> "Holander… what is this place?"
Clark Kent's voice trembled between awe and curiosity as he took in the crystalline vastness around him.
Every wall shimred with alien light, refracting through pillars of frozen brilliance.
Alex smiled faintly.
> "The Fortress of Solitude," he said simply.
"And if I'm right—it was left here by your father."
That na hit Clark like thunder.
> "My… father?" he echoed, eyes widening. "You an—Jor-El?"
> "Exactly," Alex replied, his gaze sweeping across the chamber until it stopped at a raised platform ahead.
"Over there. Try it."
Following Alex's line of sight, Clark saw what looked like a console, and on its surface—a familiar slot.
His key.
The sa key that had unlocked the cube earlier now sat perfectly atop the console's groove, waiting to be pressed in.
Heart pounding, Clark stepped forward.
He hesitated only a mont—then pushed it all the way down.
Hum—!
A surge of light swept through the fortress,
and before them, a holographic figure slowly took form.
A tall, middle-aged man with a regal bearing and eyes full of quiet strength.
His presence carried both authority and gentleness—a warmth that stirred sothing deep in Clark's chest.
> "Kal-El," the man said softly.
"To think I would one day see you grown… I only wish Lara were here to witness it."
Clark stared, speechless.
Every instinct scread at him that this was real.
> "You're… Jor-El?" he asked, voice trembling.
The hologram gave a small, almost amused smile.
> "This is your first ti activating , and yet you already know who I am.
I must admit—that surprises , my son."
He looked genuinely curious.
After all, he hadn't even introduced himself.
So how had Kal-El known?
> "So… you really are my father?"
But before Clark could say more, Jor-El turned his gaze elsewhere—
his expression shifting slightly.
> "Kal, not now," he said firmly. "I sense soone here who should not exist."
His eyes fell on Alex.
Clark quickly stepped forward, raising a hand.
> "Wait—he's not an intruder. He's the one who found this place.
He brought here."
> "Then speak with him properly," Jor-El said.
"This fortress belongs to you, Kal-El. Treat it as such."
> "That's… what I'm trying to figure out," Clark muttered, rubbing his temples.
Truth be told, his head was spinning.
Before they opened the fortress, he and Alex had made a clear deal—
the artifact belonged to Alex.
Clark had only agreed to help unlock it.
But now?
Now that he knew this was his father's creation—
that it was literally his ho—
how could he possibly hand it over?
Yet Alex wasn't the kind of man one could simply say "no" to.
Clark turned to face him.
> "Holander," he said seriously, "what do I have to give you for this fortress?"
Alex's smile returned—sharp, knowing.
He'd already made up his mind about this long before.
> "Just rember this, Clark," he said evenly.
"You owe one."
And with that, he vanished—
a single sonic boom echoing through the fortress as he disappeared into the sky.
It was a fair trade.
Returning sothing that was already Superman's in exchange for Superman's personal favor—
Alex counted that as a win.
Considering how terrifyingly powerful Clark would one day beco,
it was, in his eyes, an investnt.
---
Inside the fortress, Jor-El's projection turned to his son.
> "Clark… who was that?"
He had seen the blur of motion, the speed, the power—
and even for him, it was astonishing.
By his records, Kal-El should have been the only Kryptonian sent to Earth.
So how could there be another superhuman here?
> "I'm not entirely sure," Clark admitted. "But… he claid he was Kryptonian."
> "No," Jor-El said imdiately, his voice firm. "He is not.
He has no Kryptonian blood."
That made Clark pause.
> "So that ans… I really am Kryptonian?"
> "Yes, Kal," Jor-El replied gently. "You are the last son of Krypton.
And I… am your father—or rather, the consciousness he left behind.
The real died long ago."
Clark swallowed hard.
> "Then… you sent to Earth because Krypton was destroyed?"
He repeated everything Alex had told him,
each word making Jor-El's holographic brows furrow deeper.
> "How do you know all this?" Jor-El asked, astonished.
"This is information only I could have given you…"
Clark blinked, equally confused.
> "It was Holander. He told everything.
So it's true, isn't it? All of it?"
> "That man?" Jor-El's expression darkened in disbelief.
"But that's impossible. He's not one of us."
---
And so, father and son sat within the gleaming fortress,
talking for hours.
Clark asked every question he had ever carried in silence—
and Jor-El answered them all.
For the first ti in his life, Clark Kent finally understood who he was,
where he ca from,
and what his destiny might be.
But when the conversation returned to Alex—
Even Jor-El could only frown in confusion.
A being with Kryptonian powers,
but no Kryptonian DNA?
That defied every law of Krypton's science.
If not for the fortress's scanners,
Jor-El would have sworn that man was Kryptonian himself.
> "Who is he… really?" Jor-El murmured, his tone a mixture of awe and unease.
"A being who wields our power… without our blood?"
Father and son exchanged a glance—
each realizing the sa thing.
Holander was a mystery even Krypton couldn't explain.
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