My dear readers, the new chapter with a short delay... okay... a bit longer delay as usually...

Busard: Yes, Celeste is trapped in the Phantom Zone, wonder how that will work out ;)

Winthjo: Interesting theory...

Theroyalhighness supergirl: Welcome back! Also very intriguing theory...

Dougtoo: Thank you very much for your amazing feedback! Your questions will all be answered in the chapters to come :)

MLoiseE: Thank you for your review! You are very special as you brought me back to POL!

A special thanks goes to my amazing beta Jremme!

Enjoy!

12.

Celeste felt extremely sick, and on top of that, her head just wouldn't stop spinning. The sheer fact of knowing that she would most likely never be able to get back to Earth again catapulted her into a deep state of desperation. Curling up in Raya's bed, she cried most of the day as she was not able to get her head around the fact that she was trapped in this hostile environment, most certainly until the day she died.

Raya felt very sorry for Celeste. Even though it was a very tough life in the Phantom Zone, at least Jor-El had given her a chance to stay on Krypton and face the fate of their home planet. However, the woman from Earth hadn't had that option. She had been sent to this place without knowing what she would have to face. Raya had tried to find out why Celeste had showed up in the Phantom Zone in the first place, but the Earthling woman hadn't been able to remember what had happened to her and why she had been sent into the intergalactic prison.

Raya had watched Celeste's desperation for the whole day. She knew that a human being could not live and function properly without any water and food for longer than a short period of time, something a Kryptonian didn't have to think about. Grabbing the bottle of water, she walked to the bed and sat down on the edge. Softly, she touched the shoulder of the graceful woman lying sobbing in front of her.

Celeste looked up, her eyes puffy and red from crying.

"Here, have something to drink," Raya offered.

Celeste just slapped the Kryptonian woman's hand away, causing the fluid to slosh out of the bottle. "I don't want to drink," she replied stubbornly.

"You will die if you refuse," Raya pointed out soberly.

"I don't care!" Celeste answered as she buried her head in the pile of fabric that was supposed to be a pillow, her sobs continuing. She couldn't care less if she died from dehydration and malnutrition.

Raya released a long sigh and brushed her hand through the blonde corkscrew curls of the woman from Earth. Celeste was very special and the fact that she was married to the last son of Krypton almost blew her away. She would give everything to be able to get to know Kal-El. "What is he like?" she asked, deep in thought.

Turning her head to face Raya, Celeste got up a bit. "Who?"

Smiling, Raya wet a piece of fabric and put it on Celeste's brow. "You are burning up - I mean what is he like, Jor-El and Lara's son."

Celeste felt her heart sinking for a moment. She felt so desperate and miserable being trapped in the Phantom Zone, but the thought of her husband gave her the hope she needed to fight to survive. "He's extraordinary," she replied sincerely. Sitting upright and hugging her legs, she finally gave in and took the bottle from Raya. "He's the most amazing man I've ever met," she tried to explain as she put the bottle back into her lap. "He will never give up and he always sees the good in people, even in people most wouldn't bother to try."

Raya smiled. "That sounds a lot like Jor-El," she realized.

"I don't know. I met his artificial intelligence once, and he didn't come across as being somebody who cared," Celeste remembered.

"To be honest, knowing Jor-El as I do, I would think he tried to keep all of his emotions out of his AI, in order to teach his son what was really important to know about his life on Earth. Jor-El told us stories about your home planet and how Kryptonians would have all these extraordinary abilities there. Is it true, that the yellow sun gives us special powers?" Raya asked excited.

Celeste nodded. "Yes."

Now Raya got up and spun around, her hands up high. "How does it feel for Kal-El to be the ruler of your world?"

Blowing a lock of hair out of her face, Celeste took a sip of the water and tried to calm the other woman down. "That's what's so amazing about Kal-El. Even though he has all these abilities, he only uses them to help others."

"Really?" Raya stopped spinning, surprised, and looked with her eyes wide open to Celeste. "I cannot even imagine. Why does he not try to take over your world?"

"Because that's not what he was taught by his parents."

"I thought he never met Jor-El and Lara?" Raya asked, puzzled.

"Unfortunately, he didn't, except for their artificial intelligences," Celeste confirmed. "However, he was raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent. They are the two most amazing parents in the entire universe!"

"They just accepted him as their son, even though they knew that he was from another world?" Raya asked, totally surprised.

Celeste nodded. "Yes, they did. And they gave him all the love they could give!"

Mathieu stared at the mirror he knew was separating him from the people watching him closely. He could sense them and he didn't like the feeling of shivers running up and down his spine.

He had been captured and held in the bleak grey room, with only a table and two chairs in the middle, for more than twelve hours. Rubbing his weary eyes, he released a long sigh as he fell back in his chair. He was tired and hungry, and on top of that, his bladder was about to burst.

When all of the sudden the door sprung open, he felt a relief that at least somebody had finally come to explain to him what the fuck was going on.

Lena Baker, alias Tess Mercer, walked up to him and looked into his eyes for more than a minute. Then she sat slowly down opposite him and put her elbows on the table, resting her head in her hands.

"G'day, mate," she said smiling.

"What is going on?" he asked, totally puzzled and extremely angry.

The dark rings under his eyes told Lena that he was very tired and frustrated. A very good combination to interrogate her suspect, and maybe, with a bit of luck, she would get him to spit out what she wanted to know so desperately.

"How are you?" she asked him instead of answering his question.

"How do you think I am?" he asked. "I didn't get any sleep last night, nothing to eat, and unfortunately the Whiskey isn't working anymore either!" he spat.

Lena smirked. There was something about this man that was extremely sexy. Maybe it was his beautiful brown eyes. Maybe it was his shoulder length, dark brown, curly hair, which was totally messy at the moment, or his stubble that looked so sexy that her center started to stir. Or maybe it was his boyish charm; she didn't know, but something about him made her heart skip a beat, every time she looked at him.

"Lena, don't forget why we are here!" a voice in her right ear reminded her of her duty.

"What do you know about the heroes?" She came straight to the point.

Mathieu looked at her. "What do you mean?"

Lena got up and walked around the table, bending down and looking even deeper into his eyes. "What do you know about the heroes?" she repeated her question.

Mathieu sat back, relaxed his legs in front of him and crossed his hands behind his head. "Well let's see… They are running around and risking their lives to keep us, the rest of Metropolis, and the whole planet safe." Getting back into a sitting position, he leaned forward and continued. "In case you forgot, we were both saved by one of them just a few hours ago. So what do you want from me?"

"I want you to tell me who they are, as in their true identities!" Lena demanded.

Mathieu looked at her, blinking. "And what makes you think that I would know such a thing?"

Lena went back to her chair and focused his eyes. "Just a hunch," she said casually. "Relax. You weren't the only one I had in mind to get that information from."

"Who else did you have in mind, if I may ask?"

Now Lena slid with her torso closer to him over the table. "Clark Kent," she whispered as she licked her red lips.

Mathieu shook his head. Whoever this woman was, and whatever she wanted to do with this information, she was good. Extraordinarily good as a matter of fact. And that scared the hell out of him. Looking back into her eyes he said. "Why don't you ask him then Tess?"

Sighing, she sat back in her chair. "I would love to, but Clark Kent has been missing for more than twelve hours. And by the way, my name is Lena!"

Mathieu gulped, trying to process all the information she had just given to him. Clark Kent was missing? What did that mean for the rest of the world and the other heroes, and most of all, what did it mean for Celeste?