Just so you all know, I do not own anything of the DC Universe or any of the games I intend to use as I write this story, such as Metroid, Guilty Gear, etc. Just happened to have a little epiphany recently, and went with it. Hope you all enjoy the ride with me.

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Exalted Progeny

One

The Agreement

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Space, somewhere just within the orbit of the Sun, Sol System…..

Very few people would have truly comprehended what had taken place within the massive corona of the mighty yellow star that comprised the heart of the Sol system a few short weeks past, the same great solar furnace guarding the blue-green gem tucked into its third orbit that housed humanity. Though, to be fair, if most of humanity had been aware that their noble and staunch champion - Superman, aka Kal-El, the Last Son of Krypton, the Man of Steel, and the Man of Tomorrow - had been locked in fierce mortal combat with a primordial goddess hell-bent on ending his existence and ending any legacy left behind from the destruction of his home planet, they would have called each other insane. Still, that was exactly what had happened. Superman had been fighting against a being so powerful, so vicious in her hatred of all things Kryptonian, that she batted him aside without a care in the universe without even trying. Cythonna, Elder Goddess of Ice and the Void, had come to end the legacy of Krypton with a vengeance.

Long ago before Krypton had been formed or begun to flourish and find its niche in the universe, and far longer than even Earth had existed, its patron deity, the all-powerful Rao, celestial manifestation of the planet's red sun and their Creator God of origin, had come upon and encountered Cythonna in his travels throughout the universe. Although her ethereal beauty was superb, Rao's all-knowing light saw past her beauty, and beheld her true intentions bare to his eyes. All Cythonna wanted to do was to add Rao's immense cosmic might to her offspring, not a good plan seeing as being the goddess of the Void, Cythonna could not bear normal children… only vicious monsters that sought to bring forth only destruction in their wake. Rao refused Cythonna's advances, and soon after that, the spurned goddess and the Kryptonian god of the sun went to war, forging their initial legacy in the Wars of Ice and Fire.

It is quite true when they say that no one can hear you in space. Of course, there is no air in space for sound waves to travel through, so it would stand to reason of that fact. Even more prominent, though, is that without special protection for one's vision, you could easily be blinded for life due to the intensity of the sun's light being projected in all directions from the powerful star, and not having a planet's atmosphere to dissipate it. Any other being who would have witnessed Rao and Cythonna in battle, throwing around their combined cosmic might back and forth, would have simply ceased to exist. Although Rao defeated Cythonna at long last, even with his immense power, he could not completely destroy nor banish her from the universe in the end. And so, after several eons of confinement and the destruction of Krypton, Cythonna emerged from her prison, and without no one to oppose her again, she sought vengeance upon the Last Son of Krypton. Without Rao's interference to stop her, Kal-El quickly found out that beating Cythonna was virtually impossible on his own.

Even with the growing fear that he would fail and fall in battle against Cythonna, the son of Jor-El reached deep within himself for his courage, and rose once more to challenge the vengeful goddess. The unforeseen aid in the form of a deadly Kryptonite grenade from none other than Lex Luthor, though, who had been spurned by Cythonna without a second thought, would prove a great boon when Kal-El successfully lured Cythonna into the corona of the sun that fueled his powers, allowing him to access the full measure of his potential, and letting him stand at a near-equal footing with Cythonna before the goddess invoked her true cosmic form to battle him. In the end, with the sun strengthening Kal-El, weakening Cythonna, and the Kryptonite grenade's radiation rapidly draining her strength even further, Kal-El stood victorious over her at last.

Superman remained true to who and what he was, however, and even freely offered to rescue Cythonna from the sun's confines, with the only caveat being that she had to forever abandon her quest for vengeance upon him and Krypton's legacy by leaving Earth, the solar system, and the galaxy for all time. In true Kryptonian fashion, he asked her to bind this vow as a goddess of Krypton, and by the "burning nimbus of Rao." Despite all this, even seeing for herself how humble the Last Son of Krypton was, Cythonna turned her back on him and refused his offer, leaving a saddened Superman completely resolved to leaving the beaten goddess entombed within the sun. Even as he soared out of the sun's empowering embrace and headed back to Earth, Superman closed his eyes and silently prayed to his eternal patron, asking him to grant mercy and understanding toward Cythonna, for she had now been imprisoned for a second time. Little did the son of Jor-El realize that in doing so, he would lay the foundation for the creation and birth of a new legacy for those blessed by the benevolence of Rao.

