Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Krimson Kryptonians. Enjoy the 5600-word chapter. I don't own Justice League; DC and a few others do.
Clark was many things, a warrior, a hero, a diplomat… However? He and his people had all but died out of their culture. Their species? All turned to dust for the most part as the death of Krypton was only now hitting harder.
Then he and his cousin, both of whom had heard the sounds of crashing, the stone being crushed to dust, metal being twisted around before now, and the screams of people. Such things meant danger. They needed Superman. She didn't know how this was going to have played out.
Clark could already see Kara moving as she looked around. Her senses were less developed, her powers less tempered, but such things had been beyond his control. There was more to this game, a lot more. He didn't know what was rushing through Kara's head, however. He was more scared of what to do next.
She had moved faster than any human could have possibly moved. They were superior to humans in many ways and Clark knew some of their kind like Zod wished to crush humans underfoot, either subjugating them or making them extinct. Such things terrified and angered Clark. He was the leader of their military and all he could do was infect pain and suffering among the humans, making them regret the idea of ever seeming to coexist.
Then again? Zod was a madman when all of such things as of the time being. This had been something new sooner or later. It'd be handled for now. This hadn't yet gotten them anywhere at the moment. He didn't know what he clutched his head and looked around, too amused as to what she'd have done and how it could have been done.
He slowly moved forward, cautious, but not overly unwilling to do something about how this would have gone. This plan was just going to have fallen apart at the end of the day if he was right.
The wreckage in front of him could wait. He knew first and foremost came the people, unless the pod exploded into fragments that were scattered all over the city. There was all too much upon his mind that hadn't caused many problems.
There was such a way of assuming there was just too much on the mind.
(Within the Pod)
The Kryptonian tech was surprisingly durable. Then again, a pod rated for the vacuum of space, now, had to be done for now. He didn't know what the hell happened next but before now.
He clicked his tongue and moved further into the wreckage, too interested in how well this would have gone. Such was life at the moment. The person inside only was jostled around. He hadn't yet seemed to have done anything for now. This was a few more seconds to which there were a few hisses of smoke.
The Kryptonian within it seemed to have stirred slightly as his mind seemed to have perhaps questioned what to handle for now. There were system alerts everywhere and all this did was slowly but surely wake him upward when it came down to it. There was all too much on his mind for now and he knew it.
(Outside the Pod)
This was something he hadn't planned for. If he had? Perhaps he'd be in much better shape for now. It hadn't just gotten where it should have for now.
It wasn't going to have been prepared for now when it came down to it. She hadn't at all seemed to have questioned what to do before it came to it. Clark didn't at all know what had caused chaos on this level, but he did know purely that if it wasn't stopped? Well, they could have kissed whatever advantage they had for now when it came down to it. They hadn't entirely focused on learning what had happened now.
Kara looked around, utterly confused as to how this was going to have gone. It was clear there was so much wreckage below which had to be removed… However? The hard part was trying to determine which to move first, whom to save and whom to try and let help themselves. They could easily go through it like paper… But whom would that have happened for now? Humans would have been torn to shreds by this and she knew it.
So instead? She went after the biggest fish, a building that had been torn almost clean off its foundation from the shock of the meteor or whatever had created the landing on the building.
All of it was harder and harder to try and fix, utterly shattered and worn down by intense heat and pressure. It was either the worst meteor crashing that she had seen or she was new to human customs baffled as to how this had happened and how well it'd pan out without her and Clark.
Humans were odd but it wasn't exactly like they'd burn down part of the city for any reason, not without telling someone as that was the least, they could do to prevent someone from being harmed.
Still? He didn't say anything as she flew closer, worried more and more about what to do next at the end of the day.
This was a lot worse to handle at the end of the day, this was a lot worse than she could predict and it scared her more and more until the end of today. It scared her over and over when it came down to whom was going to listen anyway.
All of it scared her, all it did was worse and worse at the end of the day. All it did was worry her and anything that worried her. She saw sparks and wreckage all over the crash site and she flew closer, landing close to the crash site as she did so.
She looked downwards and blinked, activating her x-ray vision before she hummed and then blinked.
Kryptonian tech, specifically a Kryptonian metal if nothing else. She looked down at the ground, too unsure of what to deal with at the moment. She slowly floated closer, making sure to scan for any civilians at the moment, unsure of what to do next.
She looked into the pod as Clark flew closer, his descent slowly starting to clear out the smoke. He seemed to not notice as she crossed her arms frowning.
"There's a few fires and some civilians worked up… Kara, we need to make sure none of the buildings. Are you ok?" Clark asked before Kara looked at him.
