5857/Krypton or Bust: The Sins of Krypton

Krypton or Bust: The Sins of Krypton
Date of Scene:	05 April 2021
Location:	Oa
Synopsis:	The Kryptonians discover that not only were their ancestors conquerers but that the Oans have a very alien idea of what's right and wrong. Grave concerns have been raised about their motives and their right to rule - and even whether it's safe to have Green Lanterns anywhere near Earth.
Cast of Characters:	27, Kara Danvers, Clark Kent, Karen Starr, Jon Kent

---

Chaucer (27) has posed:
Oa: Heart of the Universe

There is no more ancient planet, no older known civilization. The Guardians of the Universe have existed since time immemorial. Entities of truly epochal memory struggle to recall a time when Oa did not straddle the galaxy. Oa is the lone planet rotating around the star of Sto-Oa, and has but a single moon. One might think the planet deserted on approach; there is only one populated landmass, one terrain, one city. The world is so old and cold that the mountains are worn down to nubs and the rivers cut ancient and deep paths to the coastlines.

Maxima's vessel had been allowed sublight power and escorted to land-- not on the planet, but on a moon nearby with a suspiciously uniform appearance. No moon that small should have 1g of gravity and an atmosphere, but it's quite comfortable for most carbon-based lifeforms.

Of course, it's perhaps hard for the Kryptonians to take in the sights when a legion of Green Lanterns-- half a hundred of the galaxy's police force-- are on standby in orbit with enough firepower to crack a planet in half.

The droid attendant tasked with escorting the Kryptonians to their temporary quarters seems nervously all too aware of its precarious position. "<You will stay here during your residency,>" it tells the Kryptonians, and gestures at a villa that would be considered palatial under other circumstances. "<This guest lodging has been environmentally-engineered for your comfort. The Guardians are deliberating and will contact you when they are ready. As a reminder, please do -not- leave the villa. Orbital bombardment is on standby to target any flight five hundred feet above ground level.>"

Cheery warning delivered, the droid puttered off on some other tasks to leave the Kryptonians to their own devices for a time.

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara looks around the 'villa' that seems more mansion to her. She shakes her head and stares at the droid leaves them to their own devices. She frowns, her lips in a tight line. "I don't get it. They're meant to be the good guys? Why are they treating us like we're the most dangerous people in the universe??"

    She throws her arms up in the air, "We're not Brainiac, or Darkseid, or Doomsday, or Thanos... we're refugees living on a small blue planet on the outer arm of the galaxy just trying to live our lives...," she says - the exasperation clear in her voice as she stomps around the open area.

    Her hands making small fists again she undoes the clip of her large cloak and unfurls the blue heavy fabric to reveal the white top and skirt beneath. Red boots, golden belt with the symbol of their house upon it.

    She looks back to her cousin and her doppelganger sister and shakes her head. "They're making a really bad first impression. We could have stayed away from here - just gone straight to Krypton. But now we're here I want answers gosh darn it," she plants her hands to her hips, "We deserve better than _this_. I saved Hal Jordon's life!"

Clark Kent has posed:
Superman is trying his best to keep a big smile on his face.

The truth is his whole plan revolved around Karen and Kara getting the hell out of dodge. This would prevent Maxima from starting a war, let the others look after the mysterious Kryptonian boy who just showed up out of nowhere in the middle of a battlefield, and keep all of their eggs out of one barred basket. If things went like, like this, he could get Zee to teleport him out or, worst case sceneario, call in a favor from a friend in the Fifth Dimension. His plan seemes to have been foiled by his relatives's refusal to let him suffer in their place. Which is kind of noble.

In a 'now we're actually trapped' sort of way, Clark thinks. "Well summerized."

Karen Starr has posed:
    Power Girl has been mostly fine with this arrangement. It is the first time she's been directly to Oa- especially this one- and once the details were worked out with Sinestro, she knew it would only be a matter of time.

    Hell, she even half expected to be treated this way. "You've never dealt with people who /need/ to be in control before, Kara. This is what they do. We're a rogue element, and they can't abide by that."

    Quietly, she strolls over to a window, staring into the sky- directly at the orbital weaponry that'd be used to try and shoot them down if they hit five-hundred-one feet.

    "Doesn't mean I haven't been considering showing them just how little control they have over us as a situation. It's /real/ tempting."

