Matched

Sitting on the meadow the mother and daughter frequented since they discovered it two years ago, Lutessa watched her daughter, Lena, running around the grasslands and wildflowers blooming there with Kee-ran’s purple blanket (now owned by Lena) as her cape.

She couldn’t stop herself from smiling, both feeling warm yet nostalgic, as she remembered the times she, herself, ran around the artificial meadows of Krypton with Alura and Astra when they were little girls up to their adolescence.

Krypton’s meadows did not feel nearly as refreshing as Earth’s meadows (or this one in Dublin, at least), but nevertheless, they brought a certain level of tranquility that developed cities like Argo and Kandor lacked.

Lutessa remembered as she and Kee-ran had claimed a certain meadow just two miles from the city limits of Argo – not many frequented it, so they would stay there for hours each time, sometimes in comfortable silence, most times with conversations about the future.

Lutessa and Kee-ran had their first kiss in that meadow. It was there that they picked apart their genetic coding for a child they long wished to have. It was there that Lutessa told Kee-ran that she wanted their child to grow in her womb and not in the birthing matrix which Kee-ran supported wholeheartedly – in hindsight, his support might have been because of his knowledge of Krypton’s impending destruction.

It was there in that meadow that she and Kee-ran spent their last day together. If only Lutessa knew it was the last…

Their best and grandest moments happened in a meadow, however artificial it might have been. Lutessa wanted that for Lena too – if only to share something with Lena that she formerly shared with her husband, Lena’s father, Kee-ran.

Lutessa wanted Lena to feel the way she, and Kee-ran did. She wanted Lena to experience something she would have had if she were born and raised in Krypton.

That wasn’t to say that Lena didn’t have something of Krypton.

Because she did.

More than Lutessa herself, Lena had the crystals prepared and sent by her father, Kee-ran, who duly incorporated them in the pod that brought them here to Earth.

Two weeks after Lutessa landed at the backyard of Wicklow Manor, Lionel brought her to the newly-installed warehouse at the back of the manor, specifically housing her newly-cleaned pod.

There, she found the crystals about different subjects. The most important one was the one that has Kee-ran’s life force in it. He embedded all of his knowledge and memories that he found pertinent to Lena’s upbringing. Oftentimes, Lutessa would activate the holographic artificial intelligence and just talk to Kee-ran as she would have had if they were in Krypton. While Kee-ran’s A.I. lacked the warmth her mate previously exuded and the kindness previously apparent in his green eyes, Lutessa found that reminiscing with her mate about the life they had in Krypton was enough to quell the sadness that overwhelmed her oftentimes, especially prior to Lena’s birth.

Other crystals contained a vast array of Kryptonian knowledge – from folklores, short stories and books to sciences and mathematics. Some also contained some basic but vital information on Kryptonian history, philosophy, and politics. Another crystal was solely dedicated to Krypton’s culture and religion – which includes the Kryptonian flag and the tiv girod or the 11 virtues.

The Girod was one of the first things Lutessa taught Lena. As a Kryptonian, Lena was expected to learn the 11 virtues at an early age to exemplify them in all work possible. All Kryptonians, especially adults, were expected to uphold the girod in high esteem and seek to reflect such in their lives.

Despite the destruction of Krypton, Lutessa made sure that Krypton’s culture would live on with her daughter, as Kee-ran and the House of Ran would have wanted.

And it did.

With Lena’s superior intellect, Lutessa had been able to start teaching Lena since the latter was barely 1 year old.

Lutessa noticed that Lena had an impeccable eidetic memory, better than most Kryptonians (she had only ever known one other person who matched Lena’s memory, and that was Lena’s betrothed, Kara Zor-El), so she utilized such and educated Lena on what she should know at a particular age, and then some, with the help of Kee-ran’s crystals.

By design, Lena’s natural affinity was to science. When Kee-ran and Lutessa decided to have a child, they both agreed that their child was to become a member of the Science Guild like her mate, the youngest member of the Science Guild, Kara Zor-El.

However, seeing as they were no longer in Krypton, Lutessa wanted Lena to be able to explore the world and be free to choose whatever profession she might want to have in the future.

Having said that, Lena was a scientist through and through. Lena was most interested in Kee-ran’s discussion on science, physics, and biology. She also liked math, calculus, and geometry. She was most fascinated with the concept of quantum entanglement.

At the early age of 4 years old, Lena had expressed her desire to become a scientist, an engineer and, as influenced by Lionel, a philanthropist (“I want to help people like Lionel, ieiu.”)

On top of her Kryptonian education, Lena had also been learning Earth languages, particularly English, Irish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Danish.

Lionel had been of great help. He had helped them and welcomed them with open arms since Lutessa crash-landed into his backyard.

He let them stay at Wicklow Manor (and even allowed the conversion of a whole floor in the manor to become a Kryptonian sanctuary where all things related to Krypton were stored and kept safe. It became Lena’s study and training room for her Kryptonian education too.)

In the first few weeks, prior to Lena’s birth, Lionel provided the necessary supplements for a pregnant woman, made sure that the fridge was stocked with healthy food and beverages, and gave Lutessa clothes and personal essentials.

Likewise, Lionel readily converted one of the rooms into a nursery in preparation for Lena’s arrival.

More importantly, Lionel helped Lutessa adjust under the yellow sun.

He employed the fastest, most efficient, most discreet, and most brilliant workers to make the Wicklow Manor lead-lined, if activated by Lutessa, to help Lutessa’s super senses. He also pulled strings to make sure that the Wicklow Manor stayed out of the map, and cloaked from sight. In addition, he purchased all properties within a 10-mile radius from the manor and enclosed the whole area, so Lutessa could practice her flight and her strength without fear of discovery or questions from nosy neighbors.

