3177/The Girl of Broken Steel

The Girl of Broken Steel
Date of Scene:	31 August 2020
Location:	Gallery - Fortress of Solitude
Synopsis:	The emotional gamut is run by both son and daughter of Krypton. Fears, Futures, uncomfortable Truths. Family makes the weight of the world seem lighter.
Cast of Characters:	Kara Danvers, Clark Kent

---

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara can hear her heart beating as she sinks in to the deep dark of the bay. The distant light above twinkling like stars as she remembers her mother Alura putting on her battle armour. Beautiful white tight fitting clothing with the House of El crest worn proudly on her chest. A belt, a ray gun of some sort she puts in to its holster. She turns to face Kara and gives her a hug, "It's going to be okay sweetie, your father has a plan and I promise you, //promise// you I will stop Zod." A shockwave rumbles through their feet as Krypton shakes, continuing to erupt in its demise.

The ground beneath her hits her back, or she hits it and the big vault door lands on her. She is stunned awake and gasps for breath, taking in a bunch of water as the shockwave on Krypton in her dream and the shockwave from the explosion in real life converge.

Kara opens her eyes and pushes the heavy door off of her and shoots up in to the sky. She coughs up the water and gasps for breath. The sun beats down upon her and she flicks back her wet hair, throwing open her arms and letting its warmth fill her with life even as the tears flow down her cheeks, indistinguishable from the wet of the bay still lingering.

Coughing still, she wraps herself in a tight hug and shudders ... Metropolis? or.. no. There is a sonic boom in the sky above the bay as Supergirl flies north to the Fortress of Solitude.

Clark Kent has posed:
If Kara was expecting solitude, she might have headed for the wrong fortress. Superman is already here, down in one of the habitats, seated in the broad, green branches of an alien tree. Below, a trio of scaled creatures about lapdog-sized are curled up on his bright red cape, which lies in the sand below him. His hearing is as acute as ever, so he knows one of his family members has arrived when the door opens. He doesn't approach, though: he simply listens as Kelex, who is already in the entrance hall, greets her.

"Welcome, Kara Zor-el," the robotic servitor says. "May I assist you?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara lands on the floor next to Kelex on her hands and knees and coughs up more of the sea water she breathed in mere moments earlier. She starts to shiver of course and slumps her head down. Her cape drapes over. "No.. I.. I do not know. I.., /frigu-khap/"

She rolls on to her back and stares up at the crystal ceiling. The imagine of her other flashes before her eyes again. The last few moments with her father, long endless moments unable to move, in the darkness of space. Her fingertips grip purchase on the ground and she cries out a loud wail.

Once the moment has passed she is left panting and a distraught look upon her face. "I am broken," she says to Kelex and quiets as she catches her breath. She stares with searching eyes to the ceiling. "I.. /sokao-ahvrig ,kahl,ehl,/."

Clark Kent has posed:
Kelex gets about as far as "Oh, he's--" before Kal-El arrives with a basso whumpf of displaced air. He's hovering about a foot off the ground, but only for a second before his boots touch the ground lightly and he crouches beside Kara. His hand drops to her shoulder as seeks eye contact, trying to reassure her with his presence.

"Kara, what's wrong?" he asks. "What happened?" He left his cape behind; the scaled creatures remain undisturbed in their habitat, and without it he seems a lot less Superman, and maybe a little more her cousin. "You're not broken, you're here with me."

Kara Danvers has posed:
She places a hand on his and holds it tightly. Her eyes become glassy and she takes in a deep breath. "I.. I could not move. I was hit by a shock wave from an explosion under water. I was dazed.. and then the safe door fell on me and I was pinned to the bay floor and everything was dark and quiet and I could not move and I swallowed water." She grips that hand tighter.

"It was horrible. It felt like. Like. So many bad things. The day Krypton died. Being trapped in my pod. I remember my mother. I remember Zod attacking the city. I remember my dad trapped me in the pod and telling me everything would be alright and I could not stop crying."

Her eyes look searchingly up in to Kal's and she slowly sits up. "I lost it Kal. I was panicked, I felt like I was really going to drown. All because some /tai-shod/ wanted to rob a bank of gold. Gold!. They put so many in danger and if I had not been there.."

Clark Kent has posed:
Kal helps her up, that reassuring hand on her shoulder becoming a bracing one as she sits. "That sounds terrifying," he tells her, his voice sympathetic and steady. He shifts his legs so that he is seated next to her, but facing in the opposite direction, and draws her in for a hug. "You're safe now. I'm so glad you're alright," he says, close to her ear, before releasing her to look in her eyes again. "I can understand why you were frightened. I'm glad you came here. What can I do to help?"

