etrayalogs | Home, let me come home

WHO: Clark Kent, friends, onlookers
WHEN: Mid-March, pre-mission 14
WHERE: Etrazim/The Fortress of Solitude
WHAT: A piece of home is now in Etraya — time to have a walk around it
NOTES: Close friends/family can stop in for a tour - others are welcome to react to an appearing/disappearing giant crystal fortress if the spirit moves them

[Clark's been giving it a lot of thought lately, following certain conversations with Harold and Jon, whether it would be worth requesting a particular place from home. Not the Daily Planet — they have one of those already, and it's not the same without the people. And not his parents' farm, because seeing home without Ma and Pa would just make his heart ache too much, and he misses them enough as it is.

The Fortress, though. That might be worth having around. It'd be less hidden, though, or more like less remote. But it would still be something familiar, private space for him and the people he cares about.

So, eventually, he makes the request. And soon enough, there's a sheet of ice over some empty ground on Etrazim, and it never seems to melt despite the warm temperatures and adjacent volcanoes. Once certain conditions are met, of course, ice on the ground becomes something much more noticeable.]

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[Clark doesn't share what he's thinking about asking for a place from home while he's still thinking about it, but once the request is made, he doesn't hide it, either. Of course Lois is the person he wants to take there first; the fortress can be a place for Jon too, for Hernan, but it's the closest thing he has to home here, and he wants her to know that part of him.

Flight is faster than the trolley to Etrazim — it always is. But he touches down ahead of where they're going, just outside the ice field that's strangely persistent. The air is warm when he sets Lois down, but up ahead, it's clear that the air is continually frigid, showing no sign of melting.]

It's just up ahead. Should only be a minute or so.

It's an ice field.

( Lois, brushing her hair back with the fingers of one hand, lifts an eyebrow when she looks back to Clark. For one, why. Why is there an ice field. For another, where's the Fortress? Is this the "Coming Soon" construction site equivalent?

She knows it isn't, because he's here to show it to her, but this is still a bit of a curious what is he planning? )

Your Fortress doesn't have some kind of light redirection field on it, does it?

( Or giant hypnoglasses equivalents, she doesn't say. That'd all be a hazard for how many people fly around here. Or drive at high speeds. Or run animals everywhere. Or turn into giants themselves. )

It is.

[He grins and takes her hand, and it'd be obvious to anyone — and certainly so for someone who knows him as well as Lois — that Clark has something in mind, but not what.]

And no, it doesn't. An effectively invisible fortress would be a real danger to any flyers without enhanced spectrum vision.

[He gives her hand a little tug and steps forward, onto the ice field and into a drastic shift in temperature. It doesn't happen right away — the first step onto the ice isn't close enough to immediately trigger the proximity reaction. But it's less than a minute before there's a faint rumble and then the sound of rocks colliding as crystal pillars burst out of the ground as the Fortress of Solitude reveals itself.]

How many low flyers do you generally have in what, Antarctica?

( Lois smiles a little, almost in spite of herself, her eyes narrowing a touch as she does. Clark is having fun with this, so she decides to just let him have his way.

He'll catch the moment where she pings to the rumbling and colliding, the crystals rising from the ice field (which is Really Brisk, thanks, she wants a different coat if she's hanging out here often), because she misses her step forward, planting her feet. Her eyes widen right after, head tipping back as the fortress continues to rise towards the skies, rotating and expanding as more impressive crystal lengths thrust out from the frozen plain below. )

Oh... huh. Wow.

( Said very softly, almost like a gasp. If he's still moving, then she'll be walking along with him at any prompting, but that initial moment has her wide eyed and astounded. Sure, he's mentioned this place before, but it's very different from seeing it rise out of the ice itself. )

[Not many, he's pretty sure, but the topic quickly becomes irrelevant. No one around could possibly miss the fortress now, whether they're flying or walking or on a window seat on the trolley.

Clark doesn't keep moving right away; better to give her a minute, let her see it all without needing to watch her feet on less than completely steady ground. And he wants to drink it in, her reaction, her surprise. It's rare that he can surprise Lois — this might be the second time ever, after the whole Superman reveal — and also, it's just important to him. Almost no one else in his life ever gets to see this.]

Is it anything like you expected?

[He has no idea what she might have pictured. The Fortress has always just been the Fortress to him; he never had a reason to imagine it before it was there, a place he didn't have to hide this side of himself.

He lets her look for another couple of seconds before continuing on. Of course, even if she trips on the ice, he'll be there to catch her.]

[Jon and Krypto don't need Clark to be their actual transportation, but he leads the way to where the fortress is hidden, grinning and wondering how it'll compare to the one Jon knows — if he knows it? He knows that exists, obviously, but has he been there? Clark had assumed, but he's never actually asked.

Well, either way, he definitely gets to visit this one. There's less of a pause for theatrical effect this time, he doesn't hesitate to fly close enough to trigger the structure's emergence, but it's no less impressive when the fortress bursts out of the ice to cut through the sky.]

So, whatcha think?

( flying with his dad is something he'll always enjoy no matter the world and so he doesn't stop the smile on his face as he follows along, spinning around every now and then. the moment he spots the fortress, he slows down his speed and comes yo drift there in the air, cape flowing behind him as he looks over to his dad. )

You said you weren't gonna get it.

( shocked! he is very, very shocked! )

[He's grinning, watching Jon more than the fortress. On some level, yeah, of course he wants to show off for his son.]

I said it'd be different. And it is, but not as much as I expected — I didn't think it could be hidden the same way here.

( arms stretched out at his sides, his smile only brightens more as he stares to the familiar ice fortress. yeah, ok. it's a little different? but it's still familiar enough to him that he knows what it is. although... that makes him wonder.

looking over to his dad, he almost beams. hopeful. )

Can we go inside?

( they can... right??? )

That's the plan.

[It's almost like Krypto is listening — Krypto can always hear them, of course, but he's not always listening — because he takes that moment to bark and dart through the air, downward toward the entrance. He knows where he's going.]

Ha! Guess we better follow him.

Last one there's a rotten egg!

( and with that? he's off! darting his way down towards the entrance, arms stretched out in front and cape flapping behind him as he goes. better hurry, dad! )

[Looks like Clark will be the stinky one because he's in no hurry to rush to catch up; he's not too slow, but he flies a little leisurely, watching Jon and Krypto until they touch down in front of the door, which starts to open automatically.]

The Fortress itself is keyed to my DNA — it won't show itself until I'm nearby. I should be able to set it up so it works for you and Uncle Hernan too, though.

[And Lois, just in case.]

( having touched down, he hurries his way over to krypto there and waits for his dad to join them. arms at his sides, he looks back to his father — glancing back ahead again to really look at how massive the fortress is from where he stands. )

Really? You don't need to take my blood or anything for it, do you?

( geez... )

Home, let me come home

Clark & Lois

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Clark & Jon & Krypto

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