[color=gray][INDENT][COLOR=SILVER][SUB][SUP][H3][b]WARWORLD[/b][/H3][/SUP][/SUB][SUB]Ranx System - Andromeda Galaxy[/SUB]
[SUP][i]Two Years Ago[/i][/SUP][/color][INDENT]The crowds cheered as another blow was struck between the combatants in the arena below. Giant holographic projections hovered above their heads, providing close up views of the fight in all its glory detail. The front row of the fight pit had been dubbed the ‘splatter zone’ and those fortunate enough to be sprayed with the blood of the combatants were considered to be the highest honoured guests.

[color=#b45f06]“I’ve been scanning our new pal here, and he stores energy like a battery,”[/color] Rocket stated, leaning over to Marchew as the pair hid disguised among the crowd.[color=#b45f06] “Only problem is, he’s only been depleting energy. I’m not seeing him store anything new.”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“Where does the energy come from?”[/color] Marchew asked, [color=#38761d]“Is he lacking rest, food?”[/color]

[color=#b45f06]“Nah, that ain’t it,”[/color] Rocket replied with a shake of his head.[color=#b45f06] “Kid’s practically radioactive, nuclear if I had to narrow it down. Think he absorbs from large sources of similar energy,”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“So stars,”[/color] Marchew extrapolated,[color=#38761d] “And Warworld being an artificial planet, doesn’t have an atmosphere, he’s not recharging in here then.”[/color]

[color=#b45f06]“Looks like we’ve sent the kid to his death,”[/color] Rocket groaned, rubbing his ears while thinking. His eyes were drawn to the fight down below, Clark was still holding his own but both Rocket and Rodg’y could tell that the zeal and enthusiasm was gone. Warworld was beginning to take his toll.

From the other side of the arena, Rocket spied Mongul the Elder sitting in his balcony, enjoying the fights while his children eagerly waited for a champion to rise to their level. Who Rocket didn’t recognize was the crimson haired woman adorned in a cape and clothing that’d make a Tamarean blush. 

[color=#b45f06]“Who’s the moll with the Monguls?”[/color] 

[color=#38761d]“That’s no moll,”[/color] Rodg’y stifled a laugh, knowing it futile to scold Rocket for his crass tongue, [color=#38761d]“That’s Almerac royalty, no doubt the Queen looking for a strong mate to bring forth an heir.”[/color]

[color=#b45f06]“She sure has eyes for our boy,”[/color] Rocket grinne[color=#b45f06]d, “‘Course that’ll change if we don’t find a way to get him powered up again. Won’t be anything left to mate with if he’s a stain on the floor.”[/color]

[color=#38761d]“Do you have any ideas, or do you just like reminding me that we sent a young man to his death.”[/color]

[color=#b45f06]“Nah, I got some idea,” [/color]Rocket said looking towards the artificial lights that illuminated all of Warworld. 

[color=#b45f06]“But your fur’s going to stand on end before we’re done.”[/color][/indent][CENTER][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019a2712-4c90-7008-93dc-efe48ef687f0.webp[/img][/CENTER][COLOR=SILVER][SUB][SUP][H3][b]EARTH[/b][/H3][/SUP][/SUB][SUB]Sol System - Milky Way Galaxy[/SUB]
[SUP][i]Now[/i][/SUP][/color][INDENT]
Sirens echoed through the main street as the Sheriff’s vehicle made its way towards the office. Nervous deputies held their hands cautiously over their holsters as Sheriff Adams brought Kal-El out of the back of her cruiser and escorted him into the building.

To her surprise, waiting on the other side of the door was Martha Kent and Chloe Sullivan.

[color=#fce5cd]“Clark! Clark!”[/color] Martha cried, rushing forward and pushing through the deputies to approach the man in custody. Behind her Chloe tried to reason with the deputies as Martha looked up in the same blue eyes she had cared for over the past two and a half decades. 

[color=#fce5cd]“Clark, you’ve come home, I’m just so happy-”[/color] The words froze in her throat as the eyes looking back at her didn’t recognize the woman he called mom. 

[color=#6fa8dc]“My name is Kal-El,”[/color] He responded, his eyes showing some sympathy as he looked down at the pair of women. [color=#6fa8dc]“I apologize if I resemble this ‘Clark’, but I’m afraid I am not him.”[/color]

Martha’s heart was in her throat, it slowly sank at the younger man’s words. He sounded like Clark, he even smelled like Clark, but she knew by the way he was looking at her, that this was not the Clark she had raised.

