| Waiting in Gotham - Reprised | |||||
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| What: Cir-El talk with Kal-El | |||||
Cir-El is waiting nervously, as she had been since Batman left. The interview with Jimmy had helped, but it has been a long wait. She rose from the bench and paced a bit, blue cape billowing dramatically behind her.
The man who will one day be called Superman was actually nearby in his civilian identity of Clark Kent, wrapping up an interview for a story in the Daily Planet - one set up by, but not with, a certain Gotham billionaire. He wasn't prying, but he was listening for danger, as Gotham is a dangerous place. So imagine his surprise as he hears a girl calling herself by a Kryptonian-sounding name just a couple of buildings away.
After wrapping up the interview, he finds a secluded place, changes into his superhero costume and flies over, coming in from the sky. "Miss. Did I hear your name right?" he asks.
Cir-El throws her arms around Superman impulsively, "Daddy...but you're so Young! Why, you are even younger here than in that last world I was in. No wonder I have been having trouble finding you."
Kal-El blinks as he's hugged from out of nowhere by Cir-El. "...Daddy?" He shakes his head. "You must have me confused for someone else," he says, sounding like he's forcing himself to come off as emotionally detached. "I've never... well, I know I've never done anything to end up with a child, and even if I had, I'd have had to have fathered you while I was still in middle school."
From the way it sounds, this Superman, or soon to be Superman is complete ignorant of things like time travel and differing dimensions. Snapped back into remembering just how confused things are, Cir-El decides an explanation is in order. She begins, "This is going to be confusing. I am from a future, not THE future, since there is more than one possible future. The thing is, it is not the future of this world, but another world much like it. In that world, I was first here some 12 years ago, and you were about 8 to 10 years older than you look to be now. I am from the future of THAT world, but a future that no longer exists..."
The dark haired teen hesitates at this point, apparently overcome by memories.
Kal-El sighs. "I'm sorry. That sounds rough. So you're the daughter of the version of me in your original world, then," he says. "It would make sense for you to have a Kryptonian name, then. I wasn't trying to pry, but I did hear you refer to yourself as 'Cir-El' before I arrived."
She sighs, "I THOUGHT I was your daughter, all my memories are of being your daughter, but I found out just a short time before I left that world that my memories are false. I am indeed called Cir-El, I was named after an analog of you from yet another world, a female version of you from a world where the genders of all heroes were reversed who helped you out once. I was created using DNA cloned from you and spliced onto a human woman, I was created by an enemy of yours in that world and my time, an enemy called Brainiac."
She glances at Superman to see if he is familiar with the alien machine.
Kal-El blinks in surprise. "...Brainiac? But it's harmless, it's the computer system from the ship I escaped Krypton on." So this Superman hasn't yet run into him, either, or at least the malicious version of him. "You're human?" He subtly uses his X-ray vision to examine her. "But you don't look like any human in the anatomy books... my DNA spliced onto a human, that would explain some of the discrepancies I see."
She explains, "Brainiac, in this case, is the name used for a world wide computer system from the planet Colu...or at least for the central processing program of that system. It is possibly the most advanced computer in the universe, and in that world you have repeatedly repelled its attempts to assimilate the Earth. I was part of a plot, I was built to carry a virus...a virus that would transform all organic life on Earth slowly into robots. Those robots would then form a computer net vast enough to house Brainiac's core program, restoring it to the full power it once had before Colu overthrew the Computer Tyrants."
She pauses briefly, "I did not want to be the cause of the destruction of the world, so I jumped into an open time portal to prevent the spread of the virus...and wound up here. Fortunately, on arrival a few days ago, I ran into a pair of local metahumans who were able to remove the virus from my system and destroy it. I was prepared to make sure I would die without spreading the virus here if I had to."
Kal-El looks surprised. "That's... insidious," he says, contemplating just how much processing power that six or seven billion people turned into machines would hold. "I'm glad they were able to remove it from you," he says, before putting a hand on Cir-El's shoulder. "That must have been hard to face. I'm glad you survived it, and your courage... well, I'm proud to have you carrying my family's name, with that kind of courage. Not many people would be willing to go to that extent to protect a planet."
Cir-El smiles sadly, "That was Brainiac's mistake, he did not understand human emotions. He made me remember being the daughter of Superman, witness for my whole life to his courage. How could I do less than be the hero I was raised to be?"
Kal-El smiles. "From what I've noticed, most people who do evil acts don't think of small things like that." He does raise an eyebrow. "...I hate that name," he adds with a laugh, in reference to the Superman title that he will nonetheless be stuck with one day.
"In that other world, they called me Supergirl, but there was at least one Supergirl before me, so I am thinking of using a similar name...just in case I run into someone else who has a better claim on the name. I decided on using Superlass," Cir-El states.
She adds, "I am thinking about changing my costume, possibly to something a bit more similar to yours if I may. Something to honor your analog, but not be that Brainiac gave me."
Kal nods. "If your world's version of me was that great a person, then I'd be honored if you took some visual cues from my costume. And the name sounds fine... maybe a little Scottish, but it works. You don't need to ask my blessing for any of this, though. You were your own person before Brainiac created what you are now, from the sound of it, and you're going to grow into your own person, a unique young woman. An homage to me is fine, but don't let yourself get consumed by emulating me. Always keep an eye out for your own path."
Cir-El sighs, "Part of removing the virus was a kind of forced telepathic reintigration of my mind, so I am not all that sure who 'me' is. The best I can tell, my human name should be something like Mia Kent. STAR labs did check me over, and gave me a clean bill of health. Right now, I am staying at the Hall of Justice with Superboy...have you run into him? He is kind of like me I guess, but he has more Kryptonian DNA than I do and he is biologically older, kind of like my big brother."
Kal shakes his head. "I haven't... up until I found you, I thought I was the only Kryptonian there was. You'll find your own way, though, I'm sure of it. " Cir-El shakes her head, "This time travel and world hopping can get REALLY confusing. I am sure you will meet him eventually. I never really asked him about his background, I just assumed it was the same as the one I knew. Thank you for the vote of confidence. I have been kind of busy since I got here."
Kal-El nods. "I've been very busy also. If I'm that famous in other realities, though, I'm going to have to work harder to stay incognito. I mean, I want to help people, but I don't want special attention or praise for it." He turns for a moment. "Speaking of busy, I need to get back to my day job. If you need to contact me again... hm. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think most alternate mes would have the same career path. So you may already know."
Cir-El responds, "Assuming that it is the same as the one I remember, the best place to get a message to you is at the Daily Planet."
Kal-El nods. "It would be. I'll be keeping an eye on you, just in case. Try to take what I said to heart, though. You'll find your own way, just keep your eyes open for it." Then he waves and starts to fly up.
Cir-El waves at Kal and sighs, it is nice to know he exists here, even if he is young enough to be a big brother rather than her father. She leaps into the air, she can not fly, but most people will think her does as she clears the nearby buildings on her way back to the Hall of Justice.