She heard the stories about him.

"I want to help you in any way," Patricia said. "Anything you need, I'll be here to give to you…anything."

Patricia leaned in and gave him a kiss. This time the kiss increased and Patricia could feel his hands slowly working underneath her blouse. She encouraged this behavior.

Chloe helpfully cleared off the desk so they had room to work. She knew where this was going and was glad she tagged along for the ride.

Patricia's skirt slid down her legs to reveal a pair of lacy panties which made Clark smiled. The redhead shivered when feeling Clark roll his eyes up her body. Clark rubbed his fingers down her panties and she rose her hips in encouragement when he felt her up.

"You really want this, don't you?"

Patricia gave him a sultry smile. "You have no idea, do you?"

Clark had plenty of an idea. The redhead's questing hands reached for Clark's belt and undid it. She dropped his pants to the ground and pulled out his hard and throbbing cock. Patricia looked at the huge piece of meat with lust burning in her eyes. Her lips licked.

The gorgeous woman dropped her jacket to the ground to give her a cushion to get on her knees to worship Clark. She grabbed his stiff rod with both hands and stroked it. Her wet mouth lavished kisses on the tip of it and then went down the base. Patricia traveled around his cock, before coming up and suckling his head hard.

Chloe dropped to the ground, not to be outdone. She took Clark's throbbing balls in hand and gave them a nice squeeze to see how full they were. Chloe took one of his balls in mouth and sucked them, looking up with a smile.

Clark closed his eyes and basked in the moment of Patricia sucking his hard cock and Chloe licking and sucking his throbbing balls as well. He could feel a rush of pleasure shooting all over his loins when both women went to town on him from this particular position.

"This is…good….keep it up!" Clark groaned.

Patricia flicked her tongue over Clark's massive rod, intending to do just that. She shoved more of Clark into her mouth and took the young man into the back of her throat. Clark held onto her head and rocked further into her mouth, moving in.

Chloe squeezed Clark's heavy balls, smiling at how thick they seemed. She closed her eyes and inhaled his balls, licking them for a few seconds.

Something had to give sooner than later. The ministrations both women gave Clark made him.

"Get ready."

Patricia didn't slow down and instead redoubled her sucking at the promise of getting her mouth filled up with Clark's cum. She looked up towards him, as did Chloe when both women went to town on Clark's nether regions. The sucking continued until the explosion.

Clark fired his load down Patricia's waiting throat. The never-ending bursts caught even Patricia off guard. She pulled away from Clark only to see him keep firing in her face as his cock had many long spurts.

Chloe took pity, and took over, engulfing Clark's hard meat with her mouth and suckling down several drinks of his fluid as well. Her hand snaked around Clark's balls and squeezed them, making sure she milked him dry.

The two women got up to their feet and turned around. Chloe engulfed Patricia in an embrace and turned into her with a passionate kiss. Chloe scraped Clark's cum off of Patrica's face. Several dripping fingers slid into Chloe's mouth when she sucked it.

Chloe made sure to lock eyes firmly with Clark when doing this. Her tongue licked her fingers clean and she looked at Clark.

A blink of an eye later, Clark had both of them on the desk. Patricia's panties flew off with Clark ramming his fingers deep inside her dripping cunt. The same thing happened to Chloe with her pants, and then her panties coming off. Clark fingered Chloe.

Patricia's pleasure increased with Clark thrusting into her. Her hips rose up, and Clark pulled back to deny her an orgasm, at least for now. The moment Patricia cooled down, Clark slid his fingers back inside her and thrust away. Patricia begged him.

"Damn it, Clark!"

Chloe's body twitched the moment Clark shoved his thick fingers inside her dripping hot body. It was amazing to feel him just penetrate her without any question with those fingers. She could also see his thick cock flipping against the desk, just begging to be shoved in a tight, hot, pussy.

Clark leaned into the super faster fingering. He wanted to leave both of the women on the desk dripping and ready for his cock. He kept up this ritual going for several minutes.

The two girls collapsed on the desk, breathing heavily. Their legs spread.

"Nice to see your training is panning out well."

Clark walked closer towards both of them. He decided to give Patricia the first taste of his cock because she had been dripping for it for so long. He put his prick at the edge of her slit and slowly worked inside her.

Patricia's pussy stretched out, never had something this big have entered it in her life. She lifted her hips off of the desk to accommodate Clark. Inch by inch he entered her. Patricia's tight cunt had been the perfect vessel for Clark's throbbing hard cock. She wanted more of this in her, she wanted every single inch inside her, if she could help it.

Clark gave her more than she could ever dream about. Patricia lifted her hips halfway off the desk and took him deep inside her. Clark rose out of her and thrust all the way back out of her.

"How are you feeling?"

Patricia squeezed him with her legs to encourage more.

"Good, so good, please."

Clark gave her so much, and she accepted everything he could give her. Their loins met together in a fiery movement. Clark rose up and pushed down into her. Patricia raked his back.

The orgasm inside her built it, and it was most certainly one she had been waiting for. Clark entered her in new ways. His hands almost moved, as if testing out the spots which would drive her to the most pleasure. The little spot in the back of her neck seemed to be the kicker. Clark slowly rotated his thumb on it and got Patricia gushing.