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Sol System, somewhere just beyond the reach of the Sun's chromosphere…..

He waited.

Time had no bearing on him. Perks of being a primordial elder deity.

Still, He waited.

Unable to intervene in the titanic clash, but full of faith in his greatest champion, the Last Son of Krypton.

At times, He frowned, hoping for a better outcome than what came to pass. Other times, He grinned, pleased in seeing just how worthy the Man of Steel was of the House of El, and of Krypton itself.

Finally, He was greatly rewarded in seeing his legacy showing mercy to the one he could not destroy, choosing to imprison her again in defeat rather than attempting to destroy her. And in that instance, when for the first time in eons He saw anyone show mercy to the merciless goddess of the Void itself, He saw the change in her at long last. Cythonna finally understood what her divine presence meant to the universe after so long. She was not meant to be the conqueror of the universe; she was simply destined, as He was, to be a powerful cog in the wheel of time and eternity. Now, with the change moving forward in Cythonna, the patient deity floated closer to the surface of the sun, and began his proposition to her.

"Can you hear me, Goddess of Ice?" Rao gently intoned out into the void of space, knowing only another deity like himself - and of Krypton's bearing - would understand the blessed words he was speaking at that moment. "It has been untold eons since we last spoke to one another, Goddess of the Void, and to our shame, those words were not kind." {A/N-1} The response Rao received was one he easily expected.

"What do YOU want, accursed creator of this fireball that imprisons me yet again!? Come to gloat that your thrice-damned champion left me here!?" Cythonna growled out at Rao, despite the fact that the Kryptonian deity could easily tell that the sun was indeed holding a vast amount of her power at bay. Still, Rao could also tell that Cythonna was exhausted, both from fighting and losing to Kal-El, and by using her remaining powers to simply remain intact within the sun's layers. As weakened as she was, her eternal essence was so strong that she would easily stay alive for eons more to come. Rao shook his head at her words, then gently answered back.

"I have never gloated in anything concerning you, Lady Cythonna." Rao replied, granting the goddess the measure of respect that she had not heard of since the Wars of Ice and Fire that the two of them became revered and feared for. "We are both parts of this universe, as the humans on that small world say… 'two sides of the same coin?' The universe needs us both to function, Goddess of Ice, not at each others' throats because one of us decided not to give the other what they wanted." Rao sighed at those words, his presence echoing out across the solar winds. "And you know full well what I mean, Lady Cythonna: my inner light would never have allowed me to join with you then when you sought me out. I could see without a doubt what it was you were looking for then: more power for the dark ones you would have spawned if I did so. That is never what my power was meant for." Even though he could not visually see Cythonna from behind the sun's layers, Rao's cosmic vision could easily sense her sitting down, so to speak, crossing her legs in frustration.

"So fate and the universe has educated me to, Lord Rao." Cythonna finally groused back at him, even as Rao sensed her running her hands and fingers through her snow-white hair that stretched far beyond her legs and arms. "So, the question stands: what are you doing here now? Checking in on the one whom you cannot aid, due to your own actions in dooming the very people you created?" Rao mentally grimaced as Cythonna spoke, despite the fact that he had come to terms with being a partial component in Krypton's destruction due to his own arrogance, and the loss of the very people he helped create and cultivate to their lofty position amongst the vast number of races across the galaxy. Dismissing his regrets for the time being, Rao resumed the conversation with the imprisoned goddess.

"Kal-El does not know that I am even here, Lady Cythonna. Until he ascends past the mortal coil of even his mighty Kryptonian shell, I will remain only as an observer to him and the last of my people that he has found and freed from bondage, and a subtle guide to any prayers and questions he so poses to me." The eternal elder sun god stated as he looked off in the distance at the planet Kal-El called home for so many years. "His Fortress of Solitude shall serve him well for all other important situations. As to why I am here, Goddess of Ice, it is simply to bring to you… a gentle proposal, as it were, one that I am sure that the long-past Gods of Dawn would accuse me of being suicidal in at best." Rao paused in his words, letting them be heard full well by the imprisoned goddess, whom he sensed actually turned to face in his approximate direction, while raising an ethereal eyebrow at him as well. He then attuned his cosmic senses to a greater degree within the environment around him, as he prepared to continue on once Cythonna had answered his response.