"That's a Kryptonian Pod, Clark. It's a Kryptonian pod, a big one but it's Kryptonian." Kara stated before she blinked.
She looked down at the ground, utterly unsure of what to say or do as the two looked through the smoke. Kara floated up, easily defying Earth's magnetic field as if it was merely a suggestion.
Whatever she did next? She'd did know that she was divided once more. Clark decided right then and there what to say and do next. She didn't focus on things beyond what was known and what the facts were.
She looked around before he seemed to relax, she didn't at all know what to say next as she looked down at the ground. She had a lot more to try and figure out once more.
"All right, I'll check it out and you protect the people. We don't know what is inside." Clark said as Kara went to say something before sighing. "There's a lot of people out here who need help. Once we get them to safety? We're able to check it out together." Clark added as Kara nodded.
"The second I'm done, I'm coming in. We don't know if he's one of Zod's followers or not," Kara said before she cracked her fingers. "And don't wake them up, if they're in stasis? Then they won't wake up until someone or something opens the pod." Kara said before she left.
Clark sighed and decided to deal with the civilians near the crash site. The Kryptonian did not come before the innocent people but Kara was right to be cautious and interested. The idea of one of their being here was utterly baffling to them.
She, however… Did not have the same experiences with Zod. They had a lot more on their minds and she knew that he was only looking out for her as she was him, if she didn't? Well, such problems would end up comprising them and their decisions at the moment, their better judgment couldn't be allowed to coat their views.
He slowly yet surely floated towards the entrance to the underground. Part of him wondered if the pod could at all fly under its power at the time. It was odder still that a pod would be able to reach Earth but it wasn't at all impossible.
Nor something he doubted what was coming at the moment. He had a lot more upon his methods at the time and didn't at all know what to say or do next. Whatever doubt within his mind existed would continue to exist and would exist for all time. He had a lot more to think about at the second, something that could only grow with more and more time.
He had to prepare for what came next and what to do, what to deal with at the moment, he had a lot more to see out and something else boggled his mind, all of it.
The Kryptonian slowly yet surely stepped inside the hole. He slowly looked around the damaged pavement which had served as its entrance, he could see Kryptonian metal amongst the walls which told him this pod was indeed one from their homelands… But that did not mean the pilot was one nor did it mean anything of value was stored here at all.
He had a lot more to try and do for now and it baffled him just how well it would have been. They had a lot more to do at the moment, divided by his views once more.
"Hello?" Clark asked, floating down the hole as he did so, all too interested in what lay here. "I come in peace if you can hear me? I'm here to help, I don't wish you harm…. As I hope you don't either." Clark said before the sound of sparks and damaged equipment were heard.
He flew down the hallways, careful not to touch anything yet. A single spark could set off the fuel lines and cause an explosion and an explosion from a hole like this could end up leveling part of the city.
He didn't want that obviously and the last thing he possibly was eager to level the city and kill so many people.
There was a whistling of the wind as he would have utterly seemed to try and do as he looked around, unsure and uncertain of what to think about next, prepared for the best.
He had a lot more on his mind, something that had to be discussed with Kara, anything else on his mind wasn't something he wanted to discuss.
He didn't at all know what was coming and going as if it was worded in the wind, he sighed and rubbed at his temples for a moment before flying towards the center.
Whatever he did next? He'd first find the occupant, then he'd deal with them properly. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he did so.
All of it boggled his mind and would for years to come, another of their kind possibly, something that could only get harder and harder and harder to grasp as of the time being.
He was thrown off more and more, just too entirely focused upon this all when it came down to it. He didn't want to know anything at the time, just focus more and more.
"Thank you, Supergirl!" He heard as he chuckled, knowing that whatever she tried to toss at him wouldn't be enough.
All he did next would decide it all and he knew it, knew it far better than was possible, something building inside him further and further as if he was a bastion of hope that they could persevere as well as he and be fine.
He entered the center, pausing to look at the massive hole around him as if they were a crypt, a tomb, something meant to lock up a criminal, not house a member of their species.
However? It very well could be the case, this was… Something far worse than anything else before now at moment. The floor opened only for the sound of wind rushing behind him, it was Kara and she entered mere seconds before he did, landing in the middle of the room as she did so. So curious and so unable to grasp it all for now over and over.
It was so odd for now. Kara's feet hit the ground as she looked at dozens of Kryptonian metal pieces, telling her that all of this was still one of her people's pods. She turned and held up a hand before floating upwards and into the air, looking at the words with fascination and sheer interest into it.
