Most Vivid Memories..
Year: 2002.
My most vivid memories are of the days when my life changed.
A small spacecraft can be seen entering the Earth’s atmosphere. The ship crashes down in a Kansas field.
I remember coming to this world, feeling the sun on my face for the first time.
A young couple, Jonathan and Martha Kent walk up to the ship as it opens, revealing a crying baby girl wrapped in a red blanket.
“Oh, my God, Jonathan. It’s a baby girl.” Martha said in shock as she picked up the little girl.
“Hold on, Martha.” Jonathan said cautiously.
Hearing the voices of my parents. Jonathan and Martha Kent, the best parents in the Universe. And they gave me a name. Claire Johanna Kent.
Ma called me their little miracle. They’d struggled for a child of their own but weren’t able to conceive. They were about to give up hope, until I arrived.
And thankfully, I wasn’t alone.
A small white puppy licked the baby’s cheek, to wipe away her tears.
Krypto, a girl’s best friend. Smarter than any Earth dog, and probably more than most humans.
A young Claire, about 4 years old, is seen playing in the yard with Krypto, as the family sits down for a picnic behind their house under the Kansas sun. Claire throws her toy spaceship and Krypto chases after it, narrowly missing Martha and she throws it literally through the wall with her newly discovered super strength, followed quickly by a speeding white puppy, who brought the toy back to his little mistress.
I loved growing up in Smallville. The people, the community, how the small things were the big things. Despite this, it was lonely for me. I could never quite fit in, could never play sports, was never able to...connect. I was friendly but couldn’t quite make real friends.
Until she came to town.
A girl with dark red hair walked up to 8 year old Claire in the cafeteria at school. Claire was sitting alone as she ate, reading a book while doing so. She was startled when the girl sat beside her. “H-Hi?” she stuttered nervously. She was always friendly but was very shy.
The girl smiled in a friendly manner. “Hi there, cutie. Mind if I join you? I’m Lana, by the way. Lana Lang.” she said cheerfully, a bundle of energy.
Lana Lang. My best friend and the girl who’d bring me out of my shell like no other. Even Krypto loved her.
15 year old Claire and Lana are sitting on the former’s bed at the Kent house, in dressing gowns giggling as they gave each other manicures and pedicures. Krypto had left them alone when their incessant giggling became too much for him. Claire looked at Lana in a certain different way.
And, admittedly, she was my first crush.
Still 15, Claire and Lana kiss.
But we agreed we were better as friends, we were sisters and always would be.
She was the only person I ever told about my secret, and I was so terrified she’d think I was a freak. That it’d destroy our friendship.
Lana hugs Claire tightly. Claire holds her friend and cries in relief into her shoulder.
I have never been so happy to be wrong before. Our friendship became stronger than ever, though I was grounded for not discussing it with my parents beforehand. Oops.
But I wouldn’t be who I was without Lana. Or my parents.
Claire and Martha were in the kitchen baking and smiling as they enjoyed their time together. Krypto was watching them, wagging his tail and his tongue out waiting for a treat.
I loved cooking with my mom, practicing new methods and recipes. Never been able to perfectly duplicate her famous apple pie. Next time…
As for my Dad, we’d spend time doing typical father-daughter activities, such as watching football together
17 year old Claire and Jonathan were on the couch watching the match, screaming at the TV while Martha watched them, shaking her head fondly at her husband and daughter.
Or going fishing.
Claire smiled as she and her father sat in a small boat in the middle of a lake, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere as well as just spending time with her dad.
And, naturally Krypto and I regularly played together.
Claire throws a ball and sends it flying due to her strength, with Krypto shooting off after it at great speed.
But all good things must come to an end, and so they did on my 18th birthday. I had known of my spaceship kept in the storm cellar, but it wouldn’t be until that night that something would change beyond what I could’ve believed.
Claire walks down the stairs of the cellar, her black hair mussed up from having a woman from sleep and still dressed in her sleep clothes. She was drawn here by a ringing sound coming from the ship, which she now saw had lit up slightly with a faint blue light.
The ship was incredible. A long silver metallic object about 10ft in length from end to end, rounded at one end and long and thin at the other, almost teardrop in shape. There was no window or visible doors, but the area that had opened where her parents had found her was currently closed and with an S like shape in a diamond on it. Said symbol was the part that was glowing.
