Chapter Text
I wiped down my belt and tugged at the collar of my uniform. At twenty-four years old this is not where I expected to be. I expected to be finishing my graduate degree and looking forward to a limitless future. Instead of I was working at Valuetime Grocery store and bartending on weekends at Smallville’s wildest hotspot, The Keystone Bar. And fixing cars under the table. It wasn’t glamourous but the taxes were up to date on the Kent Farm and we had food on the table, I’d even managed to pay for Sarah’s spinal surgery she was almost running again.
I saw one of them coming in, they looked like clones. I thought Voidmonger would be the worst enemy I would face. It wasn’t, it was retail. Smallville was home to a particular brand of snotty customer, professionals who worked in Metropolis but moved into a new overpriced sub-division. They had tried to buy the farm, but I’d be damned if I let it go. I sighed and leaned back and waited for customers to arrive. It was three days before thanksgiving it was going to get busy fast today. Things were going okay; I might even be able to afford a turkey. I watched the woman pick through the potatoes with a sneer on her lips. She looked right at me and walked directly towards me.
“What is this?”
“Looks like a potato to me, ma’am.”
“It is terrible quality. Don’t you people stock fresh edible produce?”
“I’ll be sure to mention it to the produce manager when I see him. I’m sorry the produce isn’t up to your standards ma’am.”
She made a face and dropped the potato on my freshly cleaned belt. I picked it up and threw it in the garbage and wiped the belt down again. I could see Ellen, another cashier making faces as the woman walked away. She was typically good for a laugh or two. She was ten years my senior. She shook her head.
“Potato was probably fresher than her nether regions.”
I snickered.
“Hey, are you working Thanksgiving?”
“No. I get to spend it with my sisters. I’m glad it has been a rough year. But we still have a lot to be thankful for.”
“How is Sarah doing?”
“She’s walking without help. Running will take a while. In fact, she’s the one doing the wreath laying today at the Superman Memorial. Are your girls there?”
“Yes, they were super excited. I was kind of iffy about it, the fee was expensive.”
“It was ridiculous. But it something they will remember.”
I started hearing an annoying ringing in my ears. I rubbed them.
“Do you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“You don’t hear the ringing? It sounds like a fire alarm going off right beside my ears.”
“No, are you feeling alright?”
“I am not sure. Hey, do you mind covering for me with Dick? I’m going to grab some Tylenol.”
“I got you covered.”
I went into the back and opened my locker and pulled my ancient tablet out. It wasn’t that bad, but it usually took three or four presses of the power button to turn on. I tapped the JL icon. The ringing was getting worse.
“Mother?”
“Amber Kal-El, how can I help you?”
“Is something going on I’m hearing a terrible ringing in my ears and it is getting louder. I’m guessing humans can’t hear it.”
“All scanners are showing clear Amber Kal-El. The Kryptonian mainframe is showing an alert however.”
“Thank you, Mother, I’ll check with it.”
“You are welcome Amber Kal-El and happy thanksgiving.”
I closed the app and opened the link access for the Fortress of Solitude.
“Login – Amber Kal-El”
“Voiceprint record matched, Good morning Amber Kal-El”
“Query: I am hearing a ringing in my ears that doesn’t seem to be audible to humans do you know the source?”
“It is a Kryptonian emergency beacon. Unknown origin. It is not broadcasting IFF. It is located at grid coordinates A342:T563.”
“That’s in the arctic ocean.”
“Correct.”
“Please display a map with ping.”
It displayed a map. I used that to find it in Google Maps and put a pin and linked my Fitnow to it.
“Query – Will this beacon turn itself off?”
“It can only be disabled at the source.”
“Query – What does the beacon mean?”
“Emergency Beacons are typically deployed when a vessel’s primary mission is at risk of failure. Either through damage or personal loss. As the lone Kryptonian on Earth it is your duty to investigate.”
I made a face at my tablet.
“Understood.”
I put the tablet away in my bag and pulled my coat on and put my bag over my shoulder. I was going to have to make up an excuse to leave one of the busiest days of the year. But I would be useless until the ringing stopped. I found Dick, his name was actually Richard, but we called him Dick behind his back because he was a Dick. He was a micromanaging perfectionist who was so busy making sure we did our jobs just so that he didn’t do his. And he sexually harassed me every chance he got. The ringing was starting to give me a migraine. He looked at me when I approached him.
