CHAPTER 5: In Her Nature
Predictably, Samantha was hugging her daughter when Faora and Lena entered the room. In her haste to ensure the wellbeing of her daughter, Ruby's schoolwork was swept away. Once Lena moved over to them, they all turned to face their host. If Faora hadn't heard Lena's whispered, 'Are you ready?', Faora would've commended their synchronicity.
"I'm Faora. It's a pleasure to meet the both of you. Do any of you have objections religious or otherwise to bacon? I planned on using it in the pasta. It's no trouble to go without, if it's any issue."
There was a salad of romaine, chopped almond, parmesan shavings, and a lemon and oil-based dressing already on the small dining table. Faora then moved the pot that held the alfredo to the table. While Lena could've done without the extra calories, it had been quite a day.
"Fantastic," Faora grinned while she fetched a plate of bacon she'd been storing in the microwave she must've cooked up beforehand.
"You cook yours with the microwave?" Sam asked.
"No. I fried it up. I used to own two cats, and the reflex to hide away the food so they don't get it off the counter while it's cooling is second nature to me now," Faora explained as she crushed the bacon inside the paper towels they were laid on and added it to the pasta.
Faora silently congratulated herself with the general silence during dinner. Seconds were had by everyone, even though Lena seemed conflicted about it briefly. Ruby rolled her eyes as she saw the CEO briefly resist her more healthy impulse only to say 'yes' to more pasta goodness.
Faora whisked away everyone's dishes when they were finished and stoutly rebuffed Lena and Samantha's request to do the dishes. "Nein, you are my guests tonight and I am not somebody in the habit of having guests do the dishes here."
Faora produced a quart of each chocolate and coffee ice cream, much to Ruby's delight if her squeak of joy was anything to judge by. "Dessert if you want it. Not so elaborate, but it certainly itches my need for sugar," Faora said. She then went to the kitchen and pulled out an unopened carton of eggnog. "And for us adults, if you want some, there is a nice cognac I have that pairs with this, to celebrate the holiday spirit." she said as she lay the eggnog down next to the thawing ice cream.
A quarter of an hour later, everyone had finished dessert and hand found themselves migrated to the couch. Faora was in her armchair she adjusted to face her guests.
Ruby had a couple extra scoops of ice cream and an extra glass of (non-alcoholic) eggnog. She deserved something nice. But all nice things came to an end, and eventually, Sam put her foot down. It was time to explain exactly what the hell happened.
"…And then Faora stepped in and saved me."
"You killed them?" Lena asked with an oddly detached tone.
"Ja," Faora nodded firmly.
"Lena, the would've assaulted Ruby," Sam said quietly.
"I'm not mad about that, Sam. I'm just concerned that the law enforcement might get involved," Lena replied in a level tone.
"They won't. I staged the scene to look like another attack by Reign," Faora pointed to herself, "In addition to that, the CCTV in the area was either pointed elsewhere or inactive."
"The DEO will be suspicious. They may investigate further. They don't take well to aliens killing humans for any reason," Lena pointed out.
"I have an understanding with this government. They will not trouble me. They may annoy me, but worst case scenario, I will simply move and alert my own contacts in the government to the identity of der Dummkopf who decided to make a name going after me. That idiot's career would come to a sudden and shameful end."
Lena and Sam looked at each other. The alien in the room spoke with a confidence that they both found a bit unnerving. What she implied was even more disturbing. High level friends in their government? Contacts Faora obviously had no scruples about sending after some no-name hypothetical DEO employee.
"What kind of alien are you? If you don't mind the embarrassingly racist question," Sam asked bluntly.
Faora chuckled, "I like your tactlessness, Samantha Arias. I'm too used to women and men of power treading softly around me. It's refreshing. You would call me a Kryptonian."
Lena nodded. It was after all what she suspected, Luthor bias be damned. "We would call you? That's not a complete answer, is it?" she chuckled with a humor she didn't feel.
Faora raised an unrepentant eyebrow at the CEO. "Maybe we get to know each other a bit better before I whisper all my secrets into your ear hmm?"
Sam eyed her friend's light flush at the insinuation before she both decided to save/troll poor Lena. "You're barking up the wrong tree. Lena likes blondes."
Ruby snickered as she observed the normally put together Lena's face do acrobatics as she tried to calm herself from her friend's ribbing. Faora grinned, "A shame, I always preferred those of darker hair myself," Faora leaned back with a hand covering her heart in mock devastation. She shot Sam wink before sitting forward again. Sam just blushed before hiding behind wine glass.
"I spoke with the DEO after I saved Superwoman from the new baddie in town. Their local director isn't eager to test me. Besides, even if the local police kick up the case of those dead fools to the DEO, they'll assume it was Reign. She's gotten busy terrorizing this city's criminal society. Kind of you, Lena Luthor, to worry on my behalf. I will remember this kindness."
"It's nothing," Lena tried to brush off the Kryptonian's words as weightless.
"You devalue your best quality. Why is that?" Faora continued, unperturbed by the looks she was receiving. "People like your brother are more common than you'd think. People who reach out with empathy before their fists like you? A far rarer a thing. A video game character I enjoy has a saying that I think applies to you, niceness before knives. The world would be a nicer place with more people like you Lena Luthor."
Lena was taken aback by the sentiment but replied with "I'm not always nice. I've ruined people before."