Kara Danvers has posed:
She hugs him tightly, gripping him with finger tips and lifting up on to her toes. She buries her head against his chest and hears his soft words. She is no doctor but she learnt enough in school to recognise what she just experienced. "I think I have trauma from Kryptons destruction, but also .. also being stuck in the pod for so long. I think the dark, the paralysis, the lack of breathing like stasis. I think it sent my brain in to fight or flight."

Sometimes talking about it, rationalising it, that helps cope with that wild state she was just in. "I do not know what to do about this."

She slumps her shoulders and turns away from him, "And I have been keeping so much from you too. About Krypton. About life there. I see things differently now, now that I have lived here on Earth. I am afraid Kandor is not what you think it will be. I have been thinking about this all week and may be that has heightened my emotional state."

Clark Kent has posed:
Kal nods as Kara explains what she's experiencing. "Sense memories -- the darkness, the confinement -- they can remind you of past traumas, even force you to relive them," he agrees solemnly. "I've seen it happen." He didn't want to respond too clinically, at first; more important that she knows he's here, that he freely offers her support. She's not a problem to be diagnosed; she's family.

"You don't have to do anything about it, at first," he reassures her. "Take some time to rest and steady yourself, get back your strength. Try to avoid those sense memories in the future, maybe. You could also consider seeking help from a therapist -- what you're describing is a common problem with humans who have experienced trauma, too."

Her words about Kandor give him pause, but he eventually responds, "I... honestly don't know what to expect from Kandor. Mostly I just want to experience our lost culture; someday, maybe, we might be able to relocate them to a red-sun world and bring a remnant of Krypton back to life. What do you feel you have been keeping from me?" He doesn't sound suspicious, more concerned about her feelings of guilt.

Kara Danvers has posed:
It hadn't occurred to her that may be Kal has had to suffer through similar problems. He did die after all. She squeezes his hand again and presses her lips together. "Thank you Kal. I did not know where else to go. I hope the Titans handled the rest of the bank robbers. No, I know they must have. They are excellent heroes."

She places a hand on her chest, "My heart is still racing." She smiles just a touch and then says. "Kandor. Right. Kandor was our capital city. It was the center of political power. It is where the council of guilds sat. I know uncle Jor-El gave you a history that left out the worst of us Kal but I am starting to understand. Ah, my explanation is all over the place. Okay. House El."

She folds her arms and decides this is a good way to get her mind off of that image of her mother arming herself to fight Zod. "Many great scientists in our family, most of us joined the science guild. We were considered a bit of an odd household though, often poking at the accepted norms. Things everyone else took for granted, they would be things of scientific enquiry for us. We ruffled a lot of feathers."

She folds her legs and sighs. "When Kandor disappeared, it was barely in the news. Hardly anyone talked about it. I was younger then, but even I thought it was really weird that people were pretending nothing had happened. With the council gone, a new council was elected. But they did all the same things that the old council did. They ignored uncle Jor-El, they ignored father, they ignored mother.. they ignored any thing that was at odds with their expected norm."

She frowns, "When the world began to fall apart... General Zod took over placing the planet under military control. They were broadcasting that we were under attack, but we ..house El, we knew better. One of the strangest things about the council Kal. We had these guilds, every one was a part of a guild. Everyone. Warrior Guild, Science Guild, Workers Guild, Artists Guild, Religious Guild. All guilds except the Workers guild had representation on the council."

Clark Kent has posed:
"I agree, they'll have it handled just fine," Kal assures his cousin. "In fact -- Kelex, can you check media reports from Metropolis for me? Just so there's no question." The robot doesn't take any time to answer, it simply projects a holographic feed of the criminals being turned over to the authorities. "There," Kal says definitively. "Your faith in your teammates is well-placed."

As Kara starts her explanation, the basics are familiar to Kal -- questions of political organization were covered in his father's lessons. The more cultural questions, though: how people thought of his House, what was taboo, what was publicized... these were not given much time, and perhaps could not have been conveyed except by someone who was there.

He listens closely, with a thoughtful expression. "Like a caste system, with an undercaste that lacked political power," he suggests gravely. "I didn't really believe Krypton was a perfect society, but it sounds like there were serious problems with how its government was set up."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara looks at the news report and lets out a small breath of relief. "Oh good. I hope they don't worry too much that I'm gone." She thumbs her t-com which she turned off, but she leaves it off for now. "They will be fine."

"Well, history too Kal. We used to have a vast empire spread across the stars. But bit by bit, over hundreds of years.. our empire shrunk all the way back to our single home world. Not only that, but we stopped accepted visitors from other planets. We became insular Kal. I can see it now in comparison. Krypton was beyond conservative. It was not just the old council, it was in our social structure. We were in stasis and that stasis killed us."