"And what, pray tell, does this proposal of yours entail, sun god?" Cythonna inquired of her visitor, remaining aloof to his words and presence, despite the fact that Rao knew she was listening quite intently. "Beyond offering to free me, as your legacy did, I don't really see what you have that I could want right now." Cythonna then hissed slightly as she again used her own powers over ice and the void to cool her skin and body down. Any other matter of any kind trapped within the layers of the sun would have been vaporized instantly, but to a primordial goddess, it was child's play to remain whole, the polar opposite to even her great powers notwithstanding. Rao nodded at her words, then spoke again.

"I will not lie to you, Lady Cythonna: for now, you will indeed remain here, confined within the sun of this solar system until such time decisions and situations have been resolved to the complete satisfaction of the cosmos." Rao stated firmly to his counterpart, but before she could begin scowling at him, he continued on. "My proposal is this, Goddess of Ice: you have birthed new beings from yourself into this universe in the past. But tell me: what would you do….. what would you choose to accept if you had the choice of becoming a true mother to your offspring, and not a controlling influence upon their futures?" At those carefully chosen words, Rao saw something that not even he thought he would see in all his millions of long centuries in existence: Cythonna was literally gobsmacked! Her jaw hung completely open, her eyes widened to a considerable amount, and her hands hanging limply at her sides as the Goddess of Ice tried to comprehend Rao's proposal to her. Then, somehow, Cythonna recovered her calm and answered him.

"You… you would offer me….. children of my own!?" The Goddess intoned incredulously to Rao, who quickly shook his head.

"No, Lady Cythonna." The sun god replied, lifting up his hand and creating an energy sphere upon his palm, which quickly took up the appearance of one of the most well known Earth symbols that represented the duality of the universe: the Tao. One black curve, one white, connected to each other, and with an opposing colored black or white dot at their ends, floated and gently spun over Rao's hand as he continued on. "We, Lady Cythonna, would give birth to exalted progeny of our own, but beholden to no one but the ideals we hold strongest, and with their own minds and wills to seek our their true destiny, be it here in this universe, or in another completely different or alternate one far from us." Rao smiled as he looked at the shimmering Tao still spinning in his hand. "The humans of Earth are quite the dichotomy to most, are they not, Goddess of Ice? We have seen this before on Krypton: the destruction mortal beings can bring down upon their own kind and world. Yet, we have also seen the beauty and majesty that they can bring forth to enrich their lives and their culture with, as Krypton once did so long ago. Do you not agree?"

"Hmm…." Cythonna mused as she pondered Rao's words to her, then gave him what she believed he was looking to hear. "… these, exalted progeny you speak of… they would be a combination of our cosmic might, correct?" Rao nodded. "They would know both of us as their parents? They would be truly sentient, able to speak and live as a true race of such ascended beings should?" Again, Rao nodded. Cythonna then gave him a slight frown in response before continuing on. "All this I would have had, had you agreed to join with me then, so long ago, yes?" Rao then shook his head 'no' in reply. "Then, what did I not discover within your words, sun god?" The Tao above Rao's hand glowed slightly, and it soon shifted to show Cythonna one color overpowering the other, but moving back and forth time and again, until the goddess understood what Rao meant. "Balance… it all revolves around a true balance between our powers and our wills! Yes?" Rao nodded, even smiling at her.