"This is one of our pods. It's very new but it's been modified a lot, this pod was never supposed to make it this far." Kara said, touching her hand to a part of it.
She didn't at all know what it was, nor what any or all of it meant, the ideas within her head were both scattering and scary at the same time. She wanted no real part in it all nor did she wish to.
Both she and her cousin turned their harried attention to the pod in the back of the massive room, one with power attached as well as a small piece that still glowed with power. She looked around the hole with interest.
Which meant this WAS a pod meant to get far beyond what it was conceived for, far more than it was planned for.
Clark was easily able to reach the pod while she was distracted, utterly thrown off by it all over and over at the end of the day as he came and went.
All of it baffled him in the worst way. So horrid more than anything.
What he didn't know was what was inside. He was busy pondering what to do when Kara stepped up to the console and pick and choose what was coming at the end of the day, something that could only get better with time.
Kara looked over the console, pointer finger resting over the power key as she questioned what would become of the person inside.
"Kara, WAIT," Clark said, slowly holding up his arms as he did so, utterly unfathomable what to try and do next. "We don't know what they are like. We don't know what they do when they get up." Clark stated only for Kara to raise an eyebrow, looking down at him with confusion.
"I know how Kryptonian tech works. I'm going to check and see if they're alive… If the crash didn't disable the POD? Then they should still be unconscious. We don't know what to say and do." Kara stated before she continued to look in front of her, he seemed to be able to relax.
He seemed to be utterly baffled by it all and yet he did little to nothing to stop it, nothing to claw it down to nothing over and over inside his mind, something he wasn't in the mood to say or even deal with at this juncture. Kara still hovered over the keys, ready to press a button and unseal the occupant inside. They had so much to do but he knew it was probably better to be safe than sorry.
"Ok, but don't do anything too dangerous. We don't know what they are like or if they belong to Zod or worse." Superman said, brushing his hands through his hair as he did so.
Kara began to type lines of code into the console as Clark pondered if he could help the people or deal with the occupant. It was clear to him that whatever he did next? It really would not at all matter and he was aware of such a fluke, such a thing was dangerous to him.
Had it been one of their people? Some of their people had escaped but their species was more or less wiped outwards as of now and he knew more and more that it was a half full and half-empty can deal with.
He was all interested before now, interested more and more interested to try and deal with it at the moment. He was not at all focused on what the Kryptonian could say, more than what they could do. he was not unfamiliar with his species and the power Earth gifted them. Those like Zod and Ursa and Non would prove to be very difficult if not impossible to reason with, to control, to learn what Earth had done with them and their new lease upon life as if came to pass, something that only scared him at the moment.
Kara typed in a few commands as if in a trance. A holographic screen, one written in their native tongue popped up, and a dozen more screens popped up around her, uncertain and thrown off by now, something that he could and would continue to be a problem for them.
Kara glanced at the rest of the screens, too fascinated at the moment by them. She dragged one down and checked over the information as Clark went to say something.
"Their name is Kern, his father was part of the military, a Major from what it says… His mother was part of the Science Guild. He was closer to his mother if you want to worry about him working for Zod's group." Kara read before she looked at him with interest.
"He might still attack when he wakes up, shock, stress, an unfamiliar environment. We know how it feels to deal with your powers for the first time as well." Clark said before he cracked his fingers and looked at her, too unsure of what to say and do around him.
Kara simply turned back to try and read more and more of the information on the monitors as it came to it. She didn't know what the Kryptonian inside the pod was like and part of her found it to be incredulous at the moment.
"The pod is damaged, Kal. I can't tell what will happen if we disconnect the pod, life support is all banged up and we don't know what will happen if he's taken out." Kara said before Clark hummed.
"Then what your saying is we have to let him out?" Superman asked as Kara hummed.
"Yes, more or less. We have no choice; he'll die if life support goes offline. It isn't like he can feel the sun, the pods were designed to protect the user against the vacuum of space if needed, you know that." Kara said before she sighed and looked down at the ground, too tired at the moment to deal with it properly.
She knew he was trying to weigh their options. It was not entirely unjustified but she did not at all seem to try and do for everything now, something she wanted nothing more than to relax over, there was a lot she didn't know either… However? She didn't wish to leave someone to suffer, nor would she leave more of their kind trapped and suffering.
She pressed the key to open the pod as Clark stood in front of her, ready for anything and everything that came as a result of their training, something they had to deal with, would be dealt with properly.
