Chapter 17: A Kryptonian Fell From the Sky
2023-10-23 Author: Rowing without Oars 233
"Little sister, I'm really not a bad person."
"..."
"If you don't believe me, look.
Have you ever seen a bad guy this handsome in the world?"
"..."
"Huh?
What's that?
A mouse is chasing a cat over there!"
"!"
The little girl, who had been hiding in the bushes for a long time and refused to come out, suddenly lifted her head, her big cerulean eyes wide, a single strand of hair standing up on her golden head.
She seemed a little tempted, unable to resist the urge to come out and see.
Yes, that's right, Krypton also has cats and dogs; Orin Vale knew that much.
Superman had a Superdog as a pet, while Supergirl raised a Super-Cat.
Although this was their first meeting, Orin Vale was eighty percent sure that the little girl before him was Kara Zor-El, Superman's older cousin, Supergirl.
She had escaped the doomed planet of Krypton along with Superman, but her ship was stranded midway in a special space called the "Phantom Zone" for twenty years.
However, since time and space in the Phantom Zone were static, twenty years passed in the outside world, but when her ship accidentally broke free from that dimension and landed on Earth following its original course, her infant cousin had already grown up to become Superman, while she was still a little girl.
Kara Zor-El's age upon landing varied with each reboot and parallel universe setting.
Sometimes she was fifteen or sixteen, sometimes nineteen to twenty, and other times she was a thirteen-year-old little lolita, just like in the live-action TV series.
The one before him looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, like a middle school student.
Her face was tender and a bit youthful, but her chest was already showing impressive development, a classic case of a youthful face with a voluptuous figure.
She had a head of smooth, soft blonde hair, large blue eyes, and a fair, beautiful little face.
She wore a white long dress of Kryptonian origin, with the iconic and conspicuous "S" on her chest, representing the crest of the House of El.
Before landing, thoughts had rapidly raced through Orin Vale's mind.
According to the canonical timeline's story development, Superman already existed in the world when Kara landed.
Superman was the first to find her and provide her with shelter, which was how she was able to grow up smoothly on Earth.
But at this point in time, Superman had not yet made his debut.
Therefore, for a Kara who had just landed and hadn't soaked up enough sun, the most likely fate would be similar to the Superman in the "Flashpoint" parallel universe: captured by a human organization, locked away in a top-secret facility for alien experiments, and never seeing the light of day for the rest of her life.
Although not a member of the Space Garrison, as an Ultraman, Orin Vale naturally felt a revulsion towards such things.
Besides, this was a Kryptonian who had practically fallen into his lap!
Just as Batman's philosophy goes, in the DC world, you absolutely cannot be ignorant about Kryptonians.
Superman was said to be the last son of Krypton, but later on, you'd discover that there were actually quite a few remaining Kryptonians.
Later, nine out of ten Kryptonians were villains, each possessing the god-like power of a god on Earth, and they were prone to wanting to nuke the planet.
So, before having to face a Kryptonian opponent, having a gentle and obedient Kryptonian by his side to help him deeply understand their abilities and research countermeasures should be quite helpful.
Batman has a Superman, so it's only reasonable for me to have a Supergirl, right?
Furthermore, the Superman family in DC is a walking positive energy-producing machine; they have a natural talent for inspiring people towards goodness and positivity.
This perfectly aligned with Orin Vale, who was worried about lacking light.
Their very existence could continuously enhance Orin Vale's strength, like a long-term, stable income of experience points.
"Huh?" the Kryptonian girl said, her eyes wide with surprise as she looked at Orin Vale, "How... how can you speak Kryptonian?"
Orin Vale: "..."
Batman once quipped that he felt Kryptonians weren't very bright, and it seemed there might be some truth to that.
The little girl's slow reflexes were only now realizing that it was odd for the other person to understand her.
Of course, Orin Vale didn't understand Kryptonian.
He had learned many alien languages, but they were all limited to the Land of Light's universe.
There was no Krypton in that universe.
He was currently communicating with Kara through telepathy.
However, since Kara hadn't noticed, he would explain it to her slowly at a later date.