Faora shrugged, "But your empathy is important. You can be as cruel as you like, so long as your empathy remains your most trusted companion, you'll be alright. Even if it's just knowing enough to not extend empathy to those you feel don't deserve it."
After a respectable silence following that tiny speech, Ruby piped up, "Damn, that was deep."
"Language," Lena and Sam both replied automatically.
"What do you think about Reign?" Ruby asked. The adults seemed oddly stumped so she decided she'd get some answers to the questions she wanted to ask while they collected themselves.
"She's hot," Faora replied. Lena glared at her so she amended, "She's not lacking in conviction that's for sure. The killing of violent criminals is fine to me, the beatdown of the city's self-proclaimed protector a bit less so."
"You sanction her killing of people on the street? Without trial?" Sam asked before mentally catching up with the situation that led to this dinner meeting in the first place.
"It's nothing I haven't done myself, obviously. I especially enjoy killing rapists myself." Faora replied nonchalantly. Lena sent her a worried look at her blasé response to extreme violence.
Noticing the aghast look, Faora pointed out casually, "I'm not like you girls. I wasn't raised with your values, or in a time of relative peace. I was made to end threats to the Kryptonian Empire. The conditioning I underwent in addition to my genetic tailoring predispose me to be an exemplar where violence and combat oriented problem solving is concerned."
"Gene-tailoring? How did that work?" Lena asked after a moment of thought where nobody knew quite what to say.
Faora paused before answering, "With the exception of Superman, every Kryptonian you've encountered or heard of was designed to do a specific job. Or rather, excel in certain areas might be a better way to phrase it."
"Even Supergirl?" Ruby asked.
Faora nodded. "I'm not entirely sure, but I would guess she would've taken over for one of her parents. Her mother was the Chief Judicator and her father was one of Krypton's most vaunted scientific minds. Her mother's sister Astra was a general. Though Astra was killed by Alexandra Danvers of the D.E.O. a couple years ago."
"Alex Danvers killed Supergirl's aunt?" Lena gasped.
Faora shrugged, "From what I understand of the situation, it was to save her boss. And Astra was a bit of a threat to Earth. Perhaps if Empathy had been extended to her heart instead of a kryptonite blade, General Astra may have been reformed, or offered the chance for redemption."
Faora shook her head. "I've strayed from the topic at hand. Superman was an irregular birth. The result of fornication rather than the genesis pods. I'm sure it was quite a scandal considering his own father was a part of the ruling council."
Ruby gaped like a fish before deciding maybe she didn't want to go into the culture of sex on krypton at the moment. And Faora had obviously not misspoken. So Kryptonians were basically pod-people weren't they? Great. Good thing to know, apparently. Ruby shook herself back to the conversation before she came off like a weirdo. But looking at Auntie Lena, Ruby wasn't the only one surprised by this revelation.
Sam however had noticed a recurring theme. "Superman and Supergirl are basically Kryptonian royalty aren't they?"
Faora shook her head, "The Royal Family ceased to exist a long time ago. The Nobility however? The remnants of the formal Nobility was the group of families that made up the Kryptonian Ruling Council and other high-ranking positions. The House of El was certainly of that ilk."
Lena decided to put away the 'Supers are aristocrats' thought and asked something else, "Are there disadvantages to natural births? I assume there must be, otherwise there would be no scandal."
Faora nodded, "Sharp mind, you've got. In short, Superman is slower, weaker, and dumber than his cousin."
Lena replied, "I've met him, he didn't seem intellectually incapacitated to me. Or weak in any regard."
Faora shrugged, "He's still the offspring of two parental lineages that spent the last several centuries purging impurities from the bloodlines and enhancing desirable traits. Compared to humans, even if Superman lost all the powers that make Kryptonians so powerful in this solar system, he'd probably be able to challenge most Olympian athletes with a fraction of the training. 'Peak human fitness' I believe you'd call it.
And in terms of intellectual capabilities he'd rank among your better minds. At least he would be after seeking higher level education in his chosen subjects Perhaps not at your level, but nothing to scoff at either."
"That doesn't seem so bad," Ruby said.
"It's not. But in a direct confrontation with another Kryptonian, he'd be at an inherent disadvantage, right? Reign would crush him," Lena surmised.
Faora nodded, "Yes, she would. And you got a front row seat to somebody tailor-made for combat winning a decisive victory over Superwoman, who I'm inclined to believe was intended for less violent pursuits."
"Could you beat Reign?" Sam asked softly.
Faora thought about it before shrugging, "I suppose I'll find out when the moment comes. But I'm optimistic about my chances if it comes to a fight."
Lena checked her designer watch before nudging Sam. "I think it's time we call it a night. Ruby's got school tomorrow."
Sam shook herself out of the trance she found herself it and squeezed Ruby to her side and stood up. She took out a card and handed it to Faora, "If you need anything at all please call. You saved my daughter today, and I'd like us to be friends."
Faora took the card slowly, their fingers touched and spark of static electricity bloomed. Neither woman reacted though. "Thank you, Samantha Arias. I look forward to further talks with you."
On the way to the door, Faora was surprised when Ruby turned around and gave her a tight hug, "Thank you for saving me. I'll be smarter from now on."
"You're welcome, child," Faora replied. They left after that, and after a brief clean-up that lasted about a second due to Faora's super-speed, Faora plopped back down onto the sofa and powered up her gaming console as she looked at the clock and grinned. There was still a couple hours left before a responsible adult had to go to bed.
