A/N: Hi everyone! This is a little out of order, because I was hit by inspiration and just -had- to write this, but I'll try to make the next chapter I write after this one be the first chapter of TDoL part 2. But for now? Superman!

Also, some of you may have noticed that I didn't respond to each and every review last time. I addressed concerns brought forth by a guest reviewer, but not anyone else. Sorry about that! I've been thinking about moving over to using PMs, as it will make cross posting my stories to other websites simpler. By the time I post this chapter I should have responded via PM to all the reviewers of this story, so be sure to check for that :). As for guest reviewers? IDK. Make a profile I guess. It really isn't that hard, and it's free.

I don't own DC or Marvel.

It was a Saturday morning in the middle of a Kansas winter, and I sat on the family couch with a four year old Lexi sitting next to me. We were in our PJs, and watching a movie on the new blocky 10" screen of a TV that Ma and Pa had got. The reason it was so special was that it had a VCR player built in! Laugh if you want, but after 17 years of an even smaller tv with nothing but bunny ears, a VCR player was a huge deal. It was now 2004, and Lexi had grown into an adorable little mischief maker of a child. Her hair was a reddish auburn, midway between Ma's red and Pa's brown. Her eyes were a beautiful shade of minty green, and she had adorable little dimples on her cheeks when she smiled or laughed.

I was four years old was when I had regained my memories, and ever since her birthday in September I had watched her like a hawk and dropped subtle hints that only a reincarnator from my reality would know, but there was no reaction. Unlike me, it was pretty clear she was just as she looked, 4 years old inside and out. A normal human toddler.

Well… normal is a bit of a stretch. Her development, specifically her mental development, far outstripped others in her age group. Talking, walking, potty training, and even reading had happened much earlier than usual for a kid her age.

That's right. You read that correctly. Reading. At 4. While many children are bought alphabet books as a toddler, very few absorbed the information they provided with any efficiency until they entered kindergarten at 5 or 6. Some neurotypical children couldn't read easily without needing to sound out each word letter by letter until as late as first, second, or even third grade, depending on effort and interest. And Lexi started stringing letters into words a year ago back when she was 3!

Case in point, her little voice chirped inquisitively as the title of the movie came on the screen.

"The… eye-rawn giant?"

I chuckled. "That word is pretty weird. It looks like it should be eye-rawn, but it's really pronounced iron. Eye-urn. Like that. I'm not sure why."

Her brow furrowed. "Iron." She said carefully, and then nodded, committing it to memory.

"What country are you from Lexi?" I asked conversationally. She rolled her eyes, but smiled at the easy question as a cartoon Sputnik orbited across the screen.

"The United States of America! Duh!"

I laughed in response. One of the uses I had for my hearing was telling if someone was nervous or lying. Everything I ever observed from Lexi indicated she didn't have any memories from a previous life, she was just highly intelligent. It was a tiny bit disappointing, but also kind of a relief. It was a bit alienating to be the only person with memories of a previous life, but at the same time, I had a genuine baby sister who loved me, which I wouldn't trade for anything in the whole world.

As we watched the movie, the Iron Giant proved just as good as I remembered it. However, there was one key difference. The comic Hogarth shows the giant isn't Superman. It's Hyperion. DC comics was a thing in this universe, but they produced comics about the "Squadron Supreme" instead of the "Super Friends/Justice League." They were a staple of the 50s and 60s, but unlike DC in my home universe, they had gone bankrupt in the late 70s. There were also distinct differences between this worlds Hyperion and my old one. In my first life, the Hyperion character had just been a Superman clone, but this version had a completely different power set and back story. Even his personality was written differently, being much more genuine and benevolent, similar to Superman comics in my previous life.

Still, even with the substitution of Superman with Hyperion, the movie had the same message and moments of the one I was used to, and I got misty eyed just the same at the ending. After the movie, we had a late Saturday breakfast, and I put on my day clothes and winter coat to do my chores, which I did at a semi normal speed.

A while ago, Ma and Pa had a talk with me, that I probably shouldn't use my powers in front of Lexi until she was old enough to keep a secret. I begrudgingly agreed, but still had managed to get in power practice after she went to bed.

