Alura waited, her eyes shut and hoping for the two people she invited to come to visit her actually would visit her. There was no telling if they would even stop by for a visit even if they promised that they would .After all, why would they? She was a lowly student in the field of genetics on Krypton and they were….well there was no better term to describe them then super heroes. They were strong and they were bold, Alura felt intimidated by their very presence. Her heart fluttered slightly at the thought that she might be able to speak to them.
Yet, she needed to remain there and remain calm. They were coming, she had to remain confident about that. Alura waited, impatiently some might say, but she waited never the less and cocked an eyebrow when she waited. She was dressed in her best robes, white and red, flowing down, conservative and stylish at the same time. She was proud of her body but at the same time she was intimidated.
"We're here."
Alura stopped, turned, and stared, her heart began to beat steadily against her chest. She could hardly believe that they came here, yet they were here. She saw them up close and person at first and she shook her head to clear the cobwebs.
They were powerful.
She must not lose her focus.
The young man had long black hair that had a messy quality that was very distracting. That hair was topped off by the emerald green orbs that looked back at her; it was like he was staring into her very soul. Alura gave a bit of a start when she pulled herself away from them; she must stay focused no matter what. Even if she felt herself appreciating him a little too much. She shook her head slightly when she brought herself back to reality and turned to the girl.
This young woman was a different matter entirely. She had the same blue eyes as Alura, it was shocking. If the young science prodigy did not know any better, she almost suspected that she stared straight into a mirror. The reflection that stared back at her. She wore a blue blouse that curved around her body, showing a well-developed and healthy bust, along with a flat and toned tummy, with a cute little belly button. The red mini-skirt she wore showed a pair of spectacular legs that went down. Alura's eyes traveled up and down her body, before she turned herself away and saw the pair of red high heeled boots that adorned their face.
"It's amazing how much we look alike," Alura managed when she shook her head and brought herself back to life. Her heart skipped half of a beat before she pushed herself back into a focusing position. "Are we related in some way, perhaps?"
Kara smiled in spite herself. 'If only you knew, mother.'
"You wanted to see us," Harry responded and Alura's eyes snapped up, now she was all business and all action. The blonde rocked a little bit on the heels and stood, watching and focusing on the couple before her.
"My name is Alura In-Ze, and I noticed your powers and I'm afraid that others might notice it as well. In some ways, I regret figuring out that the yellow solar energy can be harnessed in such a way, it will prevent….there will be some that will misuse the gifts they receive."
Kara turned to her. "My name is Kara."
"Harry," Harry responded.
A smile spread over Alura's face before she invited them inside, now that they were properly introduced, they could enter the gates and to the estate. She felt a bit nervous; there was a chance that now her discovery was public, this place was going to be discovered and perhaps visited by parties that meant to do her harm. She walked forward, with Harry and Kara following her. They entered the doors of the large house, before they walked down a winding hallway.
The group stopped at a sitting room area.
"Sit down, I'll get you something to drink," Alura responded before she walked off, leaving Harry and Kara alone.
Harry took the offer, sitting down on the couch, while Kara positioned herself on Harry's lap, a grin crossing her face. He smiled back, before pulling his new girlfriend into a tight embrace, holding her body against his. She draped her head on his shoulder, running his hands through her blonde hair. Kara took a moment to relax against him.
"So what do you think about my mother?"
"She's nice, a bit absent minded, but all of the geniuses are," Harry offered and Kara leaned back to rest with him. He placed an arm around her tightly, feeling her skin. Alura was taking her time which was good.
"It's the first time I really met her," Kara commented in a whisper, when Harry ran his fingers through her hair. "She died when I was three years old….that was a long time ago, never quite knew what happened."
'And now that we have a second chance, she's the first person I'm going to save.'
"Sorry, hope you like this one, I've been meaning to restock for a while," Alura remarked when she arrived a bit along. She handed the drinks to Harry and Kara. "I'm guessing that you're not quite from around here."
"Depends on what you mean from not around here," Harry responded, choosing his words carefully, not wanting to imply anything. He took a drink of what Alura give him and it was good. After he tested it for the usual poisons, whilst he felt he could trust Kara's mother, one could never be too careful.
Alura paused, trying to figure out a way to word this without coming across as offending anyone. She took a few minutes to go over it in her head and she decided that it was best to throw away any pretext of tact and say what she needed to say. The blonde turned, a blinking in her eyes, before she began to speak.
"Well your powers, are amazing but they are received underneath the red sun."
Alura stopped before she paused.
"I have a theory."