"For lack of a better term, Lady Cythonna, and I do not say this to be unfeeling…" Rao began as he dismissed the Tao from his hand. "… but the 'spawn' that you brought into being so long ago were truly monstrous to face, as they were all born infused with your intent to subvert, control, or destroy anything in their path, as you were when I and the Gods of Dawn stood before you to make sure that the light of creation was not wiped out." Cythonna again frowned at Rao, but nodded in acceptance of his words. "Now that I have seen with my own eyes, and sensed with my own abilities, that you have finally realized what it means to be a part of this eternal cosmos that we each can shape partially to our goals, but with the full understanding that we do it to further expand and enrich the very consciousness of the living universe around us, I believe that if we do choose now to give of ourselves to birth a new generation, rising from the ashes of what Krypton was so long ago, that they will light whichever path they so choose to follow, fully in balance with who they are, and what they will be able to accomplish in due time." Rao finished speaking, then waited for Cythonna to answer him.

"We… we would have sons?" Rao nodded again at Cythonna, whose words had begun to tremble with both apprehension, and of all things, hope for her future. "True sons, they would all be? And true daughters as well?" At that, Rao smiled broadly at her.

"Noble sons and wise daughters all, Lady Cythonna, with the legacy of Krypton behind every move they make, and a powerful measure of our strengths and power to guide them all as they seek out their place in the universe, wherever that may be." Rao answered her, even as he extended his arm and upturned hand in her direction. "Is that something you would truly wish for, Goddess of Ice? Us, no longer at each others' throat, but working side by side, hand in hand, for the betterment of our offspring? Is it something that you would swear to hold yourself to as a true Goddess of Krypton's legacy, and upon the burning nimbus that flares out in my name? Upon the very lifeblood of the cosmos itself?"

And thus, did Rao finally throw down the crux of the proposal to Cythonna, the heart of it all: renounce her vengeance, just as Kal-El had asked of her in return for rescuing her from the yellow star's unyielding firestorm, all for the true hope and opportunity that children, worthy and beloved children, would be born from the union of the sun god and the goddess of ice and the void, and they would all shine like beacons of strength and balance to all who wished to see their brilliance. It was finally time for Rao to see if his eternal instincts had been right in what he felt from Cythonna at long last: she was ready to be a part of the natural order, not battering it down and seeking to dominate from all angles. And to this day, even upon the centuries he had spent in solitude and sorrow regarding the destruction of Krypton and its people, Rao's instincts had never been wrong. Then, he received the answer from Cythonna… and again, he smiled broadly.

"If it is within our combined power…" Cythonna shakily started. "… if there is the slightest chance for us, to give birth to a new and completely unique lineage together, that will enrich the cosmos we share, and truly define our legacies, Lord Rao, then… then, I will swear the vow you have offered. Upon the lifeblood of the cosmos, upon the divine light that you radiate, and upon my very existence as an elder goddess of Krypton, then, … yes. You have my vow, Lord Rao. So you say, so shall it be." Rao then allowed his divine might to flow, and within the sphere of absolute cold and void that maintained Cythonna's prison, the tiniest of pinpricks appeared before her: a miniature vortex. Cythonna immediately understood Rao's intent: any offspring of theirs could not be brought up within her prison.

Although for now, Cythonna had agreed to Rao's generous proposal, the whole of the cosmos needed to agree on whether or not to free her in the future. For now, though, the wisdom of the stars themselves had agreed to allow them to proceed. With that, Cythonna closed her eyes, placed one hand over her 'heart,' and the other upon her belly, and then, she began to sing. Rao closed his eyes and listened as Cythonna began to channel her own legacy into her voice, the song empowering those words as she remember the times from the Wars of Ice and Fire, and how she and Rao danced the intricate movements of war and destruction. Then, as she reached the crescendo of the lyrics, seven brilliant white lights appeared underneath her hand, then floated away from her and through the vortex Rao had created for Cythonna to make use of. With its task complete, the vortex vanished, and the elder goddess gingerly sat back on her haunches.

Looking beyond the corona of the sun around her, Cythonna could sense that Rao now held the seven divine lights that had been formed from her essence. Looking at his hand for a moment, then back at her, Rao nodded before he spoke again. "I have safely retrieved what you have given me, Lady Cythonna. I will take these divine lights with me to this place in particular." With that, Rao sent a mental image of a shimmering blue giant star some distance from the solar system, but still well within her sphere of awareness. "There, with myself as their guard, I will gift them all a piece of my life-force, and then, they will all grow to maturity. When they do so, I will open the link between them and us both, so that they will all learn from us, and embrace wholeheartedly the definition of being our exalted, and beloved, progeny. By my own hand, upon my firestorm that is my being, so I swear this to you, Cythonna. Rao, the Father of All, so decrees." Hearing that from her counterpart, the goddess of ice wearily nodded, then laid herself down within her icy domain, but not before Rao heard her whisper to him.