[color=#ffffff]“Mrs. Kent, I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to step back.”[/color] Sheriff Adams requested, [color=#ffffff]“If this man is indeed Clark, there’s going to be some paperwork to fill out, but as I doubt Clark ever flew from the sky, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”[/color]

[color=#fce5cd]“I-”[/color] Martha protested before Chloe quickly guided her away, [color=#fce5cd]“I know that’s Clark,”[/color]

[color=#93c47d]“Was Clark,”[/color] Chloe replied in a hushed tone, [color=#93c47d]“But whoever he is now, he doesn’t remember and as long as he’s in custody, I’m not sure what we can do.”[/color]

[color=#fce5cd]“There has to be something we can do,”[/color] Martha argued,[color=#fce5cd] “Something that can jog his memory, make him remember who he is.”[/color]

[color=#93c47d]“Whatever that is, we can’t do it as long as he’s in custody.”[/color] Chloe responded, her eyes scanning the Sheriff’s office for some way of creating a long enough distraction to get Clark away. She jumped at the sudden touch of Martha’s hand laying over her own. Looking up, she was greeted by Martha sadly shaking her head.

[color=#fce5cd]“Don’t risk it, Chloe, we can’t make more of a spectacle than I already have. We have to walk away for now.”[/color]

[color=#93c47d]“But, he’s back, he’s finally back, we can’t just-”[/color] 

Martha simply nodded her head before gently pulling Chloe to follow her.

[color=#fce5cd]“Knowing he’s alive has to be enough for the moment.”[/color] Martha muttered softly as the pair passed the officers. Exiting the building, Chloe watched as a lean man in a long billowing coat walked towards the door. On the shoulder of his coat was an unfamiliar emblem in the shape of a sword. 

Entering the building, the man looked at the commotion unfolding, eavesdropping on the Sheriff’s conversation with her deputies.

[color=#ffffff]“I won’t risk any of you sitting in there with this alien, so it’s going to be me in the room with him.”[/color]

[color=#76689b]“‘Fraid that’s not possible, Sheriff,” [/color]The man in the long coat stood in the doorway of the Sheriff’s department,[color=#76689b] “Agent Black, any and all interrogation of the sentient weapon will be done exclusively by me from this point forward, S.W.O.R.D. thanks you for your service thus far, Sheriff, but this is out of your jurisdiction, mate.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“My jurisdiction? I’ve never heard of you, what gives your limey ass the right to barge in here like you own the place?”[/color]

[color=#76689b]“Sentient Worlds Observation and Response Division,”[/color] He said, flashing a badge that displayed the acronym ‘S.W.O.R.D.’,[color=#76689b] “Basically, if it falls from the sky, it’s my jurisdiction. So frankly it doesn’t matter if my arse is limey or lemony.” [/color]

[color=#ffffff]“I’ve barely begun filing the report. Let alone picking up a phone and calling the feds,” Nancy argued, “How’d you get here so quickly?”[/color]

[color=#76689b]“That’s confidential. Real need to know basis, and unfortunately for you, small Midwest town sheriffs don’t rank on the scale.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“On whose authority-”[/color]

Black held up a hand.

[color=#76689b]“We’ve already been over that, mate,”[/color] He pointed to the badge again, [color=#76689b]“But if you want to get Director Robert Gonzalez on the ol’horn, be my guess. In the meantime I’m going to be interviewing this strapping example of a beef fed sentient weapon.”[/color] Black flashed a grin[color=#76689b], “‘Scuse us.”[/color] He added, escorting Kal-El into the interrogation room before motioning for the Kryptonian to sit.

Taking the seat on the opposite side of the table, Black pulled a tablet out within his jacket, placing it on the table before projecting several images for both his own reference and the alien across from him.

[color=#76689b]“Look, Mr-”[/color]

[color=#6fa8dc]“Kal-El, son of Krypton,”[/color]

[color=#76689b]“Kal, can I call you Kal? Nevermind I’m just going to do it, mate.”[/color] Agent Black smiled, [color=#76689b]“You’re making a lot of people real jumpy, blokes who fly aren’t exactly well received, especially dressed in, well-”[/color] He gestured towards Kal-El’s Kryptonian garb.

[color=#76689b]“Black,”[/color]

[color=#6fa8dc]“You’re also wearing black.”[/color]

[color=#76689b]“A keen observation.”[/color] Black replied, [color=#76689b]“Look, mate, I can’t have aliens just crash landing on Earth and threatening the local law enforcement. It’s a bad look.”[/color] He stated, pointing to an image that was now displaying the moment that Kal had used his heat vision to disarm the Sheriff.

[color=#76689b]“And this, how’d you do that? Telekinesis, pryokinesis?”[/color] He asked, the man across the table remaining completely stoic.[color=#76689b] “And then there’s this,”[/color] Black said, pointing to an image of the red crystalline ship as it entered the atmosphere.

[color=#76689b]“Where’d the ship go, mate?”[/color]

[color=#6fa8dc]“There’s no ship.” [/color]Kal replied, “[color=#6fa8dc]That’s an extension of my suit using radiated sunstone to create a crystalline shell.[/color]”

[color=#76689b]“Your suit?”[/color] Black asked, pointing to the black leotard that Kal-El was currently wearing. [color=#76689b]“The same suit you’re still wearing. They didn’t bloody confiscate a weapon from you?”[/color] He massaged his temples. 

[color=#6fa8dc]“Keelex is not a weapon.”[/color] Kal replied flatly.