Jon Kent has posed:
     The Oan technology had traced his DNA, after the talk he had with Clark and Lois, he had originally been given a bunk and had been lying down for a moment as a rush of green light came over him.

  In the 'Villa', he appeared, the same green light that grabbed him on Maxima's ship, dropped him off a foot off the ground. Jon's expression there in the half second he had before colliding with the ground was...admittedly pretty funny. A sharp thud, and he lets out an "Oof!"

  "Okay, that was rude." He commented, before getting himself upright, and looking for his shoes, which he was not wearing in bed because he is a gentleman. "Well...great." White and grey crew socks it is then.

Chaucer (27) has posed:
~ That would be highly inadvisable ~. The response to Karen's mumbling comes from nowhere specific, tickling the brain rather than the ears. Three figures float into the main room. They're all identical, or close enough to it that picking out unique features takes some effort. Blue skin, white tufts of hair, and none of them more than a meter tall. They make no contact with the ground underfoot and their red robes flow with the air currents as they pass through.

None of the three move their mouths but there is a sense of the leadmost one speaking. ~ We have had many of your years to refine our strategies since the last time Kryptonians met our forces.~ The addendum comes from the one on the left.

~ The question at present is whether or not you are Kryptonian, ~ opines the third.

~ The Hegemony is long defeated, ~ the first says. Despite their lack of emotions, it seems to express concurrence with the third one. ~ Politically you are not driven by their imperial ideologies. ~

~ But the potential is there ~, adds the second.

At that, all three seem to agree, staring unblinkingly at the Kryptonian 'guests'.

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara takes in a deep breath, then slowly lets it out. Her hands rising and falling with the breath. "If only it were as simple as that. It's not like when we fought Brainiac. Those are Green Lanterns up there.. people. And we have to consider Maxima and the Milano's crew too."

    The crackle of green energy from the teleporter has Kara turn around sharply and she once again sees Jon, the young man she carefully put on Maxima's ship to recover. But, now here he was. The Oans really didn't want Kryptonian-types lurking about where they couldn't see them. "ta-nahn rrup" she asks - who are you?; her expression slightly exasperated but also kind to the young boy who appeared out of no where in space near them.

    "...and did you find the toilet?" she asks - what better way to determine if he speaks English or not. His Kryptonian sure was a little basic.

    She looks to Kal, then to Karen, then back to Jon. "It seems as if we needed to come to Oa regardless - for his sake," she says motioning to the young man.

    Her eyes widen a touch as the three smurfs appear. Oans, she presumes. She walks around their hosts slowly, taking in the smurfs who dared to threaten them and their friends. "You can't seriously judge us by the actions of our distant ancestors," she says firstly. "That is psychopathic." She's not going to mince words with these people. "We came to you for help, to find out what happened to our home - Krypton - and instead you meet us with a massive military force."

    "We most certainly are Kryptonian," she insists. At least two of them any way - pure, which might be another problem for the Oans. Then there's the one from another reality and then there's Jon, "and we also thought friends with the Green Lanterns - on Earth."

Clark Kent has posed:
Superman looks at.

Looks at his son. His wounded, lost son that the Oans just took from a ship without word one. No warning, no arrest, no pretense at law. The opposite of what his time with both Green Lanterns of his acquaintence would make of the Guardians of the Universe; stuffy, Hal said, but for a good reason considering the power at their disposal. And ultimately...

"If you really believed that, you wouldn't have a Green Lantern Corps." Superman says, pointing a finger at the central Guardian. "Those aren't mindless automations out there. They're highly trained, individual officers of the law that you grant massive leeway to. Every one of them does their job a little differently in accordance with the realities of their individual beats. If you thought people were to be judged by their potential instead of their actions, why design a group like the Green Lantern Corps at all?"

"Generally, friends, the good guys aren't the ones kidnapping wounded children either." Superman says, and a bit of steel is inching into his voice. "We came here in peace, looking for help, and you've nearly started a war...for what?"

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen offers a soft scoff. "I've done inadvisable before." she notes, turning from the window to face the Guardians as they enter. Her arms fold quietly, her perfectly sculpted frame imposing in height and strength- even if the nature of Kryptonians under a yellow sun isn't known.

    "I'm not at all sure you'd be ready." A look is made to Kara and Jon for a moment, but her attention remains firmly on the Guardians afterwards.