Kara waved for her to continue and so Alura did.
"Give that Kryptonians, who naturally evolve underneath a red sun, get supernatural powers underneath a yellow sun, why couldn't the inverse be true? Those who evolve underneath a yellow sun naturally could receive super powers from a red sun. And there is only one other planet in the universe that has beings close enough to Kryptonians that have evolved under a yellow sun. I would not be bold to state that you come from the planet known as Earth."
Alura hoped that she was right but one of them shook her head with the other nodding.
"So, wait, you….I'm confused."
Harry smiled back. "It is rather confusing to figure out where we came from. Especially given the circumstances how we got here. But we can tell you one thing that you need to know and you might call us crazy for when we tell you."
Alura waved off these words.
"I told you when you got here, I have a pretty good imagination. There's nothing that you could tell me that I won't expect. So tell me about it, there's nothing that you can tell me will shock me all that much."
The blonde smiled, she was sure that Alura would find it quite shocked when she found out that Kara was her daughter in the future. Yet, that was not a statement that Kara wanted to share with her and she turned to Harry. She could tell at the same time that Harry did not want to share the statement either. The pair of travelers sat on the couch, wondering what to say, so Kara decided to speak up.
"Krypton….well its core is unstable."
Alura did not even blink at this and Kara wondered if she was believed. "I imagined as much, we would have an unstable core for various reasons. This planet has had many wars; the city of Kandor has been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times throughout the centuries. And one of our moons has been destroyed centuries ago which caused dramatic alterations to the gravitational pull of the planet."
She also made a mental note that there were tremors, not many but there were some.
'It's funny how long ago this started,' Kara thought, when she grabbed Harry's hand.
"Anyone who dares state anything will be shut down by the Council at worst and forced into imprisonment or they will be executed for treason," Alura responded when she stared at the couple before her.
Harry's smile became rather pained at this moment. Telling the government about a problem and them ignoring it in favor of pretending that there was no problem whatsoever, Harry would have to say that there was something about that which seemed rather familiar to him. He was experiencing a sudden case of Deja-Vu. The dark haired, green eyed wizard looked at Alura with a sympathetic smile.
"I know because people have gone to the Council with claims before and have been shut down," Alura added, crossing her arms. "Unless you tell them what they want to hear, it doesn't matter how much information is presented. They will claim that you are speaking falsehoods and…..well you will be shut down."
"Then we're going to have to do what we need to do without the Council knowing," Kara stated, feeling in a rebellious mood when she looked across from her younger mother, who leaned back on the couch.
Alura in particular was in two minds about this situation; the first mind was that she should not really do anything to defy the council. The second mind was if the planet was in danger, then she should do everything in her power to fix it and Rao be damned what the consequences would be.
"Let's discuss this matter further."
There were other planets that suffered this fate, the small things destroying the core. The pressure built up until the planet destroyed. These two were sent here for a reason and Alura feared that this reason was to help save the planet. What stake either of them had in this, she had not the foggiest notion. All she knew was that there was something that they needed to do and they need to get to work.
The next couple of days, Kara and Harry hung out at the In-Ze estate that was outside of Kandor. They really found it to be a peaceful existence when they hung around Krypton and Kara remembered the good parts. She actually got to know her mother for the first time since she was young. She turned and bent over the probe that they were working on, it was a high class technology that was beyond a lot that they saw on Earth or even on Krypton.
"Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
Kara spun around and shook her head, a smile crossing her face and she shook her head, when the blonde taking a moment to look at her mother. Then when the time passed, Alura chimed in with the question that she been bursting to ask.
"How did you harness the power of flight?"
Kara took a moment to consider that, there was no way to really describe how she harnessed the power of flight. It was something that he did and she tried to put it into words. Her blue eyes were swimming with a bit of conflict and she turned her head around, before she held her hands together before she threw her head back and tried to figure out how to explain it. Alura sensed her hesitation and her confusion.
"You don't have to explain, if you really don't really want to."
Kara decided to explain.
"The flight…it represents a state of being, a total confidence in you and your powers. It embraces who you really are. If you don't have complete confidence in your powers or if you doubt their plausibility in any way, you won't harness the power of flight. Also your powers….they'll be weaker than others, I think. Granted, even strong powers they take some time to train up but….it's easy to fly."
Kara paused for a moment before she continued.
"Sorry, I don't really know how to explain how to fly. It's really easy to me. Up, up, and away."
Alura turned before she smiled back at Kara. "I guess, that's something I have to figure out. I'm going to get past these mental block that I have, that's what it is, isn't it, some kind of mental block that I have?"