"Guard them like they are your most valued treasure, Lord Rao, for it is what I would do, if I now could. Then, together, we shall name our children, and their deeds shall ring forever true for all to see." Hearing that from her, Rao smiled, nodded, then gathered his power and vanished from Cythonna's sight! Even as he 'traveled' away from the Sol system, Rao's mind was focused and ready for what was to come. (When I return, Cythonna, you will just how wondrous the gift of being a parent to your offspring truly is.) The sun god mused to no one in particular as his senses reached out and homed in on the blue giant star where the seven divine lights would soon call home for the time being, and where he would watch over them until it was time to reunite them with their mother.

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The Sun, Sol system, an undetermined time later…..

Although it may have seemed that Cythonna had slumbered for many eons within the heart of the golden sun she had been confined within, like Rao himself, time truly had no meaning for both of them. And so, in the blink of an eye, due to being in another galaxy and with the natural flow of time-dilation so far from Earth, Rao was gone one instant from the star system that the Last Son of Krypton called home, and then, he was back….. only this time, he was no longer alone. Now, floating around the Kryptonian sun god, basking in the aura that was their patron, were seven humanoid figures, all clothed with varying outfits signifying who they were and what they had chosen as their passion in life. The only things strange about them, though, was that they were all composed of bluish-white light, and one could not tell if they were male or female!

Still, that fact mattered little right now, as it was the reunion with their mother that would be the final catalyst to their full awakening. The unknown amount of time that each of the divine lights had spent germinating within the blue giant star that Rao had taken them to had brought forth their full powers in being both Kryptonian descendants, and those born of the two most revered deities in Krypton's history. Each of them easily would be a force to be reckoned with on their own, but with their innate ability to lead and inspire others to follow them and work with them to fulfill their goals, literally nothing would be impossible for the first generation of Rao and Cythonna's exalted progeny to accomplish. With that ideal firmly in mind, Rao reached out with his divine presence and touched that of the sleeping goddess within the sun's inner corona.

"Lady Cythonna… it is I, Rao, your partner in our endeavor to bring forth a new generation of exalted beings from our combined power."Rao intoned toward the imprisoned goddess just beyond the reach of his touch. "I have returned, and I have brought our children here to meet their mother for the first time." The Kryptonian creator god of the sun waited for a response from the goddess who had agreed to their bargain. He did not have to wait long; a moment later, a groggy, but obviously happy reply answered his words.

"You… you kept your word….!" Cythonna haltingly answered as her own divine senses took in the glowing beings that were the first of the promised exalted progeny that she and Rao had agreed to germinate together. "Oh, Rao… they are beautiful…!" She exclaimed as her own ethereal senses danced over the floating seven entities before her sight, and Rao could only smile in joy at her words. In doing so, in bring joy from creation to one who had sought only to destroy and conquer, made Rao's essence soar, and in doing so, the brilliant nimbus of power around his being and his presence became all the brighter for it. His energies at their greatest, Rao reached out and once more formed the miniature vortex within the prison that held Cythonna, and spoke with pride to his counterpart.

"Reach out, mighty Goddess of Ice and the Void." The deity intoned in fervent tones. "You need only touch each of them for a moment, and you will see them all take the forms that sleep within them all; you will see your children blossom as never before." Hearing the words of Rao, Cythonna did just that: the merest wisp of her energies snaked outward through the vortex, forming an ethereal hand that gently touched either the formless cheek or forehead of each of the seven energy beings within her sight. As soon as her energies returned to her through that same vortex, each of the divine lights burst like miniature supernovas! The very essence within each of them was finally completed: the immense presence of the creator of Krypton itself, merged with the infinite power of his goddess counterpart. Then, as soon as it had begun, the light filling the void vanished from sight, revealing at long last, the faces of the seven, the first generation of Ascended Kryptonians in existence.