She looks down at the floor and wiggles her toes, "I still remember what it felt like when the ground started to shake. I could not believe my mother was going off to fight the military guild while the world began to burn. I guess my point is - when we go in to Kandor, the old council is there. The military guild may have taken over. They won't even listen to what either of us have to say because we're in no guilds. It won't be good Kal. Kandor will disappoint you."

Clark Kent has posed:
Kal nods. "Jor-El had some strong opinions about how isolated and unwilling to adapt Krypton was; I know that much," he says with a wry twist to his words. He generally refers to the man by name, or at times, 'my father' -- the informality of 'Dad' or certainly 'Pa' don't feel right. "It can be easy for people to retreat to the familiar, especially when the alternative is frightening and uncertain. Humans and Kryptonians aren't so different, in that way. We're all creatures of habit."

Her description of the terror of Krypton's last moments provokes an odd feeling in him: sympathy for what she suffered, of course, but also a sort of envy. She was old enough to know Krypton, to experience that terror, and she can claim the loss of their homeworld fully. He barely recalls glimpses, and even those are likely an artifact of Jor-El's teaching rather than firsthand experience. He was an infant.

He reached out and takes Kara's hand, lines forming on his forehead. "Kandor doesn't have to prove anything to me. They don't even have to listen, although I want to hope that they would. I just want to visit and learn, and understand that world better, flaws and all."

Kara Danvers has posed:
"I think.. I think /odhoz ,jor,ehl,/ was right. We were very isolated, by choice, very xenophobic too. I think it is a miracle of /,rao,/ that it was the House of El who came to this planet first. I admit that sometimes I have bad feelings toward some people on this planet. But I remind myself that I felt the same way on Krypton."

She folds her arms and lifts her shoulders a touch, "And oddly militaristic. Our warrior guild was also our police, as well as military. I remember from time to time a debate about this, but they would stand up and declare insult and injury to their honour that they would ever do harm to Krypton."

She takes Kal's hand and squeezes it, "They have a lot to prove to me, that they are worthy of this second chance. They better well listen to /khap/ because they are not going to hurt this planet and they are not going to repeat the mistakes of Krypton." She nods her head firmly, her lips pressed together in conviction. "But I am glad you want to visit still, with all the problems, Krypton was beautiful. It was home. I do not know when, or if, the pain will ever stop from that day. And now I realise I am profoundly hurt in my mind by it... may be I need to spend more time as Kara Danvers."

Clark Kent has posed:
"I don't know about miracles," Kal says with a wistful expression. "The House of El were the ones building prototype spacecraft again. If the others had been as forward-looking, more might have been saved. If enough of them, the cataclysm might not have even happened."

He takes a quiet breath before he continues, "Kryptonians and humans share some of the same psychological weaknesses. Militarism, xenophobia, even fascism... these can be powerfully persuasive to people of any species, when they're frightened enough. I don't expect perfection from Krypton, any more than I do from human governments. I just... I want to know more. Their successes, their mistakes: the lessons other societies can learn." He returns the squeeze to his hand, and finally answers, "I'm here to support you, whatever you need. Clark can be there for Kara as easily as Kal can be there for" -- He huffs out a small laugh -- "well, also Kara."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara can't help but smirk just a little bit. "The benefits of insisting the DEO not change my first name. It is a shame, we could have called you Calvin if I'd gotten here at the same time as you. Kal and Cal." She can't help but tease her cousin just a little.

But then she hugs him again. "Thank you for being here Kal. I will try not to let fear get the best of me. There are so many people out there counting on Supergirl and I need to be there for them, but I also need to be here for me. Danvers is probably the break I need. I may be pushing myself too hard. There is so much going on at once."

"And apparently there is a black market in New York City of alien weaponry. I cannot handle that on my own. I will talk to the DEO, but they may want to push that up to SHIELD."

Clark Kent has posed:
"Fortunately, Kara works pretty well on either planet. Calvin's more of a cartoon character, or a pair of underwear, I think," Kal says with a smile -- one that fades after a second. "And you know I'm here for you, whatever you need. Alien weapons, family dinners, just talking it out. I know how it is; I'm dealing with...something pretty overwhelming myself. That's what the Fortress is here for: a little time to just be you, with no one else watching."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara looks in to his eyes, "What is happening with you Kal?" She immediately switches gears when she hears he is dealing with something overwhelming. That desire to help is so strong, she tends to push her own troubles to the side. It may be a house of El trait. Or symptom. But Rao protects us so we may protect others.

"What is overwhelming you?"

Clark Kent has posed:
Kal wasn't sure he should bring this up with Kara -- she's got pretty strong opinions that touch on it. But he did bring it up for a reason; she's one of maybe four people on Earth he can really talk to about it, and that's including his parents.

"It's about Lois," he says at first. Then, with a slight wince, he amends, "Well, and it's about Conner. One of the Robins ran an analysis on his genes, and he's not just a clone. He appears to be a clone of a hybrid Kryptonian/human. And the human half of his genes come from Lois."

