joshmightbe

There are two types of people, those who like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and bad people.

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Clark part 7

That's one hell of a club house

Smallville, Kansas 1996

Summer break had just begun and Clark found himself once again single, Lisa had taken up with a guy with a guitar but Clark wasn't terribly broken up about it. He sat in his ship messing with the dials out of boredom when Jor-El's hologram appeared, "Closest approximation of Kryptonian climate discovered just prior to your arrival, Auto construction finished as of Earth date, June 6th 1996."

Clark looked up, "Construction on what?"

Jor-El continued, "A Kryptonian fortress, auto construction began on the advent of your sixteenth year on Earth. The technology was planted near the time of your arrival and was triggered at the appropriate time."

A crystalline tube ejected in front of Clark as did a small piece of metal with the symbol of the house of El popped up above it. "The tube is the sum total of my complete data base which the shuttle isn't fully capable of accessing and a key."

***

Clark entered the house and put on a long sleeve shirt. Jonathan asked, "Where you headed?"

He stopped, "North pole, apparently Jor-El gave me a fortress for my birthday. Apparently he planted some kind of Kryptonian building technology there when he sent me and it started up on my birthday. I'm going to check it out."

Jonathan started to speak but Clark was already long gone.

***

Clark stands at the coordinates Jor-El gave him and stares at a large ice mound, "Okay so far not impressed."

He scanned the mound with his x-ray vision and noticed a door in a crevice in the ice and he flew over to it. He put in the key and the door slid open, "Whoa."

He looked into the massive complex with multiple corridors with a massive set of monitors in the center. He flew over and inserted the crystal tube and the place lit up. A robot with the Symbol of the house of El emblazoned on its chest plat rolled up to him on tracks and scanned him, "Designate, Kal-El, Son of Jor-El."

Clark then looked around and noticed several large guns trained on him. They pulled themselves back into the walls as the robot transmitted a signal. A massive hologram of Jor-El appeared before him, "Welcome Kal-El, This structure contains the remaining technology of Krypton, it is equipped with living quarters should you choose to make this your permanent home, it also possesses laboratory equipment and maintenance facilities. It isn't a full display of what Krypton had to offer but it was all I had to give. Finally I have a message for you from your mother."

Clark's attention was now locked as Jor-El was replaced by a woman named Lara, "Hello Kal-El, I hope this message finds you well. I want you to know that we didn't abandon you, if there had been any other way we would have found it."

Her voice cracked a bit but she maintained her composure, "I am sorry I couldn't be there for you when you needed me, you were my finest achievement and I hope you found a good life on your new home. Your father and I loved you more than you will ever know and I know you will do great things. Goodbye my son and know I'm with you always."

A tear rolled down Clark's cheek as he saw his mother and for the first time the loss of Krypton felt real to him. He had long since accepted it as reality but the cold logic of Jor-El had always made it feel distant and impersonal. This was the first time it had ever occurred to him how hard it must have been for them to send him away as their world crumbled around them with hope for the best.

Before the message ended Jor-El himself came into view, this was not his hologram but a pre-recorded message, "Kal-El, I know by this point you may be acquainted with my face, I understand if your angry with me. You are hearing this message because I failed you as I've failed all of Krypton, I tried everything in my power to save our people but it simply wasn't enough. I wanted you to know I love you, and I hope you can forgive me for my failure."

As the message ended Clark demanded, "Bring it back, there has to be more."

Jor-El's hologram appeared, "The message was complete."

He looked up, "It's not your fault, the sun destroyed the planet."

The hologram replied, "Affirmative, the emotional response was unnecessary."

Clark sighed as he came to terms with the fact that the hologram was not a full picture of Jor-El.

***

After Clark had explored the fortress thoroughly he locked the place up and flew back to Kansas. He was a bit sullen when he landed but as he walked in he saw Martha and hugged her tight. She knew there was something on his mind but she decided to let him come to her with it when he was ready so she hugged him back and let it rest.

***

The next day Jonathan ran in the front door as Clark was eating breakfast, "The shuttles are gone."

Clark's eyes went wide, "Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you. I took them to the fortress last night after you guys went to bed. I figured they were more secure up there."

Jonathan dropped into a chair, "Next time give me some warning, I damn near had a heart attack."

Clark smiled, "Thanks Dad."

Jonathan gave a confused look, "For what?"

(To be continued)

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batkevin74

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Edited By batkevin74

@joshmightbe said:

The hologram replied, "Affirmative, the emotional response was unnecessary."

Clark sighed as he came to terms with the fact that the hologram was not a full picture of Jor-El

That's right Clark, a hologram can't love you, no matter how hard you want it too

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cbishop

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Edited By cbishop

My mind was more mulling over the differences between computer Jor-El and real Jor-El, so really wasn't so touched by the Lara message. It seemed kind of short- it needs some description of her gestures and expressions, and Clark's reactions to them, to help deepen the feeling behind the message.

Added to my FF Long Box. :)

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ImpurestCheese

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@joshmightbe: I wonder how many terraflops it takes to run Jor El. Really looking to get more processing power these days.

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joshmightbe

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@impurestcheese: Well the program does contain the sum total of Kryptonian knowledge so its probably a lot.

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ImpurestCheese

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@joshmightbe: I want it especially if it could be made portable. Constantly seem to be working in areas with no WiFi coverage.

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joshmightbe

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@impurestcheese: Yea, but there's a 50/50 chance that if the government found out you had something like that they'd lock you up and confiscate it.

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ImpurestCheese

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@joshmightbe: Meh I'll take my chances. I mean I use a crossbow at work and they haven't come after me yet.