After Pa and I were finished with our work, we met up with Ma, who was letting Lexi 'help' her feed the chickens. My little sister was wearing a winter coat and snow pants so puffy she reminded me of the little kid from Christmas story, and when she mumbled incoherently through the thick fabric, Ma was able to understand her perfectly. Because we were about done with work for the day, and it was only about noon, I figured we should have a little fun.

"Hey Lexi, how about after lunch, we build a snowman? Does that sound fun?"

"Eeaaaaaa!" She shouted excitedly from behind her neck warmer, which was pulled up over her mouth and nose.

I let out a bark of laughter as we went in for lunch. Ma had made Beef stew, which had been simmering in the crockpot since early this morning, so all we had to do was take off our coats and boots and dig in. After we said grace of course, as Ma was quick to remind.

It was piping hot, filling, and delicious. After we ate, Ma sat on the couch while Pa started up the fireplace, and promptly sat next to her, wiggling underneath the blanket while she only half teasingly complained about his cold feet and hands.

After making sure Lexi got all of her winter gear back on to Ma's eagle eyed standards, The two of us went out to make a snowman. I started rolling the largest ball that would go on the bottom, and showed Lexi what I was doing as she rolled her own, smaller snowball that we could use for the head.

I smiled in contentment, it was moments like these that helped me forget all the bullshit that would be coming in the next couple years. Just a normal, pleasing life with the people I loved, making memories and having fun. While getting reborn into a superhero universe normally would have made people immediately go into a mad, anxiety fueled rush to accumulate as many super powers as possible to protect themselves, I honestly didn't see the need. As a kryptonian, I basically was gaining all the strength I would need just by being outdoors. I wasn't putting my head in the sand, just… enjoying the time given to me. As long as I was steadily growing stronger, I didn't really see the harm of living the simple life. Right now, the government basically didn't have a clue I existed, and I wanted to keep it that way for as long as possible. I'll admit there were times it was a bit boring, but with the way my powers worked, living a human life and laying low had every advantage, so I let myself enjoy the peace.

As we kept building, I made sure to keep an eye on Lexi, and every time it looked like she was starting to get cold, I used the most gentle form of my heat vision (which I called 'lamp mode') in order to give her the boost of warmth she needed. At this weak level, it wasn't even noticeable, the red glow of my eyes not even visible while under the brightness of day.

Having finished the two large snowballs that made up the snowman's body, I checked on Lexi, who had done a wonderful job with hers.

I was about to tell her so, when I noticed a strange light coming from over near the barn. Turning my gaze toward the light to try and figure out the origin, I realized it was coming from the ground between us and the barn, but it looked strange, like my depth perception was wonky. Suddenly, I realized why. It wasn't coming from the surface, it was coming from underground.

I was now 17, and up until this point I had unlocked nearly all the classic Superman powers, save for X ray vision. It was the only remaining superpower I had to gain before I had the complete Kryptonian package, and it looked like it was finally kicking in!

Focusing intensely on the light, something flexed within my eyes, and the ground turned transparent. Without anything blocking my vision, I saw that the light was coming from the cellar, from inside my spaceship. As I stared at the light, I felt like… it was important somehow.

A tug on my hand snapped me out of my trance, and I jumped in fright as I looked at Lexi, who was currently a tiny translucent skeleton standing on nothing.

The jawbone of her toddler sized skull moved ghoulishly, and I could hear her voice say, "Clark? Can we put the the head on now?"

Her hand was grasping mine, which was also skeletal, and I noticed that her bones looked slightly more transparent than mine. I looked down at myself, observing my skeleton, and where Lexi's was transparent like acrylic, mine was slightly more opaque, and seemed to shimmer like polished crystal when I looked at it directly.

"Clark? Are you ok?" Her voice snapped me out of my horrified fascination, and when I concentrated, everything shifted back into regular focus. There was a brief moment of horror when I saw Lexi's internal organs, muscles, and blood before her skin and clothes were once again visible.

I rubbed my eyes. "Yeah, uhh… sure. I'm alright. Let's give Jack 'Snowington' his head!"

She cheered, forgetting my weird reaction, and I counted myself lucky. It's hard to tell exactly what children will pick up on. They're knowledge-less, completely new to life, but they're not stupid, and that goes double for a kid like Lexi. I'd have to wait for tonight to check it out, after she was in bed.