One by one in turn, each of the fully defined beings floated forward to just within the influence of the sun's shimmering chromosphere, and took up a kneeling position, looking upon the sun's radiance without pain or injury, and listened for the words of their parents as they calmly addressed each one in turn. The first of them, astonishingly a near-identical persona to the Last Son of Krypton himself, save for the streaks of deep royal blue present in his midnight-black hair, his intense and focused golden glowing eyes, and the royal blue and black bodysuit complete with a billowing deep crimson cape and the proud diamond crest of the House of El upon his chest, listened with calm purpose as Rao and Cythonna pronounced him ready for what was to come, and that he was their firstborn. A confident smile remained upon his face throughout their firm and proud announcement to the universe.

"Rise and stand before us, First-Among-Equals, firstborn of the prime generation of our exalted progeny." Rao and Cythonna spoke in unison, the power of their combined voices filling the void that only divine beings could truly understand. "Let the Multiverse know, from one corner to the other, that from this day forward, you are known as Rhah-El, the Divine Avatar of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of El, Scion of the Honored Primordial House of Krypton, and our firstborn son, born to accomplish great deeds, and to leave a new mark upon the stars that represents Krypton's new legacy." As soon as the two deities finished speaking, the newly-christened Rhah-El rose to his full height, crossed his arms over his chest, and whispered out five crisp words to the cosmos:

"So let it be known." An instant later, the divine avatar of Rao and Cythonna snapped his arms outward, and let loose with a void-shaking roar of determination and unfettered, raw POWER! As the shock waves of the titanic release of his restrained presence echoed outward, Rhah-El spoke again, in tones that would leave no one mistaken as to who and what he was. "So let it be remembered for all time from this day! I am Krypton's living avatar, and I will honor its legacy with every drop of my precious life-force and the burning corona of my power!" Snapping both his hands out forward, Rhah-El instantly summoned a pair of blue-white shimmering Sunstone crystals before each of his outstretched hands, and immediately imposed his will upon them! Within seconds, the Sunstone crystal before his left hand multiplied over and over again, until it had completed its assigned task: a gleaming Royal Guard-class Warsuit! As for the one before Rhah-El's right hand, it completed a even more impressive task, that which Rhah-El held up before himself for his parents to see.

"In Krypton's name…" Rhah-El spoke, holding the brilliant weapon before him, shaped into a gleaming Japanese daito (1) with a glowing heart of blue-white Sunstone crystal before he continued speaking. "… in honor of my mighty patron, Lord Rao, and my ethereal matron, Lady Cythonna, I dub thee the Honored Sunsword of Rao himself, forever blessed to burn away evil and injustice, and forged to cut down the demons who dare to stand before me and my pursuit of ensuring Krypton's eternal legacy." Then, with but a single thought to his weapon, Rhah-El flexed his presence over the Sunsword, prompting it to instantly transform into the state of a mighty greatsword, one that pulsed and glowed with bluish-white and golden energy streaks (2). Rao and Cythonna looked on as their first son finished his pledge and his trademarks, then waited as he floated backwards to allow the second born of their line to come forth, Rhah-El's first sibling of the other six 'born' after him.

This member of the prime generation was a young woman, whose golden-blonde hair and cool, but intense jade green eyes shimmered as she looked first upon her eternal patron behind her, then forward toward where her mother sat in exile. Then, she listened full well as her divine parents pronounced her before eternity itself. "Rise and stand before us, Second-Among-Equals, second-born of the prime generation of our exalted progeny, first born daughter of the God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Void." She rose up to her full height to hear the words of the two deities, and she was smiled as she heard words similar to what she had heard spoken to her older brother. "Let the Multiverse know, from one corner to the other, that from this day forward, you are known as Jhen-El, First and Most Blessed High Priestess of Lady Cythonna, Goddess of Ice and the Void, born of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of El, Family to the Honored Primordial House of Krypton, and our firstborn daughter, born to accomplish great deeds, and to leave a new mark upon the stars that represents Krypton's new legacy." They then looked over toward Rhah-El, who nodded. "Forever be mindful of your first sister and your siblings, our son. You are the greatest light, and the strongest focus of their devotion to our House." Rhah-El nodded again at the words, the unspoken words laid before him: ALWAYS.