The pod slowly started to open, hissing and dispelling cryogenic gasses as the occupant was revealed. She could tell it was one of their people, their features were undoubtedly Kryptonian and she knew that they were strong enough to survive a fall from orbit as she looked at them.
It was odd but she said little to nothing at the moment and she seemed to be awaiting them to say and do something at the moment. They slowly opened their eyes… And unleashed heat vision which almost hit them.
As she guessed, instant loss of control, she could see their heart rate spiraling into the stars, Clark went to restrain them only for a push to send the man slamming through the wall. Clark was sent skidding across the floor.
Before Kara could say? Do ANYTHING? Kara was blown back by a gust of wind as they ran out of the hole, utterly terrified. She was on her feet the same second Clark was.
"Told you he might worry when it comes down to it," Kara said before she flew across the room, utterly unsure and uncertain of what to say and do, something that could and would grow harder and harder at the second.
She was worried all the second. It wasn't them, a soldier would control their heart rate, but Kryptonian soldiers were easily able to adapt. It came with their training when it comes down to it. No, it was adrenaline. They were scared, flying around like a bullet… Running from everything and anything that might prove to be an enemy, a threat to them.
She didn't at all know what they were like but she knew they could and would be a threat to everything like she once was.
"Kern, wait!" Kara yelled, trying to grab him only for him to trip and slam into a car.
The metal crumpled like a damn child's toy having an adult fall upon it. She watched the metal rip and tear under their dense body as simply as they placed a hand on it. She was utterly unsure and uncertain of what to do next and do. It was so odd, so very odd, and would continue to be odd for them. What she did know was she had to help them.
Clark went to grab them only for a punch that had no real swing behind it to send him flying. Yep, pure adrenaline. Their body was on overdrive, fight or flight which meant if they pushed him? He might… MIGHT hurt them because he didn't know them.
"Easy!" Kara yelled, shrugging off the urge to slug them as she knew they were scared. "Kern. Calm down! Please, calm down, let's talk." Kara said as she watched them try and climb to their feet.
"Who are you? Where is this? What's going on? Why is this happening?" Kern asked to which Kara frowned.
Kryptonian. Pure Kryptonian. It was fluent and precise. Their diction told her that he was younger… Much younger than Clark, like her.
It was just too odd, too hard as of the moment, something that could and would get better at the moment. He didn't even know what to say or do. Kern looked at Kara with confusion, the pitiful look of someone who didn't even know what the hell was going on and whatever was going to happen next.
He looked at her the same way a puppy looked at its owner as if it had been kicked. He was far too confused for now, unsure, uncertain of what was going to be happening as of now. All of it seemed to be relaxed to it.
He pushed past her, the adrenaline within him throwing her into the side, tossing her to the side as if she was made out of cardboard. She was slammed to the ground, pancaking a car which exploded.
She recovered a second later to see lasers blasting from his eyes, burning holes in every single little building as he screamed in pain.
Clark went to tackle them only for her to fly up to Kern and place her hands over his eyes, stopping the beams of heat but scorching the palms of her hands.
"Kern! Relax! Look at me and don't focus, ok? Don't look at me that way, you need to be able to relax, ok?" Kara looked down at the ground, something that stopped him for a second.
He went to shove her off in fear only for Clark to grab his arms. It stopped for a few seconds, a few scant seconds as she looked down at the ground. Kern struggled still, looking less like a Kryptonian and more like a wounded animal that was busy ripping through a cage.
"Kern!" Kara yelled before tripping them, forcing them downwards. "Clark, let me. He's scared! Please… He's scared." Kara said to which Clark relented for but a moment, thrown off for but a second, and something she could only believe if she was in his shoes.
She had been, the idea went through her head like an arrow. It was something far harder to understand everything. Something that hit like a bullet, a gunshot, an arrow inside their bodies that just won't cut through them like it could or would continue to be far worse, far beyond what should be expected from daring soldiers and something that could and would continue to plague them all the end of the day.
Whatever she didn't know was that he had been around here before and it would continue to keep growing inside her like a pit, like something that could and would grow. It was horrid, over and over, like a pit, like a horrid pit, something that only seemed to die out when he was unable to keep going.
They had to keep going even if they didn't want to, even if they had to keep fighting it all out. Something that could and would be able to relax upon dealing with the idea of a problematic issue as of now.
He tried and bucked them off only for her to grab him and fly upwards, displacing rocks and cars as if they were toys. She knew something that might work even if it wasn't possible. Kern for his part still tried to slug her off, pitifully swinging his fists at her as they flew upwards and into the sky.
Kara grunted in pain, her muscles burning as she carried them into the stratosphere.