“Why do you have your coat on Morris?”
“I need to go home; I’m not feeling well. I have a really bad headache.”
“Oh, I’m sorry princess, you have a widdle headache? You know this is our second busiest day of the year and you’re just going to run off because of a headache?”
I nodded. I was starting to see double.
“You know there are three hundred people out there that would love this job. You are being unprofessional.”
I was losing my ability to resist punching him. Considering how mad I was he was lucky I stopped at picking him up by the front of his shirt and lifting him a foot off the ground.
“Listen you pompous micromanaging little shit. I have a migraine. I have been here for over a year and a half not once have I missed a shift. So I’m going to go out those doors after I put you down and I’m going to come back to work tomorrow and you’re going to give me my sick day today because I have ten left to use. Or I can throw you through that glass freezer door right there, and I can go to corporate and explain how you have grabbed my ass weekly since I got here, accidently fallen into my chest monthly and that you reduce my hours every time you grow the balls to ask me out and I turn you down, making my sisters go hungry because I refuse to let you pull that nub out of your pants and point it towards my spread legs and this time was the end of my rope.”
I heard liquid hitting the floor, I dropped him and jumped back. Ellen was looking down the aisle and a couple of customers had stopped to see what the commotion was about. The snotty ones looked insulted the locals were clapping.
“Did you just piss yourself? You’re pathetic.”
I left him there standing in the puddle that was still forming at his feet. I passed Ellen on my way out and leaned on her counter to steady myself.
“I’m sorry hon.”
“No, you look like shit, go get some rest.”
I left my truck parked where it was. I hadn’t flown over a year, but it would be the only way. I made the bio-weave form. This time it was a duplicate of my Kryptonian solar regeneration suit with a flowing black cape, I ran and it took four attempts but I was able to get airborne and before I knew it I was going supersonic I felt the pulse of air around me. I heard jets approaching they caught up to me, they were looking at me. They were pointing down and I shook my head and waved. I pushed myself forward and they were just gone. I laughed. I glanced at my Fitnow it was showing my GPS coordinates. It started beeping. I drove through the clouds and reached out my hands and punched into the water.
I saw a shape forming out of the frigid waters. It shimmered in and out of existence. I recognized the design from my training. It was Kryptonian. I touched the pad that would allow entry. My hand sunk into the liquid metal and the air lock opened and I was able to transition into the ship proper. As I walked lights started coming on. I could hear the beacon still and I followed the sound. I found the bridge and there was a flashing red crystal. I tried to remove it and I could not. A set back.
I found a console and started tapping keys. A hologram appeared above a black crystal. He had his arms crossed and was wearing the symbol for the house of Ju. Geneticists and scientists. He started speaking.
“What are you doing daughter?”
“I’m hacking into the computer core so I can slave this AI to my own AI and then I’m going to turn off that damn beacon It is giving me a headache.”
“You shouldn’t have that skill set. You are a mouthpiece and breeding stock.”
“That sounds really offensive and we’ll discuss it as soon as I finish. Wait for it.”
I pressed the last symbol and the ship’s light flickered and then I pulled out the red crystal and put it beside the console. The hologram, or rather the memory clone looked angry. He spoke again.
“Rebirth initiate intruder countermeasures.”
Nothing happened. He tried again a few more times and I crossed my arms and looked up at him.
“I’m the system administrator now. Who are you?”
“I am your creator Tahrao-Ju, you should kneel before me.”
“Uh huh. Wait…wait…no, sorry no urge to grovel and kiss your holographic boots.”
“You dare mock the greatest mind the universe has ever known?”
“I think you’re mistaking me for someone who cares who you are. Why did you active the beacon? Apparently, it’s my duty as the last Kryptonian to aid you.”
“You…you are a failure. My life’s work a failure.”
“Okay, you’re starting to piss me off, I blew off a double shift and I might have gotten myself fired to answer your ridiculously annoying emergency beacon, and you’re going to insult me?”
The computer started talking, it had a female voice apparently.
“Amber Kal-El I activated the beacon.”
“El? You insult my legacy even further!”
I looked at the hologram.
“You shut up.”
I pulled the black crystal out and it vanished.
“Rebirth please provide me with the nature of your emergency.”
“Ultimate detected on this planet. It is no longer safe for this Ark. Tahrao-Ju refused to leave without you.”