With her pronouncement at her parents' hands done, Jhen-El copied Rhah-El's own deeds, summoning a pair of Sunstone crystals from nowhere before her outstretched hands, and channeling her will and sheer power into them. Her left hand quickly guided the form and function of a similar, but female-friendly Royal Guard-class Warsuit, while her right hand shaped the Sunstone crystal in her grasp into the length of a mighty war-staff, composed of not only Sunstone crystals, but also Void-hardened black shadow crystals, and topped with a shimmering and spinning orb of light. Then, Jhen-El spoke in slow, calm tones to the entire universe around her, words that reverberated with sheer will. "In Krypton's name…" She spoke, holding the brilliant scepter before herself, her eyes glowing as deep emeralds as she named her trademark. "… in honor of my ethereal matron, Lady Cythonna, and my mighty patron, Lord Rao, I dub thee the Divine Void Scepter of Cythonna, forever blessed to hear and record the words of the Goddess of Ice and the Void, and to always guide the intent of my mystical knowledge and cosmic presence in Krypton's name." Jhen-El then gave her new trademark a simple swing outward, unleashing a powerful force wave that buffeted the area around them, before floating backwards and allowing her remaining siblings to be named and presented to her parents.

With the naming of Krypton's Living Avatar and Cythonna's High Priestess completed, the following five siblings and members of the prime generation were quick to accept their names from their divine parents, but each child remained profoundly unique as the ones who came before them:

- The third born of the prime generation, Zhar-El, born with deep emerald green eyes, his long chestnut blonde hair held back by a high ponytail, clad in a white and blue streaked combat outfit, accepted his blessing from his parents, then effortlessly created a Royal Guard-class Warsuit like his older brother and sister, but with more of an historical feel to its Kryptonian heritage; the cuirass, arms, helmet, and leggings were all far more stylized than that of his siblings to this point. He then formed his signature weapons, and what a set of weapons they were: first, the Honored Daisho (3) of Rao, a beautifully paired wakizashi and katana set, and second, the Star Arc of the Sun, a string-less, single-handed energy bow weapon fully capable of harnessing the energies from himself or his Warsuit with ease, demonstrating to all that would come to know him that Zhar-El was to be a combat prodigy, master of weapons, and a melee combat savant all rolled into one.

- The fourth born of the prime generation, Sharr-El, second born daughter of Cythonna and Rao, and likely the most powerful psionic entity each being had ever encountered, short of a true deity. While her Royal Guard-class Warsuit took on the appearance of a form-fitting bodysuit as opposed to the cuirass of Zhar-El or the Commander type Rhah-El chosen to create for themselves, the cyan blue-eyed, crimson red haired psychic's armor maintained a more robed appearance in its design, all the more reason to complement her Sunstone forged and finished trademark artifact: The Honored Sun-Staff of Rao, an amplification tool of unprecedented power and, as with all the other artifact weapons, keyed only to her and her two divine parents, thus signifying her position as Krypton's favored Eye of Knowledge, the title given to the most powerful seer born of Kryptonian heritage.

- The fifth born of the prime generation, and the firstborn of Cythonna's first set of fraternal twins, Khrae-El, born with keen pale gray eyes and close cropped blue-black hair like his older brother Rhah-El, was shown by his parents to be one of the quickest thinkers and strategists they had ever seen, able to discern not only his own unique energy pattern from his siblings, but from those of his divine parents as well. Blessing him and seeing that he would be the tactical prodigy of the first generation, Rao and Cythonna soon realized that he would be a warrior in the same vein as Rhah-El, but he would strike from the shadows, as evidenced by his ebony black Warsuit and his forged weapons, the Blessed Twin Void Katars of Cythonna. With his twin deadly fighting weapons, and his skills in the trade of assassination, Khrae-El would work from within the shadows, and bring low any evil that sought to hide from the brilliance of his older siblings. Where the light cast shadows for vermin to scurry away from and hide in, the Phantom Guard of Krypton would be waiting for them.

