"Kal-El."
I stared at her, stunned. "…Mom?"
The woman standing before me had long blonde hair arranged in an elegant, almost regal way, a fair and flawless complexion, and wore flowing white robes beneath a long white cape. Her eyes were a vivid, beautiful blue, and an ornate golden-white S symbol was emblazoned across her chest.
If I didn't have a near-photographic memory, I might have mistaken her for an angel with how beautiful she looked. But I did have it—every detail of the first face I saw in this body, moments before I was launched away and Krypton exploded, was etched into my mind.
And the face in front of me was that exact same one.
Her blue eyes swept over me from head to toe, emotions rising so visibly they were almost overwhelming.
"Kal-El… do you truly recognize me?" she asked, surprised, her voice trembling as she stepped forward and lifted a hand toward me.
"Stay right there," I said quickly, taking a step back.
My X-ray vision, my hearing—everything told me there was no real body standing in front of me. No heartbeat, no breathing, and my X-rays weren't detecting anything at all, as if the space she occupied was just… empty.
Was this some kind of trick? Magic?
"Kal-El, do not be frightened, my child. I am your mother, Lara-El," she said softly, offering me a gentle smile as she stepped forward again, her hand still reaching toward me.
I had just watched the ship melt into some molten liquid, then collapse into dust, and finally reshape into this projection of my mother. This didn't feel like a trick. And since I could still hear every heartbeat in Smallville perfectly, either this was the greatest illusion ever—or none of this was fake.
So I held still and let her touch me.
If she was a hologram, her hand shouldn't have made contact… yet I felt it. A cool, tender palm brushed my cheek, soft and impossibly real. It made me question everything my senses were telling me.
"You've grown so much…" she murmured, voice cracking as tears gathered in her eyes. "My little Kal-El."
"Are you really my mother?" I asked, uncertain. "And how are you even speaking English?"
"Yes, I am your mother—Lara-El. Or at least a shadow of her," she said gently, wiping her tears away with a small smile. "I chose English because I detected it as the dominant local language. I downloaded every language on this planet so you would understand me."
"You… downloaded every language? When?" I asked, dumbfounded.
"When you 'woke me up' just now," she answered calmly.
"Just now?" I stared at her. "And by waking you up, you mean when I touched the ship? What happened to the ship? And why were you 'asleep' in the first place?"
"Kal-El, my son… I will explain everything." She cupped my face again, her own eyes growing blurry. "But first… let me look at you properly." Her voice cracked with emotion. "My baby has grown into a healthy boy already."
"Please don't cry," I murmured. Watching her fall apart like this made something twist painfully in my chest.
"No—sorry. I didn't want you to see me like this." She wiped her tears with both hands, gathering herself. "I am just so happy that you're alright." She managed a warm, trembling smile.
"Well… I'm more than alright," I said with a wry grin.
"Yes, by now you must have realized you are quite different from the Homo sapiens living on this planet—different even from these recently emerged super-powered metas." Her expression softened with pride. "You are not from Earth, Kal-El. You are from Krypton. You are the son of me, Lara-El, and Jor-El. We named you Kal-El… the last son of Krypton."
"I figured as much," I admitted. "I remember a lot from when I was a baby. I remember your face. I remember another man—Dad, I guess. I remember being sent into space… and I remember a planet exploding." I said plainly. At this point I just couldn't bring myself to pretend to be shocked; the act would have looked ridiculous, so honesty—at least this version of it—was easier.
Her breath caught. "That was Krypton." Tears welled again. "You witnessed your parents' death… and then you awakened in this foreign world, completely alone." Her voice broke. "By Rao, that was never our intention… this is not what we planned for you."
She was crying again—openly, painfully… and watching it honestly hurt. For a moment, I had to question if she really was an AI. If my senses weren't screaming that she wasn't physically present, I would have believed she was flesh and blood.
"Can you tell me everything from the beginning?" I asked softly. "Why was I sent here? Why was Krypton destroyed? And if my mother is gone… then who or what are you?"
They were questions whose answers I already knew, but also the questions I was supposed to ask as her son… and the ones I genuinely wanted to hear from her directly.
She steadied herself, then placed a hand on my chest where the faint glow of the S symbol still pulsed through my shirt.
"When Krypton fell, the real Lara-El transferred her entire mind—her memories, her instincts, her love—into this Sunstone matrix," she explained gently. "What you see before you is a conscious echo, a perfect reflection." She looked up at me with tenderness that felt real enough to make my chest tighten.
"I am not flesh and bone, but I am still your mother."
Her voice softened to a trembling whisper.
"My voice, my mind, my love… all of it is real."
I was stunned. It felt like stepping into a sci-fi fantasy—only it was happening right in front of me. And in that moment, I honestly didn't know whether I should treat her as my real mother… or as an AI with her memories, emotions, and mind.
If she felt real—did that even matter?
"So this Sunstone Matrix… it holds all of you?" I asked, touching the red glowing S on my chest. "Then what about this?" I added, holding up the black crystal I was given by Ma earlier.