Placing her hand on the symbol, it seemed to dissolve at her touch and a small crystal, about the length of a grown man’s hand from tip to wrist, seemed to float out of the ship glowing with the same blue light and with the same symbol on it.
As soon as she touches it, her mind was bombarded with images.
A harsh world, that somehow looked prehistoric in it’s visible brutality yet also futuristic from the large domed cities.
A burnt orange sky above with a giant Red Sun.
Majestic cities under the domes, more than twice the size of New York yet more advanced. Much more advanced.
Then she saw a man and a woman. She didn’t know them, and yet she felt like she DID. The man had greying black hair, bright blue eyes – her eyes, she realizes – while the woman also had black hair but with green eyes. They both wore the S symbol on their chests, yet the man’s was different than that of the one the woman wore. In the woman’s arms was a dark haired baby wrapped in a familiar red blanket.
She watched, from the point of view of the baby, as they placed the baby in the ship nearby. They smiled, even as the room shook from an earthquake. “Go North, Cyra.” The man said as the ship closed and everything went black.
Claire suddenly shot up in her bed, gasping wondering if it was all some sort of dream.
But I quickly realized that it wasn’t, as I realized that I was still holding the glowing crystal. Realizing that it wasn’t a dream, I told my parents what had happened. They were concerned as was only natural but… I just knew the truth.
I had to go.
I had to know who I was. Where I was from.
Unable to convince me otherwise, my parents decided to give me a going away dinner with Lana in attendance.
Krypto wanted to come too, but I told him to stay and look after my parents. He whines in sadness but agreed.
Claire sat at the dining table at the Kent farm with her parents and her best friend, Lana. It was both a celebration but also one of sadness at her leaving. Krypto had his head on her knee, cuddling her even as she fed him from her plate. Later she and Lana hugged goodbye, followed by her hugging her parents and then Krypto who licked away her tears like when they were infants. They all watched as she walked away and then vanished at super speed, with tears in her eyes as she left her home behind.
Leaving home was the hardest thing I’d ever done at that point, but I made my way North, part of me hoping against hope that this wouldn’t be for nothing.
Over the course of my journey, I met all sorts of people helping where I could. I remembered what my Dad said an old army buddy of his used to say ‘with great power, there must also come Great Responsibility’, I was determined to live up to that. Sometimes I was subtle
A young woman outside a club was getting harassed by some punk. He has a knife and it was clear what he intended. The woman was terrified, her cries ignored an unaided. Until a whoosh of wind and the man vanished in a blur of red and blue. The woman saw her bag on the floor with a sticky note attached reading ‘Get home safely. Good night.’ It was signed with a strange S in a diamond like shape. The woman heeded the advice of her savior. As she walked past the police station, she saw the man who’d assaulted her chained to a lamp post in his underwear.
Sometimes, I was…less so
An apartment building was in flames. A little girl was trapped in side. Her parents, the fire crew and the public could only watch on in horror as the building was too dangerous to get in. Suddenly a red and blue blur shot into the building just as it collapsed. The parents screamed in heartbreak, only to see their daughter standing before them, dirty and coughing from smoke inhalation but unharmed. As they hugged her, the girl talked about a blue angel who saved her, holding up the roof as it fell down and telling her it was going to be okay.
I also met the most bizarre people on my travels. One of whom was a very strange man called Wade, who said he hoped I’d have a better go of things than I did in the DCEU. Whatever that meant? He also said he looked forward to seeing me again ‘when the Author could squeeze (him) in’? As he left he told me to ‘say Hi to Logan’ for him. Who the hell is Logan?
Another one was when I stopped off in a bar in Canada to rest. While there I saw a tall, hairy man fighting a cage match. When I could hear a strange clanging of metal, I used my X-ray vision and was shocked to see some sort of metal on his bones! It was all over his entire skeleton! How could someone survive such a thing?!
Later I saw him in a fight with a large man with long messy blond hair, who growled like a lion with the fangs and claws to match. The man from the bar had long metal claws coming out of his knuckles, and clearly healed quickly from the look of it. The large lion man also seemed to possess some sort of healing ability as well.