Kara thought that was the best thing to describe it, there was a mental block that prevented those Kryptonians from flying when they should be flying. There should be no problem with the yellow solar radiation. That was part of Clark's problem but she figured Clark had many other issues that he was going to deal with in his own time. Kara reminded herself that she was not in that timeline anymore.
Harry turned up at that moment, walking towards both of the girls with a smile on his face.
"Hey, beautiful," Harry responded when he leaned forward and kissed Kara on the lips. Kara returned the kiss with passion, wrapping her arms around Harry when she did, when they broke apart. He sat down between the two girls. "So, are we working on it?"
"With any luck, we can use this probe to bury it down in the center of the planet," Alura explained when she placed her hands on the probe. Her blue eyes studied the metallic object, before he tapped on the side of it. "That way we can get details about it and don't kill anyone in the process."
"That's smart, you realize that the core of this planet is radioactive and can hurt us," Kara responded when she remembered the….Kryptonite she believed that Clark called it, at least that rolled off the tongue better than meteor rocks.
Alura actually looked unsurprised when they told her this. She let them in on what she learned about the core of the planet. "I studied it, although it's not entirely fatal to those without the powers derived from the yellow sun. Although as it slowly seeps up from the planet, the radioactive could potentially slowly destroy us and it may contaminate the water supply as well. I don't know if there's a name for that disease, but it will slowly eat away at us."
"Cancer?" Harry offered when he looked at her.
Alura smiled back and went back to her calculations. "Yeah that works."
A knock on the door brought Alura out of her work after that time. She stood rigid, she seldom had any visitors. Surely, there would not be a good reason why someone was here. Unless this was about the yellow solar radiation simulator, something that Alura regretted sharing more and more. The credit she got to graduate early, sure it was useful but the Pandora's Box was something she did not want to open.
"Stay here."
Alura left Harry and Kara, before she made her way down two sets of steps. She was not the pessimistic type but after the attack that she coincidentally suffered that Harry and Kara saved her from, she was a bit on edge. She held a weapon in the pocket of her robes that would release a bullet that contained a plant toxin that paralyzed the person it struck. She hoped that she would never have to use it. However, there was a possibility she would have to use it.
She heard someone tapping on the side of the door and paused.
"Who is there?"
"It's Zor-El."
Alura paused for a moment, that was not a good bit of news. Her and Zor-El, well there was a bit of tension between the two of them after an incident that happened with them some years ago. It was not the good type of tension either but Alura resolved to leave the past in the past.
"What do you want?"
"I wish to apologize."
Now Alura was curious and suspicious at the same time. Her curiosity got the better of her.
"Well, my ears are opening."
Alura tried to figure out what he want, what he really wanted, because his very public statement of how they should use the technology was moving through her mind. The blonde stepped up a little bit, before staring him down. Zor-El carefully invited himself inside.
"I'm very busy, Zor-El," Alura responded when she looked over her shoulder.
"In what way?" Zor-El asked when he frowned. Alura was hiding someone.
He knew about the attack that happened and when he found out who was behind it, he would take them down hard. There were other ways to get his hands on the solar powered technology that gave Alura her powers. He figured that she had help, the fact she disappeared for nearly a year, she met someone off world. And that someone saved her from the attack from those goons today, that much Zor-El pieced together.
Those goons died in their cells today, it was an accident, at least officially.
"I'm dealing with a flaw in the technology that makes long term use dangerous," Alura responded quickly.
Zor-El frowned before he nodded. "So you wish to correct the flaw before you put it out for consumption for the people of Krypton and to help the planet. That's quite understandable, although I do wish you would have stated that to avoid confusion."
Alura's arms crossed, Zor-El's definition of help and her definition of help were two entirely different things. They had different ideas about what the potential for this technology would be. Yet she would allow him to believe that they were on the same wavelength, even though they were entirely different. The blonde's eyes blinked when she turned her head and crossed her arms a little bit, before she swung them.
As it turned out Zor-El was not the only person who showed up on that day.
"I heard about the regrettable attack."
"Dru-Zod," Alura responded, her father and Zod's had fought side by side in the Kandorian Military.
Zod nodded, pleased that he was remembered and he saw the simmering burn of hatred that Zor-El gave him because of his presence. Alura paid him no mind whatsoever, so why should Zod be bothered by it. The young and brash cadet presented himself tall and proud before with an impeccable posture.
"Rest assure, if you need anything, I'm here for you," Zod stated when he looked at Alura, a calculating glint in his eye.