“The whatsit?”
“The Ultimate is a class Omega threat. This planet is doomed. We must take the Ark to another suitable world.”
“Fortress what is this thing talking about?”
An image of the Ultimate appeared on where Tahrao-Ju had been moments before.
“That looks a lot like Doomsday.”
“I believe your supposition is correct based on records from system designated – Mother. The Ultimate and Doomsday are the same entity.”
I looked at the list of immunities that Doomsday had exhibited.
“What the hell? Is there anything that hurts that thing?”
“Amber Kal-El. I believe Rebirth is correct. You should bring the ship here and transfer the data from the archives and my computer core to the ship so that we can evacuate the planet. It is no longer possible to remain here safely.”
“Uh no. I’m not evacuating. Kal-El put it down. I can too…. right?”
“You are correct. But Kal-El did not survive the encounter.”
“I don’t want to die, but my sister’s live here.”
Rebirth spoke again.
“Your logic is flawed Amber Kal-El. You are genetically superior to all indigenous species on this planet you are genetically superior to Kryptonians. You must survive. The lives of humans are insignificant.”
“Jor-El was one of the greatest minds in Krypton’s history correct?”
“That is correct.”
“And Tahrao-Ju is also one if its greatest minds, if a bit of an asshole, correct?”
“That is correct.”
“Then between the two of them they can figure this out and I’ll do the heavy lifting.”
I sat down at the flight console and started powering up the engines. It surprised me that I knew the ins and outs of this tech so well. But I did spend what seemed like forever having it rammed into my brain.
“Rebirth prepare flight systems. And maintain active stealth.”
“Commands confirmed. Course locked for Fortress.”
I slowly pulled the ship out of the mud and rock at the bottom of the ocean and made the short flight and landed it beside the Fortress. It was only the third time I’d been there in person. I walked inside and slid Tahrao-Ju into the port beside Jor-El. He started speaking immediately.
“You are not behaving as you should, why is your mind not wiped?”
“Tahrao-Ju, shut up or I’ll break you. Jor-El, I need to know how to defeat the Ultimate. And we’re calling it Doomsday from now on, The Ultimate sounds stupid.”
Jor-El looked…well like Jor-El only with his face a bit more scrunched up.
“My daughter this is a hopeless battle.”
“No Jor-El, no battle is hopeless.”
“As much as it pains me to say this, Jor-El is correct, MY daughter. It is a hopeless battle.”
“So, you’re telling me, that between the two greatest minds of Krypton and a flawlessly genetically engineered super soldier we’re powerless? If so neither of you is as smart as you claim to be. Fortress link in with Mother have her send whatever video we have of the fight between Doomsday and Kal-El. And have her send out a call to arms. I’m going to need help.”
I watched the videos of the Doomsday fight over and over again and they were so low quality they were almost useless. I heard Mother’s voice.
“Amber Kal-El. The Justice League is not answering the alert. They are all offline.”
“So, I’m all alone? Protectors of the Earth my ass.”
Jor-El started to speak to me instead of arguing with Tahrao-Ju.
“My daughter you are not necessarily all alone. We can try and resurrect Kal-El.”
Tahrao-Ju looked at Jor-El and shook his head.
“A fool’s errand.”
“At least he has an idea, what are you good for besides insulting me?”
“Jor-El, I will do whatever you say, just say it quickly, its heading towards my sisters. They are at Kal-El’s memorial laying a wreath as we speak.”
“Then it is possible it must sense the strands of his remaining life force. It is dangerous and there is a good chance neither of you will survive.”
“So same odds as usual then.”
He continued to speak as three crystals shimmered into existence in front of me. I stepped back one looked an awful lot like Green Kryptonite.
“The blood kryptonite will allow you drain energy from one entity and transfer it to another. The final crystal is kryptonite that passed between binary magnetars. I predict it will do the opposite of normal Kryptonite. If my scans are accurate it should allow for an exponential increase in solar absorption. I theorize that prolonged contact with your skin could cause instability in your energy storage matrix and could damage your cells permanently. Be cautious.”
I glanced at the ticking clock as Doomsday was making his way from the black site, they had his remains stored at to the Superman Memorial Park, thirty minutes and dropping. I gingerly picked up the reverse-kryptonite and held it in my hand.
“Hold this until I’m as full as I can get without exploding. Then use this and this.”