    "We're Kryptonian. That's true. The Hegemony is long dead. That's also true. That we have potential for good and ill, that's /also/ true. That same could be said of each and every one of you, but /you/ aren't prejudged and threatened before you've even had a chance to talk. You'll have to pardon the fact that I'm not especially fond of hypocrisy, especially from people who command some of the most powerful weapons in the universe, and whose judgment we have to trust in handing it out."

Jon Kent has posed:
     Jon dusts himself off before looking around, and seeing Kara. "I'm Jon. And I didn't need the bathroom." He holds his arms akimbo, because why not.

  Jon's original fears of being poofed out of existence had waned, making himself at least more at home in what he considered the past.

  Jon looked at the Oans, floating there with their...ways. He held his left arm with his right, supporting it, even if he was healing very fast now he was out of the Phantom Zone. "I knew one of the Lanterns of Earth, thought he was someone to look up to." Jon admitted, gently.

Chaucer (27) has posed:
~ The Lantern Corps was founded following the destruction of 87.65% of our defense automatons at the hands of the Kryptonian Hegemony ~, says the second Oan.

The lead one-- perhaps the leader? It's hard to say. It gestures in the air and a construct of green light appears. Whatever is yet to be known of the utilitarian capabilities of the Guardians, the detail is so intricate that Kryptonian eyes can identify individual planets in the construct. The representation of the known universe is divided into several thousand individual sectors, and the construct zooms in on one in particular.

~ Historical clarification:~, chimes in the first. ~ Kryptonian military forces subjugated one hundred and five planets across six sectors. ~ A red-and-blue dot appears in one planet in one sector, pulsing weakly. A chrono starts recording the tick of years. The dot spreads like wildfire, claiming multiple galactic sectors. Kryptonians in full flight can be seen smashing through tiny defender constructs.

~ The Manhunter legions were repurposed from peacekeeping activities to military containment. We were forced to consolidate our defenses in several sectors and abandon others. ~

~ Kryptonian battle legions obliterated dozens of military fleets, ~ the second says. Tiny aliens wielding Lantern rings fly towards the Kryptonian fleets and slow their advance.

~ Estimated casualties during the containment period of approximately ninety-six billion across multiple galactic sectors. The destruction of peacekeeping forces resulted in significant disruption of galactic stability. Statistical models approximate 7.45 trillion fatalities in the five centuries following the Hegemony's collapse.~

There is a pause, and the second Oan looks at Karen and Jon. ~ Kryptonian survivors were present on Earth. Non-threat there. Now, new Kryptonians have arrived from divergent universes. This is not our doing. ~

~ It is cause for grievous alarm, ~ says the third Oan-- a little quiet, but there's something almost conciliatory in its tone.

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara does her best to container her anger. Jon is.. here. His name is Jon. She walks over to him and rests a hand on his shoulder and gives him a small nod. She watches as the projection of their known universe is rapidly conquered by Kryptonian forces from an age so long forgotten it was barely taught in school.

    It is a strange thing to see your ancestors conquering world after world and hearing the strange terminology of 'peacekeeping' from the Oans as if there weren't two sides to this losing conflict.

    It's also very evident that they didn't simply 'win' this fight against the Hegemony. It collapsed.. her anger mostly deflated as she watches the horrors of the past, much like those on Earth do when seeing documentaries about World War 1 and 2.

    "How did the Hegemony collapse?," she asks. She frowns a touch and says, "My sister is not a cause for grievous alarm - and this young man here," she pats Jon's shoulder, "Isn't either." She barely knows Jon but from her very first few interactions with him she could tell he wasn't about to start a galactic war. "And what has any of this got to do with Krypton's destruction?"

Clark Kent has posed:
This is...

Too big, for the situation. Too much. Seven trillion?! How is he even supposed to respond to that? Clearly the Kryptonians weren't destroyed, if there was a Krypton left to grow insular, decadent, and ultimately self destructive, but...

Superman shakes his head, briefly overwhelemd.

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen's hand places itself on her brow, furrowed as she massages it quietly. "And?" she states, offering an incredulous expression. Power Girl's self control is actually pretty intense- but she's still much more brash than Clark.

    "Listen, that is- an impossible to comprehend tragedy. I can /see/ the number, I can /comprehend it/, but that isn't our fault. That happened before even the historical figures we learned about in school were born. You can't seriously be considering holding us responsible?"