He made sure to fortify the manor with state-of-the-art security measures, employing several teams to work on different levels of security to ensure that no team knew the entire security system, so that if anyone tried to breach the manor, they wouldn’t be successful.

He also employed maids to clean the house, do laundry, and stock food four times a week at 10am sharp – where Lutessa stayed at the vorrahdhrrosh where no one else is allowed to step foot in, aside from Lionel.

Lionel was with her when she gave birth to Lena. He was the one who held her hand and encouraged her while she pushed Lena out of her in the Manor’s biggest bathtub.

Lionel was the first one to hold Lena in his arms. He was the one who cleaned her up, who first fed her, and who first clothed her.

Lionel was the one who took care of Lutessa, and nursed her back to health until she recovered from giving birth.

Lionel was the brother Lutessa had always wanted.

With Lionel, she found the care and love she always imagined a brother would have for a sister.

Lionel had become the best uncle to Lena; and the best support system Lutessa could ever have on Earth.

A year after Lena was born, Lutessa asked Lionel if there was any way that she could find a job on Earth. As much as she appreciated Lionel’s efforts and generosity, Lutessa wanted to provide for her daughter. She wanted to build a life here on Earth on her own.

Lionel provided her with all the documents she needed – birth certificate, where Lutessa was named as Lutessa Luthor, estranged youngest daughter of Lionel’s dead parents, her report cards from school, her diploma from both undergraduate and master’s.

Soon enough, Lutessa found a job as an architect at one of the small architectural firms in Dublin.

Lutessa was a member of the Artisans guild back in Krypton. She was an architect, who designed houses, buildings, and dispatching areas. However, due to her pregnancy, she took a leave of absence and stayed at home.

She was lucky to find a job that did not require her to go there everyday, since she couldn’t really leave Lena. So long as she was able to submit her blueprints on time, and attend the occasional meeting, then there was no problem.

Lutessa enjoyed her job, she really did. She missed it. After so long, it was good to go back to how she was before everything happened. She couldn’t deny that she liked being able to go out too.

She loved the manor, sure, but being cooped up in a huge mansion alone was not something she enjoyed in the long run.

While it gave her time to spend time with Lena, Lutessa also craved the outdoors especially once she saw how different and beautiful Earth was from Krypton.

The first time she saw birds soaring through the sky, she was so excited. She itched to grab a pen and paper and draw everything she saw.

Lionel bought her art supplies for that.

Because of the newness of everything, the artist in Lutessa wanted to see more and explore more.

So, being able to go outside Wicklow Manor and just explore Dublin as it was inspired her more.

But as always, things changed not long after.

For the better, she thought. She hoped.

Lena was 3 years old at that time. Lutessa had been working in the architectural firm for over 2 years already and had already been promoted to a senior position.

Consequently, what came with the promotion were endless meetings.

Her meeting for that day ran late. She was walking along the sidewalk when her super hearing caught a scream. Over the years, Lutessa had learned to tune out her surroundings – only able to hear what she chose to. However, the girl was screeching so loud that it felt like it was searing through Lutessa’s skull.

Lutessa had no choice but to approach the area where the sound was coming from.

What she saw made all the noise disappear and her stomach churn so badly, she felt like she was gonna lose it.

The sight filled her with dread.

A girl, looking not older than 13 years old perhaps, was lying on a dumpster with a gruff-looking man on top of her.

Lutessa had no time to think, she just acted.

She used her superspeed to run towards the man and forcefully yanked her away from the girl and tossed him so hard that the wall on which he crashed cracked at the force.

Lutessa approached the girl, who leaped towards her and enveloped her in a forceful hug, sobbing and trembling.

Lutessa did not let go of her until the police came mere minutes after.

The girl and the police thanked her, then the girl was escorted home by the police.

From that moment on, Lutessa’s life was changed.

She vowed to help people as much as she could and as discreetly as she could.

Currently, an unknown woman with impeccable speed, known as Shadow, who helped people in danger, was creating a buzz amongst the people of Ireland, at first, then slowly gaining traction from other countries as well.

Lutessa had become an unknown hero.

By helping others, she had found a new purpose.

All of these did not escape the mind of her brilliant daughter, of course. The first time Lutessa and Lena saw the news about Shadow on the tele, Lena looked at her and said, “I’m proud of you, ieiu.”

Lutessa did not ask how she knew, but merely kissed her daughter’s forehead.

She didn’t want to lie to Lena.

“Just be careful, okay? Promise me that you’ll always come home to me.” Lena said one particular evening, after a particular hard save.

“I promise that I’ll always be with you, no matter what, inah.”

When Lionel found out, he was hesitant at first, but he supported her nevertheless.

He gave her an all-black suit and an all-black mask that hides her face very well to protect her identity and so she could move as swiftly and as discreetly as possible.

Lutessa was pulled back from her reminiscing by an excited squeal from her daughter who was running towards her now.

“Ieiu, ieiu. Uwedh! Uwedh!” (Mum, mum. Fly! Fly!”)

Lutessa chuckled at her daughter’s antics, stood up, and scooped Lena up, twirling her over and over as they ascended up, up until they were floating a good 20ft from the ground.

As she watched her 5-year-old daughter spreading her arms with her cape, with a care-free laugh and twinkling green eyes (just like her father), Lutessa thought that if the price of losing her home was seeing the light of her daughter, she would, without a shadow of a doubt, do it all over again.