When the man with the metal claws was thrown into a building and looked hurt as the large man stomped over to him menacingly, I just had to intervene.
Getting between the two men, the one from the bar on the ground healing with the large blond man towering over her, Claire glared up at him, ignoring the visible height difference between her 5ft 10 and his 6ft 4.
“That’s enough. You’ve caused enough damage here. Leave.” She said, as confidently as she could trying to imitate her mother’s stern ‘I’m disappointed in you’ voice and look.
The large man looked surprised, before laughing out loud throwing his head back. He smirked at her “You’ve got a hell a spine, Girly. But this doesn’t concern you. This is between me and Jimmy here. Get lost.” He told her, looking intimidating as he did so.
The other man, Jimmy she believed, stood up shakily, his wounds healing before her eyes. “Much as I hate to agree with Creed here, he’s right. You need to go kid. Don’t want you to get hurt.” He said with much more concern in his voice.
But Claire stood strong between them. “Only if you two part ways. Now!” she told them sternly.
But Creed laughed loudly. “Sorry, Sweetheart. That ain’t happenin’.” He told her. He stepped closer to further attempt to intimidate her. “Move. Or be moved.”
Claire did not move, merely clenched her first in preparation. Jimmy was too far to get to them in time but he’d try.
Creed laughed again. “You’ve got spirit, Little One. I look forward to breaking it.” He promised menacingly, placing his large clawed hand on her arm to pull her to the side. But she didn’t budge.
Instead, Claire’s small hand gripped his wrist and squeezed, gently at first making Creed wince visibly much to Jimmy’s shock. “Leave!” she told the man before her sternly. “Or I’ll make you!”
As her grip tightened, Creed attempted to throw a punch at her, swinging a large meaty fist at her head only for her to catch it with visibly little effort. “I warned you, Mister.” She said disappointedly.
And with that she swung him around, narrowly missing Jimmy as she spun at great speed before eventually letting go of the animal man’s wrists, sending him flying over the trees right to the top of the mountain. Creed’s landing was like Wille-E-Coyote cartoon, as he visibly hit the top of the mountain.
In his shock, Jimmy did the only thing he could. He laughed. Hard enough that he doubled over holding his ribs, almost crying with laughter. Claire turned to him with a sheepish and nervous expression on her face, but she stood a bit straighter and tried to give him a similarly disappointed look.
“Do I need to do the same to you, Sir?” she asked with her arms crossed.
Jimmy finally calmed down though he was still chuckling. “N-No, sweetheart. J-Just give me a minute to… to… to…” He couldn’t get his words out through his laughter, and Claire couldn’t help but crack a smile.
Eventually he calmed enough to ask “What’s your name, kid?” He looked at her with a newfound respect.
Claire bit her lip nervously, before responding “Claire. Just Claire.” She said, not wanting to give him her full name. “And you’re… Jimmy?”
“Logan, kid. Just Logan. Only one who calls me Jimmy is Creed, and you just… met him in a way he won’t forget anytime soon.” He chuckled before looking at her seriously. “What’s your game plan now, Claire? Where you headin’, Kid?”
“North.” She said simply. “That’s all I know. Just North. Trying to find… Me, I guess.” She shrugged, looking down at the ground.
Logan nodded, understanding. “I know or two about that myself. But there’s someone who helped me find my way. He’s a good friend for Mutants. Like us.” He told her, thinking of his friend Charles who could help the girl.
Claire looked at his surprised. She shook her head gently. “Oh, I’m not a mutant, Sir. Not entirely sure what I am but from what I’ve read about Mutants, that’s not me.” She said, a little sadly. It might’ve given her a place in the world, to be part of at least some Earthly race.
Logan looked puzzled, but respected her word. “Well, I’ve seen stranger. But ol’ Chuck would still help you, even if you’re not a Mutant. You’ll be more than welcome. And if anyone can figure out your deal, he can. He’s got a knack for it.” He offered a gentle smile, trying to ease her mind.
Claire smiled. “Thank you, but I think I have my own path to follow. And right now it’s telling me North.” She said, her eyes looking to the distant horizon.