    Then, she's a cause for grievous alarm. Her frown deepens, and for a moment, it almost seems like the next words from her mouth are going to be 'I'll show you grievous alarm', but that's not what happens.

    "If you knew even /half/."

    An ominous statement, to be sure, but it's not a threat. The one subject that hasn't been broached is what, exactly, happened to her home.

Jon Kent has posed:
     Seven trillion.

  Seven. TRILLION.

  The number was so high, his eyes both widened and started to well up. His ancestors were space Hitler.

  At least that's what he was thinking. He instinctively put his hand on Kara's resting one on his arm. "Why?" He just...couldn't comprehend it.

Chaucer (27) has posed:
The quieter one, the third, looks at Jon. ~ I-- we, ~ the third Oan amends quickly, ~ have spent much of the last fifty-thousand years debating that question. Kryptonian culture was a type 0 civilization. The first forays into space were halting and limited. And then... ~ The construct rewinds again, plays back. Tiny, blinking, red and blue Krypton. And in the span of a few years-- perhaps a decade or two-- it grows from that single planet to encompass hundreds of worlds. ~ We have postulated that they did it simply because ... they could. In the end, how it collapsed was perhaps due to inevitability-- ~

The second one projects its thoughts again, almost speaking over the third. ~ The Kryptonian Hegemony expanded faster than it could maintain stability, ~ cuts in the second Oan. ~ A coalition of worlds repelled their expansion force. We contaminated sectors with radiation background that is incompatible with your biology. Denial of space and over-extension of military forces led to the collapse of the Hegemony and the retreat of survivors to your former homeworld. ~

The construct dissipates with a gesture from the first Oan. ~ We have spent enough time with this historical recollection. The more pressing matter is to know what your intentions are towards the Green Lanterns and the Guardians of the Universe. This one-- ~ a hand inside a robe twitches vaguely in Karen's direction. ~ Emanates hostility. As does your Almeracian ally. If you have arrived here seeking revenge then you should be advised that our sanction against genocide will not protect what remains of your species. ~

The Oans drift back into a little triangle together, and while they aren't exactly drawing the proverbial gun, one gets the sense that if this was a Western, they're leaving their free hand near the belt all the same.

Kara Danvers has posed:
    There's tears at the corners of her eyes. The numbers are beyond comprehension. Perhaps not for digital brains but certainly for hers. How cruel societies can be. Ancient space fairing Krypton was as much an alien culture as Earth still is to her though. The only thing they shared with them was biology and language. Language does shape thought though.

    The words of the second Oan start to filter in to her brain. The hegemony was gigantic and powerful .. the third was lying that it was unable to sustain itself.. the second just explained how they were defeated. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together.

    "You did what!?," she says having experienced kryptonite poisoning. It may be wasn't kryptonite that they used to shrink the empire back in to its homeworld, but 'incompatible with your biology' fits the bill.

    "Revenge? .. Revenge for what??," she says and wipes away the tears. "You did all this just to tell us our ancestors were monsters and you still threaten us and call us hostile??" She takes a step back from them when they say their sanction against genocide does not cover Kryptonians, "H... how could you SAY that?"

Chaucer (27) has posed:
The Oans look... confused? Kara's question rattles them a bit. It's hard to read. But there is a moment where their resolute focus flickers. The two behind the leader exchange a look, and then there is a sense of a spirited and silent telepathic conversation occurring.

The first Oan turns back to the Kryptonians. ~ We assumed you were here to gain vengeance for the destruction of the Hegemony, ~ the leader says, quite bluntly. Bafflement underlines his thoughts. ~ The Guardians of the Universe were a core component of the coalition that defeated the Hegemony. ~

The second Oan focuses on the Kryptonians. ~ There are two Kryptonians native to this universe, a third that has come here from a parallel reality, and then you summoned a fourth upon entering our systems. It smacked of reinforcements ahead of a direct assault. With enough force present to subjugate several Class I civilizations, ~ chimes in the second.

~ Please understand us, ~ says the third. There is a sense of him cutting over the other two, who both shoot a sharp look at him. ~ This is not hostility ~. A clawed hand lifts a few inches as if gesturing at the totality of the defense force overhead. ~ This is self-defense. A Kryptonian of even average ability could wreck terrific harm. Our scans indicate that you four are of even superior genetic stock. ~ There is a pause as if the third Oan is thinking. ~ For mortals, fifty thousand years must seem to be pre-history. We witnessed the Hegemony's expansion. The memories are quite fresh. We watched the cataclysmic rise and fall of your civilization, almost too late to intervene. ~

~ Prudence dictated an overabundance of caution, ~ clarifies the second, again.