Alura frowned, she knew of a well calculated attempt to get in her confidence when she saw one. Zod was a devious one, much like his father was before him. He came from a long line of military leaders and politicians, all of them ruthless and quite charismatic. Their manipulation was something that was second to none but Alura knew how to play that game. In a world that Jor-El did not exist, she would be the foremost young scientific mind on Krypton but that was not all. Her intelligence also went to the arena of politics but it was a matter of asserting herself which could be a problem.
"The sentiment is appreciated, from both of you," Alura stated in the most diplomatic voice she could manage. "But you should know that I have everything under control, so if you do not mind, I wish to be left to my work."
Suspicion once again reigned in the eyes of Zor-El.
"If you wish for assistance…."
"It's delicate work," Alura stated when she ushered them out, nearly pushing them out the door. "I know how to get in contact with you, either of you, if I need any help, I will be in touch and not a second before."
Alura ushered the pair of them out of her estate and spun around to see Kara hovering over the stairs. She looked frustrated and bit her lip when she watched the other blonde.
"What if they saw you?"
"Trust me, they won't see me," Kara answered but there was something that she was quite curious about. Her parents seemed to be so cold towards each other, well her mother for the most part. It was quite alarming to say the very least, and it kind of made Kara wonder.
Then again, Kara inferred that it was because they were much younger; her mother was only in her early twenties right now. She was barely out of her final year of the academy, and that much caused Kara some alarm. The blonde turned her head, twisting it around before she walked up the stairs. She was not even aware that her mother was on speaking terms with Zod but then again he was a bit different than he was. He was not the cold General Zod that he would turn into, at least not completely.
Perhaps not too much different than what he would become because Kara saw the same calculating menace in his eyes. Zod was someone who seldom changed and the blonde waited for the next move, whatever would come from that. Only time would tell what was going to happen now.
The days passed with Harry and Kara hanging out at an art exhibit outside of Kandor. The more she thought about it, the art of Kandor was an acquired taste and now that she had been on Earth for nearly a year, it was kind of dull all things considered. There was no imagination to it; there was a lot of science, a lot of structure, nothing inventive about the art at all. It was much like much of everything else on Krypton, rather stoic and without any passion, without any emotion.
Harry pretended to be interested for her sake, she could tell this and she smiled because of this. It was amusing for the simple fact that Kara was trying hard to keep interested in the exhibits herself. It was not something that she was trying all that hard at to be perfectly honest.
"So what do you think, Harry?" Kara asked him, nudging him slightly with her elbow.
"It's the greatest thing I've ever seen."
Kara shook her head, allowing her hair to fly back and forth in amusement, a small smile crossing her lips before she looked at Harry. "No tell me again Harry, the truth, because I used to think that this was interesting but I was wrong."
Harry was glad that she thought this, because he found the art downright dull.
"The real beauty is on my arm, so I can't complain too much," Harry responded when he locked arms with Kara.
Kara smiled, in spite herself and she saw a very familiar figure approaching. She stood on her feet, tension, granted he was far different than the man he would become. Still, that did not mean that Kara had to be completely at ease with him. And he was not the larger than life genius that everyone looked up to, he started somewhere at humble beginnings like the rest of the world. While she had been impressed by his accomplishments, there were other things about him that Kara found less than satisfactory.
Harry sensed his girlfriend's discomfort when she saw the man walk up and it was remarkable how much he resembled his son. He was here, Jor-El popped up and eyed both of them with an appraising look.
"You're Alura's house guests."
Kara and Harry stood tense, on pins and needles.
"I know of the experiment that she's working on but I also know of the danger that she's in. And the danger that you'll be in, because by now the Council will be made aware of what she's doing. Her claims the technology…."
Harry put a hand up and blocked Jor-El from speaking for a moment. He proceeded to put a privacy barrier around them because he had the strangest feeling that what Jor-El was about to say next was not something that should be said around prying ears.
"Okay speak."
Jor-El raised an eyebrow but he continued into his explanation. "She has perfected the technology that would filter the red solar radiation into yellow for six months before her demonstration. She does not want the Council or the Army to get their hands on it for fear that it will be used for conquest and I for one agree. I feel that such powers should be used in a responsible manner and not in a way where they would be abused."
Kara and Harry agreed with this.
"We have a more pressing problem, it has to do with the planet's core."
Jor-El listened intently when they explained to him about the data they received.
"I must commend you for being bold enough to get this project past the Council but I must warn you if they find a hint of it, they will sentence you to treason. Especially given that I am under the assumption that you are visiting."