- The sixth born of the prime generation, and the second born of Cythonna's first set of fraternal twins, Dhrae-El stepped forth, the auburn-haired and blue-gray eyed sister of her assassin twin, easily found her niche in saving lives rather than taking them like Khrae-El, but nonetheless remained capable of defending herself from anyone seeking to do her harm from any position. Taking into account her prodigious talents in medicine and healing, not to mention her mastery of the arts of surgery and medical techniques to heal the sick and treat the wounded, Dhrae-El's Royal Guard-class Warsuit was of the Medico model, and outfitted completely for her to accomplish her tasks, and guarded by her trademark, the Divine Twin Frost Shields of Cythonna, capable of keeping any wounded being in stasis until otherwise directed, and warping away any serious attack upon her that could not be countered by her Warsuit or by her own impressive abilities. Rao and Cythonna quickly surmised that she would indeed be a Kryptonian Healer of impeccable renown.

- And last, but far from least, blessed by being the seventh child of the prime generation born from Rao and Cythonna - cosmically powerful numbers 1 and 7, respectfully - came forth Tjah-El, a boon for both the deities as the dark brown-haired young man with the reddish-brown eyes that glowed golden like his eldest brother Rhah-El, as he showed himself to be a multi-tiered talent in the areas of Kryptonian technology and quantum mechanical engineering, a savant in the long-lost fields of Kryptonian alchemy, and finally, a warrior acolyte like Zhar-El and Rhah-El, with the blessings and dreams of Rao himself to guide and forge him into a truly worthy member of the prime generation. As his Royal Guard-class Warsuit displayed the characteristics of being able to easily command and control several Kryptonian combat androids, so his forged weapons showed his hands-on approach to the ways of warfare: the Honored Star Vambraces and Greaves of Rao, gauntlets and footwear capable of shattering mountains with the lightest of focus upon their might.

With the prime generation now named, armed with legend-class weaponry born from the heart and history of Krypton itself, and clad in armors created by the willpower and inner strength of each child, Rao and Cythonna smiled upon them and toward each other, for they had both waited a long time for this day. More importantly, they were all there with the two prime deities of Krypton to, at long last, show the universe that although Krypton itself may no longer exists, there were still those who followed its most noble of intentions, and sought to rise to the highest peaks of honor and justice. The first generation of exalted progeny born of Cythonna, Elder Kryptonian Goddess of Ice and the Void, and of Lord Rao, the Elder Kryptonian Creator God of the Sun, were now prepared to fact what was to come of them in all things possible, and the two elder deities both knew that their travels, experiences, and accomplishments would all be glorious to behold.

End

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Well, gang, here you have it: the first set of new OC's that I have created in many, many years since I began writing, and ones whom I intend to have travel around and throughout many different genres and universes, just to see what kind of mischief I can get into! Any and all relevant comments, critiques, and reviews are most welcome! Ciao!

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Author's Notes:

{A/N-1} - speaking in High Kryptonian, the divine language of the Kryptonian pantheon

Gods of Dawn - mentioned in Cythonna's bio on comic vine-dot-com, most likely the servitor gods who existed around Cythonna and Rao in lost Kryptonian mythology, and lost to time around when Cythonna escaped from her prison to pursue her vengeance anew.

Anyone curious about the Warsuits mentioned here need only look at over DC Universe Online for the Iconic Battle Suits, specifically the House of El Warsuit to see where I got the inspiration for them, as well as the Sunstone crystals used to make them.

The armor mentioned for Zhar-El can be found on Deviant Art by simply looking up 'Kryptonian cuirass', as they are pretty much the kind of armor worn by Jor-El in the movie 'Man of Steel,' but with the functions of the House of El Warsuit / DCUO Iconic Battle Suit mentioned previously.

daito - A Japanese straight sword, very similar to the blade form that Ichigo's Zanpakuto blade takes when he first invokes Bankai (like against Byakuya.)

The form of this particular greatsword? Heh heh heh… four words for you all to focus on in your minds: Transformers: Prime. Star Saber. Need I say more? ;)

(3) Daisho - for those of you still not in the know, " daisho " literally means "the long and the short" in Japanese, symbolizing the paired weapons favored and utilized by the samurai for so many years in Japanese history, the katana and the wakizashi.