When we eventually finished the snowman, I had to admit it was impressive. It had two massive snowballs as the body and 'legs' sections, and a much smaller basketball sized one for the head. All in all, it was taller than me, and after my most recent growth spurt, I had passed the six foot mark by a hair, so this was a big ol' snowman.

With the 'hard' work done, I let Lexi have fun picking good sticks and rocks for the limbs and facial features, and under her direction, we decorated it well. Lexi wanted to get him a top hat like Frosty, but was dissatisfied by the fact that we didn't own one. We did get a carrot for the nose from inside though, so it still looked good bald.

All while Lexi was having a grand old time, I was still occasionally distracted by the light only I could see. I tried not to look directly at it, fearing I'd start going into a trance again.

Eventually, Ma called us in for supper, and after we all ate, Lexi was fading fast. She was adamant that she wasn't tired at all, but also couldn't stop yawning and refused to go up the stairs at all, wanting to be carried.

We got her teeth brushed and her PJs on, and when she was all tucked in, she spoke up one last time before sleep.

"Clark?" She asked dreamily, as if she was already falling asleep.

"Yeah Lexi?" I responded with a whisper.

She sighed contentedly, "This was the best day of my life."

Warmth bloomed in my heart, and I got a little choked up. "Best day of your life so far, I'm pretty sure we can beat it if we try."

She giggled, "Yeah! Totally…" she trailed off, and by how her breathing steadied, she had fallen asleep.

I quietly closed her door, and went down stairs, where Ma and Pa were waiting.

"Hey, thanks for putting her to bed Clark, we really appreciate it." Pa said. He and Ma were sitting at the table, sorting through their mail.

I smiled smugly. "I'll have you know, that today was apparently 'the best day of her life so far'. She told me so right before she fell asleep."

Ma put her hand on her heart, "Awww, how precious!"

I sat down at the table, and they shuffled the mail, hiding what they were looking at. I sighed. While the Kent farm had been in the family for generations, we still had utility bills to deal with, as well as car payments and maintenance costs of our equipment. Money was often tight, and was a near constant stress for Ma and Pa. The money from the harvest seemed to pay for a little bit less every year, to the point that some of the other farms in town had been forced to sell out, not having the money to maintain their livelihoods. Lucky for us, I did the work of many men in the fraction of the time, but there was only so much money to be made from the land we had.

Now that I had my X-ray vision, I had a plan to start fixing that problem, but that was a discussion for later.

"Ma, Pa, I got a new ability today. I can see through solid objects. I could see the ship underground, and Lexi looked like a skeleton."

Pa's eyes widened, and he blinked a few times, processing what I said.

Ma wasn't nearly as surprised, taking it in stride. She spoke up, just as casually as if talking about the weather. "See through objects hmm? I'll of course need your word you won't misuse this."

It took a moment to connect the dots, but when I did, An embarrassed heat came to my cheeks, "I promise! Jeez Ma! I wouldn't do that! Besides, the girls at my school are under 18!" I said without thinking.

Ma responded, "So are you, but that's not the point. It isn't ok to invade anyone's privacy like that regardless of age. And I don't remember specifically mentioning seeing through clothes. I only said not to misuse your gifts."

Pa started chuckling heartily, "She's got you there son!"

I put my hand on my heart, "I solemnly promise I will never use my gifts to look through a person's clothes." I began, causing Ma to nod. Quickly I tacked on, "Without their permission."

Pa's chuckle turned into a full on belly laugh, and Ma gave me a withering look in exasperation.

Wanting desperately to change the subject, I interrupted whatever Ma was gearing up to say.

"When I saw through the ship, I saw something glowing inside. I think I can open it."

That stunned both of them, and there was a few seconds of silence before Pa spoke up.

"Well… what are we waiting for?"

Ma, Pa, and I stood in the cellar in front of my ship. Its diamond like appearance was made even more magnificent by the bright light shining from it. By the way Pa fiddled blindly with the wall until his fingers found the light switch, it confirmed that only I could see the light.

Getting closer, I saw that all the light was coming from a single area on the roof of the ship. I could sort of make out a glowing shape through the semi transparent crystal, but it was quite blurry. The sense I got before came back, and I once again felt like this was important. Focusing, I reactivated my X-ray vision, and now that I could see through the first few inches of crystal, the shape was made clear.