Logan nodded, but respected her choice. “Well, okay. But if you ever change your mind, the Xavier Institute in Bayville, New York will be there for ya.” He said before grimacing. “God help me, I sound like an infomercial or somethin’.”
They both shared a laugh, the tension from the fight dissipating. Then Logan suggested “Listen I’m headin’ North myself on personal business. Let me take you as far as I can and then you can go your own way from there. I promise I’ll keep ya outta trouble.” He gave her a wink, trying to lighten the mood.
“Wasn’t I the one who saved your butt back there?” Claire quipped back, raising an eyebrow at Logan. The banter helped ease the tension between them.
“I don’t remember that.” Logan denied with a straight face, and Claire couldn’t help but laugh at his humor. It felt good to laugh, to feel something other than the anxiety that had been her constant companion since the night she left Smallville.
As they got into Logan’s beat up truck, Claire remembered someone else she’d met. Turning to look at Logan, she asked innocently “By the way, do you know a guy called Wade Wilson?”
As he said, Logan took me as far North – well, more like North-Northeast really - as possible before dropping me off in Quebec. Once again he offered to take me to this Xavier Institute, but I had to decline. He was a good man, but I had my own journey to follow. He handed me a card with the Xavier Institute's address in the town of Bayville, in Westchester, New York, as well as the phone number.
“Keep this." He'd told her. "If you need anything, call. I owe ya one for back there.” He said with a small smile.
"Thank you, Logan." She said as she grabbed her bag. As they stood outside the truck, Claire impulsively hugged him. Logan was visibly surprised at the gesture, but returned it warmly.
Clearing his throat, he said gruffly "Take care of yourself, Kid. Hope you find what you're looking for." With a nod, Claire stepped away from the truck and watched as Logan drove off into the distance, his taillights fading away into the night. She took a deep breath of the crisp Canadian air, feeling a mix of excitement and fear as she continued her journey alone.
Taking out her crystal, she saw it was continuing to point North by means of it glowing brighter when she faced that direction. Making sure no one was watching, she ran off at superspeed, so that she was only a blur.
Before I knew it, I was the Arctic of all places. The cold didn’t bother me, it felt more like a cool breeze to me, but no matter how far I walked, no matter how much snow I trudged through, my crystal kept pointing North.
Eventually, when I felt I was far enough that I thought I was going to meet frickin Santa Clause before long, the crystal stopped glowing. No matter which direction I turned it wouldn’t glow.
Weeks of growing frustration, after leaving my home, my family, my life behind, traveling to the ends of the world, I was finally at my wits end and I just… snapped. Weeks of frustration exploded out of me as I screamed and threw the crystal to the distance.
As I watched it go flying, I felt a moment of shock and worry as I realized what she’d done. No, I couldn’t have come all this way for nothing. But then, just as I was about to run and try to catch it, the crystal suddenly stopped in mid air. I watched as it slowly floated down to the snow and ice below.
I raced down as it got to eye level and it just… floated there for a moment. I went to touch it but it suddenly glowed brightly and shot deep into the ground at high speed, fast enough to melt the snow as it went.
Just as I was about to panic and try to foolishly… Chase it? I don’t know… the snow and ice below me suddenly began to crack and break apart. The cracks spread further and suddenly I was falling, tumbling seemingly down the mountain. Through the ice and snow I swear I could the ice… shifting or something.
Eventually, it stopped and I was buried under the snow. I dug my way out, fully expecting to have to give up and go home with nothing to show for all the effort to get here – maybe I should try that Xavier place like Logan suggested – when I saw it.
It was as if the ice had shifted into a beautiful wall of crystal on the side of the mountain, as though the mountain itself was now made of crystal. It would almost look like a solid wall of ice, except for the large S symbol in a diamond – the same symbol that was on my ship.
I approached the wall and placed my hand on the symbol… and it glowed with a brilliant white-gold light. The symbol was the size of a 7 story building, with the mountain rising high above like a tower or a fortress. Suddenly it opened, with the V of the diamond dividing to the sides. Cautiously I entered, and stared in awe.
Little did I know how my life would change from here.
The corridor she found herself in seemed to be almost forged by nature over many centuries, yet also brand new. The walls and walkway seemed to be made out of smooth unblemished ice-crystal that seemed to be back lit by the Aurora Borealis itself. Despite being possibly made from ice, it was not cold to the touch.