I held up the blood kryptonite that had the symbol for source and the other that the symbol for receptacle.
“To transfer the energy from me to Kal-El? There’s a problem I can’t get near his remains there is a pile of Kryptonite there.”
“You should be able to if you are charged up with Solar Energy, at least for a short time. But you are wrong. You are going to use the reverse-kryptonite on Doomsday and transfer the energy from him to Kal-El”
I blinked, that sounded like the dumbest idea of ideas.
“Are you malfunctioning or something? Because it sounded like you just said I should put the supercharger into Doomsday…”
“That is correct.”
“Okay that sounds stupid. Let’s supercharge the already supercharged being we killed over and over again to make it immune to all possible deaths.”
“You are down to twenty-six minutes my daughter. I have given you my plan. You are running out of time. Remember he won’t stay dead, or down you need to get him off the planet. I suggest Jupiter.”
“Fine. But if I die, I’m coming back to haunt you.”
I walked to the entrance of the Fortress I looked up at the distant sun. I would never get enough energy here. I wondered how fast I could go well hopefully fast enough. I launched into the air and rapidly broke atmosphere. The first feeling of weightlessness definitely made my stomach turn. I kept accelerating. I am not sure I managed to reach the speed of light, but I was pretty close. I released the bio-weave and I hovered naked in front of the sun. I could feel my cells bouncing inside me. I looked down and my skin was glowing. It was starting to feel like I couldn’t contain it anymore. I summoned my bio-weave again. This time it was red, blue and yellow. A duplicate of Superman’s fit for me. I accelerated back to earth.
I stopped hovering there above the earth my red cape floating weightless I closed my eyes and I accelerated downwards. With all the Solar Energy I had absorbed I was almost instantly bumping up against the speed of light. I wrapped my arms around the kryptonite crystals so they would not be damaged by the impact and I aimed right for Doomsday as he plodded his way into the edge of the memorial park. He had no idea what hit him. The impact caused a massive blast wave that blew the statue down and damaged several buildings. The crater was about thirty feet deep and I flew upwards. I looked down at Doomsday and he wasn’t moving.
I flew over to the remains of the memorial and threw the Kryptonite covered bone spur into the middle of the park and melted it with my heat vision. Superman’s desiccated remains were being held together by his costume. They lay sprawled across the marble remains of his sarcophagus. I stabbed the receptacle crystal through his leathery skin.
I saw movement by the base of the stairs that the statue once stood at the top of. It was Sarah who had fallen and Martha who was trying to help her get away. I glanced back at Doomsday. He wouldn’t stay unconscious long, but I couldn’t risk my sisters. I swooped down and scooped them both up and moved them to the top of a building a couple blocks away. I landed with them and Martha was looking up at me in awe. Sarah was smiling at me.
“You two be safe. I love you.”
Sarah cheered.
“Go get him Supergirl.”
“That’s not my name.”
I winked at Sarah. I saw Doomsday’s head poking out of the crater. I had taken too long. My glow was starting to fade. I flew back towards Doomsday to finish the Job. I accelerated towards him, windows all around the park shattered as I broke the sound barrier. He was waiting for me this time and with a backhand he used all my momentum against me. I went flying and smashed into the ground and into a car. I had shards of Kryptonite In me so by the time I came to rest I couldn’t move my legs and I felt metal sticking through me. I looked down and it had pierced my lungs and abdomen. My glow was slowly fading. I threw the crystals a few feet from me and I let the solar core out of it’s bottle the metal slagged inside of me, the car I was wrapped in started to melt. The kryptonite was incinerated and after I coughed up some blood I was able to draw in my plasma aura. Doomsday was walking towards me at a deliberate pace. Guess he knew I wasn’t going anywhere fast. I pointed my palms at him and let go of the strongest plasma streams I could. The kryptonite he had on his outer shell was incinerated and I took out a massive junk of his body. But I was done.
I looked up at my sisters Sarah was freaking out and making get up motions. I looked back to Doomsday and then grabbed both crystals and stabbed them through my chest. I started to twitch as energy flowed into me and flooded out. Kal-El’s body started to reform. Doomsday was on top of me by this time and reached out my palms and hit it with another flood of plasma. He walked right into and pushed against. It slowed him a bit. Any time I could buy Kal-El to recover was valuable. He grabbed me by the neck I punched him in the face. My legs dangled helplessly; I didn’t care I was screwed anyway. It sneered at me. I spit blood in its face and gave him the middle finger. He threw me across the park. I smashed through the building my sisters were on and came to rest against air conditioner which my body crumpled. I coughed up a bit more blood. Sarah and Martha rushed over to me. Martha was crying. She recognized me I could tell. She stroked my hair like I would do to hers when she was sick or couldn’t sleep.