A shared language would naturally make her feel a sense of closeness and lower her guard, especially in a place like Earth where she had no one to rely on.
"You're from Krypton?"
"Huh?
You know of our planet?"
"That crest."
Orin Vale gestured to the S on her chest, "That's the crest of the House of El, right?
I've been to Krypton and know some friends from the House of El."
"Let me guess, your father is Jor-El?"
"No, that's my uncle.
My father is Zor-El."
Perhaps being too trusting was written into the genes of the House of El, or perhaps it was because Kara was too young and naturally innocent.
In any case, relying on his knowledge of Krypton from the comics, coupled with his "ability to speak Kryptonian" persona, Orin Vale had convinced Kara for the most part with just a few sentences.
"Krypton was destroyed."
As the little girl said this, her mouth drooped, and she lowered her head, looking on the verge of tears again.
"What!?"
Orin Vale feigned a look of great surprise, "How could that be... I haven't been there in a long time, I had no idea.
I'm very sorry."
"Mom and Dad sent me away at the last moment before the explosion, telling me to come to Earth and take care of my little cousin, but... Ah!"
She suddenly thought of something and quickly grabbed Orin Vale's hand, saying nervously, "We... we have to leave quickly.
There's something super terrifying chasing me!"
"What is it?"
"An Atronite!
Dad said they are notoriously brutal in the star cluster, and ridiculously powerful!"
She nervously glanced left and right, "There was an Atronite looking for me just now."
"I saw him searching my ship, luckily I hid beforehand... He must still be nearby!
We... we have to run, or we're finished if he finds us!"
Orin Vale pondered for a moment and asked, "Hmm, this Atronite you're talking about, is he green, looks a bit like an insect, and has two large scythes for hands?"
Kara looked at him in surprise, blinking her big eyes.
"How did you know?"
"Well..."
A moment later, Orin Vale led Kara by her small hand to the edge of the large crater he had kicked open.
The blurry mosaic at the bottom of the pit still vaguely resembled its original form.
The little girl took one look into the pit and retreated in fright, hiding her whole body behind Orin Vale, not daring to look again.
"Is that him?" Orin Vale asked gently.
Kara nodded, her eyes widening in astonishment as she looked at him.
It was as if she were asking, how are you so strong?
She had heard since she was little that Atronites were especially brutal and fierce, considered high-risk criminals even in Kryptonian prisons.
And the result... he was killed just like that?
"He suddenly jumped out and attacked me as I was passing by.
I acted in self-defense and was forced to kill him."
Orin Vale said seriously.
His tone was light and casual, as if mentioning a trivial matter.
But it made Kara look at him with even more admiration.
Orin Vale thought to himself, that's because you don't know your own capabilities yet.
In the future, if you encountered this kind of trash, you wouldn't even need to lift a finger; a single puff of breath would blow him away, which is far more absurd than this...
"Let's go, I'll take you to my place.
My home is quite large."
As Orin Vale spoke, his opened helmet closed again, and he walked towards Kara's nearby spaceship.
"You can get inside, and we'll take it with us."
This spaceship was also a heaven-sent windfall.
Although it wasn't a combat vessel, it was still a product of the pinnacle of technology from Krypton—a level-eleven civilization.
Since Orin Vale had stumbled upon it, rather than leaving it for the trouble-making masters of the US military to drag to a lab and stir up some mess they couldn't handle, he might as well take it back himself to study Kryptonian technology.
Who knows, it might have some unique chemical reactions with the technology from his Land of Light.
Kara hesitated for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Can I bring Streaky with me?"
The little girl's eyes were full of expectation.
"Streaky?" Orin Vale was taken aback.
"That's him."
Kara clapped her little hands and gestured towards the nearby bushes.
"Streaky, come here."
"Meow~"
A small kitten trotted out from the bushes, leaped into Kara's arms, and nuzzled affectionately against her chest.
The little girl hugged the kitten and looked at him pitifully.
"He's the only friend I have... Is it okay?"
Orin Vale: "..."
Could this be that super ginger cat that can shoot lasers from its eyes and block airplanes with its fleshy paws?
End of Chapter