Lois's Observation
"I don't know who's helping her, but there's one thing we can't ignore," Lois said seriously. "So many bizarre things have happened at your house—penguins, lions—if any of that got out, it would immediately become a news focus. But days have passed, and the media has been completely quiet. No one's reporting on it."
"Even if the media doesn't report it, satellites would have captured anomalous images and sent them to the FBI. Yet, no FBI agents have shown up at the farm."
Clark frowned. "Someone is helping her cover her tracks."
"Definitely."
"Who is it? And what is their goal?"
Lois shook her head. "We have too little information to guess. Perhaps you should ask your cousin."
Homecoming
On a frozen island somewhere in the Arctic Ocean.
Linda Danvers landed at the island's center. She held up the crystal pendant. A beam of white light shot from the pendant, penetrated the ice, and disappeared deep underground.
A few seconds later, the ground began to shake violently. Cracks spread across the ice, as if something massive was trying to emerge from below.
The tremors intensified, spreading for thousands of meters around.
Suddenly!
With a deafening crash!
The ice sheet exploded open, and a giant structure rose from beneath.
The building was enormous, over a thousand meters in length and width, composed of countless large and small crystal pillars. The crystals refracted every color of the rainbow in the sunlight—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple—the different colors blending, shifting, and undulating as if they were alive.
"The Fortress of Solitude!"
Linda muttered, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes. She walked to the main entrance and presented the crystal pendant.
A beam of light shot out from the doorway and enveloped the girl's body:
"Verifying information..."
"Kara Zor-El!"
"Welcome back!"
The white light intensified rapidly. The next second, the person vanished.
Inside the Fortress, in the central main control room.
Looking at the structures carved with the House of El crest, Linda covered her mouth and sank to the floor, quietly weeping.
A middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair and a gentle gaze walked over and asked softly,
"Are you alright, Kara?"
"Father!"
Linda froze. Something clicked in her mind, and she instantly cleared her head.
"Don't test me this way. I know that's a hologram."
The words fell, and the middle-aged man dissipated, replaced by a gray, floating object the size of a human head. The object was composed of liquid metal, constantly writhing and changing, occasionally shifting into the faces of various members of the House of El.
"Hello, Kara. I am A.I.R., the smart steward of the Fortress of Solitude. Welcome back."
Linda wiped away her tears and said with a serious expression, "I want the highest level of access to the Fortress of Solitude."
"The highest access is reserved for Kal-El."
"What level of access can I get?"
"All access other than the highest level."
"I want to check my access rights."
"Please wait."
A virtual screen projected itself, detailing all the control rights Kara Zor-El, as a descendant of the House of El, could wield. Linda browsed carefully. After about ten seconds, she closed the screen and said heavily,
"Help me locate Krypton."
"I apologize. Krypton cannot be located."
Linda's heart tightened. Though she had expected this outcome, she couldn't help but ask when the moment arrived, "Why?"
"Krypton no longer exists."
Those simple words struck her hard. It took her a while to regain her composure.
"Locate the LHS 2520 Red Dwarf Star!"
The gray floating object changed rapidly, and a red-glowing star, as bright as a sun, appeared.
"LHS 2520 Red Dwarf Star located."
Linda relaxed slightly. Krypton was a planet that orbited the LHS 2520 Red Dwarf. As long as she could find LHS 2520, she could go home.
Having obtained what she wanted, Linda left immediately, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
The Fortress of Solitude was beautiful, but it wasn't home. The uninhabited structure felt like a cage, reminding her of an unpleasant experience.
The Second Deal
A few minutes later, at a villa in the western suburbs of Metropolis.
Seeing the Kryptonian girl descend from the sky, Luke quickly got up.
"Did you succeed?"
Linda nodded and threw him a chip. "This is what you asked for."
Luke quickly took out a scanner and copied the data from the chip onto his computer. But when he saw the tadpole-like script on the screen, he was dumbfounded.
"Kryptonian script?"
"Why is this in Kryptonian script?"
The girl feigned innocence. "Kryptonian technology is naturally recorded in Kryptonian script. Is there a problem?"
Luke: "..."
You're right, dammit, but this is pure stubborn mischief.
"Miss Danvers, please don't mess with me. I haven't studied the Kryptonian language. How could I possibly understand this?"
"That's your problem, not mine."
"Now that's too much."
Luke became annoyed. "I went out of my way to help you—giving you ideas, cleaning up your messes—"
Linda glared angrily. "What did you say?"
Luke corrected himself. "Not cleaning up, covering your tracks. To help you, I hacked the satellites of seven countries. And you give me incomprehensible data? Don't you think that's outrageous?"
"It's fine if you can't read it. You can learn!"
"Learn what? Kryptonian script!"
The girl said naturally, "If you learn Kryptonian script, then you'll be able to read it."
"Can you stop joking around?"
"I'm not joking."
Luke paused, his eyes turning strange. "Stop beating around the bush. Tell me, what do you really want?"
Linda coughed and said with forced dignity, "The Fortress of Solitude needs a co-pilot. I think your abilities are good enough for the job."
"If you agree, I'll teach you the Kryptonian language. I can even tell you about some other Kryptonian technologies."
As she spoke, her head was held high, as if bestowing a great gift. However, her hands clenched behind her back and her halting tone betrayed her nervousness.
Luke remained silent, sitting on the sofa and quietly watching her. He watched until her face flushed and her heart began to flutter before he spoke, unhurriedly.
"Your eyes tell me you are afraid. I remember now. It's because of that journey. You once told me that on your way to Earth, you accidentally drifted into a dimension where time was frozen, and you were stuck there for over a decade before escaping."
"Protracted solitude breeds confusion, fear, loss, irritability, and bottomless despair. I know that feeling very well. Once you've experienced it, you never want to—"
Before he could finish, Linda turned to walk away. "If you don't want the job, fine. Forget I said anything."
"Wait a moment."
Luke asked, clearly and deliberately, "Tell me, how long will a round trip take? I need an exact number."
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