“Amber…you can’t die.”
Sarah reached us and I reached out my hand to her. She was crying. I know I was.
“I’m sorry I don’t think I can keep my promise. You tell Superman who you are. He will take care of you. I know he will. You tell him you are Edna Kent and Bruce Wayne’s granddaughters.”
I coughed up more blood from the effort of talking so much. I could hear the battle raging below. I smiled. I had given him a fighting chance by getting rid of the Kryptonite.
“The crystals are killing you Amber.”
Sarah reached for the reverse-kryptonite. I grabbed her wrist.
“No, he needs my strength to stop Doomsday.”
“But we don’t want you to die.”
I was fading fast. I looked at my sisters.
“I love you.”
Superman hovered at the top of the building we were on. He had the blood kryptonite sticking out of his chest.
“Take the crystals out of her, they’re killing her.”
I struggled to look at him and coughed up more blood as I tried to speak.
“No...you…need...my strength. You..need to…”
I pointed upwards towards where I thought Jupiter was, my mind wasn’t exactly working perfectly at that point. I touched at my sisters on the cheeks and looked each of them in the eye. I was sure they would be okay, and I did not have the strength to continue.
If you recall this is where I started with my story. I’m sure you’ve been wondering how I’ve been able to tell it so well since I was dead. Well, I’m not some sentient computer program based on a brain scan if that’s what you’re thinking.
I woke up some time later and I was weightless and had a mask over my mouth and nose. We were near the sun and I looked up and it was Kal-El holding me and I was in the Solar Regeneration Suit. I could tell the difference between it and my bio-weave. He took my hand and pulled me towards Earth. I made re-entry myself and followed him in. We landed in the memorial park. I pulled off the mask and looked around. There was a massive crowd gathered the cheered when we landed.
Kal-El took my hand and raised it into the air and the crowd cheered again. He looked down towards me and smiled.
“I’m Kal-El”
“I’m Amber Kal-El”
He looked surprised. He waved to the crowd again then he leapt in the air. I took a bit of a running start and a few jumps and managed to catch up. He flew towards Smallville and we landed in the Kent Farm fields.
“Your sisters are here; I flew them here and retrieved the Solar Regeneration Suit I had stashed.”
“Were they hurt?”
“A few scratches and bruises. I promised them I’d bring you home safe.”
“Thank you, Kal-El.”
I started walking towards the house and he grabbed my arm gently.
“You look like you are my daughter. But I don’t have any children. Who are you really?”
“I am Amber Kal-El, descendent of the House El and House Zod. I was genetically engineered to be the perfect soldier and empress to new Krypton. I was Kristen Laurence a human girl who was infected with a Kryptonian retrovirus. I was infected with your DNA and General Zod’s DNA and the rest came from the best traits of your race. I have chosen the name Amber Kal-El to honor you as my father. Zod’s beliefs offend me.”
He looked at me for a very long time.
“You are the best daughter a father could ask for but do me a favor, never sacrifice yourself for me again, that’s my job as your father.”
“Well dad 3.0, would you like to come inside and get something to eat? I’m not sure if recently resurrected Kryptonians are hungry or not.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Yes, I’m starving.”
“Then the answer is yes, recently resurrected Kryptonians are hungry.”
“Come in then, we even have some of your old clothes, your sister was a packrat.”
I pulled the door open and was swarmed by two sisters who looked a little worse for wear. I hugged them both.
“I love you so much. I’m sorry you had to see all of that.”
Sarah smiled.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Seeing my sister go toe to toe with Doomsday.”
“I didn’t go toe to toe with him, he beat me to a pulp then curb stomped me.”
Sarah laughed; Martha tugged on my arm.
“Amber are you dead?”
I laughed and hugged her tightly.
“No, I just needed some sun.”
“Okay. What’s for supper?”
I laughed and then went a bit pale remembering I was supposed to go shopping after work.
“We will figure something out. It’s what we do.”