~ Which returns to the original query: for what reason have Kryptonians come to Oa, if not to declare war? ~ inquires the first. All three examine the visitors with an intent scrutiny.

Clark Kent has posed:
Okay, this is all a little more logical. They're frightened. The Guardians of the Universe are actually frightened. Superman can, at least, deal with this in a way he isn't reall equipped to with the numbers.

"Listen, we have no idea why...Superboy here showed up." Superman says, and frowns because why they're here is going to be a big scary red flag to these people. "We'd love to figure that out ourselves, but believe me when I say we had no intention of coming here to hurt anyone. We just wanted information."

Karen Starr has posed:
    There is a moment wherein an incredulous, almost disbelieving expression crosses Karen's features- the kind of stare you'd give a sociopath as it confessed to a crime ever so casually.

    "You gassed them- and I'm the one that's hostile? You used a tactic that humanity, a civilization that most of the universe considers backwards and barbaric, learned not to do in its practical infancy, and -we're- the criminals? Galactic conquest or not, you, -all- of -you- employed a torturous method of death just to restrict a civilization, and you have the /gall/, to float there imperiously and pass silent judgment on /us/ for the act of /showing up?/"

    She starts to pace, then, her hands balling into fists, quietly, as she considers the implications. "One degree of separation. I've done the math. -One- degree of separation. Less than enough to trigger the butterfly effect, that's how different my home was." Thinking faster than most any other mind ever could, Karen comes to a swift logical conclusion.

    "How long have you known who we are? If you knew we were coming, would you have gassed us too and called it 'prudence'?" She stops moving, then, pointing at the Guardian in the center. "I understand you. I understand you better than most. I've spent two decades fighting people like you. In the face of the mortality of the universe, 'prudence' dictates things like Brainiac."

    The rest, for now, she just lets Kara and Clark do.

Jon Kent has posed:
     "Umm, I was an accident. I mean. Not like that. I -showed- up here, in space, by accident." Jon adds in, feeling it completely necessary to clear that air. "I am..." He trails off, seeing that Superman is keeping that close to his chest. "Lost." Is all he adds in after. Now was not the time for such bombshells.

  He takes his hand, and reaches out to Karen's arm now, trying to be supportive while she is full on angry.

Kara Danvers has posed:
    In retrospect, turning up in Maxima's imperial war-like ship may have been the wrong kind of signal to send to the Oans. But how were they to know the Oans would be this afraid of them? and were they really that powerful? She looks over to PG who has told her many times that this is so. Clark is so much more reserved with his power.

    Still, it is worth knowing that those days were mere moments ago for the Oans, which means their actions in response were also mere moments ago. They are dangerous, far more dangerous than she ever imagined. Her naive image of friendly space cops fighting bad guys was just that.. as naive as her own assumptions about the Kryptonian society she grew up in.

    But now they seem interested in talking... "We know the Lanterns patrol sectors all over the galaxy and we had hoped one was near Krypton when it was destroyed. Our hope was that you had records of the event that could shed light on what happened, how it happened, and who if anyone besides us survived."

    Her voice is tempered, she is teetering on the edge, trying to walk that middle ground she knows she's meant to walk, but even looking at the blue aliens fills her heart with disgust and contempt. She reminds herself that they do not think like she does; their group mind almost seems computer like. What twisted logic did they use to conclude their actions were justified.

Chaucer (27) has posed:
~ We are the Guardians of the Universe, ~ the second one tells Karen. The tone of thought is rather flat and pointed. ~ We have no obligation to provide anything to any species. Least of all, explanations. I witnessed the birth of your sun from solar dust and the collapse back into nothing. We have seen a million times upon a million civilizations rise and fall. None were so great a threat and so difficult to contain as Krypton. ~

~ You understand, then, how our response to your arrival was... debated, ~ the first explains. ~ We met in Accord. Potential responses analyzed. The Accordance was that destroying the last of the Kryptonians would be genocide. ~ The statement from the first is one of patience, as if explaining a complex concept repeatedly. ~ On Earth you contribute to stability of a galactic sector of great value to the ongoing stability of the universe. ~

~ The undoing of your species was the destruction of your main star, ~ the third adds, clarifying a specific answer to Clark and Kara's question. ~ We did not station Lanterns in that system; it was deemed too great a risk. Automated monitors and defense drones were emplaced. Approximately seventy of your years ago, your sun abruptly entered a nova collapse. The blast wave destroyed the entire solar system. Physicists hypothesized that the star was destabilized due to Krypton's frequent use of hyperspace flight. Our monitoring systems were obviously destroyed during the cataclysm. ~

Clark Kent has posed:
Did they just imply...?