[color=#76689b]“Sure looks like it can be used as a weapon.”[/color]

[color=#6fa8dc]“I have no need for weapons.”[/color] The alien stated, leaning forward. For the first time in his career, Agent Black felt as though he might be in over his head. Wrangling a few stray Kroloteans was nothing compared to the human looking alien sitting across from him.

[color=#76689b]“Alright, no need for hostility,”[/color] Black tried to play off his nervousness,[color=#76689b] “What about him?”[/color] He asked, pointing to a picture of Lobo taken moments earlier above Metropolis. 

[color=#76689b]“Is he a mate of yours?” [/color]

[color=#ff354d]Kal-El, by my readings, you’ve recovered 82% of your radiation stores, you’re ready for combat.[/color]

[color=#6fa8dc]“No.”[/color] Kal answered, snapping the restraints from his wrists as he stood. [color=#6fa8dc]“He is a rapid dog that needs to be put down..”[/color]

[color=#76689b]“Hold a moment, mate, you’re not going anywhere.”[/color] Black argued, scrambling to his feet.[color=#76689b] “I’m warning you-”[/color] 

A dull thud echoed through the room as Kal-El raised a hand and simply flicked the man across from him. Agent Black flew backwards, colliding with the door before slumping to the ground. Outside the deputies quickly rallied, drawing weapons and breaking down the door only to find the interrogation room empty save for the agent’s unconscious body.

And a new skylight.[/indent][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/01999ab1-cb01-748d-bd12-afb19d17251c.webp[/img][INDENT]Lana absently scrolled through several wedding idea boards on her phone, watching the door for Ryan’s return while a lump formed in her throat. The first crack had been when Clark didn’t return home after a year abroad, something inside Ryan splintered when Clark was presumed dead. While legally dead, the Kents had all been in denial about it, refusing to host any sort of ceremony or even place a marker. 

But then, Jonathan died and it broke Ryan in ways that Lana hadn’t been prepared for. 

He refused help, refused to talk to anyone and instead buried himself in his work, disappearing at all hours of the night. When he wasn’t working, he was a shell of a man, his eyes empty, void of any thought while his hand was rarely without a drink. 

Lana had tried several times to cheer Ryan up. Trips back to Smallville to visit his mother and the farm. But that too soured when Martha was no longer able to keep the farm and the bank took it. He returned to Metropolis even more of a shell, like everything he knew was slipping away. When he’d come home, there was a moment when the old Ryan would surface. He’d take Lana by the hand, and ask her about her day.

But then the accusations came.

Ryan would sit there and berate her about how she was the unhappy one and how her heart was wandering. Lana had never strayed, she knew it was Ryan projecting. More than once she had shown up to his work bearing his favourite meal only to discover he wasn’t there. 

Then he started coming home smelling of perfume, his clothes plagued with hairs that didn’t belong to Lana. The colour may have been right, but Lana knew it wasn’t hers, the length, the texture, it was all different. 

Was she not enough? Did she do something wrong?

Lana’s parents had both been tragically killed during the meteor shower. She never had a chance to know them, they were stripped away while she was only a few months old. She had nearly ended up in foster care had her aunt not stepped in at the last minute. But even that didn’t last as her Aunt eventually moved away for the West Coast. The kindness of Chloe and her father saved Lana from moving, but all her life she had struggled to find a family. She had learned to adapt to survive, and clung tightly to those who afforded her comfort and care.

The Kents had always treated Lana like the daughter they never had. Perhaps it wasn’t the idea of losing Ryan that prevented her from leaving, but rather the idea of losing the first true set of parents she ever had.

A droplet of water landed on the coffee table in front of Lana. It was joined by another and then another before Lana suddenly lost her composure, sobbing into her hands. 

She hadn’t felt so alone in years.

Her cry echoed through the silent apartment, cut short only by the ringing of her cellphone as Lana slowly composed herself, wiping her eyes and face before looking at the caller I.D. A soft smile spread across her face as she picked up the phone.

[color=#e35338]“Chloe, you have impeccable timing.”[/color]

[color=#93c47d]“Lana, I’m sorry to ask this,”[/color] Chloe replied from the otherside,[color=#93c47d] “But I’m trying to get ahold of Ryan, is he around?”[/color]

Lana’s brow furrowed.

[color=#e35338]“No, he’s out right now. Why?”[/color]

[color=#93c47d]“He hung up on me, uh,”[/color] She hesitated from the other side of the line,[color=#93c47d] “Y’know what, maybe it wasn’t that important. Are you okay?”[/color]

[color=#e35338]“How much time do you have?”[/color]

Lana could hear Chloe smile through the phone.

[color=#93c47d]“At the moment, more than I thought I would.”[/color] She replied, [color=#93c47d]“I take it I should get comfy?”[/color]

[color=#e35338]“If you don’t mind,”[/color] Lana replied, grabbing another tissue. 

[color=#e35338]“Chloe, I think I made a mistake.”[/color][/INDENT][/INDENT][/COLOR]