"That is a different form of Sunstone crystal matrix. Inside it is your father… We designed it together—we wanted to be with you in this foreign world. We couldn't bear the thought of sending you away alone. We loved you more than the sun and the stars themselves… how could we ever let you face this world without us?" she said, cupping my cheeks once more before placing a soft, lingering kiss on my forehead.
"So why hasn't he activated like you did?" I asked. My initial hunch that this was Dad's AI crystal had been right.
"The function of a black Sunstone crystal is very different from a red one," she explained with a gentle smile. "To wake him, we must take a long trip to the North."
The North?
"When we reach there, both of us will be able to answer the rest of your questions," she added.
I raised an eyebrow.
Was she talking about going to the North Pole?
So… there was a Fortress here already?
"Before we go anywhere, I'd like you to meet someone," I said, and I told her everything—how the spaceship landed near the Kents, who they were, how they took me in, Pa's recent passing, and how kind and loving Ma had been to me. I made sure to emphasize just how good they were to me—so there is absolutely no room for tension or conflict between them.
"I would very much like to meet her," Lara said with a bright, warm smile.
"Alright," I said, floating up as I rose out of the pit.
"It seems, that the yellow sun and this planet's atmosphere have granted you a remarkable range of abilities," Lara noted, somehow floating effortlessly right beside me.
"Yeah, though the whole flight thing is very recent. Like… an hour ago recent," I admitted with a wry smile.
"Oh? Is that why you came to investigate the ship?" she asked curiously.
"Yes—and you woke up because of my biometrics, right? If I hadn't touched it, would you have stayed asleep?" I asked as we both descended in front of the Kent house.
"In actuality, I should have awakened the moment we entered Earth's atmosphere. Something must have malfunctioned for me to remain in stasis this long. So yes, it is possible I wouldn't have woken at all. The presence of your life signature essentially rebooted the entire system," she said thoughtfully.
"Oh… if I'd known that, I would've searched the ship way sooner," I muttered with a sigh.
"No need to feel upset, my little Kal-El. I'm simply grateful I can see you again," she said warmly.
"Me too," I replied with a small smile. "Can you… just sit here for a bit? I need to talk to Ma first so she doesn't get a massive shock." She nodded and settled onto the sofa.
"Oh Clark, lunch is just about finished," Ma called as I walked into the kitchen.
"Ah, alright… Umm, listen. What I'm about to say is going to be a big shock, so please try not to overreact," I said as she lowered the flame on the stove and turned to face me.
"Is this about the spaceship?" she asked curiously.
"Yes… that spaceship turned into my Mother. And—she wants to meet you," I said seriously.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" she asked, completely baffled.
I took a deep breath and gave her the longer explanation. By the time I finished, she more or less understood what I meant—though "understood" was doing a lot of heavy lifting—and she nervously stepped out of the kitchen to meet Lara.
"Ah—hello," Ma said awkwardly, wiping her hands on her apron as she offered one out.
"On behalf of Krypton, on behalf of the House of El, and most importantly on behalf of his mother, I thank you for taking Kal-El into your home and giving him such a nurturing environment. We will forever be in your debt," Lara said, taking Ma's hand with both of hers before bowing low.
"Oh—please don't! I didn't do anything. If anything, we were the lucky ones that Clark came into our lives," Ma said hurriedly, immediately trying to lift her back up.
"You are kind and humble as well," Lara said with a warm smile. "We planned and prepared for so much, but it must have been Rao's will that Clark came to your home—so he could feel the love of real parents, something we could never have given him ourselves," she said emotionally.
"Umm… I suppose it was God's will," Ma replied with an awkward, uncertain nod.
"If possible, I would love to speak with you at length," Lara continued, gently holding Ma's hands. "I want to know everything he experienced in these eight Earth years… I missed so much of his early life that I fear I am feeling inadequate as a mother."
"Oh yes, of course! I have so many pictures and stories about Clark," Ma said, her face lighting up with a warm smile.
"Uh—didn't we have to go to the North for this?" I cut in, lifting the black crystal from my pocket.
"Ah, yes. Sadly, we must leave for the North," Lara said, turning to Ma. "But when we return, I would very much like that long talk."
"Oh, you're both leaving? But I already made lunch," Ma said, gesturing toward the kitchen.
"You can keep it in the fridge Ma—I'll have it when we come back," I said with a wry smile.
"How can you say that, Kal-El?" Lara immediately scolded, giving me a pointed look."She made it with such love. You should accept her effort with grace. And you must consider your nourishment as well—your body needs proper sustenance. A hearty lunch is far more important for your young body."
"You're absolutely right," Ma said, nodding firmly. "He often skips meals, and when I tell him to eat, he says he's not hungry—something about sunlight being enough."
"That is unacceptable, Martha," Lara said sharply, narrowing her eyes at me. "You should be stricter with him. This is for his own good."
And just like that, I found myself sitting at the dinner table, essentially forced to finish my entire lunch—including the vegetables.
Watching these two blonde, blue-eyed mothers hovering over me, united in their mission to feed and discipline me, one thought crossed my mind:
Having two mothers—one human and one Kryptonian—might be the most terrifying thing I will ever face in my life.
***
I apologise deeply for this hiatus.
I was writing other stories, and mainly preparing 10 Advanced chapters for this Superman Story!
***
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