A diamond shaped shield, filled with what my human education recognized as an S, but some forgotten memory in the back of my head insisted it meant more than that.

I smiled in awe. It was the Superman symbol. All at once, it hit me once again just who I was now. As weird as it sounds, it was one thing to be a farmer with superpowers, it was another to be an alien from outer space. I came from space. I could go to space!

As I stared at the Superman symbol, it flashed, and then morphed shape into a stylized handprint. "Pretty self explanatory…" I muttered, and placed my hand on the print. It glowed brighter, humming, and spoke in an alien language that I didn't understand, but seemed extremely familiar. Two of the words I did make out though.

Kal El.

A 3 foot wide circle opened in the roof of the ship, which split into five pointed pieces that were converged under where my hand was. The five triangular sections slid back, disappearing into the workings of the ship, revealing the interior of the craft.

There was a cradle shaped area with a large red blanket, and a computer deck pulsating with backlit alien symbols. The computer deck was facing up, and wouldn't have been accessible to the passenger when the hatch was closed, which I suppose was the point. It wouldn't do to trust a baby with intergalactic navigation after all. It had most certainly been pre programmed before launch. I was a bit nervous I would press the wrong thing if I messed with it, so I left it alone for now.

Reaching in to the ship, I grabbed the blanket. Taking a closer look, it shimmered almost magically in my X-ray vision, but was a simple bold red in my normal sight. It wasn't all that thick, being closer to a sheet than a blanket, but was extremely soft, flowing gracefully across my skin.

Draping the blanket over my left forearm, I turned back my attention to the ship. The computer had started flashing, an when I moved closer to get a better look, a white beam flashed out, shining on my face, and suddenly, I remembered.

Smiling faces with tears on their cheeks, speaking in the same alien language as before, but this time, I could understand it.

"Be brave, my son. You will be safe on M.W.G.O.A: C-23. Forget all thoughts of revenge, and grow strong and wise under the young rays of a yellow star. Through you, Krypton will live on… live life to the fullest, My little Kal El."

A flash of krypton exploding

Vague impressions of being curled up somewhere safe and warm as basic knowledge of Krypton flowed into my head

A flash of the ship opening, seeing Ma and Pa's younger faces.

Suddenly, the vision ended, and I was back. Out of the computer deck, a holographic display of earth came into existence, with the Arctic highlighted.

The alien language spoke again, and just like in the vision of my bio parents, I understood it.

"Calculating build site compatibility: Nearest ice cap. Ungrounded ice sheet, treacherous approach allows for minor natural defense. Currently turned away from Stelar light due to planetary axial tilt. Immediate suitability: Low."

The arctic stopped glowing on the hologram, and Antarctica lit up in its place.

"Calculating build site compatibility: Furthest ice cap. Solid continent makes for easier terrestrial approach, natural defense minutely inferior to Nearest ice cap. Currently turned toward Stellar light due to planetary axial tilt. Spacial anomaly detected, preliminary scans suggest large swathes of land hidden in continent wide pseudo pocket dimension. Further data required for deeper analysis. Immediate suitability: High."

The hologram of earth disappeared, and the roof began to close again, the ship shining brighter than ever before.

"Build site designated on Furthest ice cap. Checking archive data… Archive data undamaged. Commencing conversion to fortress crystal."

The ship shined even brighter, and then seemed to almost… dissolve. It's diamond like surface breaking into motes of light that rushed to the ship's center of mass. Gradually, it formed into a blindingly bright white crystal, about a foot long and 2 inches across at the thickest, which tapered into points at both ends.

The crystal radiated with a similar power to the energy I felt within myself, more than I had ever experienced, and I had a strange instinct that it was potentially enough energy to destroy the entire planet.

Once the crystal was finished forming, it kept hovering in midair for a few seconds, then abruptly dropped. I frantically caught it before it hit the ground, not wanting to risk it shattering. It was probably more durable than I was, but why take the chance?

As soon as my hand touched its surface, a massive rush of information hit me, like I had plugged in a second brain. I knew exactly where this needed to go.

"Clark?" Someone asked. I was too busy. This was too important. I didn't answer.

Floating a few inches off the ground, I hovered up the stairs and out of the cellar. Somewhere in the back of my head I had the thought that I should have walked. But why? Flight was much more efficient.