"STOP IT!" He screamed, making her ears burn.
Kara screamed but still held him, preventing him from fleeing. She knew that he had little control over his powers. Well? He wouldn't be able to fly and it was much harder to properly put strength behind blows when you had no solid ground to brace yourself on. Over and over and over did it burn at her still, it wasn't easy at all.
"Kern, look at me, ok? You know I'm Kryptonian, right? You know that, right?" Kara asked to which there was a sort of silence over it all.
She knew more and more he was scared, confused, torn away from their birth planet, and all too unsure and uncertain of it all to figure out the details himself. He didn't know these people and he didn't know them; a good reaction was lashing out at all such threats even if they didn't exist yet.
All of it pointed to the fact neither of them was aware of what was transpiring, it just spoke in a way that nothing else did.
"Where are we? Who are you and where are my parents?" He questioned, rapidly firing each question in a broken voice.
he looked at her with broken eyes as well. The damage that had been done by what had happened had hurt them, hurt them to the bone, cut them close and upwards and downwards like a damn knife. It was apparent he didn't know but she dared not tell him just yet.
No, it wasn't her right to tell him, not before he calmed down. the stress alone would probably kill him and it wasn't her right to tell him the fate of their former homeland.
It was better said than done that they were going to be the last of their people at the moment. It reeked of something just too painful to bare to say, to do, to fixate upon, it was a horrid thing to lose…
Something about it seemed to be worse and worse as of now, all too odd now, they had pressing issues to try and sort out, and the first one? Trying to fix what had happened to their kind, and what would continue to happen to it.
She watched as Keren looked at her before passing out, showing a lack of adrenaline as she went far beyond what was needed and could be controlled.
Clark flew upwards, looking at her and then at him before she slowly yet surely started to look down at the ground, look around purely and utterly, all too torn apart by it all, thrown off entirely, fixated entirely and utterly upon what could and would become of it all.
There was a lot more to try and understand. Something that could and would continue to grow more and more with each passing second, entirely sure of any flaws within the center of the galaxy.
Still? All such memories were beyond them now, far beyond them, and interested more and more in something he could only wish to fathom all for now.
There was a lot more to do, to see, to fathom. They had more and more upon the line to grasp. All of it seemed to be able to relax, to grasp every little piece now, every single issue within the mind, something worse beyond the mind now.
They needed to know, he needed to know the entire time and would grow further and further beyond at the time being. She could tell he was confused and shaken up even as she floated down and Clark grasped Kern gently. It wouldn't end today; they'd still have to deal with all the questions that came as a result of their actions.
What was Kern doing here? What was his purpose? Who had sent him from Krypton and why were they here to begin with? She looked at the boy who had been worn down, exhausted more and more by it, and unsure and uncertain of what it'd bring with it. she didn't at all know what the next move was, too much to process today.
However? Kara knew they had to take Kern to a location he couldn't hurt someone before determining what to do about him. That meant dealing with wherever he was brought to next and where they could be dealt with humanely all the time.
"I'll take him to the Fortress of Solitude and I'll put him in a Red Sun cell. He's just going to need some time to think and get his head together… You know he's scared, right?" Kara asked before Clark sighed.
"It's the fact he's scared that worries me. What are we going to tell him about Krypton, I've got a lot more to think about at the moment." Clark said before he hummed to himself. "And we have a lot more to try and deal with besides just him," Clark said as Kara sighed.
She looked down at the new destruction below. They would probably be provided at the moment, she didn't at all know what to deal with at the time as she cracked her fingers and looked upwards and into the sky. She was too uncertain of what to deal with now and more.
They had a lot more to deal with as she rubbed at her eyes before she grabbed Kern and slowly flew away, eager to get some answers. She didn't at all know what to do next but she did know that Kern was eager for now to get some answers.
She didn't grasp what to do next, a measure of kindness was brewing in her heart and it was a measure of pain that hurt to think about what had happened to their homeland.
Their home planet had died a needless death to which she couldn't fathom telling another member of their species that their homeworld was dead. She didn't even know what was coming as she seemed to be able to think of her way to break the news.
She didn't know how to tell him and she didn't want to know how to best say so at the moment, a nightmare to be sure but one best undermined by her desires and ideas.
No, it was a lot weirder than she was used to, a lot odder than anyone usually dealt with and she knew that because it was far easier said than done.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will show more of Kara and Kern talking and more about Kern's life along with the villain. Until the 900–6500-word chapter and such, lighting Wolf out!
P.S: Next chapter will be much longer when it comes down to it, much, much longer when it's over.