Eventually, she followed the corridor until she came to a large room. The walls appeared to made from rock and ice from the mountain with crystalline columns leading up to the ceiling that looked like an endless midnight blue sky, complete with stars visible in the distance. In the center of the ceiling was a large planet like shape, about twice the size of a beach ball. It shimmed with conThe corridor she found herself in seemed to be almost forged by nature over many centuries, yet also brand new. The walls and walkway seemed to be made out of smooth unblemished ice-crystal that seemed to be back lit by the Aurora Borealis itself. Despite being possibly made from ice, it was not cold to the touch.
Eventually, she followed the corridor until she came to a large room. The walls appeared to made from rock and ice from the mountain with crystalline columns leading up to the ceiling that looked like an endless midnight blue sky, complete with stars visible in the distance. In the center of the ceiling was a large planet like shape, about twice the size of a beach ball. It shimmed with continent of the unknown world glowing with an Aurora. The walls had large archways made of crystal, but looked as though they could lead to rooms. In the center of the room was a large raised platform with what looked like some sort of… computer tables? Or podiums? At the North, South, East and West ends.
In the center of it all was a small crystal floating. Unlike her old one, this crystal was small and black in color, made from sort of metallic stone? Or stone like metal? Either way as she stepped onto the platform, Claire hesitantly plucked the small crystal out the air, noticing the same S symbol on the flat top.
A small slot seemed to open in the nearest podium, and so walking up to it Claire held the pointy end of the crystal to it, noting it would be a perfect fit. Then, almost like magnetism, the crystal was pulled into the hole, sliding in of it’s own accord. But not completely as it sat there, pointing to her, the S clearly shown to her. Realizing that was now a button of sorts… she pushed it.
Instantly the room – no, the entire structure itself! – seemed to come to life. The crystal seemed to glow with the light of the Aurora, and the floor lit up as well with warm blue light, seemingly melting away flakes of snow to reveal a large metal floor with an enormous S in a diamond shape taking up most of the round platform. The ceiling seemed to transform from a simple starry sky to a vast and expensive Galaxy showing stars, nebulas and entirety of the great wide universe beyond Earth.
It was beautiful and breathtaking as Claire turned on the spot trying to see everything there was to see. And then she heard a voice behind her.
“Magnificent sight, is it not.” Startled, Claire turned around to see a man who definitely wasn’t there before. He was tall with black hair that went to his chin and was slightly grey, he had bright blue eyes – like hers – and he looked to be between 50 to 60 in age. He was dressed in a long coat of a navy blue leather like material, and on his chest on the top she could see a now familiar S. Beside him was a beautiful woman with black hair and of a similar age as the man, with green eyes. She wore a long flowing black dress with a long black cape and on her chest in silver was the S symbol.
The woman spoke as they stepped forward “To see you here, having grown into a beautiful young woman. It warms my heart.” She said lovingly.
“Who are you?” Claire asked hesitantly. She had a feeling that she knew but need to hear it.
The man did not disappoint. “We are your parents, Cyra. Or at least memories of them. Their… consciousness. My name was Jor-El, in life I was your father.” He smiled sadly. “For a short time at least.”
The woman smiled also with sadness but with love. “And I am Lara, your mother. And it is wonderful to see you made it, my Angel.”
Claire stared in awe at… her parents. She could the resemblance they shared with her. The man’s eyes, the woman’s hair. But she asked hesitantly, in hope and awe “C-Cyra? I-Is that my name?”
Jor-El and Lara smiled. “You were born Cyra Jor-El, but now that you have reached your 18th year, you are now Cyra-El.”
Cyra-El. That was her name. She knew her name. Claire smiled tearfully. She shook her head. “I have so many questions. Where am I from? Why am I here? Why did you send me here? D-Did I do something wrong?” she asked the last one hesitantly before she could stop it. It was the question she’d feared for years. Was she sent away… because she was wrong? She felt like the scared kid she actually was.
Lara stepped forward and clearly wanted to hug her. “No sweetheart. Your father and I loved you with all our hearts. You were, and are, our world.” She said. She looked at Jor-El to continue.