He holds up his hands and shakes his head. "I... honestly can't even figure out what to think about that."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara winces a moment and looks away. But not for the reasons Kal might immediately think. She lets go of his hand and turns a moment and then lets out a long sigh. "Uhm. Yes, so... I also did an analysis of Conner while he was here in the Fortress. I was not going to bring it up, because it is your private life and while I did this to understand Conner, I did not do it to pry in to your life choices."

She walks over to a console and motions toward it, Kryptonian glyphs and data appear like ghosts against the crystalline wall surface. "I wanted to know what had happened to Conner. He told me he already had been tested but I trust our technology over human technology." She looks back at him with pleading sorry eyes. The data shows definitively that he is a clone, but that he is a clone of the off spring of Kal El and Lois Lane.

"The implications of this are staggering," she says pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment. "There are many on Krypton who would shun you for such an act, though many in the science guild who believe further genetic diversity is what Krypton needs. As a society, we took genetic diversity very seriously - which is why cloning was forbidden. Whoever this mystery child of yours is, I believe they are a good thing."

She tucks her hands behind her back, nabbing the corners of her cape as she does so, looking at him with the hopes that this might serve as an apology for keeping it from him. "When did you two? uhm? and what did you name them? is Lois okay?"

Clark Kent has posed:
As Kara dives into her research and its implications, Kal adopts some very Clark mannerisms, holding up one finger, making small noises as if to interrupt, grimacing and squinting in embarrassment. Finally, Kara asks her questions, and waits for an answer, but even then it takes him a second to actually verbalize his response.

"Lois hasn't gotten pregnant," he finally blurts out, reddening. That bursts the dam. "We're... using protection. I'm not even sure it's biologically possible to -- well, I /wasn't/ sure it was biologically possible..." He fish-mouths for a second, then finally sums his comments up with: "We don't have a child. We're not ready for that right now."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara's little presentation becomes an awkward elongated moment of silence as she blinks and stares. She looks back at the data, the data doesn't lie. Then back to Kal and her mouth opens up slowly. Slowly but surely, ever so slowly until she blurts out what is eating at her. "TIME TRAVEL!?"

Palpable excitement tempered by emotional exhaustion. "Also this means Conner is effectively your son too. But who time traveled? your biological son or your cloned son? and given the state Conner says he was in when he escaped, if he time traveled, then someone else must have been doing the time traveling with him.. so that means another person has time traveled."

She starts to pace in circles as she talks at a million miles a minute, "Of course now there's the paradox, what if knowing you might have a child with Lois makes you think you should not, would that cause alternate dimensions to unfold? what if they're from a future where you did not know, or if it's a closed loop and knowing always happens and thus creates the circumstances for your future child."

She stares off in to the distance a moment, "And that it must therefore be possible for Kryptonians and Humans to be biologically compatible... is that the answer to 'why Earth'? ..what about me? can I even carry a mixed child like that??"

Clark Kent has posed:
"Also, Conner is a few years old," Clark continues. "We weren't even together, at the time he was cloned. So, yes, I'd say time travel is a very, very likely possibility. Considering no son has shown up, and we know people involved in the cloning project, I think most likely some time traveler brought the genetic material back from the future -- although I can't imagine how they got it, and I don't really want to try."

He puts he heels of both hands against his forehead and stares down at the console. "Now you know what has been eating at me. What does this mean for me and Lois? Do I tell her? /What/ do I tell her? And how much can I even tell Conner? He and his friends know Lois is genetically his mother -- how do I handle that piece of information being out?"

Kal lowers his hands and groans into them. "Now you also know why I came up to the Fortress. I have to think about this."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Kara smiles sympathetically with tight lips. She wraps her arms about Kal and hugs him again. "Yes. I understand that dilemma entirely. I mean, not.. having had it happen to me, just the need to come here and think. I am no helping. I will hush. But I think you should tell her. She will understand that time travel is weird and that there was always going to be a potential future where things work out that way, and may be this future is still that. But also, that you don't need to rush in to any decisions. The seed, the idea, it has been planted now. That cannot and should not be undone."

She gives a slight squeeze in to the hug and says, "For what it is worth Kal, you would make an excellent father."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark sighs deeply, lowering his hands to return the hug. "I appreciate that, Kara. I hope you're right. I think I'm going to get a chance to find out... much earlier than I'd expected." He laughs, once, quietly. "But don't say you're not helping -- you are. Just being able to talk to you about it means a lot to me. I don't have many people I can open up to."

Kara Danvers has posed:
Once she used to bounce Kal on her knee and remembers with disgusted fondness when he puked on her.
Her eyes widen a touch more, "I can baby sit! Future-Dibs!"