Harry paused for a moment, not answering but his lack of answer was all the answers that Jor-El needed. He saw a glimpse of them the first time they saved Alura and others might as well. Not their faces, Jor-El was confident of that. At least not until now but he saw them as two heroes who were in a world that the status quo was adhered to. One did not fix what was not broken, that was the law of the Council .
Well if it was not broken, then it most certainly was worn out.
"This will save the world," Kara answered in a firm voice.
Jor-El remained stoic but he took a moment to shake his head and think carefully. "That is something that I don't doubt, but to save the world, you would force the people to admit that the very ground they stand on is flawed. And if the ground they stand on is flawed, that would mean that we are flawed and that is something that lacks logic to them. I trust you find the fallacy within that."
"Loud and clear," Harry answered, wincing ever so slightly when he thought about it. Yes, with something like this there was going to be many problems. Kara clenched his hand tightly but he recalled why he was here.
Despite the power of the governments in the world, Harry Potter did not back down for any reason whatsoever, and he would fight with what's right. Of course, by this point, he would be known by the government and that could put this in jeopardy. Yet, despite that fact, Harry refused to back down from what was right. That was the type of person he was, never giving up, never stopping, and most certainly never caving in the people who thought that he leave well enough alone. That was not in the genetic DNA of Harry. He turned his head slightly and thought about everything but that's how he rolled.
Kara had an equal amount of determination on her face, it was hard not to with being around Harry. She was here where she was for a reason; there was no doubt in her mind that the Phantom Zone sent her here for a reason. The blonde resolved to figure out what that reason was and she turned her head around, crossing her arms together and throwing her head back a little bit before she smiled.
"If you need assistance….I will do what I can, but I was never here."
Harry got the implied meaning of that statement loud in clear for Jor-El. He and Kara continued their date, enjoying the company that each other shared. Time ticked by, they wanted to return back to the estate by dinner time.
Alura missed having company after having here for the past few days, although she supposed that they needed some time away. Rao only knew that she would be frustrated if she would be in the company of the same person for hours and hours on end. As much as she enjoyed their company, it would be prudent to have a short time off. Not too much time but perhaps a little bit of time, at least to cool things down.
The blonde tapped her fingers on the edge of the desk she sat out, when she thought about Harry and Kara. Kara was an interesting one, as it still struck Alura how much they resembled each other. Standing them next to each other, they could be twins even. Unless she had a clone out there somewhere and on Krypton, that was possible given the strange science that was going on. She was rather devoted to Harry, that much was for sure.
Not that she could blame Kara.
Speaking of Harry, well he was an interesting matter as well, Alura thought about him and what he brought to the table. He was not the most gifted from a scientific perspective she noticed but he had his own input. She suspected that he was another magic user like her, even though she could not prove it. It was one of those things on Krypton where people did not ask because it was honestly not anyone's business.
The blonde shifted her gaze away and rolled her head back, remaining deep in thought.
A knock on the door brought Alura out of the thoughts and the knocks seemed rather frantic and urgent. She took a step forward; it couldn't be Harry and Kara. She keyed the door to open to them automatically, and hopefully they would be able to conclude construction on the probe if it was them. Never the less ,Alura was intrigued and she made her way down the steps, walking rather carefully.
"Hang on, I'm coming."
She did wonder who it was, especially given that it was so late in the afternoon. There was only one way to find out, when she picked up her strides and picked up the pace. She made it down the two flights of stairs before she saw them on the other side of the door.
Tension filled her body and blood ran cold through her body.
Representatives from the Kandorian Council were outside and that was rarely good. When people were summoned to face the Council, they did not often return. Well some did but they were never the same again. It was good not to catch their attention.
"May I help you?"
Alura tried to remain polite, perhaps a little too polite.
"Alura In-Ze, we come here representing the Kandorian Council. We understand that you have had house guests."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Alura said that statement with conviction but it was not bought by the Council.
"We believe that you need to be taken in for questioning, because there is evidence that you may be compromised and unwittingly leading an alien invasion. All of your inventions will be confiscated until the Council can prove that they are safe."
Alura turned around, backing off a little bit, before she pulled the weapon in her robes on one of the council members. The dart shot into his neck and paralyzed him immediately, before she rushed up the stairs.
"SUBDUE HER!"
Alura reached into a box on her desk and pulled out the necklace, one of the last ones, and hoped that it still worked. She waited for the red sunlight coming through the window to filter into yellow so she could be empowered. The Council sent several armed guards after her and her back was against the wall.