His expression was one of compassion and love as he answered her questions. “You come from Krypton. A world with a much harsher environment than Earth’s.” The planet lowered from the ceiling, serving as a teacher’s aid of sorts. It shimmered, now looking like an orb shaped 360 TV showing the harsh environment of Krypton. “Our people lived under domed cities. Kryptonopolis, Argo and the greatest of them all, Kandor were just some of them. Kandor, my daughter, is where you were born.” The orb showed a majestic city that looked like a futuristic New York only far greater in both size and beauty. The Images changed to show the harsh environment Claire recognized from her dream.
“What happened?” she asked hesitantly, unable to look away from the beauty of the world she was sent away from.
Somehow, the memory – an AI most likely – of her mother sighed in annoyance. “A lot, Cyra. At one point, for 100,000 years, during an Era of Expansion, Krypton had spread across the vast ocean of stars, seeking new worlds to settle upon. We created outposts, using great machines to reshape environments to our needs.” The globe showed a great machine pounding into a desolate wasteland with a beam of energy. “Our mandate was that no world with sentient life would be terra formed, but sometimes… that was ignored.” She said shamefully as Claire watched people run from the beam in fear.
Jor-El continued “Despite this, our civilization flourished.” The images showed a great society, prosperous and yet… cold. Jor-El continued mournfully “As is so often the case with great societies, greatness begets arrogance. We ignored, neglected and abandoned our colonies. Some perished without Krypton’s aid, cut off from the world that bore them. While the oldest colony world, Daxam flourished and formed their own society. Eventually they sought out independence from Krypton. But Krypton was furious that Adam wished to be something more than we had envisioned for them. A war broke out, one where there were no heroes on either side of the conflict. An Empire against a small Colony, the outcome was inevitable. On the verge of defeat and outright extinction, Daxamite scientists unleashed a sterility plague upon Krypton. One final act of defiance before their end.”
Listening in horror as she watched the images of war that was unlike anything she’d seen in films or read about. “If Krypton was sterilized, then how am I here?” she asked with honest confusion, wondering if she wanted to know.
Lara answered, understanding her daughter’s horror at the actions of their people. “Artificial Population control was established. Utilizing a Genesis Chamber to create children from minor genetic samples, Krypton continued on. Only we became… insular, reducing ourselves to our single star system of Rao. Leaving Krypton was restricted if not forbidden outright. Over time Krypton’s arrogance grew. Children born of the Genesis Chamber were genetically engineered to fit into a certain role in life. A Scientist, a Soldier, a Politician, a Lawyer and so on, with certain families genetically predisposed for certain guilds. The House of El, your father’s House, were primarily made for the Science Guild. My House, the House of Van were for the Lawmaker’s Guild. The House of Zod, the Military Guild.” There was a visible distance as Lara spoke of the House of Zod.
Before Claire could ask about it, Jor-El continued “Your mother and I felt that Krypton had lost something vital, something precious as a result. The element of choice. Of chance. What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than society had envisioned for Him or Her?” he spoke in a calm, measured tone. “What if a child aspired to be something Greater? You were the embodiment of that belief, Cyra. Krypton’s first natural birth in centuries. That’s why we risked so much to save you.”
At this, Claire became scared. “Save me? From what?” she asked, not sure that she wanted to know.
Lara turned back to the globe as it showed images of other beings. Some looked human, but with skin tones differing from the more human shades she was familiar with to blue, while the others looked like… green… lizard… elves? That was honestly the best way she could think to describe them. Lara spoke. “Two warring races, the Kree and the Skrulls had been waging a bloody war across the cosmos for centuries. When your grandparents were slightly older than you are now, they came to Krypton. The Skrulls are infiltrators, shape shifters. They replace citizens and take what they want. Like parasites. The Kree see themselves as heroic warriors, liberating worlds from the threat of anything not pure Kree, even indigenous life. The two devastate worlds an then leave them in ruin. Which is exactly what they did to Krypton. Millions were killed senselessly in the crossfire, Kandor was destroyed and our natural resources were all but exhausted. As the years passed and our resources dwindled, with no hope of replenishment due to our isolation, the Ruling Council ordered for energy to harvested… straight from the planet’s core.”