No matter. Superman's jaw squares, as he puts an arm around his son.

"Is that it? Because I'm about ready to leave." Clark's already dreading the JLA meeting about if they're backing Maxmia's banishment of the Lanterns from their Sector or not. As of now, knowing what the Guardians really are...there's not much choice is there?

Karen Starr has posed:
    Karen exhales quietly, throwing both of her hands up. "Good! I'm glad that you came to the conclusion that genocide is, in fact, genocide. I wouldn't have wanted to have that discussion because it seems like it would've been difficult."

    There are a couple of nods in Clark's direction, at that. "More than happy to, by now. If they'll let us. I'm glad they've analyzed all the good that we've done, the threats to planets and more that we've helped stop, and that we were still treated like intergalactic fugitives. That's really great."

Jon Kent has posed:
     Jon stands, not ashamed of his ancestors, but proud of his family's accomplishments. Even as Superman puts an arm around him, he looks up at Clark with a smile on his face, at least he could see some good in the situation. And also that it seems like the Guardians were not going to exterminate them all.

  Jon remembers the words that his timeline's Clark once told him, and as if a lightbulb goes off in his head. "Why do we do good?" He asks in general to the other Kryptonians.

Kara Danvers has posed:
    Kara has to work her jaw free of the stuck position it's in. That's how it feels to her anyway. Her teeth grinding together tightly. She nods to Clark and PG, "I'd really like to leave now.. I think I've had my fill of Oa." Her look at the three blue Oans is baleful but her eyes do not light up. The solidarity with her family helps. If people knew what these monsters did... the Lanterns and their galactic empire.. it'd all fold. Not that they could prove it yet. A problem for another day perhaps.

    Her eyes shift over to Jon, who is still quite the mystery to her. A poignant question she smiles, her own flavour on it from home, from her religion, "Rao protects us, so that we may protect others. We do good because we can."

    She looks back to the Oans with her chin lifting up a little higher, confidence in her voice. "We're leaving and you won't stand in our way," she says - they were afraid of them. They have no need to fear them if they don't get in their way. "Do not follow us," she adds.

Chaucer (27) has posed:
~ None here will detain you furthur, ~ the first Oan informs the Kryptonians. They drift back into that triangular formation once more, and it becomes difficult to distinguish one from another. ~ Go, in peace. Last scions of Krypton. ~

There is a shimmering flicker of emerald light and the three Guardians of the Universe-- old as the stars themselves-- vanish with no fanfare at all.

In the skies overhead the Lanterns start breaking up and moving away from the exit vector to the nearest edge of Oan space. Still wary, but no longer on the high alert from their initial arrival.

A small win for diplomacy, perhaps?

Karen Starr has posed:
    Never let it be said that Karen is not one to get in the last word- though, frankly, a bit of this is primarily thanks to Jon. Her hands ball into fists as she takes fractions of a second to explore memories of home. A message so ingrained into her very being that it rips experiences from her mind, of laughter and learning and family now gone like a machine tears up concrete.

    "We do good because we can. We're not so vain that we think we can save everyone... But we're still going to try." she says, as if reciting a speech from memory. However, that message of hope is tempered, as she stares straight into the eyes of the central Guardian, and she continues. "Every day, you should thank a dead man in a dead universe, because he's the only reason you're still here."

    Okay, maybe the statement that she radiates hostility wasn't particularly off-target.

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark ruffles Jon's hair, basically immediately jumping into the role of dad despite himself. This may be why things went so smoothly, considering the arsenal of weapons and allies at the Superman's disposal.

"Well they've basically got it covered." Superman says, deciding to bail before Karen's mouth gets them in another international incident. He is, as mentioned, planning a Justice League review on what to do about the Guardians's revelation of borderline genocide and war crimes.

But for now, he keeps his arm around his son and kicks into the air, flying towards the Milano.