Her tight wet walls enclosed around him. Clark rose up into her and rode out her orgasm.

Chloe fingered herself to the scene of Clark fucking Patricia on the desk. She didn't have too long to wait before her fingers had been replaced by something else more wonderful. Clark edged over her pussy and slipped his throbbing hard cock inside her.

"YES!"

Chloe's hips ached and needed him inside her. He pushed down into her, with a long thrust. Chloe rose almost up off of the desk and took more of Clark inside her with each passing thrust.

Clark gave Patricia some time to recover by working inside Chloe's tight pussy. He leaned down and kissed the side of her neck, sucking on her ear lobe. This action drove Chloe particularly wild and her horniness reached a fever pitch the further Clark rammed his rod inside her tight body. Chloe worked her way around him. The two of them kept working at each other, never quite missing a beat with each other.

"Yes, right there, that's it, right there," Chloe encouraged him. Her hips clenched Clark and pushed him deeper inside her.

Every time those balls struck her wet pussy, Chloe grew moister with desire. The more pleasurable she got, the more cock she took inside her.

Clark worked his best friend up to an orgasm while also occasionally flickering Patricia's clit to keep her in the game. The older woman on the desk kept thrashing up and down.

The most amazing orgasm ever struck Chloe. Her tight walls clamped down on Clark and milked his tool until Clark decided to pull out of her.

Seconds later, Clark was now about ready to slip inside of Patricia once again and he did so without missing a beat. His throbbing balls hit her when Clark rose up and came down into her. He repeatedly spiked his way inside of Patricia's center, working her into a feverish state.

Patricia rose her hands and encouraged Clark to hammer her harder. Every time Clark thrust into her, she reached new depths of pleasure. Clark raking down her leg brought her pleasure to another new level as well. She closed down on him, with Clark keeping up his work handily.

Clark alternated between shoving his rod into the moist pussies of both of these beautiful women. He went back and forth between them, never once breaking up his momentum with them.

Chloe almost broke down with more pleasure than it was possible to handle. The fact Clark drove two women at the same time wild with pleasure made her pleased. She did wonder what could be done with three. The latest orgasm punctuated this thought when Clark pleasured her body and made Chloe's horniness increase.

Patricia thought she would like to experiment with Clark's capabilities on another day. For now, she was feeling filled completely full of his hard cock. Patricia's tight legs wrapped around Clark when he worked inside her body.

The hard ramming went on for a long time. Clark built up such a load he could empty a fair amount in both women. It was only appropriate he started to spurt inside of Chloe. He gave her several long spurts of cum.

"Fill me up!" Chloe yelled.

Clark did so, but he was still hard and throbbing, so he shoved himself inside Patricia. He gave her pussy as much of a workout as he would allow.

Patricia could feel the first bursts of warm cum shoot inside her. It caused a tingling feeling to explode down her nerve endings. Clark hung on and kept thrusting inside her until his balls emptied inside her tight, clenching pussy. Every thrust brought her further over the edge.

Both women looked pleased when Clark pulled away, at least for now.

Darkness surrounded a disoriented man who looked like he hadn't shaved in several weeks, if not a couple of months. His dark hair came down across the top of his face in greasy curls. The man's eyes flashed and he sensed something burning in his head. Something was trying to claw out.

He always had a problem holding his temper in. One time in school, he had been suspended for hurling a desk at a school bully in a fit of rage. The doctors kept him medicated due to his anger issues, and for a while, it worked.

The man chained to the wall was no longer a child and it no longer worked. He slapped his wrist against the wall in an attempt to break free.

"Please, you have to get me out of here...GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"You're agitated, perfect."

The man chained to the wall had no idea what rational person thought him being angry was a very good thing. The thumping of the man's skull continued. He saw dim lights come out and several shadowed figures looking down, observing him.

"You feel trapped, your true self isn't out," one of them said. "You go by the name Davis Bloom, but we both know that's a mask for what you truly are."

The man chained to the wall tried to yank the chains off of the wall. The chain snapped back and he slumped against the wall.

"What are you talking about? My name is Davis Bloom, I worked as an EMT in Metropolis."

"Yes, and we appreciate irony above all else."

Bloom could feel something scratching, clawing at his mind, attempting to break out. He never felt anything more awful in his entire life.

"We aren't interested in the human camouflage you wear to hide your true self. It's nothing of consequence. We are more concerned with what you can and what you will become. We want to see how far you can push, under whatever harsh conditions you can be adapted. You will be the ultimate weapon."

"I'm not a monster. I'm not a weapon. I'm a man!"

Despite this statement, Bloom's voice came out in a monstrous growl. The figure leading the charge chuckled.

"You have hidden for too long, Swann made sure you kept away from the darkness, but let's face it, it was always one step ahead of you. And now, we're going to bring it face to face."

They had their ways of unlocking the monster within. Doomsday would be brought into the world and HIVE would rebuild over the ashes.

To Be Continued on May 7th, 2017.