Claire was so shocked and horrified that she couldn’t stop herself from exclaiming “How stupid could they get?!” Realizing what she’d said, she blushed and bowed her head slightly in shame. “Sorry.”
But Jor-El and Lara looked amused. “No, my dear one. Your mother and I said similar when we learnt what they were doing.” Here Jor-El looked at Lara as his amusement grew. “Though one of us was more… vocal than the other.” He said, remembering his wife’s rant.
Smirking, Lara was amused for a moment before sobering. “As you expect, this proved disastrous as Krypton’s core became unstable. Tremors and Earthquakes became common and frequent to the point many accepted them as part of life. When I became pregnant with you, your father double-down on not only trying to convince the Council of our world’s impending Doom, but also on building your ship for your evacuation.”
Jor-El continued. “Your ship was an old deep space research probe that we had modified to hold a small passenger to safety.” He explained as an image of her ship appeared in the globe. She watched as it changed from a relatively simple pod to what she knew. The inner section was removed and replaced with her bedding and with she realized was some sort of life support technology.
But as she looked at the image, Claire couldn’t help but ask “C-Couldn’t you modify it to hold us all? Couldn’t you come with me?”
Jor-El and Lara looked sad. “We couldn’t Cyra. All children born of the Genesis Chamber held a sort of… genetic link. The Council used that to restrict anyone from leaving Krypton, otherwise we would die. You were the only one who could leave due to your natural birth. But you wouldn’t be alone.” The globe showed an image of Jor-El and Lara placing Cyra into the pod, and before anyone could stop him, a small white puppy jumped in with her, cuddling into her baby as though to comfort her.
“Krypto.” Claire smiled at the sight of her beloved dog.
He parents smiled. “Indeed. Krypto is the son of my own childhood dog, Randor. He was actually born the same day as you were, and we knew he’d be your companion.” Jor-El said proudly, as Claire saw a larger white dog appear beside Jor-El in the image.
Claire looked a bit shameful. “I-I left him behind in Smallville to care for my-my parents.” She said, nervous of their reaction to mention of her human parents. But she couldn’t hide her affection from them.
Jor-El and Lara could sense her love for Jonathan and Martha Kent. “We are glad you were found by people you clearly love and were loved by. It is all we wished for.” Lara said with a smile.
Claire smiled back, wishing she could hug her Mother and Father. She watched as on the globe as the image of Jor-El and Lara placed her hands on a monitor as her crystal glowed between them, them things ended as the recording finished. Jor-El explained “Your mother and I placed our memories and minds into the crystal to form these AIs before you to aid in your education. This… Fortress of Solitude is an archive of all Kryptonian Knowledge. Currently it is in a Basic Educational system, and it is here we will teach you on how to use your gifts.” Jor-El began to explain.
“The people of Earth are different from ours, but honestly I think that’s a good thing. They won’t necessarily make the same mistakes.” He told her calmly as the globe returned to the ceiling. “Not if you guide them, Cyra. Not if you give them hope.” He opened his jacket to give her a better look at the S on his chest. “That’s what this means. The sigil for the House of El means Hope. And embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief in the potential of every person to be a force for Good.”
Jor-El took an unnecessary breath as he continued in a voice full of belief. “They can be a Great People, Cyra. They wish to be. They only lack the Light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for Good, we have sent them you. Our only Daughter. Cyra, the Last Daughter of the House of El and Krypton.”
Claire breathed in deeply, nervous but determined. She’d always wanted to help people. She’d grown up on stories of heroes like Captain America and Bucky, and had imagined herself saving the world. She’d even helped people in secret, using her powers to help wherever she could. But this was real. It was dangerous. And it was so much pressure.
But she could do it. She would do it. With a focus she looked to her parents and asked simply “Where do we start?”
Jor-El and Lara smiled proudly as her training and education began.
Introduced in Chapter:
Claire Kent / Cyra-El – Sasha Calle
Jonathan Kent – Tom Welling
Martha Kent – Erica Durance
Jor-El – Russell Crowe
Lara-El – Mariana Klaveno
With
Hugh Jackman as James ‘Logan’ Howlett / The Wolverine
Live Schreiber as Victor Creed / Sabertooth
And
Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson aka Deadpool