"Clark?! What's going on?! Can you hear me?!" Someone said again. They seemed concerned. It was extremely important that I deliver the crystal, but something nagged at me that it would be rude to leave the voice unanswered.

I looked at the source of the voice, and they flinched when I responded in my native language of Kryptonian, the voice that had come from the ship layered over my own. "Do not be afraid. I shall return after I complete my mission. I shall be gone six hours at the most."

I looked at the stars to get my bearings, and turned south toward the designated build site at the further ice cap, rising higher into the air.

"Clark wait! Don't go!"

This again? I had already reassured whoever it was. I had done my duty of basic etiquette. Not responding, I flew off into the sky with a sonic boom. With my enhanced hearing, I heard the person scream the name 'Clark' once more, along with another, lower pitched voice. A strange twinge of guilt made itself known, but I ignored it. My mission was too important.

The landscape streaked by as I pushed myself faster than I had ever gone before, exiting the continent at massively hypersonic speed, the crystal clutched safely in one hand, the red blanket in the other.

Tearing through the sky, I crossed a brief stretch of ocean before being above the next continent, which I vaguely knew as South America.

My heading was straight, so it wasn't long before I passed over that continent too, and after another stretch of ocean, I reached the continent I was looking for. Heading for the geographical South Pole, I realized there was a human base there. Concentrating on the crystal, I was rerouted North toward the center of the continent. Checking that there were no pre established structures, and confirming the presence of sufficient ice, I extended my hand, and dropped the crystal.

I was halfway done with retreating back the required distance when I regained myself.

Holy shit! What the fuck was that?! Was I just mind controlled?! Oh no, Ma and Pa! They must be worried sick!

My thoughts were interrupted by a massive flash of white light, and I quickly finished retreating the required distance.

Like a living time lapse video of crystal growth, massive glowing pillars of diamond like crystals expanded outwards, eating up the ice and earth surrounding them. The flat foundation expanded out along the ground in all directions until it covered a radius of about a mile, where it stopped expanding. Done with its horizontal growth, it began growing vertically, expanding down into the ground and up into the air, using the shining sun as fuel. And the earth as raw, fusionable materials. When it was finally done, it was about 1500 feet tall, a truly massive crystalline structure that appeared to be made of diamond, which still slightly glowed with an ethereal white light. As if that wasn't enough, A gigantic symbol of the house of El shined brightly from the roof of the gargantuan alien monolith.

Fuck! This wasn't subtle at all! Fortress of solitude my ass! A satellite could case this flashy ass place in a week! Fortress of frequent disgruntled company is more like it! Until now the government didn't even know I existed, but now?

FUCK!

Suddenly, a voice sounded from inside the fortress, which I only heard due to my super hearing.

"Analyzing spacial anomaly… Analyzing… Analyzing… Analysis complete. Suitable conditions for spacial folding. Commencing."

Suddenly, the Fortress and the air around it seemed to warp and shimmer, before it disappeared completely in a flash of light, leaving undisturbed ground, as if it had never been there in the first place.

I was stuck hanging in the air for a good five seconds, blinking stupidly at the place where the fortress used to be. A small light drew my attention, and I flew down to the ground to investigate. I recognized it as the same kind of light the ship had been emitting, the kind only I could see. Upon landing, I discovered a light once again in the shape of a Superman symbol, and when I touched it, it flashed brighter.

"Recognized. Kal El."

Space shimmered around me, and suddenly I was in front of the fortress once more. Looking at my surroundings, I could faintly make out a shimmering bubble of bent space around the entire fortress. While the surrounding area was just as icy and cold as the Antarctic landscape, occasionally I smelled a strange whiff of… the jungle? What kind of spacial anomaly did the fortress use to hide itself?

Then it hit me.

Holy shit. We were in a pocket dimension.

One that was keyed to only be accessed by my personal bio signature, requiring someone to find a random ass spot in the middle of Antarctica on undisturbed ground that could only be seen by a Yellow Sun powered Kryptonian.

Fortress of solitude indeed.

I sighed. Ma was going to kill me when I got home.

A/N: And that's a wrap! I love your reviews and comments, they inspire me to keep writing! Thank you so much for the support!

Just to make things clear, Clark knows the MCU super well, but as for the more obscure marvel stuff? It's a bit hazy.

Ciao!